Chapter Text
Julian stares at his PADD without really seeing the page currently displayed on it. His mind is awash with the whirlwind events of the last few days. His chest is heavy with guilt.
If you hadn't agreed to help Miles with that simulation ... If you hadn't taken so long to come up with a treatment ... If you hadn't been too much of a coward and used your augmented body to stop him from escaping, ...
"Julian?" Jadzia's voice breaks into his reverie.
"Yes, Commander?" he says automatically, almost too quickly.
"You've been really quiet," Jadzia says, and her gentle tone only makes Julian feel worse. "I won't ask what's wrong—we all know that—but if you need to talk, I'm here."
Julian turns to look at her. Her smile is wan, her eyes full of her own worry, and he can't blame her. He doesn't see accusation there, but he's not expecting that. Not even Keiko or Jake blamed him for what's happened, though of course, nobody knows he had the physical strength and agility to have at least saved the Captain from—
"Julian, stop it." Jadzia's tone is stern, but not unkindly so. "Brooding doesn't suit you. You look like a really tall sulky teen."
"That's—I do not!" Julian protests.
"You absolutely do." Her expression softens. "We'll find them, Julian. We'll find them and your treatment will reverse the mutation—you've done all the tests; you know it will work. It's going to be okay."
"I know it works on samples," Julian corrects. "I don't know if it will work on them. What if I can't bring them back, Dax? What if I doomed Miles and the Captain and I'll break my promise to Keiko and Molly and Jake, and—"
She holds up a hand to still his babbling tongue.
"Julian, I know you. If this treatment doesn't work, you'll find one that does, no matter how long it takes you. I wouldn't cry doom before you've even started."
She's right. He knows she's right. But his mind chooses this moment to show him Miles, skin flaking off to reveal the scales beneath, eyes wide and terrified. His last sane words before his mind had slipped again, before the accelerating mutation had robbed him of intelligible speech:
Don't let Keiko see me like this, Julian ...
"I wish I'd told him to let it go," he almost whispers. "I wish I had told him we'd find another way to outspeed the Dominion and he didn't have to keep pursuing this—"
"You didn't know this was going to happen," Jadzia reminds him. "You were supporting your friend. And anyway, as I recall, it was Garak who helped with the final breakthrough, and I didn't see him brooding at any point."
Julian doesn't voice the uncharitable observation that Garak and Miles aren't especially friendly to one another at the best of times, nor the fact that Garak is quite adept at concealing his feelings about most things. Neither point disproves the one Jadzia's trying to make.
"I still—Surely I could've done something different to prevent—"
"Julian, your brain is being mean to you. What would Benjamin say if he heard you talking like that?"
Julian winces. He can already imagine what his Captain might say, and none of it is nearly as harsh as what he's been telling himself.
"He'd—" He swallows. "He'd say I was doing my best under the circumstances, that I still am, and that he had full faith in my abilities."
"Exactly," Jadzia says triumphantly. "Now, are you going to listen to your mean brain, or your Captain?"
Julian sits up a little straighter, feeling the first genuine smile in days spread across his face.
"There's only one sensible answer to that question."
She smiles back in silent approval.
Nearly three days later, the Defiant is hovering above an M-class planet in a system that, until now, had no recorded sapient inhabitants. At least, Julian hopes those they've tracked here are still sapient. Miles hadn't seemed to be losing intelligence, just—
Just quite a few inhibitions. And emotional stability. Which could mean anything ...
He pushes those thoughts firmly down. He's come up with at least three alternative methods of reverting Miles and Captain Sisko to their original states, if the one he'd already developed and prepared back at the station doesn't prove effective. He might be able to come up with even more, once he knows what they're dealing with, exactly.
Kira sees him and Dax off at the transporter.
"If they turn hostile, contact us immediately," she says. "I'll send Worf down to help you subdue them."
"That shouldn't be necessary," Jadzia says bracingly.
"We can't be sure," Kira reminds them. "Remember the state Chief O'Brien left the infirmary in?"
Julian does remember. Hopefully by the time they get back, the damage will have been repaired.
"We'll be careful," he says instead.
Kira accepts this, and nods to the Bajoran engineer in charge of the transporter console.
"Energise."
Hot, humid air hits them the moment they materialise, and Julian can almost feel his hair start to frizz up. They've appeared in the midst of what seems to be a swampy jungle, if the lush foliage around them and the mud beneath Julian's feet are any indication. The sound of millions of alien insects and the calls of unknown birds fill the air.
"If they wanted a place like this, they could have just gone to Ferenginar," Jadzia comments wryly.
"Miles wouldn't want to deal with the Ferengi on top of everything else," Julian points out. "Neither would Captain Sisko, come to that."
Jadzia takes out the general-purpose tricorder she brought, and begins to scan the immediate area. Then there is a splash off to their left, and she focuses the scan in that direction before nodding.
"That seems like one of them."
They push through the screen of ferns and what look like tall purple reeds, and emerge onto a muddy bank overlooking a shallow, sluggish river. Julian can see clear to the opposite shore, where there appear to be some mangrove-like trees and a lot more reeds.
Jadzia gasps, and points excitedly. Julian looks where she's indicating, and draws a sharp breath of his own.
The creature swimming against the river's weak current is about the size of a tall male human, but is otherwise alien in appearance. Alien, but not unfamiliar. The head-shape, sturdy body and shortened limbs, the scales gleaming in the sunlight—the features he remembers from Miles' half-mutated form are more exaggerated, but not unrecognisable.
And yet, there are also notable differences. The significantly darker colouring, for one. Miles' scales had showed no signs of darkening in colour once they formed, except for the stripes on his back. And he's quite certain Miles hadn't seemed to be gaining height along with breadth.
"Is—" Julian swallows, his throat suddenly very dry despite the humidity. "Is that—"
"Only one way to find out," Jadzia murmurs, then raises her voice to a shout. "Benjamin!"
The creature—More of a salamander than the reptilian being he'd been imagining—immediately turns toward them, striking out for the bank. Its strokes are powerful and the distance between them closes rapidly, until it is hauling itself up onto the mud in front of them. Closer to, Julian can see its eyes, which resemble Miles' altered ones save that they're slightly larger. The expression in those eyes is—intent, but not dangerously so. They're almost calm, though there is a light there as well that might just be recognition.
"Captain?" he ventures.
The salamander looks up at him as best it can, then nods, the motion clearly deliberate.
Julian lets out a shaky breath. He has a million questions all of a sudden, and is keenly aware the answers might be difficult to get under the circumstances.
"Where's Miles?" he asks, then realises that might not have been the best way to phrase that particular query.
Before he can think of an appropriate rephrasing, however, Sisko shifts his stance, lifting one forelimb. Julian has a moment to stare at the mutated hand thus revealed—scaled, with webbing between the fingers, less articulation than a human would be used to, and the fingernails are gone entirely—before he moves the limb as far out to the side as his much-diminished shoulders will permit, and points downstream.
Jadzia points her tricorder that way and begins to scan.
"Got him!" she says triumphantly after a moment. "He's—" She trails off, and Julian glances toward her in concern. She is frowning, more puzzled than anything. "He's not alone," she murmurs. "There are other life signs—" She shoots Sisko a sharp look. "You didn't kidnap anyone else on the way here, did you?"
The Captain shakes his head vehemently, but there's a gleam in his eyes that Julian notes with interest.
"I know you can't explain," he says slowly, "but I would really like an explanation. Did you befriend some of the local wildlife?"
Another headshake, and this time Julian's sure Sisko's eyes are twinkling with amusement.
"Can you show us, then?" Jadzia asks.
Sisko nods, then slides back into the water, where he seems most at ease, and turns to swim in the direction he indicated earlier.
They follow him along the bank. Julian doesn't trust the water himself—he's sure he can see leeches or some equivalent lurking below the surface. Occasionally they have to navigate around or through patches of reeds or young trees, and Sisko waits just beyond the obstacle until they've caught up to him again before moving on.
After about twenty minutes of this, he lifts his head and makes an odd, high-pitched vocalisation that's almost a trill, but not quite. No human vocal cords could have made that sound, and Julian shivers a little.
Then there's a distant response, and Sisko swims on, glancing back once or twice to make sure they're still following.
They push past a cluster of ferns and find themselves at the edge of a pool. The movement of the river gently stirs the water here, and there are clusters of flowers around the edges of it.
There's another large salamander about three metres away, watching them with wary eyes. Julian was expecting it, but even if he hadn't been, he would have recognised Miles on sight.
Before he can reassure his friend, however, there are several excited splashings from behind him, and three small shapes swim into view. Three salamander creatures, about the size of human infants. Each is a different shade of brown, but all are darker than Miles, while also being lighter than ...
Julian looks back at Sisko, and suddenly recognises that gleam. It's pride. The same look he's seen in his Captain's eyes countless times when watching Jake do just about anything of note.
His eyes dart to Miles, back to Sisko, and then to the three young ones watching them curiously. The children begin chittering among themselves.
He knows the moment Dax works it out as well. She gasps, then squeals.
"Benjamin you didn't!"
Sisko enters the pool proper, and gently nudges the children toward them, parental pride now radiating off him despite the bizarre circumstances.
As the children swim closer, Jadzia drops to her knees in the mud, holding her hands out. The boldest of the three comes right up to her, pressing its head lightly against her palm.
"Oh, they're precious!" she breathes in clear delight, reaching out to stroke the little head with her other hand—Julian suppresses a shudder. They look slimy and that's not one of his favourite textures in the galaxy. "Hi," she coos softly. "I'm your auntie Jadzia!"
The shock is beginning to wear off. The full ramifications are sinking in. Julian turns incredulous eyes on Miles first.
"Why would you—How could you—?" He can't bring himself to finish the question. Miles hadn't been in his right mind when he took the Captain in the first place. He can't properly determine his mental state now, but the fact that he hasn't lunged at Julian yet has to be a good sign, surely. "We came to bring you home," he says at last. "I've several treatments we can try to—undo this mutation." He looks from Miles, to Sisko, to the three children. "If you wish to stay and—raise this family you've made," he begins, knowing he should at least ask, since they do seem to understand him.
Miles makes a distressed sounding chitter, shaking his head. Sisko makes another, gentler sound, as if to reassure, then shakes his head as well.
"So you'll come back with us?"
Vehement nods, then Sisko raises a hand, and points to the children, making an emphatic gesture Julian doesn't immediately understand.
Jadzia has clearly been paying close attention, however, because she's the one to grasp his meaning first.
"Of course we'll take them with us! We'll have to warn everyone, but I wouldn't dream of leaving them behind!"
Julian turns to stare at her.
"Dax, how are we supposed to accommodate them on the station? They live in water! We don't even know what they eat!"
"Bugs, probably," Jadzia says, shrugging. "And fish, and greens. And their parents are evolved humans—they might be able to eat other things."
"Dax—Jadzia, they're suited to this environment!" Julian's not quite sure why he's protesting so hard, but a memory of Garak telling him how tortuous life on the station is for a Cardassian is running on a loop in his mind.
The temperature is always too cold, the lights always too bright ...
A cool, clammy touch on his arm makes him jump, and he glances over to see that Captain Sisko is next to him, somehow managing a baleful glare despite his altered features.
Julian wilts under that reproachful gaze. He should have known better than to attempt arguing about this with a man who loves all children, not just his own.
"I'm sorry, Sir," he murmurs. "I'm sure we can work things out. I'll—I'll tell Kira now, shall I?"
The eyes soften, and something like a smile graces the Captain's features. It doesn't look especially flattering, but the intent is clear.
Julian sighs, and presses his combadge.
"Bashir to Defiant."
"What kept you, Doctor?" Kira asks, a slight snap to her voice.
"Nothing life-threatening," Julian assures her. "We've found them, and they're docile enough we shouldn't need to resort to force. But—" He tries to find the right words to explain the situation. "We'll be taking on a few extra passengers."
"Julian, what aren't you saying?" Kira asks suspiciously.
Before Julian can find the words to respond, Jadzia snatches the combadge and almost shrieks, "They had babies, Nerys!"
There is a long, pregnant pause.
"I'm—I'm sorry, can you repeat that, please?" Kira's voice is noticeably strained.
"Benjamin and Chief O'Brien had babies!" Jadzia repeats gleefully. "There are three of them and they're adorable and Benjamin won't leave without them so we'll have to get some tubs of water set up in the cargo bay or something! Can you get someone on that? We might have to make sure they have food for the trip before you beam us up!"
There's another short, stunned silence, and then an incredulous snort of laughter comes through the com link.
"Captain Sisko, and Chief O'Brien, had—had—babies!" She sounds like she's trying to get her words out through ever-narrowing airways.
"Should we give you a few minutes to collect yourself, Major?" Julian asks, reclaiming his combadge.
"I—Sure," Kira is squeaking at this point. "I'll—contact you in—" Another snort, then her control seems to shatter, and the last thing they hear before Julian closes the connection is the beginnings of a howl of laughter.
Several hours later, Julian enters Sickbay, where the captain and Miles have been waiting since they were beamed aboard.
“Everything’s been taken care of,” he begins, “but I imagine you’ll want the details.”
Sisko nods at him from the biobed he’s propped up in. Miles is facing the wall on his own bed and doesn’t seem interested in contributing.
“Well, the runabout launched successfully—whichever of you landed it did an excellent job. Worf has joined those who volunteered to crew it for the return trip, just in case. I don’t think either of those Lieutenants would do something reckless, especially after seeing what was left of your clothing, Captain—we salvaged what we could from it, but the uniform itself is—I don’t even think Garak could save it.”
Sisko shakes his head in a dismissive sort of way.
“And your—your children have been settled in. Their accommodations aren’t ideal, but they’re only temporary, and they seem content enough. Dax is with them.”
Another approving nod.
"I unfortunately can't begin your treatment here," Julian says apologetically. "The Defiant's facilities are too limited, so I left the necessary supplies back at Deep Space 9. I can monitor you here, and sedate you for the duration of the journey if you'd prefer—it shouldn't take nearly as long to get home as it did following your trail to this system. You led us on a merry chase." He meets Sisko's eyes. "Or you could spend that time with Dax and your children in the cargo bay. Just give the signal and we can beam you over there—I wouldn't try navigating the ship in your current state, if I were you. The corridors aren't flooded."
Sisko appears to consider this for a moment, then he does his best to clasp his hands in front of him, eyes pleading.
Julian smiles despite himself.
"I thought you might take that option." He presses his combadge. "Bashir to Kira."
"Yes, Doctor?" Kira has mercifully gotten herself composed and sounds almost normal.
"Captain Sisko would like to be with his children."
"Acknowledged. I'll pass it on to Varen."
"Thank you, Major," Julian says before closing the connection. He looks back at his captain. "There are six tubs set up," he says. "They're all big enough for you to soak in if you need it."
Sisko smiles at him in acknowledgement just before dissolving into light as he's beamed away.
A few moments later, Miles shifts on his biobed, turning laboriously to face the room. Julian comes up beside him.
"I'm sorry it took me so long," he says gently, looking down at his friend. "If it's any consolation, you did provide me with a decent-sized DNA sample to test with." He's not going to get specific; they both know what form that sample took and Julian doubts Miles found the experience any more pleasant to go through than he himself did witnessing it. "Would you like me to sedate you?" he asks. "It will make the wait go faster."
Miles gazes up at him for a long moment, several emotions roiling in his dark eyes, then nods.
Julian retrieves the necessary hypospray and presses it to his friend's neck.
"See you when we get home," he says gently before injecting the drug.
Miles slumps moments later, two sets of eyelids closing.
Julian sits on one of the unoccupied beds, medical tricorder in his lap. Miles will need to be kept hydrated, he suspects, and he has the supplies for that at least.
Even if that weren't the case, he wouldn't relish the idea of leaving his friend alone, especially right now.
The floor below them begins to vibrate as the engines ramp up. If their luck holds, they should be back at the station within the next sixteen hours. Julian hopes it does—the sooner he can get the restoration process underway, the better.