Chapter 6


A few days later...

"Don't get me wrong, Jean-Luc, I appreciate that you are coming to visit the baby more often..."

Picard stood stiffly with his hands behind his back. He had just arrived in her quarters just seconds after she had finished her own shift and she was exhausted. He stepped aside as the nurse walked quickly by him and out the door.

"If this isn't a good time, Beverly, I can come back later."

"Well, I just got off shift, I'm sure you understand. Barbara said Jeanette was pretty quiet today-"

"Who's Barbara?" he inquired with a frown.

"The nurse who just walked right by you out the door. Barbara has been watching Jeanette when we're gone. We both still have to work, as you kept mentioning the other day-"

"Oh you're on to that again?" he closed his eyes.

"I don't want to fight with you," she reassured him as calmly as possible. "I just think maybe you should change up your schedule a little bit."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean just let me know when you would like to come by and you are free to come and see her. I don't even have to be here."

He began to pace. "But I thought that having a schedule would provide more stability for her."

"Maybe...but she also might want to see her father more than once each day and then when she's in the middle of a crying fit."

He halted. "Is she even really cognizant of me right now? I mean does she really know who I am?"

"I can't believe you just said that!"

"She's an infant, Beverly. If I sent Riker to look in on her, would she really be able to tell the difference?" After all, Riker does love babies...

She sighed and walked away, picking up an empty milk bottle from the table. She tossed it into the recycler. "Although you may not believe this, Jean-Luc, she does know who you are. You are supposed to be bonding with each other at this stage. It's important for her to have you around."

"But not at this moment," he clarified reminding her with irritating exactness about what she had just said. "Because now is not a good time for me to be here."

She stared at him for a tense few moments before backing out of the room slowly. "I'll be back in 20 minutes," she said with exaggerated calm. "Make yourself at home..."


Beverly had been right; Jeanette was quiet that afternoon and had settled into him when he picked her up from her crib, which for the time being, had been moved out of Beverly's room. Instead of crying, she seemed intent on developing the little muscles in her neck and repeatedly gave him little head butts against his shoulder until he shifted her in his arms. She was so small that he had the persistent fear that she would either slip through his arms, or he would somehow drop her. Beverly had shown him how to support her head, which had calmed his nerves somewhat, but he was still hyper-aware of her small size.

At several points, as he looked down at her, her eyes focused on his—or at least it seemed that they did, and he realized that her eyes were a phenomenal shade of green. Not so much hazel like his own, but a brighter green, possessing the same vibrancy of her mother's eyes.

"You seem very wise to me," he murmured, brushing a finger against her soft cheek. She stared up at him, as though he was mesmerizing her. "Don't you worry," he said softly. "You've inherited your mother's nose. But I have to note…you have very little hair. Never fear... unlike mine, your condition will improve," he assured her quietly. Gradually the baby's eyes closed, reluctantly so. When he was certain that Jeanette was asleep, he carefully placed her back in her crib, and turned to look at her once more before leaving the room.


He stayed deliberately longer, just so that he could speak with Beverly, and try to sort out these scheduling issues, but made the miscalculation of walking back out into the living room just as she exited the bathroom wearing a towel. She hadn't mentioned she was going to be taking a shower; he would have remembered that.

She looked surprised to find him still there, although only slightly embarrassed, given her attire.

"Oh. Sorry," he said quickly. Unable to turn around quickly enough, he shut his eyes tightly and then turned to the right, holding his body tightly to allow her room to pass by.

"No problem," she said from behind him, with a hint of amusement in her voice. "I always take a shower after a long shift, and I didn't expect you to still be here, Jean-Luc. Just hold on, and I'll be right back."

A few minutes later she emerged from her bedroom completely clothed in her two-tone uniform. Her hair was still wet, making it an exotic and darker auburn than he had seen. It also occurred to him that it had been quite some time since he had seen her hair under real sunlight, which made him consider just how wonderful that might be. She was watching him curiously now. He pressed his lips together, aware that he was still not focusing on appropriate subjects, and hoped that she had not noticed. He looked down at his boots self-consciously.

"Well," she said, sounding rather refreshed. "You still want to talk after I left things like that?"

"Hmm?" She's trying to talk to you, Jean-Luc, now focus on the conversation.

"I was a little harsh earlier…I'm sorry, Jean-Luc. I know you're trying to get to know the baby in your own way. I shouldn't have expected you to simply fall into it."

He stared back at her, the image of her in a towel now emblazoned on his consciousness forever more. Those legs. "It's uh…it's alright," he mumbled. "I'm sorry to have overstayed my welcome this afternoon. I should have known that you—he nodded awkwardly toward the bathroom.

She laughed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Jean-Luc are you still worrying about seeing me in a towel? Well, don't. I'm a doctor and not the least bit shy when it comes to issues of anatomy."

Honestly, does she think saying something like that actually helps me to concentrate?

She watched as his expression turn even more complex. "Why do you have that look on your face?"

"What look?"

She shrugged. "Never mind. Besides, I'm sure there wasn't much for you to see in that brief moment."

He shifted his feet, politely focusing his gaze on her face.

"So…" she was still watching him patiently. Apparently it had been a good shower, because her mood had improved significantly since before his visit with Jeanette.

"So," he responded taking her cue. "I've decided that I will do as you say and come to see Jeanette more often for less ... predictable visits."

She smiled pleasantly. "And I will be more sensitive to your need to have a schedule."

"Thank you," he said with a gracious nod.

"Well," she conceded softly. "You are a very busy man."

"And you are a very busy woman," he countered with a lift of his eyebrow.

"But we'll manage to work things out."

He nodded amiably. "Quite right…for the baby."

She tilted her head slightly and smiled at him again. "Right." Without warning, she moved closer to him and put a hand on his upper arm. "Jean-Luc…I have to ask you something."

He breathed in and she was close enough now that he smelled a bit of lavender. He blinked, attempting not to appear mildly intoxicated by the scent of her hair.

"Yes?" he managed.

"You look very tired. Are you having trouble sleeping?"

He laughed abruptly and took a slight step backward. She frowned, apparently not happy with this reaction.

"Well," he said, attempting to re-engage her with a smile. "The baby has been keeping me awake."

She nodded slightly, but then moved in again, this time taking hold of his hand. "Yes, she has been up crying often most nights this week…but there's something else isn't there?" She studied him perceptively, and he was too close to look away and have it be at all helpful to his current predicament.

"Why are you holding my hand?" he murmured, looking away from her eyes and down at her shoulder.

She squeezed his hand and his heart seemed to give an extra thump. "Because I care about you…now have the nightmares come back?"

He closed his eyes, now highly uncomfortable. They never left. "No," he lied, opening his eyes.

She bit her bottom lip and then her face took on an outraged expression. "You're lying to me, aren't you?"

He twisted his hand out of her grasp and stepped away. He ran a hand over his head before looking back at her. "I've only had two this week, Beverly and they were manageable."

"Manageable? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means exactly what I said. I am handling the dreams. And after all they are only dreams," he reminded her.

"The dreams about your abduction by the Borg are an important aspect of your physical and emotional recovery process, Jean-Luc. We've talked about this. If we can monitor your physiological responses we may be able to sort out some of the nerve pain that continues to be a problem for you."

He regarded her stone-faced.

"Have you even bothered to mention this to Troi? Because if you don't I will."

He crossed his arms over his chest angrily. "Whatever happened to doctor patient confidentiality?"

She laughed, but sounded genuinely hurt. "Doctor…patient…Jean-Luc, I am your friend."

"Then why are you talking to me as though I am in your sickbay?" he demanded.

"You have to be the most stubborn man I have ever—"

He put a cautionary finger to his lips. "We're going to wake the baby at this rate. Now I have business on the bridge. So if you'll excuse me."

"You can use the baby as an excuse only for so long, Jean-Luc. We're not done discussing this," Beverly called after him.

He turned around as he reached door. "I will talk to Troi about my sleeping patterns. But I am putting the Borg behind me, Beverly, and I don't wish to be reminded of my abduction as you put it, every time I see you. I'm asking you as a friend."


Star Base 773

"Pots...the cover story the Boss gave me is too elaborate. There is no way these people will fall for it, and I can barely remember the details, myself," said M into the monitor. "I haven't even met this Picard guy yet, and I'm already sweating thinking about fooling him. It's one thing pretending to be Jack Crusher, but the mirror universe story...it's too over the top, man."

"If you value your life, M, you'll do every thing you can to make these people believe you're Jack Crusher. And don't let the Boss think you can't manage the job." Pots' image wavered slightly over subspace. "I'm beginning to think there's more at stake here than just a big payday for everyone involved."

"Huh? Why?"

"Let's just say, the Boss isn't who I thought he was," said Pots. "And I still don't have a clue who he is..."

"Well...we really didn't need to know. It's never been a problem before with anonymous clients."

"This is different, M."

"Do me a favor-you want me to stay in character, call me Jack, will you? You think this is easy, idiot? Anyway, why is it different?"

"Whoever this guy is...he's playing for keeps. I don't like being expendable, Jack, so pull out all the stops and just get this done."

"Yeah okay, thanks partner."


"I disagree…strongly Jeffrey," said Alynna Nechayev. "She needs to be the first to know."

Admiral Naguchi made a dissatisfied face. "Our orders were to tell Picard first, for security reasons. "Jack Crusher's widow doesn't need the shock of hearing it from you, Alynna. Your lack of bedside manner is nothing less than legendary."

"Let me have my way with this, Jeffrey. In every other way, I have been steamrolled by this process and you know it. If it was up to me, we wouldn't just be conceding that this man is Jack Crusher anymore than—."

"But he is Jack Crusher," said Naguchi. "Every scientific test has confirmed it, Admiral."

"Then why are we sending along an investigator, if everyone at Command is so certain? Something is not bloody right here, Naguchi, and I will find it out."

"What's not right?" he demanded of his colleague, now growing irate.

"I saw his dead body with my own eyes, all those years ago, when trust me, my eyes were much sharper. And now I am expected to simply admit that Jack's here…that he never died. Tell me, what isn't wrong about that?"