He saw her immediately as the sickbay doors hissed open, red hair falling across her face as she bent to study a chart, and he felt a flash of profound relief that she was there, just as she should be. For the past few days, every time a door had opened, every time he had awoken, every time he'd so much as turned around, his surroundings might have changed without warning, throwing him out of time again...

From the far wall she caught his eyes on her, nodded for him to come her direction. She spoke briefly to the nurse next to her as Picard weaved his way across the crowded room.

"Captain." Beverly smiled, though her eyes were serious. "We've been monitoring the effects of the temporal energy on the crew—I should have a preliminary report ready soon. Is everything all right?"

Picard nodded, suddenly rethinking the wisdom of having come. The Enterprise was his ship...but he was well aware that he wasn't the one in command here in sickbay. "Yes. I don't mean to interrupt your work."

"No, not at all," she said, something flickering in her gaze. Glancing around, she made a quick decision, tilted her head at the door behind her. "Let's step this way for just a minute."

Not to her office, he noted, as he followed her back to the private recovery room, away from the bustle of the main ward. As the door slid shut behind them she turned towards him, leaning in slightly, and the air surged with a current that sparked the instant their eyes met. It was the first time they'd been alone together since the ready room. Picard swallowed, trying to slow his quickening pulse, feeling an unaccountably strong desire to kiss her again.

He waited, instead, for her to speak.

Beverly arched an eyebrow at him, the barest hint of mirth in her eyes. "So just to confirm, Jean-Luc, since we're here now—you've saved humanity?"

Picard laughed, as much out of relief as at the absurdity of it all. "Somehow. Yes."

Her mouth quirked upwards. "Well, don't let it go to your head," she said dryly. "Given it was all your fault in the first place." She was easing closer, brushing against his arm.

"Beverly—" His breath caught as her hands drifted upwards to touch his chest, her eyes still locked with his.

She had always had an electrifying effect on him. He had always been constrained in how to respond.

No longer.

In a swift motion he closed the remaining space between them, and kissed her. Gently at first, as he savored the touch and taste of her, and then more hungrily as she murmured in pleasure against his mouth. A wave of exhilaration swept through him—at having survived this existential threat, at the incredible sensations of her body pressing fiercely against him as he urged her closer. Dreams of the past could never have come close to the reality of her now.

Eventually he drew back a fraction, breathing deeply, letting his arms slide down to settle at the curve of her hips.

Beverly's eyes were dancing, their translucent blue color all the more striking against the matching sky hue of her uniform. "Why hello, Jean-Luc," she said, her voice slightly breathless in a way he'd never heard. "Did I mention I was actually glad you saved humanity?"

"No, as I recall you only gave me a hard time about it."

"Ah. Rather ungracious of me."

He smiled wryly at her, pushed her hair back over one shoulder. "I don't believe I minded."

She grinned, then brushed her lips against his cheek, making him inhale sharply at the touch. "I've been wanting to do this again for days," she admitted.

"So have I." He kissed her again, softly this time, but then hesitated. "Beverly, I know we haven't talked about any of this yet…"

"No. But not here." She dropped her gaze to his collarbone, fingers tracing a line there for a long moment before she looked up again, apologetic. "We should probably be getting back now," she murmured.

Picard nodded reluctantly, taking a slow step back. Though every part of him was eager to continue, of course she was correct—after all, he thought ruefully, this was hardly appropriate conduct while on duty. They both understood they could steal only a moment. But with fortune there would be plenty of time in the future—and not the future he'd just come from, he added silently, feeling a twinge of uncertainty as he remembered the unhappy circumstances of that time period...

"Jean-Luc." He glanced up, pulled back out of his thoughts by the note of controlled anxiety that had crept into her voice. "Do you think Q is really finished with us—with you, this time?"

He took her hands in his, tried to convey his reassurance. "One can never be certain when it comes to Q, but...I believe so."

"Good," she said, adding softly, "I'd rather you stay in this time period for awhile."

He thought again about the other time periods he'd unwillingly experienced. Clearly there were aspects of them he'd still need to reckon with...but his preference on where—on when—to be was unequivocal. He squeezed her hands, gratified that she felt the same way. "Me too."

Beverly rubbed her thumbs on the back of his hands, then took a deliberate breath and straightened her posture. They crossed the corridor back the way they'd come from the main sickbay, and when she spoke there her voice was firm again. "Thank you, Captain...I'll have my report in time for the briefing."

He suppressed a smile, catching the faint glimmer in her eyes as he nodded to leave. "Very good, Doctor. I'll see you there."