Ba'el

By: Ginomo

Based on the TNG episode, "Birthright Part 2." Worf travels to a Romulan prison camp to rescue Khitomer survivors and while there he falls for Ba'el, the daughter of the Romulan commander and one of the Klingon prisoners. Years later, the Dominion War brings Ba'el back into his life.

Chapter 1

Carraya IV, 2369

The day ended in a way that Worf could never imagined. He woke up that morning prepared to face the Romulan firing squad, yet he was heading to bed a hero and exhausted from all the preparations that he was at the center of. The young people of the Carraya IV prison camp were leaving and he was to thank for that.

He was mentally and physically exhausted from it all, but Worf couldn't rest until he spoke to her. Ba'el had been notably absent from all the commotion that filled the second half of the day. Worf had tried to seek her out, but he was pulled in every direction but hers. As the day ended, the compound quieted down and Worf headed to his barrack. Before getting there, Worf turned down a different path.

Romulan Commander Tokath opened the door to his home and was instantly annoyed when he saw who it was, "What are you doing here? You've gotten your way, what more could you possibly want from us?"

"I need to speak with Ba'el."

Tokath positioned himself like a barricade between the Klingon and his daughter, "No. All the others flocking to you, you don't need her too."

She's the only one I wanted, Worf thought to himself.

Just then, Ba'el emerged, "Father, what's going on?"

"Nothing, my dear, go back to your room."

Her eyes met Worf's, "I'd like to speak to him."

"Ba'el…"

"Please father," Ba'el gently placed a hand on her father's arm. He'd never been good at saying no to his only daughter. Ba'el slipped by Tokath and led Worf into a quiet corner in the courtyard of the compound.

They stood there in silence for a moment. The night air was chilly that day and Ba'el tightly folded her arms across her chest. Worf spoke up first, "I have been trying to find you all day..."

"So much was going on, I didn't want to get in the way. I figured I'd give you your space to deal with all the others."

"Then you have been making preparations on your own?" he asked, hopefully.

Ba'el sighed, "Worf, I wish things were different but they're not. I can't go with you."

Worf was not surprised, he knew this morning when he saw her go to her parents' side that she'd made up her mind to stay. That didn't mean he wasn't going to confront her about it, though, "You must tell me why."

"You know why. I told you before; I have no place out there. And with all the other young people leaving, who will look after those that stay? The elders will be alone here without me."

"So instead of living your own life, you are resigned to spend it caring for them? What will become of you?"

"I'll be fine. This place is my home, it's all I have ever known. I will be happy here." Her eyes were cast downward, and her voice sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as Worf.

"What about us?" Worf surprised even himself by being so direct.

"Us? What kind of future could we have, Worf? I'm a Romulan, remember?"

"I do not care. I do not want you wasting away here all alone."

She shook her head, "I can't go with you, Worf. I just can't.

Worf could feel himself getting frustrated with her, "I think you are afraid." He said, a hint of anger in his voice.

"I am!" she exclaimed honestly, "I'm terrified. And if that isn't Klingon enough for you, then you can blame it on my Romulan half."

Worf sighed, "I will be with you. I will keep you safe; no one would dare harm you."

"Worf," Bael touched his arm tenderly, "You're only going to be here a few more days. Let's not waste what little time we have together. I'd like to spend it with you."

Her gentle voice softened him, "As would I," Worf replied.

"Can I see you tomorrow morning, then?"

"Yes, of course," Bael was right. If this was it, he wanted to make the most of it. And who knows, he might even get her to change her mind before that supply ship came to pick them up.

Worf woke up early the next morning, sleep didn't come easily to him since he'd been on Carraya. Most of the prisoner-residents in the compound ate their meals together in the common dining hall. Worf tried to avoid that as much as possible, so he slipped in before the others to find something to have for breakfast.

"I need to speak to you."

Apparently Worf wasn't the only one up early that morning. He turned around to see Gi'ral standing in the doorway to the dining hall. He couldn't imagine what she could possibly want with him.

"What can I do for you?"

Gi'ral was not a physically imposing, but like most Klingon women she'd perfected the art of holding herself steady and proud. She could somehow manage to look down at Worf even though he towered over her. "I will be brief. When you and the others leave, I'd like you to take Ba'el with you."

That was probably the last thing Worf expected to hear from her, "Excuse me?"

"When you go, I need Ba'el to go with you," Gi'ral repeated.

"I heard you, I just do not understand why you are coming to me with this. Ba'el has made her choice."

"I know that," Gi'ral sighed, trying to compose herself. Right now she needed Worf and needed people was not something she was used to, "You must convince her otherwise."

"You want her to go? This seems to go against everything you and Tokath have said so far."

"Do not forget, I am the one who lowered Tokath's weapon when he was poised to kill you and I am the one who said this prison was ours, not our children's. I meant that for my daughter as well, perhaps even more so, than the others."

Worf was still unsure of her intentions. Gi'ral had not exactly been welcoming to him, or his relationship with Ba'el, "Even if that means she would be with me?"

"I admit to disliking you when you first arrived. We'd spent years sheltering the young people from the outside world and you were a direct threat to that. You challenged the choices we'd made and that was unsettling to say the least." Gi'ral relaxed a bit, "But when I saw her go to you yesterday, when I saw her stand there with you and the way you looked at one another…I realized that she if she stays here she would never have that with anyone."

"Then why do you not go to her yourself?"

She shook her head, "Ba'el is loyal and selfless and she doesn't want to leave us here all alone. She is also afraid and I have myself to blame for that. While the others seem able to put aside all those things we taught them to keep them here, Ba'el is not. I suppose being half Romulan has something to do with that. She knows the world outside these walls will not accept her the way it will the others."

"If her own mother cannot convince her then what good can I do? She has made it clear that she wishes to stay."

Gi'ral was getting annoyed with him now, "You are a man and she is a woman. There are things you can convince her of that her father and I never could."

"I cannot imagine Tokath would approve of this."

"Which is why I need you to exercise discretion in this matter. I am not asking you to marry her, quite honestly once you leave this planet I have no control over what happens anyway. I just need her to get out of here so she can have some chance at a life. You came here to free the imprisoned Klingons from Khitomer and you have done that for all but one. That last one needs to be freed from herself."

Worf could see the pleading in Gi'ral's eyes. The truth was, he didn't know how to change Ba'el's mind, and if he did he would have already. But before him was a mother woman who needed some hope for her only child. Worf nooded, "I will try."

Gi'ral nodded, she seemed satisfied with that answer, "I suppose that is all I can ask."

Ba'el could hear rustling through the brush behind her. She turned, and a smile spread across her face when she saw who it was, "There you are!"

"My apologies," Worf said as he emerged, "I was detained by Toq."

"I figured as much. I can't say that I have ever seen him so excited. Here, come sit with me."

Ba'el walked him to the bank of the pond where she first saw him. It seemed like ages ago that Worf showed up there and turned their lives upside down.

"No one questioned you meeting me here?" she asked.

"Seeing that we are all leaving soon anyway no one much bothers with where I go anymore."

Ba'el lowered her eyes, "Not all of us," she quietly reminded him.

Worf opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. He'd been thinking about this morning's encounter with Gi'ral all day but had no idea how to approach it. He could hear her voice saying, "You are a man, and she is a woman…" over and over in his head but the reality was, Worf had never been very good at that type of thing. If she was counting on his romantic charm to change Ba'el's mind, Gi'ral was going to be disappointed.

"Will they be going with you to where you live?" Ba'el's voice snapped Worf out of his own thoughts.

"You mean Toq and the others?" Worf asked.

"Yes. Will you be taking them back to your home? How will you house so many of them?

"Oh no, they cannot stay with me. I work aboard a starship and everyone there is a trained officer that was selected to serve. I can arrange passage for them to begin new lives, but they won't be with me."

Ba'el's eyes widened, "Well then where will they go? Besides this place, you are all they know."

"I will have to make arrangements for them when I get back to my ship," Worf replied, "Most likely, I will have them resettle on an outlying Klingon colony . Going back to the Homeworld would probably be overwhelming for them right now. There are some small farming colonies in the Pheben System, the skills they have learned here will help them start lives there."

"Is this a place you go to often?"

"No. I myself have never been there and my duties take me all over the galaxy."

There was a sense of apprehension in her voice, "Do they know all this? You have been the one guiding them on this journey, do they know you won't be there with them?"

"Yes. I have explained it all at length over the last few days. They are ready."

Ba'el shook her head, "Then it is definitely best that I stay here. What would I do on a Klingon farming colony?"

"What are you doing here?" Worf countered, ""None of them have to stay there forever. It is just a place to start. I imagine many, including Toq, will venture to the Homeworld one day."

"Well, I cannot imagine that there are any Romulans living there, certainly no one like me."

Worf could sense that this upset her. Ba'el obviously had a different vision of how she thought this was going to go for her friends. Whereas they were all excited about what was ahead, Ba'el was apprehensive for them.

Worf reached out and stroked her hair, "If you were to leave this place, I would want you to stay with me."

Ba'el looked into his eyes, "Really?"

"I told you before, if I could I would take you with me."

"And just where is that? You know everything there is to know about where I live, which admittedly isn't much, but you have said very little about your life."

"As I said, I serve aboard a starship."

"Again, I can't imagine there would be much room for a half Romulan on a ship full of Klingons."

Worf tensed. He realized that she thought he lived amongst other Klingons, a reasonable assumption given everything that had gone on here. And all of a sudden he felt ashamed to admit to her that was not the case. Everything she knew about Klingon culture had come from a man who didn't even live with other Klingons.

"There are more than just Klingons and Romulans out there," he answered evasively, "There are countless other species each with their own homeworlds. Humans, Vulcans, Cardassians..."

Ba'el was embarrassed at just how little she knew about the world outside of this place, "I suppose the women where you're from wouldn't be asking such silly questions."

"It is not your fault, much has been hidden from you. You may not have the knowledge that others have, but that will come."

"Why you would want to have someone like me there with you when there are so many other women out there?"

Worf looked at her and answered as honestly as he could, "I would want no others," he whispered.

Ba'el could feel her heart begin to pound as she looked up at him. Worf's body loomed over hers, yet instead of fear, his imposing form made her feel safe secure. She gently touched his chest with her fingertips. Perhaps it could always be this way. If she went with him, he'd keep her safe wouldn't he?

The attraction between Worf and Ba'el was undeniable. Worf couldn't quite figure it out; her beauty was obvious, but Worf had been around beautiful women before. Beyond that it didn't make sense to him. Ba'el was young, naive, and not to mention half-Romulan. She was ignorant to all that Worf held most dear. Yet when he looked at her he knew he wanted her in a way that he hadn't wanted a woman for a long time.

You are a man, and she is a woman…

Worf's strong hands once again cupped Ba'el's face, but this time when he glimpsed her ears Worf didn't hesitate. He brought his mouth down upon hers and kissed her deeply. Ba'el reached up and grasped his shoulders, pulling him down onto the grass with her. She could feel his weight upon her, it made her slightly breathless in a way that only served to heighten what she was feeling. Worf enveloped her in every way and she loved it. Was this what was meant to be? Could she really leave everyone and everything she'd ever known to be with him? In this moment, she felt like she could do anything to feel like this forever.

Ba'el could feel those same strong hands move down the side of her body and settle on her hips. She could feel his breath quicken, she didn't have to have a lot of experience with men to know where this was going. "Worf," Ba'el whispered, ending the embrace they shared, "The evening meal will be served soon, we should get back before the others wonder where we are."

Worf sat up and took a deep breath to compose himself, "Yes, you are right." He stood first, offering Ba'el his hand so she could stand as well. Their eyes met for a moment and they held one another's gaze, but it was Ba'el that looked away first. She turned and began walking back toward the compound, with Worf following closely behind.

The next day Ba'el took Worf deeper into the jungle to show him some of her favorite trails. He was impressed by how far she'd ventured off by herself and how well she knew the landscape around her. Spending the day out there with her was a welcomed change from being cooped up in the compound. And every so often they stopped to share an embrace like the one by the pond from the evening before.

Now Worf was in his quarters, lying in bed staring at the ceiling. The supply ship would be there first thing in the morning and it would be time to go. Though it had been on the tip of his tongue, Worf had not come out and asked Ba'el if she'd changed her mind about leaving Carraya. Why was that? The obvious answer was because she might say no. But Worf knew in his heart that wasn't all. He was just as worried that she might say yes.

And then what? Ba'el had been right about something earlier that week; it was always easy for Worf to speak of honor and death, but not of love. He couldn't even use his clichéd "Klingons do not…" line because the reality was that most Klingons put as much passion into loving as they did fighting. Worf had spent a lifetime mastering honor and discipline but he'd neglected that other part of being a Klingon. Letting that part of himself come to the surface made him vulnerable. He couldn't control it the way he did every other aspect of his life and that… well that scared him.

Worf was pondering all this when he heard a soft knock at his door. He wondered if it was Gi'ral coming to lecture him about not convincing her daughter to go with him.

It was not Gi'ral, "Ba'el? What are you doing here?"

She looked around nervously, "Can I come in?"

"Yes, yes of course." The door closed behind her. Worf noticed that she was wearing the same robe that she had with her when he first saw her bathing by pond. He could see that she looked anxious, almost upset, "Is something wrong?"

"No," Ba'el's voice was shaking. She let out a nervous breath and tried to settle herself, "I just had to see you..."

Ba'el walked to Worf's bed and slowly sat. As she did, her robe opened slightly and Worf could see that it was all she was wearing. Carefully, she removed it from her shoulders and let it fall to the bed. She looked at him with wide, almost pleading, eyes. No words were needed, Worf knew exactly why she'd come.

Worf sat next to her, willing himself to look into her eyes and not at the bare body she presenting to him, "Are you certain this is what you want?" he asked, his deep voice was gentle and soothing.

Her voice wavered, "I have never… but I want it to be you."

Once again, Ba'el felt the weight of Worf's body upon hers. This time, when his hands explored, she let it happen. Ba'el relished the feel of his skin against hers. She took him into her and let him love her in a way that she knew she'd never feel again. When it was over, Ba'el whispered, "I love you," to him and he returned the sentiment sincerely. When Worf saw the tears spill from her eyes, he knew that this was their way of saying goodbye.

Worf slept soundly for the first time since he'd come to this place. When he awoke the next morning, he found his bed was empty. A short time later he boarded the supply ship with every one of the Klingons born on Carraya IV, everyone except for Ba'el.