Will and Deanna sat talking quietly in the waiting area attached to the Sick Bay surgery. The boy was unconscious, anesthetized; he lay face down and stripped to the waist on the surgical table while Dr. Crusher, Geordi and Data worked on removing the strange device.

"What were you thinking when the captain was talking about taking responsibility for the boy?" Deanna asked without preamble.

"Oh, I don't know..."

"Commander," she remonstrated.

Will sighed. "All right, so I do know, I'm just uncertain, and I'm not sure I want to talk about it."

"You're thinking about fostering him yourself."

Will frowned at her. "Are you sure you're just an empath?"

She gave him an enigmatic smile. "I confess to some surprise. I thought the suggestion of parenthood was the surest way to get you to run screaming for the door. Other than talk of marriage, of course."

"Ha ha. Very funny. Since you're determined to butt in where I've told you not to -"

"You said you weren't sure you wanted to talk. I only made the decision for you."

He snorted. Then, feeling suddenly self-conscious, he focused on his hands. "I feel responsible for him; after all, I had him brought here. I'm not certain I'd want to keep him long-term. But I figured, at least I could keep him for now, while we're trying to find his family. And if the longer term comes up, well -"

"Raising a child is a lot of responsibility, Will. It would change your life significantly. No more last-minute going out for drinks or poker -"

"He's not an infant, Deanna. He's almost Wesley's age."

"Even so -"

"Yes, even so. At the least, I'd need to be around regularly. For dinner, recreation... I don't know, Deanna. I just don't know. Surely I don't need to decide all at once? I don't even know his name, yet."

She smiled at him, and leaned back in her seat, watching him. "He likes you."

"He likes you, too. And so do I."

Deanna raised her eyebrows at that, but Will wasn't about to take the bait. Dear as she was to him, Will wasn't prepared to talk about their relationship. Not now, anyway. Not here. Not yet.

Beverly appeared at the door, looking frustrated.

"You couldn't remove it," Deanna stated flatly.

"We tried. But every time we touched it, it sent massive feedback to his brain. I was afraid it would damage him, or even kill him."

"Is he -" Will began anxiously.

"He's all right. I want to keep him here in Sick Bay for a while longer, keep him under observation, though I don't think there will be any lasting effects. Data and Geordi are going to keep looking for ways to deactivate the device, to get around its triggers, whenever they have time from directing the repairs."

"Time which will be hard to come by."

"We're all doing the best we can. In the meantime..."

"In the meantime we can be looking for the boy's family," said Deanna.

"And looking for clues to the device's operation planetside," Will added.

Beverly nodded. "He'll be waking in a few minutes; will you help me explain to him?"

"Of course we will," Deanna answered, as the two of them stood to join her.

"I thought I would call Wesley up here once the boy wakes;" Beverly continued, "if you think that would be appropriate, Counselor? I thought the company of a boy his own age might comfort him."

"I think that's an excellent idea."

"If you think the boy will be staying with us a few days, we could keep him in our quarters, if Wes is willing."

"I imagine he will be with us at least that long, but actually Will was considering hosting him."

"Really, Commander?" Dr. Crusher's smile was both surprised and teasing.

"Yes, really. Though if you think it would be better for him to stay with Wes -"

"We could give him the choice," Deanna answered.

"Sure, that's a good idea," Will agreed, feeling strangely both relieved and disappointed.

The boy had been moved to a regular ward bed; he was just waking when they reached his bedside. He put a hand to his neck and blinked slowly, breathing deeply. Then he looked up at the doctor questioningly.

"I'm afraid it doesn't want to be removed."

The boy sighed and looked morose.

"But you're not to worry," Beverly continued. "We're still working on it."

Geordi and Data joined them, then, from where they had been talking over a console at the back of the room.

"That's right," Geordi told him. "We have a lot more information now than when we started. It's only a matter of time before we figure it out." Geordi touched the boy lightly on the shoulder, who looked up at him hopefully. "Commander Data and I have never yet been presented with a technical puzzle we couldn't solve."

Data tilted his head to one side. "Actually, if you count -"

"Data."

The android looked at Geordi, who was staring at him meaningfully; then seemed to reconsider his statement. "It is true that Chief LaForge and I, together with help from Enterprise's Engineering crew, have been remarkably successful at solving all manner of technical and scientific challenges." The boy smiled softly, amused with the android's clumsy attempt at comforting words.

"You're in very good hands," Will put in, seating himself on the bed at the boy's side. "But we still need a name for you."

Data spoke up. "John Doe is the customary -"

"No, Data," the others said in chorus.

"How about 'Ben'?" Will suggested.

"As in Ben Hur, the story of the prisoner who won his freedom? As in -"

"As in I happen to like that name."

"Oh." Data almost looked disappointed.

Looking up at Data, Will was surprised to feel a light touch on his hand. He looked down, into deep blue eyes looking up at him. The boy nodded.

Will smiled at him. "Ben it is, then."

A few hours later, after arranging a third away team visit with ops but before his duty shift on the bridge was set to begin, Will looked in on the boy in Sick Bay. He was again dressed, sitting at a table at the edge of the ward - out of the way of the medical staff - with Wesley Crusher for company. Will watched the two boys, unobtrusively from the doorway. Together they crouched over Wesley's padd, while Wes explained some of its functions.

"It talks to the main computer core, see; so any time you want you can look up our heading and velocity, like this - and if you had clearance, like one of the officers, you could even steer the ship from here. Or raise the shields, or fire the phasers - though they don't do that, normally, from a padd; they do it from the bridge. It's just that they could, if they had to, in an emergency, see?"

Wes looked up at Ben's face, long enough to catch his smile of encouragement, then both boys bent over the padd again. "We're not really moving now, see? Only .05c, that's five percent of the speed of light, just enough to keep us in about the same relative position as the inhabited planet in this system. We'd go a lot faster if our warp drive was working." Wes looked up at Ben again. "Do you like games?"

Ben shrugged. From her office Will saw Beverly going to join the two boys; he left the doorway to join them as well.

"There's some simple games you can play on a padd; but I have loads more at our quarters. If mom says you're clear to leave Sick Bay, maybe you can come stay with us?"

"He's certainly welcome to," said Beverly, "but the question of where he's going to stay hasn't been decided yet. For one thing, we don't know how long he'll be with us."

Will asked, "Ben, do you have a home and family to go to?"

Ben nodded.

"I don't know how long it will take to get you home," the doctor continued. "You're welcome to stay with Wesley and I, or if you prefer, Commander Riker has offered to take care of you. Either way, it's not a large ship."

Will felt mild anxiety as to how Ben would answer; found himself hoping for Ben's approval, and reproved himself. If Ben preferred to stay with his new friend, who could blame him? The boy's feelings were more important than his own. Then he caught Ben's eye, and knew his own feelings didn't matter. Ben was looking at him with worry in his young eyes, uncertainty, as though asking, do you really want a kid underfoot?

Will smiled back at him, a half-mischievous, encouraging grin.

"Lucky," Wes murmured. Ben flashed him a soft smile. Then he turned back to Will and shyly touched his hand, looking up and holding his gaze.

"Sure you want to put up with a cranky old bachelor like me?"

Ben laughed silently, then nodded, once, firmly.

"That's settled then," Beverly said. "And since I see no reason to keep you here any longer, Will can take you to your room."

"His room hasn't been configured yet," Will laughed. "But that will only take a few hours. In the meantime, I have just enough time to show you my quarters before I'm due on the bridge."

"Mom's off duty beta shift," said Wes. "Come visit with me? Is that okay, Mom?" Wes asked anxiously, turning to his mother.

"That's fine," she said, "if he isn't tired of me yet." She smiled at Ben's silent chuckle. "We'll feed him," she continued, turning to Will.

Will nodded, then turned back to the two boys. "All right, come on then, hop! There's just enough time for you to see my digs before I have to get to work. You, too, Wes; then you can take him with you after I abandon him. It's not too late to change your mind, kid!"

"Be home by dinner time, Wes," Beverly called out as the two boys scooted out of the room, Will marching behind in high spirits.