"Engineering to Ensign Martin." Groaning, I rolled over in my bed.

"Ensign Martin here." I answered groggily. What time was it? I was cold. Why was I cold?

"Koranna… we need you to come to engineering right away. You don't need to change into uniform." Something was wrong, I could tell by the tone of Geordi's voice. I reached over for Data only to find the bed empty. Data… where was Data?! I bolted upright in bed.

"Geordi…" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"Just… come down to engineering." He answered, a heavy tone to his voice. I lead ball of dread dropped into my stomach. Something was very, very wrong.

Luckily I wasn't wearing anything too revealing, just a tank top and some pajama pants. I pulled on my shoes and bolted out my door, not even bothering to lock it. "Engineering!" I yelled, diving into a turbo lift. The long ride down to engineering was unbearable. Turbo lifts only have one speed. Situation after situation went through my mind, each more horrible than the last. By the time I reached engineering I half expected to see Data in pieces. Instead he was just laying unresponsive on a table.

"Data?" I asked, approaching the table. "Data?!" I shook him.

"He's unconscious, or his definition of it." Geordi came up behind me, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Koranna, he'll be oka-"

"What happened?!" I yelled, turning to face Geordi, frightened tears streaming down my face.

"They went on an away mission. He was hit in the head with a laser. It overloaded his positronic net. The damage is beyond what I can repair. He may be able to repair the damage himself, but we can't be sure. I knew you'd be alarmed to wake up and find him gone and I didn't want to tell you over communicator." Geordi answered. I heard the concern in his voice. He was worried too. Of course he was, Data was his best friend. I shouldn't have snapped at him.

"Thanks Geordi." I gave him a weak smile and brushed away my tears. "Sorry for yelling at you."

"That's alright. I understand that you're upset. Do you want to go back to bed now?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I couldn't sleep even if I tried. Can I stay here, with Data? So I'm here when… if he wakes up."

"Yeah, of course." Geordi pulled up a chair and I sat down, staring at Data's unconscious body. Geordi patted my shoulder once more before getting back to his duties. I folded my arms and set them on the table, resting my head on them. Why hadn't Data told me he was leaving? What if he couldn't repair the damage? The tears started flowing again. What if I didn't get to say goodbye?

Data sat up. What had happened? He tilted his head to the side, accessing his memory banks. They were on their way to the Lurnoid capitol city… a laser had fired… a sharp pain to his head… then blackness. He had been shot in the head with a Lurnoid laser gun. He turned his head… looking around. He was sitting on the floor and there was blackness all around him. All of a sudden a computer screen lit up on the other side of the black room. It was huge, taking up an entire wall. He was definitely not on the Enterprise. He furrowed his brow and ran a diagnostic check on his positronic net. He was damaged, but his brain was repairing itself. So was this… a dream? He had never dreamt before.

He cautiously got to his feet, brushing himself off. The only clue he had as to what was going on was the computer screen, so he approached it. After he got within a few feet of it, a face popped up on the screen. It was Dr. Soong.

"Hello? Hello? Is this thing working?" His finger reached out and tapped the screen. "Personal Log. Dr. Noonian Soong. The year is 2337 and I have finished building you, my android. I intentionally hid this log from you because I wanted you to have the human experience of growth. This log is probably the first dream you've had. You'll have more. To be honest, I wasn't sure if you'd ever reach this level of cognitive development.

I bet you think you don't have emotions. That's not exactly true. I installed a hidden emotions chip. I designed it so you would discover your emotions through growth. I programmed this log to show up as a dream at a critical stage in your emotional development. I'm sure your emotions had been growing slowly over the past few years. If the speed of your developing emotions has increased, that means that you've met someone special. Yes, you are designed to love. Why would I endow you with multiple methods of pleasuring if you couldn't enjoy the pleasure?" Doctor Soong laughed and raised his eyebrows at the screen.

"You can't access all of the chip right now. Some of that you'll have to figure out on your own. I know you'll get it, I did make you pretty smart. You should be seeing an increase in your senses too. I wasn't able to make you fully human. You'll never be able to use contractions (I could never get that program right) and you'll never be able to have children, but you can feel. If you're here because of a special girl… or boy, I'm not here to judge, tell them you love them. You'll live forever, they won't." The screen went black. Data felt the heat in his chest again, even more powerful this time. He pictured Koranna's face in his memory. He knew… he loved her.

"I'm sure he'll wake up soon, Koranna." Counselor Troi sat next to me. "You need rest. You've been here for 12 straight hours."

"I can't leave him." I looked her in the eye. "You know that. I love him."

"I know you love him. And he loves you in his own way too." She tried to console me.

"You know he doesn't. He can't. I know he cares for me… but he can't love me. He can never love me!" I began crying, the tears streaming down my face. "He left… he just left and he didn't say anything! What… what if he's dead?!" Sobs began to wrack my body. "It's like he didn't care… he didn't care…"

Counselor Troi wrapped her arms around me. "It's going to be alright." I turned my head into her shoulder, sobbing, staining her suit with saltwater. "You love him so much. I'm sure he knows how you feel."

I sniffed, stopping the flow of tears. "Thanks Deanna. You don't have to stay with me you know."

"I know, but Data's my friend too, and I'm worried about him. And I'm worried about you. You're right though. I have to get back to my other duties. I'll see you later Ensign Martin." She squeezed my shoulder. "It'll be alright." I watched her as she walked away, turning the corner out of engineering. I rested my head on the table again.

All of a sudden, Data sat up, turning his head from side to side. "I am on the Enterprise." He stated, getting up off the table. He turned to look at me. "Koranna."

"Data" I breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you alright?"

"I seem to be functioning within normal parameters. In other words, I am fine," he answered.

"Good." I felt anger flash through my blood. He was fine, totally fine. Yet he had me down here worrying about him, when he hadn't even told me he was going away! "I'm glad you're fine you STUPID FUCKING ANDROID!" I pushed him back.

"Why are you angry?" he asked confused.

"You LEFT ME. You just LEFT! You didn't tell me where you were going! I woke up to hear that you were hurt, perhaps beyond repair!" I screamed. Geordi had come over to check on Data, but after seeing my rage, he turned around and walked the other way.

"You were sleeping. I did not wish to wake you."

"You did not… you did not wish to wake me?!" I laughed. My laugh was cold and harsh. "Did you even consider how I might feel if you died?! You didn't even give me a chance to say goodbye!"

"I did not think that anything would happen to me," he responded.

"But something DID! And you almost DIED! And I wouldn't have gotten to tell you that I love you! I love you, you… you fucking idiot!" I began crying again. "I would have been devastated if you died… and I wouldn't have even gotten to say goodbye." I fell to the floor sobbing.

Data lifted me off the ground and held me close to him. "I love you too."

I sniffed, wiping my tears away from my face. "You… what?"

"I love you too."

"You… you can't" I was confused. He told me he couldn't love me, probably couldn't ever love me.

"I can." He kissed my forehead. "Dr. Soong installed a secret emotion chip in my positronic net. I had… a dream… while I was unconscious. It was a personal log of Dr. Soong's. He told me I was meant to feel these emotions and they were to develop over time. That is why I did not have access to the chip right away."

"So you can love?"

"Yes, I can love. And I love you." He leaned down and kissed me, lightly pressing his lips to mine. My anger dissolved in that moment, giving way to relief and joy.

"Koranna, do you have time for dinner?" he asked me.

"How can you think of eating at a time like this?" I asked, surprised. "You were just critically injured!"

"I am functioning normally, and I would enjoy having dinner with you." He smiled at me, a little wider than usual.

"Data, I'm in my pajamas." I laughed, still slightly crying.

"That is of no importance. I was planning a special dinner for you tonight, and you will have it," he insisted.

"Geordi, can I take him home?" I asked, smiling at him.

"Yeah Koranna, go ahead. We don't need you down here. You're relieved of duties for today." Geordi smiled back at me.

"Data this is amazing." I gasped. He had put me in the bedroom while he prepared dinner. I attempted to poke my head out once, but he wrestled me back in, tickling me into submission.

"You stay in there" he had told me, so I sat, pouting on the bed. But when he led me out, I understood why he had wanted to keep it a surprise. There were candles everywhere, and the table was beautifully set.

"So what's for dinner?" I asked. I didn't think he could possibly impress me more than he already did.

"Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, and caesar salad."

"And dessert?"

"Chocolate ice cream."

"You've thought of everything!" I exclaimed, turning to face him. "This is… amazing. What's the occasion?"

He leaned down and kissed me, bringing me closer to him. "I have a very important question to ask you."

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrow at him.

Data took a deep breath. "Would you like to move in together, to build a home together?" he asked me.

"Oh yes!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around him and hugging him close. "Yes, more than anything."

"Then tomorrow I will move the appropriate items from my quarters."

"Including Spot?" I asked with a laugh.

"Of course Spot will move with me. Is that… alright?"

"More than alright. I love Spot!"

"And I love you" He pressed his lips softly to mine.

"I love you too" I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his mouth down to mine. He kissed me deeply, holding me close to him. I broke the kiss to catch my breath, resting my forehead against his. "I think I would like an appetizer before dinner." I said with a smile.

"What would you like?" Data asked.

"You." My green eyes met his golden ones.

"That would be acceptable." He smiled at me, as I took his hand and led him into the bedroom.