Hey guys! I'm soooo sorry this is so late, but these past few weeks have been complete hell. I'm trying my best, but inspiration runs a little dry when one's in the middle of nervous breakdowns because of school... On the bright side, stuff happen in this chapter :D
Rekku had never been more terrified of Data in his entire life as he was in that moment. After delivering the news, the android settled into a completely blank expression and pushed past him like a moving brick wall.
Rekku just barely managed to get out of his way before being knocked over. He decided to follow the android into the turbolift, ignoring the arising question of whether or not that was the safest course of action. The doors slid shut behind him, and Rekku settled for cowering in one corner of the lift, watching how Data was standing rigidly in the center of it, staring straight ahead. Rekku wondered if Data even registered his presence, or if he was so focused on Kayla being injured that the minor detail of his existence seemed unworthy of acknowledgment.
Rekku snapped out of his thoughts only when Data started moving forward and through the now-open turbolift doors. Data swept down the corridor in an almost menacing way, though Rekku knew better than to assign an emotion to the way he was walking.
Or did he?
Rekku continued following Data, turning corners just as he did, keeping on his heels. Data seemed different. At first, Rekku thought it was because he had never actually seen the android in an emergency situation. After thinking a little more about it, however, he realized that in all rationality, this would not constitute an emergency. Kayla was badly hurt, yes, and Rekku was worried to the point of physical illness, but to Data? Rekku knows he must have calculated the odds of her survival a million times over, considering every variable, every possibility. Because of that, Data must have realized that in all likelihood (to quote Doctor Crusher) 'she will live'.
That means that Data was in a setting other than 'emergency android mode' and more along the lines of… 'worried and furious android mode'. At least, his reaction could easily be mistaken as such.
They were nearing the sickbay doors when Rekku stopped to consider whether it would be a good idea to go in with Data or not. He figured he should give them some privacy, but not going in after having delivered the news would be strange. He settled for following Data into the main area of the sickbay, and then slowly slinking away when he had the chance. Whatever was wrong with Data, and whatever will go down in there (if Kayla was even conscious), Rekku didn't want to be underfoot.
They burst into the sickbay, Data's head whipping back and forth in search for any sign of Kayla. Doctor Crusher was standing a few feet away, just lifting her head from her PADD when the pair entered.
"Anything I can help you with?" she asked Data, confusion apparent on her features. Her eyes shifted to Rekku, who was standing behind Data, and gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Where is Kay—Miss Peyton?" Data demanded, quickly correcting himself.
Correcting himself?
"She's in there…" Doctor Crusher indicated to the door behind her, her eyebrows furrowed. Data started moving towards the door, Doctor Crusher quickly moving in to intercept him. "She needs to rest. She's been through a horrible ordeal, and—"
"What happened to her?" asked Data, not moving away and staring straight at the door, as if the harder he stared the more likely he could see her through it.
"Data—"
"What. Happened."
Doctor Crusher sighed, glancing at Rekku, who was commencing his exit strategy. "Before the first lurch, she was in the engineering section, looking for Geordi."
"Looking for Geordi? Why—"
"God, Data, I'm getting there! When did you become so impatient?"
"I am not impatient, Doctor, I am simply anxious to learn what had occurred."
"Data… Did just say that you are anxious?"
"It was an expression of informal vernacular to accommodate human linguistic conventions," he said hurriedly. "Now if you will, Doctor," he said, hiding the command in his tone to the best of his ability.
"I see," she said, quirking an eyebrow.
"I do not have time for this. Excuse me," Data brushed past her. Once inside, he swiftly turned around and punched in a lockdown code that would bypass even the CMO's attempts of breaking in—at least for a while.
Data paused for a moment before he slowly turned around to face the lone hospital bed and its battered occupant.
Kayla appeared to be sleeping, her breathing even though a bit rattled whenever she inhaled. Her face was covered in mild bruises, but a fresh gash graced the right side of her face, vibrant against her pale skin. Data could see Doctor Crusher's attempts at healing it, and he didn't dare picture what it must have looked like before. Her left arm was broken, which was now lying in an old-fashioned sling. He made a mental note ask Doctor Crusher why she had not healed it yet.
Data sat down on the chair next to Kayla's bed, not taking his eyes off her. He wasn't sure whom he was thanking, but he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards the circumstances that allowed her to live.
He saw the white sheets did not cover her right hand. He also noticed that her hand seemed to be the lone body part that escaped the accident unscathed. Before he realized what he was doing, he reached out to hold her hand.
Kayla stirred, and Data's eyes snapped back to her face.
"Data…?" she rasped.
"Yes. I am here. You must rest—"
"I don't want to rest," she said, her voice stronger that time. She opened her eyes as much as she could, the swelling not making that an easy task. "Could you get me some water?" She looked down, only then noticing their clasped hands.
"Of course," Data removed his hand immediately, caught off guard by his own sudden movement.
Kayla let out a weak chuckle. "They never tell you how nearly dying makes you thirsty as hell." Data handed her a glass of water, sitting back down. Kayla took a few sips from the glass, and upon realizing that she wasn't even strong enough to do that, she handed it back to Data.
"Well?"
"I do not understand."
"Aren't you gonna explain to me the medical reasons of being insanely thirsty after a critical injury?" she smirked, then winced in pain.
"I believe I am a little preoccupied at the moment."
"Oh…" Kayla looked down. "Well if you're busy, I don't want to keep you here for any longer than you need to—"
"You misunderstand. I am preoccupied by you," he said. "Your injury, to be precise," he added quickly.
"Oh, well in that case," she smiled. "What happened up there?"
Now it was the android's turn to look away. "There was an unexpected anomaly. I failed to detect it in time," he looked at her. "And now you are injured."
"I'll live," she grimaced. "And how could you not have noticed whatever it was in time? You're Data."
"I was preoccupied," he answered simply.
"By thoughts of me?" she fluttered her eyes jokingly.
"Yes."
Kayla stopped, staring at him. "…What?"
"I was preoccupied by thoughts of you."
Kayla sputtered. "Well, yeah, you just said that, but—What?"
"I had been thinking about the time you discovered I have a pet cat," he said. It was technically the truth, but his ethical circuits began acting up.
"Oh." They sat in silence for a few moments. "So… what was the anomaly?"
"It was one Starfleet had never encountered before. What we were faced with was, in all likelihood, an undiscovered variation of a black hole that served as a gateway to an alternate reality."
"Holy shit," Kayla said dumbly. "I meant to say something more intelligent than that, but… holy shit!"
"I concur." Kayla laughed, and then hissed in pain.
"Don't make me laugh, man. You're killing me!"
Data thought about apologizing, but decided against it on the grounds that it would make the human laugh more.
"Anyway, what did the… thingy… show? What did Counselor Troi say? What did it look like?" Kayla shot out one question after another.
"According to the Counselor, the anomaly showed an alternate version of the Enterprise and its crew."
Kayla paused, trying to process the implications of an alternate universe. She looked at him with a lost expression. "I don't know how to respond to this," she said honestly. "Wait… does this mean I get to talk alternate universe me? If I'm even on the Enterprise in that universe?"
"That is something we will never discover, as we have warped away from the area."
"What?" she demanded. "Why?"
"Remaining would have been extremely dangerous. As it apparent by your condition," he indicated her bed-ridden form.
The anger suddenly left Kayla's features, and she settled back onto her pillow.
"But… there might have been another android, just like you—exactly like you—on that ship," Kayla said softly. "I thought you've always wanted to meet someone like you."
"Throughout my entire conscious existence, I have been searching for a life form like myself. I had a quest of finding 'someone like me' so that I was not alone in the universe. That, however, is no longer necessary," Data's golden eyes stared deeply into Kayla's green-grey ones. "Because I no longer am."
It took a moment for Kayla to process what he had just said.
"Data," Kayla whispered reaching up to cup his cheek in her functioning hand. "I don't know what to say, I—" Kayla didn't have the right words to express all that Data said meant to her.
She brushed her thumb across his cheeks, trying to memorize everything detail of his face. Quickly, before she had time to change her mind, she pulled his face closer to hers. She looked searchingly into his eyes, which seemed to be alive with… something. Then she closed the gap between them, letting her lips brush softly against his before she pressed them closer.
Kayla tried to show Data all that she wanted—all that she needed… And all that she thought Data needed.
She pulled back suddenly, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking—this is completely—"
Data cut her off by placing both his hands on the side of her face. She stayed silent, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious under his gaze, yet she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from his.
Data leaned closer, their noses almost brushing, and Kayla could feel wisps of his breath caressing her upper lip. Kayla shuddered in confusion, in anticipation… Slowly, his lips grazed hers, and Kayla felt her knees go weak despite her lying down. She lifted her hand to the back of his neck, sifting through his hair as he lightly sucked on her bottom lip, eliciting a soft and quite embarrassing moan from her.
Using this opportunity, Data tasted tentatively with his tongue, causing Kayla to tighten her grip on his hair.
"Damn it, Data!" they heard Doctor Crusher curse through the door. They broke apart mere nanoseconds before the CMO entered the room, an icy glare fixed at Data. Kayla was suddenly envious about the lack of physical evidence on the android's face.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Doctor Crusher demanded. Kayla froze in terror. "Data, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you can't just do that."
"Doctor, I can explain—"
"I could suspend you for barring the Chief Medical Officer from one of her patients."
Kayla let out a relieved breath. "Data, maybe you should go," she offered with a smile. Data regarded her for a moment, and then nodded.
"I apologize for the intrusion, Doctor," said Data as he started towards the door.
As soon as he left, the doctor turned to face Kayla. "I don't know what that was about, but you need your rest. Would you like some sleep medication?"
"No, thank you," Kayla murmured. She had some things to think about before even thinking about sleeping.
Doctor Crusher nodded with a smile and left her alone.
Oh, dear God.
X
"Tell me something," said Kayla a few days later.
"I can tell you a multitude of things. Would you like to specify?"
"Ha ha. Looks like someone miraculously developed a sense of humor," she chuckled from her bed. She was still bed-ridden, but Doctor Crusher told her she could be up and about in a few days if she behaved. Her mother was completing a shift, so she had the quarters all to herself. She wanted to use this opportunity to talk to Data about what happened between them, but somehow—she had no idea how—they just ended up watching an old Earth film called 'The Breakfast Club' or something. They had yet to encounter anything remotely related to a morning meal.
"You can recite massive amounts of information with perfect accuracy, right?" she asked as she popped a kernel of popcorn in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
"That is correct."
"So what if there's a contraction in the text?"
"What if there is one?"
"Well, can you just recite it with the contraction? Because you seem completely unable to use it in everyday language."
"I do not know. I have never attempted it before."
"Well then try," she commanded.
"What shall I recite?"
"I don't know… Just pick something we talked about once."
Data's eyes did their trademark rapid back-and-forth movements before he opened his mouth to speak. "'Come on, Data. Just say it, I beg you!'. 'I cannot. I do not understand the purpose of this.'. 'I swear to God, Data, it is not a big deal—"
"Nah," Kayla waved her unfractured arm. "You can't say it. I wouldn't say 'it is not a big deal'."
"It appears that I do not have the capacity to use contractions."
"See, I don't understand that." Data looked at her as though he expected her to elaborate. "I just… You can calculate how long it would take for us to reach the freakin' end of the solar system at Warp 6, and yet you can't physically make yourself say 'isn't' instead of 'is not'? That's bullshit."
"I do not know."
"Isn't this frustrating to you? Oh wait, what I am saying. Of course it isn't. How is that I always suffer because of your incompetence?" she grinned.
"I am grateful you can tolerate me in spite of my repeated incompetence," he said.
"It's so weird that you're making jokes now. At least I hope they're jokes, 'cause otherwise it would be a little sad." She smiled at him and turned back to the film.
A few tranquil moments passed before Kayla spoke again.
"Besides, why would saying 'fuck' be such a big deal, anyway?"
Please fave and review :) As always, my PM is open for suggestions or if you just want to talk! Also, sorry for any mistakes or missing words, but I don't have a beta for this and sometimes my fingers can't keep up with my brain.
