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“Is everything all right, Commander?”
Will looked up from his drink. “I’m sorry, Data, what?”
“Is everything all right, Commander?” Data repeated.
“Yes, I suppose. Why do you ask?”
“Well, Commander, I could not help noticing that you were staring at your cup for an unusually long time, and that you seemed to be lost in thought. I surmised that there is something weighing heavily on your mind.”
Will sighed. “Yes, I suppose so. Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Actually, Commander, there is. May I sit?”
“Please.”
“Thank you. Am I correct in assuming that your recent experience with the rescue of your brother, Thomas, is what is bothering you?”
Damn it. Will had hoped this would just go away with Thomas’s post on the Ghandi, but apparently it wouldn’t. “Yes, you’re correct. I can’t deny that it’s been on my mind a lot. What brought this up?”
“Well, Commander, I believe that this experience is not only highly unusual, but possibly even unique. Certainly, it was unusual enough that I, an android, discovered that I have a brother. But to discover an identical twin that was, technically, there all your life, is unheard-of.” Will stared at Data, thinking he could see where this was going.
“I wonder, Commander, if, given that we are certainly the only two aboard this ship to have such unusual experiences, and possibly the only two in Starfleet, we could use this opportunity to, well, bond, as it were.” Will was unsurprised by this suggestion. After all, Data had very few others like him in the universe, and, despite his lack of emotional understanding, Data still craved many human thing such as friendship and belonging.
“You know, Data,” Will said, “I think that just might be an excellent idea.”
****