The BLTS Archive - It's Never Too Late
by DocBevCulver (docbevculver@gmail.com)

---

Disclaimer: Star Trek and the characters belong Paramount. The plot is
mine, what little there is of it.

Author's Notes: Thanks to Sandi for the beta reading. More notes are
located at the end of the story.

Archive: My site (Just the Romance), ASC, and BLTS. All others, please
ask first!

---

Beverly Crusher awoke sore and satisfied with an odd feeling of
completeness. Most of the previous nights activities blurred in her
mind, but one thing stood out. 'Jean-Luc...'  With that thought it all
became clear as to why she felt complete at last.

---
Flashback...


She had been in her lab, hard at work for several hours on her latest
research project. Tired, she retreated to her office for a brief rest.
She sat at her desk, rested her head on her folded arms and closed her
eyes. She awoke a few moments later to the sound of someone clearing
their throat. She looked up at the source of the sound and was
surprised to see him standing in her door.

Jean-Luc Picard stood leaning against the door-jam of her office with
his arms folded tightly across his chest. The pips on his pristinely
pressed black and maroon uniform shone almost as bright as the smile
on his lips. 'He looks every bit the Starfleet captain he is...
completely dashing,' she thought, with a small smile.

It had been several months since she departed from the Enterprise's
Chief Medical Officers position to take up the role as Head of
Starfleet Medical, once again. She had been offered the position soon
after Will Riker and Deanna Troi's wedding, but she had declined at
the time and prepared for the next mission aboard the ship. After the
battle with the Remans, Shinzon, and his deadly weapon, Starfleet
would not take no for an answer. So, with sadness already from the
death of Data and Will and Deanna's departure for their own ship, she
was whisked away from the ship that had been her home for nearly 20
years.

Even with the ship in space dock orbiting around Earth, they really
had not had the time to talk, much less actually see each other - her
schedule and duties and his, plus overseeing to the repairs that took
place on the ship - kept them both extremely busy. It had been a short
few weeks ago that he had sent a brief message to tell her that the
ship would be on a test run for several weeks and that he would not be
able to contact her until they were complete. To see him standing in
her doorway was a bit of a shock, but she was not going to complain.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, as she tucked a
strand of her reddish blonde hair behind her ear.

"Not long... but long enough to know that you could use a break." He
smiled as he pushed off the door-jam, rubbing a hand over his smooth
head, as he came to stand in front of her desk. "I would guarantee
that you have not had anything to eat either." He said as he placed
his hands on her desk to brace himself, as he leaned over to look her
in the eyes.

She smiled and placed her head in her in the cradle of her hands. "No,
I haven't."

"Good," he smiled. "Then, would you care to join me?" He asked as he
pushed off from her desk to stand straight and with both hands on the
hem of his uniform top and gave a quick jerk to straighten it,
performing a perfect 'Picard Maneuver'.

She smiled at the gesture she knew had become a habit. "I would love
to." She said, as she stood from her chair. She came to stand next to
him and he offered his elbow. They walked out of the office with her
hand tucked in the crook of his arm and his hand over hers.

---

They arrived at one of the local restaurants a few minutes later. Once
seated at the small, booth style table near the window, they ate and
enjoyed the others company. He talked about the repairs to the ship,
while she talked about the recent research at Medical. Soon, they
moved closer, sitting elbow to elbow, and began to talk about old
memories aboard the ship, their friendships with the crew that was
their extended family. They kept the conversation light, neither
wanting to bring up the subject of losing Data and both wishing to
keep old ghost away, if only for tonight.

Their meal finished, the plates removed, Jean-Luc turned to Beverly
and asked, "Have you spoken to Wesley recently?"

She shook her head, "No, it has been awhile since I heard from him,"
then smiled, "but I know that he's fine and I will hear from him
soon." She picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip, then asked,
"Have you heard anything from the Titan?"

He nodded. "I received word from the Titan yesterday," he took a sip
of tea then continued, "Will and Deanna are doing well and spoke about
how much they missed their 'family'."

She gave a rueful smile. "Everything has changed and I know that
change is inevitable, but I miss our 'family' too."

He nodded and gave a small sad smile, "As do I."

They sat in silence for several minutes. Then Jean-Luc broke the
silence. "I've missed this the most." He placed his now empty cup on
the table.

She placed her cup upon the table as well and asked softly. "What have
you missed?"

"Our friendship," he sighed, "but most of all, I've missed you."

She placed her hand on top of his hand that rested on the table and
gave it a soft squeeze, then smiled. "I've missed you too, Jean-Luc."

He gave a quiet chuckle and squeezed her hand in return. "I was afraid
we had lost this...this closeness." He sighed before he turned to look
at her, sadness evident in his hazel eyes. "I know I pushed you away
for sometime after the incident with Q and I was afraid that it would
be... that we would lose what we had before."

She shook her head, her blue eyes shining, "Never. I knew you needed
time to sort it all out and I was waiting for you to do just that."
She then turned to look out the window next to their table and spoke
softly, "I'll always wait for you. I've been waiting for you to... to
try again."

"Excuse me?" he asked as he gently squeezed the hand that still held
his on the table. He was afraid that he did not hear her correctly.
"Beverly, what did you say?"

She shook her head, but didn't turn to look at him and continued to
gaze out the window, her fear once again finding its way to the
surface. She watched as the people continued on their journeys down
the busy street in front of the restaurant, "Nothing. It was nothing."

He took his other hand and gentle placed it under her chin so that he
could turn her to face him. He needed to see her and for her to repeat
the words, "Beverly...?"

She closed her eyes and willed the tears away before he could turn her
head. The tears of pain that she knew would fall when she gazed upon
him, because, it had hurt, and still did. It started when he began to
distance himself from her. Their breakfasts and dinners had slowly
faded and she only saw him while on duty. She knew that it all started
long before the incident with Q and the future that he had shown of
him, their divorce. It was only the final straw that shattered their
already fragile relationship.

No, the decline all started after Kess-Prytt. When she spoke the words
she wanted to take back as soon as she said them - "Maybe we should be
afraid?" She nearly turned back when she stepped out of his quarters
that night, after sharing so much between each other thanks to the
mental link. But she let her fear and maybe the ghost of her late
husband and his best friend, Jack Crusher, come between them once
again.

She sighed and turned to face him, "I said that I will always wait for
you." A single tear fell from her eye. "I know that part of the
distance was my fault as well, but I wanted to try and salvage... to
salvage our friendship. But I thought it was lost." She looked into
his eyes then. "When we fought with the Borg I was afraid to confront
you and allowed Lilly to do it in my place." She laughed, "I really
wanted to charge into your Ready Room and tell you that you were being
an ass, but I didn't."

"This was the outcome I was afraid would happen when I told you after
Kess-Prytt that we should be afraid. That we would loose our
friendship, become distant from each other, but because of my fear of
getting closer to you, I ended up nearly loosing what we had anyway."

He placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his
embrace.

She placed her head on his chest as his chin came to rest on top of
her head. She wrapped her arms tightly around his body. He sighed and
closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said, softly.

Her body began to shake against his as she cried softly into his
chest, as he softly rubbed small comforting circles on her back. After
a few minutes, she began to calm and he loosened his hold to allow her
to sit up. As she did, she gave him a water smile but did not move
from his embrace. "I have missed you so much."

He handed her a napkin from the table which she used to gently rub her
face and eyes of tears as he spoke, "I've missed you too and I
understand. I truly am sorry... for everything."

"I know... me too," she sighed. "Friends?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He stood and offered his hand.
"Come, I'll walk you home."

She nodded and took the offered hand.

---

They had taken their time and continued to talk and reminisce as they
made their way to the housing complex near Starfleet medical. 'This
evening is ending way too quickly for me,' Beverly thought as they
approached the door for her quarters. When they stood just out of
sensor range, she turned to her best friend and with a smile spoke,
"Thank you for the dinner and the cry."

"You are very welcome," he said with a smile of his own. "I enjoyed
spending time with you, even to let you cry on my shoulder."

They stood for a few minutes, simply staring at each other - the
tension growing thick. 'I'm not afraid anymore,' she thought as she
gazed at him. She did not want the night to end as it always did, but
she was not sure if they were quite ready to blur the line between
friends and lovers. It could ruin their friendship all over again
after finally patching things up.

"Well, I guess this is goodnight? I know you need to get back to the
ship and I have an early shift at Medical."

He didn't say anything and she sighed inwardly. 'I suppose we are
going back to our old routine.'

"Goodnight, Jean-Luc," she said as she placed her hand on his shoulder
and leaned in to give him chaste kiss on the cheek. His and her eyes
both closed at the contact.

As she started to pull back, she felt his arms encircle her waist as
he pulled her back to him. The suddenness of the move surprised her
and she placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. He moved
his right hand to cradle her face and lightly stroked her cheek. His
hazel eyes, turned dark with desire, gazed into her deep blue as he
leaned forward. The move sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine
and she felt, more then heard him when he whispered, "I want more then
a peck on the cheek, Beverly."

Her breath caught in her throat as his lips claimed hers in a heat
filled kiss. When the arm around her waist pulled her flush against
him, she gasped and he deepened the kiss. Her arms moved to wrap
around his neck as their tongues battled for dominance. He slowly
backed her to the door of her quarters, which opened with a soft hiss
as they entered the sensor's range. Their mouths never loosing contact
as he moved her slowly back into her moonlit quarters. The door closed
softly behind them.

As if he sensed her need to catch her breath, Jean-Luc finally ended
the kiss, and rested his forehead on hers. "Beverly..." he whispered,
"I don't want to push you into something you're not rea..."

Her eyes sparkled with desire as she smiled tenderly, and their eyes
met, "I don't think we should be afraid anymore, Jean-Luc."

His slow, shuddering breathe was the only acknowledgement she needed,
as she pulled him towards her bedroom, until she felt the edge of the
bed behind her. Her gaze moved to his lips and she pulled him in for
another lengthy kiss filled with years of denied and repressed desire.

His hands slowly moved down her body and came to rest on the swell of
her hips as he returned her kiss and made it his own his own. He
slowly broke the kiss, trailing down her neck with open mouth kisses
and slowly lowered them to the bed.

She tilted her head to the side to allow him more access to her neck
as her back pressed into the bed. 'Way too much clothing...' she
thought as she tugged up on the hem of his uniform top.

He chuckled against her throat, "Impatient?"

"Yes," she answered breathlessly, the sensation of his voice on her
throat caused a tremor to run through her body and directly to her
stomach, causing it to tighten with anticipation.

He claimed her mouth again in another breathless kiss before he moved
back onto his knees to allow her access to his top. She pulled it
quickly over his head, not wishing to waste time with the buttons, and
dropped it onto the floor. She moved her hands over his chest and
enjoyed the feel of his tight muscles. "Better?" he asked.

She gave him a seductive smile, "Almost." She said and then tugged at
the top of his pants.

"Wow, you really are impatient!"

"I don't want to wait anymore, Jean-Luc." She answered as she began to
pull his pants down over his hips. "I've been waiting years for this."
And with that, their clothes soon lay scattered on the floor as the
couple began to explore each other's bodies.

He moved up her body, kissing from her navel and stopping between her
breasts, his hands kneading her thighs as he spread them to allow a
better position. "Jean-Luc..." she moaned as she finally felt the
weight of his nude body against hers. She raked her nails slowly down
from the nape of his neck to the small of his back.

He pulled her legs up to rest on his hips, teasing her opening as he
sucked a nipple into his mouth. She arched her back at the touch and
began to rub her pelvis suggestively at his arousal, giving friction
to the area she ached for him to fill. She did not want to think about
tomorrow or what might come of this later. She only wanted to feel him
inside of her. To finally take that last step that she knew they both
wanted and needed.

He continued to lavish attention to one breast then the other, as his
hand moved down her body, across her stomach, until he reached the
small patch of red hair between her thighs. When he reached the hidden
nub, he began slow, sure strokes with the pads of his fingers,
enticing moans of pleasure from her with each pass.

Her hands continued to stroke up and down his back and when he
inserted one finger into her opening, she gripped his shoulders and
released a slow breathy moan at the invasion. Jean-Luc began to pump
his hand and increased the pace when she began to meet each thrust.

He gently pulled the tip of the nipple between his teeth and then
sucked in back into his mouth, then released it with a pop and moved
to capture her mouth in another heated kiss. He pushed another finger
into her opening, stretching the tight muscles of her passage.

Beverly moaned into his mouth, the muscles in her stomach tightened
with the each movement of his fingers.  He released her mouth and
began to move down her body, running his tongue down until he reached
her soft curls.

Her hips bucked to meet his mouth when he sucked the bundle of nerves
in, fingers moving at a faster pace. Her back arched, eyes closed,
head thrown back, the tension in her stomach released, "Oh god!"

He continued to lap between her folds as her body quivered around his
fingers and slowed his pace when she started to come down from her
high. Jean-Luc smiled when he withdrew his fingers and moved back up
her body.

As Beverly's breath returned to normal she opened her eyes to see his
smiling face and felt his arousal tease her opening. She pulled him
down and kissed him, tasting her essence on his lips and tongue, her
arousal grew once again.

Jean-Luc deepened the kiss, using his tongue to explore her mouth he
slowly pushed his arousal into her sheath of tight inner muscles. He
released her mouth to allow for air and both released a low moan when
he was full seated inside. They began a slow, steady pace, until their
breath came in short pants, bodies covered in a thin film of sweat, as
they met over and over again.

He could feel her muscles as they began to contract around his member
and quickened the pace, placing one arm under her leg to change
positions and braced his hands just behind her shoulders. Beverly
could only see stars and shouted his name, as her breath left her body
and her entire frame squeezed him as she released again. He soon
followed as her body milked him of his essence.

His body sated, he dropped his head to the side of hers as he rested
his forehead on the bed, trying to catch his breath. After a few
minutes, he pulled out from her body and rolled to his side, pulling
her into his embrace.

Eyes half closed, she smiled sedately at him. "I think that was worth
the wait," she stated, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

He chuckled, "yes, I would have to agree."

She snuggled into his chest as he wrapped his arm around her and soon
they both drifted off to sleep.

End Flashback
---

She sighed at the memory. His arm draped across her stomach tugged her
back against to his chest as he brushed his lips on the nape of her
neck. "Good morning," he said, sleepily.

"Good morning," she said as she pulled his arm to rest between her
sheet covered breasts and gave a gentle squeeze.

He squeezed her in return and placed a kiss to her neck. "You don't
regret what we did last night, do you?"

He loosened his hold as she turned in his embrace. Palm on his cheek,
she draped her leg over his under the covers, and looked into his
eyes. She kissed him and after a few minutes pulled back and rested
her forehead against his and smiled. "No, I was only enjoying the
memory."

He smiled and pulled her into another kiss, as they began to explore
each other's body again. "How about another one to go with it?" he
asked suggestively.

"Please..." she pleaded.

---

The End

---

A little side note: Over the last several years I've really had a
difficult time with my P/C muse. I haven't been able to finish stories
longer then drabbles or extremely short vignettes in the last five
years. But this one just flowed out and I was really happy that it did
too. It took little to no effort and I think the reason may have had
something to do with thoughts of walking away from TNG and P/C
completely.

Also, most can read in my bio and on my livejournal, I'm currently
hot-n-heavy into the InuYasha fandom. I have written two short
stories, recently, for challenges issued at a LJ community and I think
that helped to unclog my creativeness.

Whatever did the trick, I'm happy it did!