After the incident on the promenade, many people had come complaining to Captain Sisko- no doubt because they were too intimidated to complain directly to Odo. Ben knew that nothing good could have come from combining the DNA of Odo and Quark, but he couldn't just say that to the Constable. Alda was clearly very important to him.

But something had to be done about it. Ben called a meeting at eighteen hundred hours the next day. Now, as he looked at his senior staff gathered around the table, he heard bickering from outside the door.

Odo walked in, followed by Quark a moment later, which garnered a few raised eyebrows. Quark was wearing a sort of pouch strapped to his chest. Inside was what looked like an orangey-brown puddle laced with specks of shimmery rainbow colours. It sloshed around as Quark walked.

"Look, Odo, all I'm saying is that this kid is my child just as much as it is yours," Quark was saying. "If this meeting is being held to discuss what to do with them, I have a right to be here too."

"It's a meeting for the senior staff, Quark," Odo grumbled. "You're not senior staff. Now would you please take Alda and leave?"

"But what if they want to do something to them that I don't approve of?" Quark looked genuinely worried about the hybrid creature. "Wh-what if they think Alda is a threat to the station's safety… and try to have them thrown out an airlock or something?! I have to be there to make sure that doesn't happen!"

"I'll be there," Odo told him, his voice softening somewhat. "If anyone so much as mentions destroying Alda, I'll make sure they regret it."

Quark hesitated, but he nodded, stepping out of the conference room.

Everyone was staring at Odo. He snapped his head up and stared at them as if to say, "well, do you have a problem with that?" Silently, he walked over and took his place at the table.

"All right, now that we're all here, let's get started." Ben cleared his throat. "Now, let's make one thing clear: I agree with Odo. We will not destroy this life-form. However, I think some actions need to be made to ensure that people can feel safe on this station. Alda may be young, but they are still a very powerful creature."

"Maybe we should increase security until Alda learns more about self-control," Dax suggested.

Ben nodded. "That's a good idea."

"Captain, I don't understand why you want to keep the creature on the station," Worf objected. "It was created by the Snuzzelbians. When they leave next week, we should send it back with them."

"I had considered doing that," Odo admitted. "But Alda clearly thinks of Quark and I as their parents. We can't just send them away."

"So if you two are the parents, who's going to have custody?" Chief O'Brien mused. "Or are you going to live together?"

"Chief, that's not an appropriate question," Ben said sharply. "When it comes to the custody of Alda, they can figure that out on their own. Now, as for increasing security… if we make it seem like we're scared of Alda, it might just make people more uneasy. I'd recommend having a couple of officers follow Alda around wherever they go- but have them hang back a bit so Alda doesn't notice them. And if things get too out of hand…"

What are they talking about right now? Quark tried to focus on mixing drinks for his customers, but he was worried about the decisions the senior staff was making. Sure, Odo said he'd make sure they don't try to hurt Alda, but he's only one man. He's a great man, of course- not that I'd ever tell him that- but if he's outvoted Alda could end up being labeled as a danger and get thrown in the brig or worse!

"Weren't you listening, bartender?" a Klingon customer growled. "I said I wanted blood wine!"

Quark snapped back to attention. Alda may be important, but pleasing his customers was his priority as a bartender.

"Coming right up," he muttered.

At least Alda made a good employee. They ran back and forth, sprouting multiple arms to carry more trays to waiting customers at once. Quark knew Odo wouldn't approve of getting Alda to work for him, but the kid didn't seem to mind. They were starting to ask for payment, though.

"Move aside, move aside!" Alda shouted to a Bajoran couple, running right toward their table. "Get out of the way!"

The couple stood up, scrambling away from their table right before Alda crashed into it, knocking it over. A glass fell onto the floor and shattered. Alda stretched out their arm to catch the table, but it just ended up crashing through the table. Wood splinters lay amongst the broken glass and spilled water. Customers stared at Alda, who stood sheepishly in the middle of it all.

"Whoops," Alda muttered.

Maybe they wouldn't be such a good employee after all. But there was no time to think about that now, because two security officers were walking into his bar, their phasers drawn. One of them nodded to his partner, who pointed hers at Alda. Looking scared, Alda tried melting into their natural state, but the male officer pointed his phaser at them too, following their movements.

What were these Starfleet personnel doing pointing weapons at Alda?!

Ignoring the complaints of customers sitting at the bar waiting to be served, Quark jumped off his stool and walked over to the officers.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, trying to emulate the intimidating demeanor that Odo used to scare off weak-minded criminals, but it didn't seem to working for him. "Go point those things somewhere else. This is my bar, and I don't permit people to aim weapons at children in my bar!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but we've been ordered to keep an eye on the Changeling child," the male officer said, crossing his arms. "Captain's orders."

That couldn't be right. Besides, Alda wasn't hurting anybody. Of course, the officers' timing could have been a bit better, but still… knocking over a table didn't warrant having a weapon pointed at you, did it?

Quark told the officers this, but they didn't seem to care. Alda trembled on the floor. People in the bar were muttering nervously to each other, and a lot of people got up and left, many of them without having ordered anything. Normally Quark would have been angry that customers would leave without spending any money, but right now Alda was the most important issue.

"Look at what you've done now," he spat to the security officers. "You've scared away perfectly good customers. I hope you're happy."

"I told you, we're just following orders," the female officer snapped. "That's what you get for harboring a dangerous creature on the station."

"What, you think Alda is dangerous just because they're part Changeling? Does that mean you think Odo is dangerous too?"

"He could be if he wanted to be," the male officer pointed out. "This creature is too young to know any better than to attack people. We have to keep a close watch on it to make sure that doesn't happen."

On the floor, Alda began to slide away from the officers' feet.

"It's moving around!" the female officer cried. She shot at Alda, the phaser fire leaving a scorch mark on mere inches from them. In a brightly coloured shimmer, they became a tiny coin rolling across the floor. Good thinking- it made them a small target, and they could move quickly. Quark couldn't help but feel slightly proud that Alda had chosen to take on the form of currency in order to avoid the attack. But the officer kept firing! Her partner started too. If there had been anyone left in the bar before, they were leaving now.

Quark had to save Alda. But what could he do? He was so weak and pathetic. If only Odo were here; he'd have these officers in line before… but he was still at that meeting.

Meetings are one thing, but the life of our child is another, Quark thought. He grabbed a communication relay, practically throwing himself against the wall.

"Odo, you've got to get down here!" he cried frantically, tears welling up in his eyes. "They're firing on Alda! You have to help!"

"They're firing on Alda! You have to help!"

The desperate voice crackled through the comm system. The staff exchanged alarmed glances. After coming to the decision that security officers should follow Alda around at all times, Sisko had ordered two low-ranking security officers to locate Alda and keep an eye on them, and to report back to him if there was any trouble. He hadn't said anything about using weapons against Alda.

Odo knew he had to go help. He hoped the others would understand. Getting up, he left the conference room and started running down the corridor, tapping his comm badge as he ran.

"I'm on my way," he said. "Just hang on."

He rounded a corner and ran into a throng of people swarming the upper floor of the promenade. They were clustering around Quark's bar, pointing and staring at what was going on inside. Odo pushed past them and entered the bar to see the two security officers that Sisko had sent, firing their phasers wildly around the bar, which was now in ruins. Alda darted around the room, rapidly transforming in midair, and hopping from platform to platform, narrowly avoiding each blast. In the corner crouched Quark, trembling and covering his ears, face tucked between his shaking knees.

"What's going on here?!" Odo demanded. "Ensigns! Stop firing on that creature at once!"

Ensign Berlitz stopped and turned around.

"But Constable, that thing was assaulting civilians!" she argued. "We were just trying to get the situation under control."

"Under control?!" The exasperation and outrage that Odo felt toward these officers was far stronger than that he felt toward the average criminal, but he kept his face in its typical sarcastic smile, although his voice was raised in anger. "I'd say you've done just about the opposite of that, haven't you?"

Berlitz stopped firing and lowered her phaser, looking apologetic and slightly frightened. But her partner, Ensign Oak, kept firing. One blast grazed Alda as they clung to the ceiling and they fell, their liquid body convulsing. Panic flashing through him, Odo extended his arm and grabbed them, pulling them in close protectively. Alda shifted and returned to their humanoid appearance, which now featured a phaser burn on their back and tattered clothing. But they were alive, and seemed to be okay for the most part.

Odo wanted to keep it that way. He faced Oak, not bothering to hide his anger anymore. Alda could have been killed.

"Get out of this bar!" he seethed. "And don't come back! I don't want to see either of you go anywhere near my child ever again!"

"Y-yes, sir," Oak stammered. He and Berlitz scrambled out of the bar. The crowd outside parted as they ran.

Now that Alda was safe, Odo looked around the bar and realized that Alda must have been the one to do most of the damage. Surely it had only been in self-defense, though. After all, Quark had said that the security officers had initiated the attack, hadn't he? But not quite… all he had said was that the officers were firing on them. He hadn't mentioned who had attacked first.

Speaking of Quark, he was still crouched trembling in the corner. Odo walked over to him and knelt down, gently laying a hand on his shoulder. Quark slowly lifted his head, his eye makeup running down his face in ugly black streaks.

"A-are they…?"

"Alda is fine," Odo told him. "They're hurt, but it's nothing major. Your bar, I'm afraid, is another story. I suspect your insurance doesn't cover this kind of damage."

Quark shook his head, but he was smiling. Odo couldn't help thinking that his little pointy teeth looked kind of cute… no. Stop thinking such ridiculous things, he ordered himself. His relief for Alda's safety must have been making him delirious.

"Who cares about the bar?" Quark muttered, wiping away tears that left smudges on his jacket sleeve. "As long as Alda is okay, I'm happy. Just make sure to look after them, all right? I don't want this to happen again."

"I'll make sure it won't," Odo promised.

But he felt uneasy. While he'd been at that meeting, Alda had been put in danger. What if it had been a meeting about something else- like if an anomaly or alien predator was threatening to destroy the station? Would Odo have still left the conference room to go save Alda then? He told himself he wouldn't, but deep down he knew he would. And that was the thing about this child that he hadn't taken into account: they had become more important to Odo than his duties.

In his arms, Alda stirred. A pure Changeling would probably be in their liquid state right now, but as a hybrid, it seemed that Alda's humanoid appearance was more or less their default one. This would explain why this body had the burn on its back.

"I'm sorry for knocking over the table," they murmured. "I won't do it again; I promise…"

"It's all right," Odo assured them. Remembering something he'd seen solids do to their children, he stroked their hair gently but somewhat awkwardly. "You shouldn't have done that, but it didn't justify what those officers did to you."

"You'd better go back to your meeting," Quark sighed. "I'll keep an eye on Alda. If anyone else tries to come in here, I won't let them. In fact, you know what? I'll close the bar early. Making sure Alda doesn't get attacked again is more important than-"

He broke off, looking stunned at his own words, and quickly shut his mouth.

"…More important than what?" Odo inquired. He suspected he knew what Quark had been about to say, and wasn't above teasing the little bartender about it.

"M-more important than nothing, of course," Quark said quickly. "I mean, they're important, but it's not as if I'd put them above my business or anything! Profit is always the most important thing."

"That isn't very convincing," Odo smirked. "I think you were about to say that you value Alda's safety over making profit! You were, weren't you?"

Quark grumbled, his face red, but he didn't deny it. He looked away.

"It's okay," Odo sighed. "I've realized that I prioritize them higher than I thought too."

Suddenly Alda shuddered. Their face glistened, melting partway into a liquid state. Their body temperature fluctuated, growing fiery hot one moment and icy cold the next. A sickening sizzling noise hissed from their back. When Odo flipped them over to look, he saw that Alda's burn mark had somehow gotten worse. The back of their clothes, which should have been only an extension of their own body, had been burned away, and their pale skin was singed black and red.

"It hurts," they rasped. "Why does it hurt?"

"You were shot," Odo told them gravely. "But you're going to be all right. I'm going to take you to see the doctor."