Rios dribbled his soccer ball across the floor of La Sirena, bouncing it on his knees. Agnes stared at him as she came on board. There had been a distance between them ever since she woke up from her coma, and she couldn't stand it anymore. She was going to tell him how she felt, and find out how he felt about her. Just do it, she told herself. Rip off the Band-Aid.
"I have to apologize," she said.
Rios put down his soccer ball. "For what?"
"For seducing you right after I killed Bruce," Agnes said. "God, it sounds so wrong just saying it. It wasn't fair to you and it wasn't fair to him. And - I understand if you don't want anything to do with me anymore."
"Well, I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me a little bit," Rios said. "But you're wrong to think I don't want anything to do with you."
"Why not?" Agnes asked. "I'm a murderer."
"If you're a murderer, then so was Captain Vandemere," Rios said. "He killed those two synths to save his crew, just like any captain would have done. And then he felt so terrible about it that he blew his brains out. You - you killed Maddox because you thought it would save all organic life. And then you felt so terrible about it that you put yourself in a coma and almost died. You helped upload Picard's consciousness into a synthetic body. You paid your debt. You gave life instead of taking it."
"Still," Agnes said. "I should turn myself in."
"Should Picard turn himself in for what he did as Locutus of Borg?" Rios asked.
"That's different," Agnes said. "He - he wasn't himself."
"And you weren't yourself either," Rios said.
"I don't even know who 'myself' is anymore," Agnes said.
"I do," said Rios.
"Yeah? Who's that?"
"You are Agnes P. Jurati, Earth's leading expert on synthetic life," Rios said, stroking her cheek. "And now that the synth ban has been lifted, you can continue your research with the Federation's blessing."
"It is tempting," Agnes said. "But if it's all right with you, I think I'd rather stay on the La Sirena."
Rios smiled. "I'd say it's more than all right with me."
"What about the holograms? Is it all right with them?"
"I'm not sure," Rios said. "But if they object, I can always deactivate them."
Agnes grinned. "And what about you? Will Starfleet take you back?"
"Maybe," Rios said. "But I think I'd rather stay here too."
"Do you think we could start over?" Agnes asked. "Try to get our relationship off on the right foot?"
Rios kissed her hand. "I think we already have, mi sirena."