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Content Warning: Strong T for a section around the 10k-word mark.

À Bientôt

Stardate 45347.41

(Tuesday, 7 May 2368, 15:41 hours, ship's time)

Whether you're in a normal school on some planet somewhere, or taking classes on a starship, one thing is universal: the end of the school year brings a kind of boredom and disinterest that can only be solved by spending an afternoon doing absolutely nothing.

At the same time, though, I had a clock ticking (because mental clocks are never the silent digital displays we actually use, they are great ticking machines) inside my head. At the end of this month, I would be leaving.

It is for both these reasons that Annette, Dana, and I were hanging out at the ship's pool in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon. Data was on the bridge, Ray was on an engineering rotation, and Josh was off with Rryl doing whatever teenage boys did. Girl-time was essential, especially given the knowledge that we might not all be together again.

We could have gone to one of the holodecks, I suppose, but somehow the idea of reserving our hang-out space had repelled us. It was better to be in a place that was as much a social center as a health-and-recreation spot. Sure, the pool was an Olympic-compliant tank of water with marked lanes, and regulation diving boards, but it was also surrounded by deck chairs, and there was a small section with picnic-style tables and limited-menu food slots for drinks and light snacks.

Translation: all of us may have been wearing swimsuits, but none of us were actually swimming.

"I can't believe this is all ending," Dana said wistfully. "Zoe, you've barely been around all semester, and now you're going away for the summer and next semester, too. Annette's leaving for uni in a few weeks. It feels like our classes keep shrinking."

"I don't suppose it would help to think of all the individual attention you'll be getting?" I suggested.

"Besides, people always come and go; there will be new students as well," Annette put in.

"Actually… maybe not. Ever since the Battle of Wolf 359, there've been fewer and fewer families transferring onto starships, and those that do are usually the ones with little, little kids." I knew that as much from hearing my mother discuss it as I did from conversations with Data.

"At least Zoe is coming back," Annette said. "Just not right away. My father accepted a transfer to the Agamemnon Array, and he and mom are talking again, so I won't be back on the ship at all, even on school holidays."

"Yeah, but we'll be able to visit each other while I'm on Earth," I said. "I feel some serious shopping coming on."

"Shopping is always serious," Annette replied. "Maybe Dana could visit one of us, at least during the summer?"

"I'd love that," Dana said. "I doubt Dad will agree, though."

"Seriously? You're seventeen years old… he has to let you spread your wings sometime." The over-protectiveness of Dana's father wasn't unusual. He was a security specialist, after all, and there had been family drama before any of us had met. "Maybe if you tell him it'll get you away from Josh?" I teased. My friend's father had never been a fan of our breezy classmate, especially after he and Dana had begun dating.

Dana laughed shortly. "That might work." She took a beat before asking in a softer voice. "How are you going to handle being away from Data for six months? Aren't you afraid his brother will – "

"No." I made my voice firm, but not rude. "I refuse to give Lore even a minute's thought today. As for Data and me… he keeps reminding me that he has an imperial targ-load of accrued leave, that it's likely the tour part of my time with Idyllwild will intersect the Enterprise's path, and that 'no one has ever been in a long distance relationship with an android.'" I sat up and rearranged the towel that I'd had rolled behind my neck. "Either we're meant to be, or we're not, I guess. This is just our first big test."

"It must be difficult for you," Annette said, "being with a man who can't love you."

"You'd think so," I admitted. "But… it really isn't. He's… he's Data, and even if he can't actually feel the emotion or use the word, he shows me all the time what I mean to him. I wouldn't trade that for all the words for 'love' in every language."

Of course, technically, Data had told me he loved me. True, it had been in response to an emotional appetizer left by his psycho-droid brother, on the chip he'd stuck in a stud in my tongue at the beginning of the school year, but… I'd seen his face. I'd heard everything but the last two letters before the subroutine ended and he'd thudded to the floor.

We still hadn't talked about it.

I pushed that thought away, and tried to focus on the conversation at hand.

"Sure, sure," Dana teased. "Rub it in how you're dating the most wonderful guy in the universe."

"I never said that," I protested. "And it's not all rainbows and flowers. We argue."

"Data argues?" That was from Annette.

"Actually, yes. Of course he does."

"He argues with you?" Dana wanted to know.

"Yes. Hence the 'we' in 'we argue.'"

Dana started giggling. "I'm sorry, Zoe, I believe you, it's just… It's Data."

Eventually I would be able to stop counting the things It's Data seemed to explain, but in that moment, I was just exasperated. "No one sits around analyzing your relationships," I pointed out to my friends. "I'm going to swim."

Twenty laps later, I left the pool to find that the boys had joined us, after all. "Zoe, you up for a major study session tonight?" Josh asked.

"Can't. Rehearsal." We were three weeks away from Little Women, and my last day on the ship wasn't long after that. "I can study tomorrow night, though, so if you do math tonight…" I stood, dripping, on the deck as we talked.

"Yeah, that works."

"Rryl, you're sitting on my towel."

The Akkallan handed it to me. "Is the pool water cold?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Slightly cooler than humanoid blood temperature. Blissful. You should come swim with me sometime."

"I will consider it. I have never been swimming in contained water; only the ocean."

"And the holodeck," Josh corrected.

"The holodeck ocean," Rryl clarified.

"Well, the ocean's better, obviously, but this isn't bad." I said. "I'm going to go change… see you all tomorrow."

As I left the group, I realized that I was growing away from my friends, and I couldn't help but wonder if I was distancing myself from them on purpose. Something to bring up in my next counseling session, I guess.

(=A=)

"Zoe, Data, welcome back." Dr. Crusher greeted us both warmly as we entered the ship's auditorium together. We'd actually come from different directions – he from the bridge, and me from home. Arriving at the same time had been mere coincidence.

"Thank you," I said. Data paused to chat with the doctor – I heard the name 'Rasmussen' and the phrase '26th century,' - but I moved all the way into the room, dropping my padd and a sweatshirt on a seat in the front row, and sitting in the one next to it.

Ensign Laura Gilbert, who had played Margot in The Diary of Anne Frank the year before, and was playing Meg in this show, tapped me on the shoulder, then leaned toward me from the row behind mine. "Glad you're back, Zoe. Rehearsal isn't the same without our Jo."

"I missed you, too," I said, and meant it. Laura and I didn't typically hang out, but we could easily have become friends if our paths weren't so divergent. "Come sit with me."

She grinned and moved rows. "So, Doc said we're finally going to rehearse Act II today, since you and Data are both back. Are you nervous?"

"Nervous?" I asked, perplexed.

"About kissing him? Jo and the Professor, at the end?"

I blinked at her several times. Was it possible that she honestly didn't know Data and I were a couple? "Pretty sure he's more concerned with the kiss than I am," I answered. It wasn't an evasion. Data had confessed to me on our trip that he was uncertain he would be able to 'adequately reflect the professor's love for Jo.'"

"Really?"

"Really. But you… you have your own stage smoochies in this show." Reg Barclay had been cast as John Brooke, and while he was still a bit anxious about public performances, his stammering speech actually worked for the shy-but-studious tutor. Also? He and Laura looked really good together.

"Don't remind me."

"Reg has improved a lot in the last year," I pointed out.

"It's not that…"

"What, then?"

"I'm worried he can't separate… that he likes me too much."

"Oh. Yeah. That could be a problem." It made sense, actually. If anyone was going to confuse stage romance with the real thing it would be Reg. Poor guy. He really couldn't win for losing. "I think you're just going to have to be really honest with him."

"That's what I'm afraid of," she said.

I didn't have a chance to answer, because Dr. Crusher had come to stand in the front of the room, and Data had taken the seat behind me, the one that Laura had vacated.

"Alright, people," she said, as the rest of the cast stopped their conversations. "Since we have our Jo and Professor Bhaer back we're going to mix things up a little and rehearse Act II first. Places, please."

Data and I had been running lines together during the time we were on Terlina III, but he hadn't done them in the Professor's German accent. When he finally did come into the show in the middle of Act II, I was impressed. The accent he'd chosen was much better than the English one I'd heard him use in other productions, and he played the part with a softness that he didn't often display in public.

I think I fell in love with him all over again.

Finally, we got to the last scene in the play, after he's delivered the proof of Jo's book to her, and then left her house, assuming that she was the March sister who had married Laurie Laurence.

"Heart's dearest," Data spoke the line so gently, "why do you cry?"

"Because you're going away," I replied, putting a sob in my voice.

Data favored me with the kind of gentle smile that he only produced when acting. "Jo, listen to me: I haf nothing but much love to gif you. I was so afraid when I heard you were 'Mrs. Laurence' ... - but now all is well!"

"Good," the doctor interrupted us. "Now, Data, I want you to start to kneel, as if you're proposing to Zoe, but then remember that it's raining, and the ground is muddy."

Data tried a couple of different versions of what Dr. Crusher requested, and finally settled on something that we all liked, then added the line, "My dear, can you make a little place in your heart for old Fritz?"

Rehearsal went on. It was only the scenes that both Data and I were in that hadn't been blocked, because while we'd both missed the last two weeks, I'd been in rehearsals during the times he hadn't been able to break away from duty before that.

Finally, we got to the last two speeches of the play, and even though we were working that night without a set or props, the doctor stopped us before we got to that point, and handed Data an umbrella to hold over us both. "You're going to need to figure out how to hold it and still do the kiss," she said. "I don't want to have to reblock it."

Data nodded once. "I concur, Doctor," he said in his usual voice. Then he turned back to me, and allowed – or rather invoked – that softer version of his expression, and used the accent again. "Ah! Thou gifest me such hope and courage, and I haf nothing to gif back but a full heart and these empty hands!"

Looking up at him, under the umbrella, even without actual rain falling on us, I was suddenly very aware that I would be leaving soon, that we'd be having our own version of that moment, albeit in reverse. I took a deep breath and slid my hands into his, one around the umbrella handle, one not. "Not empty now," I said.

Data kissed me.

And it was awful.

Oh, as kisses go it wasn't bad, but it was nothing like the way he usually kissed me. It was flat and distant, and it felt staged.

The doctor seemed to agree with me, because she ended rehearsal then, but asked the two of us to stay, waiting for our cast mates to exit the room before she asked, "You were doing so well, and then everything fizzled when you kissed. What happened?"

"I do not know, Doctor," Data said. "I have been concerned that I would not be able to adequately convey Professor Bhaer's love for Jo, but I did not believe it would impact an action so familiar to me."

"Kissing Zoe, you mean?"

I could feel myself blushing a little, even as Data answered, "Exactly."

"Hmm."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," Dr. Crusher admitted. "Did something happen between you two while you were away?"

I shook my head. "Nothing rift-y, if that's what you mean."

She smiled at my choice of language, then turned to Data. "I am aware of nothing that would adversely affect the way Zoe and I interact," he stated.

"Hmm," she said again. "Well, we have time. Don't either of you worry too much. It might have just been the fact that you don't typically kiss in public. Good work otherwise. See you Thursday."

"You're on duty tonight, aren't you?" I asked Data after we'd been left alone in the room.

"I have command of the bridge over night, yes," he confirmed. "There is time for me to escort you home and have tea before my shift begins."

"I'd like that," I said, thinking of sneaking in some cuddle-time on his couch, and then I realized. "Oh, wait, you mean Mom's… not… " I blushed. "Sorry. But yes, I'd like to have tea with you, as long as you don't mind if Mom and Ed join us."

"I do not mind," he said. I gathered my belongings and he guided me to the doors with his hand at the small of my back.

A tall man in clothes that looked out of place, even considering the myriad of personal styles represented by the people who lived and worked on the Enterprise, practically jumped us as we emerged into the corridor.

"Commander Data," he said, "and the lovely… wait… you're not… Zoe Harris… the actress? No, of course you are. They said you'd met when she was young. Anyway, I'd hoped to see you in rehearsal."

"I am afraid you missed that opportunity, sir." Data answered him. "However, you are correct in that this is Zoe Harris." Data's hand slid around my waist, and he pulled me slightly toward him in a move that felt more protective than possessive. "Do you require something from my girlfriend or myself? I was just escorting Zoe home."

Abruptly, the stranger stuck his hand out toward me. "Rasmussen," he said, apparently introducing himself. "Professor Berlinghoff Rasmussen. Here doing research. I'd love to sit down with you, find out what it's really like being a civilian on a starship. And dating an android… must be kind of… interesting."

"Nice to meet you," I said, noncommittally. Then I faked a yawn. "Data, I'm sorry, I'm really tired."

"Professor, if you contact me in the morning, I will gladly arrange for a more appropriate venue where you may speak with Zoe, if she is willing. For now, however, we must excuse ourselves."

"Ah, of course. Young love, and all that." He made a show of smiling and backing off, disappearing in the opposite direction of where Data and I were headed.

I held my tongue until we were in the turbo-lift, and then I asked. "Research? Actress? Who is that guy? And… is he what you and Dr. Crusher were whispering about earlier?"

The doors whooshed open, and we were on deck ten, heading to my mother's quarters, where both my mother and her fiancé were very much at home, watching a video on the couch. Well, that's what they probably started out doing, but I could see how mussed my mother's hair was, and both of them were kind of sweaty and breathless.

Bogart, Ed's Labrador, got up from the floor to greet us, sniffing Data briefly, and then moving to me. I reached down to give him head-fusses. "Hey, Bogie… you acting as chaperone tonight?" The dog slobbered all over my hands in response.

Amused, Ed called him back to his original position. "Down, boy," he told the dog. "Stay."

Something about the way he was sitting told me that, despite his chuckling, he and my mother had been doing a lot more than I'd originally surmised. Seriously? On the couch? Then again, Data and I had done our fair share of canoodling on his couch.

My mother, on the other hand, was sitting up straighter on the couch, adjusting the top of her lounging pajamas. "Hello, kiddo," she greeted automatically, "Data. I wasn't expecting you home tonight, Zoe."

I blinked at her, confused. "It's a school night," I said. I had, after all, promised to spend school nights at home, at least until I turned eighteen. The facts of my emancipation and the trip to Terlina hadn't negated that promise, as far as I was aware. "Last I checked, I still lived here."

"Of course it is," she said, "and you do, it's just… you're very early."

"Data has the bridge overnight," I added. "We were going to have tea before he had to report. I didn't think we'd be interrupting – Mom, would you rather we not be here?"

Ed, I noticed, had started laughing, while my mother was blushing. "Zoe, if Data doesn't mind you staying in his quarters tonight, maybe you'd better…"

"You're kicking me out?" I asked, doing my best indignant voice. "The one night I'm NOT racing back here to make curfew, you decide to kick me out? Gee, thanks for that." But the truth was, I thought the whole thing was hilarious, and it was all I could do to keep from laughing. "Data, are you accepting refugees tonight?"

The android had been quiet, watching the familial by-play, but when I addressed him directly, he answered simply, "You are not a refugee, Zoe. Come, we will have our tea at home." Had he put just a little bit of emphasis on that last word? I wasn't sure.

Back in Data's quarters, I let the laughter come out. "I'm sorry," I said to him. "It's just… I never expected to walk in on my mother."

"She and Ed are in a committed relationship and planning a wedding," Data said. "Is it unusual for them to engage in amorous activities?"

"Not at all," I took a beat, "It's just that they don't typically do their 'engaging' in the living room when they know I'm due home."

"In their defense, you have made it a habit not to be home until the last moment of your agreed-upon curfew of zero-two hundred hours."

"That's fair." I took a deep breath. "Five weeks, roughly, and it won't be an issue anymore because I won't be here. And then six months later…" I glanced up at him. "By Christmas, these rooms really will be our home."

"I am looking forward to that time. This space seems much more complete when you are sharing it with me." He went to the replicator, ordered two cups of tea, and brought them to the couch. "I do not believe Professor Rasmussen is entirely trustworthy," he said, returning to our earlier discussion. He sat down, and passed one of the tea cups to me.

"But the captain has asked that we cooperate within reason. If you wish to talk with him, I do not believe it will cause any harm." He explained further that the professor was an historian from the twenty-sixth century. "On a separate note, we are approaching Panthera IV, and I will likely be involved in the mission there. I may not have a lot of time to devote to you until we have reached a resolution."

"I've never complained about you having to spend time on work, Data." It was true. I only ever complained about what that work sometimes entailed, and even then, it wasn't so much complaining as expressing concern.

"No, you have not. But you have stated that you prefer to be as informed as possible, and I am attempting to comply with that request."

"There was an asteroid strike, or something, wasn't there? I saw it in the news feeds."

"Yes. The planet's atmosphere has reacted poorly, and we will be attempting to correct that."

"Does it ever make you feel like you have too much power – correcting the atmospheric fault of an entire planet?"

He actually appeared to think it over. "Perhaps," he said. "We have had similar missions before, and we have not always been successful. However, the risk of doing nothing is generally greater than the risk of attempting something."

"Even if you have no clue whether or not it will work?" I asked, assuming our conversation was theoretical.

"Even if," he said, gravely. He fell silent then as did I, and we finished our tea that way, just enjoying each other's presence. Just before midnight, he collected both of our empty cups and recycled them, then went to have a quick sonic shower and change to a fresh uniform.

When he returned, looking every inch the perfect officer, I got off the couch to kiss him goodbye, putting more into that kiss than was typical when he was just going to the bridge. I'm not sure why. I think I was just feeling that six-month separation looming over us. I didn't tell him I loved him – he knew what I felt - and sometimes even we didn't need words.

"I will be home shortly after zero-six hundred hours," he said. Dog watches on the bridge or in engineering, two places that involved more monitoring than active work most of the time, were typically only four- or six-hour shifts. "If something keeps me longer than zero-six-thirty, I will let you know. Do not stay up too late."

"Hadn't planned to," I said. "Go be in charge." I gave him a playful shove to the chest, and watched as he turned and left.

(=A=)

Stardate 45357.42

(Friday, 10 May 2368, 19:35 hours, ship's time)

"It's not often I get to enjoy the presence of my favorite daughter on a Friday night," my mother teased. "Data's busy?"

"On duty until midnight," I confirmed. We were sharing a sushi boat – basically a bento box for two served on a tray shaped like a boat – in Ten-Forward. "He and Geordi have been putting in really scary hours on this mission, and I think even Data was beginning to be exasperated by Dr. Rasmussen, but apparently he's now a different kind of 'honored guest.'"

"I heard that," Mom said, as she dipped a piece of sushi into wasabi-laced soy sauce, then tapped it lightly on the side of her dish to get rid of any drips. "I'm hoping to talk with him before he's transferred to the authorities at the next starbase. It's not every day you get to talk to someone from the past first-hand." She popped the sushi into her mouth.

"Ever the anthropologist," I teased. "What does your training tell you about coming-of-age rituals among humans?" I asked her, then, attempting to segue into the topics I needed to discuss.

"Do I need wine for this conversation?" she quipped.

"With sushi? Dad says beer's better."

"For all your father's flaws, an uneducated palate isn't one of them," Mom agreed. "I have a feeling your question isn't so much about coming of age rituals in general as it is about yourself?"

"Guilty as charged," I agreed. "Two things. One… I got the info-pack from Idyllwild's employee resource liaison, and I thought you might like to join me on the holodeck to look at prospective apartments this weekend." I hesitated, then amended, "Well, join us. I asked Data if he'd be part of the process. I hope that's okay with you."

I saw my mother's eyebrow quirk, and saw her swallow, as if she were forcing herself to measure her reaction. "Data has plans to visit you while you're on Earth?"

"He does," I said. "At least once, and then there's your wedding. I'm assuming he's invited as my date if not in his own right?" My mother and Ed had set their wedding for the first weekend of October, which would be my last weekend before the tour part of my time away.

"The two of you are planning to stay together, then?" she asked. I could see in her face that she was trying not to criticize, or be obviously concerned.

"We are." As soon as I said it out loud, something shifted inside me, as if by telling my mother, I'd killed all my own doubts. "And he's asked me to move in with him when I come back. Which was actually the second thing I wanted to bring up."

I expected her to yell at me. I expected her to give me a list of reasons why it was a bad idea to be so committed so young. Instead, her eyes seemed to grow misty, and she reached across the table for my hand. "Oh, Zoe… are you sure you want that? It's a big step."

I put my hand in hers, and felt her callouses when she squeezed my fingers. "Mom, I'm there half the time anyway, and when I'm not… well, things like Tuesday happen, and it's embarrassing for all of us." But I knew she meant more than just where I hung my clothing and spent the night. Calmly, even gravely, I told her, "I know I'm young. I know I still have to finish school here, and go to college, and start a career, but I also know that Data's who I want. We haven't talked about anything specific – beyond living together, I mean – but this isn't just me mooning over a crush. We both want a future together. It's just a little too early to know exactly what that future will look like."

There are moments when you suddenly see the person you're talking to through completely different eyes. My mother, in that instant, looked small. Not shrunken or anything, but small, as if I no longer had this looming parent across from me, but instead just a person. An older, wiser person who loved me unconditionally, but still, a person.

I'm pretty sure she was having a similar experience on the other side of the table, because, again, she surprised me with her reaction. "You're not asking for permission, are you?"

I shook my head. "No, Mom. I'm not. I don't have to. Even if I wasn't emancipated now, by the time I get back I'll be within a month of my eighteenth birthday."

"And six months away will put some distance between you and the people who see you only as a student."

I picked up a gyoza with my own chopsticks. "There is that. I hesitated a moment, then asked, "Do you ever feel like there's not enough time? I'm leaving in three weeks, and I feel like I have so much going on, and I can't even stop and breathe."

"That's pretty normal, kiddo. You're anxious to start the next part of your life-chomping at the bit, so to speak. For the next three weeks your life is going to be pretty much 'hurry up and wait.'"

"Yeah, that's kind of what it feels like." I grew quiet, almost pensive, toying with my food for a few moments. In a smaller voice, I asked. "Is it normal to feel like you're outgrowing your friends? I was going to ask Counselor Troi, but…" I shrugged. "I think this might be more a mom-thing, too."

"Oh, Zoificus, you do like to challenge me."

"Hey, at least I'm not asking for sex advice this time."

"There is that," my mother said, her dry tone so much better than mine was. "You and your friends are in different stages of your lives right now. Annette is leaving for college, which means she's making the break from family support, just like you are, but she's also going to a safe, structured kind of life. Dana is a little behind you both – she's still very much tied to her father, and that's okay. She's been a good friend to you, though, so maybe don't cut her off. You may not feel like you're clicking right now, but by the time you come home? I have a feeling she'll have found her own footing."

"And me?" I asked. Mom-perspective was turning out to be pretty helpful.

"You're already into a new part of your own life," she said. "Going off on your first real job, living on your own while you're away, moving in with your…" she hesitated, apparently choosing a word, "…lover. It's normal for you to feel like you've left your girlhood friendships behind right now."

"I guess. I just wish… I wish there was more time. I almost wish I wasn't doing this play, just so I could spend time making memories."

"That's also fairly normal," Mom said. "But I think it's good that you're doing the play. Theater and music have always been an escape for you, and now they're becoming a destination instead."

"You have to admit, all things considered, Little Women is frighteningly appropriate."

"Yes, it's almost as if Dr. Crusher picked it with a purpose in mind," my mother teased.

I smiled at that, and at her, and then returned to one of earlier topics. "So, apartment hunting? Data's never had to look for housing before, and I really want your insight."

My mother gave me her patented gushy-mom look. "Just tell me when."

(=A=)

Stardate 45376.99

(Friday, 17 May 2368, 23:32 hours, ship's time)

Another week had gone by. We'd had three more rehearsals after our first one together, and Data's kiss at the end of the show, the kiss that the entire play built toward, was still falling flat. After the third failure, Dr. Crusher had asked us to come and rehearse with just her, which is how we'd spent the two hours immediately after dinner. Finally, she'd released us, saying, "I'm going to leave this up to you. There's something going on between you that you're not talking about, or haven't recognized. Please figure it out, because otherwise, you're perfect together."

Then she'd shooed us out of 'her' auditorium.

Data had suggested returning to his quarters for tea and analysis, but I'd come up with an alternate plan. "Come with me to the aquatics lab," I invited. "I want to see if the grace sharks have started pupping yet."

"Lt. Nguyen's last report implied that they would not be doing so before you leave the ship," he pointed out. "Do you have information to the contrary?"

"No. But animals tend to give birth when they're ready, rather than adhering to a calendar. Besides, the lab is relaxing, especially at night when it's empty."

"While I will gladly go with you to the lab if you wish," Data said, "I suspect that delaying our return home is an attempt to avoid discussing the problem with our scene. Am I mistaken?"

Data's tone was guileless, and his features were as open as they ever were. He expected the truth from me, and there was no way I could give him anything else, even if I'd wanted to. "No," I admitted. "You're not mistaken."

We entered the turbo-lift, both of us uncharacteristically quiet as it moved laterally and then vertically until we reached the deck where Data lived, but before we could exit, he said, "Zoe, wait." Then he instructed the doors to close, and gave the computer instructions to convey us to the biology labs anyway.

"Data?"

"Perhaps a visit to the grace sharks would not be amiss after all," he said. "Sometimes a 'change of scene' can be beneficial."

When we arrived at our updated destination, I took his hand and led him to the bench in front of the shark tank. The room was cool, and illuminated in soft nighttime blue, and the only sounds were the burbling of the pumps and the occasional slap of the water against the top of the tank when one of the sharks took a sharper-than-usual turn. "Confession time," I said softly, sitting on the bench, and tugging his hand so that he would join me. "Last September, the night we first kissed… the night we got Lore's data solid out of my tongue?" I waited for his confirmation that he knew the night I meant, as if there was doubt. "When I ran from your quarters, I came here. I think, in the back of my mind, I had some schoolgirl fantasy that you'd come after me, and kiss me for real."

"I did kiss you 'for real' that night," he told me. "Had you not ended that kiss so abruptly, I am not certain that I would have stopped… us."

I scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arm around me. Resting my head against his shoulder, I said softly. "I think I know why our stage kiss isn't working."

Data nuzzled my hair for a moment before he said, "You believe it is related to the 'gift' from Lore, do you not?"

"Kind of. We haven't… I know what you told me, that you felt, and I know what I saw, and how that kiss felt to me. But we've been home almost two weeks, and we haven't really talked about it."

"I wanted to give you the words," he said quietly. "You deserve love, Zoe. I can give you companionship, familiarity, and loyalty. I am devoted to you, and I am committed to you – to us – but…"

I sat up straight, and shushed him with a finger pressed to his lips. "I've been talking a lot with Counselor Troi over the last year," I said, even though I knew he was aware of the number of sessions I'd had with her. "More so since… since Melona, and one of the things we've talked about is the fact that love isn't always an emotion. It's also a condition. All the things you just listed? Added together, by any definition, they equal love. Or at least, they come as close to it as possible, all things considered. I mean it when I tell you that I don't feel like anything's lacking in our relationship, Data, because nothing is. After our trip, I don't even have the worry, anymore, that if you could feel love, you wouldn't feel it for me."

"I never considered that I would not," he said. "Nor did I realize that you had such a concern. I do, however, fail to understand how this is relevant to the problem we are having on stage."

"Do you? It's because you're trying to reproduce the feeling you had from the trip, in your performance."

I could almost feel the dots connecting inside Data's head. "That is a possibility I had not considered," he said, and his voice made it obvious that he understood. "When I kiss you as you, my subroutines recognize the action as an expression of all of the conditions I previously listed. But when we are on stage, and I am attempting to convey the feelings the professor has for Jo, it is the memory of what I felt in that moment in my father's laboratory that becomes preeminent."

"I know you initially began experimenting with theater as an attempt to invoke your own emotions," I began, "but maybe this is one of those times when instead of trying to be a 'method' actor, you should go for a more outside-in approach." I shrugged. "Alternatively, you could just kiss me the way you always kiss me."

"On stage?"

"No, in the back row during the second matinee," I teased. "Yes, on stage."

He nodded. "Ah. I see. Perhaps that will work."

"I'm sure it will." I started to rest my head on his shoulder again, but paused, adding, "Maybe don't try that with any other scene partners while I'm away."

"No," Data agreed. "I will not."

We sat in silence for a while, just watching the sharks swim in their gentle circles.

(=A=)

Stardate 45390.04

(Wednesday, 22 May 2368, 18:11 hours, ship's time)

"I'm sorry the soliton wave experiment didn't work," I said to Geordi. He, Data, and I were sharing a table in Ten-Forward, grabbing an early dinner before they went to their weekly poker game, and I went to spar with the captain. (When the officers' game had shifted to Wednesdays to accommodate the rehearsal schedule for Little Women, so, too, had Captain Picard's exercise schedule. I wasn't certain if he'd changed his schedule to avoid being in the gym when senior staff was likely to be on the loose, or if it was for my benefit, and I had no intention of asking.) We hadn't actually planned to be a threesome, but the lounge was unusually crowded, even for a peak time. "I kind of liked the image of a starship surfing through space." I tossed my hair and put on my best surfer-girl accent. "Dude, it would have been gnarly."

"See!" The engineer said, gesturing to me, "That is the kind of reaction I'd been hoping for from you and Worf!"

"But Geordi," Data pointed out, "such a reaction would have been inappropriate considering the ultimate failure of the experiment."

I opened my mouth to intercede, but before I could speak a shadow loomed over me, and a deep voice rumbled, "Excuse me, sirs, but there are no empty tables. May we share yours?" I looked up to see Worf and his recently-arrived son, Alexander. I smiled at the boy, and saw the flicker of a return smile before his features morphed into an expression just this side of sullen.

Data and Geordi exchanged a look before the former said to the Klingon, "As long as Zoe does not mind, you are welcome to join us."

I turned from the boy to the android sitting, a little startled that he was leaving the decision to me, but despite the facts that I barely know Lt. Worf, and was fairly certain that he wasn't all that impressed with me my hesitation was less than the space of a breath. "You're more than welcome, of course."

The three of us adjusted our chairs so accommodate the two Klingons, which put me next to Data on one side with Alexander on the other. "We've met before," I said to him. "Do you remember?"

"You took me to see the bat rays," he said. "Are they still there?"

I shook my head. "They were released, put back into the Pacific Ocean on Earth, but right now there are some sharks in the aquatics lab, and I think one of the other labs has some rare reptiles."

"Alexander has already seen the reptiles," Worf intoned. A troubled expression flickered on his son's face and he softened his voice, and addressed the child. "But we have not seen the sharks. Perhaps we could visit the lab after dinner?"

"I'd like that, Father."

After that the conversation became a lot less stilted. I'd had a feeling the three officers would end up 'talking shop,' and I wasn't wrong. They were discussing the politics of rehabilitating rare animals on different worlds, something that my work with the sharks had me interested in as well. Both Data and Geordi made a point of inviting my input, but as much as I was enjoying being treated as an equal member of the group, I was also watching Alexander shrink into himself.

When Guinan stopped by to check in with all of us, and ask if anyone wanted dessert, I jumped at the offer. "Me, please," I said. "Alexander, have you ever had a dish called 'potting soil?'"

The boy shook his head, "You can't eat dirt."

"Actually, you can," I corrected. "Though I wouldn't recommend it. Tastes like sand." I grinned at him. "Potting soil – the food – is a dessert. It's chocolate pudding served in a candy shell shaped like a terra cotta planter. It has cookie crumbs on top, to make it look like fresh ground, and – this is the best part – there are gummi worms buried in the pudding."

"Gummi worms?" he asked with more energy and interest than he'd shown during the entire meal to that point. "What's that?"

"They're jelly candies," Guinan explained.

"They're the perfect blend of gross and delicious," I elaborated. "And they come in funky colors that can turn your tongue red or blue or purple."

"Father, can I have potting soil?" Alexander asked.

Worf looked at me, and just for a second, his eyes held a hint of amusement, and his mouth quirked into a mischievous smile. "You may," he told his son. "But only if you share it with me. It was my favorite dessert when I was your age."

I met Guinan's eyes, and traded grins with her. "Three orders of potting soil, please," I told her. "And spoons for everyone."

Watching three grown men digging gummi worms out of pudding should not have been as entertaining as it was.

At one point, though, when I was chatting with Alexander about the green and blue worm he'd just extracted from the bottom of his pudding, I'd caught a glimpse of Data's face, and the thoughtful expression that was in evidence to people who knew what to look for.

I made a mental note to ask him about it later.

(=A=)

"Your form is improving, Zoe. Good work," Captain Picard said when we'd both collapsed, breathless, onto the bench in our section of the gym. He'd started me on the heavy bag, and then we'd actually been sparring with each other. I'd felt really clumsy at first, but he'd been patient about telling me how to stand and move and when to use my feet.

He handed me a sports-bottle of water, and I started chugging it before he reminded me to slow down.

"Sorry," I said. "I'm really thirsty."

"You should be. We worked for over an hour."

"Captain," I said, turning slightly on the bench so I could see his face. "Thank you for this. When… when I usurped your training room that night, all I could think was that I needed to hit things."

"And since then?"

"There are days when I'm fine, and days when I want to curl into a ball and hide from the world, and days when slugging things is the only thing that helps."

"I suspect that's fairly usual," he said in the tone that seemed dry, but also meant that he was speaking from experience.

"Yeah, probably." I hesitated for a moment, then took a breath and asked. "Is there any chance you could recommend anyone to coach me in San Francisco? I've asked Counselor Troi for a list of therapists, as well, but… sometimes I need the physical outlet more than I need the talking."

"I'm not well-versed in boxing coaches, I'm afraid," he said. "But I know someone who is. I'll contact him and introduce you."

"Thank you," I said again. "I'm going to miss these evenings with you, sir."

"If you'd like to continue on as my sparring partner when you return, I'll ensure that my schedule accommodates it." He pronounced 'schedule' with a soft 'ch' and it made me smile.

"I wouldn't want to impose," I said.

"It's not an imposition, if you're being invited," he pointed out. "You won't be meeting me next week, will you?"

"Probably not," I admitted. "I'll probably be in the middle of packing, and trying to spend as much time as possible with my mother and Data."

"Then if we don't speak again before you leave, let me wish you well on your new adventure. I'm told you're quite the correspondent when you're travelling."

"I guess I am," I said. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do qualifies as an adventure, though."

He shared his short, staccato laughter with me. "I have found, Zoe, that adventure can be found in even the most ordinary things, if you know how to look for it. Include me in your correspondence from time to time. I've always wondered what a life in theatre would be like."

"I'll do that, sir," I said, rising from the bench. "And thank you again."

He rose as well, his innate sense of courtesy dictating that he had to walk me at least to the door. At the entryway, I paused. A simple goodbye didn't seem enough, so I offered my hand. "It's been an honor getting to know you a little bit, Captain."

He met me halfway, with a handshake that was as firm, as crisp, as I suspected it would be. "Make us proud, Zoe," he said.

I could only echo the words Data usually gave me when he was leaving, and I was instructing him to come home. "I promise to try."

(=A=)

Stardate 45395.77

(Friday, 24 May 2368, 20:31 hours, ship's time)

The holodeck was jumping. Annette and Ray had made the reservation, selecting the smallest one, holodeck four, and loading a popular dance club program. Annette, Dana, and I had spent a good chunk of the early evening in my room at Mom's, picking the perfect outfits and hair. It was the last time the three of us would all be together, and we were determined to make it spectacular.

It was supposed to be an evening of fun and frolic to celebrate the end of the school year and mark one of Annette's last night's aboard-ship. Dancing and dishing with friends had been the original plan, but somehow it had morphed into something larger. A bunch of the younger set from the lower decks – high school students both ahead and behind of us – Annette was not the only graduating senior, ensigns, a few cadets and a sprinkling of civilians on internships or externships or semesters in space - had joined the party, and it had turned into a raucous event with a driving dance beat and pulsing strobe lights.

A year before I would have reveled in such a party. I would have danced with everyone, and probably hacked the replicator to get real booze.

Instead, I was itchy from the glitter in my make-up, and bored out of my skull. I hadn't realized dating Data had changed me so much, but I would have given anything to be learning another ancient ballroom dance from him, or just hanging out in his quarters, reading and talking and just being together.

Sitting at one of the tables, sipping some fruity concoction that tasted a lot stronger than synthehol was supposed to, my thoughts kept turning to the conversation Dana, Annette and I had at the pool a couple weeks earlier, and the later one I'd had with my mother at dinner. Our trio was breaking up, and our lives were starting to move in different directions. Sure, Dana and I would be back on the ship together once I returned for the spring semester, but even then, I'd only be a part-time student.

"Zoe, dance with me, please?" Ray Barnett asked when Annette dropped into the seat opposite mine, breathing heavily. "You've been sitting here being melancholy all night.

"I'm not melancholy, just… reflective," I said.

"Details, details," Annette teased. "Dance with him, Zo', please? I need a break, and it's not normal for you to be the one sitting still."

I set my drink aside. "Sure," I said. "Why not?" I followed Ray onto the dance floor trying to lose myself in the generic techno-pop music that was more beat than melody. It should have been weird dancing with my best friend's boyfriend, but Ray had styled himself as my non-biological brother, and I enjoyed the security of that relationship.

"Where's your boyfriend tonight?" Ray teased as we fell into rhythm together. "Did you even invite him? I don't think it's really his scene."

"I told him he was welcome to pop by if he wanted to, and he politely declined," I explained. "He's on the bridge 'til midnight, anyway."

"Does Commander Data even dance?" The look on Ray's face implied that he couldn't imagine such a thing.

"Actually, he's an amazing dancer," I assured my friend. "But he prefers music that doesn't threaten to deafen the average humanoid. Ballroom. He dances ballroom. And tap."

"Hey, change partners!" Laura Gilbert, the ensign who was playing Meg in Little Women with me said. She was dancing with one of the Bass brothers – I wasn't sure if it was Carvel or Joren – twin ensigns, one of whom specialized in sciences, the other was command track.

"Sure," I said. Apparently that was my word of the evening. Ray and Laura moved off and I admitted to my new partner, "I'm sorry, I know you're a Bass, but I don't know which one you are."

"Carvel," he said. "Joren never comes to parties. You're Commander Data's girlfriend, aren't you? I've seen you around."

"I'm Zoe," I told him. "And yes, I'm dating Data." I hadn't ever been identified that way before and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

I stayed on the dance floor for three more songs, with three more partners, and then I returned to the table where I'd left Annette. She and Ray were both there, as were Dana and Josh. "Where'd all these people come from?" Dana asked. "Do we even know any of them?"

"I recognized a few," I said. "I guess it's not a bad thing, meeting new people."

"Says the woman who's practically a hermit," Josh teased. "Zoe, just because you've found your One True Love, it doesn't mean you can't socialize with us plebes."

"You're not a plebe," I said. "And I guess you're right, I just…" But the words I was going to say were lost as a new wave of people invaded the space and the music got cranked up even louder.

I thought about leaving more than once, but somehow exiting the holodeck felt like it would also be exiting my relationship with my friends, and I really didn't want that. Around midnight, though, when pretty much no one we knew was still present, we began to disperse.

Annette and Ray disappeared about then, probably desperate for some couple-time in their few remaining nights together. Rryl and Serena (who had arrived late) split after that, and then Josh and Dana started to excuse themselves as well.

"Zoe, we don't want to leave you here alone," Dana said., proving in that moment, why she was still my best friend, even though I'd been spending more one-on-one time with Annette. "I thought Data would be coming to fetch you."

"It's barely twelve-thirty," I said. "We didn't have specific plans." We did, however, have a routine of me spending Friday nights in his quarters. I just wasn't sure if that's where I was supposed to go when we hadn't actually talked about anything more than his duty schedule and my plans to attend the party. "Will it cramp your style if I walk back home with you two?" Like my mother, their parents both had quarters on deck ten.

"Of course not," Dana answered.

"Like you even have to ask," Josh tacked on.

We were all quiet as we walked to the lift, but it was the kind of quiet that comes with easy camaraderie. Even so, Dana reached out to hug me at my mother's door. "Let's have lunch on Monday, okay?" she asked.

"Definitely," I said. "Goodnight, you two."

I stepped inside, to find that Mom's door was closed, which meant she and Ed had already gone to bed. I went to my room and sat on the bed, but I felt like I didn't belong there anymore. I reached inside the top of my dress to activate the comm-badge I'd hidden there – I may have agreed to wear one, but I'd never agreed to let it show – but the door chime sounded before I could, and I got up to answer it.

I wasn't at all surprised to meet my favorite pair of golden eyes when the door slid open.

"Data... is something wrong?"

"I came here to ascertain that myself," he said, speaking in a tone that made it clear he was perplexed, "While we did not discuss it explicitly, I assumed you would be coming home after your party. Did you intend for me to escort you back? Have I erred in some way?"

I answered by throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him.

Taken aback, it took him a moment to respond, but while he met my kiss, he also ended it much sooner than was typical, holding me away from him. "While I appreciate the exuberance of your greeting, I am… confused."

I laughed softly. "You didn't err. I did. I should have asked you if you wanted me to come over after. Spending weekends with you has become such a routine… but even so, we usually confirm, and when we didn't I was…" I stopped. "Look, most of my weekend clothes are at your place anyway. Can we talk about this, there? I don't want to disturb Mom and Ed."

"Of course, Zoe."

(=A=)

Stardate 45396.37

(Saturday, 25 May 2368, 01:47 hours, ship's time)

"That's better," I said to Data as I joined him on the couch with my hair down, my face make-up-free, and dressed in one of the never-worn-until-I-claimed-them Starfleet Academy t-shirts, instead of the dress I'd had on before.

He nodded once. "You do seem more comfortable." He handed me a steaming mug, telling me, "It is chamomile."

I smiled and breathed in the faintly sweet, herbal scent of the tea. "You're trying to lull me to sleep," I accused. "Not that I mind, it's been a weird day."

"Indeed," he responded, calm as ever. "Will you explain to me now why you felt uncomfortable coming here when you were… I believe your term would be… 'partied out?'"

I made a conciliatory gesture with my head and eyes, acknowledging his attempt at my slang. "Ever since we walked in on Mom and Ed, I've felt all betwixt and between," I confessed. "Annette and Rryl are leaving the ship for good. Josh, Dana, and I are all going separate ways for the summer, and I won't be back aboard until December, and Mom's quarters may only be two decks away from here, but they don't feel like home anymore."

Anyone else would have gently mocked me for that rant. Data treated it as seriously as he did almost everything else. "Perhaps," he said gently, "that is because they are not your home anymore." "I still have a bit more than a week before I leave," I reminded him.

"That is true. However, there is nothing that precludes you from moving your belongings here now. It is likely, now that you are finished with classes for the term, that you will be spending your nights here; is it not?"

"Probably," I admitted. "But there's a reason for maintaining at least the semblance that I still live with my mother."

"Please elaborate."

"I'm seventeen. I may be legal. I may even be emancipated, but until a few hours ago, I was very visibly a student."

"I see," he said flatly. "You are concerned for your reputation."

"God, how can you be so fucking brilliant at ninety-nine percent of all things, and fail to see the reality of this situation?" I set down the mug I'd been holding because I was afraid I would throw it in frustration. "You're the only sentient android in Starfleet. You're third in command of the flagship. I'm not entirely clueless. I know you're watched more carefully than any other officer with a similar position. Data, I couldn't care less about my reputation. I'm concerned about yours. I always have been."

"I am aware of all of these things, Zoe. Contrary to the opinion of many, I am not naïve."

"You sure about that?"

"Do you wish me to express the level of my certainty to ten decimal places?"

I was too stunned by his use of sarcasm to even begin to respond to that question, which is a good thing, because I was fairly certain it was rhetorical.

Data confirmed my assessment by continuing, in a much gentler tone, "Do you believe that I have not considered all of the points you have mentioned, or that I did not consider them before I allowed our relationship to progress this far?"

"We've never really discussed it in any depth," I pointed out, working to remain calm, so that this conversation would remain a discussion, and not escalate into something else. "We've acknowledged that I'm… painfully young. We've talked about the fact that we both want a future together. We've discussed the fact that breaking up is not an option. You asked me what I wanted, and when I told you I was more at home here than anywhere else, we agreed I would move in when I get back."

"You agreed," he said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"When we discussed cohabitating, you suggested that it would reflect poorly upon me, and I rejected that suggestion. Then you said that it would harm your relationship with your mother. Based on recent events, I do not believe that to be true any longer." He paused, giving me time to really absorb his words. "I also believe that something happened this evening to 'spook' you. If you are uncertain about our relationship, Zoe…"

"I'm not," I said. "I mean, I worry about your reputation, yes, but aside from that? If I wasn't sure about us, I wouldn't be here, now."

"But something did occur at the party." It wasn't a question, and I could tell he expected me to explain.

"Someone at the party - actually, a lot of 'someones' - one of the civilian scientists, a couple of the ensigns, one of the Bass brothers - didn't know my name. I was dancing with Carvel Bass... It, was just casual dancing – no touching – club dancing, you know?" I waited for his nod. "He said he'd seen me around, and wasn't I Commander Data's girlfriend? And he's not the only one who identified me that way. And, part of me was proud to be recognized that way – it's infinitely preferable to being Commander Harris's daughter, or Maestro Harris's kid – but I also resented it a little, too. I'm not just some accessory; I have my own identity."

"Ah."

"That's all, just 'ah?'"

"What do you wish me to say?" His voice was so quiet. So soft. I wanted to end the conversation and just curl up in his arms.

"Tell me," I began, and then I stopped because I wasn't sure.

"Zoe?"

And then I knew. I knew exactly what to ask him. "Data… will you tell me what you want?"

"I want your belongings next to mine on the shelves, and your clothing brushing against mine in the closet," he said in the same quiet tone. "I want these rooms filled with your presence, even when that presence means that things are not always perfectly tidy. I want to continue exploring music, art, and politics with you, without necessarily adhering to a set schedule."

I sat back in the corner of the couch, staring at him, as moved as I was on the night of my birthday party when he'd managed to tell me he loved me without ever invoking any emotion. I opened my mouth to respond, and then closed it because he clearly wasn't finished.

"I want to come home to you, and I want to be the person you come home to. As much as I wish you were not leaving this ship, I also recognize that you must complete your education and establish a career. I want to support you in those endeavors, to be there for each success, and to be your refuge if you should ever fail."

"Data, that sounds an awful lot like – "

He stopped me. "No, Zoe. This is not a proposal. That would be premature for both of us. It is merely… a wish-list."

"Or a road map," I said.

"Perhaps. Though it is one with topographical details that are necessarily vague."

I had to smile at that. I wanted to give him just as many words in return. Instead, I just said, "Okay."

"O-kay?"

"Mmhmm." I moved across the couch and straddled his lap, facing him. "Okay," I said, and kissed him. "Okay, you just got yourself a roommate." Another kiss, as my hands went to his shoulders, and his arms came around me. "Okay, I believe you aren't avoiding reality." I began unfastening his uniform jacket, working to get access to his skin. "Okay, I trust that we can make this work." The jacket was gone, and my hands were tugging at t-shirt he wore beneath it. "Just… okay."

I heard the twin thuds behind me as he kicked off his boots, and then Data lifted my t-shirt over my head, and leaned forward so I could divest him of his. "Do you wish to relocate to the bed?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Here's good." I kissed him again, wriggling on his lap so that I could reach to undo his trousers.

He stilled my hands. "Let me," he said, and moved just enough that he was able to strip off the rest of his clothing, before his hands went to my hips, first caressing and then easing my underwear away. Our mouths met in another kiss, and then he lifted me just enough so that we could come together in another way.

Data's hands kept me stable, but I was the one in control. That night on the couch, our lovemaking started slow and sweet. His hands kneaded my back as I moved on top of him. My hands guided his head to my neck, to the pulse-point over my carotid artery where I had guided his fingers months before.

His tongue on the sensitive skin there sent me soaring. Slow and sweet became faster, almost frantic. Nearing climax, I whispered, "Bite me." I'd felt his teeth there once, and it had been exquisite.

He froze and he moved his head so he could meet my eyes. "I do not wish to trigger…"

"You won't," I assured him. "Not there."

It took a moment to find our rhythm again, but his mouth at my neck made my completion so much more intense.

I don't know how long Data held me, afterward. I only know that at some point he shifted me into a different position, and carried me to our bed, tucking me into the soft charcoal sheets, and slipping in beside me.

Neither of us spoke, but I heard the soft whirr of a panel opening on his head, and an optical cable being snapped into place, and the familiarity of those soft sounds eased me into sleep with a smile on my face.

(=A=)

Stardate 45397.34

(Saturday, 25 May 2368, 10:16 hours, ship's time)

I still had faint traces of glitter on my skin when I joined Data at the table in the main part of his – no, our – quarters the next morning. I knew this because I could catch the light reflecting off them from the corners of my eyes.

Data had anticipated my needs and had coffee waiting. "The Enterprise has located the Vico," he informed me after I'd finished about half of the mug. "I am due on the bridge at eleven hundred hours, and will likely be part of the away team."

I nodded. "I need to tell my mother we're… accelerating our plans." I said. "Unless you've had second thoughts?"

"I have not. If you are also certain, I have prepared the form transferring your assigned quarters to these rooms. I will need your thumbprint." He handed me a padd with a print scanner, and I read through the document – it was really just so people would know where to find you in an emergency, route mail, allocate resources – and placed my right thumb in the window. "That was surprisingly anticlimactic," I observed.

"Perhaps that is because this is not the end of anything, but a beginning" he countered, as he tapped the controls to send my change of address to the quartermaster and others who had to know. I had to grin, but he continued. "I have arranged for transport tags for your belongings. If you contact Lt. Silva, she will have containers delivered to your mother's quarters, and then transported here."

"It'll give me something to do today, while you're off being an intrepid explorer," I replied, with just the hint of a teasing lilt in my voice. I finished my coffee, and left the table to replicate a second cup and a bowl of fruit and yogurt. "Try to come home in one piece?" I asked, forcing my tone to stay light.

"I will always try," he agreed. He left the table, paused to kiss me and whisper the word "Etudes," and then he left.

I finished breakfast accompanied by a novel on my own padd, checked Spot's litter pan, refilled her water, made the bed, and headed off on my own mission.

(=A=)

My mother was waiting for me when I arrived, but all she did was pull me into a hug. "Data contacted me this morning," she said. "He was concerned that I wouldn't support your decision."

I shook my head, smiling ruefully. "That sneaky… I should be annoyed with him, for going behind my back, but in this case, I'm glad he did."

"You know you can always come home if things don't turn out the way you hope," she said.

"I know," I said out loud, but inside I was thinking, No, Mom. I can't. Whatever happens between Data and me, I can't live with my parents any more. I've gone through too much to be anyone's little girl. "I don't suppose you'd like to help me pack?" I asked, giving her my best winsome look.

Mom laughed. "Oh, Zoificus, I'm going to miss having you around every day."

"Is that a yes?"

It turned out that it was. It also turned out that packing wasn't the horrible task I'd expected it to be, partly because a lot of my clothes had already made their way to Data's, as he'd mentioned, and partly because I just didn't have a lot of stuff in my room on the Enterprise.

At Mom's suggestion, we actually packed the things I'd be leaving on the ship separately from the things I'd likely be taking with me to Earth. "Why do this twice?" she asked, and I had to concede that she had a point.

Once everything was packed, we called for transport, and I stood and looked at my empty room. "Hard to believe I only lived here for two years," I observed. "It felt like a lot longer."

"To you, maybe," Mom said, looping her arm around my waist. "To me, it feels like you were six years old with no front teeth, just yesterday."

"Now, there's a lovely image," I snarked.

"Maternal prerogative," she quipped back.

"I should go," I said, feeling suddenly awkward. "I'd like to get some of this unpacked before Data finishes his shift. Let's do dinner later this week. All of us, or just us, whatever works."

"I'd like that." She walked with me to the door, squeezed me closer for a moment, and then let go.

(=A=)

I wasn't at all surprised when the door chime sounded and Counselor Troi was waiting on the other side. "Hello, Zoe. I haven't seen you in a while."

"It's been less than a week," I reminded her. "Did Data send you?"

"He might have mentioned that you and he had changed your living arrangement. Mind a little company?"

I shook my head. "Mind it we have this talk over chocolate?" I moved aside so she could come all the way into the room. "Packing makes me snacky," I added, "and I've been craving a salted hot chocolate and butter cookies all day, but if you want something else?"

"I'm fine with your suggestion," she said, taking a seat at the table. "Moving in together is a big step," she said a moment later, not even waiting for the replicator to spit out our snack.

"We'd already talked about me moving in when I get back in December," I told her. "Here, careful; it's hot." I placed the first of the two drinks I'd ordered in front of her, then went back to the replicator for the cookies and my drink. "I'm leaving in a week, and I'm here almost all the time, anyway," I added. "My mother was surprisingly on board with the whole thing,"

"Was she?"

"Well, she was wistful, but… yeah. She helped me pack, reminded me I was always welcome to come home. I think… I think she knew this was going to happen."

"And it's Data," Troi put in. "There's an element of safety there."

"Is there?" I asked. "Sometimes I think he's got everyone fooled, and he's going to shock us all with his dark side." I grinned. "Mostly, I just think I'm incredibly lucky. And as for big steps… it's big for him, too. Maybe bigger. I mean, I'm just moving in with my boyfriend. But Data… Data's making this quiet stand that pretty much demands he be viewed as though he were any other person."

"That's very astute."

"I can be, sometimes," I said, only half-teasing. "We had a long talk about it last night. He reminded me that I was the one who wanted to wait until I got back, not him. He seems to think his reputation won't suffer."

"He's probably right."

"Really?"

"Truly." We sat in silence for a few minutes, before the counselor said, "You have another big step coming up. How do you feel about leaving?"

I ate a cookie and considered my answer. "A little nervous," I said. "A lot panicked, but only because I feel like I'm running out of time. But mostly, excited. I want this experience. I want to be out in the world." I sipped some of the salted cocoa and smiled a little. "I'm pretty sure there will be moments when I want to come home, too. I know I'm going to need some help from a counselor from time to time, but I also know that between my parents, you, and Data, I have all the tools and all the support I'm going to need. I'm so ready for this."

The counselor seemed to study me for a long moment. Then she said. "Yes, Zoe, you really are." She was about to say something else, but her comm-badge chirped and she was summoned to sickbay.

"Is it – " I began, but she cut me off.

"If it's Data, you'll be the first to know, but no, I don't think it is."

I could only nod.

(=A=)

Stardate 45406.54

(Tuesday, 28 May 2368, 19:07 hours, ship's time)

"How's your mini-me doing?" I asked Data over dinner on the night of the final dress rehearsal for Little Women. The nickname was meant with humorous affection, but I truly cared about the boy. He'd been the sole survivor from the Vico, rescued in the nick of time by the man I was now living with.

"Timothy is… as well as can be expected," he told me. "I find it ironic that I have spent much of my life attempting to become more human, yet I am now modeling android behavior for a human child."

"You're more human than you know," I said. "You're also a strong and reassuring presence. If I'd lost my whole world, I'd want to adopt your apparent fortitude. He's sleeping and eating, at least, isn't he?"

"As far as I know. I am not aware of how he spends the hours we are not together."

"Well, the elementary kids are still in school. The structure being in class is probably good for him. There's safety in routine." In that, at least, I was speaking from experience. "Josh, Dana, Rryl, Serena, and I are having dinner together in Ten-Forward tomorrow night. Why don't you bring Timothy here for a couple hours? You could play music or paint, or something – give him a taste of what androids do at home."

"You would not object to his presence here?"

I started to retort that they were his quarters, but they weren't, exactly, anymore. I'd officially moved in several days before. "I said a few hours, not forever," I snarked, but I made it obvious that I was teasing. "It must be pretty awful to have counselors basically babysitting you twenty-four/seven," I said. "I mean, I was lucky. I had you watching out for me when Mom was injured during the Borg attack. I never had to go to sleep alone, or deal with a nightmare on my own."

"That is true," Data said. "But even then, you and I had a very different relationship. We already had a close friendship. With Timothy… I recognize that he has 'attached' to me, or, more accurately, to what I am, but that is… all."

"What more do you think you should be perceiving?"

"I am not certain. Perhaps I am seeking to act as a 'father figure.'"

I reached out to touch his hand. "Don't force it. Timothy had parents. Right now, he probably needs friends more than anything." I took another bite of the roasted portabella mushroom I'd chosen for dinner, and washed it down with a sip of cold water. "Data… do you think… do you have plans to try fatherhood again someday?"

"I cannot resurrect Lal, if that is what you mean," he said quietly. "As I said, I consigned her remains to…" he stopped, as the look I was giving him began to sink in. "It is something I would like to experience again," he admitted. "But I do not believe I am 'ready for that' just yet."

"Maybe something in one of your father's hidey-holes will help you."

"I have considered that," he said. "I believe there may even be something in the data we brought back from Terlina III that would help me create a more stable matrix."

"Are you planning to go exploring when the Enterprise is close enough to do so?" I asked.

"I will wait for you to return, if you insist," he said.

I shook my head. "No, that's okay. It's more important that you not waste any opportunities. Just promise me that you won't go alone, and that you'll tell me everything."

"You have my word," he said.

I smiled. "Good." I finished the rest of my meal, and left the table, pausing to hug him from behind and lean around him for a kiss. "Come along, Friedrich, darling, we have a play to do."

"I am ever with thee, heart's dearest," Data answered in the professor's soft German accent.

(=A=)

Stardate 45409.63

(Wednesday, 29 May 2368, 22:12 hours, ship's time)

The distinctive scent of linseed oil assailed my senses when I walked through the door after dinner with my friends, but instead of seeing a pair of black-and-mustard-clad males at work with paints, I found slightly dimmed lights, Data at his desk, and the sleeping form of the young wannabe-android Timothy sprawled on the couch with Spot perched on the backrest, keeping guard.

"He finally crashed?" I asked.

"Approximately twenty-seven minutes, thirteen seconds ago," Data confirmed. "I believe he has been fighting sleep for quite some time, in order to avoid nightmares."

"Poor kid," I said. A part of me wanted to ruffle the boy's hair or give him a hug, but we'd really only met a couple of times, so I resisted. "Are we keeping him here for the night?"

"I considered it," Data answered me. "But Counselor Billings suggested that he would be better off waking up in his own bed. He is en route, now, to collect the boy."

"Is that his painting?" I asked, looking at the easel which held a mostly black and red image. It looked like the nightmare version of an explosion.

"His representational skill leaves much to be desired," Data said.

I bit back a snarky comment about his skills as an art critic. "Maybe," I said, "but the raw emotion in that is pretty intense."

As if on cue, Timothy cried out in his sleep. I'd had enough nightmares of my own to know he was in the throes of a bad dream.

"I will wake him," Data said.

In all the times Data had brought me out of horrific dreams, he'd never been parental with me. I'd always had the sense that we were partners in whatever I was going through. Watching him with Timothy, however, reminded me very much of his behavior toward his daughter in the videos of Lal that he'd shared.

A part of my mind envisioned a future where the child being comforted was not a refugee from a dead starship, but a child of our own, either android or human. At seventeen, I wasn't anywhere close to considering motherhood, but a brief future-fancy made me smile for a moment.

I was jolted back to the present when Timothy sat up, shouting, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Data began speaking to him in a low, soothing tone. "Timothy, wake up; you are dreaming. Timothy, you are safe now."

Blinking owlishly, the boy came back to wakefulness. "Da – Data…" he said.

"You were having a nightmare, but you are awake now, and safe."

"Androids don't require sleep," Timothy said, denying both his own humanity and his dream.

"Sure they do," I said, stepping forward. "They don't call it sleep, though," I said. Silently, I was willing Data to just go along with me. "It's more like… downtime."

"Zoe is not entirely incorrect," Data said after a quick glance in my direction. "I often devote time to re-indexing my files."

"And sometimes he finds… glitches," I said. "They're kind of like bad dreams."

Data said nothing, but Timothy seized upon what I'd said. "That's – that's what happened to me. I – I had a glitch. I was – sorting through the files about the Vico and – I –." His android persona seemed to fall away, then, and he started sobbing.

Data let the boy cling to him for several minutes, until he'd sobbed himself out. Counselor Billings arrived a few minutes later, and I sat with Timothy while Data explained what had happened.

"Are you… are you Data's girlfriend?" the boy asked me.

"I am," I said.

"Androids can have girlfriends?"

"Well, grown-up androids can. Very young androids probably shouldn't worry about such things just yet."

"Does he really have… have glitches?"

"His aren't quite so obvious," I said. "He's a lot more experienced than you are about talking to his friends and working things out in his program before it becomes an issue, but… even Data isn't perfect all the time."

"Is it… is it weird, being with someone who doesn't have emotions?"

I shrugged. "Sometimes we have to work harder to understand each other than we would if we were both human or both androids. But no, it's not weird."

"Would you still want to be Data's girlfriend if… if he wasn't an android anymore?"

His question shouldn't have rocked me, but somehow it did. Still, I tried to give the kid an honest answer. "Data will always be an android. He doesn't have a choice, but I think he's maybe told you that he sometimes wishes he were human?"

Timothy nodded.

"If he ever got that wish, I would be completely happy for him, but… it wouldn't change anything. He'd still be Data." I waited a beat and asked. "Are you kind of thinking you don't want to be an android anymore? Because if you don't, that's okay, and no one will think less of you, or stop being your friend."

I could see the conflict and pain on his face, but he didn't say anything. He didn't have a chance to, really, because Data and Counselor Billings came back to the couch. "Timothy, it's very late. Are you ready to go home to bed now?" the counselor asked.

Timothy glanced from Data to me and back to Data before meeting the counselor's eyes. "I am ready to go home and… re-index my files," he said. "Thank you for painting with me," he said to Data, after he left the couch.

"You are very welcome," Data responded.

"Goodnight, Zoe," he said to me.

I gave in to my urge and ruffled the boy's hair. "Get some good downtime," I said.

His android persona broke just long enough for him to smile slightly, and then he and Billings were out the door, the counselor carrying the kid's still-wet canvas.

Once we were alone, Data began putting away the art supplies. He recycled the piece he'd been working on and came to join me on the couch, but I was already standing up. "You're pretty good with kids," I told him. "I've never seen you really interact with any – I mean, there was that time with Charlie Simmons, but – anyway…"

"You were the one who put him at ease," Data pointed out. "Although you stretched the truth somewhat."

"I did because you couldn't," I said. "And because he clearly needs to be an android right now. Poor kid."

"You should not have ruffled his hair," Data said.

"I ruffle your hair," I pointed out, reaching up to do exactly that. "You're all kinds of sexy when you're a little bit rumpled."

"I believe you said the same about when I am in what you refer to as 'officer mode,' as well."

"No," I said. "When you're being Lieutenant Commander Data-" I intoned his full rank in a pompous voice "- I think you're all kinds of hot. The difference is subtle, but important."

"I stand corrected," he said lightly. He pulled me close and I rested my head against his chest, smiling into the fabric of his uniform when his arms tightened around me, and sighing when he nuzzled my hair.

I went to bed shortly after that, leaving him to work a bit longer, but I woke in the night to find him next to me, reading a padd set it it's softest illumination. "You know it's okay if you don't come to bed every night," I reminded him.

"I know," he assured me. "Please accept that I am here because I wish to be, and not because I am 'playing human' for you."

"Okay," I said, rolling onto my side and propping my head up with my hand. "But I reserve the right to at least attempt to distract you." I trailed my other hand down his chest.

"I would expect no less." His free hand moved to capture mine, and bring it to his lips. "You should go back to sleep."

"Hold me for a while?"

He set the padd aside, and shifted his position so that he was lower in the bed, and I was nestled against him. "Is this better?"

"Mmm. It'd be perfect if you were singing." I wasn't being needy, really. Mostly, I was teasing him. Besides, I'd have to survive six months without having a naked android singing to me in bed. I figured I deserved a little indulgence.

I'm not sure what a human lover would have done – sighed in affectionate exasperation, maybe. Data wasn't human, of course, but I could tell he was dealing with his own perceptions of our impending separation, because he kissed my head, and started to sing, his warm tenor pitched just for my ears.

"Goodnight, sweetheart, till we meet tomorrow.

Goodnight, sweetheart, sleep will banish sorrow.

Tears and parting may make us forlorn,

But with the dawn, a new day is born.

Goodnight, sweetheart, tho' I'm not beside you,

Goodnight, sweetheart, still my love will guide you.

Dreams enfold you, in each one I'll hold you.

Goodnight, sweetheart, goodnight."

(=A=)

Stardate 45421.55

(Monday, 3 June 2368, 06:55 hours, ship's time)

The last four days before I left the Enterprise had been a whirlwind. If I'd felt a clock ticking before, I lived my last few days with a damned metronome clacking at me.

Little Women had opened on Thursday evening, and the comments we got were all positive, some even incredibly flattering. With the kiss 'fixed,' the rest of the show sang, and I think the audience could tell it wasn't just acting for any of us.

On Friday, Timothy had finally opened up about what really happened on the Vico, and something he'd said had given Data the necessary information to prevent a similar tragedy from happening on the Enterprise.

The vast majority of the people serving on the great starship had known nothing about the danger we'd been in, of course. The only reason I did is because Data told me, after the fact. In any case, Timothy had dropped his android persona soon after, and while my boyfriend had assured him they would remain friends, the boy was being sent to Earth to live with relatives.

More specifically, he was being sent under my care. I'd come a long way from the rebellious fifteen- year-old who had been dragged aboard more than two years before.

A really long way.

On Sunday, after the cast party, which had turned into a going-away party for me, Data and I had gone back home for some private time. I'd surprised him by dragging my cello out and playing for him the same song he'd sung to me in our bed a few nights before, and then he'd played his violin for me while I finished my last-minute packing.

I was leaving a lot of myself behind with him, and not just the tangible things like clothing and shampoo.

He'd finally coaxed me into bed around midnight, only to be called to the bridge to cover when the watch officer on duty had developed a sudden attack of food poisoning, and the warp engines weren't responding correctly (it turned out to be a minor error by a green overnight engineering crew, but it had resulted in a major glitch).

Data hadn't been back home in time to escort me to the shuttle bay, though he had comm'd to say goodbye, but Mom and Ed had planned on that honor anyway.

"Hey, Zoe," Timothy greeted me, as he arrived at the bay with Counselor Billings. "Do you think they'll let us sit by the windows? I like to look out."

"Go aboard and find out," I said. "I'm sure no one will mind."

"Thank you for doing this," the counselor said to me. "I'm sure he'll be fine, but…"

"But it's good to have a travel buddy. Trust me, there are times I could have used one."

The assigned shuttle pilot came to fetch my bags, and remind me that we had only five minutes left. "Commander Data said to treat you as if you were a dignitary," the young Caprican told me. "But I'll still get yelled at if we're not ready to launch."

"I know," I said. "I promise."

"Have a safe trip, Zoe," Ed said, as we shared an awkward hug.

"I love you so much, kiddo," Mom told me. "I'm so proud of you." One or both of us might have been teary.

"I'll call as soon as I'm at Nonna's and then again when I'm settled in San Francisco," I promised. "And I'll see you in October, for your wedding."

"It's too long," Mom said, sniffing.

I kissed her cheek and hugged her again, and then I turned and walked up the boarding ramp to the shuttle. I was barely in my seat before the ramp was pulled in and the doors began to close.

"Hold launch!" The order came from outside and over the comm system at the same time. There was cross-talk from the cockpit, and then the Caprican pilot – I really needed to ask his name – came to the passenger section. "Zoe, you're wanted outside for a moment. Captain's orders. Good thing we haven't decompressed the bay, yet."

"Okay…" I said. I got out of my seat and exited the shuttle, trying not to think about the collection of officers and civilians who were watching.

A familiar figure in black and gold was waiting at the bottom of the ramp, "Data?" I asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I could not let you leave without a proper goodbye," he told me.

"You held the launch for that?"

"Yes," he said. "I held the launch for you."

"I love you," I blurted, because there was nothing else to say. "I love you, and I'm going to miss you, and as much as I want this experience, I want to come home to you, just as much."

"I know," he said. He pressed a long, thin box into my hands. "I purchased this for you before I left Centaurus, in January," he said, as I fumbled with the wrapping. "I had intended it as a birthday gift, but I was advised that it would have been 'too much, too soon.' Then, I thought to present it as a belated Valentine's Day memento, but after what you went through, I believed it would only remind you of 'the bad parts.'"

I let the ripped paper wrapping fall to the deck, and tried to listen to the words my boyfriend was speaking. "I did not wish to wait for your return, or for Christmas, or New Year's Eve. I am giving it to you now, because I suspect that you will have need of a piece of 'statement' jewelry while you are away, and because… because I wish you to remember that I am devoted to you, and will be counting each millisecond until we are together again."

I opened the lid to the box, and my breath caught. Inside, was the necklace I'd looked at in the jewelry store window when we'd gone shopping together. Rose gold and pink pearls designed in a way that managed to be young and fresh without looking too sweet or cloying. "Data… it's…" I didn't know what to say. "Help me put it on," I said. I was wearing a black V-neck top over jeans, but it was the kind of piece that could dress up a casual outfit without looking stupid.

I turned my back toward him, and he fastened his gift around my neck, leaning close to whisper. "I was correct in my original assessment. It does look aesthetically appealing against your skin."

I turned around. "I love you," I said again. "God, Data."

He stopped my words with a kiss.

In front of all the people watching from the shuttle and the crewmen who were working in the shuttle bay. In front of my mother and Ed who were lingering to make sure the launch really happened. In public, and in uniform, Data gave me the kind of kiss he'd only ever given me in private.

I was breathless and teary when we parted.

"If you say 'goodbye' right now…" I warned.

"I will not, because we will see each other soon," he said. "Instead, I will borrow a phrase from the captain and say à bientôt, my Zoe."

I nodded, and hugged him hard, and then I turned around and ran back into the runabout. Within seconds after I'd returned to my seat, I heard the launch order being given, and then the Enterprise was behind us, and I was headed to Earth.

Notes: Little Women was written by Louisa May Alcott. The version of the play these lines come from was written by Kevin Cunning while he was affiliated with MIT. (No, I don't know him, I just liked his version of the script.)

"Goodnight Sweetheart" was first published in 1931, and was written by Ray Noble, Jimmy Campbell, and Reg Connelly. Brent Spiner covered it on his 1991 album Ol' Yellow Eyes is Back.

This chapter covers three episodes: "A Matter of Time," "New Ground," and "Hero Worship,"and represents probably the longest stretch of time I've done in a single chapter, but I didn't want to go to an epilogue.

Zoe's assurance about what Data would feel for her if he could comes from the events of chapter 24 ("Crescendo") of this story, and of the Data-POV one-shot Two Point Five Words.

This chapter represents the end of Crush II: Ostinato, but the Data/Zoe story will continue. Please follow me if you want alerts, or be sure to check my profile page in the coming weeks.

Thank you all for reading.