AN: Here we are, another piece here.
I hope you enjoy! Please don't forget to let me know what you think!
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Beverly smiled, but she did her best to swallow back the expression. She didn't want René to get the wrong idea about his questions. She continued to carefully dice the onion that she'd been "assigned" to cut up as her next contribution to their evening meal. René stuck close to her, leaving the room only now and again to see how his father and uncle were faring in the garden where they were relaxing, sharing wine and conversation.
Robert, it seemed, was willing to soften just enough for Jean-Luc to be able to relax. Beverly didn't doubt that there was some brotherly competition, and even some brotherly jealousy, there, but she really believed that Robert wanted the best for his brother and, right now, he was at least willing to entertain that Beverly might be a good thing for Jean-Luc.
For now, at least, there was peace among the brothers—just in time for their last evening at Château Picard.
"But you could be a doctor anywhere," René said. It was a follow up to the chain of questions that he'd already asked Beverly. He didn't phrase it entirely like a question, but Beverly thought she heard the interrogative tone to his voice. She hummed in response.
"I was at Starfleet Medical for a while," she said. She smiled at him and winked. "But when you can be Chief Medical Officer aboard a starship like the Enterprise, why wouldn't you?"
René grinned at that. It was clear that he didn't disagree with the sentiment at all. He took a second to absorb the statement and then his brow furrowed again.
"If you could be the captain, though, don't you think it would be more exciting?" He asked.
Beverly waited before she responded. She wanted to give René's question time. She wanted him to see her thinking, and to understand that she respected his question—she wasn't dismissing it, not even if she'd already answered it, in a slightly different manner, at least twice before.
"For me, saving lives and…and improving the quality of lives, is what's most important. I could do that as a captain, because there are certainly opportunities for that, or I could do that as a doctor. There's only one captain on a ship, though, and if I were to become a captain of a ship, then I wouldn't live aboard the Enterprise and serve with your…your nephew," she teased, remembering René's game. "I love being a doctor, and I can do all the things that are important to me, professionally, in my role as the Chief Medical Officer. At the same time, I can be close to Jean-Luc, and our daughter can be close to her father. I don't know if I'll always make the same decisions in the future, but right now? There's nowhere I'd rather live than on the Enterprise with your nephew, Jean-Luc."
René chewed over her response as carefully as she'd chewed over his question. Finally, brow still slightly furrowed, he nodded.
"I understand," he said. "Are you happy here? You could stay longer, you know? As long as you wanted."
"I'm very happy here," Beverly assured him. "Jean-Luc is, too."
"Father says he hates it here," René informed her.
"René," Marie scolded, "don't go around repeating the things your father says without any reason or truth behind them."
Beverly laughed quietly.
"Jean-Luc doesn't hate it here," Beverly said. "He loves it here. He loves seeing your father, and your mother, and you, René. This is his home."
"Then, why doesn't he come more often?" René asked.
"René," Marie warned. "Why don't you let Beverly rest a bit? You've been asking her questions for hours, and she has to be getting tired."
"He's fine, Marie," Beverly assured her sister-in-law. "René—there are a lot of reasons that your…nephew…hasn't been present much over the years. Some of those reasons aren't for you and I to discuss, because they have nothing to do with either of us. But—Starfleet has a lot of demands for an important starship captain like Jean-Luc Picard. You'll understand that, someday, when you're an important starship captain. He can't always come home as much as he'd like."
"Is our home your home, now, Niece?" René asked, moving just a little closer to Beverly until she could feel the warmth of his body. If he were smaller, she might have imagined he wanted her to take him onto her lap and cuddle him against her. Of course, it may be that there was something inside of him that did want that sort of affection, even if he wasn't fully aware of it.
Beverly smiled at him and moved her own face close to his, bumping noses with him purposefully. He laughed and backed up just enough to show that he'd been overexcited and hadn't intended to keep inching closer until they were practically touching.
"I guess…yes," Beverly said, thinking about what he'd asked and musing over it while she chopped up the next few vegetables that Marie placed in front of her, making the request that she keep up her chopping work without a single word. "My home is with Jean-Luc now. I guess…this is as much my home, now, as anywhere else."
Beverly felt her chest tighten at the various thoughts that ran quickly through her mind. Her throat tightened, too, and she didn't realize that a few tears had escaped her eyes until she looked up at the sound of René darting out of the kitchen, drawn by some other activity, no doubt, and felt the warmth of them dropping onto her cheeks. She pushed away from the table a moment and dabbed at her eyes with her hands.
She stood, meaning to request a napkin or a handkerchief, and Marie met her, wrapping her arms around her.
"Oh! What's this? What happened? Are you hurt?"
"No! No! I'm fine…I just…" Beverly said. She stopped. She didn't know what to say, honestly. So, instead of trying to say anything for a moment, she simply accepted Marie's hug and the comfort that she offered.
"There…there," Marie soothed. "You're not hurt?"
"No," Beverly said, laughing at how foolish she felt. She straightened up and whispered a thanks for the handkerchief that came into her hands. She dabbed at her eyes, but the tears seemed determined not to see reason for a moment, and they flowed freely and without permission. "I'm fine. Really! I am! I guess I'm just…René said that about it being home, and I was thinking what a wonderful time we're really having here, and you've been so wonderful, and you've made me feel so welcome, and…I was thinking that we're leaving tomorrow, and…it really does feel like home…and…"
Marie caught Beverly's damp face in her hands. She smiled at her.
"And you're very much expecting," Marie said, laughing.
"I feel so foolish," Beverly admitted. Still, warm tears seemed determined to flow out of her eyes without stopping. "I promise, I'm not even really upset, I just…"
"Oh! You're just pregnant," Marie said. "Don't apologize! It's to be expected sometimes, honestly. Listen—you are welcome here. This is your home, Beverly. Even if Jean-Luc can't come, you're always welcome here, OK? And—I can't wait to come and see your home aboard the Enterprise. And we'll…we'll get ready for this little girl, won't we?"
Beverly hugged Marie again. She laughed, almost feeling like she was drowning, as she pulled out of the hug.
"That's not helping the tears," she said. "I can't stop."
"Don't try," Marie said. "A good cry is necessary, every now and again. It's healthy. As a doctor, you should know that. And if you don't…well…you're welcome for the free training."
Beverly laughed through the tears that hadn't stopped. There was a tapping, and Beverly turned toward the sound at the same time Marie did. Beverly blinked when her vision blurred.
Jean-Luc stood in the doorway. He looked more relaxed than Beverly had seen him in a long time. He looked healthier and more robust, somehow, like a few home-cooked meals, more than a few real glasses of wine, and some days outdoors had done him a world of good. He also looked, at the moment, at least a little concerned.
As soon as she made eye contact with him, he came toward her, arms outstretched in clear indication that he meant to embrace her. She didn't argue with him or fight him at all. In fact, she wanted the hug the very second that she saw it was being offered, almost feeling like she couldn't remember wanting anything more. She sank into the hug and hummed her approval of the hard squeeze that he gave her.
"Forgive my intrusion," Jean-Luc said, even as he hugged her. "And forgive me if I've interrupted anything that I shouldn't have, but René reported that my wife might be upset, and I thought…well…I suppose I thought that I might be able to do something about it."
Beverly found that the tears seemed to simply quiet as she hugged him back as tightly as he hugged her. Marie returned to her work, not the least bit bothered by the show of affection. In fact, Beverly had noticed that her in-laws seemed to prefer some show of affection, responding positively whenever they saw it. They, too, had been affectionate with each other as everyone had settled in during the week.
When Beverly felt entirely calm—practically serene—she pulled away and smiled at Jean-Luc. He held her face in his hands, smiling softly back at her, and used his thumbs to wipe away the residual tears that she'd neither wiped with the soggy handkerchief nor with his shirt.
"Are you OK, my love?" Jean-Luc asked, his voice quiet, barely loud enough for Marie to hear, Beverly was sure. Beverly flicked her eyes in Marie's direction, though, and saw a smile on the woman's face. She looked back at Jean-Luc, her cheeks a little warm.
"I'm fine, really," she said. "I just got…emotional."
"She's allowed to do that, Jean-Luc," Marie said.
"I am quite aware," Jean-Luc said. He smiled. "Beverly has a wide range of emotions, and she's allowed to feel all of them, in my presence, whenever necessary. Sometimes, when I'm really lucky, she treats me to several of them in such a small span of time that it can be quite overwhelming."
Jean-Luc winked at Beverly, and she laughed in response and shook her head at his teasing. Marie couldn't see him, but she laughed all the same.
"Welcome to married life, Jean-Luc," she teased.
"There's no life I'd rather have," Jean-Luc said. "My wife may not have told you, however, that just a short time prior to our arrival here, I came very close to losing her and our little one entirely. And, while I know that medically we are quite able to heal every bit of damage she suffered, I also know that there are other wounds that simply must heal themselves—the effects of which, sometimes, surface when we least expect it. I have been enjoying myself immensely, these past few days, and suddenly I find myself practically overwhelmed with some sudden concern of what might have happened to make these days very different."
Beverly caught Jean-Luc's hand and turned it, kissing his palm.
"I'm fine," she reassured him, her voice not even shaking the slightest bit now. "I just got emotional because we're leaving." She laughed at her own reaction. "And it's been so wonderful here, and…René asked about it being my home, and I started thinking about your home being my home…and…" Beverly stopped. Her throat started to tighten again. She shook her head gently at Jean-Luc.
The smile he gave her practically radiated love. He peppered her face with kisses, not at all bothered that, in Marie, they had something of an audience.
"My home is always your home," Jean-Luc said. "There is to be no mine and yours any longer—only ours."
Beverly gave him the best smile she could and nodded. He hugged her against him, again, until she'd calmed entirely and pulled away.
"I can't keep getting emotional like this," she said, laughing at herself as she used her already soggy handkerchief to wipe away the two or three escaped tears. Jean-Luc continued to rub her back, soothing her as best he could.
"Be as emotional as you like," Marie said, coming to finish the chopping. "It'll make me feel less foolish when I cry in the morning, seeing you both off to the village."
Before Beverly could admit the thought choked her a little, Jean-Luc pulled her into a sideways hug and kissed the side of her face.
"You'll be aboard the Enterprise before you know it, Marie," Jean-Luc said, "doing whatever it is that you two will find to do—which I'm sure will be a great deal."
"And the holidays won't be long after that," Marie said. "I'm so excited. You'll have to let me know as soon as you know when you'll have leave. There'll be so much to do—decorations and food. It'll be the nicest Christmas in years. Of course, you don't have to leave tomorrow. If you've still got time, you're welcomed to stay."
"We would love to," Jean-Luc said. "But Felisa Howard will be expecting us on Caldos, as will Wesley. As much as we have enjoyed this homecoming, it's time for another." He smiled at Beverly, again, and she leaned into him. "It's my turn to be a stranger in a home that's new to me, if only for a moment."
"Nana will love you," Beverly said.
"And I'm sure I'll be charmed by her," Jean-Luc said. "I seem to find Howard women irresistible."
Beverly laughed at his teasing. She kissed him, quickly but hard enough that she hoped it told him everything she wanted to say, before pulling away from him.
"I'm fine now, Marie. I promise. I'm sorry for being so…silly. Can I help?"
"You weren't silly," Marie said. "You can slice the bread. Put it in the basket if you want. Start setting the table?"
"Do you ladies require any further assistance?" Jean-Luc asked.
"Get out of here," Marie teased, waving a knife playfully in his direction from several feet away.
"I'll leave you to it," he said, giving Beverly one last genuine smile before he left the room to, presumably, join his brother and nephew again. Beverly went to the sink and washed her hands, smiling at the quick hug from behind that Marie offered her before she returned to her own work.
She tried not to think about how truly happy she felt, at the moment, and how truly accepted she felt by Jean-Luc's family. She tried not to think about how wonderful it felt to genuinely feel that what Jean-Luc had said was true. There was no longer a distinct "mine" and "yours," there was only the becoming of "ours." Beverly tried not to dwell on it all too much, though, as she did the chores requested of her by Marie. If she did, she might not have been able to see through her blurred vision well enough to help Marie get ready for their last dinner together as a family, and she wanted to be sure to soak-up and enjoy every last minute that was left of their time together.