The Borg-defense fleet dispersed after another two days. Science vessels moved in to secure and study all the Borg chunks. The Enterprise headed to McKinley Station in orbit around Earth.
"Woo, vacation!" Jetta cheered, and she and Nicole high-fived. "We're going to go visit our grandparents in Brazil. Tyler what about you?"
"Going to New York," Tyler said. "Me and dad are going sightseeing while mom's working on the ship. Elle?"
"Uhhhh," Elle shrugged. "I'll probably go see Bones and Scotty. Maybe go see Wes at the academy."
Everyone behind her went silent.
Elle turned to look.
Captain Picard stood there, shoulders stiff and awkward. "If you have a moment, Miss Wilcott?" he asked.
Elle nodded at her friends and walked away with him. "What's up, captain?"
He fidgeted. "I am going home for a few days," he said. "Beverly suggested I bring you with me."
Elle forced herself not to fist-pump in glee. She cleared her throat. "Do you actually want me to come with you?" she asked. "If I'm gonna make it awkward..."
He huffed a laugh. "You could hardly make it any more awkward than it's going to be," he said. "Robert does not approve of anything that isn't about grapes."
Elle smiled. "I would love to visit France."
"Excellent." He gave her a smile. "Meet in the Transporter Room, 1400 hrs?"
She gave him a thumbs-up. There was no way she was missing this, not even to see Bones and Scotty. She turned the corner to go back to her quarters and pack, and almost bumped into Lt. Donahue. "Still tailing me?" she asked. "I didn't even see you this morning."
"We're in Earth's orbit, I've been stood down," Lt. Donahue said dryly. "I think you can handle yourself from here." He extended a hand. "I'm going back to HQ."
She shook his hand. "Thank you for not shooting me."
"You're welcome," he said gravely. "If you have any other things to share, I'll be attached to the Borg Defense Department, but I can get information on other threats to, ahem, the appropriate parties."
"My very own James Bond on call," Elle said, amused. "I'll let you know."
He nodded stiffly and walked away.
"Alexa, remind me to sweep my quarters for bugs later," Elle murmured.
"Reminder set," Alexa replied. "Make sure you get the one in your desk."
Elle gasped theatrically. "That overblown chicken nugget of a spy. How dare."
It was a feat of engineering, but Alexa managed to roll her nonexistent eyes.
-/\-
The town of La Barre, France, had one transporter station on the outskirts of town. On the opposite side of Chateau Picard. Good thing she'd brought her sneakers.
"It's so picturesque I could die," Elle said, as they walked through the square.
Picard grinned. "Most of this was rebuilt after World War III, from scratch. It's not as ancient as it appears to be. I'm just glad it wasn't done in the post-Industrial style."
"You don't like shabby concrete chic?" Elle teased.
He wrinkled his nose.
They left the tiny town behind and started walking down a shady lane.
Elle tilted her head back and closed her eyes, enjoying the dappled sunlight on her face. "Oh, I haven't been on-planet since the alternate timeline. And it was definitely not this peaceful." She spun on her heel to watch a bird go by.
Picard smiled at her.
They walked for a while, and the back of Elle's neck began to tingle. "Someone's watching us," she said conversationally.
"I know," Picard said. He raised his voice. "All right, whoever you are, I can hear you."
A boy with familiar features popped out from behind a bush.
"Oh, good lord, a highwayman," Picard deadpanned.
"A what?" the boy asked.
"A highwayman. It's a robber who attacks travelers, but none have been reported in this vicinity for centuries."
"But I'm not a robber," the boy said.
"I am much relieved, sir."
Elle stifled a laugh. One good walk in the sun and Captain Picard had turned into an entirely different person. His captain's mantle was nowhere in sight; only the French scholar remained. She moved to the side as the boy fell in step with them.
"I know who you are," the boy piped up after a minute.
"Then, you have the advantage," Picard said.
"You're my nephew, Jean-Luc. From the starship Enterprise."
Picard smothered a grin. "Then you must be my uncle Rene."
Rene frowned. "Wait, I'm not your uncle. It's the other way around."
"Too bad. I rather enjoyed the idea."
"Why have you been away so long?" was the next question.
"Well, Starfleet keeps me very busy," Picard said.
"Hm. Father says you don't like it here." Rene turned to look at Elle. "Is this your daughter?"
"More or less," Picard said, giving a short laugh. "Rene, this is Elle."
"Hello," Rene said companionably.
"Hello," Elle replied, grinning at him.
"Do you live on the Enterprise too?" Rene asked.
"Yes, I do."
They came upon the end of the lane. It opened up into a large courtyard, a large house at the far end of it. "Mum, they're heeeere!" Rene called, running into the courtyard ahead of them.
Rene's mother, Picard's sister-in-law, Elle's kinda-sorta-aunt? was a beautiful woman who could definitely stand up to Picardian stubbornness. She hugged him, hugged Elle, and brushed away Picard's excuses about staying in the village. "I'm so glad you've come to stay with us," Marie was saying, leading Picard by the arm into the house.
"It hasn't changed at all," Picard said, brushing his fingers over the old-fashioned doorknob as they entered the house, Elle and Rene at their heels.
"Robert has worked hard to keep it that way," Marie said. She judged Picard unlikely to bolt away now that he was in the living room, and turned to Elle. "And you, mon cherie? What do you think?"
Elle smiled. "I think I understand the captain a little bit better now."
Rene turned to look from Picard to Elle and back again. "She is not your daughter?" Marie asked, politely confused.
Picard made a so-so gesture with his hand. "It is complicated. Elle is a part of the Enterprise crew, and as close to me as family."
"I won't stay the whole time," Elle said apologetically. "I have to visit Georgia or Bones'll have my hide."
"Bones?" Rene inquired.
"My other set of adoptive family," Elle explained. She mentally tallied up the size of the original Enterprise's extended family (of which the McCoy clan accounted for 42%) and grimaced. "I just hope they keep it to themselves."
"Too late," Picard said absently, engrossed in looking over the books on the shelves. "Admiral Scott already messaged me about working on the Enterprise."
"Wait what? Without me?"
"Let me show you to your room," Marie said, steering Elle towards the stairs. "You can put your bag down and then Rene can give you the grand tour."
It was vaguely like walking through a period drama. Not even Elle's house in the actual past was this old-fashioned. It was kind of awesome. She set her bag down on the foot of the bed and stood for a moment, appreciating the view of the vineyards outside the window. "Thank you for hosting me," Elle said to Marie. "I know you weren't expecting a whole other teenager."
Marie smiled. "I'm just glad Jean-Luc has family besides us. Space can be lonely, non?"
"Yes," Elle said quietly. "It can be."
Marie patted Elle on the shoulder and ushered her back downstairs. "And besides, it will be good for Rene to meet a child of the stars. He wants to be a starship captain you know."
Elle thought about this and thought about his fate in the movies, and barely suppressed the urge to burst into tears. She forced a smile. "I think he'd be a great starship captain."
"Who?" Rene asked, hovering impatiently at the bottom of the stairs.
"Oh, someone," Marie said airily. "You two go on. Dinner's at six."
"Oui, Maman," Rene said and pulled Elle out of the front door. "You have to come to see the barn! What's it like on the Enterprise? Ooh, the chicks just hatched, you have to see them."
Elle shot a pleading look at Picard.
He merely grinned at her and turned to talk to Marie.
The Picard family property was huge. There was a barn, with goats, chickens, and a cow named Brie. Guess what kind of cheese they made out of the cow's milk. Yeah, Elle wasn't surprised, either. On the other side of the courtyard, taking up the other two sides of the square, was the winery. Rene gave Elle the standard tour, interspersed with, "And here's where I dropped a whole tank of grapes. I had to pressure wash the whole floor," and sundry other anecdotes.
And of course, beyond the buildings, were the grapevines.
Standing there amongst the grapes, the sun, and the wind on her face, Elle felt something in her relax. The big ball of tension she'd been carrying since the cybernetics convention was gone, dissolved by victory and the knowledge that things had changed for the better. She took a deep breath. Captain Picard had come here to reconnect with his family in the face of a near miss, not in the face of overwhelming trauma. It was going to be okay.
Rene peered at her worriedly. "Are you okay?"
Elle wiped at her face. She grinned at him. "Yeah. I'm good."
He bounced on his toes for a moment. "Can I ask you questions about the Enterprise?"
"Of course you can."
"Cool. Hey, you want to see my favorite tree?"
-/\-
They wandered back to the house a little before six, tired and hungry for food besides grapes and half a candy bar that Rene had stashed in his sweater pocket.
"Wash your hands," Marie instructed. "Rene, love, set the table. Elle, can you get a cutting board for the table?"
"Yes ma'am," Elle said.
They bustled around putting dinner on the table. It smelled heavenly. As Marie set the roast on the cutting board, Picard and an older, heavier, grumpier version of him walked into the room.
"This is her?" Robert asked, raising his eyebrows at Elle.
"Hello," Elle said politely.
"Hello." He went to wash his hands.
Picard offered her an apologetic grimace.
Elle waved it off.
They sat down to dinner and began to eat. The food was worth the awkwardness. "Your friend Louis wants you to contact him as soon as you're settled," Marie told the captain, as they began to eat.
"Is he still trying to raise the ocean floor?"
"Oh yes, he's very excited about it. He's been made a supervisor now, as his wife is constantly reminding anyone who'll listen."
"I see no good reason why the Earth should have another subcontinent," Robert grumbled.
"It's really quite exciting, actually, if you understand the potential of exploring a new world on our own planet," Picard said eagerly.
"Well, I'm afraid that I do not understand this potential," was Robert's stubborn rebuttal.
"It's a chance to spite the gods," Elle said, just to throw him off.
Robert stared at her. "What?"
"The Mayor wants to give you a parade," Marie continued.
Picard went owl-eyed in horror. "A parade?"
"Give you the keys to the city," Marie goaded.
"No. No, no, no, no," Picard started.
Elle started giggling.
Picard took a sip of wine, trying to change the subject. "Is this the forty-six?"
"Forty-seven," Elle corrected, simply because she remembered it from the episode.
Robert gave her a suspicious glance. "Forty-seven, yes. You've been drinking too much of that artificial stuff. What do you call it? Synthehol? It's spoiled you. Ruined your palate."
"On the contrary. I think that synthehol heightens one's appreciation for the genuine article," Picard said politely.
Elle and Rene exchanged a glance, each of them fighting off their laughter.
Picard cleared his throat. "This dinner is delicious, Marie. Leave it to Robert to find the best cook in France, then marry her."
"Yes, but sadly cooking is becoming a lost art. That's your wretched technology again," Robert said. He looked at Elle. "What about you, child of a starship? Do you know how to cook?"
"I know the basics," Elle said. "And I know how to make food for parties."
"Hmph."
Marie said, "Robert and I have had more than a few discussions about getting a replicator in the house."
"I remember the same discussions between mother and father," Picard said, grinning softly.
"Father understood better than anybody else the danger of losing those values which we hold most precious," Robert snapped.
"I don't see that you have to lose anything just by adding a convenience," Picard said mildly.
"You wouldn't, but in my view, life is already too convenient."
Elle snorted. "Oh no, everyone has clean water and free healthcare," she deadpanned. "Life is too convenient."
Robert sputtered in outrage.
Picard facepalmed. "Elle."
"No, really," Elle said, leaning forward to meet Robert's curmudgeonly gaze. "Life is too convenient? You sound like the kind of person that was ruining my planet back in the day."
"I thought you were from Earth," Rene protested.
"I am," Elle said. "Earth in 21st century. Right before the brink of social, political, and economic collapse." She matched Robert's glare.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Robert said. "You have no experience."
"Ok boomer," Elle scoffed.
"This is a very old argument," Marie said, "and it will not be resolved today." She gave her husband a pointed Look.
He grumbled under his breath but went back to eating.
"I wrote a report on starships for school," Rene piped up.
"And he won a ribbon for it," Marie said proudly.
"The teacher said it was one of the best he'd ever heard," Rene added.
Elle gave him a thumbs-up.
"Good for you, Uncle," Picard said. "You know what? I once wrote a report about starships when I was about your age."
"Nerd," Elle said fondly. She stage-whispered to Rene, "that's a good thing, don't worry."
He smiled.
They finished eating in relative peace. Rene's school report was brought out, admired, and he spent the rest of the evening pestering the captain with questions. Elle sat in the armchair in the corner, drinking tea and smiling at them. It was so nice to see the captain in his home environment.
Marie came to sit in the chair next to her, holding her own cup of tea. "Not many people care to stand up to Robert like that," she said mildly.
Elle took a sip of tea. "If you want me to apologize, I won't," she said. "Sorry."
"No, no," Marie assured her. "It's good for him. Good for them both, if stories are to be believed."
Elle covered a grin. "Unstoppable force meet immovable object?" she asked.
"Dear, you have no idea," Marie said fondly.
"Speaking of which," Elle said, "I've noticed that your house doesn't have fire extinguishing systems."
"We have hand-held fire extinguishers," Marie replied. "And the winery buildings are all wired up to code."
"Still," Elle said. "Fires can jump awful fast."
"An oddly specific fear," Marie said.
Elle sipped at her tea. Considered her options. Considered the potential for chaos. "What if I told you, that the only reason I'm on the Enterprise, is that I know the future?" she asked.
Marie took a measured breath. "I would believe you," she said. "I'll speak to Robert."
"Good. I, you, the captain needs you. Needs family." Elle watched Picard illustrate something about an asteroid field with a handful of grapes. She grinned at Rene's starstruck expression.
Eventually, Marie sent Rene to bed. "Good night, uncle, night Elle," Rene said.
"Night," Elle said. She stood, stretched. "I'm going too, gotta get started on that jet lag." She kissed Picard on the cheek. "Night, captain."
"Sleep well," he said fondly.
As they headed up the stairs, Elle caught Marie's murmured words to Picard. "You're good with children. Have you thought about starting a family?"
Elle stifled a giggle. She'd have to mention, obliquely, Dr. Crusher's presence in the captain's life. Human life expectancy was long enough nowadays, they could definitely have kids.
"You look like you're scheming," Rene said, from behind his toothbrush.
"I'm always scheming," Elle told him.
She finished getting ready for bed and climbed under the covers in the guest room. It was a different kind of quiet, here. She fell asleep without even noticing.
-/\-
The next two weeks were properly idyllic. Picard's friend, Louis, stopped by with a tempting offer to head up the Atlantis project.
"It is tempting," Picard admitted, looking at the schematics.
Elle gaped at him, outraged. "Now hold on, I averted the whole last crisis on your behalf!" she protested. "What do you mean, tempting?"
He grinned at her and tugged at her ponytail gently. "You don't want to see what lies beneath the surface?"
Elle made a face. "Once you've been drowned by a whale, the ocean loses its appeal," she said haughtily.
Picard grimaced apologetically.
Louis glanced from the captain to Elle and back again. "I thought you said you hadn't had any children," he said.
"He has a thousand and a half of them," Elle deadpanned. "We had to get a starship to hold 'em all."
Louis sniggered.
"I am not," Picard started protesting.
"Captain Picard Day," Elle retorted.
He blushed up to his ears.
"What's this?" Louis asked interestedly.
Picard pointed to the door. "Dismissed," he said, though he was grinning.
"Oui, mon capitaine," Elle said mockingly and went to go find some snacks. She was going to gain weight on the pastries alone. Could they smuggle Marie up to the ship?
Worse. Over the next two days, Marie taught Elle how to make them.
-/\-
The captain, for some reason, was grumpy when Elle walked downstairs. He held up his comm in response to a curious frown. "Star Fleet Command wants a debrief in person," he said.
"You're on vacation for another month," Elle complained and yawned. "You just saved the planet. Tell them to go away."
"Not me. You."
She stopped mid-yawn. "Oh."
"You are also on vacation," Picard pointed out. "They can wait."
Elle glanced at the calendar. "I've been here two weeks, though. I should go to America anyway, see the others. I promised Wes that I would go visit him, tell him all the gossip."
"Give him the clout of being seen with a pretty girl," Picard added, grinning.
Elle was suddenly reminded that Picard was a hotshot ladies' man flyboy until after his first few postings. "Sir!" she said, in her best scandalized expression.
Picard just grinned.
Elle wrinkled her nose at him. She looked away. "Guess I better go pack. And call Bones."
Marie packed her a bag full of pastries to take to Bones, hugged her tightly, and made Elle promise to come back to visit. "You are family now," she said. "And send me a letter once in a while, let me know how Jean-Luc is doing." She lowered a voice, "Let me know when I should start planning his wedding."
Elle smiled and hugged her back.
Rene and Picard insisted on walking her to the transport station. "And I can call someone to be waiting for you at HQ," he said, "Admiral Hanson is an old friend-"
Elle smiled. "Captain, I lived here for a year, remember? I know where to go once I get to HQ, and I definitely know how to get to the McCoy house."
Picard gave her a sheepish grin. "Of course. I knew that."
She hugged him. "Thank you though." She glanced at her time slot. Two minutes. She hugged Rene, gave in to the urge to ruffle his mop of hair. "Keep an eye on your uncle," she instructed. "Make sure he relaxes."
"I will!"
She hugged the captain one more time, "See you onboard, sir!" and went to catch her transport.
-/\-
Elle stopped off in Georgia at the McCoy home to drop off her bags and her pastries. Bones wasn't even home, which was fine. "I'll be back later this evening," she hollered to Mary Lou, McCoy's grand-niece who was also the house caretaker. As she left, she wondered, "Had she met Mary Lou for reals in this timeline? Or was that in the alternate timeline?" Elle had a feeling she'd be asking that question a lot over the next week.
HQ was different without the air of despair hanging over it. Lighter, somehow, more cheerful, riding the high of defeating the Borg. She made her way to the building with the Borg Defense Department in it and encountered her first problem at the lobby.
"I don't have a valid ID anymore," Elle realized. She made a face and redirected to the desk at the back of the lobby.
"Name, name of the person you're visiting, do you have an appointment?" the person at the desk droned, barely looking up from their terminal.
"Elle Wilcott, Admiral Hanson, yes and no," Elle replied.
The person glanced over. "One moment." They tapped at their terminal and handed Elle a visitor's badge to pin to her sweater. "Don't lose that."
"I won't," Elle said. "Thank you, lieutenant."
"Do you need a map?"
"No, thank you, I know the way." As Elle got in the lift she realized she probably should have checked first to see if Admiral Hanson's office was actually in the same place as she remembered it being, or if no war with the Klingons had moved office space around.
Never mind, it was all in the same spots. She found Admiral Hanson's office and was promptly admitted by his admin assistant. "Admiral."
"Miss Wilcott." He shook her hand. "I'd like to personally thank you for your efforts against the Borg. And I'd like to ask you..."
The debrief and exploration of potential future Borg encounters left Elle drained physically, mentally, and emotionally. She left HQ with no desire of coming back anytime soon and headed for the Academy campus across the way.
-/\-
Wesley was thrilled to see her. "I missed you guys so much!" he said, hugging her again. "I can't believe you guys fought the Borg without me."
"Your nanites stole the whole show," Elle replied, grinning at him.
"Really? Mom said something about them but we were talking about other stuff."
Elle gestured vaguely. "Yeah, and now senior officers and people with confidential information have nanite colonies, so..."
He gaped at her. "What?"
"I contain multitudes," Elle intoned, appropriately spooky-sounding. She produced the rare metals lollipop. "I have to lick this once in a while. Once you get back onto the Enterprise, be prepared to play host."
"Wow."
He took her on a tour of the places he hung out, introduced her to his new friends (all nerds and space jockeys, like he was), and they ate in the commissary amongst the seething masses of eager young cadets.
"You don't want to join up?" Wes asked. "Now that you've seen it?"
Elle shook her head. "Someone's gotta stick it to the man, stay a civilian."
Wes smothered a grin. "Yeah, somehow you getting up at 0500 for Basic doesn't seem realistic."
"Hey, I like my morning breakfast without pre-marathoning, thank you," Elle said loftily. "Although with all the extra PT Worf's added into my class schedule, I bet I could bench-press you."
Wes snorted. "He never made me lift weights."
"Being able to fight a bear is gender-neutral in Klingon," Elle observed.
"True."
Wes had to go actually study for things now, like a normal person, and so Elle took the evening transport home. She no longer had priority access, she got in line with the commuters like everybody else. Two quick transporter hops, a walk through subdued Atlanta suburbs, and she was back at the McCoy family home. She didn't even get to knock before the door was flung open and Bones was grabbing her in a hug. "Hi Bones," she said, voice muffled into his cardigan. "I'm okay."
"Cyborgs and nanites and who knows what all else," Bones grumped, squeezing her tightly.
She smiled into his shoulder and hugged him back equally tightly. "I love you too."
He stepped back, gripping her shoulders firmly. "Let me look at you." He inspected her face closely. "Hm. Good weight, good color, the look of a person about to smack a bureaucrat. You never change." He hugged her again. "Come in, come in, you can tell us what angel made those pastries you left on the counter."
Elle smiled. "I really missed you, Bones. I've got lots to tell you."
"I bet you do." He gestured her to a comfy armchair. "Go on, then."
-/\-
Elle stayed the rest of her time with Bones. It gave her the oddest sense of deja vu and wistful familiarity, and Elle had to stop herself from mentioning things that definitely hadn't happened in this timeline. But eventually, it was time to go back to the Enterprise. She needed a few days to put things in order, and she'd promised to help with final checks.
"Comm me when you're on board ship," Bones said, fussing over her jacket. "Are you sure you got everything?"
"I'm sure, and I will," Elle said.
"Don't let them work you too hard."
"I won't." She hugged him. "I'll call you on Sunday like usual, I promise."
"Yeah, I know." He gave her a final hug. "Take care of yourself. Be safe, and don't do anything too crazy. And make sure you get some sun once in a while."
"I will." She smiled at him and stepped into the transporter.
She beamed up to McKinley station and got stuck trying to figure out where the Enterprise was docked in relation to her own location. Why were space stations so complicated? Elle finally figured out a general direction and headed up towards the starship docks. Hmm, maybe she could detour by the food court before she went onboard...
"I recommend the fried onion rings," someone rumbled behind her.
Elle stopped staring at the posted menus and turned to look at the speaker, a wizened older man. "Odo?" she asked before she could stop herself.
He held out a hand. "Curzon Dax," he said.
Elle's jaw dropped. "Oh. Uh." She shook his hand. "Elle. Wilcott. Hello."
He gave her an odd look. "You were at Wolf 359, the Borg skirmish."
"Yes. I was on the Enterprise."
"Hm. My good friend was on the Saratoga. He lost his wife in the battle."
"I'm sorry," Elle said.
He gave her a gentle smile. "It wasn't your fault."
She winced. "I suppose not." She rocked on her heels, took note of the Trill markings on his forehead. "You and I are very similar, I guess."
"Both ready to eat?" Curzon asked, amused.
"Well, that. And we're both playing host to something other than ourselves," Elle said.
His good-natured expression froze. "Why do you say that?" he asked.
"I thought all high-ranking officers were getting nanite colonies?" Elle asked, affecting innocence.
"Oh." He deflated in relief. "That's what you meant?"
"Uh-huh." She glanced at the chrono. If she wanted to beat station rush hour she'd have to skip the onion rings. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Curzon, Dax. See you around." She gave a nonchalant salute and walked away. She grinned to herself. Dax wouldn't remember this moment, but it was totally worth it.