Disclaimer: see chapter ten.

A/N: Here it is, Part Two. Enjoy.

Chapter Eleven: Eve of Destruction, Part Two

When they reached Picard's Ready Room, they found that the tapes were all set up and ready for them to view. Aurora had made the decision during the walk to leave Audra at the play area that was reserved for children aboard the Enterprise, believing-rightly so-that Audra was too young to view the tapes.

"Are you ready, Mrs. Scarlett?" Picard asked. Aurora-who had taken on the appearance of one who has aged very quickly in a very short time-nodded and said, "I am ready, Captain, but I cannot speak for my daughters."

Willa nodded and said, "I'm ready." She turned to Lauren, who was as pale as the moon and silent as the grave, and gently asked, "Lauren, are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Lauren said, finally speaking, but in a voice that was hollow and haggard and not at all her own. It was obvious that she was not ready by any stretch of the mind, but Lauren knew that her mother and sister would not contest her decision. "Being the stubborn one in the family certainly has its advantages," she often said, and never was this truer than at that present moment.

Captain Picard pushed a button, and the tapes began to play. Moments later, they were looking at their homeland. Rather, what was left of their homeland. What they saw was not at all what they had left. It was a shadow of their former home, a wasteland of charred buildings and desolation as far as the eye could see.

Willa sobbed into her mother's shoulder as images of once beautiful buildings and homes, now completely destroyed, played on the screen. Lauren cried silently as the images changed to ones of her college, her home, the park, and the club that she and Alyssa had worked at their freshman year.

The mere thought of Alyssa, her once gregarious and energetic friend, lying dead made Lauren want to scream and sob, but she was determined not to cry in front of a Starfleet officer. The next image, however, broke whatever resolve not to lose herself in tears she had left. Lauren gasped audibly as the image shifted from the boathouse to Alyssa's house. At one time, it had been a proud Victorian home, with spacious rooms and a large attic. Now it was rubble, the second floor partially collapsed into the first, and the attic completely and utterly destroyed by the Romulans.

"Damn them," Lauren thought as she shook with anger and grief. "Damn them to hell for doing this to Alyssa! Damn them for doing this to all of us!" At that moment, something moving amongst the rubble caught her eye. She moved closer to the screen, her body shaking, to see what it was. Closer inspection revealed it to be what Lauren recognized as the fire brigade from her town carrying a stretcher with a cloth over it. Lauren nearly retched when she realized that the cloth was covering a body, a body that was probably Alyssa or her mother.

Lauren had nearly succeeded at pushing the thought from her mind when she froze. Her eyes widened as she watched the stretcher tilt slightly and the cloth slide from the top of the body, revealing Alyssa's face. Lauren made a strange noise in her throat and started to back away from the screen. This was the final straw, seeing Alyssa dead on the stretcher. Lauren now had to believe what she was praying was a miscommunication: her best friend was dead, killed in battle by the Romulans, but not before taking three of them to the grave with her.

Lauren continued to back away from the screen, knocking over a few chairs in the process. Time was slowing down, and she was only vaguely aware of what was going on around her. She only semi-noticed Captain Picard tapping his communication device, but couldn't hear what he was saying. She was vaguely aware of her sister reaching for her, saying her name gently, and a voice on the tape that she didn't recognize beginning to speak. After what seemed like forever, she was at the doors. She turned towards them, causing them to open, and ran from the room.

Lauren ran as fast as she could to her room, down corridors and around bends, the tears she had been holding back blurring her vision. She stopped in front of the door to her quarters, and began to blindly punch numbers into the keypad. "I will not break down out here!" she ordered herself as she tried number combinations. "I will not let them see me lose control! I will NOT cry in this hallway! I WILL NOT LET THEM SEE ME LOSE CONTROL!" she screamed to herself, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle.

After trying a seemingly endless string of number combinations, the doors opened, and Lauren ran into the front room of her quarters. She stopped short of running to her bedroom when she felt that there was someone else in the room with her. She turned to face the replicator, and saw Wesley standing in front of it, waiting for her.

Lauren could no longer hold her tears back. As Wesley began walking towards her, she broke down crying, and by the time he reached her, she was nearing hysterics: crying, sobbing, and shaking. Once again, she felt like time was standing still. She became vaguely aware of the fact that she had sunk to the floor, and that Wesley was holding her in his arms, rocking her back and forth, and whispering softly to her that everything would be all right. Lauren put her arms around him and cried into his shoulder, finally allowing herself to lose control.

Lauren opened her eyes and looked around the room. The first thing that she noticed was that she was no longer on the floor. She was lying on the couch, and Wesley was once again standing in front of the replicator, this time facing it, obviously trying to .

Lauren's hand went to her face, hoping that the past few hours had only been a horrible nightmare. When she felt the tears, still fresh on her face, her heart dropped. It hadn't been a dream: Her home was really gone and her best friend was really dead.

"You're awake," Wesley said as he sat down next to her. Lauren leaned her head on his shoulder, and felt his arms go around her again.

"Not for lack of trying," Lauren said. "This all feels like a nightmare. And God, I wish it was."

Wesley was about to reply when the Captain's voice filled the silence.

"Captain Picard to Ensign Crusher."

Wesley tapped his communicator and said, "Yes sir?"

"We need to speak to Lauren. I know she is not feeling her best right now, but this is a very important matter concerning the tapes."

"Yes sir," Wesley said. He turned to Lauren and said, "I know you don't want to go, but what if I went with you?"

"You can do that?" Lauren asked.

"They couldn't make me leave if they tried," Wesley said with a rakish grin. Lauren smiled slightly and said, "Let's get this over with."

"Lauren, on behalf of the crew, I would like to offer condolences on the loss of your friend Alyssa," Captain Picard began. "My crew and I understand what it is like to lose a close friend. I understand the two of you were friends for a long time."

"Thank you Captain," Lauren said. "Your sympathies are well appreciated." She had managed to compose herself before leaving her quarters, and true to his word, Wesley was standing beside her, holding her hand.

"You're welcome. Now to the matter at hand," Picard said. "There is something that you need to know. After you left, the tapes played a conversation between a few of the Romulans. They mentioned that they hadn't found who they were looking for, and that the girl defended her friend's location well, taking it to her grave. We have decided that since it was one of your friends that was killed, you are the one that they Romulans are searching for. They weren't after your planet…"

"They were after me," Lauren said quietly.

"Do you have any idea why they would want you?" Picard asked.

"I don't know," Lauren said. "I know there was trouble with my father, but other than that…" She trailed off into silence.

"We will be working to find out why they are after you. In the meantime, your safety is top priority, and it is the opinion of myself and the crew that you are not safe here."

"I understand," Lauren said. "So I am to be exiled?"

"Not exiled," Picard said, feeling very sorry for the young woman who had to endure so much in such a short time. "Hidden, for the sake of your own safety."

"Then she won't be hidden alone," Wesley said, speaking for the first time in minutes.

"Wesley, what the devil do you mean by that?" Picard asked.

"I'll go with her," Wesley said, holding Lauren's hand tighter. "She's going to need someone to take care of her, wherever she's being hidden. One of the other ensigns can take over my duties here, but right now, my loyalties lie elsewhere. With all due respect Captain Picard, no one is going to stop me from going with her."

Picard stared at Wesley for a moment, as did Lauren. Neither of them had expected Wesley to voluntarily exile himself from his family as well as his fellow crewmembers. Finally Picard spoke.

"Wesley, even though I believe that Lauren would be safer on her own, you make an excellent point. The two of you will pack your bags immediately, and we will find your hiding place while you pack."

Lauren nodded her thanks to Captain Picard and left to go pack, Wesley following close behind. "Wesley," Picard said, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Yes Captain?"

"Your loyalty to Lauren is extraordinary, and it is obvious that you care for her a great deal. You are doing a very brave thing. Your father would be proud. Now go on. I still have to tell your mother that you're leaving with Lauren."

Wesley smiled and left the room, knowing that he and Lauren would not see their families for a very long time. He went to his room and began to pack his things, leaving for a life of exile so that he could protect Lauren from the Romulans.

A/N 2: Shout outs!

It's me, get over it: Sorry about the suspense thing. On the bright side, the suspense has ended! Hey, it's ok about not reviewing chapter nine. You reviewed this one, and you still like the story, so I figure it's a plus. Keep on reading and reviewing. It's about to get interesting…

Star Trek Freak: Well thanks! It was no problem. If a story is good, I'll say so. I'm pretty damned blunt when I don't like something, so if I didn't like it, you would've known. It's in that head of yours, eh? Cool! Can't wait to read it…anyways, keep on reading and reviewing! Like I said, it's about to get very interesting…