Chapter Text
Six months after the war
Ezri sat down at the table in Quark’s with a loud sigh. Quark brought over a bottle of Saurian brandy and deposited it without a word.
“Is that legal?” Kira asked.
“One, I thought the commander in charge of this space station might overlook it,” Quark said. “Two, she needs it.”
Ezri looked from Kira to Quark and nodded dolefully. Kira shrugged and poured her a generous measure.
When Quark had returned to the bar, Kira leaned forward over the table. “Did you do it?” she asked.
Ezri nodded again, and downed her glass. Kira refilled it.
“Did he take it well?”
Ezri nodded some more. “Very well. He didn’t even look surprised. I started crying; he comforted me. I almost wondered if I was making a mistake.”
“Ezri, we talked about this. You’re just not attracted to him any more…”
“It was just a weird wartime thing, and it’s obvious to half the station that we're not right for each other. Yes, I know. I don’t regret it. It’s just…”
“You hoped he’d be the one?” Kira said softly.
“That’s it,” said Ezri. “And he’s been such a good friend. To Jadzia as well as to me. And he’s kind. And it’s not his fault.”
“Sometimes these things aren’t anyone’s fault,” Kira replied.
“Kind of amazing it ever worked,” Ezri mused. “I used to be a lesbian, you know that? Before I was joined.”
“Really? I thought you had a thing with some ensign on the Destiny .”
“Oh,” said Ezri. “Brinner. He was Wroibbon. They’re an androgynous species. He was kind of boyish, I guess. Soft butch vibes. He liked cuddling. But no, I went into sickbay thinking I only liked girls and when I woke up, I saw Dr Stynn and nearly the first thing I thought was that he had one hell of a squeezable ass for an Arcadian.”
She sipped her brandy. “Apparently it’s normal. Most joined Trill are bisexual or pansexual or whatever. Omnisexual. Hard not to be when you’ve got eight lifetimes of attraction floating round in you.”
Kira smiled fondly. “Especially when one of them is Jadzia Dax.”
“Well, exactly,” Ezri replied. “I even caught myself thinking Quark looked kinda cute in his new outfit yesterday.”
“You know, he’s very disappointed by it. He says since Garak left Deep Space Nine, no one understands his unique sense of style. He’s considering writing to the new Cardassian government and asking them to exile him again.”
“Isn’t Garak in the new Cardassian government?”
“Yeah,” said Kira. “I’m not sure Quark’s thought it through.”
Ezri stayed silent for a moment, and then asked, “Any word from Odo?”
Kira shook her head. “Not a thing. Apparently he’s too busy splashing around in Founder soup to let me know when he’s coming home. If he’s coming home.” She inhaled deeply. “I’m sorry. That was unkind of me. I miss him. It just… it’s starting to feel like I’m single too.”
Ezri reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “Maybe we can have fun being single together. Seen any cute freighter captains coming through? I hear they’re popular with the commanders of the station.”
“Oh, if we could all be lucky enough to meet women like Kasidy,” Kira replied.
Ezri clinked glasses with her. “I’ll drink to that,” she said.
~
A year after the war
As Ezri entered Ops, Kira greeted her without preamble. “New Miles is leaving.”
“Another one?” Ezri said. “What’s that, two Chiefs of Operations in less than a year?”
Kira shrugged. “Apparently, now the war is over, Deep Space Nine just isn’t as exciting as New Miles thought it was going to be.”
“Wasn’t the problem with the last Miles that he thought the station was too intense?”
“Too challenging,” Kira said. “Either we’re too exciting, or we’re not exciting enough. I’m wondering about requesting a Bajoran in the role. After all, we’re supposed to be transitioning the station over to Bajoran management now that the Federation accession process is underway.”
“So long as you’re not going to send me away,” Ezri said.
Kira held her gaze. “You’d better not be going anywhere. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Ezri laughed. “So long as it doesn’t get too boring for me,” she said.
“Or too exciting,” Kira replied.
The turbolift arrived and Bashir bounded out. “Did you see New Miles is leaving?” he said. “I caught him when he was just about to board the Nautilus .”
Kira, about to go into her office, turned around and raised her eyebrows. “I only accepted his resignation half an hour ago,” she said.
“He must have been really bored,” Ezri put in.
“What was his real name again?” Bashir asked.
“Duncan McKinsey,” said Ezri, at the same time as Kira said, “Declan McKinnock.”
“I thought it was David McCarthy?” said Bashir. “I suppose it hardly matters now.”
“Maybe we should try calling the next Miles by their name?” Ezri suggested.
“Once I’ve hired Miles 4.0,” Kira said, “we can give that a go.”
~
Eighteen months after the war
Kira looked good in a Starfleet uniform, Ezri reflected. It had been a remarkable concession. Deep Space Nine had been a sticking point in Federation accession negotiations, the agreement between Starfleet and Bajor under which it had been run for more than eight years no longer sustainable. The Federation wanted it to be in civilian hands; the Bajoran government saw it as vital to their defence, and wanted it run, as it effectively had been, by the Bajoran militia.
Kira had suggested the compromise: she would resume her wartime Starfleet rank of Commander, and on the accession of Bajor to the Federation, Deep Space Nine would officially become a Starfleet base. Starfleet was not a military organisation - but it could provide the defensive heft that the Bajorans were looking for. And to cement the agreement, Kira had changed into her old Starfleet uniform then and there. Ezri thought its structured lines flattered her.
“Ezri, have you been listening to a word I’ve been saying?”
Ezri looked away from Kira where she was standing at the bar, and back to the woman sitting opposite her. Rizia was a holosuite storyboard artist, an attractive young Ferengi with big, expressive eyes who’d grown up on Quark’s cousin’s moon and was now looking to explore the universe beyond the acquisition of profit.
“I’m sorry,” Ezri replied, biting her lip. “I’m finding it hard to concentrate.”
“I’m telling you that the only thing keeping me on this side of the wormhole is you and you’re not even listening ?”
Ezri winced. “I’m really sorry, Rizia…”
“You know what?” Rizia continued. “I don’t think this is a relationship worth staying for. I’m done, Ezri. We had some good times, it was nice knowing you, but I’m looking for a woman who can commit and that’s clearly not you.”
“Rizia…”
But Rizia was already leaving, flinging a handful of latinum at Quark as she went.
Ezri put her head in her hands.
“And I thought things had been going well between you?” she heard Kira’s voice say.
“So did I,” was Ezri’s muffled reply. Eventually she looked up. “But then I thought that about Captain Torak too. And Ensign Celestina. And Karla, before her.”
“Do I even remember Karla?” Kira asked.
“The dabo girl,” Ezri said. “The one who didn’t like my spots.”
“Oh,” Kira said. “Her.” She paused. “I think your spots look pretty. Hey, as the station commander, I could probably bar her from Deep Space Nine forever.”
Ezri laughed. “She’s left now, anyway. But thank you.”
~
Two years after the war
The thing about turbolifts was that it was hard work to go into one angry and then emerge at your destination still angry. Travelling by turbolift provided an inbuilt pause to collect your thoughts and calm down.
Kira emerged from the turbolift as a seething ball of rage and Ezri could only imagine how angry she’d been going in.
“Is nothing on this station working ?!” she yelled. “It’s been nearly a decade, we can’t blame it on the Cardassians any more, this is all on us! And I need it fixed because we have a Federation delegation coming here this afternoon for what I really hope will be the final round of accession negotiations, and the turbolift is squeaking, the replicators in half the habitat ring aren’t working, the docking clamps have broken on Upper Pylon 3 and I need this all fixed, right now , Miles!”
A ruddy-faced Bajoran appeared from the pit. “That’s it,” he said. “I’m done. I quit. You can fix your own damn station.”
“Oh -” said Kira, her manner changing instantly. “Please don’t, Miles, we need you, I can’t run things here without you -”
“My name ,” Miles 4.0 replied, “is Brurzem. Brurzem Maz. Not Miles. Brurzem. If you needed my work so badly, perhaps you could have learned that sometime in the last year.”
And he stalked over to the turbolift and left with all the dignity that an angry engineer could manage while slowly and squeakily descending from view.
When he had vanished entirely, Kira turned away. “Well, shit,” she said.
Ezri got up from her station and went over to give her a hug. “Don’t worry,” she said, “the Federation aren’t expecting everything to be perfect. We just won’t use Upper Pylon 3. I’ll have a go at fixing the turbolift. And you can get Quark to do the catering while the delegation is here. Tell them it’s a special treat. He can do traditional Bajoran food.”
Kira blinked back tears, and Ezri couldn’t tell if they were from frustration or sadness. “Captain Sisko used to make this look so easy,” Kira said. “I’m not even fighting a war, or trying to raise a son on my own, and it’s still so hard.”
“Benjamin had a lot more resources than you do,” Ezri pointed out, “and more people to rely on. How long have you been waiting for Starfleet to send a new strategic operations officer after Lieutenant Dixon resigned? Six months? Longer?”
“I can rely on you,” Kira said.
“Benjamin could rely on me too,” Ezri said, “so that doesn’t count. Come on, let’s see what we can do before the delegation gets here. Could we borrow an engineer from Bajor? Just for a few days?”
Kira smiled weakly. “I guess I can try. I’ve got a friend - actually, she’s an ex - Potha Rohi. She’d never leave Bajor full-time, but she might help me out to keep the station from falling apart while the Federation delegation is here.” A wicked gleam entered her eyes. “And she’s cute, too. Maybe I’ll suggest she does some repairs in the counselling office.”
“I am not dating your ex,” Ezri said. “No way.”
~
Two and a half years after the war
“Six months,” Ezri said, watching the transport leave for Bajor from the viewport on the Promenade. “That’s my longest relationship since Julian.”
“It’s the second-longest we’ve kept a Chief of Operations in post since Miles O’Brien,” Kira added. She turned to Ezri as the transport disappeared from sight. “Maybe you should date the next one too.”
“You don’t think I chased Pothi away?”
“I don’t think she would have stayed past a week if not for you.”
Ezri looked morose. “Who’s the new Chief of Operations?”
“I’ve seconded Lieutenant Dironna from Deep Space Six,” said Kira. “Turns out I can do that, now we’re officially a Starfleet base. She’s only committed to eight months - after that, she’s joining a long-distance ship they’re building now for a tour of the Gamma Quadrant.”
“Let’s just hope no one else leaves for a while,” Ezri said, sitting down at the table and gesturing to Quark to bring the usual.
Kira nodded slowly. “Here’s hoping.”
~
Three years after the war
“It’s just a holiday, Commander,” Bashir insisted. “Like I said, Nurse Jabara can look after the routine medical needs of the station, the Bajorans can support with anything more serious and if there’s an emergency, Lieutenant Dironna has just finished the upgrades on the Mark IV EMH. You’ll be fine . And I’ll be back in two months.”
“I’m not worried about the station, Julian,” Kira replied, piling the last of his bags into the runabout. “I’m worried we’re not going to see you again.”
“It’s only two months,” Bashir said again. “Enough time for me to catch up with Garak, explore Cardassia, see the sights, go to that conference - and then come home again.”
Kira opened her mouth to disagree, but Ezri nudged her and she closed it again.
“We’re going to miss you, Julian,” Ezri said, and gave him a long hug. “Give my love to Garak.”
Kira nodded, a little awkwardly. “Tell him he’s my favourite Cardassian,” she quipped.
Bashir flushed. “I’ll make sure to pass that on.” He stepped into the runabout, waved, and closed the door. Kira and Ezri turned to one another.
“He’s not coming back, is he?” Kira asked.
“Not a chance,” Ezri replied.
“How long do you think I should leave it before asking Starfleet for a new CMO? I feel like I practically have my own frequency with Starfleet Personnel.”
“Maybe give it a month,” Ezri said.
Kira nodded. “I need to get in touch with the personnel team anyway. Lieutenant Dironna’s dead set on her Gamma Quadrant mission - and she wants to take Constable Cadrun and Lieutenant Jolra with her. So we’ll need a new Chief of Security and a new Science Officer too.” She sighed. “Last time I called Personnel, they asked me if I was poisoning the raktajinos, the way my officers keep leaving. I’m lowering the average staff retention rate of the entire sector.”
“I think they’re underestimating us,” Ezri replied. “Are you sure we can’t run this station on our own? Just the two of us?”
Kira laughed. “At this rate, we might have to try.”
“I can think of worse things than being on my own with you,” Ezri said softly, then regretted her words almost immediately.
But Kira didn’t seem to take them seriously. “A freedom fighter and a counsellor. Why would we need anyone else?”
“You’d better cancel that call to Starfleet Personnel right away,” Ezri replied with a laugh, and if it sounded forced to Kira, then she didn’t show any signs of noticing.