Captain Jean-Luc Picard (makeitso) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2014-03-09 19:58:00 |
|
|||
Deanna was looking forward to getting the four of them together again - Deanna adored the Enterprise crew and while she was heads over heels in love with Will, Beverly was her best friend - the sister she never had - well never knew since she had a sister though she had died years before Deanna was born and it wasn’t until a few years before that she had learned about her. Still, she wouldn’t change her life for the world. She was slightly disappointed that she and Will couldn’t spend all day in bed like he had suggested but there was nothing stopping them from going back after the brunch and the chance to get them all together was low given how busy the other three were - Deanna felt somewhat bad that she wasn’t as busy as her friends but she also knew that they were doing what was best suited to all of them. Dressed casually, she managed to get up not that long before they were due to meet the others, pulling Will with her. It was hard but they managed to get ready in time. Finally, all four of them were settled around the table, the food spread out in front of them chatting and laughing like nothing was wrong with the world. Jean-Luc Picard reached for the mimosa in front of him and smiled at the other three members of his crew. It was unbelievably good to have the three of them here after having been alone for so many months. Admittedly, it had been a bit awkward to have Deanna and Will return with no memories of having been here before, but that was the nature of this rather strange world and Picard was growing used to it - at least mostly. Beyond all of this he was grateful to have Beverly here. There were additional members of the Enterprise crew that he would love to see again, yes, even young Mr Crusher for Beverly’s sake, but even with just these three his life had improved. “So Beverly is working with SHIELD medical, and Deanna and Will have you made a decision about where you’ll be working now that you have returned?” “I’m currently in training with SHIELD even though I have no idea what that’s going to mean,” Will replied, taking a bite of his food and shaking his head. “There have been a lot of changes lately so I’m not sure what being a field agent is going to entail. It’s definitely keeping me busy, that’s for sure.” He’d looked up his name on the network and read some of the entries, he’d been a field agent before and that’s what he was training for now but there were parts of the training that seemed to be different from what he’d read about. “I’m looking forward to being done though, I’m anxious to get out there and do something even if I don’t know what I’ll be doing.” “I’m looking into continuing my counselling work with the clinic and youth center here though I did consider applying for SHIELD I ended up deciding it was too limited in who I could help. This way I can help as many people as I possibly can.” That was what she wanted the most - to help as many people as she can without discriminating against people who didn’t want to work with SHIELD and she didn’t imagine that they would allow her to work for more than one person at a time. Bed had not been a place Beverly had wanted to leave, but the prospect of spending more than a few minutes with her friends and crewmates was more than tempting enough for her to throw back the covers. She’d been the last one to arrive, and had sat, savouring her mimosa and the talk flowing around her before finally joining in the conversation. “I think you’ll enjoy working at the clinic, Deanna. I had coPuttnsidered it when I first arrived. But I am more adventurous than I thought.” The smile she shared was just a shade mischievous; of course, most anyone who joined Starfleet in the first place had an adventurous streak in them somewhere. Beverly tore a piece off of her croissant and turned to Jean-Luc. “How do you like teaching, Jean-Luc?” “Thank you,” she told her friend with a smile. “I think I’d be happy wherever I was as long as I was practicing though,” she admitted truthfully. “I’ve been enjoying it, honestly,” Jean-Luc responded to Beverly’s question with a smile. “I’ve considered SHIELD multiple times upon arrival, but I think I keep coming back to the fact that if I can’t be captain of a starship, I need something a bit more down-to-earth, literally in this case,” he shook his head. “And I’m teaching subject areas that I enjoy and it is completely different from home. Sometimes I miss home, but I’m certain if I were to return at this point and if I remembered anything that happened here, I’d miss this too.” He stopped and considered his friends around the table and added with a nod: “I’m very glad the three of you are here though. It makes it feel more like home despite the fact that I have made some friends here. And I think you’re all in areas that are going to bring good things to this world and its people and some of you may be busier than others a you do so.” Jean-Luc offered a specific look at Beverly as he finished and then turned to Will. “How much longer do you have in training Will?” “I finish on April 5,” Will replied. “they’ve been making some changes with specialties and I believe mine will be dealing with things of an extraterrestrial nature. Which I do have experience in.” He laughed. “although I’m not sure what they’re expecting to happen but I suppose I’ll find out. Right now it’s a lot like being at the Academy which means I try not to fall asleep in class.” Putting on a straight a face as possible, Deanna replied calmly. “No wonder you are up half the night then,” before she grinned at him. It was too good an opportunity to pass up and she trusted the others explicitly otherwise she wouldn’t have replied with that comment. “From what I have gathered myself there seems to have been a number of alien attacks of late here actually so it could have something to do with that?” she suggested. Beverly joined in the general laughter, infinitely glad to be here with these, her friends. She nodded, looking from Deanna to Will. “Just a few days after I arrived, there was some sort of attack on London, close to Greenwich. I’m not certain on the particulars of it, but I do know that several agents were involved in the fight. I volunteered to help with the medical side of things. That’s really why I joined SHIELD, you know. I felt useful, and I’ve actually felt useful almost every day since.” She lifted her glass in mock salute to Will. “I’ve had a look at what training the field agents have, and I’m definitely glad it isn’t me. Jean-Luc nodded his head in the direction of Will. “I’m sure it can’t be that much worse than some of the Starfleet training, although I do recall they have a particularly difficult boot camp that they seem to put everyone through. Thankfully it’s not years, it’s only a few weeks, so you should be able to get out and do some missions right away.” He looked over to Deanna and queried: “I see the youth center has events regularly, will you be working primarily as a counselor or will you have the opportunity to do other things as well do you think?” He reached for his fork and took a bite of his food as he awaited her response. “Yes, I’m glad it’s only a few weeks. It’s pretty intense but not that bad. I’ll still be glad when it’s done though. Have some sort of a routine.” Will looked over at Deanna. “How do you like working there? We haven’t had much of a chance to talk since you’ve been there.” He didn’t mind having this conversation in front of the others, he trusted them and it wasn’t anything they wouldn’t tell them anyway. Beverly looked to Deanna as well, interested to hear her answer. That was one of the minuses of working with SHIELD: the professional relationships that she’d spent a few years building were now of no consequence, at least as far as her job went. “It’s good to see such a strong youth program. It’s bad enough being brought here unexpectedly as an adult. I can’t imagine how frightening it would be if you’re a child.” To Jean-Luc she nodded, “I’m not actually sure but that is something I will keep in mind. Between that and the Clinic I don’t know exactly how busy I’ll be,” she admitted. “I do really enjoy it though, being able to help the children and teenagers adjust to this world and anything else that they might face. Then I’m happy to help just anyone as it is,” she told them simply.”It is good though,” she agreed with Beverly - “some of the children just find it so hard but I’m glad there are truly no one that is that young. I believe besides some teenagers there isn’t anyone younger.” “I suppose that’s good,” Jean-Luc said simply. “It’d be difficult for children if they showed up particularly young. That time away from their parents - it’d be a very difficult transition. It can be difficult enough for those of us who are adults, used to moving into situations that are completely new and meeting new people we have not met before.” There was a smile as he added. “Which is, I will selfishly admit, part of what makes me very glad that you are all here. There are a number of very nice people here, including a number of Starfleet people that I have met at one time or another, but there is no one quite like one’s friends and colleagues.” “Amen,” Deanna said raising her glass in a toast to her friends. Will joined her and said “Here, here. I’m very glad that we’re all together. It’s good having someone here who knows you. Even though we all seem to come from different points in the timeline, it all adds up in the end.” He was amused by the fact that he was now nine years older than he’d been the first time he was here but he didn’t feel any different. A few more gray hairs maybe but not that many. Jean-Luc raised his glass as well. It really was amazing to have his colleagues here. There were still many he missed, of course, but to be able to sit down and have brunch - even if not in his Captain’s quarters - was a blessing that this new year had brought him and for which he was incredibly grateful. “To having friends here and being together.” |