Brief disclaimer: Jasmine Tahir Sayed is my creation (although the first name has been used in other stories, the last name and characterization is mine). The "Lullabye" at the end of this story is by the BoDeans, a wonderful group from back home in Wisconsin, from their "Blend" album. It's was written by Sam Llanas and Kurt Neumann and is copywrited by Slash Records 1996. "Suitable for children' of all ages." - Llanas/Neumann

Chapter 1

Julian walked into their quarters and glanced around for Jadzia. "Dax?" It had been her day off and she had said she was going to spend some time with Gloria.

"In here," she called from the bedroom. Julian smiled and walked in. She was sitting on the corner of the bed dressed in her robe. Gloria was dressed in her pyjamas, her curly hair damp from the bath she must have just gotten, and, at the moment, Jadzia was attempting to put a pair of bootie-slippers on her. Gloria scrambled away, across the bed and Jadzia caught her by the ankle. "Oh, no you don't," she grinned, pulling the little girl back. Gloria giggled delightedly and, when Dax let go, scrambled forward again, having found a new game. Julian chuckled and walked over, gently resting one hand on Jadzia's shoulder. "Hello," he smiled, bending to give her a kiss. Dax smiled in response as he sat down next to her. "Hello." She pulled Gloria back and sat her down. Gloria lunged forward, giggling. Dax began to laugh. "What do you want?" she grinned.

"To play," Julian smiled, lifting Gloria into the air as he rolled onto his back. "Don't you?" Gloria shrieked in delight.

"Hmm. We're never going to be able to get her to bed," Dax smiled.

"Sleep?" Julian grinned. "You don't want to go to sleep, do you munchkin?"

"No!" Gloria giggled.

"See?" Julian teased.

"She answers every question with no," Dax laughed as Gloria started making brrrr noises. Julian laughed. He set Gloria down and she lifted her arms again. "Uppie!" she said.

"No," Julian replied, ruffling her hair. Gloria began to whimper.

"Faker," Dax smiled, picking the little girl up and sitting her on her lap.

"Uppie!" she demanded.

"Mommy can't," Dax said. "I was carrying you all day."

"You sore?" Julian asked.

"A bit," she admitted.

"Not used to so much strenuous activity?" he teased, gently rubbing her shoulders.

"She's getting heavy," Dax smiled. "You try carrying her while you go shopping."

"What about the stroller?" Julian asked, working on one of the knots. Dax smiled and began entertaining Gloria with a quiet game of patty cake.

"She hates it and you know it." Dax sighed contentedly. "That feels good."

Julian smiled and kissed the back of her neck. "It should," he teased. Dax was about to retort when they heard Sisko's voice over the comm. "Sisko to Dax and Bashir."

"Go ahead Benjamin."

"Hi!" Gloria chirped. Dax stifled her laughter. Julian wasn't as successful, a short burst escaping before he bit down on his lip.

"Report to Ops immediately." Sisko sounded amused as well.

"Aye sir," Julian chuckled.

*******

"We're receiving a distress call," Kira spoke up as they entered Ops. Dax immediately moved to her console as O'Brien said, "I've filtered out as much of the interference as I could."

"On screen," Sisko said. The oval flickered to life and was filled with a static strewn image of a human male. "This is the passenger liner Jukanno.' We've been attacked by an unknown ship. We request immediate assistance from anyone who receives this call. The mains have failed and the backups won't last much longer. I repeat, this is the . . . ."

"Kira, O'Brien, Bashir, and Dax, take the Rio Grande and the Rubicon." The four of them nodded and quickly darted out of Ops.

*******

"Approaching last known coordinates of the Jukanno," Dax said. She glanced back at Julian, who was scanning. "Find anything?"

"Yes, several escape pods and wreckage," he replied.

"Escape pods," Dax murmured. She hailed the Rio Grande. "Kira, ideas?"

"We can't just leave them here," she said. "What if . . ."

"I'm detecting an incoming vessel," O'Brien broke in. "I'll be damned."

"What?" Dax asked.

"It's the Jukanno," Bashir said, grinning.

"Hail them," Kira said. Julian's hand lanced out and hit the comm panel so he and Dax could also see what was happening. "This is Major Kira Nerys of Deep Space Nine on board the Federation Runabout Rio Grande. We're here to assist."

The screen cracked to life. "Rio Grande, thank god. This is Captain Warner of the Jukanno."

"Captain, do you have any injured?" Kira asked.

"Yes, several unfortunately."

"We'll beam aboard our doctor. He's prepared to assist in any way necessary."

"Thank you."

Julian had already moved to the transporter pads. Dax glanced up and smiled. "Good luck."

"You too," he smiled. Dax hit the controls and he disappeared.

"Captain, what about the escape pods?" Kira asked. "Can you beam any survivors on?"

"They were a diversion," the captain said, smiling slightly. "I guess you could say we played possum a bit."

Kira hesitated and then nodded. "Alright. Do you have engines?" she asked.

"Half impulse," he said. "That's it."

"We'll tractor you back to DS9 then," Kira said. The Captain nodded and cut communications. "Dax?"

"I'm ready Kira," Dax replied, her hands moving over the controls with a practiced grace.

"Engage tractor beam." The two runabouts caught the ship in their beams, Kira to port, Dax to starboard. "Proceed to DS9 at Warp 1."

"Aye," Dax replied.

*******

Julian worked quickly and smoothly. There were many casualties, but none were remarkably serious. The worst he had come across was a couple compound fractures and concussions. He walked to the last patient on his triage list and smiled reassuringly to the woman. "Can you tell me where it hurts?" he asked as he scanned. It was good to get a patient's opinion as tricorders were only machines. They malfunctioned occasionally. Unfortunately, this one seemed to do just that as he stated scanning her.

"My side," the woman murmured, wincing. Julian nodded and gave her a mild pain killer. "This will dull the pain," he said gently. The woman nodded and swallowed thickly. Julian began working, occasionally checking the readouts he was getting. He glanced at the woman. She was in her mid fifties, dark hair with wisps of grey streaking it. She had strong Arabic features and a slight accent. She looks like a formidable woman,' he thought.

"Is it that bad?" she asked.

"Don't worry," Julian smiled. "What happened?"

"I was tossed against the corner of a table when the first strike happened," she said softly. The woman studied him briefly and then closed her eyes as the painkiller took hold.

He tapped his commbadge. "Bashir to Dax."

"Go ahead Julian?"

"How much longer to DS9?"

"A few minutes," came the response.

"Thank you. When we get there, beam me straight to the infirmary along with the patient I'm with."

"Aye, sir," she replied.

*******

Julian appeared in the infirmary, the woman next to him. He glanced up as Wilkes approached with an antigrav lift. Together, they moved the woman to the biobed. Julian glanced at the readouts that appeared and began working. "It's not as bad as I initially feared," he said to Wilkes. "I was having trouble with the tricorder while on board. She said she had hit the corner of a table when the ship was attacked and she had been having abdominal pains."

"Spleen?" she asked knowingly.

"That's what I thought." Julian smiled slightly. "Thank god it was only pelvic fracture." Wilkes smiled at him and they began working.

A few more patients were beamed in and the other nurses began working. After several moments, Julian had finished and moved through the remainder of the patients.

"Julian?"

He turned and saw Michael standing in the infirmary, holding his arm. "What happened?" he asked, moving over.

"I cut myself," Michael said, removing his hand. Julian could see the blood on the sleeve of his shirt. He motioned him to the bed. "What happened?"

"An attack on a passenger liner," Julian muttered angrily.

Michael glanced around. Most of the patients were up and about. "It doesn't look too bad," he said.

"No. I'd say the worst was that woman over there," Julian said. "Pelvic fracture . . . ." He glanced up at his father, who was staring at the woman in shock. "Michael?"

"Did she give her name?" he asked, white as a sheet.

"No, she didn't," he said, studying him. "Do you know her?"

Michael took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You could say that," he said softly. "That's Jasmine."

Julian felt the blood drain from his face as he dropped the regenerator. "What?" He glanced over his shoulder. He turned back to Michael, who was staring in shock. "You're sure? I mean, you haven't seen her in years . . ."

"I'm sure," Michael whispered. He glanced at his arm. "I'd better go," he said, standing up. "I'll, ah, I'll see you later Julian."

Julian watched as his father practically darted out of the infirmary, shocked. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder. "Doctor?" Julian turned to Yevlin. "She's waking up. I figured you'd want to talk to her."

Julian nodded numbly. He slowly approached the bed and glanced down at the woman. "How do you feel?"

"I've been better," the woman smiled. "What happened?"

Julian smiled. "You fractured your hip when you hit the table."

"Oh," she murmured.

"Can I get your name so I can start a file and contact your family?" Julian swallowed hard, waiting for her to answer.

"Jasmine Tahir Sayed. And I don't have a family, so to speak."

Julian felt the blood leave his face. Jasmine noticed this. "Are you alright Doctor?"

"I'm fine," he said, clearing his throat. He made a few notations on the padd he was holding and glanced back at her. "You'll be able to leave in a few hours. You'll be assigned guest quarters."

"Thank you Doctor, ah, . . . what's your name?" The woman smiled.

Julian felt his throat constrict. "Ah, my . . my name's Bashir. Julian Bashir." He saw her eyes widen in shock. "Julian?" she whispered. He nodded slowly, struggling to keep calm. "Oh, my god," Jasmine whispered. "But you're so . . I mean I . . . oh, my god."

Julian managed a tiny smile. "My sentiments exactly," he said softly. She smiled slightly as Jabara called to him from the other side of the infirmary. "I, ah, I've got to get back to work," he said. "Just rest here." She nodded and he walked off quickly, regaining some of his composure by the time he reached Jabara's side.

Chapter 2

Julian collapsed in a chair and rested his head against the wall. "Rough day?" came a gentle voice.

Julian glanced up and smiled. "Hello Jadzia. You could say that." He sat up and glanced into the main infirmary. "You aren't going to believe this."

"What?" she asked, perching next to him.

"The woman I was with when I contacted you on the runabout?" He saw her nod. "That's Jasmine."

Dax froze. "Your mother?" she gasped. Julian nodded. "Oh, my god." she whispered.

Julian smiled wryly. "That seems to be the phrase of the night."

"Does she know who you are?"

Julian nodded. "Yes. We had an aborted reunion."

"Which means . . . ."

"Lots of 'Oh, my god'," he replied. Dax smiled slightly and gently kissed his forehead. "So now what are you going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know," Julian murmured. He glanced around uncertainly. "Michael practically bolted the second he realized who she was." He saw Dax frown and he gently gave her hand a squeeze. She and Michael had been on very thin ice ever since she found out about Julian's genetic enhancements. He stood up. "But, I think she and I should talk."

Dax glanced at him and smiled lovingly. "You're really handling this well," she said softly.

Julian leaned forward and rested his head against hers. "Thanks. We'll see how well I handle it after we talk. . . ."

Dax kissed him tenderly and Julian leaned into her embrace. After a moment, he pulled back. "I'll be home soon," he whispered. Dax nodded and kissed him again. She walked out and Julian continued into the main infirmary. Jasmine was sitting up, studying a padd one of the nurses must have gotten her. She glanced up at Julian's approach. "Jasmine," he said softly, smiling slightly.

She smiled and set the padd down. "I still can't believe it's you," she said softly. "I mean, the last time I saw you . . ." she glanced down. "Well, it was a long time ago."

Julian nodded. "Yes, it was."

She glanced up, curiosity filling her eyes. "Do you even remember me?" she asked.

Julian hesitated. "A bit," he admitted. "Bits and pieces."

Jasmine smiled. "Well, I suppose I'm lucky then. I didn't think you would." She glanced around. "And you're a doctor?" she smiled. "It's not surprising." Julian smiled and glanced down. "Tell me," she said, growing serious. "Have you . . I mean," she paused. "I don't mean to pry but have you found someone?"

Julian nodded. "I'm married, yes." He saw her eyes light up. "Almost two years."

"That's good," she smiled. She glanced around. "How long do I have to stay here Julian?"

He glanced at the readouts and smiled. "If you want, I can escort you to your quarters now."

She smiled. "I'd like that." Julian helped her off the biobed and they walked out onto the Promenade. Jasmine looked around, taking in the sights. "What time is it?" she asked.

"2100," Julian replied.

"Oh, it's late."

"Not really," Julian smiled. "Bajor has a 26 hour day. It's dinner time right now."

"Oh," Jasmine smiled. "I suppose you're heading home then."

Julian nodded and paused. "I, ah, I'd have to check with Jadzia first but if you want, you could join us. If you're feeling up to it."

"I'd like that," Jasmine smiled. "If it's not too much trouble." Julian smiled and called Jadzia briefly. She responded enthusiastically and said she'd set an extra place setting. Julian glanced at Jasmine. "This way," he said, motioning. Jasmine smiled and they walked slowly through the habitat ring. "I should warn you," Julian said. "There's a very rambunctious one year old living with us. Let me know if she's getting to be too much."

Jasmine's eyes widened. "You have a child?"

Julian nodded, allowing a bit of pride to filter in his gaze. "Gloria," he said as they reached the doors. He keyed the command and they slid open.

Jasmine walked in and gazed around. The quarters looked comfortable, inviting. She glanced up as a tall woman approached. She noted the line of markings that trailed down her neck. 'A Trill,' she thought, mildly surprised. 'Unjoined surely.'

"Jasmine," Julian said. "This is Jadzia Dax. Jadzia, this is my mother, Jasmine Tahir Sayed."

'Joined!' Jasmine thought in shock. 'But that's impossible.' "It's a pleasure," she smiled.

"Papa!" Jasmine turned as a little girl with medium complexion, dark curly hair, and the gentle mottling of spots toddled out of a side room. Her eyes widened in amazement at the sight of a new person in the room and Jasmine could clearly see they were a dark blue. "Hi!" Gloria smiled.

Jasmine smiled back, enchanted. "Hi."

Julian smiled as Gloria walked over to him. "Uppie!" she said. Julian scooped her up. "Hello munchkin," he smiled. "Hi," she responded. Julian grinned. He glanced at Jasmine, who was smiling in amazement. "Jasmine, this is Gloria."

"Hello," she smiled, extending a hand. Gloria smiled and rested her head against Julian's chest shyly. Jasmine smiled. "Julian, she's beautiful."

Julian smiled and gestured for her to sit. "Can I get you anything to drink Jasmine?" Dax asked, shooting Julian an affectionate glance.

"Just water," she smiled. Dax nodded and glanced at Julian. "I'm fine," he said, sitting down with Gloria. Gloria squirmed. "Down?" she asked. Julian obligingly set her down and she walked over to some toys. Dax walked back over, gently resting a hand on Gloria's head as she passed. "Here," she smiled, handing Jasmine the glass.

"Thank you," she smiled, taking a sip. Dax sat down next to Julian, gently twining her fingers with his. Jasmine glanced down at her drink, suddenly feeling awkward. What am I doing here?' she thought.

"So, where was the Jukanno heading for?" Dax asked.

Jasmine looked up and sighed. "New Sudan," she replied. "I was planning on visiting a few friends."

Julian swallowed and glanced at Dax. "Where did the ships come from?" he asked quietly.

"The other direction," she said, squeezing his hand. Julian nodded in relief.

"Do you know someone there?" Jasmine asked, curious.

Julian raised an eyebrow. "Akmed's there. Has been for several years."

"Oh," Jasmine smiled. "I didn't realize. I haven't kept in touch with him much." Julian nodded and glanced at Dax. "When's dinner?"

Dax smiled and shook her head. "Whenever," she replied. She glanced at Jasmine. "Do you want to eat now?"

"That would be wonderful," she said. Julian smiled and scooped Gloria up as they walked to the table. "No," she protested.

"Dinner," Julian replied. "Ums."

"Um!" Gloria echoed happily. Julian shook his head, smiling. He sat her down in her chair and slipped a bib on while she contentedly banged on the tray with a spoon. Jasmine smiled as she sat down. "Hi!" Gloria chirped at her.

"Hi," Jasmine replied, smiling.

Julian glanced at Jadzia, who smiled slightly. She gently squeezed his arm reassuringly. She knew this was awkward for him. Julian smiled in response and Jadzia began feeding Gloria as he got dinner. He set the dishes on the table and served Jadzia. "Jasmine?" he said, reaching for her plate. She smiled and and handed it to him. They ate quietly, making small talk. After dinner, Jadzia took Gloria into the bedroom to get her changed. Jasmine and Julian sat in the living room and talked.

"It's good to see you accomplished something dispite your father," Jasmine said. She saw him flinch slightly and Jasmine sighed. "Did he ever tell you what really happened Julian?"

Julian glanced up and nodded. "Yes. He did. Eventually."

Jasmine lowered her head. "I wish I could have stayed," she said softly. "You're my only son. I would have liked to see you grow up."

Julian glanced up, strugling to comprehend all this. His father had only told him the truth a month ago and Julian was still trying to assimilate it. "Well, when Michael feels he's right, he won't let anything stop him."

Jasmine smiled and glanced over his shoulder towards the bedroom. "I can't believe I'm a grandmother."

Julian smiled in response and was about to reply when Dax walked out. She smiled wryly at Julian. "She wants you," she smiled. Julian sighed in amusement and stood up. Dax gently ran her hand across his waist as he passed. Julian dropped an affectionate hand on her shoulder and headed into Gloria's room. Jadzia glanced back at Jasmine, who was smiling. "Hi," Jadzia said, sitting down.

Jasmine glanced over her shoulder. "Is that typical?" she asked.

Dax laughed softly. "Very. She definetly loves her papa."

"I noticed that," Jasmine smiled. "Papa instead of daddy."

Dax shrugged, her eyes sparkling. "She never said daddy. He gets a kick out of it."

Jasmine laughed softly. "Tell me Dax. I don't mean to pry but you're joined, correct." Dax nodded, understanding her confusion. "Yes. Don't worry about it. People give me odd looks all the time." Jasmine colored slightly, not looking unlike Julian when he became embarassed about something.

"What's he like?" she asked. "It seems so horrible to hear a mother ask that about her son but . . . ."

"Julian told me," Dax said softly, compassion filling her eyes. "Don't worry about it. As for what he's like, if you want an unbiased opinion, you're asking the wrong person."

Jasmine laughed. "I'm so glad he's happy. He is, isn't he?"

Dax smiled. "I'd like to think so," she said. Jasmine smiled. "He's a wonderful man. Warm, caring, compassionate. An incredible doctor. A wonderful father and husband." Dax smiled. "But, as I said, I'm baised."

Jasmine laughed softly. "You won't hear me talking about Michael like that."

"Nor I," Dax said softly.

Jasmine glanced up sharply. "You've met him?" Dax nodded, wondering if she knew he was on the station. Jasmine sighed. "I don't think I'll ever forgive him," she admitted. "I simply can't. Everything he did to me and Julian . . . ."

Dax nodded slowly. Julian had never been completely candid with her about that aspect and Dax accepted it. She knew bits and pieces and felt that he would tell her everything one day. Dax never pressed though. There was always a touch of pain to his eyes whenever she brought up the past. She was about to respond when the door chimed. "Who could that be . . Come in."

To Jadzia's horror, Michael Bashir walked in. He stopped dead when he saw Jasmine sitting there, looking as shocked as she did. "Michael," she gasped.

"Jasmine," he replied, trying to recover. He hadn't expected to see her here. "What are you doing here?"

"Having dinner," she said, standing slowly. "I could ask the same about you."

"I work here," Michael said. He held out a padd. "I stopped by to drop this off. I thought Julian would want to look at . . . ."

"You work here?!" she exclaimed. "Why?"

"Because this is where I was posted," Michael snapped.

"You could have turned down the post," she shot back. "What do you do here?"

"I'm an ambassador to Bajor," he said, glaring. "I don't see why this is any of your business. After all, you wouldn't even be here if you're ship hadn't been attacked."

"That's because you managed to keep me from knowing anything about Julian," she shot back. "How could I have known he was posted here. I didn't even know he went into medical school! All because YOU felt you knew everything and knew what was best for him."

"He's here today because of me, not because of you," he snapped.

*******

Julian stood next to Gloria, smiling affectionately. She had dropped off about five minutes ago. He gently smoothed a lock of hair off her forehead and sighed. I can't imagine ever being happier,' he thought. Gloria stirred and restlessly tossed one arm above her head.

Julian glanced up as he heard voices coming from the living room. He paused, listening. Julian felt the blood drain from his face as he placed his father's angry voice. Dear god,' he thought. What is he doing here?' He listened in shock as Jasmine started shouting back. Julian swallowed thickly, remembering similar situations from years ago. He'd be asleep in his room only to be woken up by his parents shouting at eachother. He remembered lying there terrified, not knowing what was going on . . . .

He was started out of his memories by a tiny whimper. Gloria was sitting up, looking ready to start crying. Julian glanced towards the main room, hearing the voices rising. He gently scooped Gloria up and comforted her briefly. I'm not going to let the same thing happen to you,' he thought angrilly. He stormed out into the living room as his father shouted, "You had no RIGHT to interfere with my decisions!"

"He was MY son also!" Jasmine shouted back. "How DARE you!" Jadzia was standing there, looking shocked. Gloria began to cry, which caught everyone's attention. Julian glanced at her and looked back up, livid. "Get out," he said, strugleing to keeping his voice level, glaring at them both.

"Julian," Michael began.

"I said, get out. I'm not going to let you terrify my daughter. If you want to have anything more to do with her, leave now!" Julian lanced him with a furious glare. Michael paled slightly and nodded. He set the padd down on a coffee table and strode out.

"Julian, I'm sorry," Jasmine started.

Julian turned to Jasmine. "Please, just leave. We can talk about this later. Right now, I want to calm my daughter down."

Jasmine nodded and started for the door. She felt her cheeks heat up and turned. "Julian, I don't know where my quarters are . . . ."

Julian closed his eyes, remembering. "Jadzia . ." he whispered. She nodded and quickly guided Jasmine to the door. As soon as they left, Julian collapsed on the couch. "I'm sorry," he whispered to Gloria. "I'm so sorry." Gloria's tears dimmed to sniffling and jagged breaths. After several moments, she glanced up at him. "Uppie papa."

Julian started and glanced down at her. "Wha . . ." He smiled broadly as Jadzia walked in. "Jadzia," he said, reaching out for her hand.

"What?" she asked, sitting next to him. She gently smoothed a lock of Gloria's hair back.

"Uppie mama," Gloria said, reaching for her.

Jadzia's eyes widened. "Julian, was that just a sentence?" she asked, accepting the little girl.

"Her second," he said, his eyes glowing proudly. "She said Uppie papa' a few seconds before you entered." Jadzia glanced at him and smiled happily. She glanced down at Gloria, who had started to drift off. "I'll be right back," she whispered. Jadzia carried Gloria into her room and gently lay her down. She placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and walked back out. She smiled at Julian. He was streched out on the couch, smiling to himself. Dax walked over and knelt down next to him. "Julian?" He opened his eyes and smiled at her. Dax smiled back a bit. "Do you want to talk about what just happened with your parents?" she asked softly, gently taking his hand in hers.

Julian's smile faltered and he shook his head. "Not right now," he whispered. "I'd rather concentrate on what just happened. Remember that there's a lot more for me than just bad memories."

Dax nodded. "Alright," she whispered. "But if you ever want to talk . . . ." Julian glanced at her and gently ran his hand down the line of spots. "I know where to turn," he whispered. Jadzia smiled and leaned in to kiss him. She felt him respond strongly and Dax slid up on the couch next to him. After several moments, she pulled back and streched out next to him. She felt him shift and make a bit more room for her, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you," he whispered. "Don't you ever forget that. No matter what happens."

"I won't," she promised. "I love you too Julian. No matter what happens."

Chapter 3

Julian walked into the Infirmary the next morning and fell into the usual routine of paperwork, hangnails and the occasional cut or bruise. It was a rather slow day, all things considered. When he wasn't busy, his mind would wander towards the past. Times when things were simpler than now. When he didn't have to worry about the health of hundreds of people. But, although they were simpler, they were by no means happy. Julian pulled out the picture of him and his mother and stared at it mororsely.

"Care to talk about it?" came a quiet voice.

Julian glanced up to see Leah standing in the doorway to his office. He smiled wanly. "No. I'm fine."

"You don't look it," she said, sitting down across from him. Julian glanced up. "Well, in any case, I'd rather not talk about it," he said.

"Does it have anything to do with the fact that your mother is here?" she asked.

Julian's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know?"

Leah smiled slightly. "I read the report," she said softly. "For family members, you put yourself."

Julian crimsoned. "Oh," he murmured. He glanced down briefly. "It's nothing really. Its just my parents don't exactly get along."

Leah studied him for a long time and decided to let it drop. "Well, I just wanted to let you know I'm here so you can head out," she said. "I'll see you later?"

Julian nodded and smiled. "Of course. Good evening." Leah smiled and walked out.

Julian glanced at the photo and put it away with a sigh. He stood up and, gathering a few pads, headed out. He got home and glanced around. "Hello?" There was no response. Julian glanced around as he set the padds on the table. "Jadzia?" Still no response. Julian's eyes latched on a padd sitting on the bed in his and Jadzia's room. He picked it up.

*Julian-

Went to pick up a few things. I'll be back in a bit.

-Jadzia*

Julian smiled and set the padd down. He changed into civvies and headed into the living room and sat down to read one of the reports he had brought home. He glanced up in annoyance as the door chimed. "Computer, Identify."

"Ambassador Michael Bashir," the calm voice replied.

Julian grunted and momentarilly considered ignoring it. "Come in," he finally sighed. He turned back to his padd.

"Julian?"

"What do you want Michael?" Julian didn't bother looking up.

"I, uh, I just stopped in to apologize for last night." Julian glanced up briefly and turned back to the padd. "Julian?"

"What?" he said, glancing up in agrivation.

Michael took a step back. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes, I heard you. You apologized. Is that all?" Julian frowned.

Michael winced and nodded his head slowly. "Yes, I suppose so. I'll see you later then."

Julian nodded and turned back to his padd. Michael sighed softly and turned to head out. He stepped into the hallway and ran into Dax. "Jadzia," he smiled.

Dax glanced at him and nodded briefly before moving past him and into the room. Julian was glaring at the padd he was reading, oblivious to her entry. Dax smiled and slipped into the bedroom and changed into the nightgown he loved the most on her and took her hair out of the clip. As far as she was concerned, he needed some cheering up. Dax pulled her robe on but didn't tie it closed and walked back out. "Hello, love," she smiled. Julian glanced up, startled and then smiled at her. "I didn't hear you come in," he said, following her with his eyes. Dax smiled and sat down next to him. Julian set his padd down and gently reached for her. "Where's Gloria?" he asked as she slid into his arms.

"At the sitters," Dax replied, gently kissing him. Julian closed his eyes and smiled. "Hmm." Dax grinned at him. "So, what's the occasion?" he asked, idly running a hand down her spine. Dax shivered reflexively and smiled demurly. "I figured you might need some cheering up."

Julian's eyes widened and he smiled. "How thoughtful of you," he murmured. Dax laughed and curled close, kissing her way down his neck. Julian sighed happily and gently nuzzled her as best he could. "How long's it been since we did this?" he murmured. Dax pulled back slightly, grinning at him. "I mean," Julian frowned at her, "since we had time alone together. No work, no worries . . . ."

Dax smiled and kissed him. "Far too long," Julian smiled and kissed her in response. Jadzia closed her eyes and ran her hands down his chest. She could feel him start to respond when his commbadge chirped. Dax pulled back and glanced at him unhappily. Julian sighed and tapped it. "Bashir here."

"Julian?" Jasmine's voice rang out. Julian bit back a sigh of agrivation. "I . . hope I'm not interrupting anything but I was wondering if you could come to my quarters."

"What is it Jasmine," Julian replied, gently brushing at Jadzia's hair. She smiled.

"Please Julian." He glanced up, mildly surprised. He glanced at Jadzia who motioned to the door. "I'll be right there," he said.

"Thank you Julian." The channel cut and Julian sighed as he turned to her. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Jadzia kissed him. "I'll be here when you get back. Go on."

Julian leaned over and kissed her passionately. Jadzia leaned against him, slowly running her hands around his waist. After a moment, he pulled back. "I'll be back as soon as possible." He stood up and walked out, heading towards the guest quarters. He tapped the chime. "Come in," a gentle voice called out. Julian walked in. "What can I do for you Jasmine?" he asked.

Jasmine glanced up and sighed. "I needed to talk to you," she said softly. She motioned for him to sit down. Julian did so, reluctantly. Jasmine sat across from him. "Julian, what happened last night?"

He sat back, surprised. "What do you mean?" he asked, frowning.

Jasmine sighed and glanced down at her hands, collecting her thoughts. "I mean, there was something more to just Gloria waking up."

Julian closed his eyes. "Jasmine," he sighed. "Look, things here are on shaky ground for me. Star Fleet found out about . . ." Julian made a motion with his hands. "I'm on probation right now. I had never told Jadzia and she and I are still trying to work past that." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. He wasn't about to bear his soul to her. He couldn't even do that to Jadzia. Not about this. "I just don't need one more disruption. Plus, well, I'm very protective about Gloria."

Jasmine sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or her. I just didn't expect Michael to come waltzing in."

Julian smiled slightly and nodded. "I know."

Jasmine smiled and motioned for him to leave. "You'd better get home. I have the feeling I tore you away from something."

Julian raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Of course." Jasmine smiled at him and he left quickly. Jasmine sighed and frowned. He hadn't told her the truth, at least not all of it. She couldn't blame him. They barely knew eachother. He didn't seem to care much for Michael either,' she reflected. That delightened her and sadened her at the same time. While she cared very little for Michael Bashir, Julian shouldn't have had to go through life without a real parent. Jasmine sighed. 'No wonder he's so protective about Gloria. He doesn't want her to grow up in the environment he did.'

*******

Julian sighed and wrapped an arm around Jadzia. She curled close to him and sent a glance at the chronometer. "I should go get Gloria," she said, gently kissing his chest.

"Hmmm," Julian replied, tightening his embrace. "Alright."

Dax laughed and sat up. "You'd have to let me go in order for me to get her," she said, her eyes glowing. Julian laughed and pulled her close. "What if I don't want to?" he teased.

"Then you'd have one very upset daughter," she grinned back. Julian smiled and released her. Dax quickly pulled on some clothes and headed back to the bed. "I'll be right back," she smiled. Julian kissed her and she pulled back after a moment. She quickly walked out the door.

Julian smiled and gazed up at the celing. His thoughts turned to his talk with Jasmine. He sighed. What did she expect me to say?' he thought bitterly. That their fighting made me remember nights where I could hear them arguing? Or the times Michael used to beat me just because I didn't quite live up to his standards? If so, she's expecting far too much from me than I'm willing to give.' Julian sighed and made a conscious effort to push such thoughts away. He heard the front door open and he smiled. He shifted onto his side and closed his eyes, hearing Jadzia approach with Gloria. He heard Jadzia's grunt of amusement and strugled to keep the smile off his face. "He's asleep," she whispered to Gloria. Julian felt a weight press against the bed. "Papa?" Julian subtly bit his lip to stop himself from grinning. He felt two tiny hands press on his cheeks. "Papa!" He heard Jadzia whisper something and Gloria pat his cheeks. "W'cup Papa!" Julian grinned and picked the little girl up, lifting her high into the air. Gloria giggled in delight. "Down!" she giggled.

Julian smiled and set her down on his chest. "Were you trying to wake me up?" he asked, his eyes smiling.

Gloria paused and then shook her head back and forth, grinning. "No?" Julian asked, shaking his head. Gloria shook her head back. Jadzia laughed softly. Julian glanced at her and smiled. "I think you were," he said, mock seriously. Gloria giggled and shook her head more vehemently. Julian laughed. "Yes, you were," he said. Gloria paused and nodded her head. Dax laughed and ruffled the little girl's hair. "Come on, munchkin. Why don't we let papa get up, hmm?" Gloria nodded and Dax scooped her up. Julian smiled as they walked out and quickly got dressed. He padded out into the main room and wrapped an arm around Jadzia's waist. "Hello," he smiled, gently kissing the back of her neck. Dax sighed and leaned briefly against him. "Hi," she murmured in return. Gloria toddled over and reached up to them. "Uppie."

Dax smiled at Julian and scooped her daughter up. "Uppie? What do you want? I just put you down."

Gloria smiled shyly and rested her head against Dax's shoulder. Julian smiled and kissed Gloria's forehead and moved to make dinner.

*******

Jasmine poked her head inside the infirmary and glanced around. "Julian?"

Bashir glanced out from the lab and spotted her hovering at the door. "Hello Jasmine. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to stop in," she smiled. She strode over to him. Julian managed a slight smile. "Are you busy?" she asked, glancing at the numbers streaming across the screen.

"Not particularly," Julian said, sending a cursory glance at the data. "This will take a while."

"Well, perhaps you'd care for lunch?" she asked. Julian smiled and stood up. "I suppose," he said. They walked out to the Replimat. After they had gotten their meals and had sat down, Jasmine turned to him. "Julian, I know we got off to a poor start but I hope it won't affect things."

Julian glanced at her, curious. "Well, I don't know," he said slowly. "For better or for worse, Michael and I are getting along better." He saw her frown. "Which means, he's around a lot. I don't know how things are going to be now after the other night but he and I still have to work together so we have to get along to some extent."

"I can't believe he accepted this post knowing full well how you felt about him." Jasmine frowned at her food.

Julian raised an eyebrow. "How would you know how I feel about him?" he asked softly. "You weren't around."

Jasmine glanced at him. "I was around long enough," she said firmly. "And I absolutely hated the fact that I couldn't get custody of you. Just leaving you there with that . . ." She trailed off and stabbed her lunch.

Julian sighed and nodded, glancing at his tray. "Right. I suppose you do have an idea of what life was like with him, don't you." Jasmine nodded and sighed. Julian glanced up. "But, he's changed. I know it sounds crazy," he soothed at her incredulous look, "but he's not the same person he was all those years ago."

Jasmine frowned. "I don't know Julian. He seemed pretty much the same the other night."

Julian sighed and nodded slowly. "I know. But that's one of the few times I've seen him like that since he arrived here."

Jasmine took a sip of her water and sighed. "Well, you're entitled to your own opinion Julian." Julian smiled slightly and nodded. They talked for a while longer, Jasmine asking him about his life here on DS9 and Julian asking her about what she had been doing also. By the end of lunch, Julian couldn't help but feel closer to her. He was glad that things had worked out as they did. They walked back to the infirmary and Jasmine kissed his cheek. "I'll see you soon, I hope."

Julian smiled and nodded. "Maybe you could come for dinner tomorrow night?"

"I'd love that," she smiled. Julian grinned and nodded. Jasmine walked off and Julian turned back to his work.

*******

Jasmine had just streched out on the couch in her temporary quarters when the chime rang. She sighed. "Come in," she called.

The door slid open, revealing a very hesitant looking Michael Bashir. Jasmine sat up slowly. "Michael."

He glanced around as the doors slid shut. "I'm sorry to intrude," he said softly. "But I think we need to talk."

"What about?" she asked warily.

"Julian," Michael said. "I don't think I have to tell you that he's rather upset with what happened the other night."

Jasmine shook her head. "No, you don't. He and I talked over lunch together."

Michael raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Yes, well. First, I wanted to appologize for the way I acted."

Jasmine raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? That will be a first."

Bashir frowned. "Perhaps," he said after a moment. "But, well, I'd like to do everything I can to stop something like that from happening again. He's come to mean quite a lot to me and so has Jadzia and Gloria."

Jasmine frowned back. "What do you want," she said after a moment.

Michael sighed. "I don't know. Perhaps to call a truce? At least for Julian's sake."

Jasmine glared at him. "We call a truce and then what? Pretend like we're one big happy family again? I don't think so."

"You know, if you were truly his mother, you'd have his best interests at heart and you would consider this," Michael glared. "However, you walked out on that role years ago."

"Walked out?!" she spat. "Try forced out. You couldn't stand being wrong about anything, especially what you felt would be the best solution for Julian's problems, so you forced me away from him. Got the courts to forbid any contact with him whatsoever and somehow managed to keep anything he did from reaching me!"

Michael sighed. "I can see this was a rediculous idea."

"You had better believe it is! You were wrong, once again. You couldn't even realize that you were very sick all those years ago."

"I can't take this anymore," he growled. "What's the point in trying to reason with a banshee."

"Banshee! Why you egotistical, arrogant bastard!" Jasmine realized she had overstepped things with him as a familiar angry glint came into Michael's eyes. She backed up, putting the couch in between them. "Leave, Michael. Now." Michael Bashir glared angrilly for a moment before turning on his heel and storming out.

Chapter 4

Julian streched out on the couch, reading to Gloria. Or trying to, at least. She was flipping back and forth between pages, making it impossible for him to finish a sentence. He mentally cursed the fact that she had discovered the page ahead button.

"She has your attention span," Jadzia teased, placing an affectionate kiss on the top of his head as she passed. Julian chuckled and gently caught her hand, spinning her back to the couch. "Very funny," he smiled, kissing her. Dax pulled back and laughed. "Case in point," she teased. Julian cracked up and was about to respond when the comm chriped. "Medical Emergency. Dr. Bashir to the infirmary."

Julian sighed and stood up, handing Gloria to Jadzia. He darted into the bedroom and pulled on his uniform, adding the now standard side arm. "I'm on my way," he said, dropping a quick kiss on Jadzia's cheek and Gloria's forehead before leaving.

*******

Julian strode into sickbay and froze. Jasmine Sayed lay on one of the biobeds. "What happened?" he snapped, walking over.

"She called for emergency medical assistance," Wilkes responded promptly. "We got there and transported her here."

"Did you call Odo?" Julian asked, studying the scanner.

"As soon as we realized what had happened," Wilkes said, her jaw set. "Cerebral hemorhaging. Her hip is rebroken and she has several lascerations and contusions."

Julian was nodding, working on the most severe injuries. "Good work," he murmured. Wilkes nodded, helping out. After several moments, Julian glanced back up at the biofeed and swallowed. Her vitals were still weak but they were steady for the moment. "There's not much more we can do," he said softly. Wilkes lay a gentle hand on his arm. "Don't worry. If she's half as stuborn as you are, she'll make it." Julian smiled slightly as he heard a coughing noise behind him and turned. Odo was standing there, looking expectant. "I'll be right with you constable," Julian said. Odo nodded and Julian began searching for any evidence for her attacker's identity. He could feel Odo shifting impatiently behind him but he didn't say anything. After several more minutes, Julian turned. "Alright. What do you need to know?"

"Have you been able to find anything to point to the identity of the attacker?" Odo asked, moving forward.

Julian sighed and shook his head. "There's no residual DNA under her fingernails or anything of that sort. She might be able to help you when she regains consciousness but, as far as that goes I can't help you." Julian sighed. "As for the pattern of the markings, I'd wager the person was between 6' 2" and 6'5", about 190 and 210 lbs. Right handed."

Odo raised an eyebrow. "Doctor, do you realize how many men and women fit that description?"

Julian frowned back. "Yes, constable, I do. However, there's nothing more that I can tell you."

Odo regarded him briefly and nodded. "Alright doctor." Odo glanced at Jasmine. "When will she regain consciousness?"

"I couldn't tell you," Julian said. "She's in critical condition right now. I'll let you know."

Odo nodded and started to leave but turned back. "One last question doctor."

"Go ahead," he said.

"That's your mother, correct?"

Julian nodded slowly. "Yes. Why?"

"She and your father don't get along very well, do they?" Odo's face was very carefully neutral.

Julian raised an eyebrow and, shaking off shadows of his past, replied. "Not particularly, no. They didn't part on the best of terms." Odo nodded slowly, studying the doctor carefully. Julian raised an eyebrow. "You don't think Michael did this, do you?"

Odo rocked back on his heels. "You tell me doctor. You have more personal history with him."

Julian felt a memory tugging at him. Flashes of rememberances, his parents arguing, he was sitting on the stairs listening. And then . . . .

"Doctor?"

Julian's head snapped up. "Yes, Odo?" he said, strugling to regain his composure.

"Are you alright doctor?" Odo was studying him closely.

"I'm fine," Julian replied calmly. "I'll let you know if I find anything."

Odo frowned but nodded and left. Julian sagged slightly against a medtable. Leah glanced at him. "So, are you going to tell him what really happened?" she asked softly.

Julian glanced at her. "What are you talking about?"

Lean smiled slightly. "You keep forgetting, I'm a pediatric specialist and I come from a large family. You looked like a kid who had been asked to remember a nightmare when he asked about your parent's relationship." Julian frowned and Leah held up her hands. "I'm not going to ask you to explain doctor. But remember this: you're on probation. If it seems you're hindering an investigation, that's not going to win you any favors with Star Fleet." She rested a friendly hand on his shoulder and headed into the lab. Julian stared after her for a while and then sighed. He glanced down at Jasmine and took a deep breath. "Doctor," he called. Wilkes poked her head out the door. "I'll be right back," Julian said. "There's something I need to do." Wilkes nodded and walked back into the main infirmary to keep an eye on Sayed.

*******

"Julian?" Dax frowned, looking up from her reading. "What happened in the Infirmary?"

Julian took a deep breath and sat down next to her. "Gloria's asleep, right?"

Dax nodded. "Yeah, about a half hour ago." She gently smoothed back his hair. "What's wrong?"

Julian took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Jasmine was attacked. That's why I was called there."

Dax's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, Julian. I'm sorry. Is she alright?"

"She's in critical condition. I just . . . ." Julian lowered his gaze. Jadzia gently took his hands in hers. "Odo asked me if Michael could have done this. Not in so many words but . . . ." Dax nodded slowly. Julian sighed and gazed at their hands, not sure where to start. "It's alright, Julian," Dax whispered. "Just take your time." He glaned up at her, his dark eyes saddened by memories. Dax felt a tiny prickle of alarm at the back of her mind. "Julian, do you think he could have done it?" she whispered.

Julian glanced down and shook his head slowly. "I don't know," he replied. He felt her hands tighten on his. "Jadzia, I keep saying how he isn't the same person I remember and I'm very protective when he's around Gloria. Did you ever stop to wonder why?"

Dax's eyes widened. "You've alluded to things but . . . Julian. Julian please tell me. I don't want to guess at what you're saying here."

Julian swallowed, feeling his throat constrict. "How much plainer do I have to make it love? He verbally, mentally and sometimes physically abused me and Jasmine. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Jadzia felt her blood drain from her face. "Julian why didn't you ever say anything?"

Julian shook his head. "I couldn't. I didn't want to."

Jadzia gazed at him, her eyes filled with tears. "Julian, had I even known . . . I would have never asked you to try and put that behind you."

Julian gently kissed her, drawing her into his arms. "I know love." He sighed and pulled back.

"Did you tell Odo this?" Dax asked, wiping at her cheeks. Julian shook his head. "Julian," Dax frowned. "You've got to tell him . . ."

"I know," he whispered. "That's why I'm here. I needed for you to know first."

Jadzia smiled at him and gently kissed him. "Thank you," she whispered. Julian rested his forehead against hers. "You'd better go tell Odo," Jadzia whispered. Julian nodded and stood up, taking a deep breath. Jadzia gently caught his hand. "Do you want me to come?" she asked softly.

Julian smiled and shook his head. "That's alright. I'll be alright." He gently gave her hand a squeeze and walked out.

*******

"You're telling me that your father could have done this?" Odo frowned.

Julian sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. Had you asked me that a couple years ago and I'd say that, without a doubt, he could be capable of something like that. Now . . I don't know."

"Doctor," Odo sighed. "All I'm asking is whether you think he would be capable of this."

Julian glanced down and then back up. "It's possible, yes."

Odo nodded. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention doctor." Julian sighed and nodded slowly. "If you think of anything else, let me know," Odo added as Bashir started out. Julian nodded again and headed to the infirmary.

*******

Wilkes glanced up in surprise as Julian entered. "How's she doing?" he asked, walking over.

Leah sighed and shook her head. "Not good," she admitted. She lay a sympathetic hand on his arm. He sighed and glanced at the readouts on the biobed. She was right. Jasmine would be very lucky if she survived. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. Julian sighed and began moving about, taking care of cleaning up. Leah watched him for a moment. "Julian?"

He glanced up from some diagnostic equipment. "Yes, Leah?"

She stepped forward. "Go home," she said softly. "I'll let you know if anything changes."

Julian glanced at her and sighed. "Alright. But call me if . . ."

"Anything changes," Leah finished, smiling slightly. "I will, don't worry." Julian smiled and nodded at her. He paused briefly next to Jasmine and sighed. He'd be damned if he was going to simply sit down and wait for other people to figure out what had happened. Julian strode out of the infirmary.

*******

Jadzia glanced up in surprise as Julian entered. "Hey," she said softly. "Did you talk to Odo?"

"Yes," he murmured, heading over to the computer. He sat down in front of the terminal and called up some data. Jadzia padded over behind him. "That's the Jukanno's manifest," she said softly. "Julian?"v He shrugged slightly and continued studying it. "She's not doing well Jadzia and there isn't anything else I can do for her. The least I can do is try and figure out who attacked her."

Dax sighed and gently squeezed his shoulders. "Oh, love," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I know the two of you had gotten close."

"She's not dead yet Jadzia," Julian muttered. He sighed and shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's okay," Dax said. She gently kissed his forehead. "Is there anything I can do?"

Julian paused and nodded. "Actually, can you give me a hand with something? I want to run a scan of her room, see if I can pick up anything."

Jadzia nodded. "Of course. I'll call Talen and see if she can come here for a bit. I'll meet you there?"

"Thank you," he said softly, kissing her quickly. Jadzia smiled slightly as he walked out.

*******

Julian glanced up as Jadzia entered Jasmine's room. "I called Odo to let him know what we were doing," Julian said, his tricorder scanning the main room. Dax could see an open medical forensics kit sitting on the table. Dax walked over to him. "Find anything yet?" she asked, picking up a tricorder.

"Not yet," he murmured. He glanced at her. "Try in the bedroom and bathroom. I'll keep working out here."

"Right," Dax murmured. She moved into the bedroom and started scanning, moving in concentric circles, working her way to the bath. Once she reached the door, she moved in and continued scanning. She frowned slightly at the readouts and moved a bit to localize the readouts. "There you are," she murmured. She reached into the kit she had slung over her shoulder and pulled out a molecular isolater and ran it over the area the tricorder had alerted her to. After several swipes she turned it off and lifted the container up. She set it back in her bag and continued scanning. She didn't find anything though. Dax walked back to the main room to find a very frustrated Julian scanning the last bit of the room. "Any luck?" he asked, glancing up.

Dax pulled out the container and shrugged slightly. "Possibly," she said. "I found some sort of molecular residue but I don't know whether it's hers or not."

"Where?" he asked, moving over to her side.

"Bathroom," she said. She handed it to him and glanced around. "Nothing out here?" she asked.

"It's all inconclusive," he sighed. "Let's get this back to the lab and see what we've got." Dax nodded and they packed their things up and left.

*******

"Doctor," Leah glanced up, surprised. "Commander. What can I do for you?"

"We think we might have something," Julian said, moving to the analyzer. Dax sat next to him and started to run a more detailed scan. Leah walked over and glanced at the results. "Organic," she murmured. "It could be a DNA fragment, judging from this readout."

"Yes, but who's?" Jadzia murmured. Her hands danced over the console.

Julian glanced at the screen and sighed. "That will take a while to figure out," he said. Leah was about to reply when they heard an alarm from the main infirmary. The two doctors rushed out, Dax following behind them. Julian reached the biobed first, his gaze snapping to the results. "Her vitals are crashing," he muttered as Wilkes reached the bed. "The hemorhaging's started again," Wilkes replied.

Dax watched in shock as the two of them struggled to save Jasmine. She felt a presence behind her and glanced over her shoulder as Odo entered. "What's happening?" he asked gruffly.

Dax shook her head slowly. "I don't know. We were in the lab analyzing our results from the sweep of the room when the alarms went off." She could see Julian glaring at the biofeed and turn back to his work. Wilkes was across from him, working in a tandem with him. They occasionally muttered instructions back and forth. Dax watched mesmerized for what seemed like a short time before Wilkes sighed and shook her head. "Damn," she sighed. She glanced at Julian, who shook his head. "One last thing," he murmured.

"Julian," Leah said softly, resting her hand on his arm. "She's gone. It's been over forty minutes. Even if she survived this, the brain damage would be so severe that she wouldn't be able to survive for much longer." Her voice trailed off at the look on his face. She sent a look in Dax's direction. Dax stepped forward. "Julian," she whispered. He closed his eyes and glanced back. Dax gently set a hand on his arm. "She's right, love. Let go."

Julian sighed and set the instrument he had been holding down on the tray. He swallowed hard and turned away. "Computer," he said softly. "Time of death, 2546 hours." He heard it chirp in compliance. Jadzia gently wrapped an arm around him, holding him close. "I'm sorry," she whispered, knowing it wasn't enough. He nodded, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "Let's go home," she said softly. He gently shook his head, wanting to see this through.

"Go," Leah said. "I can take care of this."

Julian hesitated and then sighed. "Alright," he said softly. He felt Dax's arms tighten around his waist and they started out. Dax sent a look at Odo, who nodded slowly and walked in to talk to Wilkes.

Chapter 5

Dax keyed the release on the door to their quarters, shooting a concerned glance at Julian. He walked in and nodded briefly at Talen and headed into the bedroom. Talen glanced at Jadzia. "Is he alright?" she asked quietly.

Dax gazed after her husband. "He'll be fine. His mother just passed away. He just needs time."

Talen raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my condolences. May the prophets welcome her pagh to the celestial temple."

Dax smiled sadly. "Thank you, Talen." The older woman nodded and walked out. Dax glanced at their bedroom and headed in to quickly check on Gloria. She was sleeping soundly, one arm tossed above her head, the blanket kicked down. Dax gently pulled the blanket back up and carefully pulled her arm back down. Gloria shifted slightly in her sleep and settled back down. Dax kissed her forehead and walked into her bedroom. Julian was streched out on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Dax walked over and sat next to him, gently taking his hand in hers. "Hey," she whispered. Julian glanced at her, his dark eyes lacking their usual sparkle. Dax smoothed a lock of hair off his forehead. "Do you want to talk about it?" she whispered. Julian shook his head, glancing away. Dax nodded. "Alright," she whispered, still brushing at his hair. She leaned forward and kissed him gently. "I'm going to shower." Julian nodded but didn't respond. Dax gently squeezed his hand and got up. Julian sighed and closed his eyes. Part of him couldn't believe this had happened. It didn't seem real. And it surely wasn't fair.

He sat up and pulled out some pyjamas, lost in thought. He went over the data he and Jadzia had collected, reviewed every event from the attack on the Jukanno till now. Nothing struck him as odd or out of place. Julian grunted softly in frustration and glanced towards the bathroom. I still have Jadzia,' he thought, trying to console himself. I still have my family and friends.' He streched out on the bed and shifted onto his side, determined to get some sleep and not deal with this until tomorrow morning. He was vaugely aware of Jadzia coming out of the bathroom dressed for bed and sliding up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Julian unconsciously twined his fingers with hers, grateful for her presence as he fell asleep, trying to recall memories from when he was younger.

Unfortunately, his mind only seemed to recall the unpleasant times as fodder for his dreams. Julian's mind drifted back to his sixth birthday. He had had to go to school that day, which he dreaded more than anything in the world . . . .

Julian walked sullenly into the school, heading towards his classroom. He hadn't wanted to go today, even if it was his birthday. He hated school. He didn't understand what the teacher was talking about most of the time and the other kids teased him. He got in trouble for not paying attention, but why pay attention when you don't know what's going on? Plus, he could always hear his parents fighting about his schooling.

As usual, the teacher began the class at eight on the nose and started working with the students on the computer. Julian tried to pay attention but his mind started wandering as usual, leading him on adventures. He was vaugly aware of soft laughter around him and he glanced up to see the teacher frowning at him. Julian flushed bright red and slid down in his seat as the teacher turned back to her topic.

At break time, the children darted outside, eager to be the first ones on the swings. Julian ran after but, as usual, was the last one to reach the equipment. He sighed and waited impatienly in line as the kids swung. After several minutes, it was finally his turn. He stepped forward to find that the swing had been taken by Brian, the biggest, meanest kid in his class. "It's my turn," he frowned petulantly.

Brian turned and laughed. "So what are you going to do about it pipsqueak? I'm here now. It's not my fault you're so ssssllllloooowwww." He dragged out the last word as long as he could.

Julian felt his cheeks heat up angrilly and feeling braver, he WAS six years old, managed to stutter out, "I . . I w-was w-wait-ting f-for this s-swing!"

Brian stood up and glared down at Julian. "So what?"

"S-so you . . you g-go wait at the . . the back of the l-line!" Julian could feel his courage gathering as a couple classmates looked over with interest. That and Brian hadn't hit him yet.

"What if I don't want to?" Brian asked. "What are you going to do about it?"

Julian's resolve cracked. What could he do about it? If he told on Brian, he'd never hear the end of the taunting and if he hit him he'd just get hit back _and_ he'd be in trouble. With a sigh, Julian walked off . . .

That evening, he was suprised to find his father had gotten home from his trip. He said he'd have to leave again tomorrow though. That didn't matter to Julian. This was the first time he remembered his father being home for his birthday. He felt his spirits lighten up as he told him all about his day at school and what a jerk Brian was. His father waited patiently for him to finish before asking, "So what did you learn in school today?"

Julian paused and then launched into what the teacher had been talking about as best as he could remember. While he was talking, his father sent a glance at his mother. Julian frowned slightly. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing Julian," his mother smiled. "Go on."

Julian continued talking, although his enthusiasm was dimmed. Dinner was his favorite meal and afterwards, his mother pulled out a chocolate birthday cake. After blowing out the candles and opening a few presents, Julian was ushered into the bathtub, much to his dismay. Afterwards, his father said goodnight and his mother tucked him in. "Good night Julian. Happy Birthday." She kissed his forehead and quietly walked out, turning the lights out as she went.

Several minutes later, just as he was starting to drift off, he heard his parent's voices from downstairs drifting upwards. Julian got up and crept to the top of the stairs and listened.

"You heard him," Michael sighed. "He had no idea what the teacher was talking about today in class."

"Michael, give him a little credit. At least he's trying."

"He's not trying," Michael frowned. "He was just parroting information back."

Jasmine sighed. "Well, we'll just have to be patient. He'll grow out of it."

"Actually," Michael said softly. "We might not have to."

Jasmine glanced up. "What are you talking about Michael?"

Michael sat down and began to speak softly. Julian moved a bit lower down the stairs so he could hear better, still keeping out of sight. "There's a place called Adigeon Prime. They might be able to help us."

"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked, leaning forward.

"They have this proceedure that can help Julian." He perked up at the mention of his name. "It's called Accelerated Critical Neural Pathway Formation. I think we should seriously consider this."

Jasmine studied him carefully. "What exactly is it?" she asked.

"It'll increase the formation of neural pathways in his cerebral cortex." Michael leaned foward intensely.

Jasmine frowned. "Michael, that sounds suspiciously like genetic . . ."

Michael held up a hand. "No. It's not, believe me."

Jasmine's eyes widened. "My god. You want to genetically engineer your only son!"

Julian rested his head against the wall. He wasn't quite sure what his parents were talking about beyond that they were talking about him.

Michael sighed. "It's not engineering, Jasmine. The proceedure takes what he already has and . . . ."

"Effectively kills who he is now. No, Michael. I won't have any part in this. Forget it."

"Jasmine, unless he gets some sort of help, he's never going to be able to keep up with his peers." Michael stood up and began to pace. "Don't you care about what happens to him?"

"Of course I do!" Jasmine snapped. "He's my son!"

"Then why don't you want to risk this?!" Michael shouted back.

"Because the price is too damn high Michael. What if something goes wrong? What happens to Julian then?"

"Nothing will go wrong," Bashir sighed. "This sort of proceedure is done enough that the chances of something happening are . . . ."

"Too high to risk Julian's life on it!" Jasmine stood up.

"You don't give a damn about the fact that he's falling behind in school and that he can't keep up with things," Michael spat out.

"I do so care! You're not here when he comes home crying because the kids in his class were teasing him about being slow or awkward. You're not the one to meet with his teacher because he doesn't pay attention in class because he doesn't understand the material. You're too busy with your career to care about your son. You're only worried because he reflects poorly on you!"

"How DARE you!" Michael shouted. "How dare you even insinuate such a thing!"

"It wasn't an insinuation!" Jasmine shouted back. "It was an accusation. He's your only son and you're willing to kill him! Damn you Michael Bashir. So help me god, if you even attempt to take him to that god forsaken place I will have your career destroyed so quickly you won't know what . . ."

Julian winced at the sound of his father slapping Jasmine. He poked his head forward and glanced between the railing. He could see his mother massaging her jaw, looking a bit scared and very angry. His father just looked furious. "M-mother? Are . . are you o-okay?" he stuttered out. Both his parents turned to face him. Michael's features darkened. "I thought you were supposed to be in bed?" he snapped. Julian backed up, frightened. "I . . . I h-heard you s-s-shouting and . . ." Michael strode over to the stairs and started up. Julian was pinned at his spot by his father's anger for all of three milliseconds before he scrambled up the stairs. Unfortunately his coordination failed him and he stumbled as his father reached him . . . .

Julian snapped upright in bed, panting. Next to him, Jadzia stirred. "Julian?" she murmured, sitting up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Julian murmured. "Just a bad dream." Dax gazed at him concerned and then gently hugged him. "Want to talk about it?" she asked.

Julian shook his head, hugging her back. "No. It's nothing major." He saw her frown and he sighed. "Please Jadzia. All I want to do is go back to sleep."

"If you're sure you don't want to talk about it . . ." she said as he layed back down. Dax curled next to him as he replied. "Nope. It was simply a bad dream. That's all." Julian gazed up at the ceiling, pushing back the last of his fear.

*******

Julian walked into the infirmary the next morning in a bad mood. He was still upset but his grief was being overridden by his anger. He wanted to know what had happened. He walked into the lab to find Wilkes sitting there, studying some readout. "Well?" he grumped.

Leah turned and raised an eyebrow. "Good morning to you too," she retorted. Julian flushed, abashed. "Sorry," he murmured. "I didn't sleep very well last night."

Leah nodded slowly. "Well, forgiven, I suppose. In that case, I'm glad I didn't call you last night."

Julian leaned forward. "What did you find?" he asked.

Wilkes gestured to the screen. "I'm still running an analysis of the sample Commander Dax found but the readouts from the tricorders were easy enough to dissect. Look." Julian studied it carefully. "Four different DNA patterns. One was Jasmine's, one was yours, one was Dax's."

"Who was the fourth . . ." Julian interrupted. He had been expecting those.

"Ambassador Bashir," Leah stated.

Julian felt his knees give out and he collapsed into a chair. "Dear god," he murmured. He swallowed thickly. "Did you tell . . ."

"Odo? Yes. He said he was going to question him this morning."

"What about what Dax found?" he asked.

Leah paused and shrugged. "I'm not sure. It has me stumped. It could be a DNA pattern but it's hightly degregated if it is." Julian nodded. "But, that's not all I found." Leah tried to dim her excitement. This had been his mother after all.

"What?" Julian murmured wearily.

Leah hesitated and pulled up some new data. "When, uh, performing the post mortem, I found evidence that she didn't die of a brain hemorhage. At least not directly."

Julian glanced up, startled. "What?"

Leah pointed to the screen. "I found evidence of an anticoagulent in her system. It was part of a common flu virus, encoded in the genetic make-up. Whoever, uh, beat her injected this into her system afterwards."

Julian's jaw had dropped. "Have you told Odo?" he asked, his mind racing.

"Not yet. I was about to when you walked in. Julian, whoever did this did a good enough job that it worked but a poor enough job that it was detected easily. More that that, this was premeditated." Julian was nodding numbly. Leah called Odo and turned back to him. She paused and then continued. "I have a theory about this," she said. "I mean, about how it happened." He turned towards her, fixing an intent gaze on her. She took a deep breath. "Well, I'm betting whoever killed her had quite a vendetta to plan this out. This wasn't a cheep operation. Sloppy, yes. But, whoever they were, they had to have known your mom. So, she might not have been to worried when she let them in, as there was no sign of forced entry." Julian spotted Odo enter during this. "I'd wager he/she/it/they uh, took their time. They were even comfortable enough to perhaps wash up afterwards? And they injected this, just in case."

Julian sighed and rocked backwards in his chair. He glanced at Odo. "Constable, take a look at this." Odo stepped forward and Wilkes launched into her explanation again as Julian paced behind them, his mind whirling. Who on earth would want to kill her?' he thought. Who holds a vendetta. Who knows where she is and how have they known long enough to get here?' Julian had already eliminated Michael from his personal list of suspects. His father was misguided, had a temper, and could afford the process but premeditated murder wasn't his style. Julian half listened as Odo grilled Wilkes on the details. "When could this have been injected?" he frowned.

"Not too long ago," she replied. "The protein shell is very unstable because of the sloppy job. There were a few flaws in it."

"It did it's job, though," Odo pointed out wryly. Wilkes shrugged him off. "So it did. The point is, it couldn't have been injected any more than twelve hours before she died, otherwise she would have been dead a lot earlier. The virus had to replicate itself enough times for the anticoagulent to actually work well enough to kill her." Julian's mind locked away the details. Odo asked a few more questions and, satisfied, started kicking around ideas with Wilkes, having been somewhat impressed with her earlier theory. Julian walked into the main infirmary. He moved to a console. "Computer, are there any personal logs from Jasmine Tahir Sayed?"

"There are three personal . . ."

"Delete audio," he muttered, glancing in the direction of the lab. "Display logs." He studied the list that came up. Two from the first day she was here and one from yesterday morning. "Show first log," Julian murmured.

Chapter 6

Michael Bashir sat on the bench in the brig, his head in his hands. He still couldn't believe what had happened. Jasmine was dead. That, in and of itself, was a shock. They had had problems. Okay, they hadn't spoken in years. But he would have never wished her to die in such a horrid way. And he would have never killed her. Michael scrubbed at his face in misery.

"Ambassador?" Michael glanced up to see Odo standing there, Julian behind him. Michael sat up straighter. Julian was pale and looked very stressed. Odo deactivated the forcefield. "You can go back to your quarters not."

"What's happening?" he asked, standing up and walking out.

Odo glanced from him to Julian. "I'll let the doctor explain things." Michael glanced at Julian who had turned to leave, making it clear that Michael was supposed to follow. Michael did so, confused. "Julian, what's going on?"

"Not here," Julian murmured, striding towards the turbo lift. Once inside, Julian halted the lift. "Alright," he said, blowing out his breath. "You don't have to worry. You aren't a suspect anymore."

"Why?" Michael pressed.

"Because you couldn't ahve killed her in cold blood," Julian said quietly, staring forward.

"What?" Michael gasped. He stared at his son in shock. "She was murdered? Oh, my god."

Julian nodded slowly. "Jadzia and I scanned her room last night. We found four confirmed DNA patterns and one sample we haven't identified yet."

"Who were the four people?"

"Myself, Jadzia, Jasmine and you."

"Which explains why I spent the night in the brig," Michael sighed. He sighed and rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. "Damn."

"Why were you in her room Michael?" Julian asked, turning to face him.

Michael glanced at him. "I went there to see if we could call a truce," he said softly. "If just while around you." Julian sighed and closed his eyes. "Alright," he said softly. "I suppose the two of you ended up fighting while trying to call a truce." He saw Michael flush with embarasment and Julian managed a smile. "Computer, resume," he said, shaking his head. He sobered up. "I found out she recorded three log entries since arriving."

Michael glanced at him. "Does Odo know?"

"Probably," Julian said, shifting his weight.

"You didn't tell him?" Michael hissed as the doors slid open. Julian walked out, ignoring him. Michael ran after. "Julian, are you nuts?! You're on probation. If Odo finds out you're withholding evidence . . . ."

Julian sighed and nodded. "I know. I just want to test a theory first."

"Which is . . ." Michael frowned as they strode into the science lab. Jadzia glanced up surprised. "Julian, what are you doing here?" She glanced at Michael and nodded slightly.

"She was murdered Jadzia," he ssaid softly. Her eyes widened in shock. "Oh, my god. Julian." She stood up and gently hugged him. He sighed into her hair. "How?" she asked, pulling back.

"A virus that was encoded with an anticoagulent," he said softly. "When the virus had replicated enough, it prevented her blood from clotting anymore."

"Damn," Dax hissed. "Do you have . . .?" Julian pulled a padd out and a tiny sample container, smiling slightly. "See what you can make of it," he grinned.

"You must be a mind reader," Dax smiled, taking it from him. She sat back down, pulling the information while adjusting the scanner. "Okay," she murmured to the sample. "What do you want to tell me?" Julian gently squeezed her shoulder. "Let me know when you find something," he said softly. "Mm hmm," she murmured. "Just make sure you tell Odo about this, huh?"

Michael bit back his laughter as his son started. "What was that about me being a mind reader?" he muttered. Dax shook her head. "Julian, don't do anything stupid. You go straight to Odo and tell him I have this sample and you tell him anything else you've found."

Julian frowned. "Alright. But you let me know what you find first."

"Alright," she conceeded. Julian nodded and motioned to Michael. They left the lab quietly. Julian headed to the turbolift again. "Docking ring," he announced.

"What?" Michael frowned.

"I said there was something I wanted to check out," Julian said. "We'll go to Odo afterwards."

*******

After a heated discussion' with Miles, Julian was allowed in the Jukanno. He strode through the coridors, which were still dark, only lit by emergency lighting, to Jasmine's quarters on board. Julian walked in and glanced around. It was pitch black inside. "Michael, there should be a torch in the engineering kit we passed," Julian said. Michael moved back as Julian stepped in, letting his eyes adjust to the dark. He carefully navagated his way to the computer screen he could see. He reached in just as Michael appeared with the torch. Julian glanced and smiled slightly. "Bring that over here," he said. Michael stepped in, glancing at the mild destruction.

"Now," Julian murmured. "Jasmine said she had knocked into the table here," he said, gesturing towards the table he was sitting at. "Which meant she probably had to be heading to or leaving this terminal. One wouldn't simply walk by this area. So, let's see what she was doing." Julian tapped the controls and the computer flickered to life, with some difficulty. He grinned and ran through the directory. "Computer, list personal logs." A list of ten entries came up. "Alright," Julian murmured, flexing his knuckles. "Let's get to work."

Ten entries later, Julian was incredibly frustrated. "What exactly were you looking for Julian?" Michael asked.

"Anything that would give us a clue as to who would want to kill her," Julian murmured. "I don't know."

"Where was she heading to?"

"New Sudan," Julian replied.

"To visit Akmed?" Michael asked.

"No. She said she didn't . . . wait a minute," Julian murmured. He punched up a journal entry and showed it to Michael.

*I'm looking forward to striking up a long dead relationship. It's been years since I've seen him. I regret losing touch with him.*

"Damn. She _was_ going to see Akmed. But why would she lie?" Julian got up and began pacing. He was thourougly startled when the doors slid open to reveal Dax standing there. "Jadzia! Gods, don't do that to me."

Dax sighed and shook her head. "I figured since you were here, you hadn't talked to Odo yet. So I figured we'd go together."

"What did you find out?" he asked.

Dax shook her head. "Our deal was you would go talk to Odo and I'd tell you first. You haven't seen Odo, therefore the deal is null and void."

"Jadzia . . ." Julian frowned.

Dax sighed. "Come on. I'll tell you on the way there."

They headed out into the docking ring and towards a turbolift. Once inside Dax explained. "It was a bit difficult to pin, but I managed to figure out who engineered it."

"Who?" Julian asked, his eyes lighting up.

Dax glanced at him, excitement lighting her eyes. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said grimly.

"Try me," he frowned as they stepped onto the Promenade. Dax shook her head and started for Odo's office. Julian sighed and started off after her. "Jadzia," he hissed, when he got to her side. "Please."

Dax glanced at him and sighed. "Promise me you won't do anything drastic."

"Yes," he sighed.

Dax nodded slowly. "It was engineered using Romulan technology, but I don't think they were the ones to kill her."

Julian nodded slowly, walking into Odo's office. "Constable, we've discovered a few things." Odo glanced up and listened carefully as both Julian and Jadzia outlined what they had found. He listened for several minutes and nodded. "Since you've managed to figure out who engineered the virus, I'm willing to overlook the fact that you went onto the Jukanno behind my back, doctor." Julian flushed slightly but nodded. "Now, I don't suppose you found anything on there that would shed some light onto this case."

Julian shrugged. "Other than the fact that she lied to me about not knowing Akmed lived on New Sudan, no I'm afraid not."

Odo sighed and stood up. "I'll make another search of the ships logs and her personal logs to make sure you didn't miss anything. I'll let you know if I find anything."

Julian nodded gratefully and he and Jadzia left the office. Julian glanced at the chronometer and sighed. "Do you want to get some lunch?" he asked. Dax nodded and they headed towards the replimat and ordered. They ate in relative silence for several minutes. Jadzia gazed at him, concerned. "Julian? About last night . ." He glanced up surprised. "What about it?"

Dax gently touched his hand. "What was your nightmare about?"

Julian swallowed and glanced down. "How come I have a feeling you already know what it was," he muttered. He glanced back up. "If I simply say 'the past' would you leave it at that?"

Dax sighed and nodded. "Alright. For now. I just wish you'd tell me about these things."

Julian gently squeezed her hand. "I will. Eventually. But right now . . . I just need some time with everything that's happening." Jadzia smiled slightly and nodded. "I know," she whispered. "I just wish there was some way . . . ."

"Hello Doctor. Dax."

Both glanced up to see Sisko standing behind them. He sat down at Jadzia's gesture. "I heard about what happened. I'm sorry for your loss, doctor." Julian nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "I'm wondering if you've made any headway."

Dax started filling him in while Julian half-listened to the conversation. He wasn't in the mood for traditional platitudes. Something from the back of his mind forced its way forward and Julian sat up sharply. "I'll be right back," he said, leaning to give her a kiss.

"Julian?" Dax studied his retreating form in confusion. "I wonder what that was about?" she said softly, glancing at Sisko. He shrugged his shoulders, as confused as Dax was.

*******

Julian opened a subspace channel. "I can't believe I forgot about this," he murmured. A few seconds later he was rewarded with his uncle's face appearing. "Julian! This is a suprise!"

Julian managed a tight smile. "Uncle, I need to ask you a question."

"Of course. What is it?"

"Was my mother coming to visit you on the Jukanno?"

Akmed paled slightly. "Your mother?" he managed to gape.

Julian nodded. "Yes, my mother. Was she coming to visit you?"

Akmed stared in shock before nodding. "Yes. She was. But why? How did you. . .?"

"The Jukanno was attacked," Julian explained. "We intercepted the distress call and went to investigate."

"Attacked? Allah . . . Is she alright?"

Julian felt his throat tighten. "No. She died yesterday evening."

Akmed closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand across his face. "Oh, my . . . how?"

"She was murdered, Akmed." He saw his uncle's head snap up in horror. "She was attacked in her quarters and before the killer or killers left, the injected an anticoagulent into her system." Julian paused. "Uncle, when she said she was heading for New Sudan, I asked her if she was going to visit you. She said no."

Akmed glanced at him. "She did? Why would she do . . ." His voice trailed off. "Julian, do you know who attacked the ship?"

Julian shook his head. "No. They were destroyed."

Akmed took a deep breath. "Did the two of you get a chance to talk at all?" he asked. Julian glanced at him in confusion. "Yes, but not much." Julian frowned. "Akmed, how long had you been in contact with her?"

"About three months," he said.

Julian glanced down. "Did you mention anything to her about . . ."

"You?" he asked. Akmed sighed. "Julian, it's not that she didn't love you but talking about what happened was an uncomfortable subject for her. So, no, not in detail. I mentioned you were on DS9 but beyond that she didn't ask."

Julian sighed and nodded. "But why would she lie about not knowing where you lived?"

"I don't know Julian," Akmed frowned. He shook his head slowly. "I can't belive she's dead." He glanced at his nephew. "Are you alright?"

Julian managed a slight smile. "I'll be fine once I figure this out," he said softly. Akmed nodded understandingly. "Give my best to Jadzia."

Julian nodded. "I will. You should come out here to visit soon. Gloria's growing up way too quickly for my tastes. She's already speaking in sentances."

Akmed smiled slightly. "They usually do. We'll see. I'll talk to you soon, Julian." Julian nodded and broke the connection.

"Julian?" He glanced up to see Jadzia standing in the doorway. "What was that all about?" she asked.

Julian smiled and gently reached a hand for her. She walked in and perched on the corner of his desk, accepting his hand. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just remembered I wanted to call Akmed to see if Jasmine had been in contact with him."

Jadzia nodded in understanding. "She had said she didn't know he was on New Sudan."

Julian nodded in response. "But Akmed said they had been talking for about three months."

Jadzia peered at him curiously. "Why would she lie?"

"I don't know," Julian said, staring off into the distance. He leaned forward and called some info up on his computer. "Take a look at this," he said. Dax slid off the desk and studied the screen. "These are her personal logs," she said, hitting the page down. Julian nodded. "I want to know what you think of these."

Dax nodded and continued reading. After several minutes, she pointed to a line in the header of the message. "There's a file attached."

"What?" Julian leaned forward. His eyes flickered to the line she was pointing at. "I'll be damned," he murmured. "Can you open it?"

Dax began typing again. "Give me a minute . . that shoud do it."

"Access denied. Cannot open file until earth date November 23, 2373."

Dax sat back in suprise. "November 23 . ."

"Two days from now," he said. He leaned back. "I wonder why." Dax shrugged and began working. "Do you think you can override the time delay?" he asked.

"Perhaps," she said. Julian vacated his seat, and motioned her into it with a gentle kiss. "I'm going to go inform Odo about this and then I guess I'll get Gloria."

Dax glanced up and smiled. "Alright," she said. "I shouldn't be too long." Julian nodded and kissed her again. Jadzia reached and gently touched his chin sliding her hand along his jaw, keeping him closer for a moment. She pulled back after a moment and smiled at his somewhat startled look. She gently tapped his chin. "Don't look so shocked, doctor," she said softly. "I've missed you."

Julian smiled slightly and gave her shoulder a loving squeeze. "I know," he replied. "I'll see you in a bit." Dax smiled and nodded. Julian strode out and she turned her attention to the computer screen once more.

Chapter 7

Dax walked back into their quarters exhausted. She had tried for several hours to break the encription but to no success. She heard peals of laughter ringing from Gloria's bedroom and smiled slightly. Dax poked her head around the corner to find Gloria shreaking with laughter as loud as she could as Julian mercilessly tickled her. Dax smiled and leaned against the doorway. "Stop Papa!" Gloria giggled.

Julian grinned happily and stopped. The little girl still rocked with residual laughter. Dax laughed softly and stepped in. Julian glanced up and smiled. "Hey," he said softly. "Any luck?"

Dax shook her head. "No. I've asked Chief O'Brien to take a look at it and let me know the second he cracks it." She knelt down and scooped Gloria up. "Hello munchkin. What did you do that Papa was tickling you like that?"

"Hi Mama!" Gloria chirped. Dax smiled and gave her a kiss.

"She wasn't listening to me," Julian grinned, teasingly reaching to tickle her again. Gloria shreaked with laughter and scrambled further into Jadzia's arms. Dax laughed and kicked back, lifting her into the air. "You weren't listening to Papa?" she asked. Gloria giggled and shook her head. Dax and Bashir both laughed. Dax set Gloria down on her stomach. "What did Papa want you to do?"

Gloria began to pout. "Go bed," she sulked, patting Jadzia gently on her stomach. She giggled as the symbiont moved against her hands.

"No," Julian corrected. "I wanted you to get your pyjamas on." Dax smiled up at him and sat up. "Well, you should do what your Papa says," she gently chided the little girl. Gloria began to protest but Dax shushed her and quickly changed her. Gloria pouted the entire time, looking much like her father when he was upset. Dax sent an amused glance at Julian. Once Dax had released her, Gloria bounced over to some toys. Dax smiled and leaned against Julian. "You know," he said softly, "I was thinking we should start trying again."

Dax tilted her chin up in suprise. "You do?"

Julian glanced at her. "You're honestly suprised?" he asked softly.

Jadzia took a deep breath. "Well, a little. I mean, I'm not suprised that you want to have another child but . . . Gloria's only over a year old."

Julian nuzzled her neck. "Well, I said I was thinking about it. I thought I'd get your input."

Dax giggled and snuggled closer to him. "How very considerate of you." Julian smiled and leaned back. For the first time in a while, he felt close to normal. Dax tipped her head back against him. "Did you eat dinner?" she asked. Julian nodded. "Gloria was getting fussy, weren't you?" Gloria poked her head up from her toys and smiled brilliantly at her father. Julian sighed happily.

"O'Brien to Dax."

Dax sat up slightly and tapped her commbadge. "Go ahead Chief."

"I'm sorry commander but I can't break this code. It could take a bynar a few days. Looks like you'll just have to wait."

"Chief," Julian broke in, "who could program something so sophisticated? I mean, I doubt Jasmine could have."

"It's possible that this was a preprogramed lock that she obtained. Why, I don't know."

Jadzia glanced at Julian, disappointed. "Thanks anyway Chief."

Gloria glanced up and grinned. "Hi Chf."

Dax laughed and scooped her daughter up as O'Brien's laughter rang out across the commlink. "She's a smart one, ain't she?"

Julian ruffled Gloria's hair. "Absolutely," he said proudly.

"Must take after her mother," O'Brien ribbed. Julian sent a mock glare to the ceiling. "Thank you Chief," Dax chuckled. "Dax out."

Julian took Gloria from her. "You don't take after your mother, do you?" Gloria grinned and shook her head.

"Hey!" Dax protested, laughing. She began tickling the little girl, who exploded into giggles.

*******

Julian walked into security the next morning. "Any headway?" he asked Odo.

The constable looked up and grunted unhappily. "Unfortunately, no. Dr. Wilkes is still trying to get a lock on the sample she found. She's convinced it's a DNA sample but there's several bits missing, according to her. Other than that, I don't have a single lead." "You know about the attached message, right?"

"Yes, unfortunately, Chief O'Brien informed me the incryption coding is uncrackable. I took a look myself and I'm inclined to agree."

Julian sighed and nodded. "Alright. Well, let me know if you find anything," he said. Odo nodded and Bashir walked towards the infirmary. He walked in to find Quark sitting on one of the biobeds, staring at Wilkes as she examined a large bump on his forehead. Well, drooling was more like it. "I don't think there's any permenant dammage," Leah said, straightening up. "Quark's remarkably thick skulled," Bashir teased.

Quark glared at him and turned back to Leah, who was straightening up. "Thank you for your time, doctor. And your attention to detail." Quark let his gaze wander. Leah turned to smile at him and frowned, noticing where his gaze was. Bashir laughed softly and headed into the lab saying, "I'd suggest you leave now Quark before she gives you a more serious bump." He heard Wilkes' amused snort and Quark leave quickly.

Wilkes walked into the lab, shaking her head. "That man's audacity never ceases to amaze me."

Bashir laughed softly, studying the readouts on the sample. "That's Quark for you."

Leah walked over, tapped a few things, turning the overall view of the molecule into a view of just a part of it and pointed to the screen. "I'm almost positive it's DNA. Look at this."

Julian studied the space she was pointing to and nodded. "Definetly adenine. But where's . ."

"Right here," she said, poining to the left. "And down here's Cytosine and Guanine. And it's present in other parts too."

"So what's the poluting molecule?" Julian asked. "What's left?"

Leah sank down next to him. "I have no idea. I've never seen it before."

Julian called it up and stared at it. She was right, it was an incomprehensible jumble. "Perhaps we have more than one polutant," he murmured.

"I checked that possiblity. The computer can't identify any possible combination that should exist in nature."

Julian grunted and sighed. "I guess we'll just have to analyze this the old way. Bond by bond."

Wilkes stared at him in shock. "You're kidding me, right? That would take days!"

Julian glanced at the readout of the complete molecule. "Well, it'd take several hours, there's no denying that."

"Several hours," she gaped. "Julian, there's millions of bonds to go over. How on earth . . ." She watched fascinated as he began analyzing it, moving quickly through the first few bonds. She felt herself flush. "You mean it would take _you_ several hours." Julian glanced up and smiled slightly. She nodded slowly. "Alright. So what am I supposed to do?"

"Work your way over from the other end," Julian murmured. "It'll go faster that way." Leah nodded and began working.

*******

Julian leaned back and looked at the comprehensive list they had formed. "Amazing. This shouldn't even exist! Look at this. Anti-Markovinkof bonding even though the energy barier increases tenfold."

Leah walked in, carrying to sandwiches. "Dinner?" she asked, offering him one. Julian glanced up and nodded. "I called Jadzia to tell her I'd be working," he said, accepting it and the drink she held out. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now, what were you saying about Markovnikof?" Julian gestured to the list. They began working again, pointing out oddities or significant factors. Three hours later, Leah shook her head. "This thing defies more laws of nature than . . I don't know what. How is this even possible?"

Julian shook his head. He leaned back, staring at it. "I don't know. It doesn't make sense. I'm begining to wonder if this sample is anything at all." He scrubbed at his face. "We're missing something big," he said. "If we only knew what it was."

"Maybe the file you found will help."

Julian sighed and shrugged. "Who knows." He glanced at the chronometer and sighed. "I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely," she said, offering a smile. "Good night."

" Night," he said, smiling wanly. Julian walked back to his quarters, still mulling over the conundrum that had been forced upon him. He keyed the release and walked into the dim quarters. Jadzia had only left the lights on strong enough to let him get to the bedroom. Julian headed over and peaked in on Gloria, who was sleeping soundly. He smiled and headed into the bedroom. Jadzia had fallen asleep reading a padd. Julian gently removed the padd from her hand and set it on the night table. Dax stirred and glanced up at him. "Julian?" she yawned.

"Go back to sleep," he said softly, kissing her. Dax smiled slightly and slid further down under the covers as he quickly changed. "Did you find anything?" she asked as he slid next to her.

"If we thought it was confusing before, it's even more so now," he said, pulling her close. "But right now, I just want to get some sleep."

"Night," she murmured. Julian kisssed her gently. "Good night love," he replied.

*******

"O'Brien to Bashir."

Julian groaned and rolled onto his stomach. He opened one eye and glanced at Jadzia, who was blinking groggily. "Bashir here, Chief," he replied. "What is it?"

"I tried opening the attachment. Unfortunately, it won't let me."

Julian glanced at Jadzia, who shrugged. "What do you mean Chief?"

"I mean, it's asking for a password and nothing I've put in will open it. I figured you might know what it was."

Julian sat up and sighed. "I'll be right there," he said. "Bashir out."

Jadzia sat up behind him and quickly kissed his shoulders. "Get moving," she said. "I'll let you have the shower first while I get Gloria up."

"How wonderful of you. But that's what always happens," he teased. Dax gave him an affectionate slap as he got up. Julian chuckled and walked into the bathroom.

*******

"What do you have Chief?" Julian strode into Ops to find Odo and O'Brien hovering over a console.

"I've tried every code I can think of," O'Brien frowned. "She was your mother."

Julian glanced at him. "Why didn't you set up a program to find it?"

"I did. It rejected it the second it started." Julian's brows flew up as Dax arrived in Ops. She saw the three of them crowded around and headed over. "Well?" she asked.

"Well, lets see what it might be," Julian said. He tapped the open file command. "What is your password?" the computer intoned.

"That's the other thing about it," Miles said. "The wording is funny."

Julian rocked back on his heels, considering. "Try your name,"Jadzia suggested. He glanced at her and shrugged and quickly typed something in. "Access granted. Please enter vocal authorization."

O'Brien's eyes widened. "What?" he gaped. "Good lord, this thing had better hold the secrets of the universe."

"Julian Bashir," he said slowly, wondering if it would work.

"Access denied. What is your password."

Julian frown. "Why your'?" he murmured. "That implies there's more than one password encoded."

"And each password has a different vocal authorization. So perhaps the first one was Jasmine's password." Odo glanced at Bashir. "Maybe she encoded one for you."

Julian glanced up in suprise. He frowned at the screen. "What is your password," he murmured, thinking. "She wouldn't have known anything about me now when this was programmed so it has to be something from when I was a kid. But still, the wording of the request is odd. What is your password' instead of . . ." His eyes lit up. "Could it really be . ." He quickly typed something in. "Access granted. Please enter vocal authorization."

"Julian Bashir," he said.

"Access granted. Downloading file to specified destination. This is for your eyes only Julian."

"What?" Odo frowned. Julian was already heading out of Ops. "Doctor, where are you going doctor?"

"To see what's in that file," he said as the lift started.

*******

Julian walked his quarters. "Computer, privacy seal. Open file Please' authorization Julian Bashir."

"File open." Julian sat down at the computer and glanced at it. On the screen was a list of dates: 2341, 2347-8, 2351, 2359, 2359-67, 2369, 2371, 2371, 2372. Julian stared at them, wondering what the hell they were. He glanced at the rest of the file first. His eyes widened as he realized it was a letter from Jasmine.

*Julian-

If you're reading this, I've either managed to get off the station or have been killed. If it's the second case, you've found this file by investigating my death. Unfortunately, I'm leaning towards the latter as of this recording.

I wish I could have spent more time on the station with you Julian but certain people wouldn't have it. And for your own safety, I can't tell you who those people are.*

Julian felt his stomach bottom out. He continued reading.

*At least not directly. If I know you, you've searched my quarters and found a rather odd molecule. Ignore this, son. It's a red herring left by those who want me dead. It will eventually begin to fall apart as it has several inherrent instabilities in its make-up, which I'm sure you already have discovered.

Instead, look at the dates up top more closely. The significance of those dates are closer to you than you think. Once you figure out what it is, the rest of this message will become available to you.*

Julian frowned in frustration and studied the dates. 2341. "What on earth happened in 2341? How can I possibly remember? That's the . . year I was born." Julian's eyes widened in shock and he began typing, finishing the list.

2341-born
2347-8 Adigeon Prime
2351- Invernia 2
2359- discovered what happened. Joined academy
2359-67 Med school
2369- Arrived on DS9
2371- Carrington. Became engaged to Jadzia
2371- Married Jadzia
2372- Gloria was born

Julian rocked back, hoping he didn't forget anything. He waited for the computer to finish compiling the data. To his delight, the rest of the message was displaid.

*I suppose you're wondering how I knew all that? Especially considering Michael's attempts to keep any information from me. Think about it Julian. Once you realize how, you'll know who.*

Julian glared at the computer. "How come you have to be so damned cryptic?" he frowned. The door chimed. He glanced up in suprise. "End security lock." The door slid open to reveal Jadzia standing there. "Julian? Have you figured out anything?"

He nodded and stood up, closing the file. "Yes. I suppose Odo's waiting patiently for me to tell all."

Dax smiled and slid an arm around his waist as they walked out. "He's not the only one," she said.

Julian sighed as they got into the lift. "Alright. She knew she was going to be murdered and she knew who it was. However, she didn't say in the message. At least not directly."

Dax frowned. "What about the sample?"

"Red herring," Julian sighed. Dax glanced at him blankly. "False clue," he explained. Dax nodded. Julian sighed. "She said that once I found out how she knew everything about me, that I'd know who killed her."

"What?" Dax frowned. Julian managed a slight smile and described the list of dates to her. She nodded. "I don't understand what she meant," he sighed.

"Well, someone had to be supplying her with the information," she said.

"But why kill her?" Julian frowned. Dax fell silent. "Maybe we'll know that once we figure out who," she suggested as they stepped off the lift.

Julian sighed in frustration and moved off, Dax following a step behind. "Doctor," Odo said, glancing up. "Would you care to enlighten us as to what happened?"

Julian explained what the message said. "Bluntly put, she knew she was going to be killed, she knew who it was and she obviously knew why. But she didn't tell me anything." O'Brien snorted. "So we're back to square one."

"Not exactly," Odo corrected. He turned to Bashir. "How did she know about you? You said your father tried to keep as much as he could from her."

"He did," Julian said. "I don't know how she got it."

Odo frowned and began to pace. "She said nothing about it?"

"No."

"Not even a hint? Something only you would catch? Like the password?"

"Speaking of which," Dax broke in, "What was it?"

"No hint that I could find. It was please,'" he replied, grinning slightly.

"Please?" O'Brien smirked. "Some password."

"You didn't try it," Julian shot at him. He felt Dax rest an arm on his shoulder and he sighed. "I'm sorry Miles."

"It's okay," O'Brien replied.

"Who would want her dead?" Odo mulled outloud.

"Maybe it wasn't Jasmine they were after," Dax said suddenly. She moved to a console. "Computer, retrieve personal logs of Jasmine Sayed from the Jukanno." She scolled down the screen and pulled one up. "Here," she said, pointing to it.

*I'm looking forward to striking up a long dead relationship. It's been years since I've seen him. I regret losing touch with him.*

"What about it?" Julian asked.

"You assumed she meant Akmed," Dax said slowly, turning to him.

"She might have meant you," Odo finished.

Julian felt the blood drain from his face. "What? You mean whoever killed her . . . was after me?"

"Not necessarily," Odo said. "They might have simply been using her murder for something else."

"Let's think about this. Jasmine was being supplied information for how long?"

"I don't know, it didn't say." Julian frowned.

"Well, let's assume it was recent," Odo said. "She might have come out here earlier."

"But she wasn't coming here," Julian pointed out in frustration. "She was heading to New Sudan."

"So maybe she was going to see Akmed first to get more details," Dax said, trying to soothe over his nerves. Julian nodded slowly.

"Alright," Odo continued. "She was being supplied info recently by an unknown person. She books passage on the Jukanno to visit your uncle. The ship is attacked by an unknown force. She ends up here. She feels that she will be killed and leaves a crypic message. She is killed by whoever supplied her with the information."

"Motive," Dax said. "Until we know why, we won't know who."

Odo nodded. He glanced at Bashir. "Anything you can tell me would be very helpful."

Bashir glanced up, looking very tired. "I can't think of a thing," he admitted. "Believe me, I wish I could . . ." His eyes took on a very distant look, misting over slightly.

Jadzia gently ran a hand over his. "Alright," she said gently. She glanced at Odo, who was studying the doctor in suprise. "Why don't we go back to our quarters," Dax said softly. Julian glanced at her and sighed. "No. I'm fine." He straightened up slightly. "However, I am going to go back to the infirmary and tell Leah to quit working on that molecule."

"Perhaps you shouldn't," Odo said. "It might give us a clue to who . . ."

"Wilkes to Bashir."

Julian tapped his badge. "Go ahead."

"Doctor, you'd better get down here. The molecule is breaking down."

Julian sighed and nodded. "I'm on my way. Bashir out." He glanced at Odo. "Looks like we won't get the chance," he said softly.

Chapter 8

Michael Bashir shifted from one foot to the other, waiting impatiently at the airlock. He hadn't gotten much sleep the last two nights and he had to work on negotiations with the Cardassians over some matters that had arisen since the Detapa Council had taken over. He straightened his back professionally as the doors ground open and a formidable Cardassian Gul stepped out. "Gul Madred, welcome to Deep Space Nine. I'm Ambassador Michael Bashir."

Madred nodded briefly at him. "Welcome back would be more appropriate," Madred sneered.

Bashir straightened slightly and merely smiled ingratiatingly. "Well, if you'll come this way, I'll lead you to the conference room." Madred nodded again and walked off, Bashir falling in step next to him, mentally sighing. It was going to be a long day.

*******

Julian stared wearily at the computer screen. He hadn't slept very well the other night, not to mention that this had been his mother. Julian scrubbed his face, feeling the knot in his stomach tighten a bit more. His mind drifted back to the dream he had had the other night.

Julian was pinned at his spot by his father's anger for all of three milliseconds before he scrambled up the stairs. Unfortunately his coordination failed him and he stumbled as his father reached him. He saw his father raise his hand to hit him and winced in preparation.

"Michael!" Jazmine shouted. "Don't you dare hit him Michael!" She rushed past him and helped the young boy to his feet. "Julian, please go back to bed," she said softly, smoothing a tear away.

Julian sniffled. "I . . I h-heard . . y-you and . . and f-fath . .er ar-arguing. I . ." His normal stuttering was worsend by his tears.

Jasmine gently kissed his forehead. "I'm sorry Julian. I promise we won't fight anymore. Now go to sleep. You've had a busy day." Julian sniffled again and nodded, glancing fearfully at Michael. He shuffled away to his room, still shaking slightly from fear.

"Julian?"

His head snapped up and he saw Jadzia standing in the door. She padded into the room. "What's wrong?"

Julian gazed blankly at her. "What are you talking about?" he asked. Dax perched on the corner of his desk and gently brushed at his cheek, wiping away tears. "Oh, Julian," she said softly. He let out a shaky breath and leaned into her caress. Dax slid into his lap and gently hugged him. "I'm so sorry," she whispered into his ear. "We've all been pushing you so hard to figure this out because she's your mother we forgot that she was your mother." Julian struggled to take a deep breath but barely managed to take one before a soft sob made it past his throat. Dax tightened her embrace, one hand running around his shoulders, the other running into his hair. "I just can't believe this," he whispered against her. "I can't believe . . if she was just killed to get to someone, me, whoever, it's just . . it's worse than if she had . ." He trialed off. Dax stroked his hair, gently brushing at his tears. "I know," she whispered. "I know. It's worse that she was only a pawn in this." Julian choked out another sob. "Oh, love. I'm sorry." Dax mentally cringed at her statement. She sat there with him, gently holding him. After a moment, he pulled back, brushing at his cheeks. "This isn't accomplishing anything," he said softly.

Dax pulled back, frowning. "I'd say this is accomplishing a lot," she said, smoothing a lock of hair back. Julian glanced at her and smiled slightly. She kissed his forehead and glanced at the chronometer. "Why don't you head home," she suggested. He shook his head, starting to gesture to the work spread across his desk. "Leah can take care of things here and Odo and I will continue working. You, sir, are to go home and relax. Maybe pick up Gloria and spend some quality time with her." She saw his eyes light up a bit and smiled. "Come on," she said, standing up and pulling him with her. "Let other people take the load for a change. Even you need to rest occasionally."

Julian sighed and smiled slightly. "Alright," he said. "But promise to let me know if anything happens."

Dax gazed at him, solemly. "I will. I promise." She kissed him gently and pulled back. "Now, go on, doctor."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, allowing a bit of warmth to touch his eyes. Dax smiled softly as he walked out.

*******

Jadzia sat in the security office with Odo. "Motive," she said.

Odo glanced up. "I think I have one," he said gruffly. Dax leaned forward. "I think someone was using her to get to Ambassador Bashir."

Dax sat back in shock. "What?" she whispered.

"It makes sense. It's somewhat public knowledge that they didn't get along. And it would be to the person who was supplying Jasmine Sayed with the information about Dr. Bashir. It would make an easy frame job. And, even if he wasn't convicted, his reputation would fall apart. His career would be finished."

Dax nodded slowly. "It does make sense," she admitted, her heart falling. Julian would be devistated if this was true. "So who would want to destroy Michael's career?"

Odo glanced up, solemn. "He's the Federation liason to the Bajoran government. And, at present, he's conductin negotiations with the Cardassians."

Dax's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh, my god. Odo, you're kidding me." The shapeshifter shook his head slowly. "How can we prove this?" she demanded.

Odo sat back. "We can't."

Dax's eyes widened. "Odo, we have to. I can't tell Julian that we think the Cardassians killed his mother but we can't prove a damned thing."

Odo managed a thin smile. "Actually, I want you to tell him just that. If I know the doctor . . ."

*******

"What?!" Julian was staring at Dax in shock and horror as she paced around the living room. "Jadzia, please tell me you're kidding. Tell me this is all just a dream." His voice faded to a whisper.

Dax moved to his side. When she had gotten back, she had taken Gloria to the O'Brien's and returned to tell him. She slid her arms around him. "Unfortunately, it's not," she said.

Julian jerked away, standing up. Jadzia moved to him. "Julian, please. Don't do anything rash . . ."

"Like what Jadzia?" He turned to face her. "Jadzia, this was my mother," he hissed. "I just can't sit here and do nothing."

"Julian," she began to protest but he cut her off. "No, Jadzia. I'm not just going to let this lie." He stormed out of their quarters. Dax rocked back on her heels, staring at the door in shock and satisfaction.

*******

Julian burst into his father's quarters. "We need to talk," he said.

Michael glanced up and started at his son's appearance. He was white as a sheet and his face was flushed with anger. He also looked like he had been crying. "Julian, my god. What's wrong?"

"They killed Jasmine to get to you," Julian said, sinking into a chair. "They fucking _killed_ her just to destroy your reputation."

Michael's legs gave out underneath him and he collapsed. Julian's eyes widened and he moved to his side. "They . . what? Oh, my . . ."

Julian helped him into a chair, a bit stunned at his reaction. He got a glass of water from the replicator and handed it to him. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Michael stared vacantly into space. "I can't believe. Who?" he demanded, staring at Julian. He caught his son's shocked expression and paused. "Julian? What is it?"

"I . . I just." Julian flushed. "I didn't expect you to react like that . . ."

Michael stared at him, stunned. After several minutes he spoke so softly Julian had to strain to hear him. "Your mother and I may have had our differences, Julian, but I still cared for her. You aren't the only one suffering here. She didn't deserve to die."

Julian turned, abashed. "I'm sorry, Michael. I didn't mean to be so coarse. . ." Julian cleared his throat.

"Who did it, Julian?" Michael said.

"The Cardassians," he replied, staring out the port. "They wanted to ruin the raport you've formed with the Bajoran government and they felt that framing you for Jasmine's murder would be the most efficient way. So, they had someone supply her with information about me, including my posting here at DS9. She went on the Jukanno to visit Akmed to ask him about things. The Jukanno was attacked, probably by a hired mercenary."

Michael hung his head. "Damn them," he whispered. He glanced up again. "What's going to happen?"

"Nothing," Julian replied, looking ill.

"What? What do you mean nothing?" Michael stared at him in horror.

"Nothing. We don't have any proof."

"You mean, they're just going to let them get away with this?" Michael glared at him.

Julian met his gaze. "Unless they get some proof," he said softly.

*******

Michael strode into the conference room the next day. "Let's get down to business," he said, rubbing wearily at his face.

"Ambassador, you don't look well," the Bajoran representative commented, smiling slightly.

"I'm afriad I haven't been sleeping well lately," he said softly. "My ex-wife was killed only three days ago."

The Bajoran man gasped and shook his head. "I'm sorry for your loss. I hadn't heard. Killed?"

Michael nodded, shooting a glance at the Gul Madred. "Yes. She was murdered."

"Perhaps we should continue this at another time," the Bajoran said softly. "Give you time to grieve."

"No," Madred spat. "We will finish this now."

"Yes, let's finish this now," Michael said, locking gazes. "Breaking won't bring her back."

"Ambassador, it can wait," the man pressed gently.

"No it can't," Michael said, never letting his gaze leave Madred's face. The Gul just glowered back.

"Dr. Bashir to Ambassador Bashir."

"Go ahead," Michael said, looking upset at the intrusion.

"I have the results from the scan of the virus. I believe I know who . . are you alone?"

"No, I'm not Julian. I'm in a meeting right now." Michael glanced at Madred.

"I see. If it's possible, could you come to the infirmary? There's something I'd like to show you."

"Not at present, doctor. I'll come as soon as I'm available. Bashir out." Michael turned back to the representatives. "Let's start, shall we?"

"Perhaps you would care to take a break and see what the doctor was concerned about," Gul Madred said smoothly. "He sounded rather upset."

Michael looked ready to protest but nodded. "Alright. Five minutes?" Both parties nodded. Michael walked out into the hallway and tapped his commbadge. "Julian? Everything's going smoothly."

"Good," he replied. "Bashir out."

*******

O'Brien glanced up in alarm as a light lit up his console. "Bloody hell. We have an unauthorized transport."

"Where?" Kira demanded, heading over.

"The infirmary," O'Brien replied, stunned. Dax glanced up in suprise.

"Who is it?" Kira asked.

"It originated from . . the Cardassian ship off docking port one."

"Kira to security. We have an unauthorized transport to the infirmary . ."

"I'm already on my way Kira. Odo out."

*******

Odo arrived at the infirmary to find Julian standing over a Cardassian officer, looking thourougly ticked off and half ready to fire the phaser in his hand. "Doctor," Odo began. "What happened?"

"Arrest Gul Madred immediately," Julian said, his voice suprisingly soft. "You have your proof now Constable."

"Care to explain what that is?" he asked.

Julian motioned to the vial in the Cardassian's left hand. "He has a small sample of the virus that killed Jasmine. He just attempted to steal it from us."

Odo smiled. "Well, in that case . ." He motioned to his men to pick up the Cardassian. "Care to join me doctor?" he asked as Dax skidded into the infirmary.

"I'd love to," Julian said, his voice lowering into a growl. Dax glanced at him worriedly. "I take it we have our proof?" she said softly, falling in step beside them.

"More than enough for me," Julian said.

Chapter 9

"I don't think that will work," the Bajoran said, frowning at Madred. Michael glanced from him to Madred.

"I don't see why not," Madred countered. The door to the room slid open and Odo, Dax and Bashir strode in. "What is this?" he snapped.

"This is your arrest," Odo said. "For the murder of Jasmine Tahir Sayed."

"What?! This is outrageous!" Madred spat. "I did no such . ." His sentence was cut off as Julian punched him solidly.

"Julian!" Dax gasped, her hands flying to his arm. "Good lord," she murmured, pulling him back.

"Did you just see what he did?" Madred snapped, straining to look at the Constable, who was snapping restraints on him. Blood trickled down his face.

"I saw," Odo snapped, lancing Bashir with a glare. "But I can hardly blame him. You murdered his mother after all." Odo hauled the indignant Gul out of the room.

Dax sat next to Julian, who was visibly shaking with anger. "What did you think you were doing?" she asked, trying not to be too harsh. "Did you want to end up in a cell next to his?"

Julian shook his head. "No. I just couldn't . . I couldn't let him get away with that typical Cardassian posturing. Not this time."

"Never let Garak hear you say that," she smiled slightly. Julian glanced up at her, the anger that had been there moments ago to be replaced by infinite sadness. Dax felt the smile fall from her face and she gently hugged him. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "That was inappropriate. ."

Julian shook his head, tightening his embrace. "It's okay," he whispered. He pulled back after a moment and glanced up. Michael and the Bajoran representative had left. He sighed and stood up. "I'd better go," he said. Dax stood up next to him. "Go home," she suggested.

Julian shook his head. "I took yesterday off. I can't afford to . .