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Will didn’t often think of his father; Kyle didn’t deserve much more than a passing thought now and then, but more often that Will liked, he found himself pondering his tumultuous childhood that had abruptly ended the day he realized his father wasn’t coming home.
More often than Will liked, there was an animal in his chest that liked nothing more than to claw and claw until the ache of being abandoned was unbearable.
It was on one of those days that Will found himself in a situation that would have sent him over the edge laughing, had the hole in his chest not been gaping opening to the point of swallowing him whole.
A nearby planet had showed interest in the concept of terraforming. Being as the Enterprise was the closest federation vessel, the task fell to them, and more specifically, Will. Against his better judgment he begrudgingly allowed Picard to beam down with him after the captain expressed an interest in meeting with the governess himself.
The meeting went well, up until Will finished his explanation, at which point the governess turned to Picard.
“Your son is very intelligent,” she praised.
Despite her thick accent, there was no denying what she had said, and an undignified splutter left Will as he choked on the sip of water he had just taken. Picard looked equally as taken aback, and Will could feel a heat rise to his cheeks as he coughed.
“I’m not—” was all he managed to get out before his coughing overtook him again. He took a long drink to try and clear his throat.
“Come now, Will, don’t try and be modest,” Picard said, sounding as if he were holding back a laugh. Will’s throat convulsed and almost sent his mouthful of water down the wrong pipe again.
“Thank you, madam,” Picard continued to the governess. “He certainly is.”
Still unable to speak, Will looked at Picard in pure shock, assuming madness had struck the man—but he found a twinkle in the captain’s eye that hadn’t been present for months. So, Will swallowed his water and his correction and gave a weak smile and a nod.
(So, a warmth settled in his chest that only seemed the amplify the pain that festered there).
An assistant stepped into the room and whispered something to the governess. She excused herself and the moment the doors closed behind her, Will turned to Picard.
“Sir—”
Picard raised a hand to stop him.
“My apologies, Number One,” he said. The twinkle still lingered in his eye and a smile played about his lips. “But the situation was rather humorous to me. I’m afraid I could not resist a bit of a joke.”
“I’m in agreement with you on the humor,” Will said honestly. Still, a warmth buzzed in Will’s chest that he wasn’t eager to douse, even if it couldn’t quite replace the ache.
“I suppose it would be against Starfleet regulations to allow her to go on believing it,” Picard noted, but there was something regretful in his voice, and the captain’s smiles had been few and far in between over the past few weeks; Will tipped his head to the side in consideration.
“Well… I’m not sure it would be polite to embarrass by correcting her, now,” Will returned.
Picard’s smile broadened.
The animal in Will’s chest whined.
When they prepared for departure a few hours later, the governess gave Will a fond look and said to Picard:
“You must be very proud of your son.”
Now was the moment to correct her, but before Will could speak, Picard had fixed him with an odd expression that kept the words from leaving Will’s mouth.
“Yes,” Picard answered, still looking at Will. A soft smile crossed his face, and his words oozed with authenticity. “Yes, I am very proud of him.”
The energy beam materialized around them, sweeping away the walls of the planet and replacing them with the transporter room. Picard moved off the pad, but for a few seconds Will was frozen in place from pure shock. He couldn’t help but to remember the few times Kyle was faced with such a comment; his chest would puff out and his mouth would let out a long list of reason why he was proud—of himself, that was, for raising Will. The stark difference would have broken something inside of Will if it hadn’t already begun to heal the hole in him.
So, he shook himself and allowed himself to bask in the warmth of a father’s pride as he moved forward—even if it was only a joke.