Kestra gasped with surprise when she saw her mother beam aboard the starship in an obvious state of despair. Her surprise turned to shock when she further noticed that Lwaxana was in an advanced state of pregnancy.

"Mother!" Kestra's voice was full of concern as she rushed to embrace her mother. "Why are you crying? Is everything all right with the baby? Why didn't you tell me? I had no idea..."

"It came as a total shock to me," Lwaxana said. "I couldn't believe it! I had thought that my childbearing years were far behind me, and then this...miracle...happened." Lwaxana gazed at her rounded belly in awe.

"So you're happy about it then? Then what are you so upset about?" Lwaxana's distress flowed through Kestra's veins like ice water.

"I won't let him take my baby away!" Lwaxana spat.

"Who? Who wants to take your baby away?"

"Jeyal!" Lwaxana began to sob in ernest. "He...promised me...that the Tavnian law about boys being raised only by males wouldn't apply to our son, since he's only half Tavnian. But now...he's changed his mind. He wants to take our son away from me at birth and raise him on his own."

Kestra put her arms around her mother and patted her shoulder. "There, there. It'll be all right. We'll protect you from Jeyal."

"But...where will I go? I obviously can't return to Betazed. That's the first place he would look."

"How about Dublin?" Kevin suggested. "You can stay with my mother. She'll be happy to have the company, and he won't think to look for you there."

Lwaxana looked greatly relieved as the starship headed for Earth.

Kevin's mother, Bridget, rushed to great them when they arrived. Her home in Dublin wasn't as large as Lwaxana's on Betazed, but it was cozy and snug and had plenty of room. Bridget had lived alone since Kevin's younger brother, Patrick, had married.

"Oh my, just look at you!" Bridget exclaimed. She had met Lwaxana a handful of times before, but the last time had been when Deirdre was a baby.

"Oh, I know! Isn't it amazing, considering my age?" Lwaxana, her troubles temporarily forgotten, laughed as Bridget embraced her protectively and led her into the house.

"We'll need to get you seen by an obstetrician as soon as possible," Bridget said. "You look as if you're due to deliver really soon."

Lwaxana put her hand on her swollen belly and grimaced in pain.

"He just kicked me," she explained. "He kicks pretty hard sometimes."

Bridget led her to the sofa, and she gingerly sat down.

"I can feel his emotions," Lwaxana announced. "Right now he feels warm, drowsy, and content inside me. Don't we all just wish sometimes that we could return to the security of our mother's womb?"

"Let me get you a blanket, mother. You look so tired," Kestra said. Bridget quickly fetched a blanket, and Lwaxana lay down on the sofa and was asleep within minutes.

"Your blood pressure is way to high," Dr. Murphy told Lwaxana. "I must admit you to the hospital immediately. If we aren't able to get your blood pressure under control, you're in danger of developing eclampsia, which could lead to seizures."

Lwaxana looked at Kestra with large, frightened eyes. "Please don't leave me, precious one."

"I'm right here, Mom. I'm not going anywhere," Kestra said, patting her hand.

Lwaxana was admitted and hooked up to machines to test her and her baby's vital signs. Kestra felt her mother's unease and wished that there was something she could do to help.

"I just don't see what all the fuss is about," Lwaxana protested. "I don't feel sick at all. I feel just fine."

"I know, Mom. But we have to do what the doctor says. You want a healthy baby, and you want to stay well yourself."

Lwaxana sighed and rolled her eyes. She wasn't accustomed to having her freedom of movement curtailed, and Kestra knew that she would be suffering from a serious case of cabin fever in no time.

An overnight stay in the hospital failed to bring Lwaxana's blood pressure under control, and the decision was made to induce labor, even though Lwaxana's due date was still several weeks away.

"But he's still so tiny," Lwaxana protested. "How can he ever survive?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Troi," Dr. Murphy said. "But your blood pressure is starting to affect your kidneys. Unless this baby is delivered right away, there could be serious consequences to your health."

"Oh, all right," Lwaxana conceded grumpily.

Dr. Murphy started the oxytocin drip, and for a long time, nothing happened. Finally Lwaxana began to have contractions. They were irregular and sluggish at first but gradually increased in strength. Lwaxana moaned in pain and gripped the bed railing tightly.

"Please, Kestra, make the pain go away," she moaned.

"You're going to be all right, Mom. You're doing just fine, and your baby will be here really soon," Kestra said soothingly.

As her contractions intensified, Lwaxana screamed and cursed Jeyal and all men in general.

"I have to push," she moaned to Kestra.

Kestra was alarmed. "Let me check with the doctor," she said.

"No! Don't you understand? I have to push now!" Lwaxana grimaced and bore down with all her might.

Kestra watched, fascinated, as the tiniest newborn she had ever seen emerged from her mother's body. He was completely limp, and his skin was a dusky bluish color. Kestra felt a stab of fear as she gazed at her tiny brother's motionless body.

Suddenly the delivery room was buzzing with activity. Dr. Murphy cut the umbilical cord, suctioned out the baby's nose and mouth, and tickled the bottoms of his feet. He began to make tiny bleating noises like a newborn lamb, and his skin tone became much more pinkish.

"Oh, my son...my son..." Lwaxana cried.

The baby was weighed and measured, and his vital signs were taken. He weighed exactly six pounds. He was wrapped in a white blanket and given to Lwaxana.

"His name is Barin," she announced. "That means 'little one' in Tavnian."

Little Barin looked like a perfectly formed miniature doll. His eyes were the same dark brown as those of his mother and sisters, and a slight thickening of the skin between his eyes bore evidence that he was half Tavnian. Kestra felt her heart go out to this tiny brother. Although so much younger than herself, she felt that, having witnessed his birth, she would probably always share a special bond with him.

"He's beautiful, Mother," Kestra said.

"Oh yes, he certainly is," Lwaxana agreed. "I've never had a son before. I didn't have any idea what it would feel like. You know that I love Donovan and Ian dearly, but when I look at Barin, I feel emotions that I've never felt before. I feel that he is my whole life, and that to lose him would be to lose everything."

"Now, don't you worry about that, Mother," Kestra assured her. "No one is going to take him away from you. We'll make sure of that."

After being examined and declared to be completely healthy by a hospital pediatrician, Barin was allowed to return to Bridget's home with his mother. Donovan and Deirdre were, of course, eager to meet him.

"He sure is tiny," Donovan remarked.

"Of course he is. He's only a few days old," his mother told him.

"So is he my new cousin then?"

"No, he's actually your new uncle."

"My new uncle? No way! Your uncle is supposed to be older than you, not younger."

"That's usually the way it goes, but not always," Kestra laughed.

"Well, I'm not gonna call him Uncle Barin," Donovan said huffily.

Kestra and Lwaxana both laughed heartily. "I don't think anyone will expect you to call him that," Kestra said.

"Why does he sleep so much?" Deirdre asked.

"He needs a lot of sleep because he's so tiny," Kestra explained.

"Did I sleep a lot like that too when I was a baby?"

"You certainly did."

Lwaxana and Barin, along with Kevin and Kestra and their children, stayed in Bridget's home in Dublin for a number of weeks. There were frequent visits from Kevin's brother Patrick, Patrick's wife Fiona, and their son Connor, who was a few years younger than Deirdre. It was the longest amount of time Kestra had ever spent on Earth at once, and she gradually began to hope that Jeyal had given up his search for his son and returned to Tavny.