Hey, y'all! Paige here with the much-anticipated, brand new chappie of SM! I'm excited, and I hope you are too! Well, I know everyone (including me) is dying to find out what happens next, so I'll stop babbling and start writing!

Chapter Fourteen: A Matter Of Time

Odo

Odo decided to rest a while before attempting to escape once more. He couldn't afford to be low on energy on his way back to Deep Space Nine. So, he found himself just lounging around in the jar. Odo found this very relaxing and just gave in to its comfortable ease.

After a number of hours, he remembered that he needed to get out of that place. He had no time for such indulgences as this! Immediately, he began to grow and turn gray.

Soon, he felt the pressure of the jar's sides and he almost wanted to stop, until the jar simply shattered around him. It was such a relief to be out of that confined space and. . . Wait, there was still the thick glass tube to break through! The smooth sides squeezed Odo, beckoning him to stop and be still, but Odo would not heed. He pressed the glass and would have cried out in the pain of this constant pressure, had he had a mouth.

It was a battle between this glass and Odo. Struggling to enlarge himself, Odo would not give in to the pressure, even though it was obviously a lot thicker than the jar he had been placed in previously.

Eventually, one of the two had to surrender, and since Odo simply would not, it had to be the glass. The tube burst open, spraying shards of itself all around. When they hit the force field, Odo was only reminded of the next barrier to be escaped. Although he was extremely relieved to be rid of that obstacle, the next one seemed so much harder and he was discouraged.

He grew freely now, and soon the table on which he rested was a pile of splinters. Large flaps grew off the sides of his head, and a long cylindrical shape sprouted from his face. With the cylinder came two white daggers that Odo felt push out of his new face. He was standing on four thick legs, covered in leathery skin like the rest of his body.

Oh, yes, Odo was transforming into an elephant. However, there was hardly enough room for a creature of such magnitude within the force field and Odo found himself pressed again, locked this time in a battle he could not win.

Bashir

Sighing, Bashir left the finally empty Infirmary in the ever-vigilant care of the other doctors. He decided to take a stroll along the Promenade to try and clear his head. Passing the Klingon restaurant, he flinched at the singer's freakishly high note and quickened his pace slightly.

Bashir rubbed his temples impatiently. This wasn't doing any good. Worries still invaded his mind, demanding recognition. Odo hadn't even been gone for twenty-four hours yet, and everyone was either worrying or pretending not to. Bashir kept walking. What else was there to do?

"Julian!" O'Brien called from inside Quark's. "Come here. You've got to see this!"

Bashir strode into the bar. "What is it, Miles?" he asked.

"Quark is taking bets on when Odo will be back," O'Brien explained.

Bashir turned to Quark. "Really?" he said.

Quark was preparing a Black Hole for Morn, and he talked to the doctor while doing so. "I know he'll be back. It's just a matter of time."

"When did you become such an optimist?" O'Brien asked.

"When everyone else on the station became pessimists!" Quark retorted.

Both men were shocked. "Well, it's. . ." Bashir started.

"It's not. . ." O'Brien tried.

"Just that. . ." Bashir stuttered.

"Uh-huh," Quark said, smirking.

"Now, look here," O'Brien said firmly, not about to let Quark beat them. "We are a hopeful people, and we know Odo can do this. He will come back." He sounded more sure than he felt, although he had come to respect Odo.

"We're just worried," Bashir added. "Deep Space Nine isn't the same without him. We. . . we miss him," he finally ended.

There was silence between the three for a while. Then O'Brien spoke up. "I have an idea," he announced.

Sisko

The changeling was contained for now, which gave Sisko a small comfort in all of this chaos. What to do with it, though? That was the question.

It would have to be interrogated, but how was that possible when it was a liquid? Odo would know how to deal with it. Perhaps he could convince it to talk to them, even link with it to skip the questioning part.

Odo always conducted investigations, interrogated prisoners, and brought justice to Deep Space Nine. Now, with him gone, there was an almost tangible essence of insecurity coating the station.

Sisko looked out of his office window, onlooking the unbeatable view of a never-ending star-speckled black canvas. Part of Bajor peeked around the edge of the window as it did every day, disrupting the pattern of constant darkness. The sight of it gave him hope: hope that Odo would be back soon, hope that everything would work out.

So, what did you think? I had fun writing it, and I certainly hope you had fun reading it! Please review! I really love reviews they are like my life! Actually no, they aren't because that would kind of be sad. But please review anyway! This week, almost all of my mom's family is coming down to stay at our house. It's gonna be a blast, but that may hinder my writing. Oh well! I'll update as soon as possible. Bye!