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Author’s Note: This was a little plot bunny that just would not leave me alone.
Unabashed DaForge fluff and angst.
Spoilers for Nemesis. I didn’t intend for this to get this sappy, but here we are.
One-shot.
Playing a wee bit fast and loose with the canon. Although the opening scene actually occurs during the S1 episode Heart of Glory, it was the perfect introduction for reasons that will make sense in the context of the plot. The episode itself is irrelevant to our story, but the opening was too perfect to skip.
It started with the report of a disturbance in the Neutral Zone.
The Enterprise responded, and the Captain was eager to test out a new project that Data and Geordi had been working on for some time. It was a visual acuity transmitter that allowed Geordi to transmit what his VISOR read back to the Bridge in real-time.
They boarded the damaged Talarian freighter on the edge of the Neutral Zone and everyone on the Bridge sat in awe as they got to glimpse the world from Geordi’s perspective for the first time.
Initially, Captain Picard struggled to decipher all of the sensory input from the VISOR—temperature readings, structural analysis—the complexity made it difficult to interpret.
“Extraordinary,” Captain Picard breathed in awe.
The colour and movement of all the sensory information at once was so much more than Captain Picard could have imagined. Then, something moved and caught his eye.
“Geordi, what was that? Over to the left?” Picard questioned.
Geordi spun around.
“What?”
Everyone was on guard as they combed through the wreckage of the Talarian freighter. There was no telling if Romulans or Klingons had been responsible.
Geordi didn’t read any additional life signs in their immediate area, but he scanned the area with care going back and forth from left to right.
“Yes, that! No, no, back,” Captain Picard instructed as he tried to guide Geordi to direct his vision to the figure in the background. “Right there! Yes! That’s it. What is that?”
Geordi chuckled.
“That’s Commander Riker,” Geordi explained as his vision settled on the First Officer.
“Ah! To me it’s just an undefined form, standing in a visual frenzy. Can you filter out the extraneous information?” Picard requested.
Geordi shook his head.
“No, sir. I get it all simultaneously.”
Geordi had always seen the world in this way. It was the only thing he knew. Geordi was accustomed to interpreting the visual cues around him. It was wildly different than most of the other crew on the Enterprise. In some ways, Geordi felt Data was the only person that had some semblance of understanding because Data also had a different way of receiving and processing information.
“Look over at Data,” Picard asked excitedly. “There’s an aura around Data.”
“Well, of course. He’s an android!” Geordi said with a nonchalant shrug.
“You say that as if you think that’s what we all see,” Picard mused.
“Don’t you?” Geordi questioned.
To Geordi, Data had always been surrounded by an aura of light.
The first time Geordi met Data was shortly after transferring to the Enterprise. Geordi was on a tour of the new ship. As they passed Main Engineering there was a shout—a plasma fire had broken out along one of the panels.
The crew working to extinguish it couldn’t see that the fire had actually originated further back along the interior panel, and it was working its way toward the warp core.
But Geordi could.
Geordi rushed into Main Engineering to locate the officer in charge.
“It’s moving toward the warp core!” Geordi warned. “Get these people out of here!”
Chief Engineer Argyle looked this stranger up and down, eying him with heavy scepticism.
“Lieutenant?” Argyle prompted.
“La Forge.”
“Look, I’m sure you’re keen to impress on a new ship but we’ve got this under control.”
Only Geordi could see the fire had grown. It continued to move along the internal coils leading directly to the warp core. They had three, maybe four minutes before it would reach the coolant system.
Despite the Argyle’s attitude, Geordi wasn’t about to sit by and let it happen.
Geordi sprung into action, ordering all non-essential personnel to evacuate and redirecting the crew handling the fire suppressant to focus on the coils.
“Get out of here! Move, move!”
Geordi rushed over to the console and began to remove the screws from the access point to the main panel.
“Get away from there!” Argyle ordered.
Geordi didn’t turn around.
“Sir, with all due respect I am trying to save this ship!”
Argyle gripped Geordi’s arm to stop him. He braced himself for a dressing-down—then he felt a presence beside him.
“Whoa,” Geordi said.
Something was standing next to them, something unlike anything Geordi had ever seen before.
It was a tall figure, human-like bathed in an aura of cool, white light.
Glowing.
“Chief Argyle, what has happened?” the figure inquired.
It spoke!
The voice was so human. It was masculine, commanding, yet polite.
Geordi took a risk.
“Sir, that fire is moving this direction toward the warp core. I need to reroute the coolant away from these coils,” Geordi said desperately.
The figure turned his attention to the panels along the wall. He quickly ran a diagnostic to assess the situation.
“The Lieutenant is correct. We must reroute the coolant.”
Chief Argyle let go of Geordi’s arm and stepped back.
“I will assist you,” the figure announced.
He ripped away the entirety of the panel in one fell swoop. The two spoke as they worked, Geordi liked to keep his fellow officers informed anytime he was making changes.
“I’ll need to bypass the standard coolant coil and redirect the flow back to a secondary junction. If there’s any way to increase the stability of the shield around the warp core—”
“We can buy additional time to disable the main flow therefore slowing the fire until the suppressant system can catch up,” the figure said, finishing Geordi’s thought.
It took them two minutes and forty seconds to reroute the coolant. Geordi’s plan worked—and it bought them an extra four minutes for the team to save a major portion of the coils.
All in all, it took an hour and forty minutes to fully extinguish the plasma fire, clean and repair the coils, and replace the console panels that had been removed in the process.
“Thank you for your help, Lieutenant.”
Without another word, the figure turned and strolled out. Geordi raced out of Main Engineering after the mysterious glowing figure.
“Wait!” Geordi called after him.
They had been focused on the task at hand during their work. There wasn’t a chance for any casual conversation. Whoever this figure was, he sure knew his way around a warp core.
Geordi was impressed.
And intrigued.
The figure stopped and turned. He cocked his head to the side.
“Is there something I may help you with, Lieutenant?”
“Who are you?” Geordi asked.
Data’s metaphorical heart skipped a beat.
He asked him who he was—not what he was.
No one had ever asked Data that before.
To Geordi’s astonishment, the aura of light around the figure seemed to pulsate. When Geordi had asked his name, the aura had flashed brighter for a brief moment before returning to its constant glow.
“Data,” he replied. “Lieutenant Commander Data.”
He extended his hand awkwardly.
Geordi took his hand and flashed Data a brilliant smile.
“Geordi. Lieutenant Geordi La Forge fresh from the USS Hood. Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
The next time Geordi noticed a change in the aura that surrounded Data was several months later during the weekly poker game.
Geordi had previously known Commander Riker from their time together aboard the Hood. Riker had invited Geordi to a poker game. After some convincing, Riker agreed to allow Geordi to bring Commander Data along.
Over the last few months, the two had struck up a friendship. Geordi found it easy to talk with Data. In many ways, Data was the first person he’d met that saw the world in the way Geordi did. Although the nature of their perception was different from one another, they both took in information in a manner that was truly unique from their crew mates.
Data spent his free hour during the afternoon reading the rules of the game in preparation for the big poker night.
After Worf dealt the first hand, Geordi watched as Data had picked up his cards with an almost giddy interest. That was the moment Geordi registered a change in Data’s glow. The aura that surrounded him pulsated like a heartbeat as Data studied his cards.
Geordi knew then and there that Data must have gotten a good hand.
After the game, as they made their way to the turbolift, Geordi stopped Data.
“Data, we need to have a talk about your tell,” Geordi warned.
“I have read thirty-eight separate books on the subject of the game and am familiar with what a ‘tell’ is. But I have no emotion, and I intentionally repeated the exact same physical gestures on each hand to ensure there was no giveaway,” Data assured him.
Geordi sighed as he guided his friend down the corridor.
“About that…”
Data’s face jerked in surprise as Geordi described the aura he saw around Data—and how he’d observed a flash whenever Data’s cards were good.
“In fact, it’s growing right now,” Geordi said as he noticed Data’s glow increase.
Data’s eyes went wide. He looked pleasantly surprised.
“I cannot experience emotion, but this information is intriguing.”
Data knew that he wasn’t supposed to share in the human emotional experience, but he did encounter… sensations from time to time. Sensations that he couldn’t explain. Geordi’s revelation had only reaffirmed that Data’s experience was valid.
Data couldn’t rationalise it, but it felt wonderful.
The first time Geordi saw the colour of Data’s aura change was after Lore. The colour had shifted from a brilliant white to a cool, almost purple shade.
For three days after the incident with Lore, Data studied everything he could about Doctor Soong and the Crystalline Entity.
He learned all about the father that had built and abandoned him, the disturbing history of the Soong family and their ties to eugenics and illegal bioengineering, and the brother that had brought destruction to a peaceful world.
If he didn’t know better, Geordi would have said Data was both sad and angry.
He knew Data was looking for answers that he wouldn’t find in Starfleet or historical records.
And Geordi felt powerless to help him.
Geordi’s suspicion about the colour was confirmed a few months later.
Data struggled following their return from Vagra II.
No one else could see it.
To everyone else on the ship, Data appeared to be operating as normal. He worked his shifts on the Bridge, attended the weekly poker games, was full of questions, and continued to play with his string quartet.
Only Geordi could see Data was grieving.
It took Data twice as long as normal to reassemble the injector coil that they’d stripped to retrofit. It was still much faster than human capabilities, but for Data it was an exceptionally long time.
When they climbed into the Jefferies tube to run a routine maintenance scan, it was as if Data had lost his ability to concentrate altogether. It took him a full ten seconds to respond to Geordi’s request for a sonic driver when reattaching the panel.
And despite Geordi’s attempts to get Data to join him on the holodeck for tennis or a hike, Data had politely declined.
Data was sulking, he was alone and grappling with an emotional emptiness that he couldn’t process—and Geordi seemed to be the only person that had noticed.
Geordi was on his way back to his quarters following Data’s latest refusal to socialise when he stopped. Geordi turned on his heel and marched right back to Data’s door.
“Data, talk to me. What’s going on?” Geordi asked as he stepped into his best friend’s quarters.
Geordi watched as Data quickly shut off a small holophoto projector. Data looked as if he had been caught with something he shouldn’t have.
Geordi didn’t have to ask who was in the photo.
He stepped over to Data’s workstation and flipped it back on.
Data looked down at the floor and then back to the image, staring at it silently.
“I cannot explain this… this feeling,” Data confessed.
“Data, do you want to talk about Tasha?”
Data and Geordi were in Ten Forward. They were still wearing their holodeck attire.
Geordi felt wretched.
He’d worked for weeks perfecting a Sherlock Holmes holodeck programme for Data that he knew Data would love.
Geordi couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so good as he had watched not just Data’s eyes light up, but the aura around him grow. Data sparked the moment Geordi had invited him to the holodeck for the Holmes mystery.
Data was like a child overcome with excitement as he raced out of Main Engineering and dashed off to fetch his pipe and stalking cap.
He can be reached at 221b Baker Street!
When he’d stepped through the arch and took in the surroundings of Victorian London, Data’s aura seemed to crackle with unbridled energy.
It had dimmed slightly when Doctor Pulaski had made her bet with them several hours earlier and again following their encounter with the sentient hologram Moriarty.
Geordi couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all his fault.
One slip of the tongue when inputting the holodeck instructions and Geordi had caused a horrible mess.
“You seem to be upset, Geordi. Please do not be. Although short-lived, that was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” Data remarked.
Geordi could tell by his aura that Data meant every word of it.
The first time Geordi ever saw Data’s aura turn red was when Commander Bruce Maddox stepped onto the Bridge of the Enterprise.
“How have you been, Data?” Commander Maddox asked as he came down the ramp.
Geordi turned in his seat at the helm and observed as Data’s aura seemed to concentrate and then darken almost like a flame around his body.
“My condition does not alter with the passage of time, Commander,” Data replied in an unusually cool tone.
Geordi didn’t need to know Data as well as he did to read the look Data was giving Maddox—everyone on the Bridge could tell there was bad blood between the two.
Two days later, Geordi was at a loss. A part of him was so relieved and proud that Data was planning to escape Maddox by resigning his commission.
But that meant losing Data and the very thought left Geordi with such a sense of loss that he’d been able to sleep.
So, although Data was unwrapping his gifts and attempting to spend time with his friends, Geordi sat moping in the corner by himself for the duration of the party.
“Is something wrong?” Data asked as he approached Geordi.
“Of course, there is. You’re going away,” Geordi said bluntly.
There were so many things he wanted to say.
“No one regrets that necessity more than I do.”
The hue of Data’s aura had shifted to a deep shade of blue.
“You do understand my reasons?” Data asked, almost pleading.
Geordi turned his attention to the wall.
Of course, he understood—Data could leave or face being permanently damaged by Maddox’s research.
“Sure, I understand. I just don’t like you being forced out. It’s not fair,” Geordi said bitterly.
He was furious at the injustice of it all.
And Geordi’s anger only grew at the assertion that Data wasn’t a person.
Geordi wasn’t permitted to attend the hearing, but he had walked Data to the legal office and waited outside for the duration of it.
Data was frightened. He claimed he was fine. He reminded Geordi on nine separate occasions that morning that he was incapable of emotion.
But Geordi knew better. Data was scared—and rightfully so.
“No matter what is decided in that room—”
Geordi trailed off.
In that moment, Geordi knew that he loved Data.
He loved Data more than he could begin to put into words.
Geordi took Data’s hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“You’re my best friend in the whole universe,” Geordi declared.
Data’s breath hitched and it broke Geordi’s heart to watch his aura grow brighter.
It dimmed when Data’s hearing resumed.
But it shone with such magnificent brilliance at the moment of judgement when the matter of Data’s rights and sentience were decided once and for all.
The only time Geordi didn’t see Data’s aura was after Lal.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true.
The glow was there—but barely so.
It was a deep blue, such a dark and dim shade that Geordi initially thought it had disappeared altogether.
Geordi was waiting on pins and needles outside Data’s lab with Counsellor Troi and Wesley when Admiral Haftel delivered the tragic news.
He stepped out of the lab looking a ghastly shade. His voice shook.
“There was nothing anyone could have done,” Haftel said as he described their efforts to save Lal from the systematic pathway failure of cascade failure. “His hands were moving faster than I could see, trying to stay ahead of each breakdown. He refused to give up. He was remarkable. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
The Admiral excused himself and Geordi took a step toward the door.
Counsellor Troi put her hand out to stop him, thinking it best that Data have the chance to say goodbye uninterrupted.
Geordi felt the lump in his throat. He wanted to help. He needed to be there for Data.
He had never seen Data’s aura glow brighter than after he’d created Lal.
She was his entire world.
Now, she was his greatest loss.
Geordi leaned against the door to the lab. He could hear Data on the other side of the door.
Geordi wanted to rush to him, to reassure Data that he wasn’t alone. He understood the reason Data had created Lal was a deeply rooted desire for a companionship, a sense of belonging that he couldn’t get from humans.
Data wanted a family.
Geordi understood. Data was the only one of his kind left and he didn’t want to be alone.
“I love you father,” Lal said.
She had been such a sweet girl. Geordi had shared, privately, with Data that Lal’s aura was a soft glow. Although similar to Data’s, she was her own person. Her aura was lavender, and it seemed to dance and flit about her in an almost whimsical and childlike way.
Like a butterfly.
Lal was radiant and Data had glowed with pride when Geordi had shared that observation with him.
And now she was dying.
No parent should have to lose a child like that, not when she was so young.
Data took hold of his daughter’s hand. Golden tears pricked at the corner of his eyes.
“I wish I could feel it with you,” Data said.
It was a human act of reassurance that he had learned from Geordi.
Data hoped that it brought her comfort and that it was sufficient in relaying his feelings for her.
“I will feel it for both of us. Thank you for my life, father,” Lal said.
Geordi couldn’t hold back anymore. He balled his hands into fists as hot tears fell onto his cheeks.
“Flirting. Laughter. Painting… ” Lal went on.
Geordi recognised that she was replaying the events of her short life. He wondered if there truly was some sort of ascension or life after death. He said a silent prayer to the universe that if there was, that Lal be permitted a continued existence.
Because he was listening to her life flash before her eyes, and he was so overcome by how unfair it all was.
Her voice began to slow as the final stage of the collapse took hold.
“Family… father… love… ”
Geordi waited thirty seconds. He counted them, each one feeling like an eternity, before he rushed into the lab.
He was at Data in three paces. Geordi threw his arms around Data, crying and unsure of exactly what to say, repeating how sorry he was, how much he loved Lal, and assuring Data that he was not alone.
Data was confused at first by Geordi’s embrace. He stood there stiffly, with his arms at his side as Geordi held him tight.
After a moment, Data relaxed and leaned into it—eventually returning the embrace.
Geordi wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but when he opened his eyes, he saw through his VISOR that Data’s glow was so dim it was nearly gone. It was such a dark shade that Geordi couldn’t fathom the emptiness that his friend was experiencing.
It was like Data was surrounded by a shadow of grief.
A shroud.
“Thank you for your sympathy, but she is here,” Data said as he tapped his temple.
Geordi sniffled and shook his head. He didn’t understand.
“Her presence so enriched my life that I could not allow her to pass into oblivion. So, I incorporated her programs back into my own. I have transferred her memories to me,” Data explained.
Despite Data’s reassuring words, Geordi could see from his aura that this was anything but the case.
He had suffered a terrible loss, and no amount of android memory was going to replace his child.
Geordi shook his head sadly.
“Data.”
He wiped the tears from his cheeks, but that didn’t last long. A fresh wave of tears began to spill over.
Geordi dropped his gaze to the floor. The sight of Data with such a weak aura was too much to bear.
To Geordi’s surprise, Data stepped forward. He took Geordi’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted it up.
Data pressed a gentle kiss on Geordi’s lips.
It was brief and chaste. But it had also been tender and warm.
And for a split second, it seemed like Data’s aura had sparked when their lips made contact.
Geordi was stunned.
“Data, what was that for?”
“You looked like you needed it,” Data said simply.
Per Data’s request, Geordi helped him clean up the lab. He watched as Data gently cupped Lal’s cheek before returning her to the dark of safe storage, hopeful that maybe someday he would be capable of returning her memories and reactivating her.
When they stepped onto the Bridge later, Captain Picard and the crew offered Data their deepest sympathies.
Data took up his position at the Operations console, insisting he was fine to return to duty.
From the back of the Bridge at the Engineering terminal, Geordi could tell that Data’s aura was still alarmingly dark and dim.
But there was a noticeable change. It grew ever so slightly in the wake of Lal’s passing.
Geordi also knew that there was a change in the nature of their relationship.
And as the weeks went by, as Data’s aura continued to grow and brighten—and so did their relationship.
Gold.
It was a colour Geordi never could have imagined, yet at the same time it made perfect sense.
Geordi had expected a blinding white or perhaps a deep, passionate ruby.
And yet, it was gold.
Geordi’s favourite colour was gold.
After all, everyone always said Data had golden eyes.
Not that Geordi had ever seen Data’s golden eyes in that way. His VISOR interpreted Data’s eyes as blue and black. They stood in stark contrast to the soft alabaster glow of his bioplast skin.
The first time they made love, Data sought to catalogue to memory every reaction. He studiously observed every single one of Geordi’s facial micro expressions. He monitored Geordi’s heart rate and breathing. And he listened intently to each of Geordi’s encouragements.
Geordi keened as Data rocked into him with slow, gentle strokes.
“Data, I’m not a textbook.”
Data didn’t stop—instead he cocked his head to the side to wordlessly request elaboration.
“Data, stop studying me and just let yourself enjoy this. Live in the moment,” Geordi instructed.
A broad smile crept across Geordi’s face as he watched Data’s head fall back, eyes half-lidded, his lips parted as he allowed the sensation to overtake him.
Geordi watched in wonder as a golden aura erupted from Data at the apex of his climax. It was the most beautiful thing Geordi had ever witnessed—more brilliant than a sunrise and twice as bright.
Later that night they laid together in Geordi’s bed in a tangle of limbs and sheets.
Geordi draped in Data’s arms.
Data encircled in a golden aura.
And both of them enveloped in the warm glow of tender love.
The first time Geordi had observed an orange glow was after they rescued Timothy from the wreckage of the research vessel, Vico.
The wee boy had been alone and frightened. He was the sole survivor of a terrible accident.
And when they had returned to the Enterprise, Timothy quickly latched onto Data.
Over the course of the next few days, Data’s aura shifted strangely between orange and green.
Timothy insisted on wearing his hair just like Data’s. He replicated a little costume for himself and even practised a mechanical head movement to mimic his beloved android friend.
Data taught Timothy how to hold a violin. He took the boy to Ten Forward for a milkshake, accompanied him on a school trip to the Arboretum, and even took him to the holodeck to kick around a football for a while.
All in all, Data had really taken the boy under his wing.
One night, Timothy fell asleep while painting. Data simply picked him and carried him over to the sofa.
After seeing to it that Timothy was tucked in and sufficiently warm for the night, Data quietly slipped into his bedroom where Geordi was reading through a schematic on his PADD.
Data confessed privately to Geordi that he was uncomfortable. Geordi was confused.
“Data, I’ve rarely ever seen you so happy.”
Data just shook his head. A pained expression crossed his features.
Geordi set his PADD down on the nightstand. Data sat down on the edge of the bed and turned toward Geordi.
Data tried to explain that it wasn’t Timothy that made him uncomfortable—it was a strange sense of sadness that stemmed from the memory of Lal.
Of all they had and all they would never get to experience.
“I find pleasure in doing these things. It is fulfilling to experience a parenting role on his school trip but—”
Data paused.
“I cannot explain it, Geordi. I do enjoy this… but it feels wrong.”
Geordi nodded slowly as realisation began to dawn on him.
“Data, I think you’re feeling guilty because you like this, but it’s hard for you to enjoy it when you remember all the things you never got to do with Lal,” Geordi explained. “You know, it doesn’t mean you love her any less just because you’re also fulfilling a parenthood role for Timothy.”
Data tilted his head to the side as he pondered Geordi’s advice. Geordi reached out and stroked his hand up and down Data’s back.
“You know, you’re pretty good at this parenting thing?” Geordi remarked.
Data looked back at him, eyes full of gratitude for Geordi’s patience and concern.
“It’s been some time. Have you ever considered trying to correct the synaptic issues?” Geordi asked. “I’ll be there to help you every step of the way.”
Data turned his attention from Geordi to the painting of Lal that hung on the opposite wall.
Data wanted too—desperately.
But he knew he only had one shot. If he tried to reactivate Lal without correcting the catastrophic synaptic failure, Data risked permanently destroying her positronic matrix.
It was just too great a risk. Data could never continue his existence if he lost Lal again.
“Someday,” Data answered. “But not yet.”
Geordi had thought he’d seen every colour possible—then Data surprised him yet again.
When Juliana Tainer had first shown up on the Enterprise full of warmth and life, Data gave off a soft, pink aura.
Data had never before known that he had a mother. And Juliana surprised Data with her affection, praise, and ingenuity. He adored everything about her. For the first time in his entire life, Data had a mother to show his paintings to, to perform for, and to share memories with.
Although Data had no memories of his time with Juliana, Data did have memories of his own to share with her. He was a well decorated Starfleet officer, and Juliana took great delight in seeing how accomplished he was.
More so, she was overwhelmed with pride with the man he had become—kind, compassionate, and good.
As it turned out, Juliana had stories of her own about Data’s early days.
When he’d first fallen in love with Data, Geordi had never expected to one day listen to his mother share memories of Data’s metaphorical ‘first steps.’
There was something so incredibly human about it and Data relished in the experience of it all—surrounded by a rosy, pink aura.
It was a shock to discover Juliana’s true android nature. But Data took it in stride, content in the knowledge that he was not alone.
Geordi didn’t ask Data about it directly—but he caught several glimpses of Data’s work on his tablet.
Data managed to learn some significant advancements based on Juliana’s programming. It appeared he was reformulating a way to incorporate the stability of Juliana’s neural net into Lal’s programming.
“I will be right outside,” Data advised as he planted a kiss on Geordi’s hand.
Geordi stood up, rolled his shoulders back, and shook his hands.
“I know I shouldn’t be nervous—”
Data silenced Geordi with a swift kiss. When they broke apart, Data lingered close, resting his forehead against Geordi’s. He reached for Geordi’s hands.
“Doctor Crusher is a most capable medical officer,” Data assured him.
After much deliberation, numerous long talks with Doctor Crusher and Data, and months of anticipation, Geordi had finally made the decision to proceed with ocular implant surgery.
Although ocular implants had existed for years, Geordi had always been hesitant about proceeding with the surgery. Many a Starfleet officer had offered—but there was something holding Geordi back.
There had been significant advancements in recent years. Both Data and Geordi had been part of a team that worked to refine the prosthesis and Geordi had slowly grown more comfortable with the idea of it.
The device now had a better visual range than his VISOR and Geordi knew it was time.
The surgery lasted six hours.
Data waited patiently outside of the operating room in Sickbay until Doctor Crusher came out to inform him that it was a success, and the patient was recovering as expected.
Geordi awoke forty-eight minutes and nineteen seconds later. Data had counted every second.
The first thing Geordi recognised when he came to was Data’s hand holding his own. He could see Data standing next to him—but it was so different.
Geordi could make out his features in significantly greater detail than his VISOR had ever been able to provide.
He could see in light and in shadow.
He could see the gold in Data’s eyes—a warm, welcoming shade of amber blinking back at Geordi and full of concern.
But his aura was gone.
Geordi’s heart sank. He immediately regretted his decision.
Worst of all, Geordi knew there was no going back.
A lump formed in his throat. Geordi’s face grew hot. His eyes began to well up.
Data cupped his face.
“Geordi? Geordi, are you in pain?” Data asked, concerned.
He called out for Doctor Crusher, but Geordi waved her away.
“It’s nothing, Doctor,” Geordi insisted.
There was no physical pain—only a pain that he couldn’t rationalise. A sense of loss.
He would never again see Data’s aura flicker with excitement during a holodeck adventure.
He’d never see it pulsate and glow as he watched Data play his violin with the passion and precision of a classically trained musician.
And he’d never again see the sweet, golden glow he had come to associate with their lovemaking.
Geordi sat up on the exam table and turned to Data. He collapsed in Data’s arms.
“It’s gone, Data,” Geordi said as he tried to keep his voice steady.
“What is gone?” Data asked.
Data had previously done extensive research on the differences between Geordi’s VISOR and the new implants. He knew there would be a change in the way Geordi would perceive some of the thermal and density optical readings.
Data had also read there would be a strong emotional impact from such a drastic shift in Geordi’s life. It would take time for Geordi to gain familiarity with his new implants.
But Data was unable to deduce from Geordi’s statement if the missing thing in question was a change in the physical perception or an emotional sense of loss.
“Your glow. Your aura. I can’t see it anymore, Data. It’s just—”
Geordi stopped and took a shaky breath.
“It’s just… gone!”
Data pulled Geordi close against his chest. He rubbed his back and placed a soothing kiss on the top of Geordi’s head.
“It is not gone Geordi,” Data said.
He took hold of Geordi’s hand and pulled it to his chest.
“It is always here. For you.”
If anyone ever told Geordi androids were incapable of grasping the human equation, Geordi was ready to throw hands.
He knew better than anyone that Data’s ability for compassion and love were greater than anything he’d ever known.
“Besides, you have had an unfair advantage over me in poker for years,” Data added in his signature deadpan.
“Data, was that a joke?” Geordi said, still pressed against his chest.
Data pulled back and looked at Geordi with alarm.
“It was an attempt at humour Geordi,” Data said apologetically. “I am sorry if that was an inappropriate response. I can see now that this was, perhaps, a poor choice of time to—”
Geordi pulled Data down for a kiss. Data smiled against his lips, pleased with himself.
And Data had been right.
He had always been right.
His aura was never gone. Geordi could see it in the way Data passionately fought for the rights of the Ba’ku people as he strolled onto the Captain’s yacht, phaser rifle in hand, his commanding presence filling the room.
“Saddle up,” he said with an air of determination as they formulated a plan to protect the village.
Geordi also saw it in Data’s smile as he delivered his performance as the iconic Seymour opposite of Doctor Crusher in a production of Little Shop of Horrors at Ten Forward. Beverly had directed the show, and Data was eager to demonstrate his signing chops.
Despite the fact that he had perfect memorisation and elocution, Geordi had grown accustomed to Data rehearsing his lines in their quarters each night as he played with delivering his lines using different emotional inflection.
Geordi also saw it in the way Data took to the stage to croon the guests of Will and Deanna’s wedding. Data looked so dapper in his crisp white suit and Geordi had been more than eager to tell him that.
“You do not look so bad yourself,” Data said in a low, teasing voice in his ear as he pulled Geordi close on the dance floor.
After a few moments, Deanna cut in. She was eager to get a dance in with Geordi before the end of the evening. She looked radiant, and Geordi was more than happy to take his old friend for a spin on the dance floor.
A short while later, Geordi caught sight of Data in the corner chatting politely with Miles and Keiko O’Brien.
Suddenly, Data looked down.
A small hand tugged at the seam of his trousers. Knee-high Molly O’Brien looked up at him and then pointed out to the dance floor.
Geordi watched as Data turned to Miles for what he assumed was permission.
Miles nodded and warned Molly to behave herself.
Data scooped little Molly up in his arms and joined the various guests swinging to the music, twirling her around and making the little girl laugh and laugh.
They turned and Data met Geordi’s gaze.
He stopped, struck by the sight of Data.
From across the floor, Data pointed to Geordi and whispered something to Molly.
A moment later, she waved enthusiastically to Geordi before blowing him a kiss. Geordi responded in kind and Data smiled back—beaming—at the man that was both his lover and his best friend.
“He’s really got a way with kids,” Deanna remarked with a knowing smile.
“Yes, he does,” Geordi agreed.
“Have you two ever considered… ?”
Deanna trailed off as she studied Geordi’s expression.
Geordi sighed.
“We haven’t exactly talked about it. You know, I’ve never told anyone this—but Lal is what brought us together,” Geordi shared.
“I’ve always wondered why he never tried again,” Deanna confessed.
“I don’t think he can take the thought of ever losing another child,” Geordi said. “He loved her so much.”
But as Geordi watched Data spin little Molly around the dancefloor he wondered if maybe, just maybe, Data was ready to try again. Because this time he had Geordi with him—and they would face it together.
Geordi made a mental note to bring the subject up once they were back aboard the Enterprise.
They were planning a special dinner together in their quarters in a few days.
That would be the right time.
Geordi set the photograph of the two of them back on the surface of the workstation.
The photo was snapped at Will and Deanna’s wedding. Will Riker’s love for all things archaic had included ancient photography.
They were smiling, decked out in their sharp white dress uniforms with their arms around each. Data had such long, loving arms and Geordi loved the way they fit together so perfectly.
Everything had felt so right in that moment.
Geordi put his face in his hands and rubbed his temples.
He never imagined this.
Geordi was suddenly struck by a memory from years earlier.
He had once stood across from Data at this very workstation as Data had invited him to join the study of poetic emptiness.
You may experience the emptiness with me, if you wish.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
Data was always supposed to outlive Geordi.
But now Data was gone.
Suddenly, Geordi was hit by another memory—one of the sweetest memories he had and one that Geordi would cling to for the rest of his days.
They were the words Data had uttered in the wake of Geordi’s ocular implantation surgery, in the moment when Geordi feared he would never see Data’s beautiful glowing aura again.
The moment when Data (ever wise) had reminded Geordi that what they shared could not be defined by the physical limitations of the universe.
It is not gone Geordi. It is always here. For you.
Geordi glanced up at the photograph.
“Not gone, Data. Never. Always here,” Geordi said aloud as he brought his hand up his chest. “Always here. For you.”
The chime sounded, alerting Geordi that there was someone outside of his quarters.
Geordi cleared his throat and called for them to enter.
Reg Barclay stepped. He nervously handed Geordi a small case.
Geordi opened the case and delicately ran his fingers across the tiny positronic engram fragment contained inside.
“You think this will work?” Geordi asked.
Reg shifted. His voice was full of uncertainty.
“In all of the simulations, it appears to correct the overload problem,” Reg said. “But I uh… I can’t promise you anything.”
Geordi pulled the engram out and turned it over in his hand.
“Lal’s cascade failure was due to an overload, but this engram was the missing piece that Data didn’t have before,” Reg explained.
There was a moment of silence as Geordi placed it back in the case and shut the lid.
“Do… do you wish to proceed?” Reg asked anxiously as he rung his hands.
“Yeah. I’m gonna head over there now,” Geordi said.
He clapped Reg on the back.
“And hey, Reg? Thank you.”
Geordi grabbed the case and the photograph and headed off for Data’s lab.
It took them nearly three hours to repair the previous synaptic damage and fuse in the new engram. Geordi’s hands had shook nearly as much as Reg’s during the procedure.
After they were finished, Reg stepped outside to give Geordi some time and privacy.
He cleared his throat and paced back and forth for a few moments, attempting to work up the resolve to reactivate her.
Data’s daughter.
Their daughter.
She had been his whole world.
If Geordi failed, there was no going back. But inside, something told Geordi that it was time, that this is what would have wanted.
Geordi steeled himself and activated her. He was taken aback by the suddenness of it.
Lal raised her head and glanced around, scanning her surroundings as her neural pathways came online.
“Lal?” Geordi asked.
Lal cocked her head to the side in exactly the same manner as her father always did. It both warmed and broke Geordi’s heart.
“Geordi La Forge,” Lal said.
Geordi nodded. He opened the door to the storage rack. Taking hold of Lal’s hand, he helped her off the platform.
Lal looked around slowly before turning back to Geordi.
“Father? Where is my father?” she inquired.
Geordi felt a familiar wave of pain grip his heart. It settled like a weight on his chest.
Geordi reached for both of Lal’s hands this time. She looked at him quizzically.
“Lal, your father was killed. He… he died saving all of us, including you,” Geordi explained.
It was all still so raw, but he needed to say it aloud.
Geordi could see that Lal was confused. She took a series of short, heart-wrenching breaths and started to cry.
Although Lal had been deactivated, she was aware of the passage of time. Because of her internal chronometer Lal knew that twelve years, eighty-eight days, nine hours, fourteen minutes, and twenty-five seconds had passed since her deactivation.
It didn’t make sense to her.
Her father was an android.
Though it was possible he may someday degrade and fail, it should not have occurred during that span of time.
“No… no my father is—”
Lal stopped.
Geordi La Forge would not lie to her. He loved her father.
“How?” Lal demanded.
“Lal, your father sacrificed himself to save every one of us—including you. He kept you safe here for all these years because he hoped that one day, he would be able to reactivate you,” Geordi told her.
He squeezed Lal’s hands and managed a wan smile.
“He never gave up. He loved you, Lal. He loved you so much,” Geordi said.
Lal took a step back and Geordi could see the fear etched in her features. Lal’s chest heaved as a new wave of emotion took over.
Geordi recognised that fear, the confusing mix of emotions that gripped one after such a loss. Geordi had been an absolute wreck when he’d lost his own mother.
There was emotion—strong emotion—but her synaptic network was holding stable.
And for Geordi, that was a victory.
“I am alone,” Lal breathed.
She brought a single, trembling fist to her chest.
“I am alone. I am alone. I am alone!” Her voice grew louder as the panic took root.
Geordi rushed forward.
“No, no, no,” Geordi assured her.
He pulled Lal into a tight embrace, rocking her back and forth in his arms.
“You are not alone,” he said softly.
He had stood in this very room twelve years earlier, offering Data the same assurance.
Data may have physically been gone and unable to fulfil his dream of fatherhood.
But Geordi was determined to carry it on for him.
And with a little help from Data’s years of careful research, some assistance from Juliana’s scans, and a little elbow grease on behalf of Reg Barclay, Geordi was about to start.
As if on cue, Reg burst into the lab. He’d been waiting eagerly outside, unable to contain himself any longer.
“Did it wo—”
Reg stopped himself as soon as he saw the pair. He recognised that he had interrupted a private moment and quietly backed toward the door.
Thank you. Geordi mouthed over Lal’s shoulder.
Reg grinned and flashed him an excited thumbs up before he slipped out into the corridor where Guinan was waiting.
“Well?” Guinan pressed.
“It worked,” Reg said.
“C’mon, I’ll buy you a warm milk,” Guinan said as she guided Reg to Ten Forward.
Back in the lab, Geordi held Lal as she wept.
“Geordi La Forge, it hurts,” she sobbed.
“I know it does,” he said as he rubbed her back. “I know it does, Lal. I miss him too. Every minute of the day.”
They stayed like that for a while until her breathing seemed to regulate itself and her tears seemed to slow.
Geordi brought Lal over to the table in the lab.
“I want to show you something,” Geordi explained.
He handed Lal the photograph from Will and Deanna’s wedding—Geordi and Data, arm in arm, dressed in their best and smiling.
It was a photograph that spoke of love, of commitment.
Lal traced her fingers across Data’s face.
“Father,” she said softly.
She sniffled.
“He is gone.”
“Not gone, Lal. He is still with both of us. Here," Geordi said as he guided Lal's hand to his chest.