AN: Here we are, another piece to this one.
I hope you enjoy! Please don't forget to let me know what you think!
111
"Come in," Picard said in response to the chime. He was practically aware of the time instinctively since he'd spent most of the day pendant of each passing moment.
Things hadn't gone as smoothly with the Bendalite delegation as Jean-Luc might have wished. Nothing had gone wrong, exactly, but the Bendalites didn't have any concept of moving as quickly as it seemed those who were more accustomed to Starfleet timing moved.
The Bendalites had not even finalized the members of their delegation when it was time to bring them aboard, and Jean-Luc had beamed down to their planet—a hot, humid, tropical planet that had him sweating through his uniform in what felt like moments—to talk to their Proate, which was the Bendalite equivalent to a president or something of the like, while the rest of the delegation was chosen and cemented.
In total, Jean-Luc was escorting twelve Bendalites to the Federation Headquarters. One of those Bendalites would remain aboard the Enterprise for study with Beverly and Deanna. The scientist that would be learning from them would be none other than the Proate's daughter, and Jean-Luc had done his absolute best to try to keep his mind as neutral as possible when he'd learned that slightly shocking piece of information. He was aware, though, that he hadn't perfected the art of keeping his thoughts to himself when he'd caught a hint of a smile from the young Bendalite female before she'd turned her eyes away from him.
Masking his irritation had taken some practice, and Jean-Luc had called on every Vulcan meditative technique he'd ever learned to try to keep from letting a single Bendalite know that the delay had thrown everything off. Jean-Luc had put on the best so-called "happy face" that he could, and he'd personally shown the delegation around on a quick tour of the ship. With most of the day gone, he'd escorted them to their quarters so that they could freshen up and prepare for the private meal they'd have with him and his chosen guests that evening.
Free from the Bendalites for a short period of time, Jean-Luc had contacted headquarters for any further instructions and to update them on the day's affairs. Then, he'd taken care of everything he needed to do in order to leave the ship in the care of the Gamma crew, remaining on-call in case of emergency, as he always did, and he'd returned to his own quarters to prepare things and to shower and dress for the dinner.
The chime surprised him. Deanna and Will should arrive soon, but he didn't expect them quite so early.
The door opened to reveal Beverly standing there. Jean-Luc's heart responded even before his mind. He smiled at Beverly a second later, and he pulled her into his quarters.
"I meant to come for you. I didn't mean for you to come to me," Jean-Luc said.
"I was ready early," Beverly said. "I said goodnight to Wesley. I thought I'd save you the trip."
Jean-Luc let his eyes ghost over her.
"You look beautiful, Beverly," he said sincerely. The mint green dress that she'd chosen looked perfect for her.
"I wasn't sure exactly how informally to dress," she admitted.
"This is perfect for all occasions," Jean-Luc assured her. The dress that hugged under her breasts flowed over her belly in such a way that it made it appear, to Jean-Luc, even more obvious than it had when she'd smoothed the fabric down on the uniform she'd been wearing earlier. He pressed his hand to her belly, and she covered his hand with her own, as she almost always did. "Our little one looks…" He stopped. He couldn't find the word.
"Two days and we're halfway to the finish line, Jean-Luc," Beverly teased. "Dr. Moran wants to do a scan in a few days—it's like the one we had, just a bit more in-depth. I would love for you to be there, if you want to come, and you have the time. If you're busy, I can have a holorecording of it done. We can watch it together."
Jean-Luc brought Beverly's hand to his lips.
"I would like to be there, if I can," he said. "If not, then I can't think of a better way to pass an evening with you."
"Either way," Beverly assured him, "I'll make sure you get to see the baby's progress."
"Will we find out if we're to have a son or a daughter?" Jean-Luc asked. His stomach twisted slightly with the question. He was certain that it didn't really matter to him one way or another, but he'd like to know. Still, he wasn't going to press too hard if Beverly truly didn't want to know. She made a face.
"You really want to know, don't you?" She asked.
"If you don't want to know, Beverly…" Jean-Luc said.
"I'll think about it," Beverly assured him. She leaned toward him for a kiss, and he met her, offering her the best one that he could. He laughed quietly as he pulled out of the kiss, and she asked him to explain himself with only the quirk of an eyebrow. He shook his head.
"I was only thinking—don't think too loudly, Beverly," he said. "We'll be having dinner with the Bendalite Proate, his mate, his daughter, and his Vendi-Proate…his second in command—and every one of them is a telepath."
Beverly smiled.
"I'll be on my best behavior," she assured Jean-Luc. "I chose the dress because I know you told me that they would have some interest in our little one."
"You chose perfectly," he told her. "They will have a great interest in our little one. Expectant mothers are practically worshipped in their society, and the Proate's daughter already expressed that she hoped that there might be some young-related study, as she called it, that she could do while on the ship. I did tell her that we had one expectant mother currently aboard the ship, but I didn't tell her anything more."
At the sound of the chime, Jean-Luc naturally looked toward the door. He looked back at Beverly.
"Will and Deanna," he said. "Come in," he announced. The door granted access to exactly who he expected to enter. Jean-Luc practically passed Beverly into Deanna's arms as the two women greeted each other with affection and spent a moment praising each other's outfits and appearances.
"The guests of honor haven't arrived yet?" Will asked.
"I'm expecting them within the quarter hour," Jean-Luc responded.
Will laughed quietly.
"Then, according to Bendalite time, they should be here sometime in the next two or three hours," Will said.
"Captain Picard…" Deanna said.
"Jean-Luc, please, for tonight," Jean-Luc said quickly. "The Bendalites are very informal."
"The formality of Starfleet could be something that puts them off," Will said.
"Which we're trying not to do," Jean-Luc finished for him.
"Jean-Luc," Deanna corrected, "would you please tell me what it is that is amusing Will so much about this evening? I can't get a read on him."
"You shouldn't try," Will said. "Save your energy. You'll have plenty of telepaths to play with at dinner."
Jean-Luc made eye contact with Will, but Will didn't clarify what he found so amusing—at least, not with words. Jean-Luc didn't miss, though, when Will flicked his eyes in the direction of Beverly and then Deanna before settling back on Jean-Luc.
Jean-Luc realized, all of a sudden, what amused Will—though he denied it to Deanna and a newly-curious Beverly. Instead of discussing anything further, he offered drinks to distract everyone as they waited for their dinner guests.
111
Beverly didn't have to be telepathic to communicate with Deanna the moment they were introduced to the Bendalites that would be joining them for dinner. She also realized, immediately, that it was going to be impossible to block out her thoughts. She had to simply hope that Bendalite etiquette would mean that they didn't hold thoughts against other people.
The Bendalites were, until now, a practically unknown species. Beverly honestly hadn't even known what to expect when it came to their appearance. As they stepped into Jean-Luc's quarters, however, she was surprised to take in the rather striking appearance of them all. The Proate—Rashka—and his mate—Seraki—appeared to be older Bendalites, while the Vendi-Proate—Varshi—appeared to be closer to what Beverly might assume was her own age. The Proate's daughter—Mersuka—was quite young, at first glance, and might be somewhere around the age of twenty or twenty-five, if Beverly were judging by human years.
And Mersuka was especially stunning. A quick exchange with Deanna told Beverly that they were in agreement about the source of Will's amusement.
Some of the few people to have ever met the Bendalites had reported they were a reptilian species. Beverly could see the evidence of something like small scales, particularly around certain prominent ridges at what she might consider their eye sockets and temples. The ridges appeared to be somewhat reminiscent of something like fins and, though they were not an aquatic species, Beverly wondered if their ancestors had once been aquatic.
More than reptiles, she thought the humanoid Bendalites reminded her of some depictions of mermaids that she'd encountered—that fact making Mersuka's name and appearance all the more striking.
"This is my date," Jean-Luc said, his hand coming to rest against Beverly's back, "and the Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Beverly Crusher."
Beverly offered a hand out in greeting when Mersuka offered a hand in her direction first. The ridges that were reminiscent of fins also grew off of the wrists of Mersuka. Her hand was cool in Beverly's, and what appeared to be scales were soft to the touch and almost silky on the back of her hand and around the fin-like protrusions.
Mersuka smiled warmly, and Beverly almost believed she felt a warm comfort transfer to her body from the touch. Mersuka sandwiched Beverly's hand in both of hers and held Beverly's eyes with her own eyes—eyes that were a remarkable mix of violet and blue around a vertical pupil.
"May I call you Beverly?" Mersuka asked.
"Absolutely," Beverly said, keeping in mind that they valued informality. Mersuka's smile only grew. Her teeth were a mix of sharp and dull—omnivores.
"Beverly—I look forward to working with you," Mersuka said. "One scientist to another. My people are not reptiles. Nor are we mermaids."
Beverly's stomach tightened and twisted, she felt a wave of nausea that she'd mostly been keeping at bay, and her thoughts ticked back in time to recall if she'd taken her medication like she should have. She realized that, perhaps, she'd missed a dose that day, and she hadn't taken any recently.
Mersuka squeezed her hand.
"I apologize," she said. "I did not mean to make you feel unwell. Only to say that…we are mammalian, like yourself. My apologies if I have embarrassed you."
Beverly felt her face grow warm, but there was little she could do about it. Jean-Luc had stepped away as soon as Mersuka took Beverly's hand, in order to facilitate more introductions among those present, but he returned. She felt the pressure of his hand on her lower back as evidence of his proximity and, perhaps, even of a protective instinct and display of which he wasn't even fully aware.
Mersuka glanced in his direction, perhaps sensing what Jean-Luc displayed without intention. She dropped Beverly's hand and clasped her hands in front of her. She smiled at Jean-Luc where he stood next to Beverly's right shoulder.
"It's fine," Beverly assured her quickly. "I'm sorry for…"
"Thinking?" Mersuka asked with laugh. "There is no harm done." She gestured toward Jean-Luc with a nod of her head. "I hope there is no offense taken. I have committed no purposeful harm to your mate."
"Mate…" Jean-Luc said.
"She is your mate, is she not? She carries your young?" Mersuka asked. "You are—mated pairs?" She asked, glancing from Jean-Luc and Beverly to Will and Deanna, who were talking to the other three Bendalites, but were also clearly trying to keep some connection to the conversation that was taking place.
Rashka and Seraki, perhaps sensing some distress, came over quickly.
"You must forgive my daughter," Seraki said quickly, placing a hand on Beverly's shoulder. Beverly was nearly certain that she felt the same kind of warm comfort radiating out from Seraki's palm as she'd felt from Mersuka, but she tried hard not to think about it. "We are not accustomed to dealing with other species and, while diplomacy is something we do try to teach, it's often not really learned until our young show some interest in politics and possibly connecting with other cultures. And, even then, our young have little opportunity to practice it." Seraki turned to Mersuka. "It may be impolite to ask about mated pairs in their culture, Mersuka. You'll need to learn that if you're going to be a scientist for non-Bandalitian cultures."
"Mother—she's carrying young…" Mersuka pointed out matter-of-factly. "She has obviously mated."
Beverly felt her face grow warm, and Will—somewhere behind her—choked on his drink. She briefly thought that it served him right, and she hoped that not a single Bendalite picked up on that thought and thought it prudent to bring it to light for everyone present. She reminded herself that there were always a few hiccups to iron out when new cultures collided. At least the Bendalites were a very peaceful species, and their actions could be assumed to be entirely well-meaning.
Beverly felt Jean-Luc squeeze her arm as a response to the whole thing.
"Mersuka," Seraki hissed in a tone of voice that made Beverly realize that certain characteristics of motherhood seemed to translate across most species, "you do not know about the mating practices of their culture. I apologize," she said, directing her words and her smile, then, to both Jean-Luc and Beverly. "We don't mean to assume the mating practices of your culture. And—whatever they are, we don't mean to sound judgmental about them. Mersuka is…still learning about diplomacy."
"She—has mated," Jean-Luc said. He sighed quietly—the kind of sound that said that he was doing his best to figure out the correct response to an unprecedented exchange. "That is my young…and she is my mate."
Beverly glanced at him. He made eye contact with her, but only briefly.
Beverly swallowed back her amusement. She wasn't telepathic, and neither was Jean-Luc, but sometimes, she thought she understood exactly what he was trying to say. She reached a hand up and patted his hand as he held her arm. Then, she put on the best smile she could and asked if anyone was ready for dinner, and she was immediately thankful for Deanna's enthusiastic declaration that she was starving before she offered to show Rashka and Seraki to their seats at Jean-Luc's table.