ROLLERCOASTER

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Baby Got Your Head Screwed On

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Three

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No, there was no persuading the android to stay behind in the relative safety above ground. Tasha hadn't been present when the leader of the 24th Century excavation had shown Picard and Data his macabre find, but still she felt a pervading sense of dread – a horrible deja vu, almost - as the rickety mineshaft elevator plunged them deeper and deeper below the Earth. The faces of her companions echoed her own grim concern as they were picked out in the flickering half-light of the safety lamps. The only ones who seemed unperturbed were Data himself and Guinan, who was, of course, perceiving events in the opposite order to the rest of them. At least, Tasha attempted to console herself, she had been correct about the Enterprise's Barkeep – she had known something about this whole unhappy affair.

The elevator ground to a halt and they stepped out, following the android's lead towards the nearby cavern.

It had all happened so fast. How Clemens had tailed them was beyond her, but there he had been. The aged author had carried nothing more than an old pistol – it wouldn't have made so much as a dent in Data, but he had stepped back with the rest of them, probably concerned that, should he make a sudden move, Clemens might fire at somebody who could be hurt by his bullets. And then had come the Devidians. There had been a fight, and then… and then time and space had opened up. It had opened up through Data, ripping the android's body in two as it did so, not to mention hurling Guinan hard against a wall. Picard had rushed to Guinan's aid, ordering the rest of them to pursue the one escaping Devidian through the hole into the 24th Century. It was as she'd returned to her own time that she'd spotted Data's remains, stiff and lifeless, but whole - save for the scorched, jagged stump of a neck where his head had once been. It was just as Geordi had knelt down; obviously considering the same thing that she was – that there might be the faintest hope of connecting the 500 year old head to the freshly decapitated body – that another person had thrown themselves through the tear in time, just as it had re-sealed itself. She remembered looking up, hoping that her Captain had been sufficiently satisfied that the 19th Century Guinan would be all right and had used his last chance to return to the present with the rest of the crew. But it had not been Jean Luc Picard. It had been Clemens. One of her favourite people in the universe was dead – another was trapped in the past – and here was Mark Twain, using her Captain's only escape route as a sight seeing opportunity. Needless to say, she was unhappy at the least.

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'Can you fix him?'

'I keep telling you. I don't know.'

'Yes, but theoretically. Can you fix him?'

'Well, that depends.'

'Depends on what?'

'On whether or not I'm allowed to concentrate on the task in hand.' Geordi turned and gave Tasha a tight, sympathetic smile. 'I know you're worried. We're all worried. But right now…? You're not helping. Sorry, Tasha.'

Tasha had just retreated to the door of the Cybernetics Lab when an unwelcome face popped around the corner.

'Pardon the intrusion, Madam. But I was anxious to see whether any progress had been made with Mr Data, and whether I might be able to assist in some manner…'

'I think you've done quite enough, Mr Clemens,' Tasha replied, curtly. 'Commander LaForge has insisted that he be left to concentrate in peace.'

Clemens nodded grimly. 'I see.'

Tasha tilted her head at the author. 'What are you doing walking round the ship without an escort, anyway?'

Clemens laughed a little, self consciously, and pulled an expression of innocence. 'If you believe I am not to be trusted…'

Tasha glowered. 'If it were up to me, you'd have been thrown in the brig the second you came on board.'

'For what crime?' Clemens asked, his eyebrows raised in his continued charade of blamelessness.

'You turned a gun on innocent people who were only trying to protect your period of history. You stole our Captain's window of escape so that you could be indulged in some futuristic pleasure cruise, and if it wasn't for you, Data might still be in one piece.' She turned to storm down the corridor, away from him, but Clemens followed, hot on her heels.

'Now, that's more like it,' he crowed. 'What with your infinitely patient and sympathetic Counsellor Troi, and your calm, collected lady Doctor, I was beginning to fear that the future had bred out all the fire in womankind; that admirable, formidable fury of the outraged female…'

'I'm not in the mood to be patronised,' Tasha seethed. 'Your books may hold sway with some of the others on this ship, but I am not an avid reader of fiction. My reverence for you is zero, and I refuse to treat you as anything more than what I see of you now; an interfering, self-interested old man.'

Clemens laughed again. 'Allow me to pose a question, Madam. Since I have been aboard your vessel, I have heard many people talking about what became of Mr Data as though it were destiny fulfilling itself. It appears, in fact, that everybody, including Mr Data and yourself, was aware that he was due to be decapitated in my era before any of you so much as met me. Therefore, wasn't my part in the events that followed merely a part of the same self-determination? If that is so, I cannot possibly be to blame for Mr Data's current unfortunate situation, surely…?'

'You had free will, Clemens. And I have the free will to blame whoever I want to blame…'

'Ah-ha.' Clemens nodded, sagely. 'Protective rage that cannot be hindered by reason. Now I understand. It appears, my good woman, that I owe a personal apology to you.'

'To me? Why?'

Clemens shook his head. 'I didn't realise. I allowed myself to assume that, due to Mr Data's mechanical nature, he would be a eunuch. I never imagined that he might have a wife to fret over his wellbeing.'

Tasha scoffed. 'We're not married! We're not even a couple…'

'But you are enamoured with him, aren't you?'

Tasha stopped walking and frowned down at her feet. 'I…'

Clemens patted her shoulder, gently. 'I may be a self-interested old man, but I understand a thing or two about falling in love. Why be so bashful about it? He's a fine fellow.'

'Because I'm afraid,' Tasha muttered.

'You're afraid that he won't live?'

'Afraid that he will,' Tasha replied, 'and what might happen after that.'

'Being…?'

Tasha began to walk again - slower, this time. 'I was hurt, when I was young. A lot. So I closed myself off. And somehow, this man has been able to open me up again… only, he's the one man who can never be opened himself.' She shook her head. 'I'm sorry. I'm not making much sense.'

'You're making perfect sense, my dear. You are suffering from fear of the unknown. As was I, before I came aboard this vessel of yours. I envisioned the future to be a dark and dangerous place. But I took the chance, I leaped in, and witnessed the marvel.' Clemens beamed. 'And I am glad that I have.'

Tasha laughed a little. 'You know what's weird?'

'Go on.'

'I'm having a conversation with Mark Twain about my love life, which, at the moment consists of a dead machine with a painstakingly reattached head which has been underground for half a millennium… and none of that feels weird. Which is, in itself, weird. Wouldn't you say?'

'So,' concluded Clemens from her odd monologue, 'you do love him.'

She led him into a waiting Turbolift. 'What does it matter to you?'

'I'm very interfering,' Clemens shrugged. 'You noted so yourself.' He paused. 'Where, by the way, are we headed?'

'You been to Ten Forward yet?' Tasha asked.

'Ten… forward…' struggled Clemens.

'It's a bar.'

Clemens grinned. 'Well, I should certainly like to shake the hand of the fellow who ensured that social drinking remained in this futuristic shrine to virtuous abstinence.'

'Oh, you owe Guinan much more than a handshake.'

'Miss Guinan?' Clemens gaped. 'But… I left her in the 19th Century. How can she be here, now?'

'She came here the long way,' Tasha explained as the Turbolift doors opened again. 'Much like the top ten percent of Data did.'

'Ah.' Clemens nodded. 'Then it will seem that I also owe her my heartfelt apologies.'

'I'd say so.'

Tasha was about to step out after Clemens when Worf's voice called to her from her Comms badge.

'Commander Yar. You're required on the Bridge.'

Tasha sighed. 'Guess that's it, then. Sorry, Mr Clemens. You'll have to face Guinan without me.'

'Why does the severity of that man's tone send a shiver down my spine?' Clemens asked. 'Why is it that you're needed on your Bridge, Miss Yar? What are you about to do?'

'The Devidians have to be stopped,' Yar explained. 'We're going to destroy their means of time travel.'

'But that would trap your Captain in the past forever,' Clemens reasoned.

'Not to mention, keeping you here,' Tasha added. She paused, briefly. 'Do you have a wife to fret over your wellbeing, Mr Clemens?'

Clemens nodded, sadly. 'And some fine children.'

'I'm sorry.' The Turbolift doors closed between Tasha and Clemens, and, heavy hearted, she began the ride up to the Bridge.

It was just as the lift approached her destination that another voice came over her Communicator – that of Geordi LaForge this time. The Engineer hurriedly told Riker to hold fire with the torpedoes before cutting off the transmission.

Tasha stopped the elavator instinctively. Geordi, tucked away in the Cybernetics Lab, suddenly knew of a change of plan. That could only mean one thing. She ordered the Turbolift into reverse, whizzing back down towards the Cybernetics Lab's deck.

She was prepared to run to the lab as soon as the Turbolift doors opened, but there turned out to be no need. The doors slid open to reveal Geordi, already waiting, and at his side, with no physical sign of the trauma which had been inflicted on his body, bar a slight scorching to his starched, cotton shirt collar, was Data.

Tasha wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, so she did neither.

'Commander Yar,' nodded Data politely as the two friends stepped into the Turbolift. 'Are you also travelling towards the Bridge?'

Yar nodded, mutely. She swallowed hard and collected herself as the Turbolift began to ascend towards the Bridge once more.

'Still sporting the britches, I see,' she said in as light a tone as she could muster.

'I shall endeavour to change into uniform as soon as the opportunity presents itself,' Data explained. 'I believe I must make returning the Captain to the correct period in time before the Devidians are able to do any more damage my immediate priority, however.'

Tasha shared a smile with Geordi. 'Good as new, huh?'

'Yeah,' Geordi replied, 'but you sure gave us a scare for a while there, Data.'

Data stared at them, blankly. 'I apologise for any distress my beheading might have caused.'

Tasha continued to address Geordi. 'You hugged him yet?'

'I gave his shoulder a little squeeze while we were waiting for the Turbolift,' Geordi admitted.

'Do you mind if I…?'

'Be my guest.'

Tasha pressed herself against the silk of Data's waistcoat and breathed a long, deep sigh of relief. The android gave her back a light, arrhythmic pat of reciprocation.

'Don't you ever,' she ordered him, 'ever get yourself blown up again, OK?'

'I shall endeavour not to,' Data replied, softly.

She looked up at him, still not breaking out of the hug. 'Data?'

'Yes, Tasha.'

'You have a cobweb up your nose.'

-x-

'Oh, for the love of…'

'Is there anything the matter…?'

'It's still there!'

'What is still there?'

'The cobweb.'

'Oh,' replied Data. 'I thought that I had successfully dislodged it.'

'Well, clearly not all of it,' Tasha replied. 'Don't you ever blow your nose?'

Data frowned. 'I do not.'

Tasha located a handkerchief and passed it to him. 'Well, give it a shot.'

She settled, crossed legged, on her bed and watched with a fond smile as the android gave his nose a couple of experimental blows.

'Fish of the day,' she muttered to herself. 'Fish of the day.'

Data turned to look at her. 'I beg your pardon?'

Tasha shook her head with a small laugh. 'Sorry. We've all been so busy lately, what with people getting stuck in the wrong century, and causality issues and so forth, I lost track of what I meant to say to you before all of this began.'

'Those problems have now been rectified, however,' Data reminded her. 'All that were involved in the Devidian's temporal portal have now been returned to their correct era, and the mystery of my decapitated head has been resolved with no ill effect to myself… cranial cobwebs notwithstanding. I am curious. Why did you wish to speak with me on the matter of fish?'

'I didn't,' replied Tasha, looking down. 'Data, would you mind sitting with me?'

'Not at all.'

'When we were all on Devidia II,' Tasha began, once the android was seated, 'before you were sucked into the 19th Century, I made a deal with somebody.'

'With whom?'

'Honestly,' Tasha admitted, 'I don't know. If it was anybody at all, it must have been an omnipotent being of sorts.'

Data frowned. 'Not Q…?'

'No. I don't think so, at least. I'm pretty sure if he'd been listening in, he'd have turned up by now, wanting to take all the credit. I just… I've had the feeling for a while now that I've been given a special dispensation from a horrible fate.'

'Because of Sela?' Data added.

Tasha nodded. 'And I asked whoever had made a special case for me to award the same protection to you.'

'That was very kind of you,' Data replied, 'although probably impractical.'

'I don't know,' Tasha shrugged. 'I mean, here you are. I promised whoever it was that there was something I'd do in return for bringing you back safely.'

'Counsellor Troi often says that bargaining is an element of the grieving process,' Data added. 'Is it not more likely that you had convinced yourself of my imminent destruction and already commenced in grieving my demise? If I was indeed always destined to be successfully reactivated and receive the Captain's message, then surely your private thoughts at the time of my disappearance are immaterial. It is highly unlikely that you do owe any debt for my return.'

'Oh,' Tasha replied, 'I owe a debt, all right. If not to some faceless deity, then I certainly owe one to you.'

'I do not understand.'

'Everything that's passed between us over the last six years,' Tasha continued, 'and I was just going to let it slip away without giving it the acknowledgement it deserved. And why? Because of my fear of the unknown. My fear of a hypothetical failure. My fear of you and me not living up to expectations, when I don't even really know what those expectations even are.'

'I am experiencing a great deal of difficulty deciphering your meaning,' Data frowned.

'You remember the offer you made me when you were walking with me after the O'Briens' wedding?'

'I suggested an experimental monogamous relationship,' Data replied, 'however, I must remind you that my subsequent experiment of that nature with Jenna was a failure.'

'So you're never going to try it again?'

'I have analysed my courtship with Jenna, and believe that I have isolated many mistakes made on my part during the process, which may well be contributing factors towards her decision to terminate the relationship. I shall learn from these errors and, should I attempt a similar relationship with another partner in the future, I shall seek to use the experience to create a better functioning courtship.' Data cocked his head a little, contemplating this imaginary scenario. 'I am aware that that relationship may also end in failure. However, I am not adverse to a second attempt.'

'A real pioneer spirit,' Tasha nodded. 'Commendable.'

'Thank you.' Data paused. 'I still do not understand what this has to do with a debt.'

'What I promised that whatever-it-was,' attempted Tasha, 'what I promised myself… I…' She pressed the palms of her hands together, nervously. 'I want to take you up on that offer. Assuming it's still open.'

'Of course,' Data replied, with a hint of surprise. 'But you told me…'

'I tell a lot of people a lot of things,' said Tasha, 'and I can't pretend that I'm always honest; least of all with myself.' She took in a deep, shaky breath. 'I remember one thing I told you that was completely true, though. Years and years ago, now. I told you that I wanted gentleness, and sweetness, and I wanted them from you…'

'Tasha?'

'And I…' her voice broke off.

Data rubbed the cobweb from the handkerchief that he was still holding, and offered it to Tasha. 'You are crying.'

'I know.' Tasha refused the handkerchief and pushed the errant tears back with the sides of her hands. 'I'm sorry.'

'You have no need to apologise. Are you feeling unwell?'

She shook her head with a smile. 'Never better.'

'So…' concluded Data, gingerly, 'we are now in a formal sexual relationship?'

'I think we are.'

There was a momentary pause.

'What shall we do now?' Data asked. 'We could partake in a social activity together, or we could kiss… we could copulate…'

'Not tonight, Data. Tonight, could we just…' she trailed off into silence. For some reason, she didn't want to ask out loud simply to be held. Instead, she shuffled closer to him, so that their thighs and hips were touching, took his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. He said nothing, but took her other hand and sat like that, quiet and still, until she was asleep.

And when she awoke the next morning, he was still there.

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A.N. - I don't usually do this, but since I just passed the 100 review mark I wanted to thank all of you who've given me feedback on this story so far - whether it be reviews here, or on my LJ, or just favouriting the yarn. I know there are writers out there on the big bad intertubes who eat three-figure review numbers for breakfast, but for somebody used to smaller fandoms like me it's a really big deal and I really am so grateful. I always write, and I always finish my stories, whether I'm getting feedback or not, but that doesn't mean it's not very gratifying as an author to know that others appreciate my story, or indeed very helpful to hear which elements were particularly enjoyed and which I need to work on in order to improve further

I also owe immense thanks to Realmlife, my brilliant Beta, as well as to my very patient and indulgent husband, who has always encouraged my writing in both fanfic and original projects.

Although we're a long way from the end yet (and I have now finally worked out how it is going to end!) I hope you all continue to enjoy the ride as much as I am.

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