All characters claimed by Paramount are theirs. Any other characters created for this story are mine, as is the plot and ideas within this context. Thanks to Karl for the scotch and late night brain sessions.

E-mail to: dakhur@iinet.net.au

VIOLATE

By Felicity Carthew

Sisko marched his First Officer to the shuttle airlock, before having a last few words with her. "Now, I know you hate taking leave, but you need the rest. I'll be on Bajor in a few days for a meeting with the Kai, so I'll collect you from Dakhur then. You've left the co-ordinates for Lupaza's farm I trust?"

"Of course." Kira tried to walk back out of the airlock and onto the station. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay? You were going to hold security drills next--"

"Go!!" Sisko thundered loudly, but with a definite grin. "You know that all the crew are going to take holidays over the next three months. I simply want you take your leave now, so you can take over the station when I go to Risa for mine." With that, he cheerfully waved Nerys goodbye, as she glumly boarded the shuttle.

Two hours later, Nerys was reading a book that Dax had given her. It was an Earth novel from the twentieth century, and so far, Nerys was completely confused. She knew darn well there was no sentient life in the vicinity of Betelgeuse! Kira looked up as the door to her private cabin opened, and a young man entered bearing a tray with a bowl of food.

"The meal you ordered, Major." He placed the meal on the seat beside her, and went to walk out of the room.

"Excuse me." Kira was puzzled. "I didn't order a meal. I only had breakfast just before I left. You must have got it wrong."

The man pulled out a padd and checked it. "A plate of Katterpods with Tomah sauce, for Major Kira Nerys, cabin four." He glanced at Kira. "You ARE Major Kira aren't you?"

"Yes. But I didn't order any food."

"Maybe somebody on the station ordered for you." He shrugged and opened the door to leave. "All I know is, it's here, and it's already paid for, so you might as well eat up."

Kira stared at the food, and then at the closed door, trying to guess who would have payed for a meal for her. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders, picked up a fork, and began to eat, while trying to get a handle on the book before her. Slowly, she felt a tiredness come over her.

Putting the novel down, Kira decided she must have needed a holiday more than she thought, and a short nap wouldn't hurt. After all, the shuttle crew would wake her when they reached Bajor. Turning off the light, she drifted off to sleep.

The air on the shuttle was still, as three men entered through a back door, and went into the Major's cabin. She had fallen onto the floor, the drug in her system making her completely unconscious. One of the men, a human, bent down and picked up the novel Nerys had been reading. Snickering at the title, he threw it back down, and watched as the other two men dragged a crate into the room, and dumped Kira into it.

"Make sure she's undamaged. You can't interrogate a corpse." They had waited until all other passengers had left the craft, after its arrival on the planet, before they came in. "And be sure to restrain her. We don't know how long she'll be out for." A chime sounded on the human's wrist bracelet, just as the men closed and sealed the crate. Nodding, the leader softly spoke a code into his wrist communicator, and the three men and their cargo disappeared in a transporter beam.

Kira awoke, opened her eyes--and immediately regretted it. Her mouth felt like the bottom of a bird cage, she had the migraine of the century, and something heavy and hard was holding her throat. Reaching up, Nerys realised that her hands were manacled together, and a metal collar was around her throat with a chain attached to it and a metal ring in a rock wall. A blanket lay beside her.

Looking around, Kira saw that she was in a cave, by the look of it one of the Bajoran moons. Her feet were free, but her hands bound with old fashioned handcuffs, the kind that required a key to open, not the kind of electronic ones used on the station. The collar around her neck was locked in the same way, and the chain was welded to the ring in the rock wall.

"Damn. And I forgot to pack my lock breaking kit." Nerys breathed out a few words, if for nothing else, then just to hear her own voice. It drew more attention than she thought, as a face peered around the cave entrance, and a moment later, a human male sauntered into the cave.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" The man crouched down in front of her, but, Nerys noticed, just out of chain reach. "By the way, my name is Tim Zephyr." He smiled ingraitiently.

"I'm feeling fine, but I'd be even better if you took these chains off." Kira gave her sweetest smile. "And I would like to know where I am and why I'm here."

"Yes. Well, I'm sorry, but if I took the cuffs off, you might get upset, and run away. And then we wouldn't be able to talk, would we? As to where you are, we're on a moon near Bajor. However, since the Cardassians couldn't find the resistance in these caves, I don't suggest you hold out any hope for your beloved Federation overlords turning up to rescue you. Besides, since I used to work for Starfleet, I know how to stop them from finding you, and how to stop you from escaping."

Kira decided this could be more difficult than she thought. "Why am I here? If you wanted to talk, all you had to do is ask."

"I doubt if you would answer my questions on the station. But by bringing you here, we can chat to our hearts content." Tim stood and brushed himself down. "I'll have water and food brought to you, it'll be safe to eat." He smiled. "No drugs this time. And when you're finished, we'll start our little...'talk'."

The man walked out of the cave, while Kira looked from her hands, to the chain around her neck. "Ben, I hope you can find me. This isn't my idea of a holiday."

Sisko walked out of the Kai's office, totally miserable. The woman had been pleasant and sociable, and apparently open about her desires for the future. That was what worried him. When someone as devious as Winn was this agreeable, then it was time to declare a red alert. Returning to the runabout, Ben decided to beam down to Lupaza's farm, and surprise Kira. It might also be interesting to meet some of Nerys' old companions, and find out what sort of people these friends of hers were. Kira had always spoken with pride about her fellow resistance fighters, and this would be a good opportunity to finally meet them.

Arriving at the farm, Ben noticed the light green shading on the fields, and smiled. It seemed as if it would be a good harvest in Dakhur this year, provided nothing went wrong. The door opened before he could knock on it, and Ben found himself looking at a tall woman with long red hair who could have been the spitting image of Kira, but was obviously much older. "Excuse me, I'm Captain Ben Sisko, Kira's commanding officer. Is she ready to come back to the station yet?"

"Hello Captain, I'm Lupaza. I thought Nerys was still on the station with you?" A puzzled expression slowly crossed the woman's face. "Last week I received a message from her saying she had been forced to postpone her leave, and was staying on the station. I take it this was wrong?"

"I saw her to the shuttle myself." Ben instantly remembered the last time Kira had missed an appointment. That time, the Cardassians had taken her away by force. "Is it possible she decided to go somewhere to be alone? Does Kira have any place where she would visit without telling anyone or letting us know, a ritual she might have this time each year?"

"Not that I know of. And it would be out of character for her to not let her superior know where she was." Lupaza smiled briefly. "Nerys might not be fond of leave, but even she likes to relax. Could she be visiting a lover?"

Ben shook his head. "Kira distinctly said she was coming to visit you." Sisko straightened up, and moved to return to the runabout. "If you hear from, or see Nerys, please have her contact the station immediately.

Sorry to bother you." Ben stepped back and beamed up. Reaching the ship, Ben sat calmly in the command chair and addressed the computer. "Computer, scan Bajor for Major Kira's comm badge."

"Badge not found. Unable to locate Major Kira on Bajor."

"Open a channel to First Minister Shakaar." Sisko swivelled to face the Bajoran male as he appeared on the monitor. "Minister Shakaar. Sorry to disturb you, but I require your assistance." Ben could see several officials in the background.

"Captain, it's good to see you. We were just having an end-of-week briefing, but it can wait. How can I help you?" Shakaar hadn't seen the Human this worried in the entire time he had known him.

"If it's possible Minister, I'd like to speak with you alone." Shakaar nodded and dismissed the other Bajoran's, before returning to talk to Sisko. Ben's face was grim as he began. "Have you seen Kira? She was supposed to have just taken leave on Bajor with Lupaza, but she never arrived. I thought she might have been with you." Ben began to be seriously worried as Shakaar slowly shook his head.

"No, I haven't seen Nerys in weeks." The minister stood and looked intently at the Human. "It's not like her to just take off. Something must have happened, have you scanned for her comm badge?"

"Yes, with no luck." Sisko rubbed his temples, just knowing that a headache was about to hit. "Can you use your contacts to try to find her?

I don't want make this official yet, although I can't think of any reason for Kira's disappearance."

"Neither can I. That's what worries me." Shakaar sat back down and began to work his console. "I'll get on it immediately, and as soon as I hear something, I'll let you know."

Ben closed the channel and turned the runabout for home, while trying to think of a logical reason for the disappearance of his First Officer. Unfortunately, nothing sprang to mind.

Kira groaned and tried to lift her head. She had no idea whether it was night or day, or how long she had been in the cave. As soon as she had eaten on the first day, three Bajoran's had come into the cave and held her onto her stomach, while they removed her jacket, boots, and belt. For a moment, Nerys had feared they were going to strip her completely, but the men had only thrown the garments into a heap on the other side of the cave, before starting the interrogation.

At first, it was simply questions about who she was, and where she came from. Then they had moved onto the station, the defence measures for the border, the situation with the Klingons, just about everything. When they realised she wouldn't talk, the beatings had begun. Kira remembered that she had eaten on that first day and maybe another time since, but whether that was two days or two weeks ago, she had no idea. The dark and silence surrounded her, taking away all sense of the passing time.

Nerys heard the telltale sounds of them coming back, the footsteps approaching. She automatically began to curl into a foetal position to minimise the damage that would occur. The last time they had beaten her, the men had used a type of light cane that had slashed open her legs, the gashes filled with congealed blood, muscle tissue sliced open.

A light flashed into the room, and her sensitive eyes clamped shut at the sudden glare. They turned a torch on her, laughing as she tried to cringe as far away from them as possible. Her shirt was torn from the beatings, and she could barely see out of her bruised and battered face. More lamps came in, and the room became as bright as day.

"So, traitor. How are you feeling now?" Tim's arrogance showed plainly, but the man was annoyed. He hadn't quite counted on Nerys' fighting spirit. He hadn't even bothered 'interrogating' her since the second day, leaving it up to his fellow Maquis. But today was special.

Today, he would destroy her completely, and it was going to be a pleasant destruction, for him at least. "No complaints I hope?"

"I'm feeling just fine, thank you. But the room service is terrible." Kira's remaining spirit made a valiant attempt at a recovery.

"So, you haven't given in yet? I had heard as much from my companions. You're making this very difficult for us, when all you have to do is answer a few simple questions."

"Simple questions that would compromise the security of Bajor, the station, and do serious damage to the Feder--" Kira moaned as one of the men kicked her in her already bruised side. The man got in a few more kicks for good measure, before being stopped by Zephyr.

"Tsk tsk. Not a good career move, Major," Tim murmured, walking slowly towards her, and ordered the other two, "Hold her down." Kira found herself being thrown onto her stomach again, and a blade slowly running up under her shirt, slicing open the cloth to expose her bare back.

Nerys knew what was about to happen, and tried to struggle with what little strength she had left. But the constant deprivation of food had taken the strength away, and she could only squirm as Zephyr cut the clothing off her body. "Please, don't do this. Please." Kira looked in pleadingly at one of the men holding her arms down, but he simply grinned and asked Tim if he could have her next.

"Turn her over." Zephyr had hoped that the threat of rape would be enough to make the Major break, but it seemed as if nothing would do so. As his partners forced Kira onto her back, Tim took the time to study her naked body on the ground before him. He had grown up with Bajoran's, even married one, but not even his dead wife had had a body as good looking as the woman's before him. Deftly removing his belt, the human unzipped his pants, and forced the Bajoran's legs apart.

Kira's mind closed down as she descended into hell.

Sisko looked around his shocked command crew, as one by one they turned to face him. They had just viewed a recorded message that Shakaar had hand-delivered to the station only minutes before. The minister sat at the far end of the table with his face in his hands, not believing what he had just seen.

"I am Major Kira Nerys, First Officer of Deep Space Nine, and formerly a member of the Shakaar resistance group. Six days ago, several members of the Maquis removed me from my position, and showed me the error of my ways. I hereby admit that I have been betraying Bajor by my co-operation with the Federation, and fully deserve the punishment that the Maquis have given me. To my fellow Bajoran's, I beg this one thing: That you rise up from the Federation's so-called peace, and take your destiny in to your own hands. The Federation will destroy us, and take all we have. The time is now, to destroy them first, and forge our own path."

Kira's face was cut and bloodied, her eyes barely open through the bruising. She seemed to be having trouble speaking, and reading what was obviously a prepared speech. But what was troubling Sisko the most, was the complete lack of emotion from a woman who had emotions to spare.

Looking at the crew around him, Ben knew they were all thinking the same thing: Who did this, and how do we find our friend?

"Has anyone else seen this transmission, Minister?" Sisko knew that the communication must have shocked the Bajoran to his very core.

"No. We intercepted it before they were able to broadcast it openly over the Bajoran satellite network." Shakaar pulled his head up, and tried to put his mind back into some semblance of order. "The Maquis didn't know that the security codes were changed as soon as Kira was officially declared missing. Nerys...must not have told them."

"Knowing her, I doubt if she's told them anything." Worf might not approve of terrorism, but even he had developed a soft spot for the fiery red-head. "We have to track these rebels down and avenge her. She deserves that much from us."

"Agreed." Ben turned to Dax, who almost backed away at the expression on his face. "Use everything we've got to find out where they're holding her. Odo, I want you to re-interrogate the shuttle crew, and this time, I want some answers. I don't care how you do it, and I don't want to know. Just get the truth." Odo nodded and departed with the fury of the devil himself. Ben turned back to Shakaar and took a deep breath. "Minister, you are welcome to stay here on the station if you wish. Believe me, we are going to do all we can to get her back."

Shakaar managed a small grin. "Nerys said that she trusted you. I think I understand why."

A day later, Captain Benjamin Sisko stood on a Bajoran moon, waiting for a man who claimed he could help get Kira Nerys back. Twenty-six hours of intensive activity had achieved nothing, until a Bajoran contacted the station, and told a skeptical command crew that he knew where Kira was, and would negotiate with the Maquis for her return--for a price. Ten thousand liters to be exact. After much discussion and reluctance, the Bajoran government had decided that the Major was valuable enough to pay for her release. Their decision might, however, have been influenced by Sisko's threat that if Bajor wouldn't foot the bill, then the Starfleet personnel would. And that would mean that they had first claim on Kira when it came time to help her decide her future. A Starfleet uniform was already waiting for her to put it on.

"Captain. So glad you could come." A man stepped out of the shadows, and into a light. "It's been a long time since we last spoke. How is it going on the station?"

"Tahna Los." Ben had a horrible feeling he had stepped into a trap. "Why am I not surprised? I'd heard you had joined the rebels when your prison sentence was finished." Sisko gave a short, barking laugh. "So, you've taken to selling out your fellow Bajoran's now? You are busy."

"Not at all." Tahna smiled grimly. "There are various factions in the Maquis, as there were in the resistance. I happen to be associated with a faction with a moderate approach to Bajor. We may not like the Federation but you have defended Bajor against our enemies. But Nerys was kidnapped by people who are nothing short of insane. If they've done half of what I've heard, you'll be lucky if she's only lost her mind."

Sisko looked at the Bajoran for a long moment, then pulled out a satchel and threw it down. "Ten thousand liters. As agreed. Now, where is she?"

"Patience, Captain, patience." Tahna slowly picked up the bag, never taking his eyes off the Human for a moment. "Kira will be returned to you in the next few days. We will deposit her in a secure and safe place. "Goodbye." The man vanished into the shadows as suddenly as he had appeared, leaving Sisko with the uncomfortable feeling that he'd been taken for a ride.

Kira didn't even bother raising her head at the approaching steps. The last few days had taught her not to respond or react to anything that happened around or involving her. The only time she had been clothed, was when her kidnappers had forced her to make the speech. The camera hadn't shown it, but when they made the recording, her handcuffs had been electrified, and a jolt sent through them every time she got the speech wrong. Kira had been continually raped, beaten, questioned, and tortured, and the way she saw it, there was very little left that they could do to her. Short of killing her, that was.

Nerys felt a hand on the back of her neck, and then a strange lightness as the collar around her neck was released. Two pairs of rough hands grabbed her arms, and dragged her to her feet, forcing her to walk. Stumbling forward, Nerys let her head drop. With any luck, this would be a short walk to wherever they were going to kill her, so she was totally unprepared for being pushed into a space craft, and seeing stars surround the ship, as it flew towards Bajor.

Not a word was spoken by anyone during the flight, until they went into orbit around Bajor. One of the men bent down, and pulled her up again, before pushing Nerys towards a transporter pad. "In." Kira fell onto the pad, and felt the familiar transporter caress, before materialising a foot above a quiet stream. She promptly crashed down into the water, but thankfully it wasn't deep, and Nerys was able to crawl out onto the bank, naked and freezing, her hands still manacled together.

Close by, an early walker in the gardens heard the splash. It sounded too big to be a bird, and there were no animals in the gardens to make that much noise. Deciding to investigate, they walked cautiously towards the sound, and peered through the trees, to find a bare female lying next to a stream, her hands tied together, convulsing with the cold.

Rushing into the clearing, and at the same time trying to remove her robe, Kai Winn knew who it was even before she looked at the face, not that there was much of a face left to look at. "My poor, poor child." Winn gently wrapped her robe around Kira, before calling for any monk within earshot to help her immediately. Turning back to Nerys, Winn saw the pure terror in her eyes. "It's all right Kira. You're safe, you're on Bajor. No-one's going to hurt you now. Rest, it's going to be alright."

As Kira closed her eyes, the Kai took stock of her injuries, and the handcuffs on her wrists, and murmured quietly "Child, what did they do to you?"

Sisko gently brushed Kira's hair with his hand, before leaning back into his chair and looking out the window at the peaceful scenery of Bajor. Nerys had been taken straight to the monastery hospital, and had remained there for the last day, sleeping. The doctors had diagnosed complete exhaustion, total physical breakdown, and starvation. This didn't include all the broken bones, bruises, cuts, and gashes they had repaired. But the worst injury was the obviously violent sexual assaults she had suffered.

It seemed as if someone had gone out of their way to brutalise her, and Ben was dreading his friend finally waking up to life after that kind of trauma. Kira slowly opened her eyes, and focused on the man next to her. "Ben?" Sisko spun to face her, and grinned as he saw she was awake. "Ben, where am I?"

"You're in the monastery where the Maquis dumped you. Kai Winn has said that you can stay here for as long as you want to." Reaching over, Ben wiped the sweat off her face.

"What do the doctors say?" Nerys found it hard to talk, her voice croaky and rough.

"That you need rest and food." Sisko raised Kira's head up and helped her take a drink, noting the faint white scars on her face where the medical team had repaired her injuries. "Doctor Selan wants you to go to the Kyban Repatriation Centre for a while, to help you come to terms with what has happened to you."

"You mean the assaults?" Nerys turned her head to stare at the ceiling, tears filling her eyes. "I don't want to spend weeks talking about what they did to me. I want to get back to work as soon as I can." Kira snapped her head around to face Sisko. "Are there any....sideffects...from the rape?"

"Doctor Selan says that it's too early to tell." Ben knew what Kira was asking. "He won't know if your pregnant for a few days yet." Ben reached over and pressed the alert buzzer, to bring in the medical staff.

"As to your coming back to work, let yourself rest first, then think about the future." Ben and Kira turned as the medics ran into the room, and stopped as they saw that their patient was alive and awake. An older Bajoran came forward and began a casual examination of Kira.

"So, how are you feeling Major?" He glanced at Sisko and then back to Nerys with concern.

"Like I've spent days being tortured, beaten and raped. How do you think I feel?" Nerys shut her eyes, and tried to ignore the gentle hands touching her body as the doctor checked on the deeper wounds, while every nerve screamed at her to fight them off. Clenching her teeth, she whimpered quietly, causing Sisko and Selan to back away quickly. They both knew that Kira was fighting the desire to strike out at the nearest target available.

"Easy Nerys." Ben felt the frustration building inside him. He wanted to find whoever had done this and get up close and personal with a certain Klingon dagger he had. It might not repair what they had done to Kira, but it would definitely make himself and the rest of the command crew feel better. "You know us, you know we aren't going to hurt you."

"I know." Nerys screwed her eyes shut, and clutched at the bed. "Just don't touch me, please. I don't want to be touched." Bursting into tears, she curled into a ball on the bed, hugging the pillow to her chest. "Don't hurt me, please don't hurt me."

"All male personnel, other than myself, are banned from examining her until further notice." Selan turned and quietly reorganised his medical staff. "I'll see that she has the best of available medical care. Visitors are at your discretion Captain."

Sisko sat down, and gently stroked Kira's hair. "Only close friends will be allowed in. We'll take care not to threaten her in any way." Ben stood, and the Bajoran's present bowed, as Kai Winn swept into the room and powered over to the bed.

"How is she?" Real concern was evident on her face. "Will she be alright? I've got Shakaar calling every other minute, he's very concerned."

"Physically, yes. But mentally, things aren't so clear." The doctor motioned Sisko and Winn away from the bed a few paces. "She's suffered an extreme mental trauma. These things can be overcome, but it depends on the person. If she's strong, the memories won't destroy her. The problem is that often the strong ones keep their feelings hidden, and that alone causes problems. I'll do what I can, but I can't make any promises. Excuse me." Selan turned, and injected Kira with a sedative, sending her back into a dreamless sleep.

"Captain, can I speak with you for a moment?" Winn motioned to an office door. After they entered she turned to the Human. "I know that we have had our differences before, but I think we can agree that Kira needs all the help that both of us can give her. Believe me, I wouldn't wish what she has suffered on anyone."

"No-one deserves what she has gone through." Sisko didn't often agree with the Kai, but there had to be a first time for everything. "If it's possible, I'd like Nerys to stay here until she can return to work. Kira doesn't want to go to Kyban, and if the psychiatric results give permission, returning to the station might be the best thing for her."

"It would give Kira enough stability for her to be able to face what happened." Winn thought about it for a second, then nodded her head. "She needs to know that whatever our personal differences, I will help and support her as she tries to come to terms with this travesty."

"Done." Ben returned to his friends side. "Until Kira is released from hospital, one of the command crew will be here at all times, to let her know that we're thinking of her. I'll also call Shakaar, and tell him the latest news." Sitting down, he examined Nerys face, seeing the pain that was evident even in her sleep, and made a vow to revenge his friend.

Dax sat silently in the hospital, occasionally wiping Kira's face gently with a damp cloth. Nerys had been strapped down onto the bed, as the nightmares became more and more violent, forcing the medical staff to restrain her. A gentle hand touched her shoulder, and the Trill looked into the face of Kai Winn.

"If you want to take a break Commander, I'll be happy to sit with the Major for a while." Winn could see that the strain was beginning to take it's toll on the Trill. Kira hadn't woken up in six hours, and Selan had said that she might not wake up for another day, it all depended on how fast her body filtered out the sedative. "I'll let you know as soon as she wakes up."

"I think I'll go get something to eat." Dax stood up and rubbed her neck. "If you want me, use the comm line. I'll be back in an hour." With that she left the room, leaving Winn alone with her nemesis.

Quietly, Winn ran a wet cloth over Kira's face, and wet her lips with a piece of ice. Slowly, Kira opened her eyes and stared at the Kai.

"Eminence. I didn't expect to see you." Nerys tried to lift her arms, panicking when she found they were tied down. "Let me up! Untie me right now!"

"Easy. You were having bad dreams, the doctor had to stop you from hurting yourself." Winn placed an ice chip in Kira's mouth, and wiped the sweat off Nerys' face. "It's alright, Kira. Selan says that if you think you can handle it, he'll let you sleep naturally from now on."

"I'll take the chance." Nerys realised Winn had summoned a nurse. "Please, will you take the cuffs off. I'm awake, I know what I'm doing now." The nurse looked at Winn, who nodded in agreement. Cautiously, the nurse removed the restraints, as Kira tried painfully to sit up. "Where's Captain Sisko? He's the last person I remember seeing."

"That was yesterday. He had to return to the station, but Commander Dax is still here. She's been sitting with you for the last day, and has only just left to get something to eat, she'll be back soon. Nurse, would you please contact Lieutenant Commander Dax, and ask her to return to the infirmary immediately?" Nodding, the woman left after helping Kira sit up, while Nerys looked steadily at the Kai.

"You really do care, don't you?"

"Yes." Winn handed Nerys a glass of water, and smiled gently as the Major gulped down the liquid. "No woman should have to suffer what those men did to you. I know we haven't gotten along in the past, but whatever you need to help you recover, you only have to ask." The smile had broadened into a grin as Kira downed her third drink and asked for another. "From what the doctor said, they didn't give you much of a chance to fight back. The marks around your neck indicated you were chained up, and those manacles we took off your wrists had almost cut off the circulation to your hands."

Nerys finally put down the glass, and stared down at her hands. "I thought I was going to die. After a few days, I wanted to die. But the worst of it was them telling me that I would never leave, that they would keep me in chains until I told them what they wanted to know." Tears filled the Bajoran's eyes as she looked at the Kai. Kira may have hated Winn, but the Kai was still another woman, and at that moment, Nerys needed another woman to talk to, whoever it was. "After they....raped me, all I wanted them to do was end the pain. Why did they do this to me?" Kira's voice was becoming a scream, her anger and fury getting the best of her. "I didn't deserve this, why do this to me?"

"Rape isn't something that makes sense, Kira." Winn found that her hand had moved to clasp Kira's tightly. "What you've been put through isn't going to be cured in one night. But you are the strongest woman I know, and I believe you will survive." Winn noticed Dax speeding through the infirmary door, and stood to leave. "I'll leave you with your friend. But please, consider the monastery your home for as long as you want to stay on Bajor." Winn turned again just before leaving. "Should you require counsel, day or night, my door is always open to you." Winn swept out of the chamber, as Dax sat down, and smiled worriedly at her friend.

"How are you today?" Jadzia wasn't sure whether Kira would want to talk or not, but seeing her talking to the Kai was a good sign. "Ben wants you to know that we're all very worried about you. He's trying to track down the men who kidnapped you, but so far we've had no luck."

"I don't think he's going to be able to track them down." Kira smiled at Dax, grateful for the Trill's company. "I hope he does find them, but right now, I just want to get on with my own life. Have any of your previous hosts been....in this situation?"

"No." Dax almost wished they had, so she could help. Almost. "But I imagine it must be hard for you. Shakaar is going to drop by later tonight, he's been calling about you every chance he gets, wanting to know how you are." Dax smiled at the brief grin that appeared on Nerys' face at the mention of Shakaar. Everyone on the station knew that the two Bajoran's had an intimate relationship, but very few people on Bajor would know just how serious that relationship was.

"I know it's very hard for you to talk about what happened, but Ben wants to know if you remember anything about the people who did this?" Jadzia watched friend closely, not wanting to push her too far.

"Not much." Nerys sat back down, and stared at the ceiling, trying to think about the men, but not what they had done to her. "The leader said that his name was 'Tim Zephyr', but the others didn't give their names. One thing was that Zephyr was human, and he said he used to be a Starfleet officer." Nerys closed her eyes again, trying to block the memories. "I can't remember anything else yet."

"Don't rush it, we don't want you to take things too fast." Dax held Kira's hands warmly. "You take as much time as you need, we'll cope until you come back. That is, if you want to come back to the station."

"As soon as possible. I couldn't stand being on Bajor, just talking to doctors and going to 'therapy'. It's not my style." Nerys smiled at Dax. "Thank you for staying. It means a lot to me." The Bajoran began to cry uncontrollably.

"It's okay." Jadzia gently hugged her friend to her shoulder. "You mean a lot to us, we won't let you face this alone."

"A human named Tim Zephyr, and he used to be in Starfleet." Ben looked at Dax thoughtfully. "I'll go through all known ex-fleet Maquis, and see what we can come up with on this piece of space trash. In the meantime, how is she doing?"

"For now, not too bad." Dax decided not to tell Ben that Kira had refused to sleep with the lights off, and was under twenty-six hour surveillance to make sure she didn't hurt herself with the nightmares, since she had refused to allow them to restrain her again. "The doctor wants to keep her here for another week, but if she improves like she has been, he'll have no choice but to release Kira into our care."

"I'll alert Bashir to be on standby for when she comes back." Ben became cautious. "How has the Kai been acting towards her."

"Faultlessly. She has sent one of the monks from Bareil's order to see Kira, and they spent the afternoon meditating and talking together."

Dax shook her head. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she really cared."

"Don't be surprised if she does. Bashir has gone over Kira's psychiatric reports, and says that Nerys is going to need all the help she can get." Ben went to close the channel. "Meantime, stay with Kira, and give her anything she needs until the two of you return to DS9. Sisko out." As the human turned to face out into Ops, he saw Odo striding into the command centre. Ben sighed. Odo was, of all of them, the closest to Nerys, and her kidnapping and subsequent discovery had hit him the hardest of all. The Changeling stalked into the office, and opened his mouth to speak, but Sisko cut him off.

"Let me guess, Constable. You want to go down to Bajor and help look after Major Kira." Ben smiled briefly, as Odo's expression told him he had got it in one. "Request denied. Dax is with her now, and they will probably be returning to the station soon."

"I just want to be a friend to her. Nerys needs all the friends she can get right now." Odo slumped into a chair. "It doesn't make sense. Why would anyone want to do this to Kira? We know she has enemies, but none of them would be crazy enough to risk angering the Bajoran government, or us, for that matter."

"We do have some more information." Ben worked his console, and received the information about the Maquis that he had wanted, and called up the name that Dax had given him. "Kira has told Dax that one of the men who took her was a human who called himself Tim Zephyr. He claims to have been a Starfleet officer, who deserted to join the Maquis. According to Tahna Los, and I admit that he's not the most reliable source we've had, these people are an extremist group who hate the Federation, hate Bajor, and wanted to use Kira to destroy our work here."

"So, we're back to the Maquis again." Odo looked thoughtfully out into the stars over Sisko's shoulder. "Can we track this man down since he left Starfleet. That is, if he was even in Starfleet, and he's not just trying to discredit the Federation."

"That, Constable, is exactly what I'm trying to do at this very moment." Ben glanced at his console, and whistled softly at the information displayed there. "Well, well. Mr Zephyr was a very interesting officer indeed. It seems that he was about to be court-martialled for attempted mutiny, when he escaped to the DMZ, and joined the rebels."

"Mutiny?" Odo seemed puzzled. "What was he trying to do?"

"Apparently he was trying to encourage other Starfleet officers to defect to the rebels, after his wife was killed by Cardassian settlers after the withdrawal from Bajor. His ex-captain said that he blamed the Bajoran's for their deaths, and joined the Maquis not just to fight the Cardassians, but also to try and take out the new Bajor as well."

"Sounds like a charming person." The shape-shifter's temper was slowly rising as he heard more about this human who had hurt the woman he loved. It didn't matter that Kira didn't love him except as a friend. Odo would have died rather than seen her hurt, but he had never felt so useless as he did at that moment. "Can we find him, or where Nerys was held?"

"The militia are checking all of the moon bases now, but it could be a while before we have any information to go on." Sisko stood, indicating that the conversation was at an end. "Meanwhile, we need to try and anticipate all the problems that Nerys might have when she returns to the station, and see how we can make things easier for her.

The two men slowly made their way to the promenade, and wandered around, looking at the station. It didn't seem the same without Kira.

Tim Zephyr was about to explode with anger. Not only had two of his fellow Maquis accepted a bribe to return the Major to Bajor, but they had then flown one of the few ships the group possessed into the border zones, and fled to another of the Maquis groups. It was all a bit much for the man. He was the only one of the cell left now, all the others had left as soon as they realised just how insane Zephyr really was.

He raised his head as he heard the boots pounding on the moons stones, and lifted a last drink to his mouth. The poison was at the bottom, so he would have to drink the last dregs. It had seemed a good idea at the time, to take and abuse the Major, but somewhere, somehow, the entire plan had fallen apart.

Just as the soldiers rounded the corner, Tim swallowed the last of the drink, letting the cup fall. The poison acted fast, and the last thing he saw in his life, was a Bajoran uniform. Then blackness.

Kira was nestled into a niche in the wall at the Central Monastery. The last five days had been very trying, between the doctors, monks, and military officials who had wanted to see her. After a few days of this, Nerys had paid an unannounced visit to the Kai, who had not only dropped all of her duties to talk to the major, but had placed an immediate ban on anybody visiting Kira without getting permission from the Kai first.

Dropping into a light meditative trance, Kira concentrated on her Pagh for a few minutes, before a gentle cough brought her back to reality.

Looking around, she smiled as she saw Shakaar grinning at her. "Edon. I was wondering when you'd get around to visiting me again."

"I thought it seemed prudent to wait and let you get back on your feet. When I heard that you had asked the Kai to help give you some space, it meant that you were thinking clearly again." Shakaar hugged Nerys to himself, sighing as he felt her tense slightly. Backing away after a long moment, he held her loosely in his arms, gazing thoughtfully into her eyes. "How are you feeling now? Last time, you weren't doing too well."

"I'm okay now." Nerys sat back up on the edge of the wall, and waited for Shakaar to join her before continuing. "I have been hurt before, remember?"

"Yes, but that was by Cardassians, the enemy. This was by a human, a race you've come to trust as our allies." The man placed his arm around her, and cuddled Kira's head to his shoulder as she softly began to cry.

"It's alright Nerys. No-one's ever going to hurt you again. You're going to stay here on Bajor, and I'm going to look after you from now on. You'll see, it'll be alright." Shakaar became confused as Kira pulled away from him, wiping her eyes and shaking her head.

"No, I don't want to come back to Bajor." Kira turned to face the man. "Edon, on the station, I have good, strong friendships, a captain who cares about me and teaches me how to be an officer, and hopefully one day I'll be made station commander. On Bajor, I would have you and the others, yes. But no career, no station, no real future." Kira looked intently at her lover. "There's nothing here for me to do, or to be. Can you understand that?"

"No. But that's alright." Shakaar smiled, and used his sleeve to wipe Kira's eyes. "I never have understood some of the things you've said. But I loved you then, and I love now. Promise me one thing though."

"Anything." Nerys was relieved that her friend wouldn't press the point about her future.

"If things don't work out on the station, or if it gets too hard to cope with, will you come back to Bajor, and give life down here a chance?"

Shakaar knew he was asking a lot. Nerys was right, she didn't have a place on Bajor yet. Her place was in the stars, with other races, other people. It was a comforting thought to know that the officer charged with the protection of Bajor's frontier wanted to be at her post. And at the same time, it hurt Shakaar to know that his friend didn't believe that she belonged with her own people.

"If things don't work out, I'll come back planet-side." Nerys snuggled herself into Shakaar's embrace, not caring who saw them. It felt good to be in love again. It helped to ease the pain. "But for now, I want to try and put my life back together." Closing her eyes, Kira fell asleep, as Edon held her while tears slowly rolled down his face.

The Ops turbo-lift slowly rose to the top of the station, and Major Kira Nerys stepped out and walked into her Captain's office. Ben stood and clasped her hand warmly. He hadn't been able to leave his duties and visit the woman on Bajor since the first visit, but Dax had kept him informed of Kira's progress since her discovery.

"Nerys, how are you?" Sisko indicated for her to sit down on the lounge while he got the two of them drinks. "The doctors tell me you have been recovering beyond their expectations."

"Work is a great incentive." Kira stared into her tea. "Captain, I think you should know that if I feel I'm not able to give you one hundred percent up here, I will be resigning my commission and returning to Bajor. The station needs an officer who can give you their full support."

"I see." Ben thought for a few moments before speaking again. "Kira, please don't make any decisions just yet. What you've been through would have destroyed a weaker person, I know it would have broken me. But I believe you have the strength to overcome what has happened to you, and to move on with your life. We will give you all the help you need, and if things get too rough, let me know so I can help you."

"I appreciate the offer, sir." Kira stood and moved to the door. "Whatever I decide, you will be the first to know. At least I have the knowledge that the man who was responsible for the pain is dead."

"I wish he had been caught and punished for what he did, but he's out of our hands now." Ben smiled at his friend. "As for you, I want you to see Doctor Bashir immediately. He will give you various orders that you will follow to the letter. Understood?" Kira grinned back for a moment, then marched back to the lift and made her way to the promenade, while Ben Sisko gazed worriedly after her.

Bashir nodded to Nerys, "Thanks, Major. That should be all. I just needed to perform the examination for the station records. I know that it's only been ten days since the..." he paused, not quite sure how to phrase the horrific thing that had occurred to his friend, "...since you were found on Bajor."

Kira smiled kindly, fully aware of how difficult this was for him as most of the command staff on DS9 had reacted the same way at first. "It's okay, Julian. Especially as Starfleet has sensors that mean you didn't even have to come close. My appreciation for Federation technology is growing in leaps and bounds. Even so, I'm not quite that bad, not any more at least."

It was painful to see how Bashir was trying to put Kira at ease. She actually thought it was quite sweet. But everyone on the station was acting the same way, and frankly, she was getting a little sick of it, but the eager doctor was not to blame. So she was kind. She didn't take his head off with one swipe of her caustic tongue which was beginning to itch with the self-imposed constraint of being nice and pretending everything was OK. The problem was, if she DID let loose the sarcasm, they'd probably just pat her on the back and mutter something about understanding. A visit to the holodeck with one of Worf's programs was definitely in order.

Kira knew that the psychiatric exam she'd just taken was going to go straight to Sisko's office as soon as she left the infirmary. "If there's not anything else, then, doctor, I can think of something that will help my tension level considerably."

"Just that I want you to take it easy for a while, and if you have any problems like nightmares or you just need to talk, contact me right away. I'll let you back onto active duty from tomorrow." As she left sickbay, Bashir shook his head. The exam had told the doctor that as far as Kira was concerned, things could go either way yet.

Quark raced up to Odo and Dax as soon as they entered the bar. "First she tried to take the bar apart, and now, she's up in holosuite two, with three bottles of Romulan Ale and a Klingon battle program." The little troll had a bandage around one ear, and his jacket was torn in several places.

"I don't believe you." Odo grinned savagely. "If the Major had destroyed the bar, you would have been the first to die." The Ferengi was about to burst, when Dax smoothly stepped in.

"What started it Quark? Kira wouldn't do this for no reason, you know that." The Trill did have to admit to a certain admiration of Kira's handiwork. The place looked like the Klingon's had been having one of their regular brawling sessions.

"I think it had something to do with that freighter captain over in the corner." Dax and Odo looked over to where a Gorn female was being treated by a medical team. She was unconscious, and by the look of it, she was intending to stay that way for some time. "She and her buddies were talking about the Maquis, and I think I heard her say that the Maquis' enemies deserved all they got. The next thing I knew, she was flying into the wall, and Major Kira decided to help me redecorate."

"So what do you want us to do about her?" Dax knew Kira should have been forced to attend those therapy sessions on Bajor before coming back to the station. "Walk in and tell her she's been a naughty girl?"

"Just get her out and off my premises, preferably by the back door. I don't want any of the captain's friends to try for a rematch." Quark led the others up to the holosuites, and nervously unlocked the door. "I'll be in the bar. Let me know if you need reinforcements." He scuttled away from the danger zone as fast as possible.

Opening the door cautiously, Dax and Odo gaped at the scene inside. Dead Humans and Cardassians littered the floor, with weapons of every type among them. In the distance, the sound of battle was plainly heard. Dax and Odo carefully picked their way amongst the holographic dead, rounded a mountain's corner, and stopped at the sight that greeted them.

Kira Nerys was in the middle of a group of Humans and Cardassians, dressed in full traditional Bajoran battle armor, a sword and dagger as her weapons. The 'Enemy' was coming at her thick and fast, as she dispatched each of them with a calm detachment, moving faster and smoother than either of her friends had seen her move before. Minutes later, after the final holograms had fallen, and Kira had drunk the last of the alcohol, Odo strode forward.

"Major, if you've finished, Quark would like his holosuite back."

The shape-shifter cautiously moved towards the woman, well aware that she was one of the most deadly fighters he had ever met.

"I suppose so." Kira tossed the empty bottle over her shoulder, and looked at the carnage around her with satisfaction. "Not bad for one person is it?" Kira smiled hazily at them. "How's the captain from the bar?"

"She'll live." Dax gently took Kira's arm, and steered her to the door. "Come on, let's go and see about you getting some sleep. You've had a big day."

"Sisko's going to be upset with me." Kira had reached the point where she was beginning to think about what she had done. "He'll be very angry about this, he doesn't like me fighting."

"Don't worry about Benjamin, I'll deal with him." As Kira and Dax staggered to the habitat ring, Sisko appeared next to Odo.

"Well?"

"She's drunk, but feeling better about herself now." Odo knew Ben was worried about Kira, which meant that all she would probably get was a slap on the wrist over this event. "I won't be pressing charges."

"Well, we all have our own ways of dealing with our problems. The hangover tomorrow morning will probably be all the punishment she needs." The Captain strolled down to Quark, and a second later, Odo heard the wail of a Ferengi who had been told he wouldn't be reimbursed by the station.

Two weeks later Kira and Dax were lazing between shifts in Quarks bar. The Major was seriously doubting the wisdom of ordering a Sumerian Sunset off the little troll who called himself the proprietor of this den of iniquity. Looking askew at Dax she muttered, "Why did I let you talk me into trying this? All I felt like was a ginger tea. What's in this, anyway?"

Jadzia smiled her enigmatic smile. "Don't ask. Just try it. You may change your mind."

"I don't know, I've got a funny feeling about this..."

"Oh, for heavens sake, Nerys just drink the thing."

Kira lifted the glass and, after one more suspicious look, closed her eyes and drank. After a couple of solid swallows, she lowered the glass and smiled, "You know, it's not that bad. Actually..." Suddenly she turned a charming shade of green, and took off for the nearest female humanoid restroom. Dax found her making the intimate acquaintance of a toilet.

"I'm sorry, Kira, I didn't think it would affect you that badly." Dax was at a loss to understand why the drink had affected her friend this way, but one thing was for sure, and that's that a certain Ferengi barkeep would be in trouble for quite some time.

Kira's face slowly returned to normal and she stood. "I'm sorry, that's happened a couple of times in the last three days or so. There must be some Bajoran flu running around."

Dax looked hard at her friend, "And have you been to Julian yet to find out? There's bound to be something he can give you to make the symptoms better until the virus has worked it's way out." She looked at the guilty face her friend presented, "Nerys, you should go to sickbay when you feel sick. That's what it's for. I thought the name might give it away."

"I know, I know. Look, after the Bolian ship leaves I'll think about it, okay? It'll probably have sorted itself out by then anyway."

Jadzia was reluctant, "Alright. It leaves tomorrow, and if you're still feeling off colour...."

"Okay, okay. I get the hint." Dax could be a pain at times but she only had Kira's best interests at heart. Besides, the constant visits to the bathroom was beginning to tell on the Bajoran's sense of humor. "I promise I'll go see Bashir after the ship leaves." Kira finished tiding her uniform, and turned to the door. "Let's go and find Quark..." she muttered and the two friends wandered off.

Two days later Major Kira Nerys was packing death. The vomiting hadn't stopped and apart from feeling a little seedy, there were no other symptoms of flu. One possibility had occurred to her and as a result she was terrified of visiting Bashir, but she knew Dax was going to ask soon. Finally, Nerys screwed up her courage and went looking for Bashir after her shift finished. She found him alone in the Infirmary, packing up the loose equipment from the days work.

"Kira, what can I do for you?" Julian was a little surprised. Aside from asking for an Alpha wave sleep inducer, and a minor skirmish with a Gorn in Quark's, the major had seemed to swing back into action without any other problems. Julian knew that it was a front and he would have given anything to know how much real mental damage had been done.

"Doctor, I need you to do me a favour." Kira wandered nervously around the infirmary, before turning to face the human. "I haven't been feeling very well lately, and I want you to do an examination, but I don't want anyone else to know about it. Just us."

Julian leaned back against a console, and whistled silently. Medical regulations demanded that a female nurse was present during a female officer's examination. "Do you know what you just asked me to do?"

"Yes. But if you find the result I think you might, the fewer people who know, the better." Bashir's eyes tightened as his mind began to wonder what she meant. "I've been throwing up a lot lately." Kira looked meaningfully at the young man.

"Nerys, I think you'd better come into the examination room. Just let me get the equipment I'll need." Julian's heart began a quick descent into his boots, as he began to remember several illnesses that began with constant vomiting. Unfortunately, most of them were also life-threatening.

Ben Sisko and Cassidy Yates were dozing after renewing their romance when she returned from a trip to the Bajoran colonies. The two people were on the verge of sleep, when Bashir called in.

"Doctor, this had better be important." Ben rolled onto his back and tried to clear the cobwebs from his mind.

"Sir, I suggest you come to the infirmary immediately. It's about Major Kira." Julian's voice sounded worried and upset, but was still controlled.

"Kira?" Ben sat up, and began to dress. "I'm on my way. Sisko out." He turned to apologise to Cassidy, but she hushed him quietly.

"Go. I know that you've all been worried about her, and I'm worried too. Whatever it is, she needs your support." Grinning, Cassidy kissed Ben, before rolling over and slipping into sleep, as the man headed to a turbolift.

Minutes later, he marched into the sickbay's examination room, tofind only Bashir and Kira present, a situation that was clearly againstregulations. But that was nothing new for the station. "What's wrong?"

"Sir, we have a problem." Bashir was clearly nervous, his eyes flicking back and forth from his Captain to the Major, who was sitting on the edge of a bio-bed, her head bowed. "I just did an examination of Nerys and found a very disturbing side-effect of her....kidnapping. She has complained of illness, but it's worse than that."

Ben walked over to his First Officer, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Whatever it is, it can't be that bad. We'll help you through."

Kira raised her head, and gulped back tears "I'm pregnant." Ben's expression was one of shock, as he hugged her tightly while the tears ran down Nerys face again.

The command staff filed silently into Sisko's quarters, unable to understand why their captain had requested them at such a late hour. Their worry increased, as they saw Kira rocking back and forth on a chair, while the station's leading monk seemed to be trying to comfort her. Cassidy Yates was preparing some food near the replicator, with Bashir helping her.

"Sit down people. You all know Prylar Griff." Ben Sisko placed a tray of drinks on the table, and gently shook Kira's shoulder. "Major, the rest of them are here now." Kira lifted her head and wiped away the tears from her face, before grabbing a drink and downing it in one swallow. Ben took a deep breath, and sat on the arm of Kira's chair, one arm around her shoulder. "What you're about to hear will stay in this room until further notice. Understood?" After they had all nodded their heads, he continued.

"Earlier tonight, Major Kira went and asked Doctor Bashir to examine her, since she hadn't been feeling well for the last few days. During the examination, the Doctor discovered that as a consequence of the....assault, Kira is now pregnant." The shocked expressions on the faces of the crew encouraged Ben to finish the speech quickly.

"At the moment, Nerys is unsure of what she wishes to do in the future. Until she does make her decision, I expect every one of us to give her our full support, both at work and at a personal level. That's all for the formal discussion, but I believe we need to talk about the next few weeks, as these will probably be the hardest." Ben reached down and cleared a space on the table, while Cassidy placed a tray of food in front of them.

"This explains why you haven't been able to keep anything down for the last week." Dax moved over to kneel in front of her friend, and gave Kira a fierce hug. "I wish I knew what to say, but I don't. If you need me, anytime..." Jadzia's voice trailed off as Kira lifted her head and nodded, unable to meet the Trill's eyes yet.

"I know. I appreciate the offer, and don't worry: I'll probably take you up on it." Kira slowly raised her eyes to look at her friend, and realised Dax was fighting off tears as well. "Why are you crying?"

"Because they hurt you. And since you're my friend, that hurts me, too." Dax turned and moved back, as Odo came over and placed his hands on Kira's shoulders.

"Major, I..." Words failed the Changeling. He couldn't even begin to imagine how she felt. "Whatever you want, just ask and I'll do it. Until you feel up to it, I'll try to keep the security workload as easy as I can." Odo wanted to say more, but he didn't know what.

"Thank you." Kira smiled at her friend, and the grin continued as, one by one, the rest of the crew came forward and pledged their help, understanding, and support to her. Finally, Kira looked around and began to shake her head in wonderment. "Thank you all. I never realised how much I needed all of you until now." The feelings overwhelmed the Bajoran, and she turned to bury her head in the shoulder of the monk beside her.

Prylar Griff held the woman tightly, while nodding approval at the actions of the crew. "I wish every rape victim had friends like Nerys does here. The only thing I ask you to understand, is that taking away her power will not help. She will need the stability and discipline that her position here provides. Her decision will be easier, if she doesn't have to worry about her job as well."

"We will take your advice into consideration, Prylar." Ben smiled as Kira raised her head, and smiled back.

"Sorry. I don't seem to be able to stop crying at the moment." She suddenly realised how hungry she was, but stopped before picking up a piece of food from the plate. "Problem: I haven't been able to eat for the last week, and I doubt if I can keep anything down now. I can only just drink."

"I've already thought of that." Julian had pulled out a hypospray, and gave Kira an injection. "This will help to stop the vomiting, and it should take away any discomfort you've been suffering." Kira reached up and rubbed the hypo mark, watching the doctor carefully. "It's alright Nerys. There's nothing in this that's going to hurt you, or the baby, I promise."

Kira took a bite of a sandwich, and waited a few moments, fully expecting to sprint to the bathroom. When her stomach didn't try to file a return flight plan, Nerys began a serious demolition of the food on the table, while the others chuckled quietly, and Cassidy replicated another plate of snacks.

"Do we know if the child is fully Bajoran, or was it the human who is responsible for this?" Worf and Kira had at least one trait in common with each other: subtlety was not a natural habit to them.

"The computer is still running a DNA check." Julian had sat down, and jumped in to answer the question for Kira. "Because Human and Bajoran genetics are so alike, it will take time to find out."

"Won't the internal structure give it away though?" Dax was curious why Bashir was being so coy. "Bajoran's have extra ribs, and a central vascular system, so why should it be hard to tell?"

"Because the Bajoran internal structure develops the same way as a Human's does, and then moves down into place later. But by the time that happens, it will be almost time for the child to be born. And I've only got six months until that happens, since Bajorans have a seven month gestation period." Kira paused for breath, before tucking in to her second plate of Katterpods, and reaching for another glass of water.

"What do you want to happen if it is half Human? It won't be easy to explain to Bajoran's who don't know the whole story. Your people haven't been taking very kindly to half-castes, no matter what the second race is." Cassidy knew the question was hard, but it had to be asked sometime.

"I don't know. I guess I'll worry about that when I find out what it is." Kira stood and began to pace around the room, her hand unconsciously rubbing her belt. "What will be even harder, if I decide to keep the child, will be raising it by myself." She spun to face Sisko and Worf. "If that's what I do, I'll be needing all the advice you can give me."

"Of course." Ben walked over to Kira and held her hand. "But let's wait and see what happens first. For the next few days, I want you to take things easy, and do any paperwork that has to be done for the Bajoran government. When you've finished that, we'll talk about your position here. Right?" Kira nodded, and Ben turned to Dax.

"Commander, will you and Prylar Griff please escort Major Kira to her quarters, and stay with her as long as needed." The monk and Dax nodded and gently took Kira's arms, leading her out of the room, while Sisko, Odo, Worf, Bashir, and O'Brien stayed behind. "Gentleman, I want her given all the support we can without compromising the station, or making Kira feel that we're taking away her authority."

"Will she be allowed to stay here if she keeps the child?" Worf was thinking back to when he had to choose between bringing Alexander onto the Enterprise, or resigning his commission and living with his son on Earth.

"Of course, if that's what she wants. But remember, she may rethink all of her priorities to include the child in her life. Her work schedule is not exactly suitable for a prospective mother. However, if she decides to not keep the child and either adopt it out, or terminate the pregnancy, she'll need our support even more than the last few weeks. She may even decide to go back to Bajor for a while or permanently." Sisko looked around at his crew. He knew he could rely on them.

The room was dark. Silence reigned apart from quiet breathing in the dark corner of the room. Suddenly a noise rudely bleeped into existence. Dax groaned and rolled over, "Yes?" she muttered softly, "Lights, low level." She winced at the brightness. Nowhere but space did you get nights so dark that any light was an intrusion.

"Jadzia, I know, I must have woken you. I'm sorry, I'll call you back later..." Kira's voice sounded most apologetic but before she could break the connection Dax broke in.

"Nerys, it's no problem. Do you want me to come over?"

A pause, "Please."

"I'm on my way."

The door opened at her approach. Dax entered Kira's abode, already having a pretty good idea about what she would find there. It had almost become a nightly ritual, which was why the Trill was asleep so early. It was only a couple of days since the pregnancy had been discovered, but it felt as though the knowledge had been there to tear apart their lives for much longer. Dax thought she'd done quite well tonight, she'd actually scored four hours sleep first. As she had expected, Kira was sitting on the floor in the corner, half hidden by a chair, slowly rocking back and forth. The light's were out, the room shrouded in a twilight glow from the replicator and computer's consoles, a quilt around the Bajoran's shoulder's

"OK, spill it." The Commander knelt down beside the Major. Rank, however, had disappeared days ago, their friendship becoming stronger.

"What do I do? I didn't ask for this baby. What am I going to do with it? Chuck it on my back in a baby carrier and run after Cardassians? I'm not mother material! All I know is that you feed one end and put a diaper on the other. I really don't know--"

"Nerys," Jadzia gently broke in, "that's not it tonight, is it?"

Kira paused, "No." she sighed, "Oh Jadzia, if this had been Shakaar's child I'd want it more than anything. Why did it have to be as a result of violence? When Bareil died, I cried when I realised that there was not a part of him that would survive. Edon and I have talked about our having a child, but we've never seemed to find the right time to seriously consider a family. Why, when I finally have a baby, does it have to be as a result of a rape? What do I tell this child when it asks about its father? The truth? What would that do to an innocent child? My childhood was traumatic, I'd like to at least spare any child of mine."

"Wow. You really did need to talk, didn't you." Jadzia continued the other part of the nightly ritual, and got Kira a ginger tea, and herself a raktajino, before making herself comfortable on the floor next to Kira. "You know, Julian does have a sample of Shakaar's DNA on record. He could probably give you a child from that." Jadzia congratulated herself, as a smile floated across the Bajoran's face.

"Dax, there are some things in this universe that simply need to be done the old fashioned way, and I happen to believe that making babies is one of them." Kira knew there was a running bet going on to see who could be the first to make her laugh, and she had already guessed that the Trill was planning to collect. "At least now we know that Tim Zephyr was the one who caused this. Who'd ever have thought I'd have a half-Human child?"

"So, I take it you've decided to go through with the pregnancy?" Dax had spent the last few nights listening to Kira argue back and forth about that decision, and it now appeared that Nerys had decided. "It's not going to be easy. And what about the station? Will you stay here, or return to Bajor?"

"Stay here. If Ben will have me, that is." Nerys stared worriedly at Jadzia. "Will he let me stay? I've got no-where to go on Bajor, this is all I have." Kira began to panic as Dax stayed silent. "Please, tell me what they're saying about me. I need to know."

"Nerys, nobody is saying anything about you. Honest." Dax had simply been trying to think of the right words. "Nerys, what about Shakaar? Wouldn't he understand if you went back to Bajor to live? I haven't had much to do with him, but he seems like a generous man. He might even accept the child and help you raise it."

"Shaka--" Nerys stopped, horrified. "Jadzia, I haven't even told him about this. The only people I've told have been the people here, and my immediate superior on Bajor, and he's agreed not to tell anyone."

"Nerys, you have to tell him." Dax was shocked. She had assumed Kira had told Shakaar, and had dealt with his reaction alone. "He's been more than a lover to you, he's your dearest friend. Call him now, no matter what the time is on Bajor. I'll stay with you, but you have to tell him."

"Alright." Kira stood, and moved towards her computer console, with Dax close behind. "I hope you're right about this Dax."

Shakaar was enjoying the early morning light in his favorite way. This consisted of lying in bed and daydreaming, while trying to ignore the clock that was about to set its alarm off. He had just gotten to the good part of this dream, when the computer announced an incoming call by bleeping loudly and annoyingly. Sitting at the console, still half asleep, Shakaar was a little surprised to see Kira on the screen, but what frightened him even more was that she looked like she had been crying.

"Nerys, what's wrong? What's happened?" Edon was shaken; Kira didn't cry unless something was very, very wrong.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" The woman was trying hard to put on a brave face, but it wasn't working.

"I've know you for twenty years, Nerys. After that much time, it stops being difficult to tell how a person's feeling. Now, what's wrong." Shakaar pulled himself together, and prepared for the worst, whatever that might be.

"Doctor Bashir did an examination the other day, and...it turns out I'm pregnant." Kira watched the man closely, desperately hoping he wouldn't reject her. "It's half human."

Shakaar whistled silently, and leaned back. "Does Sisko know yet?"

"Yes. I told him as soon as I found out." Kira bowed her head. "We found out four days ago, but I haven't been brave enough to tell you until now. I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't be sorry." Shakaar sat forward, and ran his fingers down the screen. "I'll cancel all my appointments for the next few days, and catch the first available shuttle to the station. And don't bother trying to argue." Shakaar could see that Nerys was about to disagree with him. "I'm First Minister, so I'll simply tell the council that I'm going to DS9 to speak with Captain Sisko about the Bajoran/Federation relationship."

"I'd like that." Kira smiled briefly, and then looked at someone off screen, and then back at Shakaar, who gave her an inquiring glance.

"It's Dax. She's just muttering something about 'I told you so'."

"Well, now I know that somebody's there with you, I'll go and see about clearing my schedule. I'll see you soon, Nerys." With that, he closed the channel, walked over to his drinks cabinet, and poured himself a stiff Romulan ale. "Bloody hell, Nerys. I'll say this much for you: You don't do things by halves, do you?" Getting dressed immediately, Edon headed to the council chambers, quickly working out what he could cancel, and what could be palmed off onto someone else to do for him.

Shakaar hurried to Kira's quarters. It was the beginning of the day on the station, which only went to further the man's feeling that Kira was at the end of her rope. Reaching the door, he didn't bother knocking, but walked straight in, to find Nerys and Dax sitting on the floor, talking quietly. The two women stood, and Shakaar immediately pulled Kira to himself and hugged her fiercely.

"Nerys, it's all right. It's going to be okay, I'm here now." He held her tightly, while Kira totally collapsed into the man's embrace, crying uncontrollably. Dax ordered three raktajinos from the replicator, and sat down to wait for her friend to regain control of her emotions. Finally Kira pulled away and sat down at the table, Shakaar still keeping a hold of one arm.

"I'm sorry Edon, I can't seem to stop crying at all these days." Kira sniffed and sipped her drink.

"Have you made any plans about the future yet?" Shakaar was still a little shaken, and very worried. Nerys wasn't exactly what he would call parental material. Well, not yet anyway. "Any idea what you want to do?"

"I want to stay on the station and try to continue my work here." Kira stared at her hands, unable to meet the Minister's eyes yet.

"Starfleet is contacting Zephyr's family, and informing them of their son's fate, and the fact that he has fathered a child." Dax hadn't been supposed to tell Kira this yet, but now seemed as good a time as any. "What happens then is up to them, but with the pressure Benjamin can bring to bear through Starfleet, Nerys should be able to get some form of support from the family, even if it is only financial."

"I don't want money. That's not what I'm after." Kira's hands were clenched in anger. "That's what the Cardassians used to do. Pay off the girls family, and everything will be all right. Well that's not how it works with me."

"Kira, if these people want to help you, let them." Shakaar knew she was right to be angry, but for the child's sake, she had to be calmed down. "They might feel horribly guilty about their son's actions, this might be the only way they feel they can make up for what he did."

"I know. I just..." Kira's voice trailed off as she tried to think of the right words to express how she felt. "I don't know what I want. But I know I want to keep this child." She got up and began pacing the room.

"You're sure you want to do that?" Shakaar felt like he was walking a tightrope across an active volcano. "You still have time to terminate it, don't you?"

"Terminate?" Nerys spun in horror towards the man. "Why would I do that? If the scans had shown an abnormality, or that the child would be brain-damaged, or severely disabled, then I might have seriously considered termination. I even might have thought about it if my own life would be jeopardized by giving birth. But Julian says that so far, this is a perfectly normal and healthy child, and that I shouldn't have any trouble in the delivery. I couldn't do that to an innocent child, no matter what the father had done to me. It doesn't deserve that." Kira resumed her pacing, as Captain Sisko strolled into the room. Nerys managed a ghost of a grin at his arrival. "What is this, the promenade?"

"I called Bajor to talk to Shakaar, but they told me he was already here." Ben sat down and faced the Bajoran male. "I take it you've been brought up to speed on what's happened since Kira returned to DS9."

"I was informed today. That's why I dropped everything and came to the station." Shakaar's expression was still one of a worried friend. "Have you been able to contact the human's family yet?"

"Zephyr's father is coming to the station in two days. They live on a farming colony on Vesta II, just outside Bajoran space which makes things easier than if they were on Earth, so I've sent a runabout to get him."

"Do we have any indication as to their feelings about this?" Dax could see that Kira was pretending not to be interested, but was really listening intently to all that was being said.

"They want confirmation that their son is the father, but if that is given, then Tim's father has indicated that they would like Kira to come and live with them, to make up for what has happened, and also to give the child a chance at a normal life. Apparently there are many Bajoran's in the colony as well, and inter-racial marriages are a common occurrence."

"I'm sure the government would approve of Kira applying to transfer to the colony, to act as a liaison between the Bajoran's and the Federation citizens perhaps?" Shakaar and Sisko didn't see the expression on Kira's face as they discussed her future without consulting her. Which is why Dax slowly walked over to Kira's computer console, and hid behind it, waiting for the woman to blow her top.

"TIME OUT!!" Nerys practically screamed at the two men, causing them to stop in shock. She continued a little more quietly. "This is MY life you're talking about. My life, not yours. And I don't want to go to a farming colony, where the most exciting event is the annual harvest. Can either of you imagine me sitting in a house, and gossiping about farm yields, or who grew the biggest katterpods last year? Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once: I'm not going to Vesta II to live. Right?" Breathing hard, she sat back down, while Sisko and Shakaar looked at each other.

"Rather temperamental these days, isn't she?" Shakaar glanced at Sisko with a smile on his face, and found it echoed on the Human's.

"Yes. She always has been a bit on edge though." Ben glanced hard at Kira, and was pleased to see that she nodded at him, just once. It meant that she had got the message that he would allow her to stretch the boundaries of respect, but no further than she had already gone. "Mind you, you have to see her point. I'm having enough trouble imaging her changing a diaper, let alone fitting in with a farming community."

"Yes, I'm afraid it's just not her scene." The gentle banter between the men was having it's desired effect on Kira, as she had calmed down considerably. "And she's not the greatest cook on Bajor either. The poor child would be living on burnt Hasperat and raw eggs."

"I beg your pardon." Kira's grin was definitely there now. "I know how to work a replicator."

"Nerys, face it. Your the only person I know who can burn water." Shakaar could have sworn he heard a giggle, but he wasn't sure if it came from Kira or Dax, who was sitting beside her friend at the table again.

Kira's eyes were attempting to close of their own accord now, and she actually yawned. "People, I think I'd better sleep, so I might say good night, and I'll see you all tomorrow." She stood and stretched, as Dax cleaned up the cups, while Sisko turned to Shakaar.

"Minister, this will be the first night she's slept naturally, so if I were you, I'd get some private quarters for the next few days."

"No. I want the company." Kira stuttered at her captain. "Unless you want Edon in separate quarters for security reasons?"

"If you'd prefer I'd stay, then that's what I'll do." Shakaar took Kira's hands, and held her to himself, as he turned to Sisko. "If security is a problem, then perhaps Nerys could come and stay in the guest quarters with me?"

"No. I'll have Odo station a security guard outside." Sisko nodded gently. "Good night, Major. Sleep well." The two officers left, leaving Shakaar to comfort his lover.

Peter Zephyr followed the Starfleet Lieutenant onto the promenade, and gazed in wonder at it. Trying to keep an eye on the officer, he also tried to keep the other eye on the sights around him. "Sir?" The officer's voice broke into his thoughts, and he spun to face the woman.

"Sir, if you'll come this way, we'll go to the morgue first, where you can identify your son for us. Captain Sisko will meet you there, and then take you to meet Major Kira."

"Of course. Lead on, Lieutenant." The two people walked into the morgue, to find Doctor Bashir, Captain Sisko, and Minister Shakaar already there. After the introductions were made, and the lieutenant had left, Peter turned to the covered body on the table. "Let's get this over with."

Pulling back the sheet, Bashir watched the man closely, as he examined the body's face for a moment, before stepping back and nodding to Sisko. "It's Tim. No doubt about it." Peter looked sadly at the covered body. "He just couldn't take the pain after the Cardassians killed his wife. They had a farm on the edge of Bajoran space, and when the Cardassians left Bajor, they took the settlement apart on their way out. Tim's family was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I'm sorry." Sisko had heard the story before, from Bajoran and Federation settlers, people who had never been involved with the occupation but had gotten pulled in as revenge fodder at the end. "What makes this all the worse, is that Major Kira and her child are going to pay for that for the rest of their lives."

"She's decided to keep the baby, then?" Peter snapped his head up.

"Yes. She believes that an innocent child doesn't deserve to be punished for the mistakes of the father."

"What do you mean, mistakes? He wasn't involved with Major Kira? Was it a one-night stand or something? I know that he was in the Maquis, but liaisons of this sort are not unheard of, surely?"

There was a shocked silence. Sisko looked apologetically at Shakaar before speaking, "I was under the impression that you had been informed of the exact circumstances regarding the Majors pregnancy and your sons death."

Peter was confused. "Are the two events are linked?"

"You could say that, yes." Sisko had no stomach for the news he was about to deliver, "I'm afraid your son was involved in an extreme branch of the Maquis. They had radical ideas on how to get results. They kidnapped the Major several weeks ago and held her captive for eight days, during which she was beaten and....abused. Your son was the leader."

The older man was incensed, "How dare you! How dare you say such things about my boy. He was not the type to hurt a woman in that way." He broke down, muttering, "We brought Tim up better than that. He wouldn't have raped..." Realizing the word he had used he turned to Sisko, "What proof do you have that this is true? How can you be sure she isn't making it up to cover her affair?" His eyes were wild, he was grasping at straws.

The other men realised this and let him go as he tried to handle the horrible news. Sisko held up a data padd, "The reports are all here. DNA testing has proven that the foetus is your sons. There was some doubt because there were three captors and they all...." He couldn't finish the words. "Her abduction is fully reported, as is her list of injuries, most of which she's recovered from. This child, however, was an unexpected side-effect. Aside from that, Major Kira is an officer who prides herself in setting a high standard of personal behavior, and who doesn't indulge in one-night stands."

"So why didn't you pick up the pregnancy immediately? I thought you could these days." Peter was still suspicious.

Bashir answered him, "Bajoran physiology is such that the embryo doesn't embed in the placental wall for ten days. Kira's last examination was seven days after the attack. Somehow we didn't find it until she started showing signs of the pregnancy."

"Then why didn't you recheck her? Why wasn't this possibility considered? If a rape occurred, surely that should have been taken into account?" Peter was confused.

Bashir was embarrassed, "Paperwork mix-up. The medical personnel on Bajor wrote a report to me. An additional note was made to keep an eye on her for a following four days because of the possibility. The report made it. The note didn't. As I was under the impression she had been cleared of pregnancy, I saw no need to re-examine her at a later date and cause her more mental trauma. It wasn't until she showed signs of illness and came in to sickbay that I found she was pregnant."

"I see," although it was patently clear that he didn't. Peter just sat there until Sisko cleared his throat.

"Would you like some time to think this over in your quarters?"

"No, thank you," the older man looked a lot older than when he had first walked in, "I would like to meet Major Kira now, if I may."

Sisko and Bashir looked at Shakaar. The Bajoran had been taking care of Nerys since he had arrived on the station. "She's in her quarters, and is expecting to see us at any time. Doctor, would you please let Nerys know we're on our way." Leading them out the door, Shakaar escorted the two other men to Kira's quarters.

Nerys and Dax paced the room after Bashir called and told them the others were on their way. After the fourth turn around the room, Dax sat down, and contented herself with watching Kira expend all the anxiety she felt. Finally, the door chimed, and the three men entered. Kira sucked in her breath as she saw the second Human. He looked exactly like his son, only older. Gulping back her fear, Kira stepped forward, and held out a shaking hand.

"I...I'm Major Kira Nerys." Kira stopped, completely at a loss to continue. All the speeches she had planned had gone on vacation as soon as he had walked in. Looking at Dax desperately, Nerys mouthed the words 'what now?'

"Major, I'm Peter Zephyr, Tim's father." Peter stopped, unsure of what to say himself. "I've only just been informed of my son's actions involving you. Starfleet, it appears, didn't give me the whole story."

"I see." Kira motioned towards the couch. "Please, sit down. I would like to talk to you about what you want to happen to my child, after it is born."

Peter sat down at the opposite end of the settee to Kira, while the others found seats for themselves. "Major, until I arrived on the station, I believed that my son had taken his own life, but also that you and he had been in a relationship, and that this child was the result of that love."

Kira stifled a look of disgust. "I assume that Captain Sisko has re-educated you as to the exact circumstances surrounding my pregnancy?"

"Yes, he has." Peter stared at the floor for a moment, before looking back at the Major. "Please, I have to ask you this, for my own peace of mind. Did what they say really happen to you? And are you positive that it was Tim who was responsible?"

"Yes, on both counts. I'm sorry, but it really did happen, and Tim did do what I've accused him of. I wish he was here to tell me why he did, but he's not. The militia simply didn't find him in time."

Unheard behind the others Dax muttered, "Boy, do I wish we had."

Peter couldn't keep his eyes off Kira, "I don't know how to apologise for what Tim did to you. Please forgive me for still finding it hard to accept what happened. I'm going to need some time to take it all in. I arrived thinking that my son had committed suicide during one of his depressions but that he'd left behind a legacy of a child with a woman he'd cared about. The reality is very difficult. I'm sorry." he broke off, not quite sure what else to say.

Kira hesitated before going over to where Peter sat and placed her hand on his shoulder. The man looked tired, defeated. Sisko spoke into the stillness, "Major, if you want us to go..." he indicated himself, Shakaar and Dax.

Kira thought a moment before nodding, "Maybe that might be a good idea. I'll contact you if I need you." She watched as they left and then turned to Peter, "Do you want something? I could replicate..."

She was stilled by his shaking his head and raising a hand to stop her progression toward the wall unit, "No, thank you. Please, sit down. We have a lot to discuss."

The next few weeks were very hectic for Kira. Peter had stayed for a week, trying to make Kira agree to come to the colony to live with them, but Nerys had stood her ground, and refused to leave the station. Finally, the man had understood that Kira wouldn't come back to Vesta II with him, but he had made her promise to visit before the child was born. Which was why Kira and Dax found themselves orbiting the planet around six weeks later.

"You know, I'm still not completely sure about this." Kira was just beginning to show, and so had changed her uniform back to battlefield dress, to try and disguise how far along she was. By now, it was common knowledge on the station, and surprisingly enough, nearly all of the station's permanent inhabitants had supported her, even Quark, who had gone to the lengths of offering to provide free baby food for her after the child was born. However, as Julian had pointed out, by the time the child was old enough to enter the bar, it wouldn't be eating baby food any more.

Garak however, had been a little more substantial in his support, as he had adjusted Kira's uniforms free of charge, and provided her with new clothing at minimum cost.

"Don't worry. Benjamin sent me along to make sure that everything goes smoothly." Dax turned the runabout towards the planet, and made the smoothest descent she had ever achieved, landing perfectly at the colonies space port. "There. Safely down. Now all we've got to do is get out and meet Peter."

"I know. That's what scares me." Kira was still in her chair, too afraid to move. "Dax, I'm scared. What if they become adamant about the child living here? What will I do?"

"Nerys, you are doing them a favour by even letting them have any access to the child. After what their son did to you, no-one would blame you if you refused to have anything to do with them."

"I know. But what if--"

"Kira, calm down. They can't make you do anything you don't want to. Don't panic about it. We're only here for four days. Be brave." Dax hid the semi-smile forming on her face. Kira's hormones were literally raging through her system which made life around her more entertaining than normal.

"Okay, I'm fine." Kira was convincing herself more than Dax. She busily practiced her deep breathing exercises to calm herself. When she could breathe normally she stood up and went with Dax to collect their bags and leave the safety of the runabout.

Outside, Peter Zephyr waited patiently for the two women to come out. A small crowd of colonists were hanging around, all pretending to be doing something else, but really waiting to catch a glimpse of the Bajoran major. As the woman emerged into the sun, and made the short trip to the customs office, every eye turned to face them, and check out Kira. Dax saw this, and tried to hurry Kira as much as she could, but Nerys could only move so fast these days.

Peter watched as the two entered the undercover lounge, and were cleared for entry to the planet. As they came forward, he smiled and reached to take their bags. "Hi, welcome to Vesta II. We're about ten minutes away from Tamorwrath, the main city, and the farm is about five minutes outside that. I hope you don't mind riding in an old tri-treader?"

"Not at all. My home province on Bajor is a farming community. We used to use tri-treader's all the time, when we had the fuel cells for them, that is." Kira was still nervous, but Dax saw the old Nerys coming out in the Bajoran's apparent confidence. Holding her head high, and well aware that every person in the building was examining her every move, Kira strode out the door and the three people headed for the old farm vehicle.

After the women had settled themselves, and the vehicle was heading towards the farm, Peter began to tell them about the colony. "It's doing well. Fifty years ago, the only settlers here were Federation ones, then a few Bajoran's came along, trying to escape the Cardassians. Since we were in Federation territory and had plenty of room, it wasn't a problem. After a while, more Bajoran's arrived, and the two communities began to merge together. Now, it's an example of Federation and Bajoran co-operation that we're very proud of." He suddenly stopped as he realised how he must have sounded to the woman beside him. "Kira, I'm sorry. That must sound terrible to you."

"Not at all." Nerys was grinning. "Whatever the circumstances, I'm always glad to hear examples of our two peoples working together."

"Don't suppose that means you'd like to stay, does it?" Peter still hadn't given up hope that she might bring herself and his grandchild to the colony to live.

Kira sighed. Still, she had to admire his persistence. "Peter, I'm no farmer. Besides, I love the station too much, and I have too many commitments there. But, I have no objections to visiting you and your wife as often as I can get away."

"Good. Louise is looking forward to meeting you." Looking into the back, he realised that he had been ignoring Dax. "Lieutenant, I'm sorry, I just got so caught up talking to Nerys, it slipped my mind you were here as well."

Jadzia laughed cheerfully. "Don't worry about it. After listening to Nerys panic all the way here, it's a pleasant change to hear her settling down at last."

The next moment, they were driving slowly through the town, with Peter pointing out the sights, obviously proud of what the colonists had achieved since they had arrived on the planet. Both Kira and Dax were pleased to see that the townspeople had both Bajoran and Starfleet English signs, so everyone would know what was in the stores. Street signs were the same, and it appeared that all was well. Kira cast a practised eye over the town, and turned to Peter. "Not bad. I imagine you would have had problems though?"

Zephyr laughed. "You're good." Sighing, he turned the machine onto a road heading out of the town. "Since the occupation finished, newer Bajoran colonists have arrived demanding a separate state for themselves, and trying to claim Vesta as an old Bajoran-owned planet. It's taking a while for the older members of the community to help them see what works. You really could have an impact here, you know."

"Maybe. But I think I can have a bigger impact, if I stay on DS9, and work towards helping Bajor become part of the Federation. But I'll certainly be listening out for any news about here in the future." The short drive out of the town came to an end all too quickly for Nerys, and seconds later, the treader had skidded to a halt in front of a large farmhouse. A tall woman was standing on the front steps, with two other men flanking her, both spitting images of Tim, even if they were younger.

Nerys and Dax climbed down, as Peter strode around and gently took Kira's hand, leading her to the house.

"Louise, this is Major Kira Nerys, and Lieutenant-Commander Jadzia Dax. Ladies, allow me to introduce my wife, Louise Zephyr, and our two sons, John, and Simmon." The two men bowed, but never took their blue eyes off the Bajoran. Kira decided that blond hair must run in their family.

"I'm...honored to meet you." Nerys nodded her head, and then stepped forward, offering her hand to Mrs. Zephyr. "I'm sorry we had to meet under circumstances like this. I'm sure it was a great shock for you to find out the details surrounding your son's death."

"It's in the past now. We've had two months to deal with that. But now, we have a child to look forward to, even if the events causing that are less than joyful as well." Louise looked past Kira to Dax. "A Trill? Are you a joined Trill Commander?"

"Yes, I am." Dax grinned suddenly. "I didn't think that our reputations had extended to this part of the galaxy."

Laughing, Louise beckoned them inside. "It was a Trill who helped prepare us for colonizing this planet all those years ago." As the two officers entered the house, they saw a place full of history, and at one time, probably full of children too. "I hope these two rooms will be satisfactory for your stay. I've put you next to each other, so if you have any problems Kira, you'll be able to call for your friend."

"Thank you, but I don't imagine anything going wrong at this stage. Dax has brought a full medical kit though, just in case." Kira dumped her duffel bag on the bed, and looked out the window at soft green hills, much like those at her home on Bajor. Breathing deeply, she tried to remember just why she had accepted a position on the station, and not shut her mouth and got a planet-side posting.

"Don't worry. The town has a complete hospital. We built it when Bajoran's began arriving with injuries more serious than broken bones and the usual farm injuries." The speaker was the brother named Simmon. He had allowed a shy smile to cross his face, for just a moment. "Both John and I have families, but we thought our parents needed our support here."

"That's good to know about the hospital." Dax popped her head around the door, and raised an eyebrow at Kira. "Everything okay in here? Nerys, you have got to see the view from my window. It's incredible!"

"Mine's the same." The woman left the room, and followed Simmon down into the kitchen, where it seemed as if Louise was cooking up a banquet. "You're not doing this just for us, are you?" John sat nearby.

"Are you joking? Three men to feed, all with hearty appetites, and now two extra mouths as well. And Major, I expect you to eat everything you're given. We can't have you not being fit now, can we?" Louise turned back to the stove. "John, why don't you show the officers around the farm?"

The young man opened the back door, and Kira and Dax found themselves looking at field upon field of what looked like growing corn.

Dax whistled appreciatively. "Just as a silly question, how much is this all worth in export value?"

"Close on a million credits." John looked at Kira. "Since Tim left the farm to make a new life in Starfleet, Simmon and I have been planting his third. But now, your child will be entitled to his share."

Kira couldn't work out whether John was angry about this, or simply making a statement of fact.

"That's a lot of credits." Jadzia could see how difficult this was for her friend, and was therefore eternally grateful when Louise looked out the door, and called them for dinner.

Nerys and Jadzia relaxed on the verandah, sipping the local soft drink. They had been at the colony for three days, and would be leaving for Bajor the next, but Kira was having second thoughts about going back to the station.

"The way I see it, if I go back to DS9, I'll have all the hassles and worries about running the station, not to mention trying to stop some junior officer from stealing my position while I'm on maternity leave for four months. But if I stay here, all I have to do is relax, and maybe I might even learn to like farming." Kira looked at her friend for support.

Dax thought for a long moment, then spoke. "True. Life here would be much easier for you, and I imagine that after a while, even you would enjoy talking about corn yields and annual rainfall." Dax saw Kira shudder, and pressed on, relentless. "However, there is one flaw in your logic. No Shakaar. Of course, there's probably a good 'ol farm boy available to keep you 'happy', if you know what I mean."

Kira looked at the crop before her. "Yes, I see your point. Well, that decides that then. I'll be staying on the station. Mind you, I think I've definitely found a new holiday spot."

"You never know, Shakaar might even come with you for a visit." Jadzia grinned at the hopeful look that crossed Kira's face.

"Now you make sure you come back and see us again." The entire family had come to the spaceport to say goodbye, and Louise was making sure she got in some last minute advice. "And no belting around the universe, even if a Cardassian does poke his nose into Bajoran space without your permission."

"I'll definitely be coming back, maybe even with Shakaar. He's a great man, I'm sure you'll like him." Nerys had already told them a little about Shakaar, and after the family was assured that he had no problems with the upcoming birth, they had suggested that the two Bajoran's come to visit. "But you have to promise me that you'll come to the station for the baby's birth. I'm going to need all the advice and help I can get. I've never, ever had to deal with a baby before."

"We'll make sure we're there. Now, you two had better head back to the station, or Captain Sisko is going to wonder whether you're coming back." Peter hugged Kira and Dax, and the two woman entered the runabout, lifting off a few moments later. Slowly, the family headed towards their treader, still thinking about the Bajoran. "So, what did you all think of Nerys?" Peter liked her, but he wanted to know how the others felt.

"She seems a very nice young woman." Simmon had liked Kira's sense of humor greatly, and had enjoyed having her around. "I think she'll make a great mother."

"I'm sure," John's quiet sarcasm was noticed by his mother.

"What do you mean by that?" Louise had noticed a certain tightness from John towards Kira and Dax, but had put it down to nerves.

"Well, she's hardly a stable person is she? I mean, all that talk about battles with the Klingons and the Cardassians. Really, what sort of life will it be for my niece or nephew to grow up with a violent woman like that as their mother?" John stared out the window as the others struggled to come up with an argument to make him change his mind.

"But Nerys did agree that a child would cause her to radically change her lifestyle, even though she intends to stay on the station after the birth." Simmon was the first to attempt the challenge. "And if the rest of her friends are like Commander Dax, Kira is going to have a great deal of support as she raises the baby. I'm surprised she doesn't want to know the sex of the child before it's born, though."

"Which just goes to prove that she really doesn't care about it. She's probably going to dump it in an orphanage as soon as all the fuss dies down. What woman would really want to raise a child that was created by a rape?" John's pain was becoming obvious to his parents, but Simmon hadn't realised that yet.

"Look. Kira seems like a really nice woman, and I'm sure she's going to raise her baby the best way she can. She's certainly had a lifetime's worth of experiences growing up on Bajor. And she probably doesn't want to know whether it's a boy or a girl, because she wants at least a small surprise left by then." Simmon stopped, as his mother turned and quietly hushed him.

"Well, maybe." John still didn't look convinced. "But I'll believe she loves the child if she's still got it a month after it's born."

"We'll all be going to the station when she's due anyway, so I suggest that for the next four months, the family be prepared to support Kira if she asks us to. We owe her that much at the very least." With that, Peter declared the argument closed, for now.

The next four months went by quickly, as the station crew helped Kira prepare for her child's birth. She still refused to ask Bashir what the sex of the baby would be, and even Quark had given up on taking bets on the outcome. Mind you, that might have been due to Odo threatening to confiscate the profits, and give them to Kira, since it would be her baby that made him the money.

Shakaar had stood by Kira completely, even to the extent of offering to marry her, and provide Nerys and the child with a house on Bajor, and all the protection and respectability his position could provide. But Kira had turned him down, not because she didn't love Edon, but because marrying him just to keep others happy wouldn't be right. So the two Bajoran's agreed to continue as they were, but Shakaar intended to be as much of a father to the child as he could, even if that meant moving to the station one day.

Meanwhile, Nerys continued to discover all the joys and problems that billions of mothers before her had encountered, including an unbelievable craving for Cardassian tuspah eggs, covered in yamok sauce.

Nerys grunted as she struggled out of bed, and headed to the bathroom, aware of a regular tightness in her abdomen. She had been having minor contractions for the last few hours, but when she had contacted Julian, he laughed and said that it was probably just a false alarm. Kira had been on leave for the last three weeks, and she was completely fed up with being fat. At least after the baby was born she would have something to do, but for now, Nerys was simply playing a waiting game. And Kira was not known for her patience. But since the baby wasn't due for another week, the woman had decided to spoil herself rotten for hat would probably be the last opportunity for quite a while.

In the station's computer, a series of numbers slid into sequential order, and a program snapped into operation. It was a security drill, set up to activate at a random time without warning. It decided that now was a suitably random time, and switched on.

Kira was just beginning to enjoy her shower, complete with real hot water, when the muscles clenched and she almost fell to the floor. "Orbs of the Prophets. It's begun." Grabbing her dressing gown, Kira stumbled over to her computer, and slapped the comm channel. It didn't work. "Kira to Bashir." Nothing. "Computer, open a channel to Doctor Bashir, now."

"Unable to comply. Security drill in progress." The computer couldn't have given her worse news if it had told her Gul Dukat was back in charge. Trying to figure out how the contractions had accelerated in pain and intensity, she realised that if her waters had broken in the shower she probably wouldn't have noticed. Great.

"Prophets have mercy." Nerys groaned as another contraction swept through her body, driving her to her knees. "Computer, mark time now."

Kira began to count down how far apart the movements were, and after two more pain sessions, decided they were around ten minutes apart. After the next contraction, she managed to make it to the bedroom before the next wave hit. Clearing her mind, she remembered her deep breathing exercises from the prenatal classes, and tried to figure out a way of contacting someone from the command crew.

Captain Sisko was frustrated as he and Kira's replacement trotted down a corridor towards an engineering station that the computer had declared threatened. Ben was annoyed, because the officer with him was simply too inexperienced for the job he had been sent to DS9 to do. It wasn't that Captain Durel didn't try, on the contrary, he tried too much, but he simply wasn't command level material yet.

Passing close to Kira's quarters, Ben wondered if he should drop in and see how she was doing, but decided against it. Nerys had been sleeping a great deal lately, so rather than disturb her now, Sisko decided to visit after the drill was finished. Sighing, he turned to wait for the young man to catch up, again, and then they continued with the exercise.

Kira was screaming in pain now, as the contractions got closer and closer together. By now, they were only five minutes apart, although the relief seemed momentary. "Computer, open a channel to Doctor Bashir."

"Unable to comply. Civilians not permitted communications during drills." Kira used some very uncomplimentary language about Captain Sisko, his ancestry, and his damn protocols. Nerys was in the main room of her quarters, kneeling under the table as her hands gripped the chairs on either side of her. Fighting through the pain, she tried to remember what to do if no-one came to help her before the baby put in an appearance. She was also making a mental note to speak to Sisko about un-installing sound-proof walls in her quarters. The drill had lasted over an hour already, and so far, the computer had simply chirped at her like a broken record, telling her what she couldn't do, and not what she could.

Looking at the replicator, Kira began to wonder if she couldn't useit. After all, nothing else had worked. Making her way to the machine, she replicated a pen and a piece of paper. Pausing while another wave of pain broke over her body, Kira wrote a very simple message. 'Baby on way. Kira.' Placing it back in the machine, she took a second to think of how this might work.

"Okay computer, listen up. Do you sense the paper in the replicator?"

"Affirmative."

"Right. I want you to replicate this piece of paper exactly as is, to the Infirmary's main replicator. The paper must be replicated with the words written on it. Can you do that?"

"Affirmative."

"Then do so." Nerys watched as the paper de-materialized, just as another contraction pulled the woman's mind into hell. As she resurfaced, to find her body lying on the floor, Nerys gave up hoping for help, and began to concentrate on getting the child out as fast as possible. Then maybe she could get some relief.

Julian was quietly working away in sickbay. The drill was mainly involving security personnel, so the medical staff were generally at their posts for show. Had this been a real situation, they would have been busy repairing wounded soldiers. A small noise behind him, caused the Human to turn around and stare the replicator as a piece of paper materialised there. "What the...?" Bashir walked over and picked up the paper curiously, then read the message on it. "Nurse! I want a triage kit on the double, and a surgical team on standby. You're coming with me, right now."

Bashir tore out of the room, with the nurse close behind, trying to juggle the kit and see that it had everything he might need. "Doctor, where are we going, and why the hurry?"

"Kira's quarters." As they rushed into the turbo-lift, he took a moment to explain. "The Major managed to get her replicator to post a message to the infirmary's replicator. The message was only four words--'Baby on way. Kira.' She must have gone into early labour after the drill started."

"Didn't she call about contractions earlier today?" The nurse was beginning to understand why Bashir had argued that the station shouldn't go into total shut-down during a drill. Sisko had overruled the doctor, but this might change the Captain's mind.

"Yes, she did." The turbolift arrived at the command crew quarters, and the Human and the Bajoran raced out and headed down the corridor to Nerys' quarters as fast as they could. "The shock of the drill might have been what pushed the final button, or this simply could have just happened naturally, her body deciding it was ready now. It's impossible to know."

The two officers arrived at Kira's quarters, and used their medical overrides to enter the room, finding Nerys on the floor howling her lungs out. Nurse Tar picked up two cushions, and placed them under Kira's head, as Julian quickly scanned her.

"Alright Kira, you're fully dilated. It won't be long now." Julian looked at her and grinned. Kira opened her eyes, and tried to see through the sweat. "Almost there Nerys. Not far to go now."

"Thank the Prophets." Kira let her head fall back down onto the pillows, and gulped in air as she felt the pain start again. "It hurts!!"

"Come on Nerys. Push, that's all you've got to do now." Julian could see the exhaustion was draining the woman, and offered a quick prayer that the surgery team wouldn't be needed as he kept up the encouragement. "Come on Kira....push!"

"DIE!" Kira replied. It seemed a fair trade.

Sisko strolled along the promenade after the drill was finished. He looked into Quark's to see O'Brien sitting at the bar alone, and decided to wander in. "Chief, I thought you'd be playing darts with Doctor Bashir?"

"I'm supposed to be, but he hasn't shown up." Miles was annoyed. He had been planning to annihilate the young doctor that night. "Maybe he's got himself a hot date instead?"

"Maybe. But let's find out anyway." Sisko grinned evilly. "Sisko to Bashir."

The comm line opened, but it didn't sound like Julian was on a date. "Sir, I'm a little busy right now. Can you call back in ten minutes?" The noise in the background sounded like a runner doing breathing exercises accompanied by a second voice, and a small seed planted itself in the captain's mind.

"Doctor, may I ask what you're doing?" Sisko stared at O'Brien, as the man put down his drink and mouthed the word 'baby?'

"Let me put it this way sir. How are you at changing diapers?" The man's voice was very strained by this stage, as a howl of pain echoed down the line. "Sorry sir, gotta go." Bashir slammed the channel closed, as the seed in Ben's mind germinated, and grew into a tree in about three seconds flat.

The entire bar had gone silent, as Sisko and O'Brien looked at each other, before racing towards the door as one man, and heading to the lift. "Sisko to Dax. Commander, meet me at Kira's quarters. Now. Sisko out." The two men grabbed Odo and Worf as they went passed the security office, and all four piled into the lift, heading directly for the habitat ring.

The five officers were somehow managing to pace up and down the corridor outside Kira's quarters all at the same time. From time to time, an extra loud scream could be heard faintly as Nerys desperately tried to give birth, and every time, the crew held their breath, hoping it would be the last. All at once, a sound that chilled the people to their very core exited the room. It sounded like every woman, who had ever had a child, was screaming the pain out through Kira at that very moment, echoing on and on for eternity.

Then suddenly, it stopped.Barely daring to breathe, the crew finally heard another sound, that of the wail of a newborn child taking it's first breath of independent life. Cheering and grinning like maniacs, they waited for Bashir to let them know how everything was, both with Kira and her child. Finally, Nurse Tar came out and smiled at them.

"Mother and son are well. Exhausted, but well." She stopped and waited as the crew again went berserk at the news it was a boy. When they had calmed down, Tar continued. "Kira would like to see you, so if you'll come in now, we'll be ready in a moment." Leading the way, Sisko strode into the lounge room, to see towels covered in blood sitting by the replicator, waiting to be destroyed. It was a sobering sight.

A few minutes later, Julian came out of Kira's bedroom, and nodded gently. "She's ready now, but you can't stay for long. I'll be taking her and the baby to the infirmary for a few days, just to be sure." With that, the people quietly entered the bedroom, to see their friend lying in bed, a small red-haired bundle curled up in her arm.

"Hi." Sisko was the first to speak, as Nerys grinned at them. "I see we could have timed the drill better."

"He decided he wanted out. That was that." Kira looked at the child beside her, and then glanced at Odo. "Odo, would you like to hold him?"

The changeling was astounded. "If...if you like." He moved over to stand beside Kira, reached down, and ever so gently picked up the baby. Odo looked down at the little face, and smiled. "He has nose ridges. He will look Bajoran." The entire crew smiled as the Changeling almost smiled.

"I wonder if that means he has his mother's temper?" Dax winked at Sisko.

"Probably. If he does, heaven help the universe." Ben was glad to see Nerys attempting to laugh, as she reached for her son. "Have you chosen a name for him yet?" There was an unofficial wager within the crew on this.

"Yes." Kira looked at the tiny face, and tears fell, as the baby opened his eyes for the first time, and saw his mother. "Hello, little man. Welcome to the world. I'm your mum, and you? Your name is Bareil." Kira looked at the smiling faces around her. "He might not be alive anymore, and this might not even be his child. But I will raise my son the best way I know how, and will teach him all that Bareil would have, so that his memory will be honoured, and so his hopes for the future will be continued."

The crew nodded, understanding what she was saying, as Bashir and Tar bustled back into the room with a anti-grav stretcher to take Kira and Bareil to the infirmary. Dax uttered two words to the others. "Pay up."

Kira grinned as Shakaar gently played with her son, looking for all the world like a doting father. It was six weeks since Bareil had decided to be born during a security drill, and some were already saying it was the sign of a warrior. Kira didn't know about that, but she had been impressed about two things.

The first, was that the Kai had officiated at the boy's presentation ceremony when he was only seven days old, welcoming him into Bajoran society. Since the Kai herself had accepted him, anyone who said that the child was unworthy of being called a Bajoran was risking accusing the Kai of not knowing what a Bajoran was. Sisko had gladly taken the role as the Emissary, and blessed the child and his mother happily.

The second, was the fact that the Zephyr family had already arranged for all the money made from Bareil's share of the future farming crops to be put into an account for Kira to buy whatever was needed to look after her son. And when he was older, to make sure that the boy and his mother would never want for anything.

Nerys was taking a holiday on Bajor at the moment, introducing the child to Lupaza and Furel, not to mention a few other old friends, and it was impossible to tell who was being the most spoilt, Kira, or Bareil. The Zephyr family had been disappointed they had arrived too late for the baby's birth, but had contented themselves with spoiling Bareil and Kira rotten for the entire four weeks they were on the station. By the time they had left, Nerys had been provided with a new wardrobe, and Bareil had enough toys and baby things to last for the next four years. The command crew meanwhile, had repainted and redecorated Nerys' quarters for her.

Simmon and John had barely left the boy alone the whole time they were at DS9, and Kira was sure that any fears they might have had, had gone as soon as they saw the child. The two men had taken it in turns to play with the boy, and had even made a fuss about who would change his diapers, to the amusement of both Nerys and Louise, while Peter, Sisko and O'Brien had hand-built a crib, playpen, mobile, and high-chair for the child.

Keiko O'Brien and Dax meanwhile, had given her tons of good advice, as well as helping her when the boy came down with a dose of colic. Bashir had acknowledged that he could cure the child immediately, but she preferred to let Bareil's illness take it's course.

"You make sure you come and visit soon." Louise had been reassured about Kira and Bareil's safety after visiting the station and speaking with Sisko, as well as making sure that Kira's career was in no danger of being taken from her while she was on maternity leave. "This sounds selfish, but I want to see my youngest grandson as often as possible."

"Don't worry, I'll visit for at least two weeks, before I go back to work." Kira had appreciated having an experienced mother around to help during the first few weeks after the birth, since she still felt inadequate to the task of motherhood. "Now, you go home, and start work on that nursery. Bareil will one day want to find out about his other heritage, and although my friends here will help teach him what it is to be human as well as Bajoran, it will be through our visits to you that he will come to terms with both his father's past, and his own future."

With that, Nerys had said goodbye to the family, and caught the next shuttle to Bajor, for a long stay with her friends, who had fallen in love with the boy instantly.

Bareil suddenly stopped laughing at his would-be-father, looked towards where he knew his mother was sitting, and started crying. Shakaar glanced worriedly at Nerys, as she reached over and picked up the child. "I didn't hurt him, did I? I didn't mean--"

"It's alright. He's just hungry, and probably needs a nappy change as well." Settling the boy to her breast, she looked up as Lupaza carried in the groceries, while Furel brought in several nappy packages. "I see he's carrying the heavy parcels again?"

"He's male, what can you expect?" The woman ducked expertly as the man tossed one of the bags at her, before placing them gently next to Nerys. "How is my favourite nephew today? Giving Shakaar a hard time, I hope."

"He's fighting fit, trust me." Shakaar rubbed his chin where the boy had slapped him earlier. "With a right hook like that, he'll be in uniform in no time." Laughing, the other two Bajoran's said their good-byes, before heading to their own farms, leaving Shakaar and Kira alone again. "So, you're sure you want to stay on the station?"

"Yes. It's my home now, for the time being at least." As she finished feeding her son, and he had burped loudly, Nerys turned to face Shakaar, and hugged him. "Thank you for not hating me for having another man's child. You could have refused to ever see me again."

Shakaar took the boy, and deftly began to change his nappy. "You had no choice. I understand why you wouldn't terminate the pregnancy, and I believe that you've made the right choice in having your son. He's a beautiful child, and I know he's going to grow up into a handsome, and quite probably a very cheeky, man." Shakaar gently placed the sleepy child in his crib, and turned towards Kira, who was lying on the couch. "I love you Nerys, and I love Bareil too. He isn't my son, but if you'll let me, I'll gladly be his father." Lying next to Kira, Shakaar kissed her gently and deeply. "Besides, I have every intention of knowing his mother for a very long time to come. How long did Bashir say.....?" The man's voice trailed off, as Kira giggled quietly.

"Since we've already waited patiently for so long, now would be good." After checking that Bariel was asleep, the two Bajoran's headed quietly to the bedroom.

All comments welcome, whether you liked this or not. Please contact me at:

dakhur@iinet.net.au