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You Can't Fight a Tidal Wave	By : madradena Category: Star Trek > The Next Generation Views: 1693 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own ST:TNG nor Dreamland, nor the characters from either. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
The scene changes again and they are walking into a Theme Park hand in hand.
She laughs as She sees him looking up at the Ferris Wheel with dread in his eyes: "Come on, don't be such a chicken!" She pulls him toward it.
"I hate Ferris Wheels." He admits finally, but She pushes him into an open cabin.
"Take us to the top, Mister!" she mumbles to the man at the controls, and they start to ascend.
"Woah-woah-woah..." He grasps a handle then as they get to the top, He looks around curiously "I can see my hotel from up here!"
She smiles and looks out at the Moon: "Say, what is it with you and the Moon? Just look how beautiful it is!"
As they watch the Moon, He starts to sing for her:
"Life was a song
You came along
I’ve laid awake the whole night through
If I ever dared
To think you cared
This is what I’d say to you:"
She is still watching the Moon, and He gently puts his hands on her shoulders as He starts to sing about how He feels.
"You were meant for me
I was meant for you
Nature patterned you
And when she was done
You were all the sweet things
Rolled up in one"
She can't help herself but turn to him and gazes into his eyes as He sings on:
"You’re like a plaintive melody
That never lets me free
For I’m content
The angels must have sent you
And they meant you
Just for me"
An instant before He finishes His last line, She starts singing the same melody:
"You were meant for me
I was meant for you
Nature patterned you
And when she was done
You were all the sweet things
Rolled up in one
You’re like a plaintive melody
That never lets me free"
Her eyes shine with the same feelings his song is about, and they finish the last lines together:
"For I’m content
The angels must have sent you
And they meant you
Just for me"
Before their lips touch, He smiles at her mischievously: "Shall we dance?"
He steps out of the cabin onto a cloud and offers her a hand to help her step next to him. He takes her into his arms, and they waltz in the moonlight enjoying the rhythm.
"I didn't know you could waltz on a cloud!" He smiles and She just gives herself over to the music, the moonlight and the melody as they dance.
Finally, they sing the last few lines together:
"I’m content
The angels must have sent you
And they meant you
Just for me"
As the music plays out, they sit back to the cabin, and it turns into a taxi-cab. The rain pours heavily.
"Here we go. That'll be 3.75!" says the driver as they get to her place.
"Alright. Here you go, cabby! Keep the change!" He says, and they get out.
"Wow, two bits! Now I can retire!" they hear the voice of the cab driver, as he rides away, they run to stand at the doorway to seek some cover from the rain.
"Well. It's pretty late." She remarks a bit embarrassed.
"I was hoping maybe I could stay." He moves on to put his hand onto the doorpost standing very close to her.
She smiles at this and looks into his eyes: "Look. You’re a great guy. And... you know I really enjoyed this but..."
"Yeah... but what? I thought we were meant for each other." He says leaning even closer.
And She is amused to find that He actually looks as if He really believed what He is saying. She looks away, but can't help herself to smile "Yeah... I mean... It's all happening so fast..."
"But sometimes it happens this way." He leans close to her ear taking her hand and whispers "Oh come on. Take a chance."
He looks into her eyes and starts singing again:
"I love you."
She gaps at him: "Oh, Jeez!" He couldn't have said that, now could He?! And as if in confirmation, He repeats again:
"I love you.
Is all that I can say.
I love you. I love you.
The same old worlds I'm saying in the same old way.
I love you. I love you.
Three words that are divine.
And now, my dear, I'm waitin' to hear
The words that will make you mine."
She can't resist to join but starts a melody of her own:
"We're on the road to romance
That's safe to say
But let's make all the stops along the way"
He doesn't give up and sings his own love-song tune, while She sings hers. He again takes her into his arms, and they dance to a soft rhythm matching both of their songs:
"Let's take it nice and easy
It's gonna be so easy
For us to fall in love
Hey baby what's your hurry
Relax, don't you worry
We're gonna fall in love
We're on the road to romance
That's safe to say
But let's make all the stops along the way
The problem now of course is
To simply hold your horses, to rush would be a crime
'Cause nice and easy does it every time"
They finish both songs together finding themselves at the doorway again. She can't resist him any more:
"Well. Why don't you come in for a nightcap?" She asks him pulling his head down to hers, and they disappear into her apartment before we see them kiss. The door closes behind them.
...And fireworks go off all over the sky...
"Hey baby what's yo hurry..." Emma was crooning on a low voice as she was getting to the holodeck door. She actually was in a quite good mood. She realized she missed being on the stage. And missed singing. It was just pure fun! And this little fluff was really getting to be very cute. What a shame that they would flop... "Relax and don't ya worry... oh..." she spotted Data from a distance standing again at the door seemingly contemplating his unfortunate fate - and this time, she saw very well the bemused expression on his face. Oh yes! He would be one of the primary causes, if they flopped! The others were amateurs, but too little experience may still lead to a worthy effort. But he! He was talented! But he just did not try! Not hard enough! Not at all!
All her good spirits left her in one single instant at that. For heaven's sake! Now she is gonna take things into her hands, and kick him in the butt, if that was what he needed! she frowned and leapt next to him energetically "Hey, Mr. Deadpan. Have you finally found a good way to kill all of us? Oh, I have a guess! You just look at us with that sour expression of yours, and we all will slash are wrists by ourselves!" she sneered standing very close to him glaring into his eyes.
Data gaped at her for a moment. He felt a familiar squeeze in his chest, which he had earlier associated with anger but decided not to act upon it, so he just stepped away from her towards the door.
"Yeah, just go in, contribute to our little flop out of sulking!" she turned to him challengingly, and he stopped short.
He slowly turned back to her: "I beg your pardon." he forced the words out of his pursed lips cocking his head to one side.
She stepped up to him holding her chin high up: "You heard me, big boy." she saw that apart from the fact that he had bewilderment on his features, he was also confused, so she went on "Bev blackmailed you into doing this. And now you are prepared to take revenge by making her play flop."
Data again gaped at her - he was not prepared to be accused of being vengeful or wilfully disruptive that afternoon or on any other for that matter. "I refuse your accusations." he stated simply, but his hands came up into fists, the grip in his chest ever firmer "They have no basis at all!"
"Ah don't they, eh?" she asked "You know full well that we are behind schedule, Bev has enough on her hands with the two noobs in there." she pointed to the holodeck, where Reg and Sonya were probably already practising. "We are the ones who are supposed to give her all we can, but what do you do?" she pushed him on the chest with one finger - and regretted to find that she might have hurt her own finger on his unyielding body. The sudden pain though made her even more angry "You come in here every freaking afternoon with the face of Jesus-Christ suffering on the crucifix and give as a lifeless performance as it is possible with the talent you possess! Just because Bev pulled some strings to get you here, just to help you the way she could! That's your way of thanking her! Swell! With friends like this, who needs enemies?"
"You... you are not aware of all of the facts in this situation!" he replied suddenly feeling utter desperation - he had no intention of doing what she suggested he had been doing so far! His performance was lifeless simply because he felt no life in himself for months! Though he noted that at least, it seemed the chip was working fine after days of feeling only numbness...
"Yeah, well, you know what? I don't have to be aware of all the facts." she retorted "Personally, I don't care why dancing or hugging or kissing for that matter, is giving you the creeps. I don't care if you're an emotional illiterate..."
He cut in: "I am NOT an emotional illiterate! I have an emotion-chip to emulate human feelings in my pos..."
"Well, use it then!" she retorted again.
"I am using it! As I have been through..."
"Well, it doesn't show, sweetheart! Maybe you should have it checked or get a refund!"
"I am having it checked regularly, and it is working as it supposed to work, I..."
"Oh, yeah? Okay, then there's another reason, but you know what? I don't care about that either! I don't care if you're a virgin...
"I am most definitely NOT a..."
"I don't care if your good aunt Annie molested you, when you were a little boy..."
"I had no aunt, and I was never a little bo..."
"And I don't care if you like guys instead of girls!"
Data seemed to stop for a moment before answering - considering whether he should answer at all "I ...I am heterosexual." he replied on a much lower voice.
She stopped in her rampage suddenly and found herself looking at his slightly parted lips "Oh..." she breathed and moved in to stand very close to him - he could feel her breath on his lips as she talked "Glad we cleared that one up..." she whispered as she looked from his eyes onto his lips and back again. His lips! Oh, my god!
Data felt a sudden rush of heat coursing through his body, centering in his groins at this. It happened without any warning - the same way it did when he first started using his chip. His sexuality program running normally as a background process, barely noticeable, suddenly jumped to the front, and he felt the same arousal building up in his body every time a woman was anywhere near him! He learned to control these powerful sensations ever since and mastered the self-control every human male had to master sooner or later in his life. But now...
"Mu-Must you stand quite so close?" he stammered on a low voice.
"I'm very nearsighted." she replied without missing a beat, and as she spoke, he could feel her hot breath touching his lips.
And something just snapped! His urges were out of control again. Just the way when the Queen blew softly on his new human skin... Another powerful rush of warmth coursed through him at the memory, and he took a step backwards suddenly scared of the sudden sensations.
Somewhat hazily though, he did notice however, that at the moment, he got scared, she seemed to get scared too! She took a step backwards as well with an almost shocked expression.
She cleared her throat and kept her gaze down hoping fervently that he would not notice her red cheeks burning from embarrassment. What the hell has gotten into you?! she asked herself. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand then put her hands back in her pockets.
After a moment when she felt herself capable of speaking, she raised her gaze to look back at him again: "We are here to do a job!" she said on a much lower voice "And unlucky you, you happen to be a very freaking talented bastard." she told him with a faint smile, which he returned without wanting to. She shrugged and looked at him apologetically "Look. Everybody is stressed out. We are behind schedule and those two noobs are struggling to give their bests. We cannot be expected to do less than that, Data, just because of some personal grudge or inhibition. Get over it somehow because... Beverly deserves better than to be let down!" she finished on a silent voice then went inside.
Data looked after her for a moment then stepped inside too. He watched as Emma walked up to Beverly and tried to process whatever had just happened out there. The first processor thread he started was dedicated for the accusation Emma had raised against him. Although he was certain he never would do something as disruptive as consciously making an effort in destroying the play, he had to check whether he was doing it without even realizing it. True as it was that he really did not feel like taking up this role, and what Emma had called a "lifeless performance" might be thanks to that fact in part, but it was really not his choice. Ever since he possessed the chip, he relied on it while acting in a play. He used it as a resource, something he could tap into while creating a character. Now, he had to admit that his chip had not provided him with a lot of emotions lately, and among those the majority was feelings of bemusement and numbness - not at all useful in this role. However, he never took the time to realize that he should alter his method in creating this character. He used to act in plays even before having the chip installed, and he still had the skills required to emulate reactions seemingly initiated by emotion and therefore creating an emotional response in others. He decided he would need to fall back on those skills for the time being.
The second thread he dedicated to running a full diagnostic on his emotion-chip including digging up all the logs created in that 4.37 seconds, while he experienced that surge of warmth indicative of sexual arousal. He needed to know why his control mechanisms just disappeared all of a sudden in that timespan.
The third thread he dedicated to running an extensive analysis on Emma's personality. He also segregated the process from his emotion-chip, because he was sure the fury he was experiencing, if he just looked in her way would interfere with a proper analytical examination.
To start his processes, it took only 0.70 seconds, and the only thing Beverly and the others saw outwardly was the fact that he stopped for a moment before walking up to them on the stage.
Three and a half hours later, they were struggling to nail the scene where He was singing the love-song and She was singing the song to persuade him to take things nice and slowly. Emma had to admit that even for her, it gave some difficulties, because while paying attention to your own song, you had to pay attention to the cadence of the other song too, not to mention dancing to the common rhythm of both. Above all else, as Beverly has pointed out, playing to be in love this time was not enough.
"The scene is a very subtle power struggle." she explained as they stood on the stage. Data leaned to the doorpost with one hand, Sonya stood a step away from him rather rigidly. Reg and Emma stood side by side on the road in the street setting. Beverly stood opposite of them but talking mainly to Data and Sonya "You have to convince her that this is what both of you want to do. That fate or some other higher power brought the two of you together in this place and time." she told Data then turned to Sonya "And you are struggling inside: you like this guy a lot, you are tempted. But you also know that you should make him wait for you. You are trying to convince him and yourself as well to take things nice and easy."
"Can I make another point?" Emma stepped closer to Bev.
"Sure, go ahead." Beverly nodded to her.
Emma stepped closer to Data and looked straight into his eyes: "This guy does not take his chances. He's almost smugly sure of himself. He knows what to tell this lady to take her breath away. Probably, this is not at all the first time he has been doing this. And he knows exactly how this night would end." then she stepped to Sonya who instinctively took a step backwards and avoided making eye-contact with her "While she has also done this before. Countless of times has she seen men playing this game. She knows where the catches are, and she does not believe a word."
Beverly took the thread of thought on: "Partially, she has a non-nonsence personality. She is immune to his sentimental singing to her 'I love you'."
"This is why she replies 'Jeez' to it." Sonya concluded silently nodding to herself.
"Exactly." Emma agreed.
"I have to disagree." Data stepped up to her speaking up for the first time - well ever since they had started to put together the play.
"Is that so." Emma replied looking at him somewhat challengingly.
"Yes. He has no malicious intent. You are unjust to this character. To both characters actually. He really loves this woman. From the very beginning to the very end of the story. And She loves him back. Otherwise why would She invite him in at the end of the scene? He says 'Sometimes it happens this way.' because sometimes it really does not take a lot of time to fall in love. Take Romeo and Juliette for instance."
"Oh, come on! Romeo and Juliette were kids, of course it was love at first sight. These two on the other hand, they are experienced. This is not a game they are playing for the first time." Emma tried to make her point again.
Data crossed his arms in front of his chest while cocking his head to one side, and Emma thought he looked quite annoyed - at least some feeling Mr. Deadpan. He took his stand: "I do not agree. They may have had previous encounters with love, but this one is essentially different from any other experience they might have had."
Emma had to laugh at this: "And this is exactly the way a guy is talking who has never tried to score with some classic lines before."
Data frowned confused: "Score meaning in the present context..."
Emma's jaw dropped, and at the same time, an amused grin spread on her mouth. Before she could answer however, Beverly stepped to them and pulled Emma a bit farther away from him: "What Emma wants to say, Data, is that maybe having sex with her is one of his main priorities."
"Ma-may I..." Reg stepped a little closer to all of them. He has been trying to put in a word from the beginning but was not able to raise his voice above the inaudible level.
"Sure, go ahead, Reg." Beverly motioned to him.
Emma rolled her eyes "The other experienced los..." she breathed, and Bev gave her a hard shove before she could finish while smiling kindly to Reg.
"Ma-may I point out that ...that both of you might be right?" he started his strangely limited gesturing all the while looking down and never at their faces "What if they both know what this is about? What if they know the game well? But! But. At the same time, they are feeling something... something different. Different from before. From ever before." he glanced up to check their reactions. They were all standing there seemingly considering what they heard.
"That's just about as good a compromise as we can reach. Guys, lets do this scene once again, and we will call it a night, okay?" Beverly commanded finally.
Reg and Emma went to the far end of the room, while Beverly stood in front of the stage, and Data and Sonya went to stand in the doorway. Emma studied the younger woman's expression: she seemed exhausted and instinctively glanced over to Reg from time to time, while she was supposed to look only at Data. Emma knew she would not last long before she would just break down under the pressure.
They got through the lines of prose quite alright, and Emma was surprised to see that Data seemed to find the basics of the character inside himself after all. She had the impression that he actually got himself together in just a few hours, and she couldn't help to feel pleased with herself for that.
When they started to sing and dance however, it was a complete mess. Sonya missed the lines and the cadence, and after singing three lines, she stopped and asked for starting over again.
And they have started over four times! This was the time, Emma decided it was time to intervene, and as they were setting out to try yet again, she called out:
"Hey!" she energetically jumped up on the stage and were next to them in three leaps. She glared at Sonya who was seemingly at the verge of crying: "Don't tell me that it's so freaking difficult to remember three stanzas and a few steps of swing."
"Emma!" Beverly looked at her shocked. She knew her friend was sarcastic, but she had never seen her being directly rude especially not to someone so lost as Sonya was now.
"No, Bev. This is a joke, seriously. It's painful even to watch. The only thing you have to do is to pay a little attention, is that such a big deal to ask?"
That was it. Sonya broke down in tears: "Because you are so perfect in everything!" she yelled frustrated.
"Yeah, I am." Emma raised her eyebrows then shrugged "But at least better than you."
Reg stepped to them and stood in front of Sonya "I-I have to ask you to stop... stop treating Sonya this way."
"Oh, the knight in shining armour..." Emma chuckled, but it had no mirth in it.
"Emma! What has gotten into you?! Stop this! Shouting at each other helps no one!" Beverly pleaded still baffled by the whole situation.
"Well, it may help if anything else have failed." she replied and glared at Sonya again "And it is plain that everything else HAVE failed." she delivered her last blow mercilessly.
Sonya raised her head sharply at this and not knowing how to fight back just tried to lay the blame on someone else's door: "You think it's so easy?! Just try to keep up with him! You will look just as lame as I did!" she retorted - and regretted the moment she uttered the words. Data really was not to blame in this.
Data stood there gaping at the sudden insult. This had been the second time in one day when a female used him as a means to release frustration, and he was not more ready for this one than he had been at the first. But he had no time to contemplate this, as Emma stood in front of him and pusshed her face as close to his as could.
"So. You are so difficult to keep up with, Mr. Deadpan. Alright. Bring it on!" she hissed looking straight into his eyes. He was trying to search for any reason explaining why he suddenly became the touchstone of the females' acting talent, but failed to find any. As Emma gazed into his eyes, he started to get scared that the same would happen as did earlier outside, but she stepped away from him after a second. A wave of relief rushed through him just to be followed by a wave of excitement as she stepped behind him. What was she doing? She circled him as if she was attempting to assess him all ways possible, and from all sides.
"Emma. There's no point in this." Beverly told her pleading.
Emma finished circling Data: "Why? I prove that it's not impossible to do this scene right and after that she" she pointed to Sonya "would have a good reason to push herself over her limits. Now, come on!" she said turning to Data. And to his shock, she took his hand and pulled him to the doorway.
Beverly waved resignedly: "Alright, lets hope we all will benefit from this." she knew that if Emma set her mind to something...
They sat down in the first row. Reg smiled comfortingly at Sonya as he handed a tissue to her. She had already stopped crying, and had been wiping her tears with her hand but at least seemed a little bit relieved.
Data stood with his hand to the doorpost, and Emma gazed into his eyes with a small, satisfied smile: "I show you what it's like when you can enjoy this!" she whispered as he leaned close to her as he was supposed to and looked at her with a stunned expression at this. "Computer!" she called out "Start music! Tracks from 10 to 12." she commanded, and the computer chirped and started the music.
"...you know I really enjoyed this but..." she told him first gazing away shyly then into his eyes flirtatiously.
"But what?" Data asked on a low voice smiling "I thought we were meant for each other." he leaned a little closer to her, and now they could feel each other's breath on their lips.
She chuckled and lowered her eyes for a moment: "Yeah..." then gazed back up at him "I mean..." she took her gaze from his eyes to his lips then back again, and it took her a moment longer than she expected to go on "It's all happening so fast..."
"But sometimes, it happens this way." he replied on a soft voice as he moved in to take her hand in his. His hand was warm and soft, and at the same time, the hold on her hand was so securely firm that it took her breath away for a brief moment: "Oh come on. Take a chance." he whispered, and her lips parted instinctively as she felt his breath in her ear.
"I love you." he started singing.
And she smiled knowingly, rolling her eyes "Jeez..."
"I love you. Is all that I can say..." he went on, and she watched him with a small smile on her lips until her lines came up.
She didn't have to pay attention. It was coming naturally. As if they had been playing this together for all of their lives. He then slipped his arms around her waist and took her hand in his, while she slid her hand all the way up his arm to finally rest it on his shoulder, and they started dancing. He was keeping his cadence flawlessly, and she felt she just needed to rely on his rhythm to find hers, while their bodies moved in perfect union. From step to step their thighs brushed, and he held her so firm that she was not sure, if she wanted to move out of his embrace, she would actually be able to. It was secure and exciting at the same time! Oh, god, he was good!
As angry as Data had felt at Emma throughout the rehearsal, he felt challenged by her suggestion of taking the scene together, even if it seemed that it was her who wanted to prove herself to the others. He had seen her acting. She was good. And he suddenly found that he wanted to prove himself as well! Not to all of them but to her alone. All his bad moods were swept aside for the few minutes of the scene. Most of his primary resources were consumed by the very complicated combination of acting, singing and dancing - and nothing much had any place beside that. He used all the resources he could find in his databases under the cross-references 'male characters in love; 1940s movies' and did not even think about relying on his emotion-chip this time. It was giving him a turmoil of emotions anyways, which he rather ignored for the time being.
They finished at the doorpost finally, and Emma gazed up into his eyes almost completely out of breath:
"Well. Why don't you come in for a nightcap?" it was rather between a sigh and a moan as she reached up to circle his neck with her arms. He slid his arms around her waist again, and as she brought his face down to hers, they disappeared behind the door.
The door closed behind them locking out most of the light. This part of the set was not done having no scene behind this door. They were suddenly standing in the shades, there was no sound only their breathing, as if they were all alone in the universe. Emma found herself pressed closely to Data with her arms firmly clasped around his neck, and she didn't even try to struggle against the urge to stare only at his beautiful parted lips. In the soft light coming through the cracks of the half-done set, his skin was shining with an unearthly golden tone, and she suddenly wished she could bring her hand slowly from behind his neck combing through his hair and touching his ear to finally stroke his skin on his cheek.
He felt her breath on his mouth, her chest heaving up and down as she panted against him and felt her heart beating rapidly. From among the turmoil of emotions his chip was suddenly generating, one emerged almost as soon as the door closed behind them: that rush of heat running straight to his abdomen and groins now returned, again without any warning.
But the moment was gone and they slowly disentangled from each other's arms.
"Now that's what I meant..." Emma began but had to clear her throat "what I meant by enjoying it!" she said with the usual smugness, and Data felt his previous anger return only by hearing that tone of voice she was using. But before he could reply anything, they suddenly heard a surprising sound: applaud. They looked at each other confused then Data opened the door, and they stepped back out on the stage. Emma had to squint against the light for a moment, but then she saw that Bev, Reg and even Sonya were clapping. She grinned to herself: if it looked as overwhelming as it felt, they had a good reason to applaud.
She walked to the edge of the stage and sat down a little wearily - her legs seemed to be somehow weak. Data followed her example, and Beverly stood up to look at all of them.
"Alright. I give in." she declared.
"Give in to what, Doctor Crusher?" Data asked expectantly.
"I have already been asked by Reg and Sonya to consider that they should only take the minor roles in the play. But I really felt that we could pull this off." she said, and her eyes told everybody that she'd sincerely believed it was possible. "However, after seeing the two of you just now, I suppose the best we can do for everybody and the play itself is if we team you two up..." she looked at Data and Emma "and let Reg and Sonya take the minor roles."
Data sat there gaping completely taken by surprise, and Emma tried hard not to grin too satisfied, while Reg and Sonya exchanged relieved glances. Reg then turned to Beverly:
"I-I will have a lot to do with programming the settings, Beverly. I already have ideas that will take some time to develop but will look really great! Just wait until you see!" Reg explained with enthusiasm Emma had never seen on his face before.
"And Sonya, you said you would design the costumes..." Beverly looked over at her almost hiding behind Reg.
"Yes. It'll also take some time. But will be ready for the premiere." she promised. Emma could very well see that she was avoiding making eye-contact with her, but she was glad that at least she didn't seem disappointed.
"Alright. Let's call it a day. We all deserve a good night's sleep." Beverly declared then looked at Emma "Ten Forward?"
"Sure." Emma nodded - but knew very well that she was in for some scolding.
Reg and Sonya said goodbye and left, while Emma and Data hopped off the stage and in a moment, the two women were going towards the door. However, Data just finished with some background processing and decided not to wait until he would next see the subject of the analysis.
"Lieutenant Jones." he called standing in the doorway of the holodeck. The two women were already at the corner of the corridor, and they turned in union as Data went on "May I have a word with you? In private." his voice was blank, and somehow Emma felt it did not bode well.
"Sure." she walked back toward the holodeck "Catch you up later, Bev."
She walked in, passed him by without looking at him and on impulse, hopped on the stage.
"Computer, end program." Data called out, and the settings of the theatre disappeared.
Emma knew he did it to scare her, and she turned to him pursing her lips and crossing her arms in front of her chest: "What?" she barked.
He was assessing how to proceed with the presentation of the character analysis he had just finished, but as she looked at him so patronizingly, he decided that a direct approach might be both effective and would also appease his anger.
He took a step towards her and glared at her: "To use a vernacular, Lieutenant, you are a jerk."
She gave a grunt which meant to have been a chuckle and turned her gaze away with a bitter smile: "And it took you this long to get?"
He gaped at this: could this be real? How could she be so...
He stepped right in front of her to make her look into his eyes: "You tease everybody until they cannot stand it any longer. You hurt people who did nothing against you. You make them hate you. You hurt Lieutenant Gomez today so deep that she cried."
"Yeah, I do all those things!" she replied on a hard voice throwing up her hands then started to walk around aimlessly to get out of his vicinity "I'm a horrible person. Anti-social. Unfeeling, rude, harsh, too loud, just go on, you name it!" she turned back to him expectantly.
"Why? Why do you do this? If you are aware that you..." Data began confused, but she cut in.
"To get what I want." she declared on a firm voice.
He blinked for a few moments to process the information: "You knew that Doctor Crusher would team us up. You calculated all of your moves ahead and manipulated all of us, so we would arrive at this specific setup." he again took the steps that separated them to be able to look into her eyes, and he cocked his head still confused: "Why? Why were you so adamant about playing the part with me?"
Emma had to chuckle at this then gazed into his eyes: "Don't flatter yourself, baby. It's not your irresistible charm." she sneered, then as he just stood there waiting, she went on on a more serious tone "I wanted to save Bev's butt." she shrugged as Data looked at her stunned "She was gonna flop, this all was gonna flop! She's just so full of good intentions that she just didn't have the heart to dismiss those two all by herself, and we were running out of time. I had to give her a small nudge to do it. You and I are the only chance this play ever had. We have the experience, they don't. It's as simple as that." her voice had a slightly regretful tone, but she talked as if she was talking about the inevitable.
"You are wrong in that, Lieutenant." Data replied on a lower voice - his rage suddenly dissipated into thinair, though he had no idea why or how. "I have no more experience than Lieutenant Barclay."
She sighed almost impatiently and shrugging threw her hands up again: "Then it is only your freakish talents, I don't know. I just know that you and I will at least stand a chance to do this in a way that Bev will not have to explain herself to anybody."
Data slowly nodded: "I understand." he whispered.
Emma smiled then winced a little "Don't get illusions, it won't be easy. We will be suffering by the time we get to the premiere. Our throat will hurt and our voices will be gone at the most unexpected moments!"
"My voice simulation is not based on vocal cords, therefore the quality of my voice cannot change in that fashion."
"Oh, swell. But we WILL be stiff and sore and..."
"I cannot get stiff and sore either."
"...and tired all the time."
"I cannot get tired."
"Ah... damn you in hell!" she laughed out loud in frustration and couldn't resist to playfully grab the front of his uniform. Then as she realized what she had been doing she instantly let him go tucking her hands firmly into her pockets "Okay, then I will suffer - and you will suffer because of that, believe me!" she told him keeping her eyes down then without looking at him, turned to go "See you tomorrow!"
She was almost at the door when Data replied: "Lieutenant Jones." she turned and looked at him as he went on "I shall endeavour to perform adequate to your performance."
She smiled first a real smile, then the smugness returned "Of course you will. Otherwise I rip your balls off and..."
"...serve them to Lieutenant Gomez?" he finished trying to equal her sneer.
She frowned: "I was going to say: to Beverly. ...Reg talked to you about..."
"No. My ears are better than the average dog's." he explained simply with a very small smile - and Emma suddenly had the impression that she was not the only one in the room who was prone to smugness.
She chuckled again with a bit of frustration: "Is there anything that you are mediocre in at all?" she waved before he could answer "I will watch what I say in your vicinity then. See you, Deadpan!"
As the door closed behind her, she heard him say: "See you, Lieutenant Jones." And somehow she couldn't help feeling utterly excited about the rehearsals to come.
A/N: Dialogs in Italics are from Dreamland
The dialog: "Must you stand quite so close?" "I'm very nearsighted." is from What's up Doc? (the film was also an inspiration of the story's title).
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