He was sitting there, hands folded in front of him, gazing out a window, when she entered the small café. She caught his gaze and a small smile formed on her lips.

He returned the smile and as she walked over to him, he stood up and pulled out a chair for her. It was small gestures such as this that had always impressed Beverly.

He's quite the gentleman, isn't he? She thought to herself.

"Thank you, Captain."

"Now then, let me order you a coffee. Yesterday, I actually lied a little bit when I said I was off to get a coffee. I'm more of a tea man myself."

"I see. Personally, I'm not too picky about what form I get my caffeine in. Like I said, medical school sets out to try to kill you and caffeine was definitely my saving grace. Residency hasn't been the least bit better, frankly it's worse, so now I just consume twice as much."

He chuckled at her remark.

"Well then, let's not endanger your health. Jacob, could you please bring me an Earl Grey. Hot. And for this young woman a coffee with…"

"…just a tad of cream. Thank you." Beverly finished

"So, Doctor, other than the fact that you are quite the sprinter and you hit like a boxer, I know absolutely nothing about you. So, please, inform me about yourself. Starting, I'm embarrassed to admit, with your name."

Laughing, Beverly started, "Well you also know that I'm finishing my residency and that I'm addicted to caffeine in all forms. As for my name, I can't believe neither has told the other! I'm Beverly Howard, sir."

"Beverly Howard, that's a beautiful name."

"Captain, with all due respect, are you going to make me guess yours?"

"Oh no, definitely not! Doctor Howard, let me introduce myself. My name is Jean-Luc Picard."

"Captain Jean-Luc Picard, a very noble name for a captain. I'm sure we'll all know the name someday."

"I very much doubt it. Now Dr. Howard, please do tell me more about yourself."

"Well, okay then. I guess I can tell you that I can think of nothing more that I want to do than live among the stars, so my first change once I'm done here on Earth, is to get an assignment on a starship. And I'm headed straight to the top, Captain. Give me a few years and I'll be running my own sickbay."

"Chief Medical Officer Beverly Howard does have a nice ring to it." He winked at her.

"Oh, I agree! But what about you, Captain? You've obviously already made a life for yourself. Where has your career taken you?"

"Well, to be honest, I was just promoted to the captaincy. I'm about to take my first assignment as Captain of the Stargazer. She's not the flagship, by any means, but she's got a lot of new technology on board and I'm pretty excited about her crew."

"Wow, Captain that must be incredibly exciting! You make finishing my residency feels so trivial, now."

"Doctor, I wouldn't have been able to get through a day of medical school, let alone four years plus a residency. That is something to be very very proud of. Starfleet needs good doctors."

"I can only hope that I will be one some day."

"Somehow, I have a feeling that you don't give yourself enough credit."

"Hardly." She sighed.

Jean-Luc gazed at her for a moment, thinking to himself, and then replied.

"Doctor, what is your ranking?"

"Excuse me, sir?" she seemed startled by the question.

"Doctor, I am well-aware that they rank the best residents in the program, and I am guessing that you are on that list. Now, what is your ranking? If you don't tell me, I can find out anyway later, so you might as well let me prove my point."

Beverly rolled her eyes and replied and in grumbling-whisper, "One."

"What was that?" he goaded.

"One. I'm number one!" she stated, exasperated.

"I figured as much. Dr. Howard, you are the number one ranked medical resident in Starfleet, and if my suspicions are correct, you probably graduated valedictorian of your Medical School class, as well. I am right, aren't I?"

Beverly grumbled as a confirmation.

"You will go far, Doctor, mark my words. You may have been joking when you said you had every intention of being CMO within a couple years, but it's sounding like that isn't such a far-off goal."

"Maybe not."

"I'm feeling more like a definitely not."

Beverly looked up from the table and smiled at him.

"Well, if anything, you have talent at making a girl feel better about herself."

Rolling his eyes at her, he replied, "My God, Doctor, one cannot get any better than the absolute best."

"I guess not, but I'll pretty soon I should be getting assignment offers and I'm just nervous that I'll end up in a job I'll hate."

"Whatever ship you end up on will be very very lucky to have you. Hell, you'll probably end up on a the flagship before I ever do."

"Thank you for the confidence boost, Captain, it really is appreciated."

"It is my absolute pleasure to boost the confidence of Starfleet's next brilliant medical mind."

They were both quiet for a moment, thinking. Beverly closed her eyes and deeply inhaled the sharp aroma of her bitter drink.

Jean-Luc broke the silence

"So, you probably know a thing or two about most of the doctors in Starfleet, huh?"

"Probably at least a little, why?"

"Well, I'd bet that, you, Doctor Howard know a whole lot more than me. You see, I am having a hell of a time picking my Chief Medical Officer. I have a couple names that at least stood out a little, but I'm kind of a loss at this point. I don't suppose you'd be willing to give your opinion?"

"You want MY opinion? The opinion of a lowly resident?!"

"Not so lowly, but yes, I want YOUR opinion, Doctor."

"Well, then it would be my pleasure to help you in any way I can, sir."

"Good. Now then, I had three names that I guess I'm considering at the moment, but I'm not even sure about them. They are…umm…Doctor Sarah Fields…Doctor Donov Zoej…and…umm…Doctor Kale Bent."

Beverly thought for a moment and then replied:

"Those are actually not bad choices as a whole, but I guess I'll give you my honest opinion. I know all of those doctors and all are committed to their job, but your decision should be based on what your looking for in a CMO. Doctor Fields for example, she's a good doctor, but she's got a horrible bed-side manner. She'd rather spend her day in a lab than dealing with people."

"Okay, than she's definitely off the list. The Stargazer will be on long assignments in deep space. I need someone who will make an effort to connect with the crew."

"What about the other two?"

"Well, I don't know Doctor Zoej all that well, but there was this sketchy incident on the Republic. A patient died and no one is particularly sure what happened. Sounded like a cover-up to me…"

"God, that was NOT in his file! Okay, what about Dr. Bent?"

"He's a good Doctor and he's good with people. He'll follow orders, but also won't be scared to offer his opinion if he feels it's necessary. I think he's a good CMO candidate."

"This has made my job so much easier, I really appreciate your input, Doctor."

"I'm glad I could help , sir."

Beverly smiled to herself, wondering how doing something as stupid as plowing over a starship captain had gone so right for her.

I think this might actually be a new friendship in the making…not bad having friends in high places…

Little did she know that fate had just started her down a path of both great love and great heartache…