Hello and guten Tag, my dear readers. I'm sorry for the long silence, but I'm a bit stuck on 'Magic'. This is something that has been on my mind for some time. If you have an episode you want me to do, just say... äh write the word. Viel Spaß!

Skin of Evil

Data sat on his couch, lost in thought. Tasha's death had left him with a sense of emptiness. He did not know how to deal with it. He had never lost someone that special to him. He had been lonely before he was assigned to the Enterprise.

Tasha had accepted him – not only as a person, but also as a man. She had not viewed him as just a machine. And even though she had told him that "It never happened", Data had soon understood that it had been because she was embarrassed about her behavior. He was very glad that they had reestablished their friendship before her death. It would have been unbearable otherwise.

His thoughts wandered to the other very special woman in his life. She, too, had been embarrassed about a number of things. Her looks, her accent and about her not quite human features. But when it came to him, she was never ashamed. She was very accepting.

The door chime sounded. "Come in, please." His visitor raised her hand when he wanted to stand up to greet her. "Don't bother, hon. I just wanted to see how you are doing. You look… out of sorts."

He lowered his eyes. "I am…functional."

"May I?" she asked and gestured towards the couch. He nodded and she sat down next to him. "I didn't ask if you were functional. I know that this must be hard for you. Is there anything I can do?"

He did not look at her. He did not know if she suspected anything. If she did, she did not show it. "Data." He felt a slender hand on his shoulder and finally looked at his girlfriend. Her eyes were full of understanding and concern. "You know you can always talk to me, right?"

"I cannot. I gave my word."

"And I'm not gonna force you to break it. Whatever it was between you and Tasha, she is special to you. I can accept that. I trust you. Your relationship with her is absolutely none of my business." She caressed the back of his hand and stood up. "I'll leave you to your brooding." She went to the door.

As quickly as only an android could, he stood up and took her wrist. "Please do not go, Rina." He put his hands on her shoulders and she smiled. "I do not wish to be alone. Stay with me."

Her smile widened and she hugged him tightly. She let go and gently nudged him towards his bedroom. "Come on. I know what we could do."

Data hesitated, but let her lead him to the bed. She surprised him by removing only her shoes and lying down on the mattress. She mentioned for him to do the same. When he complied, she arranged them so that his head came to rest upon her chest, his ear placed against her heart.

Her fingers ran through his hair, manicured nails soothingly scratching his head. He closed his eyes with something akin to a sigh. And while he was listening to Rina's steady heartbeat, he found that he felt less empty.