This is my first attempt at writing something vaguely slashy. Standard disclaimers apply. Hope you enjoy!

It was 0200 hours, and Geordi was not quitting. If he didn't find a way to modify the shields, the pre-warp civilization they were passing near would discover them. He kept reminding himself of that every time he felt like laying his head down on the console and going to sleep. Which was every few seconds, since it was 0200 hours.

Geordi was sure this next modulation would work. It had too. He'd been trying different modulations for hours, and he wasn't just selecting at random - according to his earlier results, this one should cover every scanning method the (apparently paranoid) civilization used. And then he could take off his VISOR and stretch out in his nice comfortable bed.

He typed it in and ran it through the simulator. The computer dinged as each type of scanning method showed up as covered.

Except for the last one, which got a disapproving "BEEP!"

Geordi slumped. It was hopeless. They'd be discovered, and it was all his fault. His head throbbed from his VISOR, more painfully than usual because he hadn't taken it off for almost twelve hours, and his shoulders ached from sitting hunched over the console. He had to do this, but he was too tired and in too much pain.

"Geordi?"

He lifted his head up. "Data?"

"You are not on duty this shift."

"No," Geordi agreed, trying not to yawn in Data's face.

"You were not on duty last shift either, though you are listed on the shift before that." His brow furrowed. "You can go off duty now."

"I'm…" Geordi yawned. "…working on the shield modifications."

"Ah. I was planning to do those now," Data said. He glanced past Geordi to see his most recent results. "If we use this modification and augment the warp core's shielding, then we will cover all scanning methods."

Geordi smacked his forehead, and his head throbbed harder. "Of course! I was just focusing on ordinary shields!"

"I believe they will be more effective if we make the modifications in sync. Since you came up with the regular shield modifications, will you monitor those?"

"Sure," he said, moving to change consoles. "Ow!"

Pain shot through his back as he got up, and he placed a hand on it and winced.

"Is something wrong?"

"I've been sitting at a console the past four hours," Geordi said, aware that his voice probably sounded strained.

"Ah," Data said, as if he were calculating something.

"That was sympathetic," Geordi grumbled. "Oh!"

Data had come around him and placed his hands on Geordi's shoulders. He began massaging with slow, gentle movements.

Geordi's eyebrows rose, and he sighed as the aches melted away under Data's incredibly skillful touch. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised that Data had this skill (not needing to sleep meant that he had more time to learn new things), but it was still surprising to see the skill in practice. Or, rather, to feel it. He was really good.

Data's hands moved to Geordi's back, rubbing smooth, rhythmic circles, and Geordi moaned involuntarily.

Data drew his hands away quickly. "I am sorry."

"No, um..." Geordi turned around, suddenly realizing what had just happened. He glanced around engineering, and was relieved to see that all the other personnel seemed to be either half-asleep or looking at their work (or both). "It was...um...fine."

"Are you able to function?" Data asked.

Oh. So that was Data's intention. "Um..." Geordi massaged his temples. "Yeah." He moved over to the other console and positioned himself. "Ready when you are."

Data nodded, and together they made the shield modifications.