Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.

Chapter Two

Picard was in his ready room, sipping a piping hot cup of early gray tea, when his badge went off. Placing his cup down on his desk, he tapped his badge and prepared himself for anything.

"Picard here," He said, hoping that nothing bad had occurred. After that strange virus had assaulted their ship, everyone seemed to be a little tense. He wouldn't doubt is one of those people had snapped and harm had been inflicted.

"Captain," The gentle and calm voice of counselor Troi answered. He let out a little sigh, hoping that she wasn't calling about one of the crew's mental health. "I would like to request a meeting with you this evening, after your shift, if that's possible."

"Of course," Picard responded, wondering what she might want to see him for. "I'm off duty now if you want me to come over…"

"If it's convenient." Deanna responded.

"All right, I'm on my way," Jean-Luc said, standing up. He took hold of his tea with one hand, and the other hovered over his comm badge. "Might I ask why you need this meeting?"

"I believe it is something best talked about in person," Deanna said, almost sounding amused. Raising an eyebrow, Picard downed the rest of his tea and placed the cup in the replicator return area.

"Acknowledged," He said, walking out of his ready room and towards the turbo lift. "Picard out." And with that, he tapped his comm and ended the conversation. Stepping into the turbo lift, he couldn't help but feel a little worry as he called out, "Counselor Office."

As the turbo lift moved to comply, Picard ran a hand over his bald head. Sighing, he wished, not for the first time, that he still had his head of hair. It had been quite helpful to run one's hand through their hair.

Oh, well, that was just one thing that came from aging.

In Counselor Troi's office, Beverly Crusher was pacing again. She had been hoping to have more time to prepare herself for his arrival...but that wasn't what Deanna had thought wise. The counselor thought it better if Beverly just straight out told him she was pregnant with his child. And maybe she was right. After all, he did have a right to know.

Then again, who knew how he would react to the news. Would he be angry? Obviously he would be at least somewhat upset. I mean, he had to be, right? He'd constantly brushed off her attempts at flirting with him, denied that he had any feelings for her, and always expressed his dislike for children.

"I don't think I can do this," Beverly said, her arms folded around herself in nervousness. Deanna glanced over at her. The half-betazoid seemed to have expected this. Coming over to her side, she embraced Beverly in a hug.

"I know you're worried, Beverly," Deanna said, gently rocking the doctor back and forth. She could feel Beverly's turmoil of emotions running through her. "But I can assure that things are going to be all right."

"But -" Beverly started to say. Deanna's quick response interrupted her protest.

"No buts," Deanna said firmly. She sighed a little as she pulled the doctor back to look into her eyes. "You need to tell him this. You can tell him this. And you will."

"Okay," Beverly said, taking hope in her words. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, hopping to calm her nerves. "I just - find it hard to believe he'll take the news as calmly as you did."

"I'm glad you think so," Deanna said, letting go of the doctor and directing her to a seat. "Now, I want you to stop pacing - my carpet can't take much more of your moving feet."

Chuckling, Beverly relented, and even allowed Deanna to get her some calming herbal tea. (Synthohol was totally out of the question, and herbal tea seemed to be the next best substitute).

Beverly was halfway through the cup when Deanna's door chime beeped. Giving an encouraging smile to Beverly, Deanna went to meet whoever was at the door.

"Enter," She said. As the doors swished open, Deanna gave another reassuring smile to Captain Picard, who looked quite worried indeed. Deanna could sense is mild discomfort, as well as his worry. Standing aside to let him in, she hoped that tea she'd given Beverly had significantly calmed her down.

"Deanna," Jean-Luc said, his eyes remaining on the counselor as he walked in the door. "What is you wanted to -" He stopped when he caught movement in his peripheral vision. Turning, he saw Beverly Crusher standing by the couch, a cup of tea in her hand.

"Hello, Jean-Luc," Beverly said, her voice sounding much more confident than she felt. "I wanted to speak with you privately...I thought this would be the best way to do that."

"Beverly," Jean-Luc said, memories of what they'd done together swirling in his head. "If this is about what happened…" He trailed off as he realized they were not alone. Deanna, catching onto his embarrassment, gave another reassuring smile.

"Captain, I can assure you that my patients privacy is my utmost concern," She went to sit down in her chair, which faced virtually every part of the room, excepting the food replicator. "This conversation will not leave my office, unless one of you retells it."

Nodding, Picard ran a hand over his bald head. He really missed running it through real hair. Beverly couldn't help but smile as she watched him do that. Really, it was kind of cute. In a Picard sort of way.

"Jean-Luc," Beverly said, closing the distance between them. Deanna politely looked away, as she noticed the both of them were experiencing romantic feelings. Beverly more than usual, which was understandable. "This is about what happened that night, sort of. But I'm sure it's not what you think."

"Indeed?" He asked, looking at her with a resigned and tired sort of feeling. He thought perhaps she might hold a grudge against him because of what had happened. Or, even worse, want to transfer to another ship because of what happened. "Then I am inclined to ask why you wanted to speak with me."

"Well…" Beverly said, taking a deep breath. Her brain was going through thousands of ways one could tell someone they were pregnant. She could draw it out, or say something silly, or make it sound like a joke. But none of those seemed to be right for this moment. Looking into his eyes, she reached out and grasped his larger hands in hers. "Jean-Luc, I'm pregnant. And you're the father."

"I - what?" This was certainly not what he expected. He had expected something difficult to digest, perhaps her ignoring him for the remainder of the time they worked together. But this, this was absolutely unexpected. Blinking, he squeezed Beverly's hands and felt a little dizzy.

Within moments, he was being led to the couch facing Deann's chair. Sitting down, he put a hand to his head and tried to process what he had heard. Beverly was pregnant, and he was the father. He was going to be a father. Of her child.

"Jean-Luc, are you all right?" Beverly asked, sounding extremely worried. This was not the reaction she had expected. Putting an arm around his shoulder, she held him in a sort of side embrace. "Computer - one cup of earl gray tea, 70.5 degrees exactly."

The replicator hummed in response, and soon a steaming cup of tea was waiting to be enjoyed. Deanna, who was closest to the replicator, brought the cup over and handed it to the doctor. And she, in turn, placed it into Jean-Luc's hands.

"Thank you," He said quietly, still unsure how to react. Holding onto the cup, he let the heat run through his hands before he took a sip of it. The liquid was still quite hot, and scalded his tongue, but it gave him a boost of energy.

"Feeling better now?" Beverly asked, rubbing small circles on his back. When she realized she was doing it, she stopped herself and pulled her hand back into her lap. She gave him a little smile. Picard nodded, wishing that she had kept her hand there. He couldn't admit this before but...her touch made him feel all the more alive.

"Yes," Jean-Luc said, placing his cup next to Beverly's. He met her eyes again, and this time braved himself for what he knew must come next. "Beverly, not that I want to seem skeptical, but are you absolutely certain you are pregnant?"

"That's what the medical device said," Beverly said in a joking way. Deanna smiled to herself. The doctor's confidence was returning, probably due to the reaction Picard had exhibited. "And to answer your unasked question - I was with no one else. The baby's undoubtedly yours."

Picard nodded, feeling quite honestly, a bit confused. He was, strangely enough, happy that he and Beverly were going to have a baby. But under the circumstances, it was also something that troubled him. They weren't married...so how was custody over their child supposed to go?

Beverly, inevitably, felt much the same way. Her worry aside, she also felt happiness at thinking she and Jean-Luc would have a baby together. But she didn't want to have some weirdly over complicated custody system with the baby. But they certainly couldn't just move in together. For one thing, they weren't married. And for another, she still had Wesley to consider.

"So," Jean-Luc said, allowing himself to relax a bit more. "Once question still remains. What are you and I going to do?"

"Before we decide on anything," Beverly said, suddenly worried again, this time about another person. "I have to find a way to break this to Wesley."

Picard's eyes widened as he remembered her son. Yes, of course Wesley should be notified of this...but did he really need to know so soon.

"I'm not sure if that's wise," Jean-Luc said, leaning back in his seat. The cushions on the couch were extremely comfortable, cradling him in what seemed like a hug. Beverly looked at him skeptically and leaned back in her seat also.

"Why not?" She asked, a challenge obviously in her voice. Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows and gave her a look that said 'why do you think?'. She persisted on staring at him, arms folded. She wanted a verbal answer.

"To put it mildly," He said, sighing a little. "I fear he will come to a similar conclusion as the young prince Hamlet did."

"Hamlet?" Beverly asked, her brow wrinkling with confusion. "Who's he and what does he have to do with this?"

"Hamlet is a famous play by Shakespeare," Picard said, reaching out to take his cup of tea back. It had cooled down significantly, and no longer burned his tongue. "In it, the main character, Hamlet, suspects his uncle has murdered his father in order to steal the throne, and his own mother."

"Oh," Beverly said, blinking. She hadn't expected that sort of explanation. "I don't think Wesley would think you had a hand in Jack's death."

"Oh really?" Jean-Luc said, sounding just a bit amused. "I couldn't help but wonder the same thing when you came to seduce me."

Deanna, sitting across from the two of them, found herself smiling all the wider at their interaction. What she had sensed between them when she'd first met them had grown significantly. It was already like they were a married couple, talking about what to do about this situation or that. She wondered, not for the first time, when they would wake up and smell the flowers. They loved one another, they worked well together, and they were going to have a baby.

Everything about that screamed marriage.

Hello again everyone! I'm super glad that you all liked the first chapter, and I wanted to thank ukdgr for posting a review on that. I'm always a little worried that my first chapter won't be very good. But I'm glad that isn't the case where this story is concerned. Anyway, I hope to get chapter three posted sometime this week, which means I might get it posted later today, or sometime during the weekend.