"Well, Robert," Wesley smiles, admiring his glass. "You've outdone yourself with the 2370!"

We all grin at Wesley's comment; "Well," Robert holds up his glass, clinking it with the young man's on his left, "you really are a Picard, Wesley! But, you haven't tasted anything until I open the 2340. We opened a bottle a few months ago and the lavender floral notes are divine!"

Marie nudges my shoulder and quietly asks, "Is the wine drinking Jean Luc's influence?"

I nod my head and quietly respond, "Mmmm, it's something the Jean Luc has been slowly introducing Wes to over the past year."

"They are very close, no? Jean Luc speaks of Wesley and his accomplishments at great length in his letters. We were, uh, very sorry to hear about what happened with the Academy."

I touch her hand lying on my shoulder, "Thank you, Marie. Yes. They are very close. It's honestly such a change! When we first came on board the Enterprise, Jean Luc couldn't bear to be in the same room with Wes – now they're inseparable!"

"Oh?" Marie repositions Saoirse on her lap as she leans in closer to me.

I nod my head with a knowing smile, "they go to school together, work together, come home together, cook together, Wesley helps Jean Luc with his classes, Jean Luc gives Wes input on his own research…! You know, I couldn't have imagined this in my wildest dreams. I come home from work and they're in the kitchen with the 2 babies, laughing about their day and their own little inside jokes." I shake my head, "If someone had told me that this would be my life, oh, 3 years ago – I would have had them sedated and I would have run a full neural scan!"

Marie's smile broadens, as she looks back at the five men seated at the opposite end of the table. They're engaged in a deep discussion with occasional bouts of laughter ringing through. Robert looks younger with the little baby bouncing on his shoulder. Aaron's small body softens him and brings a smile. Renee is sitting as close to Wesley as he can; his eyes are alight with hero worship. My eyes follow hers and land on my husband. He looks happy here, relaxed. Such a difference from last time we were here; last time he was tense, nervous, agitated. He and Robert were at one another's throats the whole time!

"When did all of this happen, Beverly? I remember when Jean Luc was here not four years ago…" she trails off, lost in the images of her thoughts. "He was so…so angry. Non, eh, I don't know if that's the right word – he was uneasy."

I nod my head, sharing the same memory. He couldn't wait to leave this place. He looked awkward, but now he blends in. "Oh, Marie everything changed so, so quickly! Honestly, he changed the day that he proposed."

Like any woman, myself included, Marie loves a good romantic story. I can tell she's not going to let the comment pass without a full debriefing. She angles herself into her chair and I see the beginnings of a, "do tell."

"Well," I look back at the boys, still embroiled in some sort of debate, "I don't know if Jean Luc told you everything, but a few years ago, we were on what was supposed to be a routine away mission to a planet called Keflotz. When we got there, an armed skirmish had broken out. Well, we were taken by one of the citizens into a building – more like a bunker – where Jean Luc was supposed to have been mediating a sort of peace treaty."

I take a sip of water to wet my throat before continuing, "when we entered the building, I saw hundreds of people lined against the walls – they were either dead or injured. I wasn't thinking clearly, so I left Jean Luc's side and made my way over to a young woman who was hurt… and then before I knew it… I woke up in sickbay with quite a few injuries."

Marie looks genuinely concerned. I don't hear any more voices coming from the head of the table. Instead I hear the beginnings of my husband's voice. I look over to him, his eyes sober, remembering that day along with me. "It was horrible," he began. "I saw it all happening… It was like a bad holo-movie where everything was happening in slow motion and I was powerless to stop it…" I've never truly heard Jean Luc's perspective on what happened and suddenly, I'm transfixed.