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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.

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Beverly stood with some amount of anticipation in front of Data's door the next afternoon. She wanted to talk to him about the play to be performed in about a month as she had planned, although she was almost completely sure he would say no. However she really thought that playing in a lighthearted little fluff would just be what the android needed to shake off his blues. The door opened, and she stepped in just to see that Data crouched next to Spot to give her some food.
"Good afternoon, Doctor!" he greeted her on his usual silent voice.
"Hello, Data!" replied Beverly, but she frowned seeing the scene. The cat seemed fatter than the last time she had seen her. She crouched next to them and patted Spot "Data. You did not give her more food than I prescribed as one portion, did you?"
Data raised his eyebrows trying to find a reply that would not make the doctor angry while still true: "No..." he said slowly, then as Beverly's frown deepened in disbelief he added "Not for one time, no."
"Data!" the doctor called indignantly standing up and putting her fists on her hips as if ready to tell off a small child.
"I am sorry, Doctor, but she is always so hungry." he said with such hopeless innocence that Beverly had to stifle a smile.
"I believe you, but look at her! She gained more weight, while we agreed that we need to help her lose it!" she reprimanded gently.
"I know, Doctor." Data winced slightly then bowed his head and patted his cat's fur again "But sometimes she can be most persuasive in her ways. And I came to the conclusion that I find it exceptionally difficult to say no to her." he confessed silently bowing his head.
Beverly felt her heart melt looking at him. Spot has grown old in the course of years, although the doctor knew that she might have over third of her lifetime ahead of her. However, she used to own cats earlier in her life, and she knew that with the passing time, the thought of losing them would make their owners more lenient in their ways. Data, she knew, could look ahead of a lifetime of eternity, and it seemed that Spot became the first reminder for him that eventually he would see all of his friends grow old beside him... and die. She didn't even want to think about how she would feel, if she had to face that prospect.
She crouched next to them again and lightly touched Data's arm as she spoke "I know it's difficult, Data. But you know as well as I do that excessive weight would just shorten her life and eventually would make her sick. And you don't want that, do you?" she pushed him gently.
Data remained silent for a moment as Spot finished her food and turned to him. She put her forepaws on his knee indicating that she wanted to climb up into his arms to be cuddled. He complied wordlessly and picked her up gently holding her close. "No, Doctor, of course not." he replied softly.
Beverly sighed seeing just what exactly was Data's problem with saying no to his cat, so she smiled kindly "Look! Would it make it easier, if I passed by every day and checked on her? I would check her weight every day, so you would have a good motivation for not letting her eat more than she should - I would tell you off, if you fail to say no to her." she jabbed her forefinger at him playfully.
For a moment, he was quite unsure about what to reply. He did not feel like having an every day guest when most of the time the only thing he wished for was others to let him be. However, Spot was more important than his brooding and perhaps the knowledge that someone would check Spot's weight every day would actually make it easier for him to keep to the Doctor's orders.
"Perhaps, that would be helpful, Doctor. Thank you."
"Don't mention it." she smiled as she stood up from beside them. She grunted as she took a step because her legs became a bit numb in their crouching position from before.
Data put Spot on the floor and stood up as well "What can I do for you, Doctor? I suppose you did not come by only because of Spot."
Beverly smiled and walked over to the replication unit "You are right. I came because of the theatre!" she replied, while she pressed some buttons on the unit. "I found a lovely little one-act play, called Dreamland. I think you would be wonderful as the main character." when she pressed one last button the unit produced a padd with the script of Dreamland on it. She walked back to Data and handed him the padd.
He eyed it with a dubious expression on his face. The last thing he wanted was to take part in a play. He quickly started to read through it, while Beverly spoke: "It's better to listen to it actually, as it's half way between a musical and a radio drama. But I'd adjust the script for our needs as we prepare the performance."
Data got to the end and tried hard to give an apologetic smile to Doctor Crusher instead of a disbelieving one - how did she fathom he would be any good in this part was beyond him: "I am afraid I will have to refuse your kind offer, Doctor." The last after the last thing he wanted was to take part in a romantic, comedic play which involved being in the very close proximity of a female. "But thank you for asking me. It is an honour." he added to be as polite as he could while saying a definite no and handed the padd back to her.
"Oh, please, don't make the decision so quickly!" started Beverly, while Data stepped to his easel and started to uncover it from under the piece of cloth he covered it with - two months ago... He had no desire to paint anything, however he did notice a while ago - after having the emotion-chip installed - that people often indicated that they did not wish to talk about a certain topic any longer by trying to seem busy with a thing other than the topic of the discussion. So now he found this a suitable time to attempt to emulate this particular behaviour to see whether he could get the same subtle but straightforward effect of dismissal. However, Beverly went after him "Please, just listen to it once."
"I am familiar with most of the songs listed in the script, Doctor." he looked at her for a moment then went back to the task of getting his brushes ready.
"Well I supposed you would, of course." Beverly grimaced but still went on "But don't tell me it's not a story to fall in love with! It's just so adorable with a happy ending."
Data looked at her with his usual deadpan expression on his face: "A man dreaming about a woman in an utterly twisted nonetheless predictable storyline, which at the very end is negated by the man's waking up. Although I do not possess any information about the author, I would surmise this was not written by a professional playwright."
Beverly pouted: "Okay, it's not Shakespeare, I admit. But that's not the point, Data! It's a very nice story with lots of twists in it and a predictable happy ending has never hurt anybody - especially not in a comedy. The point here is singing these lovely songs while walking through this heart warming story. And besides! The original singer is a spitting image of you! Only he is an elderly man. Who knows? Might be some great-grandfather of Doctor Soong. Don't tell me you don't find this intriguing."
Data gave up his emulating 'being busy' as it seemed it did not work on Doctor Crusher. He drew the conclusion that if the other person involved in the conversation is so utterly enthusiastic about the given topic as Doctor Crusher seemed, this particular idiosyncrasy would not yield the desired result. He indexed the information and stored it in his memory database dedicated to human behaviour.
"Intriguing as it may sound, I would suppose, I could find this information without taking part in the play itself." he concluded logically.
"Ah, I know, of course you could. Still just think about it. You could continue a family heritage so to say by playing the role. Besides I know that you like singing and you have a very nice voice." Beverly gave him a coaxing smile.
Data opened his mouth with a slight wincing expression on his face to negate the statement, however he just couldn't think of a particularly good enough reason against that argument. He did like singing - at least he used to. Before he started to dislike everything in his life. Moreover, he had asked Doctor Crusher for a singing role once they would cover a piece involving music. And he did promise to take part in the next play after the one he missed, being a regular member of Doctor Crusher's cast. Perhaps he just should finish with the theatre altogether as it was, he mused as he closed his mouth.
Beverly put her hand on his arm: "You know what? Don't say anything just yet. Listen to it. Just once. Try to imagine yourself in it, and we will talk about it tomorrow. Alright? Please." she gave his arm a gentle squeeze.
Data wanted very much to say no. However, he suddenly felt that Doctor Crusher was able to look at him with the same pleading gaze his very cat used on him, when she wanted to reach her goals. And just as with Spot, he found that he was just not able to say no directly. Whether this was a feature innate to all females or only the ones close to him, had yet to be investigated. Eventually, he gave such a slight nod of his head that Beverly had the impression that he was hoping that she would not notice it or would play it on his usual cocking his head.
But she did notice and she smiled broadly at him: "That's the Data I know! Here." she pushed the padd into his hand "See you tomorrow! And no more cat-feeding till then!"
"I will try not to let Spot interfere with the frequency of her being fed, Doctor." he nodded sighing slightly.
She waved once more to him from the corridor as the door behind her closed. Then she bowed her head. She knew Data was only polite by not saying no right away. Eventually, he would stick his mind to not wanting to play it - and she knew far too well that, if he set his mind about something, it was almost impossible to reverse that. She needed some backup support!
Data slouched as the door closed. He felt himself cornered by the doctor's wish. Why was it not enough that he said no once? He knew he had no intention at all in participating in any activity let alone performing in a stage act. Why did she feel she needed to push it? She had Lieutenant Barclay as a regular performer in the theatre. He had adequate experience to play such a role. It really was not Shakespeare after all.
He walked over to where Spot was napping on his bed. Perhaps this was the same kind of behaviour Geordi displayed ever since... ever since he did not feel like taking part in social events. Geordi kept visiting him every day. Even if he did not find him at home for days - which was the usual case as Data was taking as many shifts as the regulations allowed and so spent most of his time on the Bridge. Even though. Geordi tried to see him every day. To be there for him even if he did not want him to be.
He sat down next to his cat as he mused on. Perhaps Doctor Crusher wanted him to have this role just to make him spend time with people again. The way Geordi tries to persuade him out of his solitude. And perhaps this was exactly what he needed to tell both of them not to do the next time he would see them, he decided. Because it seemed they did not comprehend his need for solitude. It seemed that their need to be there for him was far greater than the need to comply with his wishes...
He gently patted Spot's fur and his lips curved up into a slight smile. However Spot suddenly woke up, gazed up into his eyes then simply jumped off the bed and went under it to continue her nap. "It seems I am not the only one in need for solitude." he muttered but could not help to feel hurt. It seemed that all his relationships were the same: always their ways, never his.
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You Can't Fight a Tidal Wave