NEW: TNG The Lazarus Dilemma 12/? P/C
Heather Smyth
Author: Heather Smyth
Series: TNG
Part: 12/?
Rating: NC17
Code: P/C
Disclaimer and summary...see part one.
It was early evening on the ship and Jean-Luc's
discussion with Selar was causing him to become angry and irritated.
"Look I just want to read to my son. Can't you do something about my
vision?"
Selar sighed.
"No Captain I cannot."
Jean-Luc scowled.
"There must be something surely.a temporary solution."
"I am sorry Captain but I am not prepared to administer any extraneous drugs
or therapies. It could set back your recovery."
The Captain grimaced.
"But I want to read to my son and I can't with my sight the way it is now."
With great forbearance, Selar kept her voice even.
"Captain Picard I have already explained why your sight has been affected.
You are receiving the appropriate treatment and it will rectify itself in
due course. You will just have to be patient."
"But."
"Captain why don't you utilise an audio book? You can still be with your son
while you both listen to it."
Jean-Luc glowered and grumbled,
"It's not the same."
"Well I am sorry Sir. Now would you like a cup of tea?"
This was a new development. Up until now Selar had forbidden him his
favourite brew. He looked up in surprise and nodded.
"Yes I would.thank you."
She was gone only a minute and returned with a steaming cup.
"Doctor Picard had noted in your records that you prefer Earl Grey tea, hot,
black and unsweetened. I hope this is to your taste."
She gently lifted his head and placed a straw in his mouth while gently
warning,
"It may not be as hot as you like.I need to protect against scalding."
Jean-Luc drew the liquid into his mouth and sighed with pleasure. She was
right, it wasn't as hot as he would have liked, but it was delicious
nonetheless. As the warmth spread in his stomach he closed his eyes and
smiled.
"What made you change your mind?"
The Doctor tilted her head.
"You are progressing well. I saw no need to deny you your preferred beverage
any longer; however I will restrict the amount you ingest."
Jean-Luc sighed. It had been a very long day. Although he was given regular
updates from the Bridge and Will came down as often as he could, to be
confined and immobile in Sick Bay while his beloved Beverly was missing ate
at him, eroding his patience and stamina. He swallowed and nodded.
"I understand. Thank you Doctor."
Hearing the subtle dismissal, Selar bowed slightly, put the now empty cup in
the recycler and silently left the room. Jean-Luc gathered his thoughts and
stared at the ceiling.
"Picard to Ensign Miles."
"Miles here Captain."
"Ensign could you bring Jacques down here please? I would like to say
goodnight to him."
"Of course Captain. Would you like to see the twins too?"
Jean-Luc gave that a moment's thought.
"Yes Ensign, I believe I would."
"Very well Captain, we'll be there shortly. Miles out."
The Captain sighed and closed his eyes.
"Where are you my love? Are you all right? We'll find you Beverly.hold
on.hold on mon coeur."
In all there were six shuttles parked along the sandy beach.
For two hundred metres in each direction, Enterprise crew scoured the sand,
while over head and out to sea, two shuttles methodically swept back and
forth, their scanners and sensors penetrating into the water. Will and Data
stood at the shore line, staring out at the low-flying shuttles, one with
forlorn despondency, the other with limitless patience. When Will spoke, his
voice showed his low spirits.
"This is getting us nowhere."
Data cast a look at his CO and frowned.
"It has only been one point four hours Commander."
The big man grunted.
"What about the thirty eight hours at the campsite?"
Data shrugged.
"All thorough investigations take time Sir."
Folding his arms, Will lowered his gaze and stared at his feet.
"The scientists all drowned Data. How the hell did it happen? Were they
taken out to sea and abandoned? Were they in a craft that sank? How the hell
did seven grown men drown?"
Although the questions were largely rhetorical, Data answered nonetheless.
"Unknown Sir, but we will keep investigating until we have the answers.
Captain Picard would expect no less. By the way Commander, how is the
Captain?"
Will sighed and ran a hand over his head.
"He's coming along all right. By this evening I think Selar might let him
sit up."
Data nodded.
"That is good. He must be very concerned. Who is caring for his children?"
Will frowned and lifted his head, giving the Second Officer a perplexed
look.
"I.ah...I don't know."
Data, seeing his CO's discomfort, changed the subject.
"Once we have the results of our search, I will correlate everything and
perhaps we will gain information that will lead us to Doctor Picard."
Will grunted.
"Yeah well it can't come quick enough for me. Have you spoken to Geordi
about augmenting the Enterprise's sensors?"
"Yes Commander. He suggests we may have more success with our sensors in a
few hours. The solar activity is abating but it is a temporary situation.
The sun is a particularly active star."
With a growl, Will scratched his cheek.
"Just like everything else about this damn situation! I'm going back to the
ship Data, keep me appraised."
The android nodded.
"Aye Sir."
The pain deep within her head made Beverly cry silently. She
had woken to the pervasive invasion of her brain, the memories accessed
scrolling by, sometimes at phenomenal speed, sometimes so slowly she
relished the opportunity to revisit long lost or seldom seen visions of her
past. The aliens seemed to be concentrating on her medical knowledge,
lingering over her memories of medical school and subsequent experiences as
a qualified Doctor. She endured the invasion for several hours before it
abruptly stopped. Into her line of sight appeared an alien. It dripped some
solution into her eyes and turned away. Beverly, seething with indignation
and fear, concentrated all her meagre resources and tried to move. The index
finger of her right hand twitched then rose a few centimetres. Immediately
an alarm sounded and the alien reappeared. It stared down at Beverly before
disappearing from sight. The sting in her shoulder told Beverly more of the
drug had been administered. She struggled to move the finger again, but try
as she might, it was useless. Once again she was immobile.
The probes in her brain became inactive and the memory theft stopped. She
felt the probe in her vagina move and the pain returned deep inside her.
Hands touched her lower belly and she cried out silently as something was
pushed through the skin of her lower right abdomen. She felt the cold metal
slide through her flesh and pierce something within her. Gasping and sobbing
she called,
"Stop!"
The voice that answered was completely dispassionate.
"No."
"What are you doing to me?"
"We are harvesting."
"Harvesting what?"
"That does not concern you."
Beverly was incensed.
"Doesn't concern me? You're taking samples from me!"
The voice sounded bored.
"You will be silent."
"I will not! Stop what you're doing!"
"If you will not be silent we will hurt you."
Beverly almost laughed outright.
"You're already hurting me! Have you no concept of pain?"
The procedure halted.
"You are feeling pain?"
"Yes!"
The voice took on a note of contrition.
"We are sorry.we did not know."
In exasperation, Beverly had to stifle the urge to shout.
"Why did you think I was crying?"
The alien appeared near her head.
"Crying?"
Beverly sighed.
"Crying is a response to certain stimuli. It can be emotional or physical in
nature but most times it indicates distress, but not always. In this case
crying was caused by pain, fear and outrage."
The alien bent forward and delicately sniffed Beverly's face. It
straightened and seemed to sigh.
"Is this why your eyes.leaked?"
"Yes. Crying causes the lachrymal glands near the eyes to excrete excess
fluid."
"Your eyes are dry now."
Beverly sighed.
"Because I can't blink."
There was a momentary pause.
"If you could blink.your eyes would be moist?"
"Yes. The lachrymal gland produces fluid constantly to lubricate the eyes.
It is distributed by blinking."
"We will remedy this."
The alien went out of sight but soon returned with a small metal cylinder.
It was placed at the corner of her left eye and she felt a sharp pain. This
procedure was repeated on her right eye and, after a few minutes she tried
and successfully blinked.
"Thank you."
The alien inclined its head.
"We will continue."
The pain in Beverly's lower abdomen returned and she cried out.
"No! Stop.please!"
The voice was tired.
"We apologise but we cannot. We must harvest."
"But."
"It would be better if you thought of your.family.and ignored what is
happening."
"I can't! It hurts too much!"
"We are sorry."
Whatever it was that had penetrated her skin was slowly withdrawn. Just as
Beverly was breathing a sigh of relief, it suddenly pierced her on the other
side. She moaned and tried to writhe.
"My ovaries! You're taking samples from my ovaries!"
"Be quiet."
"No! Stop please.you don't need that."
Instead of answering, the probe was pushed deeper inside and Beverly cried
out.
"No.please, no more!"
The vaginal probe suddenly heated up, the warmth radiating out and pervading
her lower abdomen. Beverly silently sighed with relief.
"Is that better?"
She swallowed.
"Yes."
"We will continue."
The Doctor rallied her waning strength.
"Tell me what it is you seek. I might be able to help you."
The voice was suspicious.
"Why would you help?"
The red head wished she could smile.
"Two reasons. One, I am a Doctor and as such I have sworn an oath to not
only do no harm, but to help wherever I can. The other reason is because I
am a member of Star Fleet. We are bound to help those in need."
The voice grew derisive.
"As long as it does not interfere with your Prime Directive."
"You know about that?"
"Yes."
Beverly inwardly sighed.
"It is true that the Prime Directive sometimes prevents us from helping
those in need, but as long as who we wish to help is of a similar
technological level as us, there should be no problem and that seems to be
the case with you."
There was an ominous silence before the voice returned.
"You cannot help."
Frustrated, Beverly snorted silently.
"How do you know? Tell me what it is you look for, what it is you need."
The alien appeared at Beverly's head.
"You are a healer.we understand your motives. We will discuss this."
It moved away and Beverly called out,
"Wait.come back.talk to me.I don't want to be alone!"
The soft footsteps slapped wetly as they receded from her hearing. Beverly
swallowed and stared up at the white featureless ceiling, blinking away her
tears.
The bed had been raised and Jean-Luc sat up, his head
slowly spinning. Selar stood by his side, a hypospray in her hand.
"I can give you medication for your vertigo Captain."
He shook his head, his eyes closed, wincing as he did so.
"No thank you Doctor, I would like to see if I can cope without additional
drugs."
Selar sighed.
"Very well Sir."
A few minutes later he opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Looking
around he gingerly lifted one arm. Selar immediately grabbed his wrist.
"That would be inadvisable Captain."
Jean-Luc gave a nod and made sure he bent his arm at the elbow, keeping his
shoulders still. Mollified, Selar let go of his wrist and nodded.
"That is acceptable Sir."
She turned and offered him a drink. He took the straw and sucked, the tea
filling his mouth. Swallowing, he sighed and managed a smile.
"Are my children here?"
"Yes Captain they are waiting outside with Ensign Miles."
Jean-Luc closed his eyes and took another deep breath.
"May I be disconnected from the biowaste unit now?"
Selar was about to shake her head in the negative when she saw what an
effort her Captain was making in hiding both his pain and dizziness. With
him now allowed a small amount of movement she could not, in good
conscience, deny him his request. She gave a silent nod of her head, unseen
by the Captain. He didn't know of her decision until she began to disconnect
him. He endured the embarrassment stoically and sighed when he was once
again lying free of paraphernalia. Selar waited until he opened his eyes and
looked at her.
"You will let someone know when you need to void your waste."
He nodded tiredly and sighed.
"Of course."
The Doctor nodded.
"Very well, I will allow your children in to see you now."
Jean-Luc raised another smile.
"Thank you Doctor."
His smile grew to a grin when Jacques made his way past the pram and rushed
into the room.
"Papa! Look what I bought to show you!"
From behind the boy's back his little hands produced a mysterious construct.
Jean-Luc's grin still in place, he frowned and looked expectantly.
"What have you got there?"
Jacques' look of disbelief was priceless.
"It my dragon Papa!"
Now seeing the green and red paint.and lots of glitter, Jean-Luc's eyebrows
rose.
"Ah! Of course. Bring it over here son so I can see it better."
With Sally's help, Jacques was placed on the bed, grinning up at his now
almost upright father. Careful not to move his shoulders, Jean-Luc took the
dragon from the lad and inspected it.
"Well Jacques.this is the best dragon I've seen today."
The boy giggled.
"Oh Papa.how many dragons have you seen today?"
The Captain made sure he looked as though he was seriously considering the
question.
"Well, let me see. One was brought in this morning to have its claws
trimmed, and this afternoon Doctor Harrington saw one who's fire had gone
out.so.yours is the best out of three."
Jacques' incredulous look made the man laugh.
"I'm having you on Jacques. I've only seen one dragon today, but it's still
the best."
The boy chuckled and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his father and
snuggling into his chest, the dragon forgotten on the bed. Jean-Luc returned
the hug as best he could, tears pricking his eyes. While all this had gone
on, Sally had taken Matthieu out of the double pram and was amusing him with
a soft stuffed cat. Henri waited patiently while his brother received all
the attention. Jacques pulled back and sat up, seeing that his father wanted
to see his other sons. Matthieu was placed in his arms and Sally picked
Henri up, Jacques helped Jean-Luc to settle his older twin in one arm then
watched as the younger boy was placed in the other arm. The Captain looked
down at his little boys and chuckled as Matthieu crowed at him. When he
spoke his voice was soft and very deep.
"How are they sleeping?"
Sally smiled.
"Very well Sir. I feed them dinner at about eighteen hundred, bath them both
and by nineteen thirty they're both in bed. They play a while then they nod
off and sleep through until about six or seven."
Jean-Luc nodded.
"And the feeding?"
"No problem Captain. They're tolerating the added grains really well and the
fruit goes down a treat."
Henri yawned and lifted his legs to grip his feet. Jacques giggled and
gently tickled the baby, making Henri gurgle. Jean-Luc watched with
amusement before asking,
"And you Ensign, are you getting sufficient rest?"
Sally reddened immediately.
"Oh yes Captain, you needn't worry about me Sir."
Jean-Luc lifted his eyes from his sons and frowned at the young woman.
"I will most certainly worry about you Ensign. You are looking after my
children and I deeply appreciate your efforts. Did you know you are the only
person Doctor Picard is happy to have baby sit?"
Sally's blush deepened.
"Oh Captain.I.I.no Sir I didn't know."
"Well it's true. Now I want you to promise me something."
The woman swallowed and tried to cover her smile.
"Yes Sir?"
"I want you to promise me you're not taking on too much. You told me there
are others willing to help.avail yourself of them."
The smile became a grin.
"Yes Captain. I will."
The Ensign got a chair and sat while the Captain played with his sons.
It was Jacques who noticed his father was sweating. Showing maturity beyond
his tender years, the boy caught Sally's attention and frowned at her. The
Ensign stood, curious as to what was bothering the lad. One look at her
Captain had her very concerned. Jean-Luc was pale and there was a slight
tremor in his hands. Sweat trickled freely down his face and his eyes were
dull.
"Sir? Captain Picard? Are you all right Sir?"
The man looked up and swallowed, giving a slight shake of his head. Sally
didn't hesitate. She slapped her comm. badge.
"Miles to Selar."
"Selar here."
"Doctor I need you in Captain Picard's room immediately."
"On my way."
The Doctor entered with a hypospray in one hand and a tricorder in the
other. She administered a drug and scanned the Captain as Sally took the
twins and put them back in the pram. Jacques slid off the bed and went to
Sally, his thumb stuck in his mouth as he stared wide-eyed at his father,
his arm wrapped around her legs. While the Ensign tried to quell the boy's
fear, Selar spoke softly to her CO.
"You have done enough for one day Captain. I have given you a potent
analgesic and you require rest. I will lower the bed."
He raised one hand and shook his head, his voice husky and ragged.
"No.wait one moment.please."
Selar paused and frowned.
"Captain."
Jean-Luc opened his eyes and shook his head.
"Please.let me say goodnight to my children."
The Doctor stood back from the bed and sighed.
"Very well."
Jean-Luc beckoned to his eldest son and smiled.
"Jacques?"
The boy stepped forward but faltered as his father closed his eyes and
swallowed. His voice was very small when he said,
"Papa?"
The Captain opened his eyes and let his son see his love.
"It's all right Jacques.come here please."
Taking halting steps, the boy approached his father, his thumb stuck firmly
in his mouth. Sally followed him and when he was close enough, lifted him
onto the bed.
Jean-Luc slowly lifted one arm and smiled at his son.
"I need a hug Jacques."
At first the little boy wrapped one arm around his father, not willing to
give up his thumb, but as Jean-Luc settled his arm over his back, Jacques
slipped his thumb from his mouth and wrapped his other arm around his
father. His small body trembled as he started to cry, making Jean-Luc's eyes
fill with tears. The Captain lowered his face and kissed the top of his son's
head, whispering,
"It's all right Jacques.everything's all right."
The boy shook his head and pulled away. Through his sobs he managed.
"No it's not Papa. I want Maman.I want you to come home. It's not the same.
Sally doesn't do the voices like you do when she reads to me. She makes me
comb my hair different.I have to tuck myself in in the morning..it's not the
same Papa. Come home Papa.please?"
The man sighed and used his thumbs to wipe away the boy's tears.
"I can't come home yet Jacques but soon.I promise."
The boy fell forward onto his father's chest and sobbed, his voice muffled.
"What about Maman. Can you bring her home?"
Jean-Luc sighed.
"Not yet."
The boy's voice grew to a wail.
"Why? You're the Captain.you can do anything!"
Jean-Luc pulled his son to him and closed his eyes in anguish. Jacques
dissolved into more sobs and clung to his father. The twins started to cry
and Sally went to Jacques, gently tugging his shoulders.
"Come on Jacques, it's time to take the twins home. They need their
dinner.will you help me feed them? Maybe you can have a bath with them too."
Unwilling to release his father, Jacques tightened his grip, causing
Jean-Luc to grimace and Selar to step up to the bed. Between the Doctor and
the Ensign, they got the boy to let go of his father but he resisted their
efforts to lift him from the bed, struggling and shouting.
"NO! I want to stay with Papa!"
He was becoming increasingly distressed when Jean-Luc's deep commanding
voice cut through his racket.
"Jacques!"
It was a tone the boy seldom heard from his father, but he reacted
immediately. Suddenly still and quiet, he looked owlishly at the man,
hiccupping occasionally. Jean-Luc softened his voice but the inherent
authority was unmistakable.
"You will go back to our quarters and behave yourself. I will be home as
soon as I can."
Tears sild silently down the boy's face but he nodded and said quietly,
"Yes Papa."
Sally helped him from the bed and it was then she noticed the twins had
stopped crying. As she left with her charges she marvelled,
"My God.even babies obey him!"
As Selar lowered the bed, Jean-Luc marshalled his remaining strength to
spear her with his intense gaze.
"You will discharge me as soon as possible. My children need me."
Knowing now was not the time to argue, the Doctor inclined her head.
"Yes Captain."
She administered a sedative and, as the man slipped into sleep, she noted
his stern expression didn't alter.
"You are a very determined man Captain Picard."