Family ( episode ) Captain Picard takes leave on Earth and visits his family while recovering from his assimilation into the Borg . Worf ' s Human parents visit the " Enterprise " and help him deal with his discommendation . Summary . Teaser . With the undergoing repairs in drydock following the Borg attack , many members of the crew are either taking shore leave or are having family aboard . Commander Riker tells Worf in the " Enterprise " s observation lounge that his foster parents , Sergey and Helena Rozhenko , are on the visitors list . Worf is not happy to hear this news . He tells Riker it ' s inappropriate for a Klingon to receive family on duty . But since " Enterprise " isn ' t a Klingon ship , there ' s not a lot he can do to stop it . Riker tells him if he doesn ' t want to see his parents , it ' s his business but reminds Worf that it ' s not often they get back to Earth . Worf turns down an offer from Riker to have more off - duty time . As Worf starts to leave , Riker asks if he ' s afraid they might find out about what happened on his homeworld and Worf tells Riker that he ' s already written them and told them of his discommendation , adding that he doesn ' t believe any Human can truly understand his dishonor . Meanwhile Captain Picard , himself undergoing repairs of the emotional kind following his assimilation , is packing to go to Earth . He is visited by Troi , who asks him where he ' s going . He tells her he is going to go to La Barre , France , his home village . It will be the first time he has gone home in nearly twenty years . Troi says she finds it interesting that Picard is going on vacation so easily and yet they could hardly pry him out of his command chair for a vacation for three years . Picard tells her simply that it ' s Earth , it ' s home , and he doesn ' t think he needs a much better reason . He tells Troi that her assistance has been invaluable to him , but that he ' s much better now , saying his nightmare s have ended and that what he needs now is some time to himself . Troi agrees , but states that his destination could stand some scrutiny . Picard tells her that if she wants to think that his going home is a result of being assimilated , she should feel free . Troi reminds him that it ' s just going to take time . His assimilation was an extremely traumatic event and he won ' t recover quickly , and that it ' s perfectly natural to spend time trying to find oneself again . She then tells Picard she hopes he has a safe trip , kisses him on the cheek , and leaves him . Picard reaches for a few books , then decides against taking them , putting them back on the shelf , and then heads out of his quarters . Act One . Worf arrives at the transporter room to receive his parents . O ' Brien tells him they haven ' t signaled yet . Worf complains that his mother is never on time for anything . . . just like Humans . O ' Brien tells him , " " Well , you know women . " " Worf wishes they would hurry and get there so they ' d leave sooner . O ' Brien tells Worf that he understands , relating the story of the last time his father was on board , O ' Brien caught him chasing Nurse Stanton around a biobed . Worf says he is not concerned of his father doing something like that , and O ' Brien explains that he meant that it was usually always something with parents . Finally , the Earth Station Bobruisk signals that they have two to transport aboard . The Rozhenkos materialize on the transporter pad . Worf acts pleased to see them , and Sergey asks him if he ' s put on some weight and tells Worf , even though Worf denies the weight gain , that it looks good on him . Sergey then introduces himself to O ' Brien , telling him that he ' s always glad to meet another chief petty officer and introduces himself as " " Sergey Rozhenko , formerly of the . " " When O ' Brien tells Sergey he ' s pleased to meet him , he calls Sergey " sir " and Sergey rebuffs that , telling Miles he used to work for a living . Helena tells O ' Brien that Sergey ' s proudest moment was seeing Worf receive his commission . Sergey tells Worf that he ' s wanting to see the whole ship , having all the specs of the starship at home . Worf tells him that they are in the midst of a repair and he cannot give Sergey a full tour . Helena reminds him that they promised not to embarrass Worf and they came here to see him , not the ship . Worf takes them to their quarters . On Earth , Picard decides to walk to his home when he notices someone in the bushes sneaking by him . When he tells them to come out , a boy steps out from behind the brushes . Picard throws his hands up as if he were about to be robbed and calls the boy a . When the boy is confused , Picard explains that highwaymen used to hide in the bushes and rob people although none had been reported in the local area for centuries . The boy tells Picard that he ' s not a robber , to Picard ' s mock relief . The boy then recognizes Picard as " his nephew . . . from the starship " Enterprise " . " Picard tells the boy he must be his uncle René . When René says it ' s the other way around , Picard says he rather liked the idea of the boy being his uncle . René asks Picard why he never comes home , and Picard tells him that Starfleet keeps him very busy . René says that his father tells him that Jean - Luc doesn ' t like it at home and then tells Picard he doesn ' t think he ' s so arrogant . " " What does it mean anyway , ' arrogant son of a . . . " ' " " " Let ' s talk about that later , shall we ? " " Upon arriving at the house , Picard meets his sister - in - law , Marie . She tells him that she and Robert are pleased to have him . Picard offers to stay in town , fearing it may be an imposition but Marie refuses , telling him that this house is as much his home as it is theirs and that ' s all there is to it . Picard then notes how the family house and land look exactly like they did when he was a boy . Marie tells him keeping it that way is very important to Robert and Picard says it was so for their father too . Picard then goes to find his brother , out tending the vines . Robert greets him coldly , telling him " " Welcome home , Captain . " " Robert asks Jean - Luc if he shuttled in and Picard tells him he walked from the village . This is a very tense moment between two brothers , who clearly have not had any pleasant feelings for each other for many years . Jean - Luc tells Robert he met René and Marie and that it ' s good to see Robert , which gets very little response . Robert asks Jean - Luc if he ' s tired , and Jean - Luc tells him he ' s not . Robert tells Jean - Luc to make himself at home and that they usually eat about 8pm . He tells Jean - Luc that he ' ll see him after he cures a sick vine . Robert then turns back completely to his work and Jean - Luc returns to the family house . Act Two . Meanwhile , back on " Enterprise " , Dr . Crusher is talking to Troi about her plans to visit Angel Falls in Venezuela with Riker when she receives a suitcase belonging to her late husband Jack . She tells Troi that she had stored it on Earth after Jack died . She pulls out Jack ' s uniform , a white piece of lace , and a book called " How To Advance Your Career Through Marriage " , which Crusher explains was a joke from Jack and that it was his way of proposing to her . She then pulls out a holographic message from Jack for Wesley , recorded just after Wesley was born , intending to give it to him after Wesley grew up . According to Beverly , Jack intended to make many more over Wesley ' s lifetime , but obviously he didn ' t get the chance . Troi asks Crusher if she ' s afraid of what the message may say and she says she isn ' t , but she ' s afraid that since Wesley ' s just beginning to come to terms with his father ' s death , that the holo - message may do more harm than good . Troi tells her Wesley has many questions that Beverly can ' t answer and suggests that maybe the holo - message would help him understand more . La Forge and Worf are giving the Rozhenkos a tour through the engineering section , and Sergey tells La Forge a story about how they were called to school after Worf got into a fight . The Rozhenkos didn ' t know what to expect , and when they got there , they found their seven - year old son in a chair glaring at five teenage boys , all with bloody noses , at which La Forge laughs , and Helena tells him the principal begged them to tell him there weren ' t any more coming . After Helena stops Sergey from telling La Forge another story , Sergey asks La Forge to show him the new engine core , as he used to be a warp field specialist on the old " Excelsior " - class ships . Helena asks Worf to show her the arboretum . After they leave , La Forge starts to talk to Sergey about the engine core , but Sergey stops him and asks him about Worf . Sergey is clearly concerned about his adopted son . Later that evening at the Picard family home , Marie tells Jean - Luc that his old friend Louis left a message that he ' d very much like to see Jean - Luc as soon as he ' s settled . Marie tells Jean - Luc that Louis is now a supervisor on the Atlantis Project . Robert says he sees no reason for the Earth to have another sub - continent . Jean - Luc says that if you understand the thought of exploring a new world right on your own planet it ' s really quite exciting . Robert says he must not understand then . Then Marie tells Jean - Luc that the mayor wants to give him a parade and give him the key to the city . Jean - Luc refuses , saying he ' s here to rest and to spend time with his family . After a toast to Marie , the family begins to eat . Jean - Luc asks Robert if the wine they ' re drinking is from ' 46 and Robert tells him it ' s a ' 47 , and then accuses him of drinking too much synthehol and that it ' s spoiled him and ruined his palate . Jean - Luc says that he thinks synthehol does nothing but heighten one ' s appreciation for the genuine article . Robert tells Marie the food is delicious . Jean - Luc says it ' s just like Robert to find the best cook in France and then marry her . Robert says that thanks to technology , even cooking is quickly becoming a lost art and Marie says they ' ve had several " discussions " about getting a replicator in the house . Jean - Luc is reminded of the same discussions between their mother and father . Robert says that he feels , just like their father , that with all this technology there is a real danger of losing those values which Humanity holds most precious . Jean - Luc says that you shouldn ' t have to lose anything just by adding a convenience , but Robert counters by stating that life is already too convenient . René tells Jean - Luc he wrote a report on starships and won a ribbon for it . Jean - Luc says he wrote a report too . When René asks him if he won a ribbon , Jean - Luc says he doesn ' t remember , at which Robert reminds him that he did win the ribbon and that he always did so . René , at Marie ' s urging , goes to get his report for Jean - Luc to read . After he leaves , Robert starts to yell at Jean - Luc , but calms after Jean - Luc glances up at him . He then proceeds to tell Jean - Luc that it ' s hard enough for him to protect his son from all that ' s outside in deep space without Jean - Luc encouraging him . Jean - Luc denies that he ' s encouraging René and suggests that if Robert wasn ' t so closed - minded that he ' d allow René to see the world as it really is , but Robert interrupts him and tells Jean - Luc to raise his sons as he sees fit and to allow Robert to do the same . Act Three . The next day , in the vineyard , Jean - Luc and Louis are walking through and Louis tells Jean - Luc that he knew no one else that was so uninterested in grapes , which Jean - Luc denies , saying he was interested and pleased his family was upholding their traditions , but that he just didn ' t feel bound by them . Louis points out that Jean - Luc looked to the future and Robert to the past . Jean - Luc laments that there should be room for both in this life . When Jean - Luc asks about his promotion , Louis tells him he is only one of two hundred supervisors , although his wife would have one believe that Louis runs the whole Atlantis Project . Picard then comments that it ' s ironic that Louis is working on the ocean floor when he was such a rotten swimmer . Jean - Luc asks Louis how he plans to accelerate the build - up on the underside of the mantle without increasing the stress on the tectonic plate s , indicating that he ' s kept up with the project through the journals . He notes that on the " Enterprise " the previous year they used harmonic resonator s to relieve the tectonic pressures on Drema IV , though it was a different situation . Louis tells Jean - Luc that they are looking for someone to take over the project and he suggests that it be him . He then offers to send some information over on the tectonic problems they are having with trying to raise the ocean floor for Jean - Luc to look over . He agrees to peruse the information and provide any thoughts he has on the problems . In Ten Forward on " Enterprise " , Worf and the Rozhenkos are sharing a drink . They tell Worf that the crew think the world of him . Worf tells them he wishes they would be more reserved . They confess that they go too far sometimes but they are simply excited to see him . When Worf gets called away , Helena finally gets visibly upset and although Sergey suggests leaving it alone , she says she ' s Worf ' s mother and she cannot do it . They both end up staring out the window , which leads Guinan over to them and she tells them everyone who goes into Ten Forward ends up looking out that window , trying to find the star they call home . After mutual introductions , Guinan sits them down and asks them why they never gave Worf prune juice . They are shocked to learn that he drinks it . Sergey said all he would ever eat was Klingon food . Helena even learned to cook Rokeg blood pie , even though they never learned how to eat it . They remark it was a difficult adolescence and they didn ' t do anything special , although Guinan disagrees , calling Worf pretty special . The Rozhenkos tell Guinan that since there were no other Klingons for Worf to turn to for guidance , they were forced to allow him to find his way on his own . Guinan remarks that other parents could learn from them . Helena says that she thinks Worf thinks they don ' t understand him . Guinan says that part of him may feel that way , but she ' s seen another part of Worf , a part that comes into Ten Forward and drinks prune juice . Guinan also tells them that when Worf looks out the window toward home , he ' s not looking toward the Klingon Empire , he ' s looking toward them . Marie finds Jean - Luc staring into space . He ' s amazed that he was actually considering taking the job offer Louis made him . Marie says it ' s understandable considering what he ' s been through . She says it would be wonderful if he were home for good and that given time , perhaps he and Robert might actually start to like one another . Jean - Luc says he already likes his brother ' s taste in wives , thanking her for her letters , they made him feel like part of the family . She tells him he " is " family . Louis comes over and tells Jean - Luc that he ' s set up a meeting with the board of governors , telling Jean - Luc they want him to be the head of the project . Jean - Luc tells Louis there was never a prospect but Louis asks him to attend , if nothing else , just to listen . Jean - Luc agrees . Act Four . Beverly gives Wesley the message from Jack . She tells him his father wanted to say some things to him and that he wanted to make sure he didn ' t forget it . He recorded it a few weeks after Wesley was born and it was meant to be given to him when he was 18 years old . Wesley takes it and goes to the holodeck . In Worf ' s quarters , his parents come to see him . Worf admits that at first he wasn ' t sure he wanted them to come on board the " Enterprise " , but now he is glad about their visit . They tell him that they had to come after reading his letter about his discommendation . That regardless of whether or not they understood it all , they know what kind of man Worf is . Helena tells him that whatever he did it was for a good reason . Worf says he must bear this dishonor alone . Sergey says that is not true and Helena apologizes if what she ' s about to say is too Human , but no matter what Worf is suffering , his parents are there for him , that they are proud of him and they love him . No matter what , Worf is their son . Worf reaches out to them and they take his hand . Back in the Picard house , Jean - Luc has been drinking and thinking about Louis ' offer when Robert comes in . Robert asks him if synthehol never leaves a person out of control , and then remarks that the real thing will . He then says that seeing the " gallant captain " out of control is something he ' d like to see . He then asks Jean - Luc what happened to him up there and Jean - Luc asks if this is brotherly concern and Robert says it ' s merely curiosity . Jean - Luc says he knows what happened . Robert says he gathered that Jean - Luc was injured , and that he could use a little humiliation or humility . Either would do . Jean - Luc gets up and walks outside but Robert follows him asking him why he walks away , that isn ' t his style . Jean - Luc says he ' s tired of fighting with his brother . Robert tells him that " the great Captain Picard " falling to Earth to plunge into the ocean with Louis isn ' t the brother that he remembers . Robert calls him a returning hero which Jean - Luc denies but Robert insists he wouldn ' t settle for anything less . Jean - Luc asks him if he were so jealous and Robert says he was and he was justified , watching Jean - Luc receive all the cheers , break all their father ' s rules and get away with it . When Jean - Luc asks why didn ' t Robert do so also , he says that he was the elder brother and therefore had to be responsible and look after Jean - Luc . Jean - Luc calls Robert a bully , to which Robert replies that sometimes he enjoyed it . Robert asks Jean - Luc if he wanted him to look after him again . This results in a rather heated fistfight , with both ending up wallowing in the mud , laughing heartily . Jean - Luc tells Robert that he was asking for it , but Robert says Jean - Luc needed it because he ' s been terribly hard on himself . Jean - Luc tells Robert that he didn ' t see what the Borg did to him , how they took away his Humanity and used him to kill and destroy and he couldn ' t stop them , all the while beginning to finally break down in front of his brother as he admits his guilt that he should have done more to resist , but he wasn ' t strong or good enough . Robert observes that his brother is Human after all , then tells Jean - Luc that this is going to be with him a long time and he has to learn to live with it . The question is where ? Under the sea with Louis or above the clouds with the " Enterprise " . They pull each other up and Jean - Luc tells Robert that he thinks he did come home so his brother could help him . With their arms around each other Robert tells Jean - Luc he still doesn ' t like him , but it ' s followed with some light chuckles . Act Five . Marie finds them , having tracked mud all through the house , sitting in a couple of chairs drinking and singing . They tell her they fell down and kept falling down . When she realizes they have been fighting , she asks what would their father have thought and Jean - Luc says they would probably have been sent to bed without their supper . Marie says at least they got it out of their systems . Jean - Luc agrees and then says he ' s going to cancel the meeting with Louis and that it ' s time to leave . He says that " Enterprise " will be ready to leave soon and he belongs on board and if he should ever doubt that again , he knows where to come . Wesley is at the holodeck , having loaded Jack ' s message in and walks inside . He sees an image of Jack , in his old - style uniform . When Jack recorded this , Wesley was ten weeks old . Jack says he wants Wesley to know what he was like when Wesley was born , saying that the person who makes this recording will be gone , replaced by an older , more experienced and hopefully smarter man but this one will be gone . Jack says that he knows nothing about being a dad and apologizes for the mistakes he will make through Wesley ' s life . He hopes that Wesley isn ' t too upset about him being gone as much as he was , but that ' s part of wearing the Starfleet uniform . He hopes that when Wesley gets the message he ' ll understand and perhaps try a uniform on for himself . Jack says he ' ll probably end up a doctor , like his mother . Jack says he can see himself and the entire family in Wesley and that he can feel Wesley is his son . That there is a connection between them and that Jack will always be part of him . He says that he will try to do better next message and that he loves Wesley . The hologram fades just before Wesley can embrace him and he simply can only say " " Goodbye , Dad . " " Meanwhile , at La Barre , Jean - Luc prepares to leave . Marie tells him to come back and to be careful . Jean - Luc says goodbye to " Uncle " René . René tells Jean - Luc he ' ll be leaving for his starship one day . Jean - Luc says that when he gets older he may change his mind . Robert gives Jean - Luc the wine they were drinking . He tells Jean - Luc not to drink it all at once and if possible , try not to drink it alone . Just before Jean - Luc leaves , he and Robert finally embrace , having done much to heal their wounds . As Worf walks the Rozhenkos to the transporter room , Helena asks if they can send him something from home and Worf asks for some of her Rokeg blood pie . She says it ' s been a while but she thinks she still remembers how . They meet Picard at the door and Worf introduces him to his parents . Picard asks if they had a full tour and Sergey says that because of the repairs there were a few places they missed , but Helena and Worf push him into the transporter room . He tells Picard he has all the specs and diagrams at home as the door closes . Picard smiles and goes on into the ship . Back at home , René is still outside dreaming of starships and adventures . Marie says he ' s been out there a long time and Robert says to let him dream . As René sits staring at the stars , a streak shoots through the sky on its way out into space once again . Deleted scene . One expanded scene was filmed but later cut from the episode during editing ; the scene were later released in high definition as part of the TNG Season 4 Blu - ray bonus features . Memorable quotes . " " I do not believe any Human can truly understand my dishonor . " " " " Don ' t call me sir - I used to " work " for a living ! " " " " I know who you are . " " " " Then you have the advantage . " " " " You ' re my nephew Jean - Luc from the starship " Enterprise " . " " " " Then you must be my uncle René . " " " " I ' m not your uncle . It ' s the other way around . " " " " Too bad . I rather enjoyed the idea . " " " " You know , you don ' t seem so arro . . . arro . . . Y ' know ! " " " " Arrogant ? " " " " Yes ! Arrogant ! You don ' t seem that way to me . What does it mean , anyway ? Arrogant Son of a - " " " " Let ' s . . . talk about that later , shall we ? " " " " So we walk into the school and we didn ' t know what to expect . Is Worf hurt , is he in some kind of trouble ? The door opens and there is our little seven year - old sitting on the chair and glaring across the room at five teenage boys all of them with bloody noses ! " " " " And then the principal looks up and says please tell me he ' s an only child ! " " " " There ' s just one thing I don ' t understand . You were such a rotten swimmer , Louis . ( laughs ) Thinking of you working on the ocean floor . " " " " I ' m afraid that Worf feels that . . . we do not understand him . " " " " Well , part of him may feel that way . . . but there ' s " another " part that I ' ve seen - the part that comes in and . . . drinks prune juice . . . the part that looks out the window towards home . He ' s not looking towards the Klingon Empire , he ' s looking towards " you . " " " Why didn ' t you break a few rules ? " " " " Cause I was the elder brother , the responsible one . It was my job to look after you . " " " " Look after me ? You , you were a bully ! " " " " Sometimes . . . maybe . Sometimes I even enjoyed bullying you ! " " " " All right . Try it now ! " " " " Why did you come back , Jean - Luc ? Did you come back because you wanted me to look after you again ? " " " Damn you ! ! " " " You were asking for it , you know ? " " " " Yes , but you " needed " it - you have been " terribly " hard on yourself ! " " " " You don ' t know , Robert , you don ' t know . They took everything I was . They used me to kill and to destroy , and I couldn ' t stop them ! I should have been able to stop them ! I tried . I tried so hard . But I wasn ' t strong enough ! I wasn ' t good enough ! I should have been able to stop them . I should , I should . " " " " So , my brother is a Human being after all . This is going to be with you a long time , Jean - Luc . A long time . " " " " Goodbye , Dad . " " " " I have all the specs and diagrams at home ! " " " " It ' s getting late . " " " " Yes . . . but let him dream , hmm ? " " Background information . Apocrypha . The Tokyopop manga , " Boukenshin " had a story titled " Loyalty " , set during this episode as the comic ' s stardate matches the one given for the episode . Links and references . References . adolescence ; Alnitak ; Angel Falls ; Atlantic Ocean ; " Auprès de ma Blonde " ; Bellatrix ; Betelgeuse ; biobed ; bloody nose ; Bloom sisters ; Chateau Picard ; crib ; Crusher family ; discommendation ; Drema IV ; drydock ; dust jacket ; Earth ; Earth Station Bobruisk ; ; father ; France ; French language ; ; " How to Advance Your Career Through Marriage " ; ; La Barre ; mantle ; mayor ; McKinley Station ; Mid - Atlantic Ridge ; Mintaka ; mirror ; mud ; nightmare ; ; ; painting ; New Atlantis Development Project Presentation Database ; New Atlantis Project ; New Atlantis Project supervisors ; North Atlantic Secondary Subduction Zone ; palate ; parade ; ; ; principal ; prune juice ; Qo ' noS ; René ' s teacher ; replicator ; ribbon ; rokeg blood pie ; shore leave ; Stanton ; ; synthehol ; tectonic plate ; theta - matrix compositor ; toast ; Venezuela Unreferenced material . artist ; Bull Run ; Confederacy ; ; explorer ; flying lesson ; horse ; Nimbus III ; painter ; Prado ; scholar ; Station Salem - One