Title: Dance With Me

Author: DocBevCulver

Series: TNG

Codes: P/C

Rating: T+

Disclaimer: Paramount owns all, I only let them out 
to play.

Author's Notes: This came to me while sitting in the 
living room. My muse should've been working on one of 
my longer stories and older WIPs, but she's a tease
and likes to throw new stuff in, when I want old stuff
finished. Ugh!

Special Thanks: Go to Sandi for beta reading this little 
piece and her help in making the piece move smoothly.

Summary: Jean-Luc gives Beverly a special birthday gift.


*******************************


Her form swept around him, in an elegant sea of red. 
Her blue eyes sparkled and her face glowed. Her smile
 was contagious and Jean-Luc Picard was not immune. His 
face wrinkled in a smile as she twirled before him in 
her new present. 


He had seen it in the window of a small shop on
Starbase 212 and he knew he had to get it for her.


As he watched her look in the full length mirror again, 
he knew he had made the right decision.

It was her birthday tomorrow, and the annual Admiral's 
ball was in a few days, so he had a legitimate excuse 
for buying her the dress. He admitted to himself that 
he had an ulterior motive as well. 

He simply wanted to see her smile.

He knew she would love it, and in return, he would get 
to see her in something other then her uniform, something 
more alluring. 

His eyes roamed over her as she began to twirl again, 
taking in the ‘full effect’ of the dress. The hemline 
floated delicately at her knees, accentuated by a thigh 
high slit, which gave the appearance that her strong 
dancers legs were never ending.

His gaze moved from the twirl of the hem, slowly up her 
body, to her shoulders. The thin straps allowed him to 
see more of the creamy white skin of her shoulders and 
neck, more then he could remember seeing before. The 
v-shaped neckline revealed much of her chest with just 
a hint of cleavage, just enough to allow him to imagine 
what was hidden under the dress, without revealing too 
much. 

He looked to her lips and imagined kissing them deeply, 
while he caressed the milky white skin of her breasts, 
which remained hidden beneath the red silk.

He didn't realize he was staring so intently, until her 
soft spoken words of concern registered. "I’m sorry, what 
where you saying?" He asked. He hoped that his best friend 
had not caught him openly gawking at her.

"I asked you if you were okay. You looked pale there for 
a few minutes."

He smiled, "I'm sorry. Just tired from my shift, I suppose."
He hoped she would buy his feeble excuse and not question 
him any further. He really did not want to explain that he 
was gazing at her and basically undressing her in his mind. 
She would think of him as a dirty old man, instead of the 
dear friend who had given her a wonderful dress for her 
birthday.

"Well, I guess I will have to wear my lovely birthday gift 
to the Admiral's ball?" Beverly Crusher asked.

"Oh yes, and I hope that you will allow me to escort you?"

Beverly turned, stunned. "You? At the ball? Dancing? I just 
don't believe it!" That last said, as a small laugh escaped 
her lips.

"Yes. Me. Dancing, and only with you."

Beverly smiled. "Well, I should change, I would hate to ruin 
this beautiful dress.” She turned to the entrance of her 
sleeping area and spoke over her shoulder. "Will you be 
staying for dinner?"

"Yes, I would be happy to have dinner with you." he answered 
as his mind wondered back to that dress and how it would look 
if it lay in a pool around her feet.

He shook his head as he tried to remove the images. He knew 
he shouldn't have such thoughts about his best friend. Now, 
not after the way he had treated her. Since the time Q had 
shown him a warped version of the future, he had tried to 
keep his distance while trying to maintain some form of 
a friendship, which he had to admit, hadn’t been a real good 
friendship as of late. He didn’t want to get to risk being 
hurt or rejected again. 

He had tried to get closer after Kesprytt, but his hopes were 
shot down when she uttered one sentence. "Perhaps we should 
be afraid." He knew he had been a coward by not stating his 
feelings, but rather letting her read them from his thoughts. 
Maybe she had misinterpreted his thoughts. He said one thing 
but meant another. Maybe that was the reason she had shied 
away. Maybe she had been waiting for him to state his love 
for her. 

Now was a different time, and he couldn't take back the 
mistakes he had made, but he wanted to try again to move 
forward in their relationship and he knew the Admiral's ball 
would be the perfect time. She would be happy while dancing 
and he could spring his surprise on her then. He hoped that 
his plan would go smoothly.

Soon they were enjoying their meal, both enjoying the small 
talk and the feel of old times which neither wanted to loose 
again.

************************************

The day of the ball, Jean-Luc was all nerves. He knew he had 
to continue with his plans, because if he didn't, he was 
afraid he would never have the nerve to try again.

He checked himself, once again, in the mirror. He wanted to 
be sure that his attire was perfect. The black tie was straight 
and his tuxedo was crisp and clean and the red rose in his 
lapel was beautiful and went well against the black. He was 
pleased and he hoped that Beverly would think the same thing.

He couldn't wait to see her again in the dress. He hadn't felt 
this way in a long time and he had to admit, he enjoyed it 
and wanted, very much, for the feeling to remain.

He checked his image in the mirror one last time, before he 
headed out the door to Beverly's quarters.

*************************************

Beverly examined herself in the mirror yet again. She had a 
feeling that something special was going to happen tonight 
and she hoped she was right. The look in Jean-Luc's face when 
she had donned her present for his inspection had sent chills 
down her spine. He hadn't looked at her in that way in a long 
while. Her stomach did a flip at the memory.

"Just remain calm, Beverly. It's probably nothing," she spoke 
aloud as she tried to calm her nerves.

The chime sounded alerting her to a guest at her door. "Come," 
she spoke as she moved from the mirror to face the entrance.

As Jean-Luc entered her quarters, Beverly felt her heart skip a 
beat and her stomach flipped again. 'Yes, something special is 
going to happen tonight' she mused as she smiled at her companion 
for the evening.

"You look wonderful tonight, Jean-Luc."

Jean-Luc tried to steady his heart at the sight of her in the 
red dress once again. She was simply breath-taking. The dress 
looked even eloquent. Her hair was upswept in a mass of soft 
red waves, with a few curls escaping and framing her face. She 
was beautiful.

"As do you, Beverly." He extended the crook of his arm, "Shall 
we?"

*********************************

After they had danced for a while, Jean-Luc pulled Beverly 
close, their faces mere inches from each other. He knew he had 
to do it now for fear he would never be able to do it again. 
He slowly placed his lips upon hers.

It started as a small kiss, but soon it became more, as both 
deepened the kiss and blocked the rest of the room from their 
minds.

When they finally parted, Jean-Luc looked deep into her eyes 
and saw the look that had graced her face in the past when 
they were on the verge of becoming more than friends. Only 
this time, she didn’t waiver, didn’t retreat from him, allowing 
him to continue to hold her close.

"Beverly Crusher, there's something I've been meaning to tell 
you."

Beverly laughed, "Isn't that my line?"

He smiled, "Not this time. Please let me finish."

Beverly smiled shyly and motioned for him to continue. 

He took in a deep breath and continued to hold her close. "I 
know I've been aloof as of late, allowing our friendship to 
suffer some, but I want to change that. I want you to know 
that, first and foremost, I cherish our friendship."

"As do I, Jean-Luc."

He smiled and gathered all his strength to tell her the most 
important part. "But I want something more, and if you're 
willing, I would like a more 'personal' relationship with 
you?"

"Oh, Jean-Luc..."

He cut her off, "Before you say anything, I want you to know 
that I truly love you, with all my heart and soul and I've been 
an ass for too long. Trying to keep you at arms length and not 
telling you this after our encounter on Kesprytt. I was a coward, 
and after the trip to the 'future', I became even more scared that 
we couldn't make it work." He sighed, "But I don't want to be 
afraid of what the future may hold. I only want to be with you, 
here and now, and try to make it work."

Beverly's eyes began to fill with tears at his declaration and 
her heart began to beat hard in her chest. She had been waiting 
so long to hear those words come from his lips, not just his 
mind, as she had heard through the implants on Kesprytt.

She answered him in the first way she could think of. She 
pulled him close and kissed him fully, without hesitation. 
When they pulled back from each other, she stated. "I love 
you too, and I've been waiting so long to hear those words."

He wanted to shout, but knew that would not be a good idea at 
their current venue. He smiled broadly and pulled her as close 
as he could, he didn't want the night to end. "Care to dance 
with me for the rest of our lives?"

Beverly smiled brightly. "I would love to."

**************************

The End


July 16, 2004