They were exactly the way she had left them.
Charlotte stepped into the room, her broad smile barely containing her excitement. There they were- her friends. Of course, they weren't exactly the same as they had been twelve years ago, and there were a few missing… She frowned. Data wasn't there- surely he, of all people, would have come to welcome her? Maybe he was busy. She shrugged and hugged Deanna, who was nearest the door, appraising her as she did so. There were a few more lines on her face, and her hair was straight now. Her Betazoid eyes seemed to express sympathy for something yet to be uttered.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to your wedding, Councillor," Charlotte said, quelling the tiny sliver of alarm that had risen when she saw Deanna's eyes. "But congratulations!"
"It's good to see you, Charlotte," the older woman replied, a faint smile on her lips.
Moving on, Charlotte shook hands with Riker- Captain Riker, now- and Worf- an Ambassador.
"Don't worry, no hugs this time," she said, eyes twinkling at the Klingon. To Riker: "Congrats on your marriage and your new command, Captain."
"Why Commander!" she exclaimed when she came to Geordie, "I didn't know you had new eyes! How are they?"
"They're better than my VISOR, that's for sure." He smiled warmly, fixing his startlingly blue eyes on hers. "Welcome back, Charlotte."
She turned to Picard and grinned cheekily. "Reporting for duty, sir."
"It's good to see you, Ensign." His face seemed to darken. "But there is something-"
"But where is Data?" Charlotte accidently interrupted, finally asking the question that had plagued her since she walked in the door. "Oh sorry, Captain, I didn't mean to interrupt. What were you saying?"
Captain Picard opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. He seemed overwhelmed for a moment, finally looked over at Deanna as if to say 'you do it, I can't'.
Deanna understood at once, and stepped forward to face Charlotte. "Charlotte," she started slowly, dark eyes filled with remorse, "Lieutenant-Commander Data is… dead."
"He was destroyed on the Scimitar, a Reman ship," put in Riker.
"I'm sorry you had to learn about it like this," said Picard, looking at her with concern. "I know how close you were to him, but I can only tell you how deeply we all were affected by this."
And Charlotte, face now almost as white as her hair, could see that he was right. This was the reason for the sadness, the pain, the sorrow that everyone wore on their faces; the reason for the droop of Deanna and Geordie's heads, the downcast eyes. She understood how hard the crew had been hit. But it didn't lessen the pain of the blow one bit.
Deanna took her hand. "I can sense what a shock this it to you," she said gently, and turned to Picard. "With your permission, Captain, I will take her to her quarters."
Charlotte listened numbly to the Captain's response, and mindlessly followed Deanna out of the room. It was only when they were on the Turbo Lift, out of the others' sight, that she realised she hadn't said a word.
There were always risks, she knew, when travelling in space. The ship could malfunction, or there was always the threat of unfriendly aliens. In Starfleet, you had to be prepared for the fact that people died. But, as Charlotte stood in her new quarters, mechanically folding clothes and putting them in the draws provided, she realised that the idea that Data- her Data- might be killed also had never even crossed her mind. Now, his death occupied her every thought.
She had been so insistent, so determined to serve on the Enterprise again. So excited when her former Captain had told her that the request for transfer had been approved, when she realised that she was finally going to see him again. She thought back to her years at the Academy; her patience, her studies, her work; serving 3 years under another captain; her waiting. Had it all been for nothing?
She finished unpacking and looked around the room, kicking her cases under the bed. Everything was in its place. Data would like this; he was always neat and tidy- She dropped onto the bed as a tear ran down her face. She wiped it away angrily and stared out the window, as the ship began to move out of Spacedock.