"Go on and have a seat here. The doctor will be by in a minute."

I nodded, doing as I was told, and watched as the nurse walked across the room to another patient who needed more immediate care. Her hair was black and loosely tied back in an up-do. Sick bay was pretty large, at least this part was. Beds lined up in rows and the walls were covered in screens and buttons. Just under the chatter I could hear the beeping of the machinery.

"Alright! Thank you for your patience. I was just finishing up a few things." What I assumed was the Doctor rushed over with a tablet in her hand. She was wearing a white lab coat over her uniform.

"No problem! You are Dr. Crusher, right?"

"Yes! It is very nice to meet you. Abigail Rees, is it?" She pressed a few buttons on her tablet, but took a moment to give me a warm smile. She looked almost excited.

"Right."

"How are you enjoying the Enterprise so far?"

"It has been a big change… I haven't seen much outside of quarters yet, but I hear there is a lot going on in this ship."

Beverly nodded. "It is an improvement from the last ship, but it is certainly different in many ways."

"How so?"

She produced a device from her pocket and opened it, taking a moment to scan me. "The last one was more for exploration and had more quarters for families and places to relax. This ship was created with battle in mind. Although Ten-Forward survived the cuts. You should check it out sometime."

I nodded. "I am excited to explore the ship while I am here." I tried to ignore the battle part.

"Just keep yourself out of trouble." Beverly smirked and closed her tricorder, switching it out for a different instrument. She adjusted the settings for a moment before giving me a few shots. "There you are. You may feel a bit tired during the next couple days, but just be sure not to overwork yourself."

"Okay."

She paused for a moment. "If you need any assistance while you are here, do not hesitate to ask me."

I smiled, getting onto my feet. "Thank you. Do you have any idea of where I could find Geordi LaForge?"

She took a moment to think. "At this hour he should be in engineering finishing his shift."

"I probably shouldn't bother him there…"

"It won't bother him. You may even get a meal out of him if he takes a liking to you!" She gave me a sly wink.

I looked at her surprised and laughed, shaking my head. "What?"

"Oh and watch out for Commander Riker as well." She laughed.

I just shook my head. "I've got to get going, but it was nice meeting you."

"Likewise." She swallowed her amusement and watched me as I left the room.

I shook my head, smiling at the ground as I walked back to the turbo lift. I know she meant well and was joking, but she seemed to spring that comment up out of nowhere. Once inside I called out for the lower decks. According to my map, engineering was basically on the opposite side of the ship.

After only a few minutes the doors of the lift opened. This hallway looked the same as the others, but had some larger bulkheads and small access points. I stopped at the door for engineering and pressed the button to open it. The button rang out like normal, but it did not open. After pressing it again the computer explained that I did not have access to this part of the ship. I sighed, but agreed, leaning up against the wall. It was true I had no business inside the inner workings of a Starfleet battleship.

I looked into my tablet to check the time, trying to decide whether to continue waiting or to check back with Data. Now that I thought about it… I didn't know what LaForge looked like.

The large doorway opened, making me nearly jump out of my skin. A man walked out but froze as he saw me standing against the opposite wall. He cocked his head to the side and I didn't need to see his eyes to see that he was confused. I'm sure it was strange to find someone lurking outside of main engineering.

"Can I help you?" He asked softly.

"Oh! Um… I am looking for Geordi LaForge…" I instantly felt embarrassed. Like I was standing outside of his workplace like a stalker. I could feel my face slowly turning red as well.

"That would be me! You have me at a disadvantage though. I don't believe I've seen you around."

"Ah! My name is Abigail Rees. I was probably the last person to come aboard before the Enterprise left."

"Oh! Are you a government official?"

"Not at all!" I laughed. "I'm just a counselor. I was hired at the last minute."

Geordi seemed to relax a bit. "You report to Counselor Troi then?"

"Right!"

He put a hand out to signal that he was ready to walk and I led the way down the hall. "How can I help you, Counselor?"

"It's about Data…" I began, but his expression quickly fell into a frown. "He would like to speak with you."

Geordi allowed me to step into the lift first and let out a heavy sigh. "I see…" He called out to the computer and it began transporting us to another floor. "I already told him my answer. Although he didn't seem to like it much." He rubbed his arm, visibly irritated. It looked to be healed but the wound was still there for him.

"I'm sorry…. It will be something we will be working on."

"You don't have to apologize…"

"He actually wanted to apologize to you. He is worried about your friendship."

Geordi sighed again.

"Do you not want to be friends with Data anymore?"

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "It's not that… I've just been angry with him. No matter how many times I tell him that I will not turn him off or disassemble him, he just sits there and argues. Hell, even Dianna couldn't handle him-"

He stopped as the doors opened and I followed him out. He held himself back and just shook his head.

"I'm sorry.." He continued. "Aren't you concerned about getting hurt?" I opened my mouth to protest but he continued. "We all have accepted that he is human, but he is still an android. He has double our strength… We all tried to help him understand what he is feeling, but it seems to be too much for him." He stopped as he seemed to realize who he was talking to. "I'm sorry… I am just concerned for your safety."

"No, it's alright. I appreciate you being honest with me. Many people have described this position to be a lost cause… But seeing you so upset about this gives me some hope."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you wouldn't be this upset if you were giving up. If you were really done with the experience of Data becoming human you would have given in and shut him down or even blown me off today."

He exhaled, scratching at his forehead. "You got me there… I just don't want this resulting in another argument. I don't want to be fighting with him anymore. I'd rather be helping."

I nodded. "I will be there to mediate."

He looked relieved, taking a moment to think. "Alright. I do miss the guy."

I smiled. "He is missing you too."

"So we should meet up tomorrow?"

"Actually I was thinking this evening, but if you have other plans…"

"No, no. I wasn't sure how Data was feeling."

"From my initial interview there is not too much I am worried about yet. I am still being cautious though. I feel that with more support he will become more accepting of his situation and not want to give up so easily."

Geordi nodded thoughtfully. "Alright. I'm going to grab something to eat and then I'll be over. Did you want to come?"

I smiled, shaking my head no, but could feel the emptiness in my stomach. My breakfast was light after all.

"You sure?"

I gave in, almost thankful he asked again. "Alright, I'll come." I was a bit worried about Data, but if there was an emergency I was sure security would come find me.

LaForge motioned to allow me to walk first. He seemed very polite and was both casual and professional at the same time. As we walked down the hall to Ten-Forward we mostly made small talk. Something I was not very good at, so he mostly brought up the subjects first and I answered. He seemed to be a very talkative guy.

As we entered the room, someone waved us down at one of the tables. Someone in a red uniform. Geordi waved back. They must have been waiting for him. I felt kind of bad for keeping him.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, Commander." LaForge pulled out a seat and motioned for me to sit. "Had some business to attend to."

"Who is this?" The commander smiled at me, putting his drink down on the table.

"This is Counselor Rees. She is in charge of Data." Geordi took his seat.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow curiously. "We are happy to have you aboard Counselor. I am Commander William Riker." He reached out a hand to me.

"It is nice to meet you." I gave it a firm shake. If I were telepathic I would be screaming at Dr. Crusher right now.

I felt out of place sitting at the table, but relaxed as a waiter approached in regular clothes. We all ordered food and drink.

"So Counselor…" The Commander was first to break the quiet. "What do you think of Data?"

My mind spun for a moment. "He seems stable for now. LaForge and I are going to visit with him after this."

Riker looked as if he were trying to hide the surprise on his face. "You're going to speak with him again after all?" He was looking at Geordi.

He just sighed and shook his head, thanking the server as he dropped off our drinks. "I'm going to try to. Both of us aren't happy with how things turned out. With the Counselor there we hope to make progress instead of causing another argument."

Riker nodded. "I hope you are up for this challenge." He was looking at me now.

I sat up straight, feeling suddenly called out. "Of course!"

He gave a nod of approval and I felt like I could relax once again. The men began talking about their work and I tried to follow along, but was quickly lost in their lingo. Power converter this and warp core that. I found my gaze drifting around the room to the other tables. Mostly human, but a few other life forms were sprinkled in. It wasn't too busy. The room resembled a bar, but it currently had the atmosphere of a cafe. It was only lunchtime though. I was sure that it would become more lively during the evening.

My attention returned as my plate was placed in front of me. I had ordered a sandwich with fries, Geordi got a bowl of soup, and Riker looked to have ordered something alien. I must have been making a face because he let out a laugh.

"Not to your taste, I assume?"

"I've… just never seen something like that before." I tried to manage a smile.

"It is a Klingon dish. You may want to try it sometime." He dug in, trying to hide the amusement in his face.

I laughed and focused on my sandwich. "Seems there will be a lot of new things for me to experience while I am here."

Geordi nodded. "You're right. Have you not been off planet before?"

"Not at all."

"Well you are lucky to be aboard the Enterprise of all the ships in Starfleet."

"Oh?"

"We have come across lots of new and strange people and planets. Who knows, you may get to set foot on one yourself."

"That would be exciting… Although Data takes priority."

Riker grinned. "Of course." He took a moment to eat. "Tell me about yourself, Rees."

I hummed in thought. "Well… I am from California…"

"Did you go to Starfleet Academy?"

"Oh no, I graduated from USF, but I was hired in through the Academy. I don't really have the mind for science or engineering."

"Ever think you'd find yourself in space?"

I laughed. "You know… It's ironic that I'd been fighting against it my whole life it feels like, but here I am."

"Fighting space is a difficult battle to win." Riker teased, but looked at me seriously, waiting for me to elaborate.

Geordi shook his head, grinning at Riker's joke.

I continued. "My mother always pushed me to join Starfleet… but I knew what I wanted to do." The both of them stared at me and I could feel myself becoming embarrassed. " I won't bore you with the details, but I enjoy helping people and I feel emotions are what I know best."

"Well we are happy to have you aboard."

Geordi stood up and looked over to me. "Well…. Let's get this over with. It's probably time to check back with Data anyways, right?"

I nodded, standing as well. "Right. It was nice meeting you Commander."

"You as well, Counselor."