Status Reports by Astra Jean-Luc Picard looked at the stack of padds on his desk and sighed. *I will never again let Will Riker take shore leave at the end of the month.* That thought momentarily segued into speculating about exactly what championship event was being held on Risa that Will wanted so desperately to attend. Before his thoughts wandered too far away with that idea, Jean-Luc reigned them in and turned back to the padd in his hand. He made a valiant effort to keep his mind on the information scrolling down the small display screen. It was just that, at the moment, he really didn't care to know *exactly* how many new seedlings had been planted in the arboretum let alone what the plants were, where they were planted and by whom. Especially since the officer in charge was most thorough in his reporting, managing to generate a month-end report nearly three times the length of any other department's. Surrendering, Picard quickly scrolled to the end of the report and approved it. Setting that one aside he scowled at the pile remaining and considered the merits of assigning the remainder of this particular task to Data. His hand was halfway to his communicator when the door opened. "Papa!" Jacqui squealed, dropping the toy she had been carrying and running to him on sturdy little legs. Jean-Luc smiled to see her so strong and sure footed. Maybe what Beverly called the "Band-Aid" stage was finally over. "You're home." Beverly said, giving him a delighted smile. He'd planned to work late in his ready room and had told his wife as much, but then had changed his mind and brought the padds home to work there instead. Beverly quickly replicated a light dinner while Jean- Luc helped Jacqui get cleaned up. She'd spent an hour on the holodeck playground and Beverly swore that Jacqui had found a way to bring all the dirt home with her. Dinner was a happy and relaxed, with Jacqui doing much of the talking, and Jean-Luc and Beverly just enjoying the luxury of an uninterrupted meal. When they were finished eating, Beverly chased Jean-Luc back to this desk to finish those reports, refusing his offer of help. "Just for tonight, Jean-Luc. Don't think this gets you off the hook for tomorrow's supper. It's your night to cook." She gave him a devilish look and added, "And don't even consider dumping this nasty little chore on Data. Will Riker has to wade through those reports every month. You can stand to do it once." She paused, then added, "It'll keep you humble." "I thought that was your job, Beverly." He tossed back at her giving her a devilish look of his own. "Big job for one person." she replied, breezing past him to claim Jacqui, pausing to kiss the tip of his ear. He watched as she whisked the little girl off for her bath, both of them giggling. The usual bath sounds served as background noise, keeping him company as he quickly scanned and approved more status reports. He was nearly finished when Jacqui returned, dry and clean and dressed in her favorite nightgown. "Ready for a story?" he asked the little girl, gathering her up in his arms and sweeping her over to the sofa, shuttlecraft style, complete with engine sounds. They were just settling in when Beverly returned, looking rather damp. He read a French fairy tale, doing all the voices and adding sound effects, just the way Jacqui liked. At the same time he was aware of Beverly curled up in a chair nearby. He could feel her eyes on him, watching, and knew she was smiling. Princess saved and evil queen destroyed at last, he carried his sleepy daughter to her room and helped her settle in, tucking the blankets around her tightly, the way she liked. The same way her mother liked to sleep. Beverly slipped into the room quietly, leaning down to give Jacqui a kiss. Straightening up again she took Jean-Luc's hand and led him back to the living area. She had changed into her nightgown and robe and he seriously considered letting those reports go until the morning. "Back to work." she teased as if she had read his thoughts. "You don't have many left." It was true, there were only four... He looked at the pile again. Five. *Weren't there only four?* With a sigh he returned to his desk and started reading about turboshaft maintenance. The room was almost silent, as Beverly sat curled up in a chair reading a medical journal and he continued working at his desk. With a triumphant flourish he approved the report he was reading and set it aside, picking up the very last padd. It was from the medical department, and he smiled as he recognized Beverly's direct, economical writing style. He had a whole new appreciation for her writing now, and understood why she had adopted it during her year as "head paper-pusher" at Starfleet Medical. He felt her eyes on him and had to fight very hard to resist the urge to approve the report without reading it. Reading as fast as he was able, he tried to absorb the statistics carefully detailed in the report; number of patients treated; a breakdown of medical supplies used and what was reordered; descriptions of Beverly's research and that of the other doctors. At last he reached the final section - the monthly physical required for each of the senior officers. It wasn't Beverly's favorite duty, mostly because she had to wrestle him into sickbay, but lately she'd conducted the exam at home and they both had been much happier. Thoughts about that last physical and the events afterward distracted him for a moment and he nearly missed one small line of text. Scrolling back he felt his pulse quicken. His eyes scanned the screen frantically for what he was sure he had seen. He felt those eyes on him again and looked up. Her expression was all the confirmation he needed. "Yes." The padd hit the desktop with a clatter and fell to the floor, but Jean-Luc wasn't there to catch it. He was in the middle of the room hugging his very happy, positively pregnant wife. And although it had the captain's approval, the medical status report had to wait until morning to get signed. ::: end :::