Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 18 Jan 2004 18:24:38 -0800 In: alt.startrek.creative From: louiseell@aol.com (louise ellis) itle: "Still There" Author: Louise Ellis Series: TNG Rating: PG Code: P/C Part: 8/? Archive: yes Summary: An alternate universe story that picks up ten years after Disclaimer: no infringement meant, and comments welcomed. "Still There" (8/?) By: Louise Ellis "I wasn't thinking of her bed." She smiled. "I was thinking of my bed. And perhaps you would share. You did promise to take care of me." "I didn't want to presume." He turned his head slightly, moving his cheek against her hand. "It's been ten years." "Ten years of my dreaming of being in bed with you." Her hand dropped to catch his. "Come hold me, love me, and make me believe it's all going to be all right, finally." "Are you here?" He raised an eyebrow. "And Felisa? Am I here?" She nodded slowly. "Then yes, Bevy love. All is right. All is well. All is as it should be, and as it will be." Her lips curved up as she leaned forward to kiss him. "My love." "My heart." Taking her hand, they moved together to the bedroom. ******** Ten days later, Beverly emerged from the conference room and smiled wanly at Deanna. "They're done with me for now. I have to return tomorrow at nine." "Did they give you a chance to take any breaks?" Falling in step with the taller woman she led the way down the hall. "You've been in there for hours." "They wanted a lot of information." Beverly shrugged. "The sooner I give it to them, the sooner they leave me alone." "In other words, you opted to not take any breaks." Deanna sighed. "Beverly, you're a doctor. You know better." "I'll be better when I'm not here any more." With a slight shudder, she pushed through the door and lifted her face toward the setting sun. "They want to see Felisa day after next." "Jean-Luc and I will not let her be alone with them." Deanna's lips twitched. "Although, after that little incident a few days ago, I'd bet on her taking them out before they knew what hit them." "She apologized." Beverly sighed and gestured vaguely with one hand. "They surprised her, she only did what was natural. And it was partially your fault." Deanna's laugh finally bubbled out. The story of Felisa's attack had made its way through the ship in record time, and it had taken two days for Felisa to come out of her room again, despite Beverly and Jean-Luc's entreaties and Deanna's out and out bribes of chocolate. Felisa had been exploring and had inadvertently gone into a secure area. When two security personnel had approached her from behind, she hadn't noticed them until one had touched her on the arm. Seconds later, he'd been on the ground unconscious, the other falling next to him, but managing to hit a remote alert and raising a force field to block off their location. Panicking, Felisa had run straight into it and although stunned by the discharge, was almost clawing through the nearest jeffries tube panel when Will Riker and another security team had come around the corner. He had contacted Beverly and Jean-Luc, who'd come running while he calmed Felisa down from her panic. As it turned out, she hadn't heard the team telling her to halt because she'd had a set of earphones on and was listening to a recording Deanna had given her. The two security guards she'd rendered unconscious had realized she was a child and hadn't been prepared for her reaction, much to their chagrin, and the Security Chief had paid a personal visit to Felisa, to reassure her that they hadn't been severely injured, and to find out where a child of her age had learned certain moves and skills that were typically taught in advanced level classes. "De?" Beverly's exasperated voice finally broke through Deanna's thoughts. "I said where are Jean-Luc and Felisa?" "Oh," she shook her head. "Sorry, just remembering again." "At least I know she's able to take care of herself." Beverly sighed. "I'd like her to meet Worf at some point however." "That could be interesting." Deanna smiled. "Jean-Luc found a house on the beach until you go to LaBarre. He arranged for a temporary rental, pending your approval." "He's been busy." She glanced around the park area they were crossing. "You're staying with us?" "It so happens that there was another rental available next door." She indicated a vehicle parked at the curb. "Shall we?" With a final glance around the area, Beverly slid into the vehicle as Deanna moved around to the driver's side. "I must say, after today, it's almost reassuring to find that Starfleet is as full of…" "Beverly!" Deanna cut off the statement as she pulled into traffic. "Whatever. Present company excluded, of course." Slumping into the seat, Beverly watched the passing scenery. "Sorry." "Don't be." Deanna deftly changed lanes. "It's me, after all." "Indeed it is." Beverly threw an absent smile towards her friend, and then returned her attention to the window. "It's not changed that much." "Suppose not." She glanced at Beverly, silently judging her state of mind, then frowned. "Don't Beverly." Beverly laughed softly. "Just seeing if I can." "You're a lot stronger than you were." As Beverly relented and let her mental shield drop, Deanna relaxed. Although still frustrated and wary, she was more at peace than she'd been since returning. "Not as bad as you expected today?" "No." Beverly admitted softly. "Although they seemed a bit cautious. I'm to report to Starfleet Medical tomorrow afternoon for a more complete medical workup than I've already had. Psychiatric too. It was however, frustrating to be asked the same questions over and over, no matter in what form." "They will do that, won't they." Deanna turned off the main road onto a narrow lane. "Lose your temper?" "No." Thinking, she tilted her head for a moment, then glanced at Deanna. "Do you think they expected me to?" "You never know." Deanna shrugged. "They have to realize that you've changed, been affected by your time…" She let her voice trail off. After watching the trees pass in silence for a few minutes, Beverly sighed. "Is that little café still over by the wharf?" "It was last time I was here." She smiled. "I can check." "I'd like to go there tomorrow, all of us." Beverly turned back to Deanna. "You remember that's where we had dinner after Jean-Luc and I told you we'd gotten married." "I remember." Deanna slowed the vehicle near a turnoff. "I'll go with you tomorrow, and Will, Jean-Luc and Felisa can meet us there after your physical." "I'd like that." Blinking, Beverly gazed at the house they were approaching. "This is it?" "Mmm." Deanna glanced at Beverly then returned her attention to the driveway. "Will and I are just over that sand dune." She pointed over to the left. "Jean-Luc's already invited us for breakfast tomorrow, we thought you'd like to be alone tonight." "It's beautiful." Beverly murmured as the vehicle stopped and she caught sight of the view. The house was located just off the beach, and had windows overlooking the water. "Our houses are the only two out this direction, so there's plenty of privacy. There is perimeter security, Jean-Luc's taken care of a monitoring service, and no one else knows you're here. Will took care of the rental agreements under Louis and Marie's name so there wouldn't be any obvious connections to any of us." Deanna nodded toward the door, which had just opened, Felisa peering out at them. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, call me if you need anything. I mean it." "Deanna?" Beverly turned to face the younger woman and embraced her. "Thanks for staying with me today." "And I'll be there tomorrow." Deanna smiled. "See you in the morning." "In the morning." Beverly agreed, then opened the door and stepped out. A moment later, she was being pulled into the house by Felisa as Deanna left. "Hello to you, too." "Maman, the water, you can see all the water, and the sand. Papa took me to the beach today and taught me to swim." Felisa skidded to a stop in a doorway. "See the water?" "Yes, I do." Beverly whispered, staring through the windows at the sunset. "It's beautiful, cherie. Where is your father?" "Right here." Entering the room from another door, he was wiping his hands on a towel. "Hello there." "Hi." With a quick squeeze of Felisa's hand, Beverly crossed the room and slid into his arms. "I missed you." "How bad?" He murmured into her ear, tightening his embrace. "Not too. Just long." She whispered back. "Tell you later," she finished before raising her voice. "I hear you've been teaching Felisa to swim." "I thought we'd start here, then finish at the lake when we go to LaBarre." He released her and stepped back. "And now ladies, are you ready for dinner?" Beverly blinked as Felisa joined them. "You cooked?" "I found a cookbook a number of years ago, including a wonderful recipe for homemade vegetable soup." He lifted an eyebrow. "With fresh bread." "Nana's?" She blinked again, then sniffed, smelling the air. "It is…come on Felisa." "Papa says we'll stay here if you want, until we go to his home." Felisa took Beverly's hand. "May we? I like it here." "Then we shall." Beverly smiled down at her. "And tomorrow Papa and I will take you, Deanna, and Will out to dinner at one of our favorite places. Would you like that?" "Is it near the beach?" Felisa slid into a chair. "Yes, it is." Beverly slid into another chair as Jean-Luc brought in a tray with three bowls and a platter of steaming bread. "You and Papa can spend the day here, then meet Deanna and I there, how about that?" Felisa's smile faded. "You have to be interrogated again?" "It's not interrogation, cherie." Beverly glanced at Jean-Luc before continuing. "They just have a lot of questions for me since I've been away for so long. Remember, we talked with Deanna about this." "And she and Papa will be with me when they ask me questions." Felisa nodded slowly. "And I don't have to answer anything I don't want to." "That's right." Jean-Luc set a glass of milk in front of her, then poured wine into Beverly's glass. "And they can't make you." "Because you won't let them." Felisa finished decisively, then carefully took a piece of bread that Beverly handed her. "Correct." Jean-Luc sat down and smiled at Beverly. "Did Felisa tell you we've spent the day on the beach?" "And both of your noses look like it." She sighed. "Didn't either of you think of sunscreen?" They exchanged a guilty glance, then Felisa shrugged. "You said I needed to experience the beach." "Just not all at once." Beverly laughed. "But, I think I can take care of it after dinner. What else did you two do today?" (end part 8) -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. From ???@??? Mon Jan 19 00:05:19 2004 Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n27.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.83]) by penguin (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1aIrzBqS3NZFl40 for ; Sun, 18 Jan 2004 21:03:39 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-12954-1074488481-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.