Part 11

Lips curling upward, Jean-Luc exhales evenly, his eyes fluttering open from a long, uninterrupted sleep as a a familiar pair of lips brush over his.

"Good morning," Beverly breathes against his lips, covering his chest with hers under the bed sheets.

Slipping his arms around her waist, Jean-Luc returns her kiss, rousing slowly. "Morning, cherie."

"Happy Father's Day," whispers Beverly, stroking his chest while she feathers a kiss to his chin.

Smiling, Jean-Luc tightens his grip and pulls Beverly flush on top of him under the blankets. "Hey, that's right. Where is the little princess this morning?"

Lightly laughing, Beverly peppers kisses across his neck. "I woke up especially early so I could have you all to myself for a few minutes before Addie wakes up."

Chortling, Jean-Luc weaves his hands through Beverly's hair, grateful for a rare moment to lounge in bed in the morning instead of rushing to get ready for their shifts. "Hmm. Just a few minutes?"

Giggling, Beverly splays her hand across his abdomen. "I wanted to give you your Father's Day gift early."

Brow raised in interest, Jean-Luc lips quirk. "A present? Why, my dear, I have everything I could possibly want right here."

Smiling gently, Beverly sits back, straddling his waist and resting her weight on her knees. "Not everything."

Jean-Luc leans up, growing earnest at the turn of Beverly's expression from cheerful and playful to serious and pensive.

Inhaling deeply, Beverly takes his hand and places it over her abdomen over her thin satin nightgown. With her other hand she grasps his free hand and gazes openly into his eyes. "Your son."

Eyes dilating, Jean-Luc's lips part, transfixed by her gaze.

Beaming, Beverly squeezes his hand, tears already pooling in her eyes. "We did it, Jean-Luc. It's really happening this time."

Absolutely stunned, Jean-Luc 's eyes drop to his hand covering Beverly's abdomen. "Beverly…"

Sniffling, Beverly struggles to prevent her tears from falling. "When we finally stopped, when there was no pressure, no expectations…"

Hands flying to Beverly's face, Jean-Luc's face is a mask of concern. "How far along are you? Are you alright? The baby?"

Smiling assuringly, Beverly nods, hands on his chest. "We're fine, love. I'm actually fifteen weeks. I was a little sick, but I'm feeling much better now."

Eyes wide, Jean-Luc is surprised, and partly agitated. "Fifteen weeks? Beverly, how could you not tell me?"

"I am telling you," retorts Beverly cheekily, rubbing his chest.

Huffing, Jean-Luc drops his hands.

"Honey, relax," implores Beverly, leaning in to peck his cheek. "Everything's fine. I'm healthy, the baby's healthy. I…I wanted to wait a while. We…we had such a hard….Jean-Luc, it devastated us, the last two times. And….and when I found out…honestly, I was terrified. I didn't want to lose him.. I couldn't bear the thought of losing another baby. I couldn't celebrate his conception with you, only to miscarry a few weeks later and have to mourn all over again."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Jean-Luc reaches over and swipes at the tear tracks cascading down her cheeks. "Beverly, I couldn't bear the thought of you grieving alone. I don't want you to ever keep something from me because it hurts and you don't wish to cause pain or disappointment."

Leaning her forehead against his, Beverly sobs. "It hurt so much, Jean-Luc. I couldn't do it again."

Kissing her gently, Jean-Luc encircles his arms around her back. "I know. It's alright."

Only months after they had gotten married, Jean-Luc and Beverly had tried to grow their family. After Adele had turned one, they had decided to try for more children. While Beverly adored Adele as her own child, she had wanted to experience pregnancy and child birth again, and had wanted to give Jean-Luc another child. It took over a year for them to conceive the first time, and Beverly had miscarried early. A year and a half after that, they had conceived again. This time, they had grown more hopeful, only for Beverly to miscarry late in the pregnancy. After the second pregnancy and loss of the second baby, both Beverly and Jean-Luc had been devastated. Weak and exhausted emotionally and physically, Beverly had told Jean-Luc that she couldn't do it anymore, that she didn't want to try to have any more children . Jean-Luc had agreed with her decision to cease their efforts to conceive, not wishing to see her suffer any further. The two of them had agreed that they were fortunate to have a happy, healthy son and daughter, and they should be content with their wonderful family. However, nearly three months ago, Beverly had discovered that they had successfully conceived a seemingly healthy baby.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, " sniffles Beverly, letting her forehead rest against his. "I just wanted to wait until I had run all the diagnostics. And, then Father's Day was coming up in like two weeks and I figured I'd tell you today before you started to get really suspicious."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jean-Luc brings a hand around to cradle the side of her face, his eyes boring into hers.

Smiling assuringly, Beverly bobs her head. "Perfect."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jean-Luc runs his thumb along her jawline. "Tell me about our son."

Relaxing into his arms, Beverly smiles broadly. "He's perfect, Jean-Luc. Everything looks great. Totally healthy so far."

Cupping her cheek, Jean-Luc kisses her softly. "Thank you, cherie. This is…amazing."

Eyes illuminating, Beverly jumps off of Jean-Luc's lap and untangles the blankets around them. "I forgot!"

Shaking his head, Jean-Luc chuckles as Beverly crawls across the bed to retrieve something off of the nightstand.

"What have you got?" Jean-Luc inquires, fully righting himself and straightening the blankets.

Beverly climbs back to sit in front of him, handing him a small glass cube.

Eyes shining, Jean-Luc beams at the tiny holographic projection of the tiny fetus inside the glass cube.

"From the last scan," explains Beverly, settling in front of Jean-Luc, resting her hands on his knees.

"It's wonderful, Beverly," murmurs Jean-Luc, tears welling in his eyes. "Thank you."

Leaning forward, Beverly captures his lips. "Happy Father's Day, Jean-Luc. We're so lucky to have you. Me, Wesley, Adele, and our new little man."

Burying a hand in her hair, Jean-Luc sighs contentedly. "Thank you, cherie. I couldn't be more thrilled. And, I would be lost without you."

"I'm glad we can finally tell everyone," admits Beverly, sliding into Jean-Luc's lap again.

Briefly stretching to the side, Jean-Luc deposits the cube onto his night table and returns to envelop Beverly in his arms. "So, we have a few extra minutes?"

Laughing, Beverly bobs her head. "Mmmm..We may have a couple minutes to spare. What'd you have in mind?"

Jean-Luc runs his hands up her sides, slipping her nightgown up and over her body. "Just a small celebration of sorts."

As Jean-Luc discards the nightgown over the bed, Beverly straddles his waist. He grips her hips and trails a path of open-mouthed kisses along her neck.

"Mmmm…."moans Beverly, grasping his shoulders. "Sounds perfect."

"We're going to require more than a few minutes," rumbles Jean-Luc into her neck.

Laughing, Beverly tosses her head back.

Pausing, Jean-Luc sighs contentedly against Beverly's chest. "I love you."

Dropping a kiss to his crown, Beverly caresses his shoulders. "I love you, Jean-Luc."

Jean-Luc splays his hand across Beverly's abdomen, letting the news truly sink in. "Thank you. I do have everything I could possibly want. You make me so incredibly happy."

Beverly takes his face in her hands and kisses him slowly. "Thank you, my love. It goes both ways."