The morning air was still cool and crisp when Elnor was ready to leave. Not having brought much with him, he didn't have much to take back. Traveling light was a skill the nuns had taught him. One didn't need many possessions to do what they did. Picard and Laris were, of course, up to see him off.

Exiting the chateau by the same side door he had entered when he arrived, Elnor, mindful that he shouldn't carry the cat past her allotted boundaries, carefully set her on the ground.

"I see she didn't attack you last night," noted Laris.

Elnor smiled, "I think she and I have things worked out now."

"Do you know her name yet?" asked Picard.

"Yes, her name is Candor because she expresses her emotions fully, without filtering through a thought process. No matter how she's feeling, you'll always know where you stand with her."

"That's so very fitting," Picard said approvingly. He looked down at the cat who was rubbing up against Elnor's legs. Addressing her, he said, "What do you think of your name, Candor?"

"Reowr," she said agreeably.

"I think she's going to miss you, Elnor."

"I'll miss her, too," he smiled wistfully, "but I'll be sure to bring her some special treats. Do you think there are any databases that might still contain the recipes Data created for Spot?"

Picard looked surprised at the thought, but after considering it for a moment he said, "You know, there just might be. Let me do some checking and see just where the computer information from the Enterprise-D might be stored.

"Oh! I almost forgot," he continued. "I should have thought of this before. Our flyer is programmable. You can take it back to the transporter nexus. When you have all your things out of it, just press this button here and it will return home. Next Friday I'll be sure to send it to the nexus to wait on you. Wait, has anyone taught you how to fly one of these things? They pretty much do everything themselves, but it's always good to know how to fly one manually just in case."

Elnor grinned, "Actually, I do know how to fly them." At Picard's questioning look, he continued, "My xenobiology lab partner, Nathan, taught me how."

"So you are making a few friends on campus! That's excellent! But what are you doing taking xenobiology? That's not a required course for the security officer program?"

"I told Raffi I didn't want to be a security officer. I don't know what I want to be yet, so I'm taking as wide a variety of courses as I can."

"She's going to find out about the extra courses, you know."

"I know," laughed Elnor. "I'll deal with that when it happens," he said with a grin.

"Hmmm," Picard looked thoughtful. "Since you're taking a variety of classes anyway, you might want to see if an archaeology class would be of any interest to you. Did you know that I almost became an archaeologist instead of a starship captain?"

Elnor's eyes widened. Was there no end to the surprising things he would learn about this man? "I'll certainly look into it," he agreed.

As he gave Laris a parting hug, she pressed a paper bag into his hands. "Just a bite of something so you don't have to scrounge around on campus looking for decent food," she explained.

"Thank you," Elnor replied, dipping his head in gratitude. He set the bag in the flyer before turning to hug Picard.

After the hug, unwilling to completely let go just yet, Picard grasped Elnor by the forearms. "I've learned a few very important things from the events of the past year and more," he said, "especially from my own 'death', and then more recently from yours. I learned how to say something I should have always known how to say." Allowing his emotions to show on his face, Picard said, "I love you, Elnor."

A broad grin lit Elnor's face even as his eyes shone with unshed tears. "I love you, too," he replied. "I always have, you know, even when I was angry with you. I think Zani knew how I felt better than I did myself. I'm so glad she sent me with you."

"So am I, my boy, so am I."

Picard stood watching the flyer until it disappeared from view, Number One waiting patiently by his left side, Candor rubbing against his legs. Laris noticed him surreptitiously wipe a tear from his eye. She leaned slightly against him as she took him by the arm and turned him back towards the house. "He'll be back next weekend, Jean-Luc," she said reassuringly.

"I know," he said, "but until then, I'm going to miss him."

"We all will," she agreed. Then she added teasingly, "I wonder what he'll bring to cook for us for dinner?"

Picard laughed, "I have no idea, but it should be interesting."