Chapter 9

The next morning, Aria was jilted out of her dreamland by the alarm that had been set only a few hours before. She went on automatic pilot as she showered and dressed for her meeting with Picard. Last night she had enjoyed her time with Scott. He was so handsome and strong and really seemed interested in her. There was only one problem about starting anything serious with Scott was that they were stationed on two different ships and she was not really interested in pursuing a long distance relationship, especially when her career was really starting to take off. She knew that neither of them was willing to give up their career for the other at this point and she didn't think that they could get that serious for that kind of commitment in a week's time.

Picard was already seated at a table when Aria got to the hotel's restaurant.

"I hope you have not been waiting too long, Sir. I though I was on time."

"I am early. Please sit down. Now, I was alerted to two changes to the meeting schedule. It looks as if I will need your skills in them. I am not sure how much actual interpreting you will be doing but I will need you to listen in to any side conversations that may occur. This is the schedule for both of them," he said as he handed over a file to her.

She looked it over the data and thought it odd that the Captain needed her in these somewhat routine meeting, but that was her job and she was not going to being to question the Captain's motives.

"Sir, this will not be a problem. It shouldn't interfere with my intense schedule of shopping and sunbathing," she said jokingly.

"Good. So, what were you doing last night? I hope I did not interrupt anything,"
he said, avoiding her eyes.

"No, Sir. Commander McKinney and I were just walking on the beach and he was splashing me when you had called."

"Oh, okay. I am glad you are having a good time here," he said coolly. Picard was all business that morning which was quite a change from the previous evening.

"Yes, thank you." She could tell something was bothering him, but she did not want to pry. Aria and Picard quickly and quietly finished their breakfast and headed off to the opening assembly.

The assembly room was cool and very crowed with conference attendees and tightly arranged chairs. She had to sit very close to Picard for the whole assembly. The heat radiating off of him warmed her leg. Her mind wondered from the speaker to the night before with Scott, but sitting so close to Picard made her feel guilty thinking of another man. She knew there was no real reason she should feel that way, but that didn't help her feel any better.

At the break, Scott found her and asked her to have lunch with him. She couldn't because of one of the extra meetings the Captain had scheduled, but promised to see him later that night at the banquet.

The rest of the day was filled with conference meetings, but Aria was able to fit a quick swim in the pool before she had to get ready for the evening's banquet. She put on her new gown that she though was perfect. It was slinky deep maroon color with gold accents. The back was nonexistent and only the two thin straps kept it from falling to the floor. It had a small train and made her feel like a diva, especially with her hair pulled up into an elegant twist and secured by two golden clips. When she was ready, she went down to the cocktail reception on the main floor of the hotel. It was packed with all of the delegates. The Starfleet men and only a few women wore their mess dress but most women were wearing gowns. She saw many heads turn as she entered the room and scanned the room looking for someone she knew.

Scott came right over to her and complimented her and her dress. She could see that from across the room Picard had also noticed her but stayed with the group he was talking to. It was a to surprise that he did not come over to meet her, but chose to think nothing more about it when Scott introduced her to some of his friends.

Out of the corner of his eye, Picard watched Aria and Scott. He tried hard to push down his feelings and carry on his conversation, but all he wanted to do was take Aria in his arms and run away with her. The sight of the young Commander's arm snaking around her delicate waist and touching her bare skin nearly drove him crazy with envy. He found this young woman to be an incredible person. When they were together, there was never the feeling that there was almost a twenty year age gap between. Picard logically understood that Aria had every right to be with this Lieutenant Commander McKinney. She was a beautiful young woman and was aloud to be with anyone she chose. He was her commanding officer, but her social life was not for him to control. Do I have the strength to not give into my feelings for her? He thought to himself. If he did, he was certain he would loose her and the man holding her and knew that Commander McKinney could never treat her the way she deserved to be treated, but could even Captain Picard be good enough to live up to what she deserved? And what would happen to both of their careers if he failed?

At the end of the cocktail hour, people began to take their seats for dinner. Scott walked Aria to her table. Captain Picard was already seated but stood, as all the other men at the table did while she took her seat. Once seated, Scott left for his table.

Quietly, Picard said to her, "You look beautiful tonight." She blushed and thanked him. The dinner was the typical banquet, but Aria could not get the Captain's words out of her head. He had never seemed so sincere before and it caught her off guard. When dinner was over, there was dancing. Picard asked her to dance to the first song. She accepted and he took her out onto the floor. He held her gently, like she was going to break. Even with his light touch, he was able to guide her smoothly across the floor. She looked into his eyes and again though she saw something familiar. Before she could figure out what it was, Scott came over to cut in to dance with her. Picard reluctantly released his grip on her as Scott took his place so close to Aria. She could feel Picard's eyes on her the whole time, but hoped that she was able to hide her feelings from her dance partner.

They were getting ready to leave the banquet for a quite drink at one of the beach front bars when Picard came over and asked if he could have a moment of her time to speak privately. She told Scott that she would catch up with him at the bar and left the banquet with the Captain at her elbow, guiding her.

They went up to his suite, which she though was odd, but she had a sitting room in her suite, so she figured he had one as well. Aria thought that what ever he had to discuss with her had to be important to need this level of privacy. He let her in and his room was just like hers except was a mirror image and stood between Aria and the door.

"Aria, I appreciate you putting your personal plans aside for me," he said coldly.

"It is not a problem. So what do you want to discuss, sir?" She was all business, as if she was still in her uniform and not in a spectacular evening gown.

"I am concerned for you."

"Why?"

"Commander McKinney has a bit of a bad reputation."

"Sir, so far he has done nothing but enjoyed my company and has been a perfect gentleman. I think I can take care of myself. But I do thank you for your concern. If that is all, I would like to enjoy the rest of my evening." She wanted to meet up with Scott and was beginning to get a bit annoyed with Picard's detainment. "Sir, what I do with my free time is my own business. I don't tell you about the reputations of those you keep company with and I wish you could do the same for me."

Picard got on the defensive. "Aria, you don't want to get involved with him," he said sternly.

"And why not, Captain," she said with disgust. "I have not and will not let any relationship I have with anyone interfere with my job and your needs both here and on the ship, but Sir, this is NONE of you business." She stared at him with ice in her eyes.

"This relationship is interfering with my needs so I am making it my business," he said firmly.

"Sir, I would hate to ruin our friendship over this, so I would rather not talk about it anymore. I will talk to you tomorrow morning at our meeting. Good night, Sir." She began to leave the Captain's room. He caught her arm as she tried to walk to the door and she quickly turned around to face him right in the eyes, only inches from his face.

"I don't want to talk anymore either, Aria. All I want is you," Picard said as he gave her the most passionate kiss of her life. His arms wrapped around her and held her tightly against him, as if he didn't he would loose her. She melted into his embrace.

When they lips parted, Aria took a step back and looked at him. She was torn. Her gut reaction was to run back into his arms and never leave, but why did he have to choose that moment to let his feelings be known to her. She was so confused.

"Why did you do that, sir?" Aria asked bewildered.

"You didn't want me to?" he asked sounding hurt.

"I have wanted you to do that since the first time I met you. Why did you have to wait until now, when I had gotten near someone else?"

"I am sorry Aria," he said as he gently touched her face. She leaned into it for a moment but quickly pulled herself away.

"Captain, I am not that easy. It is not fair for you to do this to me. I can't just throw myself into your arms because you got jealous."

"Aria, I…"

"No, Captain let me finish. I cannot be here for your amusement. I deserve more."

"Aria, please, our friendship means so much to me that I hope I did not ruin it by my selfish actions. It tore me up like never before to see you in another man's arms. I realized that if I didn't kiss you right now I might have lost any chance I might have to be with you. I have been alone for so long and when I see you or we talk, I don't feel alone anymore. I need you in my life. If you don't want that, then I will have to live with it. It will hurt, possibly destroy me, but I will respect your wishes."

"Captain, I have to know something. What's going to change when we get back to the Enterprise? Are we going to go back to the way things were once your competition has gone back to his ship? I don't think that could ever happen now, but I will not be the Captain's mistress either," she said, failing to hold back her tears.

"I don't know what's going to happen when we get home, but I don't need a mistress. I need you, I need you as a friend and eventually I hope to be more that that with you. There isn't a part of you that I don't ache for, but I respect you far too much as a person to ever act on it, if that is your wish. What do you wish?" he asked of her as he tried to brush away her tears, but she pushed his hand away.

"I don't know Sir. I…I have to be alone right now." Aria ran from his room and down the hall, tears streaming down her face. Picard stood in the doorway, watching her go. Wanting to run after her, Jean Luc knew that he had to let her make the decision on her own and had to give her the space to think things through. He wondered if she was ever coming back to him.

He sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs and held his head in his hands and wondered if he had lost both the woman he held in his arms just a few minutes before and more importantly, his friend. Still able to taste her lips, it hurt him to see her so upset by the decisions she was left to face alone. He swore at himself for putting her in such conflict.

If she returned to him, he promised himself that he would do his best to make sure she was happy with the time they spent together and never feel the pain he knew she had to be feeling at that moment. For once, he was not the one calling the shots. Things were going to progress according to her wishes. Aria was in command, if she returned.

Aria left the hotel and went for a walk on the beach. She was alone as tears ran down her face. So many emotions ran through her, conflicting emotions that tore her apart. She did really like Picard and she had wanted him all along but then there was Scott and her secret admirer. Questions like how was this going to change her life and her career ran through her head. The last thing she wanted is to give herself a bad reputation. Back on the Enterprise, she was certain there were already rumors of her being the Captain's lover. Could she take the whispers and the stares from her crewmates? Was it worth it?

She walked and walked, still in her gown, down the shore thinking about her life and her career. She knew so much was going to change regardless of her choice, but it had to be her choice to make. As the first light began to appear at the horizon, she was still walking alone, this time walking back to the hotel with her decision.

She lifted her hand and knocked on the door, hoping it was not too early for him. The door opened and Aria held her breath.

"Aria?" Scott said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Are you okay? I was worried when you did not show up last night. Please come in."

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have been thinking, all night actually, but I cannot see you again. I know that this is sudden, but I wanted to be straight with you. Someday you will meet the right woman, but it isn't me. I realized last night that my heart belongs to another and it would not be fair to lead you on knowing that. I am sorry. Thank you for the time we spent together and good bye." She turned and left him standing there. By the time she had taken three steps away from him she heard Scott's door close. Her tears were welling up again and began to fall down her cheeks.

Aria went up to her floor and knocked on Picard's door, her hands trembling and her knees weak. It felt like an eternity for him to answer. He stood there, in a dark blue silk bathrobe, framed in the doorway looking at her, wondering what she was going to say. The tears were still falling from her eyes as she lunged towards him, wrapping her arms around him.

"I am sorry," she whispered into his ear.

He took her inside his room and held her, tightly as she sobbed in his arms.

"What could you ever be sorry for?" he asked her after a few minutes, confused.

"I'm sorry for what I said and what I must of put you through. I walked all night, thinking of reasons why I shouldn't be with you. As the sun began to rise, I couldn't think of a single one." She was trembling in his embrace. All of her emotions had been exhausted that night. He helped her sit down on a couch in the sitting room, afraid to let go of her.

"I am so glad you are here," he said, finally able to wipe the tears that had streaked down her cheeks all night long. "You are so beautiful. I could not be any happier as I am now that you are here, with me." Picard took her face and gently cradled it in his hands as he brought his face to her and gently kissed her. Aria brought her hands up to his and felt the strength in them. He took one of her hands in his and kept the other on her face.

"This has to be a dream," he whispered in her ear.

"No, Sir. It is not," she replied.

Picard chuckled. Aria looked puzzled. "Aria, I think it is okay if you call me Jean Luc now."

"I'm sorry. It is second nature to me. I am so used to the formalities of our relationship," she said as she looked up into his eyes. At that moment, she realized what had seemed so familiar in them. "It's you," she said looking shocked.

"What do you mean?"

"You were the one that danced with me at the anniversary party. You left your gold mask behind."

"Yes, that was me," he told her with a bit of embarrassment in his voice. He was amazed that she had remember that moment they shared over two weeks ago.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, knowing the truth in her heart.

"I couldn't. I thought I would be content with that moment we shared. That was until last night when I saw you in another man's arms. Every part of me told me that if I let you disappear with him, I would regret it for the rest of my life." He kissed her again, gently as if she was going to break. Chills ran down her spine as he did. She was amazed that all of this was happening to her.

They spoke and gently kissed each other until an alarm went off in Jean Luc's bedroom. He got up to turn it off. They both knew that they had to chance into uniform for their one meeting that day. After that, they had two days were theirs to do as they pleased. Aria gave him one more kiss, one that left him wanting more, and went to her suite to dress for their meeting.

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