Author's note: I wrote this piece a few weeks back when I decided to try my hand at a few romance fics from multiple fandoms and genres. This came out of that little writing spree. I hope you enjoy it in spite of the major angst and the mild OOC-ness.

Jean-Luc Picard was not in a good mood.

Oh, he was hiding it, and well. If anyone saw him, they would think he was happy as he watched his best friend and his new bride dance. And in a way, he was. He was happy for Jack, who was marrying a woman he considered his soulmate. It was a marriage which would undoubtedly bring bliss to both of them.

No, the bad mood didn't come from that. It came from the identity of the bride. It came from the fact that she was Beverly Howard, who had become Beverly Crusher just three hours ago.

Why had he met her after she'd slipped out of his grasp? If only he'd met her sooner, perhaps this day would be celebrating his wedding to her, not her wedding to Jack.

Loving her was completely useless. She was off limits to him forever, unless she fell naturally out of love with Jack and the two separated eventually. But even then, Jean-Luc wouldn't be able to act on his feelings with a clear conscience. It would be uncomfortable for Jack no matter what happened. Not to mention the fact that even entertaining the thought of having a more-than platonic relationship with his best friend's wife was completely inappropriate. Hell, having romantic feelings for anyone's wife was wrong to Jean-Luc, with few exceptions. He was a gentleman, with a code of chivalry and ethics second to none. Or at least, that was what he told himself.

Seeing her laugh tore into Jean-Luc's heart. No matter how much he wanted to feel happy, how much he tried to feel happy, he just couldn't. He was wrong this time, no matter how one looked at it. He'd lost, and the cruelest part was that his competition was ignorant of that fact. That his competition was Jack Crusher, who happened to be more of a brother than Robert had ever been.

The dance ended, and the lovers broke apart after a particularly endearing kiss. Beverly, hands full with her rather large skirt, glided over near to Jean-Luc to get a refreshment. When she saw him sitting alone, she smiled and sat down next to him for a moment while Jack spoke to Walker and a few other friends of his.

She looked even more radiantly beautiful than ever, the white dress she wore a perfect companion to her fiery hair. Her eyes were bright with joy, and she was practically glowing from it. And Jean-Luc hated the fact that he noticed it all. But he didn't let any of it show as he turned to her with a smile. A smile which to all eyes looked genuine.

"Congratulations," he managed with an even voice to match the smile. He didn't know how he was doing it, but somehow, he was keeping his composure.

"Thank you," Beverly replied warmly. Unlike him, she was genuinely joyful. And why wouldn't she be? Today was her wedding day.

"Er, nice dress," he tried to keep small talk going as he watched Jack from across the room.

"I could actually do without it," she replied. "Awfully hard to dance in."

"I suppose," he agreed half-heartedly.

"It's a good thing I'll only ever wear it today. I'm glad weddings only happen once," she declared.

Ouch. That hurt even though he had come to the same conclusion. Why was everything she said just hurting him more? For god's sake, he was a Starfleet officer, not a lovesick teenager!

"Yes, yes," Jean-Luc agreed. It wasn't fair for him to be upset, he reasoned. She was happy today, and would never intentionally hurt him. If anything, he deserved it.

Giving him one last beautiful smile, she got up and left, leaving him alone to his thoughts.

Please review and let me know what you think!