Hello people of Earth and the western continent of Venus! I hope you love this chapter, and therefore, the whole story. But one chapter at a time, now! Here goes. . . .

Chapter Three: Have You Decided?

Sisko

Commander Sisko returned to his quarters late that night, tired and eager to "hit the hay". However, there was something that needed doing first thing.

"Jake-o!" Sisko yelled in a stentorian voice.

"Yeah, Dad?" Jake replied to his father eagerly. He rounded the corner into the living room and looked expectantly at his father.

Sisko denied his chance to be the first to bring up the inevitable subject and said, "How was your day?"

"Fine," Jake reported monotonously. "What about yours?"

"Oh, same old," Sisko responded. "Trouble in Garak's shop, injured crew members, you know."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Jake stated. "How's Kira?"

"We don't know yet," Sisko answered, "but our good doctor is taking good care of her, I'm sure." There was an awkward silence in the living room of the Siskos' quarters.

"Dad," Jake finally said, "have you decided? About me and Leann?"

Sisko took a deep breath as Jake held his. "Well, I suppose, just this once, you can take her to the holosuites. But I'm going to trust you to be mature, make good choices, and don't let Quark rip you off."

"Yes! Thank you, Dad!" Jake said with a grin. Then he looked at his father's face. "Dad, come on. Don't worry; I'm almost seventeen. I can take care of myself."

Sisko got up and hugged his son. "I know," he whispered in Jake's ear. "Sleep well."

Quark

Quark spent the afternoon doing all his usual things: looking over the holosuites and Dabo tables, preparing drinks for all his faithful customers, scheming when Odo wasn't around, and of course earning latinum. However, as the day wore on, many people left the bar. Soon, only Morn was sitting at a table in the heart of the place. He had a drink in his hand, but he had barely drunken any of it. Eventually, even Morn decided to place a generous tip on the tabletop and leave.

Quark always took that as a sign that the night was coming to a close and he needed to lock up. Just as he was walking up to the big wide doors of the bar, he felt a sudden pressure on his shoulder. He turned, alarmed, to see who or what it could be. It was, shockingly enough, Marda, the old Dabo girl.

"Ah, Marda, my dear," Quark said, releived. "You gave me quite a start there. I was just about to lock up, but my doors are always open for you." Quark offered the girl a stool by the bar. "Would you like anything?" he asked, busying himself with the various bottles on the shelves.

"No, thank you," Marda said politely.

"Suit yourself," the little Ferengi. "So, what brings you back to DS9 after all this time?"

"Actually," Marda answered, "I'm here on business."

Quark burst into laughter, knowing that Marda had never struck him as a businesswoman. He dropped a bottle of Romulan ale and used the hand that had once held it to clutch his side. He had to steady himself on the bar to keep himself from toppling over! Once he had himself under control, he wiped his teary eyes and looked at his former employee. She was serious?

"Sorry," Quark apologized. "I've had a little too much to drink. So, what exactly are we talking about here?"

Marda was hurt because of Quark's reaction, but she tried to focus on the big picture. "I have been involved in some sales of my own lately."

"Let me guess: weapon sales," Quark finished.

"Yes," Marda said. "How did you know?"

"Odo may be onto you, but he's recently been given a more pressing assignment; you should be good for a few days," Quark explained. "Go on, my dear."

OMG! I just got back from a camping trip! I went up to Red Rock with the fam, and it was insane in the membrane if you know what I mean! We left on Friday, and we drove for less than an hour, cuz we're so close. Then, when we got there, we grabbed a great spot really quick. After we had completely set up our tent and were blowing up air mattresses, we found out that our spot was reserved already! So we had to CARRY our tent all the way to a dumb hill while Dad drove the car there, and there was a lot of debate over where we would camp. We started setting up on the hill when this guy in an RV named Mike said we could use the little camping area next to his RV! BIG round of applause for Mike! He saved us! We let him have some of our Dutch Oven cooking, of course. Anyway, the night was REALLY COLD and today we went to a lesson on bats and then hiked 4 miles!! Geez, now I'm really tired. So I went home and finished this chapter for you guys! Hope you love it!