Star Trek: The Next Generation and Geordi LaForge are owned by Paramount. I’m just playing in their sandbox. This was written for the LiveJournal Fanfic 100 challenge. I chose a world I’m reasonably familiar with, and a character I’ve never explored.

WHITE

"Sweets, are you sure you want to do this?" The question comes from my dad, Ben, who, along with my father, Kevin, has crowded into their bathroom. He's holding a colorist wand – it uses sonic pulses to change hair color, or at least, that's how I think it works. I'm not entirely sure. My dog, Perry, barks once from his position curled up on a towel in front of the heat exchange. He's probably just desperate for attention, but at the moment it seems like he's worried about me, too.

"I have to, Dad," I say. "And there are worse things than going blonde for a bit."

"Oh? Name one?" Ben loves to challenge me.

I think a moment. "Gold lame in public."

"Oh, heinous," he agrees. "Alright sweets, let's do it."

My father hands me a pair of eye shades. "Put these on, Kiddo," he says. "Just in case Ben slips."

"Oh, thanks, Papa. Now I'm really comfortable."

"Sorry, Kid."

When Ben is done, my chestnut mane has been replaced by a blonde so far into the reaches of platinum it's nearly white, and my eyebrows have been lightened as well. "Oh, my, God," I say as I stare at my reflection in the mirror. It's familiar and unfamiliar at once.

"You should be good for six weeks," Ben tells me, as he puts the wand away. "Your eyebrows will change first." He's quiet for a moment, and then he asks, "This boy…you really love him, don't you? This isn't just chasing a story?"

I leave my place at the vanity and sit on the top step of the bathtub, patting the marble on either side. My fathers join me, sitting on either side of me. "I do love him," I tell them, and I can feel warmth flooding my system. "I think I always have, but now it's more, and it's real, and…I have to do this, because I can just tell there's something wrong."

"True love," Ben sighs.

"Reporter's instincts," Kevin says at the same moment.

The three of us share a subdued laugh, and then I kiss each of them on the cheek. "Thank you," I say. "Thank you so much. I have a few things I need to organize today, but I'd love it if we could have a family dinner. Can we?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Kevin says.

I stand up, and head off to change clothes, pack, and make a few phone calls, pausing at the door to call, "Perry?" My dog's nails make gentle clicking sounds on the bathroom tile as he follows me out.