The Repulse's first mission began the next day when they arrived at the planet and the captain beamed down to join the diplomatic party that was to act as arbiters and help the two opposing factions come to an agreement they could all abide by. Dr. Shayza beamed down to another location of the planet to help with the problems that were applicable to her and her staff. She worked in concert with Dr. Jewel for most of the day, helping him work up vaccines and medications that were needed as a result of the various hazards these people had inflicted upon themselves.

When evening came, Teagan was still hard at work testing vaccines in the lab on the planet and coordinating with Lauralee who had been left in charge on the ship. Teagan was so wrapped up in her train of thought, that an unexpected tap on her shoulder caused her to gasp in shock. Turning, she expected to be able to pinch Jewely for scaring her half to death. She was shocked for a second time in as many seconds to be looking into the concerned eyes of her captain.

"I startled you, Doctor. I apologize," he said reaching out and just touching her arm before stepping back from her and returning his hand to his side.

"I guess I was lost in all of this, Captain. I don't think I would have noticed if a group of hostile Romulans broke in here with disrupters aimed at my head."

This caused the captain's eyes to widen and look towards the door. "Perhaps I should post a security officer," he stated, obviously considering just that.

Teagan giggled shaking her head. "I could have been exaggerating. Why are you here, sir? Aren't you supposed to be with the arbiters team?" she asked, stifling a yawn. He nodded.

"I was, Miss Teagan. The discussions have ended for the day," he informed her. She looked surprised.

"Why? What time is it?" Her captain just smiled.

"1924 hours, and I am here to escort you to dinner. You should call your relief at this time, please," he directed her gently but firmly.

"Yes, sir."

Doing as he had commanded only took three minutes. Lieutenant Frank beamed down in seconds so Teagan quickly showed him how far she had gone in the elimination process. The captain stood waiting patiently and tapped his comm badge as soon as she came to stand at his side.

"Captain to Repulse, two to beam up at these coordinates." As they sparkled out of the room, Lieutenant Frank looked over to where they had been, raised an eyebrow and then smiled.

Once their molecules had reformed aboard the ship, the captain proceeded Teagan off the pad, but waited for her to reach his side before moving again. The captain then proved that he was not through startling her for the day. He bent his arm and offered it to her. Silently aghast, Teagan was certain all of the colour drained from her face for an instant. Trying to recover and not embarrass him, she slipped her arm though his pretending that it was something she did every day of her life. But she could not help but feel the eyes of the transporter chief on them, and she tried not to imagine what he was thinking.

With his usual air of confidence, the captain guided her smoothly from the room with an easy nod of acknowledgment to the chief as they passed him. Once in the corridor, she stole a look at the man who walked silently, close beside her. She still found the way he moved fascinating. His cool manner always softened slightly when he spoke or even looked at her, but was it enough? What was he looking to get from her? Or did he already have what he wanted, just someone to talk to?

"Is the work proceeding as expected, Miss Teagan?" the captain asked, finally breaking the odd silence that had fallen over them.

"Almost. I believe Dr. Jewel was disturbed by the discrepancies between the preliminary reports that we received, and the actual number of people affected by the various toxins. There's not going to be one or two quick fixes here, sir. But the worst has been seeing the effects this damned insanity has had on the children, both born and unborn." Her captain met her eyes, the meaning of her words obviously not lost on him.

"Horrific," he said, almost in a whisper.

"Exactly," she agreed.

They walked in silence again, making their way slowly through the various corridors. As they walked, Teagan allowed the stress of the day to drain away, but it was only replaced by fatigue. The thought of collapsing into her bed and sleeping for days suddenly held great appeal, but she did not wish to disappoint the captain.

It occurred to her just how involved this involvement could be. She was going to have to be very cautious about everything she did and every word she said to anyone from now on. Any misstep could reflect poorly on him, causing him to end... whatever this was, with her. Even if he did not care for her in the way she wanted him to, and he made her very nervous at times, Teagan didn't want this to end. He could just look at her and make her dizzy, his touch made her tingle and she knew all of this meant she was in way over her head.

Suddenly it dawned on her that they were not going where she had expected. "Where are we going?" she finally asked him. The captain looked down at her, smiling gently.

"My quarters, Miss Teagan. I do not care to dine in the lounge this evening. After a day filled with a multitude of people, I would prefer a quieter evening." This made excellent sense to her, but it also hinted at an intimacy that she was hoping for with him, but that thus far had eluded them.

What was it that drew her to him?

He was so different and some of those differences made him dangerous. Oddly, his being an android really did not matter much to Teagan. His being the captain had much more of an effect on how she felt and acted around him. She did wonder about some things that his being an android could effect, but she felt certain that if she asked him, he would freely answered any question she could think up.

They entered his quarters and Stripes came to greet them as soon as the feline heard their entrance. Surprised that she was winding around her legs, Teagan bent to lift the cat into her arms. "And how is the captain's woman this evening?" she cooed.

"The captain's woman?" the captain repeated, questioningly. Teagan flushed and laughed nervously, glad that he was the only one here to have heard this. "Is that not an antiquated term once used to describe the female who was...intimately associated with the captain?" There was obvious hesitation in his voice.

"Well yes, but it also came to be used for his personal assistant, or yeoman assuming she were female of course."

"Stripes is not capable of assisting me with...anything," he finished after a moment's consideration.

Laughing, Teagan turned to look at him. "Well no, but she is the closest living being to you. After all you share quarters with her and have for the last two years, I assume."

"You assume correctly. She was the second reason for us to dine in my quarters. Having been on the planet since 0600 this morning, there has not been an opportunity to feed...the captain' woman." Even as he said the words, Data did not care for the term being used to describe his cat. But at this point in his life he had yet to meet anyone interested in playing that role insinuated by the term.

Tasha Yar's death had put an end to any hopes he may have had to one day revisit the question of whether or not "it never happened".

His two week long "experimental romance" with Jenna D'Sora had left him with more questions than answers. It had ended with Jenna realizing that though he was as kind to her as he was capable of, love would never be a possibility between them. This had been years before Data had installed his emotion chip.

In the years following the chip's instillation Data had received causal offers of intimate companionship, and had young female ensigns flirt outrageously with him. The first had left he envisioning a second woman telling him that it had never happened, and the second just did not appeal to him in any way.

In the twenty-fourth century, sex was not always a commitment. By some it was treated with the same importance as what clothing they wore for the day.

While technology would not have made it possible, Data believed that his personal code of ethics involving intimacy would have had him more comfortable in the 1800's of earth history. One found someone with whom one was compatible, dated her, fell in love with her and then married her. Sex occurred in there somewhere, but mostly after one felt there was a damn good chance that "this was the one"!

Shortly after Data's chip had been installed, he had found the time to replay his time spent with both Tasha and Jenna, but this time he could see it with emotional eyes. While the actual replay had taken seconds, the emotional journey that the action had initiated had yet to end.

He would have loved Tasha emotionally, had he been able. But as painful as it was to admit, she would never have been 'the one'. While in truth, Jenna was closer to what he wanted; she too fell short of his idea of the perfect mate. For years now Data's halfhearted quest had come up empty. Perhaps there was just something that his father had failed to include when he had programmed Data's emotion chip. His life in Starfleet had enabled him to meet more people in his fifty-two years than almost any other career would have allowed in a lifetime. Still, the romantic encounters Data had thus far enjoyed were...few and far between.

Relax, he told himself, and accept what is offered.

He had known Teagan for seven days now, and while he felt closer to her than anyone else on the ship, in other ways he felt as though he knew almost nothing about her. Time to rectify that omission.

He went to the replicator and ordered feline supplement number 47 for Stripes. Teagan released Stripes and as the feline ran for the bowl that the captain had just placed on the floor, Teagan grinned at him.

"Supplement number 47? How many are there?" she asked, coming over to stand next to her captain.

"Two thousand, three hundred and seventy eight," he stated, but looked confused when Teagan began laughing.

"You have a wider variety of items to choose from to feed your cat that most people eat in a lifetime. I like to experiment in cooking, but I don't think I will ever hit, two thousand three hundred and..."

"And seventy eight," he finished for her. "Most of the selections were created for Stripes' predecessor, Spot. Spot was very hard to please when it came to feeding time." The captain's eyes clouded over and he turned slightly from her as he continued. "I spent a considerable amount of time trying to decipher what would please Spot from day to day. My friend Geordi would tease me that while I believed I was training her to behave, in fact she was training me." Looking at nothing, Data smiled slightly at the memory. Teagan tried to imagine this man being manipulated by a four-legged female, and smiled at the image, no matter how hard it was to fathom.

"You miss her, don't you?"

Data looked back at Teagan, studying her golden eyes for any hint of the amusement that had been there seconds before. He found only compassion there now.

"Yes." He looked down at Stripes, who had finished her dinner and was involved in her after dinner wash. "She is a good cat. Better behaved in many ways that Spot ever was, but I do miss Spot. Spot was not every accepting of others, and with all her claws could cause a great deal of damage. But she never used them on me."

"I think that has something to do with it, don't you?"

Data was confused again. "I did not like it when she attacked others, Teagan. That would not be something to miss about someone."

Teagan grinned and shook her head. "No captain. You miss her because she liked you better than anyone else. You were flattered that she preferred you above all others. Maybe it was subconscious, but that would be my guess. And the fact that you had her for so long."

He nodded. "Eighteen years, two months, one week, three days and you are still listening." Now it was her turn to look confused. "Intriguing."

"Why wouldn't I be listening? You were talking to me." Teagan's expression clearly showed how odd she thought his observation.

"I have noted that if I describe a length of time...exactly...I tend to irritate those listening to me," he admitted.

Understanding removed the confused expression from her face. Now she smiled with a playful glint in her eyes.

"I doubt you'll get that reaction much, now that you're a captain; at least not from those under you. You could use that as a test if you had a mind to," she said, chuckling. "That could be fun, but I don't think it's your style," she concluded, regretfully.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Is it your style, Teagan?"

Grinning wildly and trying to avoid his eyes by staring at the ceiling, she nodded. "Oh, I have done much worse. Are you hungry? No, you're never hungry. I'm hungry. We should eat now."

He tried not to laugh, as he did not like hearing that she had "done much worse" but her intentionally humorous way of trying to change that subject was very humorous. He went back to the food slot and thinking better of it, looked back at her.

"Would you do the honors, Teagan?" he asked, indicating the unit in the wall.

Tilting her head to the side, narrowing her eyes at him, but still grinning she asked, "Are you bowing my superiority in this one area, Captain?" he nodded.

"I must admit, I cannot even request a meal as well as you can. But your cooking is far superior to both." Her golden eyes glowed with her pleasure at being complimented so.

"Compliment me again like that and you will talk yourself into a meal cooked by yours truly, exclusively for you, Captain," she told him coming to stand in front of the food slot.

Thinking of something to say was not a problem; thinking of something to say that would not be too forward was another matter. Compliments regarding her culinary skills were safe; telling her that he thought her hair, eyes, face and everything else was beautiful to him could be dangerous. But her offer was very tempting. While food was, of course, not something Data required as an android, he did enjoy his emotional responses to taste. Emotions had added a whole new dimension to eating that he had not expected prior to the chip's installation. While he had at times, eaten just to appear social, now he liked to enjoy the flavors and the sensations that the tastes could evoke.

"You also have a better sense of fashion." That was safe, Data assured himself. She turned back to him, giving him a look he was at a loss to understand.

"Alright, I'll give you points for the humor and give that one to you as I had it in mind to invite you to my quarters anyway," she turned back shaking her head and grinning again. At least she smiled a lot around him. She ordered their dinner and after handing him his plate, made her way to the table. He ordered the wine and two trips later sat across from her.

"I never thought that I would hear a captain admit to being less than proficient at anything, even if it is as insignificant as being able to cook a coordinate shoe with an outfit," she added, tipping her head towards him with a sly smile.

"I cannot speak for other captains, but there are many areas where I am not proficient, and as an android there are things I cannot do at all."

Teagan's head came up at this. "Ok, you have me curious now. What things can't you do that I can?"

"Be hungry as you mentioned earlier. I have never been tired either, and although I can activate a program that allows me to dream, I do not technically sleep."

"Not a big loss there, sir. Dreaming is the best part about sleeping," she noted as she waved her fork at him, conversationally.

"Interesting, I have had others note additional aspects of this ability as pleasant. For instance the drowsy sensation that precedes falling asleep."

She looked a little lost in thought at this. "Or climbing into a warm bed covered in blankets on a cool night. Alright, there are a few other pleasing aspects to sleep, but the best is still dreaming. Continue, Captain. What else can you not do?" she asked.

"Be warmed by a blanket, as I cannot feel cold or warm."

"Huh, Then your synthetic skin is not capable of relaying that information?" Her question was simply a request for information, not an expression of sympathy.

"I can detect heat or cold. I can tell you the exact temperature of our wine, know just by touching your hand that you do not have an illness indicating fever. But I cannot "feel" cold. I am not affected in the same way. I will never shiver in a snowstorm or perspire from the heat of a blazing sun."

She watched him in rapt fascination. "What else," she urged.

"I cannot swim or father children, my appearance changes to simulate aging, but I will never grow old." Data stopped as her eyes had gone wide.

"Ok, those were conversation starters. One at a time, why can't you swim?" she asked, taking a bite of her dinner.

"I have no buoyancy. If the water levels are above my head, I will sink to the bottom," he explained. (Author's note: I know that it was shown in Insurrection that Data could activate a floatation device, but I thought this idea was just too laughable to include here. So, I skipped it. )

This seemed to disturb her. "I will remember not to invite you to the swimming meets on the ship. Are you afraid of water?"

"No, but if immersed for a prolonged period of time it can penetrate my skin through my pores. It can have a mildly detrimental effect on most of my systems, so I take every precaution to prevent being in that situation."

She nodded, but looked lost in thought. "As for the fathering children, I was sure I read that you had a daughter who died some years ago. Did I misread that, sir?"

"No, Lal was my daughter, but she was an android like myself. I was referring to an inability to procreate biologically."

For some reason, colour now rose to her cheeks and she looked at her wineglass. "But you are capable of...umm. Of-"

Realizing what she was trying to say, he nodded gently. "Yes, I am," he informed her, trying to keep his voice calm and unaffected. She still would not meet his eyes, but now had an embarrassed smile on her soft face. What was she thinking, Data wondered. Could it be that she was entertaining the possibilities? Was it wrong for him to hope she was? Seven days, he mused. He had known her for only seven days and yet he was entertaining the possibilities. And this was not the first time.

"Having children is not usually something captains want. Most don't marry either. Since there are so many ships in the fleet that now allow families, I don't understand why, but it remains a tendency," Teagan observed, the flush slowly fading from her cheeks.

"Actually, that change has slowly had an effect. In the last ten years the number of married captains has increased by 18%," Data informed her, taking a sip of his wine.

"Eighteen, huh? And that means how many exactly, as I am sure you know." She tipped her head to the side and looked at him expectantly.

Oh, well, he thought. "Sixteen," he admitted reluctantly.

She laughed. "Not a very impressive number yet. But I suppose being married in that situation is a lot to ask of someone," she said, thoughtfully.

"To whom are you referring, the captain or his or her mate?" he asked.

"Both, I guess. Hard for the captain to focus on being responsible for the lives under his command and still come home and try and be normal, and hard for her to be under his command and still create and maintain a closeness between them. Imaging the power struggle in that situation!" she offered, grinning. "What if your wife does something that you have to reprimand her for but you still have to go home to her? That would not be a fun evening," she laughed. Despite himself, Data laughed too.

Dinner completed, they disposed of the dishes, and moved to the living room to continue their conversation.

Once they had taken their seats, she decided to change the subject. "Captain, would you-" her thought was interrupted by the firm voice of her commanding officer.

"Teagan, I would like to make my request for you to address me by my name when we are alone a standing request." Teagan closed her mouth, her thought banished. She looked at him blankly for several seconds before trying again.

"I have not wanted to make any assumptions. I know that in public, protocol demands that you be addressed properly," she began, her voice just above a whisper and full of uncertainty. "Protocol does demand very specific behavior."

"Correct, it would not be appropriate for one to raise their voice to me in anger, to strike me, or-"

"Or call you by your name in public," she concluded. He gave a slight nod. "There are certain lines which would have to be defined," she said hoping he understood to what she was referring.

"I believe that we have defined them," and unknowing, Data proceeded to step into a noose that would hang him until discovered. "Certain lines must never be crossed." He noted that Teagan's shoulders stiffened visible. She looked away from him and colour came to her cheeks, but drained from the rest of her. Suddenly she stood.

"Yes, I understand. Well, it is getting late and I should rest before my return to the planet in the morning. Thank you for dinner," she could not bring herself to call him anything at this moment or even bare to look him in the face. She knew she had to escape before her voice broke and he saw how hard his proclamation had hit her.

"If you wish, Good night, Teagan."

She met his eyes for a split second before turning quickly towards the door. "Good night," she breathed, and walked stiffly from his quarters.