Author's Note: This DS9 fic, unfinished so far, has been in my notebooks for ages, so I've decided to polish it up and put it out, as it were.

"That is fascinating," Weyoun said as he looked curiously at Morn. "It really is too bad, you would have made a wonderful Vorta."

Morn shook his head and lifted his glass.

"Well, we all have our vices, I suppose. I'm glad to see, however, that yours are not too excessive. You are rather pleasant."

Morn lifted his glass again.

"Oh, no, I can't. I don't drink-but thank you for the offer! I must be going, but again, thank you for the company." He then headed for the door, leaving Morn to his drink.

Quark sighed and walked over, shaking his head. "Morn, you know sometimes you're just too nice. It wouldn't surprise me if you showed up talking to a rock!"

Morn looked momentarily sheepish.

"Don't tell me. You had a pet rock. Just when I think I have you figured out, you go and surprise me. What am I going to do with you?"

For the third time, Morn lifted his glass.

"Of course."

Gul Dukat stood on the Promenade and looked around...for what, he'd forgotten. But there was no one there; even Odo's office was empty.

"Impossible..."

He looked down and then up it again, and when he looked back a second time jolted. A black fog was rolling towards him, and while he was unsure about the reason he knew he had to stay away from it. But when he turned the other way to run the Promenade was suddenly full of people again.

All bloody, all injured, but all walking mindlessly into the darkness.

He tried to run but seemed to forever be shoving people aside, making no excuses, giving no apologies. Until, of course, he pushed past Major Kira, who had a frighteningly large head wound. Blood was trickling down her neck but she looked at him with an uninterested gaze he couldn't look away from.

"This is the path you walk."

And then she, too, disappeared into the void.

On and on he ran, and each time he touched someone he knew, they all repeated the same phrase. Somewhere, though...somewhere, he could hear Ziyal.

Ziyal...

He sat up.

"Not again..." he groaned, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. Momentarily he listened to see if Ziyal really had been calling him, but there was nothing. She must still have been asleep.

"Computer! Time!"

"The time is 03:45."

Not even four hours of sleep. He grumbled inwardly, but swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. There was no question of laying back down, because he just knew that by the time he settled down again it'd be time to get up. So he headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day...physically, anyway.

As he went through the routine he went over the schedule he'd laid out for himself. There was that early meeting with Weyoun, and then he had to have a quick meeting with Damar over station business. Lunch with Ziyal, if possible, came next, and then-oh, yes, he had to make time for Major Kira, whether she wanted to see him or not.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Weyoun was already waiting for him when he got to his office twenty minutes later.

"The meeting's not for another hour," Dukat said as he took his seat.

"But as you are already here, why not get it done? It would free our already hard schedules up, and I am sure a Gul could use that extra time."

"True enough."

Thankfully, neither Weyoun nor Damar took up too much of his time, and by 0830 he was sitting down to breakfast with Ziyal.

"You look terrible, father. Are you sick?" She remarked, looking up at him carefully.

"No, I...simply didn't sleep well. There's a lot of things to think about and do. I had a lot on my mind."

"Well, I'm sure Nerys could help you. She taught me how to meditate and it's a big help when I have a lot of anxiety about something."

"I doubt it would help." He briefly rubbed his eyes.

"It really will, if you give it a chance. And...and I know you're always looking for reasons to spend time with her." She couldn't help but smile at the stunned look on her father's face. It was like he thought she was too naive to know, but when it was him, it was just so obvious. "Don't look so surprised, father. Everyone knows you like her."

"In case you haven't noticed, she doesn't much care for me, Ziyal."

"You could change that. You'd just have to do...well, things she'd do. Something that'd make her happy."

"I've known the Major a long time, and happy is not something I can make her." He could return to his usual bravado later. At the moment he was too tired for all the pretense.

"You've never seemed the type to just give up on anything you want," she added quickly, fishing around mentally for something to say, "Have you? And if you tried-"

"Well, of course I could. But the Major has disliked me for a long time."