Out in the Open
Only a couple of hours after the awkward scene in Quark's bar, Ezri and Mark lie in bed together, exhausted. As they lie there and recover from their fervent activity, Mark is the first to vocalize anything one could consider conversational.
"So… you dumped me for what, 15 minutes?"
Ezri is shocked, "You're going to bring that up now?"
"Well, yeah, because…"
"I had a friend blackmail me for chocolate over this, which I still can't believe, and now you're going to put me on a guilt trip immediately after having sex?"
"Not at all! I was just going to say…" Mark shrugs, "that felt a lot like make-up sex to me."
"Oh," Ezri thinks for a second, then looks over with a frown and a wrinkled brow. "Should I be concerned that you consider yourself an expert on what make-up sex feels like?"
"Alright then, miss 'I'm over 300 years old'… what did that feel like to you?"
"Well, I think that felt like 'we don't have to hide in the shadows anymore' sex."
"I don't think that's a real thing," Mark gives her a shrewd eye.
"You're right, I made that up," Ezri chuckles. "If it didn't mean having to make such a scene, I'd say we do that again sometime."
They laugh together, then Mark's eyes become more serious. "Ezri, I know I've said this before, but… I do love you. That was a very tough 15 minutes."
"I know, I'm sorry. And I guess I expressed my apology a bit differently than you would've preferred."
"I'm not complaining, I just… don't ever want to experience those 15 minutes again."
"Wait, you're not going to…" Ezri's weary eyes double in size.
"Nooo, don't worry. I know you're not ready for that. And I'm sorry that knowing I am makes you panic. I'll wait till you come around, however long that takes." Mark smiles and Ezri's brief scare subsides.
"OK then, sexpert… show me 'I want to make you want to marry me' sex."
"Gladly, but that will essentially be any we have until you say yes."
The next morning, Mark walks into the maintenance shop to start his shift with Bill. When he turns the corner towards his locker, he is caught off guard by what he finds. There are several hand-made or replicated signs littering the front of his personal locker. One is a large sign that reads "You Da Man!" and another large one reads "Lucky Bastard!" Most of the remaining notes and signs are much smaller in size. Some are congratulatory; many are crude. One is partially hidden behind one of the larger signs and reads: "How many names does she call out when you're…" Mark lifts the large sign out of the way to see if the author was trying to make some clever joined Trill joke, but he is not surprised by the simple vulgarity of it.
"I had nuthin' to do with that," Bill says as he enters the shop. "I saw it all there when I came in to grab my work list before goin' for some coffee."
"Now I know why Ezri wanted to keep things quiet. I can see how this could get distracting."
"It'll blow over. Despite the war, maintenance is a pretty dull profession. They'll get it outta their systems soon enough."
"I just hope she isn't catching any flak."
"Aww, she'll be alright. In a past life she married a Klingon. I think she can handle any fallout from hangin' around with you."
"Would you mess with anyone who married a Klingon?"
"You got a good point there, son."
Ezri wears a big smile as she walks to Ops to start her day. It had been her idea to keep her and Mark's intimate time together quiet, but it feels very good not to have to worry about the secret any longer. Her mood is pleasant and she feels borderline giddy about their relationship, and she finds she is no longer afraid to consider it that.
"Kira to Dax," Ezri hears Kira's troubled voice over the comm.
"Dax here, what's wrong?" Ezri's smile wavers.
"There's been an accident, you should get to the infirmary right away."
Ezri's smile vanishes completely, "What happened? Who's hurt?"
There's a long pause before Kira responds, which by itself is enough to cause Ezri's gut to twist.
"It's Mark," Kira says. The communication ends abruptly.
Ezri's heart plummets and she starts to sprint to the nearest turbolift.
Ezri slows to a jog as she enters the infirmary, breathing heavily.
"Julian?! Kira?! What happened? How's Mark?"
Finding the outer room of the infirmary empty and silent, Ezri heads back to the examination room, her heart rate increasing despite having ended her run. The room is quite and dark so Ezri begins to wonder if she heard Kira correctly.
"SURPRISE!" several voices yell as the lights come on.
Ezri had been so worked up that she lets out a short scream at the surprise. The faces of the entire senior staff and a handful of others transition quickly from festive smiles to guilty frowns at her fright.
"Where's Mark?! Is he OK?" Ezri says as the true nature of her summons hasn't fully registered.
"Ezri, it's your birthday…" Kira says, seeing that she hasn't realized why they are there.
"But… you said Mark… was hurt?" Ezri is still panting from her run and the scare.
"Yes, he's fine… I'm sorry. I was improvising. I wanted to get you here and I had to think fast when you asked for a name. I didn't mean to scare you."
Ezri bends over, bracing her hands on her knees, and breathes deeply as she recovers.
Kira puts a hand on her shoulder, "Ezri, I knew you two were dating, but I didn't realize how strongly you felt about him. You've been so casual about it. I never would have used his name if…"
"It's OK, you didn't know. To be honest, I didn't know."
Ezri catches her breath and stands upright.
"I should have invited him here for this," Kira says with regret. "You could probably use him right now."
"It's OK," Ezri hugs her friend tightly. "You'll do for now."
"So… are we good?" Miles asks. "Because I've been staring at this cake way too long."
"Yes, we're good," Ezri smiles. "Thank you, everyone. Sorry for killing the mood."
Sisko leans over and whispers, "Did you forget your own birthday, old man?"
Ezri shrugs, "I have so many to keep track of for myself; I get confused sometimes."
"So does that mean you're not going to hold it against your new boyfriend if he doesn't know it either?"
Ezri drops her jaw slightly and widens her eyes, "Damn. And I don't know his either. I'd have no right to hold it against him, and what does this say about my level of commitment?"
"So, it's a commitment now?" Sisko raises an eyebrow.
"Yes," Ezri smiles. "Yes it is."
"Then he'll get over it."
Sisko pats her on the back as the rest of the people in the room step over to wish Ezri a happy birthday.
Mark and Bill are in the maintenance shop, repairing some damaged access panels. Mark is sandblasting paint and burn residue from the panels and Bill is using a press to straighten them out.
"Why sandblasting, Bill? This seems quite archaic."
"Tried and true, son. Serves a dual purpose. Removes the old, and roughs up the surface to accept the new. Phaser-strippin' leaves a slick surface that doesn't accept new coatings very well."
"Why can't we just replicate new panels, coating and all?"
"Some materials just don't come out right. Sure, you can make all the ingredients end up in the pan, but it takes a real oven to bake a cake."
"That makes no sense, Bill. A replicator can make a cake just fine."
"Pardon my analogy then, son." Bill squints at Mark through his safety glasses. "I'm no quantum-particle-warp-scientist; I just know that panels like these come out brittle when you replicate 'em. These panels are s'posed to contain energy when somethin' behind 'em blows, not send shrapnel every-which-way."
"We've sure been getting a lot of them lately."
"Yep, with the war and lots of ships dockin' here for repairs, we'll be getting plenty more."
Mark goes back to sandblasting, and Bill starts humming a tune while he continues to straighten panels.
Suddenly, Mark is grabbed from behind in a bear hug. The sandblaster had masked the sound of approaching footsteps and he hadn't heard anyone call out to him. About the time his startled reaction subsides, the unknown assailant eases up their grip. He turns around to find Ezri, wearing a frown and a furrowed brow.
"What's wrong, beautiful?" Mark asks.
"I just… needed to see you."
Mark isn't sure how to react. His forehead wrinkles as he tries to comprehend Ezri's display of emotion. He thinks of the unkind signs on his locker and wonders if someone with a bad opinion of their relationship has gotten her upset.
"Are you OK? What happened?"
Ezri hugs Mark properly now that they're facing each other and she begins to ramble.
"Kira said there was an accident, and that you were hurt, and I got to the infirmary as fast as I could, and when I got there they turned on the lights and yelled, and it was just for my birthday, and," Ezri takes a quick breath, "they said you were OK but as soon as I could I wanted to see you with my own eyes, and I wanted you to hold me."
Mark is dumbfounded. Despite his brain's confusion, his heart swells from the affection emanating from the woman whose heart he's been chasing for weeks. He holds her tightly as she sighs heavily.
"Thank you," she says. "I needed this."
"Wait a minute… It's your birthday?"
Ezri releases Mark and straightens her jacket, "It is. Can you believe I totally forgot about it myself?"
"Honestly? Yes."
Ezri sighs and a slight, crooked smile appears, "When's yours?"
"A couple of months off yet… why?"
"We're in a relationship, silly. We're supposed to know these things."
Mark smiles, "It means a lot to hear you call what we have a "relationship" now. I was crazy about you from the moment I saw you, we dated casually, then we…"
"Yeah… that," Ezri glances over at Bill and blushes.
"I know we're still not in the same place on everything," Mark says, "but this? This is nice."
Ezri smiles back, "It is. It's very nice."
Bill loudly sets a heavy panel down onto a worktable, causing both Ezri and Mark to jump.
"Would you two just get on out of here already? Get a coffee, get a room, just get somethin' outside of my shop," Bill groans, feigning annoyance. "It's hard to work with all that," Bill makes some rapid and exaggerated kissing sounds, "goin' on over there."
"Alright, grumpy," Mark laughs. "We'll get out of your hair."
"And don't be teasin' me about my hair, son. It may be thinnin' up top, but I ain't got to where I can fire my barber just yet."
Ezri chuckles and takes a hold of Mark's hand as they walk out of the maintenance shop.
After upsetting her friend by saying Mark was injured to lure Ezri to the infirmary, Kira is reading in her quarters. Ezri had accepted her apology, but she still needed something to take her mind off of it and Odo was still on duty. After getting to a warm and comforting exchange in her romance novel, Kira's computer console beeps, signaling an incoming message. She sets her book down and sighs as she gets up, walks to the desk, and presses the button to accept the communication.
"Colonel Kira here," she greets the unknown caller.
An elderly Bajoran man appears on the screen. "Greetings, colonel. You are the liaison officer between our government and the Federation on Deep Space Nine, correct?"
"That's correct. To whom am I speaking?"
"Minister Jarnel, from the Ministry of Commerce."
"Minister," Kira straightens her casual posture. "To what do I owe the honor?"
"Relax, colonel. I have but a minor issue I need your temporary assistance with."
"Of course, minister," Kira nods yet maintains a formal posture. "What can I do for you?"
"We've had a sudden… gap in personnel here, and I need you to briefly undertake an additional role on behalf of our government."
"With all due respect, minister, with the war between us and the Dominion…"
"The Federation and the Dominion, colonel. Remember that distinction."
"Yes, but…"
"And don't worry, this won't take much of your time. The previous party responsible spent as little time as possible maintaining their duties… which brings us to this situation."
"That being?"
"We began to investigate a particular minor official's practices, and he took it amongst himself to become scarce and begin an early retirement. Unfortunately, we've yet to arrange a permanent replacement, so I have asked your superiors' permission to have you keep an eye on things until we do."
"I still have no idea what you're asking of me."
"Ah yes, Station Facilities Management."
"I'm not familiar with the…"
"The maintenance staff, Colonel. Responsible for routine and mundane facility care that falls below the skill set of the station's engineering staff."
"I see…"
"It takes care of itself really, as our last manager effectively proved, but I do have one task for you."
"What is that, sir?"
"Besides not tending to all of his duties, our last manager demonstrated a… gross dishonesty about his record-keeping. It seems we have a bit of a deficit on our hands. We need you to reduce the staff there… by two or three, depending on the salaries involved. I've already flagged one prime candidate for you. It seems there's a relatively new addition to the staff that has already acquired some unpleasant entries in his file, including an altercation with a Starfleet officer," the minister's eyebrows rise. "Let's see… ah yes, Mark Flemming."
"Oh no," Kira mutters under breath and sighs, briefly closing her eyes in response to this poorly timed assignment.
"Can you handle this, colonel? With your rank I would assume personnel management is nothing to give you pause. I can send you files on everyone on the team with some additional recommendations as well."
"Sir? Does this deficit absolutely have to be corrected through personnel cuts?"
"With the war you mentioned affecting the region, material prices have only increased of late. I really don't see how we can remedy this matter any other way."
"I understand, sir."
"I will send you the necessary files, including confirmation that your superiors have approved this request. Good day, colonel."
"Good day, minister."
The transmission ends and Kira leans on the desk with both hands. She takes in a deep breath and puffs her cheeks as she lets her breath out slowly, letting her head sag like a deflating balloon.
"I trade her privacy for chocolate, make her think Mark's hurt, now I have to fire him. She's going to want to kill me," Kira says to herself as she falls into her desk chair and sulks.
With guilt welling up inside, she can only think of one thing. She eyes the barely-touched box of Rigelian chocolate on her desk and begins to tear into it.
After a walk together to put Ezri at ease after her infirmary scare, she returns to Ops and Mark returns to the shop to work on sandblasting more panels.
"So, is your lady Ezri all back together now?" Bill asks as Mark enters the shop.
"She's fine. I guess Colonel Kira made a quick decision to throw my name out as the victim of an accident to get her to a little surprise party."
"She spit that bit out earlier, before I kicked you two out."
"That's right. Anyway… it seems she's more invested in our relationship than she realized," Mark smiles.
"Whoa, now don't let that go and swell your ego too much. You don't want to scare her off like you almost did when you started."
"I know… but it feels great," Mark's smile only widens.
"I'm happy for you, son."
"I need to do something for her birthday," Mark pauses his work and squints slightly as he thinks. "Maybe I'll have her over for a real dinner, no replicator."
"Don't make me hafta come to your quarters to repair fire damage, son."
"No... I won't subject her to my sad excuse for cooking. I'm thinking of getting something special from Quark's. I hear he can put some nice spreads together."
"For a couple month's pay maybe. You're looking at a good bit o' latinum."
"She's worth it, Bill," Mark says. "Besides, I can make it up easy with all this extra work we've got piling up."
Odo reaches Kira's quarters after work, anxious to see Nerys then relax in his natural state to regenerate. When he opens the door, he finds Kira stuffing a piece of Rigelian chocolate in her mouth and a small pile of shiny wrappers littering the desk in front of her.
"Odo!" Kira says with her mouth full. "I am so glad you're back! I have to talk to you."
"What's wrong, Nerys?" Odo asks as he sees the relief in her eyes that he's there.
"Ezri's going to hate me," Kira still chews as she speaks. "I'm a horrible friend!"
"Of course you're not. Why don't you tell me what's going on?"
Odo watches as Kira nervously unwraps another piece of chocolate.
"Nerys, I thought said the point of these was to savor them? You've almost consumed the entire box."
Kira stuffs the next piece in her mouth, "I know… I just couldn't help myself."
Odo slides the box away with just a fraction of its contents untouched. He closes the lid and sets it on a shelf. Kira's left cheek is puffed out slightly with her most recent bite and she follows the box longingly with her eyes. Odo makes a mental note of how much Kira enjoys this particular confection.
"Tell me what happened, Nerys. Let's see if I can help."
Kira swallows her last bite of chocolate and lets out a heavy sigh. She proceeds to tell Odo about how she came to have the rare chocolate in the first place, how bad she felt when a panicked Ezri burst into the infirmary, and how she has just been handed the task of firing Ezri's lover.
Odo sits and listens faithfully with his hands in front of him, tapping his fingertips together, much like he would if he were listening to witness statements in security. He can tell that Kira is upset about recent events, but she is most bothered by the task that has been recently handed to her.
"What do I do, Odo?" she pleads. "I can't fire Mark, but I can't not fire him either. The Minister already has the platter, and he expects me to put Marks' head on it, along with one or two more."
Odo blinks and raises an eyebrow at the expression.
"Did the minister give you a deadline for enacting a plan to correct the deficit?"
"By the end of the week according to the documents he sent, but he seems pretty set on the 'plan' being a reduction in staff."
"Well, at least we have some time. I really need to revert for a while. I'll think about it and we can talk about our options later."
Kira nods, then turns her eyes to the shelf with the box of chocolate.
"Ah, ah," Odo chides her. "You know you'll hate yourself if you eat any more of those tonight. Why don't you read more of that book you've been telling me about?"
Kira sighs, then walks over and gives Odo a tight hug.
"You're right. I'll talk to you soon. I love you, Odo."
"I love you too, Nerys. We'll come up with something."
Ezri's eyes roll back in her head and she groans.
"That was… amazing!"
"Wasn't it though?" Mark smiles.
Ezri puts her hands on her stomach and blows out a deep breath.
"I am absolutely stuffed," she says.
"Me too, I didn't want to stop."
"And you got this from Quark? I know he's done some good catering, but this tells me he's been holding back."
"I guess it depends on how much latinum you throw at him."
"Mark?" Ezri suddenly looks concerned. "I don't know how much you make, but… this had to be a significant expense. You shouldn't…"
"Hey, that's my call, and you're totally worth it. You'd freak out if I tried to give you a ring, so instead I gave you… hmm, what did he say it was?"
"Whatever it was, what you gave me was a bellyache!"
"Hey, I didn't force feed you… you can't blame me on that one."
Mark smiles at Ezri, enjoying how natural their time together has become. It is a far cry from the nervous glances and false pretenses from a few weeks ago.
"I don't know what you're thinking over there," Ezri says, "but if it involves any physical activity, you really should have stopped me after my second helping."
"I'm just enjoying your smile. Thank you for sharing part of your birthday with me Ezri. I lo…"
Ezri blinks and cocks her head, "Why did you stop just then? Is something wrong?"
"Not at all. You know that I love you. I didn't want to leave you in the awkward situation of having to respond to those words like that. I know you consider us to be in a relationship now, and I'm thrilled that you're showing more… attachment, but I don't want to hear a hollow echo."
Ezri's wide smile reappears after Mark's astute observation and thoughtful consideration.
"Thank you, Mark. Thank you for not trying to force my feelings, and thank you for your patience. I thoroughly enjoy your company, and I'll get there someday."
"I know you will, and that makes me a very happy man. You were worth this for your birthday," Mark gestures to the table, "and you're absolutely worth the wait."
Mark and Ezri share a moment, simply staring into each other's eyes and smiling. After a long sigh from Ezri, Mark breaks the silence.
"OK, beautiful. How about I walk you to your quarters. I can take care of this later."
Ezri shakes her head slowly, pushing her upper lip up slightly, but maintaining her smile.
"I'll help," she says. "And I'd like to stay tonight."
"That's great, but two nights in a row is against your ground rules, and I thought you weren't feeling up to…"
"We're done with those stupid rules. And you know… we don't have to sleep together every time we sleep together you know."
Mark beams as they both stand to clear the table. After they've finished, they quietly retire for the evening in each other's arms.