DISCLAIMER: I do not own Star Trek: The Next Generation, or any other Star Treks. I only own the plot, which is from my very own imagination.

Chapter 1

Beverly

The sound of the alarm rung in Beverly's ears as she ran. Only one thought pounded in her head. She had to get to Jean Luc. The forest she was running through was suddenly transformed into a long white corridor. She kept running. She had to get to Jean Luc. She turned down another long corridor, but when she turned the corner she abruptly stopped. There down the hall was an alien standing there, not moving. Her thoughts were getting more and more frantic. She had to get to Jean Luc. He was in trouble. She had to find him.

The ringing continued becoming louder and louder. She didn't think that she would be able to hear anything, but when the alien took a step towards her and opens his mouth, she hears his voice loud and clear. "Beverly," he said in heavily accented English, "You must help us. Please." His eyes pleaded with her. Then the alarm sounds began getting louder and louder again until she thought that she couldn't bear it anymore. Then the world began turning black on the edges until it was completely gone. Beverly awoke to the sound of her alarm.

The alarm turned off automatically, but Beverly had trouble shaking herself from her dream. It wasn't the first one like this. Ever since she had come back she had been plagued with these dreams.

She brought herself out of her bed, walking towards the sink to wash her face. She splashed cold water on her face and tried not to think about what had happened. She paused and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

As she stared at her reflection, she thought about the lies she would have to tell that day, the friends closest to her that she would have to deceive, and the truth that she had to keep hidden at all costs. Sighing, she clipped her hair back and mentally prepared herself for the day ahead of her.

Jean Luc

Jean Luc woke that morning feeling like he had been asleep for weeks. His thoughts felt sluggish, and his movements were slow and jerky. He made his way up to the bridge.

As soon as he entered the room, he felt like he was someone sneaking in a back door. Everyone turned around and looked at him.

Counselor Troi was the first to greet him. "Captain?! How are you doing?" She asked the question as though she were speaking someone that she wasn't sure was trustworthy.

"Fine?"

Riker walked up from beside him just as it looked like Counselor Troi was about to speak again.

"Does he know?" He asked, directing the question at Counselor Troi and practically ignoring him.

She looked at him sharply. "No," she said slightly forcefully, "He doesn't."

Riker looked back at him. "Sorry sir. I think Beverly wanted to have a word with you to bring you up to date on a few things."

Counselor Troi looked like she might slap Riker but instead she turned back to Jean Luc. "Beverly just has to bring you up to date on a few things. We will take care of things here while you go to talk to her."

Jean Luc was extremely confused and worried. If something had happened to one of his friends or family, he knew that Beverly would be the one to tell him. Hoping that this wasn't the case, he nodded at Riker and went to find Beverly.

He found Beverly exactly where he had expected, the medical wing. When he walked in she had her back to him, and she could see that she was working on something, but she put it quickly away when he walked in.

When Beverly turned around, she looked startled to see that it was him. "Jean Luc! When did you get up?"

"Just awhile ago." Jean Luc went right to the question that was on his mind. "Beverly, did someone die?"

She was startled by his outright question but answered anyway. "No, Jean Luc, no one is dead."

Relief washed over him before more confusion settled in. "Then what do you need to tell me?"

She answered hesitantly. "What is the last thing you remember?"

He thought about it. "Star Fleet called in and asked us to send an exploration crew down to a planet we were passing by. They asked specifically for you and me to be on the team."

Beverly nodded as if this didn't surprise her, but she had hoped for a different answer. "Jean Luc, Star Fleet called you with that message close to two weeks ago."

He shook his head. No. That couldn't be right. They had just called yesterday. Yet, he knew if he could trust anyone about this, it would be Beverly. He looked back at her for more explanation.

"As you said, Star Fleet called about an expedition. The final team included you, me, and two others. When they tried to beam us all down, we went, but for some reason the other two weren't able to beam down with us.

"They tried reaching us on our comms, but they didn't work either. After that, they tried beaming us back up. It didn't work." Beverly stopped and took a deep breath. She looked at him to see if he believed her story. He nodded for her to go on. Although it was a far fetched story, he felt it was true.

"Will decided that they should wait for a few days before sending a rescue team down on a ship. The final decision was that they would keep trying to beam us back up, and if in a week we still weren't back, they would go to the planet whether or not Star Fleet approved.

"Almost a week passed, and they still weren't able to beam us back up. The last try was done to be that morning. Fortunately for all of us, the last try successful, and we were both beamed on board. We were unconscious, but alive." Beverly stopped to let this sink in.

Jean Luc thought about the stiffness of his limbs and the way that everyone had treated him as though he were a ghost. It all made all made sense, but he still didn't understand one thing. "What happened on the planet?"

Beverly looked at him. "We have no idea."

Her words were right, but there was something in her eyes. She was holding something back. "What do we know?"

"What I just told you." Beverly wasn't even meeting his eyes now. She was obviously holding something back, and that scared him. "What is it Beverly?!"

"Neither you or I retain any memory about what happened..."

Jean Luc waited, hardly controlling the urge to scream. What was she going to say?!

Beverly finally met his eyes. "Though you were virtually unharmed, I was... My arms..." She trailed off. Instead of finishing her explanation, she pulled up her shirt sleeve, wincing. "Jean Luc, look."

He could hardly comprehend as he looked at the mess of skin that used to be Beverly's arm. There were cuts and bruises that were just beginning to heal and in a few spots, whole layers of skin were gone. The thought popped into his head before he could stop it. Torture.

Beverly tenderly brought her shirt sleeve back down. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him and forced a smile. "I think that is lots to take in right now."

He had more questions, but he realized that she needed her space. Jean Luc nodded and got up. He felt wrong leaving Beverly alone, but he knew that was what she wanted.

He reluctantly made his way to the door. He looked over his shoulder before leaving the room. "Thank you Beverly."

"You're welcome Jean Luc. If you have any more questions, you can find me later and I will do my best to answer them."

He nodded and left the room. When he looked back one last time before the doors shut, he could see Beverly sitting in her chair with tears growing in her eyes.