To Ms. Nana Visitor and Mr. Philip Anglim, who brought to life the greatest love in the Star Trek universe.
Author's Note: This story takes place after "Crossover" and before "The Collaborator"
Deep Space Nine was the center of many lives of many different people of all races, ages, and origins. Their careers and safety of themselves and their loved ones all counted on the dependability of others aboard the station, especially the officers that worked in Ops. At the moment, the officers were doing their usual duties.
Chief of Operations Miles O'Brien was in his perpetual position lying on his back on the floor fixing the archaic Cardassian computers. Lieutenant Jadzia Dax was monitoring the science console employing her knowledge of eight lifetimes past and her resource of endless calm and composure. Commander Benjamin Sisko was in his office.
Major Kira Nerys was standing at her station in her customary defensive posture, monitoring the flow of space travel around the station. A million different things went through Kira's mind as a familiar voice came over the comm grid. "This is Bajoran transport to DS9, are we cleared for docking?" It was the calm, genial voice of Vedek Bareil, the young Bajoran religious leader who was running for Kai, the highest rank of the Bajoran theocracy.
Yes, Bajor had been a theocracy, at least before the Cardassian occupation and the Provisional Government, Kira thought cynically. The Provisional Government had probably dubbed her Major Pain-In-The- Ass for the same reasons that Bareil was respected by the people of Bajor. He wanted to change the Bajoran govern- ment for the better, that was why she liked him. Kira also, although she would never say it, to anyone but Bareil, was in love with him. Yes, she, Kira Nerys, the uncompromising, belligerent, opinionated, bad-tempered, freedom fighter was in love.
Bareil, she thought, had the unique ability to be both spiritual and romantic. He had once told her that he thought of their relationship as a fulfillment of the 58th Prophecy, which stated that "The hardened heart of the warrior shall be made strong with love by the one who walks in the house of the Prophets." When she thought about it, it all made sense. She had never told him about the vision she had in the orb the day she and Dax had disguised themselves as Vedeks in order to find the leaders of the Circle. The image she had seen was of her and Bareil, totally naked, standing on a platform in the middle of the Chamber of Ministers. The vision had been very vivid, as the visions always were. The sounds seemed real, but most of all the sense that he was really touching her, stroking her. She didn't know what to believe about the vision having to do with their relationship, but somewhere deep in her , that it had an underlying meaning, something neither of them knew about yet.
The voice broke her out of her reverie "This is Bajoran transport to DS9, are we cleared for docking, Major?" asked the voice, a little more urgently this time.
"Yes....... Bajoran transport..... you're cleared for Docking Pad C." was Kira's reply.
Later, Vedek Bareil stepped out of the Bajoran temple on the Promenade as Kira walked by, and stopping when she saw him, her slightly disheveled look showing a long day of duty, but yet something about her mood made him feel welcome. "Bareil, what a pleasant surprise!" she said, smiling, her dark brown eyes lighting up happily instead of their usual fiery rage. Kira folded her arms, a gesture of comfort instead of defiance this time.
"Well, The Choosing is in five days, I wanted to relax a little before all the excitement begins." he said then his tone lowered as he said "And there's no one else I'd rather relax with, then you." he said, drawing her into a warm embrace and kissing her sweetly on the lips.
"Well, you DID promise me a good, passionate, one-on-one discussion of the 58th Prophecy this time." she said, moving a slender finger across his lips.
"That sounds absolutely wonderful." he replied, between kisses. When they arrived at her quarters, Bareil studied the room. It was bare, one of the signs of her childhood spent in refugee camps, not being able to keep many personal possessions. Before he could say anything to her, she disappeared into the private bedroom area, leaving him staring out at the wormhole, which had just opened to let a small ship through. Gazing out into the void of space, he thought about her, she was beautiful, but not in the stereotypical sense of the word. Kira was by no means the perfect lady or the voluptuous beauty queen, but she was slim and muscular, with an overall sense of determination, courage, and fierce, passion- ate, emotion. Many probably thought her to be a complete "ice princess", but she was not this way. There was a romantic, mystical, spiritual side of Kira too. She could be warm, sexy, loving, and understanding as well. He loved her for many reasons, but her ability to be in love as well as maintain a clear, tactile, mind when under pressure, always putting other lives before her own and willing to die for freedom was one of the biggest ones.
Kira emerged from the bedroom. She was dressed in a long ivory-colored, filmy, nightgown that hung loosely on her bare shoulders. She spoke into the panel just above the replicator "Jumja tea, hot, two servings." The two cups she had ordered shimmered onto the platform of the replicator. She handed Bareil a cup of tea and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"So what's been going on up here?" he asked casually.
"Well, not much, except for the fact that I met my double just about a week ago." she said as they sat down across from each other at the table.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, Bashir and I were coming back from New Bajor, and when we crossed through the wormhole, we wound up in a parallel time stream in where Terrans are slaves, Klingons, Cardassians, and Bajorans have formed and alliance..... and I run the station. I also dress like a Dabo girl." she explained.
He balanced his teacup his hands and smiled at her, eyebrows slightly raised. "Really? It must have been a different universe. Knowing you, you wouldn't be caught dead in any of those crazy clothes." he mused "I'm not saying I wouldn't mind *seeing* you in one of those filmy dresses..... he joked, smiling at her.
"You're horrible!" she giggled. "Trust me, you wouldn't like me over there, my preferred method of anger release was to torture a few Terrans. But, if it interests you, I was very . . . uh . . . uninhibited." she said
"I think I like you much better in this universe." he said, standing up from the table and walking over behind her to rub her shoulders. She stood up as well, and their lips came together in a long series of kisses.
"Hmmmmmmm. I seem to remember a situation like this last time you were here.......," said Kira. "But that time, I had to leave.... this time I don't."
"Well, we'll just have to see where this leads then, won't we?" he replied, trailing kisses down her neck.
Kira smiled and looked into this eyes. "Now, are you sure that Prylar Rhit doesn't owe Quark any debts this time?", she asked in a subdued tone of voice, then kissed him, tracing the inside of his lips with her tongue, almost as if to explore the far reaches of his soul, where words came from.
"Yes, I'm very sure", he said, breaking his mouth from hers for a millisecond, then touching the tip of his tongue to hers, savoring traces of spice still on her soft lips.
"Well, if the night is ours, come with me." Kira said, taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom. They sat on the edge of the bed and Bareil looked into her deep, unfathom- able, eyes and saw something radiating from their depths, something he'd never seen before. That was love, true love from the body and pagh.
"I've been thinking lately, about the 58th Prophecy," Kira said, relaxing in his arms. "I really think it's coming true with us. When I first laid eyes on you I thought you were the most........ infuriating, frustrating and heretical person I'd ever seen. But now that I've come to know you better....... I find you even more infuriating and frustrating, and what you've said and done, it's forced me to think about myself, change my life....... damn it Bareil, I love you!"
He laughed softly. Nerys was never known for being poetic, or subtle, but what she had just said made more of an impact on him than any love poetry that she could ever write. He wrapped both of his arms around her body, slowly easing her down onto the bed and kissing her, full on the lips. Kira reached her hand up and wrapped it around his neck. Their lips touched again. This time it seemed like an eternity. The kiss was soft and gentle yet smoldering with passion. He moved slowly down her neck as Kira grasped his shoulders in her hands. Kira tossed her head back laughing, enraptured, as she felt his lips moving softly along the nape of her neck and downward toward her breasts. He was kissing her softly, teasingly, almost undetectably as he progressed. Bareil gently removed her nightgown, and moved his hands down her hips. Kira reciprocated, removing his several layers of robes. She rubbed his shoulders and back gently, and ran her fingers through his hair as his lips continued, moving down, she felt the ridges of his nose brushing against the inside of her navel.
"Stop that!" Kira exclaimed playfully. He stopped and sat up, throwing the tousled sheets off his feet, and sat against the headboard. Kira wrapped her legs around him, her deep laugh warm, caressing, loving, and most of all, completely arousing. She moaned slightly as he entered her and gradually, they settled into the rhythm of their lovemaking, the ancient rhythm that man and woman had followed since the dawn of time, primal and animal, yet gentle and full of love.
The next morning, Kira lay next to Bareil's chest as the computer's alarm clock chirped. Bareil was still asleep. Kira got up, slipped on the nightgown and ruffled her short, auburn hair. She then sat back on the edge of the bed and kissed Bareil lightly on the cheek. His large brown eyes, refreshed from rest, opened and met hers. He kissed her casually on the tip of her nose as she leaned over and ran a hand over his chest.
"Good morning, Nerys." he said, stretching his arms and folding them behind his head.
"So, how did you sleep?" she asked, a hint of mischief in her voice.
"Aside from the fact that I didn't do much *sleeping* with *you* around, I slept fine." He sat up and put his arms around her waist from the back and nuzzled her shoulders.
His embrace was warm and inviting, and secure, and for just a moment of wild, crazy, delicious thought, Kira Nerys contemplated the idea of staying there in his arms all day. "I wish I could stay here all day." she said, slowly flexing the muscles of her neck.
Bareil captured her lips in a slow, long, kiss "I wish I could too, but usually you do get off duty, don't you?" he said.
"Yes, I guess you're right?" With that, Kira rose off of the bed, quickly pulled on her uniform, and headed for Ops. When she arrived in Ops, Kira had on a smile. Not a big, goofy, grin, but a small, rare, Kira smile. This was quite unusual to Jadzia Dax, because, on some mornings, Kira was grumbling at her to turn the bright lights down, or muttering about how to murder every Ferengi on the station. One some nights, Kira headed to Quark's for an innocent drink or two, and Quark replaced them with his special, non-Synthehol, "house" wines. Using this, he could get the best of Kira's hotheaded disposition, and get the night's floor show for free. But Quark had slacked off on this device lately, knowing of Kira's special friendship with Odo, and the added danger of Kira's ability to throw a punch. Dax was about to ask Kira what the occasion was, when she remembered that Vedek Bareil had arrived on the station the previous evening. Dax grinned inwardly, and went about her business, leaving Kira to herself.
The day passed uneventfully and quickly, quite unusual for DS9, and Kira, for once, was not the least bit tired, like she usually was. In fact, she felt like a good game of springball, especially since she had a good partner there on the station.
Bareil sighed, staring at the computer screen in front of him in exasperation, what would he say to the people. He was just about to give up for a while, when Kira entered and walked up behind him, squeezing his shoulders. "Hey, you look tired." she said
"No, I'm just frustrated, I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to say in this speech", he answered, kissing the top of one of her hands draped around his neck.
"Let's play springball, it'll free up your mind."
"Yeah, and it'll really help my shoulder." he muttered. Kira laughed slightly at that statement.
"Oh, come on, I'll let you win this time." With that, she left him to change into her springball suit. His shoulder had been hurt last time he had played springball, which had been with Kira a few months ago. He had planned to get it looked at if it hadn't felt better, but it had gone away that night, and up till and including that day, it had felt fine. However, he was sure that the pain would probably come back after this game. Nevertheless, Bareil decided to indulge Nerys and take her up on her offer.
Springball was a fast, furious, aggressive, game. Kira was very good at it, and so was Bareil. However, being a Vedek with other matters to attend to had put him out of practice, and very susceptible to losing. Nevertheless, he followed behind Kira to the holosuite both of them clad in the tight-fitting, dark blue springball suits and proceeded into the room, the black walls and yellow grid seeming to absorb them out of the everyday world.
About an hour and a half later, the springball match was over.
"So, Bareil, what are you thinking about now?" asked Kira
"My shoulder." he replied, and he was telling the truth. Kira had let him win all right, but it hadn't been any picnic taking advantage of it. He knew Kira was not the type to lose anything, even something as trivial as a game, easily. But then, considering her days as a freedom fighter, there were many things that, if she lost, it would have cost Kira her life, so she had a right to act this way.
"Well, I've designed a little something else to work on *that* problem." she said. "Computer, load program Kira 2."
Suddenly, the springball court metamorphosed into a bathing chamber. In the center was a large, round tub that resembled an ancient Earth Jaccuzzi, a pile of fluffy towels nearby, and two airy white robes hanging on a hook near the door, and a pile of huge pillows to one side. In the tub, a steaming bath was drawn, scented with a special combination of herbs, proved to heal aches and pains. There was one particular herb that was also an aphrodisiac, according to Bajoran legends. The floor was of sleek quarry stone, which was warmed for bare feet, another convenient touch of the holosuites. The bathing chamber was enclosed in a clear dome, outside of which was a beautiful forest, lush and green, it was dusk, and the waning sunlight and the lights of fireflies were the only illumination in the forest.
"Ah, so this is how you're planning to kill my pains, right?" he asked.
"Fornessa root cures aches and pains, and it's also a great aphrodisiac." Kira said, kissing him long and deep, her hands moved up his back, peeling off his shirt that had been clinging to his back, and her fingers on the small of his back, just under the waistband of the shorts he was wearing. He pressed his lips to hers, stroking her bare midriff, easing the straps down her arms as she wrapped her arms around his waist, removing his shorts. Soon, they stood nude in the humid bathing chamber near the edge of the tub. He nibbled at the edge of her earlobe, sans silver earring, and whispered something to her.
"I personally don't think we *need* any aphrodisiacs." he said.
Kira laughed, interlacing her fingers on his back as he slowly untied the sash around her head and buried his lips in her soft hair. He dipped his toe gingerly into the tub. It was a pleasant sort of warmth. He sank in, and sat on the smooth stone bottom of the tub, Kira settling in behind him, both of them enveloped up to their shoulders in water. Her hands descended onto his shoulder, kneading, massaging, soothing, the movements of her hands relaxing his muscles and his senses.
"This is wonderful", he said contentedly, "You can't tell me you learned this in the camps"
"No, it's actually a form of Ferengi oo- mox, if I were doing this to a Ferengi's ears right now, he wouldn't be enjoying it as much as you are."
He smiled and slid up onto the little bench in the back of the tub next to her and placed a hand on Kira's shoulder. "Do you think I could try this too?" he asked, moving his hands toward the center of her back and moving his hands in a circular motion up and down.
"Aah, just like a professional." she said. Kira felt like the tension was being released from her body in invisible waves, coming to a crest and then dying in the water.
"Well, I happen to be a fast learner." he said, the full strength of his hands centered on her shoulder blades.
"Or," she said, grinning, "it could be that you just happen to like the subject a lot!" An intense surge of pleasure advanced over her as his hands found their way down her neck, her upper arms, elbows, and finally stopping to rest on the inside of her wrists. He lifted one of her hands out of the water and rested it on the palm of his own, delicately stroking each one of her fingers.
"Beautiful hands, very talented, beautiful hands" he murmured. As he put down the hand he was holding, she laid it on the silky inside of her thigh, on top of his other one.
"And you, have very . . . fast . . . hands" she laughed, rising out of the tub, and sitting on the edge.
Kira wrapped a towel around her shoulders and smiled at him. He got out of the tub, and reached over to kiss her lightly on the cheek and found his hands on the ends of the towel, making for a very compromising position. He moved the towel down her shoulders and felt the warm mist of her cooling skin on his face, breathing in the spicy scent of fornessa root. He kissed the small valley between her breasts he could also taste something, something indescribable, a taste of her, and only her, something that only the two of them shared, and something he would remember forever.
Her heated body seemed to cried out to him for his touch, and he responded, exploring every inch of her body , wet with mist and sweat. Then he moved up to eye level with her and looked into her eyes. The next moment, to his surprise, she bore him down onto the big pile of pillows, her arms around him, her fingers tickling him on the back of his neck, the middle of his stomach, and her toes rubbing gently against his own. She knew she was tantalizing him, and was enjoying it too, a provocative smirk on her face and a coy brightness in her eyes.
"How did you know I was ticklish there?" he asked. "Oh, just a lucky guess, because I am too!" she said.
"You are? Well!" he pinned her under him impishly and began to tickle her, inexorably. She challenged him again, getting the upper hand again, her hands were harder to grasp, and became totally impossible to stop from tickling him. "You know, there's only one way you're going to get me to stop tickling you." she said.
"Say uncle?" he said, grimacing in mock despair.
"No," she responded, the mischief fading from her face and being replaced by a suggestive glance. Kira ran her hand up the side of his thigh, and pressing her lips to his. He finally got her message.
"Oh, you wicked, wicked, woman!" he scolded seductively. In a minute, they were moving as one body, thrashing in sync, in complete and total infatuation with each other, each seemingly absorbing the other's body and mind, short gasps and muffled words emanating from them. Their skin took on a red-gold glow as the sun cast it's final rays of the day on the forest and the couple, the only people in the forest, making love hidden only by the lengthening shadows.
Hours later, Kira was lying on her side, pressed against him, her head on his chest, as he stroked her back. His caresses felt like a warm breeze on her back as the combination of the warmth, the darkness, and the steady rhythm of his breath- ing, and the afterglow of cooling passions began to take affect on her senses, much like a lullaby would put a little girl to sleep. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Bareil's chest and hugged him, then roguishly fondled the back of his neck with one finger.
"Now, quit that! That got us in a little. . . mmmmmm. . . trouble last time." he said, a grin spreading over his face.
Kira giggled. "I happen to like getting into . . . trouble . . with you!" "I love you." she breathed, almost inaudibly, then cuddled up next to him again.
"Nerys, as much as I'd like to lay here all night, I think we're going to find Odo and his security team standing over us, looking extremely puzzled in the morning" he said.
"Mmmm, no, he'd probably mutter something about 'humanoids and their crazy notions' and walk away, but he'll probably look at me really strangely for the rest of my life." Kira said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around her knees.
She stood and picked up the pile of clothes still lying at the entrance to the bathing chamber.
"Computer, save program." she said, and then programmed a few codes into the computer. "I saved so that only our retinal scans will make this program appear, if anyone else, like Quark, accesses it, it comes up as a level ten Klingon calisthenics program." she said.
"Our secret garden." he replied.
He walked up and slipped his arms over hers, which were filled with the bundle of clothing
"You are *so* wicked!"
She didn't respond to the playful chiding but instead spoke into the space around them.
"Computer, two to beam to Major Kira's quarters." She stepped away from Bareil as their forms shimmered out.
As they materialized in Kira's quarters, he embraced her and kissed her. "I was wondering how you were going to get us out of there. Thank you for an *incredible* evening." he said, as he found himself absorbed by her deep brown eyes again.
Kira dragged her lips up the side of his neck and darted her tongue behind his ear, and whispered to him. "I wouldn't have had such an incredible evening without you!" she kissed him on the lips and then turned around and held his hands to her stomach, her head on his chest, looking out the viewport.
He broke from her a moment, then came back fully dressed. "I've got to work this speech over." he said.
"Okay, but promise me you'll get some sleep sometime tonight"
About 4 hours later, Bareil could barely keep his eyes open as he typed the last sentence of his speech. He saved it and shut off the computer screen. He picked up the PADD with the completed speech on it and walked sleepily over to the couch to look over it before going to bed. As he read, his eyelids seemed heavier and heavier, and without knowing it, he fell asleep on the couch.
He dreamed of Kira that night. Kira and himself, playful young lovers. The dream took place in an open, grassy meadow, a meadow far away from Bajor, far away from anyplace he'd ever seen. The sun was shining and there was a little brook in the distance. Kira's hair was long and silky and she wore a sheer white sundress, her dark eyes spritish and enticing, a light, clear laugh echoing as she ran along the meadow. He chased her to the brook. The cool water splashed her, making the dress cling to her. Kira quickly crossed the brook and dashed up a low hill. He finally caught up with her at the top, captured her in his arms and kissed her deeply for a long time, then picked her up and took her over to the circle of shade made by a large tree nearby. He was about the put her down when she entwined her legs around his waist and looked straight into his eyes. His hands went around her shoulders and found the fastening of the dress and deftly removed it, hands moving down over her breasts and coming to rest on the outside of her thighs. As the younger versions of himself and Kira disrobed, they started to disappear, fade away into a white void as he slipped into his subconscious.
Kira rolled over in her bed. As she did so, the blanket that had been precari- ously hanging on the edge of the mattress just covering her feet, rolled off. She sat up and went to retrieve it, and saw the empty space on the bed next to her. Then, Kira glanced over to the other side of the room, a smile slowly spreading over her features as she spotted Bareil asleep on the sofa, PADD in his hand. She picked up the blanket in both arms, and like a mother, spread the blanket over him and removed the PADD from his hand, setting it on the table.
The next morning, at her station, Kira reviewed the list of expected vessels to dock at the station in the next few days scrolling by. A Rigelian freighter, a Starfleet supply vessel, a Bajoran transport . . . special diplomatic clearance. She wondered who it could be, since Bareil was already there. Then she remembered, it was probably Bareil's chief rival in the race for Kai, Vedek Winn.
Kira suddenly looked away from her screen, almost as if addressed. A myriad of images, sounds, smells, and touches suddenly wrapped around her like a diapha- nous mist. Bareil's face as she held it in her hands, the slap of a springball against a racket, a soft groan escaping from his lips in the heat of passion, the rustling of sheets and clothing, the humid air or the forest, the intoxicating fornessa root, her own giggling as he tickled her . . . and then it stopped . . . everything just stopped, and faded into the foggy image of a woman holding a box, the ark with the orb, it looked like. As the fog faded, she saw the woman was Bajoran, and dressed in the robes of a Vedek, it was Vedek Winn. "Winn? What in the hell is she doing here?" thought Kira. "And what is she doing standing in the middle of Ops?"
"Vedek Winn?" she whispered, almost inaudibly.
"Yes, my child, I have come to you. Bareil, you love him deeply, do you not?" Winn did not wait for Kira to answer, but continued "If you truly do, you must give him this message from the Prophets, "His secret is in danger." . . .
"pose a danger to the Federation and it's allies....." Kira suddenly snapped out of the strange dream-like state, and saw not Winn standing in front of her, but Sisko. She realized that he was talking about the enigmatic Dominion and their potential threats to the Federation as well as other visitors to the Gamma Quadrant.
Kira and the other officers stayed in Ops the entire day and into the night. The computers has broken down again and scattered bits of data all over the system. She, O'Brien and a few Bajoran techs had been the main people working on the computers and it was about 2200 hours before they were finished. O'Brien groaned about how Keiko was going to give him the usual "You're working too much" speech. That made her think about Bareil. He knew that working late was an unofficial requirement of her job and that she was dedicated enough to work extra. Keiko, however thought that O'Brien was being treated as a doormat, but he also shared Kira's feelings about his work, he wanted to get it done, even if it meant working late. O'Brien had been lying on his back all day, and was slow in getting up off the floor. Clutching his lower back in pain, O'Brien headed to the turbolift.
Kira, in a few minutes headed back to her quarters. She unzipped her uniform jacket, kicked off her boots, and collapsed onto the bed. Bareil was not in her quarters, but that was not surprising since he probably had business to attend to on the station. Kira relaxed, her muscles, which had felt like steel cables began to loosen up. Mixed thoughts entered her head as she fell into a dreamless sleep.
About 0100 hours, Bareil entered Kira's quarters coming upon her sleeping form on the bed. Kira groaned softly as she subconsciously rubbed her ankle with her other foot. He pulled a chair up to the end of the bed and took one of her feet in his hands and began an intense foot massage.
"Mmmmmhmmm......" Kira began to wake up as she felt her feet being massaged. "Bareil!" she grinned at him mischievously "Come here." He did, slipping his arms around her waist. Kira took one of his hands and grazed the tips of his fingers with her lips. "You're good" she said. He ran his fingers through her hair and covered her sleepy eyes with kisses. She purred softly as he untucked the shirt that she wore under her jacket, gradually beginning to remove it, his hands feeling like velvet on her skin. She reciprocated and clamped her hands on the knot holding his robe together. He laughed luxuriantly as his hands met hers and worked together, untying the knot. When the knot was finally loosened, Kira gently removed the rest of his clothing, as he removed her armor-like uniform pants.
Then it was just bare skin on bare skin, in making love, they felt warm, natural, peaceful together. That night, the third night of Bareil's visit to the station, was wonderful for both of them. It was the end of a tempestuous three day love affair, but it was the beginning of something that would last much longer, the fulfillment of a prophecy of love.