Charlotte stared as Lal stumbled down the corridor. "Lal?"
Deanna was following her closely, looking extremely worried. "I don't know what's wrong. She came into my quarters, babbling about an admiral coming to take her away, and she was terrified. Really, properly scared. And then she just left."
Charlotte tried to get Lal's attention, but got no response. Both of them followed the obviously disturbed android as she stumbled along, almost tripping at times, until they reached the lab.
"I think we should call Data."
Deanna nodded and tapped her badge. "Troi to Commander Data. Report to your lab at once."
"Acknowledged, Counsellor," came Captain Picard's voice. "He's on his way. Is there a problem?"
"Yes, Captain." Deanna shared an uneasy look with Charlotte. "Something is terribly wrong with Lal."
After a few minutes, Data appeared; closely followed by Picard and an Admiral, obviously the one Lal had been so afraid of. They entered the Lab, and Deanna explained what had happened.
"It lasted barely a moment. She experienced fear and confusion. And then for no apparent reason she walked out of my quarters. She didn't say another word, she just started walking here and each step became more and more difficult."
"She won't respond to either of us," added Charlotte. "It's like she can't hear us."
Data studied his daughter closely. "Lal is programmed to return to the lab in the event of a malfunction."
"Father…" Lal said urgently, in a voice that was little more than a whisper.
"Yes, Lal; I am here," answered Data, almost tenderly.
Picard looked sober. "A malfunction. Emotional awareness."
Data narrowed his eyes. "It appears to be a symptom of cascade failure. It would require initialisation the base matrix without wiping out the higher functions."
"I agree." The admiral looked at Data. "May I assist?"
"Thank you, Admiral."
The admiral looked around at everyone else. "If you'll excuse us, Commander Data and I have much to do."
Deanna, Charlotte and Picard filed out. The captain patted the girls' shoulders and left, deciding to wait on the Bridge. A few minutes later, Geordie appeared, then Wes. They nodded silently to the girls and stood against the wall.
It seemed like hours before the doors opened again. The admiral walked out slowly and paused before the anxiously-waiting group.
"She won't survive much longer," he said quietly. He seemed to have aged quite a few years in the last couple of hours. "There was nothing anyone could have done. We'd repolarise one pathway and another would collapse. And then another." He raised one hand and looked at it, and his expression was heart-breaking. "His hands were moving faster than I could see, trying to stay ahead of each breakdown. He refused to give up. He was remarkable. It just wasn't meant to be." His voice broke, and he turned away.
Deanna, with tears in her eyes, turned to Geordie, who put a comforting hand on her arm. Charlotte was crying quietly, with Wes trying and failing to comfort her. The admiral headed away, and after a bit the others followed. Only Charlotte remained, leaning against the wall and trying to regain control of herself. It wasn't easy; Lal had been important to her- not as important as she was to Data, but still, she had grown quite fond of her and almost thought of her as her own. And watching Data as he taught the girl was an added bonus; over the weeks, his expression had changed until he was almost beaming with pride every time the young android accomplished something. And now…
The doors opened, and Data walked out. He sighed, and started walked down the corridor towards the Turbo-Lift. Charlotte wiped away the last of her tears and fell into step beside him. Neither said a word, and when they got to the turbo-lift, Charlotte stopped and silently hugged him. He fiercely hugged her back, and then, with a face full of gratitude, stepped into the lift. And Charlotte knew that, despite claiming to have no emotions, it was clear that Lal's death had had an effect on him- more than he would ever admit.