Chapter 21
Omnia mutantur, nihil interit.
Everything changes, nothing perishes.
(Ovid, Metamorphoses)

Kira walked into the shrine. The chairs were already set up, the lamps had ample oil, but
there was only one other person there: Vicki Ann. She was praying, or at least that's what
it looked like to Kira. Vicki Ann must have heard her because she turned around. She
smiled, but Kira could see that her eyes were filled with tears. "I didn't know you were a
religious person."

"I wasn't. At least until I met the Prophets. I know there's something above us. I'm just
not sure what."

"That's no crime."

"What are you doing here so early?"

Kira put her hand on Vicki Ann's shoulder. "I thought you could use a friend. Where's
Julian?"

"He and Ezri are with his parents. They didn't take it too well. Who can blame them,
though? My mother didn't take it too well, either. In fact, if she wasn't so busy with my
brother, she'd probably be here."

"She would love to see you, I'm sure."

Vicki Ann nodded. "David and I are going to spend a few days with here on our way to
from Chelsa VII. Alacia and Michael, too."

"Sounds like a good idea. You know Julian and Ezri are going away too."

"Yes, Risa. But, they're meeting us at Betazed. Deanna says we need to spend some time
together to help the grieving process. We thought it would be best to do it away from the
high-stress environment of the station."

"I have to ask you at least once. How are you feeling?"

"Better than I did before I saw Q. The pain is a little less sharp." She looked up and saw a
figure approaching in a command uniform and enter the shrine.

"Hello, Ace."

Vicki Ann beamed. "David!" She hugged him. "What are you doing here? We're not leaving
for two days."

"I thought you could use some company." He frowned. "How are you?"

She sighed. "I'm getting really tired of people asking that, but I'll make an exception for
you. I'm fine. For the moment. If my mood swings with Julian are any indication, you're in
store for Janaran Falls tonight."

"I don't mind. I'll be there to dry every tear."

"Thanks. I mean it."

I know you do he thought to her.

Vicki Ann was almost startled. She'd spent so much time with non-telepaths, that she'd
almost forgotten David was Betazoid. I love you.

The feeling is more than mutual.

"Alright, you two. I'm beginning to feel left out," Kira said, laughing.

A little while later, a group of people formed at the entrance to the shrine. Kira recognized
Julian's parents, who were standing with Julian and Ezri. The senior officers from the
Enterprise were also there. Counselor Troi and Commander Riker broke the silence by
coming over to speak with Vicki Ann. Crusher and Picard followed, as Riker and Troi went
over to Julian. The rest of the people took turns, going to Vicki Ann first, then Julian.
Everyone there was either a friend or a family member, since the ceremony was private.

When Kira thought that everyone was there, she motioned for everyone to sit down. She
went up and was ready to begin the ceremony, when someone walked into the shrine. He
walked all the way up to where Kira and Vicki Ann were standing. His arrival sent whispers
and stares along the crowd. Finally, Vicki Ann rose and greeted the newcomer.

"Admiral," she said, her voice neutral.

"Doctor," Admiral Kelley replied. "This is an official visit. Starfleet wishes to express its
sorrow at the loss of you and Dr. Bashir's son."

"Thank you, sir." The admiral took a seat at the back of the shrine.

Kira began. "Today we gather to commemorate the death of Julian Bashir, Jr. son of Dr.
Julian S. Bashir and Dr. Victorianna L. Troi. Junior, as he was known, was brought to life
for the evil purposes. Despite this, and despite the flaws he possessed, his parents loved
him.

They would have risked their own lives to save him if they had been able to.
Unfortunately, a higher power felt that it was not his fate to live amongst us. Instead, his
death was necessary to prevent the fall of the Federation. In light of this, we are not
mourning his death, instead we are celebrating it. Julian and Vicki Ann have chosen to
perform the ancient Bajoran ceremony of the Rejoining. The Rejoining is a Bajoran
ceremony to celebrate a person's returning to the Prophets. Vicki Ann, Julian, you may
come up now." The Rejoining was not used much anymore, since people didn't want to
celebrate death. Due to the circumstances of Junior's death, Vicki Ann and Julian decided
the Rejoining would be the best ceremony for the service.

Julian and Vicki Ann walked up to the front of the shrine. Kira pulled out a candle holder
that had places for three candles. Kira then placed the candles in, two small black ones,
and in the center, one large white one.

"Kira will say the ceremony in Bajoran and Julian and I will repeat in English," Vicki Ann said
as she and Julian lit the black candles simultaneously. They were fast burning candles, so
they would be finished by the time their speech was done. "These black candles represent
the trials of life from birth to death. They represent the hardships one must endure in
order to prepare for life with the Prophets. They also represent the physical part of our
existence. The part that must come to an end so that we can advance to a higher
existence."

"This white candle represents the spiritual aspect of our lives, our connection to our gods.
We will light this candle as soon as the other two have finished burning. The burning of the
black candles symbolizes the death of the physical self. The lighting of the white candle
represents the passage from the physical life to the spiritual one," Julian said.

Kira began to speak in Bajoran.

"As the flame dies on this candle, so has the life of Julian Bashir Jr. The last spark of life is
gone from his body and has traveled to the Celestial Temple," Vicki Ann translated. The
black candles went out and Julian and Vicki Ann lit the white one together.

Julian and Vicki Ann began to speak together. "May he find the peace he did not find in
life. With this, we release our sorrow and celebrate his death. This candle will burn until
there is nothing left of it to ensure his passage to the Prophets will be completed."

Vicki Ann stepped forward. "Thank you for coming. There will be a reception in the
wardroom."

The crowd started to file out. Vicki Ann went over to Kira and hugged her. "That was
beautiful, Nerys. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"It was beautiful," Julian replied. "I suppose we should all go to the wardroom."

Vicki Ann nodded and grabbed David's hand. "Come on."

Alexander smiled. "Feeling better?"

Vicki Ann smiled. "It feels good to let go."

Lwaxana Troi had just put her son down for a nap. He had finally gone to sleep. She sat
down on the couch. "Mr. Homm, a glass of water, please."

Mr. Homm nodded and went into the kitchen. The doorbell rang, so he went to the door.
He opened it and four people entered: Two men and two women. The men were carrying
all of the luggage.

"It's absolutely beautiful here, Vicki Ann," Ezri said, glancing around.

Vicki Ann nodded. "We'll have to take you two to Janaran Falls."

Lwaxana leapt off the couch, forgetting her fatigue. "Vicki Ann!" She ran to her daughter
and embraced her.

"Hello, mother," Vicki Ann said as she pulled away from her mother. She turned to Ezri.
"You remember Jadzia Dax, don't you? Well, this is Ezri, Dax's current host."

"Of course, I remember. Hello, Ezri."

"And Julian."

"Julian, dear, how are you?" Lwaxana asked, embracing him.

Julian smiled. "I'm fine, Mrs. Troi."

"Call me Lwaxana."

"Lwaxana," Julian repeated.

"Mother, this is David," Vicki Ann said, putting her arm around Alexander.

Lwaxana frowned. "Hello."

Vicki Ann rolled her eyes at her friends. "Perhaps you could show us where you're putting
us for the next few days, so that Julian and David can put the luggage down."

Lwaxana nodded. "Follow me." They followed her up the stairs.
When they reached the top, she pointed to the room on the right. "That used to be the
guest room, but now it's Vicki Ann's when she visits. Vicki Ann, you and Ezri will be in
there." Julian and David dumped the luggage by the door. Lwaxana led them across the
hall. "This used to be Deanna's room. Julian, you and David will be in here. Vicki Ann, this
was your sister Kestra's room before Deanna was born. We planned to have the girls share
a room until they got older. We took out the second bed when we didn't think we were
going to have any children. I put it back in for my future grandchildren."

Vicki Ann laughed and then covered it up with a cough, as she turned on the light. Julian
and David dumped the rest of the luggage. It was obvious that this room had been
Deanna's. The colors in the room were subdued and there were paintings on the walls.
There had been a few changes made since childhood, for instance, a photograph of Riker
on the dresser and a photo of the Enterprise on one wall. The stuffed animals were piled
on a rocking chair in the corner instead of the bed.

Vicki Ann picked up a bear off the chair. "Oh, look, Julian. You have a replacement for
Kukulaka."

Julian grabbed the bear and put it back on the chair. "Very funny. Now let's see your
room."

"Alright," Vicki Ann replied. They all walked across the hall.
Again, the owner of the room was obvious. The walls were painted blue with white clouds.
There were some pictures on the wall, mostly nature scenes: the falls, the grounds of
Starfleet Headquarters, and a few astronomical pictures. "You haven't seen the best part."
She shut off the lights. The walls shone with glow-in-the-dark stars. "It's to remind me of
home, whichever ship, or station it may be."

"I like it," Ezri said.

"If you're done inspecting my room, I'm starving," Vicki Ann said.

The rest of the group nodded in agreement, except Lwaxana. "Your brother and I ate just
before I put him down for his nap."

"Ooh, I want to see him," Ezri exclaimed.

Lwaxana pointed toward her bedroom. "I'll have Mr. Homm get some food ready for you."

"Sshh," Vicki Ann whispered as she led them into her mother's bedroom. They walked over
to the crib.

"Oh, he's adorable," Ezri cooed.

"Women and babies," Julian muttered to David, trying to ease the tension between the two
of them.

David just nodded and Julian shrugged at Vicki Ann, who had witnessed the exchange.

"Nice try, Julian," Vicki Ann said, patting him on the shoulder.

The baby must have heard them or something, because he stirred and began to cry.
Julian, who was closest, picked him up. "Sshh. It's alright." He rocked the child gently in
his arms and sang softly to him. Soon, the baby was asleep again.

Vicki Ann grinned. "Nice job, Uncle Julian."

Everyone else glanced at her. "Uncle?"

Vicki Ann shrugged. "Its's the closest analogy."

Julian gently put the baby back into the crib. He motioned to the others and they tiptoed
out of the room and shut the door.

Lwaxana returned from downstairs. "I had Mr. Homm prepare some food for all of you."

Vicki Ann's eyes lit up. "I know! Let's have a picnic, at the lake. They'll love the lake, won't
they, David?"

David nodded.

"Sounds wonderful," Ezri said.

"Well, if our counselor recommends it, it must be a good idea,"
Julian teased.

"But, I would change first. It gets rather warm at the lake,"
David replied.

"Swimsuits would be preferable," Vicki Ann added.

A little while later, Julian and David were ready. They went to Vicki Ann's room and
knocked on the door. "Are you ready yet?" Julian asked.

"Give us a few minutes," Vicki Ann called.

Ten minutes later, Ezri and Vicki Ann emerged. Ezri was wearing a shimmering black one
piece with a matching sarong. Vicki Ann was wearing a teal two piece. The bottom part
were shorts, so she had no need for a cover of any kind. Both women wore sandals.

Julian and David wore plain swimming trunks in the respective colors of their companions.

"Hey, we match," David said.

"Great minds think alike," Vicki Ann replied, kissing him.

Julian looked Ezri over and grinned. "I think I like being able to see more of those spots."