Before you read:

This is another short story that I wrote last year, after my grandmother passed away. It's been a year now, and I thought I'd post this. A little back

story, to explain the missing pieces is necessary. See, when my grandmother died, my mom and I were left, both heartbroken. One night, about two

weeks after, my mom and I got into a huge fight. She was implying suicide, and said "You don't understand. I'm grieving." I lost my temper and

screamed at her. "You think you're the only one who's hurting?! What about me? You're my mother. What do I do if you die?!" We both ended up crying

and hugging, after breaking a few things and screaming. No one was hurt, but it was one of those "breakthrough" moments that affected our grieving.

Now, obviously, the following story isn't real. At least the part where Data shows up. Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)

Darkness. silence. Normally I dreaded these. But tonight, in this moment, I welcomed it. My throat still ached, as did my eyes. The pain I've been pushing away,

turning from my heart, now seemed to pump through my very veins. It hurt, just to breathe. Nothing made sense anymore. I felt empty, yet full. I closed my

eyes and let the tears fall as I held the blanket tightly against my chest. A soft sob escaped me, one that hid the sudden whooshing sound. My head was

covered, and I suddenly heard the sound of tinkling glass. Thinking it was the cat, I ignored it. It wasn't important anyway. I'll clean it up in the morning. The

sound again, but this time, someone was picking it up. I pulled the blanket down, and sat up. A tall man, with pale gold skin was standing beside my bed, with

a dust pan, and hand broom. Data. He looked up. Yellow eyes stared at me, and he raised a finger to his lips.

"Go back to sleep." he said softly. Somehow, I trusted him. Somehow, I knew he was there to help me. I laid back down, and hugged the blanket again. The

tinkling stopped. The left side of the bed dipped slightly. I turned and saw him sitting beside me, holding out his arms. His expression was one of kindness, and

concern. I felt another sob as I hugged him. He wrapped the blanket around me, his hands tender, knowing how precious the knitted blanket is.

"Did she make this for you?" Data asked. I nodded, against his chest. I felt him gently brushing my tear soaked hair out of my face.

"There is no reason to be ashamed of letting yourself grieve, Samantha." He said, encouraging me.

"You saw-?" I looked up at him, ashamed. Data nodded.

"The entire thing. You were correct, but you must let yourself grieve as well. You do not have to keep holding your pain in the way you have been."

"I-I tried. I feel like if I cry, I'll never stop. And sh-she..told me she.."

"I know. Shh..."

"I don't want to give up. But it's so hard. I feel like I'm dying a little every day." I said.

"But you are not. You are very much alive. Hurting, yes, but alive. Do not let yourself give up." I let out another sob and covered my face with my hands. To my

surprise, Data wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me against him, against his chest. I wrapped my arms around his middle, clinging to him for dear life as

I broke down. Data didn't seem to mind; He simply held me close to him, brushing my hair back. He held me close to him, and let me cry until I cried myself to

sleep.

~Fin~