The BLTS Archive- Empathy by Trexphile (trxphile@cox.net) --- DISCLAIMER: I'm sensing something, Captain. It feels like ... anger ... frustration ... homicidal tendencies ... It's directed toward something called Paramount. I sense that there is a large group of people who are unhappy with how certain characters' relationships have been handled. I believe, sir, that this situation has been rectified in this story, however. Yes ... I sense great joy! Great joy and gratitude! March 1998 --- "We're lost." "No, we're not." "Yes, we are!" Silence, accompanied by the crackling of twigs and the swishing of underbrush. "All right. We're lost." Deanna sighed and brushed a wilted strand of hair back from her eyes. "Well, at least you're finally admitting it." Her tall bearded companion stopped and turned to her. "Can you maybe 'feel' where they are? Can we find them that way?" "I'm not a bloodhound, Will." "Well ... surely your empathic sense can help us in some way, can't it?" She tamped down the swelling of anger. No use in getting an argument started. It wouldn't help their situation any, and it was getting darker by the minute. They needed to find the campsite very soon. "I'll try," she muttered and closed her eyes, concentrating, opening up her senses as fully as she could. <> "Yes," Deanna murmured. "I think ... I think I'm sensing something ... it may be them ..." "Good," Will whispered. "Can you sense where they are?" She opened her eyes and looked at him. "No. Of course I can't. I don't receive directional headings." "What do you suggest?" She began walking again. "That we start moving and if the input gets stronger, then we're going in the right direction." "Okay," he replied, joining her, "you're the tricorder." "Ha, ha." "I'm just the guy who gets to push the buttons." He smirked. "Dream on." They continued through the woods. "Are there any wild animals that live around here?" she asked. "You mean 'dangerous' wild animals?" he grinned. "I don't think so. We're still pretty close to civilization. Of course, there may be a feral bunny or two waiting to pounce." She decided not to respond to that remark. She slowed, reaching out with her mind. "I'm not sensing anything now." He sighed. "Should we change directions?" He looked up toward the sky. "It's getting dark." She concentrated, reaching out. Using all her training and intuition, she extended her empathic sense farther than she'd attempted in a long, long time, opening herself up more than she ever dared, stretching her senses to their limits. Extricating herself from the connection would be difficult, she knew, but they needed to find the others ... <> There. "This way ..." she said slowly and moved off to the left. Will didn't speak as they trudged through the woods, most likely not willing to interrupt the connection she'd managed to forge. <> "It's getting stronger, Will." She looked up and smiled at him. "I think we're headed in the right direction." He touched her shoulder briefly. "That's my little tricorder. Just keep going." *You can be so irritating sometimes, Will Riker.* "I think they're eating right now," she stated. He nodded. "Sounds reasonable. I hope they save some for us -- I'm starving." The connection was getting stronger, more easy to maintain. It was easier to speak now. "Well, you deserve to go to bed with no supper, Will Riker. Getting us lost and all ..." "That wasn't wholly my fault, you know. They were supposed to meet us at the falls and we would all go to the campsite together." He paused. "I wonder what happened to them?" "They probably got tired of waiting -- we were two hours late, you know." "Yeah, you're probably right." "Of course I am," she smirked. The sensations shifted and she slowed her pace. <> Riker didn't seem to notice her inattention. "Are you sure it's them that you're sensing? It would certainly be embarrassing to barge in on a couple of strangers." <> "Oh yes ..." she whispered, more to herself, "it's them." "How much longer till we get there?" She stopped, hands on her hips. "I don't KNOW, Will! Shut up and let me concentrate!" "Sorry!" They walked on in silence. "Watch out for the water, Deanna." She looked down. There was a small stream in front of them, barely visible in the waning light. "Here, I'll go first," he said and started across, balancing on the rocks that peeked through the flowing water. She followed carefully, slowly ... <> "OH!" He grabbed her pinwheeling arms, stopping her fall. Holding her firmly, he guided her across until they were beneath a nearby tree. She was shaking, her breathing harsh in her chest. He looked at her, amused. "You're alright, Deanna. I don't think you could have drowned in a foot of water." <> She shivered. "Oh God ..." she whispered. The heat was so intense that she couldn't help feeling it inside her own body, causing her own core to warm and tingle. "Deanna?" Will questioned with worried eyes. <> She was swaying on her feet, her legs ready to buckle, her eyes closed, her senses so open, the connection so strong that there was no way she could break it now. "Deanna, are you all right?" She heard his voice through the tumult in her head and managed to open her eyes. "No ... yes ... I don't know ... oh God ..." His strong arms encircled her as she sagged against him. "What's wrong! Deanna!" He eased to the ground with her, his hands grasping her face. <> She could feel everything -- every touch, every sensation, every emotion. She was right there, with them, inside them and the intensity was consuming her. Will was speaking to her urgently, shaking her now, trying to reach her. With all her strength she pushed through the torrents and found him. "It's them, Will." She struggled to speak. "They're ... they're together and it's so ... it's so ..." He didn't understand. <> "Deanna, you're frightening me. What's happening??" "Oh God ..." She lay back and pulled him to her, her strength fueled by the passion she was sharing. She wrapped herself around him, not caring whether it was right or not, giving in to the overwhelming sensations. <> She shuddered against him as she felt the shared climax in her mind, radiating out to touch her body, feeding her own fire. "Yes ..." she breathed. "My God, Deanna -- what's wrong!" She opened her eyes and smiled at him radiantly, tears swelling. "Deanna! What's happened??" He gripped her shoulders and pushed her back in order to see her face better. <> She stroked his cheek. "It's them." Comprehension dawned on his face. "You mean ...?" She nodded. She felt his arms tighten around her and she melted into his embrace. "I need ..." she breathed, "I need to just stay here for a bit." She looked up at him. "Is that okay?" "Of course, Deanna." The darkness grew deeper and she lay within his arms, her mind clearer than it had been in a long time. Everything had changed. The intimate knowledge of her friends' new relationship was casting a new light on her own life and the decisions she had made for herself. If *they* were willing to take that step .... She lifted her head and looked deeply into his eyes. He looked back at her, the worry and the love so evident. Trailing her fingers across his cheek, she touched her lips against his. She reached out with her mind and found his, open and willing. 'Imzadi.' Her thoughts touched his and when his mind reached out to her, her still heightened senses shivered with the intimacy of the touch. 'Deanna' she heard, 'This is what you want.' It wasn't a question. 'Yes. And so do you.' This time the passion was hers to share and to give and she did so willingly, the joining a tangible symbol of what she and her Imzadi had shared for so long already, finally completing what had begun so many years before. It was wondrous and the trees and water whispered their blessings. --- Beverly stirred in Jean-Luc's arms. "Jean-Luc?" "Yes, love?" "Did you hear something?" "What kind of something?" "I don't know ... it was probably nothing." He kissed her softly and settled back down, holding her. "I love you," he murmured. She smiled as all the love she felt for him washed over her, cleansing her and carrying her back to her dreams ... They had finally done it - -finally allowed themselves to express what they'd ached to for so long and it had been so wonderful, so miraculous ... There it was again ... something tickling at her mind, trembling just at the edges of comprehension. A sense of delight, of acceptance, of love. As if there were some benevolent presence hovering nearby, affirming and in turn, being affirmed. She let the sensation drift away as she snuggled in closer to Jean-Luc and, whispering her love to him, let sleep take her again. --- The End