"You're kidding! Commander Alden sings?" Ezri Dax gave Julian Bashir a skeptical sideways look.

Bashir shrugged, glancing up at the ceiling of the turbolift. "Looks like it. Vic, of course, is quite impressed."

He had been filling her in on the circumstances of the past few hours - the bar fight, the conversation in Kira's office, the visit to Vic's lounge - as she walked him to the airlock of Upper Pylon Two, and it was by far the most interesting turn of events that Ezri had heard of since the war ended. 

At the moment, she found herself practically itching with curiosity about their newest superior officer.

"I haven't met him yet. I wonder what he's like," she hinted, actually wishing that Julian would get back into a more talkative mood.

But, of course, his reply was frustratingly nondescriptive. "Oh, I don't doubt he'll be in for a psychological evaluation pretty soon," he said, bracing himself as the lift came to a jerky halt. "Watch out for him, though; he's quite the unpredictable charge." He appeared to check himself to keep from walking too fast as he and Ezri stepped out of the turbolift and headed toward the docking port.

In less than fifteen minutes, the Nightingale would leave DS9 and turn toward Cardassian space. Despite the desperation of the situation he was headed for, Julian looked ahead toward his destination with eager resolve.

Beside him, Ezri smiled. She remembered this enthusiasm from years before, back when this sector of space still held its frontier charm for him. He seemed anxious to leave pointless paperwork behind and start doing his job again.

Ezri lengthened her stride to match his, gazing almost casually down the corridor. If not for the unnecessary closeness of her body next to his, it might have seemed that she was seeing him off to any routine mission, with only a few days until he came back.

There was that comforting near-touch between them, and there was the gentle concern that she couldn't quite keep out of her voice when she spoke.

"So you'll be setting up some sort of shelter for the civilians in the capital city," she remarked neutrally.

"We'll be trying," he replied, frowning pensively as he considered it - perhaps contemplating the obstacles to that end, she surmised. "We need to set up a clinic with permanent staff that can serve as a hospital for the wounded, not to mention a shelter and food storage facility. Hopefully, if it takes hold in the capital, it can serve as a central point for similar projects in the smaller cities."

A solemn expression flitted through Ezri's blue eyes as she looked up at him. "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

Julian sighed, shaking his head. "It's almost impossible to say. All I know is that I won't let myself leave until I think I've made a difference. How long that might take, I have no idea." He glanced at her, smiling slightly. "In any case, though, I don't think I'll be complaining that much. Anything is better than just hanging around the station and doing nothing. I just hope we can work everything out."

"I know you'll find a way," she replied. He smiled back at her, grateful for the encouragement. The thought crossed Ezri's mind, not for the first time and certainly not the last, that no matter how long he was gone, being away from this place he called his home was not going to be easy for him.

She prayed with all her heart that things would go well, but eight lifetimes of experience whispered that things might be harder for him than he realized.

Ezri let out her breath in a soft sigh. "I'm going to miss you," she said.

The tone of her voice made him glance at her with a new expression, distracted from his focus by her words. He frowned slightly, then seemed to draw himself up, as if trying to shake the thought aside. "I'm going to miss you too."

Ezri smiled. As they walked, their hands brushed together; she slipped her cool hand through his warmer one, pressing briefly, and then let go. The emotion behind that gesture contrasted oddly with the lightness of her voice. 

"Call me, if you can," she said, allowing a certain wifely teasing to color her voice. "I want to know what you're up to."

Julian beamed down at her wryly as they rounded the bend to the airlock. "I'll do my best..."

Abruptly his words trailed off, and Ezri drew in a startled breath. "Jake?"

"Hi." Jake Sisko stirred somewhat nervously at their arrival, closing one hand reflexively around the strap of a small beige shoulder bag. But the eyes he lifted to Bashir's were unwavering. "I thought I'd missed you."

"No, your timing was just about perfect," the doctor said slowly, glancing him over. "I didn't know you were coming back to the station."

"I'm not," Jake said quickly, then frowned slightly. "I mean, I just got here, but I don't plan on staying." There was an awkward pause, and Jake glanced down at the floor. "When you didn't answer my message I thought you'd already left."

Bashir shook his head and opened his mouth to reply, then, as the meaning of Jake's words and the packed traveling bag dawned on him, shot him a startled glance. "You mean you want to come with me?"

"Yeah." Jake's expression was still somewhat uncertain, but there was an animation in his voice that had not been there for months. "I managed to get a hold of Starfleet at the last minute and ask them if they could use a journalist - you know, someone to get news about the relief effort on Cardassia out to the rest of the world. I thought it might help get more people involved."

Ezri smiled at him suddenly, her eyes lighting up. "Sounds like a great idea to me."

"Kas thought so too, even if she will worry about me," Jake told her with a slight smile, then returned a hesitant glance to Bashir, who was still at a loss at what to say. "They said I could go if I had your permission to join the team."

"Oh - of course I'd love to have you along." The doctor's voice, was full of surprise. "But... Jake, this is going to be extremely hard for all of us."

"I understand," Jake replied firmly. "I'll be all right." Then a hint of shared humor flitted through his dark eyes. "I'm a Sisko, you know."

For the first time in a while, Julian grinned widely. "Well, that's a good enough reason for me," he agreed at last. "Just let the captain know you're coming."

"I already asked him if he had room for me," Jake replied, grinning back. 

"He said as long as I stayed out of trouble..."

Ezri laughed, stepping forward to wrap him in a hug. He was so much taller than her that she had to stand on tiptoe. "If that's possible," she said warmly. "Just be careful, Jake."

"I will. Ezri," he added, a note of concern in his voice, "please look after Kas."

Dax nodded warmly. Jake pressed her shoulders reassuringly, then gave the two of them a knowing glance. "I'll give you guys some privacy." With a last smile over his shoulder, he turned and stepped through the massive geared doors, leaving them alone in the dim corridor.

Julian and Ezri exchanged amazed glances. "That was the last thing I would have expected," he said blankly, shaking his head.

"I know." Ezri smiled up at him with growing hope. "But it's a start. Jake's input could really help the effort."

He grinned gravely. "Sure. One problem solved, about ten thousand problems to go."

"Not just one problem solved," Ezri corrected. Shaking her head at his puzzled expression, she reached up to lay her hands lightly on his shoulders, gazing unwaveringly into his eyes. "Jake's found what he's looking for. Maybe you will too."

Julian let his smile widen. Placing his hands on her waist, he pulled her closer and met her gaze sincerely. "I hope so. Maybe this assignment is exactly what I needed to get me going again."

"Maybe," Ezri said after a pause. Then she grinned warmly. "It would certainly make my job a whole lot easier. Maybe then we can get around to tackling those annihilation fantasies of yours."

Any indignant reply he may have had to that was cut off by the computer's voice, announcing the final boarding call. Hesitating, he searched for something appropriate to say and then found the effort gently interrupted by Ezri's lips on his. For a long moment she pressed him close to her, breathing in that warm alien scent of his; then she reluctantly pulled away. 

"You'd better go. Goodbye, Julian."

He reached out to touch her face gently, fitting his palm against the smooth, spotted curve of her throat. "Goodbye."

Ezri smiled at him once more, pressing his shoulder encouragingly. Then Julian shifted the weight of his carryall more firmly onto his shoulder and stepped briskly through the airlock doors, letting them roll closed behind him.

"...And get that report compiled and sent to Starfleet Headquarters by 1700 hours," Kira stated, wracking her brain to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She brushed her auburn hair wearily away from her face and glanced sharply at her science officer to make sure he was paying attention. 

"Understood, Mr. Kaoron?"

The officer gazed coolly back at her from beneath slanted brows. "Understood, Colonel," Kaoron answered smoothly. "However, I would like to point out that the results of the biochemical experiment will not be complete until the appropriate cooling period has passed. That will not occur until 1847. Sending the report early may invalidate the results."

Vulcans. Kira bit back a sigh and shook her head. She really didn't have the time to argue. "All right, I guess Starfleet will have to wait. I'll contact them later and try to explain the situation..." Inwardly, she groaned at the prospect of having to negotiate with peevish Federation officials for the third time that day. I swear, the instant Alden's assignment is official I am dumping all of this at his doorstep...

"Colonel Kira," Nog said crisply from across Ops, interrupting her thoughts. "The Nightingale has completed its equipment inventory. They're requesting permission to leave."

"Permission granted," Kira replied impatiently, barely glancing up from the PADD in her hands. She still had to work out a few kinks in the shift rotations of several departments in the next few hours, and it didn't help that Bashir had left a temporary scheduling rearrangement for the Infirmary on her desk to sort through either. Chewing her lip in thought, she began to make her way toward her office, glad for an excuse to get away from the commotion of Ops for a little while. By the Prophets, she was tired...

"Colonel."

Kira was barely able to keep herself from snapping at the officer that had just arrived. As it was, her response was quite curt as she turned toward the turbolift. 

"Yes?"

Dax lifted her hands in teasing defense. "Just saying hi, Nerys. Relax."

The colonel grinned apologetically. "Sorry. Just a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Understandable." Dax walked over to the railing and leaned her elbows on it, gazing out the viewport to where the Nightingale was pulling away from the station. Her eyes were oddly wistful as she spoke quietly. "Well, they'll need all the luck they can get."

Kira frowned down at her PADD, punching in commands hard enough to make the small instrument squawk slightly in protest. "What's that?"

"Oh, Julian's team," Dax explained, gesturing toward the departing Nightingale. "They have quite a task ahead of them." Then, in response to Kira's blank look, "The Cardassian relief mission..."

"Oh. Of course," the colonel said, rubbing wearily at the ridges of her nose. "Bashir's mission. I guess it slipped my mind for a second."

Dax couldn't quite keep the laughter out of her blue eyes. "Must have."

Kira grinned back. "Well, unlike some people, I don't have two brains to keep track of everything. And with all these reports I have to get done, plus all of this nonsense concerning Alden..." Abruptly her head snapped up, and she stared after the last glimpses of the Nightingale with an expression of growing dismay. "Bashir! Ah, damn it!"

Ezri looked more than a little startled. "What?" 

The colonel waved her PADD despondently toward the viewscreen. "Alden. I had Bashir in charge of keeping him out of the way until I could figure something out. Julian should have reminded me he was leaving before he dumped the guy back onto my shoulders like this!"

Dax thought back to Bashir's less-than-flattering retelling of his conversation with the colonel, and grinned impishly. "No doubt you gave him ample opportunity to bring it up while you were ranting about Alden..." 

Kira glared at Ezri for a second, irritated; then inspiration struck, and she beamed at the counselor, walking over to place her hands on her shoulders. 

"You're right. It was my mistake. But it's too late now, and besides, it works out better this way."

Dax was starting to look suspicious. "How?"

"Now, Commander Alden can be your responsibility," the colonel said brightly.

The Trill blinked. "Me? But..."

"No buts, Counselor," Kira said firmly. "He's all yours. Have fun." And with that, she patted Dax on the shoulder and walked briskly into her office, practically humming to herself.

Dax stared after her blankly for a moment. Then she blew out a sigh and shook her head, glancing wryly from the office door to the viewscreen and back. "Well. Joy."