A/N Brownie points if you spot a current Patrick Stewart reference.
Chapter 4.
The eleventh hour of the day shift swung around, shift B, pattern delta. One more hour until the night shift, shift C, pattern Hydra came on the clock. The ship was winding down to night running, an important aspect of dealing with planet bound species. They needed to feel and see a night, even if it was merely a minor shift of light and sound, it calmed their psychological state. Psychological reviews of polar societies on earth had confirmed this long before the human race had ever taken to the stars. Lack of day or lack of night created depression and other psychological disorders. Enterprise ensured that those in her custody were mentally safe from their forms and shuffled in the mock night-time.
The corridors had that quiet, pensive feeling that accompanied late night jazz sets in old films. Jean-luc and Theich made their way towards Ten Forward in silence. Theich had an arm wrapped around his lover, which made the Captain rather uncomfortable. They were less likely to encounter crew members at this time of day but he was uncertain that any that were abroad should see him in such an intimate and personal position. Although, the coming months would exhibit intensely personal information anyway and he was not yet comfortable enough with the current situation to risk pushing Theich away in any manner, so he did nothing.
Entering Ten forward, the arm was tactically withdrawn but they were still close as they approached the table where the senior staff had assembled. Theich straddled a nearby chair as Jean-luc comfortably and elegantly immersed himself in one of the armchairs, trying not to appear as though he wanted to disappear into its depths.
Eyes were on them from all around the room, not intrusive, but certainly intrigued. As with all scuttlebutt, the news of the Captain's pregnancy had flown around the ship like warp enhanced lightening and with it rumours of the new Nashiran crewmate and where he was quartered. It was rare that the crew had scuttlebutt about their Captain's love life and only once before had they had any kind of confirmation. The Captain's current relationship was like paraffin on a fire, had Lt. Cmdr. Daren been merely a friendship?
Deanna smiled to herself at the crew's confusion. She had wondered about the captain's orientation for years. The two relationships that he had had with women whilst in command of the Enterprise had been fraught with confusion and uncertainty. Many people discovered their sexuality late in life but Deanna thought that this had more to do with the specifics of the man in question than in generic stereotyping of sexual identity. She did not think that he had been confused about his attraction to men, more that he had been confused about his friendships with women. Extremely intelligent people always had difficulty separating respect and attraction of minds from sexual attraction.
Guinan arrived quickly with drinks for the crowd and when she presented the Captain with fruit juice she merely smiled at his sour expression. A warm hand on his shoulder and a soft expression of compassion calmed his contempt for the non-alcoholic beverage. He knew that he had to change his ways somewhat now but sitting in a bar full of drinkers didn't make the transition easier for him.
Uncomfortable silence was never an issue where Data was present, so the "getting to know you" session with Theich swung into being forcefully as he began to question the man about his heritage and religion. The friends were surprised to find that their Captain's lover was an exceptionally easy going man, forthright, friendly and easy to amuse. The Captain was, as usual, a harder nut to crack, especially under the circumstances but Theich's deliberate physical distancing helped. Jean-luc would have been more uncomfortable if he had had his partner wrapped around him on the armchair. The individuality and space afforded to him significantly improved his mood and soon the conversation flowed easily between them all.
Will was both pleased and dismayed to find that he rather liked the guy. He was obviously reining himself in a little, probably for the Captain's comfort at this stage, but that actually made him more appealing. He was looking after Jean-luc, as he should, considering his feelings and sensibilities but was also showing enough of his unique personality to get across that he was a far more extrovert character than the Captain.
He had a laugh that bounced of the bulkhead like deep pulse phaser fire and it came often and honestly. He shared the Captain's passion for books, history and climbing but also enjoyed surfing and played an instrument similar to an acoustic guitar. His religion did not inhibit his enjoyment of other cultures and he had travelled broadly and unofficially in his youth. The crew discovered that although he looked similar in age to the Captain, he was actually fourteen years older and had dabbled in revolutionary politics when younger. His current position on the exchange was another example of his desire to suck up alien cultures and he had a healthy perspective on culture and religion that limited his religious beliefs to his own planet, after all the Nashira had no creation myths, so their religious beliefs were intrinsically tied to their ecology.
The evening wound down with an impromptu performance of Nashiran festival music, which was jazzy enough to intrigue Will and rocky enough to sustain the mood that had been cultivated.
Deanna was in awe of the man's ability to weave an audience to his side, he was an accomplished diplomat despite his low rank. She suspected that his life choices were all made for the sake of experience and that he had no real career ambition beyond opening himself up to new experiences. He was, in a sense, the perfect kind of person for Jean-luc to become involved with. He would never be bored on the Enterprise and there would be no conflict of interests to drag him off to pastures new. She sensed that he had the capacity to be annoyingly cheerful at inappropriate moments; maybe this relationship would teach him to temper that and consider the feelings of others more. Not that he seemed to be desperately lacking in the empathy department, just that he perhaps saw too clearly and therefore would be prone to miss the details of a situation and react to it as though the problem was already resolved. That bore watching. Mind you, he had taken a separate seat, when he clearly would have preferred to stake a claim on the Captain with physical closeness, perhaps Jean-luc was the loophole in his personality. Well, observation would tell eventually.
Beverley was astonished by how well Jean-luc and Theich knew each other. Admittedly they had spent a fair amount of time together on the dig, but they weren't revealing new information or attitudes to each other tonight, which was telling. She had imagined Jean-luc would be forever tied to his job, constantly turning down promotions to keep himself on the front line, never committing to another being who might draw his loyalty away from his beloved Starfleet. This man didn't raise any potential conflicts though, he just was.
Worf was a little nonplussed. The man seemed physically strong and well toned, but the Captain was deceptive in form, his small frame packing a nuclear punch. He would have to see him in action to judge, he supposed.
As the evening wore on, the Captain wore out. It wasn't surprising that he tired quicker than he usually was, that was normal for any person of any species who was four months pregnant, let alone one that had worked all day and seen his partner move in with him. What was surprising was that Theich realised a moment or two before the crew. Deanna was thrilled by the realisation but Will was a little put out. He liked the man, he really did and the Captain obviously wanted him here, but…Will shook his head to clear it, he was reacting like a spoilt child suddenly threatened with loss of attention when the parent starts dating again.
Will rose - broad beaming smile firmly in place as he got up to wish the Captain and his boyfriend (?) goodnight. The smile felt a million times more honest when he saw Theich pull the Captain to his side for support. A hundred watt smile for a hundred to one chance of seeing the Captain wrapped in a hug in Ten Forward, even if he was the only one to have seen it.