Interrupting the peaceful hum of the warp core in Engineering, there came the chirp of a commbadge followed by Riker's voice.

"Lieutenant LaForge report to transporter room three immediately… and Geordi, bring a repair kit. It's Data."

Geordi experienced a sinking feeling as he tersely replied, "Aye, Commander," and headed out.

- - - -

Arriving in the transporter room, he was greeted with the sight of the Commander supporting his pale friend, who seemed unable to stand without assistance. The Commander lowered him gently to the floor and nodded to Geordi, then left for sickbay to get checked over by the Doctor.

As Geordi approached, the reason for his friend's immobility became apparent: Data had been shot. Twice.

"Hey, Data."

"Hello, Geordi. How are you today?"

He snorted. " Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

Perplexed, Data tilted his head. "Is it not customary to greet one's acquaintances after a time of absence and inquire as to their condition?"

Geordi laughed softly. "Well, yes, but usually if someone is hurt they aren't as concerned with others' well-being as they would be if they were uninjured. People tend to become a little more self-centered when they're hurting. They tend to focus on their own pain."

Data considered this new information. After a few seconds' deliberation, he looked down at his wounds, then up at Geordi and said simply, "Ow."

The engineer let out a hearty laugh, rolling his eyes behind his VISOR. "How is it that you're the one cheering me up in this situation? Never mind, don't answer that."

Gesturing with a tricorder at the burns in Data's uniform, he queried, "So what happened this time?"

"Commander Riker and I were surveying the region where we thought the weapons may have been located. The locals were… somewhat isolationist in policy. And they did in fact have a very large cache of illegal weaponry. A firefight followed their discovery of our presence."

"OK, well, how'd you manage to get hit? Couldn't you just have dodged the shot or something?"

"If I had dodged the blast, Commander Riker's life may have been endangered and I was not willing to take that risk. Humans cannot easily be repaired. I can."

Geordi raised his eyebrows. "And the second one?"

"I was a rather static target after the damage caused by the first shot. I believe the idiom most applicable to the situation would be 'shooting fish in a barrel.'"

Geordi winced a bit at that mental image and shook his head. "Data, some days you're a little more self-sacrificing than I'd like you to be, you know that?"

"Would you have preferred that I allow Commander Riker to come to harm?"

"Well, no, but… I just don't—"

He sighed.

"I just don't like to see you get hurt, is all."

"Thank you, Geordi. Nor I you."

He smiled broadly at that, and put a reassuring hand on Data's shoulder. He didn't think there was a better friend to be had in the whole universe.