Riker blew out a breath and looked at the chronometer on one of the bio-beds at Starfleet Medical. It had been a rather slow day, a sprained ankle and a broken wrist. The only exception was a baby who’d been born breech not three hours before. Despite being born the way he was, the little boy was completely healthy.

As rewarding and challenging sometimes as it was to be a doctor, it could sometimes be a bit dull. Will wanted more of a challenge. But he hadn’t decided what he wanted to specialize in yet. The job still had its rewards, hands down over scrubbing down a plasma conduit.

Sighing, he rubbed at his eyes. He wondered how doctor’s centuries ago endured such hellish hours. Suddenly, a beautiful woman with dark hair and eyes as black as night walked in holding her arm. Will froze and stop analyzing a protein enzyme he was holding in a glass vile in his hand and stared.

His heart skipped a beat as she started walking towards him. Mentally checking himself, he cleared his throat. Get ahold of yourself Riker. You are a professional. Don’t let matters of the heart get in the way of your job.

“What can I do for you?”

The woman sat down on the bio bed and grimaced holding up her arm.

“I think I may have broken my arm.”

Riker quickly flicked his eyes to a nurse standing a few feet from him, and pointed at her.

“Can you get Miss…? What did you say your name was? I don’t think I go it?”

The woman was staring at his blue orbs with her dark ones. There was something about him she couldn’t shake. Shaking her head to clear it, her face turned slightly red.

“Deanna. Deanna Troi.”

She waited for Will to say something, he got lost in her dark eyes. He was brought out of his thoughts when the nurse next to him got his attention.

“How much Teroquine would you like me to get her doctor?”

Riker was yet again brought out of his thoughts. Either I’m distracted by this beautiful woman in front of me, or I need to get some sleep. Maybe a bit of both.

“Doctor Riker?”

Nodding his head he gave the nurse a smile and got down to business.

“Give Deanna here 10cc’s of Teroquine please and get me the bone knitter.”

The nurse came back with the Teroquine and the bone knitter Will had asked for. Deanna pulled in a breath and let it out slowly. She wasn’t feeling anymore pain, but only because of the Teroquine. Riker ran the device over Troi’s arm and waited for the red light on it to turn green. The pass the few minutes it took to fix the broken bone, he struck up a conversation with his patient.

“You’re lucky this was a clean break. How’d you break your arm anyways?”

Deanna shook her head and looked at her arm.

“I was hanging a plant for a friend and I fell off the chair. Sounds pretty stupid doesn’t it?”

Will shook his head no and finished fixing Deanna’s arm.

“No, these things happen. I once broke my thumb, I was trying to close my dresser drawer, and the opening mechanism malfunctioned and crushed it. Luckily, I was able to repair my thumb. There, all done. I suggest not leaning on it for the next few days. No unintended stress. Got it?”

Deanna smiled and stood up, flexing her arm. It didn’t hurt at all.

“Thank-you for fixing my arm. If I ever need something fixed or an upset stomach, I know exactly where to find you.”

Riker smiled at Deanna’s last sentence, but it was soon gone as another nurse came up to him.

“Doctor! Gabriel’s crashing! I don’t know what’s going on with him. He was fine 10 minutes ago.”

Deanna nodded her head seriously and stepped out of the way as Will began to walk away.

“I think I’ll go now. You have your hands full. Maybe I’ll see you around?”

Before he could ask Deanna for a coffee ‘date’, the nurse again got his attention. That little boy was going to live. He had his whole life ahead of him. Two and a half hours of life, and he was already in trouble. Riker burned Deanna’s image into his brain. He’d find her, he just didn’t know when.

To Be Continued…