Elnor had finished his studies and was combing his hair in preparation for going to bed when his incoming message alert chimed. Seeing that the call originated on Nepenthe, he gulped and then answered.

"Hello, are you Elnor?" the dark-haired lady with the kind face asked. Deanna, Elnor reminded himself. Deanna Troi.

"Hi, yes I am, Mrs. Troi." Before he could continue, she interrupted. "Please, call me Deanna. Mrs. Troi is my mother!" she laughed.

Feeling instantly more at ease, Elnor smiled at her and said, "I will remember. Thank you for calling me, Deanna. I really appreciate it. I was only expecting maybe a written reply." Elnor noticed the stern looking bearded man hovering in the background and grew nervous again.

Will Riker moved to the foreground, his face filling the viewscreen, and asked sternly, "Before we give you any 'culinary advice'", Riker made quotation marks in the air with his fingers, "we have a few questions for you."

"Ask away," replied Elnor, more at ease knowing he had nothing to hide.

"Were you raised by the Qowat Milat?"

"Yes, I was. I was an orphan. They took me in before the evacuation. They meant to find a more suitable home for me, but during the upheaval and turmoil of the time, that simply never happened. So they raised me as one of their own, while also making it clear I could never truly be one of them. If you wish confirmation of this, please don't hesitate to contact them. Zani is the leader of the group who raised me and, I think, regards me as fondly as she would a child of her own." Almost as an afterthought, Elnor added, "She and Picard were also very good friends."

"Did they teach you their combat skills?" Riker had spent too many years in Starfleet to not automatically be doing a threat assessment.

"Yes, they did." Elnor wondered where this line of questioning was going.

"So you're an accomplished fighter?"

Elnor thought Riker might be more tenacious at holding on to a possible foe than Picard's pit bull, Number One. With a sudden inspiration, Elnor answered and asked at the same time, "Yes, I am. Did Picard name his pit bull after you?"

"Huh? Pit bull?" Elnor felt secretly pleased to have caught Riker off guard.

"Yes, his dog. His name is 'Number One.'"

Elnor could hear Deanna's peals of laughter in the background and felt reassured.

Her face appeared in the viewscreen again beside her husband's. "Elnor, you mentioned that Laris wanted you to cook dinner for them. Could you elaborate on that, please?"

Elnor felt like this was a test of a different sort. "Yes, I believe that she picked up on how I was feeling bad, guilty isn't the right word, but maybe more like. . . I don't know, like I was imposing on them by always going there and. . . she's been so kind to me. And I'm so grateful that she's gone to so much trouble to make me feel welcome and at home. I wanted to do something to help in the kitchen, since I know she's included my favorite foods and so much more. I wasn't expecting her to put an entire evening meal on me! I feel overwhelmed! All the nuns ever taught me to cook was flatbread and simple meals of grains and vegetables!"

Deanna smiled. "Simple is best, Elnor. I get the feeling you were hoping for us to give you the names of dishes, ingredients, preparation instructions?" Elnor nodded in agreement. Deanna continued, "I'm sorry we can't do that. In all the years we served on the Enterprise with Jean-Luc, I don't think we ever knew what he liked best for dinner. Beverly Crusher often had breakfast with him. He preferred croissants. That's not much help for dinner, I know." Seeing Elnor's downcast look and recognizing it as genuine, she added, "I have heard he is fond of seafood." Elnor looked up hopefully. "I'm sorry," she said, "I don't really know more than that. I can't give you specifics or a recipe. Like I said, keep it simple, don't try to overdo, and stick with what you know best. Flatbread may not be french bread, but I'm sure he'll appreciate it because you made it."

Elnor smiled at her in gratitude. He could feel she was being genuine, almost or maybe as much so as one trained in Absolute Candor. As if she could read his thoughts, Deanna added, "Elnor, we read about the nuns' philosophy of Absolute Candor. Did you know that on my home planet of Betazed, everyone is fully telepathic and no thoughts are ever hidden from anyone?

Elnor speechlessly shook his head no, his eyes wide. He had never heard of Betazed.

Deanna smiled at him softly. "My father was human, so I'm only half Betazoid. I'm empathic, not telepathic. And regardless, I can't read anything other than your words and body language over a video feed. But I sense that you are sincere and that you have a deep attachment to our beloved Jean-Luc."

Elnor, unused to such sincerity from anyone other than a Qowat Milat nun, nodded his head in agreement. "He was the father I never had. I was surrounded by women. I admire the strength of women. But I admit, I craved a father figure and didn't even know I did until he let me down." Seeing the shadow cross Deanna's face, he added, "Fourteen years was a long time. I didn't think I would ever see him again. And when I did. . . " he looked her straight in the eyes, "I was angry at him. For abandoning me. For not caring about me as I thought he had. For not caring about me as I cared about him."

To his surprise, Deanna didn't flinch. "All of those emotions are perfectly understandable, Elnor. I would be surprised if you didn't feel abandoned. And angry. Can you tell me what you felt when he suddenly showed up again after so long?"

The open ended question surprised Elnor. "I felt. . . I walked into the central chamber and saw him. I saw him look at me. I saw the shock of recognition on his face." Elnor paused to remember how he felt. "I wanted to run to him and hug him, but more than that I was angry at him." Belatedly, Elnor wondered if perhaps Deanna had more powers than she had told him. He hadn't found himself being this honest since he left Vashti.

"And then?" prompted Deanna.

Elnor felt himself unburdening in a way he hadn't in a long time. "I told him I wouldn't help him with his quest. I was still feeling abandoned and very angry at him. What was this Soji to him that she should deserve his help when I hadn't?"

Elnor paused, wondering if he should continue, and then decided to trust this Deanna Troi, not Mrs. Troi, empath. "I called him an 'old man' and refused to help him." Deanna nodded, saying nothing. "Zani told me I should reconsider. She said he needed me. And I needed him."

Deanna gave him her best sympathetic look. "Zani sounds like a very wise person."

"She is! She's the wisest person I know. She kicked me out. I know she did it out of love and necessity, and I admire her for her strength. She and I both cried as I left so suddenly. But if I hadn't left so quickly, Picard would have been slaughtered in the courtyard. It was I who saved him."

Deanna successfully hid her slight shock that Elnor would so quickly gloss over what must have been a traumatic event, being told so suddenly to leave the only home he'd ever known. Instead, she smiled at the screen again. "Elnor, I'm very glad you were there to save him. We all love him and want the best for him. But may I ask you, why do you call him 'Picard' all the time?"

Elnor paused for a long time. He started worrying whether this call was costing money and how much. The Federation claimed not to use money and no mention had ever been made of pay or cost of anything. He still wasn't sure he believed all of that though. He answered Deanna not with his questions of finances in the Federation, but with what really mattered to him. "I've never known him by any other name."

Deanna's smile softened. She said, "I can see you care deeply about him. It doesn't take an empath or a telepath to see that. And I couldn't imagine a better father figure to anyone. I would suggest though, that you ask him what name you should call him. Admiral, Captain, Sir. All of these names convey levels of duty and a chain of command." Nodding to Will, she said, "When we served under him, of course we called him 'Captain Picard', but now that he's our friend and not our commander, we call him Jean-Luc."

Elnor considered this for a prolonged moment. He felt confused inside. Captain, Admiral, Picard? Was "Picard" really how one addressed a father figure. For the first time, Elnor began questioning how he addressed Picard.

Elnor bowed his head. "I can see how you were the esteemed counselor on the Enterprise. I feel fortunate to be the recipient of your advice. But I've never known him by any other name. As you must know, many Romulans go by only one name. So, even being raised in the very different environment of the Qowat Milat, I thought 'Picard' was his only name. At least, that was my understanding as a child. I now know his titles, but I'm still confused."

Deanna wished she could reach through space and give a reassuring hug to the confused youngster. Not being able to, she did the best she could with words. "It's just something to think about. The names we use for people do tend to convey our level of closeness to them, so it's something you might want to talk with him about sometime. . . when you feel comfortable doing so and the time seems right."

Worried that she might have overloaded their new friend with advice, Deanna decided to bring the conversation back to the first topic and wrap things up. "Elnor, we are very pleased to get to know you. I'm sorry we can't offer more culinary advice. But please know we are here for you. We are his family, as are you, and Laris. I'm very glad you reached out to us. Please don't hesitate to contact us at any time for any reason. We're very happy to be able to help as much as we can. As for dinner, just remember to keep it simple, and I'm sure everything will be fine."

She spared Elnor what courtesy a reply would have demanded by pressing the End Call button.

Turning back to Will, who had been very quiet after learning that Picard called his dog Number One, Deanna tilted her head to one side and asked, "Worf is due back at Earth for another refitting of the Enterprise any day now, isn't he?"

Will, seeing where her thoughts were going with this, grinned. "He is, indeed. We should get in touch with Worf and see if he would care to meet Elnor in person. Maybe he'll recommend fresh gagh for dinner."