“Mm-hmm. We did good.”

“I am so sorry I wasn’t there,” he told them both, shaking his head.

His wife stroked his cheek. “You were, imzadi. I felt you.” She nodded at the child. “Something tells me she felt you too.”

His eyes went away from the baby for the first time since he’d first seen her, moving to Deanna. “How much empathy do you think she’ll have? Only a quarter Betazoid…”

“Hey. Don’t sell the Troi genes short. Remember, this is a daughter of the Fifth House. An heir to the Sacred Chalice of Riix.”

“And let’s not forget the Holy Rings of Betazed,” Riker added in a mock-bombastic voice, wiggling his daughter’s tiny hand as it clutched reflexively at his thumb. He frowned and glanced back at Deanna. “Really? I never thought of that. We get theHoly Rings of Betazed?”

She gave a sheepish grin. “Don’t get excited. There are fifty thousand of them. Half the families on the planet are heirs to them.”

“Fifty thousand?”

Deanna shrugged. “The ancient Betazoids were a very holy bunch.”

“Captain.” It was Tuvok, coming back from the cockpit. “Commander,” he added, then nodded formally to the child, to Riker’s great amusement. “It is gratifying to see you reunited.”

“Thank you, Tuvok. I want to thank you for everything you did to keep my family safe.”

“I did my duty as a Starfleet officer, Captain. However, I consider this particular duty to have been an honor as well.”

“Oh, Tuvok, you old softie.” Deanna grinned. “The fact is, Will, he went above and beyond. And I don’t think you’ll be hearing any more complaints about his performance. Isn’t that right, Tuvok?”

The Vulcan closed off somewhat, but he had a serenity about him that Riker hadn’t seen since Deneva was destroyed. “I stand ready to serve, Captain.”

But just then, Deanna let out a giggle as if she were sharing some private joke with Tuvok. “Well, go on, show him.”

“Show me what?”

Tuvok handed him an isolinear chip. “A video recording of the birth, from my tricorder.”

Riker’s eyes widened, along with his grin. “Tuvok! You took baby pictures?”

“I monitored the event as a security precaution. To ensure the safety of mother and child.”

Yet Riker could see the gleam in Tuvok’s eye, a sense of gratification that he could allow a fellow father to witness the birth of his first child. “Thank you,” he said, and he could swear he saw the faintest hint of a smile on the Vulcan’s face in reply.

Growing serious, Deanna said, “Speaking of which…Doctor Ree would really like to talk to you, Will.”

They went out into the shuttlebay, where Nurse Ogawa and her son were in the middle of a joyful reunion, holding hands and telling each other about their respective experiences. Keru and T’Pel stood near them, basking in the warmth of the scene. T’Pel’s eyes widened at the sight of her returned husband, and though she and Tuvok only exchanged a simple nod, Riker believed he’d gotten to know them well enough to see the mutual relief and love beneath the surface.

The scene wasn’t entirely happy, though. Nearby, Ree stood in restraints, surrounded by the security team. Riker came forward to meet him, still cradling the baby. Ree looked at him in surprise. “You…trust me to be near her?”

“Why not, Doctor? You delivered her.” Deanna had shared everything she thought and felt about her experience through their empathic link. He knew they were in agreement on this. “There still needs to be a hearing, but it’s just a formality. I understand why you did what you did.”

“I stole your pregnant wife. Attacked a security team. Hijacked a shuttle.”

“And you did it all to protect my little girl. Do you have any idea how reassuring that is, Doctor? To know that anyone who wants to hurt this child will have to get past the most dangerous and relentless member of my crew to do it?” He took Ree’s shackled manus in his hand and shook it. “Thank you, Doctor Ree. Now don’t ever do that again.”

Ree gave a formal, heartfelt bow, then let Tuvok and the security team lead him away.

Deanna was by his side. “Does he really have to be in the brig?”

“Regulations,” Riker said. “We’ll have the hearing as soon as possible, I promise. But if anything, I think maybe he needs this. He’s obviously very guilty about what he did—I think he wants to feel he’s paid his dues.”

“Hey. Who’s the psychologist in this family?”

He beamed. “Family. We’re really a family now.” He admired his daughter a while longer.

Then he furrowed his brow. “I think we’re forgetting something.”

“What?”

“I don’t think the young lady and I have been formally introduced.”

Deanna nodded. “Oh. A name. I wanted to talk with you about that.” She huddled up against him, stroking the baby’s head. “We’ve all lost so many people this year. You and I lost the one that would’ve been her brother or sister. I want to name her in honor of someone we knew far too briefly. A friend whose life was cut short much too soon…because she tried to save mine.” She whispered the name in his ear.

He smiled. “I like it. In fact…I think there’s someone else lost too soon that I’d like to commemorate. In honor of this world, and the one who saved me from going too soon.”

“The repairs are almost complete,” Vale reported to the command crew. Riker looked around the conference lounge, pleased to see the whole group reunited again. Even Lavena was finally back aboard and back in her hydration suit—fidgeting like crazy, but visibly glowing with pride at the new pip on her collar. “When they rebuilt this ship, they built her to last. Even after all the damage we took, the spaceframe is as solid as ever and all systems are virtually good as new. We should be ready to set course to our next destination within the day,” the first officer continued. “Whatever we decide that destination will be.”