To The Journey

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This is an AU story.

Chapter Sixteen: Chance Encounter

"So what exactly happened with Leyton? What got him to resign?"

"I told him we were onto him. He told me that it didn't matter because he'd sent the Lakota to intercept the Defiant before she could get to Earth. Told them the Defiant's crew had all been replaced by shapeshifters."

"Isn't that Benteen's ship?" She named Leyton's most recent XO.

"Yes. Anyway, I was able to convince Benteen to stand down, and Leyton saw his little empire collapsing."

"So he resigned?"

"I made him see reason."

"With a phaser, I presume."

"Among other things," he admitted.

She laughed. "Sometimes, that's the only way."

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"Thank your friend for me, would you? That little connection we discovered was the nail in Leyton's coffin. He's been charged with plotting to overthrow the government."

"I will. Though I'm sure she knows by now, they've probably called her to testify."

"When do you get back into space?"

"Six weeks. That's when they launch the new Enterprise."

"Would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Of course not. What do you need?"

"You like my dad's cooking, right?"

"Never tasted anything like it. It's great. All real ingredients?"

"Pretty much. Anyway, I need you to stop in for a meal from time to time. And while you're there, try to make sure he's taking care of himself."

"I can do that. Goodbye, Ben. And good luck."

"You too."

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"How long have you been running this place?" It was half a conversation starter and half genuine curiosity.

"Oh, I lost count a long time ago." The old man smiled kindly at her. "I measure my time in accomplishments, not years."

"Accomplishments? You mean new dishes?"

"That's one way. Couples, too."

"You play matchmaker on the side?" she laughed.

"You bet I do. Don't get me wrong, I don't go into the street to find people to match up, but if there's a good match in here and they don't know each other exist, well, I can't stand around and let that chance walk out the door."

"How often does it work out?"

"Well, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes they date for years. See that man?" Joseph Sisko pointed to a table where two men were sitting, and Tasha couldn't help wanting to laugh. Which one?

"You match those two up?"

"Unfortunately, I can't take credit for that one. But that man, the one facing away from us? I matched up his brother real good. The man came in here single and lonely, recently broken up, and as it happened there was a group of about seven or eight young ladies about his age who hung around this place a lot, and I knew from talking to them that about five of them were single. So I talked to him for awhile about what he might want in a girl - there was a wide range of personalities in that group - and figured out which of those five was the best match for him. I arranged for them to have dinner together, and from then on I hardly saw one of them without the other. He proposed to her right here in this restaurant five months after I first introduced them. They had their wedding dinner here too."

"You hosted the reception?"

"It was hardly a reception, there were only five people including the bride and groom. But I pulled out all the stops for them. Baked a wedding cake with my own hands, rustled up some champagne, the works. And I cleared the floor so they could dance. A lot of the other guests in the restaurant joined them. It was the most fun I'd had in a long time."

"Whatever happened to them?"

"To be honest, I don't know. He lived off-planet, he'd just been visiting Earth, and they got married the day before he went back - I'm sure that was on purpose. He shook my hand and thanked me, she hugged me and said she couldn't imagine a way it could have been better, and then they walked out the door and I never saw them again."

"You talking about my brother's wedding again?" The man in question had stepped up behind them. "He never gets tired of that story."

"I don't mind. I did ask."

"You still keep those pictures around?" the man asked.

"Of course." He slid a stack of holo-photos out from under the counter. "Why would I get rid of them?"

"Why indeed?" He picked up one of the photos and laughed. "I can't believe you took a picture of this!"

"What?" Tasha tugged it out of his hand. "Oh, God." The picture featured a younger version of the man standing behind her. In this photograph, he was standing on a table, his cup raised in a toast.

"A little too much to drink?" she laughed too.

"Yeah, that and I wanted to embarrass my brother. Instead I embarrassed myself. He was too giddy from being newly married to get embarrassed." He picked up another photo. "God, he was lucky I don't swing that way. Otherwise I just might have asked her to run away with me."

Tasha laughed harder, but it stopped abruptly as she got a look at the picture. Her eyes went wide, and she shuffled through Joseph's photos until she found one that clearly showed the faces of the wedding party.

The man behind her stood on the far left, but it wasn't him she was looking at. The two people on the right were familiar, albeit younger than she'd ever known them, but she only gave them a passing look too. It was the couple she was looking at. They'd been older when she'd first known them too, and it had been a long time since she'd seen either of them, but they were faces she'd never forget.

"Are you okay, hon?" Joseph was looking at her in concern. Tasha realized suddenly that she was crying silently, her tears landing on the picture.

"What is it?" the man asked.

"I know these people," she said finally.

"You do?" both men asked simultaneously.

"I did." She traced the woman's face with her finger. "They're my parents."

Absolute silence. It was the strange man who spoke first. "You mean those two?" He pointed to the couple on the right. Owen and Julia Paris grinned at the camera, but it wasn't them Tasha was focused on.

"No. I mean the couple getting married."

"That's impossible. My brother and his wife lived on a planet that lost all contact with the outside world years ago."

"You think I don't know that? I was born on that planet, damn it, I grew up there!" She drew a deep breath, trying to calm her temper. "I'm sorry. This is just all a little overwhelming."

"A little..." To his credit, the man looked as flustered as she did. "I don't blame you. I'm overwhelmed too."

He was staring at her, and she realized what she'd missed in her shock over seeing those pictures of her parents. If he was the brother of the groom, that meant he was her uncle.

"I - uh - I don't think we've been introduced."

"We have, but it was a long time ago. I visited my brother once, when you were a year old - you are Natasha, aren't you?"

"Technically, yes, but I've gone by Tasha as long as I can remember."

"I'm David, go by Dave." She reached out to shake his hand, but he pulled her in by the arm and hugged her. "It's wonderful to see you again, Tasha."

She still hadn't managed to check the tears running down her face. "I never thought this would happen - could happen. I found my mother's family a few years ago, and I already knew I was luckier than most."

"Tasha, can I - if you don't mind - would it bother you if -"

"For God's sake, just spit it out."

"Tasha, what happened to my brother?"

She sighed. "He died when I was five."

She noticed he looked saddened but not surprised. He'd probably suspected something like that. "How?"

"This isn't the time or place."

"All right. Later, then. Oh, and Mr. Sisko, would you mind bringing out some of that bread pudding souffle? That's actually what I came over here for."

"Two servings?"

"Make that three." He nodded to Tasha. "Come here a moment, won't you?"

"What was that about?" the other man asked. "Hey, weren't you at that little 'surprise' with Captain Kirk?"

"How'd you know?" Tasha's eyes went wide.

He grinned. "My grandfather served under Kirk. They were re-running that clip over and over on the news, and it took me a long time to get tired of it. So Dave, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Oh, right. Tasha, Alan Riley. Alan, my niece Tasha."

"I didn't know you had a niece."

"Niether did I. But you remember me telling you about my brother?"

"Hmm, I think I remember you mentioning something about him, once or twice. A week."

"This is his daughter."

"Her you never mentioned."

"I only met her once."

"Which of you was older?" Tasha broke in.

"Him," Dave replied, "by four years. I was just barely old enough to be a legal witness at their wedding."

"He was only twenty-two?"

"Yep. It's amazing what a guy can do in four years, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Now you asked for it," mumbled Alan good-naturedly.

"Yes, I did. I want to know more about my father."

"Your father, Tasha, was always an adventurer. Never content to sit still, and ambitious like you wouldn't believe. He wanted to go do the next big thing. Well, he heard about this colony out on Turkana IV looking for government workers and signed up. He hadn't been eighteen for a month, he was the youngest applicant, but his enthusiasm and dedication to work got the attention of the people in charge. He was promoted twice within the first year. By the time his twenty-first birthday rolled around, he had a major leadership role in that government. It was at some point in there, about a year later, that his superiors decided he was working too hard and ordered him to take a six-month leave. He came to Earth for a visit and went back to Turkana married to a girl from one of the most prominent families in Starfleet. Everyone was stunned."

"I can imagine."

"From what I heard, Eva was actually a regulating influence on him. He started working normal hours, took a day off from time to time - I think he just wanted to spend time with her. He was completely and utterly in love with her. One of his co-workers said that he was shouting to the streets when he found out he was going to be a father."

"I wish I'd had the chance to know him."

"He loved you. The only thing in his world more important to him than his work was his family. You, and your mother, and your -" he broke off suddenly. "I just realized. I never even knew what he had the second time."

"Sister. Ishara. She died a few years ago."

"I'm sorry. How?"

"Again, not the place."

"All right."

"Was my father there when you got married?"

"No. That was a few years after we lost contact." Then he did a double-take. "How did you know I was married?"

"Call it an educated guess. I noticed that Alan's wearing a wedding ring, even though you're not."

"I tend to leave mine off. I'm always worried I'll lose it, and I'm past the age where it's really an issue."

"Anyway, the way you two look at each other, I sure hope you're married. Otherwise Alan has some explaining to do to someone."

"Is it that obvious?" the still-seated man laughed.

"Not really. I'm really good at picking up on people's nonverbal cues. It's a learned art."

"Where did you learn it?" Dave asked.

Their dessert was brought, and they began a more lighthearted conversation as they ate.

xxxxxxxxx

"It really was wonderful to see you again, Tasha."

After they had finished eating, he had insisted that she accompany him back to his apartment so that she could tell him everything she wouldn't tell him at the restaurant. She'd warned him that she had a tendency to be very blunt and matter-of-fact about things that were difficult, one of the reasons she hadn't wanted to tell him in public. He'd been understanding about her background, and she'd been grateful that he didn't ask too many questions about what she told him. He'd thanked her, explaining that he'd suspected for a long time that his brother was dead but that knowing for sure and knowing how provided closure he hadn't had. He'd also issued her a standing invitation to visit him anytime.

She'd then answered a few questions about Kirk for Alan, and had been shocked to realize she knew of his grandfather. As soon as he'd referred to the man as "Grandpa Kevin", she'd been aware of who he was. She'd been made a bit uncomfortable to realize she probably knew things about Kevin Riley that his own grandson didn't, but he didn't ask and she didn't volunteer the information.

"It was wonderful to meet you," she replied.

"Come back and see me at least once before you leave, okay?"

"I will." She paused, considering. "Do you mind if I bring a friend?"

"Of course not."

Don't know where this plot bunny came from, it just jumped out at me and who am I to refuse an eager bunny?

Yes, I made casual references to Dave Yar and Alan Riley being a married gay couple. I like to think that in the time of Trek they could marry and it wouldn't even be considered unusual.

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