"I've spent my whole life trying to understand love," Rojo tells me, with a self-deprecating smile.

A self-deprecating smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

At the very least," she said with a self-deprecating smile, "I'm in a position to make introductions.

"For one thing, I can't afford them," he said with a self-deprecating smile.

"You give me far too much credit," she said with a faint, self-deprecating smile.

Each time, she hoped he might react by cracking a self-deprecating smile.

She made a self-deprecating smile and turned off the tricorder again.

"But that's all gone now," she assured them with a self-deprecating smile.

"Nothing," he assured her, fighting down his embarrassment with a self-deprecating smile.

Then, he reflected with a self-deprecating smile, he had already known his life was about to change.