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Jack Crusher was ten. No, he was almost eleven. After all, his birthday was only two months away. That meant he was closer to being eleven than he was to ten. And eleven was a big deal. Eleven meant he would finally get to go to the big school. Eleven made him a big boy and he could take care of himself when his mum had to go away to help people. It wasn’t that he minded going to visit his Aunt Kate, he just wanted to be grown-up. And eleven was definitely grown-up.
He had been going to his Aunt Kate’s house a lot lately. Sometimes, his mum would come pick him up really late so that he could sleep at home and then he would go back in the morning, but more often than not, he would spend the night. He knew whatever his mum was doing was really important, but he also knew they were going to leave again. He saw the documents his aunt was making for them, changing their names and altering everything about them. His mother’s new name was going to be Doctor Evelyn Keel, and he would be Jack Keel. He had snuck onto his aunt’s computer and had seen the altered birth certificate for him. His mother was going to be the widow of a man named Walker, instead of the man named Jack that Jack knew he was named for. Jack didn’t know the name of his father, but he had a few suspicions.
Jack’s mother had been disappearing for six weeks now. She would leave him with his aunt from Friday after school London time until Sunday night Indiana time, when she would pick him up so he could sleep at home and then go to school on Monday. She was usually gone all day during the week and the nanny would pick him up from school. He would get to sleep in his own bed for a few nights, before he would be dropped off with his aunt again.
One night when his mum thought he was asleep, he had snuck out of his bedroom and he could hear her crying and another woman’s voice that wasn’t his aunt’s respond. He couldn’t hear all of the words being said, but he had managed to make out the name – ‘Jean-Luc’ and his own name being mentioned. At first, he thought maybe his mum was talking about Wesley’s dad but then he heard ‘father’, and the wheels started turning inside his head.
Was this man, Jean-Luc, his father? Why wasn’t he in his life? Was he sick? Was he going to die without Jack ever meeting him? Jack couldn’t let this happen. He crept back into his bedroom and got into bed, quickly closing his eyes in case his mum decided to check on him.
Friday rolled along, and his aunt picked him up from school and they beamed back to her house. Jack thought time zones were weird. His cousins were still at school when he arrived and he always would get home on Sunday when it was bedtime instead of just after dinner like it was there.
That evening, he decided to say he was tired and he went to his room earlier than usual. He changed into his PE kit from school – a navy blue pair of joggers and a matching hoodie – so he could hide in the shadows. He had seen a spy movie and knew this was what all good spies did. They wore dark colours so they could hide. He waited until the rest of the house seemed to be asleep and he crept back downstairs and activated the transporter in the closet that would take him back to his house.
“Mum,” he whispered into the darkened room, “Are you home?”
No response came and he let out a big breath. He gave himself a little pep talk as he quickly moved over to his mother’s computer.
“Ok, Jack. You just need to follow mum’s trail. You can do this. Mum said you’re smarter than Wesley was when he was ten.” He entered a few commands and soon had the coordinates for a place called Ten Forward, all the way on the other side of the United States and farther than his aunt’s home. He set the site-to-site transmitter and he soon appeared in another closet. He frowned. Why did everyone keep their transporter in a closet? This wasn’t where he had expected to be! The closet door creaked open and he tried to sink into the corner.
“Hello, Jack. I’ve been waiting for you.” Jack stared at the mysterious woman. She was clad in green from head to toe, including a large hat that was perched on her head. Under her hat she had a plethora of skinny, long, black braids. Her dress was long, almost scraping the floor and she had kind dark eyes and a warm smile.
“You…you know who I am?” The woman nodded and held out her hand for Jack.
“My name is Guinan. I’m a friend of your parents.” Jack shook her head, his eyes wide and questioning.
“You know who my father is?” Guinan nodded.
“I do. It’d be hard to miss, you look just like him when he was ten.” Jack puffed out his chest.
“I’m almost eleven.”
“Eleven, then,” She said evenly.
“If you knew my dad when he was my age, are you like, really old?” Guinan chuckled.
“Something like that, Jack. Now then. Let’s get you something to eat and then send you on your way.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest.
“I don’t want to go home. I want to go where my mum went and I want to meet my dad!” Guinan ruffled his light brown hair.
“Of course you do. But you can’t go on an empty stomach. Come on, I make a pretty good milkshake.”
“Will it be strawberry?”
“Strawberry is my favourite.” Jack smiled and followed Guinan out into what appeared to be a large room with empty tables and chairs. A long bar ran across one side, and there was some kind of big box playing music in one corner. Jack hopped up on a tall stool in front of the bar, while Guinan moved behind and busied herself pulling out ice cream and strawberries and a carton of milk from someplace Jack couldn’t see. She blended it all together and presented him with the nicest looking milkshake he had ever seen. It was the perfect shade of pink, topped with a mountain of whipped cream and a single cherry on the top.
“Wow,” Jack exclaimed. Guinan added a blue and white striped glass straw and Jack took a sip. “Mmm! This is the best milkshake I’ve ever had!”
“Glad you like it, kid.” Guinan disappeared into what Jack assumed was the kitchen. He could sneak back to her transporter closet and check the logs to see where his mum went, but the milkshake was really good. He decided to stay and finish it.
Soon Guinan came back with a monstrous burger and a huge pile of what he would have called chips, but he was pretty sure they were called fries where he was. Guinan sat the plate in front of him.
“Eat up.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
When Jack had pushed the plate away from him and slurped the last dregs of his milkshake, Guinan nodded her head towards the closet.
“Go ahead.”
“You…you won’t tell my mum I was here, will you?” Guinan chuckled.
“Kid, your mother will know. All mum’s do.”
“Oh, right.” Jack frowned. He was hoping to sneak to wherever his mum was and sneak back before she knew he had gone anywhere and maybe he’d even get back to his aunt’s house before she woke up. Little did he know, but Guinan had already spoken with Kathryn Janeway and she was well-aware where her honorary nephew was and in fact approved of him going to meet his father. Janeway had never fully agreed with Beverly on her not telling Picard he was a father.
“Uh, thanks for the food. It was really good.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you when you come back through.”
Jack fiddled with her console and soon was energizing himself away to wherever it was his mother had been going every day.
He materialised in the foyer of what appeared to be a large home if the size of the entry was anything to gauge by. The floors were shining mahogany, and the room he could see looked picture perfect. He took a step forward when suddenly a klaxon sounded and he became encased in a force field.
“Help!”
Jack listened as the sound of footsteps came closer and closer until a towering man was standing in front of him. The man had dark hair cut into a straight line across his forehead and pointed ears. Jack knew what this man was. He was a Romulan, and Romulans weren’t to be trusted.
“Let me go, please! I think I put in the wrong numbers! I don’t belong here!” Jack was being scanned with a device that looked similar to his mother’s tricorder while he tried to hold in his tears.
“Your DNA matches two of the residents.”
The forcefield dropped.
“Uhh...I don’t know what you mean, but thanks?” The man narrowed his eyes at Jack.
“You are here to see your mother? Or perhaps, your father?”
“My,” Jack swallowed thickly, “My father?”
“Indeed. Your father is here alongside your mother. Who did you wish to see?”
“I….” Jack didn’t know. If he said father…did his father know he existed? But if he said he wanted his mother….he would be in a lot of trouble. He made a split decision.
“Is my mother with my father?”
“Not at this time. Your mother is downstairs in her lab running a few tests.” Jack looked at the Romulan with a puzzled look.
“Why does mum have lab space here?” Jack observed as the Romulan’s man forehead wrinkled slightly.
“She used to live here.”
“Oh.” That opened a whole new can of questions Jack had. If his mum used to live here, why didn’t he? Were his parents married or divorced? Did his father know about him? Had he ever lived there? When did his mum live her? She told him she had lived on the Enterprise for almost two decades and then started working for the Mariposa. Did his mum lie to him? Jack bit his lip.
“Can you take me to my dad?”
“Certainly. Follow me.” Jack struggled to keep up with the long legs of the man but he followed him through the house and up a flight of stairs.
“Your father is resting on his balcony,” the man said as he opened the door to one of the bedrooms.
Jack could see that while the room was large, it wasn’t decorated ostentatiously. There was a large wooden bed against one wall, with two side tables. One table had a half-full glass of water creating a ring of water on the surface. The room also had a wardrobe and a dresser and there was a door in the corner which likely led to a bathroom, though the door was shut so Jack couldn’t tell. The far wall had a large window and door with gauzy curtains. Through the dawn light, he could see a small round table with two chairs. One chair was occupied. Jack couldn’t see the person, but he could see that the person was bald. He assumed this was his father and he glanced back towards the Romulan, but the man had disappeared. Jack squared his shoulders and slowly walked across the room.
“Zhaban, is that you? I don’t need you or Laris hovering over me.” The voice sounded deep and commanding and he shared the same accent Jack did. Jack wondered if that was why he and his mum lived in London.
Jack stayed silent and walked closer to the door.
“Zhaban? Why are you being so quiet?”
Jack let out a little cough. The man turned towards the sound and gave Jack a puzzled look.
“Hello there. Who are you? Are you one of the worker’s sons? You shouldn’t be in the house.”
“Ummm,” Jack fiddled with the drawstring on his hoodie and shifted his weight from foot to foot. He didn’t know what to say. The man looking at him was his father, but he didn’t know who Jack was. Did….did he not know he had a son? Why hadn’t his mum told him? More tears sprung to his eyes, and much to his own embarrassment escaped down his cheeks. The man frowned.
“Come now. I’m not that scary.” The man gave him a small smile, which Jack tried to return. The man, no, his father, beckoned him to come closer and Jack could see there was a jug of juice on the table and an empty glass. His father poured out some of the juice and handed it to Jack.
“Freshly pressed apple juice, compliments of my sister-in-law, Marie.” Jack’s eyes widened. He had an aunt, too?
“Th…thank you,” he stammered out. He took a sip of the apple juice. It was crisp and sweet.
“Would you tell me your name?” Jack nodded.
“My name is Jack.” His father held out his hand.
“Hello, Jack. My name is Jean-Luc. You know, my best friend was named Jack.” Jack grinned. He knew all about Jack Crusher and how he had been his father’s best friend along with his mother and his mother had named him after the man because of how much he had meant to his father. He tentatively reached for the man’s, no, Jean-Luc, no, his father’s hand. His father’s hand was warm and his handshake was firm but also welcoming. Jack wondered if he could hug the man.
“Why are you in my bedroom?”
Jack didn’t know how to answer. What should he say? If his father didn’t know about him, how was he going to take Jack telling him he was his son? But Jack wanted to know his father. He wanted his father to know who he was.
“I….I wanted to meet you,” Jack settled on. Jean-Luc’s eyebrows rose.
“I see. No doubt you have heard of my exploits. You thought you would come and get a look at Old Man Picard, eh? The disgraced Admiral. Is that it?”
Jack took a step back. His father’s words stunned him. Disgraced Admiral? He thought his father was a hero, like the other Jack Crusher and Walker Keel. His mother had always told him his father was a hero…
“Uhh….no?”
“Then out with it, boy. Why are you here?” There was anger in his voice. For the third time, Jack felt tears spring to his eyes. Why was his father so angry?
“Jean-Luc? Who are you talking to?” Jack heard his mother’s voice. His eyes widened in panic and he moved to be hidden from being visible through the door.
“Somehow a boy from the village got into the house.” Beverly strode into the room.
“A boy? But I thought Zhaban had security set to only allow certain DNA signatures through?” She came out onto the balcony and gasped when she saw Jack. Jack gave her a small smile.
“Hi, Mum.” Jean-Luc’s eyes widened.
“Mum? Beverly, is this child yours?” Beverly sighed and dropped into the other chair. She raked her fingers through her hair, turning it into a wild mess. She didn’t want to meet Jean-Luc’s eyes.
“Jack, how did you get here?” She decided it was better to address how Jack got here instead of talking to Jean-Luc. She hadn’t decided if she wanted to tell Jean-Luc about Jack or not. Their relationship was still strained and she still was considering disappearing once he was well enough to be on his own again. Telling him about Jack would complicate things.
“I followed your transporter trail. I met a lady named Guinan. She gave me a milkshake.” Jean-Luc snorted.
“I see he’s as clever as his older brother.” Beverly couldn’t help the smile that graced her lips.
“Smarter, actually. His teachers have wanted him to attend secondary school for the past two years but I wouldn’t let him.” The pride for her son was evident in her voice.
“His name is Jack?” Beverly nodded, still not meeting his eye.
Jean-Luc’s heart thumped in his chest. He looked between Beverly and Jack.
“Beverly, how old is Jack?” He asked her evenly, already calculating and knowing the answer, but wanting to hear it from her.
“I’m almost eleven!”
Jean-Luc rubbed his finger against his lip as he thought. Almost eleven meant that Beverly would have been pregnant with him eleven years ago. Eleven years ago when they….but no, Beverly wouldn’t have kept him from him all this time…would she? He tried to catch her eyes, but she still looked at her lap where her fingers were clasped tightly. He wanted to touch her. He reached out and pried her hands apart to take one of her hands in his.
“Jack,” he started, “do you know who your father is?” Tears began to silently stream down Beverly’s face. Jean-Luc wanted to brush them away, but he held her hand and squeezed it gently instead. He held his other hand out to Jack, who cautiously approached him.
“I…I think you’re my dad….Sir.”
“I think I’m your dad, too.” Jean-Luc pulled Jack towards him and embraced him with one arm while he still held Beverly’s hand. He moved his hand out of hers to tip her chin up so he could look at her face. He gently wiped at her tears with his thumb. “Beverly?”
“Oh, Luc,” she said and he smiled at the use of her nickname for him. She hadn’t called him Luc at all since she had been taking care of him and truthfully, he missed it. Beverly was the only person who would ever call him Luc.
“Is that why my middle name is Lucas?” Jean-Luc chuckled.
“Lucas?”
“Well, I couldn’t call him Jean-Luc, now could I?” Jean-Luc grinned.
“I suppose not.” Jean-Luc gave Jack another hug. “And I suppose, young man, you were able to get through because….”
“The Romulan guy said I had DNA of two residents.”
“That would explain it.” Jean-Luc glanced at Beverly. “Bev, I think we need to talk….Jack, would you like me to ask Zhaban to show you around the vineyard?” Jack grinned and nodded his head. Jean-Luc reached for a small communication device Jack hadn’t seen before and he depressed it.
“Zhaban, could you please come and take our young guest on a tour?”
“Of course. I will be there shortly.”
Zhaban arrived with a tea tray for Jean-Luc and Beverly without being asked for one. Beverly gave him a small smile and thanked him before admonishing Jack to be on his best behavior.
Once Jack and Zhabon left, Jean-Luc grasped Beverly’s hand once more.
“Bev, my love, why didn’t you tell me?” Beverly studied their hands. His hand was warm in hers and she had missed the way he would casually touch her, as if he couldn’t get enough of her.
“I…I don’t know. I could say it was because I felt like I needed to protect Jack. You had so many enemies and I had just found out I was pregnant when you had been taken and….” She trailed off. “I’m sorry. I should have told you before I left.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted you to leave.”
“I know.” She leaned it as Jean-Luc cupped her cheek gently. She had missed this man so much.
“I know I don’t have the right to ask you. Not now, and maybe not ever, but…will you stay? Can I get to know my son and can we be together? I love you, Beverly. I never stopped loving you.”
“I never stopped loving you, either,” she said through her tears. She didn’t know how to answer his question. Could she stay? Jack could attend school here, or he could use the transporter to get to London, and if she really thought about it, she could base herself here…and with Jean-Luc, Jack would always have someone if she had to go on a mission…but why was she even considering any of this? Her whole point of keeping Jack away, of hiding him, was to protect him. If word got out…but then, wasn’t the crisis over? She let out a deep sigh.
“I…don’t know. Luc, we have so much we need to talk about. And Jack has school…friends…we have a house in London…”
“London? Hidden in plain sight. Why couldn’t I find you?” Beverly shrugged.
“I didn’t want you to. No one knows me as Beverly Crusher anymore. I go by Howard.”
“I wish you went by Picard.” She snorted.
“Worst. Proposal. Ever, Luc.” He grinned at her.
“I do mean it. Wait here,” he said as he rose from his seat. He moved back into his bedroom and opened one of the nightstand drawers. In the drawer was a red velvet box. He brought the box back out to the balcony. “I’d get down on one knee, but I don’t know if I’d get back up. But Bev….Beverly Howard Crusher…will you marry me?” He opened the box and Beverly smiled.
“How long have you had that?”
“15 years. I was always waiting for the right opportunity….”
She took the ring and slipped it on her finger to admire it. It was a flat band with an embedded large pink stone and smaller clear stones on either side. The perfect ring for a doctor.
“Is that a yes?” He looked at her with hope in his eyes and gave her a lopsided smile. She smiled back, but removed the ring and placed it back in the box.
“Not yet. Jean-Luc…Luc…you can’t just expect me to marry you.”
“No, I suppose not. But…can you and Jack stay the weekend? Maybe we could get to know each other, and you and I could…”
“Maybe.” Beverly stood from her seat and he pulled her into an embrace. She kissed his cheek. “I probably ought to call Kathryn.”
“Kathryn?”
“Janeway. We became close. She looks after Jack on the weekends when I’m away on missions or when I’ve been here.” Jean-Luc nodded. That also explained the looks he would get from her when he was still an Admiral.
“So you’ll stay?” She nodded.
“Jack has school on Monday, but we’ll stay until Sunday night. After that….”
“After that, we’ll talk?” Beverly nodded and Jean-Luc embraced her once more.
“Thank you.”
###FIN###