Last part! It's been crazy, and kind of fun, writing this thing out 'live' in the box like this. Really tired now...stupid construction's giving me a headache and I had to take a little break, but they should be heading off for dinner soon. I hope! :) Thanks so much for reading, and thanks a million for your reviews! Hope you like this last part! :)

IV.

"Enter!"

Counselor Troi stepped through the sliding doors into Data's quarters…and blinked in surprise at the change. Cat toys littered the floor and furniture and the room...smelled...like the animal who now lived there. She didn't know why this should throw her so off balance, but Data's quarters had never had any sort of smell before. She wondered for a moment how the android had so far managed to keep the cat's smell, and fur, from clinging to his uniform...

Data looked up from his couch, where he had been teasing the orange cat with a peculiar feathered toy attached to a pole and string. When she walked in, he quickly tucked the toy away and shot to his feet. The cat looked slightly peeved.

"Counselor," the android said. "Is there something you wished of me?"

"No, no, Data," she assured him, wishing once again that the android was not such a blank to her empathic senses. "I just stopped by to meet your new arrival. Hope you don't mind."

As she spoke, she moved toward the cat, slowly extending her hand and allowing the wary animal to sniff her fingers. After a moment, the cat deigned to rub its head against her palm on its way to sit possessively on Data's side of the couch.

"On the contrary, I am delighted," Data said, and he did seem to brighten. He reached for the cat and supported the animal gently in his arms, stroking its tawny fur as he presented it to her. For that moment, he looked for all the world like a proud parent, happy for the chance to show off his pride and joy.

"Spot," he said to the cat, waiting patiently until it turned its golden eyes to his. "I would like you to meet Counselor Deanna Troi. Counselor, this is Spot. My cat."

"May I?" Troi asked, reaching for the little animal.

"Of course," Data said and handed it over.

Deanna smiled and cuddled the cat.

"So, 'Spot,'" she said. "That's an unusual name."

"Do you find it...amusing?" Data asked, rather hopefully she thought.

Deanna made a little face, and Data seemed to shrug.

"He is a representative of a very rare breed, known as an Orion Chameleonic Tawny," he told her. "When young, as he is now, he has this long, reddish fur but, as he grows older, his coat will grow shorter and lighter in color. Perhaps the most interesting and unusual aspect of this particular breed, however, is its unique reproductive cycle. Most Chamelionic Tawnys are born male, but as they approach middle age they develop female characteristics. The biology is really quite fascinating, and I look forward to observing the process as Spot matures."

"Your Starfleet specialty, of course, being exobiology," Deanna said a little wryly, handing the cat back to Data.

"And probability mechanics," Data said, her lightly teasing tone entirely lost on him. "Would you care to sit down, Counselor? I can offer you a hot chocolate, or perhaps-"

"Thank you, Data, but no," she said. "I have an appointment to get ready for in twenty minutes. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing."

"The thought is much appreciated, Counselor," Data said. "You are welcome to come and visit our home at any time."

Deanna's smile was as spontaneous as it was heartfelt.

"Your home... That's really nice, Data," she said. "Is that how you've come to think of your quarters? As your home?"

"It is now," Data said, and put Spot back down on the couch.

"Data..." Deanna took a breath, a little uncertain quite how to phrase her question.

The android blinked and faced her.

"Yes, Counselor?"

"Data, why did you adopt this cat?" she asked, deciding on the direct approach. "I assume you have no emotional need for the companionship of a pet. So, why take on the added responsibility?"

Data seemed to hesitate. He gazed at Spot while the cat primly fixed his fur then, slowly, turned his eyes back to Troi.

"My...friend... Tam Elbrun," he said. "Before he joined with the entity known as Tin Man, he told me that...that caring for someone...brings purpose to our existence. This is something I know very well to be true. Caring for Lal enriched my life. Her presence imbued these quarters with...an ineffable vibrancy...that was no longer present after she was gone."

"Then...adopting Spot has brought back some of that for you, hasn't it," Deanna realized with quiet wonder. "That sense of...of family...?"

Data regarded her, his head slightly tilted. Deanna smiled.

"It's all right to use that word," she said. "You are a family, Data. You and Spot."

Data's pensive expression brightened noticeably, and Troi could swear it almost looked as if he were smiling.

"Thank you, Counselor," he said. "I appreciate your understanding."

The look on his face forced her to give in to a sudden impulse, and she gave the android a warm, friendly squeeze.

"Spot couldn't ask for a better parent, or friend," she said, and smiled at his happy, wide-eyed look. It was only as she was turning to go that she realized she was covered in cat fur.

"Ionic roller?" Data offered, handing her the small device.

Deanna laughed and took it, using it to brush the fur from her dress. There was that question answered.

"Thank you, Data," she said.

"You are welcome, Counselor," he assured her, and turned his attention back to Spot. As Deanna walked out the door, the android and the cat resumed their play: two unique lifeforms whose special bond had made Data's work room into a home.

The End!

...and, though he's very far away and wouldn't comprehend, this story's for my Brewski-Dog, my true and valued friend. :)

References include: Data's Day; Genesis; Tin Man; The Offspring; Phantasms; Encounter at Farpoint; Schisms (Data's Ode to Spot); and the movie Generations. I made up the whole thing about Spot being a chameleon-type cat (Orion's a MIB reference BTW). In "Data's Day," when Spot was introduced, he had long reddish fur, which he still had in "In Theory." Later he was shown to have shorter, orangey fur. He remained a male cat through "Phantasms" until "Force of Nature" when he inexplicably became a she and later had kittens in "Genesis." Go figure. ;)

What do you think of my story? Let me know! Please review! :)