Chapter 30
Picard felt his whole body grow impossibly tense. He had just shouted that he wanted to speak to Beverly Crusher alone. He was terribly embarrassed by his recent behavior where Beverly was concerned. First he had…fainted at seeing her, and then he had made an emotional outburst. But he couldn't help it. She was here in front of him.
Beverly's eyes went wide, and she looked suddenly frozen in place. It wasn't like her to be intimidated by any situation, but perhaps the stress of recent events was now wearing on her.
Feeling increasingly protective of his friend, Riker looked at Beverly, then Picard, and then back at Beverly. Well, this was awkward. "Do you want me to leave you alone?" he asked her gently, touching her on her arm.
Offended by Riker's attempts to protect Beverly from him, Picard stepped toward him authoritatively. "Who is this man?" he demanded, glaring up at Riker, but apparently asking someone else. For Riker it was beginning to look like Farpoint all over again, and he really could do without a repeat.
Riker raised his eyebrows and stuck out his hand congenially. "Commander—I mean, Captain William T. Riker, sir," he said offering his most winning smile. Picard looked down at Riker's outstretched hand and then back at Will's face with a creased brow.
"Well…which is it? Are you a Commander or a Captain?" he questioned Riker impatiently.
"Well, until recently I was First Officer on the Enterprise, sir—but—"
Picard turned away from him abruptly, as though Riker had taken too long to answer him. "Zev, what the hell are all of these Ferengi doing on my bridge?" Picard demanded.
Riker straightened and his eyes drifted up toward the ceiling. Dismissed.
Zev gestured at Riker and Beverly. "They brought them, Captain. The Ferengi with all the jewels on his coat is Brom-Bok's son, and the spindly one is—"
"Oh, I know who Kad is," Picard reassured her. "But I hardly expected to see the little weasel alive again," he snapped. "I saw him get shot in the face down on Malkata, after all. So…why is he here?"
Riker turned to look at the Captain and opened his mouth to respond, but then reached up to scratch his beard, searching for an appropriate response. "I could explain Captain...but you just said you wanted to be alone with Doctor Crusher. So maybe one explanation at a time," he suggested and smiled again in as friendly a way as possible. However, the Captain was not reciprocating.
Picard studied Riker's face. The man looked trustworthy enough, despite wearing a strange uniform and having appeared from out of nowhere on his bridge. And there was an apparent sense of recognition and affection in the tall man's eyes that he could not share of course, but he knew would somehow be comforting if he allowed it to be so.
Besides, Riker was with Beverly, and seemed protective of her, which was positive. His eyes narrowed. Just how well did Riker know Beverly? He forced his jealousy back into the recesses of his brain. The lingering effect of the Singularity Net continued to make it seem as though he was thinking through a thick fog at times. He blinked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his gaze for Beverly's sake. He didn't want to frighten her. He nodded slowly and looked over at Beverly. He pointed toward the tiny conference adjacent to the bridge. "We could step in there, if you would…."
Beverly nodded and then glanced at Riker, giving him a reassuring smile as she walked ahead of the Captain.
Zev turned to Riker sharply once they were gone. "Is she pregnant with his child?"
Riker glanced after Beverly quickly and then back down at Zev. "Um…." he hadn't anticipated having to answer such a question. He wasn't even sure he had permission to answer it. So he just cleared his throat and looked at Zev. Her antenna pointed in his direction. He scratched the back of his neck. "Um…this isn't really my area of—"
"Riker…is she going to tell him?"
The ridiculousness of the whole situation finally hit Will and he almost laughed. "Do you actually think he won't notice? I mean…even I would notice-if I didn't already know, that is."
Zev folded her arms over her chest. "How long have you known Captain Picard?"
Riker looked at her. "About four years. Why?"
"Then you have known him long enough to know that he is entirely capable of not noticing that a woman is pregnant…even a woman that he loves. He is well practiced at sublimating his emotions to the point of extreme self-denial."
Riker looked down at his hands. "Good point," he murmured with a small shrug.
