Chapter Two

The rest of the night passed with no further nightmares, and Julian congratulated himself on his perfect solution. But he had neglected to take into account the fact that he had twins.

Jade said nothing when she noticed the bear, but her eyes narrowed slightly and she stared at it the whole time the twins were being tucked in the next night.

"Is that Daddy's bear?" she asked when their parents had left the room.

Julie nodded. "He gave it to me."

"That's not fair," Jade protested. "Let me sleep with it tonight, Julie."

Julie sat up, hugging the bear close. "No! It's mine!" *

"You have to share," Jade insisted.

"No! Daddy says Kulawaka keeps nightmares away."

"Well, I might get nightmares, too," Jade pointed out.

Julie clutched the bear frantically. "No! Daddy!"

Julian came hurrying in at his daughter's cry. "What's wrong?"

"She wants to take Kukawaka!" Julie cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Well, she's not sharing," Jade accused, crossing her arms in a huff.

"But you gave it to me!" Julie wailed.

Julian sighed as he pulled Julie into his arms, wondering why neither he nor Jadzia had anticipated this problem.

"I did," he admitted, "but we have to be nice to Jade, too. Both of you come with me," he added, standing with Julie in his arms as an idea occurred to him.

Jade scrambled to follow him as he carried Julie to the replicator in the dining area. "Julie, may I borrow Kukalaka for a minute?"

Julie released the bear reluctantly, her eyes never leaving it as he placed it in the replicator and set the device to scan.

A minute or two later, it beeped that it was complete, and Julie clutched Kukalaka fiercely as Julian handed him back to her. "What do you say, Julie?" he reminded her.

"Thank you," she murmured, her face pressed into Kukalaka's fur.

"Where's mine, Daddy?" Jade demanded, tugging on Julian's hand.

"Be patient," he told her. "And ask nicely, or there might not be one for you."

"Please, Daddy?"

"All right." He pressed the button, and the replicator hummed.

Jade squealed with delight when the bear appeared in the replicator, and Julian reached to take it out, smiling to see all his old repairs faithfully reproduced. **

"It's a Kukuluka of my own!" Jade said, squeezing the bear Julian handed her. "Now I won't have nightmares, either."

Julian chuckled; Jade had never had a problem with nightmares in the first place. "That's right. And now it's time for you two to be in bed."

For the second time that night he tucked the twins in, at their insistence kissing two teddy bears good night, too.

"Thank goodness for replicators," he sighed as he left the twins' room.

Jadzia smiled. "So, everyone's satisfied now?"

"Yes…" But his eye drifted to Kukalaka's old shelf, and he bit back a sigh. It looked strangely empty without his old teddy bear sitting there.

Next chapter coming next week!

* Illustration for this scene can be found at femalechauvinist . deviantart . com [slash] art [slash] Mine-717748626

** Illustration for this scene can be found at femalechauvinist . deviantart . com [slash] art [slash] Multiplying-Bears-717748734

I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know! (Misspellings of Kukalaka's name in this story are intentional.)

Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Deep Space Nine alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie