And here's the penultimate chapter! We're coming up to the close of this story now - if you were thinking of leaving a review, now's your chance! I am so happy to have some really lovely readers (and secret lurkers). Let me know what you think. Part II of this story is in the works (is that good or bad? Let me know!).

Another week later and the captain's condition was much improved. Gone was the confusion, his hearing was restored, and his skin almost entirely healed. All that remained was the extreme fatigue that had sapped his energy and had given him roughly five hours of wakefulness per day.

When he next woke, Beverly was ready and in place next to his bed. He had a feeling she'd been a constant presence for some time but he was having a hard time piecing the events he thought he remembered into any kind of rational order. She did seem to occupy a central place in all the scattered moments he thought he could remember, but then there were plenty of other 'facts' he knew couldn't be real. There was a dim recollection of a fight between some cheese and a bear but he was pretty sure that hadn't happened...

"Jean-Luc, how are you feeling?" she said, taking his hand in hers.

He yawned, smiling at her presence, "Oh, not so bad… just extremely tired." Exhaustion was written plainly on his face.

"I bet. Are you ready for something to eat?"

"Not really but I expect that isn't going to deter you, Doctor."

"You know me so well Captain…" she wondered over to the replicator and dialled up something nutritious and easy to digest. "Here, scrambled eggs and some buttery toast. Think you can manage that?"

He had to admit, it did smell good… hot buttered toast was in fact, one of his well-hidden weak spots. "For you, I will try."

She helped him sit up by propping another few pillows behind his back then pulled over the tray table so he could reach.

He scooped up some egg and chewed thoughtfully, "I must admit, I appear to have a few gaps in my memory… I do have some questions."

She hoped his apparent alertness marked a turning point, dreading a return to the tedious Paris questions. With some trepidation, and a level of patience that had been sorely tested she spoke, "Of course. What would you like to know?"

He put down the cutlery and swallowed the mouthful he'd been chewing, "What the hell happened?"

She hadn't been expecting that. He was clearly on the mend. She laughed as she responded, more than happy to hear him sounding so much like his old self, "From the top?"

"Please."

"Well, some of it we aren't quite sure of, maybe you can help us out? In a nutshell, you can have the short version, you arrived back from the planet Jendoken IV a little worse the wear, Riker escorted you to your cabin, you didn't show up for your bridge shift, I went to find you. You were very sick. The very first case of human arkoner bud poisoning. If you're going to do something Jean-Luc, you might as well do it to the best of your ability."

"Quite." He said, quirking an eyebrow.

"You've done a stint at Starbase 3, and here at Medical." She paused, held his gaze, and tried to convey the severity of what had happened to him, "It was really touch and go for a while there… what do you remember?"

"Everything after the planet is very hazy. I really don't recall… was I in Paris?"

She had developed a slight twitch every time he had asked her over the last few weeks about Paris, but she knew this time, he really needed a clear answer – and one that he was going to remember. She had a really good feeling that he really was coming back to health.

"No," she laughed remembering the hundreds of times he had asked her. "Your brain was affected by the toxins in your system, it sent your language centre haywire. You switched right back into French – we've had the UT working overtime."

"Strange… I do remember that. I think... It was as I remembered first arriving at the Academy. Working between both languages… it's been so long since I've spoken much more than in conversation with my brother and his wife."

"We think it was a repairing strategy – you reverted to your first language while everything got sorted out. Your Standard almost disappeared. And then there was the delirium…you were quite taken with sharks, bears, and cheese officers if I recall…"

He swallowed another mouthful quickly to put a stop to her recollection of his worst moments, "Oh no. I don't think I want to know any more than that…"

"It was quite amusing, you didn't offend anyone. I think you're safe. But please, don't mention Paris to me for a good few weeks."

"I definitely don't want to know in that case… what's the damage?"

"A bit of a system upgrade I'm afraid. A few new arteries and valves connecting to your cardiac implant and replacement cloned cochlea in both ears. Other than that, we managed to resolve everything else but it looks like you're going to have to battle with post viral fatigue syndrome for a while longer I'm afraid."

"But that..."

"Was eradicated ages ago? Yes, I know. Consider it a parting gift from Jendoken 4."

He nodded, fatigue didn't sound so bad... a few weeks and he'd be back to fighting form. "When can I get out of here?"

She smiled, wished she didn't have to say anything more. She was so glad to have him back, she didn't want to break the moment. "Only you… Jean. I'm afraid the bad news is that while we can easily treat terran forms of PVFS, this alien variety, and one genetically produced by nannite encoding, is not something we have the ability to medicate. It's going to take a long time to get over, we're going to have to let it run its course. If I were you, I'd take it easy and let us do your heavy lifting. Perhaps in a few days, we can release you to civilian quarters but you won't be returning to duty any time soon."

He looked like she'd just killed his puppy. Disappointment flashed across his face before he schooled his features into command neutral, "How long am I looking at?"

She squeezed his hand tightly in her own hoping to neutralise the effect of what she was about to say, "It could be in the region of six months…" His face fell, "I'm sorry Jean-Luc. I wish we could make this better."

"No… it's uh… It is what it is. The way I feel right now..? No. Fine. Fine." He said, trying to convince himself as much as Beverly.

"Post-viral fatigue is nothing to be sniffed at. There are a few medications that can help tone down some of the less desirable symptoms, but it really is a sign that your body, and mind, need time to recover. While you've been out of it, your body has really been through it and working over-time to keep you alive."

He looked down at his lap, his fingers working at the edge of the blanket. He looked so disappointed, heart-broken. She knew she was still keeping the worst of it from him too. It was going to take a long time before Jean-Luc Picard would be back on the bridge.

"What do you remember of Jendoken IV?" she said, glad to change the subject and have him focus on something a little less personally devastating.

He looked relieved at the unexpected turn in the conversation back onto ground he was much more comfortable exploring. "Oh… they were intractable. The last night the… I can't remember the word… the meal they served?" He seemed to remember something, she could practically see the pieces click into place, "I uh… I wasn't intoxicated. Is that what everyone thinks?"

"Afraid so… but don't worry, your blood alcohol was clear. Your good name remains intact." She replied gently.

"I remember starting to feel woozy... Everything started swimming… Feeling very cold… I'm afraid I don't recall how I got back to the Enterprise… What happened?" he said, suddenly running out of steam. He wasn't sure if he was feeling so beat because he was recalling the first signs he had been poisoned or because he was generally feeling so bad. What had she said? Post-viral fatigue?

"The arkoner bud – toxic to humans, something we didn't know before so we have you to thank for this discovery." He snorted in response to her gentle teasing before she continued, "The Jendo and the Kloz use it extensively in their cooking, it forms a really common seasoning. But then things got really interesting. The Earhart team, Professor Esho and I worked out there had been some genetic modification created by nannites of all things."

"Nannites?" he asked slowly. "Who? What?" he asked. His brain felt sluggish, like it wasn't working properly. He couldn't seem to focus, to organise what she was telling him.

She studied his face, could see he was starting to struggle to follow her. His eyes were growing heavier by the second. He had managed to eat a few mouthfuls of the meal she had given him and taken a few sips of water. "Why don't you rest Jean-Luc? There's plenty of time, take a little nap. I'll be right here."

Before she'd finished speaking, he had drifted off, worn out from conversation. At least he was finally comprehending what had happened and appeared to be able to retain information. If he mentioned Paris again though…