"Don't you see what's happening?"

Picard looked up from studiously contemplating his hands, looked across the expanse between the couches, frowning slightly at Counselor Riker.

She smiled a bit, leaned forward, whispered like she was sharing a conspiracy. "You're jealous." Her eyebrow quirked in amusement.

A spike of anger slid through his gut, lodged in his throat, and his hands tightened around each other. He forced his hands to relax, took a breath, knowing Deanna could feel everything he felt.

"You're jealous," she repeated. A bit too gleefully, he thought. And frowned deeply.

"I am not jealous," he replied seriously, firmly.

"You are."

"I am not."

She leaned back and smiled like the cat that had caught the mouse, and he lifted his chin up in defiance.

"I want her to be happy," he retorted.

She crossed her legs and tapped her foot in the air. "You want her to be happy...with you."

He blinked, froze for seconds. Then remembered to breathe and sucked in a cold breath, blew it out. Glared. He was angry, legitimately angry now.

"Captain, you love Beverly. Stop denying it. Go tell her."

"Counselor-"

"It's Commander."

He paused, reigning in his temper - why am I so angry? - "Commander," he began again. "is this a counseling session or a conversation between two colleagues? I came into this room for a routine counseling session that I'm required to endure, not for a, a..." he searched for the words, "a push to..." To what?

Suddenly, he slumped back into the seat, exhausted. She's right. I'm tired of denying it.

He closed his eyes, breathed. And thought about Beverly.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

He walked along the promenade, strolling, looking at the shops, looking for a certain redheaded doctor who might also be on board the starbase. Not that he was actively looking for her - it just might happen that she was on the base for an event and since it was a good day to walk around and be off his ship, he just simply kept an eye out for a familiar doctor.

Turning the corner, he glimpsed red hair, looked more closely at the familiar figure standing outside of the shop.

And he saw her smiling at another man.