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Wesley was advanced for his age. He had inherited a double dose of precociousness from both parents and as a result, he was taking biology at the age of eleven. He was in his bedroom trying to stay away from his little sister, three-year-old Isobel while he worked on his homework. And if Wesley was precocious...well, Wesley wasn’t sure if there was a word to describe his younger sister.
Of course, she was only his half-sister, and the man he called Papa wasn’t actually his father. His father had died in an accident when he was five, and his mother had married her best friend a year and a half later. In fact, Wesley’s middle name was Jean after his mother and father’s best friend, now his step-father, Jean-Luc Picard.
Wesley was making punnet squares. The class was easy so far, and they had just started a unit on human genetics. Wesley had learned about the big B and little b in class that day, and his homework assignment was to use his parent’s eye colour to determine what other colours his eyes could have been, and to compare the percentages to any siblings. Wesley couldn’t remember Jack Crusher too well, so he had asked his mother what colour eyes he had had. She didn’t think anything of his question as he was always asking both her and Jean-Luc odd things, so she told him they had been blue and then put the question out of her mind.
Wesley set up his square with his father’s eyes (blue, bb) and his mother’s eyes (also blue, bb) and filled in the chart. bb / bb / bb / bb. 100% chance of a blue-eyed child. Wesley scratched his head. His eyes were not blue. Both he and his sister had steely hazel eyes. Wesley frowned and pulled out his text book and began to take notes. He started by making an eye colour chart for his sister and saw she had a high chance of the colour eyes she had, but only because her father had hazel eyes.
Wesley continued to read and make notes. He delved into hair colour, but that really wasn’t helpful. His mother had ginger hair and so did Isobel. His step-father barely had any hair, and what he had was sort of a dark brown colour speckled with the beginnings of grey and his father had had light brown hair. Wesley’s brown hair was a darker shade, but he also had some golden highlights. And from what he understood, his step-father had to possess a recessive gene for the ginger colour, and Wesley knew that his step-grandmother had also possessed ginger hair. His hair though, should have had a higher chance of being a lighter shade of brown than the dark shade it was as his hair nearly was the same as the colour he saw in old photos of his step-father. And now that he really thought about it, he almost looked exactly like the pictures of his step-father. His Uncle Robert had mentioned the strange coincidence the last time they had visited La Barre and his parent’s best friend, Captain Keel, had exclaimed once how much Wesley was like Jean-Luc and thought it a very strange coincidence.
Wesley pushed his books aside. It was rare that science failed him. He had been a prodigy, able to grasp science, math, and engineering skills from a very young age and his teachers even thought he might get to attend university at the age of 14 if he kept things up. His sister was smart, too. She was only three, but had already taught herself how to read and do simple math problems. His grandparents were always proud of him, telling him his father hadn’t been a good student and it was meeting his step-father and Walker at Starfleet Academy that had turned Jack around.
Wesley drummed his fingers on his desk when a realisation dawned on him. Jack had never been his father. Wesley’s biological father was Jean-Luc Picard.
Wesley pulled his keyboard closer and tapped in his father’s access codes. He probably wasn’t supposed to know them, but he had watched Jean-Luc enter them enough times that he had managed to memorise them. He knew his mother’s too. He called up the records for his mother and tabbed back 11 years to the year he was born. He wondered who was listed as his father on his birth certificate. Jack? Or Jean-Luc? Wesley closed his eyes, not sure if he really wanted to know. It would have meant his parents had been lying to him for 11 years, and his mother...oh god, had his mother cheated on her husband?
He opened his eyes. Mother: Beverly Cheryl Howard Crusher. Father: Jean-Luc Picard. There it was. All the proof he needed. He supposed they could have amended his birth certificate after his parents were married, but then there would be an adoption certificate for him, right? He searched through the records and found the death certificate for Jack Crusher, the marriage certificate for his parents, and his sister’s birth certificate...but no adoption records to show that Jean-Luc Picard had adopted Wesley and had his birth certificate amended. Wesley transferred copies of the certificates onto a data chip and quickly exited out of the system before he got caught. He tossed the chip over in his hands. Now what?
###
Beverly was in the small office she and Jean-Luc shared, studying. Jean-Luc had recently been offered the captaincy of the USS Enterprise, set to launch in four years time and was given free reign to hand pick his staff. Naturally, he immediately offered the position of Chief Medical Officer to his wife. The position came with an automatic promotion to the rank of Commander, but was a ceremonial rank and Beverly wanted to be able to command the ship, too. She had enjoyed her time sitting gamma shift when she briefly served with Walker on the USS Horatio two years ago, but it had been too hard on her and Jean-Luc and the children. Isobel had been with her and Jean-Luc and Wesley were living on Earth so after six months, she asked Walker to transfer her back to Earth. It wasn’t fair to the children to be separated from each other and their other parent, and it had certainly not been fair to her and Jean-Luc, especially not to Jean-Luc as he was still stuck on Earth being given short commands and desk jobs as most of the admiralty still hadn’t forgiven him for the destruction of the Stargazer. She looked up when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”
Wesley tentatively pushed the door open, data chip clutched in his hand. “Hi, Wes. Where’s your sister?”
“Playing in her room, I think. I was...I was doing my biology homework.”
“Oh?” Beverly pushed aside the PADD she was studying. “Did you need any help?”
“Uh...kind of. Well, not really. Uhm....Mom? Where’s Papa?” Wesley nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other and turned the data chip over and over in his hand. Beverly took note of his shifting and wondered if something was wrong. “I think he’s at Command with Admiral Quinn. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you called him.”
“No....that’s ok....but Mom? Can I talk to you and Papa when he gets home?” Beverly nodded at her son. “After dinner, alright? I’m assuming this is something you want to talk to us about privately?” Wesley nodded. “We’ll eat and then your father and I will put Isobel to bed and we can talk then, alright?”
“Ok, Mom. Thanks.” He spun on his heel and walked out of the room and Beverly stared after him with a puzzled look on her face. She reached for her console and tapped in the codes to connect her to Command.
“Admiral Quinn’s Office. Where can I direct your call?”
Beverly grinned at the young Yeoman. Madeline had babysat the children a few weeks ago when she and Jean-Luc had a ball to attend. “Hi Mads. ”
“Hi, Doctor Picard. How are Wes and Izzy?”
“Oh, they’re both fine. This isn’t an emergency. Is my husband around?”
“I think so. Let me check.” The image of Madeline was replaced with the Starfleet logo while the Yeoman checked to see if the Captain could be disturbed to speak with his wife. She soon came back, laughing. “He said he welcomed the distraction. I’ll put you through.”
“Thanks, Mads.” The Starfleet logo returned for a few moments to be replaced with the grinning face of her husband. “Bev...is everything alright?” Beverly laughed.
“So I can’t call my husband in the middle of the day out of the blue?”
“Not when I know my wife is studying for her Commander exam next week. What’s going on, love?”
“I just thought I would let you know that Wesley has asked to talk to us after we put Isobel to bed tonight.”
“Do you know what it’s about?” Beverly shook her head . “Well, our son is eleven. Maybe he has questions about....” Jean-Luc paled as he thought about needing to give his son ‘the talk’. Beverly could only laugh at her husband. “I think Wesley would have already read a book all about it, but good to know you’re not ready to give him ‘the talk’ yet.”
“Don’t laugh at me. At least I won’t have to talk to Isobel about....menstruation.” It was Beverly’s turn to colour. “Yes, well, we have five or so more years before we need to worry about that. I’m not sure how much longer you can put off talking to Wes.” On screen, Jean-Luc sighed. “I suppose I had better prepare myself for tonight.”
“Do you remember what your father told you?”
“He told me nothing. He took me out to the barn and showed me all the barn cats and told me that was what happened when you had sex. Louis’ dad is the one who actually talked to me after Maman asked him to.”
“I see. Well, at least Wesley wants to talk to both of us...I can talk about it from a biological standpoint, but everything else is on you.” She smirked. “I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or an embarrassment for Wesley to have a mother who is a doctor. How’s the studying going, by the way?”
“Well. I think I’ll pass the written test, but I need to find some time to use one of the training holodecks at the Academy this weekend.”
“Do you want me to come along and observe?” Beverly smiled. “If you could. Perhaps Madeline would be available to look after the children.”
“I’ll ask her.” Jean-Luc looked up as Admiral Quinn entered his office. “I’m sorry, love, Admiral Quinn just walked in. I’ll see you in a few hours?” Beverly nodded. “Picard out.”
###
Mealtime in the Picard household was always fun when both parents were around. Isobel knew that when Papa brought out a bottle of wine for dinner, she would get to drink grape juice out of one of the pretty glasses her parents had received as a wedding present. She made faces at her brother across the table. “Lookie Wessy, I gotted a special glass!” Wesley rolled his eyes at his sister. “Yeah? I do too.” Wesley pointed at his own glass, half full. Jean-Luc and Beverly had had a long discussion over allowing the children to have wine, and it had been decided that once they were ten, they would be permitted a half glass at dinner. “Mine’s fuller,” Isobel retorted and stuck out her tongue.
“Whatever.”
Jean-Luc grinned at his children. Marrying Beverly and having a second child had been a true joy, and he wondered if she might want to have another child before they joined the Enterprise. He made a mental note to ask her about it later when they were alone in bed. “Eat your dinner, Isobel. Stop tormenting your brother.” Isobel looked at the table. “Yes, Papa.” She looked up and managed to stick her tongue out at Wesley before announcing “Wessy has a secret!”
Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows. “He does?”
“Uh-huh. He wouldn’t let me in his room to play!” Beverly shook her head at her daughter. “Are you supposed to go in Wesley’s room?”
“No....only if he invites me.”
“Well, there you go. Wesley was working on homework all afternoon and probably didn’t want to be disturbed. Right, Wes?”
“Uh, yeah Mom,” Wesley turned to his sister. “Sorry. We can play tomorrow, ok?”
“Mm. Now is a good time to tell you two that tomorrow, Yeoman Basser will be here to babysit while your mother and I are at the Academy.”
“I like Miss Mads!” Isobel exclaimed, while Wesley blushed. Jean-Luc filed that bit of information away and wondered if his son might have a crush on the Yeoman. “Can’t we go with you?” Beverly shook her head. “No, Wes. I need to run the simulator for my Commander exam and I need your father to observe.” Wesley frowned. “Oh. But can I come anyway and stay in Papa’s office?”
“Well....I suppose, if it’s alright with your father.” Jean-Luc glanced over at his wife and could tell she wasn’t entirely pleased, but would permit it. He cleared his throat. “I don’t see why not, Wes. You know your way around campus. And I’m sure Isobel wouldn’t mind having Yeoman Basser all to herself.”
“Yay! Miss Mads said she would bring her sister’s game next time. I like games.” Jean-Luc grinned. Madeline’s younger sister was nine, but somehow he was sure his daughter would figure out how to beat whatever game it was in record time. He watched his daughter push her dinner around her plate. “Isobel, are you finished eating?”
“It’s yucky.”
“I see. Well, it’s all the dinner you get, so eat it now, or you’ll be hungry later.” Isobel dramatically sighed but lifted the fork to her mouth and took a bite. Wesley merely rolled his eyes as he ate. Clearly, his sister had inherited her dramatic side from their mother. Wesley took a sip of the wine and grimaced. Jean-Luc chuckled.
“Not to your liking, Wes?”
“It’s a little....bitter?” Jean-Luc was trying to teach Wesley the finer points of wine tasting. “Hmm. Tangy, I think is the word you’re looking for. This is a Pinot Noir.”
“Black!”
“That’s right, Isobel. Noir means black.”
“But Papa, it’s rouge, not noir.” Isobel smugly smiled. She was quite pleased for learning some colours in French.
“Ah, but do you know what Pinot means?” Isobel shook her red curls. “It’s from the French word Pin, or pine. Pinot Noir gets its name from the shape of the bunches of grapes. They look like pinecones and the grapes have very dark skin.”
“Oh. Papa, how come I have to eat all my dinner but Wessy doesn’t have to drink his wine?”
“You need to eat to fuel your body, but the wine is meant to be enjoyed. So if Wesley isn’t enjoying it, he shouldn’t drink it.”
“Oh. Mommy, can I have a sip? I wanna taste it too.” Beverly frowned, but thought one sip wouldn’t hurt, and perhaps even send Isobel to sleep faster. “Just a tiny sip. And don’t spit it back into my glass if you don’t like it!”
Isobel took a sip and made a face. Her cheeks were puffed out. “You don’t like it?” Isobel shook her head. Beverly got up and grabbed a clean glass. “Spit it out.”
“Yuck. Why do you drink it?” Beverly leaned over and ruffled Isobel’s hair. “Because I like it. Now, please finish your food. You need a bath tonight before bed and if you dally much longer, there won’t be time for a story before bed.” Isobel frowned. “Nooo. I wanna story!”
“Then please eat.”
“Yes, Mommy.” Beverly shook her head and glanced over at Jean-Luc. And she was contemplating asking him if he wanted another?
Isobel had soon been bathed and put to bed, where she insisted on having her brother read to her. Wesley grumbled that she knew how to read, but he read to her anyway, and he secretly enjoyed cuddling with his little sister. Beverly and Jean-Luc both came in to kiss her goodnight before they turned out the lights. Jean-Luc turned to Wesley. “I understand you want to talk to us?”
“Yeah...if you have time....” Jean-Luc put an arm around Wesley’s shoulder. “We always have time for you, Wes. Why don’t you wait for us in the living room, I’m going to make a pot of tea first. Do you want a cup?”
“Yes, please.”
Beverly joined her husband in the kitchen. The replicator would only take seconds to create a pot of tea, but Jean-Luc enjoyed boiling the kettle the old fashioned way and using proper tea leaves. She nudged him as she got down the tea pot and three cups. “He has a data chip in his hand. Maybe he has a presentation to give us.” Jean-Luc snorted. “Our eleven-year-old son is going to lecture us? Oh, this will be good.” Beverly rolled her eyes.
“I blame his precociousness on you.” Jean-Luc leaned over and gave Beverly a quick kiss. “Hmm. I’m pretty sure Felisa has some stories about you from your childhood, so you’re not entirely innocent in this yourself.” Beverly grinned and kissed him back. “I never should have left you and Nana alone last time we were on Caldos.”
“Mm, I know all your secrets now...” Jean-Luc poured the boiling water over the tea leaves and put the pot on a tray. “Biscuits. We need some biscuits.”
“Ah, you’re going to spoil the boy,” Beverly said as she reached for the cookie jar. “But you’re in luck, Isobel and I made some chocolate chip cookies the other day.”
“In other words, they have very little chocolate in them?” Beverly grinned. “I added some when she wasn’t looking, but she did manage to eat half the bag when she thought I wasn’t looking.”
“Hmm. Now which of our children is precocious again?”
“Both of them.” Beverly put some of the cookies on a plate and held open the kitchen door. “Come on, Jean-Luc. We can’t stall any longer.”
Wesley was standing, nervously pacing in front of the fireplace when his parents entered. “Wes, come have a seat.”
“No...I’m fine. I...”
“I understand. I pace around when I’m nervous too. But you don’t need to be nervous around us. Now come on, have a seat,” Jean-Luc indicated the chair opposite the sofa and Wesley sank down into it. “Sorry.” Jean-Luc waved his hand. “No need.”
Jean-Luc settled against the back cushions with his cup in his hand. “Wes, I think I know why you wanted to talk to us.”
“You...you do?”
“Sure. I was an eleven-year-old boy once.” Beverly snorted. “Wes...I understand what you’re going through...and...as a young man, you might...ah....begin to notice...some...ah...changes-“
“Oh, no, Papa! I know about that. I walked in on you and Mom when I was eight and looked it up in a book.” Jean-Luc’s face coloured. “Of course you did. So...what did you want to talk about?”
“Jack.” The word hung in the air like a lead balloon. Beverly exchanged a glance with Jean-Luc. This was not what she expected Wesley to want to talk about, but then she remembered Wesley had said he was working on biology homework and her face paled. She knew exactly what Wesley wanted to talk to them about. He knew the truth. Jean-Luc reached over for Beverly’s hand. “Bev? Are you ok?” Beverly brushed a tear away from her eye. “I will be.” Jean-Luc patted her hand and wondered what Wesley wanted to know. “Wes, what can we tell you about your father?”
“Well...you can stop calling him my father. I know he wasn’t. Papa...you’re my father.” Jean-Luc swallowed. “And you...ah...worked this out on your own?”
“I was doing my biology homework about dominant and recessive genes. Mom and Jack both had blue eyes so I should have had blue eyes, too. But I don’t. Isobel and I have the same coloured eyes...and they’re the same as yours, Papa.” Jean-Luc slowly nodded and pulled Beverly closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her while she quietly cried.
“Your mother and I planned on telling you when you were a bit older.”
“So what happened?” Wesley’s eyes flashed with anger. “Mom, you cheated on your husband?”
“No,” Beverly quietly spoke. “Well, not after we were married.”
“Mom, how could you?”
“I...ah....”
“Wesley, don’t speak to your mother like that. Now, if you can be calm, your mother and I will explain everything to you, alright?” Wes nodded. “And before you get angry with us, remember you wouldn’t be here if your mother and I hadn’t created you.” Wesley hung his head. “Sorry, Mom, Papa.”
Jean-Luc nodded his acceptance of his son’s apology and took a sip of his tea. “Wesley, first, you need to know that I love your mother very much and I have loved her for a very, very long time. I met your mother when she was still a cadet at the Academy and Walker was observing her and I fell in love...but my best friend managed to ask her out before I got up the courage to.”
“I still wish I had known,” Beverly twined her fingers with Jean-Luc’s. “I know, my love. It’s fine. Do you want me to continue or do you want to?”
“I guess I had better.” Jean-Luc squeezed her hand. “Jack and I started dating when I was nineteen. He, your father, and Walker were all on the Stargazer together, so it made sense for me to move my studies onto the Stargazer. I completed my Academy studies and had started my medical studies when he asked me to marry him. I loved Jack, honestly. But somewhere along the way, I also fell in love with my best friend, your father.” Beverly gave Jean-Luc’s hand another squeeze and took a deep breath before continuing.
“I don’t need to tell you how it happened. But even if I was engaged to Jack at the time, I can promise you you were absolutely created out of the love between your father and I.”
“So I was planned?” Beverly grimaced and decided Wesley needed the truth. “No, not exactly....but Wes, once we found out we were overjoyed.”
“Papa, you knew you were my father?”
“Yes, I did.” Wesley looked incredulously at his father and spit out, “So you...didn’t want me?”
“Oh god, Wesley. I wanted to be your father so badly. Please believe me. I was overjoyed when your mother told me she was pregnant...but I couldn’t hurt my best friend. I told your mother to tell Jack you were his, but when I held you in my arms after you were born, I regretted it immediately.”
“So did I. I wanted to tell Jack the day you were born, but Jack was so happy to have a son and I just...couldn’t.” Wesley glared at his parents. “So you let Jack think for five years that he had a child? He spent his last minutes alive thinking he had a son?”
“No.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Wesley...Jack knew the truth.” Wesley gaped at his parents. “What?”
“Wesley, do you remember when you were very ill? You were only three, but it’s hard to forget.”
“When my ears hurt and Mom and Doctor Quaice couldn’t figure out what was wrong? Anything that made noise hurt? Yeah, I remember. I keep waiting for it to happen to Isobel.”
“It won’t. It, ah, only happens to males....and it’s carried in the Picard genes.”
“Oh. So what happened?”
“I talked to your father about your illness, naturally. It dawned on Jean-Luc what was wrong with you, and we had a few options...I could have had you treated without informing Jack, or I could have told him what was wrong with you. We chose to tell him and he was...well, I want to say ok with it, but that’s not entirely true, is it, Jean-Luc?” Jean-Luc shook his head and thought back eight years.
“Jack wanted your birth certificate altered because he said he wasn’t really your father, I was. You don’t know this, but when you were three, your last name was changed to Picard.” Wesley’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t known, and always thought his name was changed when he was 7 and his parents had married. “Oh. But Jack...didn’t treat me any differently.”
“No, he wouldn’t have. Wes, Jack loved you. Even if you weren’t his biologically. Do you remember our holidays we used to take? The four of us together, sometimes with Walker?” Wesley nodded. “Jack did that so I would get to spend time with you. He...wasn’t happy with your mother, but he understood. At least, I think he did. When he died...Oh, Wes. It broke my heart. Jack told me to take care of my son and to take care of my son’s mother....as if there was any question about it.” Beverly smiled at her husband.
“So...if Jack hadn’t died...would you have told me?”
“Eventually...but Wes, you look so much like me when I was your age.” Wesley grinned. “I know. Uncle Robert and Walker always tell me. Does anyone else know?”
“No. We didn’t tell anyone for fear that it would get out before we told you.”
“Oh. Mom....Papa...I’m sorry I was mad.”
“It’s alright, Wes. We both understand.” Jean-Luc slid apart from Beverly and patted the space between them for Wesley. When he sat down, both his parents wrapped their arms around him and hugged him close. “Wes, I love you.”
“I love you too, Mom. And you, Papa.” Jean-Luc smiled. “Love you too, Wes.”
“Mom? Can I ask you something else?”
“Of course, sweetheart. What is it?”
“When you and Papa got married, you decided to have another baby and that’s why Isobel is my little sister, right?”
“Yes....” Beverly responded uneasily, not sure where Wesley was taking this.
“Why didn’t you and Jack have a baby? Would you have had Isobel with him if he hadn’t died?” Beverly looked down at her hands. “No, Wes. Jack....you have to understand, Wes. Jack loved you as if you were his own, but he knew you weren’t and even though he managed to forgive your father for it and loved you...he never forgave me. So no, Isobel wouldn’t be here if Jack was still alive.”
“Oh. Uhm...I mean, I know she’s kinda annoying, but I’m glad she’s around.”
“Me too, Wes. Me too.” Wesley stood up from his spot between his parents. “I’m going to go to bed. Uh...what should I do about my biology homework?”
“Turn it in with whoever’s information you want, Wes. It’s not like it’s a secret I’m your father.”
“Ok. G’night Mom, night Papa.”
“Night, Wes.”
As Wesley left the room, Jean-Luc rose and headed over towards the liquor cabinet. “I don’t know about you, Bev, but I need a drink after that.” Beverly nodded and Jean-Luc soon joined her with their drinks. “Who would have thought that was what was on Wesley’s mind? I’m glad he knows now.”
“I am, too. But thinking about Jack has brought back a lot of old memories I wished had remained buried. Especially when he asked about Isobel. I love our little girl, but if Jack hadn’t died...she might not exist.”
“You and Jack might have divorced.”
“Hmm. I suppose,” Beverly leaned back in his arms on the sofa. “Do you want another?”
“Drink? I haven’t finished this one yet, love.” Beverly shook her head and smiled at her husband. “No, another baby.”
Jean-Luc turned his head. “Are you serious?” Beverly nodded. “If I remove my implant soon, we could try to get pregnant and they would be three by the time we join the Enterprise.”
“I would love to have another child with you, Bev. But would it be too much of a strain between my Captain duties and your Chief Medical Officer duties? With Wesley fifteen and Isobel seven, it would be easy as they would both be in school, but a three year old...”
“The Enterprise will have daycare though, won’t it?”
“It will now. Yes, my love, let’s have another baby.”