There wasn't much fan fair the next morning when Gaven prepared to depart for Gulba Four. Captain Sisko had wanted to keep a low profile though Kira, Jadzia, and Julian did drop by to see him off near the transport.

"Come back to us soon. OK? This baby may need an unbiased referee considering the number of people that are going to be involved." Kira quipped taking Gaven by the hands and squeezing them supportively since she felt too uncomfortable in her body to go in for a hug.

"You owe me a fancy dinner party when you come back," Jadzia muttered in the casual joking way she was known for that had a slight edge of seriousness to it. "Travel safe."

Gaven was smart enough to let Dax hug him whether he wanted to be embraced or not.

"Kira's right, we've been spoiled having a second doctor on the station with such good bedside manner. Once our regulars find out you're gone, I won't hear the end of it." Julian tried to sound casual but failed somewhat. He still felt uncomfortable letting Gaven leave the station.

"I promise I'll be back as quickly as I can. It seems I would risk disappointing several people if I overstayed my time. In any case, I must make sure this little girl gets back home safe and sound. She's going to be her people's destined leader when she's done growing." Gaven said with a proud kind of tonality that spoke of a thick sort of intimacy between himself and the alien child who had been clinging to him while he said his goodbyes.

Kira and Jadzia exchanged glances with each other that expressed their surprise. While they had both been aware the Alien woman was on the station to start negotiations about entry into the Federation of planets; no one had realized that the child was an active and essential part of the delegation. They were also both caught off guard by the level of connection Gaven felt towards the Gulbians even though Jadzia had been implying for weeks that he was developing in intimate rapport with one of them.

"Do you ladies mind if I speak to the Doctor alone for a few moments?" Gaven politely asked.

"Sure."

"Of Course."

Jadzia and Kira said at the same time overlapping each other.

Both women stiffened, and Kira nodded indicating Jadzia could go ahead and speak for them both. "We'll have a coming home party for you when you get back. Take care of yourself, Doctor Ore."

"We'll just be over here, Julian." Kira said in an amused fashion at their display. Both women then quickly backed off.

"You know, sometimes I think those two gush like school girls about you when we're not around." Julian theorized.

"Really? I would have thought they wouldn't hold back on our account, Doctor." Gaven dryly quipped as he adjusted the child more comfortably on his hip.

"I don't think I need to remind you that I don't approve of this. You're not well, Gaven. Having that child latched to you for the duration of the trip to Gulba Four could seriously speed the disintegration of your physical health by months. And, frankly, I don't know if I can figure out an adequate treatment for you if you are not on the station for me to examine and test things on. I know the Captain has given his blessing, but I'm speaking as your doctor and hopefully your friend when I say that I'm seriously concerned for you." Julian said in a quiet pressing tone.

"You're just going to have to trust in me, Doctor. And have faith in yourself. Sometimes some things are more important than one's physical well-being. This trip, as far as you and I know is not going to kill me. This isn't some feeble attempt to run away this time. This is me exerting my freedom and doing what's right. I need this mission, Julian. This may be the only thing I do that is of my own desire and free choice. Plus, I believe this trip will help me in other ways I can't explain to you right now. I know you don't approve, and your reasons are sound, but do me the small favor of pretending like everything is going to be fine and you're going to pull off an extravagant miracle of modern science while I'm gone like you seem to do so often. I know if you put your mind to it, you'll make significant strides in your efforts and you'll make it look a lot harder to pull off than it actually is for someone like you or me." Gaven said in an equally low tone of voice that, by the end, caused Julian to stiffen visibly despite his usual ability to hide it when he realized someone genuinely saw something about him that he did not want them to see.

At that, the alien emissary put her hand on Gaven's side and gently led him away so that he missed the bulk of Julian's internal reaction to the end of what he'd said to him.

"I don't have a good feeling," Julian muttered to himself as he dragged himself into an about-face and forced himself to walk in the other direction towards where Kira and Dax had moved away.

Julian realized Gaven had made him feel exposed. Though he didn't dare reveal his disquiet in any visible way outside of what appeared to be a general concern for the good doctor's safety. It was unnerving how easily and frequently Gaven achieved this around him. Even Garak who was famously perceptive had not caught on to Julian's secrets. Gaven though seemed to notice what the others did not about him, and it made Julian wonder sometimes about how much Gaven saw and suspected about Julian's nature.

In the several weeks Gaven was gone from Deep Space Nine, several significant things happened.

Sisko, Odo, Dax, and Garak were accidentally caught up in an involuntary attempt by Odo's mind to "link" causing them to get an all too real glimpse of the Cardassian's occupation of Bajor.

In another incident, Odo and Quark had nearly died of exposure when they crashed landed on a desolate planet.

And in another incident still, Captain Sisko began seeing visions warning against Bajor's admittance into the Federation of Planets. The visions nearly killed him.

Kira's life was also put into jeopardy when she was abducted for her role in an incident that killed innocent Cardassians.

Of all of these events Gaven was excluded from and most everyone involved agreed that it was probably for the best that he had missed the various adventures. His own business on Gulba Four was as mysterious and unknown to those on Deep Space Nine as their antics were to him. Gaven's personal experiences were also less dramatic though possibly just as impactive, and when it was time to return to Deep Space Nine, Gaven was sad to go but also purposeful in his departure.

His return was no less comfortable than any of the other's experiences had been. Julian's predictions about his health deteriorating had come true, and when he finally stepped off the transport back onto the station, there could be no doubt that he was indeed ill.

If his general appearance wasn't enough to prove it, the significant numbness in his left leg that was producing a pronounced limp said enough.

At the time of his arrival Jadzia and Dax where the only ones able to get away from their duties to meet him. While both were happy that he had returned they were stunned by how he looked. One was just more diplomatic about it than the other.

"What in the hell? What have you been doing on Gulba Four, Gaven? You look like you should be on a med cart!" Jadzia disapprovingly proclaimed as she exchanged shocked looks with Kira and rushed forward.

Kira might have liked to come along with her, but her tummy was keeping her at a slower idle.

"You do look a little worse for the ware, doctor. Julian is going to kill you." Kira muttered.

"Yeah right, like he doesn't look half gone already!" Dax blurted.

"Peace, ladies. As you can see, I'm still vertical so don't write me off completely." While he may have looked terrible, there was a notable sense of ease in Gaven's manner and tone that hadn't been there before. He seemed almost rested despite his emaciated and haggard state.

"We're glad your back Dr. Ore," Kira said warmly giving the man aside hug since she was too big around to come at him from the front.

Though she didn't say anything, Kira felt the man briefly weigh her down more than usual. He was weaker than he looked she realized, though since he was still standing, she thought it better not to draw attention to this fact.

"And how is baby doing? Still enjoying itself, I see. I'm happy I got back in time. I was looking forward to being here for the birth. It'll be my first one outside my planet. You will allow me the honor of assisting in whatever way I can, won't you?" Gaven inquired.

"Are you kidding? I'm going to need a referee when this baby is ready to arrive. I am glad your back Doctor. Come on. Dax and I will walk you back to your rooms."

"You will let me throw you a party when you're settled again. Won't you Doctor Ore?" Jadzia asked as they all walked together.

At this Kira gave Dax an exasperated look of disapproval and shook her head slightly.

Dax caught her expression and quickly corrected herself. "Oh. I mean. Nothing big or anything. Maybe just a little one. The stations pretty busy these days."

"I'm sure I've missed a great many adventures. You all will have to fill me in." Gaven said. " Jadzia, I was wondering if you could see that the cargo I brought back makes it to the lab in the infirmary and that my report gets to the Captain. I think everyone will be pleased with the progress that's been made, but I'll talk about that later."

Dax and Kira escorted Gaven as far as his quarters before he hugged them both and told them he'd speak to them in the morning to update the rest of the staff. The duo left him reluctantly to go about their various duties and secretly fret about him in their own ways.

When Kira and Dax were finally gone Gaven sighed heavily and shut his eyes. He was tired. It had taken a great deal of effort to walk to his quarters, and the trip back to Deep Space Nine had been uneventful but long. Indirect pain pulsed down one leg while the other ached with the strain of having to support more of his body weight. Limping over to his favorite sofa, Gaven fell into it more than sat and took a few moments to collect himself. Everything felt strained as if his immune system were running out of steam and might break down. For all his physical troubles Gaven felt happy for the first time in recent memory. He felt less haunted and more like his old self before his world had utterly fallen apart. He felt like he could be content now even if he failed to outlive his current situation.

Julian was analyzing radiation samples when a call came through for him.

"Hello, Dr. Bashir. It's Dr. Ore. I've returned to the station. If you could pull yourself away from your work for a while and drop by my quarters, I would be most appreciative. Ore, out."

Julian was expecting to hear when Gaven returned to Deep Space Nine and immediately a satisfied grin came upon his face at the knowledge. Though there had been much to keep the doctor occupied, Julian had noticed a kind of subtle boredom creep into his world. He missed having Gaven around maybe because more than anyone else, to Julian, Gaven felt like an equal to him. Even a rival in some ways since it was true that in some things Gaven did indeed eclipse him.

With a jovial skip in his step, Julian put away his work and took off for the rest of the day under the guise of having a pre-meeting with Gaven before their staff briefing in the morning.

His happiness however at their reunion was short-lived because the second he arrived and Gaven let him in all the good feelings he was building evaporated at the sight of the gravely ill Dr. Ore.

"Gaven…Gaven, what happened?" Julian immediately went into triage mode moving to the other doctor's side and cradling the side of his jaw with his hand to better examine the man's pupils while he fumbled through his medical bag resting on the coffee table. On instinct, Julian began to pull his hand away so that he could tap his comm badge and signal a medical emergency.

But before he could do so, Gaven gripped his lower arm and pulled it gently away from the comm badge. "It's all right Julian. I'm stable, only tired. I promise I will let you hem and haw over my disintegrating health later. We have things to talk about."

"Don't be so difficult. What you need is to be in the infirmary. How bad is it?" Julian had gone into complete assessment mode as he took out his tricorder and ran some vitals.

"Weakness down the left side. Diminished fine motor function. General fatigue. Low appetite." Gaven admitted.

"Pain?" Julian pressed as he tested the muscles that ran from Gaven's hip to his shin. He couldn't feel any noticeable atrophy, but it was only a matter of time if the weakness persisted.

"No," Gaven said. "Not related to this anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean? Did you maim yourself somewhere while you were away?" Julian demanded.

"Doctor, you really need to start reading the reports I send you. Here." Gaven gingerly reached for his datapad and handed it to Julian.

Not even bothering to hide how quickly he could read, Julian skimmed the contents. "You did it. There are enough samples here to generate inoculations for almost all essential crew. You used your tissues."

"That was what we agreed would need to happen." Gaven remarked in that even way of his as he tired calm the waters of concern between them.

"But why not do it here on Deep Space Nine if you were serious about going to that extreme?" Julian asked.

"The facilities on Gulba Four were more than adequate, and besides, I wanted some privacy. I've had the samples taken to the lab so that we can work on them together." Gaven almost looked pleased about the business.

"Where did you pull the samples from?" Julian already knew but waited for Gaven to tell him anyway.

"My skin, obviously. Mostly from the back and upper legs. Some of it is still healing." Gaven admitted.

"Come on. Let's see." Julian indicated for Gaven to turn and pull up his shirt.

Gaven braced himself for the impending outburst he knew was coming.

"Gaven, what the Hell is wrong with you? It doesn't look like you used a regenerator on any of this. Don't you realize the level of scarring that causes? Guh, of course you do. That's probably why you didn't use one unless the advancements on Gulba Four are really that inadequate. Some of this looks angry. You're lucky you haven't gotten a staph infection or worse by now. And what is that smirking expression about?" Julian said as he pressed his lips together and glared at the other doctor.

"Nothing. I'm sorry. You're right." Gaven tried to school his expression into something resembling remorse but failed.

"You think this is funny? You bloody alien. I'm done with trying to understand you today." Julian rose out of his kneeling position and waved his hands dismissively while he stepped back into the room.

"I'm sorry." Gaven chuckled lightly. "I know it's hard to understand, Julian. I just…I feel happy. Doing this has made me happy. I don't know why. I feel better than I have in a long time. Relieved, even."

"You feel like you've paid your pound of flesh, I suppose." He muttered knowing full well Gaven probably wouldn't get the reference.

"Penance of a dying man maybe," Gaven said lightly though with a more serious edge.

Julian sighed and walked back towards Gaven before sitting down beside him. "You're not a bad person, Gaven. I don't care what went on when you were back on your home planet. You deserve a fulfilling and healthy life, and we're going to find a way to help you. I promise."

"Any progress with the poly radiation research?" Gaven inquired.

"Per your recommendations, we've calibrated one of the shuttles to resist the poly radiation, but further testing needs to be done to measure how effective the shielding will be. Until I can get my hands on something infused with the radiation, our best plan of action would be to inoculate a small research team and send them into your system to study the radiation firsthand." Julian explained.

"I know you won't let me drag you into the infirmary right now, but would you at least be willing to let me give you some vitamin injections and a pain reliever? After the briefing, I'd also like to take a closer look at that weakness in your leg. We can probably brace it for now so that you're not dragging yourself all over the place without support." Julian negotiated.

It occurred to Julian that though the other doctor was resistant to being ordered about, he was usually willing to comply with most of Julian's wishes if he worded it in the form of a question.

"Of course, Doctor." Gaven said as he settled more into the sofa and was entering some information into his datapad.

Despite Gaven's swiftly declining health, Julian noted with some satisfaction that he did seem much better psychologically than he'd been when he'd left. Perhaps, Julian admitted in his mind; it had been short-sighted of him to try and stop him from taking his trip. Whatever the cause of the man's change of spirit, Julian was happy for him.

The next morning, everyone met again in the Captain's briefing room to give their updates. Per Julian's suggestion, Gaven had begun a strong vitamin regiment and was now sporting a subtle leg brace and a forearm crutch for extra support. Beyond that, he looked a little off color but better than he had compared to the previous day.

"Good morning everyone. Let's get right to it, shall we? We have a lot to catch Doctor Ore up on this morning. We're all pleased that you've returned, Doctor." Captain Sisko said warmly.

"Progress is being made on the force Field calibrations. We're pretty much ready to configure a shuttle and give it a test run." Dax said.

"The only problem is we have nothing to test it against," Miles added. "If the planet Oum is on the border of the Delta quadrant it'll take a while to send a team out there in the range of the solar system to try it firsthand. And of course, we also have to go out there without tipping anyone off to what we're up to."

"Perhaps we can compromise and reach out to the Vulcan's for assistance on the matter. They've been near the region before and may have data we can compare our own to regarding the shielding."

"In the meantime, Doctor Ore and I are ready to move forward with developing a vaccination for those directly exposed to poly radiation in order to minimize it's negative effects. It won't work in all cases such as with long term exposure, but in short exposure periods, we have good reason to hope for the best. We're going to need tissue samples from numerous individuals to test against the poly infused samples Gaven obtained for us. Senior staff should be first and then those working in essential station areas." Julian said.

"As for further testing the poly radiation, the Vulcan's may still have the container they found me in when they pulled me from space. Its external haul would be infused with poly radiation. If you're certain we can create a containment barrier here on Deep Space Nine, then we can start preliminary testing once we have it. The artifact is technically mine so they may be willing to borrow it to us. Or a piece of it, at least." Gaven proposed.

"Sounds like progress. Will you compile a list of Vulcans associated with you, doctor?" Sisko requested.

"I'm compiling it as we speak. There." Gaven put down the datapad he'd been typing into.

"Good. I think everyone knows what your tasks are. Yes?" Sisko asked, glancing around the room.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. Let's get on this people. Meeting adjourned." Sisko said with an air of excitement that everyone else also felt.

The rest of the day swiftly went on. Everyone was eager to get started on their projects because they saw how everything was beginning to take a tangible form. Word had come late in the day from the Vulcan representatives that they indeed still had the container they had found Gaven in and were comfortable with releasing it to Deep Space 9 with Gaven's consent.

The remnants weren't due to arrive for a few days, however, and so everyone focused on other tasks. Gaven also remained in his quarters at the request of Julian. Until they had enough volunteers, it seemed pointless to push the doctor to work more than he had to and for once Gaven didn't argue with Julian about it.

Not surprisingly several of the station's officers dropped by to contribute their tissue samples so that Julian could at least get a small start on their project. Dax was one of the last to drop by.

"How's it going so far?" Jadzia asked while she waited for Julian to finish taking the small tissue sample, he needed.

"Fine, considering how hush-hush we have to be about it. I have confidence we can make substantial progress in developing a vaccination. It has to be calibrated for everyone individually for now, but thankfully Deep Space Nine is one of the most diverse communities I've ever served on. It gives us an advantage in this case." Julian said.

"I take it Doctor Ore provided the test tissue. That was…" Jadzia was cut off by Julian.

"Stupid. He didn't need to go to that extreme. We could have done it gradually and far less invasively here on the station." He complained.

"You seem upset about the situation. I would have thought you of all people would be excited." Dax observed.

"Gaven's health is unstable. As far as his time here goes on the station, I am his physician, and I would have never agreed with what he did to himself or the way he went about it."

"Julian it had to be done," Dax said reproachfully.

"Yes, yes. I know. I just wish Gaven hadn't done it without me. I could have helped him, and maybe he wouldn't have come out as worse for the wear. On some level he's convinced he's going to die over all this, maybe he's even subconsciously trying to speed the inevitability along. I find it frustrating. I find him frustrating. I've never dealt with such a secret and stubborn man." Julian lamented.

"At least he's back now where we can all support him." Jadzia sighed and adjusted herself so that she could get back to work for a few more hours. "I'm sure he didn't mean to leave you out, Julian. Sometimes I think he just hates to be vulnerable especially in front of you. His respect for you is obvious. He trusts you. Maybe more than any of us. But we can't forget he's still hurting over things we don't fully understand. He has a right to be secretive and like I've said before if you want to know how he feels about things, ask him. In the meantime, I've got work to do. Don't think about it too hard. OK?"

At that Dax pecked him on the cheek and hurried out without a second thought.