Chapter 6

Jack had tested out his repaired leg long enough and was anxious to get out of sickbay. Of course, he had to get clearance first, which wasn't likely to happen soon with Doctor Schreiber in a grumpy mood. The fact was, Alan Schreiber the ship's CMO, seemed perpetually annoyed, and when he came in contact with Captain Picard, the friction was intense every time. For reasons unknown to Jack the two men rarely agreed on anything, and at times appeared to dislike each other.

While Jean-Luc was quiet about, as to be expected, Dr. Schreiber was known to openly complain about the captain, and it seemed he did not care who heard him. Generally, Schreiber, who was known to be a brilliant doctor, was just as well-known for his temper, even going so far as to throw medical instruments across his sickbay when the mood struck him.

As entertaining as the CMO's frequent tirades could be, Jack was getting real bored after five days in sickbay. As far as Jack was concerned, there were only so many light-hearted conversations he could strike up with medical personnel before everyone involved either got bored or had to go back to work. Jack was not one to stay in a hospital bed, and he hated being by himself. As an only child, he had longed for more and more friendships, even when he had always had so many in his life.

Right now his best friend was in a recovery room, having recently returned from the intensive care unit where he had been for several days following his return from the away team incident and resulting emergency surgery. Jack hoped that Jean-Luc was awake and able to talk because so many questions had been bothering him for days. Where had Jean-Luc disappeared to, and how had he reappeared? By what means had the away team been returned to the bridge when the transporters, it had now been confirmed, had not been activated since the away team beamed down? The timing of it all still seemed strange. It had seemed on the one hand that everything had happened in an instant, but the minutes they had spent arguing on the bridge while Jean-Luc was missing had in a way seemed like hours. According to the ship's clock, the away team, including the captain, had been on the planet surface only 30 minutes.

The heavyset physician turned to look over his shoulder as Jack entered the doorway.

"If you're still following me around looking for clearance to return to duty, Mr. Crusher, don't worry-I was just on my way to see you."

"Thanks, Doc," said Jack, well aware that Schreiber hated to be referred to so casually. "Actually, I was just coming to check in on the Captain. Just making sure he's well taken care of." Jack laid on the charming smile when Schreiber turned fully to fix him with his irritated glare. His bushy grey beard contrasted with his rosy complexion and gave him a sometimes comical appearance; at least in Jack's opinion. The doctor was perhaps sixty, which was by no means old, but put him about thirty-five years older than Jack and easily thirty older than Jean-Luc. It was clear Schreiber had some trouble answering to such a young captain, but there was probably more to the story. Given Jean-Luc's propensity for keeping things to himself, Jack might never learn what that was.

Schreiber eyed Jack before turning back to Picard, who had his arm lifted in the air at a strange angle and was being attended to by a nurse. The nurse helped him lower his arm and then gave him a nurturing pat on the shoulder before exiting the room. "Captain Picard has been well-taken care of, since he was admitted unconscious and bleeding several days ago, Lieutenant," said Schreiber. "But as his friend, perhaps you should convince him to take better care of himself going forward," he added caustically.

Jack had noticed since coming aboard that certain individuals seemed to hold his friendship with the captain against him, or at least, they didn't hesitate to mention it.

Jack moved toward the bed and saw that Jean-Luc's side was covered in bruising and that there was a jagged line where the Klingon blade had pierced his abdomen. Jack whistled. "Geez."

Schreiber snapped his head up to look at Jack. "Would you be so kind as to leave us alone for a moment, Lieutenant? Then I will be sure to give you both a chance to reunite."

"Uh, sure," Jack said, bowing out of the room.

Once Jack had gone, Picard looked at Schreiber, who was studying some readouts. "Thank you, Doctor."

"For?"

Picard frowned. "For fixing me up."

"Well, that is my primary assignment...keeping a man alive who seems to have a death wish."

"Now, come on Doctor-"

"No, you come on, Captain! I'm tired of patching you up because you are too stubborn to avoid leading away teams. You're a captain now, use some goddamn judgment!"

Jean-Luc, feeling more vulnerable than angry, given his condition, at least managed to sit up in an attempt to regain some of his dignity. "I have no idea what you are going on about now, Doctor Schreiber."

"Zev is too willing to bow to your every command to continue objecting when you put yourself in harm's way, but I'm not so subtle."

Picard couldn't help but laugh at that, and immediately regretted it, grabbing his abdomen. "Ah!"

Schreiber tucked his medical tricorder against his side and pointed at Picard. "I find it very interesting that a man who's memorized the regulations so carefully tends to follow them so selectively."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"According to Starfleet's new regulations, Command has limited the number of emergency away teams led by captains to twenty each year."

Picard sighed but said nothing, just glared at the man. "Who's counting?" he finally said slowly.

"I am," Schreiber said with a sly smile. "And in the last year, you have been on eighteen away teams already, with several months still left to go."

"I fail to see your point, doctor."

"If it's not a diplomatic or planned mission, captains are explicitly discouraged from participating in away teams. You and I both know that, and I know you know that I will not hesitate to report you if necessary."

"Report me? To whom?"

"Does it matter? Someone above you in the chain of command."

Picard could feel his face flush with anger. "Need I remind you, Doctor, that I am at the top of the chain of command on this ship, and your constant disrespect for my position is growing old."

"Respect does not grow from the vacuum of space, Captain Picard. I have repeatedly warned you that your cardiac implant is in need of more than routine maintenance. Thus far, you have not consented to surgery, even though I've advised that the recovery period would be relatively short. Your own disrespect for my position as lead physician on this ship is clear. Your neglect and refusal to sufficiently staff my sickbay is but one obvious slight against me. But more importantly, this near-death incident should have been a wake-up call for you. A severe injury could have killed you, and really should have...and it weakened your implant."

Picard brought his hand to his heart. How much longer could he put off surgery? Perhaps giving Zev default command of the away teams wasn't the worst idea. He took a deep breath and gingerly brought his hand down to the healing stomach wound. "How long will this take to heal?" He murmured.

"As long as you lay off any serious exercise for the next few weeks, and consume the specific diet I have prescribed, everything should heal normally. Some scarring will likely be with you forever. I had to use a regeneration pod to repair your intestines. Klingon blades are meant to do more damage on the way out. There is no doubt, your assailant could have stabbed you more than once, but certainly, a stab wound of this magnitude could have killed you."

But it didn't. He lay back with his eyes shut and saw the hovering star-like entity. It had spoken to him and he had understood every word. Still, he remained confused by the experience. Why would such an entity be interested in him? He wanted to be left alone but realized he had no control over whether it appeared again or not. For now, it would remain his secret.

A few minutes later, Schreiber was gone and Jack sat at his bedside. His friend's left leg was in a regeneration cast and was stretched out before him.

"How are you feeling?" Picard asked.

Jack shrugged. "Doctor Schreiber fixed me up nicely. I am walking a little slowly, but no pain since yesterday. He says I will regain full range of motion soon and he gave me some strength exercises to do."

Jean-Luc nodded and looked down at his folded hands. "That's good to hear. I was worried."

"Same here. I'll never forget the look on that Klingon's face when she tried to kill you."

"Hmph. Neither will I."

"So...are you going to be alright?"

Picard nodded. "Schreiber says I should heal properly. Won't be long," he added with a tight smile.

Jack leaned on the edge of the bed. "That's good. Listen, if you ever want to talk about what happened after...well you know I'm always here."

Picard frowned, as though confused at the mention, but inside, he froze up. He was about to lie to his friend. It was the only way. "Talk about what?"

"Jean-Luc...the rest of the team ended up on the bridge-and we have no idea how-"

"Yes, I read T'Pel's report," Picard cut in quickly. "Transporter malfunctions aren't unheard of on this ship."

"Yeah but...well, anyway, that doesn't explain what we all saw."

Jean-Luc kept his features even. "What did you see?"

"You disappeared in a flash of white light."

Picard kept his face blank, but inside his heart was beating fast. "I don't remember," he said flatly. "Must have been unconscious."

Jack looked at him closely. "The whole time? Do you remember being transported back to the Stargazer from the surface?"

"No. As I said, I don't remember, Jack."

Jack smiled slowly and patted him on the knee. "Okay. Probably not a horrible thing that you were unconscious for all of that. I'm just glad you're okay." With some effort, he got to his feet. Something else made him pause. "Were you surprised that those Klingons just left us like that after the battle?"

Picard shrugged. "At the time I was more concerned about possible survivors."

"Right...the ones who used a trap to ambush us."

Picard raised his eyebrows and leaned his bed back against the hospital pillow. "What are you getting at, Jack?"

"How long have you known your friend, that Klingon captain..."

"Kor? Oh, I've known him for...for about as long as I've known you."

Jack smiled, but he was suddenly feeling some jealousy outweigh his curiosity. "But you never mentioned him before."

Picard blinked. "I don't think he had anything to do with us being attacked down there, Jack."

Jack nodded and looked down at the floor. "Right. Their exit seemed a little convenient though."

Jean-Luc crossed his arms, then wincing, brought them back down at his sides. "I want answers as much as you do, Jack. But the decision to go down to that planet was mine and mine alone. I was the one who endangered my crew. Unfortunately, it's part of being in this position."

Jack laughed and scratched his head. "Yeah. But you know, everything about this position is what you were meant to be, Jean-Luc. It suits you."

2346 About One Year later

Captain Picard set his cup of tea down on his desk and inhaled the pleasant fragrance. After a busy morning of meetings with Command, he was looking for just a few minutes of rare relaxation. An emergency briefing regarding the current state of the Klingon Empire following a devastating attack on the Khitomer colony just days ago had been both alarming and enlightening, with the promise of more details within the week. He tried to take his mind off of the real possibility that his ship would soon be recalled to Klingon territory. A near brush with death the year before had left him with more anxiety than he would like to admit.

Scrolling through his personal messages his hand hovered over the touch pad. It was an invitation from T'Pel to join her for morning exercise in the main gym. She'd sent the message last night and he'd missed it due to the emergency briefings. For the last several weeks they had met every Saturday morning for combat training. T'Pel had been instructing him in the ways of Suus Mahna, an ancient Vulcan martial art. He enjoyed the training so far, and believed it complemented the grappling techniques he had been studying for years. More than that, he had begun to enjoy her company, but was concerned that his attraction to her could complicate things. Surely she didn't share the attraction, and he wasn't interested in damaging a solid, even rewarding professional relationship. Still, the feeling of attraction was there, and he would need to do his best to ignore it.

The door chimed and he lifted his head. "Come."

Jack burst in with an energized aura. "Good morning! I know you've been busy, but I was hoping you would have a few minutes, captain."

"Hello, of course, Jack." Picard stood up, gesturing toward his small living room area. Jack seemed too nervous to sit and so Jean-Luc stood as well, quietly taking in his friend's frenetic energy.

"Walker didn't say anything, did he? Please tell me he kept this under wraps."

"Tell me what?"

Jack was beaming. "I'm going to ask Beverly to marry me."

To his relief all he felt was a twinge. Of what he couldn't be sure, but it was closer to discomfort than jealousy. Of course, he was happy for Jack. He and Beverly had been together for a year and a half and seemed very happy. Granted, Jean-Luc's outside view of the relationship was very one-sided, given his limited interactions with Beverly. Since seeing each other in San Francisco about a year ago, he'd only seen her one more time, and it was only in passing. Whatever attraction to her he'd experienced seemed to be fading, and he rarely thought of her unless Jack mentioned her. She had been doing well professionally, had been published in a scientific journal, and was currently stationed at Starbase 72. Of course, he wished her well.

"Oh! Congratulations," he declared, hoping that he didn't sound too stiff. "If you need a few days off to visit--"

"No, actually, it's not necessary thanks to you. I really came to thank, you Jean-Luc."

"Huh?"

"For approving her transfer from the Starbase," said Jack. "This will be her first starship posting and she's extremely excited about it--"

What the hell is happening right now? All of the blood seemed to rush from his brain in a flood. "Transfer? Jack, I didn't approve any transfers recently--"

"Beverly said Dr. Schreiber put out a personnel request for ten doctors, nurses and technicians and she applied right away. The approval came just a few days ago, so I wanted to thank you in person."

Schreiber. That son of a--. "Of course," he said out loud. "Doctor Schreiber has been saying he wanted more staff for some time. It seems he's taken the initiative to do just that." I never should have given him free reign to pick his people. Damn it!

"Oh. I just assumed this went through you..."

Picard moved toward his friend. " No matter, Jack," he said clapping Jack on the shoulder. "As I said, I'm so happy for you." Surprising himself he grabbed Jack into a tight hug.

Jack returned the embrace. "Man, this is going to be so great."