Author's note: First of all, I'm sorry it takes me so long to update! Secondly, Thank you all for the encouraging reviews! :) Thanks for taking the time to read my story! You guys are amazing!

Chapter 8

Beverly

Her heart racing from the adrenaline provided from the pressing fear of being caught, Beverly stared at the shuttle controls in front of her. Her eyes began burning with the sensation of approaching tears. She blinked hard to clear her vision again, the controls focusing again.

She brought her hand forward, hesitating before she touched the controls. Beverly should have left minutes before, but she found herself hesitating. It seemed as though as soon as she touched the shuttle controls that it would be so… final. That as soon as she touched the controls, there would be no turning back at all.

Beverly turned and looked at the compartment where she had all her supplies, wincing when she saw the lock on the outside. Who was she trying to trick? There already was no turning back from this. She had made her decision ages ago on the planet when they had threatened Jean Luc.

Facing the controls once again, Beverly took a deep breath and put her hands down on the cold metal.

Jean Luc

Jean Luc was still sitting in his room. If he had expected Beverly to come for breakfast, it hadn't been a mutual understanding, since she hadn't shown up that morning.

He had been trying to tell himself that it was only a misunderstanding and that he had no right to be angry at her, but his emotions weren't listening. It was probably a good thing that Jean Luc hadn't seen Beverly all morning, or he might not have been quite as civil as he should.

When he thought about their conversation, he knew that they hadn't even ever talked about meeting for breakfast, yet when they had agreed to see each other again in "the morning," he had assumed that it meant that she would be coming for breakfast and they would soon return to their comfortable breakfast routine.

It had hurt Jean Luc to leave Beverly last night that he took comfort in the thought of seeing her for breakfast, so when she hadn't shown up… well, he had been angry. Now, though, he had gotten over his anger and was only worried as to why he hadn't seen her all morning.

"Computer, what is the location of Dr. Beverly Crusher?"

"Dr. Beverly Crusher is beyond my capacity to detect her presence."

"What?" Jean Luc mumbled to himself, brows furrowed. "Computer, what is the location of Dr. Beverly Crusher on the Enterprise?"

"Dr. Beverly Crusher is no longer aboard the Enterprise."

Jean Luc's jaw went slack and he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He slumped in his chair. It was possible that the computer had made a mistake, or they had the name wrong, but his gut told him that she was really gone. Nonetheless, he was going to be absolutely sure before he did anything else.

Jean Luc got up and hurried to Beverly's quarters. On his way, he bumped into Deanna.

"Counsellor Troi!" He said as she walked by.

"Yes Captain?" She said as she turned, confused.

"Have you seen Beverly?"

Her face pinched in concentration as she thought for a minute before shaking her head. "No, not since we left the bridge together. However, I did get a message through Will that she apologized for not telling me about her hallucinations."

"She sent you a message through Will, not telling you herself?"

"Yes, I believe she told Will that she wanted me to know immediately. Why do you ask? Is there something wrong?" Deanna looked questioningly at him, sensing his nervousness.

"Something wrong?" Jean Luc said, his voice raising. "No," He said sarcastically, "no nothing's wrong. Beverly is just doing as she always does and taking matters into her own hands."

Deanna looked worriedly at him now. "What happened?"

He slumped and he appeared defeated, his voice sounding tired and desperate. "I am not sure yet. The computer says that Beverly is no longer aboard the Enterprise and I was just heading over to see if she was in her quarters."

Deanna frowned, looking troubled. "Are you quite sure that it said she was not aboard the ship at all?"

"Yes!" He said angrily, but the lowered his tone and spoke again. "I'm sorry. I'm going to go check her quarters now." He started walking again and Deanna followed him a few seconds later.

When he got to her door, he didn't even bother with the door chime and just entered the code that she had told him before. He hoped she hadn't changed it… ding. Yes! They were in.

He walked inside with Deanna right behind him. When they moved through the entrance way, he nearly tripped over a table that had been tipped over.

Jean Luc stared at the room in front of him. A gasp sounded from behind his shoulder. In a daze, he stepped forward and more into the room that had once been Beverly's living room.

The room was an absolute mess, with the tables all pushed out of their customary positions and drawers opened. There were papers and pillows strewn around the room, some of the medical equipment he had seen the night before, along with things he'd never seen before.

He walked carefully forward, avoiding the items on the floor. When he got to the door leading to her bedroom, Jean Luc stopped and took a deep breath. Deanna stood behind him, but didn't say anything.

Bracing himself for the worst, Jean Luc pushed open the door. When the door swung open, the first thing that registered was that Beverly was not there. All his hopes that she was there crashed and he might have crashed right then if something hadn't caught his eye.

Her bed was the only thing in this room or the other that was completely clear of anything, except one item. There, sitting on her tidy sheets, was a note.

Hands shaking, Jean Luc walked forward and picked it up.

Jean Luc,

I'm sorry I missed breakfast.

~Beverly

That was it. No explanation, no assurance that she was safe, that he didn't have to worry about her.

He almost tore up the paper in frustration. Deanna suddenly touched his arm and he almost jumped. He had forgotten she was there.

"Can I see it?"

Jean Luc nodded mutely and handed her the note.

Deanna read it with a furrowed brow, flipped it over, then handed it back to him.

They were silent for a minute before Deanna spoke. "She's gone."

"Yes." Jean Luc said, his voice wavering. "The question is; is she coming back?"

They looked at each other, each with different thoughts running through their minds.

Deanna's soft voice broke the silence. "Where do you think she went?"

Jean Luc turned his head, all his suspicions about Beverly being confirmed. "I think she went back to the planet."