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Cadet Beverly Howard was laughing as she accepted another bottle of beer from her roommate, Jack Crusher. “Are you trying to get me drunk?” Jack leaned over and pressed a kiss to his friend’s lips.
“Is it working?”
“Not yet.” Jack smirked.
“Keep drinking.” Beverly rolled her eyes and joined her other roommate and co-host of the party on the sofa. When she sat down, her short periwinkle skirt fluttered up making Jean-Luc Picard flush and Jack recite a lewd poem about London and France.
“What’s this about Bev’s underpants? I miss all the fun!” Their forth roommate, Walker Keel, flopped on Beverly’s other side and wrapped an arm across her shoulders, gently resting his fingertips on Jean-Luc’s arm.
“Jack’s being stupid.” Walker snorted.
“Tell me something new.”
“Hey!” Jack punched Walker in the arm half-heartedly. “We should liven this party up a bit. Play a game or two.” Jean-Luc eyed his friend as he perched on the arm of the sofa next to him and threw his feet into Jean-Luc’s lap. Jean-Luc made a face and shifted closer to Beverly, leaving Jack room for his feet.
“What do you suggest?”
“Strip poker? Strip blackjack? Strip spin the bottle?”
“I’m sensing a theme here.”
“Yeah,” Beverly rolled her eyes. “Jack wants to get me naked.” Walker moved his hand to Beverly’s knee and squeezed it gently.
“I don’t think Johnny would oppose to that plan, either. I know I wouldn’t.” Beverly glanced at Jean-Luc.
“Jean-Luc?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you want to see me naked?” Jean-Luc grinned and leaned over to kiss her.
“Always.”
“You know...you guys might have to strip, too.” Jack shook his head.
“I’m an excellent poker player.” Beverly’s eyes glinted.
“Then, we’ll have to play something else. I know! Truth or Dare. And if you refuse the dare or truth, you take off an item of clothing.” Jack clapped his hands together and hopped off the sofa arm.
“I like the way your mind works, Bev!” He clapped his hands louder to get everyone’s attention. “Listen up! Anyone who wants to play Strip Truth or Dare, met us in Johnny’s bedroom!”
“Why my room?!”
“Only way I could ensure you play. Besides, you have the cleanest room.” Jean-Luc shook his head. It was no secret that out of the four of them who shared the flat, Jean-Luc was probably the neatest out of all of them.
“Fine. Let me just go and make sure there’s nothing to put away.” He stood and Beverly joined him.
“I’ll help you. Jack, we’ll need more drinks.” Jack mock saluted.
“Aye Aye, Sir!”
A small group of partygoers filed into Jean-Luc’s bedroom, with most of their friends lounging on the bed or floor. Jack set a small tray of drinks down on the desk.
“Alright, Bev. Since this was your idea, you go first. Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” she tossed her head, shaking her long red tresses over her shoulder and winked.
“I dare you to strip.” Beverly grabbed one of Jean-Luc’s pillows and lobed it at Jack.
“That’s not how this works if the punishment is going to be removing clothing.” Jack grinned.
“Ah, so you refuse the dare. Take off your skirt!” Jack’s eyes gleamed as he rooted them to her skirt. Beverly rolled her eyes.
“I think we need to set some rules. Rule number one: No daring people to strip. You will remove an article of clothing if you refuse to tell the truth. If you refuse a dare, you’ll be asked a truth, and then the preceding rule applies. Oh, and nothing illegal or that would land anyone in the infirmary.” Beverly looked around at the group of friends and noticed Jack’s blue eyes were still glinting with mischief. “Or the brig. Deal?” Jack pretended to let out a long sigh.
“Fine. Alright then, I dare you to kiss Johnny. And not just one of those little pecks you give all of us. Make it count. Use tongue.” Beverly leaned over and kissed Jean-Luc. She deepened the kiss and he gently nibbled on her lower lip, his arms moving to her waist and pulling her onto his lap. They continued to kiss for several minutes until Jack interrupted them. “Sheesh guys, come up for air.”
“Sorry, Jean-Luc is a very good kisser. You should try it. In fact, I dare you to.” Jack eyed Beverly and Jean-Luc, who merely puckered his lips at his friend.
“Bring your lips over here, Jack.” Beverly slid off of Jean-Luc’s lap and joined Walker. She nudged him.
“You’re next.” She placed a kiss on his cheek and Walker merely shook his head.
“You’re wicked. Do I get to make out with you, Jean-Luc, or Jack?”
“Hmm. All of us?” Walker grinned.
“I can handle that.”
The game soon fell into most people daring other people to kiss, with a few truths thrown in for laughs. Beverly had removed both her skirt and shirt after refusing to answer two truths, but on her next dare she was dared to go sit on Jean-Luc’s lap, who was also shirtless, but still wearing his trousers. Beverly smiled and sat down and Jean-Luc’s arms immediately circled her waist. He nuzzled at her neck and started placing light kisses on her shoulder, making her shiver. She then smirked, and told Jack to sit on Walker’s lap.
“You’re very demanding.” Jack leaned over and kissed Beverly while Jean-Luc was nibbling at her neck and she sighed into his lips. Walker grinned and moved to run his fingers along Beverly’s torso.
The four friends never noticed when the rest of their friends left the room.
###
Beverly was the first to wake up in the morning and she panicked. What did we do last night? Is this going to change our friendship? Oh my god, am I going to have to move? She gently moved Walker’s arm off of her stomach and slid over Jean-Luc to get out of bed, but Jean-Luc wrapped an arm around her.
“Good morning.”
“Uhm...morning.” Jean-Luc dropped a kiss on her ear.
“Were you leaving?” Beverly rolled over to face Jean-Luc and she wasn’t sure what to say.
“Uhm....”
“You would leave three nineteen-year-old men to wake up in bed naked with each other?” Beverly gave him a lopsided grin.
“I dunno. It’d be kind of funny. Do you...do you regret what we did?”
“No, do you?”
“I don’t know. I guess it depends on what anyone else thinks.” Jean-Luc nudged Jack with his foot until he woke up.
“Jacky. Do you regret last night?” Jack yawned and rubbed his eyes.
“Geez, Johnny. Let a man wake up before hitting him with the heavy questions. No.”
“Good. Walker, you awake?” From behind Jean-Luc, Walker grumbled.
“I am now.”
“How do you feel about last night?”
“Fine. I liked it. Can we do it again?” Beverly giggled.
“So then, we’re all in agreement?”
“I think so, Bev.”
###
The foursome was lounging on a blanket after a picnic on Caldos when Beverly sighed.
“Are you ok, Bev?”
“It’s not fair! You three will get to gallivant around the quadrant and I’m stuck here with my books.” Jack laughed and leaned over to kiss her.
“You’re the one who wants to become a doctor.” Beverly pursed her lips.
“Hmm.”
“Bev,” Walker propped himself up on an elbow and looked over at his friend. “Are you afraid that next year we’ll find other people to be with?” She slowly nodded. “I mean, what if you find someone?”
“I won’t. I love you guys too much to break us up.” Jean-Luc sat up and tugged Beverly against his chest.
“We love you, too. I swear to you, I won’t sleep with or date anyone else but you three.”
“Me too.”
“And me.”
“But what are we? I mean, are we all girlfriend and boyfriends?” Jean-Luc shrugged.
“If that’s what you want us to be. I don’t think we ever defined it, but I think if you ask any of our friends or families, they all know we’re together.” Beverly snorted. That had been a fun conversation with her nana when she invited her boyfriends to visit.
“I mean, we’re kind of committed. Maybe we should....”
“What do you want to do?”
“Well, there’s this ancient ritual from my ancestors. It’s not marriage, but it kind of would....bind us to each other?” She worded it as a question, unsure if the three men would agree to the old ritual.
“If that’s what you want, Bev, I’ll do it.” Jack and Walker both nodded and Beverly stood up and brushed off her sundress.
“Right. I need to look up the exact wording. We’ll do it tonight, under the moonlight?”
“Sure.”
None of the four friends, not even Beverly, had known the deep complexities of their bonding together. Not only did the small ceremony create an emotional tie between the four friends, but it became almost empathic. Over the next few years, they would know when each other felt strong happiness, sorrow, and the range of emotions in between.
###
Beverly paced around the apartment she occupied, waiting for the others to join her. Jean-Luc and Walker were both stationed together on the Stargazer and had managed to schedule shore leave together and Jack was going to join them in a few days. They hadn’t all seen each other in four months – not since the beginning of the semester for Beverly. She was in her last year of medical school and would be applying for her residency soon. She hoped to have been able to apply for a position on either the Stargazer or on Starbase Sixty-Eight where Jack was stationed, but now.. it would depend on the outcome of her talk with her....well, they never really did label it.
Jean-Luc and Walker greeted her with kisses and took in her frazzled state.
“Are you alright? Is school getting a bit tough?” Beverly smiled tight lipped.
“You could say that. Look, let’s wait until Jack gets here. I have something to tell you, but I want to talk to everyone at once.” Jean-Luc nodded, and the three began to get dinner together. Beverly slept that night sandwiched between the two men and she wondered if they were intimate with each other on the ship, and she made a note to ask them in the morning.
“Not often. I mean, we do share quarters, so the opportunity is always there.” Beverly grinned.
“And if I get stationed there?” Walker wiggled his eyebrows.
“I think there would be a lot more sex in that case, eh, Johnny?” Jean-Luc grinned.
“Probably.”
Jack arrived a few days later and Beverly finally sat the three men down.
“I need to talk to you...all of you. We’re..that is, I’m...ah... I’m pregnant.” Walker’s eyes bugged out and Jack’s jaw dropped. Jean-Luc rushed to his feet and pulled Beverly into his arms.
“Congratulations!”
“Is this a good thing?” Her voice was small against Jean-Luc’s chest, and Jean-Luc led her back over to the sofa where she sat on Walker’s lap with her legs on Jack. Jean-Luc sat down on Walker’s other side and began to stroke her back.
“What do you mean?” She wrapped her arms around Walker’s neck and buried her head in his shoulder.
“I’ll be a single mother!”
“You wouldn’t. I mean, one of us is...” Walker trailed off and Beverly nodded.
“Obviously, one of you is the father. We can do a DNA test if you want, but I don’t think I want to know which one of you is the father. I’m sure we’ll figure it out as the child grows. But....do we want a baby? I mean, should we...vote on keeping it?”
“Bev, it’s not like voting on what colour to paint the bedroom. It’s a baby and it’s your body. I think yours the only opinion that counts. You know we’ll support you no matter what you decide.” Beverly placed a hand over her abdomen.
“I....You know, Nana’s going to want me to be married. She’s kind of old fashioned.” Jean-Luc grinned.
“Can you marry all of us?”
“It would get complicated. What would our name be? What would the baby’s name be? Howard-Crusher-Picard-Keel? That’s a mouthful!” Walker grinned.
“So pick one for the baby. Keel is nice.” Beverly reached behind and smacked his arm.
“Funny. I guess l could....pull one of your names out of a hat for the baby? Are we really doing this? We’ll all get married to each other and we’ll raise the baby together? No matter who the father turns out to be?” Beverly whipped her head around to look at all three men. They nodded and Jean-Luc moved to the floor on one knee and he took Beverly’s hand.
“Beverly Howard, will you marry us?” She laughed.
“Do I get three engagement rings?”
“How about we all chip in to buy you a really nice one?” Beverly smiled.
“I can live with that. Are you guys sure? I mean, we never talked about having babies or getting married. I don’t think we ever thought that far...I mean, I kinda hoped I would have children one day and hoped it would be with one of you....” Beverly waited for Jack and Walker to confirm what Jean-Luc had asked her.
“I’d get on one knee too, but you’re occupying it,” Walker quipped. Beverly laughed.
“Then, I accept. Let’s all get married.”
Beverly pulled a name out of a hat before their wedding and she became Beverly Howard Crusher, wife of Jack Crusher, Jean-Luc Picard, and Walker Keel. The men married each other as well, and Jack joked that their new family name should be Picrushowke.
When Beverly went into labour, the three men felt it though their empathic connection and were amazed at how painful childbirth was. They couldn’t agree on a name for their son, so Beverly once again pulled a name out of a hat and she picked Walker’s suggestion – Wesley.
###
Wesley was three when his lineage was revealed. Wesley had been complaining about his ears hurting, and eventually all sound hurt his ears. Walker, the engineer of their family, erected a completely quiet force field around Wesley’s bedroom to help him sleep while Beverly poured over her medical texts trying to find a cause. He didn’t have an ear infection. He was tested multiple times by both Beverly and her supervisor and each time it came up negative with no infections found. Beverly finally decided it must be something genetic, and that was when Jean-Luc remembered being sick as a child.
Jean-Luc contacted his mother, who was alrady delighted to be a grandmother, regardless of being biologically related to Wesley or not and she reminded Jean-Luc of the name of the disease, which he passed on to Beverly. Beverly soon had a remedy prepared and Wesley was cured of his Shalaft’s Syndrome. Jack offered for Beverly and Jean-Luc to change Wesley’s last name now that they knew he was Jean-Luc’s son, but Jean-Luc had argued against it since Wesley already knew his name was Crusher. Besides, he called all three men different variations of words for father. Jean-Luc was Daddy, Jack was Tati, and Walker was Pops.
###
Jack, Walker, and Jean-Luc all wound up serving together on the Stargazer, with Beverly planning on her and Wesley joining them once the current mission was finished. Jean-Luc had been promoted to Second Officer, while Walker was in charge of Engineering, and Jack was the head of Security. Their current mission was into enemy territory to be the arbitrator for negotiations between two warring planets. Jean-Luc and Jack were both on the away team with their Captain when they were attacked. Their Captain went down first, and before Jean-Luc and Jack had been able to beam back to the ship, Jack fell prone. Jean-Luc and Walker both grabbed at their stomachs as they felt the pain of the blast that hit Jack, and thousands of lightyears away, Beverly felt a searing pain. By the time Walker was able to right himself at the Transporter desk to beam back his husbands, he was only detecting one life sign.
With the Captain dead, command of the ship should have fallen to the First Officer, except that he seemed to have gone catatonic. Command fell to Jean-Luc, and so, while mourning the loss of Jack and desperate to reach Beverly, he was forced into the role of ship’s Captain and soon directed the ship to return to Starbase Thirty-Two. Partially because that’s where Beverly and Wesley were, and partially because that was where Admiral Quinn, his first Captain and mentor, was.
###
“Daddy! Pops!” Wesley ran forward and flung himself at the first person he came across, which happened to be Walker. Walker swung the five-year-old up into his arms and hugged him close. Beverly gave Jean-Luc a kiss, and then Jean-Luc took Wesley and Walker greeted Beverly. “Where’s Tati?” Walker couldn’t control his tears.
“I’m sorry, my boy. I’m so sorry.” Wesley patted the man’s cheeks.
“It’s ok, Pops.” Walker gave Wesley a watery smile and Jean-Luc flung an arm around Walker and the other around Beverly.
“Come on, let’s go to Beverly’s quarters. We need to talk to Jack’s parents.”
Jack was buried in his family’s plot and Jean-Luc became a Captain permanently. He managed to promote Walker to the position of his First Officer and had Beverly transferred onto his ship. He didn’t want his family to be apart anymore.
The now three-some were curled up on the sofa after they had put Wesley to bed in his new room. Jean-Luc turned to Beverly.
“Bev...when Jack died...did you...feel it?” She nodded.
“I didn’t know which one of you the feeling belonged to, but it felt like my stomach was on fire, and then my heart was ripped out.” Walker grimaced.
“Me too. If I hadn’t, I might have been able to beam Jack up and save him...” Jean-Luc shook his head.
“You know that’s nonsense. Jack was shot in the stomach point blank. We tried, but I think his death was instant.” Beverly was nodding along to his words.
“What? I read his autopsy report.” Jean-Luc chuckled.
“I didn’t expect anything less from you. Did he...”
“Feel it? No,” Beverly shook her head, “I don’t think so. Between your report and the autopsy, I think his death was instant.”
“Good.” Walker looked up at him sharply.
“Johnny!”
“That came out wrong. I’m obviously not happy Jack died, but I’m relieved it was painless for him....since it sure felt painful to me.”
“I guess that was...our bond with Jack breaking?” Beverly shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, it’s not like you can have a connection to a dead person, is it?” She leaned back against Jean-Luc. “Take me to bed?”
The three cried that night in bed, realising that from now on it would always be a three-way marriage and not a four-way.
###
Five years later, the Stargazer was decommissioned and Jean-Luc joined Beverly and Wesley on Earth for Beverly to return to the Academy to earn her Commander pips. Walker had been offered a promotion of his own and he was soon sent to the Horatio. The small family once again was broken up, but Walker returned “home” to visit his family as often as he could and he rejoiced when Jean-Luc was offered the prize position of Captain of the Enterprise-D. Naturally, Beverly was primed to become the CMO, and Walker hoped he would find reason to bring his ship close by for visits.
###
Beverly was the first to be roused when the intercom went off. “Crusher,” she said wearily.
“Sorry, Beverly. Is the Captain there?” Beverly glanced over at Jean-Luc who was just beginning to stir.
“I’m here, Number One.”
“We have a transmission coded for yours and Doctor Crusher’s eyes only.” Beverly’s eyes went wide. There was only one person who would need to contact them and she suddenly panicked for her other husband. Jean-Luc reached over and took her hand in his.
“Send it to our quarters, Number One.”
Beverly and Jean-Luc stared slack-jawed at their husband on the screen.
“Walker, you can talk to us. You asked for a secure connection. We’re the only three here.” Walker shook his head.
“No, meet me on Dytallix B.” Jean-Luc sighed. “Come alone. Bev...I want you to stay on the Enterprise. Johnny can tell you later.”
“Walker!” Beverly threw up her hands in protest, but Walker talked over her.
“I’ll see you soon. Keel out.” The screen went dark, and after giving Beverly a quick kiss, Jean-Luc donned his uniform to head to the bridge to change the ship’s course. Shore leave on Pacifica would have to wait.
Jean-Luc couldn’t believe Walker. Walker along with two other Captains told him a harrowing tale of deception within Starfleet, but only after he had to answer a series of embarrassing questions to verify his identity, culminating with a kiss between him and Walker to verify he was who he said he was.
“And...you’re sure? What should we do?” Walker rubbed the back of his neck.
“Well...we figured you’ve been in deep space for so long, your ship probably hasn’t been infiltrated.” Jean-Luc nodded.
“And since we haven’t been home in a while, it might not seem odd if we show up.”
“Precisely.” Jean-Luc grinned.
“Walker, come on back to the Enterprise with me. Beverly and Wesley would love to see you.” Captain Scott raised her eyebrows.
“Another husband?”
“No, our son.” She smiled and patted Walker on the back.
“Go. Spend time with your family. We’ll be in touch.” Walker grinned and Jean-Luc had them both beamed up to the ship.
“You’ll be proud of Wes. Did he tell you he’s been my Acting Ensign?” Jean-Luc beamed.
“Yep, and I’ve been telling everyone how brilliant our son is.”
“Except for Tryla Scott.” Walker blushed.
“Well.... Tryla might have....flirted with me a few times. I think she was disappointed when I told her I was married.” Jean-Luc chuckled.
“Don’t tell Bev. She’d get jealous.”
###
Beverly felt a searing pain cross her body, pulling her to her knees in her office. Her head nurse came running into the room as she clutched at her stomach.
“Doctor, are you alright?” Beverly rose shakily using her desk for leverage and nodded.
“I’m fine, but I need to speak with the Captain.” She turned and left her office in a swirl of her blue labcoat, leaving behind a very confused Alyssa Ogawa.
In Jean-Luc’s ready room, he felt the same pain and he clutched at his side before resting his head on his desk. He had felt this pain once before ten years prior and it hadn’t been pleasant. He needed Beverly. He pressed his fingers to his badge.
“Picard to Doctor Crusher.” His voice came out pained. Beverly’s response was just as weak.
“I’m on my way.” Jean-Luc carefully stood and moved over to the sofa in the room and barked at the door to open when Beverly arrived. No one on the bridge had bothered to question or stop her when she walked onto the bridge. She immediately fell onto the sofa next to him and rested her head against his shoulder. His arm came to wrap around her.
“He’s gone, isn’t he?” Jean-Luc kissed the top of Beverly’s head.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Who’s going to tell Wesley he lost another father?”