The moment you've all be waiting for, we shall finally kill off Jack Crusher (Poor Bev) ;P Thank you for the reviews, they keep me going! So continue to leave feedback!

All Jean-Luc remembered was a flash of light.

And then nothing.

As he regained consciousness, Picard strained to open his eyes, to remember what had happened and where he was. He was horribly disoriented and nearly toppled over the first time he tried to stand.

His head was pounding, and there was a horrible, deafening ringing in his ears.

Jean-Luc turned his head and saw Lieutenant Joseph was laying a few feet away. He was clearly unconscious, though the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest hinted to Picard that he was probably okay. At the very least, he was alive.

Alive.

Not Dead.

All at once, the memory came back to him. Jack detaching the warp power nacelle. Jack walking towards Picard, unharmed. And then an explosion.

Jack.

My god, Jack. Where's Jack?

Picard forced himself to get up, to find his friend.

Steadying himself on two legs, he looked in the direction that he had last saw Jack Crusher stand.

He was there. He wasn't standing. Jack was down.

Probably just unconscious. I'll get them both inside. They'll be fine.

Deep down, Jean-Luc Picard knew what he would find when he reached Jack Crusher. His mind wouldn't let him process such an outcome, but Picard's subconscious whispered the truth.

There is no way that a dose of radiation like the one Jack just received from that blast is anything but fatal. No one could have survived that.

Reaching Crusher as fast as his wobbling legs and his EV suit would allow him, Picard noticed the ominous lack of rise and fall of his First Officer's chest. Still, Picard's mind refused to acknowledge anything other than Jack being okay.

Grabbing him under the shoulders, Picard managed to haul Jack up on his back. Nothing but pure adrenaline was allowing this to happen. Jack Crusher was not a little man.

Picard knew he would need help to get both of the men back inside the ship. Passing Joseph and noting that he was still breathing well, Picard made his choice and hauled Jack on his shoulders all the way to the safety of the ship's interior.

It was not a short walk, and as he carried Jack, a clarity of sorts emerged in Picard's mind.

He was processing the idea that Jack may actually not wake up.

Reaching the port of entrance, Picard alerted sickbay of impending causalities and ordered an immediate beam-out directly there. And as the beams lifted the two men, Crusher still cradled in the Captains arm's, Picard could not help but pray to the gods of the galaxy that Beverly Crusher not be on duty in sickbay today.

Please. Please. Please. Let her not be there to see this.

The Red alert had ceased its chant, and all at once the knot in Beverly's stomach disappeared.

Everything much be okay. We made it through without a single causality.

That was when Picard's voice called out:

"Picard to sickbay, I'm about to beam a medical emergency to you."

Apparently, I thought too soon.

Beverly had no idea what was coming her way; Picard hadn't specifically said what this "medical emergency" entailed, but she could tell from his voice that he sounded stressed. Being ever on top of things, the Doctor barked orders at her team to prepare for the worst case-scenario.

No amount of medical training could have prepared her for what was about to cross the threshold of her sickbay.

A shimmer of light began in the middle of the floor. Slow at first, and then the mere beams of light gave way to two whole human beings. Well, one whole, the other but a shell of his former self.

Beverly's eyes first met Jean-Luc's, she was relieved when she realized he looked okay.

But there was something in his eyes…

Pitty.

Why is he looking at me like that?

Her eyes left Jean-Luc and went to the man lying in his arms.

For a split second, nothing clicked. Beverly wasn't registering what exactly was going on. She cocked her head to the side, still just looking at the scene before her. Not moving, not acting.

Finally, something inside her switched on. Beverly wasn't miles away, she was right in the middle of things. Realization struck her and desperation filled her.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Jack. Jack. My, Jack.

Beverly didn't know what she was, who she was. A doctor? A wife?

She ran across the floor of sickbay, to his side. Jean-Luc was already lifting Jack on the biobed, her staff peeling of the EV suit.

A hand came to her shoulder.

"Doctor, maybe you should let your staff take care of this."

"NO!"

Absolute determination filled her words. This was her sickbay. This was her husband. This was her responsibility.

Jean-Luc squeezed her shoulder. She glanced at him. She could still see the pitty in his eyes. It disgusted her.

I will save him. I will. I must.

Except, there was no man left to save. Jean-Luc knew that. Her staff had come to know that. The only one still in the dark was Beverly Crusher.

Standing over her husband, the Doctor immediately noticed he wasn't breathing. His skin was pale, deathly pale. He didn't even look like Jack Crusher anymore.

Beverly wasn't willing to let go, no, not yet.

"Cortical stimulator!"

The order was given, the order was obeyed. No member of the Doctor's staff even hesitated. They would let their boss try, at the very least she would feel that she had done everything she could.

"Now!"

A shock raced through Crusher's body. The monitors continued to utter their death cry.

"Again!"

Still nothing changed. No heartbeat. No brain activity.

"Again."

The same.

It was Picard who dared speak to her .

"Beverly."

It only took her name. The way he whispered it, softly, trying to put comfort in the single word, it hurt so badly. Her name brought her down to the reality of this situation and the reality that from this moment on, she would have to continue without the man she had married.

The Doctor closed her eyes in acknowledgment that there was nothing more she could do. She could feel the tears welling-up behind her eyes, wanting to break free, to flow, but she stood there, medical tricorder still clutched in her hand, and refused to cry.

Her world had ended, but she couldn't cry. Not there, not in front of Jean-Luc and her staff. No, she had to be strong. She had to keep herself together.

She breathed deeply. Her chest was tight, hurting, but she somehow managed to speak.

"Call...it." her voice trembled as she forced the words out of her mouth.

Those two short words were so simply in meaning, but together they signified the end of everything. Together, those two words officially declared her surrender.

The order was silently acknowledged; Beverly's head nurse nodded and was the next to speak.

"Computer, Commander Jack Crusher, time of death 1421."