Jean-Luc Picard had never been much of a romantic. He didn't believe in soul mates or true love. He was a Starfleet captain and the only thing he ever truly believed in was the stars.

That was, until, love crashed into him…quite literally.

Beverly Howard had been up working into the wee hours of the morning due to an emergency. Some engineer had been playing with plasma conduits again. He was fine, but Beverly was now cursing every engineer in the galaxy for having slept through her alarm this morning.

Could someone please tell me why I was stupid enough to choose medicine?! Who willingly chooses to do this to themselves?! I haven't slept more than three hours a night in months…Dr. Martin is going to wring my neck if I miss rounds this morning.

Of course, Beverly was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she had failed to pay attention to where she was going and was surprised when all at once, she hit something hard and flew backwards, her PADs flying into the air.

Not something. Some one.

Dr. Howard was horribly embarrassed to realize that she had collided with a man. He too had been knocked off-balance by the collision, and he did not look pleased in the least.

And then Beverly noticed four perfectly-placed Captain's pips placed on his collar.

Shit. was the only thought that came to her mind.

I am surely about to get my ass-chewed now…at the very least I'll be demoted back to the rank of ensign. Awe Hell.

He hadn't even looked up at her yet. He was just standing up, dusting himself off and Beverly was about to apologize her heart out.

"What the hell was…" he began.

He lifted his head, looking at her, and trailed-off.

Great, he'll probably report me for this. Why couldn't I just have paid attention?!

"Captain…I am…so…so sorry. Sir, I was clearly no paying attention to where I was going, and I should have been… but…but… I did not mean to plow you over like that."

No reply came from his lips. The Captain just kept looking at The Doctor, a curious gaze analyzed her.

"It's alright…er… I…I wasn't exactly paying attention either… I must ask, though, Lieutenant, where were you going in such a hurry?"

"I was on my way to Starfleet Medical, sir."

"Awe, I see…I take it you are a Doctor then."

"I'm about to finish my last year of residency, sir."

A smile actually broke across his countenance.

"Well, that's quite the accomplishment. Congrats to you. I can't imagine having ever entered the medical field, myself."

"Thank you, Captain. It will be exciting to finally be able to create a life for myself."

"I'm sure it will be…Hey…er…Doctor…I…I don't suppose you would like to join me for a cup of coffee, I was just on my way…er…to get a cup that is."

Beverly Howard smiled to herself. She couldn't help but notice how stumbled over his words like a school boy. It probably should have, but somehow it didn't intimidate her in the least that she'd just been asked to coffee by a high-ranking officer. Mostly, it sounded like fun and she was curious to get to know this man.

"I would be absolutely honored to, sir. However, I really am already going to be late for my shift…"

Beverly thought she could see his face fall in disappointment.

"Why, yes, that was why you were in such a hurry, wasn't it? Perhaps some other time then."

"You would be more than welcome to buy me coffee tomorrow morning, sir. It is my day off." Beverly smirked. There was an airy-ness to her tone that the Captain caught on to.

"Ohhh! I'm sure I would be. How about 0700? I don't suppose you know the little place on the far end of the Academy campus?"

"Do I ever, sir! It is only the reason that I got through medical school in one piece! One of Starfleet's best kept secrets."

"It is indeed. I will see you tomorrow then, Doctor."

"I look forward to it, sir….and not to be disrespectful, but I really must be going…"

"Oh yes, you must not be any later than you already are. We wouldn't want your patients to suffer any longer."

"No we would not!" With that thought, she smiled at him and was off.

Later, Jean-Luc couldn't get his mind off of the fiery red-head. She'd walked into his life (ran, really) with a bang and now she apparently wasn't leaving it.

Only after he'd realized that he hadn't paid attention to a single thing that the Admiral standing before him had been saying, did he realize what a problem he had on his hands.

God damn! What is wrong with me? And my God she's clearly so much younger than me! What was I even thinking, asking her to coffee, of all things! So unprofessional…I'm much more disciplined than to have a woman affect me in such a way…I don't even know the woman!

It was with that final thought that Jean-Luc Picard realized that he hadn't even asked the young doctor's name…