DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the storyline and the character of Rebekah Riker.
PREMISE: This is a sequel to Changing the Status Quo.
Bekah Riker woke up in her quarters. Her arm had fallen asleep and, in her drowsy mind, she didn't have any idea why. She tried to pull the arm free, but it wouldn't budge. It was then she noticed she was naked. She turned her head and her nose touched the back of a man.
Then Bekah remembered. She'd arrived on DS9, thrown caution to the wind and slept with Julian Bashir, station doctor. She smiled as she remembered the memory of being in his arms and never feeling anything like that before in her life.
She gently blew on his ear, causing him to swat at it with his hand. "Julian," she whispered in his ear.
"Wha...s...it," came Julian's sleepy reply.
"My arm's asleep, think I can have it back," she asked.
Julian rolled over, releasing the hold on her arm.
"I could wake up like this every morning," he said, kissing her.
"I could, too," she said, setting her head on his chest.
His fingers drew lazy circles on her back.
"Don't you think it's strange that two people, who've never met before, fell so strongly about each other that they fall into bed," she asked him.
"I never believed in love at first sight. I'm a scientist and I never thought it was possible. I know lust at first sight is certainly possible, but I never thought love was as well. Until I met you at the dinner," he said.
"I felt it when we both reached for the same cup of punch. Seems odd doesn't it," she asked.
"Possibly, but in all my time in Starfleet, odd is par for the course," he said to her, kissing her forehead.
"We hardly know each other," she said.
"True, but I think we're meant to know each other; meant to be together," he said.
Bekah looked at him. She felt the same way and couldn't believe he had voiced her thoughts.
"Besides, we have a lot of time to get to know each other. One thing is certain: I feel complete with you. I've never felt whole in my entire life," he said, staring into her eyes.
"I've never felt so much in such a small amount of time. I'm totally clueless about what to do, but I'm ready to see what lies ahead," she said.
Bekah cuddled closer to Julian. She knew she needed to head to OPS to help Miles work on the computer system, but she didn't want to leave Julian's side.
"Infirmary to Dr. Bashir."
Julian reached over and hit the comm badge on his uniform. "Dr. Bashir. What's the matter, Krishnee?"
"Garak is in the Infirmary. He's insistant on speaking with you about what's bothering him. Can you report to the Infirmary."
"Tell Garak I'm on my way. Bashir out."
He faced the woman in the bed. "Guess duty calls. Will you meet me for lunch later," he asked.
"Do you have to ask," she said, smiling. He kissed her and got out of bed and put his uniform back on in a hurry. He kissed her one last time and left Bekah's quarters, bound for the Infirmary.
Bekah sat up in the bed. She wrapped the shiny top sheet around herself and gathered her wrinkled uniform off the floor. She put it in the laundry processor and went into the bathroom to shower.
She emerged twenty minutes later in a new uniform. This one was much different than the one from the Enterprise, but she figured she might as well look the part. She fastened her hair into a low ponytail and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
'Not bad, Bekah. Not bad,' she said to herself, smoothing out the top of the uniform.
"Communications to Commander Riker."
"This is Commander Riker."
"Commander Riker, you have a message from the Enterprise," she heard the communications officer over the comm link.
"Please put it through to my quarters," she said, sitting at her desk to receive her message.
"Bekah! How are you," her brother asked.
"I'm well, but I just saw you yesterday," she said, laughing at his overprotective nature.
"True, but I wanted to see how they treated you when you arrived. Well, I hope," he said.
"They treated me very well. I even have a new uniform for the occasion," she said, standing and spinning around for him to get the full effect.
"Different," he said.
Bekah recognized the look on her brother's face and she knew something was going on with him. "What's going on with you? I know you're a bit overprotective, but this is only 24 hours after our last conversation. That means one thing. Something's up," she said, folding her arms and leaning back in her chair.
"Damn you and your Riker intuition," he said.
Bekah smiled. She'd caught Will on more than one occasion and the fact that the siblings shared such a unique gift, made them a formidable team on the Enterprise. Adding the talent of empathy Deanna had and Captain Picard had a bridge team that was the envy of every commanding officer in the fleet.
"There's something brewing in your section of the galaxy. The Federation is considering the Bajorans for admission into the Federation," he said.
Bekah sat down. "That's great for Bajor, right," she asked.
"It is, but the Cardassians are claiming someone has infiltrated their computers and planted a virus that is crippling Cardassia Prime," he said.
"That's crazy. The Bajorans are peaceful, for the most part. Their society is not technological, it's artistic and religious in origin. What would the Bajorans have to gain by crippling the Cardassians? They won't attack in retaliation, their trying to rebuild their society," she said, unable to fathom why her brother was telling her this news.
"Captain Picard and I agree, but the Federation tribunal isn't so sure. They want to make sure that there isn't any truth to the rumor before admitting Bajor into the Federation," he said.
"OK, so what does that have to do with me," she questioned her brother, but she had a feeling she knew the answer.
"Because you're there. You're the Federation's eyes on this problem. They figure you can get more information while working on the stations computers and speaking with some Bajorans that have the technical expertise to do the damage," he said.
"Does Ben know about this," she asked.
"He'll be briefed that someone will be conducting an investigation. He'll probably figure out it is you. Tell him what you feel you can trust him with and no one else," Will said.
"But why DS9," she asked.
"The virus was apparently sent from the stations computers. There's no way else to track it, but the signal came from DS9," he said.
"So I'm looking for a neutron in an entire star system," she said, exasperated by the task before her.
"'Fraid so, but if anyone can do, you can," he said.
"Thanks for the confidence. Who do I report my findings to and when," she asked.
"I'll contact you in a few days and see how you're progressing. Starfleet and the Federation don't want to alert anyone to what you are doing until it becomes necessary, so routine calls to your brother make a good cover," he said.
"OK. I'll wait to here from you and I'll see what I can uncover," she said, feeling the monumental task in front of her.
"I love you and miss you, sis. Talk to you soon," her brother said.
"Love you, too, bro," she said, before the Starfleet screen appeared on her monitor.
Bekah got out of her chair and paced around her quarters. Her 'routine' mission to help out a fellow engineer had thrown her directly into a mystery. She might need Sherlock Holmes to solve this mystery and Bekah was afraid she was Watson.