This story was written quite some time ago, but I only just recently joined This story was written for two very special friends of mine, and they know who they are.
--This story takes place sometime in the 5th season (I think?), before the war ended.
He mindlessly shoveled the last few bites of his meal into his mouth, wondering for the hundredth time how the man sitting across from him had managed to get him to accept a lunch invitation. He had graciously declined the offer, and had even started walking back when it didn't look like he was going to accept no for an answer, but finally conceded when the man insisted. And so, Kail had let himself be dragged inside, sat down at a small round table, and took the offering of Hasperat that was spooned out into a bowl for him.
As a Changeling, Kail did not require a daily intake of sustenance to maintain his bodily functions and energies, but under no circumstances was he about to let anyone to think that he actually was not Bajoran. No one knew about it, and he intended to keep it that way, or else face certain persecution from everyone around him, including his closest friends.
He ate the food placed before him by his best friend and neighbor, Kathan Dovan, and hoped his reluctance to eat the Hasperat didn't show too much. The process of digestion, as Kail had learned it during his schooling years, seemed almost disgusting to him, but he accepted it as an anatomical necessity of most humanoid species. The satisfaction and pleasures gained by spending so much time finding, preparing, and consuming food eluded his understanding for quite a while, but he eventually figured that it must have something to do with the ability to taste and smell food; two abilities he did not possess nor could he replicate with his unique shape-changing abilities.
Kail put down his spoon and looked down at the empty bowl in front of him. At a loss for words, he sheepishly avoided eye contact with Dovan, unsure whether to thank him for the meal or attempt to start a polite conversation.
"Are you sure you don't want another bowl? I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat so little of my famous Spiced Hasperat. You're not ill, are you?" his friend asked with concern.
"No, I'm not ill." The last thing he needed was for people to think something was wrong with him. "I just don't like to eat too much at once, that's all."
Dovan nodded, thinking it strange, but said nothing more of it. "I just wanted you to know I appreciate your company as well as the help in fixing my water pump. I'm not as young as I used to be, but I can still fix one hell of a bowl of Spiced Hasperat."
Kail smiled in appreciation and told him he was quite welcome. After all, they had treated him like a son ever since Kail first came to the village, a lone carpenter looking for work. Kail had eventually found a place for himself in the village, but most importantly, he'd found a place in Dovan's family. Kathan Dovan had lost his wife and eldest son in a raid during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, and hadn't seen his daughter Kelsee or his son Telfan in several years. And so, Dovan was alone most of the time before he befriended Kail.
Kail himself didn't even know if he had a family somewhere on a distant planet of the cosmos until he learned of the Dominion incursion. It was while apprenticing to become a structural engineer in the nearby city of Lerren, not two days travel distance. The computers and information databases he had been given access to had some information about Changelings such as himself. It came as quite a shock to find that the Changelings were the founders of the Dominion, and that the Dominion was ruthlessly trying to gain control of the Alpha Quadrant as it had it's own Quadrant, the Gamma Quadrant. His people were trying to secretly infiltrate, corrupt, and destroy the major powers of the Alpha Quadrant that was his home. Kail had researched more, only to find that his own people were cold, unfeeling, and did not care about preserving the individual freedoms of the worlds under their control. All they cared about was that everything was in order, their order.
The discovery that his own people were so cold to other humanoid species, and deathly feared by all of them, strengthened his resolution to keep his true nature a secret, even if he himself was not a founder of the Dominion. The fact that he was a Changeling made him dangerous. And so, not even Dovan knew about his true nature, despite the fact that he was the closest thing to family that Kail had.
Seeing that Kail's mind had wandered somewhere else, Dovan cleared his throat and changed the subject of conversation. "Have I told you that Kelsee joined a planetary survey mission that will be cataloguing asteroids in the Denorius Belt? I'm so proud of her. I kept telling her that she would get to see the Celestial Temple of the Prophets one day!"
"Only a few hundred times in the last month or so," Kail answered teasingly. He really was happy that his friend had something to be proud of. A lonely structural engineer such as himself could have no such hope; at least, not that he could see.
"Oh, yes..." Dovan said, furrowing his brow trying to remember. "But there is one thing I don't think I told you about. I wanted to keep it a surprise until the time came."
This did seem to spark Kail's interest a bit, and he looked up. "Kelsee is coming to visit here before she leaves," Dovan exclaimed excitedly, "and she's bringing a friend from Starfleet with her to visit with us!"
"When?" Kail asked; his interest in seeing Kelsee again made him even more interested. He'd seen her only once before, but the impression he got was that she was a very likable and strong-willed young lady, much like her uncle Dovan.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Kail exclaimed and quickly stood up. "I have to get her friend's room ready! Why didn't you tell me two days ago? If you had, I wouldn't be in such a rush to do it now."
"It's all right, Kail," Dovan reassured him. "Except for a few of the heavier boxes, I've already taken care of the second bedroom."
"But what about your back?" Kail scolded. "You know you're not supposed to be lifting too much."
Dovan gave him his most reassuring smile. "It wasn't heavy work. I left the three heaviest boxes for you to carry down to the cellar."
"All right, I might as well get them now." Kail sighed, and then headed down the short hallway towards the second bedroom to retrieve the boxes.
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Kail!" Dovan yelled down the hallway loud enough for Kail to hear him.
Kail grumbled to himself in response. Humanoids were so fragile, especially older ones. If Dovan kept exerting himself like that, he soon wouldn't be able to do much of anything at all for himself, much less cook his famous Spiced Hasperat any more. But Kail had to admire his determination to stay active and self-sufficient, and being angry with Dovan would help nothing.
He picked up two boxes at once, the height of them just blocking his sight of the door to the cellar, but his own impressive height allowed him to carry the boxes with ease. He maneuvered himself sideways in order to find the door near the entrance to the kitchen, but stopped suddenly when he heard a very feminine "Oomph!" in front of him. The boxes blocked his view of who had bumped into them, causing them to slide in his grip. Kail struggled to regain his balance, but only managed to allow one of the boxes to slide into his face. It knocked him down into a heap underneath them.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" said the female voice, and then the box on his head was pushed aside. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine," he said as she paused for a moment to stare at him. Then a look of pure happiness came over her face as Kail suddenly recognized whom she was.
"Kail!" she exclaimed excitedly and hugged him fiercely with one of the boxes still in his lap. "Kail! It's you! I'm so happy to see you!"
"Hello Kelsee," Kail said, grinning at her contagious and youthful enthusiasm.
"Kail! Kail! Kelsee's come home early!" Dovan shouted from the kitchen. "I'm going to make an extra large batch of my Spiced Hasperat!"
"I noticed," he answered, still grinning at Kelsee.
"That's all right, Uncle, we ate before we left the shuttle port in Lenner," Kelsee yelled back.
"Well, we can have it for dinner then. It's going to take a couple of hours to prepare a batch big enough for all of us anyway."
"I can't wait!" Kelsee excitedly reassured her father.
Kelsee giggled and offered Kail a hand, which he took gratefully, and then his focus turned to the woman standing in the doorway. She was smiling at them in amusement. Kelsee noticed and remembered her manners; introductions should come first.
"Kail, this is Connie Preston. She'll be staying with us for the next week while I'm here," Kelsee introduced her. "Connie, this is my friend, Tescar Kail."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Connie," Kail said, and he offered his hand in the usual human custom.
"Actually, Kail, it's Miss Preston," Kelsee corrected him. "Humans always say surnames last."
Connie took his outstretched hand and shook it firmly. "It's all right. Kail, you can just call me Connie."
"All right, Connie." He smiled as he noticed she was a bit older and more mature than Kelsee. Kelsee's youthful energy was a welcome distraction, but sometimes too much. She had the ability to be calm and concentrated though, and that was one of the big reasons Kail respected her so much. "So, what brings you here with Kelsee?"
"The asteroid survey mission doesn't start for another week and I didn't have anywhere in particular to go, so Kelsee invited me to stay here with her," Connie explained.
"Ah, I see," Kail said. "Well, as soon as I get these boxes into the cellar, the second room down there is yours."
"Thank you," Connie said politely, smiling in appreciation.
Kail picked up the two boxes off the floor and put them in an out-of-the-way space as Kelsee showed Connie to her room. He climbed the steep stairs to the main floor to return to Connie's room for the third box, but the girls had closed the door behind them.
He figured Connie may have wanted to change clothes or something after their journey, so Kail did not disturb them. But just as he turned to leave, he heard Kelsee's familiar giggle as well as the mention of his own name. He couldn't help but be curious about what they were saying, so he cautiously leaned closer to the door to listen.
"Isn't Kail just the sweetest guy you've ever met?" Kelsee said with her usual youthful spunk, drawing a smile from Kail's lips. "I've only met him once before, but he's such a modest and likable person. I doubt Uncle Dovan would have gotten along quite so well without him. He's always saying good things about Kail in the letters he sends me."
"Yes, Kail does seem very nice," Connie agreed, then smiled suspiciously. "You don't have a crush on him or something, do you?"
"Me? Nah." Kelsee giggled again. "Well, maybe I used to, but I don't think I'm old enough for him. Besides, I'm quite happy just being his friend. You and Kail, however, would be the perfect couple."
Connie laughed at the comment. "I see, so now you're trying to play matchmaker."
"No!" Kelsee denied, blushing. "Kail almost snickered out loud, but caught himself before he would have drawn attention to himself. He would have been so embarrassed if he were caught eavesdropping!
"Then what did you mean?" Connie asked, still grinning.
"I just meant... You and Kail would look good together. You complement each other perfectly!"
"You think so...?" asked Connie, apparently wanting to hear more.
"Yes! You see? I think you like him too, but you're afraid he wouldn't be interested," Kelsee hypothesized.
"He is very handsome, but he doesn't strike me as the type to be thinking of every woman he meets as a potential girlfriend. But do you think he'd be as interested in getting to know me as I may be in him?"
Kelsee noticed her friend's careful choice of words. "Just admit it. You think he's cute, and you want me to tell you if I think he'd be attracted to you."
"All right! I admit it! But do you think he'd like me?"
"Connie," Kelsee said, putting an understanding hand on her friend's shoulder, "I'm positive he'd absolutely adore you if he got to know you."
Kail couldn't believe his ears. Two beautiful young women were talking about him as if he were some kind of irresistible hunk. He'd always tried to be polite, understanding, and attentive to everyone he met, but he never thought his attentions would ever attract the interest of a woman. It sounded as if Connie was interested in forming a relationship with him, and Kelsee was encouraging her. That was the real question, though. Did he want to attempt to persue the relationship with her?
He'd never had a relationship with a woman before. As a Changeling, he mostly preferred to be by himself, or else risk detection. Did he really want to take that chance? What if she found out? How much would it hurt him, or worse her, if she did?
But being lonely is very painful as well. Kail always welcomed the opportunity to make new friends, as he did not have many. There really was no decision to make; Kail did not know which was better. Fate would have to make the decision for him.
He lightly rapped on the door with his knuckles and the soft whispers from the two girls inside immediately ceased.
"Who is it?" Kelsee asked hesitantly.
"It's me," Kail answered. "I came back to get the last box to take down to the cellar."
"Oh, sure Kail. Come on in and get it," Kelsee said, sounding relieved, although Kail couldn't be sure whether or not she still suspected that he may have overheard their conversation.
Quickly and quietly, Kail entered the room, carefully avoiding the display of any nervous mannerisms that might indicate that he'd overheard. He also tried to avoid eye contact with either of the two girls, concentrating on just getting in and out as quickly as possible without seeming suspicious, but Connie managed to catch his eye as he turned for the door.
He paused to look into those eyes for less than a second, but in that second he saw something in her eyes. He wasn't sure what it was that he saw, but it was something he'd never seen in any other woman's eyes before. He was tempted by that look to stop and talk to her, but he escaped before the impulse overcame him. As the door closed behind him, he heard a burst of tension-releasing laughter, which turned to more whispering. It faded as he made himself carry the last box down into the cellar and leave them to their privacy.
