The frustration that Raina felt couldn't be measured. She had been on Cardassia for over a week and the Starfleet team were no closer to find a cure for the virus that threatened the life of Jacen and the others. Morale was at an all time low with the team as every time it seemed that they had take a step forward, they end up taking two back again. She had seen very little Dukat in that week as he divided his time between his children and his duty. She knew he missed her and that was enough for now.
The lure of sleep felt too strong to ignore, so she let her head rest of the desk, her eyes closing slowly. Maybe just a little power nap would rejuvenate her mind. Her body relaxed as she drifted off. Within minutes, she felt a hand caressing her head, moving her hair away for her face. "Rosie?" A voice spoke in a soothing dulcet tone. So familiar and comforting. "Look at me, Rosie." It spoke again.
Raina reluctantly lifted her head off the desk, her eyes blurry from sleep and the need for sleep. "Mum?" There she was, the beautiful and serene, Eleanor Cavendish. "It's been a long time."
"You look tired, Rosie." Eleanor gave her daughter a sad smile.
"I feel like I'm chasing my own tail, mum." She groaned, rubbing at her eyes. "A nine year old boy could die because of my failure. Not to mention dozens of others."
"It's hurting you more because he is your lover's son."
Raina looked at her mother in shock. "How did you know?"
"I've always known. Don't you remember?" When daughter shook her head, Eleanor laughed. "When you were ten, your grandmother asked you what kind of man you wished to marry. You said a mysterious, handsome stranger from beyond the stars. He is linked your destiny now."
"So, how can I be sure what we feel is real?" Raina's heading starting spinning. "What if he only loves me because he is compelled to?"
"Trust yourself, Rosie." Eleanor told her daughter. "You should ask your father for your genetics work from your Academy days." And just like that, Eleanor had gone.
Raina's head snapped up, fully alert but very confused. It had been a long time since her mother had appeared to her. It still hurt too much to think about her too often, especially during the tough times when she really needed her mother. What did her mother mean when she said Dukat was linked to her destiny? When she stepped foot on Cardassia, she felt like she'd be there before. It was her dreams. Ever since she could remember, she dreamt of a mysterious world. A beautiful, mainly subtropical world with miles of desert next to sprawling cities. She gave herself a shake, deciding to debate her supposed destiny with herself later. She had work to do and she couldn't ignore her mother's parting words.
Later, after a call to her father, she had everything from her genetics dissertation. She didn't know what she was supposed to be looking for, but her mother had never let her down. She sat in the office that she was given, looking through hundreds of pages of research and notes, for hours. The need for food had been forgotten and her weary eyes had refused to give up. So focused she was on what she was reading, she didn't hear the door to her office open.
"Have you set foot out of this office since this morning?" A familiar voice asked.
Raina put what she was reading down and turned to her lover. "What time is it?"
"It's late." Dukat sat on the desk, looking at all the files she had scattered on the top. "What are you reading?" He asked, pressing a kiss on her forehead.
"Just research from my Academy days." She yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I thought it might help. It involves Cardassian/Human hybrid DNA."
"I wasn't aware that Cardassians and Humans did much breeding."
Raina threw a glare at him. "It was my daughter's DNA, you dick." She muttered angrily.
Dukat wasn't a man who was used to feeling guilty over a thoughtless comment, but when it came to Raina, her pain hurt him. "That was thoughtless of me. I apologise."
She sighed deeply, resting her head on his thigh. "I'm sorry, lover. I'm just so tired."
"So, come home. Talyn wants you to read her a story." He wasn't going to give her the option of saying no. "Come." He ordered, picking up the files and putting him into her bag.
"I thought I supposed to be the bossy one." She quipped.
"Only in private." He fired back with a smug smirk. Together, they walked through Cardassian Central Command, keeping a distance apart to avoid arousing suspicion. Several officers stopped to speak to Dukat, asking just general questions. Then the subject of the Human came up, but Dukat kept up his arrogant façade. "Be nice to it. Don't want to offend the delicate Human." He sneered in her direction.
Raina scoffed, walking to stand side by side with him. "The only thing that offends me is having to look at your smug, arrogant face."
Dukat growled at her. "Behave or I'll do something that I might regret."
"What? Like be an even bigger xenophobic, detestable, hateful scumbag than you are now?" She threw the others a glare and stormed off to the exit.
"I won't be held responsible if you get hurt, Human." Dukat called out dismissively. Once he'd finished talking to the officers, he left the building wondering where Raina had disappeared to. Admittedly, he started to worry. Suddenly, he felt something press into his lower back. "That better not be a weapon." He said to the mysterious person, as he kept his stoic demeanour.
"I am the weapon." A sultry voice purred into his ear.
"A deadly weapon?" He smirked as a familiar sent filled his nostrils.
"Oh, the deadliest." Raina teased as she stepped from behind him. "So are we going home?"
Raina couldn't explain it or even when it happened, but she felt strangely maternal towards Dukat's children. She laid in her bed, reading a story in Urdaasi as the Talyn clung to her as if she were her mother. Talyn had taken to Raina almost instantly, where Mekor had mostly kept his distance, to which Raina respected. She had visited Jacen, but he'd been mostly asleep when she was there, but she did get a smile out of him once. Her growing love for those children were the reason that she had kept working herself exhausted. She had to save Jacen, for his own sake as well as his father and siblings.
"Raina?" Talyn said in a sleepy voice.
"Yes, birdie?"
"Do you like my father?"
The look of hope on Talyn's face was like a shock to the heart. "Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"
"He's likes you. I heard him talking to Akellen about you. He said he would miss you when you go home."
Raina laughed, kissing the girl on her forehead. "Oh birdie, I'll miss all of you." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow just outside the bedroom door. "Mekor, come in. I don't bite."
Mekor stepped just inside the room. "Can I hear the story?" He asked in a quiet voice.
Raina smiled, patting the bed on the other side of her. "Jump on board, sunshine."
Mekor eagerly climbed under the blanket before settling his head on her shoulder. "This is my favourite story."
"Next time I'm here I'll bring my favourite to read."
Dukat finished some paperwork he had neglected for the last few days. He took the opportunity to finish it while Raina was busy with the children. Leaving his office, he walked to Talyn's bedroom expecting to hear her calming voice, but there was only silence. He walked into her room proper and strange feeling washed over him. Raina was fast asleep in the middle of two of his children, also fast asleep. He was in two minds about waking her or letting her sleep as she looked so peaceful. He shook her bare foot, causing her to wake with a slight start. "Raina." He whispered.
Raina carefully extracted herself from the middle of the children, taking care not to wake them. Carefully, clambering off the bed, she stretched her body and yawned. "Exhaustion finally caught up with me."
He wrapped an arm around her, giving her gentle kiss. "Would it be against the rules if you slept in my bed?"
"Rules don't really matter now. Talyn knows so pretty sure Mekor does too." She allowed him to lead her to his room and the most obscenely sized bed she'd ever seen. "Do you share with more than one woman?" She joked.
He rolled his eyes in response. He towered over her, pressing her body into his. "I like my space. Although, I'm more than happy to share with such a beautiful creature." He lifted her up and they fell on the bed together, laughing between teasing kisses.
After a round of gentle and passion sex, they laid together chatting. "Raina? What does Rosie mean?" He asked as he massaged her scalp with his blunt fingers.
Raina sat up slightly to look at him, stilling at the mention of her nickname. She had no idea how he would even know of that name. Only two people ever called her by that name, and one had died. "Rose is my middle name. My mum called me, Rosie from the moment I was born. Dad did too, but he stopped when she died. How did you know about that?"
"I fell asleep when I was at the hospital and a white orb appeared next to Jacen's bed." Dukat noticed a tear fall out of Raina's left eye and began to drip down her cheek. He gently wiped it away with his thumb. "It spoke in a soft voice and said, "Look after my Rosie." Somehow, I knew what it meant."
"Thanks mum." She whispered as her tears flowed dripping on to his chest. "She's just making sure I get what I asked for."
"What do you mean?"
She sat up, turning away from him out of fear that he'd ridicule her. "When I was ten, my grandmother asked me what kind of man I wished to marry. I said, he'd be a mysterious, handsome stranger from beyond the stars."
Dukat pulled her down into his arms, peppering her forehead with kisses. "That explains why I haven't been able to remove you from my mind since we met."
Raina didn't trust people so easily, but every fibre of her being told her she could trust him. "Skrain, there are things about me that you will discover. If you can't handle it or I can't trust you then I'll go now."
He could feel the pain and fear running through her. From the moment they met, he knew she wasn't just any Human. She had the ability to draw people to her, even people who would have been a natural enemy. He'd never felt such a devotion to and from another before. It was an alien experience to him but now he had it, he would never be able to live without it. He took her hand and pressed it into his bare chest, above his heart. A heart people were sure he never had. "This heart, as cold, selfish and hardened as it is, belongs to you."
Raina smiled before pressing a kiss into his chest. "It feels perfect to me."