In the beginning the Doctor didn't seem overly interested in the movie but when they started seeing the groundhog over and over again and Phil Connors becoming more and more annoyed with it, she glanced over to him and saw him smiling. She even thought she had heard him chuckle during one or two scenes. And most of all, he sat with her through the whole movie and didn't make a move to leave earlier.

When the movie had ended and Irina turned off the TV she looked over to him, past the giant plush teddy sitting in between them. Again, he seemed lost in thought.

"Doc?"

He flinched.

"Yes?"

"The movie is over" she smiled "Thank you for being here with me. I hope you liked it at least a tiny bit."

"Yes, I sure did. It's just that in the end I had to think of Seven and myself."

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't want to provoke those feelings in you."

"No, it's fine. I will have to learn to cope with it. There will always be situations that remind me of her. I mean I can't avoid talking to her for the rest of our journey."

"You're right, that's the spirit! I know, in the beginning it feels like you'll never get over it. But when some time has passed you'll see that it slowly gets better and better. Until after a while you'll be able to continue living your own life again."

"Thank you, Irina. I've just never experienced unrequited love before, so these feelings are completely new to me. But I hope I will get over it eventually."

"You have to. We need you. Not only as a doctor but also as a friend. Please don't hide in sick bay any longer. We all miss you a lot."

He nodded, visibly touched by her words. They needed him, he thought. As a friend. He would not let them down.

Slowly but steadily things were getting better. Irina had started a low-dose therapy with relaxing and fun activities for the Doctor. In the beginning it was only once in a week when the two of them did something together but over the time their meetings became more frequent. Since he was still in lovesick mode he refused to attend any parties or social gatherings but he never missed one single "date" with Irina. It reminded her of the time when he sacrificed his holodeck time for her medical training or when he used his free time to help her treat her Myotonia. Sometimes she even felt like they were some kind of couple. Not that they had any kind of romantic relationship but judging from the amount of time they spent with each other they were pretty close to it. They actually spent way more time together than for example Tom and B'Elanna, since they were not only working together in sickbay but additionally engaging in recreational activities together. Irina noticed how much she had missed those times. Since the Doctor had started giving Seven social lessons Irina had been forced to put aside her own wish of spending time with him. Now things were slowly getting back to normal again, but more than that she had the feeling they had even grown closer over the course of the events. The Doctor had shared with her his deepest wishes and desires and she had in return helped him to become more human. If she wanted or not, this was giving her hope. Probably there was a very small chance that they could indeed become romantically involved one day. But until then she had to take what she could get.

The Doctor closed his computer and sighed. This had been the last report for today. They had spent the whole day treating more than 30 crewmen with food poisoning after they all had eaten from Neelix' Oblissian cabbage salad. Apparently Oblissian cabbage was not supposed to be eaten raw by humans. Therefore they had to deal with loads of vomiting, wailing crewmen that occupied sickbay for half of the day until they finally managed to cure all of their symptoms. But as if that was not enough, there still was all the documentation to do. A written report needed to be provided for every patient treated, including symptoms, patient history, diagnosis and medication. It was already 2100 when they finally finished the last one of the reports. Irina had to do a lot of overtime that day but she didn't want to leave all the work to the Doctor alone.

"Thank you very much for your help, Irina" he said, and she could see how exhausted and stressed he was. He rubbed his head as if he had a headache, which was of course impossible due to him being a hologram.

"You're welcome. I am your friend, remember. I won't let you down."

He just nodded, leaning back in his chair, his eyes closed.

"I think you need to relax a bit" Irina told him.

"That's what I am just trying to do" he answered without opening his eyes.

"That's not what I mean. I think a massage could work wonders. What do you think?"

"I don't need a massage. I am a hologram. I can't have sore muscles."

"I don't mean a massage as a medical treatment. I thought of it as a way to improve your well-being"

Slowly he opened his eyes, eyeing her sceptically.

"I guess there is no harm in trying" he answered eventually and she stepped behind him.

"I think you'll have to take off your jacket."

"Oh, sure" he agreed and did as she wished, now sitting in front of her in his standard grey Starfleet undershirt.

She began by slowly kneading his neck and his shoulders. In the beginning he seemed a bit uncomfortable but as he got more and more used to her touch he started to relax. Irina continued like this for a while until she could feel him breathing slowly and steadily, his muscles soft and warm under her hands. Then she became a little bolder. She moved up his neck in slow, careful circles, up to his hairline and then down again. The feeling of his naked skin under her fingers made her heart beat faster but she tried not to let it show. Instead, she continued her slow, gentle movements on his neck, alternating between circling motions and feather-light touches of her fingertips trailing down the sides of his neck. She could feel him getting goose bumps beneath her fingers and she was sure he was enjoying the touch of human hands on his bare skin just as much as she enjoyed massaging him. Irina closed her eyes and focussed on the sensations. Being so close to him filled her heart with warmth and her soul with a faint hope. But then, suddenly, she felt his hand on hers, stopping her from moving.

"Thank you, Irina" he said with a soft smile, looking up towards her "that was very nice of you."

"Did I do something wrong? Did you not enjoy it?"

"Oh, yes. Yes, I did. But it's getting late. You should go to bed."

"I understand" She murmured, confused by his interruption.

Did she go too far? Did she cross a line she shouldn't have crossed? She wasn't sure. But on the other hand he didn't seem to be mad at her. Rather the opposite was the case: He seemed relaxed and content. But nevertheless he had stopped her.

"I guess I will leave then" she said while turning to the door "Good night, Doc."

"Good night" he answered softly, gazing after her as she left sick bay.

Oh yes, he had indeed enjoyed her massage. Probably just a bit too much. When she was caressing him, he became painfully aware of how much he craved human touch and intimacy. How deprived he was from feeling someone else's skin on his, someone's body warmth. He tried to recall the sensation of her fingers on his neck, but this time in his imagination it was not Irina but Seven of Nine caressing him, metal Borg implants trailing over his holographic skin. Then his fantasy took a more erotic turn. Seven's hands wandered down his chest, down to his nipples, gently stroking them through the thin fabric of his Starfleet shirt. He felt her breath on his neck, then her soft lips, as she began planting soft kisses there, while her hands slowly found their way further downwards.

A tingling sensation in his groin brought him back to reality. He gulped. Now he wasn't just depressed anymore, now he was depressed and also aroused. How long had it been since he was touched in any sexual way by another person? Sure, there had been his holographic wife but the last time he had any intimate contact with another person he hadn't programmed himself was with Denara Pel. This was more than three years ago. No wonder he reacted this way to human touch, he had been deprived of it for many years now. He rubbed his eyes trying to push away the memories of him and Denara. The mental image of her naked body below him in the dim light of the Mars surface wasn't exactly helpful when trying to calm down his arousal.

Maybe it was better to deactivate his program for today to keep him from fantasizing too much.

"Computer, deactivate the EMH" he commanded and vanished into thin air.