Hi all! First off, I really want to thank all those who have read my fic
and reviewed it, you have no idea how much that helps me keep writing.
Second, I hope you all like this chapter as much as the first, I really put a lot of effort into this one, just like the first, so PLEASE, READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!
Finally, the obligatory disclaimer. Ah-hem. I do not own any aspect of the Star Trek franchise. I am only a great fan, no more of less, so PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!! I BEG OF YOU! Ah-hem. Thank you.
"denotes speech"
'denotes thought'
CHAPTER TWO: WHAT NOW AND UNCOVERING MYSTERIES
Beverly Crusher was stiff. Slowly, she stretched, loosening her muscles before cuddling back against him. 'HIM?!' Her eyes snapped open, and up, her body automatically tensing before she realized exactly where she was and with whom and why. With a faint, satisfied smile, she closed her eyes again, taking stock of how she felt. 'No more head pain, good. Still in uniform, covered in dirt, bad. Warm and very comfortable, ok, I can tolerate the uniform for that.' Somehow, over the hours she had slept, they had gotten into a more reclined position with her head still resting on his shoulder and one arm half over his chest.
For several long minutes she just lay there, luxuriating in how good and right this felt. Given a choice, she would have remained that way for some time, but her comm. system seemingly had conspired with fate to bring both back to reality. A moderately loud beep signaled that she had messages waiting, and she froze, hoping for just a second that it had not wakened the man beside her. A slight shift in his breathing pattern beside her convinced her that she had no such luck. With a sigh of resignation, she raised her head slightly to look him in the eye.
Admiral Jean-Luc Picard felt better than he had in years. Looking down at the upturned face of Beverly Crusher, sprawled out beside him, all was right with him. Granted they were both filthy, granted his body ached like he had been hit by a Borg ship moving at warp nine, he had still never felt so good, so complete, in his life. He smiled, one of his rare, genuine smiles down at her, his left hand trailing through her shoulder length red hair. "Good morning."
For no discernable reason, Beverly felt an intense blush flush over her face for a moment. 'My God, I feel like a teenager.' Smiling despite herself, she once again stretched full length, this time taking care to make it nearly a production, somewhat evocative of a cat. She was still smiling, like a cat in fact, when she answered him. "Good morning, Jean- Luc."
Again, the damned comm unit chirped, breaking the content mood that had settled over the new couple. With a highly reluctant sigh, Beverly Crusher rose from the bed, rotating her shoulders to relieve the last of her stiffness. "I better answer that." She grinned at Jean-Luc Picard as he rose, dust filtering down from his uniform. "Why don't you go clean up a bit? Sonic shower and an honest to God water shower is in there," she offered, nodding towards the bathroom.
Picard raised an eyebrow then bent down beside the bed, retrieving a spare uniform from under the edge of the bed. Now it was Beverly's turn to look surprised. "I had it brought over while you slept."
Still the triple-damned-to-the-lowest-order-of-hell comm unit beeped, and, with a grumble, she headed for her desk as Jean-Luc went into the bathroom. Dusty, dirty, cranky, a bit bloody, and yet elated, Beverly sat down at her desk and opened the channel. "Crusher here."
"Beverly! I heard about the explosion, are you all right?" The half- Betazed was obviously concerned, her face showing worry and a bit of shock.
"Yes, Deanna, I am fine." In the background Beverly heard the shower running. 'Oh boy, how do I keep THIS from Deanna of all people?!'
Deanna Troi Riker, ship's counselor of the USS ENETERPRISE E, a trained psychologist and psychiatrist, had no idea what to make of her best friend. On one hand, she was filthy, and bits of dried blood could be seen long her hairline. On the other hand, she was smiling, indeed, she looked happier than she had been in years. 'What in the name of the Sacred Chalice is going on over there? She's almost glowing!' "Everything ok over there, Beverly?"
'Oh crap! She knows something is up!' In the back, her shower quit. "Just fine, Deanna. I was hurt in the blast, but they got me patched up, sent me home to sleep it off." She heard him enter and begin to dress in the bedroom. 'This is going to be tricky....'
William Riker, captain of the ENTERPRISE, and husband to Deanna, knew something was up. He was standing so he could see the screen, but so no one on the other side could see him, and he knew the good doctor was bluffing. After having seen her poker face weekly for over a decade, he knew a bluff when he saw one. 'And what IS that noise in the background?'
Commander Deanna Troi Riker narrowed her eyes at the doctor before shrugging it off, suspicious, but obviously not going to bust the subject. 'Not going any further with that.' "Well, you should be glad to know you will finally be giving me that exam you have been nagging me about. The ENTERPRISE will be arriving at Earth in four days."
"Speaking of which," Beverly began, her voice holding a rather ominous undercurrent of mischief, "how did Will take your little revelation?"
Deanna chuckled. "Absolutely delighted. I honestly thought he was going to burst with pride, as puffed up as he was. The next day, ALL day, he just went person to person, proclaiming he was going to be a daddy. Geordi finally has enough and ordered him off the bridge for the day for the sake of his and everyone else's sanity."
Beverly burst out laughing. "Poor Will!"
Chuckling, Deanna nodded. "Now he is treating me like I'll break or something! Drives me nuts!"
"Yes, men do tend to do that." Beverly looked over her shoulder towards her bedroom before she could stop herself.
"Who is he, Bev?"
"'He' who?"
"The man there with you."
"Deanna, I don't know WHAT you are talking about."
"Bev, I am an empathy. You know very well what I am talking about. Out with it and him."
A deep familiar voice entered the conversation from behind the doctor. "Counselor, I believe the doctor answered your question."
Never had Deanna's face been so astonished, bordering on the comical. "Aye, sir."
Riker was griming, his face openly jovial and surprised. "Capt-, er, Admiral?!"
"Yes, Will?"
Clearing his throat and desperately striving for an even tone, Will made a brave effort to act normal. "Sir, the ENTERPRISE will be putting in for re- supply and repairs in four days." Riker still couldn't completely wipe the grin off his face.
"Repairs? What did you do to my ship? Please tell me you didn't let Deanna fly her again."
Will openly laughed, wincing at the nasty glance his wife threw him. "No, sir. We had a run in with three Ferengi Marauders."
"Any severe damage?"
"No, sir, just some minor hull damage and a little to the warp nacelles."
"Very good. I look forward to reading your report. Now, Captain, Counselor, if you will excuse us." Picard reached out and deactivated the comm, half smiling. "Beverly, if we are going to make our reservation at Sisko's, you should get cleaned up yourself."
She was shaking her head, half astounded at what he had done. "Do you realize that now that Will knows, half the galaxy will hear that we are together inside of a hour?"
He turned her so she faced him fully, kneeling so they were at the same eye level. "I don't give a damn what the rest of the galaxy thinks. All these years I did, and look where it got us. Right now, all I care about is you."
Never had Beverly been so moved by his words. She reached out, pulling him closer and kissed him gently, letting him pull her to her feet, never once breaking the kiss. Finally they both pulled away and Beverly backed up a step, laughing. "You, Jean-Luc Picard, are going to make us late." Still grinning, she turned and walked into the bathroom. Moments later, hot water was heard running and a uniform covered in dirt was tossed through the open door. Jean-Luc waited exactly thirty seconds before he walked in as well, shucking his uniform jacket as he went.
They never did make that reservation at Sisko's.
Second, I hope you all like this chapter as much as the first, I really put a lot of effort into this one, just like the first, so PLEASE, READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!
Finally, the obligatory disclaimer. Ah-hem. I do not own any aspect of the Star Trek franchise. I am only a great fan, no more of less, so PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!! I BEG OF YOU! Ah-hem. Thank you.
"denotes speech"
'denotes thought'
CHAPTER TWO: WHAT NOW AND UNCOVERING MYSTERIES
Beverly Crusher was stiff. Slowly, she stretched, loosening her muscles before cuddling back against him. 'HIM?!' Her eyes snapped open, and up, her body automatically tensing before she realized exactly where she was and with whom and why. With a faint, satisfied smile, she closed her eyes again, taking stock of how she felt. 'No more head pain, good. Still in uniform, covered in dirt, bad. Warm and very comfortable, ok, I can tolerate the uniform for that.' Somehow, over the hours she had slept, they had gotten into a more reclined position with her head still resting on his shoulder and one arm half over his chest.
For several long minutes she just lay there, luxuriating in how good and right this felt. Given a choice, she would have remained that way for some time, but her comm. system seemingly had conspired with fate to bring both back to reality. A moderately loud beep signaled that she had messages waiting, and she froze, hoping for just a second that it had not wakened the man beside her. A slight shift in his breathing pattern beside her convinced her that she had no such luck. With a sigh of resignation, she raised her head slightly to look him in the eye.
Admiral Jean-Luc Picard felt better than he had in years. Looking down at the upturned face of Beverly Crusher, sprawled out beside him, all was right with him. Granted they were both filthy, granted his body ached like he had been hit by a Borg ship moving at warp nine, he had still never felt so good, so complete, in his life. He smiled, one of his rare, genuine smiles down at her, his left hand trailing through her shoulder length red hair. "Good morning."
For no discernable reason, Beverly felt an intense blush flush over her face for a moment. 'My God, I feel like a teenager.' Smiling despite herself, she once again stretched full length, this time taking care to make it nearly a production, somewhat evocative of a cat. She was still smiling, like a cat in fact, when she answered him. "Good morning, Jean- Luc."
Again, the damned comm unit chirped, breaking the content mood that had settled over the new couple. With a highly reluctant sigh, Beverly Crusher rose from the bed, rotating her shoulders to relieve the last of her stiffness. "I better answer that." She grinned at Jean-Luc Picard as he rose, dust filtering down from his uniform. "Why don't you go clean up a bit? Sonic shower and an honest to God water shower is in there," she offered, nodding towards the bathroom.
Picard raised an eyebrow then bent down beside the bed, retrieving a spare uniform from under the edge of the bed. Now it was Beverly's turn to look surprised. "I had it brought over while you slept."
Still the triple-damned-to-the-lowest-order-of-hell comm unit beeped, and, with a grumble, she headed for her desk as Jean-Luc went into the bathroom. Dusty, dirty, cranky, a bit bloody, and yet elated, Beverly sat down at her desk and opened the channel. "Crusher here."
"Beverly! I heard about the explosion, are you all right?" The half- Betazed was obviously concerned, her face showing worry and a bit of shock.
"Yes, Deanna, I am fine." In the background Beverly heard the shower running. 'Oh boy, how do I keep THIS from Deanna of all people?!'
Deanna Troi Riker, ship's counselor of the USS ENETERPRISE E, a trained psychologist and psychiatrist, had no idea what to make of her best friend. On one hand, she was filthy, and bits of dried blood could be seen long her hairline. On the other hand, she was smiling, indeed, she looked happier than she had been in years. 'What in the name of the Sacred Chalice is going on over there? She's almost glowing!' "Everything ok over there, Beverly?"
'Oh crap! She knows something is up!' In the back, her shower quit. "Just fine, Deanna. I was hurt in the blast, but they got me patched up, sent me home to sleep it off." She heard him enter and begin to dress in the bedroom. 'This is going to be tricky....'
William Riker, captain of the ENTERPRISE, and husband to Deanna, knew something was up. He was standing so he could see the screen, but so no one on the other side could see him, and he knew the good doctor was bluffing. After having seen her poker face weekly for over a decade, he knew a bluff when he saw one. 'And what IS that noise in the background?'
Commander Deanna Troi Riker narrowed her eyes at the doctor before shrugging it off, suspicious, but obviously not going to bust the subject. 'Not going any further with that.' "Well, you should be glad to know you will finally be giving me that exam you have been nagging me about. The ENTERPRISE will be arriving at Earth in four days."
"Speaking of which," Beverly began, her voice holding a rather ominous undercurrent of mischief, "how did Will take your little revelation?"
Deanna chuckled. "Absolutely delighted. I honestly thought he was going to burst with pride, as puffed up as he was. The next day, ALL day, he just went person to person, proclaiming he was going to be a daddy. Geordi finally has enough and ordered him off the bridge for the day for the sake of his and everyone else's sanity."
Beverly burst out laughing. "Poor Will!"
Chuckling, Deanna nodded. "Now he is treating me like I'll break or something! Drives me nuts!"
"Yes, men do tend to do that." Beverly looked over her shoulder towards her bedroom before she could stop herself.
"Who is he, Bev?"
"'He' who?"
"The man there with you."
"Deanna, I don't know WHAT you are talking about."
"Bev, I am an empathy. You know very well what I am talking about. Out with it and him."
A deep familiar voice entered the conversation from behind the doctor. "Counselor, I believe the doctor answered your question."
Never had Deanna's face been so astonished, bordering on the comical. "Aye, sir."
Riker was griming, his face openly jovial and surprised. "Capt-, er, Admiral?!"
"Yes, Will?"
Clearing his throat and desperately striving for an even tone, Will made a brave effort to act normal. "Sir, the ENTERPRISE will be putting in for re- supply and repairs in four days." Riker still couldn't completely wipe the grin off his face.
"Repairs? What did you do to my ship? Please tell me you didn't let Deanna fly her again."
Will openly laughed, wincing at the nasty glance his wife threw him. "No, sir. We had a run in with three Ferengi Marauders."
"Any severe damage?"
"No, sir, just some minor hull damage and a little to the warp nacelles."
"Very good. I look forward to reading your report. Now, Captain, Counselor, if you will excuse us." Picard reached out and deactivated the comm, half smiling. "Beverly, if we are going to make our reservation at Sisko's, you should get cleaned up yourself."
She was shaking her head, half astounded at what he had done. "Do you realize that now that Will knows, half the galaxy will hear that we are together inside of a hour?"
He turned her so she faced him fully, kneeling so they were at the same eye level. "I don't give a damn what the rest of the galaxy thinks. All these years I did, and look where it got us. Right now, all I care about is you."
Never had Beverly been so moved by his words. She reached out, pulling him closer and kissed him gently, letting him pull her to her feet, never once breaking the kiss. Finally they both pulled away and Beverly backed up a step, laughing. "You, Jean-Luc Picard, are going to make us late." Still grinning, she turned and walked into the bathroom. Moments later, hot water was heard running and a uniform covered in dirt was tossed through the open door. Jean-Luc waited exactly thirty seconds before he walked in as well, shucking his uniform jacket as he went.
They never did make that reservation at Sisko's.
