Stardate: 58495.3

Commander Data sat in the captain's chair on the raised portion of the bridge of the USS Enterprise, enjoying the quiet of the remainder of the gamma shift. The "night watch" crew tended to be himself and junior relief officers, but neither that nor the dim lighting bothered Data. His gaze passed over the two nearest chairs to his; First Officer's chair and Counselor's chair. Both chairs remained empty during Gamma Shift, with the exception of the times he had asked Doctor T'Mera Chipman to sit in the Counselor's chair. Data rationalized the indulgence with the logic that, as an android, if he required counseling, his android partner was the best qualified to do so.

Data had served on the Sovereign-class Enterprise for seven years, one month, thirteen days, four hours, forty-eight minutes and eleven seconds prior to his original body's destruction at the Battle of Bassen Rift, but for T'Mera, the past five months had been an adjustment. He accessed the memory of one of their more amusing conversations about the ship from the first days after he had returned to duty:

T'Mera let out a sigh as she and Data walked through the corridors, "Dark grey walls, dark maroon doors and carpet, taupe walls at the junctions and in quarters… This is a darkity-dark ship. Did they do this in the hopes that boarding parties would trip and fall over what they can't see?"

Data replied with amusement, "T'hy'la, the lighting is certainly well within human visual range."

T'Mera snorted, "And in human depressing range."

Data smiled at the memory, but conceded the point to her. The Enterprise-E was far more militaristic than the Galaxy-class ship had been. Data also missed the families and children that made the previous Enterprise feel more like a vibrant city. He could not argue with the logic of keeping civilians and children to a minimal level during wartimes, but he could regret the necessity.

The turbolift opened and the alpha shift crew arrived to take their stations. Data stood up, vacating the command chair.

Commander Worf approached the android, "Anything to report?"

Data replied to the Klingon first officer, "All systems normal, sir. We will be arriving in the Sol system within five hours."

Commander Worf dipped his head, "Very well. I have the Bridge."

"Aye, sir." Data pivoted and began to walk to one of the turbolifts.

Worf declared loudly to the computer, "Begin day watch." The lights on the bridge brightened gradually.

The turbolift doors closed and Data announced, "Deck Four." The lift beeped, then began to move, as the display on the taupe walls indicated the current position within the shafts of the starship. Reaching the destination from the bridge took little time, and Data stepped out of the turbolift when the doors opened. As Data began to walk the corridor towards his quarters, he noticed a large figure approaching, then immediately identified the man as the Chief of Security, Lieutenant Commander Deni Hagan.

"Good morning, Commander Data." Hagan offered a friendly smile to the android. At 1.92 meters and 109 kilograms, he towered over the android, but the man's large, dark eyes tended to give him a gentle appearance, as did the short mop of dark curls atop the Security Chief's head.

"Good morning, Commander Hagan. How are you, this morning?" Data greeted the security chief.

"I'm fine, sir." Hagan answered, then winked at Data, "You seem somewhat contemplative. You're excited and anticipating something, yet having some sort of trepidation."

Data raised an eyebrow, then nodded, "You are accurate, once again." The Betazoid chief of security was able to read emotions from the android, but not his thoughts, and the two of them had made a running game of 'guess the positronic emotions' in passing. While most humanoids were troubled at having their emotions detected, Data felt a sense of accomplishment. "It recently occurred to me that T'Mera and I have two possible anniversaries upcoming. I wonder if I am expected to make a special occasion of them, or is it only reserved for those who have been joined in matrimony?"

Hagan rubbed at his clean shaven chin, "Hmm. That's usually determined by culture. When in doubt, always ask your partners. It's better for them to be happy than surprised, in my opinion."

"That sounds like wise advice." Data's mouth quirked upwards at both ends, "Thank you."

Hagan started walking, "I need to get to the bridge. Have a good day, Commander Data."

"Likewise, Commander Hagan." Data responded, then resumed walking to his quarters. The doors automatically opened and he stepped through them and into the living area. An orange tabby cat leaped down from the elaborate cat tree to greet the android by rubbing against his legs. "Hello, Spot." Data reached down to pet the elderly animal's fur, then headed to the replicator. "Feline supplement number twenty-five." Once the small dish of cat food materialized, Data set it on the floor and watched as Spot eagerly began to consume the morsels.

Having attended to the cat, Data doubled back to the bedroom, past the textured glass wall, then took a moment to appreciate the sight of the woman sleeping in their bed. T'Mera's straight, brown hair was splayed all over the pillow, with the exception of her bangs. Her eyebrows remained upswept even in slumber, and the visible pointed left ear spoke to her Vulcan heritage. She lay curled on her right side, with most of the blanket wrapped around her naked body.

Data tread quietly around to the right side of the bed, which was reserved for him whenever he decided to join her for shared dreaming or coitus. Prior to his life with T'Mera, Data slept in his uniform and boots, but T'Mera had rules about such things; No outer clothing or footwear in bed. He removed his boots, unfastened and slipped out of his uniform, pulled off his undergarments, folded everything and attempted to get under the blanket without waking T'Mera.

"Mmm, is it alpha shift?" T'Mera's brown eyes opened and she rolled over to face Data and draped an arm over his body.

Data wrapped an arm over her and pulled her closer, "Indeed. Did you sleep well?"

"Nah, I made a few mistakes." T'Mera quipped, then snuggled up to Data, feeling his bioplast against hers, "I didn't hear any alerts. I take it gamma watch was uneventful?"

"Uneventful, and I wished you were in the chair next to me." Data confessed as he reached beneath her body with his right arm.

"One of these days, Captain Picard is going to finally say I can't sit on the bridge like a counselor." T'Mera rubbed her nose against his.

Data returned the nose rub, "If he finally says such a thing, we will cease having you sit there. I do have something to ask you."

T'Mera rubbed Data's back with her right hand, "Go ahead and ask."

"We have two possible one year anniversaries coming up." Data explained. "The first would be the one year commemoration of our decision to formulate our romantic affiliation. The other would be the marking of one year elapsed since our first copulation. Should we celebrate them? I am uncertain as to whether or not to do so."

T'Mera lowered her eyelids, gazing into the bright yellow eyes opposite hers, "Usually, people only celebrate a wedding anniversary. I don't even recall my parents celebrating those. That said, we are not going to be having an anniversary for copulation. Our sex life is already far more public than I'd like it to be, and that's not even counting any time Deni points out when you have afterglow. If you want to do something to mark the date that we decided to be more than friends, that's acceptable, but I'd want it to be quiet. Just us. Maybe a few close friends."

"Very well, t'hy'la." Data's lips parted a centimeter to form his android version of a pout, "I am sorry about the publicized nature of our intimacies. I suppose it is just as well, since that anniversary would coincide with the terraforming on Omicron Theta."

"Your home planet." T'Mera leaned forward to kiss his pale lips, "Are you looking forward to biological life returning to your effective birthplace?"

Data returned the kiss, "I have few memories from there. I do not really consider it to be my home, nor do I have any nostalgia for the colony or its people. If anything, it is tarnished in my mind, because that is where we first discovered Lore."

"That reminds me, Bright Eyes." T'Mera moved her right hand to rake through Data's fastidiously styled hair. "If you find a positronic android in pieces down there, bring it to me before doing anything with it."

The edges of Data's mouth quirked up in a smile, "Agreed. You will be the second to know, after the Captain." He grabbed T'Mera tightly and rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him, "We will first be stopping at Earth to pick up the terraformers, so you need not worry about unexpected androids at this time."
"You made a funny face when you said terraformers." T'Mera noted, then folded her arms over Data's chest and rested her chin on them.

"I have met them, before. Luisa Kim, the bio-designer, is very nice." Data replied to the inferred inquiry, "Bjorn Bensen, the chief engineer of the project, is amiable, although he somehow could tell that I was an android, by touching my hand. He also performed a lengthy palpation of my hand, beyond what would be deemed socially acceptable."

T'Mera reached for one of Data's hands, running her fingers over his, "You do have amazing articulation…"

"I'll bet you say that to all the androids?" Data waggled his eyebrows. "Perhaps I will not seem as much of a novelty to him, this time."

T'Mera grinned down at Data's face, "Well, if he does that to me, I'm going to do the same to his hand and pretend I'm amazed that he's made of meat and water."

Data gazed back up at the woman resting on him, "The meat robots? Perhaps we should leave that joke for our own private amusement."

T'Mera nuzzled her face into Data's neck, "I see how it is. You're embarrassed by my witticisms."

"Quite the contrary." Data lifted his chin to give T'Mera better access, "I enjoy your witticisms. It has simply been my experience that most organic lifeforms do not like to be reminded of the substances that comprise their bodies."

"I'll be good, then." T'Mera traced several passionate kisses along Data's jawline, "Maybe I'll finish work on the improved EMH. I can shave thirty million gigaquads off the Mark Four, and get rid of the memory overrun errors."

"Doctor Crusher has told me she likes the new personality much better." Data placed both of his hands on T'Mera's bottom, "Although I doubt we will use it much."

T'Mera lifted her legs out from in between Data's legs and straddled his hips, "You never know how much you will or won't use an emergency program. It's just good to be prepared." She lowered her head to kiss Data's pale lips again, "Speaking of being ready… do you want to test the additions I made to your sexuality programming?"

Data uncharacteristically grunted an affirmative, then rolled both of them over, positioning T'Mera beneath him, "Engaging improved sexual protocols." His expression turned wistful, "I wish the same could have been done for you."

T'Mera reached up with her right hand, running her fingers through his hair, "My source code is unintelligible gobbledygook. I'm afraid that biological evolution is the worst programmer I've ever seen." She brought his face closer to hers, then lightly blew in his left ear.

Data shuddered and inhaled in sharp gasps, "Ooh…" His lips parted in an awestruck smile, then he reached out with his right hand for T'Mera's left hand, "I wish for you to share the new sensations with me."

T'Mera lifted her left hand, placing her palm flush to his, then interlaced their fingers. "My relays to your relays… Two bodies, one mind." The positronic communications interlink in the heel of their hands activated, enabling Data and T'Mera to share neural pathways, processor speeds and engrams. She reached up with her right hand, tracing her index finger around his ear.

Data gasped again, then lowered his head, enabling him to brush his lips against T'Mera's. His eyes closed as waves of sensation traveled through him to her and then back again, carrying her reactions for him to experience. As he alternated between gentle and passionate kisses, he savored each new tactile response being sent to his central processor.

T'Mera's hand traveled across Data's torso, ranging from light grazing to firm caresses. This produced soft moans from Data, and she smiled as she shared in his elation.

Data entered T'Mera in a slow, measured way and analyzed the new sensations from each area of sensors. "T'hy'la, you have outdone yourself…" He stopped speaking for a moment, as his body trembled, "The input levels are … marvelous."

"I'm glad you like them." T'Mera closed her eyes as Data's rhythmic movements stimulated sensors inside of her, then transmitted her passion back to him. Each thrust of Data's hips was punctuated by his ecstatic vocalizations, which T'Mera muffled by pressing her lips against his. In a matter of minutes, euphoric shock rippled through both their positronic relays, followed by involuntary servo spasms.

Data cried out and his body went slack on top of T'Mera. "Most remarkable…" he commented, as the positronic network slowly disconnected, returning them to their individuality.

T'Mera wrapped her right arm around Data's back, while her left hand disengaged from his right hand. "I cherish thee." She lifted her left hand to run her fingers through his chestnut brown hair, tousling the normally neat strands, then began to sing to him, "Ever since the day we met... It's you I can't forget… So I say this, my pet… Let's be illogical."

"I do not recognize that song, T'Mera." Data's yellow eyes oscillated as he attempted to find the song in his memory banks.

T'Mera smiled and kissed Data, "That's because I'm currently writing it. It's about what you said when you asked me to be with you." She paused, then mimicked Data's voice with an engram playback, "Then let us be illogical."

Data returned the smile and kiss, then lifted himself off of T'Mera, "I am interested to hear the finished version of the song." He moved to the edge of the bed, "I should get dressed. Geordi and I are supposed to be modifying a few shuttles for use by the terraformers. They will need them for plowing and repopulating the soil with bio-organisms." As he slipped on the black boxers, he continued, "Then, when we reach Earth, I will need to be in transporter room two to greet the scientists. Once they have settled in, if you wish, you could join us in the observation lounge and meet them?"

T'Mera slid across the sheets, then hopped to the drawers on the right side of the bed. "Quite a busy day for Commander Data. Do I need to be in anything formal, or is the science coverall fine for meeting the terraformers? Assuming I'm allowed to be there."

"The jumpsuit should suffice, and I see no reason that you should not be allowed to be there." Data replied while pulling on the rest of his uniform. "It is not an obligation for you to meet them, but I do admit wanting to know if Mister Bensen will be able to tell you are an android from feeling your hand." He grabbed two gel-infused brushes from the shelf by the sink and smoothed his hair back into its usual immaculate style.

"I'm willing to bet it was your servos that gave it away." T'Mera offered while fastening her teal coverall over the black underwear. "All right. For your curiosity, I'll forgo the Vulcan greeting and shake Bensen's hand, to see if he can tell that I'm an android." She bent to pull on the flat-soled black boots, then smiled at Data, "I think I'm going to have breakfast today, since I slept. Give me a call if you need me."

Data returned the smile, then moved close enough to give T'Mera a lingering kiss, "I will do so. Until later, t'hy'la." He turned, exited their quarters, and made his way to shuttlebay two.