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In The Middle Of In-Between

Summary:

Data and Tasha have a heart-to-heart in a special place and time.

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Title: In The Middle Of In-Between
Author: Poodle
Rating: PG
Summary: Data and Tasha have a heart-to-heart in a special place and time.

 

 

In The Middle Of In-Between
By Poodle~

 

"Data! I've been waiting for you."

The android's eyes snapped open. He did not recall closing them. He squinted into the golden sunlight that washed over him.

"I just *knew* you'd come!"

The voice drifting from behind was feminine and somehow familiar.

"They said that you would never make it, but I knew they were wrong."

He turned to face the voice. A lissome blonde moved toward him. With a jolt, he recognized the grace of her stride and the boyish cut hair.

"Tasha!"

A smile broke across her face. "I've missed you. Data."

"Most curious." The android stood immobile. Something was definitely amiss. He had not seen Tasha since-

He scanned he surrounding glade. In the distance, a grove of trees rustled. The gurgling of a brook reached his ears. Wildflowers dotted the landscape. Standing among them, Lieutenant Yar met his gaze. She was just as he remembered, agile, vibrant - alive. The breeze tousled her sun-kissed hair.

"Your presence here is an impossibility," Data stated flatly as he strained through murky thoughts to recall where he was. The beamdown must have been unusually jarring due to the ion storms. In a flash it returned to him. "The Away Team's assignment was to conduct a routine survey of the uninhabited western hemisphere of Evazeian Three."

The Away Team! Where were the others?

He spun around. His eyes swept the glade. The others should have transported, as well, but he and Tasha were alone. He slapped his communicator. No response. A frown creased his forehead. "It is imperative that I locate my companions. Do you know--?"

"What do you mean my presence here is impossible?" She tilted her head slightly.

"Extensive sensor scans of the planet's surface indicated no humanoid lifeforms on this side of Evazeian Three."

"Do you doubt your own eyes?"

"The utmost precaution was utilized in assuring that our survey team would not encounter the inhabitants native to this planet. Contact with the Evazeians is strictly prohibited. Your presence here could be construed as a direct violation--"

The woman moved near. A coy smile touched the corner of her mouth.

The earthy fragrance of her hair whisked around him. Its familiar scent took him by surprise. A memory wafted through his mind of another time, another place. He stiffened.

"It is not possible that you are Lieutenant Yar."

Her response was a ripple of laughter.

"Lieutenant Yar is..." He swallowed, surprised at his reluctance to continue.

"Yes?"

"Dead."

The glade grew strangely quiet.

"Didn't you miss me?" She broke the hush. "I surely missed you. I've so many things to tell you, so many things to ask. I was afraid I would never see you again."

"Who *are* you?" The words sounded cold, unlike his usual tone. "Where is the remainder of the Away Team?"

"Data, I don't--"

"I am unable to establish communication with the Enterprise. Please explain."

Tasha's eyes widened. "Don't get so bent out of shape. I'm sure everyone's just fine."

"Inquiry. -Bent out of shape?'"

A smile spread across her face. Its warmth caused an unsettling in the center of Data's chest. Could this possibly *be* Tasha?

"Still the same old Data." She reached toward him. He stepped back. For some reason, the thought of her touch was deeply disturbing. Noting his expression, she faltered. Clouds gathered in the blue of her eyes. "I really am who I appear to be," she told him softly.

"I believe your claim to be a deliberate falsehood--"

"Data!"

"The purpose of which I have yet to ascertain. Why did the remainder of the Away Team fail to materialize?"

Shock shrouded her face.

"Please respond. Why am I unable to contact the Enterprise? Are the storms surrounding this world somehow responsible for this disturbance?" The storms! Data looked up. The sky above was turquoise and clear. Somewhere in the distance birds sang.

"There are no storms here," she said.

His eyes were drawn to the being before him, so like the woman he had once known. A memory whisked through his mind of a cherished holograph setting in his quarters. Why would he - an android - keep such a memento? Undoubtedly most Humans would find he notion amusing. Would Tasha? He forced the thought away.

The image before him was identical to that in the holograph. Who - what - was she? What purpose could such a charade serve? He reached for his tricorder only to find the device missing.

"Data, there are so many thing I long to tell you. So many confessions I couldn't make before, that I can now."

"State the purpose of your presence here. Evazeian Three is a restricted planet. Contact with its inhabitants is..." He faltered s a thought struck him. There was little information available concerning the Evazeians. The intended survey was restricted to the isolated western hemisphere of the planet. Was it possible that the ion storms had caused a glitch in the transporter resulting in a separation of the Away Team? Was it possible he beamed down, not in the western hemisphere, but somewhere else?

Tasha was watching him curiously.

The Evazeians were known to be a simple, gentle species with telepathic abilities. Were they also capable of molecular transformation? *Shape changers?*

"Data?"

These beings were unaware of life beyond their world.

"Now's a fine time for you to get angry with me!"

Data blinked, caught off-guard by her comment.

The blue of her eyes darkened. "Are you angry with me? Is it even possible? Are you capable of anger?"

"Anger?" he repeated numbly. Could this *be* an Evazeian? The accuracy of the transformation was astounding.

"Look, we're friends aren't we? I know you," she bit her lip, "perhaps better than anyone. So why have you become so...*mechanical* toward me?"

Her movements, her voice inflection, were just as he remembered. It felt...disturbing?

"Answer me!" Her posture stiffened in an unnervingly familiar stance. "If you don't, I'll shake it out of you."

Did his sudden materialization frighten the Evazeian into assuming the most non-threatening form it could find within his mind? Was this a method of self-defense for these beings?

"My actions here could result in irreversible alterations in the sociological development of this planet," he mumbled aloud.

"I wonder if a choke-hold could produce irreversible alterations on an android?" She caught his attention.

"Although you are quite skilled in such techniques, it is most unlikely that your efforts would result in the desired effect."

"Which is?"

"Rendering me inoperative."

A smile crinkled at the corners of her eyes. "I suppose you're right. You always were strong as a Dragonian ox."

"Actually, the bio-mechanical nature of my construction would enable me to lift several--"

The being's laughter danced across his words.

Data froze. He was conversing as if this -Tasha' were real. He stared, transfixed, as her laughter echoed into silence. The distant chirping of birds filled the hush that fell.

She stood regarding him, a whisper of breeze tousling her hair. He could recall its silken texture as effortlessly as he could recall every nuance of her being. Every action was etched indelibly upon a mind incapable of forgetting even thing that -never happened'.

"Data, you're staring."

He blinked. The spell was shattered. He forced such memories from his mind, as he often did.

"You were always fond of nature. Come." She extended hr hand. "Let's walk."

Her relaxed intimacy was unlike any she had expressed toward him in life. He found himself staring dumbly at her hand.

"Are you coming or aren't you?"

"If I continue to challenge your transformation, the resulting confusion could be detrimental."

She released an exasperated huff. "Transformation?"

"It is possible that you possess only the ability to read the most vivid images in my mind. If I dwell only upon those of Lieutenant Yar it is probable I will avoid confusing you with information that could prove detrimental to your continued development as a species."

"What the hell are you babbling about? Transformation--"

"Alteration, shift-change, transmutation--"

"Data."

"Metamorphosis--"

"Data!" Her hands fell to her hips. "Would you *please* cut it out?"

The android fell silent.

Tasha stood watching him with a stern set to her jaw that spoke of no-nonsense; but the depth of her eyes held a gentle glow that made him uneasy. How could any species possess the ability to -read' his electrically generated thoughts so effortlessly? He had never encountered a telepathic race capable of such an achievement.

She extended her hand. "Coming?"

Another disturbing thought arose; was this being interpreting his memories...or his desires?

He cocked his head. "You wish to stroll hand-in-hand?"

She laughed. "You say that as if you've never heard of the idea."

"I am quite familiar with the concept of sauntering with one's hand clasped in that of another's. The act is often associated with close intimacy. It is simply that I have never before participated in the ritual."

The glow of her eyes wavered. "You mean to tell me that you've never strolled hand-in-hand with anyone?"

He shook his head. "Is such a confession dishonorable?"

"No," she told him softly. "Actually it's sort of sad."

"Sad? Please explain."

She shrugged. "It's not important. It's just the idea of never really knowing the joy of being close. We're a lot more alike than I ever realized, that's all."

The android puzzled over her statement. If this Tasha was a product of his cumulative perceptions and memories, then how could she express concepts that bewildered him?

"Come! I've got an entire world to show you." A smile lightened the shadows of her face. "And thousands more, after that."

Before he realized it, she had snatched his hand. The contact was startling. Until this moment he had been confronted only with her image. But her touch was warm, *real*. It caught him off-guard. How many times had he fantasized a reality in which she would express toward him such Human intimacies? But he was not Human. He sought to pull away when her expression held him.

"As you wish," he said softly.

He allowed himself to be led across the glade.

"Such formality," she chuckled. "It's lovely here." With a wave of her hand, she indicated the clustered grove to their right. "There are so many different species of birds you can't begin to count them." She paused as her eyes caught his. "You'd better make that -I can't begin to count them.' I'm sure you could count anything."

He offered her a slight smile, then glanced away, still intrigued by the warmth of her hand. Her touch was as soft as he remembered. He could feel the fragile bones welded together beneath the smooth tissue that formed the Human hand. It felt tiny and vulnerable in his. He turned her hand to study the intricate lines laced across her palm.

"The complex construction of organic life has always fascinated me," he said.

Tasha burst into laughter.

He frowned. "I have offended you?"

"Of course not." Her look held no recrimination. "You're as romantic as ever."

"Romantic?" Had he misconstrued? A slight flush of heat rose to his face. The phenomenon confused him. He could think of no normal function that would produce such a reaction. Perhaps a chemical imbalance in the nutrients forming his blood? "I was unaware that your desire was for romance."

"I was simply teasing you." Releasing his hand, her fingers found the heightened glow of his cheek. Its warmth seemed to increase beneath her touch. "I never took the time to thank you. I've always regretted that."

"Thank me? I do not understand."

"For the time we *were* romantic. And your discretion concerning it."

"Our intimacy?" he mumbled, startled.

"Yes. Though I wasn't exactly myself that day, I do remember it. Clearly."

"A continuance of this discussion is inadvisable," he said softly.

"Why?"

"I do not wish to cause you--" He dropped his gaze. "Humiliation."

"Humiliation? Oh, Data."

"I comprehend the emotion, although I do not believe I possess the capacity to experience it."

"What makes you think you would humiliate me?"

"You have avoided all discussion concerning the incident that -never happened.' Through astute deduction I came to the conclusion--"

"That I was ashamed we slept together. Oh, Data, forgive me."

The android's head cocked. "Tasha, I am incapable of that function."

"Excuse me?"

"I was constructed with the capacity to emulate a wide range of Human functions. Alas, sleep is not among them."

Laughter brightened her face. "Dear Data." She smiled "It's a phrase referring to--"

"Referring to--" He scanned his memory banks. "Sexual activity. I should have known. Such meanings can often be derived from the context in which they are spoken. Sorry."

"I should be the one apologizing. To think that all this time you believed *I* was ashamed of *you.*"

"Was it not a logical assumption?"

"Maybe. But not a correct one. I was ashamed of *myself,* not you."

"I do not understand. Your performance was exemplary."

"My performance!" Again she laughed. "You're sweet." Her hand returned to caress his cheek. "I was embarrassed because of my vulnerability. I never really opened up to anyone that way I did to you. I couldn't bear to face you afterwards. It was easier to pretend it never happened. I told myself you probably felt the same."

His golden eyes searched her face. "That is incorrect, Tasha," he spoke softly. "It is an event I should never wish to forget. It made me feel almost...Human." He glanced away. "Is that amusing?"

"Of course not." Her smile brightened. "It made me feel almost Human, as well."

The breeze rustled the distant trees. Data mimicked her smile.

"I will always be grateful to you for you thoughtfulness in not spreading the tale from there to Outpost 911, and beyond," she said.

"Why would I wish to -spread the tale?'" His bewilderment cut through his awareness of her fingers still resting against his cheek.

"Who knows?" She shrugged. "Male ego?"

"Would that not be a betrayal of confidence? Why should I wish to reveal such intimacies to the individuals we encountered at Outpost 911?"

"Data!" She burst into laughter. "You'll never change," she gasped between giggles.

As she struggled to regain her breath, he worried for her health. But as her breathing calmed, the deep blue of her eyes glistened with amusement.

"You will always be infinitely precious to me," she whispered. "I'm so glad you're here. That we're here, together. There are so many things I now have time to make up for."

"Make up for?" he tired to step back, but she held his arm in casual restraint and moved nearer.

"Yes. Make up for." The words were a breath against his cheek.

Data was torn by uncertainty. Again he'd forgotten this was not the real Tasha. He had no idea how to respond. He started to step free when her eyes dawned with new excitement.

"There's something else I have to show you!" She snatched his hand and urged him in the direction of the grove. "Come on!"

Her actions took him by surprise. He allowed himself to be led without restraint.

"Just look at these," she gasped as they reached the trees. "Aren't they the most beautiful you've ever seen?"

Following her gaze Data peered into the dense foliage and found the trees laden with ripened fruit. The branches stained from the weight of enormous ruby apples that clung to the limbs.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Her voice breathed next to his ear.

"Indeed. They are the most exquisite examples I have ever seen." Living, growing fruit, like all of nature's wonders, filled the android with awe. He had been fashioned by Human hands, with science and technology. But nature created things far more complex and intricate - things men were powerless to duplicate - with no such skills at her disposal.

Stretching to her full height, Tasha plucked the nearest apple and crunched into it. Its juices dribbled down her chin. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and grinned. "I don't suppose I could convince you?" She proffered the fruit.

He considered the offer with a tilt of his head. "I do not require--"

"It has nothing to do with requirements, silly. Take it." She thrust it into his hand.

The android studied the apple speculatively for several minutes, examining it from all angles, turning it slowly to study its even color and smooth texture. An exasperated huff gained his attention.

"*Data.*"

He bit into the fruit. A mingling of sweet juices filled his mouth, tantalizing his tongue.

"Fantastic, isn't it?"

"It should not prove indigestible to my metabolism."

"But do you *like* it?"

He considered her words for a moment, then studied the apple once more, before giving a tentative nod. "I believe I do *like* it."

A smile brightened her face. She sat on a cushion of grass nearby. "I would have given my soul for fruits like these when I was a child. The world I grew up on was so barren. There weren't any trees at all in the rubble of the city where I lived. But had such things existed they would have been locked away from people like me, anyway."

"People like you?" He followed, apple in hand, and sat beside her.

"Indigents scum. You know," she shrugged. "Human refuse."

A frown creased the sensitive lines of his face. "I do not understand why you use such unfavorable terms to describe yourself."

"Because it was true. I was all of those things."

"It is not possible for any Human to be refuse. All Human life is invaluable."

"Not when viewed through the eyes of others from my world, it wasn't," She glanced aside.

"I could never view you as anything but invaluable," he told her softly, causing her to turn.

"Thank you." A smile touched her lips. "I learned many things about the wonder of life when I learned to view it through the innocence of your eyes. You taught me to see myself, you know."

Puzzlement crossed his face. "I do not understand how that is possible."

"We are the sum of all our cumulative memories. My earliest memories were of physical abuse alternated with neglect then finally total abandonment. What child could possibly learn to love herself when her own mother was unable to do so?"

"But in time you left your world, gathered new memories, new perspectives, much more accurate ones."

"True. I did leave my world and I did gather new memories. But my vision of myself remained much the same. I felt I had to fight everything and everyone in order to survive. Closeness and intimacy were luxuries I could never allow myself."

"Did not your experiences in Starfleet begin to teach you that your earlier impressions of self-worth were erroneous?"

"You have to understand. It is not so much our experiences that make us who we are, as our perception of those experiences. My perceptions were awry. I had to learn to view myself differently before I could begin changing my self-image. You taught me that I was capable of tenderness. And you taught me to view myself though different eyes when I saw the way you related to people and things around you. Sometimes your literal interpretations were hilarious. But at other times you had a way of cutting so close to the heart of an issue it was almost chilling."

Data looked away. He felt uncomfortable for reasons he did not understand. He could not recall a time when he did not long to be Human. He found it incomprehensible that any Human could feel worthless.

A soft hand touched his shoulder. "Will you promise not to laugh if I tell you something I have never told anyone before?"

He turned. "The subtleties of humor often elude me. It is unlikely that I would feel inclined to chuckle, giggle or guffaw at anything you say."

She laughed gently. "I was extremely attracted to you even before that day in my quarters." She saw him blink in surprise. "I suppose that's why I felt inclined to seduce you when the Tsiolkovsky infection set in. At first, I guess it was your innocent nature that attracted me. But later - after - I knew there was something special about you. Something I would never forget."

Data had no planned response for such a confession. He sat in silence absorbing her words.

"At first I was embarrassed and not a little worried for my sanity. But as I came to know you better, I knew that my feelings were justified." She gave him a slight smile. He noted a flush of color tinting her cheeks. "I've never been the sort to consider -permanent' relationships. My career was my life. But if I had been the sort..." She paused. "I mean...if it were possible for me to be the sort, you would definitely have been my choice."

"Tasha!" Data's eyebrows rose and met above his nose in a look of pure astonishment. His positronic brain, capable of assessing information at sixty trillion operations per second, was incapable of piecing together a single coherent sentence.

"Data?"

"Such a union could never produce offspring!" he blurted out the first thought that came to mind.

"Offspring?"

"Descendants, progeny, children." His expression became intense, as if desperate to make her understand. "Rug-rats!"

She burst into laughter.

"Tasha, I would have been unable to give you children." His voice rose above her giggles. When she gave no reply, a frown knitted his forehead. "Is this not important?"

"Oh, Data, I'm so sorry," she finely choked the words between gasps of air. "I didn't mean to laugh. But you should see your face. You're so intense about this issue."

"Are not children important to most Human women?"

"I can't speak for other women, but I've never been the motherly type. It was never my intent to have children. Besides," she gave his shoulder a gentle slap; "there are quite a few alternative methods available to induce conception."

"But is not the traditional method the preferred procedure among the majority of Humans?"

"Ultimately, it's what works that counts." She wiped the tears from her cheeks as her laughter faded. "But as I said, I never intended to have children. It's not uncommon for adults who were abused in childhood to elect to remain childless."

"Why is this so?"

She shrugged and looked away. "I simply know it was true of me. And I've heard it is true of others. Maybe we fear that we, too, will fail at the most fundamentally important of all Human functions...parenting." Her words faded to silence.

Data sat absorbing the impact of her confession. No words had ever made him feel so special. The majority of Humans aboard the Enterprise considered Tasha quite attractive. She could have had her pick of anyone. Yet her choice of him had been premeditated. A crooked grin weaved its way across his lips. He turned to gaze at her fine-boned profile. A gust of breeze, bringing with it the aroma of wildflowers and the whispered promise of poignant summer evenings, rustled her hair. He closed his eyes with an audible sigh.

"Tasha."

"Yes?" She turned.

"Doubtless you would have been as adept at the art of motherhood, as any goal you have ever aspired to."

"Data!" The blue of her eyes brightened. "I'm so glad you're here." Her fingers found the brushed gold of his cheek. "My worry that I would never see you again can finally be put to rest."

She leaned near and covered the sensitive lines of his mouth with her own. The whispered hint of apple still lingered on her lips. He felt a rush of unexpected sensations. A tingling rose within. With a jolt, he recognized the familiar numbness of a transporter bean weaving itself around him.

Tasha broke free. A mingling of shock and distress widened her eyes.

An illusion! He had forgotten the metamorphosis of the Evazeian. None of this was real!

The sadness in Tasha's face burned into his mind as the Enterprise sought to claim him.

None of this was real!

A wretched pain flared within his chest, robbing him of breath. If anything, the loss was greater than ever before.

As reality ebbed, the phantom stains of her voice ghosted into the void of his soul...

"It is not yet time..."

~*~*~*~*~

"Thank god!" The words tore from Picard's throat as he lunged toward the transporter pad. "I want Doctor Pulaski down here *now.*" His legs threatened to buckle as the massive weight of a semi-conscious android crumpled into his arms. "Number One." He struggled beneath the burden.

Commander Riker whirled from his position on the transporter pad, where only moments before he had failed to de-materialize. But it was Lieutenant Worf who swooped Commander Data from Picard's grasp.

"What the hell happened?" Picard demanded of Chief O'Brien.

"Sir, I..." he stammered, shaking his head. "I'm not sure."

"Number One," he spun around and faced his first officer. "Are you and Mister Worf all right?"

"We seem to be, sir. We never de-materialized. Only Commander Data transported down to Evazeian Three."

"Correction." Chief O'Brien's attention remained riveted to the console. "None of you transported down to Evazeian Three."

"What do you mean, none of us?" Worf rumbled, adjusting the android's weight in his arms.

"Just what I said, -none of you.'"

"Explain!" Picard's tone was acid.

"I can't sir. It had something to do with the ion storms surrounding the planet. We experienced a surge of energy at the intended moment of transport."

"Data de-materialized." Riker's face was set in grim lines. "I saw him. If he didn't transport to Evazeian then were was he?"

Chief O'Brien swallowed.

"Report!" One of Picard's finest officers had vanished for over thirty seconds and that demanded lightening-swift responses.

"I lost him, sir." O'Brien looked defeated. "He simply winked out of existence. When I realized that the transport was incomplete, I rushed to bring him back, but he wasn't on Evazeian."

"Are you trying to tell me you scattered Mister Data's molecules through space!"

"I don't know where he went, sir," O'Brien flustered. "He was just gone."

"Gone?" The captain's eyes burned holes into the chief.

"Why only Data?" Riker demanded, wrapping his arms across his chest.

"The energy must have interacted somehow with Mister Data's circuitry. I only thank the stars I was able to bring him back when I did. I'm still not sure how I did it."

"I want answers, Mister O'Brien. Do I make myself clear?"

"Aye, Captain." His attention snapped to the transporter console.

"And shut that damn thing down until we get them." The door swished open behind him and Picard turned. "You took your time about it, Doctor." He caught Pulaski's eye.

The doctor strode past him without comment and moved to Worf's side. "I want a team of technicians assembled in Sickbay immediately." Her scanner swept over the android's crumpled form.

"Doctor?" Picard's brow furrowed in worry as he moved to her side.

Pulaski ignored his presence.

Wolf shifted uneasily.

Finally she looked up and gave a slight nod.

Picard released his breath.

"Weak but stable." She placed a hand against Data's cheek "He's coming around."

The lines of worry drained from the captain's face as he watched Data's eyes begin to flicker, then open.

"Sir?' Data blinked. "I am aboard the Enterprise." His tone was flat.

"Yes, Data, you're home." Stern blue eyes softened. "Mister Worf will be delivering you to sickbay for a well-deserved recuperation."

"The others?" He attempted to rise.

A firm but gentle hand held him back. "Are safe." Picard could sense the commander's weakened condition beneath his hand. "You must go to sickbay." A smile touched the corner of his mouth. "And I don't want to hear any of that nonsense about the expendability of machines."

The android's eyes fluttered then closed without comment.

"Take him, Mister Worf," Picard said softly.

"Sir?" The voice was almost inaudible.

"Yes, Data?" He motioned for the security chief to wait, then had to lean near to hear.

"Evazeian Three is a most intriguing world."

"Yes. I'm sure it is. Alas, you never saw it."

Data's eyes reopened, something stirred in their golden depths. "A dream, sir?"

"A form of hallucination."

The light within the android's eyes flickered then slowly dulled. "If you insist, sir." His words were strangely flat, mechanical.

"I insist. Take him, Mister Worf."

Data gave no further protest as he was carried from the room. Doctor Pulaski followed directly.

"That was close." It was Riker.

"Too close." The sternness returned to the captain's tone. He glared at the transporter console. "I don't want it to happen again."

"We almost lost him."

"I know." Their eyes met for an uncomfortable moment before Picard turned and strode toward the door. Riker followed.

"Sir, what's this?" His first officer suddenly paused and scooped something from the floor.

Picard turned in time to catch the object as Riker tossed it through the air. "It's an apple." He studied the smooth red texture of the fruit as he held it in his hand. "Half eaten."

"Wonder how that got there?" Riker mumbled.

"Can't imagine anyone wanting it." Picard shrugged. "Coming, Number One?"

"Coming, sir."

The captain tossed the apple. It arched with perfect grace and landed without a thump as the waste-recycling chute silenced the echoes of its secrets.

~*End