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Move towards the future but embrace your past and honor it. Old Lin’klai saying. Dakhur Province Weikath Mountains
Tes’are Family Gravesite Late Afternoon Sunlight.............coming out of the dark and into the sunlight was like being reborn. Rei closed her eyes and spread her arms out towards the sky as she ended her exploration of the caves and stepped out at her family’s gravesite in Dakhur province. Warmth spread across her face and down her body melting away the layer of cool air that had hovered around her as she took a deep breath and stretched. The walk up here had been relaxing. The possibility of a new baby had her thinking about them and it was only right that she come here and spend time with them. Besides, their graves needed to be cleaned and it was something of a calming experience for her. No visions this time just a sense of--Rei studied the graves of her daughter and husband—peace perhaps? The Aristocrat was dead. They, and now she, could rest easy. She knelt before the smaller grave and pulled the cleaning brush and cloth out of her backpack. Carefully she set about getting out the dirt that had accumulated in the grooves of the grave marker. After awhile she began to sing to her little girl, half remembered lullabies and old songs she’d heard somewhere before but couldn’t recall where now. And she wondered…if Ami’lya had lived what would she be like? How much of her father would be in her? How much of her mother would be in her? Would I have been a good mother to her? Rei leaned against her husband’s marker, hand straying to her womb, as that thought took her into unexplored territory. What would it have been like had they lived? So much of her had just stopped when they died, unwilling to leave them alone in death, unwilling to move forward, unwilling to even consider the what ifs. It’d been too painful to wonder what would have happened if fortune had favored her differently than it had. And now she considered them. One hand gently brushed through the dirt on Rodan’s grave as she wondered. If he had lived they would have had other children besides Ami’lya. They’d have a home somewhere and a family and she probably wouldn’t have joined the military or worked at the bar. How much of her today would have still have been present in that devoted wife and mother? How many of her problems would have carried over? How would they have affected her and her family? She would never have gone to Kerok Nor…or met Tisk…Rei’s brow furrowed and her hand strayed back to her womb as if to protect her unborn child from some alternate reality.
She turned and started working on his grave. As memories of him washed over her-and they were wonderful memories, ones she’d cherish until she died- Rei began to wonder if they would have stayed together after the Occupation. The flip side of the coin: Rodan alive but they’d divorced. Joint custody obviously. She wouldn’t have kept her children from their father. Oh Prophets what about this one?! Rei looked down in alarm. What are you going to tell this kid when he or she comes to you one day and asks why they look different from all the other kids and who their father is? Considering her past telling this little one about the assassin part was going to be a cakewalk compared to telling the kid his father was a traitor. How the hell do you tell a child his father was a traitor to everything he believed in? Ian…Ian knew Tisk better than she did and had more memories of him…Knew him before Kerok Nor, when they’d been friends, before it had all gone to hell. What would you tell Tisk? She groaned at the question. Considering his reactions to her and Shai’tal Rei didn’t believe the idea of her raising his child would be met with much enthusiasm. Probably believe I’d turn it into a psychotic, murdering freak like myself. Stop it! She thought to herself shaking her head. You’re not all good but you’re not all bad either. Stop being an asshole. Whoever or whatever she was Rei knew that any child of hers would have a better life than she had. They’d have to or else…what was the point of it all? There had been a point to it all hadn’t there? * * * * |
Bajor Capital City |
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Bajor Minister's Hall Office of Colonel Tana Dori
When exactly had she started going insane? Dori thought back over the last week or so and came up with an answer. It began with the looks. She sat back in her chair in her office and stared at the picture on her desk of her and Rei laughing at the photographer’s studio. The lingering, slightly wondering look Rei shot her over coffee a few mornings ago as if she were trying to figure something out. The happy look as she watched Dori cook dinner. The challenging look across the dinner table as they and Ian debated something of interest…
And then there was the look that just made her horny. Dori shook her head and turned her seat so she could stare out her window. Beautiful day….One where you and your lover go walking in the park and find a secluded place…Aww damn…Rei had to have known what she was doing when she gave Dori that look. "I need to get laid." Dinner? I should take her out to dinner. Dinner is always good. Talk about stuff. Baby stuff. Us stuff. Future stuff. That’s good. Talk is good. Sex is better though…Sex with Reia is a lot better…Maybe I’ll just forgo dinner all together and drag her off to the apartment in Lorose Court…Hmmm…I wonder if I can make reservations for a table at that one-- "My life sucks." Dori jumped and turned her chair to look at the door in exasperation. "Dammit, T’lara! How many times have I told you to knock!!" T’lara looked at her sheepishly and dug the toe of her boot into the marble floor. "Sorry. I like to keep in practice you know," the blond said with a smirk. It was a rare day when the blond one of the four made it out of the bar. Dori had to wonder how long it’d been since she’d gone on a vacation.
"Yes, Sweetie, I understand that but don’t practice picking the lock on my door. Please? It’s a pain in the ass to reprogram." At T’lara’s nod, Dori motioned her over to the couch. "Now, tell mommy what’s wrong," she said putting her feet up on the desk. "What isn’t wrong? Liquor shipment was late so I spent the entire night waiting for it and then Max and I had to put it away. One of the waitresses decided she’d have a -what did she call it?-a brighter future as an adult film actress—" Dori nearly fell out of her chair as she burst into laughter. "A porn star?!! She wants to be a porn star? Oh my—" T’lara rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. So she quit but scheduling a replacement hasn’t been a problem. My bird knocked over my paint set so my latest painting entitled ‘Blue Moons over Thinking Woman’ can now be called ‘Bird’s Brush with Deep Fryer.’" An eyebrow went up as Dori looked at her friend. "You didn’t…" T’lara blew her bangs out of her face. "No…He gave me that innocent look and said ‘Huh?’ in that cute voice of his and I just crumbled. Little Shit," she grumbled derisively. "Oh and my boyfriend moved out." "Good. He was a dick anyway." "Yes, dear but he was a bolo sized dick. Incredible in bed." "Still doesn’t the novelty run out after awhile?" "If you get a good personality along with the bolo no, but this one was…" "A dickhead." "Exactly." They sat in silence for a few moments each lost in her own thoughts. Finally, Dori put her feet down and walked around the desk. "Let’s play hookey." T’lara looked up at her. "…O…kay…what did you have in mind." "Come on." * * * * |
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When Rei eventually drove up into the garage the one thing she never expected to see was Lin dashing out of the side door wearing nothing but a towel and yelling at the top of her lungs. "OH THANK THE PROPHETS! I THINK I KILLED HIM!!!" She lept into Rei’s arms. "Um…" Hmmmm….If it were a different woman in nothing but a towel Rei knew exactly how she’d deal with the situation. The towel would have hit the floor and Dori would be yelling, but for extremely different reasons. Lin on the other hand…Rei awkwardly patted her on the back. Making sure the towel didn’t slip she gently disengaged from the hysterical woman and said. "Huh?" "Human guy…glasses…walked in…dropped robe…BOLO!!!" Lin gasped as she dragged Rei into the house and up to the main bathroom. "AWWW JEEEZ LIN!!" Rei threw her hands up in the air, as she took in the sight of poor Ian in all his naked glory sprawled out on the bathroom floor. "Cover him up!" She turned away. "You know that really wasn’t a side of him I wanted to see. Ever." "Impressive though. Isn’t it?" Lin asked with a suggestive smile and a wink. "Don’t even go there." Only Lin would think of sex at a time like this. The poor man was unconscious for Prophet sakes! "Is he covered?" "Unfortunately." "Good, hand me the med kit." Rei turned as Lin tossed her the kit. "Well, he’s going to have one hell of a headache when he wakes up but other than that he’s fine." She looked at Lin in confusion. "By the way, what are you doing here?" "Long story short, Babe, my apartment has a bug problem. And you guys always said if anything came up I could crash here for a little while." "Oh...Good to see you." "Good to see you, too."
* * * * "Are you sure this looks okay?" T’lara smoothed her hair one more time. "You look fine! I should have done this too you ages ago," Dori laughed as they walked upstairs to raid a few closets. She’d taken T’lara out for a makeover, just the thing to get over a lousy ass boyfriend. Her hair had been straightened and lengthened, her make-up was a little softer and more feminine, and her wardrobe was now up to date. A masterpiece job if I do say so myself. The extraordinary sight of a towel clad Lin and a disgruntled Rei carrying a nearly naked Ian down the hall made the two women pause at the top of the stairs. "Am I actually seeing this?" Dori asked. "Um...if you’re seeing a naked guy being carried by Lin and Rei then yeah I’d say you’re actually seeing it."
"Hi, Dori. Hi T’lara. Oh you straightened your hair!! You look great!!" Lin bubbled as she trooped down the hall. It was as if she’d hit the mother lode judging by the ecstatic look on her face. "Hi," T’lara and Dori said in awe. Dori looked at Rei as they went past. "Do we want to know?" Rei just shot them a look. "No. No you don’t. Trust me." They turned into Ian’s room. "ALL HAIL THE BOLO!!!!! WHOO HOO!!!" "OH STOP IT!!!" Dori could only shake her head and mumble. "I really need to get laid." "You and me both." * * * * Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack. Several hours later Dori was typing up reports into her computer when she heard a knock on the door. "Yeah?" "Mind company?" Rei stuck her head in and smiled. In one hand she carried a bowl of ice cream and in the other a bottle of chocolate syrup. Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack. "Nah. All the children in bed?" She asked good naturedly as she went back to her reports. "Yeah," Rei sank down into a large overstuffed chair and squirted syrup onto her ice cream. "Had to stop Lin from sneaking into Ian’s room three times but I finally managed to get it through her head that if he’s unconscious nothing’s going to be rising anytime soon," she said with a suggestive raise of her eyebrow, "if you know what I mean." Dori chuckled. "Since when has an unconsciousness man ever stopped Lin? The woman is like a sersahound when she finds something she wants." She glanced up at Rei. "Didn’t bring any for me? I’m hurt." Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack. When she didn’t receive an answer Dori looked up again--clickety-clack, clickety—and caught the look on Rei’s face. That look.
"What are you thinking?" She asked all thoughts of reports disappearing as her mind skidded to a complete halt. "Oooohhhh….naughty thoughts about you…me….the bowl of ice cream….and this entire bottle of chocolate syrup." Rei answered with a suggestive smile. Dori felt her jaw dropping at the images that cropped up. "Oh my…." She slowly got up from her chair and walked towards her lover. "You know," she said helping Rei up and planting a kiss on her lips. "This wasn’t quite how I pictured this." "Really?" Rei walked backwards towards the bed trusting Dori to guide her. Her blouse fell open and she looked down in time to see Dori slipping the last button out of its hole. "How did you imagine this?" Carefully she sat and let Dori push her down on the bed, no small feat considering she was still balancing the ice cream bowl in one hand. Dori climbed on top of her and straddled her hips. "Well, I was going to take you out to dinner," she answered unbuttoning her own blouse. She looked into Rei’s eyes. "We were going to talk." "Talk is good. Talk about what?" "You, me, our future, the baby…stuff." Dori drifted off as a million more topics came to mind. Rei smiled and bucked her hips a little to get her lover’s attention back where it belonged. "We’ll talk. Promise. But not right now okay? My hand’s starting to go numb." A mischievous smile lit Dori’s face as she looked at the ice cream. Gently, she took the bowl out of Rei’s hand and spooned a generous amount of ice cream onto a nipple. Ignoring Rei’s yelp of surprise she took the chocolate syrup bottle and topped it off. "Welcome home, Reia," she laughed as she lowered her head. * * * * She couldn’t help it. She just had to go see it again. Lin crept out of bed and slipped on her robe. Ever so quietly she eased out of her room and slipped down the hall and into Ian’s room. There it was. Lin smiled greedily in the semi-darkness. Not that you could see anything under the blankets and Ian’s clothing but still it was there! She tiptoed further into the room and gazed down at Ian. When you got down to it this Ian fellow was pretty attractive. The look of innocence on his face as he slept appealed to Lin in some odd way. What had Rei said? He hadn’t had much luck with women as far as she knew? Lin snorted. Someone had let a bolo get away from them? A sweet, kind and caring bolo at that. Idiots, the whole lot of them, to let a gem like this get away. The things I could do with this body… Whack! "Yeow!!!" Lin launched herself onto the bed and missed Ian by only a few inches. Rubbing her sore rear end, Lin the turned to T’lara and glared. "What the hell do you think you’re doing?!" She hissed. "Will you chill out?!" T’lara hissed back. "It won’t detach itself and walk away while he’s asleep!" She shook her head in disgust. "You have no restraint." "Restraint?! I’ll show you restraint! I’ve got a whole set of them in my apartment!" Lin let out indignantly. She was about to let loose with an insult of her own when a look of confusion spread across her face. "Waitaminute. What are you doing here?" "Umm…" "Ah-ha!!! You wanted to sneak a peek too!" "No! I…I just wanted to—" "Uh-huh." "Um…make sure that you know—" "Riiiiight." "That you wouldn’t get any ideas." The silence in the room was thick as Lin folded her arms and waited. "Shit." Her game was up and she knew it. "Okay. So I have about as much restraint as you do." Lin pouted and slapped the comforter. "It’s not fair! You got the last one!" "The last one was an asshole!" "I know but still!! It’s my turn to have great sex dammit!" "MMMMMMmmmmm were we going to have atoms and engines and lalala…" Lin and T’lara turned and stared. "Purple happy people heh…." Lin leaned down close to Ian’s face. "Are you awake?" "Whooooo!" Ian flipped over and Lin let out a strangled yelp as he rolled over her. Arms and legs flailing around him Lin looked to T’lara for help only to find her friend snickering at them. "You butt! Get over here and help me!" Gasping for breath T’lara replied, "Oh I don’t know. I was thinking of just grabbing a camera and preserving this moment for posterity." She let out another snicker and doubled over. "Get him off me or I swear I’ll screw him right here and now!!" "Something tells me I think he’d like that." T’lara mused as Ian let out an indecipherable phrase about oranges put a hand on Lin’s breast. Lin let out a gasp and shut her eyes, torn between the idea of letting him continue in his dream state and finding a way to get him off of her. Then her eyes opened wide as she felt something else. "Wooow….They really do get bigger when they perk up." T’lara rolled her
eyes and started to laugh outright. Finally, she got a hold of herself
and climbed onto the bed to pull Ian off of her friend. "This smacks
of a bad porno you know?" Nimbly, she hopped off the bed at Ian rolled
over and nearly pinned her. "He’s cute." Lin just lay there for a moment savoring the experience. "Wow." "Oh stop it." She rolled over and propped leaned up on one elbow. "Can you seriously believe other women let him get away?" T’lara thought about that for a moment. "No accounting for intelligence, dearie. Now come on. We need to get out of here before he wakes up." "Can I have this one? Please?" Lin asked as she slid off the bed and they walked to the door. "You’re hopeless," T’lara said as she closed the door after them. * * * * It had been a food extravaganza. When the possibilities of chocolate syrup had been exhausted Dori and Rei had raided the fridge for other things: strawberry cream cheese, honey, caramel dip…the list went on and on. In fact Rei was certain she could smell grape jelly somewhere around her. She took a tentative lick of Dori’s shoulder, as they lay spooned together under the covers. Yeah there it was. Smeared right up to her neck Rei let a lazy, satisfied smile drift over her face as she buried her nose in Dori’s hair…and into a dollop of whipped cream that happened to be there. Hmm… Dori moved a little and let out a slight groan. "Ooohhhhhhhh. Reia?" "Yes?" Rei held her a little tighter and let a hand drift south. "Reia!!" Rei let out a chuckle and said, "Not up for another round?" "Ummmm…." What had she been going to say? Didn’t matter. Dori turned over in Rei’s arms and they went for another round. One shouldn’t waste food and there was this particularly interesting smear of caramel on Rei’s neck…. * * * * Ian suddenly bolted upright in bed. For a moment he could have sworn…He looked around the dark room. There was no one there. Hadn’t he been off to take a bath? He groaned and put a hand to the back of his head. Yeah, he had. Ian remembered now. He’d taken off his robe and his glasses and then there’d been this pale stick with a red top jumping up from below and yelling at him. It got a little weird after that. He’d been standing in a line filled with half naked men as they were inspected. Looking up and down the line Ian was embarrassed to admit that he wasn’t as…well…’fine tuned’ as the others. Two pairs of hands suddenly swept him off his feet and carried him to places unknown all the while cheering, "ALL HAIL THE BOLO WHOO HOO!!" Then he was climbing a tree in an orange orchard and testing oranges. And all the while the trees were talking about him.
Very, very weird. Ian pulled the covers up over his head. At least it wasn’t a nightmare. * * * * The feel of clean ryua sheets was a wonderful thing, Dori thought as she lay in bed next to Rei. They’d managed to stagger to the bathroom and into the shower and afterwards clean up the sorry mess they’d turned her room into. The scent of chocolate, sex, and various other things would probably still hang in the air for a few days afterward she feared. Dori grinned. Oh what a horrible thing. Collapsing back against the sheets the two women turned to each other and made love again. Not the frenzied passion of before but gentler this time, whispering to each other, savoring each moment. Somehow trying to imprint every inch each other into their minds. Dori looked down at Rei and brushed a stray lock of hair off her face. Part of her knew this was instinctual on Rei’s part. The instinctual drive to secure a partner to help raise her baby. Out of the people around her, Dori was the best candidate to help fill those needs. Just as she had when they found out Rei was pregnant with Ami’lya. Rodan’s death had brought them back together and Ami’lya’s death had pushed them apart. Dori’s heart ached at the thought of the baby she’d considered her own. She remembered the day they’d buried their daughter in the snow and how she’d had to drag Rei away even though Dori herself had wanted to stay there and die as well. After that it had been too painful to stay together as lovers. Rei shifted under the covers and turned so that she was on her side facing Dori. Strange how life turns out, Dori thought. They’d never left each other’s orbit but unlike the sun and the planets they had slowly drifted back together. Everything they’d ever done, everything they’d ever felt led up to this point. Ownership. Possession. Rei had made her claim on Dori as a mate and parent to her child. Dori had made her own claims on Rei starting by making love to her on Kerok Nor. Tonight she’d made a claim to Rei’s child. Tisk may have provided the genetic material to create it but now it was Dori’s as well. She would raise it as her own and love it as any parent would love their child. Whether he ever knew or not would be left up to fate. But this child would have at least two loving parents. Made her absurdly proud that she was here and not Tisk. More than that, Dori knew that not only was it instinct on Rei’s part that had brought her here tonight it was emotional as well. Because in the middle of it all Rei had looked into her eyes and said, "I love you." And she’d repeated that phrase and the emotion behind it several times during the night. Deep inside her, Dori had breathed a sigh of relief and happily returned that phrase and emotion. Because…hadn’t she just been the tiniest bit afraid that it would be Tisk Rei would say those words to? That she would choose him and not her? Fourteen years of a life together should have reassured her as to where Rei’s heart lay she supposed but still…there’d always been that small voice saying, "what if?" Tonight those fears had been cast aside. Claims had been made. She knew it and Rei knew it in that way they had of understanding each other without having to speak. But, what if? What if it had turned out the way she’d feared? Would she have stood by the way she had when Rei had gotten involved with Rodan? She couldn’t even remember why they’d split up in the first place. Dori closed her eyes for a moment thinking back. Oh yes, she’d wanted to give Rei a chance to grow up and be her own person without always being part of a couple. She was six years older than Rei and the difference between their ages had been greater then than it was now. When Rei and Rodan had decided to marry Dori had told herself that they’d done the right thing. Better to let go now then to resent each other as years went by. Still hurt like hell. Then Rodan had died, Ami’lya had died and they’d gone on, connected but apart, moving in the same orbit but apart. Both taking other lovers as the years went by and the past hurts healed but still staying together in some way. Growing up into the people they were today. Dori wondered if that should have reassured her more than anything else. They had made a home with each other. They went on vacations together. They went together to those official functions and family gatherings. Late in the night when the nightmares came they comforted each other and made it all right. Always choosing each other.
Rei snuggled into Dori’s embrace and let out a sigh. Dori held her tightly as if at any moment someone would burst through the doors of her room and try to take Rei away. She would have fought this time, Dori knew. She would have fought and she would have won. There was no other choice in the matter. Rei was hers. She was Rei’s. Prophets help anyone and anything that tried to tear them apart this time. She might just haul off and kill them. * * * * |
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Take a shuttle back to KEROK NORThe Art of Darkness |
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