Long time, no update over here. Sorry! But, here's a little chapter to get this story moving a bit. Thanks so much for your reviews and nudges! :)

3.

As soon as Dr. Crusher released him, Data strode directly from Sickbay, to the turbolift, to his quarters. Walking up to the replicator, he ordered, "Feline Supplement 187."

The replicator hummed, and a small bowl of mucky, meaty cat food materialized in the food slot, along with a strong scent of chicken livers. Data crouched down to set the bowl on the carpet and waited, his lips twitching ever so slightly upward when his orange cat, Spot, jumped down from Data's meticulously customized work station and began daintily lapping up her dinner. Data gently rubbed the cat between the ears, then stood and set about unfolding and making up his sofa bed, aiming to activate his dream program for a few hours before returning to the bridge to oversee the night shift.

A mechanical chirp made him straighten with a lurch. Turning to face the main door, he called out, "Enter!"

Counselor Troi stepped in and smiled to see the android standing there with a half-fluffed pillow in his hands. He quickly put it down.

"Good evening, Counselor," he greeted.

"Hello, Data," Troi said, crouching down to give Spot a quick pat. "I just came by to see how you were doing, after what happened on the bridge today."

"Your concern is appreciated, Counselor," Data told her. "The ion storm subjected my systems to a violent bout of thermal shock, but I am fully recovered. Geordi and Dr. Crusher have both cleared me to resume my duties at zero-hundred hours."

Troi shook her head and stood, smoothing the wrinkles from her blue uniform with her hands.

"You always do that," she said.

Data tilted his head, not following.

"Counselor?"

"I ask how you're doing, and you tell me your systems are operating just fine," she said. "Android or not, you can't always conflate your physical well-being with your mental well-being, Data. The mind isn't that straightforward."

"I…do not understand," Data said, squinting slightly as he struggled to puzzle out her allegation. "If all my systems are functioning normally, is that not an indication that my mental status is similarly fit?"

Deanna sighed and moved toward the edge of the folded-out sofa.

"May I?" she asked.

Data's first inclination was to ask her to specify her meaning, but a quick analysis of her body language, vocal intonations, their past interactions, and the present context helped him realize she was asking permission to sit on the bed.

"Of course, Counselor," he said, and politely pulled a chair over from his round table to join her. Spot, having licked her bowl clean, jumped possessively onto the bed and stalked around its perimeter before settling down near the pillow to continue cleaning her whiskers, paws, and coat. Deanna reached out to stroke the cat as she sat down, then turned to face Data.

"How long has it been, now, since you first activated your dream program, Data?" she asked.

Again, Data checked his initial impulse toward computer-like exactitude, considered the social situation, and answered, "It has been over a year, Counselor. Why do you ask?"

Troi pursed her lips and regarded him.

"With the unconscious comes the irrational and…sometimes…the suppressed," she said in a manner Data found unsatisfactorily cryptic. "I'm just wondering if that shock you suffered on the bridge today hasn't…unlocked something. Something your mind…or, perhaps, your circuitry…has kept buried. Hidden away from your conscious awareness."

Data's head twitched slightly, and he leaned closer, thoroughly perplexed.

"To what…something…might you be referring?" he asked.

Troi's lips stretched in a small smile, and she reached out to pat his knee before rising back to her feet. Data also stood, regarding her with keen, curious eyes.

"If you don't know, I don't want to influence you. Not yet," she said, her smile broadening with affectionate sympathy at his genuinely frustrated look. After all this time working with him, on and off the bridge, she knew his exasperation was real, that she'd be able to recognize and perceive it even if his back were turned, but she couldn't feel the sensation any more than he could…an incongruity that she knew frustrated Data at least as much as it did her.

She touched his arm, and said, "We'll talk more at our appointment. I want to hear all about that dream you had while you were unconscious today. And, if you happen to have another dream tonight, I'll want to hear about that too."

"As you wish, Counselor," Data said courteously, then narrowed his eyes rather worriedly. "Is it your belief that the electrical shock I suffered has caused another hidden program to…activate?"

"Probably not a program," she said. "Perhaps a memory, or a cluster of memories, you haven't previously been able to access."

Data blinked.

"An intriguing thought. What sort of—"

"Data," Troi interrupted, and patted his hand. "We'll talk tomorrow. 0800."

"Tomorrow? But, Counselor," Data said, "our scheduled meeting was not until—"

"I know. I moved it, given what happened today," she said. "You don't have a conflict, do you?"

"No, but..."

"Good," she said, and smiled. "I'll have tea and cinnamon muffins waiting in my office."

"That is very considerate, Counselor, but you know I do not need to eat," Data said.

"You don't need to sleep, either, but I see your bed's made up," Troi countered. "It's an early meeting, Data. And, when you have an early meeting, sometimes a light breakfast is appropriate. Think of it as a chance to practice your social skills."

"Hm." Data gave an acknowledging tilt of his head. "Thank you, Counselor. I will look forward to our talk."

Troi smiled.

"Good night, Data," she said, and headed for the door. "Pleasant dreams."

To Be Continued...

References include TNG: Birthright I; Phantasms; Force of Nature. Since this story takes place after "Force of Nature," Spot is a 'she' rather than a 'he.'

Reviews welcome! :)