Deanna and Will still talk almost daily. He has always been her strength and her biggest cheerleader. She tells him all about the interview and her new place and they make plans to have Will come visit soon. As she puts her phone aside and picks up her wine glass, she stares out across the ocean and thinks that she finally has the life she always wanted. It's at that exact moment her phone rings.
Deanna stares at the phone as it bounces on her new patio table. It's probably Will calling back with plans for his visit. That would be just like him to do that immediately. She knows he's anxious to see her. Still, she's a bit annoyed as she picks up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Ms. Troi? This is Chief Picard. From the Los Angeles police?"
She nods enthusiastically even though she knows he can't possibly see her.
"Yes. This is she."
She is literally sitting on the edge of her chair, her fingers crossed.
"Yes. Hello. I was just wanting to let you know that you impressed us very much."
'uh oh' she thinks. That's the beginning of the sentence that ends with 'but we've decided to go with someone else'. She holds her breath…
"And we would like to offer you the job if you are still interested."
Deanna jumps to her feet, pumping her fist in the air. She forces her voice to be calm and professional.
"Thank you Chief. I would love it. I am really looking forward to working for you."
She can almost hear the smile in his voice when he answers.
"Good. Good. We were hoping you would feel that way. Like I said, you were quite impressive. You and your skills are what we were looking for. Can you come by on Friday? Dr. Crusher and I would like to talk about what your job description will be and you can do some paperwork. We would love it if you could start Monday.
"That would be great Chief."
"Just Picard. Or Jean-Luc please.
"OK. Picard. I want you to know that I am really excited about this opportunity."
Picard chuckles. "Yes. I can tell. Good. We need some enthusiasm around here. 3:00? On Friday?"
"I'll be there. And thank you again Chie…Picard."
She can hear another chuckle as he hangs up the phone.
She refills her wine glass and falls back into her chair. 'This really is a dream come true' she thinks as she stares out at the ocean and sips at her wine. She'll call Will with the good news later. For now, she just wants to be happy.
Deanna arrives early to her appointment Friday afternoon. It's just her nature. She hates to be late to anything. She's also half hoping she might run into Dr. Crusher again, figuratively this time. At exactly ten minutes til 3:00, she is sitting nervously in Picard's outer office, a manila folder full of personal and tax ID forms clutched in her hands.
Picard invites her in and she is pleased to see Dr. Crusher also present. They spend about 45 minutes going over details and some friendly chatting before Picard excuses himself for another appointment. Deanna moves to the outer office to complete her forms while Dr. Crusher (Beverly she was told) walked him out. She is off thinking about what she needs to do to be ready to start work on Monday as she leaves the office. And runs smack into Beverly again.
Beverly sees her coming this time and manages to save the coffee cups she's holding by lifting them up over Deanna's head.
"Oh my God. I did it again. I am so sorry Beverly. I really am not off to a good start am I? I swear I'm not usually so clumsy. It's just that I've had so much going on lately and well, I promise I'll be more careful. I didn't spill your coffee again did I? Oh this is so embarrassing…"
Beverly cuts her off with a laugh. "Relax. You're fine. I understand. And believe me, I am just like that too. Oh and your coffee. Here."
Deanna looks into her blue eyes and finally sees the humor in the situation. She takes the proffered coffee graciously.
"Mocha? How on earth did you know?"
Beverly smiles. "I just had a feeling. Can I show you around?"
Deanna nods and follows Beverly as she shows her the important things in the building, the best bathrooms, how to use the copier, the break room. She advises that Deanna not leave things in the refridgerator in there though.
"All the guys in the building. They have no respect when it comes to good food. I use the fridge in the morgue."
She laughs at Deanna's horrified face. "Don't worry. I make sure everything is carefully labeled."
Deanna nods but she's not sure she wouldn't rather take her chances upstairs.
"Oh and don't drink the coffee in here. It's awful! I keep telling Jean-Luc but he's a tea drinker and he just doesn't get it. And 'the boys' as she constantly refers to the officers and detectives in the house, "they have no taste at all." She's persuaded several of the female officers to join her cause but so far they haven't had much luck.
"I'll show you were I hide the good stuff" she whispers conspiratorially.
Deanna smiles. "Looks like I'm with the right person then. I've had my fill of bad coffee in schools and prisons too. I'm too old to drink that shit."
Beverly laughs. "I think you and I are going to get along fabulously" she declares.
Beverly gives Deanna an extensive tour of the morgue. It's obvious that she is incredibly proud of her labs. And from what Deanna can glean, meticulous in her work.
Last of all, Beverly shows off her office. It's not nearly as big a room as Chief Picard's but, again, Deanna can see Beverly's careful placement from the neatly stacked files on her desk to the perfectly ordered book cases along the wall. On one side, under the only window, is a smaller desk, pushed tight to the wall.
"I'm sorry about this Dee. Can I call you Dee? But we don't really have any extra space down here so we're going to have to share for the time being. Unless you would rather be upstairs? Because we can find a place for you there. I was just hoping, since much of the time we'll be working together, I thought it would be good to be closer. But I totally understand if you need your space and…"
Deanna is amused to see the taller, confident woman flustered. She cuts her off with a wave of her hand. "No. Please. This is perfect. Honestly I've never had even my own desk so this is quite the luxury."
Beverly smiles with relief. "Good. I was hoping it would be Ok. But you have to promise that if it becomes awkward or too small or something, that you'll tell me and we can find you some place else."
"I promise" Deanna says, crossing her heart with her finger. "But only if you promise the same. I can be, well, intense sometimes when I'm working. Being inside killer's heads and all. I can get a bit lost."
Beverly smiles again and crosses her own heart. "I promise. Now let's get out of here. Its getting late and I haven't got any pressing cases. You're new to LA right? Care for a little tour? Unless you have to get home of course because I guess I really don't know anything about you and I don't want to be presumptuous or anything by thinking that you would have any interest in spending an evening with someone you barely know and…"
Deanna stares at her, astonished again at how quickly the woman changes from the confident medical examiner to awkward and shy. She waves her hand to make her stop babbling.
"Stop! It's OK. No I don't have anything I need to do. My husband is still in Texas. I would love to see some of LA. But only if you promise to let me cook you dinner tonight. I've got a new place that I love and no one to show it off to."
Beverly gives her another relieved smile. "I would love that. So where do you want to go first?"
Deanna thinks for a minute. "A wine bar. I want to go to the trendiest most stereotypical southern California wine bar that you know of."
Beverly grins. "I know just the place!"
Over a couple of glasses of California wine, Beverly gives Deanna a primer on the office gossip. They laugh a lot and Deanna is thankful to have found a friend. She hasn't had many of those in her life and it feels good to have someone to be with besides Will and her mother. This move to LA is starting to look like the best decision of her life.
Deanna retrieves her car and Beverly follows her out to the beach house for a late dinner. Deanna pops a pastisto she had made the day before into the oven and they retire to the patio with a bottle of wine.
"You really live here? This is gorgeous" Beverly gushes. It's always been my dream to live by the ocean. But, you know, government salary and all. Maybe when I retire."
Deanna smiles. "I've been dreaming of living by the ocean again. There isn't too much water in West Texas."
"Again?" Beverly asks. "I was kind of curious about that." She studies Deanna with her long curly black hair, olive skin and eyes so dark they could be made of obsidian. "You don't look like what I would expect from a Texan. And that certainly is not a southern accent."
Deanna laughs. "First of all, don't ever call a Texan 'Southern'. It's a whole different country. And you're right. I was actually born in Greece."
Beverly claps her hands together. "Oh I would love to visit Greece someday. Tell me all about it. And how in the world you ended up in Texas!"
Deanna tells her about her early, carefree days on Beta, the nickname for the almost unpronounceable little island she was born on. She tries to gloss over the royalty part but Beverly wants none of it.
"A princess? A real princess? That is marvelous! I've never met a real princess before."
"And you still haven't" Deanna replies. "The royalty exists only in my mother's head. The reality is that there hasn't been a monarchy on Beta for hundreds of years. All that I'm heir to is a dusty old chalice and some tarnished rings. I'm not sure anyone even knows where they are anymore."
Beverly shakes her head. "No. You are definitely royalty. I mean look at you. You're gorgeous. And so full of poise and grace."
Deanna laughs so hard that wine comes out her nose. "You obviously have forgotten the coffee incident."
Beverly laughs now and they both dissolve into half drunken giggles.
Suddenly serious, Beverly takes Deanna's hand. "Thank you Dee. I haven't had this much fun in years!"
She looks as if she wants to say something more but it is at this moment the timer on the oven beeps. She releases Deanna's hand and picks up her wine glass as Deanna disappears to the kitchen to get dinner.
Pasta, baklava, another bottle of wine along with the cool ocean breeze lull the women into a stupor. Beverly glances at her watch and is startled to see that it's after 11:00. She stands unsteadily and then falls back into her chair. Deanna laughs at her.
"You're not going home like that! I have a brand new bed in the guest room and I have no idea if it's comfortable or not. Stay the night? We can maybe take a run on the beach in the morning."
She suddenly gets shy, realizing that she just invited a woman she just met, her new boss even, to spend the night. She tries to back track.
"Unless you need to get back of course. I can call you a cab and we can arrange for your car later. I mean I don't even know if you're married or anything really. I'm sorry if I was being presumptuous. I've just been having so much fun and all."
Beverly cuts her off with a wave. "Stop. Please. It's fine. I would love to stay. Not too sure about the running part but the rest is good. It's just me. Well, I have a cat but he can take care of himself for the night. I'll just need to be home to feed him tomorrow. But I've been having a lovely time. I don't do this much. Hardly at all really. It's usually just me and Rudi and a book. This is nice."
Deanna relaxes. "It is nice. More wine?"
"Of course!"
Deanna and Beverly work through another bottle of wine and listen to the sounds of the crashing waves before stumbling to bed. On impulse, Deanna gives Beverly a quick hug before leaving for her own room. She tucks herself into her bed and falls asleep with a smile on her face.
Morning comes too early and too bright for Deanna. She staggers out of her room in search of something liquid to wash away the fuzz in her mouth. She is astonished to find a tall red headed woman standing over her stove. She blinks a couple of times trying to recall what exactly happened the night before.
"Dee! Good morning. I hope you don't mind. I started breakfast. Omelettes are my go to food for hangovers. There's some fresh orange juice already on the patio table. You know you have a nice little market just up the street? Farm fresh eggs, fruit, the whole thing. Are you ok?"
Deanna blinks again, trying to process the whole scene.
"Umm. Yeah. I'm ok. I just...its early..."
Beverly laughs but then stops when Deanna winces.
"Go take a shower. I think I've figured out your espresso machine. I'll make you some coffee. The omelettes will be done in a few."
"You did all of this without coffee?" Deanna asks incredulously.
Beverly laughs again, quieter this time.
"No. The market." She gestures in the general direction.
Deanna nods and turns back toward her room.
When she emerges, she's feeling much more human. She finds Beverly on the patio, sipping coffee and staring out at the ocean. She turns to Deanna with a smile.
"Better? You look better."
Deanna nods.
Beverly turns back toward the beach.
"This really is heaven you know."
"l know. I'm feeling very fortunate right now with a new job and a friend and all."
Beverly gives her a warm smile as she takes and squeezes her hand. They sit for a few minutes, with Beverly holding her hand. It makes Deanna feel good and uncomfortable at the same time. She peeks at Beverly's face and sees nothing but contentment as she stares out at the water. Physical contact like holding hands with friends and hugs are things her mother does and are perfectly innocent. For her, besides Will, there's never been anyone, male or female she's been close enough to. She mentally shrugs it off and goes back to enjoying a beautiful morning with a new friend.
She peeks again at Beverly and notices she's staring longingly at the water.
"Would you like to go down to the beach?"
Beverly smiles without turning to look at her.
"I'm not running if that's what you're suggesting."
Deanna laughs. "No. I'm not quite well enough for that, despite the lovely breakfast."
"I'm not really much of a beach person. More like a water person. And I'm not exactly dressed for swimming."
Without thinking, Deanna offers, "I've got one you can borrow."
Beverly turns and looks at her. Deanna tries to make it better. She starts gesturing to the length of her torso trying to explain that she has a bikini that would fit Beverly's length then starts on the difference in bust sizes. Beverly laughs at her again.
"Stop! I'm sure it will be fine. And the waves are perfect."
"Perfect for what?"
Beverly looks at her with amusement.
"Surfing!"
"You surf?"
"Of course. I'm guessing you don't have a board?"
Deanna shakes her head, still trying to picture the elegant red head on a surf board.
"Soft board?"
Another head shake.
"Body surf?"
"Never heard of it."
"Do you swim?"
"Of course."
"Well that's something. Show me that suit and I will teach you to body surf. Maybe next time I will bring my board and teach you the real thing. It would be a shame to look at these perfect waves everyday and not do something about them."
They rise and Beverly follows Deanna into the house. Deanna is still trying to process all of this information about her new friend. Beverly is like no one Deanna has ever met before.
Both women emerge from their rooms in their swim suits.
"Wow!" Deanna says. "That looks much better on you than it ever did on me!"
Beverly blushes. "You're not so bad yourself" she says giving Deanna the once over. "All I need now is some sunscreen. SPF 1000" she laughs gesturing at her almost translucent white skin.
Deanna finds a bottle and Beverly turns so that Deanna can spread it on her back. It's all a bit too personal for Deanna but it doesn't faze Beverly at all. It wouldn't bother her mother either. Hell, her mother would probably spread it all over her front if she had the chance. She tentatively squirts some on Beverly's shoulder and laughs when she winces from the cold.
She allows Beverly to put some sunscreen on her and then gathers some towels and they head down to the beach. She half expects Beverly to run willy nilly toward the water, arms flailing like a child but the woman restrains herself, just barely.
Deanna stops knee deep in the water. Beverly tugs at her hand but Deanna holds her ground. Deanna's experiences have been in the warm, calm waters of the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico. The Pacific is cold. And the strength of the waves and undertow are much more than Deanna expected.
"I'm just going to watch from here. If that's ok."
Beverly shrugs and forges ahead. Deanna watches as she gracefully turns herself into each wave, the water breaking harmlessly over her back. She stands and watches the waves for a minute, studying their pattern then moves forward.
Deanna holds her breath when a large wave threatens to crush her but then Beverly gracefully dives into the breaking wave and emerges safely on the other side, shaking her wet hair out of her face.
After another minute of study, she chooses a wave. As the swell begins to crest, she positions herself just under the curling lip and starts to swim. As the wave crashes, she disappears and Deanna holds her breath again. She can see flashes of red hair in the white froth as Beverly is carried along and then pulls herself up out of the water in front of Deanna, her eyes wild and laughing!
"That was amazing!" She exclaims, adjusting the top of her suit. "Come. I'll teach you!"
Deanna shakes her heard. "No. I don't think I'm ready for that. I think I'll just watch for now."
Beverly shrugs again and heads back out for another run.
After a few more rides, Beverly comes back to Deanna. She's out of breath, her cheeks bright red but her eyes are still dancing with excitement.
"I am so out of shape. I need to get out here more often!"
Deanna smiles. Beverly looks perfectly in shape to her but she doesn't say anything. Instead she lets Beverly pull her out into the surf. She shows her how to turn her hip to the broken waves to keep her balance. Deanna is visibly nervous as they approach their first large wave and Beverly grabs her hand and shows her how to dive safely under the lip of the wave and come out the other side. They swim just past the surf line where the large swells lift them up and over before dropping them back into the trough.
"You've never been out here?"
Deanna pushes her wet curls out of her face. "No. It's a bit different than what I'm used to. But it's fun. Maybe I will let you teach me to surf. But not now. This is plenty of excitement for me right now."
Beverly smiles. "What about diving? Do you dive?"
"Dive?"
"Scuba diving."
"Oh. No. But it's something I've always wanted to do. You?"
"Oh yes! I love it. Don't get out as much as I used to. Hard when you don't have anyone to dive with. Hey! You should take a class. I know some great beach dives down in Laguna. And we can go other places. I would love to go back to Roatan!"
"Roatan?"
Beverly nods. "Honduras. One of my favorite places. Second longest barrier reef in the world. And Anthony's Key. It's an amazing resort. It's so much fun and they have these bungalows that hang out over the water. Flowers and iguanas all over the place. And you have to go across in a little motor boat to get to them. Oh we should so do that!"
It's hard not to catch Beverly's enthusiasm but it's suddenly all too much for Deanna.
"I'm getting cold. Maybe we should head in and get something to eat."
Beverly realizes her mistake. "I'm sorry Dee. I just get excited. And it's been so long since I've had a friend that I felt so comfortable with. Jean-Luc and I, well that's a long story. But I get it. And I'm sorry."
Deanna smiles at her. "It's ok. I understand. It's the same for me. I really am cold though. And I could use a drink."
Beverly smiles warmly. "Yeah. Me too. Do you want to ride a wave in? I can help you."
"No. I don't think so. Unless I have to?"
"No. We can walk out. Just you're missing out."
Deanna laughs. "I'm sure I probably am. It does look like fun. Another day?"
"It's a date!"
They make it safely out of the water and walk up the beach talking and laughing when Beverly suddenly stops short. "I think there's someone on your patio?"
Deanna squints then rolls her eyes. "Oh god! It's my mom!"
