chevalblanc

Two to Cardassia



Ezri knew she'd been wrong, about so many things, when she saw the startled look on Garak's face.

"Well," she said cheerfully, "this is awkward."

"My dear Miss Dax," said Garak, with one of his ridiculous little bows. "This is an unexpected pleasure."

"Apparently. Sorry. After I read your love letter to Julian..."

Garak went very still.

"Oh, what, like I wouldn't know a love letter when I saw it?... Or, no, he wasn't supposed to ask me to read it."

She peered at him, "You do know we're still together..." Garak gave her a look that could only be described as scandalized.

Obviously not. Huh. What does THAT tell me. She suppressed an urge to giggle. "Don't worry. Julian should be along in a week or so. Kira said she'd help expedite things when he asks for leave."

"Colonel Kira...?"

"Oh, sorry. I guess I shouldn't have let her read the letter, too. Or made those copies for Quark to rent. He says it's even more popular than VULCAN LOVE SLAVE..."

Garak took a normal breath. "Ah. The well-known Dax sense of humor. I had almost forgotten."

"Had you going there, didn't I?" She looked toward the road she'd arrived on. "Look, I don't want to be a bother. I can get transport to Federation housing. My volunteer stint starts in 3 days..."

"My dear Ezri. What you must think of Cardassian hospitality! You are ... a friend! Of course you must stay here. I requisitioned a module for the occasion." He indicated the small, free-standing structure next to the garden shed which he had repurposed as his residence. "It would be a pity for it to go to waste."

"All right." Ezri smiled. "Thank you."



Garak led the way into the small resident module, his mind awhirl. How had this happened? How could Ezri be here, and not Julian? Had he, Garak, been so preoccupied that he had not even noticed the signature line on the message? He had seen that the message was from the station, saying the words that he had wanted to read, and had assumed that they were from Julian. How sentimental he had become. He was no longer worthy of being an operative. It was doubtful he was even capable of being one, now. Although that had been the case the moment he had begun writing his letter to Julian, writing everything--well almost everything--that had happened to him from the time he was a small boy, every word--well, almost every word--of it true.

But, enough speculation. He had his duties as a host to perform.

He indicated the bed, "Here is where you'll be sleeping..." He saw her appraising glance and slight smirk. It was not a single bed. He knew what she was thinking and sternly mastered his own features. Oh, he was not prepared for this!

"There is a bathroom through there, which I'm afraid we'll have to share. I still do food preparation in the shed."

"This is very nice," said Ezri. "And it looks brand new..."

"They started making them in response to the homeless situation following the war. They are a stopgap measure until more permanent structures can be made."

"An elegant solution," she said, and he was unaccountably pleased by her reaction.

She swung her travel bag onto the bed.

"I'll leave you to unpack," he said. "What would you like for a meal?"

"Oh, anything. So long as it is native and not replicated. I need to get used to the local food." Garak wore an expression she wasn't able to read. She added hurriedly, "I'm sorry. That was rude of me. Anything you prepare will be greatly appreciated."

His expression became almost disappointed. He bowed and left.

She watched him leave and muttered to herself, "Way to endear yourself to the natives, Dax."



Garak washed and chopped the freshly harvested vegetables. For a moment it had seemed as though Ezri was flirting with him--her comment about the food. He was ready to respond that he was well aware of the medical protocols for acclimating to a new planet, which could have led to an interesting discussion. But then she had ruined it by apologizing--apologizing! for making her desires known. Well, that was to be expected from someone from the Federation--they were infuriatingly polite. He remembered his first meeting with Bashir, when Julian had denied knowing that Garak was a spy. Garak had replied, "Ah, an open mind. The essence of intellect." He paused, fondly remembering, until he heard Ezri entering the shed and he resumed chopping even more vigorously than before.

He said, "You'll find plates and cups in the cupboard to the right of the sink," a little surprised at how gruff his voice sounded. He cleared his throat.

She looked over his shoulder at the growing pile of chopped vegetables, "Did you grow these?" she asked.

He raised an eye-ridge.

"Of course you did. Silly me."

He sighed inwardly.



Ezri bounced gently on the bed, unable to settle. She had turned down Garak's offer of the after-dinner kanar she had brought as a gift. She had tried some at Quark's before leaving the station, and knew that that was one beverage she definitely wouldn't be indulging in. Garak had followed that up with an offer of root beer, which was confusing, but she’d turned that down, too, and settled for more red leaf tea. The meal had left her feeling queasy and out of sorts, and she was hearing an inner chorus of complaints. It didn't help that her sleep cycle was off because of the time difference between the station and Cardassia. And to top it all off she was missing Julian so much it was like a physical ache.

She slid off the bed and did a short version of the Warrior’s meditation that Worf had taught her which was similar to Earth’s T’ai chi chu’an. After Worf left the station with Martok she had shown it to Kira, hoping they could practice together, but Kira had declined, calling it “Old People Sneaking Up On Trees.”

When she finished the form she felt better, her inner chorus quieted to a mild grumbling.

She wondered if it would be all right for her to wander outside for a bit, just around the gardens and the stone piles. She thought she'd better ask Garak first. She opened the door to come face to face with Garak. They both started a little, then both apologized. Garak headed for the bathroom and she waited for him just outside the mod.

She looked at the evening sky, barely lit with one of the three moons, red from all the dust still in the air. She became aware that Garak had come alongside her.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly. "Even if you know the reason."

He sighed and murmured in assent. Finally he said, "I know why Julian didn't want to come."

"I don't think you do," she said.

"Please do me the courtesy of not lying to me."

"Garak, do you remember when Kira ... set Odo free to go home?"

Garak stared at her with an expression somewhere between annoyance and bewilderment.

She ignored his reaction. "She talked to me about it. Why she did it, why he came back."

"Are you trying to make a point here?"

"Well, yes, actually. Did you know how much he wanted to go home?"

Garak didn't answer for a long moment. He knew, all too well, because that was the answer he'd tortured the man to get. How Odo ever forgave such a thing, he'd never understand. "I have some idea."

"He told Kira that being in a Link was Paradise."

Garak was silent, still seething, whether at himself for past sins or her for dragging them up, it barely mattered.

"The point is, he knew that once he went home--once he joined the Great Link-- he would never leave. But he loved Nerys, and so he stayed away."

Garak looked at her.

"Julian LOVES me, Garak."

"Yes. Of course he does." There was the slightest amount of bitterness in his voice.

"And I love him."

Garak refused to look at her.

"You dear idiot," she said. He looked at her then, annoyed. "Julian knows that once he comes here, he'll never leave."

Understanding dawned on his face. "So you came...to give him permission to come here?"

"Yes!...Well, partly."

"What's the other part?"

"Garak, I read your letter."

He just looked at her.

"I fell in love with you."

He opened his mouth in shock, then closed it again.

"Do you know why Jadzia fell in love with Worf?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Besides the fact that he was smart and good looking and a formidable warrior...Even Curzon thought he was gorgeous..."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, never mind that. Anyway, the main thing that attracted her was he had the soul of a poet." She looked at him. "Garak, YOU have the soul of a poet."

"My dear Miss Ezri, I don't know what to say..."

"Oh! I'm doing this all wrong! I was going to be cool, and literate..."

"Really, my dear..."

"But, no, I couldn't wait. I'm Dax! It's what we do! Torias tests a shuttlecraft engine prematurely and gets blown up. I steal a runabout to go looking for Worf in the Badlands and we end up prisoners of the Breen. I go haring off to Cardassia to declare undying love to my lover's friend..." She looked at him sadly, "Maybe if I were Jadzia Dax, instead of Ezri ..."

Garak closed his eyes and groaned, "I should never have said those hurtful things..."

She glared, "Elim Garak! Don't you dare apologize for the few true things you ever said to me."

Garak's eyes widened. He laughed, then turned serious again. "Will he come, do you think?"

"I think he will. He has three compelling reasons. There's you. There's me. And there's Cardassia. I don't know if you've noticed, but Julian needs to be needed. Things have gotten quiet on the station now that the war is over, but Cardassia is still a whole planet of need. No offence."

"None taken." He cocked his head at her, "You called me Elim."

"I did. I hope that's OK."

"If I'm to share your bed, I think it's appropriate that you do. If I'm not presuming too much..."

"Nope. Not presuming. My bed is large enough for two. Maybe even three."

He remembered her earlier smirk. "How clever of you to notice."

"That's me. Clever." She didn’t feel at all queasy anymore. Her inner chorus was silent, expectant.

He took her hand. "Tell me, my dear. Is it true that Jadzia and Worf used Bat'Leth practice sessions as foreplay?"

How had she never noticed how blue his eyes were? She patted his arm, "Don't worry. I'll be gentle."

He smirked. "I'm trying to determine your preferred method of love-play."

"Really, Elim, I think a couple of old omnisexual xenophiles like us should be able to figure out something."



Dr. Julian Bashir looked up from his PADD containing the latest disease statistics on Cardassia and peered out his window. It looked no different than when he had last checked, less than an hour ago. He guessed they were about halfway to Cardassia.

He was still a bit dazed at how quickly everything had happened. First he had gotten a letter from Garak-- a book, really, judging by the word count. The letter had confused him, so he had asked Ezri to read it, which turned out to be a HUGE mistake. Twenty minutes after starting to read, she had cancelled all of her appointments for the day. When she was finished, she asked him when he was going to Cardassia to visit Garak. When he told her he thought he would pass, instead of letting it go she had gotten more insistent. She said they could go together as part of the Federation relief effort--he could help mend Cardassian bodies, she would tend to the Cardassian psyches. That seemed to him a fool's errand, his main experience being with a Cardassian who only reluctantly accepted help with either.

The next thing he knew, she told him she was going to Cardassia, with or without him, that she loved him and hoped he would follow her soon. Three days later he received a comm, "Having a wonderful time, wish you were here. Elim is a charming host."

Feeling as though his hand were being forced, he went to Ops to speak with Kira about getting leave. Instead of asking questions, she seemed to be expecting him, told him his leave was approved, and that he was pre-approved to join the Federation relief effort. He wasn't sure he cared for her smirk when she told him that, and liked even less her request to "Give my best to Ezri...Oh, and say 'hi' to Garak."

The final straw was when he went to Quark's to buy Delavian chocolates and a bottle of his best kanar, paying way too much--well, maybe not, considering how scarce kanar was now--who knew when there would be another run?

Quark said, "I'm working on a new joke, Doctor. Would you like to hear it?" Without waiting for a reply, he said, "A hew-mon, a Cardassian and a Trill walk into a bar..."

Julian waited, but Quark didn't say anything more. "Well? Then what happens?"

Quark leered at him, "You tell me, Doctor." Julian glared at him and finished his drink, grabbed his parcels and left. Quark called after him, "Don't be a stranger!"

Julian had always known that DS9 was a rumor mill.


Six hours later, the shuttle landed and Julian disembarked into the Cardassian heat. It was as oppressive as he had imagined it would be. It would probably take most of his first six months just to get used to it.

He walked into the main part of the terminal, feeling a bit lost, until he saw them, standing behind the web barrier. Ezri was grinning. Garak was wearing his usual enigmatic expression, which changed when he saw Julian, into one he had never seen before, fond and sentimental. He remembered the last words they had said to each other: he had told Garak he was sure they would see each other again. Garak had replied, "I'd like to think so, but one can never say. We live in uncertain times." Garak had been more correct than he had. If it hadn't been for Ezri...

He blinked to ease the sudden prickle in his eyes. "Hallo, Garak."

"My dear doctor. Welcome to Cardassia."

The two of them just looked at each other, and it was Ezri's turn to blink. Any doubts she had had about her impetuous errand were swept away. It would be wrong for these two friends to be kept apart. After a long moment she became aware that they were becoming a source of speculation for others in the terminal, from native Cardassians to Federation workers who had just arrived on Julian's shuttle.

She cleared her throat. They both looked at her. She said, "Let's go home."

Two to Cardassia



Earn knew she'd been wrong, about so many things, when she saw the startled look on Garak's face.

"Well," she said cheerfully, "this is awkward."

"My dear Miss Dax," said Garak, with one of his ridiculous little bows. "This is an unexpected pleasure."

"Apparently. Sorry. After I read your love letter to Julian..."

Garak went very still.

"Oh, what, like I wouldn't know a love letter when I saw it?... Or, no, he wasn't supposed to ask me to read it."

She peered at him, "You do know we're still together..." Garak gave her a look that could only be described as scandalized.

Obviously not. Huh. What does THAT tell me. She suppressed an urge to giggle. "Don't worry. Julian should be along in a week or so. Kira said she'd help expedite things when he asks for leave."

"Colonel Kira...?"

"Oh, sorry. I guess I shouldn't have let her read the letter, too. Or made those copies for Quark to rent. He says it's even more popular than VULCAN LOVE SLAVE..."

Garak took a normal breath. "Ah. The well-known Dax sense of humor. I had almost forgotten."

"Had you going there, didn't I?" She looked toward the road she'd arrived on. "Look, I don't want to be a bother. I can get transport to Federation housing. My volunteer stint starts in 3 days..."

"My dear Ezri. What you must think of Cardassian hospitality! You are ... a friend! Of course you must stay here. I requisitioned a module for the occasion." He indicated the small, free-standing structure next to the garden shed which he had repurposed as his residence. "It would be a pity for it to go to waste."

"All right." Ezri smiled. "Thank you."



Garak led the way into the small resident module, his mind awhirl. How had this happened? How could Ezri be here, and not Julian? Had he, Garak, been so preoccupied that he had not even noticed the signature line on the message? He had seen that the message was from the station, saying the words that he had wanted to read, and had assumed that they were from Julian. How sentimental he had become. He was no longer worthy of being an operative. It was doubtful he was even capable of being one, now. Although that had been the case the moment he had begun to write his letter to Julian, writing everything--well almost everything--that had happened to him from the time he was a small boy, every word--well, almost every word--of it true.

But, enough speculation. He had his duties as a host to perform.

He indicated the bed, "Here is where you'll be sleeping..." He saw her appraising glance and slight smirk. It was not a single bed. He knew what she was thinking and sternly mastered his own features. Oh, he was not prepared for this!

"There is a bathroom through there, which I'm afraid we'll have to share. I still do food preparation in the shed."

"This is very nice," said Ezri. "And it looks brand new..."

"They started making them in response to the homeless situation following the war. They are a stopgap measure until more permanent structures can be made."

"They are an elegant solution," she said, and he was unaccountably pleased by her reaction.

She swung her travel bag onto the bed.

"I'll leave you to unpack," he said. "What would you like for a meal?"

"Oh, anything. So long as it is native and not replicated. I need to get used to the local food." Garak wore an expression she wasn't able to read. She added hurriedly, "I'm sorry. That was rude of me. Anything you prepare will be greatly appreciated."

His expression became almost disappointed. He bowed and left.

She watched him leave and muttered to herself, "Way to endear yourself to the natives, Dax."



Garak washed and chopped the freshly harvested vegetables. For a moment it had seemed as though Ezri was flirting with him--her comment about the food--which he would have been able to follow up with a stern statement that he was about to suggest that she stick to fresh food, demonstrating that he was well aware of the new medical protocols for acclimating to a new planet. But then she had ruined it by apologizing--apologizing! for making her desires known. Well, it was to be expected from someone from the Federation--they were infuriatingly polite. He remembered his first meeting with Bashir, when Julian had denied knowing that Garak was a spy. Garak had replied, "Ah, an open mind. The essence of intellect." He paused, fondly remembering, until he heard Ezri entering the shed and he resumed chopping even more vigorously than before.

He said, "You'll find plates and cups in the cupboard to the right of the sink," a little surprised at how gruff his voice sounded. He cleared his throat.

She looked over his shoulder at the growing pile of chopped vegetables, "Did you grow these?" she asked.

He raised an eye-ridge.

"Of course you did. Silly me."

He sighed inwardly.



Ezri bounced gently on the bed, unable to settle. She had turned down Garak's offer of the after-dinner kanar she had brought as a gift. She had tried some at Quark's before leaving the station, and knew that that was one beverage she definitely wouldn't be indulging in. Garak had followed that up with an offer of root beer, which was confusing, but she’d turned that down, too, and settled for more red leaf tea. The meal had left her feeling queasy and out of sorts, and she was hearing an inner chorus of complaints. It didn't help that her sleep cycle was off because of the time difference between the station and Cardassia. And to top it all off she was missing Julian so much it was like a physical ache.

She wondered if it would be all right for her to wander around outside for a bit, just around the gardens and the stone piles. She thought she'd better ask Garak first. She slid off the bed and headed for the door. She opened the door to come face to face with Garak. They both started a little, then both apologized. Garak headed for the bathroom and she waited for him just outside the mod.

She looked at the evening sky, barely lit with one of the three moons, red from all the dust still in the air. She became aware that Garak had come alongside her.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly. "Even if you know the reason."

He sighed and murmured in assent. Finally he said, "I know why Julian didn't want to come."

"I don't think you do," she said.

"Please do me the courtesy of not lying to me."

"Garak, do you remember what Odo confessed to you when you interrogated him?"

Garak hissed in shock and stared at her.

She ignored his reaction. "Odo told Kira. Kira told me."

His eyes darted from side to side as though seeking escape. There was none.
She shrugged, "Believe me, I understand. Tain held your feet to the fire--you had no choice but to obey." She mused, "Huh, of our little trio, my father is the best of the lot. Who'd have thought it…Yours comes in dead last. 'Course, if we start talking about mothers..."

"Are you trying to make a point here?"

"Well, yes, actually. What was the deep, dark secret that Odo told you?"

Garak didn't answer for a long moment. "That he wanted to go home to his people."

"To join the Great Link," she finished. "Took him awhile to finally do it, didn't it?"

Garak was silent, still seething.

"Did you know he told Kira that the Link was Paradise? I think he knew that once he went home--once he joined the Link-- he would never leave. He loved Nerys, and so he stayed away."

Garak looked at her.

"Julian LOVES me, Garak."

"Yes. Of course he does." There was the slightest amount of bitterness in his voice.

"And I love him."

Garak refused to look at her.

"You dear idiot," she said. He looked at her then, annoyed. "Julian knows that once he comes here, he'll never leave."

Understanding dawned on his face. "So you came...to give him permission to come here?"

"Yes!...Well, partly."

"What's the other part?"

"Garak, I read your letter."

He just looked at her.

"I fell in love with you."

He opened his mouth in shock, then closed it again.

"Do you know why Jadzia fell in love with Worf?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Besides the fact that he was smart and good looking and a formidable warrior...Even Curzon thought he was gorgeous..."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, never mind that. Anyway, the main thing that attracted her was he had the soul of a poet." She looked at him. "Garak, YOU have the soul of a poet."

"My dear Miss Ezri, I don't know what to say..."

"Oh! I'm doing this all wrong! I was going to be cool, and literate..."

"Really, my dear..."

"But, no, I couldn't wait. I'm Dax! It's what we do! Torias tests a shuttlecraft engine prematurely and gets blown up. I steal a runabout to go looking for Worf in the Badlands and we end up prisoners of the Breen. I go haring off to Cardassia to declare undying love to my lover's friend..." She looked at him sadly, "Maybe if I were Jadzia Dax, instead of Ezri ..."

Garak closed his eyes and groaned, "I should have never said those hurtful things..."

She glared, "Elim Garak! Don't you dare apologize for the few true things you ever said to me."

Garak's eyes widened. He laughed, then turned serious again. "Will he come, do you think?"

"I think he will. He has three compelling reasons. There's you. There's me. And there's Cardassia. I don't know if you've noticed, but Julian needs to be needed. Things have gotten quiet on the station now that the war is over, but Cardassia is still a whole planet of need. No offence."

"None taken." He cocked his head at her, "You called me Elim."

"I did. I hope that's OK."

"If I'm to share your bed, I think it's appropriate that you do. If I'm not presuming too much."

"Nope. Not presuming. My bed is large enough for two. Maybe even three."

He remembered her earlier smirk. "How clever of you to notice."

"That's me. Clever." She didn’t feel queasy anymore. Her inner chorus was silent, expectant.

He took her hand. "Tell me, my dear. Is it true that Jadzia and Worf used Bat'Leth practice sessions as foreplay?"

How had she never noticed how blue his eyes were? She patted his arm, "Don't worry. I'll be gentle."

He smirked. "I'm trying to determine your preferred method of love-play."

"Ah. Well, I never much cared for the Bat'Leth. I preferred Worf's other practice, the one that's similar to Earth's t'ai chi chuan. Kira used to call it 'Old People Sneaking Up on Trees.'"

Garak looked skeptical. The first sounded too rough, the second too tame.
"Really, Elim, I think a couple of old omnisexual xenophiles like us should be able to figure out something."



Dr. Julian Bashir looked up from his PADD containing the latest disease statistics on Cardassia and peered out his window. It looked no different than when he had last checked, less than an hour ago. He guessed they were about halfway to Cardassia.
He was still a bit dazed at how quickly everything had happened. First he had gotten a letter from Garak-- a book, really, judging by the word count. The letter had confused him, so he had asked Ezri to read it, which turned out to be a HUGE mistake. Twenty minutes after starting to read, she had cancelled all of her appointments for the day. When she was finished, she asked him when he was going to Cardassia to visit Garak. When he told her he thought he would pass, instead of letting it go she had gotten more insistent. She said they could go together as part of the Federation relief effort--he could help mend Cardassian bodies, she would tend to the Cardassian psyches. That seemed to him a fool's errand, his main experience being with a Cardassian who only reluctantly accepted help with either.

The next thing he knew she told him she was going to Cardassia, with or without him, that she loved him and hoped he would follow her soon. Three days later he received a comm, "Having a wonderful time, wish you were here. Elim is a charming host."

Feeling as though his hand were being forced, he went to Ops to speak with Kira about getting leave. Instead of asking questions, she seemed to be expecting him, told him his leave was approved, and that he was pre-approved to join the Federation relief effort. He wasn't sure he cared for her smirk when she told him that, and liked even less her request to "Give my best to Ezri...Oh, and say "hi" to Garak."

The final straw was when he went to Quark's to buy Delavian chocolates and a bottle of his best kanar, paying way too much--well, maybe not, considering how scarce kanar was now--who knew when there would be another run?

Quark said, "I'm working on a new joke, Doctor. Would you like to hear it?" Without waiting for a reply, he said, "A hew-mon, a Cardassian and a Trill walk into a bar..."
Julian waited, but Quark didn't say anything more. "Well? Then what happens?"
Quark leered at him, "You tell me, Doctor." Julian glared at him and finished his drink, grabbed his parcels and left. Quark called after him, "Don't be a stranger!"

Julian had always known that DS9 was a rumor mill.


Six hours later, the shuttle landed and Julian disembarked into the Cardassian heat. It was as oppressive as he had imagined it would be. It would probably take most of his first six months just to get used to it.

He walked into the main part of the terminal, feeling a bit lost, until he saw them, standing behind the web barrier. Ezri was grinning. Garak was wearing his usual enigmatic expression, which changed when he saw Julian, into one he had never seen before, fond and sentimental. He remembered the last words they had said to each other: he had told Garak he was sure they would see each other again. Garak had replied, "I'd like to think so, but one can never say. We live in uncertain times." Garak had been more correct than he had. If it hadn't been for Ezri...

He blinked to ease the sudden prickle in his eyes. "Hallo, Garak."

"My dear doctor. Welcome to Cardassia."

The two of them just looked at each other, and it was Ezri's turn to blink. Any doubts she had had about her impetuous errand were swept away. It would be wrong for these two friends to be kept apart. After a long moment she became aware that they were becoming a source of speculation for others in the terminal, from native Cardassians to Federation workers who had just arrived on Julian's shuttle.

She cleared her throat. They both looked at her. She said, "Let's go home."