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Beverly Howard breezed into the lecture hall five minutes late and slid into the last available seat next to a dark haired cadet. She glanced at the front, expecting the bald man she glanced as she came in to be an aged Captain and she was shocked when her blue eyes met the warm hazel eyes of a man not more than ten years older than her. Was he Captain Jean-Luc Picard?

“Thank you for joining us, Cadet...”

“Howard, Sir.  Beverly Howard.”

“Well, Cadet Howard, please see me after class.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Beverly spent the rest of the class daydreaming about the instructor. His accent was rich and sounded like velvet, practically music to her ears. The cadet next to her nudged her.

“I’m Jack,” he whispered.

“Beverly.” Jack grinned.

“I know. You told Picard.”

“Oh, right.”  Jack patted her elbow.

"Hey, don't worry. You didn't miss much earlier. I noticed you're too nervous to take notes, so I'll send you my notes and recording tonight." Beverly smiled. No point admitting to the boy she wasn't nervous the way he thought she was. She was busy fantasizing and hoping she didn't act inappropriate.

“Thanks, that’d be great.” 

Class soon ended, and with a wave to her new friend, Jack, she headed down the steps opposite from the rest of the cadets and stood at attention in front of the desk while her instructor busied himself putting his lecture notes away. He snuck a look at the flame-headed cadet and noticed how beautiful she looked up close.

"Cadet, I like my students to be on time for class. Why were you late?" Jean-Luc came around to the front of the desk and Beverly turned around to face him.

“I overslept, Sir.”

“I see. And was the cause of oversleeping a boyfriend?”  Beverly shook her head.

“No, Sir. I don’t have a boyfriend.”  He eyed her. 

“You seemed cozy with the Cadet you were sitting next to.”  Beverly grinned. He had been looking at her! 

“I only met him today.  He offered me his notes from what I missed.” 

“You’re not interested in him?” 

“Captain, is that any of your business?”  He reached out and traced a line down her face. 

“Please, call me Jean-Luc.” 

“Jean-Luc,”  he closed his eyes.  His name rolled off her tongue and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her beautiful mouth.

“Yes, Beverly?” It was her turn to shiver. 

“Do you want to kiss me?”  He moved his face close to hers and studied her lips before he whispered out.

“Yes.”

They were kissing.  They were on fire from each other’s kiss.  Jean-Luc moved his hands to her hips and tugged her in close and she smiled against his lips appreciatively when she felt his arousal pressed against her.  His lips moved to her neck and she let out a small moan.  Her fingers fumbled with the belt on his uniform and she soon had his trousers open and was pushing them down over his hips.  He ground against her and inched up her skirt, tugging her knickers down.  She kicked them away and Jean-Luc lifted her up onto the desk and he paused, looking her in the eye.

“Beverly, I need to make sure you want this.”  She crushed her lips against his and reached down to guide him into her.   He grinned.  “I take that as a ‘yes’.” 

Every inch of her was on fire with desire.  She wanted him to be touching her everywhere and she climaxed with his name on her lips.  He soon followed and they stayed there, resting against each other panting.  He kissed her swollen lips and reluctantly withdrew.  A slow grin spread across her face.

“I’ll try not to be late for class again, Sir.”  Beverly winked.

“Beverly, I....”  She pressed a finger to his lips. 

“I know.  ‘This means nothing’ and ‘you don’t usually do this’, right?”  He shook his head. 

“I was going to ask if you wanted to go to dinner with me tonight.”  She nodded and they separated slowly.  He pulled his trousers back up and Beverly used her knickers to clean up and tossed them into the recycler next to the desk.  “Tsk, tsk, Cadet Howard.  No underwear for the rest of the day?”  Beverly leaned in close and kissed him again. 

“Nope.”  Jean-Luc groaned. 

“You’re torturing me, Beverly.”

“Good.”  She kissed him one last time and picked up her bag.  “Pick me up at nineteen hundred? My address is in my file.”  He nodded as he watched her saunter back up the stairs to the main exit of the lecture hall and he ran his hand over his bald pate.  That woman....Merde.  I’m in trouble.

Beverly exited the hall and was surprised to see the Cadet she had been sitting with waiting outside the door.  She flushed, wondering if he had heard any noises from the lecture hall.

“I hope Captain Picard didn’t go to hard on you.”  Beverly suppressed her grin. 

“No, it wasn’t bad. Uhm...Jack, right?”  Jack grinned.

“Yeah.  Jack Crusher.  Security track.  You?” 

“Medical.” 

“Hey, do you want to have dinner with me tonight?”  Beverly shook her head. 

“Sorry, can’t.”  Jack’s face fell. 

“Oh.  Maybe another time?”  Beverly shrugged.  She hated to disappoint the man, but she really liked the Captain.  She didn’t know if they would be able to have a relationship, but she didn’t want to rule it out.  She studied the man in front of her.  He was nice, but...he wasn’t Jean-Luc Picard.

“Yeah, maybe.  Look, I need to get to my next class.  See you tomorrow?”  She was already walking away when Jack softly spoke. 

“Yeah, tomorrow.” 

###

Beverly cleaned up her small apartment quickly after classes and took a shower. His scent had lingered on her all day, and she honestly wasn’t sure what to expect that night.  Was this a polite dinner where he was going to let her down gently and explain why he couldn’t see her?  She had looked into the regulations in the handbook on her lunch break and it depended on if Jean-Luc was a proper instructor or just been seconded as an adjunct.  She dressed with care, picking a short, dark green dress that showed off her curves.  She left her knickers off just to tease the older man.  Her doorbell rang at 1845.  She opened her door with a smooth smile on her face.

“I see we’re early....” her smile died on her lips. “Jack?”

“Hi....Uh...wow, you look nice.” 

“Yes, I have a date.  I told you I was busy.  What can I do for you?”  Jack grinned. 

“We live in the same building! Isn’t that great?” 

“Uh...sure, but look, my date is going to be here soon. Can we talk later?” Beverly nervously glanced down the corridor. She really didn’t want Jean-Luc to see Jack at her door.  Especially not after she told the older man she had only met the Cadet in his class that morning. 

“Ok.  I’ll meet you in the morning? We can walk to class together?”  Beverly inwardly sighed. With any luck, either she wouldn’t be home in the morning or she would have a guest. 

“No, sorry. I have an early meeting....but I’ll see you in class, alright?  Thanks for stopping by. See you later.”  Beverly practically slammed the door in his face.  She knew it was rude, but what was that boy’s problem?  Who goes and looks up people’s personal information like that?  She quickly composed herself and activated the view screen to make sure Jack had walked away. 

She finished getting ready and had just slipped on her shoes when at the stroke of 1900, her chime rang. 

“Right on time, Captain.”  He grinned and leaned in to kiss her.  He ran his hands down her dress to grasp her hips. 

“You look gorgeous, Beverly.”  He kissed her again.  “So gorgeous, we might miss our dinner reservations because all I want to do is take that dress off of you....but  I want to do this right.” She smiled.

“Right?”  He reached for her hand. 

“Right.  A nice dinner, some dancing....I want to get to know you.” 

“I’d like to get to know you, too.”

###

“So,  how did you get to Captain so quickly?  I didn’t think it was given to anyone under the age of thirty-five!”  He smiled and launched into the story of saving his ship when the Captain and First Officer had gone down and being bestowed with the rank. 

“Of course, they’ve assigned me to the Academy for now.  My ship, the Stargazer, is in dry dock, but I don’t even know if I’ll wind up with it again. They might assign me elsewhere. But at least for this year, I’m teaching tactics.  Now, what’s a medical student doing in a tactics class?”

“I dabble.” 

“Dabble?”  He raised an eyebrow. 

“I thought it might be nice if I was able to command a ship.  Sit a few shifts. See how I like it.”  He grinned.  Ambitious. He liked her.  A lot.  “I start medical school next year. I’m hoping to get a placement on a ship so I get a chance to sit a few shifts and keep myself qualified...I want to be a Chief Medical Officer on a starship some day.  Actually, I’d like to be a CMO before I’m thirty-five.” 

“I think you’ll make it. I have faith in you.”  She smiled. “Would you like to dance?”  She nodded and he rose, extending his hand. 

They danced close to one another.  He could smell her hair again, and he loved the scent.  He told her and it made her toss her hair.  “Thanks,  I think you smell pretty good, too.”  She kissed him and he moved his hands to her hips and gripped the silky material. 

“Have I mentioned how lovely you look?”  She grinned and leaned in close. Nipping his ear with her teeth, she whispered.

“I’m not wearing any knickers.”  Jean-Luc groaned and kissed her again. 

“Would you like to come back to my quarters?”  She grinned. 

“Why Captain, I thought you would never ask.”

###

Beverly woke up in strong arms and smiled and stretched. 

“Good morning, Sweetheart.”  Jean-Luc kissed the top of her head.  “Sleep well?”

“Mm, yes.” He leaned in to kiss her and she playfully pushed him away. 

“Not before I brush my teeth.” 

“Good idea.”  He slipped out of bed and Beverly admired his backside.  He turned around and caught her licking her lips.  “I take it you like what you see?”

“Was I not appreciative enough last night?”  Jean-Luc crawled back onto the bed and straddled her.

“Maybe we should appreciate each other again.”  She smiled.

“Nice idea, but I have an eight am class. That you’re teaching.”  He leaned down and kissed her amidst her protests that her breath was rank.

“Can I interest you in a shared shower?” 

###

Beverly was gulping down a cup of coffee and plucked at her uniform. “Thank goodness for replicators, but I don’t know what to do with my dress.” 

“Leave it here if you want.  Just add it to my laundry.”  She smirked.  Her dress mixed in with his clothing was sure to raise a few eyebrows when they came to collect his laundry. 

“Alright.  Hey, do you have a PADD I can borrow so I don’t have to run back to my room before class?  I can download my notes and texts.” He nodded and walked over to his desk, where he had several.

“Use this one.” 

“Thanks.”  She bit into the pastry he handed her with a grin.  “Mm. Tasty.” 

“It’s from a little bakery near command.  I went and picked them up yesterday.” She raised her eyebrows.  “It’s not what it...ok, it looks exactly like you think.  I picked up the pastries hoping I would be able to share them with you this morning.”  She smiled and leaned over and kissed him.

“Thank you.  I better go. I don’t want my instructor to be upset with me for being late!” 

“I think he’d understand this time.  Can I walk you to class?”  She eyed him. 

“Would that...be ok?  I mean, what if people see us together?”  He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. 

“Beverly, do you want to keep this between us?”  She shrugged.

“I thought maybe you would. I mean, I’m one of your students.”   He shook his head.

“I don’t care.  I’m only six years older than you.  We could have met before I started teaching your class.” 

“Alright.  Please walk me to class.”

###

“How was your meeting?”  Beverly inwardly groaned as Jack Crusher sat next to her.

“My what?”

“You, ah, said you had a meeting this morning?  I stopped by your room around 0600 after my run, but you were already gone, so I guess it was a really early meeting.”

“Uh...yeah.  It was...it was fine.”  How creepy! She turned her attention back to the front of the room, where she caught Jean-Luc’s eye and winked.  He grinned back. 

“Cool.  Hey, so about dinner? Want to join me tonight?”  Beverly inwardly rolled her eyes.

“I can’t. Sorry.  Plans.”  Well, she assumed she had plans. 

“Oh.”  Before he could say anything else to her, Jean-Luc began class.  Beverly tried to concentrate on the lecture Jean-Luc was giving, knowing that she still needed to pass the class at the end of the semester regardless of if she was dating the instructor, but her mind kept wandering to the night before and she shivered slightly. 

“Are you cold?”  Jack whispered to her and moved to put his arm around her. “I’ll warm you up.”  Beverly frowned and shrugged off his arm.

“I’m fine.”  Jean-Luc caught the movement and a frown crossed his face briefly.  What was going on with that Cadet and his...well, he supposed it was alright to call her his girlfriend, though they hadn’t really discussed it.  He stumbled across a few words and smiled at his class. 

“Sorry.  Now, what was I saying?”  At the end of class, when everyone was getting ready to leave, Jean-Luc raised his voice. “Cadet Howard, can I see you?”  She nodded and Jack eyed her.

“Wow, he must really  have it in for you.”  Beverly grinned. I’d rather have him in me.   She merely shrugged to Jack and picked up her PADD.

“See you later, Jack.”

Beverly slowly walked down to the desk.  “You wanted to see me, Captain?”  He walked around the desk and kissed her. 

“I wanted to see if we had plans tonight.” 

“We? I like the sound of that.”  He smiled but she frowned.  “I need to study tonight,” she groaned.  “And Jack Crusher lives in my building.”

“The guy who sits next to you?”  She nodded. 

“He asked me out yesterday and today.” 

“You could tell him you have a boyfriend...”  She smiled, but decided to tease him and rested her hand on his chest. 

“I do, do I? Who is this mysterious boyfriend of mine?”  He grinned and leaned in to kiss her again.

“Me.  If you’ll be my girlfriend, that is.”  Beverly kissed him back. 

“Alright.” She glanced over at the clock. “I need to get to my next class.” 

“Mm, join me for Lunch?  There’s a little cafe on Archer.”  She nodded and picked up her borrowed PADD.  

“See you later.  Twelveish?”

###

Beverly groaned and flopped onto her boyfriend’s sofa.  “And to think, this isn’t even my hardest year. Med school starts next year.”  He handed her a cup of tea and settled next to her on the sofa. 

“Lots of studying to do this weekend?”

“Tons.  I’m sorry. I know you wanted to do something special....”  He leaned over and kissed her. 

“It can hold.  Have you decided what you want to do over your break?”  She shook her head. 

“Not really.  Caldos is so far away, but staying around here when everything is empty will be so boring.  Are you going home?”  Jean-Luc shook his head.

“No. Maman would probably love to see me, but I don’t think my father would.” 

“Want to go with me to Caldos?”  She spoke softly, almost afraid that he would turn her down.  They had been dating for the past four months, and Beverly practically lived with him in his quarters.  Their relationship was still mostly a secret at the Academy, simply because he was still technically her instructor. 

“I...I didn’t want to presume you’d want me along.”  She smiled. 

“Presume. Nana’s cottage is small, but cosy. Caldos is a bit backwards.  I think this is probably my last chance to see Nana for a few years....medical school is going to keep me busy, and then who knows where I’ll end up!”  Jean-Luc tried not to frown.  He knew he would eventually be going back to the Stargazer  and he didn’t want to break up with Beverly.  Unlike his previous girlfriends, he thought they could manage the balance of Starfleet and a relationship. 

“I can probably get a shuttle for us to use.”  Beverly smiled sweetly at her boyfriend and Jean-Luc grinned back. “Ah, now the real reason you want me to go along is revealed. You just want to use me for my shuttle.”  She laughed.

“You caught me.”  Jean-Luc took her tea from her hands and tackled her onto her back and started to tickle her.

“You’re such a minx.”

“You love it.”

“I love you...”  Beverly’s eyes went wide and so did Jean-Luc’s. He hadn’t actually meant to tell her, but it slipped out.  “Uhm....”

She grinned and put her hands on the side of his face and drew him into a slow kiss.  “I love you, too.” 

“You do?”  She nodded. 

“I just didn’t know when to tell you.”  He laughed.

“Me too.”  He dipped his head and kissed her again.  “But no more distracting, as much as I want to carry you back to the bedroom.  I’ll leave you to your studies.”  Beverly frowned. 

“I guess I’ll go back to my room for the weekend.” 

“Why?”

“Less distraction!”  She snaked her hand under his shirt and was slowly dragging her nails down his back and he groaned. 

“Minx.  I’ll walk you home.  Can I bring you a pizza later?”  Beverly nodded and Jean-Luc reluctantly got up.  “I won’t even come in. I’ll just kiss you at the door.”  She laughed.

“People might see you.” 

“I don’t care anymore.”

###

Jack was lurking around the corner from Beverly’s room.  He knew she had let in a guest several hours ago – presumably the supposed boyfriend she told him she had – and Jack was determined to find out who he was.  Beverly wouldn’t tell him anything, only that her boyfriend wasn’t a fellow cadet.  Jack heard the door open and he stuck his head around the corner and saw Beverly, with a sheet wrapped around her body deeply kissing a balding man.  Her boyfriend is an old man?  I bet I’d be better in bed than him. Determined to try and win over Beverly by surprising her with breakfast in the morning, Jack strode back to his room before he even caught a glimpse of the bald man’s face. 

Beverly pulled Jean-Luc in for another kiss.  “You sure I can’t convince you to spend the night?”  He groaned.

“I want to, but I’ve distracted you enough.”  She smiled. 

“And what a lovely distraction it was.  But I’m not going to go back to my studying now.  I’ll probably just go to bed. Stay.  Please?”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me.”

###

Jean-Luc was setting plates  while Beverly finished getting ready in the morning when her doorchime went off.  “Bev? Someone is at your door.”  Beverly stuck her head out from her sleeping area.

“I’m not dressed yet,”  he smirked, remembering their earlier tryst, “Can you answer it?”  She slid shut the partition and Jean-Luc headed for her door.  When he opened it, he was face-to-face with Cadet Jack Crusher, who was holding a bag of pastries in one hand, and two cups of coffee in the other.

“Uhm...Captain Picard?”   Jean-Luc stared down at the Cadet.

“Cadet. What can I do for you?”  Jack shook the bag of pastries. 

“I...ah...thought  Beverly might like to share some breakfast with me....”  He trailed off when the partition opened and Beverly came out without looking at the door. 

“Who was at the door, love?” 

“Come see for yourself.”  Beverly moved over to the door and Jean-Luc snaked an arm around her waist as she looked in surprise at Jack.

“Jack! What on Earth are you doing here?” 

“I thought we could share breakfast?” Beverly rolled her eyes.

“As you can see, I have plans.  With my boyfriend.  Who I told you about months ago and yet you continue to try to ask me out! What is wrong with you!”

“Boyfriend?  You’re...dating our instructor? But he’s....” Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows.

“I’m what, Cadet Crusher?  We might not be in a classroom and I might not be in uniform right now, but I am still your superior.”  Jack flushed. 

“Beverly, can I talk to you in the corridor?”  Beverly shook her head, but after pressing a quick kiss to Jean-Luc’s lips she slipped into the hallway. 

“Fine. What.”  She crossed her arms over her chest and Jack gestured with the food and drink he was holding.

“He’s old!”  Beverly scoffed.

“He’s twenty-eight.  Hardly old.”   

“He’s bald!” 

“No, really?  I hadn’t noticed how sexy my boyfriend’s head was.”   Jack looked at her exasperated.

“You seriously can’t expect this relationship to continue? Haven’t you heard the stories about him?”  Beverly rolled her eyes.

“Walker’s stories?  Hah!  Mostly over exaggerated.”   

“He’ll go back to his ship soon.  He’ll be off across the quadrant while you’ll be stuck here!”  Beverly shrugged.

“So?  We’ll make it work. I love him and he loves me.” 

“But....but...” Jack was running out of ammunition.  “I’ll tell the Commandant!”  Beverly rolled her eyes again. 

“When you do, be sure to tell Admiral Brant I say hello.  We had dinner with him and his wife last week.”  Beverly plucked the coffee and bag of pastries out of Jack’s hands.  “Thanks for bringing us breakfast.  Now kindly leave us alone!”  Beverly spun on her heel and re-entered her room, letting the door slide shut. The doorchime went off and Beverly called through the door, “Not opening it. Go away Jack.”  She passed the coffee to Jean-Luc and took a sip of one of the cups.  “Hey, I wonder where he got this from. It’s pretty good. Oh, by the way, he said he’ll go to Admiral Brant.”  Jean-Luc chuckled. 

“I heard you through the door.”  Beverly flushed.

“Oh.”  He leaned over and kissed her.

“Thank you for defending me.” 

“I mean, I know that you’re older than me and will probably go out on your ship while I’m stuck here, but I don’t need Jack reminding me.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

“I know. But until I have an assignment....I’m here.” 

###

“Beverly!  Who have you brought with you?”  Beverly grinned.

“Nana, I told you I was bringing my boyfriend.  Captain Jean-Luc Picard, meet Felisa Howard.”  Jean-Luc held out his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Howard.”  Felisa’s eyes twinkled as she hugged Jean-Luc. 

“Call me Felisa.  Or Nana,  after all, you will be family one day.”  Beverly flushed.

“Nana!” Jean-Luc glanced at Beverly, puzzled.

“What did she mean?”

“She meant nothing.  Come on, I’ll show you my bedroom.”  Beverly shot a look at her grandmother.  Her grandmother possessed what she called ‘the Howard sight’ where she claimed to be able to see the future.  Beverly, however, did not believe in ‘the Howard sight’ and hoped Jean-Luc didn’t ask her later.

Unfortunately, they were laying in bed that night and Jean-Luc asked her what her grandmother meant.  Beverly groaned. 

“Beverly, what’s wrong?”  She sighed. 

“Ok, I’ll tell you. But you  have to promise me not to freak out.” 

“Alright.  I promise.”  Beverly took a deep breath.

“Nana claims to have ‘the Howard sight’-“  She saw Jean-Luc start to open his mouth and she covered it with her hand. “Let me finish before you go all logical on me.  I don’t really believe in it. But Nana does and she claims she can feel ‘vibes’ off of people and can predict things.” 

“I see,” Jean-Luc said slowly. “So....what does that have to do with your grandmother telling me to call her ‘Nana’?” 

“She thinks we’ll get married.”

“Oh.”  Beverly mistook him for being upset so she was quick to add, “I mean, it’s just Nana.  We don’t....it doesn’t....magairlean.”  Beverly hung her head. 

“’magairlean’?”

“Gaelic for balls.”  Jean-Luc snorted.

“I see.  Beverly....do you think it bothers me that your nana thinks we’ll get married?”  

“It doesn’t?”  Jean-Luc shifted and shook his head. 

“No.  I can see us together for the rest of our lives.  I love you.”  Beverly moved to straddle his legs and leaned down to kiss him.

“I love you, too.”

###

Jean-Luc thought Caldos was magical.  Felisa Howard had welcomed the Captain into her home with open arms and he soon found himself assisting to decorate a large Christmas tree in the corner of the room, which included trying to fit all the artificial branches into the trunk.  He glanced at the diagram that had been in the box and at the branches.  “It says they’re colour coded, but all I see are red tips!”  Beverly laughed.

“Yeah,  we think there was a malfunction or something.  We always separate the branches by size and then work from there.”  Jean-Luc nodded and began helping Beverly to separate the branches when he suddenly yelped.  “Are you alright?”

“I think I just cut myself.”  Beverly hid her giggle. 

“The edges are kinda sharp.  Are you ok?  Do you need me to kiss it and make it better?” 

“Yes.”  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply amidst the artificial branches.  Beverly broke off the kiss and rested her forehead against his before he lowered her down onto the floor.

“Not what I meant, but I’m not going to complain....however, I am going to complain that you just laid me down on top of a bunch of pointy branches, and point out that we’re in  my grandmother’s living room.” 

“I suppose this would be a really inopportune time to make love?” 

“Yes.”  Jean-Luc pretended to grumble, but he gave her another kiss and helped her continue to sort and attach first the branches, then the strings of twinkling lights, and finally all manner of ornaments.  Beverly stepped back to admire their work with a critical eye.

“Not bad.”  Jean-Luc wound his arms around Beverly’s waist and pulled her against his chest.

“It looks beautiful.  My parent’s tree was always perfect. My father insisted on it.  Maman used to let Robert and I have our own small tree in the conservatory and we went wild on it.” 

“Your father sounds like he is very strict.”  Jean-Luc nodded. 

“He is.  He doesn’t really approve of Starfleet...he wasn’t even proud of my captaincy.  Maman was.  I miss her.”  Beverly turned in his arms and kissed him. 

“We should visit your mother before classes start again.”  Jean-Luc shifted uneasy.

“Papa will be there....”

“Jean-Luc, you’re twenty-eight!  You’re an adult!  Plus, I’ll be with you...”  Jean-Luc grinned.

“I’ve never had sex in my parent’s house before.”  Beverly grinned back.

“First time for everything.”

###

Christmas morning brought snow to the small village.  Beverly woke up and snuggled closer to Jean-Luc under the thick quilt that covered her bed. 

“Joyeux Noël, Jean-Luc.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Nollaig Chridheil.”  Beverly grinned.

“You learned!”  She rolled over to kiss him. “That was very sweet of you.”  He tightened his arms around her. 

“So what Howard family traditions do we have today?”  Beverly grinned. 

“Coffee and cookies by the fireplace in our pjs, presents, lunch,  then Nana goes visiting.” 

“Visiting?”

“Nana goes around the village and visits people who she thinks needs some company.  She won’t be home until late, so we’ll have the whole afternoon to ourselves.”

“I think we can find a new tradition to start.” 

Hours after Beverly’s grandmother left, the couple was cuddling on the floor by the fireplace under a quilt.  Beverly threaded their fingers together.

“Is it weird that we’re staying in my Nana’s house and not my own? And we’ll go to your parent’s house after, not yours?”  Jean-Luc shrugged.

“I’ve never thought about it.  I went straight from my parent’s house, to the Academy, to my first assignment...and starships and bases come with housing so I’ve never felt the need to have a place of my own.  Why?  Do you want to get a place of our own?” 

“Our own,”  Beverly smiled,  “That sounds nice.” 

“We could get a place near the Academy.  Or buy a cottage here?  What do you want to do?”  Beverly shifted to look at him.

“I don’t know.  I...are you asking me to move in with you?”  Jean-Luc tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

“Well, I think it’s the first step towards the rest of our lives, don’t you?  And we could get our own place that wasn’t a standard Starfleet apartment.”

“I like that.  Yeah, let’s get a place together when we get back.”  Jean-Luc kissed her tenderly and rolled them over.

“What time is Felisa home?” 

“Not for hours.”

###

Beverly shivered as they exited the shuttle, parked well outside of the small village Jean-Luc grew up in.

“Couldn’t we park closer to your parent’s house?”  Jean-Luc shook his head and wrapped an arm around her.

“No, Papa wouldn’t have allowed it.  I figured it was one less argument to have once we arrive.”  He took her bag off her and slung it over his shoulder with his own. “It’s not that far.”   They walked for about fifteen minutes before they rounded a bend and Jean-Luc pointed ahead. “See that house?”

“Wow, it’s really big!”

“It’s really too big, but Papa had seven siblings, so my grandparents extended the house.”  Beverly nodded and noticed Jean-Luc’s steps had slowed. 

“Are you nervous?” 

“A little.  I haven’t been home in ten years.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.  “But I’m glad you’re here with me.”  Beverly shoved him. 

“You’re just hoping bringing a girlfriend home will keep your father from being angry with you.” 

“There is that.”  He turned his head and kissed her.  “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”

“Hmm, not in the past hour.”  She returned his kiss. “I love you too.” 

Jean-Luc approached the door and he wasn’t sure if he should knock or just let himself in.  It was his home, too, wasn’t it?  He squeezed Beverly’s hand and decided he would knock and then just open the door, sort of like a warning knock, when the door flew open and Jean-Luc’s mother was standing in the doorway. 

“Jean-Luc!”  The woman pulled Jean-Luc into his arms and kissed his cheeks, with his hand still holding Beverly’s.  Jean-Luc’s mother pulled back a  bit and looked at Beverly.

“You must be his Beverly,”  Beverly blushed.  “I’m Yvette, Jean-Luc’s mother. Welcome to our home.”  Beverly was then pulled into an embrace by the older woman and Jean-Luc just grinned.

“Maman, did you tell Papa we were coming?”   Yvette nodded.

“Oui. He was...happy to hear it.”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes.

“Maman. Beverly knows everything.”  Yvette reached for Jean-Luc’s hand and patted it gently. 

“I’ve missed you, Jean-Luc.  Now, I had the bed switched out in your bedroom for a larger one and I got rid of the old toy box.”  Jean-Luc blushed and Beverly giggled.  

“And now you know how I felt when we were at Nana’s.”

###

Their break in France ended faster than either of them wanted.  Beverly had enjoyed her time at the vineyard and Maurice Picard had even warmed up to her.  It helped that she hit it off well with Marie, Jean-Luc’s brother’s fiancée.  Beverly was packing back into her small bag, chattering away to Jean-Luc.

“Marie was telling me about the summer festival and how the vineyard always supplies the wine and it sounds amazing.  Can we come back for it?”  Jean-Luc grinned.

“Of course we can.” 

“What if you get your ship back?”  Jean-Luc smiled and pulled Beverly against him. 

“I’ll take shore leave to take you.”  She smiled.  “I know we have  a lot to talk about and work through, but Beverly, I do love you and I intend on making this work....that is, if you want it, too.” 

“I do.”  She kissed him.  “And I love you, too.”  Jean-Luc fingered the box in his pocket.  Was this the right time?  He reached for her hands and breathed out her name.

“Beverly....these past four months have been incredible.  I love you, and I love our time together.  I know there’s a lot to consider, but I know we will make this work while you’re at medial school....”  He dropped to a knee and Beverly covered her mouth with her hand.  “Beverly, my love, will you marry me?”

“Yes!”