It was a while before he made his decision, and he lost no time in getting to his destination. He pressed the button and waited for the door to open.

Charlotte opened the door herself and was startled when she saw who it was. "C-Come in," she stammered, stepping away as her face tried to decide what colour to be. It finally settled on the usual red, and Charlotte skipped nervously over to the replicator. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No thank you, I came to talk to you."

She replicated a Vietnamese coffee, feeling that she needed something strong. "Shoot!" she said with forced cheerfulness.

Data examined her, noticing that she was no longer in uniform and that her face indicated that she was highly uncomfortable despite her cheerful tone. He decided to launch right in. "Why did you not tell me of your arrangement?"

"Would I have gained anything from it? Would the ship? Would you?" He thought for a moment, then seemed on the verge of speaking before Charlotte cut him off. "I'll answer that- NO. The gap between universes was in no way a threat to the ship or crew. The news would've resulted in examinations of the gap, trips would've been made to both sides, great debates over the safety and security of the universes would take place, and we might've had a little extra time to work things out. Eventually, we would be forced to go back to our own respective universes, which might not kill me but it would definitely be the death of her."

"Why?"

She stared at him. "You don't know?"

Data shook his head.

Charlotte sighed. "She only has enough medicine to last a week. After that runs out, she'll either have to be sedated for a few years while they try to develop the cure for Irademia, or… die." This last word was said in a horrified whisper, as if the prospect was too terrible to entertain. Which, in all fairness, it was.

Data took in everything that she had told him and thought back to the conversation he had had with the other Charlotte. I realise that this is a complicated situation and that you're going to need time to get used to it. "But there is no time," he whispered. He looked back at the girl opposite him. "It is possible that you will be court-marshalled, or even stripped of rank for keeping what could be considered a vital piece of information secret."

Charlotte snorted. "By who? I'm not of this universe, so this universe can't punish me. My old universe is gone; the explosion closed the gap for good. I was wearing a borrowed uniform, working in a borrowed job. But Lieutenant jg Charlotte Hope, Science officer doesn't exist now. My Starfleet is gone, my rank is gone, so who is there to make the charges? I am now a civilian. How can they court-marshal me when I don't have a rank?"

Data nodded and got up, unable to find a thing to say.

"Oh, must you?"

He nodded stiffly. "I believe it is best."

Charlotte smiled sadly, knowing that it wasn't just leaving her quarters that he was talking about. And he was right. They all needed time apart. "I suppose so."

Data let himself out, and C2 emerged from the bedroom. Having heard the whole conversation, she sat down beside her double and put her arms around her in an awkward hug. Charlotte leaned into her, and both wept.

Thanks for reading. I was going to write a fourth chapter but decided against it, simply because i don't think it would be interesting enough. Look out for Nemesis in a day or two. And please, i'm begging you, rate and review. If i don't get enough reviews i might have to think about quitting. Which i really don't wanna do, because 1) i like writing and 2) i need somewhere to store my stories. So REVIEW! There's cookies :)