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From: captain973@aol.com (Captain973)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: REPOST: "Pictures of Eternity" (3/4, P/C)
Date: 28 Feb 1996 23:21:37 -0500
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<<Insert disclaimer here...>>

	Dr. Selar had quietly escorted him into his wife's office. She
looked haggard and drawn,
and as aggrieved as a Vulcan can look. "She is alive, for now. We have her
on full life support,
and she is in a deep coma. We have repaired the damage caused by the
blaster, as well as a
portion of the damage caused by her subsequent impact into the wall. The
rest of the healing is
up to her. You may see her now, if you wish." He stared the desktop
blankly, his eyes focused on
his daughter's baby picture sitting next to a stack of padds. He heard the
words in a daze, and
vaguely recalled thanking the doctor as he walked out of the office.

	A chair had been left at the bedside and he sank into it
gratefully. As he took Beverly's
hand in his, he studied her face intently. Aside from being slightly pale,
she merely appeared as
though she were sleeping, and would open her eyes and smile at him like
she always did. He
kissed the palm of her hand, as he had countless times before, and tried
to push from his mind
the fact that it might be one of the last. His head rested on the edge of
the bed, and he closed his
eyes tiredly.

	*A barely controlled scream filled the room. It was followed by a
fevered gasping, and
another breathless groan. Then, finally, a thin, reedy wail, and a
relieved cry sounded. "It's a
girl!" Alyssa Ogawa exclaimed. The baby was wrapped and placed in Beverly
Picard's tired
arms, and she smiled at her daughter for the first time. She kissed the
warm, soft forehead as
her fingers stroked the fine brown hair that covered her head. Jean-Luc
stared at his daughter
with amazement, his eyes wide and proud. His wife gazed at him with happy
eyes, and she said
softly, "Want to hold your daughter, Papa?"

	He was filled with complete, total joy as he held his baby girl in
his arms for the first time.
"So tiny. So perfect," he whispered, as he bent down and kissed Beverly
gently, with tears
streaming down his face. His tears were matched by his wife, and they both
wondered if it was
possible to love anymore than they already did... and they both answered
yes...*

	"Captain Picard? Captain, wake up."

	Counselor Troi's voice came flooding through his mind and pushed
away the blissful
memories. He sat up, ignoring the cramp in his lower back. Alarmed, his
head jerked up and
quickly took in the tell-tales on the biobed's monitor. "Is Beverly all
right? Nothing's - "

	"She's still the same, Captain. I came to check on you, though."
He quickly squelched
the flash of irritation that cropped up. "I'm fine, Counselor." She shook
her head. "No, Captain,
you're not. You're exhausted. And, you have a daughter who would very much
like to be with her
father right now." At the mention of his daughter, he bit back the angry
retort he was about to
fling at Deanna. She was right. He had other obligations besides the one
to his wife. He stood
and bent slightly, placing a gentle kiss on Beverly's lips. Bending even
lower, he whispered into
her ear, "I love you, Beverly. Please come back to me soon."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

	Jean-Luc studied his sleeping daughter for a moment, then left her
bedroom and headed
for his own with a feeling of dread. He slipped off his boots, making only
that one concession to
comfort. He eased onto his side of the bed, and rolled onto his back to
stare at the ceiling. His
elbow brushed against Beverly's empty pillow, and he turned and stared
hollowly at it. Here, in
the privacy of his bedroom, the one he shared with the comatose woman now
lying in sickbay,
the barriers and walls came crumbling down, and the captain of the
starship _Enterprise_ sobbed
until the oblivion of sleep claimed him.
	
	*"Jean-Luc, where are we going? And can I take the blindfold off
yet?" He batted
playfully at her hands, keeping her from pulling at the blindfold she
wore. "It's a surprise. Now
behave." He could almost see the eyebrow arching underneath the blindfold.
"Jean-Luc Picard, I
_always_ behave." She wished she could see him, so she could smack him as
he erupted into
laughter.

	"SURPRISE!! Happy birthday Beverly!!" Jean-Luc pulled the
blindfold off to reveal Ten
Forward decked out in birthday decorations. Will, who was holding Beth
Picard on his arm,
Deanna, Geordi, Worf, and Data, were all smiling, surrounding a large
chocolate-frosted cake,
covered with sparkling candles. Next to the cake on the table was a stack
of brightly wrapped
gifts. Beverly turned a stunned gaze to her husband. "You did all this?"
He planted a quick,
smacking kiss on her mouth, much to everyone's amusement. "I had help. Do
you like it?" She
threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Like it? I love it! Thank
you!" And then the
second kiss in as many minutes occurred, but this one lasted far longer
than the first...*

	Beth's disgruntled cries shattered Jean-Luc's peaceful dreams. He
fixed a bleary eye on
the chronometer next to the bed. The numbers displayed caused him to sit
bolt upright in bed.
*1030? I'm over three hours late for my shift! Why didn't Beverly - * Then
he remembered. The
events of the previous day came flooding back to him in a horrific
torrent. He realized that no
one had paged him because they thought he could use the rest. They were
probably right, but
after the dreams he'd been having all night, sleep was the furthest
thought from his mind.

	He got up and went to get his daughter out of bed. Beth was in a
horrendous mood after
being left in her crib four hours longer than usual. Jean-Luc scooped her
into his arms and talked
to her in a quiet, soothing voice to calm her down. After he had changed
and fed her, Beth was
in her usual good spirits once again. Watching his daughter toddle through
the living room,
smiling and laughing, helped to lighten the heavy weight upon his heart.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

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

"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

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