Boats Against the Current
Chapter Three
***
Twilight's pale luminance filled the room from the sole window in Ssrasth's
office and seemed to settle over the chairs and table in the conference room
like a heavy drapery. Nerys opened her mouth as if to blurt something out-anything
to end the silence that echoed. Then she closed it.
"It's good to see you again, Nerys." Odo said, when she seemingly
couldn't come up with anything.
Nerys smiled, and almost laughed. "It's good to see you too, Odo. I didn't
think you'd be coming to this."
He nodded. "Well, I thought you would be back on Deep Space Nine, but...."
His blue eyes scanned her outfit. "Ambassador Nerys. I've missed a lot."
"That you have." She said, joyfully. "Let's go take a walk, and
I'll catch you up on everybody." She offered. It wasn't exactly the greeting
she had hoped for, but then, it was just good to be with him again. Speaking
to him. Even if she was nervous-twenty years was a long time, even for a changeling.
***
The light of Luna in its full phase glistened over the Seine, the ancient river
that coursed through the Federation's capital even now. Old-styled boats prowled
the waterway, ducking under bridges with their cargo of visitors out for a romantic
night in Paris. They walked over a bridge, as Kira rattled responses off about
the various crew-members of Deep Space Nine, in response to Odo's questions.
"Jake's been doing very well for himself these days. He married a nice
Bajoran girl a few years back, Liasa."
Odo nodded thoughtfully at that. "And does he still write?"
"Yes, he's the reporter for the Federation, on the Bajoran sector. And
he's written a few books and short stories as well." She said guardedly,
wondering if she should tell him about Jake's interest in them.
"I see. And what about Kassidy and the baby? Well, I suppose she would
be grown by now." He offered as they neared the end of the bridge.
I nodded. "Kassidy still runs her cargo business. Jadzia, well, we call
her Jaz for short, she lives on Bajor and goes to university."
Odo nodded, and then they lapsed into one of their now familiar silences. Both
of us have a lot on our minds, I guess, Kira thought as she looked at Odo.
Kira took a deep breath and then continued with, "Jake is on Earth right
now. We could go see him if you want."
Odo shrugged his shoulder, then looked over to her. "Maybe later."
A slight pause and then, "Nerys, you've told me all about everyone I could
possibly have known on the station, but you haven't told me anything about yourself."
She paused, and then laughed. "I haven't, have I?" She hadn't even
realized that was the case. The talk about others had been a good buffer to
keep from getting more personal. Even if we did have a fantastic reunion, at
the end of this conference, he's still going to go back to the Link. And then
I'll be in the same place I was twenty years ago, she thought sadly.
Odo smiled. "And it is that, that I am most interested in. I never thought
you'd be in a desk job. You hated them." She looked at him, and decided
to cast all cares to the wind. Maybe she would be left alone again, but that
was no excuse. The Prophets had led her to this point, and she had to go forward.
Kira nodded and chuckled again. "And I still hate them. But this one is
different somehow..." She started as they walked into the night.
***
They walked as she talked, sharing stories of what had happened-the good and
the bad. As they did so, people of all colors and species stopped to look at
them, and then share a smile with their nearest neighbor. Kira saw, and in her
head mildly rebuked Jake for ever writing that dratted story, but smiled on
the outside. Odo responded in his own gruff way, with a roll of the eyes or
a slight snort, which only caused those watching them to twitter and smile more.
Kira was less familiar with Paris than she was of San Francisco, so she headed
them to one of the few places she could navigate to anywhere in the city without
getting lost. The enormous shadow cast by the large temple--cathedral, she mentally
corrected herself, was an island of cool shadows on cobblestones, and the later
it got, the fewer people came. They preferred to see it when the sun was out.
The light of Luna, and one of the artificial habitations provided just enough
illumination to marvel over the great stone structure and it's twin bell towers.
The dark, grey stones reached up towards the sky, and the curving buttresses
holding the stones up reminded her of docking pylons.
"This is one of the few places I've been in Paris. It's a cathedral, which
is a human term for a temple." She said, stepping close to the large wooden
doors.
Odo looked up and nodded, and then placed a hand on the large stone wall closest
to him. "It certainly has a certain dark charm about it." The eyes
of human deities looked down upon them. She wondered if he thought it looked,
somehow, like an earthbound Cardassian space station.
She backed away to get a better look at the bell towers again, and closed her
eyes as a wave of the past seemed to brush up against her pagh. Her eyes closed
as she reasserted herself in the present. She took a few deep breaths to calm
herself then opened her eyes to see a worried Odo looking at her and walking
closer.
"Nerys, are you all right?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.
The same protectiveness she'd always associated with his love. He stopped just
a few inches from her.
"Yeah, I'm just..." she trailed off, not knowing how to put into words
what was bothering her. Then, "Odo, why did you come back? Why now?"
He stepped back as if stung. "I had to-it was why I left. I have to ensure
my people never threaten solids again." He frowned. "But that's not
what you mean, is it? What you mean is why did I come back into your life."
His blue eyes locked onto hers, and Nerys nodded, with a shuddering breath.
Their gaze burned holes into her own, and she looked away.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I mean." She admitted, and the words sounded
harsh, even if they were from a deep hurt. Kira watched him, searched his eyes
for what he was thinking.
He bristled with hurt, and then slowly, he opened his mouth. It took him a minute
or two. She hugged herself, wondering if it would be a well-composed acceptance.
She found herself hoping it wasn't, and yet fearing it was, at the same time.
Prophets, I'm being irrational, she thought angrily. I should be happy he's
here, for now.
"I ... missed you every day in the Link. I should have known that you would
eventually forget about me and move on." His voice was full of scorn for
himself, and she realized he was experiencing one of those bouts of self-doubt
he had early on in their relationship.
Kira stepped closer and took his hand. "I never forgot." She whispered
fiercely. "And how could I have moved on?" She said, clasping the
hand tightly. "I still love you." It was airy and almost insubstantial,
after having been buried inside her for so long. But it was enough for him to
hear. He looked up, and she leaned forward.
Above, the dance of the galaxies continued, but to them, it seemed as if time
had stopped.
***