Damar sat at his desk, drinking Kanar as he studied the latest picture for Raina and the girls. They had both changed since he last saw them two months ago. Cora was looking a bit less baby like and Casey had developed the same big, happy grin that her older sister had.
He tugged out the necklace that she had given him and clutched it in his hand. He missed them so much that only Kanar and being with his son numbed it.
He hated what he had become, that he was failing as a leader. He had become a puppet for the Dominion, and he didn't know how to fight back.
Raina was never far from his mind but didn't even know how he could even look at a picture of her without feeling like he betrayed her. After everything they put her through, and he was still working for them.
He would make it right. He had to if he wanted to have a future with her.
The door to his office opened and his wife, Niala walked in. "Corat, what's wrong? You seem distant."
He looked at her, his eyes haunted. "I need to confess something."
"What is it?" She asked as she perched on his desk.
"I fell in love with another woman."
Niala wasn't entirely surprised by the confession. The marriage, while good, was mere convenience. They didn't love each and never had, but they cared about each other. "So, who is this woman?"
"Remember the woman Dukat was obsessed with?"
"The Human?" Now, that did surprise her.
"Her name is Raina." He sighed just saying her name.
Niala caught a glimpse of a picture and moved to get a better view of the screen. "She's beautiful." She understood why Dukat and her husband were so smitten. "Which baby is yours?"
"The little one, Casey." He pointed at the screen. "The older one, Cora is Dukat's daughter."
"No one would believe that Cardassians and Humans make such beautiful children. It helps that they look so much like their mother."
"I want to be released from our marriage contract." He felt guilty for saying it, but he wanted to be with Raina.
"That is fortunate, because I would like to be too."
"We'll need to sort arrangements for Cadim, and I'd make sure you were taken care of."
"My new man has means so I only expect you to maintain your relationship with Cadim." Niala knew it wouldn't be easy for them with Damar's career, but they would make it work. "Does she know about Cadim?"
"She does and she'd never expect me to leave Cadim. In fact she would be ashamed of me if I did that."
"Can I meet her?"
"When it's safe for her to come to Cardassia. I'm sure she would like to meet you." Damar's hopeful face fell. "Niala, I'm going to stir things up with the Dominion and I need you and Cadim to go into hiding. There is room for this new man of yours too."
"If you think it's necessary. But please be careful, Corat. You have children who need you."
Niala walked through the markets, aiming for a stall that sold things for babies. To show that she had no hard feelings about Damar ending their marriage, she decided to buy something for his new daughter and her sister.
"Niala, haven't seen you in a while." A voice came from behind her.
She turned to see Athra, Dukat's wife standing behind her. Niala noted that she didn't look as regal as she once did. She guessed that Athra was still adjusting after leaving Dukat for bringing home his half Bajoran love child. "Athra, how have you been?"
"Things are getting better. You?"
"Corat and I are getting divorced." Niala said so matter of fact. "He's in love with someone else, like I am."
"I'm glad that you are happy with that." Athra stopped and pursed her lips as if she were thinking. "Have you heard anything from my husband?"
Niala shook her head. "I don't think Corat knows where he is."
Athra sensed that she was hiding something. "What is it, Niala?"
"Dukat had another child with a Human woman. A Starfleet officer." She could sense Athra's hurt. Damar had his affairs but Niala was fine with that, and she had hers too, but Athra genuinely loved Dukat and he hurt her repeatedly. "From what I learned from Corat, Skrain was playing this woman and planned to hand over her and the child to the Dominion. This woman learned what he was planning to do and left. Skrain also told her some horrific lies about your marriage."
"So he hasn't met this child?"
"I believe not. From what I gathered, she cut off all contact with him." Niala knew that Raina must have been a determined woman. Dukat had collected women like trophies and they all blindly adored him, but it seems that Raina had a boundaries and refused to let them be breached. "She's beautiful little girl and her mother is very beautiful."
"Sometimes I wonder why I wasn't enough. Then I realised that nothing would ever be enough for him."
"No, it wouldn't." Niala agreed. "He only ever loved himself. It was never a reflection on you."
"Thank you for saying that Niala. I should go."
"Take care, Athra."
Niala wondered if it would help Athra to meet Raina as well, as she too was treated badly by Dukat.
Damar roamed around Headquarters, getting increasingly frustrated by Weyoun's indifference to Cardassian lives. He cracked up a bottle of whiskey that had been a gift from Raina and poured himself a glass. He only drunk the whiskey when he wanted to be reminded of his time with Raina on that unknown planet.
The door to Headquarters opened and revealed someone that Damar hadn't expected to see. "Dukat?"
"Hello, Damar."
"What are you doing here?"
"I've come to see you, old friend." Dukat approached the desk and pour himself some whiskey. He had developed a taste for it when he was in a relationship with Raina. He caught a glimpse of the very woman in a picture on the desk, with two little girls. He picked it up and sighed mournfully. He couldn't stop himself from thinking would she still be his if he didn't go down the path he did. Would he have fathered the youngest instead of Damar? "I'm glad those girls look like their mother."
"Why did you try to give them to Dominion?" Damar had always wondered why Dukat had agreed to it.
Dukat shrugged his shoulders. "I was so obsessed with power that I convinced myself that Raina would forgive me for it. In my haste I forgot that Raina can be very unforgiving."
"It would have been a death sentence."
"Yes, I know." Dukat couldn't mistake the disgust on Damar's face. "Did you know she was gang raped by three Cardassians?"
Damar nodded. "She told me."
"Did she tell you how violent it was? How they raped her for days, nearly beating her to death? Or the fact that she was in a coma for 3 months, only to wake to find out that she was pregnant? She lost the baby not long after." Dukat poured more whiskey and downed it in one. "She developed a sex addiction to Cardassian men after that or that was the first story. It turns out that she had sex with Cardassians for information because she wanted revenge on those men."
"Is there a point to this, Dukat?"
"She's a Federation spy."
A stream of unbridled laughter suddenly burst out of Damar. "You sound like Weyoun."
"Did I say something amusing?"
"If she's a spy, then she's losing her touch." He poured himself another drink. Then he saw in Dukat's eyes the truth of what he was saying. "You still love her?"
"She's a hard woman to get over." Dukat admitted. "I made a foolish mistake and now I'm paying the price."
"You didn't make just one mistake; you made several mistakes."
"I will win her back eventually; you don't have to like it."
Damar couldn't believe the arrogance of his friend. After all the things he did to Raina and he still believed he could get her back. "Dukat, we are friends, and I will remain loyal to you, but my stance regarding Raina is unchanged. If I have to kill you to protect her then I will."
"I respect that stance and I will adopt a similar one." Dukat put his glass down on the desk and placed the picture next to it. "I should go. I will return in time. I have something to discuss with you."
Damar nodded to his friend. It had pained Damar to think about it but had a premonition that Dukat would die by his hand. It's not something he wanted but Dukat was risk to Raina and the children, so he may not have an option.