Part 9 (1/2)

They sat on the couches, Helena bustling in moments later with the food and drink. There was a dark bottle on the tray and she said proudly, ”Cognac, to celebrate.” She glanced at Alexander and said to Worf, ”Is he old enough, do you think ... ?”

”He has Klingon biology,” Worf said. ”He could very likely outdrink most adult human males. Still, I was wondering ... would you have any prune juice around?”

Sergey and Helena smiled at each other. ”Of course, prune juice,” Sergey said. ”I remember.”

”Prune juice is a true warrior's drink. Ideal to consume when you go to fight.”

”No, we don't have any, Worf. Next time, you give us some notice, I'll make sure we have it,” Helena apologized. ”So what are you doing back here? We were worried, your father and I.”

”We heard there was some sort of trouble with the Enterprise. ”

”That is something of an understatement. In point of fact, the secondary hull was destroyed from a warp-core breach, and we crashed the saucer section on a planet's surface.”

”Deanna was at helm,” Alexander put in.

Sergey looked at Deanna appraisingly. ”Nice landing,” he said.

Deanna put her face in her hands.

In broad strokes, Worf proceeded to lay out for his parents everything that had happened. Since Sergey was formerly a Starfleet man himself, specializing in warp fields-and Helena, by a.s.sociation, had learned rather a great deal about such matters-they were able to fully understand and appreciate everything that the crew of the Enterprise had gone through. ”There is a court of inquiry being held in San Francisco, at Starfleet Headquarters, later this week, investigating the conduct of both Captain Picard and Commander Riker.”

”I think it's most unfair,” Deanna put in. ”The captain wasn't even there, and there was nothing that Will Riker could have done ...”

Sergey shook his head and waved dismissively. ”Do not concern yourself with it, young lady,” he advised. ”It is standard procedure for Starfleet when a s.h.i.+p is destroyed.”

”I know.”

”I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.”

”Yes, the captain has said much the same thing. Deanna and I have already been debriefed by Starfleet, so our presence is no longer required.”

”We offered to stay around for moral support, but both the commander and captain insisted that it wouldn't be necessary,” Deanna said. Helena wasn't sure, but it seemed to her as if Deanna was less than comfortable over that decision. Worf, for his part, simply nodded, apparently unperturbed.

”So you're going to be staving with us for a while, then?” asked Helena. She had poured cognac into gla.s.ses for each of the guests and gently set them in front of each of them, including half a gla.s.s for Alexander.

”Just for the night,” Deanna said. ”We're scheduled on a transport to Betazed tomorrow, to visit my mother.”

”That's nice,” Sergey said. ”Taking the time to go visit the families. Nowadays, people are so spread out, it's so easy to lose touch with one another-”

But Helena was regarding the two of them with new suspicion, her eyes narrowing. ”Worf, Deanna ... it sounds to me like you're taking each other home to meet your respective parents. Like you're a couple.”

”What?” Sergey looked at his wife, then back at Deanna and Worf and laughed. ”Helena, where do you get these notions? They're friends, s.h.i.+pmates. Worf would have told us ages ago if he'd...”

He looked back to his adopted son and saw the stony expression on Worf s face, and the genuine amus.e.m.e.nt in Deanna's. As if to settle the matter, Deanna reached over, took Worf s hand, and interlaced her fingers with his.

”I am ... an idiot,” said Sergey.

”No, Father, you are right... I should have told you earlier....”

”You shouldn't have had to. I would have realized if I'd had the brains of a turtle, or even your mother.”

”I choose to take that as a compliment,” Helena said archly. She spoke with a teasing tone, but she was watching Deanna keenly, as if sizing her up.

Deanna was all too aware of the scrutiny, but told herself that it was a natural att.i.tude for Helena to have. After all, their relations.h.i.+p had been dropped squarely into the laps of Worf s parents, and it was natural that they would be concerned about it.

”So how did all this come about, Worf?” asked Sergey.

”Well,” Worf said, taking a deep breath, ”I was on my way back from a bat'leth compet.i.tion on Forcas Three, aboard the shuttlecraft Curie. During my return, I pa.s.sed near a quantum fissure in s.p.a.ce, causing a breakdown in the barrier between quantum realities. As a result, I was thrown into a state of flux, pa.s.sing from one reality to another. In one of those realities, I was married to Deanna. My state of quantum flux resulted in at least two hundred and eighty-five thousand alternate realities merging. Fortunately enough, I was able to use the Curie to create a broad-spectrum warp field to seal the quantum fissure and return me to my original reality. As a result of that sequence of events, I began to consider the not unpleasant prospect of Deanna as a mate.”

There was a long moment of silence as Sergey and Helena digested that nugget of information.

”Amazing,” said Sergey slowly. ”Because the exact same thing happened to me and that's how I started dating your mother.”

”Sergey ...”

”What are the odds, I ask you?”

”Sergey!”

”Well, what do you expect me to say?!” Sergey demanded. ”Why can't I ever get a nice, normal answer out of him! Other men, they notice the woman's eyes, or they're set up on a blind date, or they meet in some cute way. No, not our son!

He has to be in a state of quantum flux! Deanna”-he turned to her pleadingly-”you tell me ... how did all this come about?”

”I'd say the catalyst was very likely Alexander,” said Deanna affectionately, pausing a moment to pat Alexander's smooth hair. ”I helped ease the difficulties of Alexander settling into s.h.i.+pboard life, and Worf and I just formed a sort of bond that drew us closer together.”

”Now, that's an answer!” Sergey said in relief. ”No quantum fluxes, no two hundred thousand realities...”

”That is two hundred and eighty-five thousand,” Worf reminded him.

”I stand corrected.”

”Actually, Deanna is being somewhat tactful,” Worf admitted. ”I was, in fact, not an especially good father. I have never excelled in...” He almost choked on the word and forced it out as if it were a stuck chicken bone. ”. .. feelings. But it quickly became apparent that, in order to be a proper father, one should have some reasonable touch for one's feelings.”

”No one ever told my father that,” muttered Sergey.

His wife gave him an extremely scolding look. ”Sergey! You should know better! Speaking ill of the dead...”

”Dead is dead. What am I going to do? Hurt his feelings?”

”The point is, as Deanna worked to bring Alexander and myself closer together as father and son, I discovered her continued presence was not displeasing.”

”High praise indeed,” deadpanned Helena.

”One thing led to another and now ...” Again, he hesitated.

This time, it was Alexander who stepped in. ”They're engaged,” he said.

There was stunned silence for a moment. Then a smile split wide Helena's face. ”Wonderful!” she cried out. She rose quickly from the couch, took Deanna's face in her hands, and kissed either cheek. ”I'm so happy for you! Sergey, aren't you happy for them?”

Sergey clearly hadn't quite managed to digest the information. ”Engaged? To be married?”