The BLTS Archive - End
by Judy and Jesse

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Disclaimer: Paramount owns DS9, no infringement intended.

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It started out innocently enough.

Doctor Julian Bashir could only hope to understand what Miles and
Keiko O'Brien were going through. To have a child grow up into
adulthood and miss everything in between must have been terrible for
them.

"Is she all right?" Miles asked anxiously. He stood there, close and
yet distant, knowing that Julian would need the space to work. Molly
was sedated, and laying on the biobed, dirty and raged. He felt Keiko
squeeze his hand for reassurance, and he put his arm around his wife,
trying to support her in her sorrow, though he was every bit as much
in pain as she was.

Julian tried to concentrate on Molly. Despite her savage appearance,
she seemed to be fine physically. Mentally however...that might be a
problem. He was there when she came out of that portal, and her fear
was evident. It was hard even for him to believe this was Molly.

Judging from the readings, she was approximately 22 years old. Her
tangled hair was a mane around her ivory face. Her dark lashes and
pink lips stood out like invitations, waiting for the touch of
another, as she had been waiting for companionship for the last 10 odd
years. She must have felt completely alone and isolated. What would
have happened if it had been him? Would he have been strong enough to
adapt to the lonely world around him like she did? He chuckled
inwardly. Once an O'Brien, always an O'Brien...stubborn as ever.

Julian looked over at the couple standing above their daughter again.
There was a lot to be done before she woke...

"We'll have to bathe her," he commented, trying to sound as clinical
as possible. The look turned on him by Miles was enough to force a
small choked giggle from Keiko. Bathing her was certainly not the
first thing that came to their mind when their 8-year-old suddenly
turned into a 22-year-old! "I'll...get the nurse. Unless you want to
do it. We'll try not to wake her." The O'Briens nodded, and Keiko came
to her daughter's side, holding her hand tightly.

Her little girl...her little angel. Now she was all grown up, and
Keiko had missed everything in between. She'd missed the rebellious
teenage years, the years of study in the afternoon and going out with
the station boys in the evenings...Missed the fighting and the
arguing, and the female bonding. Missed introducing her daughter to
womanhood, seeing her first crush and her first kiss.

Molly must have been so alone on that planet. How could Keiko
understand what had happened to her? Did she remember anything from
her youth? How would she react to the setting of the station?

The nurse came to bathe her, and Keiko aided, ushering the men out of
the room.

"Can you believe it, Julian? My Molly's all grown up," Chief O'Brien
said, not really caring if Julian answered him.

"Chief, she may have the look of a 22 year old, but emotionally, I
doubt she's gone much further since the time of the accident. You're
going to have to be patient, these things take time," Julian said,
trying to ease Miles into the work that was ahead of him.

O'Brien sighed. It was all his fault...if he had only...why didn't
he...

"Now chief, I know that look. It wasn't your fault, and you're not
doing yourself any good if you beat up on yourself."

"I know, I know, but why couldn't I have...? Dammit, I have to get to
work. Tell me if anything happens, all right?" If he could only
reverse time, he'd rather that he was the one to fall into the time
portal. Molly wasn't to be harmed, not on his life. Children and women
first, damn it! There should be some universal law that protects
children from disasters, there should be!

The good doctor patted the distraught chief on the back. "Okay. I
think the sedative should be wearing off about now, I'll go in and
check." Julian excused himself and walked back into the Infirmary.

The nurse and Keiko hauled Molly's non-responsive body out from the
sonic showers behind the Infirmary as Julian walked in. They were
about to lift her on to the bio bed when Molly grunted, and, in her
unconscious confusion, twisted out of their grasp. However, she was
not strong enough to stand by herself, and to Julian's surprise, she
collapsed at his feet.

The robe she was wearing fell open at an indecent angle, and Julian
saw, and stared, almost unwillingly, at the expanse of tanned flesh
beneath the robe. Naturally, his medical training kicked in almost
immediately and he hoped Keiko did not see his momentary lapse at
seeing her semi-nude Molly. Keiko and the nurse rushed up to help him
as he gathered Molly up from the floor and laid her on the biobed, the
robe tightly wound about her.

"Looks like the sedative is wearing off."

Julian reached for another hypospray, but Keiko grabbed his hand and
with a pleading look, and softly said, "Is it possible that we don't
have to keep her sedated? I want to see her, awake."

All of Julian's training advised against it. Molly could even hurt
herself if she woke up and found herself on a space station. Or maybe
she still remembered... Keiko's dark eyes implored him to forget his
training, and to ease a mother's anguish, if only for a moment.

"All right, but if she gets upset, I'll have to sedate her again."

The gratitude on Keiko's face was worth it. "Thank you, Julian."

So they waited and watched as Molly's fingers began to move. First it
was her fingers, then her arms, and her legs. Finally, Keiko watched
with pure joy as her angel opened her eyes and stared right into her
face. Seconds ticked by like days, but Molly's expression remained
perfectly blank, like a deer caught in headlights. Keiko's eyes
glistened with unshed tears, but all it took was one word to release
them.

"Mommy?"

The dam opened and Keiko wept openly as she started running for Molly.
Only Julian held her back and told her to go slowly, so as not to
frighten poor Molly. With each step, Keiko shook with fervent joy and
the knowledge that her daughter finally recognized her. At last, she
approached her, and slowly, gently, Keiko held out her arms and
circled Molly within her embrace. "Molly."

Julian stood watching, a smile gracing his mouth as he watched the
reunion. Then he was aware of the pair of almond shaped dark eyes,
watching him. He realized then that Molly was staring at him
inquisitively. The corners of her mouth turned upwards until they
formed a smile. Or a grin actually, the grin of a cat that had just
swallowed a canary...

Finally, Keiko released Molly, who stood in a semi-crouched position.
Julian assumed her posture was the result of years of overuse of the
fight-or-flight reaction -- on a planet where wild animals were the
only inhabitants, she had to be prepared to defend herself in any
environment. Keiko looked back and forth between the doctor and her
daughter as she realized that Molly's eyes were focused on Julian
intensely.

He took a step towards her, and she pulled back in fear. "I'm not
going to hurt you, Molly. I just want to scan you." He aimed his
tricorder at her, but it was hard to get a clear reading on a medical
tricorder from so far away. Having been trained in behavior patterns
in his biology classes, he recalled that many animals responded more
peacefully if they were allowed to examine you first. For example,
when approaching a dog, it is best to hold one's hand out to them to
sniff before approaching. With this in mind, he reached out one arm to
Molly, palm up, and held it there. At first she flinched, grunting,
but then she seemed to realize that he was not going to harm her, and
she crept forward carefully. When she had apparently settled a few
feet away from him, still looking at him with her head cocked to one
side, he moved his tricorder towards her. When she saw the foreign
object, she reached out for her mother, who steadied her with one
hand.

"It's okay, Molly, the doctor just wants to scan you." Molly looked up
at Julian again. He smiled at her and inclined his head in her
direction.

The tricorder cheeped and beeped as he scanned her. Julian didn't know
it, but while he was assessing Molly's medical condition, Molly was
assessing him. He was the only male she had been close to since the
time of the accident other than her father. She instinctively knew
there was something different about this person. Something that made
her feel strange and tingly at the same time. Molly decided to make
the first move.

"Molly," she said, pointing to herself. She remembered that much from
the vague pictures in her mind. After saying it, she looked
expectantly at the man.

Julian smiled instantly. "I'm Dr. Bashir."

Molly's face scrunched up into a slight frown. Something wasn't right
about his name. It felt foreign, distant, and she didn't like it.
"Molly," she repeated.

Tilting his head, Julian tried to understand what she wanted. "Molly?"

She shook her head fervently, exasperated by this obtuse man.

"Julian, does she want something?" Keiko asked, concerned at Molly's
apparent displeasure.

"Ju-li-an."

Julian blinked at Molly's attempt to pronounce his name. It was then
that he understood. She had obviously heard her parents call him that.
This was a good sign: she could differentiate between the tones and
words they were exchanging. "All right," he said, "Julian. I'm
Julian." If he didn't know better, she looked rather smug after he
said his own name; it was as if she understood everything and he was
the outsider.

"Dax to Keiko O'Brien."

Molly, startled, looked around to see where the voice was coming from.
Keiko held her daughter close, comforting her and replied, "Keiko
here, what is it Jadzia? Is Yoshi all right?"

"Yes, Yoshi is fine, but he keeps crying, and asking for his Fluffy,
and I have no idea what it is. I'm in your quarters right now, but we
both can't seem to find it," she said, while loud baby screams hovered
in the background.

Keiko, reluctant to leave Molly, gave Julian an desperate look.

"Don't worry Keiko, I think she's used to me now. I'll make sure she's
still here when you get back," Julian said, and to prove it, he
lightly touched Molly's arm. Molly stiffened but did not shrink away.
He smiled and she looked suspiciously at him.

"Thank you, Julian, I don't know what I could do without you." With
that said, Keiko exited the Infirmary and fled toward her other bundle
of trouble. The nurse hovered close by and started to work on another
console when it seemed that she wasn't needed.

Other than a small whimper, Molly gave no other sign of distress from
Keiko's leaving. "Don't worry, she's coming back." Seeing that she was
somewhat satisfied with his explanation, he reached over to the
medicart and took out a hypospray. "This isn't going to hurt. It's
going to take care of the dehydration." Julian held out her arm slowly
applied the hypospray as he made contact with her skin. There was an
automatic hiss, and Molly jerked her arm back, her face accusing.

"It doesn't hurt, does it?" he asked, softly as can be.

Her lower lip pouted just a little as she examined her arm. Then her
tongue slipped out from her mouth and she licked the spot where the
hypospray had touched her skin.

It felt odd. There was something definitely odd about watching her
tongue dart in and out as she laved the spot where he had touched her.
Something...erotic passed through his mind when he saw her curled up
like a cat, the robe barely covering her slender legs. But before he
continued on that train of thought any further, he forced himself to
completely obliterate it. God, she was Molly! Little Molly! Miles and
Keiko's daughter, for Pete's sake!

When she was finished, she looked at him again, with the same curious
stare. Molly moistened her lips as he returned her glance, and her
heart went pounding in her ears, pounding so hard it almost hurt her
head. Instinct made her look downward from his face and her eyes
landed on his lips. They looked like a fruit; that was her first
thought. Good enough to eat.

It definitely felt odd.

If he didn't know better, Molly had something else in mind besides
revenge for the hypospray incident when she glared at him
almost...hungrily. Yes, maybe she was hungry!

"Are you hungry, Molly?"

Molly flushed. Something was raging in her heart, something strange,
something foreign, something she never felt before and she wondered if
it was a good thing. But there was another primitive urge within her
and this one she recognized immediately.

"Fo--Food."

He almost breathed a sigh of relief. Now this was something he knew he
was good at. Lunch.

Julian had set up one of the biobeds as a table and put replicated
food out on it. He directed Molly to a seat across from him, and
motioned to the bowl of soup in front of her. She looked at it
curiously, then looked at the fork, knife, and spoon beside it. Julian
picked up the spoon and scooped some of his soup into his mouth.
"Molly, do you remember how to use a spoon?"

Her brows knitted together as she looked at the bowl. Suddenly, she
seemed inspired, and picked up the bowl. She began to drink the soup
from the side of it. Julian opened his eyes in surprise, then smiled
as he picked up his bowl as well.

Next came bread. After watching Julian daintily tear off a piece of
bread and eat it, she tried to mimic his manner. They got through that
stage of the meal quickly, and moved on to meat. Molly recognized meat
-- she had sometimes hunted animals on the planet she was from.
However, she'd never eaten it cooked before, that she remembered.
Still, she picked up a chicken leg and tore into it.

"So...Molly. What was it like living alone on that planet?" She looked
up from the food that was in front of her face, covering her so that
he could only see her eyes.

"Molly...home."

"Yes, Molly, you're home." She shook her head.

"No. Molly -- "

"What is it?"

"Home." Julian looked at Molly curiously. He didn't understand her
broken speech. She was home on the station, what was she talking
about? "Molly home."

"I don't understand." Molly pondered how to say what she meant. She
couldn't quite remember the proper words to put her thoughts into
speech, but she tried her hardest.

"Julian home. No Molly home."

"Oh! You mean that this is MY home, not yours?" She nodded vigorously.
Finally, they were communicating. Molly gazed at Julian as he smiled
back at her. She felt...something. Something she didn't understand,
something she hadn't felt before. Then again, maybe she just had to go
to the bathroom. "You think of that planet as home, don't you?"

"Home," she said, nodding. *Fascinating,* Julian thought. She was so
intriguing...So...*Stop it, Julian, she's your best friend's
daughter!*

"Don't worry, Molly, this will be your new home." He reached across
the table and laid his hand on hers for reassurance. Something
sparkled in her eyes, and she spoke.

"Julian and Molly home."

"That's right. This is your new home." She grasped his hand tightly
over the table and he smiled.

"Doctor?" asked the nurse. Julian's head jerked up at the voice. He'd
forgotten she was even in the room!

"Yes?"

"If you can handle this, I'd like to be dismissed. See, I promised my
husband I'd..."

"Yes, yes, of course." Molly watched the nurse leave, then turned back
to Julian.

"H-- hus-band?" she said awkwardly. He realized that she had missed
learning about all the important things in life...including love.
Somebody would just have to teach her...

"Husband."

"Husband," she said triumphantly as Julian smiled at her. Then her
expression turned curious again. "What...husband?"

"A husband is...when a woman loves a man.... "

"Loves?"

"You know...like...you love Mommy and Daddy."

"Molly loves Mommy and Daddy."

"Right. Well, the nurse loves her husband."

"Nurse loves Husband. Husband nurse's Daddy?" He inwardly cringed at
her lack of knowledge about matters that he assumed everyone knew
about.

"No, Molly. It's a different kind of love. The way Mommy loves Daddy.
Daddy is Mommy's husband. Mommy is Daddy's wife."

"Wife. Julian has wife?" He smiled at her.

"No, I don't have a wife."

"Good."

Julian laughed a bit nervously and reached over to pat her on the
head. "Molly O'Brien, I still can't believe it." But she was real, she
was a grown woman, and she was sitting right across from him, chewing
on a piece of chicken. She wasn't the little Molly anymore.

The Kurian sauce on the chicken had stained her mouth and jaw. She
absentmindedly wiped it off with her arm, not really succeeding.

"Here, let me help you," Julian said. He picked up the sleeves of his
jacket and reached over. He held her still as he started wiping.
"There, all better!" he exclaimed as most of the stains came off
Molly's chin. She beamed at him, but picked up another piece of
chicken and started the routine all over again. This time, a glob of
sauce sprayed across Julian's fore arm, but when he started to clean
it off with his napkin, she reached over and stopped him.

"H-Here, let me help you," she repeated and grabbed her napkin and
started to rub at his arm, back and forth. The sauce came off
instantly, but Molly didn't seem satisfied at the dark patch it formed
on Julian's skin. She frowned for a second.

"It's fine, thank you," Julian said as he tried to take back his arm.

Suddenly, Molly grinned at him and before Julian could protest, she
bent her neck lower and proceeded to lick the dark spot. Shock didn't
even describe the feeling as Julian felt a surge of electricity run up
his arm from where her tongue touched. But she enjoyed the sweet and
tangy remains of the sauce in her mouth and was hardly aware of the
particular expression Julian had on his face.

For someone whose job was to respond to emergencies, it took Julian
quite a while, hours it seemed, for him to react and jerk his arm back
from under her. She gasped at his sudden action and wondered if she
did anything wrong.

"The napkin would have sufficed," he snapped, tightly.

His tone of voice did not go past her and she curled back into a small
ball at the opposite end of the table. Her frightened doe-eyes peered
at him, and when he frowned some more, she shrank back into a smaller
ball.

He sighed. This was no longer going as he had planned. He walked
slowly over to her, but she shrank away. Finally, he took her face
between his hands and whispered softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to
frighten you."

"Julian...me-mean."

"Yes, Yes. I shouldn't have snapped at you, you were only trying to
help."

Her lower lip quivered slightly and her black eyes glistened brightly
with tears. Molly looked so vulnerable and delicate right then that
Julian felt like a brute for bringing her this misery. Yet, it was
then, with their faces so close he could see her breathing, that he
realized how beautiful she was. Her exposure to the sun had not
damaged her skin at all. His fingers circled about her temples, almost
like a caress, to feel the smoothness of her face. Her almond eyes
were large about her face, glowing under the Infirmary lights, and her
small nose and cheeks were pink as she tried to keep herself from
crying. However, it was her pink lips that captured his full
attention. They look soft and inviting, and Julian felt himself
irrevocably drawn to them. Without another thought, he leaned forward,
even closer than before. She had stopped breathing right then,
waiting, hesitating, wondering what was going to happen.

Their lips hovered against each other. They breathed against each
other, sharing the same air, warming each other's already heated skin.
Then they touched. Lightly, so lightly that it was only a breath or a
brush. But it was enough, enough in the sense that he knew he wanted
her, and she knew she wanted him, yet not enough in the sense that the
kiss was all they wanted. It was only a taste, and already he wanted
more. He felt his heart pump so loudly that the whole alpha quadrant
could have heard it, but he could not breathe, he could not do
anything to stop the frantic beating of his heart. She looked up at
him, her eyes clouded with confusion, anxiety and something else.
Something that made him want to kiss her until her lips fell off.

The infirmary doors hissed open.

Julian jerked himself away from Molly, who was still stunned at the
rush of strange sensations she had felt.

"Keiko!"

Keiko looked at the two and found the both of them red in the face.
"Are you all right Julian? You look flushed. What have you two been
doing?" she asked, cautiously joking. Something strange was going on.

"We were ha-having lunch, and Molly had a tough time remembering and I
had to teach her. I got a bit impatient. I guess I'm not a really good
teacher," Julian smiled, mechanically pulling at the sides of his
mouth.

"Oh. Okay. I think I'll take Molly to see her old room now. Is she fit
to walk?"

"Yes, definitely. She was a bit dehydrated, but I took care of that.
Just try not to put a lot of stress on her and she'll be fine," Julian
replied, his training finally kicking in.

"Okay, Molly. Thank Dr--um--Julian for lunch," Keiko instructed as
Molly got up.

Molly woke up from her daydreams and gave Keiko and Julian a nervous
smile. "Thank, Julian."

Julian couldn't find himself to say 'you're welcome' and gave the both
of them a smile instead.

---

The day seemed to drag on forever; it was an eternity before Julian
was off duty. The one thing he wanted -- the one thing he *needed* --
was a cold shower. No, wait, strike that. The one thing he needed was
a cold shower. The one thing he *wanted* was Molly. Julian almost
slapped himself across the face at the thoughts he was having. This
was MOLLY! Little Molly who carried her doll around with her all the
time...LITTLE Molly. Miles's daughter, for gosh sakes! How could he be
thinking such...corrupt thoughts about her?

He entered his quarters and began running the shower. There was
nothing better than a real water shower...the sonic showers just
weren't the same. As the rivulets of water caressed his bare skin, he
calmed, relaxing into the warmth that ran over him, letting it carry
him away...until the doorchime rang. Startled out of his reverie, he
wrapped a towel around his waist and hurried to the door.

A very apologetic looking Keiko O'Brien stood in the doorway trying to
restrain her upset daughter. "Julian! I'm sorry we've interrupted you.
I took Molly to our quarters, but she's been calling out your name and
refusing to do anything until I took her to see you. You must have
made quite an impression." Julian stepped away from the door, letting
them come into the main room and forgetting his state of partial
nudity.

Molly's head had jerked up as the doctor had opened the door, and she
stared at him with wide eyes. The water dripped from his hair and
traced paths down his well-muscled chest to the towel about his waist.
She was entranced by the movements of his body, muscle stretching
underneath taut dark skin, and she followed her mother complacently
into the room. "There, Molly, here's Julian. Are you happy now?" Molly
pulled her arm away from her mother and crept towards the man before
her.

"Julian?"

"Yes, Molly? What is it?" She grasped his hand and held it tightly,
showing it to her mother.

"Mommy see? Julian. No wife. Julian and Molly!" she said triumphantly.
He flushed as Keiko turned a suspicious eye in his direction.

"Julian, what is she talking about?"

"I have no idea," he said, turning to Molly. "Molly, why don't you go
with Mommy back to your quarters? To home?"

"Home?" she asked inquisitively. "Molly home?"

"Molly's *new* home."

"No."

The two elder adults looked at each other and then at Molly. "Molly,
honey, what do you mean?" asked Keiko.

"Molly stay with Julian."

"I give up!" cried Keiko, exhausted. "All she wants to do is stay
here. I'm going to go find Miles and see if he can convince her to
come home. Would you mind watching her for a little while?"

"Um, no, uh...not at all. That's fine," he stammered.

"Thank you, Julian. I really appreciate this." With that, she left his
quarters, leaving the still dripping wet doctor with the beautiful
young savage woman.

Julian decided that he needed another shower.

She was too mesmerized by rippling muscles of his hard chest to notice
his anxiety. Her belly tightened and clenched at the sight of him.
Molly knew there was something different about him. He was hard all
over, as opposed to her softness. Curious, Molly stepped closer to
him.

At least, Julian had the good sense to step back when she came closer.
Wet hair matted his face and drops of water rolled down the sharp
contours of his strong, masculine jaw. They then dripped
intermittently down his chest, and he clung on to the cool sensation
to keep himself from even thinking about what he wasn't supposed to be
thinking right now.

To his surprise, Molly pointed at him and laughed. Despite everything,
Julian felt that his ego was being bruised. That is, until Molly
managed to get out, "Julian, wet!" Her laughter had finally released
the tension in the small confines of his quarters.

"Yes, I am, aren't I?" Finally, the small hissing of the shower
penetrated his clouded brain. "Wait here."

He turned and thought to hurriedly turn off the shower and then take
care of Molly. Yet, as he turned off the shower, he heard Molly gasp
behind him. She nearly pushed him to the floor to get to the switch of
the shower. It took her a couple of seconds to figure out how it
worked, but when it did, water came pouring down her head and she
giggled in pure delight.

"Wa--water!"

"Yes, there must not have been a lot of that on the planet," Julian
added, watching Molly completely carefree with the water washing down
upon her and smiling despite himself. When a splash of water caught
his chest, he realized the state of his nudity. Seeing that Molly was
preoccupied, he thought it was safe to quickly grab a robe. Julian
quickly tied the robe around himself and raced back to showers to make
sure Molly wasn't having too much fun in HIS shower.

Still, he wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him. For what
seemed like only nanoseconds to him, Molly had managed to strip
herself until she was completely naked. Now the water flowed freely
and deliciously through every curve and crevice of her. In his life on
the station, Julian had had a few women take showers in his quarters,
but none, absolutely none, looked as breathtakingly beautiful as she
did, naked or not.

Molly was completely unabashed by her nakedness; she didn't even seem
aware of him. In fact, she looked like a nymph enjoying herself in his
shower. Julian's burgeoning passion for her grew rapidly from the
embers of his desires and his blood grew flaming hot until he could
not but reach out and touch her cool flesh.

Startled, Molly very nearly lost her footing when Julian touched her
arm. But Julian stepped in just in time for Molly to wrap her arms
around his neck, and their bodies were crushed together under the
momentum. Water continued to fall, but they both became oblivious to
anything but themselves.

Molly felt the beating of her heart triple as Julian leaned in closer.
She'd never felt this way before, but even as panic and fear of the
unknown flooded through her, she could not bring herself to move or to
take her eyes away from his. The coarseness of his robe rubbed
sensuously against her naked flesh and she felt herself moving until
her nipples grew painfully taut against the cloth. A moan unlike any
other escaped her lips.

Julian groaned harshly under her innocent assault. His fingers traced
over the small of her back, memorizing her soft curves. He could feel
himself growing hard and aching under the robe and when he lifted her
by her round buttocks to press her hips against his, the sensations it
brought shattered all of what was left of his sanity. The same hand
reached up slowly to cage her skull. He then sandwiched her between
him and the wall and this time, his mouth came down without a second
thought.

Molly gasped softly as she pressed intimately against him, and even
through his robe, she could feel something hard and demanding
underneath. His lips beckoned at hers and her mouth opened like a
flower to allow his entrance. His tongue mated with hers and her body
rioted with the feel of flowing lava that gathered agonizingly within
the pit of her belly. She felt herself melt under his touch, yet she
was aware enough to move to taste his mouth, boldly exploring its
texture.

He pressed her further up the wall, until she was riding precariously
on his leg. She let out a small cry of pleasure as his robe grazed
against the inside of her thighs. That cry further ignited desires as
his hand boldly moved to her midsection and above to cup and knead her
supple breasts. Writhing under his touch, she could not but dig her
fingers into his back as he brushed his thumb over the small globe of
flesh. The feeling was intense, leaving her breathless, but her whole
body was still on fire, needing more of his caresses. She
instinctively arched lightly against him as both of his hands slowly
grazed repeatedly at her tightened nipples. She shuddered with almost
painful frustration and grabbed a handful of his dark hair to let him
know. Still he would not stop, and as they both came up for air, he
trapped the knob of sensitive flesh between his fingers and pulled
until she was so flooded with pleasure that wrapped her legs around
his to bring him even closer. Finally, when he knew he could no longer
resist the temptation to do so, he lowered his mouth to her breasts.
His tongue slowly circled the taut flesh, toying with her nipple until
with a grunt of frustration, she lifted herself from the wall to have
him take her into his mouth. Finally, he took the nipple between his
lips and teased it with his teeth. Her head fell back with a sigh of
satisfaction, but inside, there was still an ache, an ache that she
knew only he could make go away. She didn't know how, but she wanted
to do things to him that he was doing to her.

Her deft fingers pried the robe off his chest and her hands clawed
into his flesh as her tongue tickled at his ear. His grip on her hips
became almost painful as he realized what she was doing. He wanted so
much to untie the belt that was keeping the robe around his waist, but
somewhere, he knew there would be no turning back if he did. As it
turned out, he was not the one to make the choice. The belt fell to
the floor and her question was answered as she saw his swollen flesh
jutting out. It was in contact with her thigh and she knew it was
hard. Nonetheless, she was curious as it what it would feel like, so
she reached down to touch it.

"Don't," Julian grounded out, his teeth hurting.

The door chime rang then, and brought the two back to reality. Julian
suddenly realized where he was, and what he was doing.

"Oh, my god." He backed off from Molly and gathered both of their wet
clothes. He managed to cover Molly in all the right places and closed
the robe around himself. They were both dripping wet, but Julian saw
not escape when the door chimed once more and the familiar voice of
Miles O'Brien called out.

"Come in!" It was time to face the music.

The concerned faces of the O'Briens tore at Julian's conscience. While
they were worrying their heads off, he was making out with their
daughter! What in the world was wrong with him?!

"Julian? Molly! Why are you all wet?" Keiko asked, wondering what the
two had been up to. Miles narrowed his eyes briefly; something was
amiss.

Julian coughed lightly, trying to buy some time as he fabricated the
story in his head. "Well," he paused, "Molly wanted to explore my
quarters and when she discovered the shower, there was no stopping
her. I tried to get her out, but she tripped. Now we're both a mess."

Keiko's eyes widened when Julian mentioned that Molly had tripped.
"Molly, are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere? Tell Mommy!"

Molly's confused eyes turned to look at Julian and he just prayed that
she wouldn't say anything about what had happened.

"Lots of wa-water," Molly replied, somehow knowing that her parents
wouldn't approve of what she had just done with Julian.

"I've checked her over, she should be okay."

Miles was still suspicious, but relieved to know that his daughter was
fine. "Molly, do you want to come home? To your room? Daddy will be
there and I'll tell you a story. Okay, Molly?"

Molly bit her lip and wasn't sure she wanted to stay either. A jumble
of mixed feelings were creating havoc in her and she needed time away
from Julian to know how she really felt. "Okay, Daddy," answered
Molly.

The O'Briens left Julian's quarters but Molly cast one last glance at
Julian. Her lips were swollen from his kisses and he wanted to kiss
them again. Maybe the O'Briens would be busy with her for the next few
days and give him some peace. Maybe, just maybe.

It had been a long night for Julian. Seeing how he could not get the
image of Molly naked in his shower or the feel of her lips on his out
of his mind, he was in a perpetual state of arousal. Something had to
be done to take his mind off her.

Besides, what he was feeling for Molly was such complete total lust
that he knew there weren't any deeper feelings behind it. *If I really
had feelings for her,* he thought, *I wouldn't endanger her by...doing
what we did last time. She's young, and she's pure, and she deserves
someone who loves her to be with her her first time. I hardly even
know her!* And yet even as he thought the words to himself he felt a
flood of warmth inside, felt an ache that was different from the one
he had felt earlier. He would just have to GET to know her then, he
resolved.

---

The O'Briens were having difficulty finding somebody who could help
teach their daughter everything she'd forgotten or missed. Somebody
who could get her to say "I" and "me" instead of "Molly" all the time.
Somebody who she wouldn't attack on sight and who she would like.
Seeing how they didn't have the time to teach her everything
themselves, and how she would never fit in at the station's school,
they began to turn to all their friends. When Molly rejected everyone
they approached, they finally sat her down to have a talk with her.

"Molly, listen to Daddy, okay?" Miles sighed wearily. "You can't go
around like this forever. You have to learn things, like how to speak
Standard properly and how to read instructions so that you can grow up
and have a job somewhere...go to college. Now, *I* have a job that
takes up a lot of my time, and I have to spend extra time with you and
Mommy and your little brother. Mommy has her work to do as well. So we
need to get you a teacher, because I don't want to spend my few spare
moments with you doing academic things. You keep rejecting everyone we
show you -- why?"

"Molly don't like."

"Honey, who DO you like?" asked Keiko, looking up from a PADD she was
studying carefully. Molly grinned.

"Molly like Julian." Keiko and Miles shared a tired glance. Molly was
always bringing up Julian -- it was as if she had a permanent
attachment to the man!

"Molly, honey, Julian is very busy too. He's a doctor -- do you know
what a doctor is?"

"Doctor Julian. Julian...work."

"Yes, he works as a doctor. Doctors are people who help you when
you're sick, and fix your problems." *Julian fix Molly's problems,*
thought Molly with a grin.

"Julian fix. Doctor fix."

"That's right. Julian is so busy fixing people that he doesn't have
time to teach you." Molly pouted and gave her father her best
puppy-dog look.

"But...p- please?" They hadn't heard her say "please" since coming to
the station, and both the O'Brien parents were delighted.

"Alright, Molly, we'll ask tomorrow, okay?"

---

It had been four days since that encounter in the shower, and Julian
was beginning to get along a little better without seeing Molly all
the time. Until she showed up in sickbay, with her parents on her
heels. She was wearing a short maroon dress that was conservative at
the neckline but showed quite a large expanse of her shapely legs.
Julian could see that she had been working on her posture, for she no
longer stayed in that peculiar fighting crouch. Her hair was neatly
brushed, and hung in waves over her shoulders. She looked slightly
flushed, and had cast her eyes downward shyly when she saw him.

"Go on, Molly, remember how we taught you," said Keiko, nudging Molly
forward. She took a couple uncertain steps. Julian was glad he was
standing behind a biobed, or the O'Briens would have seen
the...improper state he was in.

"Hello, Molly," he said softly.

"Molly-- " she began, then cut herself off and looked at her parents,
who nodded reassuringly. "My parents h-have decided that M- I need a
t-teacher to s-show me how to do things. M-I would l-like y-you to be
my t-teacher, Julian," she finally managed to say. He grinned at her,
knowing how hard it must have been for her to learn how to say the
sentences.

"Well, Molly, I'd love to be your teacher when I'm off duty, but when
I'm on duty I won't be able to help you," he said, not thinking that
he ought to decline her offer before he got carried away with himself.
Miles and Keiko were visibly relieved.

"Thank you so much, Julian," said Miles. "We've been trying to find
someone to help her, even if it is only for a few hours a week, but
she keeps rejecting everyone. We really appreciate this."

"It's not a problem at all," he said, smiling, though he suddenly
realized what a problem it was. Hopefully, though, he would be able to
keep his hormones under control. Molly giggled, jumped, and clapped
her hands. She would be able to spend more time with Julian! She ran
around the biobed between the two of them and embraced him. He forced
a smile, for the O'Briens' sake, though he felt Molly tense as his
hardness pressed into her stomach and felt her hands tighten on his
back. He grasped her waist and pulled her off of him. "I'm getting off
duty right now, actually, so..."

"Oh, thank you Julian, we'll love you forever," voiced Keiko,
grinning, as she and Miles turned to leave sickbay.

"Thank y-you, Julian," said Molly. Her parents grinned.

If her parents knew what was going on in his head right now, they
wouldn't be grinning, Julian thought.

Molly smiled sweetly at him, finally satisfied with their arrangement.

"Um...okay, where would you like to start?"

The first word, of all words, that flashed into her mind was 'shower'.
And she was about to say it, too, when her stomach growled loudly in
protest.

Julian laughed. Molly decided she liked that sound very much as a warm
and delicious current flowed through her at his voice.

"How about lunch, at Quark's?"

She nodded.

"Good," at least there will be a lot of distractions there, he
thought. And it was true, once she was on the promenade, she couldn't
but stare at everything with fascination and curiosity.

"Hello, Doctor. I see you have a date today. I'm offering a half price
reduction on the holosuites, perhaps you would like to make a
reservation for this evening..." Quark smiled suggestively, his teeth
showing through his thin lips.

Molly drew closer to him, suspicious of the Ferengi.

"Cut it out, Quark. This is Molly O'Brien."

Quark did a double take. "Molly? Chief's daughter?!"

"The one and only," Julian managed to get out as Molly clung to him
tighter than ever. Perhaps the atmosphere here was a little too much
for her, but he was more than reluctant to eat in his own quarters.

"Doctor, you missed our lunch date, and now I can see why," a deep
amused voice came from the back of the both of them. With Molly
practically attached to his hips, he turned around to see a bemused
Garak.

Molly gaped at him, and a small cry escaped her lips. To someone who
had only been in contact with humans for the last few days, Garak was
a sight to behold. His scales reminded her of the creatures on the
planet. The creatures that she had barely managed to escape from
several times. They had always wanted to eat her and hurt her. Since
she was in constant fear, she would sleep only on tree tops so the
creatures would not reach her. This man was so much like the
creatures... She stiffened in fear and tugged roughly at Julian's
sleeves.

"Julian, Home! Home!"

Garak frowned at Molly's aberrant behavior, which made him look even
more ferocious, and that was all Molly needed to start running.

With amazing speed, Molly detached herself from Julian and took off
running as fast as she could with Julian not far from her steps.

"Doctor, what--"

"I'll tell you later, Garak! MOLLY!"

Julian found her huddled in a dark corner by the stations quarters,
huddled up in a small ball, her eyes large with terror. She gasped for
each breath, and whined softly in her own arms.

"Molly?" Julian reached out to touch her, but she immediately drew
back, her eyes glazed over with fright.

"Molly, it's Julian, remember? Julian."

She turned to one side, as if she heard, but wasn't sure of herself.
As he took her arms with his hands, she grew still as a stone. Julian
rubbed his hands back and forth, up and down her arms until she
finally started to relax. Then as she looked up, she whispered,
"Mommy? Daddy? Molly's here, where are you?" Huge drops of tears fell
from her unblinking eyes. Julian used his thumb and lightly brushed
away her tears, but she wasn't even aware of him. Even when he bent
over to pick her up in his arms, she just noiselessly fell into his
embrace. She was lighter than he thought, but he could feel her
shivering. His first thought was to take her back to the O'Briens so
she could see that Keiko and Miles where there for her, but Miles
should be on duty right now and Keiko was finally getting a reprieve
from Yoshi and Molly. So he decided to take Molly to his quarters and
swore to himself to keep his hormones under strict control.

On the way there, Molly's shivering stopped and she seemed to be
calmed down. In fact, she was breathing lightly into his neck, and he
wondered if she was asleep. He shifted his arms slightly, and Molly
moaned in protest. The sound caused the hair of his neck to stand on
its end and the feel of Molly in his arms became unbearable for him.
When she burrowed deeper into his arms, he could feel her breast
crushed against his chest.

What the hell is happening to me? he thought frantically. She was at
her most vulnerable stage and all he wanted was to rip her clothes
off.

They finally made it to Julian's quarters, and Julian was relieved to
get her on to the couch and out of his arms. He leaned down to her and
asked softly, "Molly? It's Julian, are you okay?" She looked up and
slowly took his hand in hers. Then she did something totally
unexpected. She guided his hands up to her cheek and pressed her face
up to his hand, her eyes closed in contentment.

She wanted the feel of another human being, he thought. When Molly
opened her eyes the fear was gone, and only gratitude was there when
she kissed the palm of his hand. Julian felt the warmth of her lips
and felt the same curious warmth flood his heart. Could it be? Was he
falling for her, the same woman with the mind of an innocent child and
the body of a seductress? What was the matter with him?

Molly looked innocently up at him, and suddenly broke the mood.
"Molly, food?"

"Alright, Molly, we'll get you some food," Julian laughed. She smiled
at the sound of his laugh; it grazed across her skin like a wooly
sweater and felt utterly comfortable to her ears. He went over to his
replicator and brought her some bread. Molly ate, and asked for more.
They managed to eat without having their hormones run away from them,
and then they began the day's lesson.

"Okay. The first thing you need to remember is that when you talk
about yourself, you don't say 'Molly,' you say 'I' or 'me.' So instead
of saying 'Molly is home,' you say 'I am home.' Got it?" Molly looked
at him, confused.

"I? Me?"

"Right. I and me mean Molly." She pointed at herself.

"I! Me!" He smiled.

"Next, when you talk to someone else, you call them 'you.' If you're
talking to me, you would call me you."

"Me is you?"

"No, no." He pointed at himself and said, "Me." Then, he pointed at
her and said, "You."

"You?" she asked, pointing at herself. "Molly is you?"

Julian sighed. This would take some work. He pointed at himself. "Me."
Then, he went around to behind her and took her hand. He pointed her
hand at herself and said, "Me." Then, he pointed at her and said,
"You." He pointed her hand at himself, and said, "You." She seemed to
understand then, and smiled.

"Me," she said, pointing at herself, and "You," pointing at him.

"That's right!"

"Me happy!"

"I'm glad," Julian smiled, finding his affection for her multiply by
leaps and bounds. But there was a reservedness about her that there
wasn't before, and he knew there was something else on her mind.
Perhaps having to do with her sudden change of pace earlier on.

"Julian?"

"Hmm?"

"Why...why Mommy and Daddy leave M--me...alone...long time. They no
like me?" Molly quietly whispered the question that had burdened her
heart ever since she came back on to the station.

A feeling of dread fell over his heart as Julian saw Molly awaiting
eagerly, yet fearfully for his answer. Was that what she had believed
for the last ten years? How could he explain that pain that Miles and
Keiko went through trying to search for her? He took a deep breath.

"That's not true, Molly." Julian reached over and covered her hand in
his. "They love you very, very much. It was an accident and they
missed you so much, we all did."

There was still a daunting fear in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"Molly...scared...alone," she stuttered as tears streaked her soft
cheeks.

Julian knew he'd have no chance of ever conveying what had happened on
the planet to her, but tugged painfully at his heart to see how
emotionally distressed she was. He sat closer to her and held her in
his embrace as she silently cried.

"Don't worry, Molly. Daddy and Mommy aren't going to leave you ever
again," Julian said as he tried to soothe her.

She looked up with her tearful eyes and whispered so softly that he
had to lean in to hear her. "Julian leave me?"

The words came out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying.
"No, I will never leave you."

There was gratitude in her eyes as she answered, "Thank you, Julian."
Then she buried her head in his throat as she hugged ferociously at
him, like she was never going to let go.

An unprecedented feeling of fulfillment and contentment flooded
through him. His hand went up to brush her silky hair, and once again,
his heart spoke before going through his brain and he said more to
himself than to her, "I promise."

Molly quieted as Julian rocked her gently back and forth, caressing
her hair with one hand and softly pressing his lips to her temple. He
felt a deep warmth flowing through his body and flowing between the
two of them, and he finally began to realize its depth. This wasn't
just lust he was feeling for her...perhaps it had been for a while,
but now he was sure that, given time, he would fall in love with this
young woman. It was beginning already.

...and when she looked up at him with liquidy soulful eyes, she felt
the same warmth and saw the connection, saw straight into his soul.
His right hand, rough from holodeck war games and harsh conditions on
away missions, slid from her hair down the side of her face, his thumb
drawing little circles on her high cheekbone. Trembling, she moved her
hand over his and turned to the side, pressing her lips into his palm.
With his free hand he reached around her waist and slid her closer to
him, while she reached up around his neck and tangled her fingers in
his thick, dark hair. He found himself moving irrevocably closer to
her, his eyes closing and lips searching for hers. He found those
sweet lips with her own and they met in a quiet, chaste kiss -- the
first kiss they had shared more out of love than of lust.

Their bodies twined together as they kissed, and their mouths opened,
allowing them to explore the tastes and textures of each other.
Molly's kiss was innocent and pure, while Julian's was skilled and
practiced, executed with ease; they came together and complemented
each other, drawing deep emotion out of their kiss. Finally, his lips
left her mouth to take the necessary breath before he moved on to her
smooth, tanned neck. Molly whimpered softly as he trailed kisses from
below her ear down to her collarbone and back again, clutching him
closer when his lips opened on her neck and she felt his tongue on his
skin. Neither thought the slightest of the consequences of their
actions, being too caught up in the moment to think about the elder
O'Briens. She twisted her head to the side enough so that he could see
that she wanted to taste his skin, and he released his hold on her
with his mouth. Molly had never done anything like this before, had
never kissed a man before Julian, but she found that her instincts
told her everything she needed to know.

She kissed him along the fine line of his jawbone, coming up to the
sensitive skin below his ear, which she spent a moment tasting. Julian
had a very musky, male scent, so she could always tell when he came in
the room; she could distinguish smells quite well from her time alone
on the planet. His skin was bronze, and his voice was velvet, all
caressing her senses to new heights. Molly slipped her lips around his
earlobe and sucked, forcing a low moan out of his lips, then a sharp
cry and a laugh when she bit him. At first she was distressed -- had
she done something wrong? -- but then he pulled her impossibly closer,
so that she was practically sitting on him and their legs were
completely entangled. Julian pulled his ear from her lips to replace
it with his own lips again, melting into her kiss once more. Heat
emanated from the two of them, and electricity passed between them
where their bodies touched. Her soft, rounded breasts pressed against
his chest, her tender nipples rubbing his and increasing both of their
excitement.

Neither of them heard the doors swish open.

---

Miles O'Brien stared in shock at what he saw before himself. His best
friend and his naive, innocent daughter were locked in a passionate
embrace on the sofa. Anger boiled up inside of him and his protective
parental instincts took over.

"Julian! Get your hands off my daughter!" Julian jumped away from
Molly instantly, leaving her frightened, alone on the couch. She drew
her legs up to her chest and curled up in a little ball in the corner
of the cushion she sat on. "What do you think you're doing??"

"Miles -- "

"Don't you 'Miles --' me! I want an explanation, and I want it now."
The tension in the room was thick enough that you'd need a butcher
knife to cut it; it was broken by a sniffle from Molly. Miles rushed
to her side and reached out for his daughter. "Molly, are you
alright?" She pulled away from him.

"Want Julian!"

O'Brien was furious and he turned around to face Julian. "What did you
do? Brainwash her too?!" He yanked Molly out of the couch not so
gently and marched to the door.

"Miles!" Julian scrambled to get to them before they went out the
door.

Miles hurled around, pulling Molly to the other side of him as he
faced Julian. Molly cried out in protest, but could not loosen her
father's grip on her wrist.

"I never, ever, want to see you touch my daughter again, do you
understand me?! How could you do this me? Do this to my LITTLE GIRL?!"
When it seemed like Miles could get no angrier, he said, "Dammit, I
thought I knew you, Julian." With a sigh that was more disappointment
than anger, Miles retreated with Molly out of Julian's quarters.

The impression of warmth that Molly had made on him faded quickly, and
the daunting realization of what he had done hit him with the force of
a brick wall. His contentment was quickly replaced with an
insurmountable guilt and he buried his face in his hands, wondering
what else could go wrong.

He would soon find out.

---

Captain Benjamin Sisko did not know what to make of it. For some odd
reason or another, Chief O'Brien had asked for a leave of absence from
the station, as soon as possible. When he had politely inquired as to
why, Miles merely stated it was a personal matter. Sisko had heard of
Molly's situation, but from the expression on the Chief's face, he
knew there's was more to it than Molly. Then again, it wasn't his
place to pry, so he gave the Chief permission. The Chief would stay on
the station for another day to take care of any loose ends and be on
his way...their way actually since Molly and Keiko were going too.

"Bashir to Captain Sisko."

"Sisko here."

"It's time for your check up, Captain."

Sisko sighed and tried to think up an excuse. "Doctor--"

"This won't take fifteen minutes, Captain," came the slightly bemused
voice.

"All right, I'll be there, Sisko out," he said, giving up what he knew
would be a fruitless argument. Hmm...perhaps the good Doctor could
shed some light on O'Brien's request.

Not that Captains are supposed to pry.

---

Sisko entered the infirmary and instinctively knew something was
wrong. When he saw Julian, his suspicions were confirmed. The doctor
had his usual arrogant grin, but there were dark circles under his
eyes and he seemed to walk with his shoulders just slightly slouched.
"Ah, there you are, Captain! Let me scan you, just have a seat." The
captain sat on the side of the biobed as Julian began to run the
tricorder over him.

"So, Doctor, I hear that Mr. O'Brien is taking his family on leave."
Julian's head snapped up.

"They're *leaving*?"

"I'd assumed you would know...being such close friends with the chief
and all..."

"I had no idea," he murmured. "We're not exactly on the most friendly
terms right now," he said cynically.

"Why is that?" He was prying. He was prying and he knew it, but for
Julian to have such circles under his eyes this must be something big.
And he couldn't have personal problems affecting the running of the
station, of course, he thought, trying to rationalize his curiosity.

"Oh...It's sort of...personal." Julian dropped his eyes to the
tricorder and focussed intently on the readings it was showing.

"No offense, Doctor, but you look horrible. You know I can't allow
'personal' matters to interfere with your job." When the doctor said
nothing, he tried again. "It's obvious something is bothering you. I'm
letting you know -- as a friend -- that if you want to talk about it
I'm here, and I'll listen."

Julian sighed and put down the tricorder. "Maybe in a while I'll want
to talk about it. But not right now. I'm all through, you can go."
Sisko nodded and left, his curiosity still unsatisfied.

---

Later, in Quark's, Julian had just pulled up a chair across from Garak
for lunch.

"Woman trouble, Doctor?" asked the Cardassian, taking a sip of his
water.

"Is it really that obvious?" he sighed.

"Yes." Julian looked at Garak strangely for a moment, then laughed.

"You can always see right through me."

"Would you care to tell me about your problem? Or shall I guess?"

"Guess. I don't feel like talking."

"Let me see...you're upset because you have feelings for the young
woman who ran away from me yesterday -- Molly. The only Molly I know
of on the station is the Chief's daughter, and I found that he's asked
for a few days leave with his family. Therefore I conclude that Chief
O'Brien is angry with you because of your feelings for his daughter,
or of his daughter for you. Or both." Julian shook his head in
amazement.

"Are you ever wrong, Garak?"

"I don't believe so, no."

There was a moment of silence on the Doctor's part. Then came, "Any
ideas?"

"Really, Doctor, would you trust me in these delicate human affairs of
yours?" Garak commented rather smugly and much to the Doctor's
displeasure.

"Garak." Julian's annoyance was evident and Garak decided this was a
serious matter indeed, no time for teasing.

"Since you asked me, Doctor, I'd suggest you ask yourself if it would
be worth it to pursue this girl." He paused for a dramatic moment and
sipped his drink slowly. Finally, he said, "How much are you willing
to risk?"

Julian was mute for a moment. In truth, he did not know the depth of
his feelings for her. Maybe it was right for Miles to take Molly away,
maybe then he would know that they were only caught up in the moment
of things and Molly would find someone that she truly loved. All in
all, he was not sure, more importantly, he was not sure Molly was
sure. It takes two.

Garak waited patiently as an array of emotions flashed so
conspicuously, well, when he looked at it anyway, over the Doctor's
face. Then there came the conclusion. Julian wordlessly stood and
marched right off into the promenade without even saying good-bye.

"Think he'll go for it this time?" came a familiar voice.

"I think he has learned a lesson from his 'other road not taken,' so
perhaps he might actually do something this time. Then again, humans
are always so fickle," Garak commented as he pushed back his empty
glass, "Another round, Quark. This one is for the Doctor."

Quark came with another drink for the Cardassian and one for himself.
He lightly clanged the glasses together. "He'll need all the help he
can get," Quark said softly as he downed his drink.

---

Dr. Bashir waited the door of the O'Briens' quarters. He didn't know
what to say, he didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he needed
to explain, to listen at his own words as to why he did what he did.

Or rather, he needed someone to scold him and tell him that what he
did was wrong and he shouldn't have done it...so he could find it in
himself to turn away from her and to end all of this before both he
and she would regret it.

It was Keiko that opened the door. At first Julian had almost hoped
that Miles hadn't told her, but then he knew that was impossible. Her
eyes registered surprise, but they soon turned to suspicion. "May I
help you, Doctor Bashir?"

That was all he needed to hear. "Keiko, please listen to me. I'm sorry
for what I did. I didn't know what came over m--"

Keiko's eyes had already softened when she saw the grey bags under his
eyes, and in contrast to Miles, she listened, and she knew that what
he was saying was sincere. But the situation was truly impossible!

"Julian. You betrayed us. You betrayed our trust in you. I don't
understand how you could do this to us!" Keiko exclaimed with more
astonishment than anger. She sighed and continued, "If Molly was a
normal 22 year old, I would have no objection if you wished to date
her. In fact, I think I would be glad, Miles would be glad, because we
both trusted you, immensely." He cringed at her use of the past tense.
"But the fact of the matter is, Molly is not a normal 22 year old. She
has the body of one but her mind is that of an 8 year old. Don't you
see what you did was wrong?"

She had just stopped short of saying how perverse he was being. And
Julian felt his spirits falter as he saw the situation through Keiko's
eyes. He was the big bad boogey man that preyed on innocent girls that
didn't know better to satisfy his sexual appetite. What a monster he
was! If he was Keiko, he wouldn't even want to talk to himself,
dammit.

"Oh god, Keiko, I can't tell you how sorry I am." A little voice
somewhere whispered the memory of the emotion that he had felt when
Molly was in his arms, but the picture Keiko painted for him was
enough for him to be thoroughly disgusted with himself.

"This trip we're taking is for the best. I think it'll be best for you
to leave before Miles and Molly get back. I have to start packing,"
Keiko said as she turned her back on him, dismissing him without
another word.

Julian didn't want to stay either. He felt his legs taking him to the
door when he was jolted out of the nightmare of his own mind by a pair
of eyes that had haunted him in his sleep. "Molly."

"Julian!" Her somber expression melted off her face and a radiant
smile that she reserved just for him fell on her face. Molly rushed up
to him and hugged him so hard that he felt the breath squeezed out of
him. "I...miss you," she stammered shyly into his ear. Julian felt
himself rejoicing at the sweet sound of her voice and when she raised
her head to face him, his mouth fell open at the same haggard look
that he had seen in the mirror. But all that was not important except
for the joy that flashed delightfully in the light of her eyes. He
felt himself sinking deeper into her web of affection.

Something stopped him. He wasn't sure what, maybe it was his sanity,
maybe it was his mind, or some fraction of control he still had over
himself. He pried Molly off him and held her at an arm's distance. His
throat was exceptionally dry and it hurt just to make a sound. Julian
tried several times before he got the words out.

"Have a nice trip, Molly. Good-bye." The corners of his mouth arched
stiffly upward and somewhat resembled a smile.

Molly instantly knew something was wrong. She tried moving closer to
him once again, but he stopped her. "Julian?"

He reached for her shoulder and patted her softly on her head. The
smile was still there when he walked right past her and a disgruntled
Miles and out the door. Molly stood motionlessly as he passed,
confused and afraid because she just knew that there was something
final about his good-bye. A feeling that was cold and clammy ran down
her spine. She hurled around, in desperation, to reach him again, but
fell into the hands of her father.

"Molly, Molly!" Miles restrained Molly as she struggled to chase after
the Julian's fading shadow.

"Julian! Julian!" Molly screamed out the door and she fruitlessly
struggled again her father. But the footsteps did not stop and were
fading quickly. It finally came to her that it was too late. Tears
fell hopelessly down her cheeks and she pleaded softly, "You
promised."

Julian didn't hear Molly's agonizing cries for him. He had somehow
blocked it out completely, though it hurt, hurt so much to do so. And
when he had walked far enough from their quarters, her voice was
completely and blissfully gone. But maybe it was the air pressure in
the corridors or some strange freakish wind, but he heard it loud and
clear. "You promised."

He immediately stopped in his footsteps. The walls seemed to echo.

*You promised.*

"You promised," she whispered, the pain in her words causing everyone
to freeze in their tracks.

"JULIAN!!!!" she screamed, anger and hurt and tears flowing through
her voice in that one cry, the sound echoing through the corridor.
Molly was filled with the superhuman strength that overcomes people in
emergencies, and she cast off her motionless father. Everything felt
like slow motion as she ran after the man she was certain she loved,
hair whipping about crazily and salty droplets falling from her eyes.

He turned as he saw her coming and stared straight into her eyes. He
broke the eye contact and looked away as Odo reached out and grabbed
Molly around the waist, stopping her from rushing on the doctor.

"Julian...?" she murmured, not understanding why he was acting this
way. In those few moments she had realized what he meant to her, and
her mind had put it into words naturally. All her memories of her
childhood came flooding back: the lessons she had learned in school,
the trips with her mother to Bajor, the first time she met her baby
brother...memories of stories she'd been told about princesses and
sleeping kingdoms where they could only be awakened by the kiss of the
prince...Molly had finally awoken from years of dreaming. Yet instead
of waking up to find her Prince Charming gazing lovingly into her
eyes, she found him dejectedly looking at the ground, ashamed to meet
her gaze, afraid to confront her parents, convinced that what he was
doing was wrong. "I love you," she whispered, the words speaking her
as much as she was speaking them.

"I'm sorry," was Julian's muted reply. "I'm sorry." He turned and
walked slowly away, not knowing that now she understood, now she knew
what was going on and who she was, now she knew that she loved him
more than anything.

He turned the corner and disappeared.

---

Odo had carried Molly back to her quarters and exchanged quiet words
with her parents while she clutched her doll and cried. Keiko then
approached Molly, motherly worry etched into her face. She reached out
and laid a hand on Molly's shoulder. "Honey, I know this is hard,
but--"

"No! No, Mommy, you don't know how hard it is! Can't you understand
what's happening here???" Everyone in the room drew back in shock at
Molly's outburst. "I remember now. I remember everything. I missed a
lot of learning, but that doesn't change *me.* You thought I had only
little kid thoughts because I couldn't talk right, because I couldn't
*remember* how to talk right. So I don't know as many words as you do,
so I talk like an eight-year-old. I'm not eight years old anymore. I
don't know how long it's been, but I think I'm old enough to make my
own choices sometimes."

"Molly--"

"What?" she barked, eyes blazing, as she turned to her father.

"What happened?" Two words. Two simple words that changed it all. How
could she put what she was feeling into words? How could she explain
the forgotten knowledge being released? How could she explain how she
could love someone without even learning about love? A sparkling tear
slid down her cheek.

"I don't know." They gathered and sat around her. "I don't know."

"Please, try, Molly," urged Keiko. Molly looked warily at Odo, who was
still standing in the room. He bowed his head, acknowledging her
silent plea for him to leave.

"It's like...like a -- what do you call it? Lots of water, getting all
over?"

"A flood?"

"Yeah. A flood. Only not water. Rememberings."

"Memories," corrected Miles instinctually.

"I remember everything you taught me when I was little. I remember the
day I fell into the...the..." She trailed off, not knowing the word
for the portal she had fallen through that fateful day so many years
ago. "That thing in the cave. I remember how scared I was. I thought
you left me there on purpose, because you didn't like me. After a long
time, I started to forget things. I forgot what you looked like, I
forgot what you sounded like, I forgot how to talk. I remembered
simple things, though, like how to find water and how to start a fire.
Remember how you taught me in the holosuite, Daddy?" He nodded, his
eyes watery. "Well, anyway. It scared me being there, and then when I
came back it scared me being here."

"What about Julian?" prodded Miles gently.

"Well, when I first got here, I didn't remember him. I sort
of...trusted him, just because. Maybe because you were friends. I
don't know. Julian is...everything. You can't just take him away from
me like he was some doll I got too old for! Daddy, I love him!"

"Molly...he took advantage of you. You think you love him because he
was nice to you, because he showed you things you didn't know about
before. I don't even WANT to know how much he showed you..."

"Daddy, stop. He didn't do that -- he's not *like* that. I pushed him
to it because I wanted it. Because I want him."

Miles was momentarily speechless as he processed Molly's words. But
they were not enough to erase the image of his little Molly, in the
hands of his ex-best friend, doing what he thought were unthinkable
things.

"Molly, honey, I know it's seems that Julian is all you can think
about right now but, it's just a little crush--"

Molly knew she was no where close to convincing her father. She turned
pleadingly to her mother. "Mommy, please, don't you understand?"

"Honey, I'm thrilled that you're starting to remember things, but are
you sure you're ready to be in a relationship? You were only eight
when you--"

"I AM NOT EIGHT YEARS OLD!" Molly screamed in exasperation. "I don't
look like an eight year old, I don't feel like an eight year old! Did
you ever think that maybe, just maybe life went on for me on the
planet?!"

"We just want the best for you Molly; maybe after you leave the
station, you'll forget all about Julian. Julian will still be here if
you change your mind, Molly. We want to help you make the right
choice, and maybe catch up a little, you can't deny that you're
different. Don't you want to see what else is out there? Come with
us?" Keiko asked softly as she took Molly's delicate hands in her own,
pouring her all her motherly love, daring to expose herself to the
painful rejection that could follow. When was it when Molly was just
eight? It seemed so long ago. It was rare and difficult moment for
Keiko, and Molly knew it.

It took several seconds for Molly to realize that she wasn't all that
sure...about Julian. He had turned away from her when she confessed
her love for him. Did he have the same feelings for her? Why then, did
he abandon her?

There was doubt in her, doubt that she didn't even realize was there
until her mother asked the question. And maybe even a little bit of
curiosity of the world out there that was never satisfied by the
younger version of herself. It was...tempting. So maybe her love for
him wasn't that strong. It was a true possibility. Her heart ached
with that admission.

The O'Briens watched intently as doubt and confusion went undisguised
across her ashen face. Miles took Keiko in his arms and hoped Molly
would finally understand and not stay on the station to possibly make
the biggest mistake of her life.

Molly shivered, but she wasn't cold. She was afraid. Afraid to be
hurt, afraid to be broken, afraid to be abandoned once more. She
looked up into the loving eyes of her parents and knew they would go
to the ends of the earth for her. Would Julian? Didn't he just give up
with only the meanings of a few words? Was that all she meant to him?
Was she as naive as her parents said she was?

The world was waiting for her. Her mother's delicate and familiar
hands held on to hers tightly, so tightly that Molly felt numb in her
fingers, but it also held a truth for her. She was finally home.

"I'll go."

Keiko let out a breath and tears came rushing down her face. Though
she did not say another word, Keiko hugged her one and only daughter,
and wished she could never let go. Miles came up to the both of them,
and could not hold himself back from embracing his family.

Molly felt the rejoicing of the blood ties that ultimately held her
family together. Tears of gratitude trickled down her cheeks from her
unblinking eyes.

But something was missing.

---

He could not go back to his quarters. It smelled like her. Her clean
scent was everywhere, in everything. He could see her shadow in every
corner. Dammit, he was turning completely delusional.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Julian looked up. A placid Cardassian face looked down upon him.
"Ziyal told me that once. She said it was a human saying she learned.
Do you believe that's true, Doctor?"

Julian managed a smile. A half hearted smile but a smile nonetheless.
It was a rare occasion for Garak to mention Ziyal. "Garak. I think
I've lost my mind."

"And you seem so happy about it too," Garak added as he sat himself
down across the Doctor.

"And not only have I *lost* my mind, I've lost a sense of integrity.
Me, a doctor, a genetically enhanced one at that, can't figure out
right from wrong," Julian said to Garak and to himself.

"Trust me, Doctor," Garak replied solemnly, "When it comes to matters
of affection, we all start at square one."

"I think I'm at negative twenty," Julian muttered.

"Then perhaps it would be better for you to stop thinking." Garak
pointed at his head.

Julian frowned. "What do you mean, Garak?"

Garak smirked rather mischievously. "See, you aren't as smart as you
think you are, my good Doctor." With that said, Garak got up and
walked back toward his shop.

Still confused, Julian got up and decided perhaps it was time to go
back to his quarters, and confront the memories there.

---

The doors swished open quietly, opening up to the broad expanse of
Julian's sitting room. His legs took him to the sofa, where he traced
his finger delicately over the flower pattern of the cloth. In the
cloth, he felt her, he remembered her...Scenes replayed in his mind
from their first meeting to the empty departure in the hall, leaving
him wondering what, if anything, he could have done to change things.
He looked about his quarters.

And she was there, in the shower, and on the sofa, and giggling as she
learned new words...and she was there, setting a table for a romantic
dinner, staring out the window at the stars, laughing as they tumbled
onto the bed together, happy. Julian saw what had been, and what might
have been. And a realization came over him.

He couldn't live in this room. Not alone. Not without *her.*

The doctor fled from the room, fled from the memories and dreams, not
caring that he seemed to pass every person who lived on the station on
his way to the Captain's office, the tears freely streaming down his
cheeks.

---

He tried to compose himself in the lift. The tears were gone, but his
eyes were red and puffy, and his clothes wrinkled. He stepped out into
Ops, trying to look unconcerned.

"Julian!" That was Jadzia...Jadzia, always there, always friendly. He
almost laughed at himself as he remembered his previous feelings of
unrequited love...but he hadn't known what love was. Not until he met
Molly. "What happened?" she asked, concerned.

"Nothing," he said, thankful his voice didn't crack, "I'm fine. I need
to see the Captain, is he in his office?" She nodded blankly, giving
him room to pass and staring after him, confused.

---

"Doctor Bashir. What can I do for you?" Ben Sisko's voice was deep and
reverberating, the sort of voice you expected when listening to a
speech made throughout an entire ship's comm line, or when watching a
Shakespearean play. Every syllable enunciated perfectly, every word
well chosen and thought out. Not the sort of voice you felt
comfortable coming to with personal problems. And he hadn't come with
personal problems.

"I need to ask a favor of you." Sisko looked at him curiously, noting
the tired, bloodshot eyes and the wrinkled clothes.

"Please, have a seat." He picked up his baseball and began to idly
toss it up and catch it again.

"I...want to get off the Station. For a while. I was wondering if you
had any...assignments that needed to be handled. Off the Station."

"Why is it so important for you to get away? Don't you like it here?"
Deep, brown, experienced eyes, eyes that had borne years of pain and
suffering and come through on top, met younger grey eyes, eyes fresh
with broken heart. The Captain thought that this might have been what
he had looked like after losing his wife at Wolf 359.

"It's not that, I...it's personal."

"Doctor, when it becomes a part of your work, it's not personal
anymore. I can't go sending you off somewhere you could be seriously
hurt when I know you won't be performing at your best. We need you, if
anything happens."

"I understand that, and I assure you that whatever you need me to do I
will do completely focussed. I need that focus right now, Captain.
That's why I need to get away."

"Well, there is *one* thing," Sisko sighed, putting down the baseball
and drawing a PADD from some concealed location under his desk. "It
requires the utmost attention. And you'd have to be willing to take a
big risk to take this assignment...but I think you could do it. In
fact, when I first heard about this I was considering you for the
job."

"What is it?" Julian asked, hoping this would be a quick ticket off
the station for a while.

"It's a top secret assignment. Anything you hear does not go past this
room. Understood?" The Doctor nodded. "The Federation needs someone to
go to Tyrisi Four to gather information on Dominion activities in the
area. You'd be under deep cover -- your death would be faked, to be
sure that nobody on the station got out word of your location. Does
this sound like an assignment you'd accept?"

Julian hesitated. He stopped to think, but found his head aching too
much to think at all. Perhaps it was time he stopped thinking and did
what he wanted and needed to do. He had to get away. Off the station.

He sat up straighter, and uttered the words that sealed his fate.
"I'll do it." The moment he said it, he felt the burden leave his
shoulders, but at the same time, his chest ached with an unknown
ailment.

"There are dangers-"

"I understand," Julian cut in before Sisko could continue.

Seeing his determination, Sisko sighed and gave him the PADD. "Here
are the details, you will leave at 1700 hours, a shuttle will be ready
for you in shuttlebay 4. Doctor, this wouldn't have anything to do
with the O'Briens would it?"

Julian was caught off guard at his sudden change of subject, and he
found himself speechless for a moment.

"It takes at least a year to complete this mission, Doctor, are you
sure your decision is not premature?" Sisko showed concern that he
rarely revealed in his words.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure! I need go. Off the station!" Julian said with
fierce vehement, almost as if he needed to convince himself of his
decision. He stopped when he realized who he was talking to. "Captain,
I-"

Sisko held out a hand. "Very well." He dismissed the Doctor with a
wave of a hand. Julian got up stiffly and walked out of his office.

"Doctor."

Julian turned around and saw Sisko staring into the vast starfield
through the window.

"Good luck."

When he was gone, Sisko found himself smiling in chagrin. "Seems to
me, Romeo had it easy."

---

Molly felt silly when Keiko held her hand all the way to the airlocks.
Embarrassed, that was it.

"Mommy. You're hurting me."

Keiko hastily loosened her grip on Molly's wrist.

"You still don't trust me?" Molly asked quietly.

Her mother's face fell and placed a hand on her cheek. "Of course, I
trust you, sweetie...I'll go in first and take care of your brother.
You'll come in when you're ready, okay?"

Molly smiled slightly and nodded.

"Okay," Keiko said, taking a big breath. She had no reason not to
trust her own daughter, right?

Molly stood by the air locks and watched her mother go into the ship,
she looked into the dark hallways of DS9. Torn between two choices,
she took a step toward the ship.

No! Dammit, she had to know!

Molly ran from the shuttlebay, bumping straight into Garak. He knocked
her to the ground as they collided, and her first thought was to
scream at the sight of the alien looking over her and asking her if
she was hurt. She pulled herself together, remembering that this man
was Julian's friend, and accepted his proffered hand.

"I-- I know you're Julian's friend. Where is he?" she asked urgently.

"Doctor Bashir? He's gone on business to Bajor, delivering medical
supplies. In fact, that's his ship leaving now," the Cardassian
responded, pointing out the window to a shuttle leaving the docking
clamp. Molly bit back tears, telling herself that he was just
delivering supplies, that he'd be back tomorrow, that he wasn't
leaving her; the shuttle swooped cleanly through the black velvet of
space, angling around towards Bajor. It prepared for the jump to warp.

But it never made it.

The shuttle exploded in a fiery ball, debris flying every which way
and the shockwave almost rocking the station. Molly's eyes widened,
and she fell to her knees before the window, reaching up a hand to
trace the area that the shuttle had once occupied.

"Julian..." she whispered, pain stabbing at the back of her eyes and
filling them with tears. "I love you." A tear fell from her eye. "I
love you." The tear slid down the side of her nose to her lips.

The wormhole opened from the impacting wave, and as the lights rippled
in the soft fabric of space, Molly looked beseechingly at the wondrous
Celestial Temple.

"I wish. . . "

Then as quickly as it appeared, the wormhole closed in a fell swoop,
taking all the spectrums of lights and colors with it. And as darkness
descended upon the vast spacefield once more, an infinite sadness
settled comfortably at the depth of her soul. She didn't finish her
wish.

There was nothing to wish for.

Footsteps came hurrying down the hallway. Molly turned. It was Odo. He
was going to Ops, she could tell. Maybe, just maybe, Julian escaped. .
. through that transporter thing, maybe. . . Molly's stomach flipped
as Odo suddenly stopped in front of her as if he just noticed her
standing there.

She waited for him to say something. Say that Julian was alive. Say
it. SAY IT!

"I'm sorry."

To have hope, and have it being taken away twice was more than she
could bear. Molly felt something die and the world darkened into the
blackness.

An incurable darkness.

---

The End