AN: Here's another small piece to this one.
I hope you enjoy! If you do, please do let me know!
111
"Is there something I can help you with, Dear?"
Laris tensed. Her body language was enough to speak multitudes about what she was feeling and thinking, but Lwaxana wasn't feeling shy about opening her mind to the woman, either.
Lwaxana often refrained from probing the minds of others. She didn't go in seeking things—especially the things that others hoped to hide—because she knew that wasn't the way of most species. Many non-telepathic species found the probing an invasion of privacy, and Lwaxana respected that. After all, even as a particularly sensitive telepath, herself, she had built proverbial "dark spots" into her own mind where she could hide things from the simple view of a passing mind seeking connection with her.
No—Lwaxana seldom probed someone's mind without invitation or a very good reason for doing so. That didn't mean, though, that she kept her mind closed off at all times. The act of raising her mental shields—whether to protect herself, to rest, or to simply honor someone's request for absolute privacy—was exhausting. Lwaxana had long ago decided that it wasn't fair to her for anyone to ask her to put forth effort to repress what was a natural part of herself, simply because they had something to hide.
Lwaxana didn't probe the minds of others with any great frequency, but she couldn't help picking up what wouldn't be ignored.
And, sometimes, the thoughts of others were practically being screamed at her.
Beings who wanted privacy, she'd found, often also deeply wanted to be heard. She could hear them, whether she probed or not.
"Odo doesn't eat," Laris said. "Or drink…"
Lwaxana smiled at the statement.
"And, yet, he appreciates the offer of some light refreshments all the same, for what it's worth," Lwaxana said. "Come here. Let me see you."
She reached for Laris's shoulder and turned the woman from her pretended business. Just as Laris pretended to be busy with refreshments she'd finished arranging some time ago, Lwaxana pretended to smooth hair that wasn't truly out of place and, in a move that would have drawn a great deal of fuss from Deanna, she licked a finger to rub at a spot that really wasn't there.
Touching Laris gave her even more connection to the woman, and she winced at the overload of emotions and thoughts, before she forced herself to appear as pleasant as possible. Her own pleasant demeanor, she knew, would bleed out into the space around her, and everyone here could use as much as help as they could get.
"Oh—don't try to hide from me," Lwaxana tutted. She smiled at Laris. "I can read you like a book."
Laris laughed quietly and shook her head.
"Because you won't stay out of my mind," Laris said.
"No," Lwaxana said. "Because you won't stay out of mine, Dear. Come on. Let's take these things into the living room and have a chat. Everyone's waiting, and we don't want to be rude."
111
"Your leaving Starfleet officially did throw me off for a while," Laris said. "However, with the problems we're currently facing…"
"Which ones?" Jean-Luc asked.
Lwaxana felt herself prickle at his tone. He was, she thought, the one dealing with this the worst. He was the most antagonistic, at least from where she was sitting. Of course, everything that had happened, on all fronts, was overwhelming for everyone involved. Jean-Luc was used to being in control, and he'd been knocked out of control as surely as nearly everyone else.
He was taking that loss of control very hard, indeed.
"The Dominion," Laris said.
"The Romulan Crisis," Odo said. "The Dominion. Issues within the Federation. Entire species threatened and planets occupied."
"Beloved," Lwaxana interrupted, "are you adding to Laris's story, or are you simply listing for us all the reasons that we should be joyous and celebrate?"
"Betazed…" Beverly said. "Oh, Lwaxana—I'm sorry."
Lwaxana gave her the best smile she could offer.
"We will get it back," she said. "All is not lost. Not forever."
"I remember the occupation of Betazed being one of the last things I heard before…" Beverly broke off. She shook her head as if to say that she had no interest in continuing what she'd begun. Lwaxana already understood what she was going to say, and she was sure that everyone else did, too. "I remember thinking, immediately, of you and Deanna."
"And, yet, you didn't contact anyone," Jean-Luc said. "Not even Deanna."
"If my calculations were correct," Laris said, seeming to need to rush to Beverly's defense, "that's about the time that her ship was taken over by the Dominion."
"There was time before that, Beverly," Jean-Luc said, ignoring Laris's words. "William—everything…"
Lwaxana felt her own chest throbbing in reaction to the emotions filling the room around her.
"Why don't we all try to relax, just a little?" Odo offered. Lwaxana gave him a smile, though her throat ached to the point that she wasn't sure how well she executed it. As her Imzadi—and one who practiced a great deal of intimate connection with her in all possible ways—Odo could feel what she felt.
"I beg your pardon," Jean-Luc said. "But you have no real vested interest in anything that takes place here…"
"My wife is distraught by the conversation," Odo interrupted, sharply. "My children are, too, by extension. I have a great deal of interest. Besides that—and putting your personal issues aside—we have been working with a resistance group to try to weaken the Dominion forces as much as possible. What Laris learned—if anything— will be helpful to all of us."
Lwaxana sensed it before Jean-Luc could say anything. He was thinking that it would be better if they left. He was thinking that whatever personal issues needed to be handled would best be handled in the privacy of the Château with no more than Beverly and Laris present. What he didn't know—and what Lwaxana did know—was that nothing was being fully addressed. Everyone here seemed reluctant to be open and to share everything. It was an elaborate game in secrecy and careful omission.
If they left, this wouldn't be resolved and, in fact, it may only end in some form of heartache for nearly everyone present.
"Oh…" Lwaxana said, quickly and a little loudly—loud enough to be heard over the tension surrounding her. She winced when she realized she'd drawn the attention of everyone present. She pressed her hand to her belly. "Oh—I…"
Suddenly, Laris rose up to come from one direction, Odo from another, and Beverly from her spot right beside Lwaxana. William, disturbed by everything around him started to howl, and Veta abruptly sat on his bottom and took up a similar cry of confusion and distress.
Lwaxana hadn't meant for things to get quite so out of hand, quite so easily, but she wasn't one to admit that a performance had gotten a touch out of her control.
"Oh—I'm fine, really. Sit…sit…it's only…"
"Only what?" Beverly asked, the hand not holding her son going to Lwaxana's belly. Lwaxana covered Beverly's hand with her own. "Lwaxana? Tell me what's wrong."
"Oh—nothing," Lwaxana breathed out. "I'm certain it's nothing. Only…well…babies do react to their environments and…Odo, could you please help Veta? I'm fine, we're fine. Betazoid babies can be…complicated…and…"
"As far as we know," Odo said, "nobody has ever carried a Changeling baby before. We're quite unsure of what may happen. It's a bit…nerve racking."
"Laris—would you?" Beverly asked, passing her baby to Laris. Lwaxana saw Laris take the baby, and she felt the moment of tension crackle in the air before Laris willed herself to relax with the infant. Beverly probed Lwaxana's belly gently with her fingertips. "Is it pain? Sharp or dull? Where is it? Show me."
"It's passed now," Lwaxana said. She let out a breath in a sigh. "Really—I'm sure it's nothing."
"Whatever it is," Jean-Luc said, "you'll likely want to get back home, or what have you, to rest…"
"No," Lwaxana said quickly. "No," she amended, making sure not to be too forceful. "Oh—I wouldn't feel comfortable travelling just now. Not until I know the little dears are well. Why—if we left now, trying to keep a low profile…"
"You should stay here," Beverly said. She smiled sincerely and reassuringly as she took Lwaxana's hand in one of hers, the other still pressing Lwaxana's belly gently.
"Stay here?" Jean-Luc asked.
"I wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone," Lwaxana said.
"She wouldn't want to feel like a burden," Jean-Luc said. "Even if it wasn't so, of course…"
"You could never be a burden," Beverly said. She looked at Jean-Luc and then at Laris. "There's plenty of room, isn't there? And I could have a chance to contact Starfleet. Discuss the possibility of…of getting some equipment to study the babies."
"For their care, only," Odo interrupted.
"For their care, of course," Beverly said, directing her words to him.
"You should be resting," Laris said. "Do I need to remind you that you've only just given birth to William?"
For a moment, Beverly simply gave Laris a tender smile—a smile that was tender enough, in fact, that something crackled in the air between the two women, and Lwaxana's whole body responded to it. In response, at least one of her little ones shifted their position in a very noticeable way.
"Oh—I felt that," Beverly said. She looked at Lwaxana with the same kind of wide-eyed wonder that Odo did practically every time he touched her. She laughed quietly.
"I felt that, too," Lwaxana said.
"The babies?" Beverly asked.
"That," Lwaxana said, nodding her head. "But the other, as well."
"The other?" Jean-Luc asked.
Lwaxana squeezed Beverly's hand.
"Our Doctor Crusher…"
"Beverly," Beverly interrupted, correcting Lwaxana. Lwaxana nodded.
"Of course," she said. "Our Beverly has always been rather intriguing to me. Very few humans ever really show any sort of sign of psionic ability. On their own, even if there's potential, few can really do anything with it. With the help of a telepath, however—oh, it's the only reason that, sometimes, humans can become the complete Imzadi of a Betazoid. I've always sensed that, with a little effort, Beverly could connect in a meaningful, telepathic way…the ability is there, I mean."
Lwaxana studied Beverly. She noticed color come to the woman's cheeks, but there was enough intrigue that she wasn't looking away from Lwaxana. With a bit of practice, Lwaxana could teach Beverly. She was sure of it. She looked at Laris and smiled at her. The woman held William in her arms. The baby was awake, but already seemed as settled as he had in his mother's arms. He felt safe, right where he was.
"Vulcans are openly telepathic," Lwaxana said. "Romulans, though many deny it, are latently telepathic. I've known very few Romulans well, but the species, as a whole, fights against their innate telepathic abilities because of the nature of their society."
"This is all very interesting, of course…" Jean-Luc said. He let his words hang, but his meaning had to be as clear to anyone as it was to Lwaxana. What was the point of it? He didn't say that, but he didn't have to, either. Lwaxana laughed quietly.
"For just a brief moment, these two connected," Lwaxana said. "Oh—it would take training and effort for more meaningful connection to happen, but with a bit of practice? There's time for that, of course…unless…"
"Unless?" Jean-Luc asked.
"Unless—someone isn't planning on staying," Lwaxana said, letting her eyes meet Laris's when the woman looked up, a slight show of fear in her eyes.
She didn't miss, either, the fact that it was Beverly whom Jean-Luc looked at instinctively.
"Could I—have some of that water?" Lwaxana asked, choosing to break the tension by redirecting everyone's attention briefly.
"Here, Wife," Odo offered, every bit of affection behind the term as he always used. "Eat something."
"Thank you, Husband," Lwaxana said, sure to give Odo back as much affection as she could. He calmed with the simple sound of her voice. "I'm sorry—I didn't mean to interrupt…"
"No," Beverly said, quickly. "Don't apologize. Are you feeling OK? Would you like to lie down? I'm sure there's a guest room that's made up…"
"A guest room…" Jean-Luc said.
"Oh…not just yet," Lwaxana said. "I do want to hear what happened to you, you poor dear. That is, if you're willing to share? And Laris—is there anything else we need to know about the mission? There's really so much to say! We should really all get comfortable and relax…that would be good for the babies. Good for William. And Beverly, Dear, you really must be exhausted. You need your strength. Perhaps we could replicate a nice lunch to share? Why—Odo is wonderful at taking care of things like that. He really is so wonderful. I hardly ever have to raise a finger at home."
"I can make us something," Laris said.
"Stay," Lwaxana said. "Stay, Laris…do stay. I believe that Beverly could use the help, for now, and I think we'd all like to hear everything."
"Please…" Beverly said, directing her request toward Laris.
"Odo can make us something, can't you, Beloved?" Lwaxana asked, addressing Odo.
"Well—I don't know, Lwaxana. It's hardly our home, and it wouldn't be…"
Jean-Luc sighed. He clearly looked at Beverly. Lwaxana didn't miss it, nor did she miss the way that Beverly was looking at Laris, who was trying to divert her attention by studying the little one in her arms.
"Come…Odo…let's…prepare something for the ladies for lunch," Jean-Luc said. He stood up. "I'm intelligent enough to know when I'm outnumbered. Given that you're married to Lwaxana, you should, too."
Odo gave Lwaxana one last look before he followed Jean-Luc from the room, leaving Lwaxana alone with Laris, Beverly, and the two little boys who had no real interest or concern in anything that was taking place.
"Well, now…" Lwaxana said. "While we're waiting, let's just relax and get to know each other a bit better, shall we?"