Path: inforamp.net!winternet.com!news1.io.org!chi-news.cic.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news-e2a.gnn.com!newstf01.news.aol.com!newsbf02.news.aol.com!not-for-mail
From: captain973@aol.com (Captain973)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: REPOST: "Discoveries" (3/3, P/C)
Date: 29 Feb 1996 00:22:54 -0500
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Lines: 297
Sender: root@newsbf02.news.aol.com
Message-ID: <4h3d7e$ebn@newsbf02.news.aol.com>
Reply-To: captain973@aol.com (Captain973)
NNTP-Posting-Host: newsbf02.mail.aol.com
Status: N

<<Insert disclaimer here...>>

Chapter 7 - Ten minutes later

	Alpha shuttle landed a few kilometers from the bombed out medical
complex. The hatch
opened, and Dr. Crusher stepped out, looking down into the valley and
gasping in shock. The
medical complex, where she had been only minutes before, was completely
gone.

	Just before the explosion, Alpha shuttle had swung over the
complex and beamed
Crusher aboard, not wanting to take the time to land. Just as they were
lifting off, the bomb had
gone off.

	Just then, the pilot, Ensign Sanders, poked his head out the
entryway. "Doctor," he said,
looking shaken. "There's something coming over the information channels I
think you need to
see." He stepped aside and made room for her to re-enter the shuttle.

	As she sat down in the co-pilot's seat, Ensign Sanders activated
the viewer, and horrific
pictures of the medical complex and another building were shown. The
broadcaster's voice filled
the cabin.

	"Only a few minutes ago, both the Corallux Medical Center and the
Government Building
were completely destroyed by terrorist bombs. The medical center had been
hosting a contingent
of Starfleet Medical officers, who were here to help aid in the medical
effort. The Government
Building was the site of a conference between President Mieyrt and the
Ruling Council, and the
captain of the _USS Enterprise_, Captain Jean-Luc Picard. The remains of
the residents of both
sites are presumably still in the rubble - "

	Beverly was no longer listening. Ensign Sanders quietly turned off
the broadcast and
walked outside, sensing that the doctor would need some time to collect
herself.

	'Jean-Luc,' she thought. 'Not another one, please God, not
another. . .' The thought of
losing the only other man she had loved in her life was intolerable.

	At that moment, even breathing hurt.

	"_Enterprise_ to Alpha shuttle. Repeat: _Enterprise_ to Alpha
shuttle."

	The call pierced through her grief-filled thoughts. She numbly
touched the comm button
and whispered, "This is Dr. Crusher, _Enterprise_." A brief gleeful whoop
could be heard in the
background on the _Enterprise_. "Dr. Crusher, are you all right? We
thought you'd been killed in
the medical complex!" Will Riker's joy in hearing from her was evident.
She managed a wan
smile. "We had just taken off from the landing pad when the explosion
occurred. We just barely
escaped." Then, before Will could say anything else, she quickly asked,
"Have you heard from
the captain?" How she desperately wished he would say yes. But, he didn't.
Riker sighed slightly.
"No, we haven't. And for the same reason we can't use the transporters,
we're having trouble
tracking comm badges. His hasn't registered yet. But," he hurriedly added,
"we are making every
effort. We'll contact you if we find anything." Brushing away the hot
tears of frustration that were
streaming down her face, she quickly muttered, "Crusher out," and
vehemently stabbed at the
comm panel, closing the channel.

	Back on the _Enterprise_, Will Riker strode back to the science
station, where Data was
hard at work tracking comm badge signals. "Anything, Data?" The android
shook his head
resignedly, in a decidedly human manner. "No, sir. However, Commander
LaForge is working on
augmenting the sensors for a finer resolution. But, they will not be ready
for a while yet." Riker
nodded. "All right. Keep me apprised." Data turned back to the console,
and Riker walked down
and sat in the command chair, saying a silent prayer that the seat should
not permanently
become his at the end of this mission.

Chapter 8 - At the same time

	Captain Picard swung low over the smoldering remains of the
medical complex, and
shook his head at the devastation. He tried to keep the thought that
Beverly could possibly be a
part of the smoking rubble out of his mind. Unable to see anything, he
finally broke his self-
imposed silence. "Picard to _Enterprise_"

	Will Riker sat up straighter in his seat. Did he dare to hope?
"_Enterprise_ here. Go
ahead. Captain Picard?"

	Picard heard the concern and relief in Riker's voice. He belatedly
realized he should
have reported in a lot earlier. "Yes, Number One. Have you heard from Dr.
Crusher?" Straight to
the point.

	Riker relaxed back in the chair. "It's good to hear from you, sir.
We thought that you had
been in the government building when it exploded. And yes, we spoke to Dr.
Crusher just a few
minutes ago. She's fine, and we've been tracking her shuttle. She's headed
back to the main
landing area, where they're starting to set up a triage area."

	Picard could hardly keep the grin off his face. Relief flooded his
voice. "Acknowledged,
Commander. And, thank you." He closed the connection.

	Riker smiled. He had one more duty to perform. "Riker to Alpha
shuttle. Dr. Crusher?" A
pause. Then, a weary, "Crusher here. Go ahead." Will's grin widened. "Just
thought you'd like to
know, Doctor, that we just spoke to Captain Picard. He's alive and well,
and headed for you at
the landing area."

	A thousand thoughts were going through Beverly's mind. But the
most prominent one
was 'He's alive, he's safe, and he's on his way. . .' She quickly thanked
Riker and stared out the
window at the rapidly approaching landing pad. 'Hang on, Jean-Luc. Just a
few more minutes. . .'

Chapter 9 - Thirty minutes later

	All _Enterprise_ shuttlecraft had been dispatched to Corallux to
search for survivors.
And indeed, there were survivors. All were being brought to the main
landing area on Corallux,
just outside the capitol city. The center of the landing area was being
used for shuttles, while the
rest was organized as a triage area in place of the Medical Center. Dr.
Crusher was directing
Corallan and _Enterprise_ medical teams, somehow managing to perform her
duties and still
look around every few minutes, searching for someone.

	Captain Picard landed in the center of the triage area and left
the shuttle, eagerly looking
around. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar splash of red.

	Across a crowded landing pad, their eyes met. 'Oh my God. . .'
went through both their
minds.

	Heedless of the people that got in his way, Jean-Luc shoved his
way through the crowd.
Beverly likewise did the same.

	They met in the middle of the landing pad, running into each
other's arms like a pair of
star-crossed lovers separated by oceans and deserts and years, just like
in the movies. Jean-Luc
held her so tight he thought both of them would break ribs. She had never
felt anything so
welcome. At the same moment, they both began sobbing. But these were tears
of joy.

Chapter 10 - Two days later

	The medical ships _Salk_ and _Brazleton_ arrived and took over the
medical operation
on Corallux.

	All _Enterprise_ crew were accounted for when the ship left orbit
and warped on to her
next mission: shore leave on Risa. 

	Between all the briefings, reports, and conversations with
Starfleet, Jean-Luc and
Beverly had seen little of each other, or anyone else, since their joyful
reunion and return to the
ship.

	But, the reports were all filed, the briefings completed,
Starfleet satisfied, and the
beleaguered crew of the starship _Enterprise_ were now enjoying a quiet
trip. And finally, the
captain and Chief Medical Officer had time for dinner.

	"Come." Jean-Luc stood as the door opened, and Beverly Crusher
entered the room.
They smiled at each other shyly. "Hi," she said. "Hi," he replied. Then
they grinned again. He
walked over to the meticulously laid out table and pulled out her chair
for her, pushing it back in
after she had sat. After uncovering the dishes and pouring the wine, he
sat as well, and they
shared a quiet meal, and the only conversation that took place was what
their eyes
communicated in stolen glances across the table.

	Finally, the agony of eating was over and they retired to the
couch. There, they
exchanged another shy smile. He took her hands in his and squeezed them.
"I'm sorry," they
both said at the same time. He gestured for her to continue. She looked
down at their joined
hands, then up at his face, and those gentle hazel eyes she loved so much.
Beverly took a deep
breath.

	"I'm sorry I blew up at you like I did. That night, when you made
that. . .offer, I was
scared. More than scared. I was terrified. I didn't want to lose you as a
friend, by making that
friendship into something more. But, our experiences over the last few
days have made me
realize that, by furthering our relationship, I won't lose a friend, and
I'll gain so much more. That
we'll gain so much more."

	Jean-Luc smiled at her, his heart about to burst with joy at what
she said. He had waited
over twenty years to hear her say that, and he wasn't going to pass it up
now. "Beverly, I'm sorry
I pushed you like I did. But I hope you realize that, when you've loved
someone as long as I've
loved you, you tend to get a little impatient."

	She slid a hand out of his grasp and reached up, running her
fingertips down his cheek.
He leaned toward her touch, and grazed the palm of her hand with his lips.
"I love you, Jean-Luc
Picard. I have for a very long time. And, somehow, I'm going to spend the
rest of my life showing
you."

	To prove it, her hand circled the back of his head, and he let her
other hand go, and
pulled her against him. Their lips met for a first, tentative kiss, and
then for a second, more
exploratory one.

	He pulled away slightly, and whispered against her mouth,
"Beverly, marry me." Her
mouth smiled beneath his. "I thought you'd never ask. . ." He brushed her
lips with his. "Is that a
yes?" She held him tight and nodded. "Yes."

	Without another word, he stood and picked her up, and carried her
in his arms to the
bedroom. . .and their future.

Epilogue

	In the snow covered yard, a group of small children busily
constructed a snow fort. Their
sentry stood guard stoically, and regarded the two adults with glittering
button eyes. The man
pulled on a pair of thick gloves, as the woman beside him smiled at the
snowman. Disregarding
the snowman's watchful gaze, the man placed his arm around the woman's
waist, and she
leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. After all these years,
they still felt that charge.
Two children, five grandchildren, and twenty nine years of marriage
between them, and they
were still as much in love as the day they spoke their wedding vows.

	As they rounded the corner of the partially constructed snow fort,
the children saw them.
They ran towards the couple, all eagerly talking at once and trying to
capture their grandparents
undivided attention. Jean-Luc turned to Beverly, smiled, and gestured to
the snow fort. "The fort
awaits, as do it's troops." Beverly took his hand, and they settled down
in the snow to help their
grandchildren finish the fort. 

The End

****^****^****^****^****^****^****

"All of us have violent instincts. We have evolved from predators.
....Well, not me, of course. I've just been programmed by you predators."

---The Holographic Doctor, ST: Voyager

****^****^****^****^****^****^****