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Beverly was making her rounds through the auxiliary sickbay on the Nightingale, checking in on some patients they had picked up on Station 443 when one of the nurses asked her the question she was almost dreading.
“Doctor Picard, are you related to the retired Admiral Picard?” Beverly tried to hide her grimace.
“He’s my husband.” The nurse’s eye went wide.
“Oh.” Beverly could tell the nurse wanted to ask her something else. She debated on reminding the woman who was in charge of the ship, but she was also curious as to what the woman wanted to know. Beverly placed the chart down at the foot of the biobed she was standing at and put her hands on her hips.
“Was there something else?”
“Is he...I mean, I saw that interview. Is he ok? Are you Starfleet too?” Beverly sighed. Her husband’s outburst had caused her to wonder if he was alright herself, but she hadn’t yet been able to call home to speak with him. She pursed her lips in a thin line.
“Admiral Picard is fine. I used to be in Starfleet, but like the Admiral, I resigned over....things. Now, let me remind you who is the Captain of this ship and it would be in your best interest not to gossip about me or my husband.” The nurse appeared flustered and walked away. Beverly finished her rounds and retired to her quarters instead of the Ready Room or her office in Sickbay. She hardly used her quarters except for sleeping as she found it quite lonely to sleep without her husband, but when this opportunity came, he had encouraged her to take it. She had asked him to join her, but he said he had enough of space and wanted to try his hand at tending the grapes with Zhaban and Laris. She opened a bottle of wine and thought back to the day when Jean-Luc resigned.
###
Beverly ran her hands over the armrests of the chair. It wasn’t the first time she had sat in it, but it was the first time she was sitting it in as the ship’s commanding officer, and not as acting captain. Her fingers moved to the fourth pip pinned to her collar. She had been promoted to Captain several years ago, but had elected to keep her posting on the Enterprise as CMO to remain close to her husband. But Jean-Luc had finally accepted a promotion to Admiral, and after spending months shuffling back and forth between commanding the Enterprise and driving a desk, he had finally moved to an office at Starfleet headquarters and turned over the ship to Beverly. There hadn’t been anyone else Jean-Luc had felt capable of commanding his former ship, and Starfleet seemed to agree.
Beverly’s ship was on its way to the shipyards at Utopia Planetia where most of the lab space would be converted to additional sickbay and medlab space in preparation for the evacuation of Romulan space. Her husband was already in Romulan territory on the Verity along with his assistant, a young woman named Raffi, working on negotiations and Beverly was looking forward to picking him up as her ship was to be his ride home.
The Enterprise hadn’t yet made it back to the Sol Sector when the reports started coming in. The shipyards had been destroyed by rogue synths. All of the new ships and the older ships being retrofitted were gone. The rescue armada was curtailed before it had really begun.
###
Beverly looked up when she heard the noise of a transporter beam. She had taken some shore leave and returned to their home in La Barre to wait for her husband’s return. She squinted out the kitchen window at the four people who had arrived. Jean-Luc and Raffi had arrived along with two humanoids with pointed ears. Beverly wasn’t sure if they were Romulan or Vulcan, but she watched as their six-year-old son, Rene, ran from where he had been playing and was scooped up in his father’s arms. Rene then grabbed Raffi’s hand and started to tug her along, no doubt to ask her to play with him.
Jean-Luc ushered his companions into the kitchen, and after greeting his wife with a kiss, introduced her to the two Romulans vintners.
“So, you’d like to hire them to run the vineyard?” Jean-Luc nodded.
“The vineyard is a secure place for them to stay, and I trust them. Besides, Joseph has been talking about retiring.”
“We won’t be needing any pay,” Zhaban interjected and Jean-Luc waved his hand.
“Nonsense. If you’re going to work, you’re going to accept payment.”
“And a suite of rooms for your use. Goodness knows, we have plenty of space.” Jean-Luc smiled at his wife. He was glad she was on the same page as him in regards to his new ‘friends’. He glanced around the kitchen.
“Where’s Marie?”
“Off on one of her adventures, I think. She wasn’t here when Rene and I arrived. You’re stuck with my cooking, I’m afraid.” Beverly grimaced. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a good cook, it was just that she had spent so many years on a starship with a replicator that she wasn’t entirely fond of cooking. Of course, they had a replicator installed in the kitchen, so she supposed she could handle it. Laris, the female Romulan, spoke up.
“I can help you, Captain Picard.” Beverly warmly smiled at the woman.
“Please. It’s Beverly. And, I would love your help.”
###
Jean-Luc kissed Beverly and ruffled Rene’s hair before he picked up the PADD off the table and indicated to Raffi he was ready to go to Starfleet Headquarters. He was sure his plan would be foolproof, and he always had his fall back of resigning. He and Beverly had discussed that option at length while they were tucked up in bed over the last few nights and Beverly agreed with him that resigning would possibly light a fire under them. He also had her resignation ready to be transmitted. If Starfleet wasn’t interested in rescuing the Romulans, Beverly didn’t want anything to do with Starfleet, either.
Several hours later she sighed when she received confirmation of her resignation. Obviously, the plan had backfired.