Path: newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!elnk-nf2-pas!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newshub.sdsu.edu!newshosting.com!nx02.iad01.newshosting.com!yellow.newsread.com!news-toy.newsread.com!netaxs.com!newsread.com!POSTED.newshog.newsread.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated Approved: ascem@earthlink.net Organization: Better Living Thru TrekSmut Sender: ascem@earthlink.net Message-ID: From: "Ida Vega-Landow" MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEML@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEML-owner@yahoogroups.com Subject: P/Q Xmas Slash--The Christmas Present Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 645 Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2004 21:55:04 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.198.142.218 X-Complaints-To: Abuse Role , We Care X-Trace: newshog.newsread.com 1102456504 209.198.142.218 (Tue, 07 Dec 2004 16:55:04 EST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2004 16:55:04 EST Xref: news.earthlink.net alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated:85958 X-Received-Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2004 13:55:12 PST (newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net) It's that time of year again, so I'm posting a couple of Christmas stories I wrote last year, slightly edited. The first one is PG and stars Picard, Riker and Q. The second one is for mature audiences only and stars Picard and Riker. Please feel free to feedback on either one. Feliz Navidad! STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION "THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT," P/R, P/Q, PG-13 Part 1 of 1 Author: "Slasherfem" DISCLAIMER:"STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION," and all of the characters contained therein is the exclusive property of Paramount Studios. I just want to play with them for a while; I promise I'll put them back when I'm done! SUMMARY: Picard receives a Christmas present from Riker, which puts The command team of the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE 1701-D was having brunch in the first officer's quarters on the Sunday before Christmas. The ENTERPRISE was currently in orbit over Domingus, a new candidate for admission into the United Federation of Planets. Negotiations were going well, but due to the volatile political situation on the planet's surface, where two rival factions were competing for the office of the presidency in a violent manner, Starfleet Command had strongly suggested that Captain Picard remain on board while his first officer ironed out the treaty details. So Riker was leaving with the Away Team at noon. Since Picard and Riker's relationship had only recently taken a more intimate turn, this would be the first time that they spent the night apart. Riker had gone to a great deal of trouble to prepare a memorable meal for them; cheese and mushroom omelets, with Canadian bacon and fresh baked brioche. All made from scratch, not replicated. Picard was touched by the romantic gesture, especially since they had stayed up so late making love the night before. He knew that cooking was one of Riker's talents which he seldom utilized, cooking facilities being so limited on the ship. So he took care to savor the meal and praise it afterwards, knowing that his friend and lover was going into a potentially hazardous situation on Domingus. If this turned out to be their last meal together, he didn't want the memory to be spoiled by any show of ingratitude on his part. After brunch, as Picard was enjoying his second cup of Earl Grey tea and Riker his second cup of coffee, the younger man produced a small, gift-wrapped package, which he pushed across the small, round dining table toward Picard. "I got you an early Christmas present," he told him, "just in case I'm not back by tomorrow." "How thoughtful of you, Will." Picard picked up the small package, wrapped in white paper covered with tiny green holly wreaths, with a golden bow on top. "I'm sorry I didn't think to give you anything." "You already gave me something last night." Riker leered at him playfully. "This is just a token of my appreciation." Picard toyed with the small package, which was rectangular in shape and just big enough to fit into the palm of his hand. "Shall I open this now or later?" he wondered aloud. "That's up to you. Officially, you're not supposed to open Christmas presents until midnight of Christmas Eve. But then, you are the captain. So you can bend the rules a bit." Smiling, the captain studied the small gift tag dangling from the golden bow on his present. "To J-L from W" was all it said. Riker was nothing if not discreet. Even after being intimate with his captain for a month, he still respected him enough not to do anything that would embarrass him or diminish his authority before the rest of the crew. Seeing how eagerly Riker was looking at him over his coffee cup, Picard decided to open the present now. So he carefully pried off the golden bow and ripped off the Christmas wreath gift wrap, exposing the small, white cardboard box beneath. When he opened it, he found an oval-shaped Christmas tree ornament, made of white porcelain, with the words "Je'Teme" written in gold in the center. A gold border surrounded the tender words. "Do you like it?" Riker asked, anxious for his approval. "Oui, c'est bon," Picard assured him. "Merci." Riker knew then that he approved; his lover only spoke French when he was emotionally moved. He reached across the table to take his hand. They looked at each other adoringly, on the verge of a kiss, until a hailing whistle from the comm unit on the wall rudely interrupted. "Commander Riker, the Away Team is assembled in Transporter Room 3," Chief O'Brien's voice announced over the speaker. "They request your presence as soon as possible, so they can beam down to Domingus." "I'll be right there, O'Brien. Tell Worf to make sure everyone is armed discreetly. That means nothing big enough to cause alarm among the Domingans. Riker out." After making sure the comm unit was switched off, Riker looked longingly at his captain and sighed. "I know, I know," Picard said sympathetically, gently squeezing the big hand he still held in his smaller one. "I'll be counting the minutes too." Riker lifted the captain's hand to his bearded lips and kissed it. "Au revoir, my love," he said. He and Picard both rose from the table and headed for the door, still hand in hand, Picard holding his lover's present in the other hand. Before they got within sensor range of the door they stopped and kissed, briefly but intensely, then released each other's hands and walked straight on. The door hissed open at their approach; Captain Picard and First Officer Riker exited into the corridor and maintained their professional decorum all the way to the turbolift. Riker got on alone, as they had agreed on beforehand, and turned to face his captain. "I'll notify you in the event of any difficulty, sir," he said with proper formality. "Thank you, Number One," said Picard with equal formality. "Good luck." They kept their eyes on each other until the lift door shut. Then Picard headed for his own quarters, looking tenderly at the little ornament in his hand. Picard entered his quarters and headed for the tall, potted ficus tree beside his desk, where he hung Riker's gift on one of the boughs. As he stood admiring it, he heard a familiar popping sound, followed by an all-too-familiar voice. "Really, Jean-Luc, is that the best that he can do?" "Q?" Picard turned to see his old nemesis from the Q Continuum. As usual, he looked like a dark-haired, middle-aged human male, younger and taller than Picard, wearing a Starfleet captain's uniform. He also looked incredibly peeved, as he stared at the little white ornament on Picard's ficus tree with disgust. "I thought you humans made such a big deal out of Christmas? You're always competing with each other to see who can give the biggest, most expensive presents. All this in honor of a deity in human form who chose to be born into poverty!" "It's not the size or the cost of the gift that matters," Picard told him. "It's the thought behind it that counts." "Really? Well then, what was he thinking when he gave you that? I'll bet it was: `I'd better throw the old fool a bone, before he realizes I'm growing tired of him'." Stung by Q's bitchy remark, Picard retorted: "We agreed not to give each other extravagant presents this year. It's enough for us that we get to spend a whole week together in Anchorage." "Anchorage? Anchorage, Alaska? He's taking you to Alaska for Christmas?!?" Q sounded horrified. "Jean-Luc, you'll freeze there! A man of your age and your station in life deserves to spend Christmas in a much warmer climate! Let me take you back to the Bahamas!" "No, thank you," Picard said firmly. "My bags are already packed for Anchorage. So is my camping gear." "You're going camping in the snow?!?" Q's voice became so shrill with indignation, Picard thought he sounded like a tropical bird screeching in the rain forest. Not only did he shriek, his eyes popped out of his head and he grabbed his chest as if he were having a heart attack. Swaying on his feet as if he would faint, Q put out his other hand and a vial of smelling salts suddenly popped into it. Q quickly uncapped the smelling salts and breathed deeply of them. Shaking his head at him, Picard remarked: "Always the drama queen. Why can't you just accept the fact that Will and I are together now?" "Yes, now! What about later?" Q said as he flung the smelling salts over his shoulder. Picard flinched in expectation of hearing them break against something, but all they did was vanish in midair, much to his relief. "What guarantee do you have that he won't leave you for the next alien floozy who makes eyes at him?" "There are no guarantees in any relationship, especially in our profession," Picard told him. "When you're in Starfleet, you're as likely to be separated by a fatal accident on a mission gone wrong as you are by a rival. You can only go on as if you expect the relationship to last. I'm willing to accept what we have together for however long it lasts." "Well, judging from the expensive presents he gives you," Q said, sneering at the little white ornament on the ficus tree, "this affair is not destined to last a lifetime. You don't even have a real Christmas tree to hang it on! At least let me give you that as a Christmas present." "Now, Q, you know I don't like cluttering up my quarters with decorations during the holidays. That includes Christmas trees." "One little tree isn't going to clutter up your quarters that much. Just let me change this ficus tree into a Christmas tree for you. Please, Jean-Luc?" Q wheedled like a child begging for a special toy for Christmas. "I just want to give you something special for Christmas, for old times' sake. Please?" "Oh, all right, then!" The kindhearted captain could not say no to the childish entity who so frequently made his life miserable. Despite his capriciousness, Q had been very kind to him in the recent past, and Jean-Luc was not a man who forgot a kindness, however small. "Go ahead and give me a tree. Just a small one, mind." Q beamed like a happy child before he turned to the ficus tree, stared at it intensely and nodded his head. The little potted tree disappeared in a flash of light, to be replaced by a stately evergreen tree, so tall it reached the roof of Picard's quarters, and so wide it could only be encompassed by two people with their arms outspread, covered with twinkling lights, bright tinsel, and so many ornaments you could barely see the bright green color of the pine needles. "Good heavens, Q!" a shocked Picard exclaimed. "I asked you for a small Christmas tree!" "This is small, compared to the one in the arboretum," said Q, referring to the huge fir tree growing in the ENTERPRISE's indoor garden that was decorated every Christmas for the benefit of the children on board. "And it's got more decorations on it, too. Look, I put on every ornament that you had on your family Christmas tree when you were growing up." Q happily pointed out the delicate, hand-blown glass ornaments that looked like stars, snowflakes, icicles, apples, oranges, and bunches of grapes, as well as the little hand-carved wooden rocking horses, toy drums and horns made by Picard's father and the little teddy bears, mice, elves and the jolly bearded figure of Pere Noel that Picard's mother had made out of colored fabric, yarn and buttons when he and his brother Robert were small. "That's very thoughtful of you, Q, and I do appreciate the gesture. But could you please take it down in size a bit? I'm afraid it might crush my desk if it falls down on it." "Never mind your desk! What if it crushes you while you're sitting at your desk?" Q shuddered at the thought. "What was I thinking? Here's something more appropriate." Q nodded at the tree, which winked out and reappeared in a much smaller size. It still dwarfed Picard's desk, but at least you could see the angel at the top now. Picard noticed that the white satin-clad, blonde angel resembled his mother when she was young. "How do you like the angel?" Q asked him. "I designed her with you in mind." "Yes, it was good of you to make her look like Mama." Picard moved closer to the tree for a better look. "Yes, that's exactly the way she looked when I was a little boy." He sighed as fond memories of past Christmases went through his mind. "How I do miss her at Christmas! She baked the most wonderful sugar cookies, with little designs in colored sugar, and gingerbread men and women with raisins for eyes, and their clothes drawn on with colored icing." "Like this?" Q held up his hands and a platter appeared on them, heaped with colorful and fragrant Christmas cookies just like Picard's mother used to bake. "Yes, just like that. My, you've thought of everything, haven't you?" Picard looked at the platter full of cookies with a smile. "Go on, take some," Q coaxed him. "You'll find they taste just like your mother's cookies too." "Yes, I'm sure they do." Picard looked at the cookies longingly, but didn't touch any. "You're very generous, Q. But I'm afraid I can't accept them." "Oh, come on! What's a few Christmas cookies between friends? We are still friends, aren't we?" Q asked anxiously. "Yes, of course. But I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting such a gift from you, on top of the Christmas tree. Really, I have no business accepting anything from you at all. You do understand, don't you?" "Oh, I understand all right!" Q said angrily. "You'd rather accept Riker's cheap little present than anything I could give you, because of your silly, sentimental notion that even the simplest gift from your lover at Christmas means more than the most elaborate gift from me!" "Now don't get upset," Picard said soothingly. "All I meant was that it wouldn't be in good taste for you to give me so much, after Will has given me so little. It makes you look desperate, and it makes me look like a gold digger." "I would never consider you a gold digger, Jean-Luc. You know you only have to ask me for something and I'll give it to you." "Yes, but I didn't ask for the Christmas cookies," Picard reminded him. "All I did was mention them in passing, as part of my childhood memories of Christmas. And I did ask for a small tree." "This is smaller than the first one," Q pointed out. "Yes, but it's still large enough to imperil my desk if it should come down. Could you please reduce it just a wee bit more?" "Oh, all right! You don't want my cookies and and you don't want my big tree! Let's see how you like this one!" The platter of cookies disappeared from Q's hands as the tree winked out, to be replaced by a tiny tree on Picard's desk, right next to the computer. It still had all the elaborate decorations and lights on it, in miniature, but the tree itself was only two feet high. "How nice," said Picard dryly. "You finally learned subtlety." "Oh, this one you like, eh? I should have given you the small, chintzy tree to begin with, to go with Riker's present!" Q pointed to the small, white oval ornament with "Je'Teme" written in gold now dangling from a bough of the teeny tree. "Stop criticizing Will's gift!" Picard told him angrily. "I told you we were not giving each other extravagant presents this Christmas! All we really wanted was to spend some time alone together." "But that was all that I wanted!" Q cried. "To spend some time alone with you!" Picard sighed. "Q, I thought we agreed to remain friends after our little interlude in the Bahamas last Christmas. You promised not to make any more demands on me if I showed you what love was like between two men." "Yes, I remember," Q said sadly. "And if I had known what I was getting into, I never would have made that promise." "But I warned you," Picard reminded him gently. "I warned you before anything happened between us that such intimate acts were bound to arouse deeper feelings. Feelings that can be easily confused with love. Despite your advanced age, you're still quite inexperienced with life as a human. You wanted to increase your knowledge and experience of humanity, so that you could understand us better. I agreed to help you do so." He added with a smile, "Besides, that debacle with Vash made me realize just how little you understood about love in general. When you came to see me after she had dumped you, I thought you were just on the rebound." "She didn't dump me! I dumped her! Oh, I'm so over that woman!" Q declared, rolling his eyes in disgust. "She was so demanding, in bed and out! It got to the point where we couldn't have a civil conversation any more. We spent every waking moment arguing, just like she did with you. When we weren't arguing, I was busy trying to keep her from getting killed during her search for valuable relics. No wonder she was so willing to leave you for me; I helped her gain access to more relics! It took seven months before it finally dawned on me that all I meant to her was a convenient way of getting around the universe, so she could steal whatever she wanted more easily. So I left her on Veneris, happily prying off hand- painted erotic tiles from the walls of the love goddess' temple." "I'll bet she never even noticed you left!" Picard laughed. "I'm sure she has by now. I'm equally sure she found some other poor sap willing to transport her off Veneris. But enough about Vash! What about you and me?" "You and I," Picard corrected him automatically. "Yes, that sounds good to me." Q moved closer to him so he could grasp him by the shoulders. "We were good together, weren't we?" he asked, looking down earnestly into Picard's hazel eyes with his brown ones. "I made you happy, didn't I? I know you made me very happy while we were together. Why can't we be together again?" "Q, we can't be together again," Picard explained patiently. "I'm with Will Riker now." "Oh, forget Riker! He's too young for you anyway. I'm old enough to appreciate you and young enough to enjoy everything we did together. And if you come with me, I'll restore your youth so that we'll both look the same age. How about it, Jean-Luc?" Q pulled him closer as he regarded him eagerly, certain that no mortal man would be able to resist his offer. "That's tempting, Q. Very tempting," Picard said slowly, trying to think of the right way to turn him down without arousing his volatile temper. The last thing he needed was an angry entity raging in his quarters. "But even if you made me as young as Wesley Crusher, I could never leave Will for you. I promised him there wouldn't be anyone else in my bed as long as we were together. Would you have me break my word? You know I always keep my word." "Yes, yes, I know," Q said impatiently. "Because you're a gentleman, and a gentleman doesn't go back on his word. But Riker doesn't have to know! I can take you back to the Bahamas for Christmas and bring you back here the exact moment after we left. He'll never be the wiser! Come with me, Jean-Luc, please!" Q wrapped his arms around the smaller man and hugged him close, much too tight for his comfort. "Spend Christmas with me again, before you spend it with Riker," Q pleaded. "He'll never know. I promise you, he'll never know." Jean-Luc Picard never felt more frightened in his life then at that moment, with Q holding him tightly in his arms, begging him to run off with him. He knew that if he refused, the capricious entity was capable of crushing him like a bug, or worse. What if he decided to simply take him away against his will? What could he do to stop him? He remembered that in all of their previous encounters, he had managed to get the upper hand by acting fearlessly, standing up to Q and speaking his mind regardless of the consequences. So he knew that if he wanted to survive this encounter, he had to go on acting fearlessly. The fact that they had once slept together might also prevent Q from doing him any harm. "Q, let go of me, please." He forced himself to remain calm and speak gently but firmly, as if to a spoiled child who wasn't used to hearing "no", which was all that Q really was at heart. "I don't want to!" Q said petulantly as he hugged him tighter. "I love you, Jean-Luc. Say you'll go with me, please!" Picard gasped in the too-tight embrace. "Q, please let go! I can't breathe!" "Oh! I'm sorry!" Q loosened his grip, but still held him loosely around the waist. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. You know I would never hurt you on purpose, Jean-Luc." "No, not after last Christmas," Picard said hoarsely as he caught his breath. He'd taken a big chance, hoping that his previous intimacy with Q would make him reluctant to do him harm. "Even before we slept together, I never wanted to hurt you. I may have threatened you, but I never actually hurt you, did I?" "No, you had others do it for you," Picard reminded him. "All right, I admit it! I let others do my dirty work because I couldn't bear to hurt you myself. I convinced myself that as long as I wasn't inflicting your, um, punishment, I wasn't really responsible. Because you're my favorite person in this whole universe. You know that, don't you?" Q stroked his cheek as he regarded him fondly. Picard didn't flinch, but his expression alone was enough to show that he didn't care for the caress. Q dropped his hand hastily when he saw how Picard was glaring at him. He had the strong impression that if he hadn't, Picard would have bitten him. Wondering why this particular human had the power to affect him emotionally while others of his species were merely pawns or playthings, Q resumed trying to coax Picard into leaving with him. "Come on, Jean-Luc, let bygones be bygones. I told you last Christmas that I was sorry for all the tricks I played on you, and all that I put you through. If you're still upset by those memories, I'll apologize again. You can trust me this time. I mean it. Come back with me to the Bahamas and I'll be so good to you..." He embraced him again, more gently this time, rubbing his back through the red and black tunic he wore, imagining him without it, longing to feel the soft skin and hard muscle beneath it. He ran his hands down the length of his back and started stroking his buttocks as well; he kept expecting to feel Jean-Luc relax beneath his caresses and yield to him, melting into his arms and molding their bodies together as close as two kittens snuggled in a basket. Then they could kiss until they were breathless, and he could sweep him off his feet and into bed, where they could do more of that pleasant activity that Jean-Luc had introduced him to last year. It had become a constant craving for Q since they had parted. Doing it with other men simply didn't have the same appeal. Having Jean-Luc in his arms again felt right, comfortable, safe. All he had to do was convince him that he would be safe too in his arms. Much to Q's surprise, despite the tender caresses being bestowed on him, Jean-Luc was not relaxing or yielding. His body remained stiff, his hands remained by his sides, neither embracing nor caressing in return. Thinking he needed further persuasion, Q put his hand beneath the dimpled chin and lifted Jean-Luc's face up to his for a kiss. Before he could put his lips to the other man's, Jean-Luc had turned his face away. So Q settled for kissing his cheek. "Mon amour..." Q murmured in his ear. "Mon capitan. You could be mine forever. Just say the word." "No," said Picard, very clearly and firmly. "That wasn't the word I wanted to hear, Jean-Luc." Q tightened his arm around the human's waist as he used his other hand to turn Picard's face toward his again. "I want to hear you say "Yes, Q, I will go with you for Christmas." Will you say it for me now?" "No," Picard repeated, his hazel eyes burning into Q's without a trace of fear. "Don't make me angry, Jean-Luc," Q admonished him gently, even as he gripped his face hard enough to leave bruises on his cheek. "You won't like me when I'm angry." "I don't like you now. And I won't like you any better if you try to force me to your will." "I wasn't intending to use force to persuade you. But if it becomes necessary..." Q left the threat hanging as he coldly appraised the other man, calculating how much force would be needed to frighten him into compliance. He knew it wouldn't be easy; Jean-Luc was not a man who scared easily. Perhaps a threat to someone other than himself would be more effective. "You know, the civil unrest down on Domingus is getting worse by the day. Your Mr. Riker could make things worse by trying to play peacemaker, poking his nose into matters that don't concern him. Remember when Beverly was taken hostage by those Rutian terrorists? She came back alive. But maybe Riker won't be so lucky." Picard held back an angry retort as concern for his lover overrode his desire to tell Q to go to the devil. The last thing he wanted to do was insult an omnipotent being who literally held his life in his hands. But that didn't mean he couldn't speak his mind. "Will Riker can take care of himself, as long as a certain entity refrains from meddling in Domingus' local politics. If you want me badly enough to resort to violence, don't waste your time threatening Will. You have me in your power. Go ahead and do what you want to me." Q blinked. "What are you saying, Jean-Luc?" "I'm saying go ahead and rape me," Picard told him bluntly. "Throw me down, tear my clothes off and take me. I won't resist you. Do whatever you like, for as long as you like. But you had better do everything you want to do this one time. Because when you're finished with me, I want you off my ship. And don't ever show your face on board again. Raping me is the only way you're ever going to have sex with me while Riker is alive." Q gawked at him, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Jean-Luc, have you gone mad? Do you really believe I would hurt you in any way, just to have sex with you?" "You're willing to hurt Riker. And that would hurt me worse than anything you could do to me, even rape. So get it over with!" Picard eyed him with contempt. "What's the matter, Q? Don't you have the courage to do your own dirty work? For once you truly have me at your mercy. You might as well take advantage of me while you can. Just don't expect me to welcome you as a friend in the future." Q looked at the angry man in his arms, imagining him naked and pinned down beneath him, forced to yield himself in return for his lover's life. He knew Jean-Luc was a brave man, brave enough to endure Cardassian torture and assimilation by the Borg, and survive with his mind and spirit intact. What would it do to that brave mind and spirit if he were forced into sex with someone he didn't love? What would it do to him, if he chose to enjoy Jean-Luc's body against his will? They certainly wouldn't be friends anymore. He doubted he would be able to look him in the eye afterwards. It would spoil the memory of their last encounter, when Jean-Luc had lain with him willingly and they had taken pleasure of each other without violence. So Q decided that if he couldn't have this man freely, he preferred not to have him at all. Q opened his arms and let go of the captain, stepping back so they could both see each other. "All right, Jean-Luc, you win," he said quietly. "I'm not a monster. I may play with men's lives, but I won't play with your heart. Or your body. Since you chose to share your heart and body with someone else, I suppose the only honorable thing to do is bow out gracefully. You did teach me something about honor, you know." Picard felt weak-kneed with relief, but was careful not to show it. "Thank you. I'm sorry I couldn't be with you, but I'd really much rather be with Will. For one thing, I don't have to worry about him hurting me, even unintentionally." He touched the bruises on his face, which were starting to hurt. "I'm sorry, Jean-Luc, I'm really sorry." Q touched his face again and made the bruises disappear. "There, now Riker will never know. He never knew about our last encounter, did he?" "Actually, he does. I told him," Picard confessed. "Really, Jean-Luc! I thought you were too much of a gentleman to kiss and tell?" "I didn't get specific, I just told him you and I had spent my last Christmas leave together. I believe in being honest with my loves. And former loves," he added, smiling. Q sighed. "May I be honest with you, then? I don't believe that you and Riker are destined to spend the rest of your lives together. He's still too hung up on Deanna Troi to let go of her completely. One of these days, he's going to have to choose between the two of you. When he does, I don't think you'll be the one he chooses. I'm only warning you in advance, so that when that day comes you won't be as broken-hearted as I am now." "I appreciate your concern. But as far as my life with Will is concerned, I'd rather live in the joy of the present moment than in fear of the future. Now, if you don't mind, I have a ship to run." Recognizing a dismissal when he heard it, Q said, "All right, I'm leaving! But before I go, may I have a kiss?" Picard hesitated, then nodded. Q took him in his arms and kissed him for a good long time. While he was holding him, he made Picard's uniform disappear so that he could hold his naked body in his arms one more time. When he felt himself becoming aroused, he hastily restored Picard's uniform and released him. "Au revoir, Jean-Luc. I hope you have a Merry Christmas with your love." "I wish you a Merry Christmas as well, Q. And I hope you also find love." Picard held out his hand to the entity, who took it and held it so he could look into his hazel eyes a moment longer. //Not unless I find another you,// Q thought longingly. As he looked into the eyes of the bravest man he knew in this dimension, he realized that, in spite of his omnipotent powers, he was still helpless before this man. He could use his powers to force his body, but he couldn't force Jean-Luc to love him. And he couldn't force himself to stop loving Jean-Luc. //Does that make him my equal, or my superior?// Q wondered. //Best not to dwell on it.// With one final, longing look at him, he winked out. Picard allowed himself a sigh of relief once Q was gone. "Let that be a lesson to you," he said to himself, "to choose your lovers more carefully in future." He glanced at his wrist chronometer and realized that he was due on the bridge in a few minutes. When he turned around to head for the door, he saw that Q had restored the teeny tree to its former size, and set it at a safer distance from Picard's desk. "Thank you, Q," he said aloud, in case he was listening. "That was thoughtful of you." As he walked toward the door, he paused to admire Riker's Christmas present, which was hanging on a branch facing his desk. Then he noticed that, hanging right beside the white porcelain oval with "Je'Teme" written in gold letters, was a similar ornament with the words "Joyeux Noel" also written in gold. "Of all the cheek!" Picard laughed. "I guess I have some explaining to do when Will gets back." THE END ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ASCEM messages are copied to a mailing list. Most recent messages can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEML. NewMessage: