Baby Come Back
Chapters Sixteen Through Eighteen
Song is "Believe" By Cher
Chapter Sixteen
Two days later, Picard was sober, but very sombre as he walked into the hearing room. He was accompanied by Deanna. They took their seats at a table opposite Beverly’s.
Beverly did not seem very happy either as she sat at her table. She was by herself and without representation. Not even Wesley was with her for support.
Deanna spoke softly to Picard as they waited for the hearing to begin. “I have informed the admiral of the situation between you and Beverly. The emotional and psychological necessity for the two of you not to be divorced, as well as your desires to stay with Beverly.”
“Let’s hope that helps in saving what little is left of Beverly’s and my marriage.” Picard whispered back to her.
They all stood as Admiral Necheyev walked into the room. “Take your seats and we will begin.” She announced with little emotion. “I want to ask you, Doctor Crusher-Picard, if you are absolutely sure you want to go through with this.”
Beverly nodded her head and weakly said, “Yes.” “Well, I want to inform you that a very important piece of information has come to my attention. Consequently, we will require more time to hear this case than we have allotted today.”
Beverly looked uneasy as she heard the admiral speak. She wiggled in her chair as the admiral continued.
“I want to ask you a question, Doctor Picard.” She seemed to have intentionally left out the Crusher in Beverly’s hyphenated name. “Why didn’t you inform the court that you are with child?”
“I…” She looked towards Deanna and gave her a very evil look. She knew Deanna had to be behind the revelation of this piece of information. “I have no logical explanation as to why I did not tell you that I am pregnant.”
“Yet you intentionally concealed this fact, did you not?”
“Yes.” Beverly kept her answer simple and precise.
“I need a better answer as to why you did not inform the court.” Necheyev stated matter of factly. “I expect to hear that answer tomorrow also. Because of this, I have postponed this hearing until tomorrow at 1400 hours, at which time we will have enough opportunity to hear this whole case. I have a feeling that there is more than meets the eye here and I don’t want to make a decision until I have heard all the information that is pertinent to this case.”
“Sir?” Beverly began. “I want tell you my reasoning.”
“I will hear it tomorrow.” The admiral interrupted. “And Doctor Picard, I want to warn you, if I find out that you have intentionally concealed any more information that is important for me to make a decision in this case, I will deny your petition for divorce and possibly have you charged with contempt. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” Beverly answered nervously. A trace of anxiety crossed her face.
“Very well. I expect to see everyone in this room again tomorrow at 1400 hours.” Necheyev stated. “I will then hear everything both sides have to say. In addition, I will consider information from other sources who seem to have the best interest of the child in mind. Afterwards, I will make my final decision. This hearing is adjourned until tomorrow.”
Admiral Necheyev left the room and Beverly approached Deanna. “You submitted that statement, didn’t you?” Beverly asked angrily.
“Beverly,” Jean-Luc interrupted. “Don’t blame her for this. I asked her to assist me with the situation between us. She is only revealing information in the best interest of our child and nothing more.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have.” An angry Beverly snapped.
“He only wants his child and to be with you.” Deanna told her. Deanna was not concealing her emotions on how she felt about the situation. Her face revealed how she felt. “He wants you back and he wants to help you raise his child.”
“After all he has said and done, I don’t entirely believe that.” Beverly insisted angrily as she turned and headed for the door.
“Beverly!” Picard began to beg. Tears were welling up in his eyes. “Please don’t do this! I want to be with you! I need you! I want my child! Our child! I love you and want to help you raise our child together!”
Jean-Luc’s last words caused Beverly to stop in her tracks, but she did not turn around to look at him. After a few seconds, she continued to proceed towards the door.
Jean-Luc fell to his knees, with his arms opened wide, as he continued to beg and plead even more as he watched her leaving the room. “Beverly, please don’t do this! I love you more than any star ship that Starfleet could give me!”
Deanna knelt down beside Jean-Luc as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Although he was sober now, she knew Jean-Luc was still not himself. She could feel he was emotionally injured from what Beverly had done. There was a pained look in Deanna's eyes as she too watched Beverly walk out of the room.
There was so much Deanna wanted to say to her best friend, Beverly, but she had not found the opportunity to tell her. And now, she was afraid that she might never get the chance to tell her.
Gently, Deanna proceeded to help the distraught Jean-Luc up off the floor. “Come on, let’s go.”
She did not try to tell Jean-Luc that everything was going to be fine. She did not even know if it was going to be after what she saw today. All she knew was that Jean-Luc, and Beverly for that matter, were in a lot of pain. Deanna had no idea how she could help them if things continued to progress the way they were. She knew she some how had to get them back together in order to help them resolve their issues, even if it meant breaking confidentiality for the sake of the child.
Chatper Seventeen
Later that day, Guinan made her way to the Medical Center to talk to Beverly. Unlike Jean-Luc and Will, she had managed to make an appointment to see Beverly.
“Go on in, Miss Guinan.” The receptionist told her. “She’s expecting you.”
“Thank you and just call me Guinan.”
The receptionist smiled and nodded her head. Then Guinan headed towards Beverly's door. When she entered Beverly’s office, she got a cold reception.
“I suppose you have come to talk me out of my decision, too?” Beverly asked acidly when she saw Guinan’s head come through the door. She stood and walked around her desk to meet Guinan part way.
Guinan stepped into Beverly’s office and looked around. She smiled enigmatically as she did. “Nice set up you have you have here.”
“Glad you approve." Beverly replied guardedly.
“And in answer to your question, no I’m not here to talk you out of anything." Guinan informed her. “But I have come to make sure you look deep into your heart and make sure that this is what you really want to do.”
“It is," Beverly insisted.
“I don’t think it is.” Guinan stated her opinion as though it was a matter of fact.
“What makes you say that?” Beverly was still on her guard.
“Well for one thing, I not only listen to people, but I observe them. People don’t always mean what they say, nor do they always mean what they do. They may do threatening things in order to get what they really want, but they put stumbling blocks up so that what they are doing doesn’t succeed in getting what they don‘t really want.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Beverly insisted.
Guinan fell silent as she considered her thoughts about the woman before her. It was clear to her that Beverly was in denial. While Beverly might be fooling herself, no one else was being fooled. Beverly needed to be shaken out of her denial to see what she was actually doing. And she felt she was just the one to shake Beverly.
“Oh, but that’s where I think you do.” Guinan told her, breaking the brief silence. “You see, if you really wanted to divorce Picard, you would not have left out an important piece of information. You would have told the presiding admiral everything. Instead, you didn’t tell her about the baby, knowing full well that if she found out, she would reschedule the hearing.”
“No, I didn’t,” Beverly protested strongly.
“Really? Then why are you pushing Picard past the limits of his emotional well-being?”
“I am not!”
“I think you want him to realize that he really and truly wants his family, including Wesley.” Guinan told her boldly. “What I can’t figure out is now that he has said he wants the baby and you, why you don’t stop this crazy thing. Except there is one piece of the puzzle that’s missing.”
“And what do you think that is?” Beverly asked testily.
Guinan thought for a moment. She wanted to be sure she had the right words to give Beverly something to think about.
“The piece that is missing is Wesley.” Guinan stated in her all knowing way. “I just can’t figure out how he fits into the puzzle.”
“I’m sure when you figure it out you’ll let me know.” Beverly snapped.
Guinan was not going to get trapped in Beverly’s little game, like others had done. Instead, she turned the tables on Beverly.
“No, I’m going to let you figure that one out for yourself.” Guinan insisted calmly. “I think if you think long and hard, you’ll figure out just how that piece fits. Then I hope you look deep into you heart and decide if losing Jean-Luc is what you really want.”
Guinan started to leave. Then, just as she reached the door, she stopped. “Just one more thing.”
A sad and remorseful looking Beverly replied, “Yes, Guinan.”
Beverly felt like her mother had just scolded her for something she had done wrong. Only she just was not sure what it was she had done wrong, except for a decision she had made. She had no idea what was wrong with making her own decision, though.
“You had better think about what you really want and make your decision before it is too late.” Guinan added to her thought provoking speech. “Because, when that admiral makes her final decision...” Guinan paused for emphasis. “It will be forever.”
Then she quietly walked out of the door, leaving a now shocked and grief stricken Beverly in her wake.
Chapter Eighteen
It had been four days since Deanna had spoken to Beverly. Deanna had been thinking about what had happened at the hearing that day and thought it best that she call Beverly and talk to her. Deanna wanted to explain to Beverly that she was not taking Jean-Luc's side in the matter as it may have looked. Rather, she was only trying to help him to see what he was doing. She just hoped Beverly was willing to talk to her after what had happened.
Deanna told the computer to contact Beverly Crusher-Picard at Starfleet Medical. Then she waited and hoped that Beverly took her call.
Beverly sighed when she heard who was calling. She was not sure if she wanted to talk to Deanna now, but decided to take the call anyway. She knew Deanna and she knew Deanna would not give up trying to contact her.
"I suppose you have called to tell me not to do this also?" Beverly answered Deanna's call curtly.
"No, I haven't."
"Are you going to be like Guinan and give me something to think about also?"
"Beverly, I called because I wanted to tell you that I understand why you want to divorce the captain." Deanna replied frankly. "And to be honest, I don't blame you, I would probably do the same thing."
"Then why were you there taking Jean-Luc's side about the baby?"
"For starters, he asked me to help him get you back. I agreed, but not like you think."
"Some how I have the feeling you're not going to give me any details."
"He is emotionally distraught over this, and it is my responsibility to see that the captain is mentally fit for duty." Deanna told her friend. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I came very close to removing him from duty. I felt he may have been mentally unfit, but Will was against that idea."
"I don't know why you are telling me this." Beverly stated coldly.
"I'm telling you part of the reason why I am working with him. The other reason is to show him what he did wrong, especially if he truly wants you back." Deanna explained openly. "You two are my friends, and it upsets me greatly to see you two going through this much pain and stress with your relationship."
"So you are doing this for both of us?" Beverly asked with some doubt in her voice.
"Yes, because I care about both of you."
"Then why did you tell the admiral about the baby?"
"Because eventually the captain would have mentioned it and I feel that your trying to keep his child from him is not right."
"Oh, but divorcing him is?" Beverly asked sarcastically.
"Beverly, I've already answered that question." Deanna stated with frustration.
"Deanna, I understand that you are doing your job as ship's counselor and it probably places you in the middle." Beverly began to reply. "Between Jean-Luc and me that is."
"But you’re struggling with that because we are friends." It was more of a statement than it was a question.
"Yes."
"Beverly, if you had your way what would you wish for your marriage?" Deanna inquired.
"You mean right now?"
"Yes, right now, or even in general, if you could have things going your way, how would you like it to be?"
"Well, truth be told, what's happening now wasn't what I wanted."
"I know, no one does," Deanna sympathized. Then she inquired of Beverly once again, "But what do you want?"
"All I wanted was for Jean-Luc, Wesley and me to be together." Beverly responded sadly. "I had hoped that Jean-Luc would have tried to get along with Wesley."
"If you could have that now, would you still want it?"
"Of course, only with our baby now."
Deanna nodded agreeably. "I can understand that. By the way, how are you and the baby?"
"We're fine, just very tired."
"I'm concerned about how the stress maybe affecting the baby." Deanna commented. Then she added, "And you of course."
Beverly smiled at Deanna's concern. "I knew what you meant. I feel a lot of tension, but when I last checked, the baby was doing well."
"You're not still handling this by yourself are you?"
"No, I had one of the other doctors here do the check up and the baby is doing well through all of this." Then Beverly added sadly, "But he is concerned that if something doesn't give in my life the stress may cause the baby problems."
Deanna's heart ached for the four of them. She wished that they were all together again and at peace with each other.
"You do know my goal is not to take sides here don't you?" Deanna asked Beverly seriously.
"On a conscious level I do, Deanna." Beverly admitted.
"But on another level you feel that I am."
"To be honest, yes."
"I can understand that, but my goal really is to get you two back together again." Deanna informed her friend. "The thing is, I can't do that unless I can work with your husband and get him to see what he did to lead to this. I know that for this to be resolved, he has to accept all three of you. Not just you or you and the baby."
"Like I said, I understand that on one level." Beverly told Deanna again. "You'll just have to forgive me if I don't show that I do."
"I understand all to well what you are saying." Deanna sympathized. Then she sighed. "I have to go, but I do want the best for you, the captain, Wesley, and your baby. I just hope you can trust that that is my goal for all of you."
Beverly did not say if she did or not trust her, but Deanna could still sense the same mixed emotions in Beverly that had been present during the whole conversation.
Deanna finally broke the silence. "I'll try to call you again soon and I'll try not make it almost a week next time, but before I go there is one thing I want you to do."
"What is that?" Beverly asked suspiciously.
"I want you to try and talk to your husband. I want the two of you to honestly talk to each other before the hearing tomorrow if at all possible." Deanna requested. "If not for the two of you, then for the baby's sake."
Beverly frowned. "Everytime we talk we end up arguing."
"This time, I want you two to share your feelings and listen to each other." Deanna counselled Beverly. "I'll tell the captain I want you two to do this and have him call you to set up a time, but I want you to do this before the hearing."
"Deanna, I don't know..."
"Beverly, at least try to talk to him for your baby's sake." Deanna pleaded. "Even if it doesn't solve anything, you will at least hopefully release some stress by expressing your feelings and getting them on the table, so that the two of you can at least come to a mutual agreement of some sort, even if it's just concerning you child."
"Alright, I'll meet with him tomorrow." Beverly agreed reluctantly.
"That's all I ask. Talk to you soon, I promise. Troi out."
Beverly sat there thinking about what Deanna had said. She knew that Deanna was being honest with her and trying to help, but she still felt like she was all alone in this situation.
Meanwhile, Guinan was paying Jean-Luc a visit and she was none too happy.
"Guinan, I really don't think you should get involved in this."
"Oh, but as I told Will, I'm already involved." Guinan insisted. "First Beverly tells me you are forcing her to choose between her son and you. "
"I did not say that!" Jean-Luc insisted defensively.
"Then you get so drunk that you can barely stand up, come into my Ten Forward and demand that I serve you more alcohol. Not synthehol, but alcohol." Guinan replayed the incident to Jean-Luc. "Then I had to help you back to your quarters, be cause you were too drunk to make it back by yourself. Now the whole ship knows about it."
"OK, I'll admit that was a stupid thing to do."
"I want to tell you something."
"I don't think I can stop you." Jean-Luc said as he fell back in a chair, not happy where this discussion was going.
"I agree with what Beverly is doing. She may not think so, but I do." Guinan informed Jean-Luc. "However, I wanted to make sure she is sure that what she is doing is she wants to do."
"Why am I not surprised?" Jean-Luc thought to himself.
"I want to tell you something and I know you have heard it before." Guinan began. "But years ago, the Borg attacked my planet. My people were scattered across the galaxy."
"Guinan, I don't think this really applies to my wife and me."
"You may not think it does, but hear me out anyway," Guinan replied irritatedly.
Jean-Luc nodded for her to continue.
"My children have been scattered all over the galaxy also. I just recently made contact with two of them. In essence, the Borg was making me choose between them and my children. I chose my children and refused to be assimilated. My children and I fled our home planet. As a result, I still have my family and we were not lost to the Borg."
"I don't see how that applies here." Jean-Luc told her. "How can you still have your family when they are scattered across the galaxy?"
"They are not Borg. Therefore I still have my family." Guinan told him. "You see, you are the Borg demanding to have things your way and, like the Borg, you are trying to make Beverly give up something she holds dear. And just as I did not want to be assimilated and give up what I hold dear, neither does she. Consequently, your family is now scattered across the galaxy. You now have a choice. You can continue to be like the Borg and end up having your family scattered across the galaxy or you can accept your whole family and have them here with you."
"I think that is a harsh comparison." Jean-Luc was insulted.
"Is it?" Guinan did not say another word. She just showed herself quietly out the door.
Now it was Jean-Luc's turn to think about what Guinan had said. When it finally dawned on him that Guinan was right, he felt so guilty for what he had done. He just did not know if he could make it right again.