Chapter Text
Chapter Three
A few days later, Wesley was at the end of his rope. Neither the captain nor his mother was letting onto where their relationship was going, which left Wesley wondering how he could help the couple. Mixed in with that, Troi's message kept running through his head.
Walking through a Vulcan museum with Beverly and Picard, Wesley replayed part of Troi's message for the hundredth time.
"Wesley, your mother was afraid of something. The only times I have ever felt that kind of fear from her was facing the Borg," Troi had said during the message. "Just as unusual were Captain Picard's actions. He purposely let his emotions be felt. He knew, in doing so, he would distract me from your mother. Something happened on the planet or their first night back on the ship. Something so distressful for your mother, she is hiding from me, and the captain is helping her. It is not healthy, professionally or personally."
Wesley was drawn back from his thoughts by the sound of his mother's voice.
"Jean-Luc, if you want to visit the dig, then go!"
"But I want you both to come with me. Wesley, would you like to go to the dig these artifacts came from?"
They were standing in front of a large case displaying remains from the earliest known Vulcan settlement. The artifacts had only recently been discovered and researchers were still excavating the site.
"Yeah, I would love to go. I read the first paper to come off of this find. The site sounds exciting."
Picard turned back to Beverly with a smile on his face. "All right, Jean-Luc, go ask permission. I will help you two play in the dirt for one day," she laughed as Picard turned immediately and heads for the curator standing not far away.
Turning to Wesley, she said, "Who knows, I could make the botany discovery of the decade while you two are worrying about clay pots."
Wesley smiled and led her to a bench nearby, "Might as well sit. He'll be a while."
They were quiet for a few minutes while people milled around them, studying the displays. Wesley decided to take a more direct approach and took a deep, steadying breath.
"Okay, I have to know, Mom. Are you and the captain sleeping together?"
"Wesley!" Beverly's embarrassment and anger were obvious.
"Come on, Mom. You two can't be in the same room without touching one another. He is always beside you with his hand around your waist. You turn to him immediately when something happens. He is as protective of you as a father is of his child. You're always whispering to one another, and smiling at one another. He even willingly dances with you. If you are finally a couple, why aren't you sharing a bedroom? I would not mind."
Beverly had turned pink at her son's first question. By the end of his speech, she was bright red. "Wesley, this is none of your business."
"It is when it means the happiness of my mother. If you two are not a couple, then what is holding you back?"
"There is a lot more involved than just deciding to be a couple."
"There doesn't have to be. You cannot tell me you two didn't move forward after Kes-Prytt."
"A lot happened on Kes-Prytt and after that mission," she said, turning away from her son. "Some things helped and some things didn't. We are working on it. I'm glad you approve of the possibility, but that's all it is. We are just good friends. Friends can be protective of one another, can't they?"
"Mom that cannot be right. From my point of view, there is only one of two things happening. Number one, you have moved on in the relationship and, for some reason, want to hide it. If that is the case, there is no reason to hide it. You're right, I approve. Be happy and comfortable on this vacation. Move in with him," he said
"Number two, something has happened that has made him protective of you. If that is the case, my guess is it happened on Kes-Prytt. If you were hurt in some way, please don't hide it from me. Let me help you. You and Captain Picard are the two most important people in my life. I refuse to stand by and watch you hurt in anyway. Now, what is going on?"
The memory of the night on Kes-Prytt flashed through Beverly's brain. They both had lain down to sleep, but Beverly could not relax. Suddenly there were images in her head that made up Picard's dreams. He had dreamed of home and of showing his France to someone. While he never said her name and she never saw herself in the dream, she had known it was her he was showing around the vineyard. It was in that moment she became what she called addicted. It was that safe, warm dream world she wanted to visit and stay in. And after four weeks of pushing away the over whelming desire to escape back into that dream world, it came rushing back. The need struck her hard and she immediately looked for Picard. Her fear was she would never be part of the dream, that is didn't exist. That, in reality, she was completely alone and it was only in her deluded mind that she had any security.
"Mom?"
She had to answer him somehow and she had to get to Jean-Luc. The two needs were warring. Raising her voice, more than she intended, she turned on her son with the first thing that came to mind, "Yes, we have moved on." Realizing her how loud she was, she lowered her voice while glancing to see if Jean-Luc had heard. "Yes, we are a couple. Yes, we are sleeping together. And, no, I will not move into his bedroom just to satisfy yours or anyone else's idea of what a couple should be. Now, drop it."
She jumped up from the bench and headed for Picard, leaving a shocked Wesley sitting on the bench. Picard had not heard a word of the lie.
###
Having learned their lesson about staying up all night talking, the trio was deep in sleep when the first whimper sounded. It was another few moments before the scream reached Picard and Wesley. There was no hesitation on Picard's part since sound was all too familiar.
The suite the group shared consisted of two bedrooms to the left of the central area and one to the right. Jean-Luc and Beverly had taken the two bedrooms next to one another, while Wesley had settled across the suite. Wesley had just reached his own door when he saw the captain entering his mother's room.
He found the older man trying to calm his mother's fighting arms, and his mother's leg aiming for Picard's blind side. Lunging forward, the younger man caught her legs before she could make contact. Picard finally grasped her arms enough for him to wrap his arms around her and stop her dream's fight. After the one scream, her cries had settled into whimpers and pleas for help.
Cradling her close, Jean-Luc started talking to her quietly, "Beverly, it's all right, I'm here. So is Wesley. You're okay, dear. Beverly, wake up. It's just the dream. You are okay. We're here with you."
With every word, Wesley watched his mother calm. It had been a couple of years since he had witnessed the dream's effects on his usually strong mother. He watched her eyes slowly open to see him and Picard sitting on the bed, before burying her head in Picard's shoulder.
Picard bent his head over her, pulling her into his arms more securely. Whispering in her ear so Wesley could not hear, he said, "It was the Arvada III dream."
It took a moment for the meaning of the words to make sense for Beverly, "The same old dream." She slowly pulled herself up, so she could see Jean-Luc and Wesley. "I'm sorry. I woke you both up over a silly dream."
Wesley smiled at her, "It's not silly and don't worry about waking us. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, go on back to bed."
Wesley stood, "Are you sure? I can stay with you if you like."
"No, go ahead. I think Jean-Luc is planning on staying no matter what I say," said looking up into Jean-Luc's face.
"Go on Wesley, I'll take care of your mother," Picard said, not realizing this fit perfectly with what Wesley expected and the lie Beverly had told earlier. Wesley went back to his room, while Picard and Crusher settled more comfortably on the bed.
Whispering just in case Wesley could still hear, Picard said, "You haven't had that dream in over a week. I wonder what brought it on now."
"I guess it was just time for my psych to scare me again."
"Was it the same nightmare?"
"Yes, I was on that damn cliff, hurt and I could see all of you below. It was like you couldn't hear me or see me. Then something grabs me and starts pulling me away from you. Gods, I hate this."
Jean-Luc just pulled her closer, "It's over and I'll stay with you. So, close your eyes and sleep."
Beverly smiled as she turned on her side to cuddle up to Picard, "Why is it you are always telling me to go to sleep?"
"It's for your own good, that's for sure." Within seconds, Beverly was asleep again. It never failed, thought Picard, the dream exhausted her to the point she had no choice but to go back to sleep.
Easing away from her, he tiptoed back to his room for his pajama top and robe. When Beverly screamed, he had not worried about only being in shorts, now his modesty was screaming. Before going back into her bedroom, he checked that the boy's room was dark and closed the bedroom door.
He had missed holding her the last several nights and even had a hard time going to sleep without her he thought easing back into bed. Several times he had been tempted to come join her, but had stopped at the idea of facing Wes the next morning. Even if the boy did approved of him becoming involved with his mother, Picard felt awkward about doing it so blatantly. Well, he had a good reason tonight.
As he lay holding her, the scene replayed itself in his mind's eye. It had been close just now, he thought, but Beverly had remembered their plan well. She had no desire for Wesley to know she was now plagued by a second nightmare. Having suffered from a nightmare left over from the Arvada III disaster all of her life, Beverly knew Wesley would assume it was the same and understand. And really, they were not lying to the cadet about the dream.
The dream had taken on parts of the old Arvada dream. When Beverly was only 10, an unexpected earthquake hit the small colony, cutting them off from the Federation and destroying their village. The year and half that followed saw many of Beverly's friends die and her grandmother turn back to the old ways to help the survivors.
Hitting about two p.m., the quake caught Beverly in the mountains that ran behind the village, almost killing her. She had been on a small path about two miles from her home when the earth had given way and dropped 20 feet. When the tremor ended, a small cliff was all that was left of the path and she had broken her leg. Had she been able to use the leg, she could have gotten down herself, but instead had to wait more than 12 hours for her family to find her. She had also developed her fear of heights that day. The drop off the cliff had been about 40 feet, but seemed longer to the frightened and hurt 10-year-old. When night set in, the temperature had dropped to freezing, leaving her with a small flashlight and a light blanket that she had always carried in her back pack in case of emergencies. For years, she had dreamed of lying on that cliff again and no one finding her.
The dream now started the same way. When she looks over the cliff for help, she finds all of her friends and family, including Picard, Wesley and the late Jack Crusher, seated below her at a picnic. She screams for help, but no one notices her. Then she feels several hands grasp her from behind and lift her off the cliff and away from the group. The group never notices her or her cries. The whole time, she knows she is alone and will always be alone, if her friends don't rescue her.
She had the nightmare three nights in a row, right after Kes-Prytt. It had then become the result of her confrontations with Troi. They all ended the same way, Beverly screaming and fighting off the hands dragging her away. Picard fell asleep wondering what on the planet could have caused a reaction so strong.
###
Morning found Beverly quieter than usual. She had woken up next to Jean-Luc and for a moment relished in the feel of safety in his arms. When memories of the night before surfaced, she curled into his warmth to hide for a few more minutes.
The group relaxed in their room that morning talking, before going to an afternoon concert a few blocks from their hotel. It was after dinner when they returned to their room. Beverly headed straight for her bedroom, leaving the two men looking to one another for answers.
"Is it just me, or has mother been acting unusual," Wesley asked first.
"The nightmare has thrown her," Picard said, sitting facing her door. "Did something happen yesterday that would have brought the dream on?"
Wesley thought back to the conversation in the gallery. He couldn't see how that would cause this kind of reaction and was not about to tell Picard what he had done. "No."
Both men knew there was something more than what was being said. Beverly had started the day out quiet and had turned within herself more and more as the day went on. Picard doubted she had heard a note of the concert. Wesley was left more worried about what Troi had said.
Once again that night, the men were awakened by a scream. Wesley followed Jean-Luc into the room to find his mother fighting her unseen demons harder than ever before. For a full ten minutes, the men fought to keep from being pummeled while trying to restrain her. The whole time, Picard talked, calling to Beverly and in the end begging her to wake up. She came to with a second scream.
"Beverly," Jean-Luc called her name, finally grasping her shoulders and pushing her back down on the bed. Wesley landed on the bed, controlling her legs and waist. Gasping for breath, Beverly stared blindly through the two men before breaking down in tears, "Jean-Luc, help me."
He pulled her up into his arms, holding her like a small child as she cried for the first time since Kes-Prytt. Picard looked up at Wesley, "Wesley, go get some of the brandy."
While the young man was gone, Picard pulled Beverly away so he could look into her face, "Beverly, calm down, or we are not going to be able to hide this from Wesley. Let's get him back to bed and then you can collapse."
Wesley returned to find the scene the same as he had left it, except his mother had calmed. She took the glass from him, sipping slowly with shaking hands while trying to catch her breath.
"Mom," Wesley asked, looking between her and Picard.
Picard jumped in, "It's okay Wes. Same dream, just a little darker this time."
"I'll be okay. Go on back. . . ." Beverly started but was interrupted by Wesley.
"No, don't tell me everything is okay. Mother, what is wrong?"
"Nothing, Wesley," she couldn't look her son in the eyes.
"Bull shit!"
"Wesley," Picard admonished.
"No, you will not send me out, hiding whatever is going on! Mother, what is wrong," Wesley's voice begins slowly rising.
Beverly looked up at him, feeling all of her panic boiling to the top. She couldn't tell him. He would never forgive her.
Picard pulled away from Beverly, standing over Wesley, "Outside, now! That is an order, Cadet."
Wesley started at Picard for a full 30 seconds before standing and leaving. Picard followed him out, shutting the bedroom door. In the middle of the room, Picard grasped Wesley's shoulder, turning him around. "I don't care how worried you are, you do not talk to your mother that way! Yes, something is wrong. Pushing her is not going to solve the problem. And being disrespectful to her is only going to piss me off! She doesn't need us at each other's throat."
"Then tell me what is wrong," Wesley said stepping up to Picard to face off.
"It's hard to explain," Picard said, riling in his anger. "Yes, something happened on Kes-Prytt, but it is between your mother and me."
"Then why is she having this nightmare?"
Picard struggled to find an answer. Lying would do no good, but he had to distract the boy until he and Beverly could talk. Then he remembered their rescue. "At the end of our time on the planet, we were running from a group of Kes soldiers. We had reached the border between Kes and Prytt and the security force field that separated the two nations, when they caught up with us. Your mother managed to open a gap in the field, pushing me through. It closed before she could come through and she paid for my safety with her own capture. The links were still in place, Wes. She was scared, but she would do anything to protect me. I was helpless."
Picard turned around and crossed to the windows looking over the city. "If Riker had not already set up our release, she would have been . . . ," he paused, shuddering at the memory. "We owe Riker a lot. For the past couple of weeks, we have both been struggling with those last few minutes on the planet. Can you blame your mother for remembering a time when she was just as alone as she was in Kes?"
Wesley stood staring at Picard wondering how he could argue with that when he knew there was more. Troi had not told him about that part of the mission, so maybe it was the cause of the nightmares and it did explain why Picard was being so protective.
Saying nothing to Picard, Wesley turned and walked back into his mother's bedroom. Picard followed him to find the boy hugging his mother tight. Beverly looked at Jean-Luc questioningly, who could only shrug.
Wesley pulled away from his mother, "I'm sorry. Call me if you need me." The young man left the room.
After the door was shut, Beverly looked up at Picard, "What did you tell him?"
"Not the truth. I told him about you pushing me across the border and blamed everything on that great sacrifice."
"I can live with that. You won't leave tonight, will you?"
"No. In fact, expect me to be here from now on. I won't leave you to face the dreams alone again," he said, climbing into the bed and easing them both down, so he held her in a spoon fashion. "We'll talk about this in the morning. You need some sleep."
###
The next morning, the trio boarded a cargo transport to take them to the excavation site. In the end, Picard had persuaded Beverly to stay at the site overnight, giving them more time to see the work being done. They had rose at dawn to pack some clothes and meet the transport that already had their camping gear. If anything, Picard thought, this would be an adventure in the wilderness. Some 120 kilometers from a town, he had been warned the accommodations at the site were extremely limited.
Picard and Wesley watched Beverly as she climbed aboard and found a place to sit, looking out a port hole. Designed for cargo, the transport had no seats, leaving Beverly to use her backpack as a cushion on the floor. Picard chose to sit on a box of supplies for the site so he could be close to the doctor and still see what was happening in the pilot area, while Wesley, after checking on his mother, wandered to the back.
After takeoff, Picard's thoughts turned to Beverly again. She had not said a word since leaving the bedroom that morning. Before they had rose, they had talked a few minutes about the dream and Beverly had assured him she would be fine on the trip. They had continued to talk while they dressed and packed, but once in front of Wesley, she had become mute. Jean-Luc had been prepared to distract Wesley from his mother, but there had been no need. He had not pushed for any explanations or discussion of the night before. It was Jean-Luc that needed distracting from Beverly's plea for help ringing in his ears and no way of providing that help.
They arrived at the site, to be greeted by several of the resident scientists and the heat of Vulcan's equator. The three quickly dropped their gear at the camp site, before heading for different parts of the site - Wesley to help dig in a new area with a Vulcan college student, Picard with the lead scientist trying to decipher several large finds, and Beverly with another scientist to study plant and animal remains. At lunch, the group reassembled to eat.
Beverly returned to Jean-Luc's side the second he stepped into view of the camp. While more talkative and animated, it was obvious to Picard something was still bothering his friend, especially when she cut Wesley off to remain at Picard's side as he crossed the camp. Seeing she was intent on staying close, Picard arranged for her to return with him to the larger finds. Just before the group broke up, he managed to slip away from her long enough to let Wesley know that he and Beverly would be spending the afternoon with the lead archeologists.
The main focus of the site was four large stone pillars, circled in ancient Vulcan hieroglyphics and far older than any other artifacts ever found on Vulcan. Four archeologists were working with a large, remote computer to piece together a meaning for the pillars. Picard was fascinated by the artwork's detail, as much as the meaning of the words, and was enjoying providing a detailed explanation of the work being done to Beverly, when he noticed her absent expression.
"Beverly, I'm boring you," he asked, drawing her attention back to him. They sat several meters from the other scientists, who were working on a different pillar. "I asked you to come with me because you were glued to my side. If you would rather go back to the genetic studies, don't worry about offending me."
"Oh, no. I would rather stay with you," she said, looking down at the tricorder she'd been playing with for several minutes.
Picard glanced over her head to see that the others had continued to the farthest pillar, well out of hearing distance. They seemed so intent on their study of the pillar; he took the chance to cuddle Beverly in his arms. When she tensed slightly at the public gesture, he shook his head. "They want me to go over all the pillars and give them my opinion, they're staying clear so I can study in peace and won't notice us."
"Oh," she said relaxing against him.
"Look at me," Jean-Luc said, leaning closer to her. When she looked up at him, he smiled, "Smile for me? Please."
Beverly couldn't resist his gentle side. Smiling as he asked, she thought back to his promise from the night before. "Answer a question for me. What are we going to do about sleeping arrangements?"
"Well, since the curator took it upon himself to tell the camp leader we were a couple, we have to do nothing. I checked on that right after we got here. We have a tent all to ourselves. Wesley will be bunking with the other college students here this week. Is that what has been bothering you all day?"
"No," she said, laying her head on his shoulder and returning his embrace. "I just thought of it, so I asked."
"Then tell me what is wrong. Is the dream still bothering you?"
"No, I guess I'm just in a blue funk."
"You have Wesley worried again."
"My hero will distract him though."
"And who might that be, since I am tired of doing it?"
Beverly lifted her head to smile at Jean-Luc, "Fine, I'll entice my man to do it for me."
Surprised at her sudden change in moods, Picard paused before joining her in flirting, "Your man wishes night would fall soon, so he can curl up with you in that tent."
"Promises, promises."
"You are in a strange mood. You have been silent all day and now you're teasing me. Take pity on me and tell me what is going on in your head."
"This morning I was thinking about the dream, trying to play doctor to myself."
"Does that mean you are finally willing to talk to Troi?"
"No, it means I'm working on it. This afternoon, I have decided I want to enjoy the day with you, even if you are playing in the dirt."
Picard laughed, "You will be the end of my sanity." He watched Beverly activate her tricorder again and go back to work inspecting the pillar. Picard could only shake his head and resume his own inspection.
The workers went to their respective tents early that night, so they could rise with the sun the next morning. Fortunately, Picard did not have to distract Wesley from Beverly, since he found one of the Terran students more interesting and the couple barely saw their cadet that evening. After changing to comfortable sleeping clothes, the couple curled together in their double sleeping bag for the night, quickly falling asleep in each other's arms.
Beverly woke to see their small clock reading 01:32. A small fire had been left burning not far from their tent and it still cast a glow through the blue tent fabric. The night was filled with the quiet sounds of night-creatures and a slight wind had come up while they slept. Their gear lined one side of the tent, leaving the rest of the room to the two light sleeping bags they had put together as a bed with their one shared pillow. She lay with her back pressed to him and his arms, as well as one of his legs, wrapped around her.
For some reason, she didn't want to go back to sleep and was a bit amazed the dream had not come. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to lay awake, when she could feel him so close, Beverly thought. In her mind's eye an old fantasy played that portrayed her as a braver woman, who could turn over and kiss him without fear. If she was a braver woman, they would have been lovers by now, but here she laid waiting for him to make the first move. She didn't need to be brave to lie in his arms and enjoy the safety. She had her dream for the moment, she thought, laughing at herself.
Picard came awake with the feeling Beverly was also awake. "Are you asleep?"
"No," she whispered after a pause, startled from her dreams.
"What are you doing staring at the dark," he whispered back, moving his head directly above her ear.
"Thinking about you."
Picard thought about her answer for several minutes. What he had said the night before was true, he would not be leaving her to face her dreams alone again, so, what was he waiting for, he wondered. He could not leave her, yet he hesitated in touching her while he loved her more every day. Why wait?
He gently rolled her over to face him. When she looked into his eyes, he knew the time was right. He touched his lips to her forehead, then her nose. "I love you. If you don't want this, tell me now."
"I love you, Jean-Luc. I have for what seems like forever and I know I always will. But most of all, I need you now, touching me and loving me."
They sealed their love with a long, sweet kiss. Ending it, Jean-Luc pulled away enough to run his hands down her body, pulling their clothes away on the trip back up. Touching her was heaven for him, no one was so perfect. Her sighs of pleasure drove him on, while his hunger for her taste was overwhelming. Jean-Luc knew that once he tasted the sweetness of Beverly, he would never be able to find pleasure with someone else. The need gnawed at his soul and consumed his thoughts.
Careful not to wake the others, Picard trailed kisses down Beverly's body, following his hands. He had waited so long for this, finding his dreams of her could not compare. Beverly's hands found their way to his chest, pushing him to the edge by their learning path across his body. He had wanted to go slowly the first time, wanting her on the edge like him. Looking up her body to her face, he saw her looking back at him. Using his knees to spread her legs, he knelt before her, trailing kisses along her inner-thighs.
Beverly felt her skin electrify as she felt his hands everywhere and his lips trailing behind. She couldn't touch him enough, or get close enough, as he whispered to her in his native tongue, drawing her body forward in search of the home he offered her. This went far beyond her fantasies; passion was enveloping her, filling her brain, turning her away from the nightmares.
Beverly had seen Jean-Luc nude before as his physician, but she had never been able to simply touch him for the pleasure of touching. Sliding her hands across his shoulders, she arched up to reach more of him, with his lips driving her wild. Cradling his head, she guided him to the warmth he seemed bent on avoiding. The first touch of his tongue shook her to her core. Lovemaking had never been this powerful, she thought, moaning, as reason left her, Jean-Luc knew just how to touch her.
The sound of Beverly's moan drew Jean-Luc's head up. Crawling forward, he forced her to lie back down. "You are too eager. And, you have to be quiet."
"Then hurry," she said, pulling his lips to her mouth, where she could taste herself. Jean-Luc's hands found her breast and held her still, as he lowered his head to take one. Beverly felt the world spin, and grasped his shoulders for support. Moving to the other waiting breast, he moved one hand to replace his lips between her legs. Using the lightest of touches, he aroused her to the point of fulfillment, pulling back completely before she found it.
"Don't stop, please Jean-Luc, I need you." She had believed for a long time Jean-Luc was the only thing in the universe that could fill the hole in her heart. Medicine, research, exploration could not compare; they were only stop gaps on the road to this. So many times she had buried herself in work to distract herself from her need for Jean-Luc, all of which was trivial now. Never again would that be necessary.
Smiling, he just looked at her for a moment before drawing her eyes to his, "I want to see you. I want to see your desire. Make me believe this is real and not a dream."
Never breaking eye contact, he buried himself in her heat. Home, he thought, it was so good to finally be home. He created a rhythm that drew Beverly along with him toward their goal. The stars would never be as beautiful as she was, he thought, and never would they be his mistress again.