AN: Here we are, another part to this one!
I hope you enjoy! If you do, please do let me know!
111
Jean-Luc stood near Laris, and he waited for her guests to materialize to pick up the ship. He was surprised when they appeared in the entranceway on the telepad, but he could also tell that he wasn't the only one that was surprised.
"What are you doing here?" Laris asked, the moment that the transport was complete, dismissing any social nicety that Jean-Luc might have thought to put into place.
"Oh…I don't care how many times I do that; I will never enjoy that sensation," Lwaxana said as a way of responding. She pressed a hand to her forehead, as though the transporter gave her a headache. Jean-Luc knew that many people responded to transportation technology in unique ways, though, and he could never be sure if Lwaxana's reactions were sincere or part of her preferred performative ways.
"Lwaxana," Laris said, "what are you doing here?"
"I'm thrilled to see you, too, Dear," Lwaxana said, not hiding her disapproval at Laris's lack of a polite greeting. "Do take Veta? He's so pleased to see you. He's been excited since I told him where we going and who would be here."
Laris took a child from Lwaxana that Jean-Luc imagined could probably manage walking, but not with any great mastery of the skill. The child came happily to Laris and hugged against her as she propped him on her hip—clearly something she'd done before with this particular child.
And, suddenly, Jean-Luc became very aware that he'd underestimated the ability of a Romulan to keep a secret—even a Romulan with whom he was involved in some manner. He sighed.
"I would say that I am surprised to see you here, Ambassador Troi," Jean-Luc said. "However, I'm afraid that the past couple of days have made me practically numb to surprise. A great deal more so, I admit, than I have been in a very long time."
"Well…I don't doubt that, but that's no excuse for bad manners, Jean-Luc. You'll call me Lwaxana. And the polite thing to do is to at least ask if I need to avail myself of the facilities. It has been a rather long flight…"
Jean-Luc only then took in the appearance of Lwaxana. While he might have attributed some change in her figure to the boy that was, at the moment, playing with one of Laris's ears, he realized that her current appearance might be owing to something a bit more recent than any changes the boy might have made for her.
"Of course…they are this way…" Jean-Luc said.
"Oh—no need to show me," Lwaxana said. "I can follow your directions. They're quite clear."
She smiled at him, and he remembered that she could read his mind. Though she didn't always use her telepathic abilities openly, she sometimes did. Her need to use the restroom, though, must have been urgent enough for her to be willing to show off some of her skills, because she disappeared without waiting for any further social niceties.
And, then, Jean-Luc was alone with Laris, the small boy that she held, and the other figure that had arrived with Lwaxana.
When Jean-Luc fully took in the man—if that was the proper word for him—he felt a cold sensation run through his body.
"You're…"
"Odo," the man interrupted, stepping forward and offering a hand out in greeting.
A part of Jean-Luc would have felt disgusted at himself if he hadn't shaken Odo's hand. Another part of him, however, practically recoiled. Still, he forced himself to shake Odo's hand, and he marveled quietly over the fact that it felt very much like any human hand that he'd ever shaken before. He felt mildly surprised by that, though he wasn't sure how he had expected it to feel.
"You're a Changeling," Jean-Luc said.
Odo frowned slightly. He folded his hands in front of him. He was carrying a large bag slung over one shoulder, and Jean-Luc wondered, briefly, what he would need to carry with him.
"I am," he said. "Though I am not in any way aligned with the Dominion. I assure you of that. Lwaxana and I have been working with a small, independent group of resistance fighters for…"
"Yes," Jean-Luc said, interrupting him. He could feel an unexpected anger growing inside of him. "I would like to know for how long, because Laris has mentioned nothing about this. As a matter of fact, I'm rather surprised about…about…"
He gestured toward the toddler that Laris had shifted to her other hip. She was working to pry his fingers free from her hair.
"You must have a great deal of questions," Odo said.
"A great deal," Jean-Luc agreed.
"And they'll all be answered in time," Lwaxana said, coming back into the space. "Honestly, Jean-Luc, you're acting as if the whole galaxy should give you an update on any new happening in their lives. Well—I suppose that's what you want, isn't it? Although, I'm having to block out all of you until everyone calms down a bit. Now, I do think we should chat, but…this is quite unwelcoming, Jean-Luc."
She was, of course, referring to the space.
"We will move to the living room," Jean-Luc said.
"I'm sure Lwaxana and Odo need to be going," Laris said.
"We would love to stay for a while!" Lwaxana said. "And have some refreshments, of course. You do have a replicator here, don't you? I'm absolutely parched. And we can fill you in on everything, Jean-Luc, and I can spend a little time with Laris…who has a great deal to tell me, as well, from what I understand."
"I would love to hear that, too. All of it."
When Beverly spoke, everyone turned in her direction. She was wearing the fluffy robe that Laris had replicated for her and, Jean-Luc imagined, probably the nightgown beneath it. In her arms, William was sleeping.
"Doctor Crusher…" Lwaxana mused.
Beverly smiled warmly and sincerely.
"It's just Beverly, Lwaxana," she corrected. Lwaxana smiled at being called by her own first name and nodded her understanding.
"Wouldn't it really be best if you were in bed?" Jean-Luc asked.
"This may surprise you, Jean-Luc, but women have been getting out of bed after giving birth for ages," Beverly said. There was enough sharpness to her tone to let Jean-Luc know that she didn't want to be challenged, but enough teasing to let him know that she also didn't mean to injure him badly—especially in front of others.
"Of course, they have," Lwaxana said. "Why—Betazoid deliveries are notoriously long and difficult, but…well…even after Veta I was up and about within a day."
"A little earlier than I might have suggested," Odo offered, somewhat as an aside. For a moment, Jean-Luc felt a little struck at the pang of solidarity he felt with the Changeling.
"Veta?" Beverly asked.
Lwaxana smiled warmly. She took the toddler back from Laris.
"What is that charming saying you humans have? I'll show you mine, if you'll show me yours?"
Beverly laughed quietly.
"Oh—Deanna didn't say anything about Veta!"
"Well—she hasn't been entirely uninvolved, and secret groups rarely function well if nobody in them can keep a secret," Lwaxana said. "Come, Dear, let's get you situated. There's plenty of time for catching up…Odo?"
"I'm coming, Beloved," Odo offered.
"Beverly, I feel it must be mentioned that you may not feel entirely comfortable, but you should know that…" Jean-Luc started, only to be interrupted by Beverly.
"Odo's a Changeling," Beverly interrupted. "I know, Jean-Luc. And it's fine. I didn't see Odo at all, where I was…"
"Oh…you poor thing," Lwaxana said, making her way to Beverly to finish leading her from the space and toward the living room.
Jean-Luc looked at Laris, but she was avoiding eye contact. They fell into the processional.
"I don't mean to be…challenging," Jean-Luc said. "But the very nature of Changelings would make it difficult to know one from another, would it not?"
"You are not incorrect in that assumption," Odo said. "Not that I knew a great number of Changelings before all of this began. I was the only one of my kind, as far as I was aware, before all of this."
"So—you wouldn't know if you had seen him or not," Jean-Luc said. "For that matter…"
"Please—sit anywhere," Laris said, interrupting his words and rushing to arrange a seat that Jean-Luc quickly realized was for Beverly, heaped with pillows she took from other seats without concern for their future occupants. Beverly seemed to realize it, too. Without any communication at all—because Jean-Luc was almost certain that he hadn't even seen a glance between the two women—Beverly had realized what Laris was doing, and for whom she intended the seat, and she was already moving toward her.
Lwaxana took the seat beside Beverly, and Jean-Luc gestured to Odo to sit. Jean-Luc took his own seat and Laris practically ran by and toward the kitchen.
"I'll bring refreshments," she called out, not stopping to see what anyone might like.
Lwaxana looked after her. Jean-Luc started to get up.
"Oh—don't bother her," Lwaxana said. "I'll corner her soon enough. For now, let her get out some of the energy, and she'll have less to use to fight with later."
Jean-Luc couldn't help but feel a small wave of amusement. Lwaxana's tone was practically the same semi-exasperated or exhausted tone she got when she was identifying some practice of Deanna's as challenging.
"I believe you were asking, Jean-Luc, about Changelings and, I presume, how we might know if one infiltrated us in place of Odo?" Lwaxana asked.
"Well—I'm not sure it was my intention to voice the question in just such a way, but…I suppose that is what I wanted to know," Jean-Luc said.
"It's really quite simple," Lwaxana said. "Odo is my husband."
"I had heard about your marriage, but I'm afraid there weren't a great number of details given," Jean-Luc said.
"Congratulations are in order, then," Beverly said. "A great deal of congratulations."
"Oh—and to you," Lwaxana said. "Odo? I believe Veta would benefit from some of his playthings?"
Lwaxana put the squirming toddler on the floor and Odo opened the bag he'd been carrying. If Jean-Luc might have worried about it containing any sort of weapon, or something of the like, his fears were quickly assuaged when he saw that it held nothing more than toys and books, from the look of it. Veta, the child in question, happily went for one bright red ball that Odo held out for him.
Lwaxana held her hands out in Beverly's direction and, whether or not Jean-Luc might have protested exposing his very new son to Lwaxana Troi, Beverly passed William over without hesitation.
"Oh—congratulations are in order for you! Oh—he is perfect! So handsome! And Jean-Luc…"
Jean-Luc felt himself blush just at Lwaxana's tone of voice and her expression. She smiled at his blushing, not bothering to finish her teasing in any other way.
"To answer your question," she said, "Odo is my husband and, in fact, he is my Imzadi. I couldn't read him at first, but after we connected…well…I can't be fooled. I know my Beloved."
Jean-Luc felt unexpectedly better knowing that. Although he and Lwaxana may not see eye to eye on a great many things, he couldn't see her putting her children in danger, not the way she fawned over Deanna, and so he was sure that she would know that the Changeling in her midst was, in fact, her husband.
"Can you read other Changelings?" Beverly asked.
Lwaxana smiled.
"It's one of the many benefits of being connected to my wonderful husband," Lwaxana said.
Beverly beamed, and Jean-Luc relaxed, sitting back in his chair. He wasn't sure if the way that he felt was purely his own reaction, or some reaction to the feelings that he knew that Lwaxana sometimes projected outward from herself, but he suddenly found himself quite relaxed and at peace—something he hadn't felt only moments before. He felt heavy, too, and tired from it. Beverly, too must have felt it, leading him to believe it might be a sort of empathic projection, because she settled back with a contented sigh and looked on at Lwaxana tending the baby that was resting peacefully in her arms.
"So—Veta is a…"
"He's half-Tavnian and half-Betazoid," Lwaxana said.
"But he is my son," Odo interrupted. "Tavnian law states that…"
"Oh, Odo…nobody would ever dispute that you're Veta's father," Lwaxana said, gently, obviously trying to comfort him. Jean-Luc felt the comfort, himself, and it removed any doubt that they were all being subjected to a bit of Betazoid emotional projection—but he didn't exactly mind at the moment.
"And…well…I know it can be a delicate matter, but…" Beverly said.
"You want to ask if I'm pregnant," Lwaxana said. "But you know it's considered impolite in many species. It isn't impolite for a Betazoid, however. We don't believe in so many silly secrets. These little ones are half-Changeling."
"Little ones?" Beverly asked.
"With the help of Dr. Bashir," Odo said, "we are expecting twins."
"Half-Changeling and half-Betazoid?" Beverly mused. "That's fascinating…"
"Oh—I could always use another pair of eyes on them," Lwaxana said, "I do worry so about them. Of course, that's only if that would be interesting to you?"
"Absolutely!" Beverly said without hesitation.
"Any care for their growth and well-being is appreciated," Odo said. "But I'm afraid that I must object to any thoughts that they may be studied in a lab or subjected to…to…"
"Torture?" Beverly offered.
There was a moment of tension and silence. Even Lwaxana's projected peace wasn't enough to ease the tension entirely. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it broke.
"I am deeply sorry for any mistreatment that you have experienced," Odo said. "On behalf of my species."
Beverly smiled at him.
"And I am deeply sorry for any treatment that you have experienced, on behalf of my species," Beverly said.
"Well—now that that unpleasantness is out of the way," Lwaxana said. "Do you think it's time for me to go and pull Laris out of hiding?"
"She went to get refreshments," Jean-Luc said.
"She finished with that some time ago," Lwaxana said with a laugh. "No—now she's just…hiding. Stalling." She passed the baby back over to Beverly. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to invite her to join us."
"Do you need someone to show you around?" Beverly asked.
Lwaxana laughed.
"Not at all, I'll just follow her hopes that I'm not coming to get her."
