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Chapter Thirteen

Beverly checked the readouts on Admiral Nechayev's bed before silencing the blood pressure alarm. Her blood pressure was not dangerously high but Beverly was not pleased that the Admiral's aide had annoyed her enough to make her blood pressure spike. Glaring at Lieutenant T'lim, Beverly said,

'What's going on?'

'I have arranged for Mister Nechayev to rendezvous with us at Starbase Eighty-one,' explained T'lim.

Even though the lieutenant was maintaining her emotional control, Beverly had worked with enough Vulcans to know that she was completely bewildered by Admiral Nechayev's reaction. Seeing that Nechayev was still struggling to control her temper, Beverly asked,

'Why?'

'He insisted that he had to see Admiral Nechayev as soon as possible so I checked flight plans for him and having determined that the earliest possible rendezvous was Starbase Eighty-one, I booked the relevant flights for him.'

'Why does he need to see the Admiral?'

'He said that it was essential that they reaffirm their spiritual and physical connection after the Admiral's illness.'

'How did he know about my illness?' asked Nechayev in a cold and quiet voice.

'He contacted me on the second day of your treatment because he had been unable to contact you. He asked where you were…'

'So of course you told him,' said Nechayev, leaning back with a resigned sigh, the tension leaching out of her body.

'Yes,' said T'lim, looking puzzled, 'Should I have withheld the information?'

'No,' said Nechayev, shrugging, 'It's just that Bill doesn't do Starfleet… and he's very distracting.'

'Oh?' asked Beverly, intrigued.

She knew that Nechayev was married with children and grandchildren but she had never heard anything about her husband.

'Bill's an artist and he finds Starfleet's rules and regulations too confining.'

'A lot of people don't have the right psychological profile to feel comfortable serving in Starfleet,' said Beverly.

Nechayev smiled softly, saying,

'Imagine the exact opposite of the ideal psychological profile for a Starfleet officer and that's Bill.'

Beverly looked at Nechayev speculatively, wondering how she'd ended up with someone so different to her. Attraction of opposites perhaps? Or was it unconscious rebellion on Nechayev's part?

Her train of thought was interrupted by Lieutenant T'lim, who said,

'So my actions were acceptable?'

'Yes but another time, I would prefer my husband not to know that I was ill.'

Lieutenant T'lim looked confused and Beverly retreated to the other side of the room as Admiral Nechayev attempted to explain. Having had similar conversations with Selar, Beverly knew that to Vulcans the idea of withholding information from a spouse was bizarre and illogical whereas to humans it could seem perfectly sensible.

Jean-Luc waited for Deanna inside the holodeck, feeling his excitement build. He was dressed in a Lieutenant's uniform and was sitting in the Captain's chair on the Bridge of the Enterprise-B. He had originally intended to use Kirk's Enterprise again but one look around the holographic Bridge had dissuaded him; there were too many buttons and protuberances and the Captain's chair was too high off the floor. As it was, he'd made a few minor modifications and brought some equipment in with him in order to turn fantasy into reality. The Bridge was quiet with only a couple of other crewmembers, reflecting the reduced staffing levels that were the norm for gamma shift.
Deanna came in and he admired her body as she walked over to the helm and relieved the holographic Ensign on duty. Once he'd left, there was only one other person on the Bridge, the Ops officer. Jean-Luc deliberately let the anticipation build, waiting for several minutes before sending the Ops officer down to 'help in Engineering for the rest of the shift'. As soon as the turbolift doors shut, he said,

'Computer, lock all turbolifts.'

'Acknowledged.'

'Ensign, set the autopilot and then disable the helm and ops controls.'

'Aye, aye, Sir.'

Deanna shivered as Jean-Luc stood behind her, watching as she obeyed his commands. As soon as she had finished he said,

'Come here.'

She stood and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately. Their mind link formed and Deanna moaned as his arousal rushed through her mind; despite his controlled exterior, Jean-Luc was finding this scenario very arousing. Jean-Luc pushed Deanna's chin up and started to nibble along her jaw line, stopping when he reached the spot directly below her chin and sucking hard. Deanna felt her legs starting to give way and Jean-Luc tightened his hold on her, leading her over to the Captain's chair and sitting her on his lap. As they kissed, Jean-Luc removed her uniform until she was sitting naked in his lap. Deanna pushed his jacket off then stood to remove the rest of his clothing. Jean-Luc let his hands roam freely, seeking out Deanna's erogenous zones, scratching and pinching, using their mind link to apply exactly the right amount of pressure to send her arousal soaring. He raised his hips to allow her to remove his trousers and briefs and she sank to her knees to remove them along with his socks and shoes. He felt her brief flash of amusement as she realised that the floor in front of the Captain's chair was raised and padded, then he was groaning and gripping the arms of the chair as she used her mouth to drive him wild. After a few minutes, he made her stop, not wanting the fantasy to end that quickly. They swapped places and he used his hands and mouth to send her spiralling upward into an intense climax. He waited until she had come down and then began again, using his knowledge of her body to make her scream with pleasure again and again. Eventually, his arousal became too intense to ignore and he led her over to the helm, turning her so she was facing the Captain's chair, and saying,

'Lean back, ma belle.'

Deanna shot him a dubious look, which became one of comprehension as he attached straps to each of the top corners. She put her hands through the loops and lay back. Jean-Luc put his hands on her waist and lifted her, saying,

'Put a foot on each seat.'

He had altered the positioning of the seats so that Deanna could reach comfortably and a few seconds later she had adjusted her hands and feet so that she was lying over the console. Jean-Luc groaned at the sight of her exquisite beauty but managed to say,

'Are you comfortable enough?'

'Yes. I feel very sexy.'

'You look incredible.'

Jean-Luc leaned over and kissed her then slowly joined their bodies. Another wave of arousal crashed over them both and Jean-Luc's self-controlled shattered and he gave himself over to frantic joy as their bodies and minds merged. They climaxed together and Jean-Luc projected his voice into her mind again, hearing the overtones of deep satisfaction in her mental voice as she reciprocated. Coming back to himself, Jean-Luc pulled Deanna on to his lap as he slumped into the nearest chair.
After several minutes Deanna raised her head from his shoulder, saying,

'That was amazing.'

'Yes, it was.'

'Next time I want to make love in the Captain's chair.'

'Yes, though I'll have to make it wider.'

'Or remove the armrests,' said Deanna, looking at the chair speculatively.

'I'll make a few modifications,' said Jean-Luc smiling.

Selar waited until her patient had left Sickbay then went into her office, sitting down. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and started biofeedback exercises. After five minutes her hands had stopped shaking and after another three minutes the nausea had passed. Without emotion, Selar selected a data padd and went back to work.

Jean-Luc sat on the sofa in his quarters scrolling through a padd. Hearing Deanna coming out of the bedroom, he said, without looking up,

'You enjoy piloting, don't you?'

'Yes but at the moment I'm more interested in riding lessons.'

Deanna's voice was full of arousal and Jean-Luc's eyes snapped up. As he saw her, his thoughts scattered and the padd slipped out his suddenly sweaty palms. She was wearing riding boots, chaps and a very tight riding jacket. As she sauntered towards him, it became very clear that she was wearing nothing else. Jean-Luc swallowed dryly as she sat astride him, feeling the blood rushing to his groin. In the tiny, still-functional portion of his brain, Jean-Luc rejoiced that his body was able to respond so soon after their time on the holodeck; turning her down when she was dressed like this would have broken his heart. Still unable to speak, he pulled her closer with one hand on her hip whilst the other went to her hair to hold her head in place whilst he kissed her. She responded ferociously and Jean-Luc knew that this time would be fast and wild. The mind link formed and Jean-Luc lost the ability to think about anything other than Deanna and the arousal burning through his body. He helped her rip his clothes off and he yanked her jacket open then she was sinking down on him and he was pulling her hair and tugging her nipples. Deanna was digging her nails into his shoulders as she moved faster and faster until her climax hit and he followed her immediately. Jean-Luc cradled her in his arms and kissed her tenderly as he reflected on his incredible good luck.

Dean Rivers groaned as his alarm went off and then swore; he had fallen asleep straight after eating and now it was too late. He got himself ready mechanically and arrived in Sickbay ten minutes early. Doctor Selar handed over to him silently and he noticed how tired she looked. His clinically trained mind suggested that he should say something but what right did he have to say anything? He nodded silently to her and watched as she trudged out the door.

Selar entered her quarters and lay on the bed, releasing the iron control that she had enforced in Sickbay. After a few minutes, she began to shiver.

Jean-Luc was sat in his Ready Room when his communicator beeped,

'Riker to Picard.'

'Picard here.'

'I've got Doctor Rivers here, Captain. He'd like to see you, Sir.'

Jean-Luc noticed immediately that Will hadn't used any qualifying phrases, such as, 'if you've got time', which meant that Will thought that he should see Doctor Rivers immediately. Wondering why Dean Rivers wanted to see him rather than Beverly, Jean-Luc replied,

'Send him in, Number One.'

A few seconds later, Will ushered the young doctor inside. One look at Dean Rivers made it clear why Will had not attempted to delay him; he was clearly distraught. Standing up, Jean-Luc led Dean over to the seating area and said,

'Take a seat, doctor.'

Dean Rivers sat bolt upright on the edge of the sofa, his hands fidgeting with the padd that he was holding. Jean-Luc sat down opposite him and said,

'What can I do for you?'

Dean hesitated for several seconds before thrusting the padd towards the Captain, saying,

'I'm resigning my commission.'

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