The Enterprise was in dry dock for scheduled maintenance. The crew had scattered in all different directions, and Picard was just heading for a shuttlecraft to take him to nearby Torpid VI to look at some archeological ruins when a pleasant voice called out his name.

Yes," he said, turning around to face her.

"I thought perhaps you would like to spend the day with me," she said.

He was confused. She had been somewhat reserved since they had been linked at the mind after Kes Prytt. Her words still cut like a knife. He had told her that perhaps they should not be afraid to take things further in their relationship now that each knew how the other felt. He had left himself vulnerable, and she had delivered a crushing blow, saying "Or, perhaps we should be afraid." He felt as though they had gone backwards since then.

"I would consider it an honor, Doctor," he said, offering her his arm, which she took.

They toured the base together, making small talk. He couldn't help but notice the way she smiled at him, and the way she was looking at him.

"Jean Luc," she said, as they stood outside her cabin that evening, saying their good byes, there's something I've been wanting to tell you." The moment hung there, as he waited. Her heart pounded, as she said "Perhaps we should not have been afraid after all."

* * * * *

Wesley sat before the fire, staring at his mentor. "You did well," The Traveler said.

"Thank you," said Wesley. He wasn't proud, but he felt lighter somehow, changed.

"they were not the only ones to walk away with something this time. I believe your spirit has learned a lesson as well."

He was right, of course. It took a moment for Crusher to speak. "You were always insistent that every vision should mean something. At first when I left this one, I thought I was only supposed to learn what they did, that if you are willing to give a little of yourself the rewards you will reap are worth the sacrifice and pain. then I realized there was more." He paused for a moment, and then switched tracks. "I don't remember my life before my father died, but I always wished he could come back. I thought that somehow a sense of cosmic balance could be restored if only he could return. 'What if he had never died?' I always wondered that. You delude yourself into thinking things would be perfect if one thing had only worked out in a more positive way."

"After I tried to create a reality when dad lived, I realized my error. Some things happen for reasons we never see. Maybe they weren't right for each other. Maybe her and Jean Luc were meant to be together, or maybe it was a fluke. That's not the point though. Nothing's perfect, and we have to deal with what we get. After I saw what I had done, I realized that what I had was far better than what I wanted."

The Traveler smiled. "Be thankful for your gift," he said, and disappeared into the mist, leaving Wesley alone with his thoughts.

* * * * *

Picard was stunned. "You mean.." He didn't dare to hope. After twenty-five years, it seemed impossible.

"I love you, Jean Luc," she said.

"And I You, Beverly."

And as he kissed her, she knew no fear, for there was only love.

"That's all there ever was Beverly," he said, as though reading her mind. "That's all there ever was."

He took her hand and led her towards the next chapter in their lives, and together they knew no fear.