Chapter Text
Chapter 2 – Waking Up
Jean-Luc’s eyes fluttered open then shut again. He hadn’t been this relaxed in, well he couldn’t remember the last time he had been so relaxed. He let a smile spread across his lips as he remembered Beverly saying something to him, and then it was if he was floating on a very happy cloud through the universe.
Recalling where he was, his eyes flew open in panic, but he didn’t move. He was paralyzed by fear, suddenly recalling the events that led to his current situation. A situation he never thought he would be in, but there he was. His head rested in Beverly’s lap, his body was suddenly very tense, and his hand was, OMG, his hand was snuggled between her legs!
He dared to let his eyes drift upward to see that she was sleeping soundly. He let out a sigh of relief, trying not to move before he figured out some way to extract his body from its current position. He watched her face for any sign that she might awaken soon but she seemed rather relaxed. One of her hands was resting on his shoulder and the other on his jaw. He could feel the warmth from her hand on his face, and he had to resist the urge to lean into it.
This was her fault. Now he would have to admit that she was right; he hated doing that. Yet, he had to admit, there was no place he’d rather be right now. The soft scent of her perfume and even softer lap where his head now rested was more than intoxicating. He wondered just how long he had been asleep and just how much longer he could pretend to still be asleep.
Her position didn’t look as comfortable as his. She had somehow managed to fold her legs to the side and she was half-reclining against the back of the sofa, but her head was at an awkward angle. He should wake her up, but instead he couldn’t stop staring at her beautiful face. She did look peaceful and relaxed. He knew she also had her sleep disrupted by the recent problems with the ship.
And then his bladder started to remind him it had been several hours since he last relieved himself. The one thing he was especially grateful for was that he had not woken up with a raging erection. Although if he stayed there so close to her, it was a distinct possibility. Her breasts were mere inches from his face, and he still didn’t know how to remove his hand from its current position. She was much, much to close. He took a deep breath and –
“Bridge to Captain Picard,” sounded the deep voice of Will Riker.
Beverly’s eyes open. Jean-Luc panicked and shifted suddenly. It was an awkward motion and as he struggled to not instinctively grab onto the nearest object, which was her breast, he turned sharply and rolled to his right. Misjudging the depth of the couch, because he had never been on it with his head in someone’s lap, meant he rolled and rather unceremoniously fell off and to the floor with a loud thud. A thud so loud he wondered if the Bridge crew had heard it.
“Dammit!” he cried as he was sure he had injured himself in his haste.
“Jean-Luc!” Beverly said as she realized what had just happened. “Are you alright?” she said moving to help him up.
“I’m fine,” he said as he crawled to his knees and then to his feet. A deep crimson blush covering his neck and ears in the process. Well, that’s one way to diffuse the situation, he thought.
“Captain, is everything alright?” came Riker’s follow up call from the Bridge.
“Yes, Number One. Everything’s fine,” he lied. “What can I do for you?”
He was looking at Beverly, not quite sure what she was thinking. Was she laughing?
“Engineering reports that we now have warp drive available. We’d like to confirm our next destination with you,” Riker explained.
“Uhm, yes, I’ll be right out. Dr. Crusher and I were just, well, we were just discussing that,” he lied again.
Beverly’s eyebrows went up, the question was clear – What? She stood and stretched, suddenly realizing her bladder was now shouting at her. “Excuse me,” she said before darting off to his private bathroom.
He smiled and ran his hand over his head as he took a quick inventory of his body. It was only his ego that was bruised it seemed. And he knew he would be next in line for the head before being able to go to the Bridge. He took his seat behind his desk and waited for her to return.
“So, we were discussing our next destination?” she said coming out of the bathroom. “You know Pacifica is only a few hours away now that we have warp again. Everyone could use some shore leave,” she suggested.
He stood and replied, “Excuse me a moment, hold that thought,” as he quickly made a beeline for the bathroom. After relieving himself, he washed his hands and looked over his face in the mirror. He splashed cold water on his face to help him try to think clearly. Pacifica? Wouldn’t that be a nice follow up to the last week of hell?
Of course, he would have to pretend to not want to go on shore leave, and she would make him relent. He would make a big deal out of acquiescing and then she would, hopefully invite him to join her on some activity to try to get him to relax. Maybe he could convince her to try another experiment, as she had put it. After all, he was more relaxed than he could recall. He shook his head and went back to join her.
He sat back in his chair and waited for her arguments to begin. Instead, she just sat there with the most adorable smirk and sparkle in her eyes. He suddenly felt like one of her specimens she was examining under a microscope.
“What?” he said giving into her silence.
“Admit it, you might have to give poor Mr. Barclay some latitude on his holodeck adventures. You fell asleep in under a minute, Jean-Luc,” and she punctuated his name with the arching of her eyebrows.
He wanted to protest but she was right. “I’ll admit you were right, Beverly. I’ll let Barclay pass with a reprimand about his use images of real people.” He gave her a small, embarrassed smile before continuing, “So, Pacifica?”
“Think about it, Jean-Luc. Those beautiful ocean views,” she said coming to sit on the edge of his desk. He was thinking about the view of her in her dark green bathing suit.
“Well, the crew probably does deserve some R&R after this past week,” he said, letting her easily convince him.
Her smile broadened as she stood to leave, but before she bent and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, you won’t regret it.” He sighed and smiled as she headed toward the door. “And maybe, we can try a few other sleep experiments?”
The doors closed on his smile.