Path: newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!elnk-atl-nf1!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newsswing.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.net!prodigy.com!newsread.com!newsstand.newsread.com!POSTED.monger.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: Christmas Slash II Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Lines: 351 Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2004 23:55:03 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.198.142.218 X-Complaints-To: Abuse Role , We Care X-Trace: monger.newsread.com 1103327703 209.198.142.218 (Fri, 17 Dec 2004 18:55:03 EST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2004 18:55:03 EST Xref: news.earthlink.net alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated:86025 X-Received-Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2004 15:55:21 PST (newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net) Okay, everybody! After digging through the old e-mails of COCO=20 CHANNEL, I was finally able to locate my second TNG Christmas story,=20 starring Picard/Riker. The reason I didn't post it sooner is that=20 the disk I originally saved it on became corrupted and my friendly=20 neighborhood computer techie couldn't do a thing to repair it. So I=20 was forced to print it out and transcribe it into my hard drive,=20 from whence I shall now post it here. Keep your fingers crossed! REP,COR: STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION "SILENT NIGHT, LONELY NIGHT" P/R, NC-17 Part 1 of 3 Author: Ida Vega-Landow, a/k/a Slasherfem DISCLAIMER: "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and all the characters=20 therein are the intellectual property of Paramount Studios. The=20 following story is MY intellectual property. If they promise not to=20 profit from my labor, I'll promise not to try to profit from=20 theirs. That said, the only profit I seek is my entertainment and=20 yours, from a tender love story set at Christmas. So, Feliz Navidad=20 a todos! (Note: This story was originally posted on the COCO=20 CHANNEL, Christmas of 2003; I'm reposting it here with a few=20 corrections.) SUMMARY: Picard spends Christmas Eve alone, drinking and thinking of=20 PART ONE It was Christmas Eve and Captain Jean-Luc Picard was pouring himself=20 another glass of Ch=E2teau Picard, the latest batch of Beaujolais=20 Nouveau from the Picard family vineyard on Earth. It was his fifth=20 glass this evening; he was going to need a lot more if he wanted to=20 get through this night. He had originally intended to share this=20 wine with a very special friend; his first officer, William Thomas=20 Riker, who had become as dear to him in the last six years as a son=20 or a brother. But the erotic dreams he'd been having lately, along=20 with the mouth-drying, groin-tightening sensations he'd been having=20 whenever he caught sight of Riker's scantily clad or nude body in=20 the ship's gym, told him he'd been fooling himself all these years,=20 and that his feelings for Will Riker were definitely not fatherly or=20 brotherly. His own brother, Robert Picard, would probably be=20 shocked to find that his annoyingly perfect younger brother, who had=20 a sterling career in Starfleet, was willing to jeopardize that=20 career for the sake of one of his officers. And not even a female=20 officer, at that! //He'd probably be relieved to see how I got the brush-off=20 tonight,// Picard thought glumly as he sipped the strong, red=20 wine. //Rejected before I even got the chance to make an advance!=20=20 Serves me right, waiting so long to declare myself. I should have=20 known that someone as handsome and popular as Will would be sure to=20 have plans on Christmas Eve. Unlike yours truly. I couldn't even=20 get Beverly to come with me to the ship's Christmas party in Ten- Forward! It seems like all my friends and senior staff members have=20 made plans for Christmas that don't include me. Now I have to face=20 all the remaining ship's crew in Ten-Forward tonight=97all the other=20 losers who couldn't get a date or leave to visit their families=97and=20 try to convince them of my holiday spirit.// "Bah, humbug!" Picard=20 grumbled aloud as he took another drink. He was hoping to get so drunk he would pass out, so he could skip=20 the enforced festivities in Ten-Forward. Everybody there would be=20 as desperate as he was to show they were having a good time, so that=20 nobody would feel sorry for them for being alone on Christmas=20 Eve. //I don't need anyone's pity, I feel sorry enough for myself.=20=20 You poor fool, why did you have to wait until the last minute to=20 approach him?// His thoughts drifted back against his will to that=20 moment on the bridge earlier this evening, when Will Riker had=20 shattered his hopes into a million brittle pieces without even=20 knowing he had done so... **************** He had waited until the end of Gamma Shift, just before Lieutenant=20 Commander Data had arrived to take the com for Delta Shift. While=20 they were docking in the Starfleet shipyard orbiting above Earth,=20 Picard had casually wandered around the bridge, asking all the=20 department heads what their plans were for Christmas. Everyone had=20 been glad to tell the captain what they had planned. Doctor Crusher=20 was looking forward to visiting her son, Wesley, at Starfleet=20 Academy. Councilor Troi was visiting her father's family on Earth=20 and then heading to Betazed for a duty visit to her mother. La=20 Forge had proudly informed Picard of his invitation to visit the=20 Daystrum Institute from Doctor Leah Brahms. Even Worf was looking=20 forward to taking his son Alexander to visit his adoptive parents in=20 Russia, though he claimed that he was just coming along to make sure=20 that they wouldn't spoil the boy too much. By the time Picard got=20 to Riker, he was all keyed up and eager to extend an invitation to=20 his friend to help him sample the Beaujolais Nouvous his brother had=20 sent him. "Well, Number One, what about you?" Picard had asked him last of=20 all. "Do you have anything in particular planned this Christmas?" "Not really, sir," Riker had admitted, which had sent Picard's hopes=20 soaring at first. "So you're free to attend the ship's Christmas party in Ten-Forward=20 tonight?" "Not unless I have no other alternative, sir!" Riker had laughed.=20=20 Before Picard could offer him an alternative, Riker had=20 continued. "I'd sooner head for San Francisco once we dock. We're=20 going to be in Earth's orbit anyway, so I might as well visit my=20 home world and get reacquainted with the pleasures of home. I might=20 even visit Alaska for old time's sake." Picard's hopes had gone from soaring to sinking like a stone at the=20 mention of San Francisco. He knew all too well the pleasures that=20 were available in that city to an attractive young man. "Oh, I=20 see. Well, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for you=20 in San Francisco," he'd said, carefully keeping his voice=20 neutral. "As for me, I suppose I'd better put in an appearance at=20 the Ten-Forward party. Just to keep up morale, you know." "You don't have to stay there all night, Captain," Riker had told=20 him sympathetically. "Just drop in, have a drink, shake a few hands=20 and leave. Then you can have the rest of the night to yourself." //What good is having a whole night to myself if I don't have you to=20 spend it with?// Picard had thought, keeping a smile on his face so=20 he wouldn't reveal his pain. He wished Riker luck and said good=20 night, just as Data, the only other senior staff member without any=20 plans for the holiday, had shown up for the night shift. He was=20 careful to stay behind on the pretext of giving Data last minute=20 orders, so he wouldn't have to ride in the turbolift with Riker. Later, as he rode the lift alone to his quarters, he felt his bitter=20 disappointment force its' way up into his throat, forming a painful=20 lump in there. He swallowed his disappointment, reminding himself=20 that he was a grown man and should know by now how to deal with=20 rejection. But his throat still hurt, and his eyes were starting to=20 water by the time he got to Deck 8. He'd had to rub his arm across=20 his eyes hard before daring to step off the lift. It wouldn't do=20 for his crew to see their captain in tears. **************** Now, two hours later, he was alone in his quarters with only a crate=20 of red wine for company. He'd already finished one bottle. He'd=20 work his way through the whole lot if he had to, until he stopped=20 feeling this hurt, empty feeling inside. As he fumbled with the=20 corkscrew, he asked himself: //Why is it so important to you to=20 start a relationship with Riker now? He's been your first officer=20 for six years, and in all that time you've taken a fatherly pride in=20 him. Why don't you just go on being a father figure to him?// A memory came into his wine-fogged brain of Will Riker in the gym=20 showers after a workout, his hairy, hard-muscled body covered with=20 soap suds and dripping wet as he washed his hair. Even at rest, his=20 massive penis had looked impressive, thick and wide as a club. It=20 would probably be at least nine inches long when erect. Picard's=20 own member began to harden at the thought of seeing and touching=20 this beautiful phallus in the flesh, and he knew that a father was=20 not supposed to have such feelings for his son. //Stop that now!// he scolded himself, turning off the mental vision=20 of masculine beauty as if he were switching off a stereovid=20 monitor. //That will do, Jean-Luc! Don't waste your time=20 daydreaming of what you can't have. Why don't you go to the bloody=20 party and find yourself a substitute? Some beautiful stranger of=20 either gender, who'll be proud to go home with the captain? Yes,=20 that would be quite a feather in some lucky crewman's hat, wouldn't=20 it? I'm sure it'll be all over the ship by Christmas morning, that=20 Captain Picard singled out some lowly crewman to enjoy his favors.=20=20 Then that lowly crewman will expect you to dispense other favors as=20 well. Like a promotion, or special consideration for important=20 assignments, or a willingness to overlook tardiness and shoddy=20 work.// He shook his head, wondering when he had become so cynical. //Oh,=20 come now, Jean-Luc, that's hardly being fair to your fellow=20 officers. You didn't have those problems the last time you became=20 involved with a crewmember.// The memory gave him an ache in the=20 region of his chest where his heart used to be, before it was=20 replaced by a pump. His short-lived romance with Lieutenant Nella=20 Daren had been a bittersweet example of why Starfleet captains=20 should not become romantically involved with their crewmembers.=20=20 Nella had never tried to take advantage of their relationship, but=20 it had still made Riker and his other officers uneasy about working=20 with her. Just knowing that she was the captain's paramour made her=20 fellow officers hesitant about refusing her requests or questioning=20 her work in Stellar Sciences, worried that their refusal or=20 criticism would get back to the captain, who might decide to punish=20 them for their rudeness to his beloved.=20=20 Then had come that fateful day at Bersallis III, when he had been=20 forced to give the order that would save 73 colonists' lives, but=20 might cause the death of his lover and everyone else in her landing=20 party. Nella and most of her people had survived, by the grace of=20 God, but their relationship had never been the same afterwards.=20=20 Knowing that he was capable of putting her in peril for the sake of=20 the mission had made her realize just how risky it was being the=20 captain's lover. Risky for him, as well; he'd spent an hour in hell=20 picturing her dead, blaming himself for it, shutting down=20 emotionally to the point where he couldn't even see himself playing=20 his Ressikan flute anymore, because it reminded him of her and the=20 duets they used to play together, he on his flute and she on her=20 keyboard. So Nella had requested a transfer, for both their sakes. //That was a strange way to prove her love for me, asking for a=20 transfer.// He paused in his drinking to say aloud with solemn=20 sarcasm, "In order to save the relationship, we can never see each=20 other again." He then laughed bitterly and took another sip of=20 wine. //Oh, we said we'd write to each other, arrange to take our=20 leaves together, but in the end it died a natural death due to=20 neglect. Long distance relationships require a great deal of=20 nurturing, like orchids. And I've always had a bit of a black=20 thumb. Why else would I be here in space, instead of on my family=20 estate tending the vineyards?// He stared down into his glass at the latest product of the Picard=20 vineyards. //This wine wouldn't taste half as good if I had any=20 part in making it. Then again, I wouldn't need to be drinking so=20 much of it if I were just a simple country winemaker instead of a=20 starship captain.// He drained his glass, letting the strong, red=20 wine anesthetize him further. //Would I have an easier time finding=20 someone to love if I weren't a starship captain? Or would I still=20 be alone on Christmas Eve, even if I was just a simple winemaker?=20=20 Is it my profession, or my own nature that makes it so hard for me=20 to love someone?// He was so drunk by now that he completely=20 overlooked the fact that he had no trouble loving someone; it was=20 when someone loved him back that his troubles began. He started=20 going over all his failed relationships of the past, beginning with=20 Jenice Manheim and ending with Vash, and came to the conclusion that=20 he was not only unable to love, but unfit to love as well. Why else=20 would there be so many partings in his past? Why else would he be=20 here alone on Christmas Eve? "Face it, Jean-Luc," he said aloud, slurring his words as he slumped=20 deeper into his easy chair, "you're a pretty sad excuse for a man.=20=20 If it wasn't for your rank and title, no one would give you the time=20 of day. Even your loyal crew is more devoted to the captain of the=20 ENTERPRISE than they are to you." It hurt to think that the people=20 he considered his friends thought of him primarily as their=20 commanding officer, not as a man. Even Will Riker, whom he longed=20 for as more than a friend, would probably have given him the brush- off even sooner if he hadn't been talking to his captain. //How=20 would he treat me if I were just an ordinary man he met on leave in=20 San Francisco?// He pictured himself in a crowded bar in San=20 Francisco, in civilian clothing, catching sight of Riker across the=20 room, going up to him and attempting to strike up a conversation,=20 only to have Riker walk right by him as if he were invisible, making=20 a beeline for a tall, black-haired woman in a tight, red dress who=20 looked like Deanna Troi. He replayed the scenario, imagining=20 himself in Starfleet uniform instead of civilian clothes. This=20 time, when he spoke to Riker, the other man acknowledged him as a=20 fellow officer.=20=20 //But would he leave with me if I asked him to? Aye, there's the=20 rub...// Picard was a modest man, but he did have his pride. That=20 pride demanded that anyone he wished to be intimate with do so=20 because they were attracted to him, Jean-Luc Picard, not the captain=20 of the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE. How much of Riker's friendship for him=20 was based upon his rank, rather than his character? Would they=20 still be friends if Picard approached him romantically? More=20 importantly, would Riker feel free to refuse him, or feel obligated=20 to say yes because it was his captain who was asking?=20=20 //Rank hath its' privileges, but they do not include abusing your=20 authority to satisfy your desires, whatever they may be,// Picard=20 lectured himself internally. //And abusing your authority to take=20 advantage of a friend is the worse kind of abuse.// He had always=20 been disgusted by fellow officers who used their rank to prey upon=20 female subordinates, pursuing young ensigns as aggressively as a fox=20 in a henhouse. If he took advantage of his rank to get Riker into=20 bed, he'd be no better than those men. //I won't abuse my rank, or=20 our friendship. I'd rather spend the rest of my nights lying alone=20 then lying with a lover who can't say no. If he wants me as much as=20 I want him, then let him come to me.// He let out another bitter=20 laugh. //Fat chance! Why should Riker come to you when he's got=20 his pick of all the bars in San Franciso tonight? Not everyone is=20 as desperate as you!// He took another drink. His head began to=20 spin as he felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into=20 depression. //I have a better chance of being made an admiral than=20 of seeing Will Riker walk through my door right now!// As if on cue, his door chimed. Picard groaned softly, sinking=20 deeper into the comforting arms of his easy chair. //Who could it=20 be now, wanting to see the captain on Christmas Eve? What's so=20 bloody important that it can't wait until tomorrow? Maybe if I stay=20 quiet, they'll go away.// He stayed slumped in his chair listening=20 to the door chime again and again, until he couldn't take it=20 anymore. Gathering his few remaining wits, he hoisted himself out=20 of his chair, spilling most of his wine on the carpet. Cursing his=20 unknown caller for making him spill his drink, he set the glass=20 goblet down by the chair with exaggerated care to avoid breaking=20 it. Then he lurched toward the door, determined to send the caller=20 away with a flea in his ear for interrupting a perfectly good=20 evening of drunken self-pity. When he got there, he stopped to straighten his uniform tunic with=20 his customary tug. Then he stood up as straight as he could, took a=20 deep breath and yelled, "Who is it?" in the loudest, most=20 authoritative voice he could muster, hoping to intimidate his caller=20 into leaving.=20=20 Far from being intimidated, his caller replied in a familiar=20 voice, "Captain, I need to see you!" "What the hell for?" Picard demanded. "I'm off duty, damn it!=20=20 Don't you know it's Christmas Eve? Doesn't anybody on this bloody=20 ship know how to handle a crisis without running to the captain?"=20 "Please, sir! It'll only take a minute." Hearing the note of desperation in the caller's voice, Picard gave=20 in. "Oh, all right!" he grumbled. After muttering a few French=20 curses under his breath, he added, "Come in!"=20=20 The door swished open, revealing the tall, dark, and handsome figure=20 of Commander William Thomas Riker, wearing a bright blue silk shirt,=20 tight black denim jeans, and non-regulation Western boots of the=20 same hue. The shirt was unbuttoned low enough to reveal an alluring=20 patch of black chest hair. Picard found his eyes drawn to that=20 patch of chest hair as Riker's blue eyes regarded him with=20 concern. "Captain," he asked, "are you all right?" TO BE CONTINUED... =20 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ASCEM messages are copied to a mailing list. Most recent messages can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEML. NewMessage: