Released September 27th 2006 All Hallow�s Eve by Missbevcrusher Standard Disclaimer: Paramount owns them. I�m just borrowing. No copyright infringement intended. This story is set after Nemesis and is based on the premise that Crusher did go back to starfleet medical. Dr. Beverly Crusher was nestled on her couch in her home in San Francisco. It had been a long day back at medical and she had been looking forward to spending a quiet evening watching holomovies. She�d opted for maximum comfort by donning a grey baby-T and some sweat pants. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and plain white gym socks were all that covered her feet. After setting her lemonade glass back on the coffee table, Beverly took another handful of popcorn and started snacking. The holomovie she had selected was actually an old Dracula film. It wasn�t the type of movie she usually watched, but it was Halloween after all. Totally engrossed in a particularly suspenseful scene, the doctor became startled just by the mere sound of the doorbell. Getting up, she crossed the room and made her way to the door. As soon as she opened it, Beverly couldn�t help but smile, �Oh how cute!� �Trick or treat!� said the children standing on her porch. One of them was dressed as a cat, another one as a witch and the other as a ghost. Beverly took some treats out of the large pumpkin-shaped bowl by her door and put them in each of the bags the children were extending in front of her, �Here you go. Wow, you sure have gathered a lot of candy!� �Yeah, but my mom said not to eat it all tonight or I�ll get a tummy ache.� said the little girl dressed as a cat. Beverly smiled, �Well, I think your mom might be right on that one. Now you little ones be careful ok?� �We will.� they answered in unison. Beverly shook her head and laughed as she looked at them as they skipped happily away. At least two dozen kids had come by during the evening for trick or treat. How she�d missed Halloween. It had been a long time since she had gotten to enjoy this holiday. Even if it was just giving out candy to the neighborhood kids she found it was a wonderful respite from her usual routine. Once she�d closed the door, she made her way back to the couch. Plopping back down onto it, she curled her legs up and started eating some more popcorn. She�d barely gotten back into the mood of the movie when the doorbell sounded again. Getting up once more, she walked back to the door and opened it. Instead of the expected trick or treater, Beverly was quite surprised to see a dear old friend standing outside. �Hello Beverly.� said captain Jean-Luc Picard. �Jean-Luc, what are you doing here?� she said with a big smile. As they hugged briefly, he answered, �The Enterprise is docked for routine repairs and I thought I�d come by and surprise you.� �Well I sure didn�t expect to see you here. Please come on in.� she said as she stepped aside. It had been a little over a month since she had seen him last. �Thank you.� he looked around briefly as he let her take his coat from him. �If I would have known you were coming, I wouldn�t have dressed so frumpy.� �Don�t worry Beverly. You�re just as beautiful now as you are when you�re dressed for a banquet.� �A lie I can live with.� She laughed. �You have a very nice house Beverly.� Jean-Luc said as he looked around. �Thanks.� she replied as she hung his coat in the closet by the door. �I see you got into the spirit of All Hallow�s Eve.� Jean-Luc was admiring the little corner she had decorated by the door. She�d put a black tablecloth on the small table where the candies were and fake cobwebs hung above. Beverly had even put blinking orange lights in the shape of pumpkins in her front window. In a way it was quite endearing. He�d never really thought she�d be the kind of person who really enjoyed this holiday. �All Hallow�s Eve?� she asked a bit curious. �It was the term they used to use centuries ago, when the holiday first took root.� �Really.� she said sounding impressed. �It was a religious holiday where it was believed the spirits of the dead came back to the world of the living. And in order to ward away the evil spirits, people would create Jack-o-lanterns out of turnips and put them on the windowsills.� �Turnips?� Beverly couldn�t keep the laughter out of her voice. �Yes, and they would sometimes even use potatoes or beets. Then finally, when the europeans crossed over to the Americas, they found pumpkins to be more practical and started to use those instead.� Beverly raised her eyebrows, �I didn�t know that.� Gesturing toward the living-room, she added, �Now why don�t you have a seat and I�ll get us something to drink.� �Alright.� Jean-Luc went over to the couch and sat down, �So how are things over at medical?� �They�re good, hectic. Pretty much the same as the last time I was there. How are things over on the Enterprise?� �Well it�s been an adjustment. The new staff� missing old friends.� �I know what you mean. It�s weird not working with you, Will, Deanna and the others.� She said as she looked through a drawer. �And Data�� The captain said in a much lower voice. Beverly stopped what she was doing and smiled sadly at him for a moment, �I miss him terribly.� �So do I.� Clearing his throat, the captain decided to lighten the mood a bit, �So what made you decide not to live in the officer�s apartments?� She shrugged slightly, �Oh I don�t know, I guess I just really like this neighborhood. And it�s nice being away from everything starfleet from time to time.� Beverly�s home was indeed very cozy. The kitchen and living-room were an open concept and the overall look of the two areas blended together quite nicely. The cupboards were made of a cherry-colored wood and a cooking island stood in the middle of the kitchen. The lights above it had been subdued, creating a warm, inviting atmosphere. Jean-Luc was quite surprised to see various old fashioned cooking accessories neatly put away on the counters. He�d never thought of Beverly as a cook and it made him wonder what else he didn�t know about her. As she was rummaging through one of the cabinets, the doorbell rang once more. She went to go answer, but Jean-Luc spoke up, �It�s alright Beverly. I�ll get it. It�s probably more trick or treaters.� �Thank you Jean-Luc.� �No problem.� He opened the door and smiled, �Well, what do we have here?� Turning back toward Beverly, he continued, �It would seem there are some goblins running about San Francisco.� Beverly laughed softly. She wasn�t used to seeing this softer side to her friend. �Alright, here you go.� He said as gave them some treats, �Now you kids have a good night.� �Thank you mister.� said one of the children as they turned to leave. As he started to make his way back to the sitting area, Jean-Luc saw Beverly coming toward him with a bottle of wine and two glasses. �I thought this would be better than the lemonade I was drinking earlier.� Beverly sat down and started pouring the wine in their glasses. The captain gestured toward the holomovie that was still playing, �I didn�t know you liked these kinds of movies.� She shrugged as she took a sip of wine, �Well, I thought it would be nice to watch a scary movie tonight.� The captain took a sip of wine and took the time to really analyze and enjoy the taste, �Is this some of the forty-nine I gave you?� �Why yes, it is. There�s nothing like a good bottle of Chateau Picard when you have company.� They each exchanged a warm glance and suddenly got lost in the moment. It was just like old times, just the two of them enjoying a quiet evening together. It was something they had missed terribly and it was only now becoming clear as to how much of a void had been created by their long distance lives. The holomovie, which had been playing for quite some time, ended and the credits started to scroll by. �I guess the movie�s over.� said Beverly as she set her glass back down on the coffee table. �You know, I wouldn't mind watching one with you. Do you feel up to watching another one?� �I�d really like that actually. What do you want to watch?� �Oh I think I�ll let you choose this one.� �Alright.� Getting up, she went over to the little viewscreen that rested atop an antique desk. She brought up the holomovie menu and found one to her liking. �So what did you select?� �Ah, you�ll have to wait and see.� She teased as she settled next to him on the couch. Jean-Luc smiled as he came to the realization that she�d sat closer to him than earlier. Her thigh lightly touching his, he tried his best to calm the thoughts that were running through him. After all, he�d always been extremely attracted to the red-headed doctor. In fact, he�d been deeply in love with her for over three decades. It wasn�t long before they had downed the entire bottle of wine and had even started drinking another. It was getting rather late, so the trick or treaters had stopped coming by. As the movie kept playing, Jean-Luc couldn�t help but steal quick glances at the woman beside him. With her cheeks showing definite blushing from the wine, he found her absolutely ravishing. The movie they were watching was a suspense thriller and when the scenes got a bit nerve-wracking, the captain couldn�t help but notice that Beverly would snuggle up even closer. During one particular scene, Beverly was startled and ended up with her face snuggled against Jean-Luc�s shoulder for a brief moment. Feeling slightly foolish, she looked up at him. However, instead of amusement, Jean-Luc�s eyes were filled with something else, something that expressed reassurance and tenderness. She couldn�t tare her eyes from his. He was so handsome. She�d always felt a pull toward the distinguished captain and found that her heart was beating a mile a minute. To her delight, she felt his arm wrap around her shoulder. At any other time, she would shy away from the situation she was now in, but in that particular moment she actually welcomed it. Must be the wine� For a second or so, Picard feared her reaction to his advance. He didn�t know what had come over him. However, to his relief, she snuggled even closer with her legs curled up on the couch. He suddenly felt her head coming to rest on his shoulder, the sensuous smell of her perfume soothing his senses. They stayed just like that for another while, each trying their best to concentrate on the movie instead of the thoughts that were now surfacing. Then in a coincidence that was almost too clich�, a bolt of lightning surged through the sky and illuminated the entire room with a bright glow. After a second or so, the loud rumbling noise of the thunder reverberated throughout the house. Turning to look at the window, Beverly couldn�t help but laugh, �Well, it is Halloween.� Heavy droplets of rain were now hitting against the glass, each emitting a slight tic. Settling back down against him, Beverly took in the feel of him. His strong arm was encircling her shoulder with his hand lightly moving back and forth on her arm. She also found his rhythmic breath quite soothing. For the next few moments, the holomovie kept playing, but neither of them were really paying attention to it anymore. Then suddenly, another flash of lightning appeared and this time it was much closer. In fact, everything suddenly went dark as they lost power. With all the sophistication of the city�s power systems, a single bolt of lightning was still capable of causing a malfunction in the energy grid. The captain chuckled slightly as they both sat there in the dark. Then, he felt Beverly get up. �Stay here, I�ll go get a candle.� �Be careful not to bump in to anything.� �Oh don�t worry, I know my way around.� Her voice seemed farther away now. As he sat there, he could hear her as she tried to find what she needed. After a few seconds, he even heard a slight thud and a barely audible damn coming from his friend, �Beverly?� �I�m alright.� came the prompt reply. As another bolt of lightning illuminated the room, he caught a glimpse of her coming back from the hallway. He felt her sit down on the couch and then she lit a match. After lighting the candle that was on the coffee table, she turned back toward him. That look was still there, the one that took her breath away. Then, Jean-Luc did something that she never expected. He brought his hand up to the side of her face and gently caressed her cheek. Never leaving her gaze, he then took hold of her wrist and gently pulled her toward him. She didn�t fight it. At first, only their noses touched. Their gazes going from their eyes to their mouths and their breaths laced with the scent of the sweet wine they had enjoyed earlier. When their lips finally did meet, it was as if the rest of the world didn�t exist. There was just the two of them, alone in the darkness reveling in the sensations that were overwhelming them. �Tell me if you want me to stop.� Jean-Luc�s voice was low, almost breathless. �Don�t stop Jean-Luc.� He kissed her again, this time more fervently. In response, he felt her push up against him and he started to recline back. As she lay over him, Jean-Luc removed the elastic from her hair. The red waves of her hair then cascaded down and tickled the side of his face. Feeling her pull away slightly, he looked into her eyes with a love he�d never allowed himself to show before. He gently brushed some of her hair behind her ear and whispered, �I love you Beverly.� She smiled, �I love you too Jean-Luc.� She then leaned back down to kiss him once more. Outside, the autumn storm went on with no sign of relenting. However, Picard and Crusher were now oblivious to it. They had better things to do after all. The end Happy Halloween! Just to let you know folks, I love feedback...MY MAILBOX Missbevcrusher LIBRARY |