Chapter Fourteen
Captain Jean-Luc Picard took a long deep breath and let it out slowly as he decided how to proceed with the task that lay ahead of him. He stepped forward from the shuttle and started off slowly down the road.
"Captain, do you want me to accompany you?" Picard half-turned and looked straight at the shuttle pilot; he was silent for a moment as his thoughts drifted slightly. "Sir?" The pilot asked again.
"No thank you, that won't be necessary, Ensign. I think it would be best if I did this myself." He gave a slight smile to the pilot. "Thank you anyway," he told him sincerely.
"Very well, sir." Picard turned again and started walking with slow measured steps once more.
News. Sometimes it could be good but more than likely it would be bad. Sometimes a captain's job was to deliver news to people from a higher order, and find ways and options of dealing with that news if the need arose. Captain Picard however carried the burden of telling the family of his crew that their relatives had died or been seriously injured in the line of duty. This burden that he carried today though was as painful for him, as what it would be for the person he was going to see.
He straightened up as he walked, thinking about what he would say to Beverly. Beverly his friend, his best friend's wife and now, unfortunately his best friend's widow.
Jack had died in the line of duty, serving the Federation. He had died with honour but of course that wouldn't make Beverly or Wesley feel any better. Wesley, Jack's young son would now have to grow up without his father's guidance. How would he tell him? How do you say to a boy of five that his father will never come home again? How do you make him understand? This was going to be one of the hardest things that Picard had ever had to do and he did not relish the task ahead.
Picard ran all of the questions through his mind but came up with no answers, or none suitable enough to explain why his best friend's life, had been seriously cut short. He stopped short of walking into the door to Beverly Crusher's house. Waiting, he sighed again, and raised his hand to knock on the door.
Beverly Crusher had been out on duty and was home early from the surgery; Wesley would be home within the hour. She sat at her desk going over some padds, pertaining to the patients she would have early the next morning and trying to get to know their medical histories a little better. She had always tried to get to know her patients on a personal level, and she found that that helped in the treatments that she would give, especially if the patient was very young or shy.
She had been fully engrossed in what she was doing when suddenly a flash of light in the corner of her eye distracted her from her work. She looked up quickly in response and turned to see what it was. It could have been a shuttle with it's landing lights on, it was beginning to get dark outside after all. She never had really gotten used to the shorter days on Delos Four.
A figure moved forward from the shadows by the window and Beverly gasped, startled. The door had been locked after all, and it would have been impossible for anyone to enter the house, short of firing a phaser on a heavy setting that is. Her jaw dropped and she stood up slowly when she saw who it was.
"I thought I had gotten rid of you. How...?" Curiosity flashed across her face.
"Ssshhh. Don't worry, I won't hurt you. You know you can't get rid of me anyway," she tapped the side of her head for emphasis, "I'm in your mind." Deanna Troi stepped closer and out of the shadows.
"What do you want?" Beverly asked.
"I want to help you." Troi replied most sincerely.
"Yes, so you keep saying every time I see you. So far though, you've done nothing to help me that I'm aware of." Beverly reiterated.
"That's because it hasn't happened yet."
"What hasn't happened yet?" She asked confused.
"I can't tell you. Look, you're just going to have to trust me. If you don't... you'll die, it's as simple as that." Troi paused letting that sink in as Beverly muttered the word die with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Is that a threat?" Beverly asked defensively after mulling it over for a second.
"No, not a threat but a fact. If I'm going to help you, you're going to have to do exactly what I say, okay?" Beverly nodded. "Now..." She was interrupted by a rap on the door, her heart sank. She glanced out of the window to see who the visitor was. Though it was reasonably dark outside Troi could immediately tell who it was at the door. She realised that it was Captain Picard and that he must have been here to give Beverly the news. She sensed impending doom for her friend as she came to the realisation that Beverly was nearly aware of who it was at the door, and what he was here for also.
"Beverly. You must not answer that." She moved forward and held her friend by the arms tightly.
Beverly stared at her. "Why? Someone's there, and its normal to answer the door."
"Trust me." She stared at her trying to get through.
"You keep saying that but the truth is that I can't, I don't know you from Adam!" Beverly pulled away from Troi's grip, turning around and trying everything to comprehend what was going on.
"Do you remember when we met?" Troi asked trying a different approach.
"Yes, back at the Academy when I..." She stopped in mid sentence and Troi cut in.
"No that was a figment of your imagination it isn't an actual memory, just as this isn't now. We met on the Enterprise; you and Wes were down on Farpoint Station. The Enterprise came and picked you up and the rest of the crew including the first officer." Beverly listened trying to think; to try and pick up some sort of thread that would lead to the memory. Troi proceeded. "You were worried about serving with Captain Picard because..." Troi remembered that that would eventually lead to the memory that she was trying to keep Beverly away from.
"Because..." Beverly said nearly remembering.
"Stop. Picture this," Troi said moving along quickly as another rap came to the door, this time more persistent. "Do you remember that dancing competition a few years ago in St. Louis. You danced and danced until you could hardly stand. The competition was so strong but you refused to quit."
"Yes, and I won it with sheer determination, I got first place in tap and jazz. The judges said they gave me the trophy just to make me stop." She laughed, remembering the pleasant memory. Suddenly the scene changed from the house to a large sports hall packed with spectators and.... dancers. She looked down and noticed that her clothes had changed. She no longer wore her Starfleet duty uniform but a dancing costume instead.
"That was close," Troi thought, she felt the strength beginning to return to her friend's mind but there was still a long way to go, and she couldn't quit now.
"What...?" Beverly said astonished and looking about her in disbelief. "This is the dance competition in St. Louis. How did you do this?"
"I didn't, you did. When you started to remember that particular memory it became the center of your attention and so we went back to that day in your mind. You'll relive the emotions and everything that went on that day as far as you can remember. As soon as you think of something else we'll move on to it."
"I can't believe that any of this is happening." Beverly said as she looked to Troi in shock. "I don't understand..."
"Why don't you just accept what I'm saying to you and go with it for a time. All I ask is that you trust me." Troi paused for a moment. "I know that you want to believe me... You know who I am deep down and that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."
"I have a strong feeling of friendship- for want of a better word, when I see you. I don't know where it comes from but I'll do things your way for the time being." Beverly said a bit resigned to the fact that Troi must be telling the truth.
"So are we moving on to another memory?" Troi asked her.
"I think I'll stay here for a bit, it's really quite intriguing."
Troi nodded and smiled in relief.
Beverly stretched out her muscles getting ready for what she knew was about to happen.
"Cadet Beverly Howard." The commentator said and she stepped up onto the floor and waited for the music to begin.
Troi felt a bit strange, dizzy and suddenly very weak. Remembering what Selar had said about the silosinen wearing off, she began to unlink her mind with Crusher's, and backed off slowly.
A/N: Please leave a review. Thanks
Captain Jean-Luc Picard took a long deep breath and let it out slowly as he decided how to proceed with the task that lay ahead of him. He stepped forward from the shuttle and started off slowly down the road.
"Captain, do you want me to accompany you?" Picard half-turned and looked straight at the shuttle pilot; he was silent for a moment as his thoughts drifted slightly. "Sir?" The pilot asked again.
"No thank you, that won't be necessary, Ensign. I think it would be best if I did this myself." He gave a slight smile to the pilot. "Thank you anyway," he told him sincerely.
"Very well, sir." Picard turned again and started walking with slow measured steps once more.
News. Sometimes it could be good but more than likely it would be bad. Sometimes a captain's job was to deliver news to people from a higher order, and find ways and options of dealing with that news if the need arose. Captain Picard however carried the burden of telling the family of his crew that their relatives had died or been seriously injured in the line of duty. This burden that he carried today though was as painful for him, as what it would be for the person he was going to see.
He straightened up as he walked, thinking about what he would say to Beverly. Beverly his friend, his best friend's wife and now, unfortunately his best friend's widow.
Jack had died in the line of duty, serving the Federation. He had died with honour but of course that wouldn't make Beverly or Wesley feel any better. Wesley, Jack's young son would now have to grow up without his father's guidance. How would he tell him? How do you say to a boy of five that his father will never come home again? How do you make him understand? This was going to be one of the hardest things that Picard had ever had to do and he did not relish the task ahead.
Picard ran all of the questions through his mind but came up with no answers, or none suitable enough to explain why his best friend's life, had been seriously cut short. He stopped short of walking into the door to Beverly Crusher's house. Waiting, he sighed again, and raised his hand to knock on the door.
Beverly Crusher had been out on duty and was home early from the surgery; Wesley would be home within the hour. She sat at her desk going over some padds, pertaining to the patients she would have early the next morning and trying to get to know their medical histories a little better. She had always tried to get to know her patients on a personal level, and she found that that helped in the treatments that she would give, especially if the patient was very young or shy.
She had been fully engrossed in what she was doing when suddenly a flash of light in the corner of her eye distracted her from her work. She looked up quickly in response and turned to see what it was. It could have been a shuttle with it's landing lights on, it was beginning to get dark outside after all. She never had really gotten used to the shorter days on Delos Four.
A figure moved forward from the shadows by the window and Beverly gasped, startled. The door had been locked after all, and it would have been impossible for anyone to enter the house, short of firing a phaser on a heavy setting that is. Her jaw dropped and she stood up slowly when she saw who it was.
"I thought I had gotten rid of you. How...?" Curiosity flashed across her face.
"Ssshhh. Don't worry, I won't hurt you. You know you can't get rid of me anyway," she tapped the side of her head for emphasis, "I'm in your mind." Deanna Troi stepped closer and out of the shadows.
"What do you want?" Beverly asked.
"I want to help you." Troi replied most sincerely.
"Yes, so you keep saying every time I see you. So far though, you've done nothing to help me that I'm aware of." Beverly reiterated.
"That's because it hasn't happened yet."
"What hasn't happened yet?" She asked confused.
"I can't tell you. Look, you're just going to have to trust me. If you don't... you'll die, it's as simple as that." Troi paused letting that sink in as Beverly muttered the word die with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Is that a threat?" Beverly asked defensively after mulling it over for a second.
"No, not a threat but a fact. If I'm going to help you, you're going to have to do exactly what I say, okay?" Beverly nodded. "Now..." She was interrupted by a rap on the door, her heart sank. She glanced out of the window to see who the visitor was. Though it was reasonably dark outside Troi could immediately tell who it was at the door. She realised that it was Captain Picard and that he must have been here to give Beverly the news. She sensed impending doom for her friend as she came to the realisation that Beverly was nearly aware of who it was at the door, and what he was here for also.
"Beverly. You must not answer that." She moved forward and held her friend by the arms tightly.
Beverly stared at her. "Why? Someone's there, and its normal to answer the door."
"Trust me." She stared at her trying to get through.
"You keep saying that but the truth is that I can't, I don't know you from Adam!" Beverly pulled away from Troi's grip, turning around and trying everything to comprehend what was going on.
"Do you remember when we met?" Troi asked trying a different approach.
"Yes, back at the Academy when I..." She stopped in mid sentence and Troi cut in.
"No that was a figment of your imagination it isn't an actual memory, just as this isn't now. We met on the Enterprise; you and Wes were down on Farpoint Station. The Enterprise came and picked you up and the rest of the crew including the first officer." Beverly listened trying to think; to try and pick up some sort of thread that would lead to the memory. Troi proceeded. "You were worried about serving with Captain Picard because..." Troi remembered that that would eventually lead to the memory that she was trying to keep Beverly away from.
"Because..." Beverly said nearly remembering.
"Stop. Picture this," Troi said moving along quickly as another rap came to the door, this time more persistent. "Do you remember that dancing competition a few years ago in St. Louis. You danced and danced until you could hardly stand. The competition was so strong but you refused to quit."
"Yes, and I won it with sheer determination, I got first place in tap and jazz. The judges said they gave me the trophy just to make me stop." She laughed, remembering the pleasant memory. Suddenly the scene changed from the house to a large sports hall packed with spectators and.... dancers. She looked down and noticed that her clothes had changed. She no longer wore her Starfleet duty uniform but a dancing costume instead.
"That was close," Troi thought, she felt the strength beginning to return to her friend's mind but there was still a long way to go, and she couldn't quit now.
"What...?" Beverly said astonished and looking about her in disbelief. "This is the dance competition in St. Louis. How did you do this?"
"I didn't, you did. When you started to remember that particular memory it became the center of your attention and so we went back to that day in your mind. You'll relive the emotions and everything that went on that day as far as you can remember. As soon as you think of something else we'll move on to it."
"I can't believe that any of this is happening." Beverly said as she looked to Troi in shock. "I don't understand..."
"Why don't you just accept what I'm saying to you and go with it for a time. All I ask is that you trust me." Troi paused for a moment. "I know that you want to believe me... You know who I am deep down and that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."
"I have a strong feeling of friendship- for want of a better word, when I see you. I don't know where it comes from but I'll do things your way for the time being." Beverly said a bit resigned to the fact that Troi must be telling the truth.
"So are we moving on to another memory?" Troi asked her.
"I think I'll stay here for a bit, it's really quite intriguing."
Troi nodded and smiled in relief.
Beverly stretched out her muscles getting ready for what she knew was about to happen.
"Cadet Beverly Howard." The commentator said and she stepped up onto the floor and waited for the music to begin.
Troi felt a bit strange, dizzy and suddenly very weak. Remembering what Selar had said about the silosinen wearing off, she began to unlink her mind with Crusher's, and backed off slowly.
A/N: Please leave a review. Thanks