Disclaimer: The Great Entity (a.k.a. Paramount Pictures) rules the Star Trek Universe absolutely. This is theirs if they want it. Otherwise, this is mine, and I'd like to keep it that way. If you are not Paramount, ask before you do something with it.

This is a P/C story. A little action and adventure, but the main plot has to do with Picard and Crusher. If you hate these characters so much that the though of them within a sector of each other makes you ill, the transporter pad sits right over there. If you stay, we're leaving soon, so please find your places on the transporter pads.

So here goes my little story. Or Paramount's. However you happen to see it. (But what's that saying about power and absolute power corrupting?)

All ready? Energize . . . . . . . . . . .

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The Abduction

By: Alyssa Powell

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Chapter 1

Tranquillity Shattered

Captain Jean-Luc Picard stifled a yawn as he sat in the center seat on the bridge. Things were quiet, as they had been the last few days. Part of him wished for a Romulan Warbird to decloak on the viewscreen just so that he would have something to do.

The Demilitarized Zone was not a place that the Enterprise was regularly assigned to patrol, but that was fine by the Senior staff. It had afforded them the chance to stop by Deep Space Nine and say hello to Worf and Chief O'Brien.

The only drawback was the maddening boredom. Nothing was happening.

Picard looked to his left at the figure of the Chief Medical Officer. How he wished to leave the bridge with her, perhaps into his ready room, and . . .

Beverly face suddenly tinted green as her hand flew to her mouth. Picard's worry overshadowed his thoughts as she jumped from her seat and ran towards his ready room. She emerged a few minutes later, weary and still green. Picard got up and rushed over to her.

"Beverly, are you all right?" he asked her quietly.

Dr. Beverly Picard looked up into her husband's eyes. She smiled as she saw the worry in them. "Yes, Jean-Luc, I'm fine."

His concern did not disappear. "You don't look--"

His words were cut off by Security Chief Marshall Walker's booming voice. "Sir, there is a vessel approaching at Warp 4. It is of unknown origin."

'At last,' Picard thought. He turned back to his seat. Beverly turned back to her own.

"Hail them, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir." Walker punched a few buttons and looked up again. "Channel open."

Picard stood and pulled his uniform top back into place. "This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise. Please identify yourselves."

A shadowed face appeared on the viewscreen. "Picard, Jean-Luc, Captain, U.S.S. Enterprise, registry NCC 1701-E, you will surrender or be destroyed."

A silence gripped the bridge. Picard didn't like it. "Mr. Walker, tactical analysis."

The young Lieutenant examined his readouts, then replied, "There weapons are nowhere near our capability and their shields are considerably weaker. They pose no threat."

Picard turned back to the screen and the dark figure. "Our weapons systems are far more advanced than your own. It is unlikely that you could destroy us."

The screen lightened to reveal the face of the alien, and he was indeed alien. He was reptilian, scales hanging off his face. His head was helmet-shaped, with sharp ridges down the center of what appeared to be his forehead. The little hair on his head followed the line of this ridge to the back of the neck, a reddish color. His forehead came forward in a point at the bridge of the nose. Two sharp tusks came out of his mouth His eyes were red slits and his skin was a light shade of green, as purely disgusting as the color could get.

He leaned forward, a smile on his face. "We do not want your ship. We want you, the influential Captain Picard."

Once again, the bridge went silent.

Picard was about to say something when he felt something reach out into his mind. He tried to fight it off as images popped through hid head. Imaged of his home in France, his days at the Academy, of Jack Crusher and Walker Keel, may they both rest in peace. Of the Stargazer and The Enterprise-D. Of Tasha Yar.

Images of Beverly. Their life together this last month, and the pain and sacrifice that was the price for that life.

His mind lingered on this as his world went white.

Beverly was on her feet and by Picard's side before anyone else could react. She fought the initial wave of panic caused by his sudden collapse, punctuated by the remarks of that . . .thing on the viewscreen. She ran a tricorder over him and gave him a stimulant.

"Will he be all right, Beverly?" she heard Will ask. She turned quickly to him and nodded. He was in a state of shock, but she recognized it. It was the same kind he was in a few years ago, when a probe from a long dead civilization implanted the experiences of one of its citizens in him. She knew from experience he would pull out, but she could do nothing until he did. She had no choice but to sit tight.

But that didn't mean she had to like it.

The universe spun around him as Beverly's beautiful features came into focus. He looked into the deep pools of blue and smiled reassuringly. He was all right. He was still there. He wasn't going anywhere.

Beverly smiled at the readouts on her tricorder, but her face still mirrored her concern for Jean-Luc.

"I want you in sickbay, now. I don't like this," she told her husband.

Picard looked from the viewscreen to Beverly, then the floor as his head began to swim. He felt Beverly's firm grip on his arm. "Come on. Will can handle this."

Will glared at Beverly. "Thank you, Doctor," He said wryly.

The alien ship still loomed on the viewscreen. Beverly did not look at it as she led Jean-Luc to the turbolift. She had her foot in the door as she heard the sound of a molecular transporter behind her. Both she and Jean-Luc turned at the noise.

Two of the ugliest things she had ever seen in her life grabbed her arms and ripped her away from Picard's grip. She struggled to get free, but felt the grip of a transporter. She cried out desperately.

"JEAN-LUC!!!!"

Her world disappeared in a green sparkle.

Jean-Luc lunged at the attackers.

Too late.

He landed with a thud on the floor of the bridge.

Lt. Walker had pulled out a phaser, but never got the chance to use it.

Picard gathered himself up and demanded a link with the ship. It came a few seconds later. He didn't even attempt to mask his fury.

"What have you done with her?!" he demanded. He trembled in anger.

The alien simply stated oh so matter-of-factly, "She is being held, pending her execution."

Picard seethed and continued to quake. "You wanted me, not her. You can have me. You won. Let Beverly go."

That face continued in the same tone. "You resisted. It is too late. We do not want you anymore."

"So destroy ME! Leave her out of it! You don't need her! LET HER GO!!!" Picard's outburst shook the bridge.

The Thing leaned forward again, an evil grin on his face. "But, Picard, I do need her. Simply because you need her. You love her, unconditionally. And I *do* intend to destroy you . . .by killing your beloved wife. The most effective way of doing it, I would say." His face grew darker. "See what your 'love' has done? Yet another person who has been destroyed because they dared to love you. How could you do this, Picard?"

Picard was beyond all control. His face was blazing in fury and his eyes were alight with all the fires of Hell. He would not stand for this.

"Who and what the hell are you?"

Thing leaned back into his chair, grinning madly. "I am Captain Je'okhar of the Koshack Empire. Your conqueror. Remember my name, Picard. And you can *try* to stop you wife's impending death. I would like to see you struggle . . ."

The view of the Koshack ship replaced the grotesque face of Captain Je'okhar.

Walker read his readouts. "Sir, the ship is jumping to warp."

Picard did not hesitate in his orders. "Pursue."

The Enterprise chased the Koshacks to the border, where the smaller ship cloaked and entered the Demilitarized Zone.

"Sir, what now?" asked the Ensign at the Conn.

Picard thought of the words presented to him. How Beverly would suffer if he did not go after her. He did not have time for this.

"Advise Starfleet. We're going in."

Chapter 2

Flashbacks To The Beginning Of Time As We Know It

The Enterprise ran at top speed, chasing only a rapidly decaying warp trail. Picard was completely distracted as his ship strained itself to find it's missing crew member. He strained himself not to feel guilt.

'He was right. I allowed this to happen,' he thought over and over. He replayed the moment she was taken in his head, a horror movie running in loops.

Somehow, Picard�s thoughts found their way back to the day it finally happened. The day his life brightened. But it had to be darker than the space around them first.

Beverly had come for dinner, nothing completely out of the ordinary, but tonight felt different. The occasional touch, the 'accidental' caress. It was all very maddening.

Beverly knew Jean-Luc would not take the first step on his own, and that she would have to push him into it. She had tried to nudge him in that direction all night, and he just wasn't budging. A part of her, the part that she had deliberately forced back into the dark crevices of her mind, was relieved that he hadn't caught on. The rest of her mind, however, was beginning to get frustrated. 'I am going to do this. This is what I want,' she told herself over and over. She ran her bare foot up his leg and back down again.

This was more than he could take. He stood up quickly. "Beverly, would you like to dance?"

She was pulled out of her seat before she could answer.

They danced to a variety of waltzes, ancient 'soft rock' and even a bit of what was termed 'country western.' The strong but lovely voice of Celine Dion came flowing through the cabin. They listened to the words as they took on new meaning to them.

"For all those times you stood by me,

for all the truth that you made me see,

for all the joy you brought to my life,

for all the wrong that you made right,

for every dream you made come true,

for all the love I found in you,

I'll be forever thankful, baby."

They stopped their 'dancing' and began to simply sway with the rhythm. The words were true to the both of them, and they realized just how important they were to one another in the few seconds it took to listen to the song. Picard looked deeply into Beverly's eyes, losing himself in their depths.

"You were always there for me,

the tender wind that carried me,

A light in the dark, shining your love

Into my life.

You've been my inspiration,

Through the lies you were the truth,

My world is a better place

Because of you."

Before Celine could finish her next bar, Jean-Luc had closed the space between them and placed his lips on hers. Slowly, gaining strength and intensity in every instant, the kiss became reflective of all their feelings for each other, setting pace for what was to come.

A programmed selection of Celine Dion's best ran in loops all night.

Jean-Luc awoke after what little sleep he'd gotten to a tickling on his nose. He opened his eyes to find a mane of red sprayed across his chest. He smiled. He could not remember a time when he was ever happier than he was now.

His reverie was interrupted, however, when the head and the rest of its body jerked suddenly, as if realizing where it was for the first time. Jean-Luc raised his hand and began to stroke Beverly's head, but she reached up and grabbed it, gently putting it back where it had been. She turned to face him.

"Beverly . . .do you regret this?" He tried to hide the hurt from her, but didn't succeed very well.

Beverly heard his tone. "No, no, Jean-Luc. I could never regret this. I . . .I just . . ." She was having difficulty getting the words out, even now.

Jean-Luc held her protectively, as if she were being pursued by an unseen assailant. He could never let harm come to her . . .

. . . harm . . .

In that sudden, terrifying moment, all the old fears, all the old guilt gripped him tightly. 'What if something happens? I can't keep her from missions, and she isn't always safe on board this ship. I can't lose her as I lost Jack. I can never lose her . . .'

As these thoughts ran their destructive course throughout his brain, he unconsciously pulled her closer to him. Beverly suddenly turned to face him.

"Jean-Luc, I am not unhappy with what happened last night, but this cannot happen. I . . I *do* love you, Jean-Luc, more than anyone else, and I would like to always be with you, but . . ."

He nodded gravely at her. "Yes, there is . . . much to lose," he said, true to his own thoughts at the time. But he knew of another problem that had to be addressed. "But we cannot go back to our comfortable friendship from here. And I can't bear to lose you, in any way, shape, or form."

How true that was. Indeed, as he reflected on that, he realized, with sudden clarity, that his own feelings should something had happened to her would not have been any different yesterday than they would be with this sudden change for the more dangerous.

Beverly considered his words carefully. Her own fear of loss, of burying yet another man in her life, had a chokehold on her. And yet, somehow, through all the imagined grief, his words created an air pocket from which she could breathe. Loss included that beloved friendship. She needed that, too.

She sighed.

"We will not have an easy time at this," she said.

"No, we won't."

She looked down at the sheets spread around her. 'My god, why must it always be so complicated?'

Jean-Luc became aware of the sudden depression of his companion. He took her face in his hands, lifting her eyes to meet his own. He knew the fear would always lie in wait beneath the surface, with the memories of their painful past. But he knew that they couldn't let it stop them. Fear was a powerful thing, after all, but it worked two ways. One being the guilt trip they'd been throwing at themselves, but the other was that denying their new relationship would throw them into the exactly the type of position they'd been running from. The other way was, really, what they needed to worry about.

True to their words, it hadn't been easy. There were times that guilt over the deaths of so many loved ones hit Picard like a mallet over the head, and the pain would stab anew. Likewise, Beverly would feel the loss and emptiness caused by her own ghosts.

But they were always there for each other, to even out the rough spots. The high cost of their new lives never seemed that high.

Until now, when the vaguely possible became reality.

"Sir! There is a Maquis ship headed for our position!" Lt. Walker called from his position at tactical.

Will Riker did not hesitate. "Red alert!" he called.

Picard was shaken out of his daydream at the call to action. He reverted to "Captain Mode" and ordered a hail.

"We are getting a response, Sir," Walker said.

"On screen, Lieutenant."

The viewscreen changed views to show the Captain of the vessel. She was Bajoran, with brown eyes and hair cut to about an inch and a half above her shoulders.

It took Picard, and most of the rest of the bridge crew, all of two seconds to figure out who she was.

Former Lieutenant Ro Laren looked at her mentor with a mix of surprise and shame. "Captain Picard, sir. What an unexpected surprise."

The captain was torn between "Hi" and "Fire at will."

Chapter 3

Jumping Headlong Into Your Worst Nightmare

Ro Laren, now a Maquis captain, didn't wait for him to answer. "Sir, what are you doing here? Surely this is not a Starfleet thing."

Data found that the first thought that came to him was "No shit, Sherlock." Puzzled over this, he filed it away for future reference.

Picard debated the merits of telling Ro of their current predicament. She was, after all, Maquis. But then, for the briefest of moments, he saw that young, misunderstood officer he had kept aboard his ship four years ago, and he opted to simply tell all.

Ro listened with interest. Despite the fact that they were Starfleet, they were still her friends, and she had a feeling she knew what was going to happen to Beverly . . .

. . . If she didn't help, anyway.

"Captain, I may know where she has been taken, but subspace is not safe out here."

Picard thought about the possible consequences of letting a Maquis on his ship, but she was right. And Ro, hopefully, would not betray her friends.

"You may beam aboard, Lieu-Captain."

Ro was not quite done yet. "I request permission to join you on your mission, Captain. My ship can pick me up later."

Picard reluctantly agreed.

In the Observation Lounge, the senior officers had gathered around the table.

Sans one. A subtle reminder of what they had to lose.

Ro stood in front, ready to give her briefing. She had borrowed a Starfleet uniform, having officially rejoined the crew, albeit temporarily. She looked worn out and much older than she actually was.

Picard Introduced the new member of the staff and motioned for Ro to begin.

She cleared her throat. "Captain Picard told me of your encounter with the Koshacks. I am sorry for the loss of Dr. Cru--Dr. Picard," she corrected herself, still not quite used to that name. "These Koshacks have been wreaking havoc on the distant Maquis cells, attacking the colonies without remorse. We already have to deal with the Federation and the Cardassians, but now we have this. We've lost 9 ships to them already." She sighed at this admission. Nine damned fine ships and over 100 in crew. But there was hope. "We have, however, found their homeworld. It's pretty close to the Cardassian border, and we don't really like getting that close."

Will looked up at hearing this glimmer of hope. "Where is it?" he asked.

Ro looked at Riker, hoping he would not lose that light in his eye after her next statement. "It's the third planet in the Zelius system, but that system is deep within the Moranda Nebula. If the Cardassians don't get you, the EM disturbances will."

Picard pondered this. "How long would we have before our systems begin to fail in that mess?" he asked anyone who knew.

It was, of course, Data who responded. "Approximately two days, 20 hours, 6.31 minutes."

"Can we pull a rescue off?" Geordi chimed in.

"The rescue would have to be completed in less than two hours."

"The EM turbulence we would go through would prevent sensors or shields in much the same way as it would affect our own equipment," Ro started. "We can't use transporters, but they won't detect our approach or a shuttlecraft running into the atmosphere."

Walker spoke. "Sir, with a small away team, I believe it possible to find the doctor and bring her back. With your permission . .?"

Picard looked at all of his officers in turn. He dearly hoped he wasn't sending them all to their doom with this. He gathered his wits and jumped headlong into what could be the Straight Road To Hell.

He nodded. "Make it so."

'Voices. Such noise. I wish it would stop . . .'

Beverly slowly inched back toward consciousness. The voices got lower the closer she came, and the background noises sorted themselves out. She could now barely make out the conversation.

"Good. This will cause him that much more pain. Prepare for elimination."

'Elimination? Of what?'

Then it all came back to her like water through a burst dam. She had been taken from the Enterprise, ripped out of the arms of the one she loved most, condemned to suffer for his refusal to cooperate. But this didn't bother her. She was ready to give her life for Jean-Luc. What worried her was the discussion.

'What the hell are they talking about?!'

"But Captain Je'okhar," another voice said, "this is the perfect opportunity to study humans. These two humans were more genetically compatible than any of our Genetic Donors are. These fetuses should be collected and raised for study!"

'Fetus . . .' Beverly managed to turn her head and look at her monitor. All the telltales were there. 'Baby . . .my--*our* baby . . .oh my god, NO!'

Je'okhar spoke again. "Very well, keep one. But I want the woman dead, clear?"

The other nodded. Je'okhar turned to Beverly on his way out, reaching out for her face. Beverly felt the roughness of the scales against her face and tried to pull away.

Je'okhar smirked. "Too bad. She is quite beautiful, even for a human. This Picard has good taste, I'll give him that."

Beverly's face contorted in frustration. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak. All she could do was look into this disgustingly green face that made her nauseous.

"Sir, I suggest you back off. Human reaction to pregnancy is strange, and the color of our skin seems to compound that reaction."

Je'okhar backed off, wearing a huge grin. "Good." He turned back to the scientist. " Proceed with your experiments. And sedate her again."

Beverly watched 'Thing' walk out. As the doors shut behind him, she felt a pricking pain in her upper arm . . .

Deanna Troi was having trouble resting. There were two things that kept her up at night. A chocolate sundae and strong emotions from the crew.

She hadn't eaten chocolate since lunch.

And even then, it wasn't the entire crew. They were on edge, but not this bad.

That left only one possibility.

The empathic links.

There were three people on the ship who, subconsciously, her mind would seek out, making sure they were all right. These people were important to her well-being. The first was Will, her Imzadi. The second was Beverly, her best friend.

She was having enough trouble with that.

The third was not one she was accustomed to feeling this strongly. That's what worried her more than anything else.

She grabbed her robe and headed off in search of this ailing soul.

Captain Picard sat quietly in his ready room. He actually expected the door to chime.

"Come."

Deanna came carefully through the doors. She could barely make out the outline of the captain. The lights were dimmed to less than 10%.

She came closer and saw the hollowness in his eyes. He needed to sleep.

"Captain, maybe you should go to your quarters and get some rest."

Picard shook his head. "I have work to do. I can't sleep right now." He turned to a padd conveniently located at his side and began to 'work.'

Deanna wouldn't budge. "Sir, you are tired. You can't help Beverly like this. I will call Dr. Selar to make a diagnosis if I must, but you must sleep."

Picard sighed wearily and put the padd back down. "You sound like Beverly . . ." he said absently as he turned toward the window. He stared out at the swirling nebula and it's brilliant colors as they passed through it. He breathed deeply.

"I can't go in there."

Deanna didn't understand. "In where, Captain?"

He seemed not to hear her. He simply continued on his train of thought. "It was my fault she was taken. My fault she may die. I can't go in there, sleep in that bed, without Beverly beside me. It is too much to even think of, spending a night without her . . "

Deanna understood completely. "Captain, you still need to rest. Sleep on your couch, then."

Picard gave a resigned sigh. Getting up and heading for the couch, he said, "You are right. I can't help in this condition." He stopped midway. "Thank you, Counselor. I suppose I needed steering."

She smiled. "Not a problem Captain." A moment later, she was gone.

Picard plopped onto the sofa. He prayed sleep would claim him.

It did. But so did memories. Of her . . .

. . . of them. Of all he had to lose.

He awoke a few hours later, reaching out to his side for Beverly. He realized too late that she wasn�t there. Fury overtook him.

He got up and stormed to his desk, going over every piece of information he had on the Koshacks.

�Those bastards aren�t going to get away with this. . . �

Ro paced in her assigned quarters. She was missing something. For one of their Movements of Aggression, this one was relatively easy to overcome. They had been sloppy enough to leave a warp trail without covering their tracks. The captain of the Koshack ship actually showed his face.

It wreaked of a trap.

Ro got up from the sofa and walked to the computer console. She called up Dr. Picard's file. She thought, perhaps, looking at the face of the being whose life now depended on her remembering this one piece if information, the basis for this instinctive feeling she had, would help.

She sat that way, most of the night, trying to remember, and hoping beyond all hope that she hadn't entered her worst nightmare.

Chapter 4

Chris Rea In The 24th Century (a.k.a. The Road to Hell)

The Enterprise loomed silently, undetected over the surface of Zelius III. Lt. Walker and his security detail would go down with Will, Data, and Ro. They were standing in the shuttle bay, preparing for the mission to God Knows What, when Picard walked in, phaser rifle in hand.

"So, when do we leave?"

Will's jaw gaped or a few seconds before he caught it and protested. "Sir, this is too--"

Picard cut him off. "Don't argue, Will. I'm going. This is something I need to do."

Will was about to say more, but then imagined, "If I were captain and this had happened, I'd probably be doing the same thing." He looked at Beverly as one of his dearest friends. He didn't want to see her hurt anymore than the captain did. He gave in.

When they were in range, the party left for the planet's surface in he shuttlecraft Merlin. They entered the atmosphere of the planet a moment later.

Data was driving. The shuttle was pitching and reeling. This was not good.

Ro wished she could have remembered that piece of knowledge that was nagging her. She was resolved to stay alert, however. She never did like surprises, anyway.

Ro added a sedative to that wish list as the shuttle lurched again. She heard Data's voice.

"Everyone hold on. We are about to land."

Picard was the first to exit the shuttlecraft, much to everyone else's panic and worry. The planet had no life on it. A barren desert, surrounded by the bright hues circling above the planet. A flat-topped, one story compound sat beyond a few hills, or rather, sand dunes. They approached it with caution.

"The compound is approximately 16,000 square meters in surface area." Data instantly calculated the odds of finding Beverly within the allotted time and escaping. For some reason, his subroutine kept running the odds of a wooden arrow piercing the Enterprise's hull instead.

"Well then, we had better get going."

Picard led the party to the entrance. Stepping tentatively through the threshold, he looked about. Everything was quiet.

And to true form of all ambushes, too quiet.

Suddenly, something snapped inside Ro, and that little detail of such great importance came to mind.

A split-second too late.

Without warning, the doors shut closed, leaving Walker and his detail in the desert.

As they turned back around, a force of Koshack guards popped out of hiding places and surrounded the trapped officers. At the front was Je'okhar.

He grinned his evil grin again, and turned to Picard.

"Somehow, we knew you would come."

Picard grimaced as he and the rest of his companions were led forcibly down a darkened corridor, lit only by the occasional torch-like attachments to the walls. It almost reminded him of the ancient highways and roads of the late 20th century, as if they were street lamps.

They halted before two very large duranium doors, which seemed to exist of chaos. The closest Picard ever wanted to get to the Gates of Hell. Upon their arrival, the doors creaked open to reveal a large room, completely black, except for one corner.

Will, Data, Ro, and Picard all turned to the light.

And gasped at what they saw.

Beverly slowly became aware that she was being dragged down a corridor. She was in no mood to figure out why. She then felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness, before her weight settled upon her suspended wrists.

It took a while to gain enough strength to open her eyes.

She was not happy with what she saw.

There, about seven meters away from her, her beloved stood, face in shock, surrounded by at least ten Things. Her eyes faintly picked up three more familiar outlines, but paid them no heed. She could only focus on Jean-Luc.

Then the white haze of pain covered her vision, and the world went black again.

The response was immediate and unanimous.

"NOOO!!!" screamed Picard, Data, Ro, and Will at once. They could not bare to see their friend in pain.

Je'okhar still wore his smile, which only grew with each passing moment, finally reaching his "ears" before getting removed completely.

The Starfleet officers did something no one expected them to do.

They attacked the attackers.

Chapter 5

Retaliation

The room erupted into colors of red, black, and gold, striking down anything that was green and standing.

Will turned on his heel to throw his fists into the two startled guards behind him. Once more ensured they would go, and stay, down. Data deftly lifted three guards and threw them against a rock wall. Ro leapt for the commander of the guards, expertly throwing him over her shoulder and onto his back. The remaining guards fled, shocked and unprepared for the away team�s response.

Picard stood over Je�okhar, fury burning in his eyes. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to kick his head across the room. But there was a more pressing mission now.

He ran up to Beverly, easing her down from her elevated position. He tried to find her pulse.

He found one. It was faint, and fading, but there.

Quickly, he gathered her into his arms and ran for the door, yelling at the rest of his officers to follow.

They reached the shuttlecraft and took off, a hail of phaser fire following, but missing completely.

They were safe, for now.

The scans did not look promising. The drug the Koshacks had injected into Beverly was already taking it�s toll. Data stabilized her, with some difficulty, while Picard looked on. He could not remember if he had ever been as frightened as he was now. Frightened of losing her grace, her passion, her love.

Her.

And to make matters worse, he could do nothing but sit and wait.

Sickbay was quiet. All they�d had all day was a broken arm and a small rash.

Alyssa Ogawa paced sickbay. She, Dr. Selar, and an entire support team waited impatiently for their next patient. And not because they were THAT bored.

Just because their patient needed immediate response.

Data beamed in directly from the shuttlebay, Beverly in his arms. She had destabilized in that short amount of time it took to get there.

The mad fight for life began.

Will, Deanna, Geordi, and Data waited patiently inside Beverly�s office.

Picard paced frantically. Four steps across the room, turn on his heel, four more steps . . .

He stopped dead in his tracks as Selar walked in, tired and as depressed as a Vulcan can get. The look did nothing to ease his, or anyone else�s worry.

A sudden silence and tension gripped the room.

Picard reached the Intensive Care ward and sat next to the bed, staring at the still form of his wife. Her face was pale, almost bluish, and cold to the touch.

He reached for her hand, and nearly cried when he felt how cool it was. Trying to focus on something other than Beverly's deathly appearance. He looked up at the monitors.

Her heartbeat was slow, but steady. Her blood pressure was low. There was very little brain activity. Not good, but not getting any worse.

He noticed another line monitoring something. Whatever this was, it was functioning normally. The readouts showed it in the green. He'd never seen that readout before, and wondered what it was.

�Suddenly, the other readouts all moved upward at once.

Picard looked back down as he heard a low moan . . .

Jean-Luc smiled down at her, his relief showing plainly on his face. He leaned down to kiss her softly.

"Welcome back," he whispered.

Too tired and drained to put anything else together, she spoke his name.

A pained expression came over his face and he backed off.

Beverly let out a muffled groan that sounded a lot like �No.� She closed her eyes again, trying to ignore the insistent pounding in her head and churning in her stomach.

Jean-Luc walked back up to her and took her hand again.

"I�m so sorry, Beverly. This was all my fault. If only I . . ."

He trailed off when she began to shake her head no. Compassionately, she looked up at him and smiled. She was all right. That's all that counted.

Her head began to loll to one side, her face scrunched up. She was obviously not doing well.

Nurse Ogawa came running into the room a moment later. With Jean-Luc and Alyssa helping her, she found her way to the nearest sink and promptly threw up. She laid back down, now feeling much better.

Picard, however, now felt as if he might as well be the one lying on that bed.

"What is wrong with her," he demanded.

Alyssa smiled. "Nothing anymore. We were worried she wouldn't wake up at all, but now that she has, she should be all right."

Picard frowned. Pointing to the sink they had just come from, he said, "Those are not the actions of a healthy person."

"Well . . . that depends on how you look at it."

Both Picards turned to stare at the young nurse, who was grinning madly. She pushed the captain back into his seat, telling him that he was better off already in one.

Then she faced Beverly, looking back at Jean-Luc a few times, and delivered the bombshell for the day.

"Dr. Picard . . . you're pregnant."

Their already stunned expressions grew. Alyssa's smile did the same.

"Congratulations," she said, then opted to leave the two alone.

Beverly was shocked, although, in all honesty, she had already suspected that such was the case.

She was just too afraid of Jean-Luc's reaction to find out for sure.

Beverly's gaze turned to him. He was staring at nothing below the bed. She sat up and reached out to him.

He looked at her for a long while.

And smiled. Widely.

No two beings in the universe were as happy as they were now.

Chapter 6

Pain And Joy

A loud wail filled Sickbay, causing smiles to appear on everyone's faces.

Especially the proud new parents of the wailer.

Alyssa had her grin on again as she announced "It's a girl" to everyone in earshot.

Beverly fell back against the pillows of her bed, crying tears of joy and laughing. Alyssa placed the small, squirming, screaming bundle in her arms.

A tiny face stared up at the woman who held her, entranced by the sight of this person.

Jean-Luc bent down to kiss Beverly on her forehead.

"She's beautiful, Beverly. Just like her mother." He reached over and ran a finger across his child's soft face.

His daughter.

*Their* daughter.

Who almost wasn't.

Beverly looked at the sleeping figure in her arms. She ran her hand over the soft red hair on the baby's head. Her mind drifted for just a moment to the day after she had found out about her child. The day the results came in from the scans they had performed.

She had almost lost her baby. She did lose it's twin.

Beverly snapped out of it, choosing to focus on the life she had managed to save rather than the one she had lost.

"We haven't named her yet," she told her grinning husband.

His eyes never left the face of the baby. "No, we haven't."

Beverly looked at her sleeping daughter. "Kelsey . . . I can imagine a young doctor with that name."

"Or a young Captain." Picard nodded his head. "Kelsey . . . Elizabeth?"

Beverly smiled at him, then looked back down.

"Well, Kelsey Elizabeth Picard . . ." She kissed her tiny forehead, "Happy Birthday."

�

Beverly stood by the window, staring at the passing stars. �That dream again,� she thought. �Why can�t it just go away?�

She was back on Zelius III, on a table in some sort of lab. And she heard talking . . .

*But Captain Je'okhar, this is the perfect opportunity to study humans. These two humans were more genetically compatible than any of our Genetic Donors are. These fetuses should be collected and raised for study!*

*Very well, keep one . . .*

"Beverly?"

She turned at the sound of her name.

Jean-Luc was standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders.

"The dream again?"

She nodded, then turned back to the blackness.

"I can�t help but wonder, every time I hear those words in my dreams, if I ever really heard them . . . if they really did take our child . . ."

Jean-Luc couldn�t say anything, only hold her. The prospect of his child being kept by those demons scared the hell out of him too.

Their mood was interrupted by a cry from another room. Both of them went off after this cry, feeling the need to be a family, and to chase the demons away for just a little while.

�

Chapter 7

Observers From Afar

The Entity watched silently as the new family bonded. He sat just over the main deflector, seeing in his head the newborn and her parents as they shared their time together. He was happy for that. Prophecy said that their time together was to be short.

.

The Entity knew that this prophecy could not be allowed to come true. After all that had happened to this family before it finally became. He could not let it simply cease to be. After all, prophecies were simply warnings so that damaging events wouldn�t occur.

Kelsey cooed happily in her mother�s embrace, hungry only or the reassurance of their presence.

Kelsey finally went back to sleep, as did her parents. The Entity slipped into the cabin for a moment and looked at the woman. He *knew* this woman, this man beside her. He had never understood why he had the role of protector to them, only that he needed to do it.

But now The Entity realized that it *knew* them. Form somewhere in his past . . .

A cry reached out to the far corner of The Entity�s mind, screaming to be heard by all who could. This was the being that needed him right now. This family was safe for the time being.

The Entity suddenly felt a jolt of knowledge, a few more of his memories surfacing suddenly. It was once *he,* in the human term for it. He was once a lot like them. And, as a memory reenacted, he bent over and kissed Beverly lightly on the cheek.

It felt so natural. He wished he knew why.

The Entity reluctantly left the haven of his friends� presence, seeking out this new life that needed his guidance so badly. He carefully removed it from the confines of it�s existence and placed it in a safer location.

This newborn human needed a guardian until it could be returned to it�s parents. This boy.

�Jonathan Ren�. Jack. That�s what they were going to use.�

And so he sat up with young Jonathan Ren� Picard, until he finally want to sleep. Then, true to The Entity�s renewed human form, he followed suit.

The End . . . . (for now)