Lessons ( episode ) Picard falls in love with one of his subordinates , but he can ' t deal with having to order her into dangerous situations . Summary . Teaser . Captain Picard is up and active early in the morning . He finds that stellar cartography has ordered the shutdown of several systems he wishes to use , such as communications , the library computer and even the replicator . He decides to head down there and meets the new head of the department , Lieutenant commander Nella Daren : she is very strong - willed and he instantly takes a liking to her . Act One . The " Enterprise " is heading to the Borgolis Nebula for scientific study . Picard says it will be interesting to see what comes out of it . He heads to dinner with Doctor Crusher and , during , brings up Daren and her research since it captured his interest . Afterwards , they head to a musical performance with Commander Data , Ensign Cheney and , to Picard surprise , Commander Daren on piano . They begin with Chopin ' s " Trio in G minor " . After the concert is a reception . Picard and Crusher congratulate Data and Daren , and Data notices the increased applause volume . Data and Crusher leave to congratulate Cheney , leaving Picard and Daren . They have a brief discussion about her performance during which she discovers that he is an amateur musician . He remarks on her musical choices , and she replies that he should expect the unexpected , echoing his remark to her earlier . Act Two . Daren goes to Riker to request more time on the arrays since her team is in the middle of something . However , it ' s already been claimed by engineering . She pushes , but Riker can only promise to give her time tomorrow . She has to live with it . Daren comes to Picard ' s quarters as he is working on Bach ' s " Third Brandenburg Concerto " . She is immediately interested in the Ressikan flute he is playing , and asks how long he has played it . He simply responds , " a long time " and initially refrains from playing in front of her . She asks to try it , and he ends up demonstrating . She entices him to join her in duet while she plays along with a portable piano . He ' s having a lot of fun with the improvisations she brings out in him . The next day , both Picard and Daren are in a great mood . Picard asks Riker to fence with him jovially . Riker says he ' s not good , but , like Daren said last night , Picard replies " it doesn ' t matter as long as you enjoy it . " Daren , meanwhile , gets treated for an arm strain in sickbay , informing Crusher that she spent time with Picard the previous night . The two begin playing duets on a regular basis . Daren brings Picard that night to the fourth intersect in Jefferies tube 25 , which she says is the most acoustically perfect spot on the ship . Picard shares with her the folk melody he learned during life as Kamin on the planet Kataan , but does not tell her its origin . The two begin playing a duet of the melody , which could be heard in main engineering by Geordi La Forge who , confused , enters the Jefferies tube junction to try and work out where it is coming from . However , when Data enters the junction too , the music has stopped , because back in the tube , Picard and Daren are sharing a passionate kiss . Act Three . Later , Picard and Daren ride in a turbolift when another crew member enters . Picard immediately stops their personal conversation and changes his demeanor to professional and gets off at his stop . In the meantime , The Federation outpost at Bersallis III reports a period of fire storm s beginning and the " Enterprise " goes to study the phenomenon . In his ready room , Picard asks Counselor Troi about his relationship with Daren , expressing his concerns that becoming involved with a subordinate could compromise his objectivity . Troi reassures him , so he then goes to stellar cartography to talk to Daren . He apologizes for his behavior in the turbolift , and assures her that he is just inexperienced with this type of relationship . He also assures her that he is not given to casual relationships . He takes her to his quarters and explains to her the story of his time as Kamin , and the significance of his music to him . Daren catches Commander Riker to ask about Cabot ' s transfer to her department from quantum mechanics . He doesn ' t want to grant the request , but feels uncomfortable due to her relationship with Captain Picard . He discusses this with Picard who assures him that he is free to do his job as usual . Picard later shares the experience with Daren and explains that they need to be aware of other people ' s perceptions . They get on with their evening when Worf reports in that the firestorms on Bersallis III have changed their speed and heading and begin to head towards the outpost . They request evacuation , and so Picard has to leave . Act Four . In the observation lounge , the senior staff as well as Daren and Marquez discuss the situation . They determine that there will not be enough time to evacuate . Daren suggests using thermal deflector unit s that she used to study a plasma geyser on Melnos IV to create a " firewall " to block the storms temporarily . La Forge and Data confirm the idea , stating that the units require personnel to operate . Picard approves and Riker gets to work , ordering Commander Daren to lead the deflector deployment , Data to coordinate the evacuation , Marquez to track the storm , and Crusher to get their patients up to the " Enterprise " . When everyone is dismissed , Picard expresses concern for Daren , but she reminds him that they agreed not to let the relationship get in the way of their work . The " Enterprise " arrives at the planet . Marquez beams down first and informs them they have 50 minutes before the storm hits . In the hustle of the rest of the team getting in place to transport , Daren and Picard share a silent last look . Act Five . The team has been on the planet for 30 minutes . Progress is good , though the storm gains speed and the ionization from the storm slows down the evacuation efforts . Soon , all of the infirmary patients are brought aboard . They realize the deflector teams will need to stay near the deflectors since the remote control won ' t work . All of the colonists are evacuated , but the storm reaches the perimeter before the last two perimeter teams , including Daren ' s , cannot be retrieved . Worried that something might have happened to her , Picard reflects on the situation in his quarters when he is informed by Worf that survivors have been discovered . He goes to the transporter room , but does not find Daren among them . As he is about to leave , Daren is beamed aboard with another survivor , Deng . Eight crew members ultimately lose their lives . Later , Daren explains to Picard how they managed to survive by modifying their phaser s to create pockets of safety . She and Deng survived but they lost . Picard tells her about the moment in his quarters when he thought that she was dead . He tells her that he has lost people under his command , people who were very dear to him , but never someone he has been in love with . And when he believed that she was dead , he began to shut down : he did not want to think or feel . That was when he retreated and felt that the only thing remaining to him was his music , and how it would never again give him joy . Picard and Daren realize that they can never have a relationship while she is under his command where he is responsible for putting her life in jeopardy in the line of duty . They discuss whether one of them could give up their career and follow the other , but immediately realize that this would not be satisfactory . Hence , Daren decides to apply for transfer . Picard suggests that they coordinate their shore leave s together , but both know that their relationship will never be the same again . The two share one last kiss and she asks Picard to promise her that he will not give up his music . Memorable quotes . " " Whoever you are , you just ruined four hours of work . " " " " You might have taken the simple precaution of locking the door . " " " " Well , you ' re new on the " Enterprise " . You ' ll have to learn to expect the unexpected . " " " " I noticed that the applause this evening exceeded average decibel levels . " " " " I guess that means they enjoyed themselves . " " " " I think that much was obvious . " " " " Well captain , now that I ' m on your ship maybe you should start expecting the unexpected . " " " " Excellent . Now perhaps you can tell me what was so important that it required depriving the captain of his cup of Earl Grey . " " " " I can assure you that I am not given to casual relationships . " " " " Do you know where we are ? " " " " Yes , this the the fourth intersect in Jefferies tube twenty five . " " " " No – this is the most acoustically perfect spot on this ship . " " Links and references . References . arpeggio ; ; Beck ; Bersallin sun ; Bersallis III ; Bersallis system ; Borgolis Nebula ; Cabot ; Celsius ; ; chord ; ; Daren herbal tea blend number three ; duet ; Earl Grey tea ; Federation ; fire storm ; " Frère Jacques " ; ; herbal tea ; Jefferies tube ; Kataan ; Kataan probe ; Kerelian ; kiss ; Landris II ; Mataline II ; Mataline II piano ; Melnos IV ; Mowray ; Number one ; nurse ; obstetrics specialist ; piano ; plasma geyser ; quantum mechanics ; Ressik ; Ressikan flute ; shore leave ; Starbase 218 ; stellar cartography ; stellar cartography department ; tenor ; Thelka IV ; thermal deflector unit ; " Third Brandenburg Concerto " ; " Trio in G minor " ; turbolift