Author's Note: Thx for reviews so far. I made some corrections and adjustments but the story is still set in s4. Bear with me a little longer and it'll all start making sense. (Or so I hope...)

III.

There were two of them, one in the rank of a commanding officer, the other one a field soldier. Both in full combat gear, their helmets were denying a visual of their faces. Not that she cared or that it made a difference. They were all faceless anyway.

She stretched her arms out to the sides, showing the empty palms of her hands, and slowly sank down to her knees as she was expected to. She knew the drill.

"You're being investigated. Stay as you are."

She kept her eyes fixed at the wall ahead of her as the two of them moved closer, the soldier keeping her in check while the officer shouldered his weapon. He stopped far enough from her not to give her any chance of attacking him but close enough to scan her image into the portable computer attached to his forearm. She heard him activate the search and they waited in silence as her image was cross-referenced with the database. She wasn't naïve enough to hope for any miracles.

"You're wanted for questioning", the officer stated a few seconds later, his voice heavy with the same harsh authority but otherwise as unmoved as if he had given her the time of the day.

She moved her hands slowly forward and brought them together, continuing to demonstrate complete submissiveness. It wouldn't fool anyone, her opponents were trained for exactly these situations. But there wasn't really any alternative to be explored.

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"I thought you said you wanted to keep her under sedation, doctor?" Sisko asked and Dax turned to look at Bashir. They were standing in front of the infirmary.

"That was my intention, but like many great plans it came with a flaw."

Sisko furrowed his brow, causing Julian to display a more serious expression.

"In simple terms," he explained, "whatever happened to her caused her to have nightmares which caused her vitals and her neurological stress levels to go through the roof. Normally, she would have woken up and things would have gone back to normal but since I sedated her that option was taken away from her."

Dax noticed Sisko glancing towards the entrance to the infirmary. "I understand," he mumbled.

"Is the memory loss a psychological condition then as well?" she took over.

"I think so. There was severe damage to the brain but nothing indicates any neurological cause."

"Then it's not permanent," Sisko concluded.

"There is a good chance that it's not," Julian agreed. "For the moment, however, I'd like to keep her exposure to what could be a completely unknown environment as limited as possible."

"Which means you'd like to keep her here in the infirmary."

"Not forever but since we have no idea if there's anything that could make her remember something or what that would do to her it's probably best to gradually confront her with the station and its inhabitants. I therefore also recommend that she doesn't get in contact with anyone aside from the people she's already seen which besides me and the nurses leaves Jadzia." He turned to Dax. "She seemed to calm down after seeing you when she first woke up."

"Agreed," Sisko nodded and Bashir went to go back inside.

"Is that true?" Benjamin asked his science officer when the doctor had disappeared. "Did your presence calm her down?"

"It seemed that way," she shrugged. "Julian thinks waking up and seeing him with a tricorder must have evoked some connotations related to her torturers even if she doesn't remember anything. I probably just seemed less of a threat."

"I don't care why, old man," he clarified, "but if she's comfortable with you…" Careful, Ben. Orders were still orders."You know that Starfleet ordered me not to investigate this matter so we're not going to. But if you happen to find out anything about who this woman is or where she came from I would be glad to hear all about it."

Jadzia grinned mischievously. "Understood."

¤¤¤

Inside the infirmary Bashir was just receiving a transmission from a female Starfleet officer back on Earth. Besides all the flirting and charming he was engaged in, Dax managed to gather that the cross references he had asked his 'colleague' to conduct hadn't given any result.

"So, who's she?" Dax asked as soon as the screen was empty again.

"Doctor Laros. We were in the same graduation class at Starfleet and met a couple of times at medical conferences."

"You don't say," she insinuated.

"And…I might have taken her out for dinner once or twice," Julian added and she grinned.

"I think she wouldn't mind you if you took her again."

"We'll see." The doctor hit some buttons and turned to pack a hypospray and a couple of other things into a medic bag. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Ensign Peters is pregnant and I need to go up to her quarters and administer her daily shot or she'll have some nasty allergic reactions by tomorrow."

"Allergic reactions?"

"The father is Goridian."

"I see."

"She's asleep right now," Bashir explained with a nod towards the isolation section in the rear of the infirmary, "but you can wake her up. Not too abruptly though, she's still very jumpy."

"Are you sure I should wake her then?"

"Absolutely. It'll be good for her to have some company. Just keep the conversation light."

"Don't I always."

Bashir seemed to think about a comment but in the end just smiled at her before turning around to leave. "I had the nurse hold on to her clothes by the way, "he called over his shoulder. "They're in the box on the table behind you. In case you want to snoop."

She thought about denying but saved her breath. Sometimes Julian could be quite deceptive, despite everything.

There wasn't much to snoop around in though. Besides being dirty and worn-out, the stranger's clothes were covered by scorch marks, holes, and tears. She had to guess just to tell the color of the fabric. She couldn't but become more and more curious about what had happened on that ship.

She sighed and was about to put the clothes back inside the box when she noticed something had fallen out of one of the pockets. Reaching out she picked the small, shiny object up. It looked remarkably like a Bajoran ear clip. The chain between the upper and the lower ring seemed a little shorter than usual but other than that she could have sworn it was Bajoran. Only that it made no sense for someone not Bajoran and most likely from the Gamma quadrant to wear one. She was no expert but to Bajorans those clips weren't just pieces of jewellery, she knew that much. They were symbols of their bearers' religious devotion and mostly handcrafted and custom-made. She stared at the silvery metal in her hand. Why would a non-Bajoran carry such a clip on her? Before she could think of an explanation she discovered something else. A small gravure on the lower ring.

¤¤¤

Ke'sh came to and for a moment she had no idea where she was. Panic ripped through her for a second but then she remembered. You're aboard a space station. You're safe here. Words that were hard to believe but she just had to look around to know they were true. The computers, the symbols on consoles and screens, everything she saw – it all seemed familiar but yet different. Different enough to make her realize she was not where she was supposed to be.

Another memory flashed her mind but she managed to suppress it before it could drop anchor. She wasn't up to dealing with it right now and it had only been a dream anyway. She didn't have to deal with those; reality was enough.

You're going to be fine, the doctor's words echoed in her head. Now, she really wanted to believe that but there was so much that didn't make any sense. She would need all the information she could get about this place and she would need it fast. If she could get to one of the computers…

She tried to sit up but although she was careful not to move too fast instant pain shot through her entire body. Bad idea. She waited a few seconds until the pain decreased and finally subsided. She still had to get to that computer though.

Trying once more she clenched her teeth when the pain set in again. No sound left her throat and maybe she would have managed to lift her upper body a little further off the bed this time but suddenly two strong hands softly forced her to lie back down again.

"That's a bad idea."

Something far worse than any physical pain she could think of seemed to hit her as the words, as the voice reached her brain. It couldn't be. It was a dream, she reminded herself, it was just a dream. This had to be one too. She had to be still asleep or maybe in a coma. Because the voice she heard couldn't be talking to her and the person she was staring at couldn't be leaning over her.

"You shouldn't try to get up," Dax elaborated in a soothing voice. Their patient looked like she had seen a ghost. "Are you in pain?" she asked but didn't get a response. The woman just kept staring at her, her mouth opening as if she wanted to say something but no words coming over her lips. "Do you need anything? Maybe some water?" Finally the woman nodded and Dax turned to get some water form the replicator.

It's not her, Ke'sh told herself one more time. Staring at the Trill's back, she put the little time she had bought herself to use. She had to calm down. Lining up the pieces of the puzzle in her mind, she feverishly tried to figure out how they belonged together and what the bigger picture was. If only her head wouldn't hurt this bad.

"Computer, water."

With the glass in her hand Dax returned to the bio bed where she slid one hand under the woman's head to help her drink. There was no way she could have missed the electric shock her touch seemed to send through the stranger's body. "Shh, it's alright," she tried to reassure, once again wondering what had happened to her. Maybe it's a blessing she doesn't remember.

On the inside, a part of Ke'sh was raging. Alright? Nothing was right. How could anything be right with the trill's hand resting on the back of her head when she knew… Nothing was right here.

Eagerly swallowing the cool water she tried to focus. She couldn't make sense of any of this and was lucky she wouldn't have to explain anything. Thanks to the doctor. Amnesia. For a moment she wished it was true. But she only had to open her eyes again to know the universe didn't have that kind of mercy.

I'm safe as long as they don't know. She just had to wait until she knew a little more and the pieces would start falling into place. And she had to find a way to get rid off the Trill - even when a part of her didn't want her to go away. She hadn't seen her for so long.

"More?" Dax asked when the glass was emptied but the woman shook her head. "Okay," she said, more to herself than anyone else, and put the glass on a nearby tray. Catching sight of a stool she pulled it closer and took a seat. "Is there anything else I can do?" she asked with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Anything you want to ask or know?"

The woman seemed to think about it for a moment. "Where exactly am I?" she croaked then, her voice still very brittle, her eyes fixed on the sheet that was covering her.

"This is Deep Space Nine, a space station in the Bajoran sector of the Alpha Quadrant," Dax explained. "Does that ring any bells?"

Ke'sh shook her head but heaved a sigh on the inside. At least she knew her exact location now. "What's that uniform?"

"I'm a Starfleet officer," the trill explained. "The station is Bajoran but Bajor has asked the Federation to assist in the reconstruction process so there's an official Starfleet presence here."

The Federation. Starfleet. All the way out here. She knew she had to ask a lot more questions but she could hardly bring herself to speak to the Trill, not to mention look at her.

"Kira to Dax," Kira's voice came through the com badge and Jadzia got up. "I'll be right back," she excused herself and waited until she had left the rear part of the infirmary before she answered.

"Go ahead."

"I contacted the central register on Bajor," Kira reported, "but there are no records of anyone with the name you gave me, neither as a first name nor as a family name."

Dax frowned. "Does that mean there is no one by that name or is it possible that person simply isn't in your register?"

"That register was originally kept by the Cardassians during the occupation," Kira explained, the tone of her voice not hiding her disgust. "If they were anything it was being thorough. I have never heard of anyone who wasn't in that register."

For a moment Dax felt tempted to ask why Bajor was keeping the register if it had been a part of the former repression apparatus but decided against it. There was probably a better, more appropriate time and setting for a question like that.

"Are you sure it's a Bajoran ear clip?" KIra's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"You can take a look for yourself if you want but I'm pretty sure."

Lying on her bio bed, Ke'sh stared at the Trill who was standing just a little too far away to hear anything. Not that it mattered though, she probably wouldn't have been able to focus anyway. It was amazing. She looked…different somehow but there was no doubt it was Jadzia. A little less…tired maybe. Like she hadn't been forced to stay up on her feet and on the move quite as long, like she hadn't seen quite as much. And looking at her uniform, spotless and shiny from her collar down to her shoes, looking at this room and how clean and comfortable it was she probably hadn't. No wonder she looked a little more innocent, a little younger.

Dax stared at the ear clip in her hand. Just keep the conversation light, she remembered Julian's advise. Thank God, he can't give me orders, she thought with a smile but quickly turned serious again. Sooner or later someone had to ask her personal questions.

"Dax to Bashir."

"A little busy right now," Julian answered through a lot of noise in the background. "Ensign Peters is in labour."

I'm sure she is, Dax thought hearing a woman scream in the background. "Then I'll let you get back to that. How long do you think it's going to be?"

"Well, the baby is Goridian–" Bashir started but was cut off by a woman screaming, undoubtedly no one other than Ensign Peters herself.

"Half-Goridian!"

"Half-Goridian," Julian repeated apologetically, "of course. It could be days-"

"Days?" the Ensign yelled.

"Or maybe just hours."

Dax couldn't but grin. Poor Julian.

"Well, a couple of hours, at least. Why? You need anything?"

"No, that pretty much settled it. Good luck, Julian."

Ke'sh cast her eyes down. She had only seen her profile but she had seen the smile. She knew it too well.

Come on, she tried to focus. It's obvious by now where you are. All she had to do was to figure out how she had gotten here.

Glancing up she noticed the Trill was approaching her again and she tried to prepare for the encounter. But Jadzia standing so close to her, looking down on her and revealing a sympathetic smile made it hard to mask all those feelings stirring up inside of her.

"You still don't remember anything?" Dax asked, knowing Julian probably wouldn't approve but then again he wasn't here.

If I remember? For a moment Ke'sh was close to losing it. How about you? But she managed to get a hold of herself. "Nothing concrete," she shook her head. She knew there was no way Jadzia could remember anything.

Dax hesitated but then held out the ear clip. "I was wondering if you would take a look at this?"

To say there was a reaction in the stranger's face would have been an understatement even if it was only visible for a few seconds. Once she had turned her head and caught sight of the clip her eyes widened and her jaw dropped an inch, and whatever that expression was Dax had seen in her face the first time she had woken up in the infirmary, there it was again. A hesitant hand reached out and Jadzia let the clip slide into her palm. The question whether or not it brought back any memories seemed redundant as she watched shaky fingers run over the metal. She felt like she was intruding on something but then the woman seemed to regain her composure and a moment later her face was almost blank again. Almost...

"Ke'sh," Dax started but didn't complete the sentence. I'm guessing it's a name? She had wanted to ask if it sounded in any way familiar or triggered anything but the woman's reaction spoke for itself.

Ke'sh heard the Trill say her name and for a second she feared to loose the last shred of control. Jadzia handing the clip to her and saying her name was just too much.

Dax heard the alarm go off and quickly glanced at the monitor. Not now, she winced in her head, not when Julian was tied up delivering a Goridian baby. Half-Goridian. Whatever.

Ke'sh heard the alarm as well but didn't feel any different. Maybe something's wrong with the instruments or maybe there's another- But she didn't get to finish the thought because the next second she knew the only thing that was not functioning as it was supposed to was she. The good news, though, was that she also knew exactly what was wrong with her.

Dax saw the blood pressure rising another 40 percent and turned to have a look at the patient again. Just a second ago she had been fine considering the circumstances but now she was clearly in distress. Her eyes were flickering from side to side, her chest heaving quickly up and down as she seemed to have trouble breathing. Dax hit her com badge. She knew her basic first aid but with a patient who was only just beginning to recover from such grave injuries that was simply not enough.

"Dax to-" she started but was cut off when the woman's hand suddenly shot up and clasped her forearm.

"Don't."

"I have to get someone," she tried to explain but the woman shook her head.

"No. It'll be fine. Just stay."

Jadzia hesitated. This was irresponsible. Not to mention inexcusable. She had to call someone. Julian, a nurse, someone who knew more about medicine than she did. But something in the woman's eyes, something in the way she looked at her and then, of course, something in the way she was still holding on to her arm, made her hesitate.

Ke'sh took a deep breath. It's okay. It's alright. This hadn't happened in a long time. Not since the time she had been stranded in a rescue capsule after a shuttle accident and drifted through space with the most annoying person she'd ever met as her only company. They had shared those few square meters for three days and the first one, she swore, the other woman hadn't stopped talking. She had kept rambling and rambling, on and on about apparently anything that came into her mind. Until Ke'sh had finally had enough and yelled at her to shut up. In the silence that had followed, the panic attack she had felt lurking around the entire time had finally hit her. And it hadn't stopped until her fellow traveller, against her protests, had sat down behind her, against her firm resistance wrapped her arms around her and with a surprising strength held her until she had surrendered. Gently rocking her back and forth then, almost like a baby that was supposed to fall asleep, she had whispered softly in a language Ke'sh had never heard before. That was how she had met Jadzia. Six years ago.

Studying the scanner displays again, Dax saw that the blood pressure had stopped rising and was in fact dropping. Slowly but it was an improvement. She heaved an inner sigh of relief.

Ke'sh blinked the memory away and realized she was still holding the Trill's arm in a tight grip. Turning away she quickly let go.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded. Sure. She was fine.

Dax frowned. She had just proven she was no doctor but if she had to take a guess she'd say it looked a lot like a panic attack.

"Did you remember something?"

"I think so," the woman answered but her body language indicated that she was either uncomfortable or afraid. She obviously didn't want to talk about it.

Dax could understand that and under different circumstances she would accept that, but Benjamin was right. If there was someone out there with ships and weapons that were so superior to those of the Federation and Starfleet then they had to find out as much about it as they could. And with a possible war on their hands, they didn't have much time.

Her gaze fell on the ear clip again the woman was still holding in her hand. "Ke'sh," she repeated what the inscription said but just like before she didn't get any further. It wasn't an alarm going off but the scanner gave an audio signal when it noted the once again increasing heart rate. Not as dramatic an increase as a minute ago but something was definitely going on.

Ke'sh knew she had given herself away. Her body had given her away. There wasn't much sense in trying to deny it now. The question was just, how close to the truth should she keep it? "It is a name," the Trill stated in an affirmative manner, as if answering a question she had asked herself before.

Ke'sh hesitated but noticing Jadzia's eyes were wandering to her right ear she realized she didn't have an alternative. Trying to give a convincing performance she swallowed and turned her head a bit to allow the Trill a good view on her left ear. "I think it's me."