Will and Soren were in Soren's quarters. Soren was lying on the bed, but she wasn't asleep. Will was sitting on the bed beside her. Gently he traced the shape of the intricate whorls on her forehead with his finger. He was still so very intrigued by her exotic features, as she was by his. It was so nice to just be able to spend quiet time together, just the two of them, during the evening.

Suddenly Will's communicator beeped. It was Data. "Please meet me on the holodeck in about five minutes. Tasha and I have something very important that we want to tell all of you at once."

Slightly annoyed at having their quiet time together interrupted, Will and Soren headed for the holodeck. As soon as everyone arrived, Data announced, "I called you all here to to tell you that I have asked this lovely lady to marry me, and she has agreed." He embraced Tasha, and she beamed. Everone cheered and took turns congratulating the happy couple. Soren hugged first Data, then Tasha. "I am so happy for you," she told them.

"When's the date?" Will asked.

"It hasn't been determined yet. When it is, we'll let you know," Data told him.

Will and Soren returned to Soren's quarters, but the moment had been irretrievably lost, and neither of them was in the mood to resume their previous intimacy.

"I can't believe our old friend Data is finally going to tie the knot," Will remarked.

"Tie what knot?"

Will chuckled. "It's just an expression referring to marriage."

"Will there be a ceremony? What will it be like?"

"If the wedding takes place on Earth, which will most likely be the case, there will indeed be a ceremony with flowers, a cake, the whole nine yards."

"So on Earth the beginning of a marriage is a very formalized ceremony."

"Yes, it is."

"It sounds like a very enjoyable experience."

"Truthfully, the tradition is that it is much more eagerly anticipated by the bride than by the groom. For her it is the fulfillment of her dreams, the capturing of her beloved's heart. For the groom it signifies the end of his carefree days and the time when he will finally have to 'grow up'. The reason for the so-called 'bachelor party' has always been to give the groom one last chance to act selfishly and irresponsibly before he has to put those days behind him forever."

Soren was deep in thought. "So for a woman marriage is a positive thing, and for a man it is a negative thing."

"Oh no, not at all. That is a very outdated and sexist way of looking at it. It isn't nearly as true in modern times as it was in the distant past. It's always been much more of a stereotype than an actual truth anyway, although there may be a kernel of truth to it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, at the risk of sounding sexist, women are traditionally 'supposed' to be more monogamous than men. For a woman the idea has always been to find the one man who will love only her forever. Men tend to place more importance on variety and so have more of a reluctance to limit themselves to just one woman. There's always the thought in the back of his mind that somewhere out there may exist a more desirable partner than the one he is currently with."

Soren was quiet for a long time. Then she asked softly, "Is that true for you, Will?"

Will didn't answer right away. Finally he replied, "I think it was quite true of me when I was much younger. I fell in love very easily and fell out of it just as easily. It seemed that as soon as I met a woman who would make a perfect mate I would notice another waiting in the wings who would make me less sure of that."

Soren remembered what Deanna had told her about the nature of men, and also about how her own relationship with Will had ended.

"Is it still true of you today?" she asked.

Will took a long time to reply again. "Soren, when I was a younger man I never imagined that I would still be single by the time I was as old as I am now. I just took it for granted that I would someday be a husband and father. I have achieved all of the career goals I set for myself, and more. Yet I have no one to share my success with. I am tired of being alone, Soren." He took both her hands and looked directly into her eyes. His clear blue eyes had never looked so serious. "I want someone to share my life with. I want that very badly."

Suddenly he stood up, grinned, and tousled her hair playfully. "I've had a long day, Soren. Don't take anything I say too seriously."

Soren didn't know what to think.

The next day she and Tasha Yar ate lunch together. She couldn't wait to ask Tasha all about it.

"So when did he ask you?"

"Two nights ago. Oh, Soren, it was so romantic! We were watching 'Casablanca' in his quarters, and as soon as the movie was over, he switched off the DVD player, got down on one knee, and proposed."

"Is it traditional for marriage proposals to be done on one knee?"

"It's certainly the most romantic way!" Tasha said.

"So how does it feel?" Soren asked.

"Oh my God, I am so excited! I can't wait to start preparing for the wedding. There will be the invitations to send out, the cake to order, my dress and Data's tuxedo..." Tasha was very animated.

"So are you sure that Data is truly the man you want to spend the rest of your life with?"

"Oh, yes! He's handsome, very intelligent, and such a sweetheart. I can't imagine loving any man more than I love Data."

"I hope that you two will be very happy together," Soren said.

"Thank you," Tasha said. "How are things going between you and Will?"

"I'm not sure," Soren said. "I feel that he doesn't want me to know his true feelings about things. Sometimes he sounds very serious while talking to me and then pretends that he was only joking."

Tasha laughed. "Oh Soren, that sounds so typical of a man. They like to pretend that they don't really care when deep down inside they really do. They just think it's unmanly to let their vulnerability show. It took Data forever to finally admit his true feelings for me."

"I suppose I'll just have to be patient then," Soren said.

"I think that you are absolutely right," Tasha said.