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Beverly pressed the chime outside Jean-Luc’s quarters and listened for his rich voice to command the door to open and she flitted into the room. Jean-Luc was sat on his sofa, glass of wine in his hand, with a photo album open on his lap. An empty glass sat waiting for Beverly on the table with the bottle of wine. Beverly poured a glass and came to sit with Jean-Luc on the sofa.
His album had been opened to a page of family photos. Jean-Luc, Robert, Yvette, and a rare-smiling Maurice were standing in the barrel room of the Picard family vineyard. They were all holding glasses of a deep, plum coloured wine. The photo had been taken when Jean-Luc had been a teenager and his father had just found out they had won a federation award for wine. It was the first year they had won, and the vineyard had won the award every year since. “A good year, the ’21.”
Beverly studied her glass and looked over at the bottle on the table. “Mm, the ’62 isn’t bad, either.”
“No. I don’t think we’ve ever turned out a bad batch.” Jean-Luc gently traced his fingers along the portrait of his mother. “Maman was so proud of Papa. She was always proud....of Papa, Robert...and me. Maman was the only one who supported my dreams of coming to the stars.” He took a sip of his wine. “When we were pulled so far off course millions of light years away, I saw Maman. Maman spoke to me and I felt as though I could reach out and touch her . She was sitting at her table in the sitting room, pouring afternoon tea.” Beverly reached out and wiped away the tear that rolled down his cheek.
“Oh, Jean-Luc.”
“I hadn’t seen Maman like that since...well, before the illness took her. She had...well, I guess it was a type of dementia. By the time I returned to see her she was so far gone she barely knew who I was. She had a nurse as Papa couldn’t take care of her and when she died, I knew I would never be welcomed at home again.” Beverly wrapped her arm around Jean-Luc and drew him to her shoulder. She gently rubbed his back. “I saw Jack.”
Jean-Luc raised his head. “I’m sorry. Here I was, going on about Maman, and you came here to talk to me about Jack, didn’t you?”
“It’s alright.” Jean-Luc moved the album to the table and pulled Beverly’s legs onto his lap. “Tell me what happened?” Jean-Luc gently stroked her legs and Beverly’s skin tingled. She took a long sip of the wine before speaking. “Jack was in my quarters. He was sitting on the sofa and in the old style uniform...you know the ones with the...” she used her hands to indicate the double breasted flap on the uniform. Jean-Luc nodded. “So, I knew he wasn’t really there, but he...he looked so real. He told me he was proud of Wesley....he told me he loved me and he...” her voice caught in her throat and it was Jean-Luc’s turn to lean over and brush away tears with his thumb. His thumb lingered slightly longer than it needed to be on her cheek and he gently cupped her cheek.
“Beverly, it’s okay to cry. I know how strong you are, but please don’t hold anything back.” Beverly sniffed. “I’ll be alright.” Jean-Luc’s arm came behind Beverly’s back and he pulled her completely into his lap. He leaned down and gently kissed her. Beverly kissed back. Beverly probed his lips with her tongue and when his lips parted she deepened their kiss. One hand went to grip Jean-Luc behind his head and the other hand fisted his uniform. She toyed with the short hairs that grew at the back of his head and Jean-Luc moaned into her lips. They broke apart when they both needed to breath and smiled at each other.
“Jean-Luc?”
“Yes, Beverly?”
“The last thing Jack said to me....he said he wanted me to be happy...with you.” Beverly lowered the zip on Jean-Luc’s uniform and he fumbled for hers. He placed kisses on her neck and her chest and tugged her zip down to her waist. He struggled to free his own arms from his uniform and chuckled. “Well, this is hardly romantic.”
“Starfleet’s cunning plan to keep our uniforms on.”
“Indeed.” Beverly stood up and removed her uniform from her arms. It fell down to her waist and Jean-Luc reached for her and tugged her closer. He rested his head against her stomach and Beverly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Beverly...do you want to spend the night?”
“Yes, I do.” Jean-Luc stood up and with their uniforms hanging around their waists, he picked up Beverly and carried her over to his bedroom.
###
Jean-Luc woke in the morning with Beverly’s warm body pressed up against him and her ginger tresses splayed across his chest. He pressed a kiss to her temple and smiled. Beverly slowly opened her eyes. “Good morning, Jean-Luc.”
“Mm, definitely a good morning with you in my arms.” Beverly laughed before leaning over to kiss him. She got out of the bed and made her way naked into his kitchen area. “Coffee?”
“I wouldn’t say no...to coffee...or....” He got out of bed and followed her and grabbed her hips and pulled her back against his chest.
“Jean-Luc!”
“Well, I had to try. What time is it?”
“0600. Someone scheduled a staff meeting for 0800.”
“Well, if I had known this was going to happen last night...” Beverly turned around and ran her hands down his back, causing him to shiver. “Yes?”
“Maybe I should...cancel...the meeting?” Beverly kissed him and gently sucked on his lip. “Do you want to explain to Will Riker that you would rather have sex with your CMO?” Jean-Luc coloured.
“Err.....” Beverly gave him a light slap on the rear. “I’m going to take a shower. You’re welcome to join me....”
“Well, if that’s the best offer I’m going to get this morning...” Beverly smirked. “It is. My boss is a real hard ass and won’t like it if I’m late...”
“Well, we can’t have that, can we?”
“Mm. Plus, it’s Wesley’s first bridge shift and I want to be able to wish him luck first.” Jean-Luc nodded. Beverly only hoped her son wouldn’t ask her where she had been overnight. While she and Jean-Luc had always been discrete with their relationship, Wesley was getting to that age where he might start to notice things. Beverly threaded her fingers through Jean-Luc’s and lead him to the shower. It was nice being able to be intimate and do something like hold hands without worrying what anyone else would say. Jean-Luc cleared his throat.
“Beverly, have dinner with me tonight?”
“In your quarters?”
“No, in the Officer’s Mess.” Beverly’s eyes went wide. The Mess was only used by the senior staff and department heads. It wasn’t a large group of people, but it was the people Beverly considered her peers and the staff who reported directly to the Captain. Sure they had shared dinner in there before, but it was usually a quick bite in their uniforms or they were with Will or Deanna. “A date?”
“Yes.”
“Jean-Luc, is that wise?” Jean-Luc reached for her other hand. “Beverly,” he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I’m done with hiding our relationship. I’m not going to announce it over the shipwide communication network or anything like that, but I don’t want to hide....us.”
“Jean-Luc...you’re getting dangerously close to things we agreed we wouldn’t be to each other....” Jean-Luc lifted her hand and kissed it. “Would that be so bad?”
“Jean-Luc, if you’re doing this so no one else asks me out...you have to know, I don’t say yes. The only person who’s asked me out so far has been Will Riker, and I told him no.” Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t known his Number One had been interested in Beverly. He wondered if he would need to talk to him. Beverly removed her hands from his and went to turn on the shower. “Besides, I like our relationship the way it is.”
Jean-Luc stepped into the shower behind her. “I do, too. But sometimes I would like to not have to sneak around or worry about Wesley catching us...if we just let people assume we were together....” Beverly reached for the shampoo and grinned. It was the exact type she used and she knew the only reason Jean-Luc even had shampoo was for her. “Aren’t we?”
“Aren’t we what?”
“Together?” Beverly started to lather her hair, but Jean-Luc chased her hands away and ran his fingers over her scalp, gently massaging it. “We are, but what I mean is I just would like it to be a little more out in the open.” Beverly tilted her head back to rinse out the suds. “And you don’t think anyone will say anything about the Captain sleeping with his Chief Medical Officer?” Jean-Luc frowned. “I suppose, you have a point. Still though...go on a date with me. No one has to know our relationship has been established for ten years. Let them think we’re just now starting to date.”
“Hmm, I guess that would be okay.” Beverly kissed him under the spray. “I do love you, you know.”
“I love you, too.” He circled her waist and she lifted her leg to wrap it around his hips as he pulled her in closer. They were going to be late for the meeting after all.