Someone was at my door. I didn't want to see anyone. I had beamed down to a mining colony expecting up to 500 injured patients to take care of only to find only nine were alive. Those survivors will recover fully. It's not them that haunted my thoughts. It was the rest, all the dead. All those people with hopes and dreams and family and potential suddenly gone. It always hits me hard but to hold that little girl in my arms moments after her death that I could've prevented if I had been a little sooner just broke my spirit. I don't want to have to put on a brave face for anyone right now but the door chimed again. I sighed and said, "Enter." The door swished open to reveal Jean-Luc, arms laden with a large box. He strode in as if it was his own quarters setting the box on my table. "What are you doing?" I asked annoyed.

"I'm taking care of my friend." he said like it should be obvious to me what he was doing.

The first thing he pulled out of the box was a elegantly wrapped gift. He handed it to me. "What's this?" I asked.

"It's a gift, Beverly, you are supposed to unwrap it." he explained as if I was a small child.

"I know it's a gift, what is it for?" I wanted to know.

"It is for you." he said not answering my real question.

"Yes, I realize that Jean-Luc, but why have you given me a gift?" was what I really wanted to know.

He sat next to me on the couch and took my hand in his and asked, "How are you feeling tonight?"

"I'm fine." I lied. He looked pointedly at me, he knew I was lying. After a moment I caved in to his stare, "Ok,ok, I feel awful. All those people! I was ready to help them, comfort them, heal them, get them back on the road to a happy life but there was almost no life there at all! So many vibrant lives snuffed out in an instant, I couldn't do anything for them."

"Right, you feel awful, I'm here to help you feel better. I can't take away the hurt of the tragedy but I can make you evening more pleasant and less lonely. First, open your gift." he instructed.

I did and inside I found an adorable stuffed bear. She had lovely mahogany fur and it was so soft. Her body was soft as well, I couldn't help but hug the toy to my chest. She had a little heart stitched on her own chest and was holding a small bouquet of pink roses, stitched into her little paw. I looked at Jean-Luc questioningly, this was a gift for a small child, not an adult.

"I have it on good authority that one of these can be a good friend when no one else is available. Deanna said they give wonderful hugs and their fur can soak up tears when necessary. Plus, it will remind you of the good friend you have that gave it to you." he said with a sly smile.

I had to laugh at him, "Ok, she's cute, she can stay. Thank you Jean-Luc, that did make me feel better. And she's supposed to remind me of you? She's a girl, a bear, less than a foot tall and she has a full head of hair!" I teased. He cringed and then laughed at my joking. "I guess I will just have to name her Jean so that she will remind me of you a little bit."

"Next on the agenda would be dinner. What would you like for dinner? Anything you want." he said waiting for an answer.

I really wasn't very hungry. "How about a bowl of vegetable soup? I'm not very hungry." I told him.

He went to the replicator but soup wasn't what he asked for. He came back with his plate of cheeses and crackers and pulled a bottle of wine and some glasses out of the box. "We'll start with appetizers and maybe we can stimulate your appetite."

"Oh, Jean-Luc, not one of your few bottles of Picard wine! It's too special." I knew he kept a few bottles of wine from his brothers vineyard but to use one for a gloomy day didn't seem right.

"We're celebrating the nine who survived. We're celebrating our friendship. We're celebrating Will not succumbing to the allure of the powers of the Q. We're celebrating Q being gone! I'd like to say Q being gone forever but that's not likely. See? We have things worth celebrating!" he said with forced enthusiasm. He was trying hard to cheer me up. It did help. It's nice to have a real friend. We enjoyed the wine and cheese and crackers but I still wasn't very hungry. I instructed Jean-Luc to order my grandmother's vegetable soup. He agreed it was the best vegetable soup he'd had. We talked about different places we'd lived and visited. I got to know more about his life in France and he learned more about my life growing up. It was really nice.

"Now for dessert." he said getting up and going to the replicator.

"I'm really not hungry, I couldn't do a dessert justice." I let him know.

"So then I will order..." he said and turned to the replicator and said, 'one Troi ultimate chocolate sundae with two spoons' and we can share."

"What is a Troi ultimate chocolate sundae?" I asked as it appeared.

"Chocolate ice cream, chocolate fudge, chocolate chips and chocolate whipped cream." he recited.

"Ooooh, that does sound good! I think I could find some room for that." I had to admit.

He set the bowl on the table and handed me a spoon, "Would you like your own?"

"No, Jean-Luc, I can share with you." I said and took a bite, it was very good. I was feeling mellow from the real wine and a lot better about life because of all his ministrations. "Thank you, this has been wonderful and it has really helped me."

"Truly, it has been my pleasure." he said, digging in to the mound of chocolate. "So, what did you think of grown up Wesley?"

"Very handsome, if I do say so myself. And I'm not just saying that because he's my son, he was quite handsome! But different than I thought he would look. I'm glad Geordi got a chance to see with normal eyes, even if for just a minute. Jean-Luc, what would you have wished for?" I was curious what he would have picked. What wishes run around in his mind?

"Nothing I can't get for myself and appreciate it more for the effort in obtaining it." he said seriously.

Not quite the answer I was looking for, "No, I mean if you could have one wish, pretending it wasn't from Q might help, what would you pick? No consequences, just one wish."

"You mean do I wish I was younger, stronger, taller or that I could fly or see through objects or transport myself anywhere in the blink of an eye? There are times I wish for those things but I wouldn't want to actually have that wish, it would change everything and much of it not for the good. Right at the moment, I only wish a friend that needs cheering to dance with." he finished.

Suave, very suave. I might have to keep a closer eye on him. That was a very smooth segue into his next item on this agenda he has planned. "You dance?" I asked. I had never seen him dancing at any of the diplomatic functions we had attended.

"You will have to forgive me for being a poor dancer but, on occasion, I do dance. Would you care to dance with me? Nothing complicated, just a lazy waltz." he asked standing and holding out his hand for me to take. Which I did. He called the computer to play a Stravinsky waltz and took me in his arms lightly. He was being humble when he said he was a poor dancer. He guided me so effortlessly I felt like I was floating around the room. "So, Beverly, what would you wish for?" he asked.

"Me? I hadn't really thought about what I would wish. Maybe I agree with you about not getting tangled up in the Q and powers like that, I didn't ask myself what I would wish. I'd like to say the power to keep all my patients alive but then no one would die and the universe would get crowded. Death is a normal part of the process. I know, I think I would wish that Wesley had been one of a pair of twins. Then I could have had a daughter as well as a son. Yes, that would be my wish."

He smiled, "A very sensible wish, Beverly." We danced two more waltzes before he led me to my seat and went back to his large box. He produced another wrapped gift. "Just lift the lid on this one, do not turn it upside down, it's living."

"Please tell me there is not a puppy in there! No, it would've been noisy and moving during the last hour." I lifted the lid and it was alive but it was a plant.

As I lifted the gift by the pot he explained, "It's a miniature rosebush. It's still young but it will have lovely pink blossoms, like the ones the bear is holding."

"It's lovely, Jean-Luc, thank you!" I was touched, he had done so much to lift my spirits and succeeded wonderfully. I would have to find ways to enhance his life in return. This was turning out to be a promising friendship.

He got up and went to the box again, "Just one more thing." he said.

"But you've done so much already, Jean-Luc!" I protested.

He brought out a bottle and handed it to me. It was a bottle of bubble bath that was rose scented and attached was a card with a note that read 'Crusher Program BB'. "Crusher Program BB?" I asked.

He smiled, "On the holo-deck, Crusher Program BB will take you to a private spa where you can enjoy a luxurious bubble bath and a massage if you wish. I know you are not one to indulge yourself like this but perhaps you should take the time, it's very good for the body and soul. I have to be going so maybe you could go now and try it out."

"Mmmm..." I said sniffing the aromatic soap, "I just might. Thank you, this has all been just perfect. You are a true friend and I do appreciate you." I said.

"Then I will leave you to your spa evening. Goodnight, Beverly." he said.

Acting on a whim, I kissed him on both cheeks in French fashion. "Good night, Jean-Luc. Thank you again." and with that he was gone. I had my bubble bath and mused on my new friend, our friendship was growing and I was very glad to have him in my life.