She was still as beautiful as she was ten years ago.

No, Picard thought as he stepped on the Turbolift, Beverly was even more stunning. And that was going to present a problem.

The solution was easy: present the doctor with support at the idea for a transfer and get her and her son off his ship as soon as possible. Surely, Dr. Crusher didn’t want to be stationed with a captain, him, who would continuously remind her of Jack’s passing. Part of him couldn’t help but to wonder what kind of person at Starfleet would assign her to such an awkward position.

He began pacing around the Turbolift as the images of her bombarded him. As much as he wanted her to leave, more of him, he reluctantly admitted, wanted her to stay aboard the Enterprise. The love that he felt for her a decade ago hadn’t dwindled; it had been shoved into the deepest part of his heart and now threatened to escape.

No one, aside from a direct order from an Admiral, would have convinced him to allow a child on his bridge. No one, he amended, except Beverly Crusher. She didn’t have to utter a word; her brave face as she spoke of the worst day of her life broke through the shell of the captain into the heart of Jean-Luc.

Within mere seconds, she had infiltrated the carefully laid guards he had put into place. Perhaps worst of all, she was unaware of what even she had on him.

Picard let out a small grunt. It was best for everyone if she left the Enterprise, he told himself firmly.

He only hoped that Dr. Crusher would agree with him as well.