Chapter Two

Beverly decided to indulge in a leisurely bath. She was tired and hoped the soothing water would help her to sleep. Beverly filled the tub, slipping out of her nightgown and into the warm water. She lay there thinking about Jean-Luc and about Jack.

Beverly could sense the feelings that she held at bay with a whip and a chair, coming too close to the surface. They were becoming harder and harder for her to suppress. Every time she let her guard down for just an instant, a stray thought would appear unbidden in her mind. Keeping these thoughts and feelings at bay was becoming thoroughly exhausting.

She had to continually remind herself of all the reasons not to give into her desire.

He was the captain, her commanding officer, it wasn't proper to have a relationship with her captain. Other crew members may feel that she received preferential treatment if they were to become involved.

Then there was Jack. Jean-Luc had been her late husband's best friend.

Jack.

The thought of him always made her feel guilty about her feelings for Jean-Luc. When she could make arguments against every other reason not to just love him, Jack's image would remind her just exactly who he was.

How could she feel like this about her husband's best friend? It was wrong to feel like this, wasn't it?

She had control of the situation. She may not be able to always keep the thoughts at bay, but she would not give in to the bodily desire. At least she tried to convince herself that she wouldn't.

Beverly closed her eyes, and let her mind wander. Before she knew it she had fallen into a dream filled sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pair walked side by side on the white beach, fingers inter-laced with each other, as lazy waves crashed against their bare feet, wetting the bottom of their clothes.
She wore a casual, sleeveless, white dress, that fell down to her ankles. It was made of a soft, thin fabric, something he had never seen or felt before. The dress wrapped around her body, hugging her hips and the curves of her breasts, it was held together by a single clasp at her left hip, the fabric flowing down the rest of her body. As she walked her bare left leg would come out of hiding, showing its well sculpted smoothness, and then it
would disappear back to its hiding place behind the fabric of the dress, just to reappear again moments later. *She has the best pair of legs I've ever seen,* her companion thought with a slight grin.

He wore a blue silk shirt that was cut nearly to the navel, revealing most of his well defined chest. The color of his shirt matched the color of his companion's eye almost perfectly. His dark grey pants conformed to his body's every muscle. You could see every muscle of his legs move as he walked. *Not many men could pull those pants off with any dignity at his age, hell, not many men could pull those pants off at any age,* she thought. *I wonder if he has them painted on.* she finished to herself with an inner giggle.

The sky began to grow dimmer as the day came to a close, the warm air smelled sensuous as it blew around the couple. It had been a beautiful day, perfect for a relaxing stroll along the water's edge. The beach went on for a little over a mile, before it came to a rocky end, but just over the rocks the beach began again, as if its beauty had never been interrupted. The wind picked up slightly, and Beverly's hair began to dance in a fire all
its own. Jean-Luc watched the games her crimson mane played around her. A lock a hair placed itself against her moist lips and refused to move on its own, Jean-Luc reached up to pull the hair away from her face. As he did this, his thumb brushed lightly against Beverly's bottom lip. She trembled slightly at the heat of his touch against her face. But as suddenly as the touch was against her, it was gone, leaving behind a tingling memory on her lips.

"It's getting late," he said quietly. "The sun has almost set, and one of the moons is visible now." He looked up into the purple sky, studying it. "It looks like it may rain."

Beverly smiled, "Let it rain, I always loved to play in the rain as a child. As long as the rain doesn't become to heavy, if you don't mind, I would like to continue our walk. I'll enjoy it, the warm air and the rain will feel wonderful."

As an answer, Jean-Luc gripped Beverly's hand more tightly, continue to walk away from their rooms. *Does she realize that if it begins to rain the water is going to make her dress positively transparent.* he wondered. *I'm not about to bring it up.*

They continued to walk hand in hand, the day was gone and night had come, the light of the moon illuminate her hair, making her face look like that of a porcelain doll's, her azure eye shone in the light. She looked positively radiant. The rain finally came, falling intermediately, making them wonder if it was even really there, or just their imagination. "It is absolutely wonderful here," Beverly smiled.

"Yes, it is," he agreed, watching her intently, seeing every change in her face. Watching the wind play its games with her hair.

"The night is beautiful."

"Truly beautiful," Picard responded, though he was commenting about her, not the night.

Beverly looked over at him and caught his gaze. She smiled slightly, brushing her hand up against his cheek. His gaze did not waver. Beverly flushed slightly, and looked away. "Penny," she said lightly.

"Nothing really, just thinking about how much I truly enjoy your company," Jean-Luc smiled. *I don't think, my dear Beverly, that you are ready for my thoughts,* he finished to himself.

They continued on their journey down the beach in silence, the rain began to fall a little harder, but it was still nothing to be concerned about. The sky began to turn a darker shade of purple, as the storm grew closer to them. Jean-Luc could feel the rain hitting his body, the warmness of the drops was truly stimulating. He watched Beverly, face held towards the sky letting the rain fall over her. The raindrops fell on her cheeks rolling
down her jaw line and continuing their path down her neck, until they disappeared between the crevice of her breasts. It was truly erotic to him, watching their path, what he wouldn't give to be one of those raindrops, sliding down her body right now.

The rain had started to soak through her dress, causing it to cling to her skin, and it became transparent as he had predicted. He began to be able to see every curve of her body, in away he had only imagined. Beverly wore no undergarments, the fabric had been to light and you would have been able to see it through the fabric, so she had opted to go without for the walk. Jean-Luc swore slightly to himself as her nipples became erect from the rain and showed themselves through the wet fabric. His mind was racing. *Merde. Get a hold of yourself, your acting like a young boy who has just caught a glimpse of a naked woman for the first time.*

Beverly looked over at her companion and caught a look of pure lust, but he saw her start to turn towards him and had pulled himself together enough to put a more platonic look on his face. Beverly smiled at him, as the looked faded. She hadn't noticed what the weather had done to her clothes, so was unaware of the reason for Jean-Luc's gaze.

As he looked away, Beverly studied him. The rain had soaked his shirt, and the hair on his chest had become curly from the wetness from the rain. *What would it feel like to run my fingers along his chest, to feel the heat of his skin against mine? I would love to know.* Her gaze moved lower and her eyes wandered over his lower body, his muscled legs, the firmness of his butt, he did have a truly magnificent body. She could tell
that even in his Starfleet uniform. But these pants, did wonders for the imagination. *They should make these standard issue for uniforms,* she thought with a leer.
She noticed the slight bulge in the front of his pants, and licked her suddenly dry lips, just as he turned towards her. With her mind on other things, she didn't notice him watching her. He saw her intently scrutinized his body. This knowledge brought a flush to his face and excited him, also. Beverly noticed as the bulge she had been staring at rather intently, grew in size. She knew she had been caught staring, but she didn't care. She looked up to meet Jean-Luc passionate gaze. As their eye locked, Beverly moved closer to him. Jean-Luc brought his hand up towards her, running it along her arm, up to her shoulder, finally resting it behind her head, pulling her closer to him.

Beverly let out a sigh, as he brought his face to hers and placed his lips to hers, devouring her mouth with an urgent hunger. Beverly responded in full force, arms wrapped around his neck, fingers dancing over the back of his head, sending shivers of delight through his body, every inch of him responding to her caresses.

His hands explored her body, their lips never parting, he ran his hands over the curves of her hips and up to the swell of her breasts. He traced the out line of her nipples through the wet fabric. "Beverly, do you realize, this dress no longer leaves much to the imagination?" Jean-Luc breathed into her mouth. Beverly pulled away to look down, and saw that the dress conformed to every inch of her body and had become complete see through in the rain.

"I see what you mean." she smiled, pulling his body back to hers.

She reached her hands up under the back of his shirt, tracing playful designs along his back with her fingertips. Her touch was like fire, a slight moan escaped through his lips. He placed demanding kisses down her neck and on her shoulder. His hands reached for the clasp at her waist. Her hands quickly ceased their dance along his back and one hand grabbed his, "Making love in the surf is not all it's cracked up to be," she whispered.
"I think we should go back, now. My room is closest."

They kissed one final time, and nearly ran all the way back to her room in their urgency to possess each other. At almost the same time they reached the terrace that led to her room, the wind picked up, the rain became fast and hard, and a loud roar shot through the sky. "Good thing we came back now." Jean-Luc smiled.

Beverly looked up into the sky, letting the rain wash over her. Jean-Luc couldn't take it anymore, he had to have her now. He pushed her slightly against the door frame, devouring her with kisses, as his hand returned to their earlier mission, and removed her from her dress. My God, he thought, she is absolutely exquisite. Jean-Luc trailed kisses down her neck to her right breast, taking it into his mouth, nibbling and sucking
intermediately.

Beverly placed a hand under his jaw, drawing him back up to eye level. As he watched the desire dance in her eyes she peeled his rain soaked clothes away from him. The rain splashed against their naked bodies. She brought Jean-Luc to her, wrapping her arms around him once again, the bodies pressed against each other, "I want you right now," she ordered.

With her back still braced against the outside door frame, she brought her legs up, encircling them around his waist and lowering herself down on to him. "Beverly, oh, yes." he breathed, his face flushed and his breath already becoming labored.

They made love on the terrace for all the world to watch if they wanted, but neither seemed aware or to care.

He placed his lips to the soft skin at the base of her neck, placing tiny kisses all along there. Beverly moved slowly, loving the feel of him in her, Jean-Luc thrust against her, harder with each new movement, as he ran his fingers along her skin. She could feel the roughness of the wood against her back with each movement, the contrasting feel of the wood and his touch, sent her mind reeling. She screamed out in joy as Jean-Luc's orgasm took hold and he exploded inside her......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Picard awoke suddenly, drenched in sweat, the dream still very vivid in his mind. It had seemed so real, the rain falling against him, the taste of her lips, the feel of her body wrapped around him. It had been as real as it had been that night on Kes-Prytt.

Beverly had been privy to this dream.

"Beverly," he murmured.

He wanted her like he had wanted no other woman before or since they had met. It was no longer just a sexual attraction, like it had been that first night they had met. His feelings for her had grown and matured over the years they had spent together aboard the Enterprise.

It was a love born of friendship, trust and respect. A love that went beyond anything he had experienced before.

But she wasn't ready, she had told him as much. So he would wait until she was.

Just how long was he willing to wait for her, though?

He lay there recalling every moment of the vivid fantasy. Because the fantasy was all he had of her at the moment. He lay there until he fell back into sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beverly awoke abruptly, to discover herself emerged in a now lukewarm bath. It had only been a dream. She hadn't had a fantasy like that in quite awhile, at least not any that she remembered so clearly. She stepped out of the tub, grabbed a towel to dry herself with.

The dream was familiar to her. But it was not a dream that she had had before. It was like a distant memory. She was slightly confused by the familiarness of the dream.

Kes-Prytt.

Jean-Luc had had this dream on Kes-Prytt. *Great. Now I'm having the same fantasy as he was. But, it was such a nice fantasy.*

Beverly was still confused about the experience they had had on the plant and immediately following their return to the Enterprise. Jean-Luc had lain awake for hours, going over every detail of their relationship. He had seemed as lost as she was on the subject of just where they stood with each other. He had also felt the same guilt she had over Jack.

When he had fallen asleep he had dreamed vividly of the two of them together.

Then Jack had visited him. She didn't know what the dream was about. She couldn't bear seeing him there with Jean-Luc. The guilt had been too great for her to handle, so, she had blocked Jean-Luc's thoughts out with all the force she could muster.

When he had awoken, Beverly felt a new confidence he had concerning them. There was no underlying guilt anymore. She found herself wondering what he and Jack had talked about and at the same time was glad that she didn't know.

For some reason his lack of guilt, just made her feel more guilty.

She could be with anyone but Jean-Luc. Not her husband's best friend. It would be a betrayal. At least, that was how she felt. No matter how guilty her thoughts made her feel she couldn't stop them from engulfing her at times.

She reminded herself that to think and to act were two entirely different matters. He had said as much himself by the fire. She would not act on her feelings.

She would not allow herself.

She pulled on a night gown, let down her hair and brushed it out. Then, she went into her bedroom, and crawled between the sheets alone, and immediately fell back to sleep.

Chapter Three

Beverly awoke refreshed, after a night of dreaming about Jean-Luc. She had had several dreams during the night, about the two of them, the scenario was a little different each time, but, the outcome was always the same. She could remember vividly each detail of all of her dreams, every inch of the dream Captain's body was etched into her mind. She smiled slightly to herself as she emerged from under the covers, he did have a great body. Those hands . . . . those hands were amazing, she could feel them exploring her body as if he was right there, standing next to her.

"I'm not going to get anywhere, if I stand here and daydream," she said aloud as she walked into the bathroom.

She refused to let the guilt surface. After all, they were only dreams. And she couldn't be held responsible.

Besides she had seen all the dreams before. They had all been *his* dreams.

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Beverly walked into the kitchen with a bright smile on her face. Jean-Luc and Marie were busy making breakfast for everyone. They were laughing with each other. The sight made her smile grow wider. Marie had been so quiet when they had first arrived. But over the week she had grown happier, the weight of her grief becoming lighter. Beverly was glad for that.

"You both look especially rested this morning," Marie said.
*If you only new the half of it,* Jean-Luc thought. He looked towards Beverly. "Beverly does look rather chipper this morning, doesn't she?"

"I'm always chipper in the morning," she laughed.

"If you insist," he said. "Anything I should know about?"

"I just had very sweet dreams last night," Beverly said eyes shinning, as images of Jean-Luc's naked body came into her mind.

"Jean-Luc said the same thing to me when I got up this morning," Marie said. "I guess you both had good nights."

"I here you will be staying here with Jean-Luc," Marie added.

"Yes."

"I'm glad. At least now I know you will keep him from destroying my kitchen and the rest of the house while I'm gone."

Beverly had to laugh.

"Are you trying to say that I can't cook?"

"Not at all," Marie said. "All I'm saying is that things tend to get a little out of hand when your in here alone."

"I'm glad she has decided to stay here also, now I won't be left here all alone. Besides she has a way of keeping me on my toes."

Beverly arched a delicate brow, "And how exactly do I do that?"

Jean-Luc smiled, "I just never know when you are going to jump in and start arguing some point of Starfleet protocol with me. Not to mention when you might decide to blatantly disobey my
orders."

Marie looked on with laughter as the two bantered with each other.

"I never disobey any reasonable orders that you give, it's only when you start being unreasonable," Beverly laughed.

"Dr. Crusher, I am always reasonable, you, on the other hand, are an entirely different story.

"I agree he can be a little unreasonable at times," Will laughed from the doorway.

"Will, I will kindly remind you just who you are talking about," he smiled.

"Sorry, sir," he said with a mock salute as a big grin spread across his face.

Deanna walked in, "All this cheer and breakfast hasn't even been served yet."

"Now here is an unreasonable person if I ever met one," Will laughed, putting his arm around Deanna.

"If you say so, Will," Deanna smiled as she playfully elbowed him in the stomach.

One by one the group enter the banter. They sat down to a light-hearted breakfast, when they were finished, they went upstairs to finish packing, as Beverly and Jean-Luc removed the dishes. They were the only two staying in the house.