"You're nobody 'till somebody loves you.
You're nobody 'till somebody cares..."
I have to admit, he's a good singer. Vic, that is. He probably knows more about the command crew than anyone else these days, and I never thought I'd ever say that about a hologram! After all, I used to hardly visit the holosuites at all. I could never get passed the reason that most people use them for. But these days... Well, let's just say that since that night, I like them a lot more these days.
But to get back to what happened that night. In the end, it was all really thanks to Julian and his enjoyment of ancient Earth eras. He'd received a new holoprogram a week before, and we hadn't seen much of him since. Then one day at the staff meeting, he suddenly invited us all to view it that night. I have to admit, I wasn't really enthusiastic about it, I had planned to spend the evening reading and praying at the temple, but after everyone else agreed, it seemed a little rude to say no.
Only the captain declined. As we all left, I wondered why. He'd been talking less and less recently, brooding in his office at all hours. Even when Cassidy is on the station he still sits there, reading PADD's about the war, examining the casualty reports, sending messages about tactics to Starfleet. I'm starting to wonder how long he can keep this up, I've seen this all before and I know how it ends....
Anyway, that night was more interesting than I thought. When we entered the holosuite, I was surprised to see that it wasn't one of Julian's spy holo's that he usually has. Instead, it was a twilight room, with people in formal clothing. It only took a moment to realize that this was a bar of some kind. But it seemed to be more of a restaurant as well, with people at tables and eating as waitresses moved about.
But it was obvious that the man on the stage was in command of the room. A singer, dressed in what the Humans call a tuxedo, and holding a microphone, as four musicians provided the sound for him. And he had a wonderful voice, very easy to listen to and enjoy. Everyone else settled themselves against the edge of the room and we enjoyed the show, as the man told a few jokes, and sang several more songs.
Jadzia and the others immediately looked like they were enjoying themselves, but I couldn't help but smile at Odo. We were standing together, a little apart, and he was captivated with the scene! His head was nodding gently with the music's rhythm, and I could have sworn that his foot was tapping along as well. Not that I can get him to admit it now, of course! But he couldn't hide the smile on his face and the obvious pleasure he was getting from enjoying the music. I was just thinking about asking Julian for a copy of the hologram's musical repertoire, when the singer suddenly came over to us and introduced himself.
I've always believe in the Prophets, even as a child. When people were turning away from them, shouting in anger that they had abandoned us, I clung to them even more. It was as if my faith was in my very bones, so that I could never deny them, not even after all that's happened. So now, as I look back on that night, I believe that it was the Prophets looking over me, guiding my life they way they always have. Not that I knew it at the time of course, I was just having a fun night out with my friends.
I couldn't hide a smile as Vic made comments about the others. It seemed amazing at the time, but I guess it wasn't too hard to work out the others. Jadzia snuggling up to Worf and him pretending to be disapproving, but secretly proud of her. Miles, who's desperately missing his wife and children. I'd seen him trying not to look at the waitresses, but his eyes kept straying to them. He's been sad without them around, even though he knows they're safe on Earth, and he is Human after all. Vic's comment about 'Look but don't touch' would have hit a raw nerve. But Miles took it well.
But when Vic turned to Odo and I, I think my heart stood still. After all, he'd been correct about Jadzia and Worf and Miles, and he knew nothing about them either. But instead of blurting Odo's secret out to the world at large, he merely paused and then went on to ask Julian if we were staying. I could almost feel the tension drain out of Odo as we left the holosuite, his entire form seemed to relax as we got away from the man who seemed to know all about the others relationships.
You see, only one other person on the station knew about how Odo feels about me back then, and that was Dax. Well, I had to explain why Odo and I had spent all night in her bedroom cupboard at her pre-wedding party. If I didn't, she threatened to use me for martial arts training! And since I had no desire to end up in the infirmary after another bout of Klingon combat practice, I told her the whole story, and like a good friend, she didn't tell anyone else, not even Worf.
Oh, my relationship with Odo was as strong as always now, but I didn't know then how I really felt about him. I knew he was a good friend, and I knew that there would never be another man in my life. After all, he'd been the only one to stand by me, through all we'd been through. That talk we had in Dax's closet had explained a lot, to both of us. And we were comfortable in our relationship now.
But I wished she hadn't told everyone that I was visiting Shakaar when I went to Bajor that week. Poor Odo, he thought I'd had enough of waiting and decided to go back to Edon. Sometimes I think he doesn't realize that the alternate Bareil made me realize that Odo was the only man I could really trust in my life. And Julian smirking and asking if my visit was 'business or pleasure' didn't help matters.
On the other hand, if it hadn't been for that night, for Jadzia letting it out that I was visiting Shakaar, and Julian's assumption that I was renewing our relationship, Odo might never have gotten depressed enough to ask Quark for that favour.
And if he hadn't done that, things would be very different indeed....
The week on Bajor wasn't as settling as I hoped it would be. Oh, it was nice to visit old friends, and eat real, home-made Bajoran food, and breath real fresh air with the scent of the trees and oceans in it. But somehow I found myself wanting to be back on the station, breathing its slightly stale air, and the temperature that's always just a little too warm for comfort. I hadn't really noticed until that week, but every time I leave the station now, I can't wait to get back, it's like getting back to a family.
And I guess that's the big difference between how I used to be, and how I am now. And why I can even think about having a relationship with Odo. Years ago, it seems a lifetime away now, I never could have dreamed of loving a non-Bajoran under any circumstances. Of course, back then the only aliens I knew were Cardassians, and I certainly wasn't about to fall in love with one of them.
Mind you, seeing Shakaar again certainly stirred up old memories of our times together, both before and after we started our romantic relationship. He's still as handsome as ever, although there's a lot more grey in his hair these days. And he's learned to project his voice at last. I was beginning to think all Bajoran's would need to learn to lip read! And he cares about me and our friendship, that much is obvious. I can see why I fell for his charm after Bareil died, why I took him to my bed. He's a very charming man Shakaar, and he knows how to impress.
But there was a part of me unsettled by it, by the smiling and the obvious delight in seeing me again. That part of me knew that I had only to say the word, and we would be together again, Prophets wishes or not. And it knew that it would be wrong, no matter how much I wanted not to be alone again.
Because I'd suddenly realized that others had moved on with their lives, and I hadn't. Instead of taking the chances offered to me, I'd hidden behind my work, hiding away from the universe. Oh, I'd made promises, ones I knew I probably wouldn't have to keep. I told myself that I'd settle down after the war was finished, find a nice Bajoran man and settle down to do...?
And that was where I always came unstuck. And why I took a few extra days on Bajor that week. When I finally finished seeing the seemingly never-ending round of traders, Vedeks, and politicians, not to mention two excruciatingly tedious meetings with the Kai, I packed a knapsack and headed into the hills, just me, the countryside, and the Prophets, and whatever they might like to tell me.
The ground was as hard as ever, but it somehow felt good under my back again. As I stared at the sky at night. I visited the refugee camp for the first time in years. There was almost nothing left now, just some hollowed out caves and a destroyed building with just the walls standing.
There was nothing for me there.
It was a long hike to our old hideouts from the camp. But that was how it was supposed to be. They were as dusty and unappealing as I remembered, and surprisingly cluttered. We hadn't needed to use this cave when the reclimator incident happened, so I guess we must have left it this way when we pulled out after the occupation finished. There were plenty of memories here too, of friendship and betrayal, lies and love.
But nothing that would fit into my life now.
And the Prophets had been silent.
It was a long walk back to the nearest town and a transporter. And a lonely one and depressing one. Because if there was nothing for me on Bajor, then it had to be on the station. And it was only Odo on the station that mattered to me, but his friendship was too precious and fragile for me to damage. On the shuttle trip back, I vowed to be the best friend to him I could be, and to never hurt him again. Or push him into something he didn't want to do.
Dax once told me that everything in life is a matter of perspective; that we see things the way we do because that's how we understand them at the time. That week, I think I came to understand what she meant. Until that week, I'd believed that to be happy, to be fulfilled, I'd one day have to leave the station and return to Bajor. That week, alone and thinking thoughts I'd never admitted to myself before, I realized that I didn't have to leave, that I didn't have to say goodbye to my friends. And that the station, as repulsive and cold as it had seemed to me at first, was now the place that I belonged and called home.
It was good to be back. I hadn't felt this happy about returning ever before, but DS9 is a special place to me now. I told Sisko I was back after I'd got to my quarters, and read the duty roster. I was on day shifts, starting the next morning, so it seemed natural to relax for the rest of the evening. I pulled out an old robe and headed towards Quarks, planning on calling up one of my holo-programs. I don't have many, even now, but this one was one of Bareil's, the holy caverns at Lotara. It's a beautiful place in reality, and the program simulates it nicely.
I'd almost reached the bar when I saw Odo just ahead and called out to say hello. He seemed nervous for some reason, and he kept looking away from me. If he were Humanoid, I'd say he was blushing. He was fidgeting with a PADD he was holding, and looked for all the universe like he'd rather be anywhere but talking to me.
But he was polite enough, and so I went on to the holosuite smiling. Whatever was on his mind, he'd obviously been glad to see me, and that I cherished.
Of course, I was only in the holosuite for a few moments, before a plan began to fall into place.
Not that I knew it of course. I was meditating when the Vic character from Bashir's program suddenly interrupted! Now, I know that Julian's programs are advanced, but I still think this is taking it too far.
"Hey doll face, you asleep?"
Now, I've been called a lot of things, but 'doll face' is not on the list. His sheer audacity stopped me cold for a moment, and it was all I could do not to laugh. Of course, Vic seized this and started asking me on a date. Well, at least asking me on a date with Odo, not him. This seemed all the more bizarre, since I'd only spoken to Odo a few minutes earlier, and he hadn't said a word about it.
"Then why doesn't he ask me himself?" I was upset by now. Odo, who I'd always considered a pillar of strength and respectability, wasn't even brave enough to ask me out for himself. The idea stung at me, I don't know why. But he'd been talking about love, and how Odo felt about me, and all I could wonder was why Odo wasn't saying it himself.
"Because I'm asking you for him." Vic suddenly turned on a dazzling grin, and I couldn't help but smile myself. "And neither one of us will take no for an answer."
"Then I guess I'd better say yes." After all, what did I have to lose? We were friends, and friends have dinner together. And maybe it was about time I started paying attention to what the Prophets had told me, that my home was on the station. Of course, I still had no idea exactly what I felt, or what was to come, but all that mattered was I was going to have dinner with Odo.
Meditating was impossible then, and sleep was a long time coming that night.
Like Dax says, it's all a matter of perspective.
To say I was nervous that night would be an understatement. I'd bought a new dress from one of the local Bajoran traders, and made sure that there were no interruptions likely to happen in Ops. Of course, you can never guarantee that something won't happen, and Prophets know that they happen around here often enough. So all I could do was hope for the best.
I still had a bad case of nerves when I arrived at the holosuite, and I'm sure that everyone I passed on the way knew it too. My mind had been racing as I tried to think of what we might talk about, and in the end, I decided to just go with whatever happened. After all, this was Odo! It wasn't like he was a stranger, he was a friend who I'd known for years. A sarcastic voice inside muttered that Edon had been a friend as well, and that had hardly turned out well, but I squashed it down. I'd known for over a year how Odo felt about me, so this was hardly a surprise.
My hand was almost trembling as I opened the door and entered, to find myself in Vic's bar. But unlike the other time, there was no-one else there, except for Vic, who was apparently calming an anxious Odo.
Prophets he was sexy! I just stood there for a moment, half hidden by the shadows, looking at that long, lean body in the tuxedo. Those long, tapered fingers nervously twisting a button on his shirt, his polished unfinished face suddenly made overwhelmingly handsome in the twilight gloom.
"And here she is." Vic turned his flashing smile on me and I had no choice but to come over to join them. I could see Odo's eyes glancing up and down me, and I don't think I've ever felt more self-conscious. It was all I could do not to run as Vic lighted the candles and murmured "I believe you two know each other."
The tension seemed to thicken as Odo told me I looked lovely. I gave another glance at that wonderful figure. "So do you." Suddenly it was there again, that faint, disbelieving smile, but it vanished as Vic smoothly motioned towards the carefully laid table. I guess that helping a woman sit down and adjusting her chair for her is a Human thing, because for a moment, I thought he was going to pull it out from under me. But after I turned to stand again, he got the message and walked around to Odo's side, and started pouring the wine and telling me the menu.
I have to give Vic credit; he tried to lighten the atmosphere with a few jokes, but it didn't really work. I know I was very nervous, and I got the impression Odo was too. He just kept looking at me silently as Vic poured the wine, and since Vic's joke didn't work I tried one of my own.
Glancing at the maze of cutlery and napkins on the table, I couldn't help but laugh a little. "This is all very interesting but..." I leaned a little closer and smiled more, trying to get Odo to lighten up, "Don't you feel a little silly being in a holosuite?"
A look I couldn't fathom passed between them as Odo and Vic glanced at each other, then Odo finally smiled. "A bit."
I could almost feel the tension drain away, and Vic obviously did too, since he murmured something about the salad, and left. I still couldn't believe I was having dinner with Odo, and I guess the nerves must have gotten to me at last. I was happy to sip the wine, it had a nice flavour to it, very dry and cold. But I couldn't eat a thing, not with the way my stomach was churning. I have never been so nervous about having a dinner date in my life! And what made it worse, in a way, was that Odo had obviously gone to so much trouble and care with this.
I was beginning to feel more and more for him with every passing moment, as we made small talk about the meal, and about Vic. I could tell from the way Odo spoke, that he trusted Vic very much. I could hardly imagine it, Odo becoming friends with a hologram? But then, Vic is a very special hologram, and surprisingly enough, he's become a friend to me as well these days.
"But, we're not here to talk about Vic, are we." It was a statement far more than a question, and I once again smiled inside. Trust Odo to take the vole by the snout.
"I'm certainly not." I braced myself for the usual questions about how I felt, and what I wanted out of a relationship -- but they never came. And in truth, I couldn't be happier. I knew I couldn't lie to Odo, not even to make him happy. So I would have had to tell him that I wasn't sure how I felt, that I didn't know what I wanted. Instead, he gently steered the conversation onto our having dinner.
"Is something wrong? You haven't touched your food." I glanced up to see those frost-blue eyes fastened on me, concern blazing out of them, and almost melted in my seat.
"It looks delicious, but I'm not hungry." He didn't believe me, I could tell. A part of me wondered if he'd checked the replicator records to see if I'd had anything to eat that day. Which I hadn't. When I get nervous, it sets in with plenty of time to spare. "The truth is I'm a little nervous."
He smiled again, laughing a little. "It's all right to be a little nervous, as long as it doesn't get in the way."
"In the way of what?" For a moment, I thought he was going to ask the questions I'd expected earlier, but again he headed off to somewhere else.
"Of enjoying yourself." I almost sighed with relief. He was trying to put me at ease! Me, who'd been on hundreds of dates and who's had... Well, quite a few lovers really. And here's Odo, who's never had a date in his life, trying to put me at ease, make me relaxed. I couldn't resist replying that he only enjoyed his work.
That was when the strangest part of the evening happened. He suddenly looked confused, almost afraid, and asked how I knew. It confused me for a moment, after all everyone knows how he's always on duty, even when everyone else is asleep or away. The one, dependable, unbreakable fact of life on DS9 is that somewhere, somehow, Odo is always on duty!
And then he muttered about Vic, which just confused me even more. After all, he wasn't even in the room. And yes, he had set up the date, but that was it, wasn't it? Looking back, I can see how confused Odo must have been that night, as well as me. But after that slight problem, he went on, and we both admitted that we'd hidden behind our work, using it as a shield to prevent us from getting close to each other and anyone else in our lives.
Now, I don't know where Vic got his sense of timing from, but it's impeccable, to say the least. At that moment, he suddenly appeared with the band, quietly singing a gentle, but very apt, Human song. I was relieved, to say the least, since it broke the silence that was rising between Odo and I. I glanced at Odo, and he seemed to be thinking for a moment.
Then he looked at me, and I could suddenly see the passion in his eyes. It was there, naked for all the world to see, and it was directed at me.
If I'd been standing up, I would have been knocked over by it. It was pure and strong, unadulterated love and passion. Using my drink as a cover, I wondered how I could have ever though him unemotional and cold, when I could see the fire burning in his heart. He'd taken the biggest risk of his life, opening his heart to me, letting me see how he felt. And no matter what else happened that night, I knew our relationship, and my life would never bee the same again.
Then just as suddenly, it vanished, as Odo asked me to dance. I had never tried Human dancing before, but Odo must have been practising, because after a few moments, he was leading me around the floor like we'd been doing this for years. We slowly relaxed into each others arms, enjoying the touch of each other when IT happened.
I'd heard people talk about it before, describe how clarity had felt when it hit, but I'd never had one. Until that night.
The music had been building, as had the feelings I had for Odo, when the music paused. And that what when it hit me. All the feelings, all the memories, the past and the present, all combined into one, inescapable, swelling emotion that broke over me in one short second, and I realized how I felt about Odo.
I loved him. I always had. It was like taking off an old pair of uncomfortable shoes after a long trek. The feeling of peace and acceptance was wonderful. I was looking at my friend with new eyes now, eyes that accepted him for all he has been and done, all he is, and all he will become. I saw his actions towards me in their true light now, realizing that every word and deed had been telling me he loved me.
I moved in towards him closer as the music began again, smiling as he didn't pull away. There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes, a small light that asked that all this might be possibly happening and that it wouldn't vanish when he woke up. I wondered how I could possibly put all I now felt into words, but decided it couldn't be done, so I settled for commenting that I didn't know he could dance. He didn't really reply, so I tried again. This time, I asked him on a date! I am, after all, Bajoran, and it is customary for females to take the initiative after a man has declared his feelings for her.
That was when he again started saying strange things. Like no! At first, I thought it was simply because Odo likes to have such a private life so he wanted out relationship to be private and unknown as well. It was an interesting idea, and so typically Odo that I couldn't resist teasing him about it, asking him if he was embarrassed to be seen with me. But he gave such a serious reply that I began to wonder what was wrong. He couldn't have fallen OUT of love with me in a split second, could he?
Then he started talking about how it would be difficult for me to leave the holosuite, and I started to get more confused and more angry, and eventually, he accused me of being a hologram! I couldn't believe it; Odo thought he'd been spending the night with a hologram. So this was what he'd been doing since I'd left, spending his nights with a hologram of me!
I was just about to explode when he appealed to Vic, and things began to make sense.
"I'm good pally, but not that good." The holo-singer smiled nervously and shook his head. "You've been dancing with the real McCoy."
Odo and I looked at each other again, and I saw the horror and pain speed across his face. Obviously, he had been manipulated as much as I had been. I looked back to tell him it was all right, to give him a chance to explain what had happened, to let him know I wasn't angry at him -- and the shutters went back up on his eyes.
For a moment, there was the longing that had been there all night, and then it vanished, to be replaced with a look of the blackest despair that I've ever met. Before I could even speak, he was backing away from me, his hands held up as if to ward me off.
"Nerys. Kira. Major." He backed off, becoming more and more formal as he went, then vanished from the holosuite, shooting Vic a look of pure hatred as he went.
I turned to the singer myself, but before I could demand an answer, he ended the holo program, and I was left in an empty room, only sure of one thing: I knew I loved Odo. But would he ever let me tell him now?
I did a lot of thinking that night, most of it over a bottle of Spring wine from my private stock. My first problem was how to let Odo know that it was okay, that I didn't blame him for what had happened that night. After all, he'd been tricked just like I had, and even if I wasn't completely sure what was going on, I knew enough of Odo to know that be wouldn't betray me, even in a holosuite.
I had actually made a rough guess as to what he'd been doing with Vic in the holosuites, and as it turned out later, I'd been fairly correct. He must have been visiting the holosuite, trying to work up courage to ask me out on a date, and Vic had been helping him. But when I'd arrived back on the station, Vic had tricked Odo into the dinner by telling him it would be with a hologram of me.
I got angry then, and for a few minutes I was seriously considering using my command authorization to delete Vic's entire program. I'd have to tell Julian that it was for station security, but I was angry enough to do it then.
After a while though, I realized that no real harm had been done. In fact, I'd had my eyes opened, not just to how I felt about Odo, but to a side of him that I'd never seen. His entire manner had been something I'd never seen before. I'd never even bothered to think that he might have an interest in dancing or languages. I'd always assumed, like everyone else had, that he was happy with his work and his life. But now, I realized that there was more to the man than I'd ever imagined.
The only question, was what I was going to do about it.
I'd barely spoken since I'd come on duty, and I knew that people were beginning to get curious. Normally, Dax and I would have talked about upcoming events, or the war, or just made small talk on shift. But today I didn't feel like chatting. My dreams had been confused and vague, leaving me with a sense of frustration when I finally awoke. It was as if something in my mind was waiting to break out, wanting to tell me something, but I didn't know what it was. All I could do was feel it was there, a decision I'd made but not acknowledged.
So I'd stayed quiet all shift, sorting through my mind, thinking back over the last night, trying to piece it together. But every time I almost recalled the dream, it slipped away from me again.
Eventually the shift ended, and I started back to my quarters, only to be waylaid by Dax, who claimed she wanted a chat. Of course, this really meant that she was dying to know what was going on and why I'd been so sedate. I was going to say no, when I realized that she was probably the one person I could talk to this about. After all, her past lives must have had this kind of confusion before, and they must have sorted it out. So, instead of declining, we headed towards Quark's.
Dax, being a one-person gossip station, didn't wait for us to get there, but started on me as soon as we hit the Promenade. Of course, as soon as I asked her whether her previous hosts had ever had a moment of pure clarity, she immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion and decided I must have been getting back with Shakaar. If I hadn't been so frustrated, I would have laughed at her leaping in the wrong direction. Instead, I pressed on, and eventually she admitted that they'd had one or two moments of clarity over the past seven lifetimes.
I was aghast! Two moments over seven lifetimes? I didn't realize that it was so rare to see everything clearly in an instant. My reaction got Dax's attention immediately, and she spoke intensely, warning me that if I had had a moment like that, then to act on it, because confusion and doubt would block it out soon after.
Not that I needed telling, since I was seeing the whole picture at that moment. Odo had walked out from his office, and just looking at him, I realized what I'd been trying to tell myself. That not only did I love this man, but that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, whatever the cost. I knew that some Bajoran's would see it as a betrayal; that we would probably have to fight with the universe at large to be accepted as a couple. But there was no-one else I wanted in my life. He'd been the one I went to when things went wrong, not Shakaar or Bareil. He'd been the one to stand by me when the world was tearing itself apart around us.
And he was the one the Prophets had placed in my life. It all made sense then, why he had come to the station all those years ago. Why Dukat had made him the security Chief. Why he'd stayed on when Starfleet arrived. And why he'd given up the Link, that paradise of his people, to be with me and to stay on the station.
The Prophets had guided both our lives, through hell and flames to this point, the place where I would choose whether to obey them and go to the man who already owned my soul. Or whether I would shrink away from their path for me, and probably drive my friend away in the process.
I glanced back at Dax, who joked about me having 'another moment of clarity', and smiled. I knew where my future, and my heart lay now. "That's two in two days."
Jadzia looked shocked and murmured something, but I didn't hear her. I was already planning how to approach Odo, as I watched him stride along the Promenade. There would be no time better than this, so I hurried after him, leaving a confused and very interested Dax to watch.
He didn't stop when I called out to him, if anything he sped up his pace. When I finally caught up, I could see the pain and humiliation there, and knew he expected me to be angry about what had happened the previous night. "We need to talk." He argued with me about it for a few moments, until I suggested we talk about what had happened over dinner, anywhere but in a holosuite. If he really felt like that about me, when we needed to start being seen together in public.
Of course, the idea of dinner together in a public place stopped him cold, and we both continued talking, not realizing that people were beginning to watch and listen.
Odo's eyes were glittering with passion again, and I was beginning to feel it to now, that warm glow spreading over me like a smouldering fire. "And after dinner, what then?"
"I don't know, we could go dancing." There was a definite crowd around us then, since we were yelling at each other by now, and that fire was starting to burn inside. Prophets, how had I ignored him for so long?
"And then I suppose you'll expect me to kiss you?" He moved closer now, his blue eyes seeing right into my soul.
"I might." Might? Holy orbs, he was damn lucky I wasn't leaping on him right there!
"Then who needs dinner? Why don't I just kiss you now?"
"Well why don't you?"
We both reached for each other in that instant, and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine, and I was in heaven.
I put everything I had into that kiss. Every apology for my stupidity and blindness, every tear over how much I'd hurt him in the past. And every bit of passion I felt, and somewhere inside, had always felt, about him.
I don't know how long we stood there like that, together for the first time. Dax later told me that she just about to start a betting pool on how long we'd be, when we drew apart. For a moment, Odo looked like he was about to run again, but I didn't let him, gripping his arms like I'd never gripped them before.
"You're right, who needs dinner." I drew him back then, more willing than I'd ever been in my life.
The second kiss was even better than the first.
So, here I am now, waiting for him to arrive. It hasn't all been smooth sailing; some people have made comments that hurt, while others simply look at us this disgust whenever they see us together. But most people, Bajoran's and Human's smile whenever we go by, and I know that they wish us well, whatever the future may hold.
I know there's still a long way to go, and it won't be easy. We've agreed not to make any permanent decisions until after the war has finished, but somehow we always end up discussing what it will be like in fifty years time. He has his dreams and hopes as well, to find some of the other baby Changelings that were sent out, to see what their lives have been like. Some of them must have made it through the wormhole as well, and Odo wants to know how they have fared.
But for now, I'm in my quarters, waiting for him to arrive. We spend most nights together, when our shifts allow, and tonight will be one of those nights when I'll wake up to find him beside me, watching over me as I sleep.
It's been two weeks since that night, and I don't think we could be happier. All I can do now, is hope for the best, and pray that whatever I do, I'll never let him down again.
And let the Prophets guide our paths as one.
Comments to: dakhur@iinet.net.au