It was starting to get cold. September in Detroit always froze early, signalling the end of summer. Of course it wasn't as cold as it could normally get, dropping into the negatives when the season decided to be particularly brutal. The trees burned in color to oranges and reds, and the light winds piled anything that wasn't nailed down into every corner. It was a time that usually signaled the end of the long summer break.

Kate stared at her computer screen with her face in her hands. The folder was open titled "Short Stories" with a long list of word documents that never made it to the end of the summer quarter. Now they wouldn't make it to fall either.

She let out a heavy sigh and opened the most recent story. She'd gotten nearly six pages in before giving up, and left off on a very important dialogue between two characters that were most likely going to kill eachother. This one would have made a very interesting workshop session. She could always simply finish it and use it in the next enrollment period. Unless she fell into another coma.

There was a knock on her door. Kate immediately felt a jolt of irritation as she saw Jamie's face appear in the crack of the open door. Kate swiveled in her chair to face her.

"Hey, Katie," said Jamie. She pushed the door open a bit wider. "Just… letting you know I'm off."

Kate drew her legs up to her chest. "Mhm. Checking to make sure I'm not dead?"

"Well, I promised your mom… you know."

"Yeah, I know." Kate sighed and buried her face in her knees.

"Hey, Sam and Kyle are meeting up at the old Storehouse with me at about five. Do you want to go with us? Just to get out of here if you want."

Kate shook her head so that the seat swivelled.

"Matt's going to be there too. He's still asking about you."

Kate was silent. She heard Jamie give a small sigh.

"Well, call me if you need me." There was a soft shuffle and a few moments later, the front door opened and closed.

Kate continued to breathe into her knees, her eyes tightly shut. She couldn't help the burning shame that creeped through her chest. It had been nearly a month. She knew it wasn't reasonable to stay quiet for so long, but a deep fear stirred in her heart at the thought of recovering from the coma. As if everyone expected the worst at any moment.

She raised her head and took in a fresh breath, opening her eyes slowly. Her heart jolted slightly in her chest.

Simon was standing in the open doorway as if he were on his way to do something else. He was watching her with his new expression─ the blank puzzlement. It was a good exchange from his not-smile but still seemed to her like a computer's way of pretending to be human.

She straightened slightly as she acknowledged him, and he rotated in the doorway so that he faced her.

"Are you still not feeling well?" he asked.

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "I'm well enough to be able to fake it." She ran a hand over her face. "Are you here to shove something else down my throat?"

"Perhaps." Simon glanced towards the kitchen. "If I make you ramen, will you eat it instead of telling me you will eat it and then not eating it?"

Kate couldn't help the smile that tugged the corner of her mouth. "Yeah, I'll eat it."

Simon moved out of sight, and Kate stretched her legs in front of her. She wasn't sure if the android had downloaded some kind of new personality software or if he was improvising. It almost seemed like she had unlocked some new questline where the ending involved him having a god-forbid attitude.

She moved from her chair to her bed, pulling her phone out of her pocket and hitting the remote. The Enterprise appeared on the screen high on her wall, and she curled up as she scrolled back through the episodes. Somehow the last season was more entertaining when all of the characters were fighting over illogical relationships.

Data had just cut out a piece of Deanna Troi cake when Kate's phone burst into tune. Kate raised her phone up in time to see Matt's name before swiping the call away. She tossed her phone to the side, letting out a heavy sigh. Something white caught her attention as she shifted, and she looked up.

For a second, she almost laughed. Simon was standing with a steaming bowl in one hand, but his gaze was firmly locked on the screen. His pale blue eyes were narrowed as if he were struggling to comprehend the situation.

Kate glanced at the screen, then back at Simon. It was like watching an animal see another animal on television. He finally looked at her and his expression softened. He handed her the bowl.

"Remember," he said as she took it from him. "You said you would eat it."

"Sure." Kate straightened as she folded her knees under her. She stirred the ramen with a spoon, letting the salty savory aroma warm her as she breathed it in. As she twirled the spoon, she glanced up again to see the android staring at the screen, his furrowed expression returned.

"Have you ever seen Star Trek?" she asked.

Simon looked at her again. "No, I've only watched Terry's Therapy."

Kate couldn't help a snort. "Terry's─ what the fuck─" She shook her head and stirred the ramen some more. "Whatever."

"Is that man pretending to be an android?" asked Simon. He tilted his head slightly as he watched the screen.

Kate took a small sip of the ramen. "Yeah. His name is Data. He wants to be human."

Simon was silent for a moment. "But he is human."

Kate shook her head even though she knew Simon couldn't see it. "He's a human playing an android that wants to be human."

"Why?"

"Why… I don't know. Why does it matter?"

"Is that paint?" said Simon. "His skin is white."

"That's just… what they thought an android should look like back then."

"His eyes are yellow."

"And they were blue other times?"

"If he wants to be human," said Simon, "why didn't he paint his skin a more flesh-tone, and perhaps change his eyes to mimic the natural biological color?"

"I don't know, Simon…" Kate put her face in her hand. "It's a TV show from the eighties. It's supposed to be entertaining, not realistic."

Simon was silent as though he was only half-listening, his gaze becoming more and more furrowed as he watched the screen. Kate glanced between him and the screen as she sipped the ramen from the bowl.

"Do you… want to just sit down?" she said.

Simon looked at her, his expression returning to the friendly blankness. "Sit down?"

"Yeah, you're just standing there." Kate looked around for a moment, then pushed the desk chair towards him with her foot. "If you want to watch this, just sit down."

Simon put his hand on the back of the chair as it rolled towards him. He stared at it for a moment, then looked back up at her. Kate sighed and sat up straight. "You look like you want to watch this. So sit down and watch it. And yes, I know this means I'm not kicking you out of my room."

The android's eyes seem to light up, and Kate thought she could see the smallest hint of a smile on his face. "As long as you're aware of it," he said. He moved the chair to the side, and sat down squarely as if he was preparing to immediately spring back up.

As Kate sipped the ramen, she wasn't sure what was more entertaining: watching the weirdest episode of Star Trek or seeing Simon try as hard as he could to comprehend the fact that the android in the show was a human. The ramen soup seemed to fill her up instantly and she had to repeatedly remind herself to keep sipping before it got cold.

Her phone rang again, this time in a different ringtone. She leaned over slightly to see the name and saw that it was her mom. She blew a lock of hair out of her face before sitting up again and letting the phone go silent.

After a while the ramen was gone. Kate sat with her back against the wall and her legs drawn up, the empty bowl resting in her lap. Simon hadn't moved an inch, although his furrowed expression had changed into more of a mild intrigue. Kate watched him for a moment, spinning the bowl in her lap. It was a strange situation to be so relatable to the fake android on the screen, yet the real android in her room was so alien and uncanny.

The episode was halfway through another Troi-cake party when she saw Simon tilt his head again.

"Is this what you dream about?" he asked without looking at her.

Kate sat frozen for a moment, struggling to understand the question. "What I dream about?" She watched him but he remained silent. She looked up at the screen as Data retrieved the phone from the hatch in his chest. "I'm pretty sure I've never dreamt about this."

"What do you dream about?" Simon glanced at her, that blank puzzlement returning to his blue eyes.

Kate opened her mouth, partly to answer and partly out of surprise. She shook her head as she tried to speak. "I… don't know. I don't really dream about anything."

Simon gazed at her for a moment, then looked back up at the screen. "Androids don't dream. If Data is dreaming this, then he must be a lot closer to becoming human than he realizes."

Kate wasn't sure how to respond. She clutched the bowl in both hands against her lap and drew her legs up a bit more. Part of her wanted the android to leave so she could settle back into the normal routine of watching the show by herself. At the same time, there was something safe about having something close by that wasn't exactly human but still responsive enough to not be considered alone.

The phone rang again. Kate sighed and leaned over to reach it. "What the fuck people…" she muttered, then froze as she read the screen. Her stomach did a little flip. "Oh shit."

She stared at the clock on her phone, her heart beginning to race. There still might be time. It wasn't that far of a drive. But she wasn't dressed. She didn't know where her shoes were. It would take time to call a cab. And in all honesty, she didn't want to go anyway. She let out a heavy breath as she settled back against the wall. She could deal with the consequences. She tossed the phone back into the sheets, then realized with a jolt that the android was staring at her.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. Kate immediately felt herself tense up again.

"It's… nothing. Just my mom." She spun the bowl in her fingers, then held it out to him. "I'm done with this."

Simon stood up and took the bowl from her, the puzzled bewilderment fresh on his face. "Can I ask you what's going on?"

Kate groaned and put her palms against her forehead. "It's nothing. I just forgot a doctor's appointment is all." She didn't have to look at him to know he was staring at her.

"You should go."

She clenched her hands into her hair. "I'm not going. I'd have to be there in ten minutes."

"You should still go."

"I don't want to go." She dropped her hands and gazed up at him. "I don't want to get dressed, I don't want to rush… I don't want to go."

"I don't think this is necessarily about what you want, Kate," said Simon. "It's what you need."

"Forget it." She sank down lower on the bed as if to anchor herself. "I'm not going."

They were both quiet for a moment.

"Kate?" said the android.

Kate sighed. "What?"

"You're acting like a bitch."

Kate felt her face heat up. She raised a finger at him. "Not now, Simon."

"Do you want to make that an order?"

"Simon, I swear to fucking god, I don't need you and my mom to do this to me." Kate ran both hands through her hair, feeling her face begin to bead with sweat. "Just this once, can you guys stay out of it?"

"I can call a taxi right now," said Simon. "It will be here in five minutes."

"Simon, don't. If you call a fucking cab─" Kate let out another sharp breath as her phone rang again. "For fuck's sake─" She hastily swiped the call away with shaking hands. "Would it cause a fucking war for people to not be worried about me all the god damn time…"

"Would you like me to talk to your mother?" asked Simon.

"Don't talk to my mom. Don't ever talk to my mom. Stop worrying about me. Leave me the fuck alone." Kate struggled to focus as she made an attempt to turn the phone on silent. "I'm not going to drop dead. I'm not a precious flower pedal. You people can get on with your lives for one more day if I'm not here. I'm not─ I'm─"

Kate clenched her hands into her hair again as she felt herself twitch. The room seemed to rotate slightly, and she leaned forward to catch her balance. A tingling numbness spread from her fingers inward to her core. Everything was moving too fast. It all mattered too much. People needed to just leave her alone. If they would leave her alone, maybe she would finally be able to make sense of all this…

Her frustrated thoughts blended with energetic bursts. The world was swirling around her in a mixture of light and shadows that slowly began to swallow her. She was floating into a void that was leaving everything tactile and real. If she let it take her then perhaps all of this would stop. At least she could find some peace in the darkness...

Something jolted everything back into painful focus. The shapes and images began to blur, then again, a sharp jolt. Kate drew in a deep breath, the sensation coming back to her body before it began to slip again.

Another sharp electric jolt. She clenched her hands and let out a groan. The control snapped her thoughts back into order. She was back in her body. Breathing, moving, and able to think. She slowly opened her eyes.

There was a yellow glow above her. It took her a moment for her eyes to focus enough, aided still by the strange electric jolts that sharpened her senses. The ceiling, the TV screen on the wall, and the shape of a head and shoulders.

She was on her back, her legs and arms slowly falling into a resting position. Though the room still swirled slightly around her she could clearly see Simon kneeling over her, his head bowed and his eyes closed in an intense thinking expression. As everything came into clearer view, she felt the electric sensations fade and realized the android had his hands against both her temples.

The world solidified around her, and the ending credits Star Trek filled the room as though someone had turned up the volume. She breathed heavily, giving everything time to remain in control. She thought carefully of what happened. There was no way. Not another one…

She moved to sit up, and Simon's eyes opened. She felt his hand on her chest.

"Don't move," he said. "Wait a few minutes."

"I… what…" Kate tried to bring her hands up to her face but felt as though there were ten pound weights attached to each arm. She clumsily knocked her cheeks with her palms.

"Please try to stay still."

"Did… did it happen again?" She looked up at him upside down. His LED was back to blue, though it pulsed with occasional yellow.

"You're okay now," said Simon. "I'm monitoring you."

"Did I have another one?" She felt strength returning to her muscles as a weak anxiety flowed through her. "Did I have another seizure?"

Simon seemed to give her his full attention as his blue eyes narrowed. "You began to convulse. I was able to stabilize your neural activity before it was out of control."

Kate pressed her palms to her eyes with renewed energy. "Fuck…"

"I'm going to monitor your brainwaves until the ambulance arrives," said Simon. "Until then you need to─"

"No─ no ambulances." Kate brought down her hands and looked up at him. "No hospitals."

"You need to see a doctor," said Simon. "Your neural stability is still fragile."

"Don't take me to the hospital." Kate felt her heart race. She reached up to clutch at his arm. "Don't take me back there. Please…"

"Kate, you know it's what you need to do," said Simon.

"Please, don't take me back." Kate could feel her throat tightening. She swallowed and closed her grip on his arm. "Don't do this to me. I can't go through it again with everyone. Just… just monitor me here. I'll do whatever you tell me to do. Just don't make me go through this again."

Simon's LED spun yellow for a second. His blue eyes were narrowed slightly. "That would violate my programming."

"I can't…" Kate trembled as she felt the room swirl slightly. "Simon. I'm not ordering you. I'm asking you. Don't take me back to the hospital. Please."

She breathed heavily as she watched him, his furrowed expression frozen as his LED continued to spin yellow. Her heart raced faster as the moments went by. Another week in the hospital… her mom would be there every day controlling every move she made if it meant she would stay in her protective bubble. Jamie would have to watch her like a hawk as if Kate were an infant. Every person on the planet would be wondering when the next time would be that she would collapse. And Matt…

"Alright."

Kate paused for a moment, not realizing what she'd heard. "What?"

"Alright, I cancelled the ambulance." Simon leaned back slightly, resting a hand on his knee. His other hand remained firmly on her temple.

She simply stared at him. For a second, she could hardly believe it. She relaxed her grip on his arm. "Do you mean it?"

A solemn energy lit up in his eyes. "You ordered me to be honest with you."

She felt her grip loosen as a swell of relief flowed through her. She dropped her hand on her chest and closed her eyes. She'd never felt so rooted in her life. For once, everything felt like it was going to work out. It didn't have to be a huge disaster. It was all going to be okay.

As she relaxed, she slowly began to feel very tired. It was a pleasant change from such an energetic event. She was aware of Simon still hovering over her, probably continuing his strange brainscan. It was somewhat disconcerting, as though her thoughts weren't fully her own, but it felt like a small price to pay.

Finally, she opened her eyes. Simon's head was bowed again, his eyes closed as if in deep meditation.

"Can I get up now?" she said.

Simon's eyes opened. He straightened. "Yes, of course."

She raised herself up onto her elbows, her hair falling into her face. Pressure on her shoulders told her Simon was helping her up. Her muscles were still weak as if she were intoxicated, but slowly she felt the energy flow back to them as she relaxed into a kneeling position. She rested there for a moment, her hands on her knees. Then she looked up at Simon.

"Are you going to tell anyone about this?" she said.

The android's LED flashed yellow. "I won't unless you tell me to. Although you know what I would advise."

Kate nodded. She used her bed as unreliable support as she stood up. She felt his hand on her shoulder as she steadied herself. For a while she simply stood and breathed in deeply, staring at the window without looking through it. The shadows from the blinds cast long bars of gold through the room which moved slightly in the breeze. It was so satisfying to be in this space. Her space. She never needed to leave it if she wanted.

She rested a hand against her forehead. "Simon?"

There was a movement next to her. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. She rotated on the spot, letting her hand drop to her hip. Her body still felt slightly sluggish but in a somewhat pleasant way. Taking care, she lowered herself onto her bed, sitting with her back against the wall and gently drawing her legs up. She rested her hands on her hands on her knees, her head tilted to one side. Then she looked up at Simon who was still standing next to her. She gave a weak smile.

"Want to watch this from the beginning?" she said, nodded towards the TV.

Simon glanced at the screen which was playing a new episode, then looked at her with that puzzled expression. "Absolutely."