Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I own nothing.

Author's note: Telepathic communication is shown using *.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Paul Fisher was walking towards the bar that Commander Data had recommended to him when he saw Beverley Crusher strolling along the corridor ahead of him. He was wondering whether or not to approach her when she was joined by a human male whom Paul didn't recognise. The man was slightly unsteady on his feet and encroached Beverley's personal space without hesitation. She backed away and when he went to touch her, she blocked his hand, shaking her head vehemently. Paul sped up and within a few seconds he was in earshot,

'I'm sorry, I'm meeting someone,' said Beverley, politely but coldly.

'So where is he?' said the man, belligerently.

'Right here,' said Paul, calmly.

'Hello, Paul,' said Beverley, relieved to see another member of the Enterprise crew.

'Sorry I'm late, Beverley. It took me longer to finish up than I expected.'

'That's all right,' said Beverley, 'Shall we go?'

'Good idea,' replied Paul, casually easing himself between Beverley and the man.

The man glared at Paul in disgust but slowly turned away. Paul and Beverley walked quickly away. Once they were out of earshot, Beverley said,

'Thanks for the assistance.'

'No problem. I'm sure you would have got rid of him yourself soon enough anyway. You must be used to being approached.'

'Yes but he was very drunk so I might have had to hurt him. I hate having to do that.'

'Yes and you shouldn't need to. Saying 'no' should always be enough.'

'It should be but unfortunately it isn't always.'

They walked in silence for a moment then Paul said,

'I was going to have lunch at O'Connell's Bar. Would you like to join me?'

Paul held his breath as Beverly looked at him in silence for a few seconds. After what seemed like an eternity, she agreed.

O'Connell's Bar was fairly typical for a starbase bar with booths along both sides, a long bar at the far end and a tables and chairs in the middle. It was decorated in a way vaguely reminiscent of Earth's Irish culture but with an intergalactic theme over the top, so pictures of Ireland's countryside were side by side with pictures of Starfleet captains and their ships. Beverley paused for a moment next to the picture of Jean-Luc. Jean-Luc had very clearly been forced to pose for the picture and looked very disgruntled indeed. Beverley sniggered and said,

'How to avoid being chosen to be Starfleet's poster child, look as though you're being tortured whenever someone points a holoimager at you.'

Paul looked at the picture and smiled,

'He certainly doesn't look happy.'

'No, Jean-Luc hates posing for publicity shots. He may have many faults but he's not a narcissist. He is proud of his physical fitness but that's a good trait in a Starfleet officer.'

'Yes, Starfleet certainly places a lot of emphasis on physical fitness,' said Paul slightly ruefully, as they chose a booth and sat down opposite each other.

'Did you have problems at the academy?'

'Oh yes. There's nothing quite like being an unfit forty-one year-old amongst a bunch of fit and healthy eighteen year-olds.'

'Ouch. I bet the fitness instructors had a field day with you.'

'I don't think I had a single day in my first year without extra fitness sessions of some sort. Luckily, I'd done some martial arts as a teenager and I can shoot straight so I managed to scrape through the end of year assessment. I spent the summer vacation doing three hours of exercise a day so the second year was much better.'

'So you've only been in Starfleet for five years?'

'Yes, I joined up a after the Borg attack at Wolf 359.'

'A lot of people did,' said Beverley shortly, her eyes shadowed.

Paul reached over and gently touched her hand, remembering that it had been Jean-Luc Picard whom the Borg had taken and assimilated and that the Enterprise had somehow got him back and that Beverley and her team had somehow changed Locutus back into Jean-Luc.

'It must have been terrible for you.'

'Yes, it was.'

Beverley blinked away tears as she remembered operating on Jean-Luc, cloning a new eye and removing all the bits of Borg hardware from his body. This had been followed by weeks of heartbreak and desperation as she watched Deanna trying to bring back the man inside. Deanna had miraculously succeeded and Jean-Luc was now stronger than ever but at the time she'd been sure that the man she knew was gone forever.
Paul waited to see if she wanted to elaborate and when she stayed silent, he took her hand in his and squeezed gently, offering comfort.
They stayed like that until a waiter arrived to take their order. Once they had ordered, Beverley gave herself a mental shake and changed the subject, saying,

'You said Data recommended this bar to you?'

'Yes, he said that several of the crew had commented on how good the food was last time the Enterprise was here, so I thought I'd try it.'

'I hope he's right, I'm ravenous.'

'Me too. I went to the spa this morning and swam for a couple of hours.'

'Is swimming your preferred sport then?'

'For fitness, yes. I play hoverball for fun and I like competing in phaser shooting competitions.'

'Do you win?'

'The phaser shooting? Sometimes. More or less never at hoverball though, I'm not fast enough on my feet. How about you?'

'Deanna and I work out together most days. We've also been learning Mok'bara. Lieutenant Worf teaches it.'

'Does he do a beginners class? I'd like to improve my hand to hand fighting.'

'I'm not sure, but he'll be happy to help you improve your hand to hand fighting anyway.'

'Good. I need something to get rid of my frustrations after working with computers all day.'

'Is that what your area is? I saw that you were a science specialist.'

'Yes, I'm a level eight computer specialist.'

'Level eight? Doesn't that make you one of the top ranked people in Starfleet?'

'Yes,' said Paul hesitantly, hoping that Beverley didn't find it too off putting.

'How did you end up on the Enterprise?'

'Luck. I'd just finished the project I was working on at Starbase Ninety-seven when the request for replacements for the Enterprise came through so when I put myself forward Commander Atkins didn't object and I made sure that she signed my new orders before Starfleet Headquarters had time to object.'

'Are you enjoying it?'

'Yes, there's a great atmosphere on the Enterprise and I've never worked on the Galaxy class computers before so it's really interesting.'

Beverley smiled at the innocent enthusiasm in Paul's voice, wondering if Jean-Luc knew what a valuable resource they now had aboard the Enterprise.
Their food arrived and the conversation moved to the amenities aboard the starbase and their plans for the next few days.

Jean-Luc checked the table to make sure that everything was ready. He'd decided that their first dinner as a couple should be special so he'd replicated candles and flowers and ordered some gourmet chocolates from a shop on the starbase. He'd also programmed his door to admit Deanna automatically.
Promptly at nineteen hundred hours, his door hissed open and Deanna came in. She was wearing a form fitting, dusky pink dress and Jean-Luc found himself itching to remove it. Deanna smiled at him and walked across the room, reaching up to kiss him lightly on the lips. Jean-Luc put his arms around her and pulled her in for a more lengthy kiss. He was tempted to skip dinner and lead her directly into the bedroom but reminded himself that she was just out of Sickbay and needed to eat properly. Letting go of her, he stepped back, cleared his throat and said,

'How was the massage?'

'Really good and the pool was lovely too. How was your day?'

'Dull except for a beautiful woman kissing me earlier.'

'I'm sorry about that.'

'Don't be, it was the highlight of my day.'

Deanna blushed as she remembered how out of control they'd been and how much she'd wanted to continue,

'But…'

'But, not in my Ready Room, no. Unless we were on the holodeck of course.'

Deanna's breath caught at the thought of doing all the things she'd imagined doing on the ship on a holodeck replica of the ship. Regretfully, she shook her head, saying,

'That's probably not a good idea. We could both end up distracted on duty.'

'True, if it was the Enterprise. But there'd be nothing to stop us using one of the other classes of ship, particularly if we used a ship from a class that's been decommissioned.'

Deanna's eyes darkened as she imagined acting out some of her fantasies on another ship. She could feel Jean-Luc's arousal building too and was about to suggest leaving dinner until later when the door chime sounded. Jean-Luc looked irritated but barked,

'Enter.'

The door opened and Lwaxana came in. Jean-Luc stared at her dumbfounded as she said,

'Hello, Jean-Luc. How are you?'

*Mother, what are you doing here? *

*Just stopping by. *

'I'm fine, thank you. How are you?' said Jean-Luc, struggling to keep his voice cordial.

'Very well, thank you.'

*Mother, you have to leave now! *

*Don't worry, Deanna. I'm only staying for a moment. *

Jean-Luc glanced at Deanna's expression and realised that she was as furious as he was. Determined to keep Lwaxana's visit as short as possible, he said,

'Was there something I can do for you?'

'No, Jean-Luc. I just popped by to give you this.'

Lwaxana handed Jean-Luc a small box, saying,

'It's something for you to wear at the spa.'

Jean-Luc looked at the box nervously and Lwaxana's eyes gleamed with mischief as she said,

'Time I was off, I agreed to meet Telna for dinner. Bye.'

Jean-Luc said goodbye automatically and watched as Lwaxana made her way to the door. Lwaxana paused at the door and smiled at Deanna,

*Make sure he models them for you. *

*Mother! *

Jean-Luc heaved a sigh of relief as the door closed behind Lwaxana. Behind him he could feel Deanna quietly fuming and said ruefully,

'Well, that's one way to make sure that you eat.'

Deanna looked at him blankly for a moment before realising what he meant, the sexual tension from a few minutes ago was completely gone, in fact she was not in the mood at all any more and she could tell that Jean-Luc's ardour had been completely doused too. She smiled at him and said,

'I'm sorry.'

'Why? You didn't invite her to come, did you?'

'No, I certainly didn't. In fact I told her quite categorically that we wanted privacy tonight.'

'Then it's not your fault.'

'Thank you. I just wish that she'd respect my privacy sometimes.'

Jean-Luc gave Deanna a rueful smile, knowing that getting Lwaxana to respect their privacy was going to be an on-going battle. Giving in to circumstances, he said,

'Why don't we eat?'

They went to the table and Jean-Luc lit the candles and started serving the food.

By the time dinner was over, Deanna had relaxed enough to say,

'So what did my mother buy you?'

Jean-Luc retrieved the box and opened it, surprised to find a simple pair of swim shorts inside. Holding them up, he said,

'They seem fine.'

Remembering her mother's parting remark, Deanna said,

'Why don't you try them on?'

Jean-Luc was about to refuse when he saw the lustful look in Deanna's eyes and changed his mind.

'Why not?'

He took the shorts into the bedroom and stripped. As he put the swim shorts on he heard the door opening behind him and said,

'I thought you were going to wait outside.'

'Why would I when the view's so much better in here?'

Deanna came up behind Jean-Luc as he pulled the swim shorts up, admiring the way they clung to his body. She ran her hands over his buttocks, enjoying the soft feeling of the material under her hands,

'I think I like these.'

'I'm not so sure,' said Jean-Luc, looking down at the front of the shorts and feeling rather exposed.

'Turn around and let me see.'

Jean-Luc turned around and Deanna instantly understood the reason for her mother's remark; the material moulded itself to Jean-Luc's body perfectly, following the outlines of his body exactly. The result was somehow more revealing than nudity would have been.

'I don't think…' began Jean-Luc, putting his hands in the waistband of the shorts to pull then down.

Two seconds later he was backed up against the wall as Deanna kissed him passionately whilst holding his hands against the wall. When she came up for air she said,

'Leave them on.'

Amused and aroused by her aggression, Jean-Luc waited to see what she would do next.
First Deanna kissed her way across his chest, stopping him when he tried to caress her. Then she very slowly ran her hands up his thighs, getting slower and slower as she neared the top. Their empathic link had snapped into place the instant that they had kissed and Jean-Luc could feel Deanna becoming more and more aroused as she teased him. As soon as she touched the material of his shorts she took her hands away, leaving him groaning in disappointment. He was about to reach out for her when she said,

'No. Not this time. Lie on the bed.'

Jean-Luc reluctantly complied, willing to play but frustrated by his inability to reciprocate. Smiling sensually, Deanna said,

'Don't worry, I won't make you wait much longer.'

Reaching behind her, she unfastened her dress and stepped out of it. Jean-Luc only had a minute to appreciate her lacy black underwear before it too was on the floor, quickly followed by her stockings and shoes.
He lay back on the bed as she crawled over him, scratching her way lightly up his legs. This time she didn't stop at his shorts but gently ran a finger along the front of the shorts, saying,

'I wonder how much this material stretches?'

Jean-Luc arched up into her hand trying to increase the contact but she smiled evilly and moved her hands up to his stomach enjoying feeling his muscles flex under her hands. Groaning, Jean-Luc said,

'Deanna…'

'Something wrong?'

He was about to grab her and flip them so he could take control when she stretched full length over him making them both shudder with pleasure. Deanna started nibbling along his neck and Jean-Luc brought his hands up, tugging her hair gently with one hand and cupping one of her buttocks with the other, pushing her on to him. Deanna writhed against him enjoying the sensation of the cloth against her. As she writhed, Jean-Luc became more aroused and Deanna suddenly peaked, screaming incoherently. Deanna lay panting on his chest for a few seconds then slid downwards. She slipped her hands into the waistband of his shorts and slowly pulled them off, taking her time sliding them down his legs and on to the floor. Jean-Luc desperately resisted the urge to grab her and pull her on to the bed and was rewarded a few seconds later when she came back up the bed and impaled herself on him. She sat there for a few seconds enjoying tormenting them both but then the sensations became too much and she began to move. Within a few seconds they both climaxed, screaming each other's names as the physical and mental pleasure combined sending fire through their bodies and minds.

Exhausted, Jean-Luc fought sleep long enough to pull Deanna back into his arms and kiss her tenderly.

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