Stardate: 58503.4

Plastic poker chips clinked noisily as new ones were added to the pile in the center of the hexagonal felt-topped table. While the five senior officers played throughout the evening, T'Mera sat in a chair by her desk, strumming softly on an acoustic guitar. Data expertly shuffled, then dealt cards face down for the first round, his yellow eyes shaded by the translucent visor on his head.

Veluna peeked at her first card, then looked over at the woman playing the guitar, "Are you certain you don't wish to sit in on the final hand, T'Mera? It doesn't feel quite right to hold the game in your quarters if you might feel excluded."

T'Mera glanced up from the guitar, "I've never been one for poker, Veluna, but thanks for the invitation. I want to finish this song for Data."

Deni Hagan checked his card, then returned it to face down on the table, "That song is for the anniversary, then?"

Geordi looked over at T'Mera, from his spot between Veluna and Deni, "Anniversary? Congratulations."

Data smiled as he continued the deal with the face-up second round of cards, "It was one year ago that I was able to induce T'Mera's interest in me to that beyond one of a professional nature, at which point we began our romantic affiliation." He looked at the face up cards, then over at Deni, "You have the King of hearts. You begin the betting."

Deni threw in one of the red chips, "I'll start the betting with five. You make it sound so romantic, Data. Induce interest."

After each player added their red chip to the pot, Data dealt the next round face up, "Ah, two fours for the counselor, so far… No help for Geordi… nor for myself… or Commander Hagan or Commander Worf." He looked over at T'Mera, "As this is the final round of the night, t'hy'la, I would like to give you your gift after it is over."

T'Mera replied as her fingers gently plucked the guitar strings, "All right, Bright Eyes."

Veluna threw a red chip into the center, "I am betting five and raising five." She added the second red chip. "It's the android version of romance, Deni."

Geordi threw in a blue chip, "Ten, it is. I'm curious to see what the gift is, Data. Is it private?"

"No, Geordi." Data added a blue chip to the pile, "Anyone who wishes to see it may remain to do so."

Worf threw in a blue chip, "I am also curious."

Once Deni had thrown in his blue chip, Data dealt the third round face up. "Four of clubs, giving the counselor three of a kind… Ace of clubs for Geordi, giving one pair… no help for the rest of us."

Veluna threw another blue chip in, "I'll raise it by ten."

Deni chuckled and put his cards down, pushing them away. "I fold."

Data did the same, "I also fold."

Geordi threw in his chips, "I'm still in." He looked back over at T'Mera, "Will you be playing Data's song, then, since he'll be giving you a gift?"

T'Mera nodded with a smile, "That's my plan." Her eyes glanced down at the strings as she strummed.

Worf added his chip, "Normally, I would explain how Klingons would do it, but given how strong androids are, it is probably wiser that you both stick with human or Vulcan traditions, so that the ship does not get wrecked in the process of your mating." He glowered at Data, "I am assuming that there is no crying involved."

"I give you my word that I will not cry, Commander." Data inclined his head to the Klingon, then dealt the last cards face down to Veluna, Geordi and Worf.

Geordi shook his head, "I fold." and set his cards down.

Worf grunted, then placed his cards down, "I fold."

Veluna smiled, "Three of a kind. Thank you for hosting the game this week, Commander Data." She scooped the chips to herself with both hands.

"It has been my pleasure, Counselor." Data replied, then turned to T'Mera, "This is the first time I have ever had a romantic anniversary. Perhaps you should go first?" He removed the green eyeshade visor from his head and placed it on the table.

T'Mera blinked in surprise, then checked the other four officers' reactions. "If you wish." She sat up straighter, then began to pluck the strings in a classical style as she sang.

"Ever since the day we met,

It's you I can't forget,

So I say this, my pet...

Let's be illogical.

Each time our eyes would meet,

I'd think you're oh so sweet,

Our love just can't be beat...

Let's be illogical.

We've stayed side by side through laughter and pain.

We've bumbled through some things and rode the logic train.

We've built a solid bond that we just can't explain.

In sickness and in health, in sunshine, snow or rain...

With each and every day,

Our love is here to stay,

If it makes no sense that way...

Let's be illogical."

Geordi grinned at the holographer, "That was great, T'Mera."

Data stood up and walked to his desk as the others indicated their approval for the song, then removed a round container from inside one of the drawers. "I thoroughly enjoyed the song, t'hy'la." He circumnavigated his way back around the desk, then held out the gift to the holographer. "Please accept this token of my love for you, T'Mera."

T'Mera placed the guitar on her desk, stood up and reached for the gift. "Thank you, my love." She planted a kiss on Data's cheek first, then opened the container in her hands. Pastel red worm candy filled the interior. "Data!" She grinned broadly, "It's perfect!" She reached in, picked out a worm, tossed it into her mouth and started to chew.

Worf's bushy eyebrows knit together, "You are giving her candy gagh?"

Geordi noticed the bewildered looks on Veluna and Deni's faces, then explained to them, "It's a can of worms, I think. It's sort of a little running joke they have going on." He looked back at Data for confirmation.

Data's lips quirked up in his usual smile, "That is correct, Geordi. When I approached the subject of romance, T'Mera told me that I would be opening a can of worms. These are not actual annelids, but are elongated pieces of chewing gum shaped to look like them, in a variety of flavors."

Deni chuckled, "Ah, now I understand." He tilted his head, "Not that I ever understood why an android would want to chew gum, in the first place."

"Leftover habit from my biological life. While I have a positronic brain, my neural net is still biochemical, as far as the programming is concerned. It's why I have to occasionally sleep, but Data never does. My mind still thinks of me as organic." T'Mera explained as she reached her arms around Data for an embrace. "Now I'm glad I did the song first. I'm not that good at singing while chewing gum."

Veluna beamed at the couple, "Congratulations, and may you have many more anniversaries. Good night, everyone."

Worf dipped his head to the Deltan, "Good night, Counselor." He moved to pat Data on the shoulder, "The two of you are certainly Par'Mach'kai. I will see you in the morning, Commander Data." He turned and walked to the doors, and then out into the corridor.

Data nodded to Worf, "Aye, sir. Good night, everyone." He released T'Mera from the embrace.

Geordi headed to the door, "Good night, you two. Enjoy your anniversary." The doors closed behind him with a soft whoosh.

T'Mera moved to clear off the surface of the poker table, "So we have an hour or so before you have to assume your duty for gamma shift?"

"An hour, twenty minutes and thirty-two seconds." Data replied as he put the deck of cards and remaining poker chips into a drawer in his desk.

"And then you'll be on duty through the next three shifts, right?" T'Mera flipped the table top, putting the green felt side down and the wood laminate side face up.

"That is correct." Data tilted his head to the right, "So whatever you would like to do until I must leave, we will do that."

T'Mera crossed the room to her desk, then tapped into the console, "Holodeck two is open. We could sit around at the Bali Hai Getaway five. We haven't done that since before I died. Although, now that I think of it, maybe sand, salt water and servos don't mix well."

Data stepped behind T'Mera, embracing her from behind, "You and I are constructed to withstand such elements. I made several design changes to my own body over the years, especially after Devala Lake. Increased adjustable buoyancy and complete drainage." He turned her body to face him, then leaned down and kissed her passionately.

After a minute, T'Mera pulled away from his lips, laughing. "I'm sorry, Data. I wasn't expecting you to do a tongue kiss."

Data's eyebrows rose as he chewed the accidentally transferred gum, "Hmm. I had often wondered about experiencing edible hydrophobic polymer. Most intriguing. Should I put this in the recycler, or would you rather have it back in your mouth?"

"Just recycle it." T'Mera's shoulders shook with laughter.

Data removed the small wad of gum from his mouth and tossed it into the recycling slot, then resumed the embrace. "The mention of our Bali Hai virtual reality creates an odd emotion for me. I remember our times there fondly, but I also connect those times with B-4. I miss his presence."

"I miss him, too." T'Mera rested her head against Data's left shoulder, "Doctor Vanzanen is a bit late in her report, but I'm sure he's doing fine. Her last report says he's the equivalent of a teenager, now. Back in the early days on Ba'ku, B-4 was almost like a baby android. He was cute, in a way, even if he had an adult's body."

"I agree with that assessment." Data spoke in a confessional tone. "Which is odd, considering how impatient I was with him when we found him. I had expected him to be more like me, and was disappointed to discover that he functioned like a very slow child."

"Given that you don't remember your own beginning, perhaps you were once like him? It's really not uncommon when dealing with artificial neural networks that have heuristic algorithms." T'Mera offered as she rubbed his back, "After we were settled in on Ba'ku, you seemed to enjoy being with him."

"I did enjoy it." Data's memory engrams accessed several memories from the time period of the discussion. "I watched him grow in capability. He was able to engage in free-form play, which is something I have never been able to successfully accomplish. When the Reman rootkit was removed, he developed even further. It was both astonishing and rewarding to observe, as if you and I were raising a child." He paused for a moment, then lowered his gaze to look into T'Mera's eyes, "I wonder if it would be possible for you and I to create a true child? With my ability to design and build the cybernetics and positronic brain and your programming skills, it should be tenable for us to procreate successfully."

T'Mera raised an eyebrow in surprise, "I suppose we could, although this isn't the proper time, in my opinion. Artificial Lifeform rights aren't anywhere near close to being figured out. All we have is Gould versus United Earth and the Cumberland Act, both of which had negative outcomes for artificials. Then, there's your hearing which determined that you are not Starfleet's property, and then the recent ones where the Mark One got author rights over his creative works and was allowed to keep his mobile emitter. I don't want Tony Haftel coming to take our baby away."

"Nor do I." Data admitted with reluctance. "We can endeavor to create children when we feel the time and rights are more favorable."

T'Mera raised her right hand from Data's back, then raked her fingers through his hair, "One idea I had toyed with was raising a baby hologram, over a series of years, so it would have the experience of being small and growing up, and then, when they get to the teenage years, transfer their scans to an android body. That would help guard against the problem of cascade failure in a positronic brain. However, it could be disconcerting to someone to find out that their childhood was a simulation, so I don't think it's a good idea to put into practice."

Data nodded in agreement, "Perhaps not, although I find it to be an interesting perspective on the problem of early development and the probabilities of cascade failure." A tender smile graced his lips, "I am happy that you are not averse to the idea of children."

"One day, I'm sure we'll hear the pitter-patter of little substrate interfaces." T'Mera raised up on tiptoes to kiss Data again, "We could spend the remainder of your free time here, unsuccessfully attempting to procreate in a biological manner?"

Data lifted T'Mera and carried her to their bedroom, "That is quite acceptable."