The BLTS Archive- Momentary Distraction by aube (deeess57@aol.com) --- Disclaimer: You know the drill. Paranoiamount is god. It's their ball, I'm just borrowing it to play with. --- It had been a long, hard day and Beverly Crusher was tired, but she wanted to unwind a bit before she went to bed. So, despite the lateness of the hour, she went to the swimming pool to get a little exercise. She knew there would be no one else there and she was well into her prescribed number of laps before she realized she was not alone. Jean-Luc Picard was casually leaning against the wall, watching her. From the sweat pants and tee shirt he was wearing, Beverly realized he had probably also been working off the stress of the day. They had the two most stress-filled jobs on the ship. "How long have you been there?" she asked as she stopped swimming, the annoyance at being disturbed evident in her voice. "Oh, not long enough," was the reply. "I thought I locked the door." "You did." "You know," she said a little testily, "that usually indicates a desire to be alone. I could have been swimming in the nude." Picard barely managed to keep a straight face, but he couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice, when he said, "I know." He straightened up when he realized Beverly wasn't really in the best of moods. It wasn't a good idea to tease her when she was in one of those moods. "I'm sorry. Want me to go?" The doctor suppressed the flash of irritation she felt and shook her head. She hadn't seen much of Picard, outside of the contact they'd had as a result of their positions, since her return to the Enterprise several weeks earlier. She'd had a lot of catching up to do and, combined with the missions they had undertaken, she hadn't had a lot of free time for socializing. And neither had he. But now, despite the fact that she really had wanted to be alone, she was glad to see him - - she enjoyed his company. She gave him a quick smile, saying, "No, you can stay," before resuming her laps. Picard leaned back against the wall and silently watched her, admiring her form and graceful movements. He had really missed her during her year away, suddenly realizing just how big a hole her absence had left in his life. A hole he hoped would never be there again, even though he wasn't precisely sure of how he stood with her. But, whatever their relationship, he had missed it. He had missed having someone to talk to, someone with whom he didn't have to be The Captain; someone he could just be with, on those occasions when he only needed the company. Her absence had also shown him that, despite his attempts not to, he had fallen in love with her again. When she had first told him she was leaving the Enterprise to become head of Starfleet Medical, he had almost been relieved. He had thought her distance would make things easier for him. How wrong he had been. He had almost been to the point of begging her to come back when he got the message telling him she wanted to come back -- 'if he would allow her to'. As if he would have said 'no'. When Beverly finally got out of the pool, the sight of her slim, athletic figure in that skintight swimsuit almost took his breath away. He had forgotten how good she looked out of uniform. As she began to towel herself dry, she said, "You're pretty quiet." "Just enjoying the scenery," Picard said with a smile. The doctor matched his smile and walked over to stand so close to him she was practically leaning against him. She hoped her nearness did to him exactly what his did to her. She asked, "Like what you see?" Picard nodded. "Oh, yes." "So do I." Resting one hand on his chest, she leaned forward and, tentatively, kissed him. "God, I missed you," she told him. And she had. She had missed the side of him she knew no one but she got to see -- the real Jean-Luc Picard.The gentle smile, the wonderful laugh, the undemanding friendship. There had been times during the past twelve months when she had needed someone to talk to... she had needed Jean- Luc to talk to. But he hadn't been there. "You didn't have to go, you know," he whispered. "Yes, I did," she said with a sigh. "I had to find out it wasn't for me. Now I don't have any regrets. No 'what ifs'." She smiled. "I know I'm where I belong, doing what I was meant to do. Paper-pushing and endless meetings aren't what I became a doctor for. This year was pure hell." Picard gave her a sympathetic smile. "It was for me, too. Welcome home, Beverly." He returned her kiss, but there was nothing tentative about this one. When they finally broke the kiss, he said, "I'm glad you came back to us, Beverly." "'Us', Jean-Luc?" The captain shook his head and pulled her to him, holding her close. He felt her arms slide around him in an equally tight embrace. After long moments, she pulled back just far enough to look into his eyes. She ran her fingers down his temple and across his cheek to his jaw as she took in the toll the stress of the past year had taken on him. "You need a shave," she remarked. "Mmm. Well, that's not a top priority, at the moment." "Oh? What is?" "That, my dear, is up to you," he responded, with a not-too-innocent, suggestive gleam in his eyes. Beverly asked anyway. "What, exactly, did you have in mind?" Picard smiled that rare, brilliant smile she had missed so much. "Oh, I don't know. I thought I'd leave that up to you." "Careful," she said admonishingly. "A statement like that could get you into a lot of trouble." "I'll take my chances. Besides, how much trouble can you get into on board a starship?" "Plenty!" Before she could elaborate, the intercom whistled and the deep bass voice of their head of security boomed out. "Bridge to Captain Picard." With a groan, Picard leaned his head back against the wall. "Oh, damn it!" "Duty calls, Jean-Luc." He shot her a look of annoyance, then keyed the intercom. His voice made it clear that he didn't appreciate the interruption. "Picard here. This had better be good, Lieutenant." "I'm sorry, sir. We have received a distress call from Delta Rana Four. They report they are under attack by an unknown vessel," the Klingon reported. Both Picard and Beverly could hear the anticipation Worf felt at the prospect of battle. "How long will it take to get there at warp nine, Lieutenant?" "Eleven hours, sir." "Make it so. I'll be on the bridge shortly. Picard out." He keyed the intercom off, then leaned wearily against the wall. "And people wonder why I'm not married. Who the hell has the time?" "Occupational hazard, I'm afraid," Beverly said, with a sympathetic smile. "I'll be up as soon as I've alerted my staff." Picard took in the weariness in her face and shook his head. "Don't bother," he said. "Go to your quarters and get some sleep, while you can. You'll have your hands full when we get there. It would be better if you were rested." Beverly nodded. "You're probably right. But," she added as she laid a hand on his chest, "I want you to do the same. We don't need an exhausted captain taking this ship into battle." "Yes, Doctor." "Okay. I'll see you in about eight hours, then." She gave him a quick kiss, then left to get things rolling in Sickbay. Picard remained a moment longer, savoring the warmth of the past few minutes, wondering if he was man enough to follow Beverly Crusher down the path she seemed more than willing to lead him. It was a question he'd have to answer sooner or later, but it would have to wait until another time. Right now, he had more important work to do. --- The End