Part 4
Favors

The party was Beverly's idea. Jean-Luc wanted to celebrate their anniversary quietly, just the two of them, but she insisted that a party was definitely in order. He gave in, as he had known he would from the moment she proposed the idea, because he knew it would be her last chance to see their friends.

The disease had begun to take its toll more aggressively. Some days, she could sit on the grass playing games with Renee. Other times, the walk to the breakfast table was exhausting. And now, ever more frequently, came the days when getting out of bed was too much. Planning for the party, however, seemed to infuse Beverly with new energy.

They just never quite expected everyone to come.

People had started arriving the day before. Wesley and Marie were staying at the house, which delighted Renee. Will, Deanna, their two children, Geordi, Data and Worf found a house nearby that would hold all of them. Other friends filled most of the available rooms in the village.

One surprise had been the arrival of Admiral Alynna Nechayev.

Jean-Luc hadn't even been aware that invitation had been extended, and he wondered why Beverly had done it. Given the fact that their prior relationship could only be described as coolly formal and polite, he couldn't imagine what his wife and the admiral found to talk about during a very long, very private conversation.

oxo

Beverly and Jean-Luc were spending the morning going over some last minute party details when an all too familiar flash of light appeared.

The irritation that raced through Jean-Luc was an almost conditioned response to the being now standing before him. "Q! What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded as he leapt to his feet. He didn't need this now. He didn't have time for whatever games Q wanted to play.

"I could ask the same of you, mon capitane. Whatever possessed you to bury yourself in this galactic backwater? And without telling me?"

Q's feigned expression of hurt only infuriated Picard more.

"You were never welcome on the Enterprise, Q. You're certainly not welcome here!"

Renee hurried to her mother's side, far more upset by her father's anger than the other man's sudden appearance. "Why is Papa yelling at that man?"

"Mostly out of habit, sweetie," Beverly replied soothingly as her daughter slipped behind her. Rubbing Renee's shoulder, she smiled faintly as Jean-Luc and Q performed their familiar routine of taunt and retort.

Q's delight in tormenting his favorite human brought to mind other encounters with the Continuum's resident bad boy. Of course, it was always easier to remember them than to live through them.

One of those memories brought Beverly up short. Amanda Rogers had told her that Q had allowed her to 'see' her parents, her real parents, who had died when she was a baby.

Could he...?

At the first opening, she stepped forward. "Hello, Q," she said, smiling brightly at their unexpected guest. "It's been a long time, to us at least." Both men were astonished by the calm greeting. Her next words were a surprise, even to herself. "Renee, are you ready to go to the market with Papa? I'd like to talk to Q."

"Why?" Q asked suspiciously, an instant before Jean-Luc could get it out himself.

"Shouldn't an omnipotent being already know the answer to that?" She raised a hand to stop his retort. "Sorry, I guess I have a few habits of my own. Anyway, it's nothing sinister." She paused a moment. This was an opportunity she hadn't expected, but now it seemed like such an impulsive idea. Could she go through with it? She answered herself with a firm 'yes'. "I... I want to ask a favor."

Picard's mouth dropped open, and he wondered how any of this could really be happening. "Beverly, have you lost your mind? How can you even think of asking Q for a favor?"

Beverly sidestepped the question as her resolve strengthened. "I promise, Jean-Luc, everything will be fine. Q will probably be gone by the time you get back." She handed him the shopping list and prodded him gently toward the door. "Please. If you don't go now, we'll never be ready in time." Caressing his cheek lightly, she made him focus on her. "Go... I'll be all right."

Jean-Luc started down the path, but stopped to look over his shoulder. Suddenly, Beverly called to Renee. The little girl ran back and her mother leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Make Papa smile."

Renee giggled her agreement, and Beverly watched them leave, a wistful smile shadowing her face. She turned to find Q standing right behind her, hand braced on the doorframe.

"'Make Papa smile'," Q mocked. "How touching. And yet the good doctor gets rid of husband and child just to be alone with me? This might prove very interesting."

To his amazement, Beverly lifted a hand to run her finger lightly under his jaw. "You can be quite charming, Q..." she murmured sweetly before slipping under his arm and heading back to the couch, "...when you aren't being childish. Please, won't you sit down?"

Q was most intrigued. He had ignored her comment about omnipotent beings because she could never possibly understand that knowing everything was not the same as paying attention to it. Still, this was not the attitude he was used to getting from Red. He took the offered seat, watching her speculatively.

"You didn't get an answer to your original question." She looked him straight in the eye as she finished, "We're here because I'm dying."

Surprising Q wasn't easy, and he was chagrined to realize a human had just done it. Perhaps it was time to start paying more attention to some things. "Ah," he smirked, "so the favor would be...?"

"Nothing like what you're thinking. That's one favor I could never repay, and I think you know me well enough to understand that I also could never be indebted to you. A legitimate cure is unlikely and an extension wouldn't really change things, only delay them. I'm mortal - perilously close to proving it, in fact - and I've accepted it." Her small sigh suggested that 'resigned to it' might be a more accurate description. "No, what I want is very simple... and is something only you can do for me."

"But you'll still owe me."

"Oh, I intend to pay my debt up front. Hard as it may be to believe, I have some advice for you." She smiled at the look of total disdain on his face then continued, "Do yourself a favor, Q. Leave Jean-Luc alone for a while after I'm gone. At least a year. The time won't mean anything to you, but it will to him. Besides, he won't be much fun."

"The second thing is really for your own good. Don't ever try anything with Renee. He won't stand for it. He's always been content just to have you leave the ship, because what you do to his crew is one thing... what you do to his child is something entirely different. Hurt Renee in any way, and he'll follow you all the way back to the Continuum. You have enough trouble with them, you don't need an angry Jean-Luc Picard after you, too."

The entity opened his mouth to scoff at the idea then quickly closed it. If anyone could find a way to reach the Continuum, it would be Picard, and they would listen to him. The Continuum was always looking for any leverage to make him behave. Perhaps it was time earn a few points in his favor. A record of having been nice to one of his humans, especially this one, might help temper their ire. Sighing dramatically, he asked, "What is your wish, Madame Picard?" and liked the sneering tone he put on the 'Madame'.

"I want to see Renee, what she'll look like when she's grown."

"Are you so sure she'll grow up?"

Beverly paled at the possibility no parent ever considers.

The stricken look on her face brought Q up short. The cruelty hadn't been deliberate - it was just reflex for him to suggest the exact opposite to whatever might be proposed, and he had forgotten how attached humans were to their offspring. If Q ever regretted anything, it was making that remark.

'It isn't that much of a favor she's asking, and she was so pleased with her 'advice'. It would be easy to...'

Her words interrupted his rationalizations.

"No," she said slowly, "I can't be sure, but you've shown Jean-Luc one potential future. All I'm asking for is a tiny piece of another plausible alternative."

Q pretended to consider the request before making a show of agreeing. "You want to see her all grown up? All right, did you have a particular day in mind? A birthday? A wedding? Something else?"

"No, nothing special. I just want to see her."

"Close your eyes and focus to the best of your limited human abilities. Concentrate on..."

"Renee," Beverly whispered as she closed her eyes.

After what seemed like forever, but was really mere seconds, Q said, "Look."

It was the same kind of ghostly apparition that Amanda had described, but Beverly could see everything clearly.

Renee - tall, slender, with vibrant auburn hair framing a face of porcelain skin, a face lit by sparkling blue eyes. She looked like Beverly, but her stance was very much Jean-Luc's. It was the image of a woman, laughing, reaching out a hand to an unknown someone.

The image faded all too soon, and Beverly choked back tears as she turned to face Q. "I believe my original payment was insufficient," she said softly. Surprising both of them, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

Q would have blushed if he had known how.

oxo

Jean-Luc was glad to find Q gone when he returned from the market, but he was once again in the dark since Beverly would not tell him what happened with Q. She only said that the conversation was polite and the parting friendly. However, he noticed her watching Renee, a wistful smile shadowing her face.

Wesley had noted the subtle change in his mother as well. He brought a cup of tea to where she sat in the front porch swing, resting on orders from her husband.

"I won't ask about the favor you asked Q for because I know you won't tell me," he teased as he draped an arm around her shoulders, "but I'm guessing it involved Renee. And it made you happy." Searching her face he amended, "No, not 'happy', more like contented. Good, you deserve that." He shook his head. "I certainly never expected to be glad about anything that involved Q!"

She looked up at her oldest child, finding new marks of maturity. He was so much like Jack, and once again, she was sorry his father hadn't lived to see what a fine young man their son had become. "Wesley, I know you're all grown up with a life of your own, but I hope you'll be able to make time for Renee. You've been through this; you know the pain and anger and loss she'll be feeling. Please help her."

"Mom, you didn't have to ask, but I'm glad you did. It gives me the chance to tell you how much I love you. You were great with me when Dad died. You let me know me it was okay to miss him and to cry, but you showed me that we didn't have to 'die' with him." He squeezed her shoulders gently. "The best legacy he left was a strong family who loved and never forgot him. I promise I'll do my best to do the same thing for Renee."

Beverly reached out to brush the hair off his forehead, and not surprisingly, he still didn't like it. This time, though, he didn't pull away. He remembered his gawky teenage years when his appearance was all-important to him, and his mother would ruffle his hair in an attempt to get him not to take things so seriously.

Wesley sighed, hoping he could teach Renee the same things.

oxo

Several hours later

In a brief moment alone, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds around her. Voices joined in conversation and laughter... ice in glasses... feet on stone and carpet... music lilting, drifting, eddying through it all. Happy sounds.

She felt a shadow fall across her, and a voice rumbled, "Doctor, are you all right?"

"Who?"

"Beverly, are you all right?"

Opening her eyes, she peered up at the towering Klingon with a smile. "I'm fine, Worf, but would you do me a favor?"

"Of course," he replied instantly.

"Help me out of this damn chair. I could use some fresh air, and if I don't move around, I'll petrify." He offered his hand and drew her gently to her feet. A bit unsteady after sitting so long, she was grateful for Worf's supporting arm. "Let's go out the back door. Jean-Luc is on the front porch with Governor Maturin, and he'll just fuss."

Their progress was slow due to a bit of stiffness on Beverly's part and to several brief chats with guests along their path.

When Jean-Luc entered a few minutes later, he instantly noticed the empty chair. Even while reminding himself that if anything had happened someone would have told him, he anxiously scanned the room, and jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Relax, Jean-Luc," Will said, keeping his voice low. "She's in the back garden with Worf. She's fine; everybody's keeping an eye on her."

Picard swallowed hard. Knowing where she was and with whom almost helped. He stared straight ahead, but his vision was inward, conjuring up a future he didn't want to see. "That's the way it will be. One day, I'll turn around... and she won't be there. She's always been there. How can I live in a world where she no longer exists?"

Will steered his friend to a quiet corner. "You'll do it because Renee will need you. To begin with, that will be enough." He paused, searching for a sign that his words were getting through. When the older man finally looked at him, he continued, "I don't claim to understand how you feel, because frankly, I do my damnedest not to imagine myself in your position, but..."

Jean-Luc rubbed his neck tiredly. "Will, I'm sorry; you shouldn't have to listen to me."

"Why do you think we're all here? We're here for Beverly, for each other and above all for you. Right now, you focus on Beverly, later, Renee. And you let us help you." Will smiled slightly, trying to lighten the mood. "The first thing I'm going to help you do is get back in a party mood. So, do you want to talk warp engines with Geordi, command strategy with the Admiral or cat poetry with Data?'

Recalling Beverly's plea that he not close himself off from the other people who cared for him, Jean-Luc resolved to accept Will's support. Pretending to consider the offerings, he said with a smile of his own, "Perhaps Data has written some warp engine poetry."

They rejoined the festivities with Jean-Luc keeping a watchful eye on the back door.

oxo

Stars filled the sky as Beverly and Worf moved slowly through the garden.

With her arm linked through his, he could feel her leaning on him, and it infuriated him to see her ill. What had started out as deference to a senior officer had soon turned into grudging respect for a human female who could actually take care of herself. That in turn had become genuine friendship. Worf loathed the very idea of losing someone else he cared about... someone he loved. Especially after Jadzia.

He had not been on the station when Jadzia was injured and had barely gotten there in time to see her before she died. Was it easier when you could prepare for it? The warrior in him insisted that death should be quick... but that was in battle. This was a battle he wasn't equipped to deal with. Disease, with its insidious attack, seemed to be such a dishonorable foe.

He had watched the captain and the doctor wage their battle with quiet dignity. Bravely, unflinchingly.

"Worf?" Her soft voice broke into his thoughts. "I need another favor."

"Do you wish to sit down again?" he asked worriedly.

"God, no. Moving feels much better. Worf, I need you to take care of something for me." She stopped, turning to face him. "Take care of Jean-Luc. He'll go on for Renee's sake, but that's not enough. I know because Wesley wasn't enough for me when Jack died. He needs someone who will keep him interested in living. Send letters, call him. Tell him about problems on the station, even if you've already solved them. Give him something to think about besides what he's lost."

"As you did for me," Worf murmured as realization dawned. That was exactly what she had done, and he hadn't recognized it before. He vaguely recalled thinking that the tone of her letters had changed after Jadzia's death. The sorrow and sympathy were there to help ease his pain, but there was always something else. Something that made him forget... no, not forget, just focus elsewhere if only for a few minutes.

"You're the one who understands, Worf. And he'll listen to you, he'll let you help him."

"It will be my honor, Beverly."

"Thank you, Worf." She reached up to kiss his cheek, then sighed. "I think we'd better go back inside before Jean-Luc comes looking for me."

oxo

The guests had all gone. Common sense told her she should have been in bed long before that, but she was out in the garden again, reluctant to let the evening end. She wanted to keep the magic for as long as possible.

Soft light spilled out as Jean-Luc opened the back door and came to join her. He bowed low and kissed her hand. "May I have this dance, my lady?"

Beverly smiled and moved into his arms, not bothering to mention the lack of music. She draped her arms around his shoulders, resting her cheek next to his. Jean-Luc hummed a vague tune as they glided around the terrace.

"How do you feel?"

"Alive, very much alive." She pressed closer to him, whispering, "Make love with me, Jean-Luc." Beverly saw the concern in his eyes when he drew back but silenced any protest with a soft kiss. "Please, make love with me. I need you."

Without another word, she led him into the house and up the stairs. Their lovemaking was slow and tender, every touch, every kiss like a new sensation.

oxo

The next day, no one was surprised that Beverly slept late. When she did wake, she stayed in bed. She received visitors, enjoying long talks with old friends... though she did fall asleep during a couple of the conversations. She woke up once to find Deanna asleep on the other side of the bed, four-month-old Kestra between them. Beverly watched the baby girl wave her arms and smile at nothing in particular. 'Will and Deanna certainly make beautiful babies,' she thought with a smile of her own as she reached out a finger to have it wrapped in a tiny fist.

A timeless gesture, it drew the pragmatist in Beverly to the fore. Life would go on, people being born, living, dying.

It was the way things were supposed to be.

tbc