Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 16 Apr 2004 16:00:50 -0700 In: alt.startrek.creative From: whoa_nellie40@hotmail.com (whoa nellie) Title: Beauty and the Q Author: Whoa Nellie (whoa_nellie40@hotmail.com) Series: TNG Repost 1/4 Rating: PG Codes: P/ Vash Synopsis: This story takes place in Whoa Nellie's "Double Entendre" time line; however the story can stand alone. Q tries to persuade Vash to leave Picard and travel the Universe with him. The entity places Picard and Vash in the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. Can Picard convince Vash to stay with him? Author's Note: Feel free to archive to any pertinent site. In preparation to play in our Double Entendre universe in the coming year, we're reposting the stories from that universe as a refresher (or introduction to those who haven't read our earlier work). These stories have been polished up a bit, but they are still are earliest pieces from when we began writing nearly a decade ago. Edited-down versions of most of our stories can be found through our author page at fanfiction.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=85355 Feedback is always appreciated - posted or e-mail. As always: Paramount owns all the marbles, we just have a lot more fun playing with them. Whoa Nellie's Picard/Vash Romance Fanfiction website: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Galaxy/7926/ Whoa Nellie's Sci-Fi Romance Fan Fiction website is at: http://www.geocities.com/whoa_nellies2000/ Beauty and the Q "Jean-Luc, I really think the two dozen, long stem, red roses in my lab this morning along with the expensive bottle of perfume and the champagne lunch this afternoon were enough for any one birthday." Archaeology Councilmember Vash, the head of the archaeology department on the Enterprise E, smiled across the dining table in the captain's quarters. She looked down at the lit candles on the small, round birthday cake in front of her. "Indulge me and blow out the candles, so I can give you the rest of your birthday surprises," Captain Jean-Luc Picard coaxed. Having just finished cleaning up their early dinner, he moved to stand behind her chair. "As much as I love the tokens of affection," Vash gazed up over her shoulder at him, "And I do love the tokens of affection. Women, as they approach my age, don't really want to make a big deal out of getting older." Arching an eyebrow, Picard admired the young, lovely brunette sitting at his table. The soft velvet of her dress clung to the delicate frame of her feminine silhouette down to her tiny waist before flaring into a full skirt that flowed to her ankles. The low-scoop neckline of the dress provided an enticing view and the sapphire-blue color of the velvet emphasized the color of her sparkling, blue eyes. He chuckled, "Your age? Ma chere, I happen to be the December in this May-December romance." Vash openly appraised him. With his handsome, chiseled features, steel grey eyes, and sleek, muscular build, Jean-Luc Picard was pure masculine virility. The fact that he was bald, except for the closely trimmed grey hair at his temples, only served to add to his natural commanding presence. Dressed in his uniform, he was as dashing as any fairytale knight in shining armor. Impishly, she baited him, "December? No. Mid-September, maybe." Giggling, Vash squirmed slightly as Picard retaliated by reaching down to briefly tickle her. He scolded her, "That's quite enough young lady. Just blow out the candles, please." "Aye, sir," Vash quipped before turning back to blow out the candles on the cake. Leaning down to speak softly in her ear, he asked, "Which would you prefer next, cake or token of affection?" Vash's insides turned upside-down at the sound of his bedroom baritone whispering in her ear. She wondered if he knew that his deep, sexy, resonating voice sent female pulses racing all over the ship. She had actually seen women turn up their commlinks during his ship-wide announcements and it was not because they were interested in the details of the announcements. She glanced at him coyly out of the corner of her eye and cooed, "The token of affection, please." Reaching up, Picard carefully pushed the cake to the center of the table. "Close your eyes and no peeking." He waited until her eyes were closed and then placed her surprise on the table in front of her. He was glad she had chosen the gift first. He could hardly wait to see her reaction. "Now, open your eyes." Vash opened her eyes and gasped as she recognized the styling of the long, velvet jewelry box in front of her. Her voice quavered slightly, "Jean-Luc, This is from Cartier." "Their Paris location, to be precise," Picard whispered low in her ear again. "Open it, ma chere." Vash's hands trembled as she picked up the box to open it. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the necklace and matching bracelet inside. The choker-length necklace was a series of the most vividly blue sapphires she had ever seen. Each sapphire was approximately a carat and surrounded by small, fiery diamonds. The matching bracelet was the same design, only the sapphires were smaller, about a half carat each. Stunned, all she could do was gasp, "Oh Jean-Luc." "I take it that means you like them," Picard teased, very pleased with himself. "Like them? I love them," Vash breathed as she ran her fingertips over the glittering gems. Tearing her eyes away from the jewelry, she looked up over her shoulder at Picard. "They are absolutely exquisite. I've never seen anything so beautiful." "Look in a mirror. They were the most beautiful pieces in Cartier and they still pale in comparison to you," he told her as he softly brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. Seeing her blush at his compliment, he asked, "Would you like me to help you try them on?" Vash could only nod. After picking up the necklace, he pushed her hair to one side. She felt the warmth of his strong hands as he placed the necklace around her slender, graceful throat and fastened it. Taking her hand, he helped her out of the chair to stand in front of him. Reaching down, he picked up the bracelet and fastened it around her wrist. He raised her hand to his lips, placing a courtly kiss on the back of her hand. Letting go of her hand, he reached up to tenderly cup her cheek in his palm. As she peered up at him shyly through her lashes, Vash finally managed a very subdued, "Thank you." "Happy birthday, ma chere," Picard whispered, using the hand cupping her cheek to bring her face to his for a deep, romantic kiss. As his lips claimed hers, he felt her arms come up to circle his neck and her body melted against his. Even as she returned his passion, he could feel her impatience. He pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss. With an indulgent smile, he gestured toward a small mirror on the wall behind his desk and sighed, "go on, go play with your new baubles." With a squeal of pure delight, Vash scampered across the room to the mirror. Looking in the mirror, she studied the way the sapphires and diamonds in the necklace reflected the light in the room. As Picard walked over to her, Vash toyed with the sapphire that lay at the hollow of her throat, "Is this why you asked me to wear this dress?" "That," Picard settled himself in his desk chair and watched as she continued to admire her new jewelry in the mirror. "And I just happen to really like that dress on you." "I should hope so. You bought it for me," Vash quipped. Still marveling at her birthday present, she remarked, "They look like violets in new-fallen snow." "That's quite poetic. Data would be impressed," Picard told her with a small nod of approval. "Speaking of friends," Vash turned from the mirror to face him, keeping her tone casual. "Beverly, Deanna and I have been working on preparations for a ship dance next Friday night. We decided to do a costume party on the holodeck, because everyone seems to really enjoy those. We had several ideas for the theme. Will suggested an American Civil War theme complete with Union and Rebel officers and Southern belles. Data suggested a Louis XIV theme with a ball taking place in the palace of Versailles. We decided to go with Beverly's idea of a mid-twentieth century-style school sock hop with poodleskirts, saddle shoes, ponytails, and pompadours." Picard already knew where this conversation was going and he was prepared for it. "What made you ladies decide on that theme?" "Well, I hate to burst your bubble here, but we decided to just leave you out of the whole equation. It's hard enough to drag you to these things anyway and the only costumes you'll even consider are either military, Sherlock Holmes or Dixon Hill." Vash placed her hands on her hips as she continued, "To be quite frank, we ladies have had all we can digest of pouring ourselves into those bloody corsets, crinolines, and petticoats. Bobbysocks, ponytails, Elvis Presely and Buddy Holly just seemed like a lot more fun to us. Lieutenant Lefler helped us program the holodeck to recreate a old-style high school gym decorated with crepe paper, streamers, and balloons." "I see," Picard replied, somewhat distracted. While she had been talking, he had started to search through a cabinet behind his desk for something. 'Merde,' He thought to himself, 'I just dug the thing out yesterday.' "It's going to be a really good time with great food, fun music and dancing. You're an excellent dancer, so why you don't like to dance at social functions is totally beyond me. Of course, you know how I absolutely love the jitterbug," Vash persisted, trying to keep his attention. As she watched him root around in the cabinet, she asked, "Are we going Friday night?" Picard could hear the almost schoolgirl-like hesitation in her voice. The tone was so utterly adorable that he found himself unable to keep from baiting her further on the subject, "Going where, ma chere?" "Jean-Luc!" Vash huffed and stomped her foot. Finally finding the small black box he was hunting for, he closed the cabinet. Setting the box on the desk, he sat back in his chair and chuckled, "Of course I'll take you to the dance. So, you can go ahead and pick out your saddle shoes and poodleskirt. However, I prefer not to go in costume." Holding out his hand, he coaxed, "Come here." Vash took his hand and he gently pulled her down to sit across his lap. She leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Jean-Luc. It means a lot to Beverly, Deanna, and I. We've done a lot of work on this." "I know," Picard brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. "I signed the requisition forms for it yesterday morning." "Oh, you're really rotten," Vash complained as she playfully swatted at his shoulder. "You knew about it and had planned for us to go all along." "That's right," Picard told her with a self-satisfied smile. He easily caught both of her wrists in one of his large hands, holding her small hands still against his chest. "And in keeping with the school sock hop theme, I found something that I thought you might like to wear to the dance." After Picard released her hands, Vash slid one of them up the front of his uniform jacket to leisurely trace the rank pips on his collar and cooed. "Really, and what is that?" Picard reached over to the box on the desk and opened it. Handing what was inside to her, he answered, "just this." Vash smiled as she studied the item. Slipped on a long gold chain was a man's gold signet ring with the emblem for Starfleet Academy carved on the top. Etched on one side of the ring was the year 2327 and 'Class Valedictorian.' The other side was etched with symbols for Command, Archaeology, and Track and Field. The inside of the ring was engraved with the initials JLP. Holding the ring up for inspection, she inquired impishly, "This wouldn't happen to be the actual Academy ring of the legendary Captain Jean-Luc Picard would it?" "It would." He placed one large hand at the small of her back, feeling the soft velvet of her dress beneath his fingertips. Sitting sideways across his lap, Vash crossed her legs and teased, "Well, well, well. Now, I would have expected that this would have been the trophy of some pretty, little thing years ago." Picard shook his head, "No one has ever had it." Vash arched her eyebrows in surprise, "Are you telling me that you've never asked any sweetheart to wear this to show she was yours or to remind her of you until you returned planetside?" "Honestly, I was never serious enough about any one woman to ask that," Picard explained, looking down at the ring and then up into her lovely eyes. His face flushed slightly as he quietly admitted, "Until now; I'd like you to wear it." "I'd love to," Vash whispered, completely charmed by his offer and seeing him blush. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a sweet, lingering kiss. After breaking the kiss, she sat up straight and toyed with the ring. Her blue eyes sparkling, Vash affected the tone of a naughty schoolgirl, "Johnny Picard is this your way of saying I'm your steady girl?" "I believe that is the accepted, traditional interpretation," Picard replied with a small, self-deprecating smile. "Oh Johnny, you are about to get so lucky!" Vash purred as her arms slid up around his neck with the ring still clutched in one of her hands. She quieted Picard's chuckle by covering his lips with hers in a smoldering kiss. His muscular arms wrapped around her tiny waist, pulling her tightly against him as he deepened the kiss. Vash's body melted against Jean-Luc's as she lost herself in the strength of his warm embrace. Suddenly, she sensed another, but very familiar, presence in the room. 'It's been several years, why now?' Vash groaned inwardly. Picard felt Vash stiffen in his embrace. Before he could break off the kiss to ask what was wrong, there was a bright flash of light. A well-known voice--too well-known in Picard's opinion-- taunted them with, "don't the two of you have anything better to do with your time?" Breaking the kiss, Vash buried her face into Picard's shoulder and whimpered, "Make him go away." "I'm certainly going to try," Picard said softly into her hair. Looking up, his deep voice resonated with authority as he addressed the intruder, "Go away Q. I'm busy." "How presumptuous, mon Capitaine," Q settled himself comfortably on the couch as he rebuked Picard. "What makes you think I'm here to see you?" Picard discreetly signaled Vash by silently patting her twice with the hand he had on her hip. Vash slid gracefully out of his lap to stand next to his chair. Standing up, Picard demanded, "Cut to the chase, Q. What do you want?" "Actually, I'm here to see the lovely mademoiselle," Q smiled suavely at Vash before turning back to Picard. "Wrong answer," Picard ground out as he braced his hands flat on the desktop and leaned menacingly toward the entity. Feeling Vash's small hand resting gently on his upper arm, he looked back at her. She gazed up at him with an appreciative, but definite 'Down boy' expression. "It's not as if I've never dealt with him before," Vash quipped, trying to calm Jean-Luc down. He seemed as if he was about leap over the desk and strangle Q. Straightening up, Picard took a deep breath and nodded, "You're right, of course." "Besides, what were you planning to do, take a swing at him?" Vash teased as she gestured toward Q. "It's not real effective. Just ask Captain Sisko." Picard's eyebrows went up with amusement, "Ben Sisko punched Q?" "Hit him with a pretty wicked uppercut to the jaw," Vash noted gleefully as she patted Jean-Luc's arm. She moved past Picard to stand in front of the desk. Folding her arms, she leaned back against the desk and regarded Q. "All right, what do you want this time?" "I felt a visit was long overdue, my dear," Q said in a casual tone. "I had a couple of decades free and I thought we might take a quick twenty or thirty year spin through the Universe." "No; been there, done that, not the least bit interested in doing it again," Vash shook her head no. "I'm not going anywhere, Q." Q acted as if he hadn't heard a word, "Now, where should we go first? I know a delightful little planet in the Delta quadrant that has four moons and the most outrageous festivals for each one." "Oh omnipotent one, what part of 'no' didn't your pea-sized brain understand, the N part or the O part?" Vash reiterated sarcastically. "I'm staying right here with Jean-Luc." Standing up and walking over to Vash, Q's tone was indignant. "You would rather stay here with him than tour the universe with me?" As he towered over her, Vash didn't even flinch, "Well duh!" "Here! With Starfleet's errand boy!" Q boomed, "Woman, do you not understand the time you spent with me has made you consort for a king!" Picard leaned against the desk toward Vash and commented, "Bernard Shaw." Vash smiled fondly at Picard and nodded in agreement. "Act five of 'Pygmalion.'" Turning her attention back to Q, she replied sweetly, "Now Q, if I may paraphrase Eliza Doolittle's response, Johnny loves me, that makes him king enough for me." "Oh please," Q huffed in contempt, "Give me one good reason why you would rather stay here instead of exploring the universe with me." "For starters," Vash glanced back at Picard appreciatively. Squeezing the academy ring still hidden in her grasp, her expression and tone became coyly suggestive, "Jean-Luc doesn't need the power of the continuum to make the earth move beneath me." "Vash," Picard mouthed under his breath, stunned but also a little flattered. "Oh, I see," Q said with a sneer. "Tell me, mon Capitaine, does your charming, little courtesan have her own quarters. No, you probably keep her right here, easier for her to service the king." "Q," Picard low snarl was cold and dangerous. He saw Vash's 'calm down' look, this time he ignored it. He would allow no one, not even an entity as powerful as Q, to talk about her that way. "Councilmember Vash is the head of this ship's Archaeology department. And yes, she has her own quarters." "Semantics. For all your blustering about my needing to 'guarantee her safety,' you go and turn her into a kept woman," Q taunted Picard. Both were startled by Vash's interruption. "A kept woman? Q, don't be absurd. Jean-Luc Picard is a seasoned explorer, noted scientist, and respected interstellar diplomat. An officer and a gentleman, he is Starfleet's most experienced field commander and the captain of the Federation's flagship," Vash remarked as she slowly sauntered across the room to the couch, her long, full skirt flowing around her legs as she walked. Gracefully sliding onto the couch, she stretched herself out like Cleopatra on a golden litter. The blue velvet of her dress softly veiled her feminine silhouette, the skirt spilling over the side of the couch. Admiring the bracelet on her wrist, Vash looked up at them through her lashes. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she added, "I'm a very, well-kept woman." It was obvious to Picard that Q was miffed by Vash's rejection of his offer. It was also obvious that Vash was enjoying herself. She had spent almost two years with Q, and it seemed she had become a master at poking the entity's buttons. Picard had to admit, if it weren't for the fact that Q was so powerful and so unpredictable, he would also be amused by the whole scene. However, at the moment, he would be satisfied just to get through this without having to declare a red alert. "He's a primal beast," Q uttered with disgust. "If I'm lucky," Vash purred with a sly smile from her spot on the couch. "As you wish," Q replied, before disappearing in a flash of light. Picard made his way over to sit down in the easy chair next to the couch. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he sighed, "This isn't over. He'll be back." "You think?" Vash gasped with mock surprise. Remembering Vash's reaction just before Q appeared, Picard asked, "Are you able to sense him?" "Only a second or two before he decides to show up," she explained. "Which isn't very helpful." With gentle exasperation, Picard muttered, "make the earth move? a very, well kept woman?" "Sorry darling," Vash giggled, not sounding the least bit remorseful. "I tend to have this knee jerk reaction to him." END PART 1 ..................................... -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Awards Tech Support http://www.trekiverse.us/ASCAwards/commenting/ No Tribbles were harmed in the running of these Awards ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek .creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Mon Apr 19 23:59:22 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n10.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.65]) by eagle (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bfMms3wu3NZFji2 for ; Mon, 19 Apr 2004 20:55:52 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-13447-1082433343-stephenbratliffasc=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yah