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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
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Emma had barely any time that day to think about all that had happened during the night. She was late, and unlucky her, Bev was substituted by a Doctor Powell who had been very unfriendly to her from day one. He told her off for everything she did. Nothing was good enough for him, and if it was, his complain was that she did her job too slow. Finally, at around 1 PM Beverly turned up, and all of a sudden Doctor Powell cut back on his strictness.
Emma didn't have a break all day, so when she had to wait for an analysis in the small xenobiology lab, she took the opportunity and sat down wearily. She propped her chin up on her hand and sighed feeling exhaustion catching up on her. After all, she had only four hours of sleep. She sighed and smiled as she closed her eyes and let the image of Data and the events of the morning creep into her thoughts finally. An overwhelming warm feeling spread all around her body as she sank deeper and deeper into her memories... She was about to nod off, when somebody touched her shoulder.
She looked up with unfocused eyes and saw her red-head friend:
"Bev..." she mumbled still with a smile on her face.
Beverly sat next to her and jabbed a finger at her in mock-reprimand: "Dozing off on duty is not the way to get a promotion, Ms. Jones."
Emma chuckled wiping her eyes: "I figured as much. Though... with Doctor Powell around, I wouldn't get a promotion, if I worked 24/7 without any stop..."
Bev nodded a little uneasy: "Well... he wanted to bring his daughter on board, and couldn't because the position was filled by you. He'll hold a grudge for a while, no doubt."
"Shit..." Emma gazed away rubbing her forehead with the tip of her fingers. Smile gone.
"I figure you're so sleepy because you studied till late at night for your exam. How is it coming?"
"Hmmph..." Emma shrugged "So-so..."
"Emma. You need to pass the Differential Exam to stay on-board, you know it."
"Yeah, I know, don't worry about it, Bev. It'll be fine." Emma tried to sound convincing, but Beverly still looked at her a bit uneasy, so Emma touched her hand "Really, Bev, it'll be fine."
Beverly sighed "Maybe I was wrong in dragging you into taking the main role in the play. You have enough on your hands with coping with the job and this exam."
Emma chuckled: "Data has the main role, I'm just doing the backing vocal for him." she teased.
"Oh, come on..." Bev chuckled "Excessive modesty doesn't become you." they both laughed a little, then Beverly looked at Emma with a serious expression "Are you going to tell me what happened last night?"
Emma sighed, her face suddenly grim. She didn't want to betray Data's trust, so most of what happened she wouldn't be able to tell anyways. Even though it would have been good to talk about it.
After a minute of silence, Beverly pushed her a little forward: "Does it have anything to do with a certain android we both know?"
Emma looked at her surprised: "Why would you think that?"
"Because I just paid a visit to him, and he seemed so preoccupied that I had the impression he wouldn't have been able to remember his cat's name, if I'd asked. I asked him why he seemed so distracted, but he would just wave my concerns away."
Emma sighed and looked away concerned: "Maybe I should check him out..." she breathed.
Bev looked at her surprised - what was this sudden worry for someone whom she couldn't get along with outside of the rehearsals at all? "He seemed fine, only a little preoccupied." she answered finally, and Emma nodded still looking quite uneasy. Beverly was thinking about letting the subject go, but Emma's reaction made her even more curious, and she did know her friend pretty well. She knew Emma wanted to talk, only didn't know how to begin. "What happened yesterday? You both seemed distracted on stage. Then today you both are preoccupied. ...It's really none of my business, but--"
"Come on, Bev. Of course it's your business, it's your play we are screwing with." Emma winced feeling a little guilty.
"I'm not worried about the play. I'm rather worried about you and him. I'm still not sure it was a wise idea to team the two of you up. No matter how much you click on stage. You two are like fire and ice, and your relationship seems nothing but strained, when you're not acting. It makes me very worried to be honest." Beverly admitted.
Emma bit her lower lip and looked away for a moment. She shrugged a little "Well, we... we managed to straighten our stuff out last night." she said almost to herself.
Beverly gaped at her "Emma!" Oh, no! Not again! She had watched this movie before, and it was more than enough once! The same thing was happening with Emma and the man who later became her husband: one moment, they were tearing each other's flesh off - each other's clothes at the next...
The younger woman looked back at her almost as if waking from a dream "I-I didn't mean it that way, I..."
"Emma, you said yourself, you don't want to get involved with anybody until the divorce is official! And Data is not in any condition to start a relationship - let alone a fling. I've told you, he has some unsolved..."
"It's not a fling, Bev!" Emma blurted cutting in and looked into Bev's eyes with a hint of desperation. She shook her head helplessly "Bev... I-I really don't know what it is... I... I'm drawn to him. I have no idea how or why, but it's strong and..." she trailed off looking away confused.
After another moment of silence, Beverly tried to pour some rationality into the head of her utterly confused friend: "Emma. Remember what you told me the first week you were here? You told me, as long as you are married, you don't want to get involved with anybody, because Ed's still watching every step of yours to get back on you at court. And you know as well as I do that Data is a sensitive man. You cannot just play around with him and then leave him when the situation turns out bad."
"Bev! Just stop! I'd never play around with him like that! I may be a bitch, but I'm not a heartless monster!" Emma told her indignant.
"No one said you were!" Bev replied and took the hand of her agitated friend in hers to try to calm her down "Hey, sweetie, chill out! I'm not accusing you of anything, just want you to have a clear head!"
Emma sighed and squeezed her hand. She seemed calmer but had an almost shaken expression on her face. She nodded finally feeling a sudden catch in her throat. Why did reality always have to come knocking on her door, when she felt even a small measure of happiness? She drew in a shaky breath "I-I will talk to him."
"Em, I'm not saying that celibating is the right choice. It can be that a relationship would do both of you a lot of good. If... it's really more than just some fooling around. I just want you to think and not to go into anything with your eyes shut. I care about both you and Data. I don't want either of you to get hurt." Beverly tried to convince her.
Emma felt the conversation was like a bucket of cold water. As if reality just hit her in the face with a huge hard fist. Beverly took her hand away with one last gentle squeeze, and Emma tried to smile at her.
"You’re right. I should make him aware of all the factors in the equation. Before we get into this too deep."
Beverly felt guilty for making Emma look so dismayed. She winced a little "I'm sorry I spoiled your mood. I just don't want either of you to get hurt..."
Emma chuckled now trying hard to look nonchalant "Don't worry, mom! I'm quite used to heart-break, we just need to make sure to keep HIM out of harms way."
They shared a small smile, before the computer chirped, and Emma stood up to check the analysis.
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You Can't Fight a Tidal Wave