Rating: M
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to CBS, its parents and affiliates. Just taking the characters out for a jaunt around the galaxy, I warrant they will be returned in the same condition I borrowed them.
Doctor Beverly Crusher is packing up a med kit on one of the biobeds in Sickbay, preparing to end her shift for the day. Sickbay is quiet, the new Enterprise D having just left dock, and Beverly had just finished booking a round of crew physicals. Now, she's ready to call it a day.
"Doctor?"
The familiar baritone startles Beverly in the quiet emergency room, and Beverly whips around to find the captain slowly padding toward the biobed in the centre of the room. Giving her head a shake, Beverly composes herself. "Good evening, Captain."
"I'm sorry to bother you, Doctor," Picard begins. "Your shift is over."
"That's alright," Beverly assures him, her eyes dropping to the tiny pink bundle in the captain's arms. "What have we here?"
"She's running a temperature," explains Picard, standing in front of Beverly, outstretching his arms slightly to show Beverly the restless infant in his arms.
Eyes dilated, Beverly inches closer, pulling back the pink receiving blanket to get a better look at the tiny newborn baby cradled in his arms. "What's wrong?"
"She's fussing," adds Picard, lips pursed. "She won't sleep, won't eat."
"May I?" Beverly raises a brow in question, reaching for the baby.
Nodding, Picard shifts the baby into her arms.
Beverly visually examines the infant, pulling down the blanket to feel her skin and check her vitals. "How old is she?"
"Three weeks," answers Jean-Luc, following Beverly over to the side of the biobed.
Eyes wide, Beverly masks her surprise as she gently lays the baby on the biobed . They had only just left Earth to commence their inaugural mission. Of course Beverly knows there are families aboard this ship, but she hadn't heard of anyone aboard with such a young baby. "Three weeks? To whom does she belong?"
"Me," replies Jean-Luc solemnly, observing Beverly produce a tricorder from the med kit on the end of the bed and commence scanning the infant.
Whipping her head around, Beverly pauses her scan. "She's yours?"
Nodding, Jean-Luc crosses his arms over his chest. "Yes. My daughter."
Returning her attention to the baby, Beverly smiles briefly. "I'm sorry. I…I hadn't heard you had a family on board."
"It's just us," adds Jean-Luc quietly.
Beverly sets her tricorder on the bed and reaches into the med kit for a hypo spray. "I'm sorry. I haven't familiarized myself with the whole ship roster yet. I'm just scheduling physicals now."
"I should have told you yesterday," says Jean-Luc casually. "We were so preoccupied with the mission."
Beverly administers a small dose of medicine through the hypospray and the tiny newborn cries softly. "It's okay. She's got a fever. I've given her something to bring her temperature down."
"Is she alright?" demands Picard, moving up right beside Beverly.
"She's fine," Beverly assures him, smiling confidently. She bends to lift the mewling infant into her arms and cradles her against her chest.
Observing Beverly soothing the distressed baby, Jean-Luc exhales deeply.
Rubbing circular patterns across the baby's back, Beverly rocks on her feet slowly. "You're okay, sweetie. What's this little princess's name?"
"Adele," announces Jean-Luc as Beverly coos soothingly, his infant daughter nestled against her shoulder.
"She's beautiful," proclaims Beverly, running her hand over the baby's head as her mewling subsides.
"I'm quite fond of her," quips Picard as Beverly shifts the now slumbering baby to rock in her arms.
Smiling gently, Beverly steps toward him and moves to transfer the sleeping baby into Picard's arms. "You should see her temperature come down. If it spikes again, call me. If she's not eating tomorrow, call me."
Transferring his three week-old daughter to rest against his chest, Jean-Luc smiles gratefully. "Thank you, Doctor."
Raising a brow, Beverly lays a hand on Jean-Luc's forearm. "Please. Don't hesitate to call."
Relaxing his stance, Jean-Luc nods in acquiescence. "Thank you, Beverly."
Smiling lightly, Beverly folds her arms across her chest as Picard backs toward the entrance to Sickbay.
"Goodnight," calls Picard as he exits Sickbay.
Watching his retreating form, Beverly is puzzled and intrigued. She hadn't spoken to Jean-Luc in….well, she supposes it had probably been a year. He had been on a deep space mission before he took command of the Enterprise, and their communication had been sporadic. Now, Beverly wonders how he had come to have this newborn, and where in the galaxy this newborn's mother is, since she's not on the Enterprise.
