XV.

"Data, it's not a good time…" Deanna answered the door in her bathrobe. It was only 07:00 in the evening, but she looked very tired and eager to get some rest.

"I apologize, counselor." Data said frantically, hoping to catch her interest with the mere tone of urgency in his voice. "But this is important. I need your advice."

His plan worked. She immediately took on a look of concern and led him into the room, sitting him down on her couch. She sat down across from him in one of her office chairs and listened.

"Heva has declared that tonight, as we sit in her quarters, we are on a second date. A home date, she said."

Deanna looked confused; she turned her head slightly and cocked an eyebrow. "This is a good thing, Data. You are progressing in your relationship. What's the urgency in this?"

Data began rubbing his hands together in a panicky fashion. He couldn't bring himself to look at Deanna, embarrassed and nervous; not to mention his rush to get back to Heva's room to finish their date. "Yes, it's a very good thing. But…" he hesitated. "I know I told you that I had felt aroused by her once before. But tonight…tonight we were drinking hot cocoa together and…she was only removing some whipped cream from her top lip with her tongue, I've seen many people do that when they are eating or drinking. It is only a way to cleanse the top of their lips from sticky or leftover substances of their ingested nutritional requirements. However this time…I felt a distinct urge to engage in sexual intercourse with Heva while I watched her."

Deanna's eyes were wide with a look of curiosity and intrigue. She understood exactly why he had felt this way. She just wasn't sure how to present it to him in a way that he could truly understand.

"I understand that it is too early in our relationship to pursue such close, intimate, physical contact." He went on. "But I feel myself wanting it more and more, especially when thinking of that scene. It keeps coming to my mind over and over, even now. As I watched her, all I wanted to do was set down my glass, force her to set her own down…and press my lips against hers. I wanted to take her into my arms and feel her up against me. I wanted to be so near to her that we were…were.."

"You wanted to feel oneness with her." Deanna finished his sentence.

"Yes…is that normal? Why would I feel such a strong sense of sexual desire from a small action taken by one muscle of her body?"

Deanna couldn't help but smile, her eyebrows rising and falling as she chuckled in amusement.

"I fail to see what is comical about this situation, counselor." Data said defensive. Deanna looked at him and shook her head.

"It's not that, Data." She reassured him. "It's just…I didn't expect you to get this way either. Especially so soon. You see…how do I put this?" she brought a hand to her chin, stroking a finger across it in thought.

"Well, Data." She continued. "You see: when you feel an attraction to another person, often certain things they do with their body will make you feel aroused. Typically, it's things like this that help to engage intercourse. For instance, sometimes when a woman uses her tongue to lick away excess food…it makes a man imagine…well…what else she could do with it. If it could benefit in their sexual interaction. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Data looked at her, wide eyed. "I…I do." His mind drifted back to the thought of Heva, her tongue slowly moving from one side of her lip to the other. "Um…ahem. Do you believe it would be unwise to even suggest to her that we have a sexual experience together so soon?"

Deanna shook her head. "It would be too soon. Besides, intimacy is supposed to be spontaneous."

"Spontaneous."

"Yes, Data. Sex is most enjoyable when it happens at random. When two people suddenly feel driven to be together in such a passionate and secret way, they just…know. You will know what I mean when it happens. I'm sure it won't be too long from now."

Data nodded slowly and turned away from her. He felt slightly embarrassed for having consulted in her about this. However he did feel glad that he got it off of his chest before he did something drastic.

"Thank you, Deanna. I feel confident now that when I return, I will have better control of my sexual desires for Heva."

He stood and walked past her. She watched him and he paused. "You say that I will be aware of the moment when it is right for us to engage in intimacy together," he began. "How exactly will I know?"

Deanna felt unsure of how to answer this. No one truly knows when that happens. "Well, Data. I can't answer that. The feeling is unique to every different relationship. You will…just…know."

He nodded and exited, leaving Deanna not only relieved that the conversation was over but also slightly curious about the new developments in Data's relationship. She felt a little awkward talking to Data about something so private, but she knew that it was going to come up eventually. Now all she could do was wait until it actually happened, and prepare for it this time.

Data reentered Heva's room to find her sitting on her bed, her legs crossed and an information pad in front of her. She looked up and smiled at the sight of him. "Where's the information pad?" she asked, looking wary,

Data silently scolded himself and squinted his eyes at her, trying his best to look innocent.

"Forgive me, once I returned to my quarters I realized that I had no need for the pad in question. Then, as I was returning, Geordi found me in the hallway and we engaged in a short conversation. I apologize for taking a long time. I got distracted…heh heh."

He shuffled his feet and observed her reaction. She merely looked bemused, or just glad to see him back.

"Well, now that you're back. I have something to show you."

He sat beside her and they faced her view screen. "Computer, show Act 3 scene 25 of Beyond The Stars, twentieth century film number 82." Heva instructed the computer. On the screen appeared a scene of a young man and woman walking through a park together. A gentle tune being played on a piano served as background music. As they walked down the cobblestone path, they seemed to be stealing glances at one another. Data observed them with much curiosity. He noticed the expression on the man's face. He recognized the look as one that he had been having often lately when he was around Heva. It was the look of deep want. It was the look of a man who wanted something so badly he would do anything to retrieve it.

He looked at Heva. She was watching the screen intently. She had a look in her eyes that he hadn't seen before, one of admiration. He supposed that she had a deep running fondness for this film and was happy to share it with him.

He turned back to the screen. "May I hold your hand?" the man asked the woman. She gave him a look that said she didn't expect such a request, then formed a wide grin and held her hand to him. He took it and they continued down the path. They began speaking about the way the wind felt on their skin, how pleasant it was. They also spoke about romance and its complexities.

As they continued to watch, Data found that his eyes occasionally traveled to look down at Heva's hand. He had never thought of holding her hand until now. It was his understanding that most humans engaged in hand holding to show that they were a couple to other people who might see them together; a public display of affection.

Several times Data had inched his own hand toward hers, the less noticeable the better. He had gotten so close to touching it that he felt if he didn't do it soon, it would never happen. In the movie, the man and woman found a park bench and sat together. A sunset similar to the one on their holodeck date shone through the trees at the couple. The two looked at each other and began to be drawn closer.

Data watched, anticipant of what was about to happen. Then it did, the couple on the screen kissed. Their lips connected softly and intertwined with the others in a slow dance of passion. They caressed each other softly and occasionally parted for air. The couple's eyes were shut, he supposed, to savor this moment. Then Data felt something he hadn't expected, but was all too happy to feel all the same.

Heva's hand had guided itself into his, her fingers interlocking with his. Data looked down at their mingled limbs, letting his head go to the side in a look of mixed happiness and interest. He looked up at Heva to find her looking directly back. Their eyes met and locked onto one another and, like a tractor beam, began to pull them closer to the other. Data closed his eyes, Heva followed suit. He could feel the light breeze of her breath on the skin of his cheeks as they got closer, the anticipation had grown to such an extent that the waiting was almost too much. And then-

A loud, rumbling sound surrounded them and the ship rocked, knocking both of them to the floor on top of one another. Data opened his eyes to find himself staring down at a shocked Heva. "What was that?" she asked, disappointment sprinkled into her tone.

"I am not sure." He replied as a second blast hit them causing some objects to fall off of surfaces around the room.

"All hands to battle stations!" the captain's voice shouted at them from the bridge. Both of them rose to their feet and rushed toward the bridge.