Dvorovoi Part Three
By Karen Page
Walking back into her office, after letting her staff know that she was about, she sank down behind her computer terminal in full research mode. She had to try and find out what exactly Devon was. Maybe he was an alien species they had encountered before, and if so, how had those people dealt with him. Or to be more precise, how had they got rid of them.
Every minute she had spare during the day, she worked hard at her research and at the end of her shift she still drew a complete blank. The only comparison that matched Devon's profile on some levels was that of Q and he hadn't even seemed to know of their existence. But then again, Devon could have faked his naivety. For all Beverly knew, it could be Q playing his games with her and if so, he was certainly playing a different type of game with her this time.
Beverly didn't want to return to her quarters after her shift, so she headed down to Ten Forward to listen to Will Riker playing his trombone in a little unprompted performance.
She sat alone in a corner booth nursing a drink and silently thanking the lord that Deanna wasn't on board to sense her emotions. If she were it would have made concealing Devon's appearance impossible.
Just as she was thinking of Deanna, she got a call from Data to tell her Deanna was waiting on subspace channels to talk to her.
Not daring to go back to her quarters, Beverly asked Guinan if she could use the terminal in her office to accept Deanna's communiqué.
"Hi Beverly," Deanna said full of smiles.
"Hey," Beverly said falling back on her acting skills as she tried to cover up her feelings.
"I wanted to check up on how things were going with that cousin of yours," Deanna said. "Do I still have to bang your heads together when I get back?"
Beverly laughed. "I think I've sorted it out," she replied; wishing that Bailey were her only problem. "She seems to be settling in a bit better now. Jean-Luc has her on duty at navigation."
"Already!" Deanna exclaimed. "It took Wesley a year to get that position. What did you do to persuade him Beverly?" Deanna asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing," Beverly replied with a grin at Deanna's obvious meaning. "Bailey is a fully qualified Starfleet officer. It took us a couple of days to figure that out. Bailey has a habit of keeping things to herself until she has to. It's very frustrating."
"I bet," Deanna replied.
"I have learnt a few more things about her too," Beverly added.
"Like what?" Deanna's interest was peaked.
"We found out that her mother was murdered and her father was charged with the crime," Beverly said sadly. "He hung himself when he was released from custody on bail to care for his daughter. Bailey found him the next morning."
"That's horrible," Deanna exclaimed. "Has she recovered from the trauma?"
"I'm not entirely sure to be honest," Beverly admitted. "She doesn't want to talk about it. But she does speak fondly of her parents as long as nothing of their death is mentioned."
Deanna nodded slowly. "I will speak with her when I get back. I'll try to get a better picture for you."
"Another thing we found out is that her father was half Betazoid and that she has never received any training on her abilities," Beverly added.
"No training at all?" Deanna asked.
"That's what she said," Beverly replied. "What kind of ability do you think she inherited from him?"
"Probably hardly anything at all. It all depends whether her father was minutely telepathic or empathic like I am. If he inherited some telepathic ability it would make Bailey's abilities stronger."
"Bailey said that she couldn't sense anything unless she tried extremely hard and usually it was fruitless."
"Then I would say her father had lesser abilities than I have. My mother has one of the most sensitive telepathic minds on Betazed," Deanna said, her eyes distant as she thought. "I could use the excuse of homing her empathic abilities as a way of assessing her mental state after her traumatic childhood."
"That sounds like a plan to me. So how is the conference?" Beverly asked attempting to change the subject.
"Well if you must know the conference is mind-numbingly boring!" Deanna laughed. "But!" she added with a gleam in her eye.
"What's that?" Beverly asked.
"I met someone!" Deanna squealed. "He's so handsome, so charming, so gorgeous, so… sexy!"
"Lucky you!" Beverly laughed. "Is it serious?"
"Nope," Deanna giggled. "Just a fling. But I think I could fall in love with him so easily, but I can't."
"Is he married?" Beverly asked in alarm.
"Certainly not!" Deanna laughed. "He won't leave this planet. He's scared of space travel!"
"What!" Beverly exclaimed.
"Yeah well…" Deanna shrugged. "Nobodies perfect."
Beverly shook her head. "Oh well have fun while it lasts. I envy you," she added with a smile.
"Beverly," Deanna said slowly. "Go seduce the Captain! I'm sure he won't mind."
"Don't even go there," Beverly warned. "We've been over this hundreds of times before."
"No we haven't," Deanna replied.
"Of course we have," Beverly protested.
"I may have started the conversation a hundred times or more," Deanna stated. "But you always change the subject."
"Yes well that's exactly what I'm planning to do now," Beverly said slowly. "Read any good books lately?"
Deanna shook her head laughing; her thick dark curls bouncing on her shoulders gently. "I haven't had time to read."
"Typical," Beverly replied. "Anyway I have to go now. I'm having dinner with Jean-Luc in a few minutes."
"Why don't you have sex with him too?" Deanna asked innocently.
"You're only doing this because you know I can't hit you through the veiwscreen!" Beverly laughed.
"Well have a nice evening," Deanna replied with a grin. "And a lovely breakfast in bed!"
Beverly didn't get to answer Deanna because the screen went black. Deanna had cut the communication from her end.
"Damn her," Beverly said shaking her head softly as she went back into Ten Forward and headed towards the exit.
Beverly arrived in Jean-Luc's quarters after the quickest change of clothes in history. She had grabbed a dress from her wardrobe, stripped and threw it on. She grabbed her hairbrush and brushed her hair in the corridor on her way to dinner.
Jean-Luc gave a brief glance at the brush when she dropped it onto his coffee table before joining him at the table. But he soon forgot to ask her why she had bought it with her to dinner. Beverly started the conversation and kept it flowing all night.
Beverly pushed her pudding plate away and took a sip of white wine. "So Bailey was really good on the bridge then. Or are you just saying that to please me?"
"Would I do that?" Jean-Luc fabricated innocence.
"Really Jean-Luc," Beverly laughed. "How was she today?"
"As I said she was good," he replied truthfully. "I think she was a little nervous, but she knew how everything worked. She will make a good navigator."
"Just a good one?" Beverly asked raising an eyebrow.
"It was her first shift," he replied. "You can't really judge someone's potential on their first duty shift."
"Okay," Beverly nodded with a smile.
"Are you going home tonight?"
Beverly nearly choked on her wine. She looked up and Jean-Luc was staring at her expectantly. She wasn't sure if she had heard him right. Was he asking if she was going to stay the night with him? "Pardon me?" she mumbled.
Jean-Luc frowned. "I never said anything," he replied.
"It was me," a voice whispered close to her ear. "Devon. I said are you coming home tonight? I have been waiting for two hours. By the way, you look amazing in that dress."
Beverly swallowed hard and tried hard not to let the fear register on her face. Beverly shook her head lightly and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry," she replied.
"Stop ignoring me!" Devon hissed into her ear.
"Shall we move to the lounge?" Jean-Luc asked getting to his feet.
Beverly nodded and followed him into the living area, she watched Jean-Luc sit down on the couch and she eyed the armchair across from him reluctantly. It was where she would usually sit, but she wanted to be close to Jean-Luc. She decided just to sit down right next to him on the couch.
"What are you doing Beverly?" Devon asked, Beverly could feel his lips against her ear and she shuddered involuntarily.
"Are you cold?" Jean-Luc asked, noticing her shudder.
"No," she smiled at him. "Someone just walked across my grave," she laughed softly.
"Yeah and I will for real if you don't leave now," Devon hissed in her ear. "In fact I'll even tap dance on it!"
Jean-Luc felt a little excited by the fact that Beverly had sat closer to him than normal. But she looked a little distant, as if she had something extremely important on her mind. For the rest of the night, he tried with avail to subtly get her to tell him what was on her mind. He knew Beverly well enough to know that something was troubling her and had been ever since she had taken guardianship over Bailey. He even asked her whether Bailey had upset her. Beverly seemed surprised at his comment.
It was almost two in the morning and Beverly still showed no signs of leaving any time soon. He hoped this was a good promise of things to come, but also knew deep down that it wasn't true. He could tell by her body language that that was not the case.
Half an hour later, Jean-Luc could barely keep his eyes open and was forced to call the evening to an end.
Beverly's eyes glazed over as she got to her feet and reluctantly headed towards the door. Devon had got bored several hours ago and had gone off somewhere. Beverly hoped he had gone for good.
She kissed Jean-Luc goodnight and walked to her quarters. Once inside she stood still just in front of the doors and listened for any sound from Devon.
She couldn't hear anything, not one tiny sound. She took a step further into her quarters and stood still again. Still nothing.
Giving herself a mental shake, she marched with her head held high into her bedroom and collected her dressing gown from the end of the bed.
Beverly felt highly-strung and knew she wouldn't be able to sleep unless she forced herself to relax somehow. Deciding on her usual method, she went into the bathroom and ran a bath.
Sinking down into the hot bubbly water, she forced herself to relax and closed her eyes to the glare of the bathroom light. She stayed in the bath with her eyes closed for ten minutes before willing herself to leave the warmth of the water.
After drying herself with a towel she slipped her favourite dressing gown on and headed into the lounge area to collect her book from the coffee table. She knew there was no chance of getting any sleep with the prospect of another attack from Devon on the horizon. She felt that she needed to be fully awake and on guard whilst she was alone.
Needing something to keep her eyes open, she ordered herself a pot of coffee from the replicator and took it back to the lounge. Setting the coffee down on the table, she flicked through the pages of her book and found her place. Just as she was about to sit down, Devon wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
Beverly screamed in shock and dropped her book and tried hard to pull away from him. But as usual, Devon had made himself translucent and her hands went through his arms as if he wasn't there.
She tried once again in vain to pull away. "Let me go!" she screamed at him.
"If only you would be more co-operative," Devon said with a sigh. "I have no intention of hurting you. I will be a gentle lover."
"Get off!" she yelled once again. She was incredulous at the thought that he wanted to be her lover. What he was doing was against her will whether she gave into him or not and giving in willing was something that Beverly Crusher would never do. It wasn't in her genetic make up to give in without one hell of a fight.
"We can either do this the easy way," Devon said and promptly dropped her on the floor, "Or the hard way. It's up to you."
She tried to wiggle free of his grasp, but found she was securely held down by an unknown weight around her hips. "Why me?" Beverly asked as she gave up struggling. Maybe if she caught him off guard she might be able to free herself.
Devon didn't answer her right away and Beverly wondered whether he was pondering his answer. She wished she could see him.
"Because I need you," Devon replied in a low voice. "And you are exquisite. So pale and lovely; like China in the hand."
Beverly's will was faulting and tears formed in her eyes. Even with the knowledge of what Devon was doing to her, the unselfish part of Beverly was glad of the fact this was happening to her and not someone else that she knew and cared about. Beverly had never been afraid of death, which was one of the reasons that Devon had threatened not only her life, but also that of the life of her closest friend and colleague Jean-Luc Picard. Devon must have realised her indifference to her own death from the look in her eye. That was why he had quickly threatened the life of the man she loved.
Suddenly she felt Devon's hand brush across her cheek in a tender caring manor. She couldn't figure him out. She didn't know his motive and didn't know from one minute to the next what sort of mood he was going to be in. His moods swung in two different directions, from tenderness and loving to hate and the violence that came with it.
A single tear fell onto her porcelain cheek and she wiped at it with the back of her hand. "Please let me go," she begged, trying hard to control her emotions. She couldn't ever remember being so scared and alone in her life.
"Beverly," Devon whispered softly. "You know I can't do that. What I give you will benefit the both of us. It's not just for selfish reasons."
"What ever it is, I don't want it," Beverly replied. "Just leave me alone."
"That's not true," he replied softly. "You don't want to be alone. You pretend that you are fine coming home here alone every single night, but deep down inside you are lonely. You bury yourself deep into your work, trying to fill the void of emptiness inside of you, but it doesn't work does it?"
Beverly didn't answer and suddenly the floodgates on her emotions broke down and she found herself crying helplessly. To her surprise Devon pulled her into his invisible embrace and held her until her tears had subsided.
"I'm here to protect you Beverly," he whispered as he kissed her cheeks dry. "I won't let anyone hurt you again."
Suddenly his lips were on hers and at her moment of weakness and need she found herself kissing him back. He hands danced across her back and he laid her down gently to the floor. His lips began to travel south, down her jaw line and onto her neck. Slowly he untied her dressing gown and opened it to reveal her naked body to his eyes. She was truly beautiful to him; so soft and milky white.
His hands burned exquisitely into her skin as they travelled over her body. It was years since she had felt this kind of pleasure, and she fell head first into the passionate emotions assaulting her body. He drove her slowly and deliberately to the brink and held her there until she begged for release then took her over the edge and kept with her as she shuddered involuntarily until the sensations passed.
She lay still and unmoving trying to catch her breath as Devon took the same path up her body before kissing her mouth again. Beverly held him to her and kissed him back. She tried hard not to let her the disgust at herself surface and just concentrated on keeping her eyes closed.
After a few moments she realised Devon was allowing her to touch him and gathering all her strength she gave him one almighty shove and scrambled to her feet and out the door, falling into the corridor. She sat half propped up against the opposite bulkhead and quickly scanned the corridor for life. No one was around, for that she was thankful for, especially in her current state of undress.
Quickly she pulled her dressing gown around her and tied up the belt with a double knot before climbing to her feet. Just as she got to her feet, Devon grabbed her wrist. This time however she managed to shake him off and took off down the corridor not exactly aware of where she was heading.
Seconds later she found herself standing outside Jean-Luc's quarters, shaking like a leaf.
"Don't you dare go in there!" Devon shouted down the corridor loudly.
Thinking quickly and almost calmly she used her medical override and went straight into Jean-Luc's quarters closing and securing the doors behind her. It was a futile attempt at safety considering Devon didn't use doors like humanoids did, but it made her feel a little safer.
She stood just in front of the doors for a few moments, trying to gather her wits before venturing further into her Captain's darkened quarters. Quietly she walked to the doorway of Jean-Luc's bedroom and waited until her eyes adjusted to the light and she could see his profile stretched out on his bed. His duvet cover was crumpled down around his feet leaving his gorgeous body open to her lingering gaze. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed beside him and to have him hold her until she fell asleep. But she couldn't do it. It would endanger his life if Devon were still about.
She turned away from him and ran a shaky hand through her thick hair before walking into the lounge and collapsing totally and utterly exhausted on the couch.
Beverly lay in the darkness listening to the sound of Jean-Luc's breathing for what seemed like hours before her exhaustion finally overcame her and she fell into a deep slumber.
The bedside alarm sounded and Jean-Luc reached over and switched it off. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he got to his feet military style and slid his pyjamas off and headed into the bathroom for his shower stark naked. He reached the threshold of the lounge and stopped dead in his tracks. A flash of red caught his eye and he stared in disbelief at the redhead lying fast asleep on his couch. His first thought was 'what the hell is she doing here?' and his next was the fact he was totally naked.
He retraced his steps backwards and silently into his bedroom and grabbed his dressing gown from a hook on the wall and threw it on before venturing back into the lounge and over to Beverly's side.
"Beverly?" he whispered softly, kneeling down at her side. She didn't even stir. "Beverly?" he called again, this time gently shaking her shoulder.
"Ummm…" she mumbled.
"Wake up," he replied softly.
Slowly she opened her eyes and found herself looking into the concerned eyes of her Captain. She blinked and looked about herself, a little disorientated at her strange surroundings. Then the night before all came flooding back to her. She tried to sit up but Jean-Luc pushed her back down onto the couch.
"Stay," he said softly. "Beverly you look exhausted."
"I feel exhausted," she replied with a heavy sigh.
"What are you doing here?" he asked the burning question.
Beverly glanced at him once before averting her gaze. She didn't know whether to tell him she had a nightmare or just hadn't been able to sleep. "I um…" her voice faltered. "I couldn't sleep," she said finally. "I came here to see if you were awake or not. But you weren't so I sat here for a while."
She glanced at him once again to see if he were buying her story. He appeared to be. "I guess I must have fallen asleep," she added, tugging on the short hem of her dressing gown, suddenly self-conscious. She was totally naked apart from the short pink silk dressing gown.
Jean-Luc peered at her for a few moments and climbed to his feet. He wished he could wake up with her here every morning, but quickly changed his line of thought and tried hard to not stare at her long bare legs. "Beverly," he said slowly.
"Yes?" she replied tugging on the hem of the gown again and yawning.
"This is nothing personal," he said slowly. "I think it would be best if you took a day off work today and caught up on some sleep. You're exhausted and you know that a mistake in sickbay could be very dangerous."
"You're relieving me of duty?" she asked, suddenly panicking and not relishing the idea of an entire day fighting off an angry… 'What ever Devon was'. She would have to spend the day in ten forward surrounded by people. There would be no chance of sleep.
"I have to," he replied. "Just go and sleep. I won't put it on your record."
Beverly didn't want to leave. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I can't move," she replied.
Jean-Luc stared at her for a moment. "You can't sleep there," he replied. "I'm working from home this morning and I'll disturb you."
Beverly looked at him with sorrowful eyes. "I'll be able to sleep," she said slowly, thrilled at the idea that he was going to be working here in his quarters and not in his ready room.
"You are a light sleeper," he replied.
"Only when I'm trying to get to sleep," she replied indignantly. "When I'm asleep only a medical emergency will wake me up."
Jean-Luc seemed to consider this for a moment before heading back into his bedroom, he returned a few minutes later carrying his uniform and boots under his arm. "You can sleep in my bed," he said. "If you think you can possibly make it to the bedroom without falling asleep on the way."
"You could carry me there if you're worried about me," Beverly replied with a mischievous grin as she forced her aching body into an upright position.
"You'd love that wouldn't you," Jean-Luc chuckled.
Beverly smiled at him and slowly padded barefoot into his bedroom closing the door behind her. She crawled under his crumpled bed sheets and buried her face in his pillow. Jean-Luc's masculine scent surrounded her and she breathed in deeply. With his scent and Jean-Luc being so near her, Beverly felt safe and secure and relaxed for the first time in days. She soon fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter Two
Bailey woke up blissfully as Devon kissed her wide-awake. She flung her arms around his shoulders and kissed him back, almost forgetting she was supposed to be angry with him. She stopped abruptly and pushed him away.
"What's wrong with you?" Devon asked sitting back.
"You know what's wrong with me," Bailey snapped.
"No I don't," he replied. "I might be a lot of things Bailey, but I certainly am not psychic."
"Let me see you when I speak to you!" Bailey ordered, brushing her hair out of her violet eyes. She watched as Devon took on corporal form and turned into a young devastatingly beautiful man in his early twenties.
"That better?" he asked, reaching for her again. He assumed that she was annoyed at him for not abiding by her rule that he must have corporal form when he was with her in bed.
"No!" she shoved him out of the way and tried to get out of bed, but Devon caught her hand.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" he asked, his bright blue eyes boring into her.
Bailey took one look in his eyes and melted. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stay mad at him when he looked at her in his special way. In fact he made her feel guilty for being angry in the first place. "I missed you last night," she whispered.
"Oh I'm sorry my darling," he whispered softly, using his grip on her hand to pull her into his embrace. "I had something to take care of last night. I lost all track of time, and when I realised and rushed back here to be with you, you were already sound asleep. So I watched you sleeping until I couldn't wait anymore."
"So there is no other woman?" Bailey asked raising an eyebrow.
Devon laughed. "No other woman for me," he lied. "We have been together for ten years. How could I ever leave a beautiful woman like you?"
"Plenty of people do it," she replied nonchalantly.
Devon wished Bailey wasn't empathic everyday of his life with her. It took a lot of his strength to block her ability and she was a strong empath, it was getting tougher everyday. Something inside her was warning her that she should be wary, but he tried hard to keep her from sensing his deception. "Well I told you I was made especially for you. What we have is special."
"I know," Bailey smiled up at him. "My knight in shining armour. Riding to my rescue on an invisible white horse!" she smiled as she spoke the words with flourish.
Devon kissed her forehead. "How about making love to your knight in shining armour?" he asked taking her lips with his and kissing her deeply.
"When you put it like that…" Bailey laughed and threw him down on the bed and straddled his thighs.
Devon gazed up at the beautiful site in front of him. A wanton woman with fiery red hair tousled all about her shoulders. He watched as she lifted her royal blue nightshirt and threw it across the room. His hands immediately covered her full breasts.
She leaned down and kissed his lips. "You know something Devon?" she said as she nibbled along his ear. "I like it when we make up like this."
"Me too," Devon laughed, and soon it would be like this with Beverly whether she wanted it or not.
Bailey was on her way to work after her 'morning-workout' with Devon at her side. He was his usual invisible self, but kept his arms around her shoulders as they walked together towards the bridge.
"So what do you do on the bridge then?" Devon asked, running his fingers tenderly across the back of her neck.
"I drive the ship," she giggled.
"They put you in charge of driving!" he exclaimed.
"I think Captain Picard is mad too," she replied. "I suppose his hasn't heard of the shuttle craft I crashed a few years ago!"
"Don't tell him!" Devon laughed.
"Oh I won't," she replied. "I'm not that stupid!"
"Besides it was all my fault," Devon replied.
Bailey blushed as she remembered having to yank her trousers back up her thighs as the rescue team cut through the door to rescue her. Devon had been quite attentive to her that day. "You're very distracting," she chuckled. "Will I see you tonight?"
"I'm afraid I have some things I need to do," he said slowly.
"What things!" Bailey demanded shoving him away from her. "You're an alien with nothing better to do than follow me around and make love to me! You never had things to do before! You have been distant from me ever since we got here!"
Devon sighed heavily; this was just what he didn't need. "You are being selfish!" he spat.
"I am not being selfish!" she cried. "I just want to see you! Is that too much to ask!"
"I have spent ten years at your side, day and night and now you begrudge me time to myself!" Devon shouted back.
"You have time to yourself all day whilst I'm on duty!" she yelled. "All I want is you there during the night! I miss you!" Tears were beginning to sting the back of her eyes.
"I will try and make it back before you go to bed," Devon replied.
Bailey snorted, "Don't bother yourself! I'm obviously not that important to you anymore!"
Jean-Luc Picard watched the scene from ten meters away in complete confusion. Bailey was standing in the middle of the corridor outside the turbo lift he was heading for, yelling at apparently nobody. He walked closer to them, still unseen.
"If you have quite finished!" Devon snapped at Bailey. "Captain Picard has just witnessed you shouting in an empty corridor. I'll see you later."
Bailey span around and sure enough Captain Picard was walking towards her looking more than concerned. Bailey nearly panicked as she struggled to remember what she had said to Devon, hoping that none of it gave the game away. She was sworn to secrecy about Devon, and couldn't betray a confidence to the man she loved more than anything in the universe. Devon had been with her through the worst and the best times in her life, something that she couldn't say about anyone else.
"Are you okay ensign?" Jean-Luc asked as he came to her side.
"Yes sir," she replied. "It must have looked pretty strange from way over there," she added slowly.
"Yes it did," Jean-Luc replied. "Is everything okay Bailey?" he added, changing from a formal attitude to a more personal one.
"I'm sorry," Bailey laughed. "I was rehearsing for an argument with my boyfriend. It's been driving me crazy all night and I was just hyping myself up whilst I waited for the lift."
"Oh," Jean-Luc said frowning. "Well I suggest you use a mirror next time and do it in the privacy of your quarters."
"Yes sir," Bailey said sheepishly as the lift arrived and they both went in and headed for the bridge.
Jean-Luc had driven himself mad all afternoon, trying to remember if Bailey had mentioned having a boyfriend before. It had bothered him so much that he had written Bailey's name twice by accident on his reports before deciding he had better consult Beverly before he got himself into bother with the powers that be.
He asked the computer for Beverly's location and learned that she was still in his quarters. He assumed she must still be asleep and glanced at the chronometer to see that it was almost seventeen hundred hours. It was high time for Beverly to be up anyway; so he went to wake her up.
Beverly was laying in his bed when he arrived. He watched her tossing and turning for a moment before letting her know he was there. She looked hot and fevered as he neared the bed.
"Beverly?" he whispered softly, Beverly looked at him blankly, her chest heaving as if she were trying to catch her breath. "Are you sick?" he asked in concern.
"No," she snapped after what seemed like hours.
Jean-Luc wondered if she were always this grumpy when she awoke. "You look a little… flustered."
Beverly felt like punching Jean-Luc. If it weren't for him leaving for work without waking her up before he left, she wouldn't have just had another encounter with a very angry… 'Something'. In fact Devon was still there when Jean-Luc had arrived, and Devon hadn't quite finished and made damn sure he did before releasing her from his vice tight grip on her upper arms.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked, noticing for the first time that her dressing gown was on the floor beside the bed. On further examination it appeared that Beverly was totally naked underneath his sheets. Suddenly the room felt a little hot, he caught his breath and stood next to the bed just until he heard her answer before returning to his living area to breathe again. At least she had slept well.
"I have something to ask you," he called into the bedroom, he could hear Beverly fumbling about in his bedroom with the bed sheets and hoped she was going to come out and join him.
"About what?" Beverly called back, stopping in her tracks, her dressing gown halfway up her arms. Did he know about Devon? What had he actually seen when he had arrived?
"About Bailey," he replied casually as he ordered him and Beverly some tea from the replicator.
Beverly heaved a sigh of relief and continued to get herself together before heading into the lounge to join him. "What about her?" she asked flopping down into a seat across from Jean-Luc.
Jean-Luc watched Beverly run her fingers through her long hair, her fingers catching in the knots. He would have offered her his hairbrush if he had one. "I saw Bailey this morning," he said slowly, trying to keep his eyes from her bare legs. Beverly was very distracting when she sat barely covered and preening herself.
"What has she done now?" Beverly asked with a sigh.
"Nothing," Jean-Luc laughed reassuringly. "I caught her rehearsing for an argument in the middle of deck ten."
Beverly frowned. "Rehearsing?" she asked perplexed.
"She told me she was practicing what she was going to say to her boyfriend when she next saw him," he explained.
Beverly frowned, "Boyfriend?" she asked.
"You didn't know either?" he replied with a grin.
Beverly yawned, "That girl has far too many secrets for someone her age."
"Maybe you should talk to her," he suggested.
"Oh I intend to," Beverly replied. "Right now in fact. She should be off duty now." Beverly got to her feet and headed towards the door.
"Beverly?" Jean-Luc said, barely concealing his mirth.
"Yes?" she replied glancing over her shoulder.
"You're wearing your dressing gown," he replied seriously.
Beverly glanced down at herself and blushed. "I… um… can you do me a favour Jean-Luc?" she asked sweetly.
"And what would that be?" he replied, finally allowing himself to laugh.
"Go get me some clothes please," she smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at him.
"Yes sir," he laughed and got to his feet. "What would you like to wear?"
"I'm not bothered. Anything that takes your fancy," she replied. "Thank you."
'Anything that takes my fancy', Jean-Luc thought as he headed towards her quarters. That left boundless erotic thoughts rushing through his head. He almost blushed at the thought of Beverly wearing a white silk negligee.
Beverly meanwhile decided that she had better have a quick shower before dressing. She locked herself in the bathroom and turned on the shower.
Soon the room was filled with steam, she just stood watching with her back pressed to the door trying to get hold of her composure. Devon had caught her completely off guard, and for the first few passionate kisses as he kissed her awake, in her mind she had thought she was kissing Jean-Luc and had actually enjoyed it. She could even smell him, but realised quickly it was because she was in his bed.
She heard a squeak and glanced up. She noticed a writing appearing in the mirror above the sink. The words 'HELLO BEVERLY' were written in the mirror and followed by a smiley face.
"Leave me alone!" Beverly screamed suddenly.
"Damn it!" Devon snapped back. "You made me jump!"
"I made you jump!" Beverly cried in disbelief.
"What was done, had to be done," he replied. "It's all part of the master plan."
"What master plan?" Beverly asked curiously. She still hadn't found out who or what Devon really was.
"Oh don't you worry about that," he replied. "You'll know soon enough."
"What will happen?" she asked in exasperation. She waited a moment and didn't get any form of an answer. "Devon, what will happen!" she demanded. Still no answer, it took her a moment to realise Devon had disappeared on her again.
"Beverly?"
Beverly jumped at the sound of Jean-Luc's voice through the door. "Yes?" she replied.
"I was just wondering if you were in there or if you had decided to go and visit Bailey in your dressing gown after all," he replied, his voice tinged with humour.
"Very funny," Beverly replied sarcastically. "You don't mind if I take a quick shower do you?"
"No, go ahead," he replied. "Do you want your clothes in there with you before you go in?"
Beverly unlocked the door and took the clothes from him. "Thank you Jean-Luc," she replied. "I don't know what I would do with out you."
'I know what I want to do with you,' Jean-Luc thought as she went back into the bathroom closing the door behind her.
Beverly came back out fifteen minutes later fully dressed in what Jean-Luc had given her. He had also selected her underwear and she felt a little strange knowing Jean-Luc knew what she was wearing underneath the blue dress he had also chosen for her to wear.
"I thought of everything you needed and brought it along," Jean-Luc smiled proudly.
Beverly smiled and thought he looked adorable. "Thank you once again."
"No problem," he replied. "And how about making the bed before you leave?"
Beverly blushed and went into the bedroom only to find Jean-Luc had already done it. "Smart arse," Beverly quipped before heading towards the door. "How about dinner tonight?" she asked hopefully. She didn't want to be alone for the night.
'Three nights in a row' Jean-Luc thought wistfully. "That would be lovely."
"Great!" she smiled, almost giving away her relief at not having to spend the evening in ten forward. You just couldn't relax quietly in that room.
"See you later then," he smiled.
"Sure, and I'll tell you exactly what, who etc Bailey's boyfriend is," she smiled quickly and went out the door.
Beverly found Bailey in sickbay sitting on a bed alone a few minutes later. "What's happened?" she asked coming up on Bailey from behind.
Bailey jumped and looked over her shoulder and watched as her cousin walked around the bio bed picking up the medical tricorder from the side as she went. "What are you doing here?" Bailey asked.
"I came to find you," Beverly replied running the tricorder over Bailey.
"Well I'm fine thank you," Bailey said taking the tricorder from Beverly's hands. "Why do you always assume something happened?"
"I don't," Beverly replied a little frustrated that Bailey had confiscated her tricorder.
Bailey raised one eyebrow and looked her cousin straight in the eye. "You just asked me what happened. Did it occur to you that I might be ill?"
"Are you?" Beverly asked seriously.
"Just a headache," Bailey shrugged. "Nothing serious."
"Let me get a…" Beverly began.
"Dr Selar has already treated me," Bailey interrupted. "But I think she had an emergency or something because she never told me I could go and I've been waiting for twenty minutes and seen no one."
"What did she give you?" Beverly asked.
Bailey grinned. "You just can't switch off can you?"
"Switch off what?"
"Doctor mode," Bailey replied sliding off the bed. "Well I'm fed up of waiting."
"Before we go, I'll just check today's log," Beverly said disappearing into her office.
Bailey shook her head and chuckled before following Beverly inside. "What did you want to see me about anyway?"
"Just a chat," Beverly replied. "That's okay isn't it?"
Bailey shrugged. "Depends what it's about."
"Your boyfriend," Beverly replied as she scrolled through the day's events on the computer.
Bailey's eyes widened and her face paled but Beverly failed to notice because she was engrossed in a report about a cancer scare. "What boyfriend?"
Beverly looked up. "How many have you got?" she exclaimed. "Bailey, you've only been on board for three days!"
Suddenly it twigged. The Captain must have said something about her one-sided conversation in the corridor. "Oh!" she laughed. Thinking quickly, she remembered Jamie Peitx, the lieutenant that had taken a shine to her. She would have to take him up on his offer of dinner. "Jamie you mean?"
"Um… well if that's his name, then I guess I mean him," Beverly replied.
Luckily Bailey had met him several times before at the academy and he had arrived on board this ship only a few weeks ago. "Jamie and I met a few months ago. It's an on and off thing. All we seem to do is fight."
"That's… healthy I guess," Beverly replied raising an eyebrow.
"Well I do like arguing," Bailey laughed.
"What's he like?" Beverly asked with a slanted grin. "I think I should fill in for Deanna considering she's not here."
"Deanna?"
"She is your usual gossipmonger," Beverly smiled at the thought of her friend. "She wants all the details, she drives me crazy sometimes. But that's what friends are for I suppose."
"So you want all the details then I presume?" Bailey surmised with one raised eyebrow.
"That's right!" Beverly flashed her a smile. "Spill it."
Bailey took the seat opposite Beverly, but kept her mouth shut. Beverly looked up at her expectantly.
"Well?" she asked as she pulled out the chair and sank down into it.
"You wouldn't tell me anything about your relationship," Bailey replied, "So why should I tell you about mine?"
Beverly sighed, "I haven't got any kind of relationship with anyone."
"What about the Captain?" Bailey asked mischievously.
Beverly rolled her eyes. "We are friends, that's all."
"That's what you said before," Bailey replied. "But I don't believe you."
"Well what you believe is your business," Beverly replied dismissively.
Bailey giggled as she watched Beverly pretend to be engrossed in a report on the computer. "The very reason you're reluctant to talk about it, fuels my imagination!"
"Be quiet," Beverly replied.
"After dark, when everyone is asleep, you put on your sexiest lingerie and sneak down the corridor past Will Riker's quarters to meet your waiting lover," Bailey giggled at the blush creeping up Beverly's face.
"Shut up," Beverly replied quietly.
"Or perhaps, he arrives in your quarters in the dead of the night and kisses your lips until you open your big blue eyes. You spend hours making passionate love and he leaves early in the morning with a promise to be back the following night."
"You've defiantly got a vivid imagination."
"Or!" Bailey cried. "You meet up on the holodeck and pretend to be someone else. So that your roles in real life aren't compromised."
"That's enough!" Beverly said, finally losing her patience.
"Spoil sport," Bailey said with a huff. "I was beginning to enjoy that. Perhaps I'll write a book entitled 'The Captain of her Heart'. What do you think?"
"I think you should keep quiet," Beverly replied.
Bailey laughed. "So tell me what's going on with you guys. That way I won't have to use my imagination."
"No," Beverly replied sternly.
"I Bailey Howard, am now more than ever convinced that there is something going on between you two," she announced with flourish.
Beverly switched the computer terminal off suddenly and walked around the desk taking her cousins arm forcibly and guiding her out of sickbay towards the turbolift.
"Where are we going?" Bailey laughed. "Are you going to shot me out the nearest airlock?"
"As much as I would like to, I think I would get caught," Beverly replied. "We need to have a serious chat and my office is not the place for it."
"Ooh a serious chat," Bailey giggled. "I'm not very good at those."
Beverly rolled her eyes. "Well you had better be a quick learner!"
They arrived at Bailey's quarters a few minutes later and went inside.
"Excuse the mess," Bailey said blushing crimson. The mess in her quarters clearly indicated what she had been up to that morning with Devon. She quickly closed the bedroom door while Beverly took a seat in the lounge.
"I really want all the details about this Jamie of yours," Beverly giggled. She liked the fact it was Bailey's turn to be embarrassed.
"Haven't you met him?" Bailey asked as she moved to the replicator.
"I don't think so," Beverly shrugged.
"Because he broke his leg two weeks ago skiing on the holodeck."
"Oh! Him!" the Doctor exclaimed. "He's very handsome!"
"I know!" Bailey grinned. Although handsome wasn't the first thing that came to her mind. He knew he was handsome and acted like he was God's gift to women. When she had first met Jamie about two years ago, he had taken a shine to her immediately. He claimed she was the first woman he had fallen in love with. Finding him here on board yesterday had annoyed her immensely. Devon hadn't liked him at all, and seemed to be jealous of the attention. So far Devon hadn't noticed that Jamie was on board because he was too preoccupied with his own life.
"So," Bailey said slowly. "This serious chat we're about to have. What's it about and are you hungry?"
"I am always hungry," Beverly said with a grin.
"Me too!" Bailey said. "Maybe we have a lot more in common that our hair colour!"
"I think we do," Beverly replied. "I am going to Jean-Luc's for dinner tonight, so I'll just have a ham salad sandwich and a cup of lemon tea."
Bailey raised her eyebrow. "Dinner with the Captain… AGAIN!"
"Yes, I invited myself."
"And nothing is going on?" Bailey asked bringing the food over to the coffee table between them.
"Except for our friendship, nothing is going on between us," Beverly stated again.
"I see," Bailey replied sceptically.
"Jean-Luc and I have been friends for over thirty years," Beverly explained, ignoring the grin on her cousin's face. "He was my late husbands best friend."
"Wesley's father?" Bailey asked.
"Yes, that's right," Beverly replied softly. "Jack died on an away mission whilst under the command of Jean-Luc."
Bailey looked down, she could sense the turmoil of emotions beneath Beverly's façade of indifference even after all these years. Also Bailey could sense her love for Jean-Luc and she frowned into her tea. It was the first time she had really sensed anything from Beverly at all. In fact it was the first time she had been able to sense anyone on board this ship since she had arrived three days ago. She supposed it had something to do with the fact that an empath on board was the norm and that everyone was a little guarded with his or her feelings.
"How old was Wesley when Jack died?" Bailey asked softly.
"He had just turned five," Beverly replied. "It was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through in my entire life."
"The hardest thing I have ever had to go through was my mothers murder and finding my dad…" Bailey choked on the words. "My dad hanging in the kitchen."
Beverly looked up at Bailey and watched her bottom lip tremble. Jean-Luc had been right; Bailey wasn't over her parent's death. She quickly got up and sat on the arm of Bailey's chair and pulled her cousin into her embrace.
Bailey reluctantly went into Beverly's arms. She buried her face in Beverly's stomach and soon heartbreaking sobs followed. "Dad stayed with me until I was asleep," she whispered. "I couldn't stop crying. I knew what death was. Mum had told me about it all before. Because she was a Doctor."
Beverly's heart was breaking as she gently rocked Bailey backwards and forwards as she held her close. She remembered her grandmother's journals and her mental note to go through the logs to see if Bailey had indeed visited her grandmother all those years ago and also to see why her grandmother had sent the young girl away.
"I didn't know he was going to kill himself," Bailey whispered. "I should have stopped him."
"Bailey you were only nine years old. It wasn't your fault. How could you have known at that age what your father was going to do?" Beverly whispered back, brushing Bailey's hair away from her face. "My parent's died when I was a child too."
That caught Bailey's attention and she looked up into Beverly's eyes. "How?" she asked simply.
"They were amongst the thousands killed on Arveda Three," she looked down. "My grandmother and I were lucky. We managed to escape." Beverly noticed Bailey was looking at her with considerable interest. Her brilliant violet eyes burned with intensity. "It took me years to come to terms with the trauma. But the truth is simple, people never get over things like this, you just learn to live with it. Not a day goes by when I don't think of my parent's. Even at my age!"
"Did you ever wonder if there was something you could have done to save them?" Bailey asked softly. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Beverly must have been through when the small colony had been raided. The women were raped and the men were murdered. The raiders had all carried diseases and had purposely passed it onto the women of the colony. They were left dying and were treated by the few people that had managed to escape after the raiders had left. Beverly's grandmother Felisa had been one of the lucky ones. She had managed to escape, taking Beverly screaming and crying for her mother with her.
"I blamed my grandmother for a while," Beverly replied.. "Because she wouldn't let me go back and rescue my parents. I was only seven at the time and I couldn't have done anything to help them even if I had tried. It took me a while to realise that my Nana had in fact saved my life by dragging me away into the forest."
Bailey nodded. "Do you have a hard time trusting people?" she asked as Beverly lay down on the couch taking her with her in her arms.
"Do you?" Beverly replied softly.
Bailey nodded. "I spent so much time alone when I lived with Elizabeth and Lesley. I just spent all my time off school in my room reading, writing or listening to music. I'm not very good at talking to people. I'm very shy, especially in a crowd of people. I just sit and listen to what's going on. Anyway, when I have actually said something, they usually ignore me anyway."
"What about your friends?" Beverly asked.
Bailey shrugged. "I don't really have any. There was my friend Andrew, but he and I were always fighting. We weren't close or anything. We just went out to the library together for school work and stuff."
"Fighting?" Beverly asked.
"He annoyed the hell out of me. He's such a girl! He would ignore me for days on end if I said something he didn't agree with. But I had no one else to be with, so we stuck with each other."
End of part three