Chapter Seven: Itsy-Bitsy Spider

Earlier that day

"The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout," Keiko sang, climbing her fingers up through the air.

Molly laughed and clapped her hands gleefully as Keiko finished the nursery rhyme. "'Gain! 'Gain!" she cried, loving the fun song even though she had never encountered any of the things it described.

Keiko stood, swooping Molly into her arms and nuzzling her cheek with her nose to make her laugh again. "Enough itsy-bitsy for now; Mama has to clean now."

"K'een, Ma?"

"That's right, baby. Want your dolly?"

"Dolly!"

Keiko settled Molly with her doll in a corner of the room where she could keep an eye on her and was soon absorbed in the cleaning that had needed to be done for several weeks.

Suddenly Molly let out a piercing scream, and Keiko spun toward her. Molly was cowering back, staring wide-eyed at a ten-legged beetle that crawled slowly across the carpet toward her. "Ma! Ma!"

In an instant Keiko had crossed the room, smashing the bug with her bare hand, forgetting her own aversion to large insects and barely noticing the sting as it bit her.

"It's all gone, Molly," she soothed, picking the baby up and cuddling her close. "Mama got it for you. That was just an itsy-bitsy; it won't hurt you."

Molly lifted her head from Keiko's shoulder, still sniffling a little. "'Gain? Itsy-bitsy 'gain?"

Keiko smiled. "All right," she gave in. "Just one more time."

oOo

By the time Miles came home that evening, Keiko had nearly forgotten the incident. She didn't really think the bug had been poisonous, anyway; she had been reacting more to her little daughter's fear than any thought that she was truly in danger.

Molly might have still been excited enough over seeing an "itsy-bitsy" to mention it, but she was already tucked into bed and soundly sleeping.

So Miles and Keiko chatted over other things during supper, then went to bed themselves with no knowledge of the danger Keiko had actually taken in her daughter's stead.

oOo

Miles stirred, moaning at the sound of Molly's first morning whimpers. She had been sleeping through the night for some time, but lately had been making up for it by waking at what seemed to him far too early an hour. "Maybe we should try putting her to bed later," he muttered.

There was no response, and Miles pushed himself up on his elbow to look at his sleeping wife. Normally Keiko would get Molly and let Miles sleep so he would be rested enough for whatever the station threw at him that day, but today she showed no sign of moving. She must be exhausted if even her baby's cries couldn't rouse her, Miles reasoned, and with a sigh he tossed back the blankets and stood to go get Molly before her whimpers could turn to screams.

"Hey, Molly-kins," he called from the doorway of the room they had designated the nursery.

Molly sniffled, her cries for "Ma!" instantly turning into a delighted squeal. "Da! Da!"

Miles laughed, crossing the room and swooping her up above his head. He nuzzled his upturned face into her tummy, stopping only when her laughter seemed as likely to wake Keiko as screaming would have.

"It's too early to get up," he told her with mock sternness, settling her on his hip.

"Da!" she replied happily, grabbing at his nose.

He chuckled. "Well, let's get you cleaned up, anyway."

He changed her diaper and put her into a one-piece playsuit, then carried her to the living room and pulled up an illustrated children's story on the datapadd. "Once there was a little duck…" he read.

The sound of his own voice lulled him, and as he finished the story his eyes drifted closed and he fell back to sleep with Molly cuddled against him.

oOo

"Ducky, Da!"

Miles opened his eyes with a start, instantly aware from the feel of things that he had been asleep for at least an hour. A glance at the datapadd confirmed that, but a quick visual scan of the room showed that Molly didn't appear to have gotten into any trouble while she was unattended. Maybe she had even dozed herself, though Miles doubted it.

"Yes, ducky," he murmured through a yawn. "Mama up yet?" Keiko was the early riser of them; no matter how tired she might have been, it was surprising for her to sleep much past the time Molly usually woke them.

"Ma seep."

Frowning, Miles stood with Molly on his arm and went to the bedroom to see for himself. She indeed still lay sleeping, in exactly the position Miles had left her.

Well, there was no reason why she shouldn't sleep a few more hours if she needed it, but he couldn't shake the unease twisting his stomach. "Keiko?" he called softly, hating to wake her if she was indeed that tired, but needing now to know she was all right.

"Ma!" Molly added.

Keiko moaned and shifted slightly, stilling Miles' worst, wordless fears, but no matter how tired she was, Molly's voice should have had her sitting up with a smile and a hug for her baby.

Crossing the room, Miles sat on the edge of the bed and gently shook Keiko's shoulder. "Come on, Kee-kee, wake up; you're scaring me."

"Ma sick, Da?"

Miles managed a strained smile. "Ma'll be fine," he said absently, picking up his uniform shirt and hitting the combadge without putting the garment on. "O'Brien to Dr Bashir."

"Dr Bashir," he responded, sounding annoyingly alert for so early in the morning. "What's up, Chief?"

O'Brien bit back a sarcastic retort, focusing instead on the problem at hand. "It's Keiko; she's still sleeping. And, yes, I know it's early, but Molly should have woken her, and I can't rouse her."

Miles faintly heard the doctor's sigh over the combadge. "Okay. First, let me assure you that if this is the same thing that's affecting Jake Sisko, it doesn't seem to be immediately dangerous. Can you tell me if she was bitten by any kind of bug or insect yesterday?"

"She didn't mention it if she was."

"Da, itsy-bitsy! Ma say itsy-bitsy!"

"Um. If I'm interpreting Molly correctly…she may have been."

"I thought so. I'll be over in about five minutes to wake her, if you don't think she'd rather I wait for a more decent hour?"

"No; Molly usually has her up by now anyway."

"Up! Up! Ma up!"

Miles turned his head to give his baby girl the ghost of a smile.

"Five minutes, then. Bashir out."

oOo

Keiko blinked in confusion on waking to find Dr Bashir bending over her, with Miles hovering anxiously in the background. "What…happened?"

Bashir seated himself beside her, glancing at his tricorder before speaking. "It would seem you were bitten by a sort of bug or insect yesterday," he explained.

"Yes…I suppose I was," Keiko admitted. "It only stung for a second, though, so I didn't think much of it — and I feel fine."

"Good. But the bite seems to repress the body's natural ability to wake from sleep, and I've yet to figure out why; I can't even find any apparent venom."

"Molly!" Keiko whispered, her face paling. "What if it had bitten her…?"

"I don't know," Bashir admitted.

"We can't stay here," Keiko worried. "Miles, what if there are more of them?"

"I'll request a temporary change of quarters," O'Brien promised instantly. "Until then, take Molly down to the promenade or something — that is, if she's all right, Doctor?"

"Yes, she's fine for normal activities — though she should be careful not to fall asleep if she's alone with Molly, since she won't wake if Molly needs her."

Miles paled, suddenly remembering his own earlier nap. "Doctor…is there any way you can check and see whether Molly was bitten?"

Bashir shrugged. "I haven't found anything that would show up on a scan… I suppose I could do a thorough exam for any visible bites, but since I don't have a treatment yet, it wouldn't accomplish much."

"Do it anyway; I'd rather not be wondering if she was bitten or not."

Bashir nodded, reaching to take the baby from Miles' arms.

"Da!" she crowed.

"Doctor," he corrected, smiling at her. "Can you say doc-tor?"

"Da-door!"

Bashir chuckled. "Close enough. Let's check and see if anything bit you, little monkey."

His examination was as thorough as Miles and Keiko could have wished for, minutely inspecting every inch of skin. "I can't see anything," he said at last. "Just watch her during naps; if she seems to be sleeping normally and wakes on her own, she's fine."

"Thank you," Miles said with relief. "And Keiko…?"

Bashir sighed. "I'm working on it," he promised. "She can sleep in the infirmary tonight, or I can come wake her in the morning; it's up to you."

"I'll let you know," O'Brien responded, taking Molly back. "Thank you again."

"No trouble. And I will have an answer soon."

Next chapter coming next week!

A/N: In watching the series, I realized I accidentally made Molly two years younger than they had her on the show. I don't remember where I got her age; either it was wrong where I found it, or I miscalculated the years somehow. Anyway, I decided that as long as I'm consistent in my stories, since I write alternate history anyway it doesn't matter if I have her younger than on the show (and to be honest, when she appears on the show, she looks closer to the age I have her in that season than the age they claim!) It's just annoying to have mistakenly gotten something wrong that I wasn't trying to change. The ironic thing is that when I wrote this story, I was concerned that I might have Molly talking a little too well for a one-year-old!

I'm not entirely sure yet what I'm doing with Keiko in my alternate history; I know I don't have her on Bajor for an extended length of time. I don't really care for the idea of her leaving her own toddler in daycare to teach other people's children when she doesn't have to for financial reasons, but if she is the schoolteacher, we'll just say this story happens on the Bajoran equivalent of the weekend or spring break or something! Barbie

I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!

Please note that I have only minimal internet access, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. (But they are much appreciated, even if you're reading this story long after I originally post it!) If you have questions regarding my Deep Space Nine alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie