"Welcome to Starfleet Headquarters," the transporter technician said formally. "Commodore, will you be officially escorting the civilian to his destination?"

"No," Geordie said. "Data and I just came to deliver Mr. Crusher. I believe Admiral . . ."

He was interrupted when the door to the transporter room slid open and Admiral Crusher came running in.

Jack barely had time to reach the edge of the transporter pad before she wrapped him in her arms. "Thank goodness you are all right," she exclaimed.

"Right as rain," Jack assured his mother as he returned her hug. "You don't have to worry about me."

"You say that like it's a choice," Beverly said, pulling herself away from her son just enough to address Geordie and Data. "Thank you both for finding him."

"Any time, Bev," Geordie said warmly.

"Indeed, Doctor, it is a uniquely rewarding experience to assist the progoney of my dearest friends."

"Well, I appreciate it, and so does Jean-Luc," Beverly said as she led Jack by the hand off of the transporter pad. "I'd like to catch up, but we don't have a lot of time."

"Understood," the Commodore nodded. "I'll see you next month at Ten Forward."

"Looking forward to it," Beverly called back, as she pulled her son out of the room and started walking down the hall at a brisk pace.

Jack, who'd expected a little more motherly TLC after his ordeal found it difficult to keep up. "Where are we going in such a rush?" He asked.

"Admiral Janeway wants to see you in six and a half minutes," his mother told him, "but I want to have a word with you first."

"But aren't you the Admiral who wanted to see me?"

"I'm an admiral who always wants to see you," Beverly said. "But, I would have been happy to visit you at home once you got a chance to rest. She's a little more demanding. Let's cut through here."

They turned a corner and, suddenly, they were in a beautiful atrium. The sky, visible through the glass ceiling, was a murky gray, which was predictable for a San Francisco morning. But lights positioned throughout the space made it as bright and warm as a sunny day in July. The room was filled with thousands of plants from the Federation member worlds, all growing together in a carefully constructed garden of rolling hills, hanging planters, climbing vines, and a river pausing at several small ponds filled with water plants.

"I've read about this," Jack said, staring at the overwhelming display of life. "It's the Starfleet Garden- supposedly there is a plant here from the homeworld of every species with a member in Starfleet- but nothing is labeled. It's all just thrown together."

"My friend Keiko would strongly disagree that the plants are thrown together," Beverly said. "It's her job to make sure they don't strangle each other."

"If plants can't get along, what hope do we have?" Jack asked ruefully.

"Do you really believe that?" His mother asked him.

"I . . . don't know," Jack admitted. "I used to, but now I'm not sure."

"Progress," Beverly said warmly as she slipped her arm in his and led him to a boardwalk through the garden. "Do you remember when you were 17 and came home with a flier for Starfleet Academy?"

"And you burst into tears and locked yourself in your room crying all night?" Jack said.

"I don't think the door was locked," Beverly said. "But you're right that I did not handle that situation well, and I think you deserve an explanation."

"Your husband died in Starfleet, your son abandoned you for an alien he met in Starfleet, you had to be a single mother because your on-again, off-again lover was constantly in danger for the sake of Starfleet - does that cover it?"

"Well," Beverly admitted, "Perhaps it accounts for the tears. But those are my crosses to bear - none of that should have affected your decision. "

"What about the fact that my mother didn't want to be alone?" Jack said. "You took the trouble to raise me, and I know that wasn't . . . I wasn't easy . . ."

Beverly squeezed his arm affectionately. "I've always relished a challenge. Seeing you grow up has been one of the greatest joys of my life. When you were 17, things were different, I was different, and you . . . You were so different."

"Immature?"

"Burdened," his mother corrected. "I know we've talked about this before, but I am so sorry I never realized what was happening to you."

"It's not like I was trying to tell you," Jack said. "I did everything I could to hide everything I could."

"Yes, exactly," his mother said. "You were always so guarded. All that exuberance and charm used to misdirect and befuddle."

"Excellent skill set for a rogue and a thief," Jack mused. "Probably not for an upstanding Starfleet officer."

Beverly chuckled and squeezed her son's arm affectionately. "But these past few weeks, you've opened up. All the charm, all the exuberance, and suddenly, there is heart behind it. "

"What's there to hide?" Jack shrugged. "Everyone saw the monster inside me. And, for reasons I will never comprehend, no one ran away. "

"Because you were never the monster," Beverly said. "And now you are finally letting people see the wonderful, caring, brilliant human you always were."

Jack smiled at his mother and did not argue with her complement- though he thought it was more a reflection of her love then his value. She wanted to believe all his bad traits had been the Borg Queen's doing - but Jack wasn't sure. His relationship with the Queen was complicated. Like all Borg, he wasn't sure where she ended and he began. Had she made him secretive to protect herself, or had he decided to be secretive to hide her? That pattern of behavior started when he was a young child, and had grown stronger as he grew. At this point, he'd lied about almost everything personal to almost everyone for most of his life. But suddenly that philosophy seemed counter-productive. If the truth about him was that he was a liar, where could he go from there?

"Which is why," Beverly continued, "I want to let you know that I'm ready to let you go."

Jack's blood ran cold and he stopped in his tracks. He had just made it clear that any amount of openness he dared to exhibit was due to the fact that people had not abandoned him. How could she possibly think of abandoning him now? Sure, she'd used the language of freedom, but Jack needed connection more than freedom. Perhaps that was a Borg trait, but some things he could not change.

Beverly didn't have to be a Betazoid, or even his mother, to notice the change in his mood. "I didn't think that would upset you," she said, pivoting so she could look him in the eyes.

Jack met her gaze. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he didn't care. "I need you," he admitted softly. "Without you, I'm . . ."

"I will always be here for you," Beverly assured him, leaning forward and hugging her son tightly. "But that's the point, sweetie, I'll be here, a harbor to come home to. You don't have to stay. It's true that, after Jack and Westley, I didn't want to lose you to the stars. But it wasn't the idea of you dying in a space battle that frightened me. I was terrified that if you went off on your own, we'd lose our connection and you would have no one. As a mother who knew her son, I saw how much you needed me to be there, keeping you in line."

"Keeping me human," Jack said.

"Knowing you for who you really were," Beverly asserted as she put her hand on his cheek and wiped away a tear. "We all need others to know us, to center us, to love us - that's just a part of being human. Before, I was the only person you would let know you and love you. Now, I see you opening up to others, Jean-Luc, Sidney LaForge, even Laris. I'm not afraid of losing you anymore because I'm not afraid of you losing yourself.

"Please don't think this is me pushing you away. I am not. If you want to stay at Chateau Picard, or come to live in San Francisco with me, I'll be delighted that you are living the life you choose.

"But if you want to take a risk, and seek adventure, I want you to know that would make me happy too. Do you understand?"

"I think so," Jack said. "But, honestly, is my future even a decision I'll get to make? There is a lot of past out there, waiting in the wings to foil all best laid plans."

"That is a conversation you need to have with Admiral Janeway," Beverly said, "And, you just might be late for it. We should hurry. "

As she led him through the maze of garden paths, Jack tried to collect himself. It was not easy, considering he'd woken up six hours ago in a medieval dungeon expecting to die of dehydration. He reviewed what he'd learned in the last few hours and tried to make it make sense.

Everyone knew he was responsible for the Frontier Day Massacre, but there was no legal way to hold him accountable. There were undoubtedly powerful people at the highest levels who wanted to protect him - but surely there were far more people who would want justice. How much louder would those voices be when people realized he'd had a criminal record.

But Comador La Forge had mentioned conscription, and his mother had given him her blessing to take a risk and seek adventure. And the head of Starfleet, Admiral Janeway herself, wanted to talk to him. Taken together, it seemed like he was going to be offered a commission. Or, perhaps, sent to a penal colony.

"Here we are," she said, coming up to a large clearing with several comfortable benches and a security officer standing at attention in front of a standard sliding door. "Almost on time. Be sure to let her know it was my fault you were late. Geordie wouldn't have slowed you down with a heart-to-heart."

"Wait," Jack said anxiously. "You're not coming in too?"

"This conversation is not about me," Beverly said before leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. "Just remember, no matter what, I'm proud of you."

"You left that quite open-ended," Jack said. "I'm sure I could arrange for an outcome that would make you burn with shame."

Beverly laughed, letting her son's wit lighten the mood. Their moment was interrupted when the door to the office slid open and a young woman in a red uniform with Lieutenant pips asked, "Mr. Crusher?"

"Present," Jack said, raising his hand as if he were back in school.

The officer smiled at him, "The Admiral will see you now."

Jack stole one last glance at his mother. Her green eyes were practically glowing with pride as she mouthed "good luck."

"Coffee?" The Admiral offered politely. "Or tea? Your father always asks for tea."

"No, thank you," Jack said uncomfortably.

"Well, at least accept a glass of water," Janeway said with a wry smile. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

Jack felt his mouth get very dry, even as the lieutenant requested his water from the office replicator. She placed the large, clear glass on a coaster on the desk in front of him, then asked. "Anything else, Admiral?"

"No, Naomi, that should be fine for now."

The lieutenant nodded curtly before exiting the room, leaving Jack alone with the most terrifying person he could imagine.

Not that she was visually terrifying. Physically, she gave off the impression of an ordinary human mother. She looked soft and inviting, a touch over eager, and she had already offered him food. He would have expected her at a PTA meeting, or a children's football game.

But, he'd read up on Voyager during his convalescence, since Seven of Nine had shown it to him. He knew the Admiral was brilliant, with keen instincts and an iron will. She might be charmed, but she would not be fooled. She was merciful, redeeming far more assimilated borg than any person in federation records. But she was cruel, trapping the Borg Queen in a trans warp conduit leading to the slow death of the entire cube - but not, unfortunately, the Queen herself.

She was far more than she appeared. For someone like Jack - who's greatest skill was reading the room and the people in it - she was dangerous. And, seeing as she held his future in his hands, he felt her threat acutely.

"I'm glad we could make this meeting work," Janeway continued conversationally, as if Jack had had some control over his schedule for that day. "I've wanted to meet you for a while now, but your mother is very protective. She didn't want to overwhelm you." She leaned forward, as if speaking confidentiality. "People say I am overwhelming. Honestly, I don't see it."

Jack smiled, partially because that was the response the Admiral wanted, partially because he appreciated how masterfully she was using her charm. "I am intimidated, " he admitted. "But then, I'm not exactly here on the best of footings, am I?"

"Really," Janeway said, feigning surprise very well. "Why do you think you are here?"

"Oh," Jack sighed. "There are lots of reasons. Given the timing, I'm sure this has something to do with my confession about the Frontier Day Massacre that's circulating through the ranks. I mean, the longer you let that percolate the more bitter the coffee. But you did say you've wanted to meet me for a while now, so that speaks to an underlying curiosity. Maybe because you're obsessed with the Borg, and I'm a unique specimen of the species. Maybe because I caused so much trouble for your friend Seven of Nine that you just had to see what the fuss was about. Maybe you're like my friend, Mr. Data, and just really enjoy meeting your friends' kids. "

"Well," Janeway said, still smiling inscrutably, "I suppose all of those statements are true- though you are correct in assuming that your recorded confession made our first meeting a formal, not social, affaire."

She paused, presumably to let him explain some mitigating factor. But what factors could possibly mitigate the truth of what happened? Jack remained silent and forced her to make the next move.

"I was in briefings with your parents after the massacre," Janeway said. "I understand what you did- both what you chose to do and what you were forced to do. Everyone who heard the whole story agrees that you were as much a victim of the Changelings and the Borg Queen as the rest of the young people who were assimilated."

"Well, that's quite generous," Jack said.

"I want to make it clear that we do not want a cabal or a conspiracy to hide the truth. But, we believe that everyone who was controlled by the Borg deserves to handle that trauma in their own way. You had every right to tell your story, and share that story however you saw fit. But, if it's not too much of an imposition, mind telling me why you chose to do it like that?"

"I didn't choose it," Jack said. "The woman who kidnapped me made me record it."

"Yes," Janeway said, looking down at a PADD on her desk. "Officer Yalana Lambit. Her husband was stationed on the Excelsior. She and her children beamed on to Space Doc to witness the spectacle."

"And her husband died, and her children were assimilated and she couldn't cope - so she sent them away to live with her family on Betazed," Jack said. "Then, one lucky day she just happened to stumble across someone who - despite being told over and over that he was not the primary cause of the most effective Borg attack on Earth, well. . . ever - certainly felt like he was. So, she heroically breaks unjust laws, exposes the monster to the world, locks him up deep underground to die, and disappears into the mist - or, since it's Monaco, the dazzling sunshine. She's the hero of the story, and I'm the villain."

"You told her story with far more compassion than you told your own," Janeway observed.

Jack shrugged. "I woke up from the nightmare and had a better life. Her nightmare just kept going."

"Hmmm," Janeway said, looking at Jack with a piercing gaze. He felt like she could see right through him.

"Is that all, Admiral?" Jack asked, when her gaze got to be too much for him. "Because you are the fourth person today to interrogate me. While your office is certainly nicer than the Monaco Security Offices, the questions are basically the same. I'm sure you could save us both time by reading the transcripts."

"Oh, this isn't an interrogation," Janeway said. "It's an interview."

"The difference being?" Jack asked.

"I might offer you a job at the end," Janeway said with a smile.

Jack laughed dryly, "That's daft."

"Why?" Janeway said. "I'm sure you know we need people, especially people with experience in field engineering, medicine, navigation, diplomacy."

Jack laughed again, "Diplomacy is a bit of a stretch."

"I know what it's like to be a ship with lots of enemies and no allies," Janeway said. "Every communication is diplomacy."

"But I'm a criminal," Jack said. "I have over twenty outstanding warrants for my arrest on over a dozen planets - most of them, Federation members."

"Is that so?" Janeway said, leaning forward and holding out a PADD. Jack took it and saw the familiar list of charges.

Fraud and related charges on Risa

Transporting weapons with the intent to sell on Archer IV

Providing arms to terrorists on Cardassia Prime

Murder on Andreus V- CHARGES DOWNGRADED TO "Assault"

Smuggling and related charges on Trill - CHARGES DOWNGRADED TO "Possession of controlled substances" FINE PAID

Unregistered liquors on Bajor - FINE PAID

Smuggling on Minas V - FINE PAID

Terrorism Binar III - CHARGES DROPPED

Organized crime on Andorra - PARDONED

Assault and burglary on Rigle IV - PARDONED

Possession of a banned weapon on Betazed - PARDONED

Jack read the list in disbelief, then he read it again. "My father has been busy," he realized.

"He has," Janeway admitted.

"For the record," Jack said, "I didn't ask Jean-Luc to do this."

"He's your father," Janeway said. "You didn't have to. And, to be honest, I think he enjoyed it. I understand that, on Andreus V he arranged to bring in a physician from Falsetine and open a crypt to prove you didn't poison a local pimp, only chemically-induced an early regeneration cycle."

Jack laughed with relief. "I hope he wakes up in a better mood than when he went to sleep."

"Well, we'll know in five years or so," Janeway said.

"As much as I appreciate my father's efforts- and I do, really - it seems I still have eight outstanding warrants, mostly on federation planets."

"Warrants for Class B crimes," Janeway pointed out. "Article 387 of the Federation Charter stipulates that criminals who have plead guilty to Class B crimes and shown remorse can forgo sentencing to a penal colony if they enlist in Starfleet and serve a minimum of 50% of their estimated minimum sentence."

"Do I look remorseful to you?" Jack asked.

"I can pretend if you can," Janeway said with a devious smile. "Depending on the judges assigned to your cases and the moods of the juries, you are facing a total of thirty or fourty years in a penal colony. Personally, I think that's a waste."

"Better to be in Starfleet?" Jack asked. "Hemmed in by rules and regulations. Letting sentient life suffer because we don't have jurisdiction. Or worse, because they need to 'develop' into a civilization you consider worthy?"

"Better to be in Starfleet," Janeway said, the friendliness dropped from her tone. "Where you can help thousands of people live in safety and freedom. No one can save everyone, Jack. I know that from personal experience. I think you do too. Assess the situation and save who you can."

Jack didn't answer. He looked at Admiral Janeway and thought of Seven of Nine, who had saved his life, his mother's life, probably most of the population of Earth's lives when she'd agreed to ignore her Captain's orders and find the Eleos before the changelings. He looked down at the PADD and wondered what kind of favors his father had called in, and what his father had done in the first place to earn those favors. He glanced at the coffee mug on Janeway's desk displaying the Starfleet delta, and thought about Sidney's invitation to visit her Uncle's coffee plantation in two weeks.

"It's not much of a choice," Jack observed.

"You still have to make it," Janeway replied. "And, might I suggest, whichever choice you do make, embrace it."

"What about the charges on Cardassia Prime?"

"Avoid Cardassian space," she said matter-of-factly.

"And the recording, which I'm sure is spreading like a virus through the rank and file, where I confess to personally assimilating a quarter of your fleet, and then ordering the death of the remaining 75%?"

"You made that recording under duress," Janeway said dismissively. "Starfleet was always aware of the unique factors associated with your assimilation - but those factors don't override your rights as outlined in the Assimilation Amnesty Act.

"Besides," Janeway continued warmly. "Starfleet is better for embracing the formerly-Borg. Think of your father, or my protégé, Seven of Nine. I myself was assimilated for a short time - I don't see it as disqualifying.

"Any other objections?" She prompted.

Starfeet had a weight of inevitability- just as assimilation has felt inevitable when he stood before the Borg Queen. Then, he had given up and accepted a fate someone else decided. "My mother is the head of Starfleet Medical, my father is an Admiral, I'm named after a captain . . ." Jack began.

"They all made their decision years ago," Janeway said. "What is your decision?"

Janeway was right, Jack realized, other people's decisions in the past should have no bearing on his decision now. Whatever promise Starfleet had held his parents, or even Sidney, at the age of 23, was not available to him. He was not a bright young man with a promising future dreaming of adventures in the stars. He was a worldly wise man, with a troubled past, and plenty of not-so-dreamy adventures under his belt. He knew he could do the work, and he even thought he might enjoy the camaraderie, but the idea that he might have to follow an order that would hurt innocent people was appalling.

On the other hand, spending the next 40 years, give or take, in a penal colony was even less appealing. Janeway had read him perfectly when she pointed out doing some good with Starfleet was better than doing no good on some rehabilitative farm on Archer IV or in some restitution laundry on Risa.

But there was a third option, which, oddly, no one but he seemed to see. He could run away. He'd lived his life relatively unencumbered by his criminal record before - he didn't see why a less serious list of offenses should bother him. Besides, Captain Shaw had been right - he was being cheeky sticking with aliases that had the initials J.C. For a moment he considered the possibility of using Wesley Crusher as an alias - at least to get off Earth. But he quickly realized that that would break his mother's heart. The whole plan would break his mother's heart. And Jean-Luc's, after the old-man had done so much to clear the way to a future they could share. And of course it would be the end of any relationship he had with Sidney, a relationship that he'd claimed to need earlier that day.

Of the options before him now, one gave him the chance to not-only keep, but deepen the few connections he had. The others would see them wither, at best, or worse irrevocably break them.

Again, he remembered his assimilation. It had felt amazing: a freedom from pain and fear and hard decisions - a freedom that Starfleet could never give him. But connection was more important than freedom: and he'd decided to give the freedom up without hesitation or regret just because his father loved him.

Deciding to be with his family and friends was easy, Jack realized. He thought of his father in the hallways of the Titan asking anxiously "Have you considered Starfleet?" And the hopeful look in Sidney's eyes when she said Starfleet had "a few openings" And his mother's excited "good luck". They would all be so happy- and he would be happy to have made them happy. It was a classic, Starfleet win-win scenario.

But, he didn't want to appear too eager. "I suppose if I can't cut it at Starfleet, I can always fall back on the penal colony," he said reasonably.

"I was hoping you would see it that way," Janeway said with a wry smile that seemed to say You're not fooling me. "Which is why I had Lt. Wildman replicate you a cadet uniform."

"What?" Jack demanded.

"We've developed an accelerated program for people like yourself, who already have extensive real-world knowledge," Janeway explained as she handed him a bundle containing a uniform, a PADD, and a comm badge. "Orientation was yesterday, " Janeway continued. "But you're bright, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Don't I have to fill out a form or something?"Jack asked. "Or plead guilty for my remaining crimes?"

"We can sort that out later," Janeway said. "I suggest you get going. I'm afraid you're hopelessly late for your Xenobiology class, but I think you have plenty of time to make it to Interplanetary Navigation."

"I don't know where the classes are," Jack stammered.

"The Academy Buildings are only a few blocks away," Janeway said dismissively. "Your schedule and a map should be loaded on the PADD."

"This is happening very fast," Jack said.

"I thought you would be able to keep up," Janeway said playfully.

Jack regarded her quizzically. She was playing him, goading him to rise to her ridiculous, unrealistic expectation. And he could feel himself falling for it. "I can take everything you throw at me."

"Then go out there and prove it, cadet."

"Yes ma'am."

The End