Family

(Riker, Troi, Soji)

Will kept his arm around Deanna's shoulders as they watched Jean-Luc and Soji heading down the path, Kestra bounding ahead of them like the wild girl she wanted to be. Deanna sensed that their daughter needed space right now. Even after a few days, Kestra had made friends with Soji and would miss having her in the house.

Deanna, for that matter, would miss the young android too.

"How about that Soji, huh?" said Will, smiling sadly as they went back indoors. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I wouldn't know, dear. You were never much good as a telepath."

"She's a chip off the old block." He gazed into the distance, where the road disappeared out of sight into the forest. "I wish Data had gotten to know her. He would've been proud."

Deanna agreed. The shape of Soji's face, the way she tilted her head while processing information, the way she could learn to speak an invented language fluently within minutes … it all made Deanna's heart ache in more ways than she could name.

"Yes," she said, "But, you see … what with Data, Maddox and now Jean-Luc, this girl has got more father figures than she knows what to do with."

"Only one of 'em alive, though."

Will scowled. Resentment wafted off him like the smell of burned tomatoes. She could only assume it was toward Maddox, who had created Soji and left her alone.

"Yes," said Deanna. "But, Will … she has no mother. We're sending her off on a life-threatening mission and she might die without ever having known a mother."

Will might not be much of a telepath, but he could still read her like a book. He held out his arm again and let her tuck her head against his chest, radiating comfort, He knew as well as she did that it wasn't only Soji's fate that haunted her.

A child with no mother was, after all, the exact inverse of a mother who had lost a child.

"She'll have us," said Will, "Whether she likes it or not, eh?" He rubbed Deanna's back firmly, making her crack a smile. "Kid's got some serious trust issues, let me tell you. Although Jean-Luc's godawful joke may have actually helped."

"Why in the world would you say that?"

"Well, when you shove someone halfway across the garden and the only reaction you get is Whoa, hey!" He put on a perfect parody of his own voice, making her giggle in spite of herself. "It's a pretty clear sign they don't mean you any harm."

"She was testing us," Deanna realized. "Of course."

"Smart girl," said Will affectionately. "Like I said, a chip off the old block."

Deanna took one of their last bottles of Chateau Picard out from the dustiest corner of the kitchen cupboard, wiped it off, and poured each of them a glass.

"To the newest member of our family," said Will, raising a toast.

As they clinked glasses, Deanna sent two silent prayers: one to the Four Deities of Betazed, and one to the spirit of her son.

Keep her safe.