Author's Note: Thank you for all of your likes, kudos, reviews/comments, and dms on this story! I sincerely appreciate all the support and love. Thank you!
This chapter is a behemoth. I really didn't want to cut it up for several reasons.
First, I want to get to The Big Goodbye. It's going to be a riot – a fun romp with plenty of fluff.
In addition, I'm dead set on making Hollow Pursuits chapter number 55. Yes, there will be a handful of episodes that occur out of sequence for reasons that will later become apparent.
Hollow Pursuits is our tie-in with And Then There Was Fun, and I desperately want to be able to publish the rest of that story!
Chapter specific CW/TW: discussion of trauma, PTSD, and violence. I borrowed and reworked a line from one of my other fics (Right Behind You) because it was dark and lovely, and it just seemed right.
And now we conclude The Battle...
As always, feel free to join me on Twitter @TheTartanTart.
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Tasha shivered.
Data firmly believed that she slept better when the temperature was lower – and had plenty of observational data to back that assertion up.
Tasha had agreed to him lowering the ambient temperature in her bedroom on the condition that he stay in bed and actually make full use of his rest programme.
He needed to metaphorically 'turn off' for a while too. Tasha insisted on it.
Tasha rolled over, grinning to herself at the thought of snuggling up against someone warm.
She stretched out her hand and felt nothing.
Without opening her eyes, Tasha ran her hand along the opposite side of the bed until she felt the pillow at the top.
It was lying abandoned, its occupant having risen several hours earlier.
"Computer, what is the current time?" Tasha asked.
"The current time is 04:17," the computer answered.
Tasha rolled onto her back and grumbled.
Reluctantly, Tasha got out of bed and grabbed her dressing gown off the hook on the wall.
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Data heard the door to the bedroom.
He paused and looked up sheepishly from his PADD to see Tasha leaning against the doorframe.
Data knew he had been caught.
"I was called away earlier and did not wish to disturb you by returning to bed," Data said.
"Try again," Tasha replied, crossing her arms.
Had Data been paged away for an emergency, she would have heard the initial call. And it was unlikely any emergency scenario requiring the immediate attention of the Second Officer wouldn't also require the attention of the Security Chief.
"I rose just moments ago. I wanted to get an early start," Data lied.
Tasha padded across the carpet. She took the PADD from Data's hands and set it on the windowsill behind him.
Tasha crawled onto his lap and rested her forehead against his.
"What's really going on?" Tasha asked.
YOU ARE READING
The Complication
Fanfiction"Am I the 'complication'?" Data asked. Following the events on Ligon II, Data struggles to reconcile the discrepancies between Tasha's verbal and nonverbal communication. Furthermore, his attempts to better understand what's happening lead to him fr...
