AN: Happy Saturday! Here's another piece to this one.
I hope you enjoy! Please don't forget to let me know what you think!
111
"Perhaps we should have taken a shuttle," Jean-Luc said. "You're not overly tired, are you? Please be honest with me."
Beverly laughed quietly at his slight case of overprotectiveness. She could scold him for it, if she wanted, and make him stop fussing over her entirely, but she didn't really want to do that. He needed some way to show his feelings, and this was clearly what he'd chosen when they bubbled out a bit.
"Jean-Luc…" Beverly said, keeping her voice cheerful. He interrupted her, the line between his brow seeming to grow more prominent with each step.
"It's just that…I don't want you to be over-tired, Beverly," Jean-Luc continued, chewing on his newly-grasped concern as a way to keep the focus off of anything else, perhaps, that might make him uncomfortable. "A woman in your condition…"
"Is capable of taking a walk, Jean-Luc," Beverly said, laughing. "I'm fine. As far as I'm aware, no healthy woman in my condition has ever come to any harm from taking a nice stroll through the French countryside."
"You have recently been through a very trying ordeal," Jean-Luc said, frowning.
"I'm not even sore anymore," Beverly countered. "Honestly, I feel fine. Everything is as healed as we can possibly make it."
"But a little rest…"
"We're walking, Jean-Luc, and not even at a very impressive pace," Beverly said. "We're not running through the wildest areas of Andoria on our third day without food or water."
"You think I'm being unreasonable," Jean-Luc said.
"I think you're being overprotective," Beverly said. "And I'm willing to allow you that. I'm still going to be the voice of reason, though, Jean-Luc."
"May I at least carry your bag the remainder of the way?" Jean-Luc asked. "We really haven't very much further to go…"
Beverly stopped walking. Jean-Luc stopped, too. She shifted the bag in question on her shoulder. It wasn't too heavy. Jean-Luc's family believed in trying to hold onto the past and preserve tradition. They eschewed many forms of modern technology, including replicators. This meant that Beverly and Jean-Luc had to pack more things than they might normally take on a trip where replicators would be readily available. Beverly wasn't at all bothered by this practice, since returning to her Nana's home in the Caldos colony would mean the same kind of old-fashioned lifestyle for a week.
Jean-Luc had asked, multiple times, to carry her duffel since they'd transported into the village.
"If we're almost there, Jean-Luc…" Beverly said. She stopped. She couldn't have felt is discomfort more strongly if she'd been Deanna. She sighed and passed the bag over. He looked only slightly more pleased as he put it on the shoulder opposite his own bag to create balance.
"Thank you," he said sincerely. Beverly nodded her head gently. She didn't start moving, though. She didn't mind standing in the sun for the time being, and she was going to give Jean-Luc time for anything he needed to work out. "Are you sure you're well?"
"Jean-Luc, during two intense days of mentoring Mersuka, I underwent every medical test known to several species for her to practice and observe," Beverly said. "I have been poked, prodded, sampled, and examined very, very thoroughly. I am healthy. Our baby is healthy. Other than morning sickness, which seems to be my plight for this pregnancy, I couldn't ask for a smoother pregnancy. I'll probably be able to walk as far as we've walked the morning of her birth."
Jean-Luc visibly relaxed a little. He laughed to himself. Beverly knew that he recognized some of the irrationality of his concerns and statements, but she also knew that sometimes it was difficult to keep all your human irrationality at bay.
"Your bag is mostly hypospray cartridges for that morning sickness," Jean-Luc said. "Maybe we should have stayed in the village."
"Do you want to tell me what's really bothering you?" Beverly asked. "Or—would you like to continue pretending that it's a thousand other things?"
"Am I that transparent?" Jean-Luc asked.
"To me, you are," Beverly said. "You're forgetting that I know you pretty well. I'm well, Jean-Luc. Our little one is healthy. I'm enjoying the fresh air, the sunshine, and the exercise. Now—that's covered. Tell me what's bothering you. Is it your family? Is it me?"
"No—it's not you, Beverly," Jean-Luc said quickly. "Of course, it's not. It's never you. It never will be. It's just…I'll be introducing you to Robert, and he's going to be quite surprised."
"You did tell them I was coming, didn't you?" Beverly asked.
"I did tell them that I was bringing you with me," Jean-Luc said. "But—as we discussed, I wanted to tell them the news in person. I didn't tell them I was bringing Beverly Picard with me, and I certainly didn't mention that we'd be bringing a third little Picard with us."
"She doesn't take up too much room," Beverly teased. Immediately, she changed her expression to let Jean-Luc know that she wasn't taking his concern too lightly. "We knew it was going to be a surprise. It'll be a surprise for Nana, too. Is there any particular reason that it has you feeling stressed, Jean-Luc?"
Jean-Luc hesitated a moment, and Beverly waited him out.
"Robert can be difficult," he said.
"So you've told me," Beverly confirmed. "I thought you two had—reached some agreement. I thought you were improving your relationship."
Jean-Luc nodded his agreement with what she'd said.
"A leopard rarely changes its spots," Jean-Luc said. "At least entirely."
"Are you afraid he won't approve of me?" Beverly asked.
"He has no reason not to approve of you," Jean-Luc said. "And his approval of you is irrelevant to me, in any case."
"Are you afraid he won't approve of our little one?" Beverly asked, trying to get to the bottom of her husband's anxiety.
"What does it matter if he does or doesn't approve of our child?" Jean-Luc asked, the question coming out as a musing.
Beverly closed the distance between them. She leaned close to him. She pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth and tasted the salt of the light sheen of sweat that both of them were wearing, despite the slight coolness of the day. She pressed another soft kiss to his lips, and Jean-Luc turned his face enough to accept the kiss and request a bit more of her affection. She broke the kiss only long enough for the involuntary smile to pass, and then she kissed him again.
Jean-Luc was visibly more relaxed when the kiss broke.
"Just tell me what's wrong, and we'll solve it together," Beverly said.
"Robert can, at times, be entirely too harsh and hurtful," Jean-Luc said. "He reacts without thinking. He…deals with his own insecurities through hurting others, even if it's without the intention to do so or the realization that he behaves in such a way."
Beverly smiled at him.
"You're afraid your brother will hurt my feelings?" Beverly asked.
"I would rather him insult me for the entirety of our visit, than say anything to you, even without intending to be hurtful," Jean-Luc said.
Beverly smiled at the sentiment. More than that, she smiled at the absolute sincerity behind the words. Jean-Luc had been worrying, perhaps since they'd planned this trip, about his brother's reactions. Robert Picard was, from what Jean-Luc had told Beverly, opinionated, arrogant, and harsh. He had some jealousy issues surrounding Jean-Luc and his life, even though Jean-Luc had never suggested, or even thought, that there was anything "lesser" about Robert and his chosen way of life.
"Jean-Luc, Robert is welcome to say anything in my presence that crosses his mind," Beverly said. "Intentional or not, it won't matter to me."
"It will if it's hurtful in some way," Jean-Luc said.
"I'll just brush it off," Beverly said. "Robert Picard will not be the first individual to ever say anything to me that was wounding—intentionally or otherwise. The difference is that I know, ahead of time, to expect it and to ignore it. Besides, his opinion of me, you, or our child doesn't really matter, does it? We'd like to share our lives with him, but, ultimately, we don't have to. His opinion changes nothing about the family we're starting."
Slowly, Jean-Luc looked even more relaxed as he judged, perhaps, that Beverly was telling him the truth.
"We should be on our way," he said.
"We should," Beverly agreed. She raised her eyebrows at him and smirked to get his attention and let him know that she was teasing him. "Are you sure you can handle carrying both those bags? I don't want you to strain your back, Jean-Luc."
He laughed quietly.
"Now who's being overprotective?"
Beverly shrugged and started walking again as Jean-Luc began forward progress down the road once more.
"That's a wife's—and a doctor's—prerogative."
111
"Mummy! They're here! Mummy! They're here!"
Jean-Luc's heart beat faster when he saw René bounding toward them. He stopped his forward progress, and Beverly stopped just behind him. When René reached them, Jean-Luc put down the bags and reached out for a hug from his nephew.
"So good to see you again, Uncle," he teased.
"Good to see you again, Nephew!" René responded. As he pulled out of the hug, he squared himself up to his full height, clearly trying to look a bit more grown than he was.
"You've grown a great deal since last I saw you," Jean-Luc said. It wasn't entirely true, but a little white lie to make his nephew happy wasn't too much to ask.
"Jean-Luc! It's so good to see you again!"
Jean-Luc smiled at his sister-in-law as she approached, arms already out for a familiar greeting. He walked toward her and wrapped her in a hug. They exchanged kisses on each cheek.
"It's good to see you again, too, Marie," he said. "Thank you for having us. You know we don't want to be any trouble. We could have stayed in the village."
"Nonsense! This is your home, Jean-Luc, and it will always be your home. We're always happy to have you here. I do wish we saw more of you…"
"Life as a starship captain," Jean-Luc offered, smiling at her. He let the words drop.
"And all that," she said, essentially supplying the rest.
"Where is Robert?" Jean-Luc asked. "I was hoping he'd be here when we arrived."
"You know your brother," Marie said, waving her hand and playfully rolling her eyes. He's with his vines. He said that he would see you—couldn't miss you, if you were staying—so there was no need to hang about the house all day waiting on your arrival."
"Are we really that much later than the arrival time I told you?" Jean-Luc asked.
"A half an hour," Marie said. "Give or take. You know Robert."
"I do know Robert," Jean-Luc agreed. "I guess we took a little longer on the road than intended. I had hoped to introduce you all at once, but…"
Jean-Luc turned to look over his shoulder at Beverly. She was smiling and clearly choosing to keep her distance to allow for the little reunion that had taken place. Beverly stepped forward and offered a hand out to Marie in greeting. Jean-Luc rested his hand at the small of Beverly's back, enjoying touching her for the comfort and peace it always offered him, and hoping that his touch might do something of the same for her.
Marie looked surprised, like she'd only just registered Beverly's presence, despite the fact that Jean-Luc had let her know that he would be bringing someone with him for the visit. Marie immediately smiled and, instead of shaking Beverly's hand, she clasped it warmly in both of hers and offered her a kiss on each cheek. Beverly immediately fell into the greeting.
"And who is this?" Marie asked.
"Beverly, this is my sister-in-law Marie, and my nephew, René. Marie, René…this is Doctor Beverly Picard. My wife."
Jean-Luc's stomach flipped as he waited for a response. Beverly didn't miss a beat, and clearly didn't take the shock that registered on Marie's features to heart.
"It's so good to meet you," Beverly said. Marie's shock broke. She smiled and hugged Beverly.
"It's so—wonderful—to meet you!" She pulled out of the hug and very clearly took Beverly in from head-to-toe. Their little one was, perhaps, not as large as she would someday be, but Jean-Luc had already noticed, even just in the village, that Beverly's pregnancy was obvious enough to catch people's attention. He could tell the moment that it registered for Marie. "Jean-Luc didn't mention anything about a wedding…or marriage."
"We didn't really have too much of a wedding," Beverly said. Marie still held to her arms, and Beverly didn't try to pull away from her. "Just a simple ceremony. We wanted to tell you the news in person."
"It's—wonderful! Welcome to the family, of course. And—Jean-Luc didn't mention…"
Beverly smiled and rubbed her belly, smoothing down the fabric of the dress she'd chosen to wear.
"We wanted to share that surprise in person, too," Beverly said.
"What's the surprise, Mummy?" René asked.
"It would see, René, that your uncle is married to Beverly," Marie said.
"Which makes her your aunt," Jean-Luc said, speaking directly to René for a moment. "Or—your niece, as the game goes."
René looked pleased with that idea, and he smiled at Beverly.
"Hello, niece," he offered.
Jean-Luc was happy that Beverly didn't hesitate to tease René. She simply smiled at him and offered a hand out in greeting.
"Hello, nephew."
"And it would seem that—Jean-Luc, I can't believe you didn't say anything—it would seem that…your aunt and uncle are expecting a baby, René. A little cousin, for you."
"Really?" René asked, directing his question toward Beverly.
"Really," she confirmed. "Is it alright with you if we stay a while?"
René grinned.
"It's wonderful! Father will be so happy to see you!"
"René—can you take their bags inside, please? Up to their room?"
René didn't need any prompting. Jean-Luc questioned him about whether or not he could manage both bags at once, but the boy wouldn't accept help, and Jean-Luc understood that stubborn streak of independence. René practically ran off with the bags to prove his ability to handle them both.
"Come in! Come in!" Marie said, jumping like she'd just remembered something. "Oh—let's have something cool to drink, and you're just in time for lunch. I just have to finish it up. It won't be long. You must be starving."
Jean-Luc quickly realized that her words were directed at Beverly, and not at him, but he didn't mind. He liked the idea of Marie fussing over Beverly a bit, and he was happy to give up any and all attention for himself so that she could have a little extra care.
Marie linked arms with Beverly familiarly, and started toward the house with her. Jean-Luc followed along behind them.
"Jean-Luc…you could have at least shuttled in from the village," Marie scolded as they walked. "With Beverly in her condition…"
Jean-Luc smiled to himself.
"Beverly assured me that her condition did not, in any way, affect her ability to walk in from the village. In fact, she insisted that we walk."
"I enjoyed the walk," Beverly confirmed, clearly trying to come to Jean-Luc's rescue. "It was really very nice. It's beautiful here. You have a lovely home. Thank you for letting us impose on you like this."
"It's no imposition at all! We're sisters now, I suppose. Welcome to the Picard family—for all that entails." Marie laughed, and Beverly echoed it. The immediate fondness between them was palpable and Jean-Luc was thankful for it. No matter how harsh Robert may be, Beverly had a companion, already, in Marie. "You must be tired, and thirsty…and hungry. Come on—you can rest while I finish lunch, and we'll have something nice to eat. Robert will come up for the meal and you and Jean-Luc can tell us everything about the wedding and the…and the baby!"
"There isn't much to tell," Jean-Luc offered.
He was ignored, though, and that only made him smile more. There was, clearly, enough to tell, and he was happy to let Beverly and Marie enjoy it.