From mercutio@europa.com Sun 07 Jul 96 10:09:05 From: "F.J. VERDUIN" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: TNG: Sessions (1/1, short, P/Q) Date: 3 Jul 1996 16:50:47 GMT Message-ID: <4re8d7$50h@mailnews.kub.nl> Someone on ASC suggested I'd cross-post this here. So shoot him, not me. FJV ----------------------------------- Me and a P/Q story? Well, as someone recently told me, 'people should try everything once ... ' She was talking about something else though, I think. Frits - SESSIONS - "My pedantic *psychobabble*?" Troi asked in unbelief. "He said *that* to you?" "Those were his exact words, if I remember correctly." "Well! That's quite a statement, coming from an entity. I wonder if I should feel at all insulted?" She snickered and briefly looked away from Picard. Deanna put down her padd and relaxed on her sofa, reading herself for a long, productive talk. "I've learned it's best to ignore Q's off-hand comments, Counselor," Picard said to take the edge of his statement. "While I'm sure he means them at the time, Q has a tendency to ... overact a little. Especially in the heat of the moment." "You mean the time when he almost destroyed humanity, with that time-distortion in the Devron system? Is that what you mean by 'overacting'?" "He still claims that wasn't him. And frankly ..." Picard's thoughts ran away with him, leaving the sentence unfinished. She smiled. "You think he was telling the truth?" "Of course I did, " Q said, acting mortally offended. He was sitting opposite of the both of them, in the only other seat in the office, and was being his own self. As usual. "You wound me, Deanna. Whatever gave you the idea that I would do anything of the kind?" She sighed. "I wish you could keep still for a moment, Q. What you're doing is hardly constructive, and it *is* the captain's turn to speak his mind." "But he's avoiding the real issue," Q complained in that usual, sorry tone of voice he adopted when he didn't get his way. "And he's making *me* look like the bad guy. Me, with my charming personality ..." He faced Picard, and frowned. "I always thought this was a bad idea." "Charming personality?" Picard asked mockingly. "You *are* the bad guy in this weird ... relationship, Q. It's certainly not me." Q paused and considered the captain's statement. "Well," he said viciously after some seconds had passed, "someone has to breathe a little life into it from time to time. And you've certainly haven't done your share of that the last few years." "Gentlemen ..." Deanna tried. "Stop it, Q." Picard shouted from the sofa and he rose in anger. "You are pushing this to far. Again!" "You used to like it when I breathed a little life into you," Q said, unstoppable, and he leered mischievously. "What ever happened?" Picard flushed. "*You* happened! You blasted ..." "Captain!" "Oh, be quiet Deanna. Jean-Luc's just on a rampage again. There's no use in trying to make sense to him when he's like this. Trust me, I've been there. It's just not worth the effort." "Damn you, Q." "See what I mean?" Q said looking at her, but in the meantime he pointed his finger straight at the captain. "*That's* what I have to deal with. And its getting particularly frustrating lately. Just dreadful. Day in ... day out." "Don't be so linear, Q," Picard sneered, glad to have found an opportunity to get a word in edgewise with the entity.. Q smiled back at Jean-Luc. He applauded. "Touche! Oh, I am so glad to see I'm having some effect on you at least." "You *always* have an effect on me," Picard said. He fell back on the sofa and crossed his legs, rested his head on his palm and assumed a sulking stance. He spied at them both through two tiny slits. "And you know it, too." "Aaww, don't be like that," the entity said and suddenly looked as if he was about to shed a tear. "You know I can't bear to see you upset like that." Q moved over closer to the captain and hunched before him, placing on hand on the man's knee. "Well, it's still true," Picard added, still pouting. "I can't get a moment's worth of rest. You're always around ... and I hate you." "You don't really mean that." Q claimed. Picard could feel Q's fingers moving up his leg. He closed his eyes. "Yes I do." "No, you don't." "Go away." Q grinned. "Only if you ask me nicely." "Perhaps," Deanna offered quickly, "it would be best to stop this right here. I think we've made some progress today -perhaps- and it would be a shame to see it go to waste if we tried to push it any further. The two of you should try and do some soul-searching of your own." Q rose from the floor immediately, and the pitiful expression was instantly replaced with the widest grin possible. "See, Jean-Luc? We're making progress! I told you this was a good idea." Picard mumbled something undefinable in reply but whatever he meant by it, Q took it as agreement. "Let's go and finish this home, shall we? I bet we can find that soul of yours." The captain nodded compliantly and they were gone in a flash, leaving the office emptied except for the tired woman who's air of authority and control seemed to have disappeared with the squabbling pair. Deanna sighed and fell back into the sofa's cushions. "Twice a god-damn week," she muttered and reached for the padd to find out who was next on her list of today's appointments. She skimmed the pages quickly, but her mind wasn't on it. Though she did notice a follow-up entry, three days from now. "One would think, after seven years, they'd figured each other out already." Deanna tossed the padd on the coffee-table in front of her and slumped on the couch. "I really *hate* marriage counseling. I hate it. I hate it. I hate ..." -The End- (c)FJV'96 Well? ;-)