Cont'd from Like a Moth to a Flame III

4.

Wearily Deanna stared at the cup of tea she'd ordered, trying to decide whether or not it was wise to drink the Klingon tea. The dark liquid had a considerable negative effect on Klingon health and could be lethal to humans, but when drank by a half-Human, half-Betazoid it had some unusual effects. When she and Worf had performed the Klingon tea ceremony it had left her incredibly energized for about twelve hours, in he two days that had followed she'd been on an emotional rollercoaster; one that she fortunately had been able to suppress during duty, and constantly nauseous. In spite of Beverly's instance she had refused to take medication and thereby proved to Worf that she could withstand the tea even better than himself.

She didn't look up when someone sat down across the table, the emotions she sensed giving her enough clues. She really wasn't in the mood to be cordial and choose to ignore her companion until he spoke. Her mood only grew fouler when she sensed how he hammed and hawed and she wished he would say something so she could tell him off. "Commander, I, uh, I wanted toapologize for earlier. Perhaps I can--"

"Miss Troi." The Ferengi owner interrupted. "You may access your suite now."

"Thank you," she acknowledged happily; grateful for the escape he provided. Without sparing Julian Bashir as much as a glance she stood up and left the table, hastily making her way to the third of the holosuites. The program was already running when she stepped inside and without even looking she picked up the stick waiting for her at the right side of the arena. Her opponent was already circling the area while carefully watching her as she got ready for the fight.

No words were spoken as she indicated the beginning of the fight, cautiously watching the agile moves of her Klingon opponent.

* * *

Coming to a halt Worf stared at the mess he'd made. Everything that could've been broken, had been broken and lay in pieces on the floor of his quarters, yet he felt no better than before. Suddenly a long forgotten memory popped up in his mind.

The day had been a particularly bad one, between an insubordinate security officer, an dignitary who refused to get is name right and missing lunch with Deanna, he was near the end of his patience by the time he entered his quarters. He was looking forward to spending some time with Alexander and teaching him the ways of a warrior. When he got there however, he found a note of Alexander informing him that he had gone to spend the afternoon on the Holodeck with Darlene Suns.

He roared with displeasure and smashed his fist into the nearest wall, roaring louder when the pleasuring sounds of breaking furniture couldn't be heard. With a swipe of his arm, he had thrown the objects off the table onto the floor and then pounded both fists on the tables surface, almost smiling as he watched the surface shatter into pieces.

Only then did he become aware of a presence behind him and when he turned he found Deanna leaning against the far wall, her arms crossed in front of her and a small, tolerant smile upon her lips. "Four for he big, bad Klingon, zero for the tables?" Had she been anyone else, she wouldn't be standing on her feet anymore. However, coming from her, the words eased his ire, rather than inflame it.

"Five for the Klingon." He corrected her, watching intently as she made her way to him. He wondered what she had in mind this time, Troi was less predictable than a Klingon Targ.

"I gave Alexander permission to spend the rest of the day with Darlene, he will be home at 2100 hours. That..." She nuzzled his neck, leaving him no doubt as to what she had in mind, "means we have the," Worf bit back a growl as she raked her teeth along his skin "*five* *whole* hours."

And five glorious hours they had been.

His reminiscing however, had given him nothing but more frustration. What he needed, was a good work-out in one of the holosuites. He was positive he could...persuade Quark to make one of tem available.

* * *

Troi had been silent the entire time during the fight, fighting hard not only to win, but to keep herself from screaming. Anticipating the next move of her adversary, she bent her knees and swept her weapon around so it hit him in the back of knees. The tall Klingon howled in frustration and fell to his knees; with another hit in the chest she forced him to fall onto his back. The holo-graphic character now defeated, Deanna slumped to the ground, wiping her hand across her forehead to sweep the drops of sweat away.

When she finally regained control over her breathing she forced herself to stand up. "You have been practicing," a deep voice told her from behind. Startled, Troi swirled around to come face to face with Worf.