Work Text:
"You shouldn't remember him like this." Jean-Luc placed his arm around Beverly’s shoulder. "It's important to me. I have to see him." Jean-Luc nodded. "Thank you for coming with me."
"It's the least I could do...."
Beverly woke up in a cold sweat. Her fitful sleep woke her companion, who sat up next to her and reached for her. "The nightmare again?" She nodded.
"You took me to the morgue to see Jack. I don't know why Jev latched onto that memory...it was so long ago...but also my last clear memory of Jack."
"I'm sorry," Jean-Luc kissed her forehead. "It wasn't the best last memory of him though, was it?" She shook her head. "No, but it's a vivid one. I can still feel the chill of the morgue and the scratchiness of your new uniform under my hand as I held your arm." Jean-Luc wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close.
"Think of a happier memory. Remember our trip to the beach before you were married?" Beverly laughed. "We all got sunburned. I remember we had to take turns with the dermol regen and it didn't work."
"Top of my head was blistered for days." Beverly smirked. "Jack called you carrot top. Said if you had wanted to match my hair, you should have got a wig."
"I probably deserved it."
"Probably.” The pair was quiet for a few minutes, and then Beverly started laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just remembering the time when Wesley was a baby and you and Jack were visiting. Do you remember?” He smoothed back her hair before replying. “We visited you lots of times while Wesley was a baby, which time are you remembering?”
“Wesley was little, only around three months old. Jack hadn’t yet changed a diaper....” Jean-Luc grinned. “Now I remember.”
“Poor Jack.”
They fell into silence that seemed to span hours. Jean-Luc shifted. "Would you like me to get you a cup of tea to help you fall back to sleep? Or perhaps some warm milk?" She nodded. Jean-Luc kissed her again and she watched Jean-Luc pad naked out into the small kitchen and listened as he ordered two cups of warm milk with nutmeg. She was surprised the replicators on the Ullian homeworld knew what nutmeg was.
He returned with their milk and got back under the covers. Beverly leaned against him sipping her milk with a small smile on her face.
"What?"
"Just filing away a new memory."
"Oh? What's that?"
"You, walking around naked." She smirked. "Then again, I hope this won't be the last time."
"I can guarantee it."