I do not own Star Trek: TNG (at least not on paper or in the eyes of the law, but in my heart...)

Kirkian Legacy

Upon arrival, Captain Picard and Lieutenant Kirk were shown to a posh suite by the concierge, Mal Kappet, a small round humanoid male with pinched facial features and vibrant red hair that he kept pinned back at the nap of his neck. Mal reviewed with the captain the schedule of events for the next day, while Lieutenant Kirk inspected the area for surveillance equipment – discovering at the same time that the suite consisted of a large relaxation and dining area , two master bedrooms with en suite baths and sun room with a modest but inviting bubbling pool.

"Wills Captains Picards bes willings tos reviews thes meetings chambers?" inquired Mal with an air of high formality and great dignity. Lieutenant Kirk barely suppressed a giggle at the man's use of hanging 's', obviously a cultural distinction, but entertaining none the less.

At Captain Picard's nod affirmative, the small man opened the door with a flourish and preceded to lead them though an ornately decorated hall, that both Picard and Kirk noticed did not have windows or anterior doors. The hall ended at a grand archway, sealed with a forcefield. Upon approaching the arch, Mal turned to the captain and said, "Yous mays chooses thes entrys codes, ats anys times, its works ins tandems withs yours palms prints. Withouts boths, entrys ors exits wills nots bes possibles. Thes currents codes is twos-alphas-alphas-eights", with that Mal punched in the code, scanned his palm and entered the hall with Captain Picard and Lieutenant Kirk.

Torrian was known as the second best vacation and negotiation site, closely following Riesa. All on-world industries were optimized to support an ever growing customer base. The Torrian goal was to surpass Riesa as the number one vacation spot in two quadrants. The convention center that would house the courier negotiations was a huge circular hall, formally named Marot Haat, with acoustics that naturally enhanced and carried the voice of speakers located in key spots. Marot Haat offered the added security of shielded passageways that allowed delegates to travel unseen and unassaulted to and from their deluxe suites.

That night after they had retired to their respective rooms, Kirk lay restlessly on her bed, unable to sleep. Since boarding the Enterprise she had only being able to shower and that darn pool was calling to her need to submerge herself and indulge her amphibious needs. Glancing at the clock she saw that the conference would not start for another nine hours – plenty of time for a good soak.

In his room, Picard had finished a call to the Enterprise, and reviewing the dossiers of the attending delegates. As he settled down to enjoy some relaxation with his book, he thought about how he nicely a jacuzzi soak would go with his reading. Going into the main living area, he made himself a cup of tea and turned to the sun room. As the light of the three moons shown on the pool, Picard's breath was taken away by the sight of Lieutenant Kirk slipping silently in to the pool. Her smooth movements mimicked the very flow of the water, and Picard marveled at the fine arch of her back and the movement of her derriere as she lowered herself over the edge. And then she was gone.

Obviously, Kirk had the same idea as Picard. As he entered the sun room, he was greeted by the warm moist air from the heated pool. Peering into the bubbling water, he could just barely make out the silhouette of Kirk moving under the water at the far side of the pool. Not wishing to disturb her, Picard took a seat in a lounge chair and began to settle in with his book. Just as he found his place, the lieutenant broke the surface of the water and began floating on her back. As she lazed in the water, allowing the bubbles to carry her effortlessly, she noticed the captain's presence in the sun room.

Lieutenant Kirk stood up and apologized, "I'm sorry Captain, I hope I did not mean to monopolize the pool." Noting his attire, shorts and a robe, a towel thrown across the arm of his chair, she headed for the stairs and added, "I'll get out of your way and let you relax."

Picard quickly replied, "Please do not leave on my account, enjoy your swim."

"I do not think I can in good conscience. It is obvious that you intended to enjoy the pool, but aren't, that means you changed your plans for some reason – the only thing different in this sun room since we originally arrived is me. So obviously, my presence is a problem."

"Actually, Lieutenant, I simply did not want to disturb you." Picard returned, unable to miss the way the drops of water slide down the curve of her neck to her breast.

"Hmm, okay," Kirk said, "But there's still no reason for you to not enjoy the pool, it is more than large enough for two and I promise I don't bite." She had noticed the way he looked at her, she liked that.

It was definitely a challenge, one that Picard was sure he should ignore – but did not. He rose, removed his robe, then walked to the edge and stepped into the pool. Kirk's eye was captured by the way he carefully placed his book on the floor to keep it dry as he settled in. Kirk turned and dove beneath the water out of sight again. Finding himself effectively alone Picard grabbed the book and started reading as was his original plan. Lieutenant Kirk surfaced a few feet away from where Picard sat then took a seat across from him.

She watched him in silence and Picard could feel the weight of her gaze. "You've stopped swimming, are you sure I haven't disturbed you?"

"Actually, I was concerned that my swimming would disturb your reading, sitting in the pool is just as effective as swimming to my physiology."

"Why would you think it would bother me?"

"Basic male-female dynamics: the unfair advantage of having the opposite sex able to observe your body when you can not do the same. Guys do it to me all the time in engineering when I'm maintaining the lower relay panels – they stop and stare at my butt while I'm half inside a panel. I figured since I could see you clearly but you could not see me, I had an unfair advantage.

"Well Lieutenant, I find two things troubling about your statement, first finding out that my crew is behaving in such an unrefined manner."

Kirk giggled softly, "Don't worry about the crew, it's only really bad when their comments get loud. Even if you can stop them from looking and saying things, you can't stop them from thinking and feeling the way they do."

"And second, I had not even considered that you might be 'observing my body', until you made the statement."

Kirk tilted her head to the side and regarded the captain for a moment, the replied, "Really, because I've noticed the way you look at me..." as Picard opened his mouth to explain or protest, Kirk lifted her hand to stall him, "Don't say that you haven't – because you have. I've had enough practice to know when someone is 'appreciating' my form."

"Lieutenant, I apologize if I have offended you..."

"No offense taken...I've often 'appreciated' your form, that's why it's surprising that you did not think I was so doing now."

The captain had seen and heard many wondrous things in his time with Starfleet, but few things could be found as to make him blush as he did at her confession.

"Um, I'm sorry if I have offended you now, Captain. Open mouth insert foot, that's me."

The captain chuckled at the lieutenant's honesty, "Surprisingly, Lieutenant hearing that a beautiful young woman found me passingly interesting is not offensive."

Lieutenant Kirk continued, encouraged by the ease with which he handled her confession, "It's just that when we originally met you told me to communicate with you honestly. This is the first opportunity I've had to broach the subject: I've been wondering why every other available male has been trying tirelessly to get my attention, but not you." She splashed the water idly looking only at the ripples, "It's hard to understand, especially since your the first and only man I've ever been the slightest bit interested in."

Realizing what she had just said, it was now the lieutenant's turn to blush a lovely shade of beet red. She looked up at the captain surprised at just how forward her admission had been. Then she did the only sensible thing she could think of, she rose and moved towards the pool stairs.

"I apologize, that was totally inappropriate, I'll say good night now." With that the young woman hurried to her room and shut the door. A moment later, Picard saw the light blink out from under the door.

Picard placed his book back on the floor and thought deeply about the scene that had just taken place. Curious.

During the next three days of negotiations, Lieutenant Kirk proved to be a proficient diplomatic aid. Her telepathic skills helped Picard understand and unravel unspoken needs, fears and prejudices. She was professional and reserved, and her presence as the only female, a beautiful one at that, gave her noticeable favor with the delegates. Picard saw first hand that she had spoken the truth, every male there wanted to gain her attentions, but she gently turned away all advances. Her manner was such that though rejected, the men never became despondent, quite a few took it as a challenge and chased her with renewed vigor.

Picard while watching her explain to the Dorian delegate the Federation's expectations, Picard noticed the man's rapt expression and his willingness to do anything just to keep the lovely officer there focused only on him. Picard chuckled and thought, This woman may just be the answer to universal peace.

As they returned to the suite on the evening of the fourth day of negotiations, they both assumed what had become their pattern: Picard updated Starfleet while Kirk summarized the meeting and made technical changes to the draft document to reflect the day's work. Then they ate in silence, Picard started a new book and Kirk retired to her room.

After the first night at the pool, Lieutenant Kirk had only spoken to him after being spoken to and only looked him in the face when relating information about the mission. The amicable silence was grating his nerve and Picard could not figure out why. He refused to believe even for a moment, that the Lieutenant's comments from earlier that week could be anything more than trivial and passing. And the embarrassed lieutenant was saying nothing more that could further endanger her self-confidence.

As Picard mulled over the situation in his head, there was no logic. She was young, nubile, beautiful and had her pick of endless men that were her equal, why would she prefer him? While Picard was quite comfortable with who and what he was, he was no longer a strapping young buck. He felt vital and alive, but this woman could potentially live for centuries looking just as she does today. Not a very promising hope when he considered his own premature balding. Physically, he could not picture her perfection with him and then there was personalities to consider. Picard defined himself as a very private person, not given to shows of emotion, as a telepath, she specialized in emotions. He liked being a bachelor and had never desired a long term relationship – but a woman like that was not one you chased with short-term aspirations. She was one you chased only if you intended to keep her, something so few of the eager youths throwing themselves at her recognized.

Allowing her fascination to continue would be like taking advantage of a teen-ager, but why couldn't he just accept his decision and do his job? For the last three nights, Picard had tossed and turned, replaying the pool scene in his head, thinking of all the ways it could have ended – if he'd just chosen to say to hell with his insecurities. He could not convince himself to accept things as they were, but he did not think he could do what was needed to change things.

Lieutenant Kirk peeked out of her door, "Would you mind if I went for a swim, sir?"

"Hm? Of course that will be fine Lieutenant, but please join me first. I think we need to talk," the captain's request carried the weight of an order though phrased as something to be done at her discretion.

As Kirk took a seat on a settee, Picard began, "I am concerned about how things have been going since the other day. I appreciate that you may think you have some feelings for me, maybe you're looking for something safe. But with time this will pass, many a young officer has had a crush of sorts on older settled officers, you are not the first. I understand these things and you shouldn't feel so embarrassed as to be uncomfortable working with me. Someday when you have found the man of your dreams, you'll look back on this a laugh, seeing it for what it really is – just a passing fancy."

The lieutenant's face had been down but when she looked up at the captain after he finished speaking, the look was full of ire.

"You insipidly arrogant male! I don't know whether to laugh in your face or slap it!!"

Shocked, Picard thinking to soothe her, Picard began, "Lieutenant, I only want to make things-"

"Shut up!" Lieutenant Kirk snapped, cutting him off before he could 'help' anymore.

"Lieutenant!" Picard interjected, very few people spoke to him in that manner and got away with it.

"Oh, I'm sorry...Shut up sir!!," she yelled this time jumping to her feet and stomping towards him her finger in his face.

"Aghh!, I am not some moon-eyed child, that you need to handle with kid gloves!" she raged. "I do not have a 'crush' on you! And if that's what you think then you are a fool!"

"I never meant to imply anything of the sort. It's just that the way you stopped talking and hid yourself away in your quarters, I thought I had embarrassed you, albeit unintentionally." admitted Picard well chagrined but attempting to calm the situation.

Stepping back and plopping onto a couch, Kirk looked back at Picard and continued, having released the largest portion of her irritation. "You made it clear that you are not attracted to me, I was just giving you space so that you wouldn't feel I was pressuring you. I was fully aware of the risk of revealing my feelings to you and as such prepared to accept your possible rejection."

"Lieutenant, its just that I think that you should probably focus your attention on finding a younger man."

"Please do not insult me by reading that stupid Starfleet EEY jargon and thinking that I am only as emotionally mature as some twenty-eight year, I'm already more mature than my own mother." Casting her gaze to the floor, Kirk continued, "You are an established and respected Starfleet officer. I fully understand that you would not want to be associated with James T. Kirk's bastard daughter. Most of Starfleet is betting that I'll turn out to be the worst possible combination of my parents – insubstantial, promiscuous, and clueless. Hell, I'm a cosmic joke -it pretty much guarantees that I'll spend my career alone. But I'm human, I still secretly hope there's someone out there for me. You never know unless you try, right? But now I know, and I'm going on with my life."

"Lieutenant," Picard interrupted briskly, "now it is time for you to listen to me." The firmness of his tone reminding her of their relative positions. "Please refrain from assuming or associating my actions with the foolish prejudices of others. At no time have I ever equated you with being 'Kirk's bastard daughter' nor anything else like a 'cosmic joke'. You really don't use your talents to run randomly through the minds of others do you? If you did it would be impossible for you to think such ludicrous things. I'm sure Counselor Troi will be greatly relieved."

"I'm so-," Kirk began, but Picard silenced her with a look.

"Lieutenant Kirk, yes, you are very beautiful and I can admit I am more attracted than I am comfortable with. But, my first and foremost commitment is to my ship and crew, I have no room for a personal life that would take away from the Enterprise." Pacing slowly across the room, Picard straightened his jacket and continued, "I choose to live a very private life, and I do not get involved in relationships with my crew. That being said, I'm sure there's some lucky man out there for you, someone who's a better fit than I could ever be, someone younger, looking for a wife and family – those are things I have never wanted and could never give."

While talking, Picard had taken a seat on the same couch as Lieutenant Kirk, his goal to diffuse the situation, speaking calmly in a non accusatory voice. When he touched her hand in an act of comfort his plan fell to pieces. His experience with telepaths was primarily with Counselor Troi, a level ten psi – touching Troi was never a problem. Touching Lieutenant Kirk was a completely unexpected experience that could only be explained as setting loose a wildly raging river. Instantly their minds and emotions merged with the force of a tidal wave overloading all conscious thought and sending them swirling into darkness.

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