OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

William Riker was so bored it wasn't funny, he had been throwing a stress ball at the wall for the past 2 hours and it wasn't half as interesting as it was before. He had however mastered the skill of hitting the release button to open the door, but had been promptly told off for doing so by Ogawa after about the 10th time. It had been 3 weeks since he had first be diagnosed with the disease and though he wasn't life threatening anymore, the disease was slowly shutting down the nerves in his body, three days ago he has lost all feeling in his legs and now the numbness was creeping up his back. He wasn't the only one confined to sickbay though, Beverly had been confined as well but she had work to do. She'd been in a wheelchair for the past 2 weeks and was not at all pleased about it, but she'd thrown herself in to her work with vigour, hoping to find a cure or at least make a dent on his illness. So far she had found a vaccination for it but the only problem was it was for Betazoids and Vulcans and her worries were that it would affect him differently.

Hitting the release button he startled Nurse Ogawa who was just about to open the door, causing her to drop the PADDs in her hands and scatter them all over the floor.

"Commander Riker" she exclaimed "I've told you not too do that" she bent down to grab all the PADDs and placed them on the table near the door. "George will be in here soon to take you to Dr Selar for a check-up" she got out the collapsible wheel-chair from the now fastened Medical cabinet.

George, a new intern arrived a few minutes later. Riker had gotten used to having the younger man around him, George had been assigned to look after him and care for him and he enjoyed his company. It did help that he was a very good poker player.

After a few minutes of shuffling and lifting, Riker was soon sitting comfortably in his wheelchair and ready to head to the main part of sickbay. As he travelled down the small corridor to the main sickbay he smiled at all the nurses and interns that were wondering down the corridors doing bits and pieces keeping sickbay up and running.

Appearing out in the main part of sickbay he was immediately meet by small arms wrapping around legs and a small body pressing into his shins.

"Hello Noah" said Will reaching down and picking up the small boy in his arms and resting him on his lap.

Noah Ogawa smiled up showing the gap between his two front teeth, before gently hugging his chest. His mother rolled her eyes, leaving the small child on his chest as she wheeled the chair over to a treatment area. As Michelle snuggled into his chest Will looked around the main part of sickbay, a couple of Ensigns stood around a bio-bed, and through the clear glass of her office he could see Beverly leaning over her console.

Wheeling up to the edge of a bio-bed, Alyssa picked up her son while Will let one of the Nurses called George to pick him up and place him on the bed. Letting his paralysed legs hang off the bed, Will waited patiently as Alyssa ran a tricorder over him, his eyes wondering to the red-headed doctor in her office.

Alyssa followed his eyes and gave him a half-smile. 'She's due for her next operation tomorrow, this should be her last on"

"How are her legs?"

"She can lift them and stretch but other than that we hope this last operation will give her the feeling back in her legs" Alyssa shrugged "If she felt like actually trying we might get further"

Will looked back at the small nurse before him. "I take it that she's cranky"

"She's beyond cranky, she's bitchy" came a new voice behind them.

Will turned his head slightly smiling at the half betazoid counsellor that had just entered Sickbay, walking up to the bio-bed. Noah who had previously been playing on the floor by their feet had jumped up and hugged the counsellor before begging to be picked up.

Deanna picked up the small boy in her arms and hugged him close "Beverly just seems to be giving up, she doesn't try in our sessions and Dr Selar has told me that she barely participates in her treatments, the Captain's even mentioned to me that she doesn't talk to him either"

Will looked at the doctor again, before back at the group. Alyssa entered some information on a PADD before looking up into the counsellor's eyes. "I'll give this latest data to Dr Crusher; you're not getting any worse since last time, so Dr Selar wants you to begin some rehabilitation sessions to try and regain some strength in the muscles you have left" she smiled at them before taking her son from Troi "Dr Crusher should be here soon to talk to you"

Will watched as she exited before turning back to his Imzadi who was standing next to him, smiling he held his arms open and smiled as she hugged him. Resting her head on his shoulder Deanna squeezed him hard around the midsection and buried her cheek in his shoulder. A few tears slipped from her cheek and onto the blue sickbay pyjamas he wore.

"Hey, I'm not getting any worse, you're still stuck with me" said Will gently kissing her forehead

"What if you don't get better?" asked Deanna "what if Beverly doesn't get better?" she pulled back from him.

"Beverly's strong, I'm strong" said Will running his hand through her hair, "we're not going anywhere"

Deanna nodded slightly, her eyes still downcast. Sighing heavily she reconstructed herself, and held her head high. Hugging Will close, she smiled up at him. "You will get better"

Laying her head back on his shoulder, Will kissed her forehead and whispered "We will get better" his eyes caught the blue of his Chief Medical Officer and she nodded at him. "We will get better"

Watching the scene in front of her, Beverly felt her heart wrench as she watched Deanna look so uncertain and scared about losing her friends. Wheeling closer to the door of her office, she grabbed the PADD that rested on the couch and slowly scrolled through the information. She had two hours until her surgery and she'd just come across a breakthrough in her research. So far, a cure for Vulcans and Betazoids had been made but while humans shared similar markers it still wasn't close enough. Turning back to the PADDS on her desk she grabbed the closet to her and quickly ran through the information.

"Alyssa" she called "Get me Counsellor Troi's family tree and vaccinations records, I want to try something"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sickbay was silent as Will was wheeled out of his physical therapy session, peering into his favourite doctor's office smiling at the sight of the red head fast asleep, resting her upper body on the desk and PADDS scattered practically everywhere. Peaking up the wall console he caught sight of Deanna Troi's family history scrolling continuously down the screen, little notes in Beverly's handwriting added to bits. The second wall console held an equation of sorts separated into three parts, Beverly's notes strewn throughout the continuous scrawling numbers and letters. As he watched two of the equations continuously removed numbers and then joined together creating a formula of some sort.

Sitting on her side desk were hyposprays some empty, some full and some with their contents spewed all over the array of dishes and slabs. The electronic microscope that was in her office was still on, a slide sitting underneath it, the contents a strange blue colour.

Will slowly wheeled up next to her desk as Alyssa who had entered behind him went to turn off the microscope and clear up the hyposprays. As Will approached the sleeping doctor he heard a gasp behind him and Alyssa running out calling out to Dr Selar. As soon as Alyssa had returned with the Vulcan doctor behind her she began pointing at the screen and the hyposprays on the table. Dr Selar showed what had to be a smile before grabbing one of the sprays and heading towards the Science labs at the other end of sickbay.

"What's happening?" asked Will

"It seems that Doctor Crusher has found a sort of cure" said Alyssa her excitement showing in her eyes, "she used the bio chemical data from the previous vaccinations and then with the help of some of Deanna's DNA has changed it to suit a hybrid" she turned to him "hopefully we can synthesis it more to suit your bio chemistry and then we've found the cure"

Will looked at her as she bounced up and down "We've found a cure?"

"Yep, you should be back on duty soon Sir" she quickly left the room leaving a dumbstruck commander in her wake.

Will turned back to the sleeping doctor and smiled. She'd found the cure, hopefully it would work and then he'd be back, he had so much to thank her for. Frowning at the wheelchair she sat in, he hoped that he could do the same for her. Wheeling over to her, he saw the stasis units that her legs were in and how the bottom of her spin was held rigidly to the chair.

Running his figures through her short copper curls he gently nudged her cheek, knowing that she was a light sleeper. He waited only a couple of seconds before nudging her again this time a little harder and smirked as her tired blue eyes opened.

"Hey Blue eyes" he said resting his head on his hands that were crossed on the table. Now down to eye level with her, he grinned. "Have a nice nap?"

"It wasn't long enough" groaned Beverly her eyes closing again.

"Well you'd better get ready for a longer nap, remember your surgeries today" said Will, as soon as he'd mentioned it; he saw the sparkle in her eye disappear and she lowered her eyes. "Hey" he said gently nudging her shoulder, "I promised Deanna that we'd get better, and we will get better" he looked into her eyes, "we have to get better"

Beverly slowly nodded as Alyssa came to retrieve Will from the office. Resting her head back on the table she sighed and looked at the time.

"One hour to go"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO