Plasma Shock: "-a physical experience caused by contact with plasma that is very painful-. It is also strong enough to overload the neural net of a Soong-type android…"

"I have something for you."

Data looked up from his station to see a woman he knew well. She was petite with fair skin dotted with freckles. Her long brown hair was drawn back sensibly, as if often was. She wasn't all human, though this species made up the larger portion of her genetic make-up, she was also part Vulcan which caused her to sport pointed ears and angled brows giving her a faintly elf-like appearance. What many people found most intriguing about her was her eyes, which appeared black, a rare occurrence considering her background. Data knew better. They were a deep shade of mahogany. Data had noticed a change in her, however. She'd begun smiling more frequently, as she was now. When they'd first met, he'd approximated that she smiled little more than 3.6 times per week. Now, the number was much higher at nearly twice that on a daily basis. He believed he knew the reason.

For seven months, Data had been emotionally pair-bonded to Lieutenant Commander K'Tel Jones. The relationship had begun somewhat awkwardly, after the kiss in the gardens at Starfleet Academy, they had not had more than the occasional physical contact. They would hold hands, before Tel would blush and remove her hand from his. She would give him a peck of a kiss on the cheek as he bid her farewell for the night. However, several weeks after she had returned to her duties on the Enterprise, they had become more comfortable with the parameters of their relationship. They shared physical affection freely and with this increased comfort, Tel's general way about her had morphed into an attitude of optimism and free happiness.

Tel had not changed completely of course, nor would Data wish her to. Though she shared her happiness more readily, she was still distinctly in control of her emotions and she translated her anger and negative emotions into Vulcan cold logic.

Now though, Tel stood over Data's work station with a grin on her face.

"You have something for me?" Data repeated.

She nodded vigorously, smiling wider.

"Are you going to tell me what it is? Or would you prefer that I guess?"

"Neither, it's a surprise. You need to come to my quarters tonight at 1900 hours."

"And if I elected not to join you? Then would you tell me?" Data teased her. Teasing was not something that came to him naturally, of course, but with Tel, he found it easy.

She shook her head and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I wouldn't. If you want to know what it is, you have to come."

Data sighed, "You do drive a hard bargain Commander Jones, but I will oblige. You can expect me promptly at 1900 hours at your quarters."

"Good, I expect you to be on time," she raised her brows at him seriously, but broke into a fresh smile as she walked away.

Data watched her affectionately as she went back to her lab. He owed so much to this woman. She had already given him his life, the emotions he was able to experience free of a program and her devotion to him. He could not imagine what else she might have for him.

Tel hummed as she worked. It wasn't something she was known for doing, but it was a budding habit that had developed from the time she and Data entered into their relationship. Though it was probably a good thing that Tel usually worked alone, as it appeared that she was quite tone deaf. Currently, she was collaborating with a man called Dr. Nermik on a project commissioned by Starfleet Medical. Together, they were designing a sort of mechanical skin meant for burn victims. While the technology to heal second and third degree burns was readily available and certainly skin grafts were simple enough, the healed skin was left without much feeling. What Tel and Dr. Nermik were creating would not only replicate accurately the sensations felt by normal human skin, but it would act as an armor against injury. This sort of thing had been attempted before, but never perfected. If they were successful, they could well go on to modifying the skin to fit other species in the Federation.

A correspondence from Dr. Nermik had come through for Tel only moments earlier. She was so absorbed in what he had to say, that she did not hear Harmona Ritlan enter the lab.

"Enterprise to Tel?" Harmona said in her ear.

Tel didn't startle easily, or at least she didn't show it. Slowly and deliberately, she turned to face the younger woman. Harmona was human, but looked distinctly pixie-like. She had an Australian accent that had lightened considerably over the years thanks to her time spent in San Fransisco and on the Enterprise. She was a bubbly young woman, but didn't seem to mind the juxtaposition of Tel's to her own. Despite the gap in their ages and the difference in their ways, Tel and Harmona had become quite close.

"Hello there Ensign Ritlan, what are you doing down here?"

Harmona grinned, "That's what I came to tell you; you're second only to Teddy." Teddy was Harmona's husband.

"What is it?"

"I've been promoted! They're making me a Lieutenant!"

Tel could see that Harmona had been bursting to share the news with someone aside from the man she was married too, so she decided she would make it worth her while. Tel sprang to her feet in the giddiest way she could and enveloped Harmona in a tight hug. "Mona, that's wonderful! They couldn't pick a better person."

Harmona laughed and hugged her friend in return. "Thank you. I'm so excited, I couldn't believe it when Captain Picard told me. Imagine it! Me, Lieutenant Ritlan, or I guess the other Lieutenant Ritlan, because Teddy's still…"

"When will the ceremony be?" Tel asked, cutting across Harmona before she could build up too much speed on one of her famous verbal rampages.

Harmona grinned, "It's the day after tomorrow."

"Well Data and I will both be in attendance. Congratulations Mona, you've earned this."

"Thanks again Tel, I'd better go find Laurel before I go back to the bridge, how upset do you think she would be if I didn't tell her? Hey! Maybe I could end up being one of your test subjects for your skin thingy if she was mad enough."

Tel shook her head disapprovingly, "I hope this is something you never need. Now go, before Laurel really does set you on fire."

Harmona nodded and waved goodbye.

Tel turned back to her correspondence, finishing her suggestion of how they could change the way an electrical impulse would mimic a nerve impulse to be much more accurate. Then, she turned her attention to the riddle he'd sent her.

From the beginning of eternity
To the end of time and space
To the beginning of every end
And the end of every place.
What am I?

Dr. Nermik ended all his letters to Tel with a riddle. Some she'd already heard and some she hadn't, but she enjoyed reading them and trying to figure them out nonetheless. This one she wasn't previously familiar with and so she examined it closely. Often, the answers to the riddles she was sent were much more simple than they appeared to be. She ignored the riddle and looked at the construct of the poem itself. It was free verse with a simple ABCBD rhyme scheme. It didn't take Tel long to find the answer.

She spent the rest of her shift making adjustments to the schematics. They were still fairly early on in the project and it could take quite some time for the whole thing to be completed, especially as duties to perform as well. Thankfully, Starfleet Medical had given them a very attainable deadline.

Time, as it usually did when Tel was working, flew by. In some sense, she was aware of the time passing. She remembered Geordi coming in to make sure that firstly she was going to take a break (she didn't) and that secondly she would remember to return to her engineering duties tomorrow (she would).

She hadn't said much to her friend and supervisor, but Geordi hadn't really expected her too. He recognized the expression she'd worn, deep in concentration and serious. He'd asked her how she was, but had been met with little more than a hum. Geordi wasn't offended, this is how Tel worked.

It had to have been at least four hours since Geordi had come in; Tel looked at the chronometer on her console and saw she'd been on duty for half an hour too long. Data was due at her quarters in an hour and she wasn't ready.

Hurriedly, she backed up her work and shut down her console. There was no one that would be taking over her shift so to expedite her departure; she left her black equipment bag under the console. Normally, she would have made sure nothing needed to be cleaned, but she didn't have time for that this evening. She rushed through the engineering deck to the turbolift. Tel all but ran back to her apartment and changed out of her uniform. What she changed into wasn't something she normally would have worn, but tonight was a special occasion.

Tel looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't think she looked like she'd just turned 37. Her blood-line would most likely give her a longer natural life than most humans so it stood to reason that she would age a little slower. That being said, she couldn't help but wish she still looked 20.

She contemplated applying a little bit of make-up, but rejected the idea almost immediately and instead let her hair down so that it fell softly past her shoulders. Deciding that she looked alright, Tel went back into the main portion of her quarters and began preparing.

At precisely 1900 hours and not a moment sooner or later, Data pressed the chime at Tel's quarters to alert her to his presence. Normally, he would have let himself in, as Tel had allowed him to do (he had done the same for her), but reasoned that if she was planning to surprise him, she would want to know when he arrived.

"Come in," came Tel's voice from inside the apartment.

Data entered to find that the lights had been dimmed. Lighting the room instead were several artificial candles that had been placed strategically throughout the apartment. In the middle of the floor was a checkered blanket laid with all the items necessary for a picnic. Tel sat on the blanket wearing a smile and a very flattering grey dress that just covered her knees and left her arms bare. She held a flute of synthetic champagne out to him.

Tel knew her set up was quite cliché, but she had attempted to create as romantic an ambiance as she could think of. Her experience with romance was limited so she'd had to go with what she knew to be considered ideal for this situation. She wasn't certain that Data would fully be able to appreciate the reasoning, but at the very least, the atmosphere would keep her from changing her mind.

Data sat down on the floor next to her and accepted the glass. His eyes flicked about the room, processing the visual input. Tel did not rush into saying anything, she'd discovered that sensory processes having an emotional nature often took longer for Data to analyze. She suspected this was due to the fact that his neural pathways were not yet accustomed to linking senses and emotions.

Eventually, his eyes landed back to her. "Is there an occasion about today that has been deleted from my memory?"

Tel shook her head no.

Data touched her wrist, "Your heat-rate is greatly elevated. Are you nervous Tel?"

Tel nodded, knowing it would be useless to hide that fact from him, he knew her too well. Her pulse had often skyrocketed upwards early in their relationship whenever he'd been near or they'd shared physical contact. These things no longer caused her pulse to jump, but it stood to reason that her plan tonight would.

Data waited patiently for her to explain.

Taking a sip of champagne to give her time to marshal her thoughts, Tel exhaled heavily. "Data, have you ever…" how to phrase this decently? "Been with someone?"

"I am with you Tel. Or are you referring to the physical act of love?"

Tel nodded, her face serious.

Data hesitated. He knew that Tel was not prone to jealousy, or at least he had believed this to be so until she had expressed the emotion towards Ensign Talider when she had thought Data had entered into an emotional pairing with the Lahyedan woman. "Yes, I have."

Tel seemed to mull this over. She gave no facial indications that she was upset by this fact, though Tel was practiced at repression. "I've never been… I mean, I haven't…" her face flushed and she struggled uncharacteristically.

Data understood her meaning and took the champagne flute from her hand and set it on the ground before enveloping both her hands in his. "Tel, you must know that I do not experience the primal urge of sexual need," he was beginning to understand desire, but he did not say so. "You do not need to feel uncomfortable in an attempt to please me. If you do not wish to become intimate with me, I will never ask it of you."

Widening her eyes, Tel shook her head, "No, that's just it Data," she looked at their hands, clasped together. "I do."

Data processed this, scrutinizing the emotions that formed themselves around Tel's sentiment. Pleasure was first and foremost, easily recognizable. Excitement as well, but there was also anxiety, though it was overpowered by positive feelings. The sensation was peculiar, but Data came to the conclusion that he enjoyed it. "Was that your meaning when you came to me this morning? That you wish to give yourself to me?" Data enjoyed the archaic phrase.

Tel's breathing quickened, "Yes."

Data leaned towards her and kissed her, softly at first, but he began to apply more pressure as she responded. He drew her closer and kissed her hair, her forehead, her cheek, her nose and her neck in slow succession. He began to worry about the rate of her pulse, but understood that this was a normal response.

She removed her hands from his and placed them on his chest. In turn, his hands slid to her waist, feeling the light shift of her polyester dress under his fingers. Data felt her muscles contract slightly a moment before she got to her feet. Mimicking her, he stood and took the hand that she offered to him.

Tel locked her eyes with his and led him into the bedroom, wondering how she would feel in the morning. Tel was in love with Data; she could not see regretting her decision. Data was the one person she did not fear sharing her complete vulnerability with. She hoped he knew this.

The picnic basket lay untouched until morning.

A/N: It's here! You know you wanted it. I think I started and deleted about six different versions of this first chapter. Hence the long taking. I think I know where I'm going from here, so hopefully things will be a bit quicker eh? Don't forget to review, you know I crave to hear your thoughts. As always, Paramount owns the Star Trek universe, I'm just using a small part of it and making it my own.