Lemon

Just Called to Say…

Security officers found themselves busy breaking up large knots of people who insisted on crowding the Sick Bay and anyplace else the Khaleesi could be found over the next two weeks. The Lady didn't have a favorite restaurant, nor did she ever visit Quarks. Between the crowds and her family's not-so-subtle attempts to get her back to Fralern Signa, Isabelle was very stressed out. She only glowed consistently at night when her husband fed her. Other than that it was hit or miss during the day. She would get happy, glowing with a smile. Then the people would crowd around her, calling for blessings and trying to touch her and the glow would disappear, replaced by annoyance and exasperation.

"I'm calling security," she said forcefully while treating her patient.

"Please, dear Lady. One song from you would cure me! My ship leaves in an hour. I won't be around for-"

"I said 'get out of my Sick Bay'," Isabelle repeated. "I'm not your personal jukebox! And your corns are not a life-threatening condition. We do serious medical care here, not cosmetic surgery. And if you would stop being so selfish, you would see that this Sick Bay is full of casualties from the latest Dominion attack!"

"Your song would fix all of them, don't you see? You used to heal people all the time. What happened?"

"You happened," she spat furiously. "You and people like you. I can only heal that way when I'm relaxed and happy. Do I look relaxed and happy to you? I suggest you get to your transport before Security Chief Odo detains you." The woman gave her a dirty look before scampering out of the Sick Bay.

"So many requests for your amazing powers, my daughter," Conner tsked with false sympathy. "Might I suggest a small break from this madness? It would only be-"

"I've already told you 'no', father. And shouldn't you be heading back by now? Who's looking after your kingdom if you're here bothering with some random, long-lost girl?"

"Oh, my dear," the Queen twittered into her hand. "You give yourself too little credit! You're the most important woman in either of our universes. And your brother is watching over our kingdom in our stead. You don't have to worry about us." The doctor didn't dignify that with a response, opting to move on to the next casualty in the Sick Bay. She did her best to ignore the whispering from all the patients as they stared at her. Instead, she focused on the steady, bored presence of her beloved husband. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, but there was little he could do about the stares and the crowds.

"Doctor Anasazi?"

"Yes?" she answered, still feeling a secret thrill whenever anyone used her new name.

"Please report to the brig immediately."

"I'm on my way." She gathered her supplies and rushed to the brig, Tyr and the Zarkonens in tow. When they arrived one of the prisoners was singing praises to the Prophets in his cell. He also looked like he'd been cutting himself on his arms.

"Thank you for coming, Dr. Anasazi. We found him leading some kind of spiritual protest in the Promenade this morning. We thought it best to get him out of sight. If you could treat his wounds, that would be great."

"Of course, Lieutenant Garon. I'll get started right away." Tyr nodded in silence, stepping into the cell with her for protection.

"You're an imposter," the Bajoran glared when she stepped into his cell.

"No, I'm a real doctor," Isabelle said firmly as she started to heal his arms.

"You weren't sent by the Prophets! You are an abomination, sent to distract us from our true worship."

"I never claimed to be sent by the Prophets," the girl said, looking put out as she worked on the man's wounds. "I wasn't sent by anyone! I'm simply stationed here by StarFleet."

"It's up to me to destroy your evil," the man continued as if she hadn't spoken. "You must be punished for your role in leading my people astray." Tyr noticed the knife moments before the Bajoran could drive it into his wife. He deflected the blow from the startled woman and into the wall, slitting the man's throat with his boneblades in the process. The Lieutenant attacked from behind the group, his phaser set to kill. The Nietzschean pushed his bride out of the way, unleashing his deadly aura as he shot the other Bajoran dead. He then shot the prisoner in the head when he attempted to murder the Khaleesi with his bare hands. Pulling the trembling woman to her feet, he growled.

"Beam us up, Misao." His order was followed immediately and all of the Doctor's entourage found themselves aboard the Nietzschean's ship.

"Speak to me, Bliss," he said as calmly as he could to the traumatized woman. "I need to know what you're thinking right now."

"I-" The viewscreen was suddenly full of an explosion on the station. The Bamboozalin had been monitoring the comms on the station all along, and picked up that it was her quarters that had been hit. A group calling themselves 'The Way to the Prophets' was claiming responsibility, stating that the abomination had been distracting the people from the Prophets. They further claimed that said distraction must be removed. Fifteen people were killed by the blast and dozens that had been camped outside of her home awaiting her return from her shift were injured.

"Doctor Anasazi? Isabelle? If you are alive, please respond."

"I… I'm not dead, Commander," the girl said shakily.

"Thank God for that! What happened? The last anyone knew, you were headed for the brig. Suddenly there are a few dead bodies and we have an explosion on our hands. Are you alright? What the hell happened? Where are you?"

"The brig was a setup; the prisoner they wanted me to treat tried to kill me. So did the Lieutenant. Tyr took them out and brought me to his vessel. Is my home really gone, Commander?" She sounded so lost that Sisko's heart went out to her. He couldn't think of a way to protect the little miracle from this newest threat. The crowds and gawking were bad enough, but now there were those who wanted her dead for her power. It was outrageous!

"Look, I'm going to suggest that you remain aboard the Bamboozalin until we can sort this thing out."

"Okay."

"I know you want to-wait. What?"

"Commander, some religious nut jobs just tried to murder me for my powers. They killed a bunch of people, hurt even more trying to get to me. I'm not going anywhere near the station until it's secure and I know that it won't happen again. I won't risk my baby for a bunch of lunatics. If Tyr hadn't seen that knife…"

"Is that my little girl?" O'Brien suddenly sounded on the line. "Isabelle? Are you alright?"

"I… I'm not dead, Daddy," she answered with a tremor in her voice. Tyr wrapped her up in his strength, caressing her belly.

"I'm coming up there. I don't-"

"No!" she shouted to everyone's shock. "You need to be safe for your family. Mama is likely going crazy with worry over you. You need to call her and tell her that you're okay. Until the station is secured and those idiots are hunted down, there's no telling what could happen." Miles considered this carefully, then shook his head even though she couldn't see it.

"You're a part of my family, love. If something had happened to you, Keiko would be equally devastated."

"And you know that I'm safe. There's every chance that these people might try to kidnap Mama and the kids and trade them for my life. I couldn't bear for that to happen because of me. Secure your family; the terrorists have already proven to be mentally unstable. I'm a commlink away if you need me." The Operational Chief hadn't thought of the possibility of them using Keiko and the kids against them. Mind in a panic, he immediately contacted his wife and kids. The possibility hadn't occurred to Ensign Leesyold Shog on the bridge either. He left the bridge to talk to his contacts about it and was promptly torn apart by a mob of furious Bajorans who overheard his conversation with them. The general public was on a rampage over this attack on the Khaleesi. Soon every member of this new and dangerous extremist group on the station was killed by Bajoran hands. Security Chief Odo was having a hell of a time trying to control the mobs.

The same could be said about the Bajorans planetside. The next two days were full of riots as all members of the Way of the Prophets were hunted to extinction or went into hiding. Calls in support of the Khaleesi came in from around the galaxy. Offers of sanctuary came in from Cardassians, Bajoran outposts, Romulans; even Klingon wanted in on her power. Isabelle refused to speak to anyone but the staff on Deep Space Nine and her family on Bajor. There was no healing happening, leading many to believe the Lady was dead despite Commander Sisko's reassurances to the contrary. On day three, a pulse of love and peace that could only be from the Khaleesi. This seemed to calm the people and the riots stopped immediately. The Bajorans stopped hunting down anyone who ever had a disparaging word to say about the Khaleesi and killing them brutally. The pulse didn't fix the explosion or bring anyone back from the dead. It simply stopped the madness.

"I don't want to go to live in Fralern Signa, father," the girl said angrily. "I'm getting tired of repeating myself! Do Zarkonens suffer from short term memory loss or something? I said 'no' before, I'm saying 'no' now. Tomorrow I'm thinking of putting my answer on a damn shirt because I'm sick of saying it!"

"But sweetheart, where do you plan to live?" Conner asked at his wife's insistence. He too was tired of having his suggestions ignored. "You obviously can't stay on this side of the universe. It only makes sense to come home."

"Fralern Signa is not my home! It's yours. If it's so beautiful and amazing, why don't you just leave and let me figure this out?" She was used to the disapproving gasps by now. This 'wearing them down' technique was exhausting to both the Nietzschean and his bride. Tyr wanted nothing more than to send the troublesome and generally annoying couples back to their ship, but Isabelle insisted that they stay until they got the message. Which they still weren't getting. "I'm not going to argue this point anymore. I was raised on Legionella 204 in an orphanage. That is my home! As for where I feel most comfortable, it's here, where my parents are. You need to stop pushing me before you start getting answers you don't like."

"We are your parents, Isabelle Rachel Bateman! Asbinine and I are-"

"You may have birthed me, but you are not my parents. Miles and Keiko found me when I was at my lowest point. They cared for me, and nurtured me when no one else bothered with the cold, seemingly heartless doctor who was dying from loneliness and heartache. What are you and Asbinine to me? Just another pair of grasping, greedy, demanding people trying to force your will on me now that I'm 'special'. I refuse to live with that for the rest of my life. I refuse to raise my child, my future children like that. They will grow up in love, like I wasn't."

"Is that how you really feel about the situation?" The Queen sniffled, her answer for every harsh word her daughter said to her. After three days of holding back from the constant onslaught, the Khaleesi was sick of it.

"Yes, it is, mother! You may be my mother, but Keiko is my mom. She actually gives a damn about me instead of just caring about her image with me by her side. It's been three days of this constant back and forth and I'm sick of it! The answer is 'no'; the answer will always be 'no'. So, you need to go back to your lavish ship that you keep complaining is so much better than my husband's, and go back to your home! I don't want you here anymore and you obviously have no interest in getting to know the daughter you lost all those years ago!"

Absolute silence met this bold declaration. Isabelle was obviously not holding back anymore. She looked absolutely miserable, as she always did when facing her parents or aunt lately. Tyr placed a warm arm around her cold shoulders in support of her decision. Conner was speechless. He finally understood his wife's reaction that first day. Because they really had lost their little girl. No true Zarkonen would ever speak this way to their own mother and father. Hell, no Khaleesi was strong enough to say such blasphemous things to a royal couple. Without another word to his treacherous child, he led his family back to his ship and set a course for home. Once there, he planned to spread the word of her dissension.

Isabelle, knowing full well his plan and not caring about these strangers and their games, relaxed for the first time since she'd met the Royal family. "Well, that was unpleasant."

Her Nietzschean husband started rubbing her back where their child constantly kicked lately. "I'm proud of you, Bliss."

"I should have told them off weeks ago, but the diplomatic side of me kept thinking that they would get it eventually. I'm so tired now, and I realize that they are just a bunch of strangers that don't care about me outside of my notoriety. That makes them no better than Kai Winn in my opinion." A note popped into existence next to her and she grabbed it on reflex.

Thank you for your hospitality these past few weeks, niece.

I'm sorry that things came to such an unfortunate end.

I want you to know that I am highly impressed with the woman you have become and I'd like to meet some other time to get to know you better.

-Uncle Mags

A soft glow surrounded her at the heartfelt words. All throughout this ordeal she'd felt her uncle's approval. Perhaps, in time, something could be salvaged from this horrific situation.

Misao plucked the note out of her hand and read it aloud. "Do you think he's serious?"

"I think… I think I'm very tired from dealing with them for the last three weeks. Uncle Mags was the only one to reach out to me in all that time. I sincerely hope it's genuine. Good night, everyone." It took strength to pull away from her man's wonderfully callused fingers, but she managed it. In StarFleet, you stood up for yourself.

"She's pulling away from me again," Tyr growled.

"Of course she is. You basically made her face her family alone all this time," Misao commented after climbing onto her husband's lap.

"She asked me to leave the situation to her!"

"Of course she did. She once told me that you fight your own battles in StarFleet because no one would fight them for you. In fact, she'd had to learn that lesson the hard way when she collaborated with a colleague who did nothing and stole her research. She reported the theft to StarFleet and the man got a reprimand in his record. There was no return of her intellectual property, no acknowledgement of her part in the project… She has to live with that. Much like she has to live with the fact that her family, minus 'Uncle Mags', hates her for the crime of being herself. Hate drains a Khaleesi. Have you bothered to force the issue of her witnessing violence three days ago or fending off her family's demands since?"

Tyr sighed, grateful beyond words that his woman had such an effective advocate in the form of Misao. The enthusiastic crew member would be invaluable in counseling him through his little one's tantrums, such as they were. He found his wife laying on her side facing away from him. The way her body was shaking, she was either crying or the baby was kicking. Likely both. "Isabelle?"

A soft sniffle and he could feel her putting up a glamor. Seeing right through it to her reddened eyes, he sighed and approached his woman. Now that his in-laws were gone, it was time to talk.

"You know that I see through your illusions, right?" She looked down in embarrassment.

"You've now had almost three weeks of my parents and family. Are you disgusted by the similarities between us? Do you regret choosing me yet?" She curled up in a ball, as much as she could with her five-month-old baby rebelling against her dark mood, and faced away from him. Tyr could only smile fondly as he climbed up onto the bed and started massaging her back. She tried to smother a moan, but he heard it and redoubled his efforts.

"No, I don't regret anything. Mostly because I am too amazed at the differences between you and your family. I've been bursting with pride at my woman since we met your parents. You wouldn't let them cow you. You stood up for yourself and were yourself when addressing them. You were my strong, fiery woman. It pleased me. You know what has not pleased me? This distance that you keep trying to build between us." The light reprimand made her cringe, but he only continued his massage while crooning to her with those deep, golden tones he knew she couldn't resist. "You are meant to be mine, Isabelle. You belong to me now and forever. Only death can part us. There's no need for you to fear me."

"But-"

"But nothing," he whispered against the side of her forehead while turning her to face him. Her face was drenched in tears and she was shaking with the effort not to cry more. The Nietzschean could only smile sadly at her. "I'm not going to leave you and I won't abandon you to this pain. Talk to me, Bliss. Tell me about the attack."

"He… He hated me so much," she whined, even more tears escaping her iron grip on her emotions. "They both did. It scared me, wounded me. And when he wrapped his hands around my neck-"

"It's alright, little Bliss. Let it out. Release this pain. I'm right here," She started bawling, sobbing her pain and it was like lancing a wound. The poison was released. Tyr held her tightly until she settled into his embrace, caressing her back as he settled their baby. Eventually, her shivers ceased. He left her only long enough to grab a towel to clean her. Gently, lovingly, he wiped away the evidence of her grief, projecting his love for her until she glowed softly for him. She yawned and climbed into his lap, curling around him as much as her growing belly would allow. Tyr Anasazi smiled at her antics, glad that she was back to normal. Finally, he felt justified in removing her StarFleet uniform, the only clothing she had left after her quarters were blown up. She mewled and the Nietzschean pulled her up against him for a deep kiss, undressing her to the skin as he did.

"Want," she whined, pressing herself against her man. She shivered at his dark chuckle.

"Then you shall have me," he whispered against her ear, removing his own clothes. He slipped into her wet opening, enjoying her shudder of pleasure. That night it was slow and steady, as he reassured his woman.

She basked in his love for her, soaking wet as he pleased her from behind. Over and over he brought her to her pinnacle until all she could do was breathe in his love for her. When they were finally spent and sated, she was perfectly calm and convinced that he still loved her. Her glow was blinding, healing everyone in two galaxies. She was so tired…

"Then sleep, little one. I've got you." He kissed her cheek sweetly and she slumped in his arms. The Nietzschean smiled as he arranged her sleeping body around his. He was content that this was going to be his life now. No matter what she chose next, he would be right beside her.

The End