Dr. Beverly Crusher eased into her chair at the captain's breakfast table with an audible groan. Her entire body ached, as though she'd had an intense workout, even though the most strenuous thing she could remember doing lately was moving her hand between her viewscreen and padds in her office.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard glanced up at his best friend, concern etched on his face. "Is something wrong?"
Beverly gratefully sipped at the coffee he had poured for her, feeling as though she'd been awake for half the night, as well. "Not really. Just tired and sore. I don't know why, though." She glanced up and noticed the funny look on Picard's face. "What, Jean-Luc?"
He sat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nothing, I don't think. I just feel the same way."
Beverly shifted in her seat, her muscles protesting. It was almost as if... No. She pushed the thought aside. If it had been that, she certainly would have remembered.
Jean-Luc noticed the blush making its way across her face. "Beverly?"
She shook her head, clearing the tawdry thoughts from it and grabbed a croissant. "Nothing. Just a stray thought."
He doubted that, but chose not to push the issue for now. "Maybe we're just getting old," he teased.
Beverly stuck her tongue out at him. "Speak for yourself. Who's 19 years older than who, may I ask?" she responded with a devilish grin.
He laughed and flashed her a rare smile. "Touché, Beverly."
They continued the rest of their breakfast peacefully, and didn't see each other again until the next morning. When they sat down for the morning meal the next day, they both felt better. Even more relaxed, and perhaps satisfied. Their breakfast conversation was sporadic, as though words weren't needed. Jean-Luc found himself lost not in his meal, but in Beverly's presence. His thoughts wandered not towards the wistful, as they often did around Beverly, but rather to the hot, sweaty images he remembered only from his dreams.
Beverly was similarly lost across the table from him, envisioning her hands running over his body, her lips exploring his...
And through it all, they were watched, unnoticed.
After a week of this, it took all their self-restraint to keep their hands off each other. Their mutual attraction was something they both lived with, but this was something else. Something new. It was pure, blind lust.
Finally, one morning, they could stand it no more. Beverly had no sooner entered the captain's quarters, ostensibly for breakfast, when they simply grabbed for each other. They rolled together on the floor, pulling at uniforms, savaging each other with their mouths and hands. It seemed as though nothing could stop them.
Nothing, that is, except for the sound of applause echoing through the room.
Beverly rolled off of Jean-Luc and yanked her hands out of his pants. They both sat up, breathing hard, and stared in astonishment at the woman sitting atop the couch.
"Who the hell are you?" Picard shouted, frustrated and still ragingly aroused.
The woman merely grinned and flicked at an imaginary piece of lint on her uniform. "I'm Q. As if it isn't obvious."
"Q?" Beverly asked. "But Q -"
"Yes, yes, yes. He's away on business right now. I told him I'd keep an eye on his interests for him."
"Interests?" Jean-Luc said, surreptitiously refastening his pants.
"Yes, interests. He's told me about you, y'know. I thought that I'd try to liven things up a little." She slid off the couch and gracefully regained her feet. "You both have felt tired, sore, and increasingly aroused for the last week or so. Think you can use some of your spare brain cells to figure out why?"
Beverly and Jean-Luc stared at each other in shock as realization dawned. "You didn't," murmured Beverly to Q.
The female Q laughed. "Oh, no, I didn't. You two did. I just helped you along."
Jean-Luc gestured to Beverly. "You mean you and I... We... While we were asleep?"
Q grinned proudly. "For being asleep, you two sure were athletic. I was really impressed."
Jean-Luc and Beverly turned bright red at that comment, and Q patted them both on their shoulders. "Well, like I said, it's been entertaining, but I really do need to go. Q will love hearing about this when he gets back. I have lots of pictures to show him."
With that, she flashed out of sight, leaving Picard and Crusher alone to deal with the entire situation. The flaming desire and arousal was still simmering beneath the surface, but they weren't quite sure what to do about it.
Beverly ran a shaking hand through her hair and sighed. "Now what?"
Jean-Luc sat wearily at the dining table, needing to put some distance between them. "I don't know, Beverly. This is an unimaginable situation."
She took her place at the table, suppressing the urge to bury her head in her arms. After a moment of thought-gathering, she said, "I think we need to take some time to work this out. I mean, it's not like we had a say in this."
He nodded in agreement, and then a small, mischievous smile spread across his face. "No, we didn't have a say. I'd prefer to be awake and aware when I make love to you."
Beverly's eyebrows shot up. "'When'?"
He rose and joined her on her side of the table. "Join me for dinner tonight?" he asked, the look in his eyes daring her to say no.
She slipped her hand into his and stood, brushing a kiss across his lips. "Dinner tonight," she agreed, then slipped out the door to begin her shift.
As if either of them would get any work done that day...