LIII.

"You have not changed…."

"Hello Margaret Harney. Would you like my assistance?"

Little Margaret looked up from her place on the carpeted deck and blew some of her floppy hair out of her face. "Yes!" She cried with a little stomp, "They're everywhere, and it's all Bradley's fault! Stupid boy!"

B-4 knelt down and began to scoop together the dozens of tiny puzzle pieces that had been strewn across the corridor. He had just stepped out of the turbo lift when he witnessed a small human boy sneak up behind Margaret and pull her hair. When Margaret had turned to strike him in response, she had fumbled the little box of puzzle pieces, sending them everywhere.

"Why did Bradley O'Donnell pull your hair?" B-4 asked. He scooped together a handful of pieces and poured them into the box.

"Because." Margaret snapped. She spun around and tried to reach a piece under her own foot, "He's a stupid boy, and stupid boys do stupid stuff!"

B-4 tilted his head and considered, "He is violent because his intelligence is substandard?"

"Ha!" Margaret hooted, smacking her little fist on the ground, "Yeah! That's right, I'm gonna tell him that. His intel—intelligence is substandard!" She laughed a little more as she scrambled for a few more pieces. "It's because he's a boy. Boys are so stupid."

"Oh." B-4 said, frowning, "I am not stupid, am I?"

"Noooo." Margaret said, rolling her eyes, "You're not a boy, you're a grownup, Mr. Bee. Jeez."

"Ah." B-4 smiled. He would not like someone to think he was 'stupid.' "Okay."

"Thanks." Margaret sighed as he deposited a final handful of pieces into the box. She fitted the lid over the top and stood, still sneering in the direction which young Bradley O'Donnell had made his escape.

"You are welcome. Goodbye, Margaret Harney." B-4 said with a smile. He made to walk past her and continue on his way to main engineering, but Margaret pulled his sleeves suddenly.

"Hey! I almost forgot. My Mom told me about Mr. Lore." She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and grinned, "She said he didn't do that bad thing. That's so mean! I know, cuz one time Bradley knocked over the pitcher plant in our class, and he told Miss Foster that I did it, but I didn't!"

B-4 considered for a moment, "Ah! You are referring to the murder of Dr. Warrick. That is true. Lore did not kill him. Captain Maddox murdered him with the use of a holo simulation."

Margaret's jaw fell open and her bottom lip began to tuck in a little, "M…murder? Like, they thought he killed somebody? I thought he, like, broke something or…or took something, and—I…Aehhh…." Without any kind of warning, little Margaret's face turned red and her eyes let loose a deluge of tears. She began sobbing hysterically and trying to speak, but B-4 was unable to discern any of her words.

He took a step back, confounded, "Margaret Harney, are you ill?"

Bee, you cannot speak to children in the same manner you would with adults.

"No!" She cried, rubbing at her face as she dropped her bag, "Just…what…killed…mean!" Those were the only words B-4 could make out. He looked both ways down the corridor, desperate for some kind of assistance. Margaret was crying, and that was not good.

"I am sorry, Margaret Harney." B-4 said, his brow knitted up in worry, "Please do not cry."

She made a big dramatic sniffle and wiped her sleeve across her nose, soiling it rather profoundly. "Uhhh…okay. That's so sad." Another loud sniff.

"Yes." B-4 agreed quickly, "It is a bad thing, and bad things are often sad."

"Yeah." Margaret sniffed a few more times and picked up her bag with a sudden shift in mood that only a child could be capable of. "Is Mr. Lore gonna come back then?"

B-4 frowned suddenly, and his shoulders visibly slumped, "I do not know. Lore had to go away and I do not know if he will come back."

"Oh." Margaret hugged her bag and started twisting her torso in typical, awkward little girl fashion, "You could go get him."

"I do not know where he is." B-4 replied. "I must go now. I am going to help Geordie in engineering. Goodbye."

"Okay." Margaret shrugged, "Bye."

B-4 watched the child swing her bag back and forth as she moved down the corridor and disappeared in the direction of the family residences. B-4 continued on his path to main engineering. As he did, he asked Data many questions about children, most of which Data openly admitted he could not answer. He soon moved to questions of Lore and how they may contact him and tell him that everything was okay now and he could come back. Data had many ideas and began laying out methods with which B-4 could suggest the ideas to Geordie and Captain Picard, but at the same time Data suggested that such might not be necessary at all.

After Lore learns the truth from the chip you gave Lt. Hall, he may very well choose to return.

"That is good!" B-4 thought gleefully. He would like very much for Lore to return. He was lonely and worried, and Counselor Troi had once told him that family was very important and should not be neglected. In addition to being worried for Lore and Anna, he was worried for himself. Captain Picard had informed him not too long ago that Dr. Maddox could not be found. He had fled some time ago and was probably long out of the system by now. His mind would, occasionally, run over the memory of the day Maddox had come to examine him and the fear he had felt when the man had come so close to him. Bruce Maddox was a bad man. He had tried to hurt Data a long time ago, and he had tried to hurt Lore only a few days ago! What if he tried to hurt him too?

It is alright, Bee. Dr. Maddox does not know about me, so he will have no interest in you. You do not need to be afraid.

"Okay. If Lore comes back, will he help you then?" B-4 asked as he neared the engineering section. A crewman passed and gave him a warm, meaningful smile. B-4 returned it, though without the meaning, since he did not understand such facial nuance. After only twelve hours, news of Dr. Maddox's crime had spread to every corner of the system and beyond. It was the top story on all the primary news outlets, and many crewmen had taken it upon themselves to give B-4 their congratulations and apologies in one. He virtually beamed under the attentions, for B-4 did not suffer from modesty.

If he does, I know he will try.

"That is good." B-4 thought as he continued on his way, "Your friends miss you."

They are your friends too, Bee. I miss them as well.

"But you see them when I see them." B-4 replied. Once again, he did not speak the words, but he did slow in his pace.

It is not the same.

B-4 nodded and continued on his way, for even though he did not understand the particulars of Data's meaning, he at least knew the statement was true. It was most definitely not the same. He turned the last corner leading to main engineering, when a hand reached out from the doorway he had just passed and grabbed him by the elbow. B-4 was caught by surprise, and so did not offer the necessary resistance to the tremendous amount of strength that pulled him into the dark room.

He spun around with his arm out, terrified enough that he did not think to moderate his strength in any way. It was the luckiest occurrence that Lore caught his hand just inches before it would have struck Anna in the face.

"Bee!" Lore hissed as he stepped between his brother and Anna.

"Oh!" B-4 cried with delight. He smiled broadly as he looked between the two of them. Anna's eyes were still wide with adrenaline, and B-4's smile faded quickly, "I am sorry, Anna. I was…frightened."

"It's alright." Anna assured him in a whisper.

Lore released his wrist and stepped close to the door, listening. Anna held a tricorder and regarded the readout. She shook her head and gave Lore some kind of silent communication.

"You came back." B-4 said happily, "That is good. Now you can stay and I will not be lonely and Geordie will finish the engine upgrade on time and—."

"I'm afraid I won't be helping LaForge with his engine refit, Bee." Lore said quickly. "We need to go. Be quiet."

"Go? Go where?" B-4 asked curiously. Going places could be fun. He liked going to the arboretum.

"We're leaving, and you're coming with us." Anna said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "But you have to be quiet and do what we say. Okay?"

B-4 smiled, "Okay. I can be qu—."

Do not go with them, Bee. They are making a mistake.

He took a step back, away from Anna, and shook his head, "I do not wish to leave the Enterprise."

Lore turned, "I know, but we have to. Trust me, Bee." He looked at Anna.

"We have a clear path to science lab three, but that could change really fast. We have to go." She lowered the tricorder and gave B-4 an encouraging smile.

"Good. Let's go." Lore stepped close to the door and, grabbing B-4 by the sleeve, opened the door and rushed out into the corridor. They moved quickly, Anna taking up the rear as they doubled back away from main engineering.

B-4 ran along, unwilling and unaccustomed to resisting Lore in anything, but he was growing more troubled by the moment.

Stop them, Bee! They do not understand!

Bee gave some resistance finally when they were a few steps from science lab three. Lore turned back, his face etched in panic and anger.

"Bee, what are you doing!" Lore demanded. "You have to come with us!"

"No!" B-4 cried. "You do not have to!"

"Bee!" Lore stepped close and gave his brother a very serious look. Then, as if thinking to soften the situation, he smiled a little and said, "Tell Data to shut up."

You have not changed….

B-4's eyes widened in a bizarre mix of shock and joy, "You know! That is good. Data, he knows!"

Lore grinded his teeth against his brother's sudden, very loud, outburst, and attempted to drag him into the science lab.

"People are coming!" Anna whispered, "We need to go!"

Lore shoved B-4 ahead of him into the dark lab and closed the door behind them. Seconds later they all heard the sound of boots and voices passing by. He rushed to Anna's side so that he could examine the tricorder readout as well.

"If we can get a clear path to auxiliary storage, here, we'll be able to use the Jefferies tubes the rest of the way." Lore said. Anna nodded her agreement and turned to face B-4.

"Bee, you have to listen to us. There's a chance that Maddox might know about Data, so you have to come with us so that we can keep you safe."

Did Maddox gain access to the chip?

"Did Maddox gain access to the chip?" B-4 asked, suddenly alarmed. As happened so often with B-4, his worry superseded everything else and all thoughts of updating Lore and Anna to the current situation left him.

"It's possible." Anna said. She lowered her eyes suddenly, "I…I lost the chip. I'm sorry, Bee. I don't know where, it might have been in Maddox's lab."

"My ship is cloaked and docked at the underbelly emergency hatch on deck twenty-eight." Lore said quickly, "We can't transport, because it would set off the alarms. You have to come with us and be quiet."

"But…but you can stay here." B-4 said, "It is safe here. Maddox ran away."

"Please don't argue. We need—." Lore stopped and narrowed his eyes, "What? Maddox did what?"

Tell them! Everything!

"Captain Maddox was—."

"Our path is clear, but not for long!" Anna announced, darting toward the door, "Come on!"

Lore grabbed his brother's arm again and tried to give him a quick look of reassurance, "Bee, you can tell me everything, you can tell me anything you want, but not right now."

B-4 wallowed in confused agony as Data shouted in his mind and Lore dragged him by his arm. Once again, they were out in the corridor, running. They turned a corner and voices could very distinctly be heard up ahead. Anna gasped and actually shook her tricorder.

"No! They shouldn't be there! They're not on the—."

"This way!" Lore darted to his left down a wider corridor. Each of them, including B-4, knew that it would dead-end in one of the aft cargo bays, but there was no other choice now. They ran into the darkened room and toward the side wall where a waist height hatch would gain them access to the Jefferies tubes. They slowed a bit, believing their current position safe, and proceeded to open the hatch.

Anna gasped and leapt back as the double doors behind them suddenly opened. There had been no indication of people approaching on her tricorder. Lore spun around and raised his weapon.

"Lore, stand down!" Picard shouted as he entered at the head of the group. He was accompanied by LaForge, Worf, and Seven of Nine. Seven of Nine held a tricorder, which she folded shut and clasped with both hands.

"I think I'll ask the same of you, Captain." Lore retorted, "I didn't come here to hurt anyone. It will be in your best interest to stay out of my way."

"It will be in your interest to stop being a damn fool." Picard said stonily, "Lower your weapon and listen to me."

Lore continued to walk back, "Bee, come here."

Bee stepped forward, though his eyes rested on Lore's weapon in a kind of concerned confusion. "Lore, you will not hurt Captain Picard, will you? That would be bad."

"Take this." Lore riffled in his pocket and removed a tiny device, which he shoved into his brother's hand, "Go. Anna, take him."

Anna gasped and shook her head, despite following the instruction. She took B-4 by the arm and guided him back. She had in her hand a similar device to the one Lore had just produced.

"Damnit, Lore! Listen! We know you're innocent!" Picard insisted, "You don't have to do this."

"You know I'm innocent." Lore sneered, "How convenient. I don't believe you. I think you'll say anything to get me to lower my weapon. Anna, go. Please!"

"Captain Riker and the Titan are prepared to follow you at a moment's instruction." Seven of Nine informed him, clasping her hands behind her back. She seemed utterly unconcerned about the phaser pointing in her direction.

"Really? And how do you plan to do that?" Lore scoffed.

Seven shrugged, "By the same means which I knew you had reentered the system and docked your vessel at the deck twenty-eight emergency hatch. I planted a homing beacon into the pattern enhancer I gave to Lt. Hall."

Anna's eyes widened and her face contorted into a scowl.

Lore rolled his eyes, "I'll be thoroughly outraged with you later, but thanks for the information. I'll be sure to destroy the pattern enhancer right away. Now, get back."

B-4 gasped suddenly and felt what could only be described as a sudden dampening of his surroundings. As if everything were being pushed back, the sights, the sounds, the smells. He could still experience all of it, but it was now dulled, second-hand. Sensation left him, and he quickly realized that he could no longer control any of his motor functions. The sensation was…terrifying.

B-4 pulled away from Anna suddenly and lifted the transporter tag Lore had given him. He crushed it in his palm and allowed the pieces to fall to the deck. He turned and gave Lore a frown of disapproval.

"You have always been arrogant and reactionary." B-4 said, though his voice had changed significantly. The pitch was just barely lower, and his cadence much more fluid and nuanced. He shook his head and sighed, "You have more friends than you believe, Lore. It would be a benefit to you if you remain silent long enough to listen to them, especially when they are telling you the truth."

The last words echoed off the cavernous walls of the cargo bay and everyone, including Picard, stared at B-4. Slowly, Lore lowered his weapon and everyone heard the faint click as the safety was engaged.

He smirked and gave his brother a bemused look, "Hello to you too, Data."

Picard gasped and narrowed his eyes, almost suspiciously. Worf and Geordie exchange silent looks of disbelief. What else were they to do, faced with such an absurd statement?

Picard took a tentative step forward, which was met with B-4—Data—crossing the space toward him.

"Captain," Data said, "I am afraid I will not be able to speak with you for very long. What I am doing to B-4 right now is unfair and a violation."

Picard closed his eyes and seemed to be going through a hard kind of mental calculation. He nodded mutely, but his jaw was grinding. Data turned around and faced Lore.

"Captain Maddox murdered Dr. Warrick." He said quickly, "We discovered that he had replicated the sub-level corridor on the holodeck, allowing Dr. Warrick to be murdered there by a holographic version of you. He then transported Dr. Warrick's body into position and replaced the surveillance feed with the one from the holodeck. You have been exonerated, Lore. There is no need for you to flee."

"Yes, that…that's right." Picard added, still shooting disbelieving glances at Data. The man looked shaken, truly shaken, which was saying something considering Picard's notorious penchant for remaining calm in all instances. He forced himself, however, to look at Lore and Anna, "Maddox is gone. He must have known that we would discover his crime eventually because he left the system only a few hours after your escape. No one can find any indication of where he went."

"Lore, I must urge you not to attempt to follow him." Data said quickly, "There would be no benefit."

Lore scoffed and shook his head, "Relax, dear brother. My thirst for revenge isn't what it used to be. I don't give a damn about Bruce Maddox."

There was another awkward silence for a few seconds. It was finally broken when Geordie walked forward, his face twisting up into a disbelieving smile. "Jesus, Data…. Is it really you?"

"Yes, Geordie. I am glad to see you. Although…." Here, Data actually smiled somewhat facetiously, "I have seen you virtually every day."

Geordie laughed and ran both hands over his hair, still too shocked for any kind of coherent response.

Lore watched all of this with an unprecedented sense of relief, but he could not allow himself to forget everything. He stepped close to Anna and gave her a questioning look before he turned back to the others, "Picard, I'm not going to allow Anna to go to prison for anything, so unless you can tell me that's an impossibility, I think we'll be leaving you now."

"Lore, no…." Anna whispered, taking his hand. He gripped it tightly.

Picard closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. There was a kind of guilty pleasure in it too, as if he were thinking of something to which he truly looked forward. "I don't think that will be an issue at all. Admiral Roth is not exactly in the best possible political situation right now. He needs friends. Badly."

Lore was almost ready to object, for he was not accustomed to having things go his way. When had they ever! But, Data shot him an encouraging nod, which Lore was apt to take. At the back of the group, he could still see Worf giving him a displeased frown, so he laughed and tossed the phaser through the air in an arch. Worf caught it easily and tucked it into his belt with a barely satisfied harrumph.

"Captain," Data said, "I cannot continue this, but B-4 will speak to you. I feel that…that we have much to discuss."

"I would say so, old friend." Picard agreed. He placed a hand on Data's shoulder and finally allowed himself a full smile, "Damn, it's good to see you."

"You as well, Sir." Data replied, smiling.

Lore squeezed Anna's hand again, for he was desperate to make some kind of expression of the disbelief he was currently experiencing. So much had gone wrong. So many things had conspired against him for so long that he was finding it difficult to believe that it could be any other way. And yet, here he stood watching a group of people who by all rights should hate him, but who had placed enough faith in him to search out the proof of his innocence. It was…too much.

"Come on." Anna whispered, close to him. She was smiling with the same kind of giddy disbelief. "Let's uncloak your ship and dock her. I don't think we need to hide now."

He nodded. He was afraid to speak. He had the terrible suspicion that his voice would not sound right, that it would crack and humiliate him! He was relieved to see that the others were already making their way from the room, Picard deep in discussion with Data. He and Anna followed at a distance large enough to allow the cargo bay doors to close after the others. He stopped and wrapped his arms around her. He lifted her from the deck and spun her around crazily, causing her to laugh and wrap her arms around his neck. It was just the explosive kind of reaction he needed.

"I don't believe this." He gasped against her shoulder, "I can't believe this."

"Believe what?" She said, smiling, "That you have friends? I wish I could say 'I told you so', but I can't. I wouldn't have believed it either. Lore, I…. I know you have so much to say to Data, and I want to be there with you when you do, but I…I need to…."

"You need to see your family." He pressed his forehead to hers. "I understand. I'll wait for you."

"No. I want you to come with me." She said.

He frowned, unsure, "Anna…a few billion people have seen an image of me murdering someone with my bare hands. Maybe we should wait until you're sure your family accepts—."

"They'll understand. I'll make them." She kissed him on the cheek, "Please."

He nodded.

"I think you should get that phaser back from Lt. Worf, though." She said with a sigh.

He smirked, "I see. Why?"

She stepped back from him and chewed her bottom lip for a moment. She pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed, "Because I think we're both going to need it."

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

FOUR HOURS LATER

"A note? A note! Do you have any idea what you've put me and your father through! Dear God, when I heard on the news that they chased you, that they had phasers!" Katherine Hall waved her hand in the air as she paced back and forth. In her other hand she held a crumpled up tissue, which she had already worked into soggy ball, "You're lucky I didn't have a heart attack!"

"Mom, please!" Anna groaned from her place at the piano bench. She rubbed her hands roughly over her face, "What was I supposed to do? They were going to kill him."

"Oh, I—I don't know!" Katherine pressed her lips together and groaned, "I swear, if you ever do anything like that to us again, Annabelle Grace Hall, so help me!"

It was so terribly inappropriate but, then again, so were many of Lore's gut reactions. He snorted from his place in the parlor entryway and said, "Annabelle? You name is Annabelle?"

"Oh, not now, Lore…." Anna muttered.

"And you!" Katherine shouted, swinging her finger in Lore's direction, "You had better be worth it! You better be in love with her, or…I…oooh…." The balled up tissue in Katherine's hand was quickly twisted into shreds, which fell to the carpet ominously.

"I am! I mean…I do!" Lore said, raising his hands in surrender. He had known this was going to be rough, but he had hardly expected to actually be terrified.

"She's not kidding." Louise laughed from her place on the staircase. She nodded down at Lore and used her hand to make a dramatic cutting motion across her neck.

"Louise." Eugene warned. It was the first thing Lore had heard from the man, who was standing near the front windows with his arms folded across his chest. Lore was quickly beginning to see that Mr. Hall was a man of few words.

"Mom, I'm…I'm sorry." Anna groaned.

"I know, honey." Katherine gasped. She crossed to Anna and smothered her in a big hug. Anna said something else, but it was lost in the muffling of her mother's shoulder.

Lore looked away somewhat awkwardly. He felt like an intruder, and was really beginning to wish he had remained aboard the Enterprise. He had little doubt that Picard and LaForge were itching to discuss options for what to do for Data. Still, Anna had wanted him there, and that was what he cared about.

Anna broke from her mother and stood, wiping her face quickly. She looked all around at her father, Louise, and Beth, who had as yet said nothing. Beth sat at a small table near the windows with a white linen cloth spread out before her. She wore gloves of a similar material and was, very meticulously, using a jeweler's glass to examine the handle of her antique Colt revolver.

Lore managed to keep himself for laughing. It just seemed like such an odd thing to be doing at the moment.

Anna crossed the room as she wiped at her cheeks a few more times. She stopped before Beth's table and made a kind of bitter smile, "Sorry, Beth."

Beth kept her eyes firmly on the gun as she picked up a cotton swab and dabbed at something. As she spoke, her voice was calm, "Why did you have to throw it into a bunch of gravel? The barrel is scratched."

Anna laughed, but her eyes started to water again, "Yeah, I…I'm sorry."

Beth nodded, but the action was accompanied by a tremble which caused her to shake the gun and lower it. Her brow was beginning to knit up in some show of emotion. Lore watched, fascinated, and wondered which half of the woman would win out; Vulcan or Betazoid? He got his answer when Beth suddenly dropped the revolver onto the table and wrapped her arms around her sister's shoulders.

"If you ever do something like that again, I will kill you." Beth cried through clenched teeth.

"Wow, Beth." Anna laughed through her tears, "You really care about your antiques."

"Oh, shut up!" Beth grumbled, though she too laughed. She pulled back suddenly and wiped her face in a kind of frantic action, as if the tears were stinging her. "I…I have to go for a walk!"

Lore pressed himself against the doorframe, lest the woman plough into him in her attempt to flee the barrage of emotions that were suffocating her. The front door blew shut behind her as she disappeared into the frosty afternoon.

"I'd better go with her." Louise said. She clambered down the steps and grabbed two coats from the hook before she darted out the door. Beth had neglected to take her own, and Vulcans were not exactly known for their tolerance of the cold.

"So, then…." Eugene finally said. The man pushed himself away from the window and ambled a few steps further into the room. He gave his daughter an encouraging smile, then faced Lore, "What are you going to do?"

Lore hesitated. He wasn't sure if he understood what the man was asking. "Do?"

Eugene sighed, and Lore quickly got the impression that the man was about to say something uncomfortable, "What I mean is, where will you go now, and what will you do? You're not in Starfleet. I seriously doubt you have any interest in cybernetics or those Daystrom Institute people, so…." He shrugged and gave Anna a pained kind of look.

Lore raised his brow with some surprise. This was certainly something he had never thought he would experience in his life. Anna's father was actually asking him what he did for a living. The very notion of the question was bizarre to him, a person who had spent the majority of his, admittedly, short life doing whatever he wanted wherever he wanted. He had had goals, certainly, but….Well, everyone knew plenty about his past goals. What was his goal now? What did he want to do?

Lore shrugged, "I plan to remain aboard the Enterprise until Picard retires or he ejects me. The last one is more likely. I don't believe Picard or LaForge will demand that I hold some kind of formal rank to remain there. I've more than proven my value to them, if…." Here, he allowed himself a little smirk, "If they're willing to tolerate me."

Eugene chuckled a bit and nodded, "So, then, you're not going to take my daughter and your ship and disappear to God-only-knows where on the other side of the quadrant?"

Lore shot Anna an amused look, which she returned with a shake of her head. He replied, "No. I think Picard will accomplish that on more official terms."

"Mmm." Eugene scoffed, "And you, young lady, don't you dare wait three years to come home again. I would like you to watch me and your mother age slowly, so it's not such a shock every time you see how decrepit we've gotten."

Anna smiled broadly and nodded her immediately agreement, "I promise."

"Oh, I…I'm going to make some coffee!" Katherine said suddenly, though all of them could see that the outburst was only to cover a fresh wave of tears. She disappeared toward the kitchen, where the sound of clanging pots and cups started almost instantly.

Lore crossed the room, gave Anna a conspiratorial wink, and shouted, "Why don't you just use the replicator? It's faster!"

A loud clang, followed by, "We don't replicate coffee in this house!"

Lore smirked and stifled his laughter. Eugene rolled his eyes and began walking toward the kitchen.

"You know what's going to happen now, don't you?" Eugene muttered, "She's going to replicate a pot and then make you try both, and you had better say the homebrewed coffee is better."

"I can tell the difference." Lore assured him, "I will."

"Good." He shook his head again, "Anna, I think he might just get along around here." With that, he walked with folded arms into the kitchen where Katherine immediately began making her assertions that Lore didn't know 'jack' about coffee, and she would show him, etc.

Anna approached him and placed her hands flat on his chest. He quickly placed his hands over them and messaged her fingers.

"I think you know a lot more about humans than you let on." Anna said accusingly.

"I don't know what you mean." He replied.

"Uh-huh." She said with a smirk, "Whatever you say. Did you mean what you said about the Enterprise? That you have no problem staying there?"

"Of course." He replied. He frowned a bit, and continued, "Why wouldn't I? I don't want to be anywhere else. For the last two years, it's the only place I have wanted to be."

She laughed and turned her hands to hold his, "You don't mind being a worker bee? If I remember correctly, you once told LaForge that you 'weren't his damned puppet'?"

Lore dropped his jaw a bit, "I said that to him the second time he tried to make me work with someone else. You knew about that?"

She shrugged, "It's a small ship, and besides….I was 'interested', remember?"

Ah, yes…. That memory certainly brought a smile to his face, the day Anna admitted to him that she had been 'interested' in him almost from the beginning. Still, he shrugged and said, "I know what you're asking me, Anna. You're asking me if I can follow orders and be a nice Starfleet crewman. I won't lie to you. The answer is probably no. The good news is that I know more about warp theory, weapons design, and a litany of other topics than LaForge could possibly imagine. I seriously doubt I will spend much of my time cleaning plasma conduits. LaForge is in love with his ship and he will never refuse an upgrade. I can already think of several dozen."

"You've been giving this some thought, haven't you?"

Some thought, for Lore, could be accomplished in a three seconds, but he had been thinking of this subject for the past three hours, so…. "Yes, I have. And…and there's Data to consider."

"Right." She nodded, "What are you going to do?"

"Everything I can. It may not be as simple as building another body, but even if it is, that alone could take quite some time." He leaned close to her and pressed her nose just against hers, "We're not tinker toys, you know."

She laughed and kissed him quickly, for her father just entered the room again. Even a woman of forty-one would rather not kiss a man in front of her father.

Eugene smirked and rolled his eyes, "Come on. Your mother has two pots of coffee ready for us." He shot Lore a warning look, which Lore met by raising his hands I surrender.

"Okay." Anna gave Lore a final smile as they all moved into the kitchen. Sure enough, Katherine had set out two pots of coffee, and had even poured the replicated brew into one of the beaten up carafes so no one could cheat. She poured out two cups and slid them toward Lore.

"Humph! You try both of these and you tell me which is better?" Katherine challenged as she rested a hand on her hip.

Lore sighed and obediently sipped from the first cup. It was the home brewed coffee. He could easily tell because the mixture was slightly uneven and the microscopic tinge of the pot metal, well below what any human could sense, was evident. He set it aside and tasted the second one, which had a perfectly uniform mix and no hint of metal cross contamination. It did not taste better, he could simply tell which was which.

"So?" Katherine pressed, smiling confidently, "Let's hear it."

Lore glanced at Anna, who was tolerating it all with a little roll of her eyes, then looked at Eugene, who nodded encouragingly. It was simply not in Lore's nature to please people in a boring way, not when the alternative could be so much more fun. Besides, what had he promised himself?

Let them see you as you are.

He raised the cup of replicated coffee and said, "You made this one, definitely. It's wonderful."

"That's it! Get out!" Katherine fumed. Lore broke into a fit of laughter as both Anna and Eugene groaned. Katherine picked up the pot of replicated coffee and poured the whole thing down the sink with a splash.

"Aw, don't be angry, Katherine." Lore crooned through a renewed bought of laughter.

"Louise was right about you." Katherine said with a glare, though it was plain there was no real malice behind it, "You are a smart ass! Get out of my kitchen!"

Anna grabbed him by the top of his sleeve and began pulling him toward the den. It was plain she was trying to hide it, but he could see a real storm of laughter waiting behind her pressed lips. As soon as they were clear of the kitchen, she pressed her face into his shoulder and let loose some near silent, shaking laughs.

"Does she hate me now?" He asked.

"I doubt it." She managed to say as she caught her breath. She hugged him suddenly, and pressed her smiling lips against the side of his neck, causing him to shiver. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said at once. I love all of this. He did not say the last thought, for he did not believe he had to. He held Anna, gently kissing the side of her temple for as long as he could, until Eugene stomped back into the room to announce that Katherine had begun the process of baking a three layer carrot cake, and it was all Lore's fault.

He could not, however, stay long enough to sample the cake and appease Katherine's bruised ego. LaForge wanted him to return to the Enterprise so that the process of helping Data could get under way. He knew they weren't going to like what he had to say about the difficulties, about the time frame. But, it was what it was, and he would not do anything that might help Data at the expense of B-4.

He kissed Anna goodbye in the front hall and she told him she would be with him in a few hours. He knew that she would and it somehow made all the difficulties he was about to face seem not so daunting. There was much work to be done in so many arenas, but Lore looked forward to it all, for he now had a goal. He finally, after all this time, felt like he had purpose again and it was a purpose for which he would never suffer any remorse or regret. Anna, Data, and B-4; they were his purpose.

Finally.

There would be no more regrets.