CHAPTER 5

After they rescued Commander Riker from Malcor III, Beverly was needed almost around the clock to keep Riker alive. It was close, almost too close in her mind, of how they almost lost him. She wasn't sure if it was the hormones talking, but she was having trouble keeping her emotions in check when she saw her friend near death. After a few days, Riker regained consciousness to Beverly's relief. She instantly communicated the news to Picard before checking in on her patient.

"Well, look who decided to join the living" Beverly smiled, looking over his chart that was next to his bed. Riker winced and moaned, stiff from being in bed for far too long and the pain shooting down from his back to his legs. "Do you need more pain receptors?" Beverly asked, noticing his discomfort.

"I'll be okay. Nothing I can't handle" Riker put on the charm with a half-sided smile. "How long have I been here?" he asked weakly.

"5 days" Beverly responded. She quickly looked over his PADD again before putting it back down. She leaned over him slightly. "You did give us quite a scare. But luckily for you, you have a great doctor" she smiled. He returned the smile as best as he could, thankful for her skills at that very moment. But even in his grogginess, he could tell she was tired and a little out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Riker asked. Beverly was surprised by his question.

"Of course, why do you ask?" she wondered.

"You look a little tired. I hope I didn't give you too much trouble. You are growing a small human as we speak" Riker chuckled a bit but winced from the pain as he did. Beverly lightly put her hand on his shoulder and was grateful for her friend's concern.

"You don't need to worry about us. I know when not to push myself" Beverly said. Just then, they heard the familiar whoosh of the Sickbay doors opening and close as Picard began to walk towards them.

"How's he doing, Doctor?" Picard asked.

"All things considered, he is doing remarkably well. He should be back to full duty in a few days" Beverly answered.

"A few days?!" Riker exclaimed, trying to get up but realizing he couldn't. Just as he did, Picard and Beverly rushed over to his side and eased him to lay back down.

"Oh no you don't. You are going to heal and rest right here. I know how stubborn you can be, Will. I would rather be safe than sorry on your recovery" Beverly said. Picard nodded in approval over her observation.

"Dr. Crusher is right. I need you to be 100% before you return to duty. I mean, unless you want me to do all the away missions until then?" Picard smirked. Riker rolled his eyes at the Captain's attempt at a joke.

"No need, Captain. I will do as the good doctor says. But make sure she rests herself. It looks like she hasn't taken a break in days" Riker commented on the tiresome look of Beverly. Picard quickly looked over to her and noticed exactly what Riker meant. That vibrant glow she had dimmed a little, her cheeks were slightly flushed and she seemed weaker. Beverly's eyes widened as she could feel their eyes on her.

"I'm fine, Captain" Beverly insisted.

"I think I will be the judge of that, Doctor" Picard said. Giving her a stern look, which only made her roll her eyes in defeat. "Get some rest, Number One. I will check in on you tomorrow" Picard smiled at his first officer. Riker nodded back to his captain and watched him escort the doctor to her office.

As Picard and Beverly entered her office, she quickly went around her desk and sat down. Picard rested his arms on the back of the chair in front of her desk, still giving her a raised brow of concern.

"I'm fine" Beverly huffed, smoothing out the material of her uniform over her stomach.

"I'm sure you are" Picard said before sitting down. Beverly could tell by the tone of his voice that he wasn't being exactly truthful in that statement.

"But?" Beverly asked.

"But– you need to start slowing down" Picard commented. A touch of concern can be heard in his tone.

"Jean-Luc, I'm pregnant, not ill. And this isn't my first rodeo. I finished medical school when I had Wesley and I worked up until he was born" Beverly explained. A little annoyed by Picard's request.

"That's true, but you also weren't the CMO of the Federation Starship and responsible for the health and welfare of over 1000 people" Picard said sensitively.

"And your point?" Beverly scoffed at his observation.

"My point is, you need to give yourself some breaks. I don't expect you to abandon your duties, but you should allow self-care. If not for you, then for the baby" Picard pointed out. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk, giving her a stern look. Beverly rolled her eyes before dropping her guard.

"You're right" Beverly said, defeated, which only caused Picard to sigh in relief. "I promise I will take more care of myself" She continued. Picard could sense the defeat in her tone of voice.

"Happy to hear that" Picard smiled. He stood up to leave but stopped and turned around to face her once again. "Once Riker is back on his feet, may we have dinner in my quarters?" Picard asked.

Beverly was taken aback for a moment. The last time he said this, it turned out it wasn't him at all. She had a flashback of that moment and she closed her eyes tightly to forget. Picard noticed her odd reaction and thought he might have overstepped. "I'm sorry. If you don't want to…" Beverly cut him off before he continued.

"No, I'm sorry. It's just– that's what the Verpellian said to me before we– you know…" Beverly lightly touched her stomach again, looking down. Picard took in a deep breath, saddened over what Beverly had gone through.

"Of course. If you want, we can eat at Ten Forward. If you prefer. Or not at all, that's fine too. Whatever you need…" Picard began to babble, which caused Beverly to chuckle. He stopped talking and was confused by her reaction.

"You're cute when you're nervous" she smiled. He blushed at her comment but a small smile formed at the corner of his mouth. "Dinner in your quarters sounds lovely" She responded. Picard's mood immediately changed when she accepted his dinner invitation. He stood taller and more relaxed, smiling widely.

"I look forward to it" Picard said, still smiling from ear to ear. Beverly only returned his smile before he exited her office.

Another week passed before Riker fully recovered from his incident. However, normalcy in the Enterprise didn't last for long. When they were investigating what had happened on the USS Brattain and got caught in the Tyken's Rift, the crew began to lose their ability to REM sleep and started to hallucinate and become paranoid. As much as Beverly tried to keep at finding a solution to fix the issues, she was not immune to the effects, and neither was Picard.

Even though Picard had relieved himself from duty and left Data in charge, Beverly was helping Data and Deanna contact another species to free them from the rift. Beverly's hallucinations grew more intense as time went on. After her incident in the morgue, she began to stress about everything and even felt paranoid when she didn't feel the baby move.

When they were able to find a solution and escape the rift, the crew still had a lot to recover from, especially getting a long night's rest. Data ordered Picard to go to sleep and after 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, he decided to go to Beverly's quarters and check in on her. He rang her door but no answer. He didn't feel it was appropriate to use his security pass but he also felt the fear inside him grew in case something could be wrong. It could still be a side effect of what they just went through, but Picard didn't want to risk it. He took a deep breath before calling out his security code.

"Computer, security override, Picard 4-7-Alpha-Tango" Picard sighed.

"Security override accepted" The computer stated. The doors whooshed open and Picard quickly stepped in. He turned to his right to head into Beverly's room and slowly peeked around the corner. He noticed her sleeping soundly and a wave of relief overcame him. He stepped back to the door but stopped. The need to stay was overwhelming and as much as his mind told him it was a bad idea, his heart couldn't help but need to be near her. He always loved Beverly but he wasn't sure if this need to be with her was because he was in love with her or because he felt he had to because she was carrying his child. He didn't want to rush things with Beverly but he didn't want to be slow either. The confusion over what he wanted and what he needed was blurred, but Beverly's happiness was the most important to him. He shook his head for a moment and decided to leave, but her voice stopped him.

"Jean-Luc? What are you doing here?" Beverly questioned in a soft yet sleepy tone. He turned around and saw her standing at the archway of her bedroom, keeping her robe tightly closed. He ran his hand over his smooth scalp before stepping towards her. She arched her brow waiting for an answer.

"I uh– I'm… well you see…" Picard began to babble which made Beverly more confused. Picard sighed and looked down as if he was in trouble. "I was worried about you and needed to see if you were okay" he admitted.

"You were worried? About me?" Beverly questioned for a moment before a small smile crept on her lips. "That's very sweet, Jean-Luc" Beverly said. He looked relieved.

"I was afraid I overstepped by coming in here. Maybe it is a side effect of what just happened but I felt the sudden urge to– to see you" He explained. Beverly shook her head and walked towards him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I trust your judgment, Jean-Luc. I probably would have done the same thing" Beverly said, keeping her smile sweet and loving.

"Are you okay?" Picard questioned with worry.

"I think so" she said. Walking over to her couch and sitting down. She let out a deep breath, leaning back and rubbing her belly contently. "I feel a little more like myself but not 100%"

"I know what you mean" Picard stated before sitting down next to her. "I am having Data take us to the nearest Starbase so we all can get the sleep we need and recover properly"

"That sounds like a good idea" Beverly said. Picard stared at her stomach for a moment, which Beverly caught. He looked away quickly, as if embarrassed. Beverly wasn't sure how Picard felt. She knew he was excited that they were having a son, but he hadn't brought it up much since that day. "Do you want to feel him?" she asked sweetly.

Picard was caught off guard by her question and shook his head instantly. "No, that's quite alright" he said before standing up quickly. Beverly sighed at his reaction but kept her response silent. "I'm sorry. I think I am just nervous about– feeling him" Picard explained, now facing her. Beverly lightly chuckled at his statement.

"He isn't going to bite, Jean-Luc" Beverly smiled.

"I know that. It's just–" Picard trailed off a bit, causing Beverly's smile to fade.

"If you feel him, it's real?" Beverly finished his statement. Picard looked at her and nodded. He felt ashamed about his feelings, only like he shouldn't have any. Beverly knew this was going to take him a lot longer to accept and even though he made progress, he still had a long way to go. She stood up and stood as close to him as her belly would allow.

She held out her hand to him but Picard froze for a moment. He looked deep into those vibrant blue eyes of hers and swallowed hard. He slowly gave her his hand and she lightly placed it on her stomach. "He's 22 weeks now. His kicks are stronger and more frequent. It's hard to get anything…" She stopped mid-sentence when their son kicked his father's hand. Picard's eyes widened at the weird sensation, but Beverly smiled. "I told you he wouldn't bite"

Picard smiled back at her and placed his other hand on her stomach to get a better feel. Almost on cue, their son kicked again. That kick was hard enough to cause Beverly to wince a little and let out a small gasp. Picard instantly worried when he saw her face.

"Are you alright?" Picard asked, placing one of his hands on her shoulders. Beverly chuckled at how quickly he panicked.

"I'm fine. That kick was a doozy though" Beverly said. Picard let out a small sigh of relief before removing his hands from her.

"Thank you" Picard smiled again.

Beverly only returned the smile before sitting down. The room fell into awkward silence before an idea struck Picard's mind.

"You know, we didn't get to have that dinner in my quarters" Picard stated, sitting back next to Beverly.

"No, we did not. Things got a little hectic around here" She sarcastically mentioned.

"Indeed it did" Picard huffed a bit. "But, maybe we can make up for it. How about some breakfast?" Picard asked with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

"Right now? Jean-Luc it's 4 in the morning" Beverly commented.

"It's still morning, and nothing beats an early breakfast" Picard quickly stood up and held out his hand to help her up.

"Yea there is, it's called sleeping in" Beverly smirked, as Picard helped her up from the couch. "But, since it doesn't seem any of us will be sleeping in today. Breakfast sounds perfect" Beverly continued, smiling again at him.

"Your usual then?" Picard asked with a smile on his face.

"As always" Beverly replied. They spent the rest of the morning together, not letting anyone or anything stand in their way.