Just behind the door
Here am I hiding
Just behind the door
I'm desperately fighting
Just behind the door
I'm facing the decision of my life
Just behind the door
Do I want to become your wife?

Behind the door

With angry gestures, Deanna Troi wiped her tears away and tried not to be aware of the thoughts and emotions emanating from the man behind the door. Why did she have to react so dramatically? She had seen this coming for weeks after all, in fact, she'd been hoping for weeks that he would finally ask. Since their return from the Briar Patch their relationship had done nothing but grow; fights and separations included. They had come to know each other even better than they already had and their love had grown even deeper. It had been as perfect as it could've gotten.

Then why did she suddenly feel as if she were trapped? Why, when she wanted to scream yes so hard that her mother would hear it, had she ran away, back to the seclusion of her quarters? She wasn't scared, was she?

True he had asked her the same question before. Twice, if one counted Thomas. And Thomas too had left never to return again. For a long time she'd been mad at Will, because he saw it coming. True that his warning had saved her from a heartbreak much stronger than she ended up with, but why had he seen it coming? Was it so unbelievable to him that they would marry?

Ridiculous thoughts she knew, and yet she couldn't quiet them. There had been so many instances in her life when she had wanted nothing but his arms around her, but there also had been many instances when either one of them had pushed the other away for the sake of friendship and as she remembered those, the questions she had asked herself in the first weeks of their rekindled romance popped back into existence.

"This is no use!"

She loved him, she never wanted to be without him again and yes, she wanted to complete the Imzadi-bond between then. So, why had she run? And why was she hiding in her quarters now, when her life stood just behind the door? It would take a simple command to allow him entrance and he would undoubtedly apologize and give her the time she needed, but she couldn't do that. Not yet.

And when the waiting is over, new rules have to be made, for one is captured in destiny, but at the same time set free. Deanna sighed heavily and sunk deeper into the soft cushions of the couch, nearly desperate to quiet her thoughts.

She was all too aware of her Imzadi waiting behind the door, his initial shock now replaced by trepidation and fear. He was waiting for her answer, just as she had been waiting for him to ask the question.

Waiting...could it be, that she had been waiting so long; first for him to be ready for commitment and then for him to propose, that she didn't know what to do when her waiting was over? Was she so shocked by the ending to her waiting that she couldn't feel the joy? Before she realized what she was doing, she'd grabbed a vase from the table at her side and flung it against the wall; the fragile item shattering into a thousands pieces did little to elevate her frustration, but felt good nonetheless.

"I'm not making any sense!" She yelled into the darkness, angered by the thoughts floating through her mind and angered by her own cowardice.

Maybe she should ask him for more time? To allow both of them more time to get used to the idea? A ridiculous idea in itself; they'd been together for three years now; there was nothing to get used to anymore. They'd lived through all the good times and the bad times alike and survived them, together and their love had only grown.

Who was she kidding here? There was only one answer. And when one surrenders to faith and destiny, there will be as reward, a freedom greater than anything; the freedom of true and devoted love lasting for eternity. The only option was to give in, to trust him to keep her safe forever in his heart and deep in her heart Troi knew that Will Riker would do just that.

Standing in front of the door now, she touched the panel to release the mechanism and allow the last wall between them to fall away.

"I do" she said simply and flung herself in his arms, nearly overwhelmed by the joy and love that poured from his very soul into hers.