"Doc?"
"Yes?" she heard his voice from the office and she could sense the excitement in it.
"I think I am done."
In the blink of an eye he was standing next to her again, looking at her in anticipation.
"Can we try it out?"
"Sure. Are you ready?"
He nodded.
"Computer, re-initialize the EMH" she commanded and the Doctor vanished and reappeared a second later.
She could see his eyes widening with surprise.
He was feeling his chest nervously, overwhelmed by the new sensations, then he took a deep breath. Irina could see his face brighten with a big smile.
"Oh this is wonderful" he shouted with joy "I can feel the air filling my lungs. Irina, this is wonderful!"
He walked back and forth, still not fully able to process the new sensory inputs but apparently the procedure had been a huge success.
Irina smiled. Seeing him so satisfied filled her with pride and happiness.
"Oh, please, I hope you don't mind" he said and hastily opened his uniform jacket, then he took her hand and pressed it onto his chest. "Can you feel it?"
Irina was frozen solid. The touch of his hands on hers, the naked, warm skin of his chest, only separated from her by the thin fabric of his Starfleet undershirt was enough to make her brain stop from functioning properly. She could feel his holographic heart beating in his chest quickly but evenly.
At this very moment, the sickbay doors opened and Tom Paris entered, panting heavily.
"Doctor, here's the report that was due until- Oh."
He noticed Irina and the Doctor in their awkward position, standing in the middle of the room, his uniform jacket open and her hand pressed on his chest.
"Oh, I am sorry" Tom said hastily, "I did not want to interrupt... Well... Whatever you were just doing."
"It is not what it looks like" the Doctor answered and turned to Tom. "We were trying out a new addition to my program"
"An addition to you program?" Tom asked with raised eyebrows.
"Not that kind of addition you're thinking of, Mister Paris. Irina helped me to add an artificial heart beat to my program."
"Do you wish to-" The Doctor pointed at his chest.
"Oh no, thank you. I believe you, Doc. I am just wondering, why exactly did you do that?"
"It was... to... improve my understanding of human nature" the Doctor lied and he did a very bad job at it.
"Sure." Tom answered briefly, but then he understood and his gaze softened. "It's because of Seven, isn't it?"
The Doctor cleared his throat and tried to sound as business-like as possible. "My lessons with Seven of Nine have nothing to do with my interest in experiencing the human physiology"
"Oh come on, Doc. We both know that this is not true."
The Doctor looked sheepish.
"Do you think you're not human enough for her like you are now?" Tom asked sceptically.
"I don't think this in any of your business but if you have to know it – I am sure she couldn't resist a handsome hologram like me." He tried to sound aloof but he didn't quite make it. Irina could sense the insecurity in his voice.
"But a hologram nonetheless" Tom added.
The Doctor sat down on one of the biobeds and sighed. He felt found out.
"Fine, I admit it. When she was looking for a potential date I wasn't even on the list of possible candidates."
"Oh." Tom answered, equally helpful as Irina had been before.
"I wanted to help him to be more human. I thought maybe Seven didn't consider him because he's a hologram." Irina said.
Tom rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He was the most experienced person in this room, no, probably on the whole ship when it came to romantic relationships. If he didn't know how to help – who else would?
"So what have you tried until now?" he asked.
"Just the heartbeat and that's it." Irina answered.
"I am sure there are more possibilities for us to work on."
"However, I don't plan on changing my appearance" the Doctor chipped in "I am aware of the fact that I am a very attractive man"
"I wouldn't go that far" Tom objected and the Doctor gave him a killing glance. "But I agree with you about the first part. You should still be yourself and not try to masquerade as someone else."
He started walking up and down while thinking.
"There has to be something else we can do… Oh, I've got it!"
"What it is, Tom?" Irina asked and she was at least as curious as the Doctor was.
"Pheromones!" Tom said triumphantly.
"What do you mean?" The Doctor was sceptic.
"They are chemicals that are capable of-"
"Yes I know what they are." The Doctor interrupted him "But how can they help me?"
"They can't, at the moment. And that's exactly the problem. You don't have any body odour, have you?"
"Of course not, I am a hologram."
"That means you're missing out a huge part of human attraction."
The Doctor looked at Tom, pondering his words.
"I guess you've got a point there" he said eventually "but what should I do?"
"Oh I don't know. I am not a Doctor. Or an engineer." He glanced towards Irina. "But you have a very cute and smart assistant here that I am sure will be eager to help you with whatever you come up with."
And with these words he turned around and left Irina and the Doctor alone at sick bay.