Yet another story! Taking a break from my others, since I'm experiencing a writer's block on them...But I was up, pretty much all night, a few nights ago, coming up with another story, that, this time, I think will be a good one. It's a mystery this time. And yes, the same couple as my other two stories! And...I am ashamed to say, this is the first one that I actually have the ENTIRE thing planned out. Beginning, middle, and end. Enjoy!

"Captain, we are being hailed." pale yellow hands danced across the console as the android picked up the message.

"On screen." Picard barked. An old friendly face appeared on the screen.

"Captain, how good to see you." She grinned.

"Captain Massighan, how are you?" Picard greeted.

"Well, things are good, except for a little trouble in the next sector. Some kind of disturbance caused a ship to lose all power. It's still a sitting

duck in space. That's why I called to warn you. Do not continue through this sector."

"Do we have any more ships coming through here? Perhaps we could go and assist the ship." Picard suggested.

"That's your choice, but it's unwise. It's hard to tell what's going on, exactly, but we are getting suspicious."

"Senior officers, Observation Lounge, now." Picard lead the way to the large, open room. They all sat and he began.

"Counselor?" He prompted.

"Captain, I sensed a bluff. Something is going on, but it's not what she says it is."

"Perhaps we should take a look, and see what's going on. There could be a ship in distress and unable to call for help," Worf suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Agreed, but we go on red alert."

As they made their way into the next sector, they did so with caution. Nothing looked out of the norm, but that changed when they didn't find

the stranded ship...Something was definitely up.

About 23 and a half hours into the search, just when the Captain was about to give up, The ship lost power. All but Life Support was cut off.

This again raised suspicion. Captain Picard's team did everything they could to get the ship started again, but nothing worked. The Captain

sat, irritated, in his seat, waiting for the Chief Engineer to announce their progress below.

"Your efforts are fruitless, Capitan..." A familiar voice filled the bridge.

"Q..." Picard growled.

"Q, show yourself! NOW!"

A bout of laughter, and the being appeared in the middle of the bridge. His face wore an amused expression, and he was holding in his arms-

"Samantha!" Data cried out, jumping to his feet, a horrified expression on his face.

Q stood, not looking at Data, but smiling knowingly. He obviously knew something that no one else did. Suddenly, the thin girl in his arms

began to stir. She looked up, and screamed, fighting him. Q may have been a trouble maker, but he was still a gentleman. He gently set her

down on her feet, and took a step back, giving Data another view of her.

For some reason, Data was feeling fear. And an overwhelming wave of fierce protectiveness. He was sure he'd never laid eyes on this girl, and

yet, somehow...her dark blonde hair, grey blue eyes, and pale skin seemed to stir something in him. The girl, whose name they'd all figured to

be Samantha, looked around, wide eyed, and she swallowed when her eyes landed on Data. She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure

out why he looked familiar to her as well. Then Data ran to catch her as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she fainted.

"What the hell is going on?!" Picard demanded. Q looked down at the girl, now resting against Data's lap as he sat on his knees.

"I lured you here, my dear captain. For the very purpose of bringing these two back together."

All eyes fell on Data, who was brushing a blond lock out of Samantha's face. He was intrigued by her. And the more he held her, the more

familiar she became.

"Captain...I have caused you a lot of undue grief, in the past. Despite that, you gave me a chance to make amends. And for that, I wish to

thank you. My way of thanking you, is to bring a very important part of Data's past back to him." Q turned to Data, and said seriously,

"I'd tell you to take care of her, Data. But I already know you will. I will only remind you of your quest to be more human. You will not need that

chip, my friend." He said, before snapping his fingers and vanishing.

Data frowned, and looked down at Samantha. He gently touched her cheek, and looked back up at the Captain.

"What do I do, sir?" He asked. Counselor Troi stood from her seat, feeling the helplessness rolling off of the android.

"Take her to sickbay. She may be in shock." Picard said.

"She's in shock. Don't worry, she'll be okay, but I'll need to keep her her for a bit, at least until I know she can walk..." Dr. Crusher spoke in a

hushed voice. The Captain shifted slightly, nervously glancing at the biobed. She laid there, pale and unmoving.

Dr. Crusher, Captain Picard, and Counselor Troi all stood in the doctor's office, discussing the situation.

"Any idea who she is, Counselor?" Picard looked at Troi.

"Well, as Q said, she is from the past. Very strong emotionally, but not so much physically. She's frightened of us, Especially Data. But...she

remembers him. Which is strange, because she's also sure she's never seen him before." Counselor Troi said

"I still don't like the idea of a young child-"

"She's hardly a child, Captain." Dr. Crusher cut in. Picard raised an eyebrow.

"She's nineteen. Actually...Q pulled her from her time...on her twentieth birthday." She had a slightly sad smile on her face. Counselor Troi

sensed the anger from the Captain, and winced slightly. He sighed, defeated.

"What do we do?" Picard spoke after a minute.

"I can't find anything wrong with her other than being frightened; her adrenaline is skyrocketing." Dr. Crusher said.

Samantha looked around. It didn't take much for her to figure out that she was in the medical bay. She frowned, looking around and not

seeing any white coats. The nurses walking to and fro were all wearing uniforms identical to Data's, except they were blue instead of yellow.

She looked at Data, who was standing beside her bed. She couldn't remember how, but somehow, this strange looking man was familiar to

her. The only element in this wholeplace that she felt attached to. Therefore, he scared her the most. She looked away, not wanting to see his

face anymore as it made her want to freak. She began wondering what was going to happen to her when the captain spoke from behind

Data.

"You are not in any trouble, if that is what you're worried about. For now, we are going to keep you-"

Counselor Troi spoke from the doorway.

"Captain, may I speak with you for a moment?" She asked. Picard frowned nodding and following her into the office.

"I would like for her to stay with me in my quarters, sir." she said. This caught the captain off guard.

"If you were anyone else on the ship, I'd say no, but before I grant you this, may I ask why?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"She's terrified, Captain. And she's most frightened of Data. I don't know why but him being around her is what's scaring her. Watch, I'll take

Data out into the hall, and when he's gone, I guarantee, her heart rate is going to drop."

The captain sighed.

"Ok, I will approve, but only on one condition. I'm trusting you with her safety. " He said.

"Agreed. "

So what do you think? Should I keep going? :)