AUTHORS' NOTES:
1. This is an Alternative Universe story. All history of Walker Keel
introducing Beverly and Jack should be disregarded at this time. Thank
you.
2. The story takes place while Beverly Howard is in her second year of
StarFleet Medical Academy.
3. This story is in response to a challenge I received from my friend Gypsy
8 words and items:
1. copper
2. Cardassian
3. maple syrup
�
4. knife
5. violets
6. green
7. H.G. Wells
8. fish
please set the story outside of the Enterprise
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
DISCLAIMER: Paramount owns Beverly Howard/Crusher/Picard, Jack Crusher, Jean-Luc Picard, the Cardassians and StarFleet Academy. The 4 volume series,_The Science of Life_ by H.G. Wells, is basically public domain and is not owned by paramount. Copper, maple syrup, knives, violets, the color green, and fish are also all public domain. However, A'Kiira Zanthras, made up by Nicole, and William Hutnik, modeled after my US History teacher, belong to us.
Blind Date
By: Sue Kisenwether ([email protected]), with huggles from Nicole Tommarazzo
c September
"Beverly, you know, you really should spend less time reading and more time on your social life."
Beverly Howard looked up from her books and laughed lightheartedly.
"A'Kiira,I don't have a social life. I go to class, go to work, go to drills, then do homework, and somehow find some time, as minuscule as it may be, to sleep."
"My point exactly," smiled the blue-skinned Bolian. "You don't need to spend all that time working or dancing." She looked in her mirror to fix her hair for the 7th time in half as many minutes. "You should spend your time with Beverly sighed. This was the fourth time she tried to get through her biology reading assignment of the first volume of _The Science of Life_ by H.G. Wells,and she was getting nowhere. "First of all, I work because I need to buy books. Unfortunately, I don't come from a family of wealth and I have to earn my credits, unlike yourself. Secondly, I happen to like to dance. I go to drills so I can get better and win competitions, which, quite coincidentally,have 'cash rewards.' I do my homework because I actually want to graduate StarFleet Medical Academy in the top ten of the class. And finally I sleep because, quite frankly, I need to. I don't have *time* for a boyfriend." � "That's the problem with you, Beverly," A'Kiira added as she changed from a plain beige dress into a green one with a print of violets. "I've made up my mind. I'm fixing you up." "Oh really?" She laughed. "Then *you'll* be the one to juggle my schedule and find time for it." � "I'll do just that," A'Kiira called as she headed out the door to meet her boyfriend at the corner cafe. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A'Kiira swiped her key-card diagonally through the censor and the door slid open soundlessly from right to left. "Beverly," she said happily as she threw her jacket on the nearby sofa, "I've got great news for you.... Don't you want to know what it is? Bev?" She looked around the room, only to find her copper headed roommate was fast asleep, the first volume of The Science of Life lying unread across her lap. A'Kiira gently put her hand on Beverly's shoulder and shook her awake. "What is it?" Beverly Howard asked groggily. "What are you doing asleep, Bev?" asked her roommate. "You have a date with a fine StarFleet Lieutenant in just under an hour." "What?!" Beverly cried, now completely awake. "You what? Did you say under an hour? Why didn't you tell me sooner..." � "I knew you'd be happy with my arrangements. I even got you a dress...."A'Kiira began. "No," Beverly interrupted smoothly, closing the large biology book and setting it aside. When she noticed her friend's confused stare, she went on with, "I will not wear a dress." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* It was 1915 hours, forty-five minutes after Beverly and her date *should* have met, and Beverly was still leaning against the rail of the small bridge crossing the stream that runs through the gardens of the StarFleet Academy Grounds, and it was starting to get dark. � "I'll give him three more minutes," Beverly thought to herself. "After that,not even A'Kiira could get me to go on a blind date again..." At that moment,however, an unattractive, square faced young man in casual dress walked up to her. She felt better about having worn the white trousers and loose sweater instead of the formal dress A'Kiira had chosen for her. "Miss Beverly Howard?" he asked. "Yes?" she replied, indifferently. "I am Jack Crusher, you're date for the evening." *I expected as much,* Beverly thought to herself with an internal smirk. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* � "A'Kiira Zanthras!!!" Beverly began as she entered her dorm room late that evening, "How dare you!" "Is there something wrong?" she asked. "No, of course not. Nothing's wrong," Beverly replied sarcastically as she moved to her bedroom to change. Calling out to A'Kiira, she continued,"First "I'm glad that your time was an enjoyable one, Beverly," replied A'Kiira, not daring to look up from her tabloid. "A'Kiira - it's called sarcasm. Look it up!" Beverly said as she plopped down "But, we did run into one of his colleagues on the way to the restaurant. I would be very glad to see him again... many times." "Oh really?" asked A'Kiira with a sparkle in her eye. "Do I detect a crush?" Beverly couldn't decide whether she should answer her not-so-better half with more sarcasm, or to simply tell it as it was. She did neither, but she remained uncommitted. "He was quite handsome, and muscular, but did not look too much like an athlete. He was very kind, and seemed to feel sorry for me as soon as Jack had told him that I was his date. At that moment, his facial expression seemed to take a dive as well. I wonder if that means he is thinking of me at this moment where ever he is..." "Definitely a crush," smiled A'Kiira. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "Beverly!" called Jack Crusher from across campus. She stopped and rolled her eyes and he hurried to catch up with her, and they started walking together. "I'm so glad to see you again, Beverly. I was wondering if you'd like to go out again tonight?" "Well... I... I should be going to drills for competition tonight..." she began, fully intending to say that she couldn't, but Jack seemed to take just the opposite. "Great! I'll pick you up at 1900." He immediately walked away and was soon so far away that she could not deny him. *Oh well...* *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Jack was punctual this time, taking away Beverly's one last hope of refusing his date. She was wearing a much more casual outfit than last time-merely a T-shirt and jeans. He was dressed exactly as he was before, right down to his socks. Beverly grimaced at the thought of the possibility of the clothing having never been washed. *At least he doesn't smell,* she thought grimly. She didn't like the way he was looking her up and down with a disapproving grin. *He probably regrets that I didn't wear the same sweater.* "Ready?" he asked, eagerly. � "As much as I'll ever be," she muttered. � Jack and Beverly made their way to a coffee shop located just minutes off of the campus. Much to Beverly's enjoyment and thankfulness, they ran into Commander Jean-Luc Picard once again, and struck up a conversation outside of Central Perk. The conversation had just begun when Jack's communicator beeped. "Captain Hutnik to Lieutenant Crusher." Jack hit his communicator as the two other people went silent. "Yes, Captain?" "Mr. Crusher, please report to the docking bay," Came to voice of William Hutnik, "We have been called away on a priority mission. It seems that there has been a Cardassian attack on Nogura Prime and we have been called away to investigate." "On my way, Captain. Crusher out," Jack replied, hitting his communicator. He turned to Beverly and kissed her on the cheek. Unbeknownst to Jack, she grimaced involuntarily. "I'm sorry about this, Beverly. Maybe some other time." He said as he hurried away to change into his uniform, which Beverly wouldn't be surprised if he only had one of. Beverly turned her attention to the man standing across from her. "Does this happen to StarFleet officers a lot, Commander?" she asked. "Not usually," he replied," but every once in a while you're spending "I'd like that very much, thank you," she replied and they turned and walked into Central Perk. "Between you and me, Jean-Luc, I didn't really want to go out with Jack tonight. He seems to only hear what he wants to hear." "I've noticed that as well. Typical Jack." He smiled. It brightened his face and made him look even more handsome than before. "You'll get used to it." Beverly smiled back, "I actually rather not. I find Jack to be quite rude and disdainful." "I hope that I can be a better dinner companion for you," he said with a laugh. *I also hope that you will want to get to know me better, disregarding the horrible manners of Mr. Jack Crusher.* "Oh, I'm sure you will be," smiled Beverly. *And I hope you will be again and again.* *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "Thank you, Jean-Luc," said Beverly, "This evening was wonderful." "I'm glad you thought so, Beverly." He smiled as the walked to the entrance of her dorm room. "I hope we can do it again sometime." "So do I." she smiled. "When do you have to leave on your next mission?" "Our ship is undergoing repairs, so probably not for a while, although, as we saw with Jack tonight, I could be called away any second." he said. "Personally, Jean-Luc, I was quite Jack got called away tonight," she said, turning to face him. "It gave me the opportunity to spend the evening with a gentlemen." "I thank you for that compliment, Beverly," he said," but I better let you go and sleep. You mentioned that you had a dance competition in the early morning, and I could never forgive myself if I found out that you lost just because you were over tired." He smiled at her once again, and slowly leaned forward to kiss her, as she mirrored his actions exactly. After the kiss, neither of them pulled apart, but they stayed in each other's arms and nuzzled, until Jean-Luc pulled back slightly. "I think maybe we should both go and get some sleep now." "I suppose you're right." she said. "I need to win those credits tomorrow to pay for this months tuition." He laughed. "I'll contact you tomorrow, Beverly, if you don't mind." "That's not a problem at all." "Goodnight, Beverly." "Goodnight, Jean-Luc." They leaned in once more to share another kiss before Jean-Luc walked down the hallway and Beverly into her dorm, both to dream of the other. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* As the music ended and the applause began, Beverly Howard turned and made the traditional 'competition exit' from the stage. As soon as she was behind the curtain, she picked up her water bottle and downed half of it in one gulp. "You have quite an appetite for that water, Beverly." She jumped as she heard the deep baritone voice of Jean-Luc Picard coming from behind her and she almost spit out her water. She quickly turned and saw him standing there in a pair of blue jeans and a black turtleneck. "Jean-Luc! How did you get back here?" He joined her she began walking back to her dressing room, and thought for a moment. "Well, getting back stage wasn't the hard part. Do you know how many dance competitions there are in San Francisco today? I got here just in time to see the last minute of your dance." As they came to her dressing room door, and she opened it, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You're amazing, if I may say so myself." "Thank you." Beverly smiled and walked inside, but noticed that Jean-Luc did not budge. "You can come in, Jean-Luc. I don't mind." "Thank you, Beverly," he said as he walked in and shut the door behind him. The room was covered in costumes, shoes, and tights. Beverly sat down in a chair in front of the main mirror and began untying her pointe shoes. "When is your next performance?" Jean-Luc asked. � She sighed, thinking over her schedule. "I only have one more today, but it won't come up on the schedule for another hour or two." "Well, then," he said, still standing, "Can I take you to lunch?" She smiled and looked up at him, "Thank you, Jean-Luc. That would be wonderful. Just let me change into my street clothes and we can be on our way." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Jack Crusher strolled through the academy campus, heading to Beverly Howard's dorm. He was very anxious to see her again. He looked ahead of him into the gardens and saw something he would have preferred not to. Beverly Howard and Jean-Luc Picard we standing in each others arms, making out, on the bridge where she had once waited for him. They seemed to never come up for air, and the sight of his best friend locking lips with the woman he believed to be his girlfriend, infuriated Jack Crusher. � Before either Beverly or Jean-Luc knew that there was something wrong, they were being pulled apart and yelled at by a very angry Jack Crusher. "I go away for a week," he directed to Beverly, "and *this* is what you do to me?!" Once Beverly regained her composure after being torn from Jean-Luc's arms, she said, "Jack, we had one date. A very bad date. And if it was up to me, we never would have started another one. But, after you left, Jean-Luc offered to take me out and had a wonderful time in the company of a gentleman. Jack, I was never your girlfriend and we were never an item. However, Jean-Luc and I are, so if you would please leave us alone in the future..." Jack stood in shock for just a moment as Jean-Luc approached Beverly from behind and began kissing her neck. "Well, then," Jack said slowly, "I guess I'll be leaving." "I hope we didn't damage his ego too much," Beverly said as she watched him shuffle off in his won misery. "Don't worry about it, love," Jean-Luc whispered into her ear, "He'll be off chasing another beautiful woman in no time." Beverly turned in his arms to face him. "Just as long as you don't follow him around and try to pick up every woman who thinks he's utterly disgusting." "Don't worry, Beverly," he said between soft kisses, "This is the first time I've dated anyone Jack had gone out with, and hopefully I won't be looking for a new girlfriend any time soon." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* He was late. That made Beverly worried. Jean-Luc Picard was never late, but here she was, waiting for him. She turned and looked down the path going to San Francisco, but at that moment Jean-Luc's arms encircled her waist from behind and she smiled, leaning against his chest. "Sorry I'm late, Beverly," he whispered to her, "but I was getting you something and it took longer than I expected." She turned to him and smiled, "Oh, Jean-Luc, you didn't have to get me anything." "I know I didn't have to," he said, "but I just wanted to keep with tradition." Jean-Luc reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, and opened it slowly, revealing a beautiful gold ring with one heart-shaped diamond set carefully in the middle. Beverly gasped and just stared at Jean-Luc. "Now, Beverly," he began, "I know that we've only been together for 4 months, but I love you, and I want to spend every minute of my life with you." He paused a moment and he kneeled in front of his girlfriend and slowly slid the ring onto her finger. "Will you marry me?" "Oh Jean-Luc!" Beverly cried as tears began streaming down her face. She pulled him up to her and kisses him with everything she had in her. "Of course I'll marry you, Jean-Luc. I love you!" *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* _Epilogue_ Captain Jean-Luc Picard entered his ready room on the _USS Enterprise_ and saw his wife sitting in his chair. "Is everything taken care of?" he asked, moving behind her to rub her neck. "Yes," she answered, "All of the children are spending all of this weekend at their friends, and I cleared our schedules completely for tonight, tomorrow, and the day after." "You never cease to amaze me, Beverly," Jean-Luc replied. "Hey," she said as she turned around in his chair, "this is our 25th anniversary and it's the first time in 25 years that we don't have a child under 4 years old. I was prepared to pull out all stops in order to get us some time alone this weekend!" She kissed him gently. "Well then," he began, "Why don't we end our shifts early and get a head start on our celebration?" "Let's go." THE END Comments? Questions? Please send any replies to any of the following addresses:
he sits down at the table and starts picking his teeth with a knife, then he criticized me because the only meat I eat is fish, and then, he orders a chicken cutlet and pours maple syrup all over it." She paused for a moment as she came out of her bedroom. "Facing her roommate, she added, "That is *exactly* the kind of man that I've been looking for my entire life. Thank you *so* much for setting me up with him."
into her favorite chair. "He wants to marry me, A'Kiira. On the other hand, I would be quite happy if I never saw him again." Beverly paused, thinking.
your
shore leave battling Cardassians or Klingons or some other race. And, please Beverly, call me Jean-Luc." He smiled, and looked down the sidewalk where Jack had run off just a minute before. "What do you say I buy you dinner, Beverly? It's the least I can do after your date deserted you."