Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Rebecca walked down the sunlit hall toward her room and sighed, placing her hand on her lower back. The child she carried was growing faster than she expected, and she was due to give birth in only four more months. She was grateful that she was mostly done with her first trimester; she had been plagued by back pain, extreme morning sickness, and the strangest food cravings imaginable. The Vorta scientists speculated that the abnormal gestation period and her intensified symptoms were due to Gelnon's DNA. She didn't understand it completely, she just wished this baby was out of her for better or worse.
She pinched her nosebridge at the onset of a headache and stumbled blindly into her quarters. She steadied herself on the dresser as a wave of nausea overtook her.
Strong, warm arms wrapped around her and held her against a firm body, and she gasped as she turned around.
"Gelnon!" she exclaimed happily, embracing him and laughing. Before he could say anything, she trapped him in a fierce, passionate kiss. He breathed in sharply and pressed her against the dresser, pushing closer to her warm body. She clutched desperately to him as if he would dissolve into smoke at any second, and her kiss left him breathless.
"I missed you too," he murmured sweetly, holding her to his chest. "How have you been?"
She snorted softly. "Some days I feel like hell, but for the most part, I've been ok."
"And the baby?"
She looked up at him. "Alive and kicking," she said with a soft smile. His amethyst gaze flicked down to her slightly swollen belly, and a pale hand reached out and stroked it. When his eyes returned to hers, chills ran down her spine. He was staring at her with an intense gaze, and his silent command was very clear. She obeyed it, running her hand through his hair and lightly teasing his lips with her own. Gently, he guided her back about five steps to the couch, where he pulled her down onto it. She was straddling him as he sat up, and she continued to kiss him as he undid the buttons of her shirt.
Yalroun watched them on his monitor as the heat increased between the two lovers, and he stared in fascination as they completed the act. He saw unmistakable hunger in Gelnon's eyes until they reached that final moment, and it intrigued him to no end. That...passion was not common amongst his people unless they were serving the Founders, and this did not seem to serve any of their purposes. The other Vorta was probably doing this out of curiosity, but Rebecca...He found himself inexplicably drawn to the young woman, found himself wanting to do what Gelnon did with her. Gelnon had proved that sort of thing wasn't beyond his people.
Mostly he wanted to know why Rebecca was so faithful to Gelnon. When she spoke of him, her eyes lit up with joy, and it intrigued him. That light in her eyes gnawed at him for some reason, and he heard Rebecca's voice in his head at night, repeating the things she told him during the day. He and Eriaya had questioned her at length about human pregnancy, her time with the Syndicate, personal habits, anything about human nature that they did not understand. Some things she was unwilling to talk about, such as mating rituals. Which is why Yalroun simply watched the monitor at Gelnon's return. He would only be here for three days before he was sent back to the front lines, and Yalroun had a feeling those three days would do plenty to answer his questions.
He heard Eriaya's approach and quickly turned off the monitor. She glanced at him with a smile before looking over his shoulder at the blank screen.
"What were you looking at?"
"Rebecca's genetic profile that we ran last week. I wanted to scan it with a micron sequencer, but I changed my mind."
She nodded and handed him a PADD. "The results of yesterday's tests."
He glanced over them and smiled. "Thank you, Eriaya. Is there anything else?"
"No. I'll see you at dinner."
He nodded politely to his colleague and she left him alone again.
…
"Yalroun," she said with a smile. "It's nice to see you. Is there something you need?"
He smiled back and stepped further into her quarters. "I simply want to do your weekly scan. Maybe you should lie down."
She nodded and obeyed, and he ran a scanner over her swollen belly. It had been two weeks since Gelnon's last visit, and Rebecca was due to give birth in two months.
"Would you lift your shirt, please?"
She hesitated for a moment, but he gave her a nonchalant, reassuring smile and she did as he asked. Her pale skin looked smooth, and Yalroun longed to touch it, but he restrained himself for the moment.
"I'd say you'll be ready to give birth in as little as six more weeks."
Rebecca grinned. "This is one impatient baby."
He chuckled. "May I?"
She glanced at him, confused, then noticed his hand posed over her stomach, ready to stroke it.
"All right."
His deft fingers slowly explored her skin, carefully stroking the luscious bump that now graced her abdomen. He smiled when he felt a kick, and he glanced at her in wonder. She grinned back despite that fact that his touch was making her uncomfortable, and her apprehension was not abated when he kept his hand on her skin for a full two minutes.
"Fascinating," he murmured softly. "I never realized how smooth your skin was..."
She gently moved his hand away. "You're not the only one who's made that observation."
He glanced at her, then bowed his head. "I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable," he said quickly with a contrite look on her face. "I was...curious, that's all."
She nodded and sat up, but still kept a wary eye on him. "Is there anything else?"
He shook his head. "No, I've gotten all the information I need. Sleep well, Rebecca."
Yalroun gave her a friendly squeeze on the shoulder and left her alone again, and she laid back down, overcome with exhaustion. Her heart was pounding in fear for some reason, but as she lay there alone, it finally settled down. The way the Vorta had touched her...maybe she was overreacting, but it felt so...intimate. It felt wrong for him to touch her like that, even if he meant well. She hoped he had gotten her message clear and never tried that again, because she wasn't sure if she could get Eriaya's support if this continued.
But she was overreacting. Yalroun had said that he was simply curious, and Vorta weren't exactly known for respecting others' personal space. She shook her head of thoughts of the incident and went to sleep.
Yalroun walked back to the lab, the tiniest smile twitching the corners of his lips upward. It had felt heavenly to feel her skin, to let his fingers explore the smooth surface of her body. He had seen Gelnon touch her like that many times in his observations of his time alone with Rebecca, and it was only now that he understood the appeal. If he could have a human of his own to explore...
As he finished his work in the lab and walked to his quarters, he realized he didn't want just any human to explore. He wanted Rebecca, wanted her to be as loyal and willing with him as she was with Gelnon. He doubted he could turn her away from him...but with a little work he could have his way. That would confuse her, and if Gelnon ever found out she was unfaithful, it might be enough for him to forsake her. Yalroun would have to make sure she wasn't executed, but that could be easily prevented. He was a high-ranking scientist in the service of the Dominion, and three of his previous clones had worked in cloning facilities and Jem'Hadar hatcheries for several years. He was an asset to the Dominion, and the Founders knew it.
He formed a plan in his head, then went to sleep smiling, certain that he would be waking with Rebecca in his arms sooner than he thought.
