Sorry to keep everyone in suspense! I fell asleep for an hour after staying up all night with this bad boy :) ! Enjoy and I'll update again really, really soon! Thanks for all your feedback. I read each and everyone and wish that I could respond to each of you individually. I wish I could respond to Guest reviews! Your feedback helps me direct the story so that everyone can enjoy it and have fun! So, keep it coming. Thanks a million and enjoy!

Jean Luc whispers, "Hope told us not to answer the door… And frankly I'm in agreement!"

The door chime sounds again. "Shouldn't we at least check?" I know better, but I'm desperately curious. I receive a harried look of caution in response to my question. Though I can tell the look in his green-grey eyes isn't exactly confirmatory, it doesn't exactly discourage me either.

The floor boards creek obviously as I tread oh-so- softly to the door. I sincerely hope that this creaking is only audible from inside! Otherwise… It's going to be 4th-grade obvious that we're hiding out in this house like fugitives. And God forbid if Saoirse or Aaron starts to cry…

I know from experience that somewhere around the door is a painfully, eerily, annoyingly loud slab of wood that creaks like the Devil every time anyone steps on it. I just have to avoi- Dammit! Dammit! Goddammit!

The uncanny howl of the floorboard elicits a very familiar, welcoming laugh from the other side of the door. Like I said, I definitely know the owner of that cackle.

"Deanna?" I exclaim louder than I mean to. My eyes nearly jump out of their bony sockets as I open the door and behold and petite brunette standing impatiently with a gaggle of our former crew surrounding her on Hope's too-tiny veranda.

Tears of relief flood my eyes as the cool air hits me in the face and I'm enveloped in the lithe arms of my old friend. "Oh, Deanna!" I breathe in her familiar smell and allow myself to bask in her calm ubeity. I soon disentangle myself, though. "Will Riker!" I barely reach his chin, but I latch onto him and hold him as closely as I can.

The scene in front of me starts to blur through saline droplets. I wipe my eyes before folding Data's heavy, alloy body against my own. He could almost be human, I think; the warmth of his circuitry is almost an exact dupe for body heat.

"Doctor," His voice resonates against me. "We should go inside. It would not be prudent for you to be seen under the current circumstances."

Jean Luc and Wesley move into the foyer. "Will! Deanna!" Jean Luc folds each of them against himself. His grin broadens when he regards Data. "Data," He breathes a sigh of gratitude against Data's plastic rigidity. "Thank you for everything, my old friend."

"You are most welcome, Captain. However," He turns to Wesley whose face wears the biggest smile. "You are still being searched for and it is only a matter of time until the authorities find you here. May I suggest that we get started?"

Wesley grins at his old friend and leads him to the console. "It's great you're here, Data." I hear him say. "Now we'll be able to sort through all of this information in an eighth of the time!"

"Precisely." Data's fingers work at an alarming rate as Wesley directs his actions.

Wesley points to the screen, "This one here. All of these files…"

I turn my attention to the couple opposite us in the foyer. "Will, Deanna," Jean Luc is still as stunned as I am. "You, eh-"

I finish his thought for him. "How were you able to get here?"

Will clasps his wife's hand. "The Titan entered orbit two days ago. We were docking for repairs when we heard the scuttlebutt that you three were wanted for the murder of three prominent officials at the Daystrom Institute. I'm sure you've seen the report?"

Jean Luc shakes his head, "No. We haven't. We haven't been paying attention. We've, eh, just been lying low since we escaped that whole situation."

"Well, the reports are saying that you three are dangerous. The whole thing has been completely sensationalized and it's causing quite a scandal!"

He rolls his eyes, "We're sure. But, you still haven't answered our question – how were you three able to transport here without being detected? More than that, how are you explaining your absence aboard the Titan during repairs to the Admiralty?"

Deanna smiles a cheeky grin. "I think you're forgetting, Jean Luc, the benefits of commanding a starship – we have unlimited and unrestricted use of the transporters."

Jean Luc only laughs in response, "I suppose rank did have its privileges."

"As for explaining to the admiralty," Will smiles. "I told them we were going to Alaska to visit my father, who I explained to them was ill and on Death's doorstep."

My face must have contorted in concern, "No, no. Beverly," Will lays a large hand on my shoulder. "Dad's fine. But we needed a good excuse. After we transported here, we gave Geordi express orders to tweak the transporter logs."

I motion to Hope's living room for the four of us to sit down and briefly discuss what's been happening. "Beverly," Deanna takes my hand and regards my husband and I as we settle on the large couch. "We were all so glad to hear from you and know that you three were safe. We all knew that the media was creating unnecessary hullaballoo. So tell us, how did two ex-Starfleet officials get caught in this mess?"

I pull my hand away from her warm grasp and rub my aching eyes where I feel the beginnings of a migraine. "Deanna," My gaze shifts to Will. "Will," I let out a deep sigh as I condense the lengthy story into a sentence. "They're after Wes... Remember the Traveller?"

Will shakes his head to the negative, "Traveller?"

Deanna interjects, her hand on his arm. "I remember." She looks over at him. "Remember when Wesley was able to manipulate the warp field with his mind under the tutelage of that alien that came aboard? It was a long time ago…"

His blue eyes brighten in recognition. "I remember." But then, once again, he's stupefied. "What's the got to do with anything?"

Jean Luc picks up the story, telling it with alacrity as he gestures with his hands. "The Daystrom Institute wanted Wes to come work for them because they had heard of those abilities."

Will shakes his head again, "How?" He interjects, "Did they gain access to ship's logs?"

"I don't know, Will. Up until you just said it, I hadn't considered that. But, there's something else." He looks at me, silently asking if I'd like to explain what happened with Jack.

I turn back to Will, "Jack. He came back."

The colour drains from both their faces. "Jack? Your dead husband, Jack? Wesley's father, Jack?"

I nod my head, "All of the above."

"Beverly," Deanna's hand reaches out to rest on my leg. "How is that even possible?"

I shrug. "He said he faked his own death. He said that Starfleet was dull and that he's meant for more and the Daystrom Institute allowed him to cultivate certain other abilities that he had…"

Will puts two and two together. "Abilities like Wesley's, you mean?"

"Yes," I sigh with the experience still too fresh in my mind.

"So?" Deanna goads.

"So, it's all been a ploy, Deanna. Jack considered himself to be the next step in Human evolution and he was twistedly certain that Wesley was only an enhancement of himself."

"So…" Will looks back to the study at Wesley and Data excitably working over the information on the console. "How did you end up at the Daystrom Institute?"

I suppose there's no easy, abridged version of this. "We had left for Caldos because my Nana died and we needed to clean up her affairs," I inwardly cringe at my choice of words. "When we came back, Wes was missing. He'd dropped Aaron and Saoirse off with Hope and took off for the Daystrom Institute. He called us from there and we went after him." I let out a deep breath.

Jean Luc continues. "When we got there, we found that Wes had been drugged and they had been experimenting on him. They then similarly conducted the same experiments on Beverly…"

I cut in. "I'm still not sure why. I think Jack just wanted to see me squirm…"

He resumes. "We got out of there, but just barely. We had help from 2 of the former Voyager crew – the EMH and a former Borg called Seven."

Our two friends nod, engrossed in the story. "So, I'm guessing you had to fight your way out?" Will posits with a smirk.

"With a phaser and a bit of dumb luck, we made it out alive and we've been hiding ever since."

Deanna fluffs her hair and pushes wayward strands behind her ear, "Well, that's certainly not how the media is portraying it."

I shake my head and my gaze meets the wooden floor boards. "We've got to expose them! This can't stay hidden. Our family can't go to prison for this. It's completely insane!"

"Mom! Dad!" Wesley runs into the room. "We found them. We found all of them… Ron, the Traveller, me, you, and tons of others." He's only run two paces, but adrenaline and sheer excitement has him out of breathe. "They did it. They recorded everything. It's like they left a breadcrumb trail!" I really have to verse myself in these old Earth idioms…

"Found what?" Will turns back to us.

Jean Luc's demeanor is solemn. "Videos, recordings of the torture and the murder that the officials at the Daystrom Institute allowed to happen to confirm their theories…"

Will counters with a hint of mischief and an overriding sense of motivation, "Well," he smiles knowingly. "What are we going to do about it?"