How it's supposed to be.

After he kissed her he just held her close to him. They stayed like that for a long time. Then the shock of having her back here on the Enterprise with him caught up to him and he stepped away and went over to the couch and pulled her down next to him. He held her in his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Jean-Luc Thank you for coming out there to get me, and thank you for helping them" She told him after a few minutes of silence. She looked up into his eyes and smiled.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes he looked at his love and said "Nothing would have stopped me from coming to get you; and nothing ever will. I don't think that I can live without you and to be honest I don't think I want to try." He looked down at her again and say that she appeared to have fallen asleep, so he gently slipped out from her head and laid her down on the couch and got a blanket stored under the couch and gently covered her before he left his ready room.

As soon as the door closed beside him he said to Worf who was on the bridge "What rooms is our new CMO assigned?"

"She hasn't been assigned rooms yet Captain. We wanted to know if she wanted rooms in the same location as last time or if she wanted something different." Worf replied. Looking up from the screen he was staring at. "Why do you ask sir?"

"She appears to have fallen asleep and I wanted to know where to take her so she can get some sleep before jumping back into helping this ship and choosing a new medical staff. But no matter she can sleep in my quarters for the time being." Picard replied and turned around and returned to his ready room.

She was still sleeping when he returned and looking at her for a moment and smiling he went to her side and gently scooped her into his arms and started beck for the door. It was a good thing that there was a Turbolift outside the door to his ready room and that it was operational. He carried her inside the lift without a glance at the Bridge.

"Captain's Quarters" He told the computer quietly. As the lift went down Beverly stirred and Jean-Luc looked down at her but she kept her eyes closed and nuzzled her head in his chest and he smiled at her. She looked so peaceful in sleep, yet she held the look of one who had been through so much hell. She still had some bruises on her face and neck from fighting Sela and a Centurion on Krevatas though they were yellow in color, which meant that they were healing. Her skin was still paler then normal with dark bags under her eyes and she was thinner, he was sure of it. Yet still as she slumbered in his arms there was a slight smile on her face. In truth that smile held more of a temptation then the Faery Lights of French Legend. However the lift chose to stop at that moment. Getting out into the corridor he set of across the way and down the hall until he came to his rooms. As he came to the door it whooshed open and her carried her to his bedroom and laid her down on the bed. Tucking a light blanket around her he left the bedroom but stayed in his rooms. He sat down at his desk and looked at the reports of various repairs to various parts of his ship that had been made while his was away on his mission. He was about half-way through a report stating that Transporter rooms One and Two where fully operational again when someone paged him.

"La Forge to Captain Picard"

"Picard here. What do you need Mister La Forge?"

"Just wanted to let you know that all of the shield emitters are installed and operational and that sickbay is now awaiting the new CMO's approval." Geordi's voice came over the comm system.

"All right Geordi I will let her know when she comes around but then she has to choose her rooms alright?" He asked his friend

"All right Captain. La Forge out!"

Smiling to himself he finished reading the current report when he heard noises coming from his bedroom. Slowly he got up and went into his room where his "new" CMO was starting to come around. When he entered he found that her blue eyes were still closed. Coming to sit on the edge of the bed, he leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek and told her it was time to wake up.

She stirred and opened her eyes. When she sees his face she smiled and said "Jean-Luc, how long have I been asleep?"