Thanks for the reviews guys! Keep in mind that the first two chapters are mostly set-up for what is to come:)
Up until the moment she decided she needed to move on, Beverly Crusher never pictured herself living and working anywhere but on the Enterprise. The Enterprise had become a home to her, a person who had never truly belonged anywhere. That was what Starfleet did; it made you homeless, a resident of the stars: the galaxy's child.
When she was younger, Beverly had dreamed of settling down somewhere on the North American continent and starting a family. She imaged herself marrying a teacher and having a house full of children. She always knew she would be a doctor, that was never up for debate, but never in a million years did she see herself being a Starfleet physician. She would have laughed at anyone who would have told her what her future would hold.
Jack changed things for her. She was young and visiting her aunt in San Francisco, it was the summer before she was to start medical school in New England. She had gone out with a couple girls that she had recently met and Jack Crusher just so happened to be patronizing the same small restaurant. She hadn't even noticed him until he boldly came up to her table and asked for her to go on a date with him. She saw his buddies laughing hysterically behind him. Her answer, which was yes, clearly surprised the crap out of not only Jack, but also his friends.
It wasn't long before Jack, a second year cadet himself, had convinced Beverly to give up the ideal of civilian life and instead enter Starfleet Medical School.
The rest, as they say, is history.
And here she was, without a husband to hold her and love her and without her only son to give her beautiful grandchildren for her to enjoy into her golden years(existing as a higher being does not lend itself to starting a family she supposed). The more Beverly thought about it, the more she realized that if it weren't for Jack her life would be so different in so many ways. Because of him she was, in fact, very much alone.
But even those thoughts did not make her choose to move on.
It honestly started several weeks before the Enterprise's terrifying encounter with Shinzon. Beverly had been sitting in her office for something like three hours getting herself caught up on paperwork (the downside to being the ship's highest ranking physician). Without warning, she was receiving a transmission from Starfleet Medical asking her to accept a call from Dr. Yerbi Fandau, the current Head of Starfleet Medical.
While Beverly was originally perplexed by the "courtesy call" from her old friend, it soon became quite clear what he wanted from her. He was retiring at the end of the year and he wanted her to have his job, THE job that so many in the medical corps desire.
In the beginning Beverly declined the offer, she was happy with where she was. She liked being in space and exploring new worlds. And the people on the Enterprise, especially the senior staff, they had become her family. She couldn't imagine leaving it all behind.
And then Shinzon happened, and Beverly witnessed firsthand that families can be torn apart. Data's death had left a hole in everyone's hearts. Suddenly, with Worf on DS9 and Deanna and Will moving to the Titan and Alyssa deciding to take a post on a starbase with her husband and son, her family was light years away. It was just her and Geordie and Jean-Luc.
The more Beverly thought about it, the more depressed she became. Sickbay no longer held the same glorious wonder that it once had. Her job no longer made her feel like she was doing something worthwhile.
While they do say that no good decision is made after 2am, lying wide awake one early morning, Beverly made the decision.
She would accept Dr. Fandau's offer. She would become the new head of Starfleet Medical. She would leave the Enterprise, her home. She would leave him.