The Federation Day celebration was in full swing. Three of the Enterprise main cargo bays had been opened out to make one long contiguous space and festooned with brightly colored banners and drapes. Guinan had set up a makeshift bar in one corner, and a temporary stage had been erected on which a small jazz band was playing. Overhead floodlights lit an impromptu dance floor next to the stage that was filled with swaying couples. Nearly the entire complement of crew had turned out for the festivities, with only a skeleton crew manning the stations as the ship continued its leisurely journey towards Starbase 133 for a routine maintenance visit.

Dr. Beverly Crusher stood at the edge of the dance area nursing a glass of synthehol. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jean-Luc talking with several young ensigns from Engineering. He was her escort this evening – as he had been for official Starfleet functions for years now – but tonight after giving his traditional Federation Day speech he'd barely taken time to get her a drink from Guinan's temporary bar before politely excusing himself and wandering into the crowd. As far as she could tell he'd spent the entire past three hours chatting with everyone from the security officers to the maintenance personnel. She'd never seen him engage with his crew in such an informal way before, and her pleasure for both them and for him outweighed her own selfish desire to monopolize his company herself.

Instead she had passed the time pleasantly in conversation with Will and Deanna, and danced to a number of lively melodies with Commander Data. But as it grew later into the evening, the children were sent to bed and the songs began to slow, she made her way to the sidelines to watch. Data had requested no explanation, and she gave him none. It would have been faintly embarrassing if she had. For, ever since she and Jean-Luc had become intimate – two short weeks previously – she had recognized a change in her emotional state that was so deep and so profound she could barely find the words to describe it.

The evolution of their day-to-day relationship from friends to lovers – their progression from sharing meals and conversations to sharing quarters and a bed – had taken place so naturally, so organically, that in hindsight it had seemed almost inevitable. Yet unexpectedly the change had also brought an unanticipated feeling of completeness…of wholeness…that was accompanied by a sense of contentment the likes of which she'd never known before. Which in turn had led to a stunningly potent series of realizations:

That she loved Jean-Luc with everything that was in her.

That no other man would ever make her happy.

That the rewards of finally acting on their feelings were worth any attendant risk of loss.

And that, although it was very early in their relationship and they had as yet said no vows to one another, made no formal commitments, there had been an irrevocable shift in her thinking – from 'me' to 'us'. She was already wholly committed to him in her heart. Just as there was no question in her mind that he loved her unreservedly.

To Beverly, dancing had always been a unique and personal form of expression, a physical manifestation of her internal emotions in a marriage of attitude, tempo and melody. Thus she'd always subscribed to the old notion that dancing to intimate ballads illustrated the exclusive pact that two people made to one another. And consequently – although she doubted Jean-Luc would ever even notice – she knew she would never again dance to slow songs with anyone but him.

She downed the last of her synthehol, wishing it were the real thing. Perhaps once Jean-Luc had finished making his rounds they could discreetly retire to his quarters and indulge in a bottle of Chateau Picard – just the two of them.

Just then Guinan materialized at her side. The bartender plucked the empty wine glass from Beverly's hand. "You won't be needing this," she said with an enigmatic smile, before turning and melting into the crowd.

Beverly stared after the departing figure, her mind puzzling at the cryptic remark. Although she enjoyed her occasional interactions with Guinan, despite the woman rarely entering sickbay and technically not even being part of the crew, she was frustratingly hard to fathom and frankly Beverly sometimes wondered what Jean-Luc saw in the woman. But he had so few people in whom he confided that she nonetheless welcomed the El-Aurian's presence in his life.

That didn't make her any less mystifying, however.

But before she could dwell on Guinan's actions any further, she sensed a familiar, precious presence behind her.

"I've been neglecting you," Jean-Luc's voice was low and velvety in her ear, and did delicious things to her insides. "May I have this dance?"

She turned and gave him her hand without hesitation, trying to keep a smile of delight from blazoning itself across her face. One of the things she and Jean-Luc shared was that, as well as being fastidiously and scrupulously professional, they were both intensely private people. It was an unspoken pact between them not to let the recent shift in their personal circumstances affect their working relationship. So she never expected him to initiate a dance with her in a public venue, and found that the prospect of taking such an intimate step with him thrilled her to the core.

He led her out onto the makeshift dance floor with his hand a light touch at the small of her back. His eyes melted over her as he took her in, sparking an answering tingle in the pit of her stomach. Clasping her hand in his larger one and placing the other decorously on her opposite shoulder, he gently eased them into the dance.

Throughout all the years she had known him Jean-Luc had hated dancing, seeing it more as a trial to be endured as part of his Starfleet duties than as an occasion to be enjoyed. He only did it when required to at official functions like this one, and even when they danced together he tended to be stiff and faintly uncomfortable. Thus it came as a complete surprise to Beverly that tonight as they slowly traversed the floor he was confident, relaxed and remarkably graceful. Even more amazingly, his eyes were alight with an exultation she'd never seen in him before.

As her body shifted towards his, Jean-Luc's arm slid from its comfortable position on her shoulder down to her hip, subtly drawing her closer.

Beverly didn't need a further invitation to lean into his taut, muscular frame and slide one hand up to the nape of his neck. Releasing her other hand from his, she slowly lowered it to rest against his chest. In response Jean-Luc placed his other hand around her waist and drew her towards him until their cheeks touched.

They were hardly moving now, just swaying gently back and forth in time to the music. Her eyes drifted closed as Jean-Luc breathed against her, the air in his lungs becoming the air in her own, mingling and connecting them more closely, more inextricably, than ever before. They stood locked together in each other's arms, their surroundings slowly fading away…

It didn't take long for Counselor Deanna Troi to notice the subtle shift taking place in the room. The normal background party emotions detected by her empathic sense were morphing into a growing sensation of curiosity and interest, directed towards the center of the cargo bay.

Her own curiosity piqued, she made her way towards the couples slowly dancing in the beam of the floodlights overhead. All around her conversation was dying as people's attention turned towards the makeshift dance floor. And gradually even the dancing couples themselves were stopping and focusing their awareness on a specific pair of individuals who swayed together in their midst: one a distinguished gentleman with a dignified mien and the other a lean, graceful redhead, two people as familiar to the crew as their own families and friends.

It was obvious to every onlooker that the two were lost in one another, taking part in a dance all their own. His arms encircled her waist and her cheek was pressed against his. His angled face radiated a deep contentment, while her full red lips traced the outlines of a rapturous smile.

Finally movement and conversation died away altogether as the Enterprise crew grasped the subtle meaning of the tableau unfolding so unexpectedly before them.

In the background, Deanna could see the band members silently motioning to one another to continue playing, prolonging the moment.

And the dance went on, just the two of them, alone.

At long last the song ended, and Beverly exhaled a happy sigh against Jean-Luc's cheek as the final strains of the music died away.

There was a moment of deep silence, followed by a thunderous roar of applause from all around the room. Startled, Beverly looked up into a sea of smiling faces that surrounded them. In the transporting glow of the dance she'd forgotten where she was, where they were.

Standing in front of the entire thousand-strong crew of the Enterprise.

And apparently everyone else had stopped to watch the two of them dance. Together. Far too close together. Knowing he would be mortified by such a public revelation of their personal relationship – although it was much too late to limit the damage now – Beverly bit her lip and began to pull away from her partner.

But to her astonishment Jean-Luc merely tightened his hold on her waist, capturing her against his side. He raised his free hand to acknowledge the applause and then, smiling, pressed a kiss to her temple, causing the ovation to redouble.

Beverly's eyes filmed with tears. Never would she have imagined such an enthusiastic response to the revelation that she and Jean-Luc were a couple. Nor would she have dreamed that her reticent, painstakingly discreet lover would acknowledge their relationship so freely.

She turned her head to gaze at his angular profile. "Who are you," she asked playfully, feeling giddy from the dance and crowd's ebullient reaction, "and what have you done with Jean-Luc Picard?"

"This wasn't how I imagined we would inform the crew," he admitted with a wry smile, "but I don't regret that it happened this way."

Beverly felt a blissful warmth spread through her at his words. "Neither do I," she replied, her eyes lit with happiness.

Their friends on the command staff were coming towards them now. Will's grin threatened to split his face, and even Worf's characteristic glower seemed a few shades lighter than usual.

Deanna Troi gazed openly at her friends with undisguised joy lighting her expression. It was easy to sense the genuine, consuming contentment that emanated from the two of them.

She'd known about the shift in their relationship, of course. Being their friend as well as the ship's counselor, she would have resigned her position if she'd let that vital new development escape her attention. But up to now Beverly had been frustratingly elusive about the details and Deanna hadn't been certain how significant a breakthrough had actually taken place. Now she knew.

Deanna took advantage of her small size to slip through the crowd to Beverly's side. She smiled and reached out to squeeze her friend's hands. "This is wonderful. Everyone's so happy for you both."

"I can see that." Beverly gazed at the smiling faces surrounding them in bemusement. "I almost feel like we've found a cure for the cold, or a non-fattening version of chocolate."

"This is almost as good," Deanna assured her, earning a sardonic quirk of the eyebrow from the doctor. She gave her friend a quick hug before stepping back. "I want to hear everything later," she said, shooting her a meaningful look.

Beverly just shook her head in amused exasperation and turned to talk with Alyssa Ogawa.

Deanna stepped back as other well-wishers came forward to surround the couple. Although she doubted that either the captain or the doctor was cognizant of it, she herself was well aware that the two of them were utterly revered by the crew. The happiness radiating around the room was tangible, and she basked in the joy and affection that intermingled with her own.

She felt privileged to have witnessed this shared experience with her fellow crewmembers. It was a dance – and a night – she knew everyone present would remember for the rest of their lives.

From behind her makeshift bar Guinan smiled indulgently at the couple standing together in the center of the room. Finally, all was now as it should be for the two of them. The Captain and the Doctor. The leader and the healer. Together they were the two halves of a greater whole – the living, breathing heartbeat of the Enterprise.

FIN