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Ziyal carefully parked the transport at the entrance to the park.
“We’re here,” she called back to her fathers.
“Where’s here?” asked her human father.
“The park,” answered her Cardassian father.
“Which park?”
“You know, the one we always have these get-togethers at.”
“The one a short way from the house?”
“Yes, that one.”
“Then why did we need a transport? We usually walk.”
“Chu’lian, my dear, have you forgotten?”
“Forgotten what?”
Ziyal rolled her eyes as her parents continued to bicker. These days it was hard to tell whether it was love-bickering, bickering due to age, or angry-bickering. Her human father was 145-years-old and had gone blind just over a year ago. Being an augment, he had lived well past the average human lifespan of 130 years, and no one knew how much longer he would live. She had her reservations what with his blindness and an illness that he just could not shake entirely that had hit a couple of months ago.
“My dear!” came the shout from her Cardassian father. At 165 he was just starting to hit Cardassian old age since the average lifespan was 193. He had started using a cane to get around after a sprain suffered in a fall last summer. Hence, the transport; neither could have really walked to the park.
As she opened the side doors, she found the two of them kissing.
“You two are incorrigible!” she laughed.
“We’re old, not dead yet! And I still love my husband,” retorted her human father. Dr. Julian Bashir had practiced until he hit 120, retiring to spend the rest of his life with his enjoined, former Castellan and Viceroy, Elim Garak. Her Cardassian father had retired around the same time at 140. No one had begrudged him an early retirement seeing how he had done more for Cardassia Prime than most.
“And I love my enjoined,” joined in Garak.
She laughed again. She had moved back in with her fathers a decade ago, giving her house to her son Chu’nin and his growing family. She legitimately enjoyed the time she had taking care of them, although they had insisted in the beginning that they did not need any help.
She helped Garak out of the transport first before they both helped Julian out. As Julian entwined his arm around Garak, Garak looked around. The park appeared empty.
“Are we early?”
“They wanted us to be.”
“Whose they?” inquired Julian.
A shout came over from a large tree where a host of picnic tables were set up. It had survived the long-ago devastation of Cardassia Prime and had continued to grow providing much needed shade for park people to rest under.
“Oh Chu’lian,” Garak breathed.
There was Jadzia, Mila, Jules, Devek and Chu’nin waving at them. His heart gave a little wrench, even after all these years, for his missing son. Tevin had died decades ago in an accident.
“We all wanted to spend a bit of time with you both before the rest of the family shows up for the reunion.” Ziyal explained. Garak thought of the spouses, grandkids, great-grandkids and great-great-grandkids that were about to descend on the place. He and Julian were starting to have a hard time remembering who was who, because there were so many.
Jadzia was the first to come barreling over to launch herself into her Cardassian father’s arms. “Papa!” she screamed in delight.
Julian chuckled. “Is that Admiral Garak-Bashir? Hello, sir.”
“Daddy, you haven’t even been in Starfleet for over half a century.” She kissed his cheek and bear-hugged him.
“Old habits die hard.”
Garak slowly walked him and Julian over to the table. Ziyal and Jadzia excitedly talking behind them.
As he settled Julian down at the table, he felt another pair of arms wrap around him.
“Papa.”
“Mila, my darling.”
“The Castellan made it?” Julian delightedly smiled.
“Daddy, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“You are the leader of the world.”
“The world will just have to wait then.”
Even Garak laughed at his daughter’s comeback.
Devek came up next. “The new Iloja of Prim,” Garak happily wrapped his son in a hug.
“Papa, I think you’re overstating things a bit.”
“Nope, I don’t think I am.”
“We’ve heard your poetry. Nearly everyone seems to quote it,” Julian piled on.
“Daddy, not everyone.”
“I said nearly everyone. I heard you’re in the running to possibly win the Preloc Award?”
Devek appeared to blush.
“Enjoy your hard-earned award, my son, if you win” Garak stated. “It’s not everyday that something like this will happen.”
“Speaking of awards,” Garak turned to Chu’nin, “did I hear correctly that you had won the Parmak Award?”
Chu’nin ducked his head. “Yes, Grandpapa, for refinement of a standard surgical procedure that reduced the risk of infection by up to 35%.”
“My dear,” Garak turned to Julian, “do you know the refinement that he speaks about?”
“Yep, an amazing discovery from our own Dr. Garak-Bashir.”
“Can you explain it to me later?”
“I’ll try my darling.”
As Garak watched his grown children start to lay out food and decorations for the reunion, Jules came up to his parents. Even in his 80s, he still liked to sit between them and hug them both simultaneously.
“How’s teaching going my love?”
A specialist in reading disabilities, Jules had pioneered a reading technique that increased comprehension for dyslexic individuals. It was a technique that even the Federation had adopted as standard practice.
“Wonderful as always, Daddy. I never get tired of it.”
His parents smiled.
“I wanted to let you know before Mila or Jadzia spill the tea, that we’re pregnant.”
“Oh Jules, congratulations.”
“Due any day now.”
“How’s your enjoined handling it?”
“He’s…well, Papa, he’s pretty done. You’ll see him today. He wants the egg out sooner rather than later.”
Garak peeked over at Julian and smiled. “Oh, I know what that’s like.”
“I’d better go help. Once we’re done setting up, we’ll be back.” He hurried off.
Garak felt Julian searching for him. “My dear, I’m right here.” He took his hand in his and made sure to move closer to his enjoined.
“Our children are a marvel, aren’t they love?”
“Indeed, my dear, indeed.”
“Who would have thought, all those years ago when we started on this parenting journey that we would end up with: an admiral, a politician, a midwife, a surgeon, a teacher and a writer, in our lineage?”
“Neither one of us.”
They smiled.
“It is good to see them all grown up,” Julian whispered.
Garak wound an arm around his enjoined and used his other hand to bring his face in for a kiss.
“It is my dear, it most definitely is.”