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Jadxia opened her eyes and was immediately wrestled into the fiercest hug of her life. Nerys sniffled into the crook of her neck, squeezing painfully tighter.
“I thought you'd never wake up,” she said. “How dare you.”
“I'm sorry,” Jadxia wheezed. Her vision was partially blocked, but it looked like she was in sickbay. She could hear other tearful reunions happening in the background.
“Major.” Julian stepped over to the bedside. “I need to look her over.”
“Right. Of course.” Nerys pulled away, wiping tears from her eyes, a smile on her face. “I'll be back for you later.”
Jadxia nodded and watched as Nerys walked away.
Julian waved a scanner over her body. “No injuries that I can see, but your brain is slightly overloaded with neural energy.” He loaded up a hypo. “This will take care of the foggyness–” he injected it into her shoulder. For a moment she believed there was still a phaser burn there. He injected her again. “And this will get rid of the headache.”
“Thanks,” she winced, stretching her legs over the bed. “How long were we out?”
“Just over a day.” Julian smiled tightly. “Kira wasn't alone, I was almost afraid you'd never wake up.”
Jadxia nodded and squeezed his hand gratefully. She didn't know how else to respond.
“You were in a mind link with him?” Nerys set down her raktajino in shock. “How is that possible?”
Jadxia leaned back in her chair. “I'm not sure. Something to do with enzymes being activated.”
“Well I'm just glad you're back,” Nerys said in a somewhat wavery voice. “I don't know what I would have done.”
Guilt stabbed at Jadxia's heart.
“Hey,” she said, reaching across the table to clasp Nerys' hands. “I'm okay, we're all okay.”
“I know.” Nerys sighed and looked down. “It's probably just these pregnancy hormones. They're making me soft.”
Jadxia laughed. “That's probably it.”
“Yeah.” Nerys finally smiled, eyes all crinkly and adorable. Jadxia wanted to spend all day just like that, holding her hands and making her happy and distracted enough to smile.
But they had work to do.
Jadxia didn't have much time to see Nerys after that, there was a station to run. So she didn't notice anything was off until Quark mentioned it.
“Have you talked to the Major lately?” Quark asked, pretending to polish a glass. “Not a pretty sight, let me tell you.”
“What do you mean?” Jadxia leaned forward on the bar.
“I mean that it looks like she hasn't been sleeping.” Quark set the rag down and placed the glass on a shelf. “She looked ready to tear my head off when I asked her about it though.” He sighed dramatically. “That's what I get for trying to be helpful.”
Jadxia rolled her eyes. “Thanks for telling me.”
She only hesitated for a moment before ringing the O’Brien’s door. It swished open.
“Jadxia!” Keiko stepped aside. “Come in. Are you looking for Nerys?”
“Yes.” Jadxia followed her inside. “Is she here?”
“She's in her room,” Keiko said, pointing across to a closed door. “You can just knock.”
“Jadxia.” Nerys’s eyebrows drew together. Something complicated flitted across her face and for a moment, Jadxia wasn't sure that visiting had been the right idea.
“I wanted to check on you,” she said. “Quark told me that you seemed off.”
Nerys scoffed, but the light was back in her eyes. “And you trusted him?”
“In this case, yes.” Jadxia crossed her arms. “Are you doing alright?”
Nerys opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked down. She laid a hand on her swollen belly.
Jadxia remembered what it felt like to hold life like that. How terrifying it was. How beautiful.
“Walk with me?” Nerys asked, looking up at her with wide brown eyes.
“Of course.”
The promenade was mostly empty.
They walked side by side, quietly. Jadxia wanted to give her space to organize her thoughts. But she also wanted to know what was wrong.
Quark had been right. There was a heaviness to her words, a lingering emotion in her gaze that didn't go away.
“I… I've been thinking,” Nerys began. “About… how dangerous our lives are. And I've never really minded danger, not when it was for a greater purpose.”
Jadxia nodded.
“But I realized, when you were knocked out because of Odo's great link or whatever.” She took a breath. “I realized how scared I was of losing you.”
“Nerys–”
“I realized just how much I never said.”
Her eyes were glistening then, and her jaw was trembling. Jadxia wanted to hold her face in her hands and tell her everything would be okay.
“I didn't want to let another chance go by when I could have told you,” Nerys sniffled.
“Told me what?” Jadxia asked, heart in her throat.
Nerys blinked, and tears ran down her face. She swiped them away with her sleeve. But of course, this was Nerys. She looked up again and didn't break eye contact. Jadxia could see the moment that she resolved to stay strong.
“I’m in love with you,” she said.
Jadxia’s whole world narrowed to that point in time.
“You love me,” she breathed.
Nerys nodded. “I don't want to make things awkward.” She cradled her stomach again. “I mean, I know you don't feel the same. It's okay.” She cleared her throat. “I'm not exactly desirable right now anyway.” She looked up. “I just wanted you to know.”
Jadxia prided herself on being adaptable. Suave even. But at that moment, the most beautiful, courageous, precious, woman in the entire universe had just confessed her love to her.
Jadxia blinked.
Nerys' words caught up to her.
“Not- I don't,” Jadxia stuttered. “You think I don't love you?”
“Well, I'm not really your—”
“Nerys.” Jadxia cradled her face in her hands. Her skin was soft and still wet with tears. “I have loved you for a very, very long time.”
Nerys looked incredibly kissable so close up. Her lips were parted in shock, and Jadxia couldn't resist proving her point.
Nerys's lips were warm, and she chased after her when Jadxia drew away.
“I love you,” she murmured, caressing Nerys' jaw.
Nerys clutched at the front of Jadxia's uniform, eyes wide, and this time full of hope. “Really?”
Jadxia nodded, a smile she couldn't contain breaking across her face. “Nerys, you are the most wonderful person I have ever met. Of course I'm in love with you.”
Nerys laughed, pulled her a little closer. As close as they could get with the baby between them. “You make it sound like an inevitability."
“Maybe it is,” Jadxia said. “Maybe this is fate.”
It sure felt like it.