Fifty minutes later when he walked into the kitchen her pleased expression told him that his choice to don civilian clothing had been the right one. He made note of the simple pleasure on her face and promised himself that he would make sure to try and put it there more often.
They made good time to the transporter station several blocks from her house, then beamed across the city. After stepping out into the chilly air and weak sunshine, he turned towards her. "Where to now?"
"It's over on Beaumont," she told him, turning away from him, her belly leading the way.
"Beverly!" he sputtered, taking her arm and gently turning her back towards him. "That's over five kilometres!"
"I like the walk," she shrugged.
"Are you sure-" He stopped talking abruptly as he finally looked up from her belly into her face and caught the incredulous look there. "Five kilometres isn't so far…." he finished lamely and offered her his arm.
"I always knew you were a quick learner, Jean-Luc. Lesson one, don't argue with a pregnant woman…"
Almost 75 minutes later they were seated in the doctor's waiting room. Jean-Luc sat stiffly beside her, trying not to look at anything. There were six other women in varying stages of pregnancy sitting in chairs dotted around the room. Sensing his discomfort, Beverly placed one hand over his where it held the arm of his chair in a deathgrip. He startled, then relaxed as gently squeezed his fingers with hers.
"I didn't expect so many…" he whispered.
"Pregnant women?" she whispered back trying not to smile too broadly. She heard him give an indignant huff as the nurse appeared and called her name, then led them back into an examination room.
Upon entering, Beverly immediately removed her cardigan and set down her crossbody bag. She then stepped onto a slightly raised platform as the nurse approached with a PADD. Seeing Jean-Luc looking at her with a curious look she explained, "It measures my vitals - weight, blood pressure, electrolytes." He raised his eyebrows in comprehension.
He sat quietly while the nurse conversed with Beverly, attentively absorbing what was being said. When the nurse mentioned Beverly's elevated blood pressure he flushed guiltily. After the questions had been answered to her satisfaction the nurse handed Beverly a small container and left the room.
Beverly stepped down from the scanner and turned toward the other door he'd noticed when they'd entered the room. "Beverly?"
"Yes?" She turned towards him as she opened the door.
"Where…. What…?" She held up the small container in answer.
When he still looked confused, she explained. "They need to test for protein and sugar…." Finally she relented. "It's for a urine sample, Jean-Luc," she smirked.
His face quickly shifted into what she secretly referred to as stoic captain mode. The tips of his ears reddened as the door closed on her laughter.
She just had time to lower herself into the chair next to Jean-Luc when the door slid open and Dr. Hart came in, her nose buried in a PADD. She was a petite woman, possibly Beverly's age, Jean-Luc thought, but it was difficult to tell. Beverly had always looked the same age to him despite the passage of time.
"So, Beverly, I thought we talked about keeping the stress to a minimum, hmmmm?" she tossed out in the direction of the patient chairs without bothering to look their way. "I know you know this, but at your age and with your history, the risk of preeclampsia is elevated. I thought we wanted to make sure that this baby stays right where he-" she stopped talking abruptly and her eyebrows climbed into her bangs as she finally caught sight of Jean-Luc.
"What does-" Jean-Luc sent Beverly a startled look. Preeclampsia, he knew that term. He couldn't say exactly what it was, but he knew enough to send his gut churning in a tailspin of anxiety.
"Dr. Hart, this is Jean-Luc Picard," Beverly cut across him. "Jean-Luc, this is Dr. Annalise Hart."
Her tone when she greeted him wasn't judgemental but they could both see the woman turning over the question of just where Jean-Luc had been all this time. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Captain," Hart said, indicating that she knew exactly who Jean-Luc was.
"Jean-Luc has been posted onboard the Enterprise. He's only just recently been transferred back to Earth," Beverly said quickly in an attempt to smooth over the awkwardness. He gave her a grateful look that quickly became serious.
"Beverly, you're unwell?" Jean-Luc asked her anxiously. Beverly saw Hart raise an eyebrow as she turned away. No doubt she was wondering why the baby's father had no clue about her basic medical condition at over 7 months into the pregnancy.
"No, Jean-Luc…" she sighed in resignation.
"And we'd like to keep it that way," Dr. Hart piped up from the biobed across the room. "So, no stress."
"No stress… right." Jean-Luc muttered obediently.
"Beverly, come hop up. You know the drill. All of your results from the scan this morning look good. We'll just have a peak at the little one. Now, Mom's obviously already seen all of this, but since it's Dad's first time, let's take the scenic route, shall we?" Beverly nodded and Jean-Luc followed suit since it seemed to be expected.
Beverly was lifting her shirt up and over her belly as she relaxed against the elevated head of the biobed. Jean-Luc wandered towards her transfixed by the sight of her naked abdomen. His eyes grew wide as he took in her protruding belly button and the dark line running from it and disappearing beneath the waist of her pants.
"-heartbeat?"
"Sorry?" Beverly smiled as Jean-Luc startled.
"I asked if you wanted to hear the heartbeat?" Hart repeated.
"Yes, please." He positioned himself on the other side of the biobed from the doctor and jumped slightly when the room was filled with the sound of their son's rapid heartbeat.
"That's fast," he commented, looking anxious. Beverly placed her hand in his and squeezed slightly.
"It's within range and slower than it was two weeks ago. It might dip lower as we approach the due date." The doctor was distributing some sort of gel over her abdomen while Beverly explained.
He nodded vaguely, looking somewhat overwhelmed. Hart lowered the volume on the monitor and the sound dropped to no more than a whisper.
"Let's have a look shall we," she said, bringing the scanning wand to the taut skin slathered in gel.
Suddenly the screens over the biobed as well as on the opposite wall flickered to life and Beverly felt Jean-Luc's hand first slacken then clench almost painfully in her own. Hart went on to explain, for Jean-Luc's benefit, exactly what they were seeing, but Beverly estimated that he was absorbing less than a quarter of it. Underneath his stoic Captain's mask she could see how captivating he found the image of their child. She'd seen that look before, whenever the D was sent to chart a Nebula or monitor a nascent star in the very early stages of formation.
The doctor wiped the gel off of Beverly's abdomen, then used a separate sterile cloth to wipe down the instrument she'd just used before putting it away. "Alright, Beverly. Amniotic fluid levels look good. Head's already down and cervix length checks out. We'll stick with the hydralazine, same dosage for now. Keep getting plenty of rest and exercise and most importantly, no stress," she reiterated, looking directly at Jean-Luc.
"Understood, doctor," he agreed immediately.
Beverly rolled her eyes. "Sure, you'll listen to her. How come you don't comply with my instructions that readily?" she asked waspishly.
"No stress, Beverly," he retorted unapologetically and grabbed her hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
"Well, he's got you there, Beverly," the other woman chuckled easily. Beverly scowled irritably at the pair of them before rearranging her top and pushing herself up into a seated position.
They were already quite some distance from the doctor's office and moving towards the transporter station when she suddenly realised that she still had his hand in hers. She hadn't released it after he'd helped her down off the biobed. She loosened her fingers and tugged her hand from his grasp, feeling embarrassed, more for Jean-Luc than for herself. Jean-Luc abhorred public displays of affection.
She jumped slightly when she felt him retake her hand, this time sliding his fingers through hers as if to lock them together. She glanced at him surreptitiously and was shocked to spot a dreamy smile on his lips.
They walked to within a kilometre of the transporter station when Jean-Luc broke the comfortable silence that had accompanied them for the past hour.
"You should have told me you were ill, Beverly," he censured mildly.
"Jean-Luc, I am not ill!"
"All the same… I want to know these things."
"Alright," she agreed easily. "It's not that I set out not to tell you. And if you recall, I did mention the high blood pressure last night."
"So you did. I wish-"
"Jean-Luc, it's fine. You know now, right?"
"Right… I just-" He broke off and Beverly realised that she could literally read his mind. She was absolutely certain that he was reminding himself of Dr. Hart's edict that she avoid stress. "Would you like to stop and grab an early lunch? It feels like ages since breakfast. Must be all that fresh air."
"Walking does help build up an appetite. There's a little cafe that does sandwiches just up the block. Will that do? I've stopped on my way home before. Their lunch menu is limited but I think we'll find something we both like."
"Certainly. Lead on," he agreed.
After they'd settled at a table they studied the single page menu in silence. Finally Jean-Luc looked over at her, "I think I'll have the turkey on rye."
"Mmm… I'm leaning towards the steak and salad."
"Really? I've never known you to eat steak."
"I need red meat."
"You need it? You usually prefer white meat or fish, sometimes even a vegetarian option."
She shrugged, "I was anemic for the first few months. My levels are alright now but… it's more than that, I'm craving beef."
"And sometimes pork," he smiled at her in understanding.
"Yes," she laughed.
Once they'd received their food, Jean-Luc refilled their glasses with water from the carafe on the table. "So, steak and bacon and long walks. Although the walks I'm not all that surprised by. Do you walk often?"
"Sometimes," she hesitated and he waited patiently. "Well, a lot. It's good for me."
"I'm not judging you, Beverly," he assured her when she seemed to be looking to justify herself.
"I know. It just helps to fill the time. My position is less demanding, as it should be right now, but sometimes I…"
"You get lonely?" he asked quietly.
She shrugged. "I have a lot of professional acquaintances here, but very few friends. After Peter left I thought long and hard about what I was doing here. Shouldn't I go somewhere else, do something else… But…. It's silly because I'm not really attached to the city or my house or…. I just felt…"
"What did you feel?" he asked quietly.
"Like I was waiting," she breathed out in a rush. "I felt like I was waiting."
"For the baby?" he guessed.
She shook her head and speared a bite of steak onto her fork, mainly so that she didn't have to look at him. Then, as casually as possible she admitted, "I think I was waiting for you."
When she finally glanced up she surprised a look of unguarded longing on his face. Their eyes caught and he leaned over and captured the nape of her neck and pulled her forward into a gentle kiss. He tasted of turkey, and fresh air and sunshine. But most of all, he tasted of comfort and familiarity. He tasted like home. He lightly nipped her bottom lip before releasing her lips but not her face. His thumb ran up her cheekbone and circled her ear. She'd always hated her ears, but Jean-Luc loved them. Delicate, tiny elfin ears he called them.
"Thank you for waiting, Beverly." She swallowed hard as he used his thumb to wipe at a tear that had escaped her efforts to contain it.