Mending Fences Chapter 7
The clock on the wall in the study chimed two am and Jean Luc slowly closed the pages of Shakespeare's
'King Lear'. He couldn't concentrate; his mind was constantly wandering to the beautiful woman sleeping
upstairs.
He closed his eyes and let the memory of her lips on his wash over him. He was almost asleep when he
heard Beverly's anguished cries for help. Jean Luc opened his eyes and headed for her room. She was
having the nightmare again.
Jean Luc lay down beside her, wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, whispering that she was
safe, nothing could hurt her here. Beverly didn't wake up, she turned into his embrace and buried her face
into his chest.
He held her until she stopped shaking, as he rose to leave her room, she awoke, "Jean Luc, please don't go."
"Beverly, you need rest, we can talk in the morning."
"Please … Just hold me."
He stretched out beside her on the bed and pressed his chest to her back. She nuzzled closer as he placed
his arm around her waist.
"I'm sorry about earlier Jean Luc."
His grip on her tightened a little, letting her know that he understood, "Sleep, Beverly, you need it."
*************************************************************************************************************
The morning sun was bright this time of year in France and Jean Luc began to stir when the first ray beamed
in through the window. He felt something on his chest and glanced down to see Beverly sleeping peacefully.
Her red hair was fanned out over his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his body, her legs were
intertwined with his in a way that should have been uncomfortable, but felt perfectly natural, like this is the
way they were meant to be.
Jean Luc began to stroke Beverly's hair softly, he had no intention of waking her, he was content to indulge
himself in holding her, if only for a short while. He was a little embarrassed when he realized she was also
awake.
Their eyes met and she whispered "Good Morning."
He went to get out of bed but her arms held him closer, so close that he couldn't get up. "Please don't go,
not yet."
He shrugged to himself and embraced her. He wished he could wake up with her holding him every morning.
Within moments, she was asleep again, she was physically exhausted.
It was almost noon when Beverly awoke again to find herself still wrapped tightly in Jean Luc's arms. She
smiled sleepily at him and whispered, "If only I could tell you how I feel."
She thought he was still asleep and her cheeks burned from embarrassment when he opened his eyes and
smiled at her. She playfully smacked him and said, "I thought you were sleeping."
He laughed She decided now was a good time to get out of bed, "I'm hungry Jean Luc, what's for lunch?"
He sighed, "Well, I thought maybe we would go into town for lunch, you have been here over a week and
have only been out of the house once or twice. I want to give you a tour of some of the villages here, they are
quite beautiful this time of year. There are many festivals going on to bring in the fall season."
A smile crossed her lips, "Sounds wonderful." She held up her hand, "I'm going to get rid of this cast and
I'll meet you downstairs in twenty minutes."
******************************************************************************************************************
Forty-five minutes later Beverly bounced down the stairs castless, wearing Jean Luc's favorite outfit, black
leggings and a blue sweater that fell off her shoulders. Her hair was flowing freely behind her in a mass of
soft waves. Once again Jean Luc Picard was awestruck by this woman's beauty.
She smiled, "Jean Luc, is something wrong?"
His jaw had dropped when he first saw her and he had yet to say anything. "Ahem… N..No , nothing is
wrong. Why do you ask?"
Beverly was laughing now, "Because your mouth is hanging open and you are staring at me.!"
He closed his mouth, grabbed her hand and said, "Shall we go?"
*******************************************************************************************************************
Once again Jean Luc was right, the small village was bustling with people, all celebrating the start of the fall
season. They ate lunch at a small café on the outskirts of town.
Beverly laughed at the stories Jean Luc told of his academy days, and he at her stories of medical school. It
was a side of each other they rarely let show.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jean Luc saw the familiar blue shimmer of a transporter and the forms of
Commander Riker and Counselor Troi materializing. In his mind he was thanking every god he could think
of that they beamed down behind Beverly.
"Excuse me Beverly, I have something I need to deal with, I won't be but a moment."
She nodded her head in understanding as he rose from the table as Will and Deanna were approaching. He
managed to pull them out of Beverly's line of sight before she saw them.
"Number One, is there a problem?"
Deanna sensed the feelings coming from the captain and spoke before Will could respond, "Captain, there
is no problem, Starfleet decided they want to run some tests on the Enterprise to see how the ship is holding
up after the last overhaul. The crew was granted shore leave for a few days."
She gave Will a small smile and he heard her thoughts in his mind *Things are going very well…too well*
Riker understood the meaning behind her thoughts and couldn't resist teasing his captain, "Sir, how are
things progressing with Dr. Crusher?"
The smile on Will's face was wider then the Grand Canyon. Deanna could tell Picard understood exactly
what Riker was attempting do and he had succeeded.
Jean Luc's ears turned bright red from the insinuations his first officer was making, "Things are progressing
commander, we…a…Beverly is making some progress in her healing. However, I do not think she is ready
to face her friends and comrades yet. So, if you and the counselor are going to remain here and see the sites,
I ask you please, do not approach Beverly. This is the first time we have been out of the house since we
arrived and I …"
Deanna interrupted his sentence and asked Will to leave her alone with the Captain for a few moments.
"Captain, may I speak freely?"
"Of course Counselor."
Deanna sighed, this wasn't going to be easy, "Captain, I understand how important it is for Beverly to come
to terms with what happened to her, I just want you to realize that although she may act like she is perfectly
fine, she still has fears and emotions that she has not yet faced."
"Counselor, I disagree, in the past few days Beverly has made progress, the nightmares haven't stopped but
she now understands that what happened to her was not her fault."
Deanna shook her head, "Sir, she may be hiding her fears behind her feelings for you. If you were to
pursue any kind of … physical relationship with Beverly she may react as if she were being threatened
again."
"Deanna, Beverly knows I would never hurt her."
"Captain, I just want you to understand that Beverly will have to live with what happened to her for a very
long time, perhaps the rest of her life. Being raped is not something you forget in a few weeks, it takes time.
The feelings of guilt, loss of control, they will be with her always. Just be cautious, Sir."
Jean Luc understood what Deanna was trying to say and thanked her for her concern and walked back to the
table where Beverly waited.
*****************************************************************************************************************
"Beverly, lets go for a walk." He helped her up and took her hand as they walked away from the café.
"Jean Luc, where are we going?"
"The streets are getting crowded, I thought maybe a nice stroll through the park would be nice. There is a
little stream that flows through it and the view of the French mountainside is breathtaking."
He felt her tense at the mention of mountains and put his arm around her "I will be right here, nothing will
hurt you, I won't let it."
She smiled and leaned into him, "My protector" she whispered.
Beverly grew more and more distant as they walked closer to the park. "Jean Luc" she whispered "I … I
can't…"
Jean Luc didn't hear the fear in her voice "Sure you can Beverly, we are almost there."
Beverly shook her head and said "NO" her voice raised just a little higher then before " I don't want to go!"
She was crying now, emotions she thought were gone were starting to resurface as the mountainside came
into view. Jean Luc put his arm around her and realized she was trembling.
"It's all right Beverly, I'm sorry. I should have realized you weren't ready for this."
Through her sobs she whispered "Take me home."
*********************************************************************************************************************
Neither spoke the entire way back to the Picard Estate. Beverly quickly exited the craft and was in the house
before Jean Luc had the engines off.
As he entered the house he heard something crash to the floor upstairs. He sprinted up to Beverly's room
and found her sitting on the floor, knees under her chin, slowly rocking back and forth surrounded by
various broken glass and ceramic pieces.
"Beverly…"
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry."
Jean Luc sighed, "Beverly, you have nothing to be sorry for. I am the one who should be apologizing to
you. I didn't mean to upset you. When I suggested we go to the park, I wasn't thinking."
He walked over to her and started to pick up the pieces of glass. Beverly chuckled softly "Kind of ironic
isn't it Jean Luc."
He looked up at her sad swollen eyes, unsure of what she meant "What do you mean?" he asked.
She smiled- albeit a small smile "Well, there you go again. Picking up the shattered pieces of my life."
End part 7
The clock on the wall in the study chimed two am and Jean Luc slowly closed the pages of Shakespeare's
'King Lear'. He couldn't concentrate; his mind was constantly wandering to the beautiful woman sleeping
upstairs.
He closed his eyes and let the memory of her lips on his wash over him. He was almost asleep when he
heard Beverly's anguished cries for help. Jean Luc opened his eyes and headed for her room. She was
having the nightmare again.
Jean Luc lay down beside her, wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, whispering that she was
safe, nothing could hurt her here. Beverly didn't wake up, she turned into his embrace and buried her face
into his chest.
He held her until she stopped shaking, as he rose to leave her room, she awoke, "Jean Luc, please don't go."
"Beverly, you need rest, we can talk in the morning."
"Please … Just hold me."
He stretched out beside her on the bed and pressed his chest to her back. She nuzzled closer as he placed
his arm around her waist.
"I'm sorry about earlier Jean Luc."
His grip on her tightened a little, letting her know that he understood, "Sleep, Beverly, you need it."
*************************************************************************************************************
The morning sun was bright this time of year in France and Jean Luc began to stir when the first ray beamed
in through the window. He felt something on his chest and glanced down to see Beverly sleeping peacefully.
Her red hair was fanned out over his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his body, her legs were
intertwined with his in a way that should have been uncomfortable, but felt perfectly natural, like this is the
way they were meant to be.
Jean Luc began to stroke Beverly's hair softly, he had no intention of waking her, he was content to indulge
himself in holding her, if only for a short while. He was a little embarrassed when he realized she was also
awake.
Their eyes met and she whispered "Good Morning."
He went to get out of bed but her arms held him closer, so close that he couldn't get up. "Please don't go,
not yet."
He shrugged to himself and embraced her. He wished he could wake up with her holding him every morning.
Within moments, she was asleep again, she was physically exhausted.
It was almost noon when Beverly awoke again to find herself still wrapped tightly in Jean Luc's arms. She
smiled sleepily at him and whispered, "If only I could tell you how I feel."
She thought he was still asleep and her cheeks burned from embarrassment when he opened his eyes and
smiled at her. She playfully smacked him and said, "I thought you were sleeping."
He laughed She decided now was a good time to get out of bed, "I'm hungry Jean Luc, what's for lunch?"
He sighed, "Well, I thought maybe we would go into town for lunch, you have been here over a week and
have only been out of the house once or twice. I want to give you a tour of some of the villages here, they are
quite beautiful this time of year. There are many festivals going on to bring in the fall season."
A smile crossed her lips, "Sounds wonderful." She held up her hand, "I'm going to get rid of this cast and
I'll meet you downstairs in twenty minutes."
******************************************************************************************************************
Forty-five minutes later Beverly bounced down the stairs castless, wearing Jean Luc's favorite outfit, black
leggings and a blue sweater that fell off her shoulders. Her hair was flowing freely behind her in a mass of
soft waves. Once again Jean Luc Picard was awestruck by this woman's beauty.
She smiled, "Jean Luc, is something wrong?"
His jaw had dropped when he first saw her and he had yet to say anything. "Ahem… N..No , nothing is
wrong. Why do you ask?"
Beverly was laughing now, "Because your mouth is hanging open and you are staring at me.!"
He closed his mouth, grabbed her hand and said, "Shall we go?"
*******************************************************************************************************************
Once again Jean Luc was right, the small village was bustling with people, all celebrating the start of the fall
season. They ate lunch at a small café on the outskirts of town.
Beverly laughed at the stories Jean Luc told of his academy days, and he at her stories of medical school. It
was a side of each other they rarely let show.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jean Luc saw the familiar blue shimmer of a transporter and the forms of
Commander Riker and Counselor Troi materializing. In his mind he was thanking every god he could think
of that they beamed down behind Beverly.
"Excuse me Beverly, I have something I need to deal with, I won't be but a moment."
She nodded her head in understanding as he rose from the table as Will and Deanna were approaching. He
managed to pull them out of Beverly's line of sight before she saw them.
"Number One, is there a problem?"
Deanna sensed the feelings coming from the captain and spoke before Will could respond, "Captain, there
is no problem, Starfleet decided they want to run some tests on the Enterprise to see how the ship is holding
up after the last overhaul. The crew was granted shore leave for a few days."
She gave Will a small smile and he heard her thoughts in his mind *Things are going very well…too well*
Riker understood the meaning behind her thoughts and couldn't resist teasing his captain, "Sir, how are
things progressing with Dr. Crusher?"
The smile on Will's face was wider then the Grand Canyon. Deanna could tell Picard understood exactly
what Riker was attempting do and he had succeeded.
Jean Luc's ears turned bright red from the insinuations his first officer was making, "Things are progressing
commander, we…a…Beverly is making some progress in her healing. However, I do not think she is ready
to face her friends and comrades yet. So, if you and the counselor are going to remain here and see the sites,
I ask you please, do not approach Beverly. This is the first time we have been out of the house since we
arrived and I …"
Deanna interrupted his sentence and asked Will to leave her alone with the Captain for a few moments.
"Captain, may I speak freely?"
"Of course Counselor."
Deanna sighed, this wasn't going to be easy, "Captain, I understand how important it is for Beverly to come
to terms with what happened to her, I just want you to realize that although she may act like she is perfectly
fine, she still has fears and emotions that she has not yet faced."
"Counselor, I disagree, in the past few days Beverly has made progress, the nightmares haven't stopped but
she now understands that what happened to her was not her fault."
Deanna shook her head, "Sir, she may be hiding her fears behind her feelings for you. If you were to
pursue any kind of … physical relationship with Beverly she may react as if she were being threatened
again."
"Deanna, Beverly knows I would never hurt her."
"Captain, I just want you to understand that Beverly will have to live with what happened to her for a very
long time, perhaps the rest of her life. Being raped is not something you forget in a few weeks, it takes time.
The feelings of guilt, loss of control, they will be with her always. Just be cautious, Sir."
Jean Luc understood what Deanna was trying to say and thanked her for her concern and walked back to the
table where Beverly waited.
*****************************************************************************************************************
"Beverly, lets go for a walk." He helped her up and took her hand as they walked away from the café.
"Jean Luc, where are we going?"
"The streets are getting crowded, I thought maybe a nice stroll through the park would be nice. There is a
little stream that flows through it and the view of the French mountainside is breathtaking."
He felt her tense at the mention of mountains and put his arm around her "I will be right here, nothing will
hurt you, I won't let it."
She smiled and leaned into him, "My protector" she whispered.
Beverly grew more and more distant as they walked closer to the park. "Jean Luc" she whispered "I … I
can't…"
Jean Luc didn't hear the fear in her voice "Sure you can Beverly, we are almost there."
Beverly shook her head and said "NO" her voice raised just a little higher then before " I don't want to go!"
She was crying now, emotions she thought were gone were starting to resurface as the mountainside came
into view. Jean Luc put his arm around her and realized she was trembling.
"It's all right Beverly, I'm sorry. I should have realized you weren't ready for this."
Through her sobs she whispered "Take me home."
*********************************************************************************************************************
Neither spoke the entire way back to the Picard Estate. Beverly quickly exited the craft and was in the house
before Jean Luc had the engines off.
As he entered the house he heard something crash to the floor upstairs. He sprinted up to Beverly's room
and found her sitting on the floor, knees under her chin, slowly rocking back and forth surrounded by
various broken glass and ceramic pieces.
"Beverly…"
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry."
Jean Luc sighed, "Beverly, you have nothing to be sorry for. I am the one who should be apologizing to
you. I didn't mean to upset you. When I suggested we go to the park, I wasn't thinking."
He walked over to her and started to pick up the pieces of glass. Beverly chuckled softly "Kind of ironic
isn't it Jean Luc."
He looked up at her sad swollen eyes, unsure of what she meant "What do you mean?" he asked.
She smiled- albeit a small smile "Well, there you go again. Picking up the shattered pieces of my life."
End part 7