Summary: This is another of my collections of alternatives to the ending of an episode. More to come soon! The rating will be K for now...

Disclaimer: I don't own them. I'm just playing.

"No, I don't. The implants have been removed, remember?" Beverly said, smiling at Jean-Luc. He stood and moved to sit next to her then froze.

"Bravo!" Q clapped and laughed as he stood against the doorway of Picard's bedroom. "Bravo Red!" Beverly's head snapped in Q's direction.

"What the hell?" Beverly exclaimed still holding Jean-Luc's hand as he sat frozen, staring at her. "Q! What do you want?" she almost yelled as she looked back at Jean-Luc and pulled her hand from his.

"Oh Red, I'm nearly hurt." Q placed his hand over where his heart would be if he were human.

"What do you want?" She said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, just to applaud you." He smiled.

"What?"

"To applaud you. I haven't given you enough credit. Well, no credit really, until now." He said beaming at her.

"Credit for what?"

"Please, don't tell me you don't know." He rolled his eyes.

"No, I don't." She said with a hint of defensiveness.

"He may fall for that –" Q said and gestured to the still motionless Picard. "But I know better." He said then casually walked over and sat in the chair Picard had recently vacated. "You have a power over our Jean-Luc I could never have. It really is amazing, if not pathetic," he added, "…the power you women have over men in most humanoid species. Had I known you had this kind of power over Jean-Luc, I would have paid more attention to you and used your talents long ago."

"Q, I don't know what…" She began to protest but was interrupted.

"You know very well and some part of you enjoys what you do to him. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been quite so irritated I showed up tonight."

"Q, we're always irritated when you show up!" She spat.

Q sighed heavily, "Fine! Let's see you in action from Jean-Luc's perspective…" He snapped his fingers and he and Beverly were standing behind the chair Jean-Luc was sitting in again.

"You know," she said with a playful grin, "…last night I couldn't sleep."

"Oh?"

"I was awake for several hours…" she sat forward, "…and, thanks to the implants, I got to hear some very interesting dreams of yours."

He smiled then said, "A man can't be held responsible for what his mind does while he's asleep."

"What about when he's awake?"

His expression turned to conservative hopefulness. He put his glass on the table then slid forward on his chair toward her and held out his hand. She took it. "So now that we've had this unique experience, what do we do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"No, I don't. The implants have been removed, remember?" she said, smiling at him then froze. She stared at herself sitting on the sofa smiling at Jean-Luc as he held her hand. Q crossed his arms over his chest.

"Do you see that duplicitous expression on your face? 'I got to hear some very interesting dreams of yours…what about when he's awake?'" Q said in mock disgust. "You knew exactly what he was getting at."

"It was just harmless flirting." She said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice as she stared at herself sitting on the sofa.

"Harmless flirting? Ha! You knew exactly what he was getting at. You teased him mercilessly! I really am impressed and that's saying a lot for you."

"We've known each other for years…" she trailed off as her gaze drifted to Jean-Luc. Q snapped his fingers again and looked at the scene in front of them.

Her carefully constructed smile fell as he stood and moved to sit next to her.

"Now that we know how each of us feels, perhaps we should not be afraid to explore those feelings." She gave him a small smile then reached up to cup the side of his face and kissed his cheek. He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow as she rested her forehead against his for a second before her hand dropped from his face and she pulled away from him.

"Or perhaps we should be afraid." Fear was evident in her eyes and became suspended as Q snapped his fingers.

"Curious. At one time, you would have seized this opportunity but now, you pushed him away."

"I didn't see that coming." She said quietly to herself.

"No?" Q interrupted. "What did you expect? He's a human male who clearly finds you attractive, though I can't fathom why…"

"I guess I expected him to flirt back then we would call it a night." She said in a low voice as if the imapct of her actions and words were sinking in. Q sighed loudly in exasperation.

"You're just as dense as he is. I give up. You two continue to drone on in your mundane lives being artificially content with your relationship the way it is. I'm writing you off again, Red." He snapped his fingers a final time and Beverly found herself back on the sofa with Jean-Luc sitting next to her holding her hand.

"Now that we know how each of us feels, perhaps we should not be afraid to explore those feelings." She felt frozen inside. She needed more time to think but there was none. She gave him a small smile then reached up to cup the side of his face and looked at his handsome features a moment.

"Or perhaps we should be afraid." She looked into his eyes then her gaze fell to his lips as she leaned in and kissed him tentatively. She pulled back to look at a clearly confused Jean-Luc and smiled. She leaned in to kiss him again but stopped and said, "I think I should be going before I conquer my fears, right here on this sofa..." She brushed her thumb across his lips then rose and set her wine glass on the dining table. He rose and walked to the door. She followed and stopped in front of him. "Good night." She smiled.

"Good night." He returned her smile before she left his quarters.