Chapter 59

It was early evening when they arrived in his old hometown. Because it was summer the light was golden and still had a few hours left before it completely faded. As he walked down the winding paths toward his home side by side with Seth and Marca, he considered for the first time in ages, the unsatisfactory relationship he shared with his brother.

His childhood home was, for all purposes now his brother Robert's home. He wondered; did Robert have children now? He hadn't talked to him in fifteen years, and even then it hadn't been in person. And although he now knew that Robert had married a woman named Marie, he had no idea when they'd actually been married.

He would have to prepare himself for the barrage of emotions that would inevitably come once faced with his brother for the first time in two decades. His brother was older than him, but would now appear even older, which would no doubt cause friction. Robert had always been jealous of him, and he didn't expect for some kind of broad understanding to come out of one meeting. Besides, he was only here to find Beverly and Wesley, and if they needed to leave right away, they would.

"Seth, I have to warn you, I don't get along well with my brother."

"Oh that's too bad," said Seth, not sure why that required a warning from Jean-Luc.

Jean-Luc seemed nervous. "No, I'm just telling you, because I don't want you to emulate my behavior which will be undoubtedly bad."

"I don't get it. If you know your behavior is going to be bad, can't you just avoid acting that way?" Seth asked.

Picard fell silent as they walked a little farther. "You've never had a sibling, have you?"

"No," said Seth.

"Well then, try not to use me as an example," said Picard.

Although early evening, it was still very warm. He could tell that it would be humid even late into the night. Picard had forgotten how long of a walk it was from town to his family's vineyard. He'd ordered the cab to land in the town so that Seth could have the full experience of Labarre in the summertime, but now as the boy began to drag along behind him, he reconsidered the wisdom of having chosen the long route. The orange haze was turning darker, and he squinted at the sun falling lower in the sky off in the distance.

"Are you growing tired?" he asked Seth.

The boy quickened his steps stubbornly. "Not really."

"We're only about a half mile away from home," he said, silently wondering again if it would still feel like home when he arrived there. He looked down at Seth again. He could tell the wiry boy was an athlete, but his young body had been neglected and his strength depleted during his imprisonment by the Borg. "You know," he said gently, "It is alright to admit it if you're tired. Goodness knows it's been a long day."

Seth did not answer, so Picard continued to walk along, when he felt a bump against his side. Looking down, he saw Seth was walking eyes half-closed and was bumping drowsily into Picard. Picard put his hand on Seth's shoulder and the boy looked up at him trying to blink away his fatigue.

Good, thought Picard with a small smile. The boy is as stubborn as I am. He'll fit right in where we're headed.

Reaching down he picked Seth up into his arms. He was light enough that he probably could have carried him the rest of the way under one arm, but the boy had long spindly legs and it was a bit awkward. No need to embarrass the boy. "Here," he said, stooping down so that Seth could climb onto his back. "Put your arms around my neck and I'll hold on to your legs." The boy complied, and Picard stood up straighter. "There…better?" He felt Seth nod into his neck and it made him smile as they walked on.

He opened the door to the house slowly and it creaked inward. Seth stirred on his shoulder waking from a nap. Picard walked into the foyer and stopped, still holding the sleepy boy in his arms. "Jean-Luc?" He turned at the sound of a very familiar voice.

Walker Keel approached him cautiously as though he was a ghost. "Is it really you?" his friend whispered. Walker wasn't sure if his heart could take two resurrections of Jean-Luc Picard in less than one month.

Picard smiled. "Yes, Walker. Good to see you my friend."

Walker shook his head, unable to stop smiling.

"I'm Walker, Jean-Luc's old friend. And who might you be, my friend?" he said nodding at the boy who Picard was carefully lowering to the floor.

Seth stood on wobbly knees and rubbed his eyes looking around. "I'm Seth," he said, shaking Walker's extended hand. "Are we here?"

"Yes," said Picard. "This is where I grew up, Seth."

Walker held his hands up questioningly. "Jean-Luc? This is the most understated reappearance. What happened? Obviously we are all still alive, and the Borg are gone, so you did something right."

"Walker, it's a long, long story. Perhaps a bit later?" Walker nodded. "I need to see Beverly and Wesley. Are they here?"

Walker laughed. "Of course, of course. Jesus, I just can't believe it….listen Wesley is in the other room hanging around with Renee—"

"Who's Renee?"

"Your nephew…Robert and Marie's son. Looks to be about Seth's age."

"Oh," said Picard, embarrassed. "Of course."

"And Beverly went for a walk about an hour ago. She said she wanted to see 'the stream'. I wasn't really sure what she was talking about, but she seemed to want to be on her own. You know how she can get."

"And Robert?"

"He and Marie are out for the moment. Said they were going to bring back fresh bread for dinner."

Picard took a deep breath. "Alright, then…let me go and see Wesley, and meet my nephew."

He stepped into the living room and could feel a nervousness threatening to overcome him. Wesley and a smaller boy with sandy hair very similar to his own were sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing some kind of game. Wesley jumped to his feet as though propelled. "Sir!" he shouted, and ran toward him. He stopped a few feet away from Picard.

"Hello, Wesley. It's so good to see you."

"Sir…you're alive, I just can't believe it." Wesley covered his eyes, trying to prevent himself from crying, but it didn't work. Feeling awkward but not caring, Picard walked forward and embraced his son.

"Believe it," he said squeezing Wesley tightly. Wesley pulled away finally, wiping his eyes. Embarrassed, he gestured toward Renee.

"Um, this is my cousin Renee…your nephew." His eyes widened, seeing Seth walk into the room cautiously. "Seth? What are you doing here?"

"Hi Wes…." Seth said somewhat shyly.

"Hello, Renee, nice to meet you," Picard said, waving at Renee. "I suppose I'm your uncle," he said awkwardly trailing off.

"Papa's not going to believe this," Renee said grinning. "Everyone thought you were dead. Now Papa can yell at you in person instead of telling stories about how you used to drive him crazy."

Picard smiled slightly at the thought of Robert telling stories about him. "Wesley, Seth is coming to live with me."

"Great," said Wesley genuinely. Then his expression grew solemn. "But where are you going to be living? Aren't you going to be staying with me and Mom?"

Picard froze. He really hadn't thought things through properly. It was a fantasy, he realized to think he could start a family so easily with Beverly and Wesley and now adding Seth into the mix. What if she wasn't interested in having another child? He had made the commitment to bring Seth with him, and that wouldn't change, but the reality was that he was desperate to be with Beverly. And he had no idea how she would react. "I…I don't know, Wesley. Look, I've got to go and talk to your mother." Wesley nodded. "Are you going to be alright staying here?" Picard asked Seth.

Seth nodded. "Yeah, sure."

By the time he reached the stream, it was dusk and with all of the trees it was much darker than he had anticipated. He looked around and didn't see her, and for some reason he began to feel an irrational fear. What if she had slipped and fallen into the stream? No, no, she was an excellent swimmer. He walked forward and still saw nothing. Then he felt the pleasurable warmth spread throughout his body again and his chest began to glow…and then his whole body.

Suddenly everything around him was illuminated, and the could see her standing in front of him about 20 paces away. She had turned toward him, presumably because of the sudden light, and then she screamed. Aside from Yar's decoy Beverly, he had never heard her scream, and certainly she was not the screaming type. After she stopped screaming she turned quickly angry. "Holy shit!" she shouted.

The light faded. He knew instinctively that the Power had been trying to help him. It had reacted to his fear that he couldn't see Beverly anywhere, and had literally created light to aid his vision. Now, he supposed, there would be no keeping his secret from her. He had planned to tell her about his current situation, but hadn't wanted her to find out by being frightened.

As his power faded and they faced each other in the low light, he took a halting step forward. "Beverly, I'm so sorry if I scared you," he called out to her. "I didn't cause that light on purpose, I promise you."

"How do I know it's really you?" she called back sounding guarded. "If this is Yar playing a game with me, I don't care if she's immortal…I will kill her."

"No, Beverly, it's not Yar. It's me, Jean-Luc."

"Prove it."

"Prove…?" he mumbled, unsure of what he was supposed to do to show her it could only be him. "Uh…you have a small birthmark, on the underside of your—"

"Yar knows everything, including where all my birthmarks are, I would imagine. Try again."

"You're right," he said, his voice beginning to crack. "She knows everything. So you're just going to have to trust that it's me. Yar is gone—at least the Yar that threatened to destroy our world. It's me, Beverly, and I love you. Please believe me."

She took one step forward. "Why were you glowing just now?"

He stood still. "Q told me, that after Yar was defeated the Power became somehow attached to me. It wants to be with me and I cannot seem to convince it to leave me alone. It seems to react to my moods, and I do think that it is trying to be helpful. Just now, I was looking for you. Walker told me you came to look at the stream, and by the time I reached this area, it had grown so dark that I couldn't see you. At that moment, I felt this warmth spread throughout my body, and then my body gave off a glow…and I saw you."

She took a few more steps toward him. "I want to believe you, I do. But I don't think I can take you disappearing from me anymore."

He walked toward her but she was still hesitant. "Beverly it really is me…and I am here to stay. I promise you."

"After all the things that have happened to you-if it is you—how can you promise me something you have no control over?"

"I've left the Q permanently, Beverly. They're different now and they understand. They won't be coming for me anymore." He took another step forward and seeing that she was staying still now, he took a few more. Within moments they were face to face.

She reached out tentatively with her hands and placed them on his chest. "It is you," she whispered, her voice full of so many emotions.

He reached up and gripped her hands tightly. "Yes, it is. It's me."

Beverly seemed to struggle to take a breath. "Did you go and see Wesley?" He nodded and she suddenly threw her arms around his neck tightly. "I missed you so much. I thought I would die." He dropped his face down into her neck and breathed in, feeling as though he was going to faint from joy.

"Yar's gone. She-"

She reached out and touched his lips with her fingertips. "Shh…I don't even want to know. Tell me the details later." She reached her arms around him and pulled him closer, kissing him. He felt almost senseless with love and desire for her and when they fell to the ground together he didn't even feel the impact. Instead he felt as though he was floating with her. Moving over her, he felt her hands everywhere on his body and all he could hear was their breathing, the soft noises she was making and her whispers in his ear urging him on.

When it was over they lay on the grass side by side and looked upward as the stars started to come into view above them. After a few minutes, she asked, "Do you ever want to go back up there in a starship?" She grasped his hand in hers.

"I was going to ask you what you thought about me taking command of the Enterprise. Admiral Nechayev has asked me to do so. But I didn't want to give her an answer until I spoke to you."

"Jean-Luc, I'm touched that you wanted to ask me first. But I think you already know what you're answer is…what it should be. You belong up there, you know. Just like your brother belongs here, you belong up there."

"Perhaps you're right. But I can only do so under one condition."

"What's that?" she asked.

"That you and Wesley come with me. I need you both with me."

She squeezed his hand. "Of course Jean-Luc. We will. But it might not be right away."

When she spoke the words his heart took a painful beat. He was glad for the darkness, because a lump caught in his throat. "Why?" he asked quietly.

Beverly squeezed his hand tightly. It almost broke her heart to hear the suddenly bewildered tone of his voice. "It's this thing with Jack. We still have to work out the details of the divorce, some of which may naturally include Wesley. And, I already spoke with some people at Medical and I agreed to help with the rebuilding effort. I thought...well I guess I needed work to think about something other than the fact you were missing."

He nodded, although she could barely see him. "I understand," he said dully.

"Jean-Luc, I promise it will only be for a few months at the most. When does the Enterprise ship out anyway?"

"Six weeks," he said brightening somewhat. She was right, it would only be a few months and then they would be back together. He squeezed her hand and they fell silent again.

After a few moments she propped herself up on an elbow and was again looking at him, although now he sensed her amusement. He turned to look at her. "What?"

She reached out and traced her index finger down his bicep. "You know…a few minutes ago when we were…well you seemed different."

"Different? How?" He sat up, stiff from lying on the uneven ground. Thankfully they hadn't even taken all of their clothes off, or he would have had to light up his chest again just to locate them, it was now so dark.

She smiled, her teeth flashing in the dark. "Now don't take this the wrong way, because you were very good before…but somehow you're even better now. You said something about the Power…I'm just saying you might not want to give it up so quickly if it has those kinds of benefits." She began to laugh boisterously.

He shook his head and laughed and got to his feet reaching down for her hand. "I don't even know how to respond to that," he said pulling her up and into his arms again.

"I can think of a few ways," she mumbled, kissing him for a few moments before breaking into laughter again.

Unable to stop himself, he suddenly let out an abrupt laugh in response. "Okay," he said. "We should be getting back to the house. You know, if Robert is going out of his way to go and bring back some fresh bread, dinner should be worth it."

"And we'll never hear the last of it if we miss it," she said putting her arm around his waist as they began to walk back through the fields.

He laughed again. "It sounds like you know my brother better than I do now," he remarked.

"Well, after you disappeared eleven years ago, Jean-Luc, I got to know Robert and Marie very well. And Renee was born ten years ago just a year after they were married. He's grown up with Wesley."

"And Robert? You even get along with him?"

"Yes…I love him dearly. I mean he's sort of like an older, less attractive, only slightly grumpier version of you."

"Less attractive…hmm I can't wait to tell him that," he said.

She punched him lightly on the arm. "You had better not! Did I mention he's also taller than you?"

"Hey!" he sounded insulted, but then laughed again. "Beverly," he said growing thoughtful. "Jack gave me a data pad with information from the archaeology academy you created in Paris." She nodded, smiling at him. "The fact that you would think of me, and name the school after me…I am just so moved. Thank you," he said.

She tugged at his arm. "At the time it was the only way I knew to celebrate who you were—who you are. I knew that archeology was a love of yours, and I wanted others to know that love."

"It is wonderful, thank you."

He could almost feel her beaming in the dark, as they approached the house. With all of the lights now on inside, it seemed almost out of a dream that he was back here after all of these years.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the prodigal son returned to the country homestead at last," Robert Picard announced as Picard and Beverly stepped through the doors. A lovely woman, whom Picard assumed was Marie, stood beside him. She shot her husband a meaningful look, but he ignored her. Robert walked toward Picard with his arms folded over his broad chest. "You know, little brother I thought I'd never see you walk through those doors. How long's it been?"

"Fifteen years or so," said Picard. "It is good to see you though brother," he said. Politely he turned to Marie. "And you must be Marie, how lovely to finally meet you—"

"Would you believe he graduated first in his class? Amazing that he figured out you were my wife so soon after walking through that door. He's a bloody genius," said Robert with a sideways glance at Marie.

"Robert," Marie scolded him. "Are you going to ever let your poor brother get a word in?"

Robert fell silent glowering at Jean-Luc who just stood there. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself? Are you back from the dead or just passing through again? You're keeping this poor woman in suspense," he said nodding at Beverly who smiled weakly in response.

Picard smiled tightly. "I'm back from the dead," he said quietly. "And for the last time," he added.

"Good," said Robert. "Now, I would say you must be hungry. Come and have some supper with us, Jean-Luc. And you'll be happy to know that boy of yours has already had three servings himself. A spindly little thing right now, but he's still growing of course."

Beverly turned with a perplexed frown toward Jean-Luc. He opened and closed his mouth unsure of what to say, mortified that he had forgotten to tell Beverly about Seth. At that moment Seth stepped out of the dining room, gnawing on a large piece of crusty bread.

"Hi Beverly," he said casually. But in his eyes it was evident that he was very happy to see her, and relieved it seemed that she had been found.

"Seth…" Beverly turned to Jean-Luc again questioningly.

"There was nowhere for Seth to go. So I became his guardian," he said quickly.

"And you're planning on bringing him aboard the Enterprise with you?" she clarified. He nodded. She raised her eyebrows at him again, and he could tell that it was probably a good thing she was finding this out in front of other people. "Mm hmm…well I think we'll talk about this later, Jean-Luc," she said.

She smiled at Seth then and walked back into the dining room with him. "You have some dirt and grass on your shirt," Seth said to Beverly, helpfully reaching up to brush off her back.

Robert laid a heavy hand on Picard's shoulder and leaned in conspiratorially. "You recognize that you are in trouble, don't you? And right now you are thinking of a means of escape or a way to avoid more trouble. It's not going to happen," said his brother, clapping him on the back solidly and following Beverly.

Marie put a hand on his arm and looked up at him with a genuine sweetness. "Welcome home."

The meal was delicious, and Picard realized that it really was the first meal he'd had since returning from the Continuum a few days ago. Walker made a toast to his return and to the future. He let himself drift happily through light-hearted conversations, and took in the comforting sounds and smells of the room. He knew now that he needed to experience these basic sensations and feelings in order to survive, and most of all, to be happy. And so, in the final toast of the night, he raised his glass, "to happiness."

The End

Epilogue

Several weeks later...

Captain Jean-Luc Picard sat at his ready room desk. He was brooding and sullen. The only thing he could think about was when he would be able to see Beverly Crusher, when in reality he was supposed to be thinking about staff rotations. Technically the two subjects were related, since he was expecting Beverly to re-join the crew as CMO. He had just ended a call with Beverly, and at least, he thought with excitement, she would be coming aboard within the month.

He only hoped that they would be able to return to Earth to pick her and Wesley up on schedule. The Enterprise was headed to investigate some strange distress signals near Orion territory, and he hoped the mission would be more straightforward than it sounded.

Frowning, he returned to his task of filling out the crew complement. He had received a call from Will Riker a few days before, and Deanna was expecting her baby girl within the next three months. The two men had carefully avoided the subject of whether Riker and Troi would be interested in a transfer to the Enterprise.

Currently, Data was First Officer, and although there was a need for a permanent science officer position, he didn't like the idea of demoting Data, who had proved invaluable. He would need to discuss it with him, of course. Perhaps a lateral transfer, where Data retained his rank of commander, but was no longer second in command. He knew he was getting slightly ahead of himself, as he and Riker hadn't yet broached the subject of Riker taking the First Officer position.

In any case, he knew that he would need to sort fill the rest of these positions within the next month or so. His screen blinked at him. Lt. Diaz had been promoted following her service in the Delta Quadrant and given Jack's departure she had chosen to transfer off ship. That meant someone suitable was needed at tactical. The list of potential candidates was displayed on the screen, most of whom would not be available to transfer for months. He couldn't wait that long. They were all impressive; all with exemplary service records.

His screen blinked at him again as he scrolled down. "Transfer request," said the computer. "Transfer request," it repeated. The screen stopped scrolling and Picard's face fell as he read the information quickly. Swallowing he read it two more times. "Please indicate whether you Accept or Reject this candidate?" Picard tapped his screen almost without thinking and almost instantly regretted it.

"You have indicated you wish to reject this candidate. Please state the reason for your rejection," said the computer. His hand hovered over the pad. "None," he said quietly.

"Lt. Natasha Yar is requesting transfer from the USS Columbia," said the computer. "Please indicate whether you will accept or reject this candidate." Again his hand hovered over the control. Closing his eyes he dropped his hand onto the pad. And he hoped that he had made the right decision.

To be continued...