Part 4

Picard had been greatly anticipating his command of the Federation's new flagship, but since taking command of the Enterprise, their first mission at Farpoint Station had certainly given him a lot to think about. In his command chair on the Bridge, Picard rotates at the sound of the turbolift doors opening, and is surprised to find a child, a teenage boy, standing anxiously in the turbolift.

"Children are not allowed on the Bridge," grumbles Picard, a dull ache in his head.

An extremely familiar red-headed doctor in a standard duty uniform emerges from behind the adolescent boy, meeting Picard with a steady gaze. "Permission to report to the captain?"

Eyes dilating, Picard attempts to mask his surprise at seeing his old friend come one time lover. He had realized she would reporting in on Farpoint Station and had been acutely nervous. He hadn't relished the notion of serving with her, having her in such close proximity, but Admiral Wilson had hand-picked her as his Chief Medical Officer, and Picard had been left with little alternative but to accept her appointment. "Doctor Crusher."

Swallowing hard, Beverly maintains her eyes contact. "Captain. Sir, my son is not on the Bridge. He merely accompanied me on the turbolift."

"Your son?" Picard looks incredulously at the boy, unable to believe his eyes. His son. His son standing here in front of him for the first time in a decade. Not a small child but a growing teenager, developing into a young man.

Nodding Beverly softens. "His name's Wesley. You last saw him years ago when…" Unable to finish her sentence, Beverly trails off, averting her eyes.

Nodding his understanding, Picard pauses. Beverly doesn't need to remind him. He'll never forget. He won't allow himself to forget. He could never forget how he made a decision that put Jack Crusher in harm's way that fateful day, causing an accident that robbed Beverly of her husband and Wesley of the only father he had ever known. "Well, as long as he's here. I knew your father, Wesley. Want to look around?"

Stepping onto the Bridge, Wesley surveys the room in absolute awe and amazement, trying to soak everything in like a sponge.

"But, don't touch anything!" Picard warns the boy seriously. Softening, Picard gestures to his command chair invitingly. "Try it out."

Beverly watches her son taking in the entire scene, looking up at Picard in admiration and pointing out the controls on the console to demonstrate to the captain his comprehension and eagerness. She's proud to see her son so enthused and in his element, and yet it breaks her heart to see him with Picard. Beverly can see so much of Picard in the young man and she regrets that the two have been estranged for his entire life.

"How the hell do you know that, boy?" demands Picard, staring curiously at the boy.

"Perimeter alert, Captain!" Wesley announces suddenly.

"Wesley!" admonishes Beverly from above.

"I'm sorry," apologizes Wesley, torn and uncertain.

"You have a perimeter alert, sir," Worf advises Picard, unnecessarily.

"As my son tried to tell you!" adds Beverly, ducking into the turbolift with Wesley.

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Page Break

Startled, Beverly glances up from the monitor at the desk in the Chief Medical Officer's office to address the captain hovering around her door. "Can I help you, Captain?"

"I didn't want you thinking me harsh, cold blooded," Picard says by way of an opening.

Raising a brow, Beverly smiles. "Why, oh why, would I ever think that?"

Thoroughly uncomfortable and nervous, Picard pads over to her desk. "I didn't welcome you aboard personally, professionally. I made you come to me on the Bridge. I yelled at your son. Who, as you pointed out, was quite correct. He does seem to have a very good grasp of starship operations."

Grinning, Beverly decides to give a little. She'll need to be open and honest and forgiving if this is going to work. "You've just won his mother's heart, Captain."

Slightly relieved, Picard almost smiles. "Ah, but, now, your assignment here. I would consider and approve a transfer for you."

Dejected, Beverly nearly frowns. No, he can't do that. She needs to be here. They need to make this work. For Wesley. "Oh. You consider me unqualified?"

Shaking his head, Picard smiles. "Hardly. Your service record shows you're just the Chief Medical Officer I want."

Bracing herself for the inevitable conversation, Beverly give him the opportunity. "Then you must object to me personally?"

Frustrated, Picard stammers. "I'm trying to be considerate of your feelings, Doctor. For you to work with a commanding officer who would continually remind you of a terrible personal tragedy…"

Summoning her resolve, Beverly sits tall. "If I had had any objections to serving with you, I wouldn't have requested this assignment, Captain."

Flabbergasted, Picard regards her incredulously. "You requested this posting?"

Swallowing hard, Beverly gazes at him openly. "Jean-Luc, it's been ten years. It's time to bury the past and start a future."

Averting his eyes, Picard crosses his arms over his chest. "Beverly…"

Rising out of her chair, Beverly circumnavigates her desk and walks over to Picard. "Wesley is fifteen years-old. He needs his father."

"His father is dead," retorts Picard bitterly, unable to look Beverly in the eyes. "I killed him."

Grasping his arm, Beverly's eyes flash with anger. "Stop it, Jean-Luc. That is not true. You've wallowed in guilt and self-pity for a decade. It's time to climb out of purgatory and join your family."

Stiff as a board, Jean-Luc casts his eyes on the floor, his lips set in a line. "I don't deserve a family. Not after what we did. I betrayed my best friend. And then I murdered him."

Beverly grips his face between her hands and turns him to face her, capturing his haunted gaze. "You know that's not true. You had to make a difficult command decision, something you're trained and experienced to do. It was an accident, Jean-Luc. Stop blaming yourself."

Sighing profoundly, Jean-Luc swallows the hard lump in his throat. "You came here because you want Wesley to know the truth?" A decade ago, after they had memorialized Jack Crusher, Beverly had asked Jean-Luc that they be open and honest about their past and encourage a relationship between the young Wesley and his biological father. Picard had refused, overcome with grief and guilt over their past transgression and what he perceived as his own culpability in Jack's death. Picard had felt ten years ago that Wesley had only known Jack as his father and the boy would be better off imagining his father as a fallen hero instead of the workhorse older captain who had cheated with his mother. Perhaps even more, Picard did not feel he deserved a relationship with either Beverly or Wesley after everything that had transpired, and had isolated himself, focusing only on his command.

Dropping her hands to his shoulders, Beverly nods. "Jean-Luc, your son needs you."

"Beverly," Jean-Luc protests, his resolve weakening as she kneads his shoulders.

Eyes boring into his, Beverly nearly begs. "Jean-Luc, he's your perfect progeny. He's crazy smart, so smart I can hardly handle it. He's restless, bored. Jean-Luc, I need you. He's becoming a man, and I want him to have your guidance."

Thoroughly taken aback, Jean-Luc actually smiles. "You want me to guide him?"

"Of course," Beverly practically laughs, her hands slipping down to his chest. "You're a wonderful man, Jean-Luc. I know you'll be an amazing father."

Seemingly considering her words, Jean-Luc nods. Perhaps having Beverly and the boy on the Enterprise won't be as terrifying as he had imagined. "Uh…very well. In that case, welcome aboard, Doctor."

Thoroughly pleased and relieved, Beverly presses her lips to his cheek. "Thank you, Captain. Let's do dinner. We have some catching up to do."