Lying flat on his back Worf couldn't help but smile appreciatively as he looked up to Troi's face looming over him. Little drops of sweat ran down her features, joining the ones glistering on the soft skin of her chest. His eyes followed a particular drop as it rolled down until it hit the upper-edge of her Mok'Bara outfit and slid along the white material until it reached its lowest point and then disappeared into her cleavage. She was panting fast and loud, the sweet sound of her breathing transporting him back to the times shed lain in his arms, slowly coming down from the heights their mutual passion had engendered, her smell not that different.

The fight they had just shared had had more passion behind it than he was used of her; but the passion was of the wrong kind; based on anger rather than love. Obviously she had not put the past, *their* past, behind her as he had feared. Right now he wasn't sure that was such a good thing. He would never admit it, but the few times he had seen her red-hot-angry made even him feel a little intimidated.

Unsure of how to break the limbo they were trapped in --him her watching him, him watching her-- Worf could only wait, she had after all won. When his nerves could stand no more he softly called out her name.

"What was she like?" The question came completely out of the blue for him and he was at loss for words to respond.

Deanna was in no hurry and patiently waited, holding herself perfectly still. "Jadzia was...pretty." It amazed him how difficult it was for him to describe her. "Tall and fierce and dedicated to her duties as both a joined Trill and a Starfleet officer. She knew the Klingon ways well and enjoyed participating in them."

"I can see why you loved her." He found her eyes brimming with tears and felt the urge to continue.

"She was always joking, no matter how dangerous the situation and she liked pulling pranks."

"Sounds like a perfect match." Deanna remarked, trying to sound cheerful. "Some optimism to counteract your pessimism." His often negative view on situations had been a point Deanna had teased him with ever since they had become friends, but throughout their relationship he had started to look at life in a more positive and less distrusting way.

He almost regretted it when Troi stood up and moved away from him. His eyes followed her lithe form as she walked to pick up a towel and wipe the perspiration off her skin. She turned around and watched him with sad eyes as he too got to his feet. "It is good to know that she made you happy."

His heart hammered faster when he heard the tone of her voice and for a few instances all he knew was that he had to stop her from walking out that door. "Deanna!" With quick steps he stood right behind her frozen form. "Jadzia was a wonderful woman, but...she was not you."

* * *

"Obviously not." Troi snapped before she could stop herself. Without turning she walked away from him and stormed out of the holosuite, not bothering to even pick up her isolinear chip at the bar. Fighting Worf had lessened her anger for a while, but once she had won and looked down on him she couldn't help but remember how strong his body felt against hers; how his strong hands would set her skin on fire.

His rich voice had finally called her back from the land of memories and she had almost allowed herself to fall on top of him and claim him once again as her own. Instead she was now storming through the dark corridors of the space station.

Inside the guest quarters assigned to her she looked around for anything to throw and growled in frustration when there was nothing; the room was as bare as a Zarieon sand mountain. It was just too much. Coming to the station, to Worf, had thrown salt in the open wound in her heart and being near him again had caused stronger emotions than she'd been prepared for.

Fallen under the weight of the emtions she dropped herself onto her knees, no longer able to hold back tears.

* * *

There had been times, quite a lot even, when women behavior had completely confused him. This, was not one of them. He took after her as fast as he could without running, pointedly ignoring the curios glances Kira and Bashir were giving him.

Outside her assigned quarters he hesitated about what to do when she didn't respond to his request for entrance. Gathering his courage he ordered the computer to allow him access; pleased to find that Deanna had not engaged the privacy lock.

He hesitated again when he found her crying silently, sitting huddled on the floor; torn between pulling her into a firm embrace and leaving for the sake of not hurting her more. He had already opted for the latter, begrudgingly admitting that it was the honorable thing to do, when she quietly called to him.

"Please, not again." As if she was carrying the Enterprise on her shoulders Deanna slowly stood up and turned half a circle. "Don't walk out again. Not without an explanation, you owe me that much."

Worf studied the half-Betazoid's tear-stricken face. With any other person he would find such an obvious display of vulnerability annoying, yet it made her all the more desirable to him. He knew she wouldn't allow just anyone to see her like this; it was a right she reserved only for those most dearest to her and he felt honored and even a little humbled by it.

"Deanna, I do not know how..." How could he possibly explain what had happened since he had left her? He had never been a man of many words and preferred to rely on action.

"Why Worf? What was so special about her that you couldn't even talk to me?" Again he found himself at loss of what to say. Jadzia had been everything he could wish for in a mate who was not Klingon --had he not met Deanna and fallen in love with her before. If possible her watery eyes became even larger and she took a small step towards him. "Did you lie to me?" Her voice had always held a special quality to it; soft and clear with a slight accent, yet when needed it could sounds as sharp and as cold as a slice of latinum. Now, however, it carried so much hurt that it quite effectively tore at his hearts. "Didn't you love me after all? Or was I simply not good enough --not though enough."

"NO!" His fist connected with the wall without him even noticing it; all he saw were Deanna's tears burned in his eyes. "Do not -think- that! I love you!"

"Then why did you leave!?!" The sheer loudness of her voice nearly made him jump. "You promised you'd come back! You promised we'd be together. I trusted you!" Although he towered over her by nearly ten inches he felt but two inches tall. "I loved you." She finished in a low voice.