I voted for Nella Darren. I also liked Picard with Captain Louvois, the fact that they wanted to kill each other not withstanding!

I see that noone has voted for Vash yet, so I assume that
Whoa Nellie hasn't found this thread yet.

I see that noone has voted for Vash yet, so I assume that
Whoa Nellie hasn't found this thread yet.
Yeah, I thought so, too.

Hi! Real life has been a bit hectic. Add to that the announcement of the impending closure of geocities, I've been quite busy creating a new home for the entire Whoa Nellie collection of stories (around 100 stories) revamping and consolidating both Whoa Nellie websites into one. The new website url can be found on my fanfiction.net author page linked to in my profile.
I happen to agree with Patrick Stewart himself. In December of 1998, Patrick Stewart was quoted in the Calgary Sun as saying "I personally like to think Picard and Vash had a very active sex life. I can't believe Picard just read Shakespeare up there in his room all those years." Hands down it's Vash!
In canon, Vash was Picard's only reoccurring love interest. The character of Vash was designed specifically to be the perfect woman for Picard after Patrick Stewart's request for more "sex and shooting." Like Picard, Vash is an explorer with an expertise in archaeology. She is an adventurer, a female Indiana Jones. In the episodes where she appears, this beautiful brunette, with her beguiling smile and blue eyes, manages to charm not only the good captain of the Enterprise but the omnipotent Q as well. I'm constantly admiring writer Ira Steven Behr who created her for the series. Vash is Bacall to Picard's Bogart. Watch Bogart and Bacall in the classic movie "To Have and Have Not" and then watch "Captain's Holiday."
I tell you who it is not, Vash. I never cared for that two bit theif. I thought Picard had standards.
She made a good Maid Merrian, but not much else.
Actually there is canon that supports the notion that archaeologists behave the way Vash does. In canon, before meeting Picard on Risa she spent five years working as a personal assistant to Professor Samuel Estragon, an archaeologist who's work Picard knew. It was Professor Samuel Estragon who hired the Ferengi Sovak to aid in his explorations, especially in situations that weren't quite ethical. Moreover, Picard isn't surprised at all and is amused by the idea. (3rd season episode Captain Holiday.)
Also in the 6th season episode "The Chase," Picard's own mentor Professor Galen comes aboard the Enterprise wanting Picard for a handy bit of muscle. He even tries to bribe Picard with a gift of a rare antiquity, the Kurlan naiskos.
GALEN
"... I'm sorry, Mister Picard. But that information has a price --your agreement to join me on the final leg of this expedition."
PICARD
"For how long?"
GALEN
"Three months. Perhaps a year. If we had a starship and complete diplomatic access -- a matter of weeks. But we'll have only my shuttle, the transports we can arrange, and our combined talents."
PICARD
"Why can't you do this without me?"
GALEN
"I'm not a young man. There will be hazards along the way. I don't want my own inadequacies to jeopardize the completion of this work."
In this episode Professor Galen is operating exactly the way we were told that Professor Samuel Estragon did and the way Vash did. Therefore, it is a believable extrapolation from series canon that fieldwork in interstellar archaeology can be a somewhat rough and tumble, wild wild west like business.
Warmest Wishes,
Whoa Nellie
edited to add: A thank you to
Vasquez Rocks for the perfect opportunity to post that picture again.
