AN: This one was a bit of a struggle. I am excited about this little challenge, though, because I'm realizing just how creative I'm going to have to be in some places to change episodes to suit my purpose. Please remember that this is all for fun, and I apologize if some of them are just a little ridiculous.

I own nothing from Star Trek.

I hope you enjoy. If you do, please do let me know!

111

"Are you coming to bed, Beverly?" Jean-Luc asked, stepping into the living area of their quarters and finding his wife staring at her PADD, the same way she had been for countless hours before.

"The numbers just keep rising, Jean-Luc," she said.

Jean-Luc walked over to where she was sitting on the couch and reached to place one hand on each of her shoulders. He kneaded her muscles gently, and she groaned in satisfaction and approval.

"We will reach Styris Four tomorrow, Beverly, with the vaccine. Then, those numbers will begin to fall as drastically as they've been rising."

"The fatalities won't," Beverly said, her voice heavy with sadness.

"Unfortunately, we still don't have the power to undo death—except, of course, in situations like the one with Yareena."

"A well-made antidote administered in the nick of time isn't exactly the same kind of resurrection that would be needed to bring back the thousands of people who have died because of this virus," Beverly said.

"Yet—your saving her life was of equal importance to Yareena as this vaccine will be to the people of Styris Four. And, just like you were the one to save her life, you'll have the opportunity to save a great many lives tomorrow."

"I only wish we could have gotten there sooner," Beverly lamented.

"Come," Jean-Luc said, putting as much authority in his voice as he could. "You need to rest. You will be busy tomorrow and in the days that follow. Even with the best organization, it's going to take at least a week for you to help organize everyone on the planet to properly and effectively administer the vaccine to the population. And, as I understand it, the youngest Picard puts certain strains on their mother—so you should rest while you can, as much as you can."

Beverly sighed loudly.

"You're right," she said. She sat up and put the PADD to the side, effectively putting down her work for at least a little while.

"Words that I'm quite unaccustomed to hearing," Jean-Luc teased. "Careful. I may start to like the sound of that."

Beverly stood up and turned around. Jean-Luc caught her in an embrace, and she returned his affection, leaning into him. For a long moment, he stood simply holding her, her head resting against his shoulder, as he rubbed her back.

"You know," he teased, "Lutan and his people did have some interesting ideas when it came to relationships."

"Interesting?" Beverly asked.

Jean-Luc smiled. She couldn't see him, given their current position, and he couldn't see her, but he could hear the challenge in her tone.

He knew that to tease her too much would mean that she would be angry with him and pout through the night. She might even insist that he sleep on the couch, declaring that she wasn't going to share her bed with a man who had such infuriating thoughts about such a touchy subject.

If he only teased her a little, though, she would recognize it as teasing, and she would be willing enough to forgive him—as long as he was willing to make it clear that he'd only said what he'd said as something of a sport.

"Yes…interesting," Jean-Luc said, careful not to commit to one possible meaning or another for the word. "Women are, on the whole, objects. Possessions."

"You think that's interesting?" Beverly asked, pulling out of the hug. He held tightly to her, enough to keep her from slipping away. She didn't struggle too much.

"It is an old-fashioned idea," he said. "Not unlike beliefs that humans held years ago. Women are the possessors of lands and riches, and a husband comes by those riches when he marries."

Beverly raised her eyebrows at him and he swallowed back his amusement, not wanting, yet, to let her know how much he enjoyed when she challenged him.

"Are you sorry, Jean-Luc, that you didn't get a dowry when you married me?" She asked.

"Have I given you offense?" He asked. "I was merely pointing out that—it is the place of women to be the possessors of everything that a man wants and needs in life. Really…Lutan was wrong, don't you think? He suggested that women were unimportant. But, really, that's not true at all. Not even to him. They have everything each man wants—the land, the money, children…and, ultimately, power."

Beverly relaxed and came a half step closer to him, making it easier for him to hold onto her.

"And they're treated like property, Jean-Luc," Beverly said.

"Are they?" He asked. "Are they really? It was Yareena who chose Hagon. It was Yareena who put Lutan in his position as second. You know—perhaps their practices aren't really that very different than our own. Especially not for those of who choose slightly more traditional family practices."

"Oh? And how do you figure that?" Beverly asked.

She slipped out of the embrace, but Jean-Luc could sense that she wasn't offended. She wasn't ready to fight with him, and she wasn't ready to send him to the couch for the next week or so of his life. She understood the nature of his teasing. Her body language was perfectly relaxed.

She would play with him—a sort of verbal volleying—and Jean-Luc enjoyed these sorts of games between them.

Jean-Luc followed her as she made her way to their bathroom and began the ministrations of preparing for bed.

"It is a man's job to rule and protect," Jean-Luc said.

"And you rule me, do you?" Beverly challenged.

Jean-Luc laughed.

"Some may argue that, in the position of your captain, I am somewhat in control of you, Beverly."

"But in the position of my husband?" She asked.

"I am one and the same," Jean-Luc said.

"Do try to rule me, Jean-Luc, and see how well that works out for the peace and tranquility of—of what at least serves as our household. It is one thing to give me orders in the role of my captain. It is another, entirely, to presume that you rule over me in our home."

"I would never do such a thing," Jean-Luc said. "I only meant…I do serve in a role, a professional role, as your commanding officer."

"We were talking about personal relationships," Beverly said around her toothbrush.

"So we were," Jean-Luc said, stepping next to her to brush his own teeth in her company. They both enjoyed these moments. Sometimes, when they were at their busiest, the moments spent brushing their teeth before they ran out the door to work or fell into bed to sleep hard from exhaustion were the only moments they were able to spend together.

They had learned to treasure the little things, and not to waste them.

"I may not rule you…but I do protect you," Jean-Luc said around his toothbrush.

"I can take care of myself," Beverly offered.

"I have no doubt you can," Jean-Luc said. "But—as your husband—I enjoy protecting you. I need it, even if you don't."

She laughed around her toothbrush, and Jean-Luc laughed, too. He'd grown a little tense, afraid that she might take something to heart, but he realized that she was relaxed. He let his own muscles loosen.

Jean-Luc let Beverly rinse her mouth and move on to her other tasks before he did the same. He watched her in the mirror. She smiled at him, watching him right back.

"I appreciate the fact that you want to protect me, Jean-Luc," she said. "Even when it's absolutely infuriating."

"It is not my intent to be infuriating," Jean-Luc said.

"And yet," she teased.

"I want, always, to protect you, Beverly, because you are precious to me, in every way. I want to protect our child, as well…our children, perhaps, with time."

"Your desire to protect your wife and children hardly means that you agree with Lutan and his people's practices," Beverly said.

When they'd both finished in the bathroom, Jean-Luc followed Beverly into the bedroom. He helped her pull the covers back and prepare the bed. Then, he changed into his pajamas while she changed in to hers. He thought about asking her to skip the pajamas—to come to bed to make love to him—but he decided against it. She was tired, and he knew that. He wanted her to rest as much as she could tonight. The coming week or two would be very trying for her. Making sure she slept as much as she could, with any time she had for such things, would be the only way that he would truly be able to protect her and their child for the next little while.

"I suppose you're right," Jean-Luc said. "I didn't say that I thought the similarities were overwhelming. Still, there are a few more ways in which I see something of myself in everything we've just encountered."

"And how is that?" Beverly asked, settling into bed. Jean-Luc joined her. He pulled her close to him and she came willingly. The conversation no longer made her bristle at all. She'd fully forgiven him any pretended offense. She settled close to him and rested her head on his chest. Jean-Luc slipped a hand down and rested it on the barely-there swell of her belly. Someday, hopefully soon, he would feel the movements of their child. For the time being, he was satisfied to simply touch Beverly and to know that the little one was growing.

"Well, Yutan did say that women were highly pleasant things," Jean-Luc teased. "And I certainly can't argue with that. You are, Beverly, absolutely pleasant."

She pinched him playfully. He laughed and squeezed her gently before rubbing his fingertips over her belly again.

"And, of course, there's the little matter of…well…I suppose of the fact that, when Lutan lost Yareena, Beverly, he lost everything," Jean-Luc said. "Quite literally, but…I suppose, also figuratively. And he was devastated by that loss."

"He was devastated because he lost power," Beverly said. "He lost money and power. His ego was injured."

"Well…again…I didn't say the parallels were exact," Jean-Luc said. "But, what I do know, is that if I lost you? Beverly—I would lose everything."

"Don't be dramatic, Jean-Luc," Beverly said. "You wouldn't lose everything."

Jean-Luc drew in a breath. His chest ached as he realized the absolute truth of what he'd said—what he thought.

"If I lost you, Beverly, I would lose everything that I have come to realize is most important. I would lose what matters—what truly matters. I would be…utterly…utterly devastated." He squeezed her gently. "And I mean that, lest you doubt my sincerity for the evening of teasing that I've put you through. It is through you, Beverly, that I have all the things that I value most in this world. And it is through you that I have found love, and joy, and true happiness. I never want to lose that."

He rolled to face her. With her face close to his, she smiled at him in the dim light of their bedroom. Jean-Luc touched her face.

"I love you profoundly," he said. "Even though I may not always say it as often as I should."

"I know it, even when you don't say it," Beverly said. "And—I'm not going anywhere."

Jean-Luc smiled at her.

"I'm counting on that promise," he assured her.

"But," Beverly said, smirking at him and raising her eyebrows in the manner she had that made him smile, because he knew that she was about to tease him, "just so you know…if you ever get it in your head to have me fight someone to the death for you? You'd better rethink that…"

Jean-Luc laughed.

"I already know you'd turn the mace on me, first," he said with a laugh. Beverly laughed, too.

She leaned toward him, and he gave her the best kiss that he could—the kind he hoped would give her sweet dreams.

"I love you," Beverly said sincerely.

"I love you, too," he echoed. "Do allow me to rule over you…just a little…for tonight?"

"What did you have in mind?" Beverly asked. He smiled at her.

"Close your eyes, Beverly. Get some rest. You and our little one have a busy week ahead. Sleep…and I'll keep watch."

She laughed quietly.

"For what?" She asked.

"Anything that would disturb your rest," Jean-Luc said. He drew her in toward him. She moved, finding a comfortable position for herself. He kissed her forehead. He heard her sigh. He requested that the computer lower the lights, and he held her until the steady rhythm of her breathing told him that she was fully asleep.

They didn't practice the same kinds of customs that Lutan's people practiced—not exactly—and Jean-Luc had no desire to ever go back to the kinds of backward practices that they'd once known as a society. Still, some people did adhere to rather traditional standards of behavior that some species also regarded as something just a little above barbaric for different reasons.

Jean-Luc would hold strong to his own practices and beliefs, slightly traditional, though they may be. And he meant, very seriously, the parts of the traditional marriage vows that he'd made to his wife to love, honor, and cherish her.

Above all, he thought, as he drifted off to sleep with Beverly in his arms, he did cherish her.