AN: This story has been begging me to write it. It can follow a couple of my other stories (especially "Intoxication"), but it can also be read alone. It will have multiple chapters.

I don't own anything from Star Trek.

I hope you enjoy! If you do, please do let me know!

111

Odo had been alone forever.

He had been found as an infant or, at the very least, as what they suspected was an infant form for one of his species. He couldn't remember his earliest days well, but he had heard that other beings also found that to be true.

He was the only one of his kind—at least as far as he knew. He had never met another of his kind.

He had been taken to a lab. He'd been made the subject of scientific inquiry—an anomaly to be studied, but never really a being in the same sense, he felt, as others were.

Odo had no family. He had no point of origin—no "home" in the sense that others referred to a place from which they had come and where they had begun to grow. He had nothing, really. Even the name he'd been given reflected that. Odo—from the Cardassian word Odo'ital for nothing.

Now, Odo had a job. He had a home aboard the space station. He had friends.

And, yet, he still felt quite lonely.

Humanoids, he recognized, often engaged in mating rituals. Some had elaborate dances and rituals that they used to draw a mate. Some had special practices that they used to properly mate the one to which they became, at least temporarily, attached. Some mated for life, some for a season, and others simply for procreation.

Odo, himself, had never really felt the same drive that humanoids talked about having. He didn't feel the hunger for mating that many of them claimed to feel—an innate need.

But he did feel a need for companionship, and he had begun to imagine that, perhaps, they were—if not one and the same—at least somewhat interchangeable.

He had set his sights, first, on Kira Nerys. He had believed himself to be in love with her.

Now, he was beginning to suspect that what he'd confused for love was only respect and admiration. There were many things about Kira that he found to be admirable, and certainly she was conventionally attractive for a Bajoran woman, but Odo wasn't sure, any longer, that the infatuation that he'd once confused for love actually was love.

Because, now, Odo believed he might actually be in love.

He believed, in fact, that he might actually be in love with the only woman who had ever pursued him—the only one who had seemed determined to love him, even when he'd tried to reject her in the name of the infatuation that he'd felt for Kira.

Lwaxana Troi had shown Odo kindness that nobody ever had before.

She had seen him in his truest form—when fate had forced them together during a crisis, and he'd been unable to hold off regeneration—and she hadn't judged him. She hadn't recoiled from him. In fact, she'd cared for him when he was at his most vulnerable, and she'd accepted him entirely as he was. She'd been discreet about the entire experience, but she'd made it clear that she was interested in knowing more about him—as much as there was to know, if he was willing to share.

The night that Odo had given into her hadn't exactly been planned. Things had unfolded naturally, and they'd both been happy to explore each other's bodies. Lwaxana had assured Odo that such a thing was normal, and natural, and nothing to be ashamed of. People had one-night stands all the time.

And she assured him that what she felt for him was true, regardless of how he might find that he felt later.

Lwaxana had been the first woman to offer Odo true intimacy. She had been the first to mate with him, in the way that humanoids—or at least Betazoids—mated. She had been, actually, the only one to ever mate with him, but he felt the distinction was unimportant. She had tried to understand him. She had accepted him. And she had given him free reign of her body to explore, experiment, and experience.

In the morning, when she'd expected him to experience regret, Odo had found that he only experienced a renewed desire to touch her and to explore her body once more. She'd allowed it, praising him for everything he was and everything he did—everything he could do for her.

And Odo had begun to realize that what he'd once believed was love that he felt for Kira was, in fact, simply admiration for her. He respected her. He was a touch obsessed, perhaps, with the idea of a mate and a love to call his own—companionship and the end to all the loneliness that he'd known forever. He craved to love and to be loved in return, and he had tried to make Kira the perfect being for that.

But he'd slowly begun to realize that, perhaps, the reason that nothing had ever worked out for him with Kira was that the woman who was meant to be with him was, in fact, not Kira at all.

What Odo felt for Lwaxana was unlike anything he'd ever felt. It was unlike anything he'd ever imagined. He could hardly contain it, and it frightened him and thrilled him at once.

So, he had been heartbroken when Lwaxana had insisted that he take at least six months to "explore" his new feelings. She'd suggested he ought to be open-minded. Women, she said, sometimes didn't recognize the potential in a mate until that individual had actually been a mate for someone else.

Odo had been in love with Kira—or at least he had believed himself to be so—and Lwaxana wanted to be sure that he gave himself ample opportunity to be sure that wasn't still the case, before they committed themselves to something more than just a one-night stand.

"I don't want you to break my heart," she'd said, sincerely.

And Odo had told her that, by leaving, she was breaking his.

Still, he had accepted her challenge. If he truly loved her, she said, then the love would be there in six months. It had stayed for her, after all, through all of his earlier rejection.

Odo had begged connection from her, even if she wasn't present, and she'd agreed to tele-calls. When he'd told her that he missed her face in between calls, she'd sent him a holo-image of herself that he held quite dear—one of his few possessions that truly meant anything to him.

There was only a little over three months to go, and Lwaxana would have to believe him. He loved her, and he wanted to have with her what he dreamed of having—love, companionship, and a life.

Odo never felt alone in Lwaxana's presence. Now, he only dreamed of making that presence an even more common part of his life.

He had only recently gotten a notification from her—a private message that she wanted to talk to him soon. He had sent back the message that he was free this afternoon. He'd take off early, if she liked, and they could have a tele-call. She could have his undivided attention, and he would get to see her face and hear her voice.

"I love you," he had signed the message, and he'd sent it before his natural anxiety could convince him to take it back—afraid she might decide that she didn't feel the same.

Odo checked his padd, looking for a response regarding the tele-call he was anticipating as soon as he got off of his shift, and he felt deflated to see that there was no response at all.

"Sisko to Odo."

The voice carrying over his combadge surprised Odo. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts of Lwaxana, that he'd been caught off-guard by anything else.

"Odo here," he said, wondering if his voice sounded to others like it felt to him—sad and sunken, and not much worth the effort of making the created vocal cords sound.

"I have just escorted a personal visitor to your office," Sisko said. "You may want to report there immediately. She seemed somewhat distressed."

"A personal visitor?" Odo asked.

He wasn't much in the mood for visitors, and he didn't commonly have them, so the thought of such a thing, at the moment, felt unwelcomed.

"A certain ambassador that you have discussed with me multiple times," Sisko said.

Suddenly, something inside of Odo soared. He had told Sisko about Lwaxana when she'd first begun to chase him. He'd expressed, then, his wish that she would stop. After her last time leaving the station, when Odo found himself feeling quite heartbroken, Sisko had brought him into his office to discuss the fact that, it seemed, his emotions were at least a little contagious. Odo had confessed, then, that he wished for Lwaxana never to leave him alone again.

It was Sisko who regularly encouraged Odo, keeping count with him of the days until he might convince Lwaxana that he wasn't going to change his mind, and it was Sisko who promised him that six months was nothing in the grand scheme of a lifetime.

"I'll go there right away," Odo said. "Thank you, Commander."

"Oh—and Odo," Sisko came back.

"Yes, Commander?"

"Consider your shift over for the evening," Sisko said. "I've made sure your remaining time is covered."

Odo smiled to himself, understanding Sisko's meaning—focus on this time with Lwaxana. Odo didn't need to be told twice. He could barely control himself in the face of the feelings that came with knowing that Lwaxana was waiting for him.

"Thank you, Commander. Odo out."

Odo tried to keep himself entirely under control. He tried to move quickly, but not quickly enough to draw attention. Still, the closer he got to his office, the faster he found himself moving.

When he stepped into his office, Lwaxana had her back to him, and he could hear the sounds of her softly sobbing. He felt, for a moment, as though it were nearly impossible to hold his shape. He feared what might make her cry and, more than that, what might bring her here unannounced. He hoped that she hadn't come to tell him, in person, that there would be no end to the six months, because she had found someone new.

"Lwaxana…you're crying," Odo offered, as his office doors slid closed behind him and gave them privacy.

"Oh—Odo!" She said, looking over her shoulder at him.

"What's the matter?" He asked. "Why are you here? I hope—it's nothing bad…" He added, hoping that his words could somehow change the nature of whatever she'd come to say.

Lwaxana stood up.

"Oh—Odo—I hope not! I don't know, you see? I'm so…I'm so scared! I knew that if anyone could help me, Odo, it would be you!"

Odo felt himself run cold with fear that whatever Lwaxana had brought to him was something with which he couldn't help.

"I will do anything I can," he said, meaning it.

"I knew you would," Lwaxana said. "I knew you wouldn't let anything happen, Odo. Oh—I'm so tired…Odo. I've been so worried."

She stepped toward him and, before he knew it, she was in his arms. Odo closed his eyes. He closed off his sense of sight, purposely. He held her, tightly, and he let his senses focus on her for the moment. He was, almost immediately, transported back to the night that he'd held her in his arms, and she had offered herself to him at a time when, somehow, she had known that he would accept.

Holding her, and being held in return, had been a wonderful feeling. Exploring her body, giving her pleasure and feeling that pleasure return back to him in a rush had been entirely unlike anything he'd ever experienced or even imagined.

Just holding her, as he did now, Odo felt a sense of rightness. He was supposed to be here. She was supposed to be just as she was—in his arms.

He ached when he thought that there were still months before she was willing to hear that he was confident in the fact that he would never change his mind.

"Whatever is wrong, Lwaxana, I will find a way to fix it," Odo assured her. "No matter what…I will find a way."

"Oh—Odo—I knew you would. I can't let them make it a science experiment. I can't let it live the kind of life that you lived. I'm so sorry, Odo—for everything. For all your experiences. For your loneliness. The tests and the pain…Odo. Oh—I'm so sorry. If I could take it all away, and give you back a life full of love and affection, like you deserve…"

She snuggled into him, and Odo softened his form so that she could literally sink a little deeper into him—and so that he could feel her more completely. It was a very intimate connection, but he had wanted to feel her like that, again, since she'd left, and her rooting into him made him sure that she wouldn't mind.

She hummed her satisfaction and sighed deeply. Odo's entire body felt like it shook with affection for the woman in his arms.

"I don't need you to give me anything back, Lwaxana," Odo said. "All I need from you is…this."

"Oh—you dear, sweet Changeling," Lwaxana breathed out, still holding onto him.

She pulled out of the embrace, and he dried her face with his hands as best he could.

"I knew you would understand. We can't let them make a science experiment of it, Odo. That's why I haven't said anything to anyone. It's why I was so frightened to say something over a tele-call. I won't let them take it away."

"Lwaxana—calm down," Odo said. "What are you talking about? Who's going to take what away?"

"That's what I don't know!" She declared loudly, a sob escaping. "I don't know…I don't know…I'm just so scared, and I'm so tired, and I don't know what to do."

"The first thing you must do is calm down," Odo said. "Tell me what's going on, and I'll help you. Nobody will take anything away from you…no matter what it might be."

"Odo…" Lwaxana said. He gave her his undivided attention. "I'm…pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Odo asked.

She nodded.

"Pregnant. With child. Odo—I'm carrying a baby."

He realized that she'd mistaken his surprise for some lack of knowledge. He decided not to correct her.

"I don't understand," he said. "I mean—I understand the concept, but…I don't see a baby."

"You don't see them, Odo! Not at first," Lwaxana said. She pressed her hand to her stomach—which looked no different in the dress she was wearing than the last time he'd seen her. And the last time that Odo had seen Lwaxana, she'd been wearing a great deal less. "Oh—here—Odo." She took his hand pressed it to her stomach. "If you pay attention—you can sense it. The poor dear is far too small to be felt, but it can be sensed."

Odo tried to focus. He wasn't sure what to focus on. His mind was practically swimming. Lwaxana was pregnant. Somewhere, the baby must have a father. She had found someone else, and now she needed Odo's help—and he wasn't sure that he could refuse her anything.

And, then, all of a sudden, he felt it.

"Oh…" he said, surprised as the trickle of feeling hit him and grew, turning into something like a noticeable stream of calm among the madness.

Lwaxana smiled at him.

"Peace," she said. "Such a beautiful feeling."

"Yes," Odo said. "I feel it."

"You know," Lwaxana said, patting his hand as he kept it pressed to her stomach—and making no move to ask him to move it, "they say that life is about trying to find the peace that you once knew, while you were safe inside your mother."

Odo felt a sinking sensation.

"I never had a mother," he said.

She frowned at him.

"I know," she said. "And—I'm so sorry, Odo. But—you'll find your peace."

Odo touched her face with the other hand.

"I already have," he said. "That is…if you'll grant me the peace that I've found."

"We can't let them take the baby, Odo," Lwaxana said. "We can't let them rob the baby of…of everything. I need your help. I won't let them have it."

"Lwaxana—I fear you're letting your imagination run away with you," Odo said. "I understand that—you may be somewhat distressed by the stories that I've told you about my own experiences, but you must remember that my life and my circumstances were rather unique. As far as I know, there's nobody subjecting infants to the same kinds of experiments that I underwent. What reason would you have to believe that anyone might want to experiment on your baby?"

She looked at him with surprise and confusion. She raised her eyebrows at him. Then, a slight look of amusement crossed her lips. She pressed her hand into his, urging him to rub her lower belly in small circles. The feeling of peace seemed to surge, as though something inside of her approved of his rubbing. Odo couldn't help but smile.

"Odo," Lwaxana said softly, "the baby is…half-Changeling."

Odo felt shocked. He felt a bit loose—like his form slipped for a second, in the same way it might when he changed from a solid to his more malleable liquid state that Lwaxana had affectionately called his "gooey" state.

"I don't understand," Odo said.

"The baby is half-Betazoid and half-Changeling," Lwaxana said. "A hybrid."

"But—how?" Odo asked.

"Well…I imagine that the night when you…when you made love to me, Odo…you must have left some little part of you behind," Lwaxana said. "And some little part of me seems to have made quite good use of it."

"We never discussed this at all…" Odo said.

"I didn't even realize that I could have another baby," Lwaxana said. "It's a blessing, Odo."

"A blessing," Odo echoed. He could hardly believe what they were discussing was real. "I do not know if it is possible for me to…to procreate," Odo said. "Not in any way, and certainly not in that way."

Lwaxana laughed.

"Well—clearly it is," she said.

"How can you be sure that the child is, in fact, a Changeling?" Odo asked.

"Well—Odo—I would say that the primary reason I have for believing it's your child is because…you were the last being to make love to me. I haven't been with anyone since I left the station that day."

"I don't know what to say," Odo said.

"If you don't want the baby, Odo…" Lwaxana said, tensing. She pulled away from him, and he reached for her and pulled her back. He held onto her arms.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's only—I never dreamed that this could ever be possible. Not for me."

She smiled at him, and he felt a rush of affection for her and from her.

"It's possible, Odo. If you want it—you're going to be a father."

"Me?" Odo said. She nodded. "Me…a father."

"We can talk about if you like Father, or Papa, or Dad, or Daddy…there are so many choices, Odo. You'll find what feels natural to you. That is—if you do want the baby."

"The baby," Odo mused, still feeling quite overwhelmed. "Our baby. A baby made from—from you and me…"

"If you don't want me, Odo, I'll understand," Lwaxana said. "It's a great deal to take in at once."

Odo felt struck, again. He realized what she was offering him—what she was saying. He held on to one of her arms. He tightened his grip, some part of him fearing that she might slip away. He didn't realize how hard he held her until she opened her mouth and released a sound of discomfort to go with the expression. Her other hand went to her stomach, protectively, perhaps.

"You're hurting me, Odo!" She said loudly.

Odo immediately released her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I don't know what happened—I just imagined you leaving and…I wanted to keep you here. I never meant to hurt you. Please, believe me, Lwaxana…"

"I do," she breathed out. "Oh—the baby doesn't like that." She laughed a breathy laugh. He wasn't sure that he believed there was any humor behind it. It was only to restore her mood. "Oh—don't look at me like that. It was a mistake, Odo. I understand that. And you let go of me as soon as you realized. I'm not truly injured."

"The baby…"

"Is fine," Lwaxana said. "It's only—with Betazoid babies? Sometimes, you can sense even their thoughts. The baby responds to my emotions. That's all. He's fine…"

"He? A son?"

"Or she," Lwaxana said with a shrug. "A daughter? I don't know yet…I simply feel like I ought to call the baby something. Does it matter to you?"

Odo shook his head.

"I am neither a male nor a female," Odo said. "At least—not to my knowledge."

"Well—you're something," Lwaxana said. "Because I'm pregnant, Odo—and you did it to me."

The expression she gave him was soft and affectionate. There was no anger there, and she had calmed from her earlier near-hysterical mood. Odo couldn't be sure if she meant to scold him.

"Should I apologize for…doing it to you?" He asked.

Lwaxana laughed quietly.

"You're forgiven," she said sincerely. "But—Odo—I am afraid. I haven't told anyone about the baby. I'm so scared about what might happen."

"You haven't seen a doctor?" Odo asked.

"No," Lwaxana said. "I was too frightened."

"Then—how do you know you're pregnant?" Odo asked.

"I just know," Lwaxana said. "At first, I wasn't sure. When the baby first…reached consciousness and connected with me, I knew, but…I still confirmed it with a household tricorder."

"But it might not be so…" Odo said.

"I know that I'm pregnant!" Lwaxana said, with some frustration.

"It might not be a Changeling," Odo said.

"I also know who I have been with, Odo!" Lwaxana said. "If you don't want this, then just say that, but…"

"You misunderstand," he said quickly. "I only want to be sure, Lwaxana. I only want to know so that…well…"

He felt a profound sinking feeling. He felt heavy. He felt like he couldn't find the words to say what he wanted to say.

And he saw, on her features, the moment that her building anger soothed away. She didn't need his words. She softened to him.

"You're afraid to get your hopes up and to have your heart broken," Lwaxana said. She touched his face, tenderly, and he closed off his vision and softened so that her fingers could more effectively stroke him. "You sweet, wonderful man, Odo. I'm quite pregnant, even though it may be early still, and you're quite responsible for your part in all this. You can rest assured of that."

He opened his eyes to her.

"You need to see a doctor." He held his hand up when she started to protest. "I will go with you, Lwaxana. And I will promise you that nobody will take our baby. Nobody will harm our baby, but…you should see someone. Dr. Bashir…"

"Oh…I don't…"

"Who would you like to see?" Odo asked. "Who would you trust the most?"

Lwaxana hesitated.

"Another mother," Lwaxana said, finally.

"Fine," Odo said. "I will make arrangements. You just relax, Lwaxana. Leave everything to me."

She smiled at him.

"I knew you would help me, Odo," she said. "I knew you would be there for me. For us."

Odo felt wobbly and out of shape for a second. A rush of happiness ran through him in such a way that it made his whole being vibrate with the sensation.

"I always will be, Lwaxana, if you will allow it."

"We're lucky to have you."

"Does this mean—I don't have to wait another three months?" Odo asked.

Lwaxana laughed.

"I think—we may be beyond that now, don't you think?"

Odo smiled at her.

"I think I'm grateful for small blessings," Odo said. "All of them."