Chapter Text
“Verelan.” Hearing her wife’s voice startled Verelan awake. She hadn’t realized that she dozed off.
The days blended together, for she spent her time doing little more than sitting quietly with Eviess or practicing her reading (which was improving, but her writing was no better). Rather than rely on traditional measures of time, Verelan found herself paying more attention to the subtle changes in the seasons, or the not so subtle changes in her body. She found herself more fatigued than before, which led her to believe that her baby, rather than her injury was to blame.
“How alert are you?” Odime asked. “I have news for you.”
Odime never admitted one way or another if she believed Verelan’s exaggerated description of the Vulcan mating bond, but had little ways of showing that she fell for it and suspected T’Lyra could see and hear everything. She avoided Verelan (who appreciated the extra space) and was more polite in her interactions. However, she did not ease the rigid control that she had on her wife: she was allowed few visitors and rarely left the house if not for medical treatment. Time marched on. The Dominion War ended, Hexce returned home, and Verelan’s belly began to swell as the life inside of her grew. Still, there was no word from Faleen. Verelan began to let go of the hope she had held with such determination. If she couldn’t reach Virinet before her son was born, everything would be much more complicated.
“Very alert,” she mumbled. “What happened?”
“Well, nothing yet.” Odime sat beside her wife and tried to take her hand, but Verelan flinched and pulled away. “But it seems being in the wrong place at the wrong time and living to tell about it was enough to make you a war hero. You’ve been invited to a banquet to honor exceptional veterans.”
A surge of excitement hit Verelan at her core. She sat up straight as the last remnants of drowsiness vanished–though she still found herself in a dizzy haze. “Really? Tell them I would be honored to attend.”
“Verelan.” Odime was stern as ever and lacked the excitement that Verelan had. “Are you sure you’re well enough for such an occasion?”
“”How strenuous can a banquet be? I would find a way to attend if I was on my deathbed.
She tilted her head and looked to Odime, but Odime had nothing to say in response.
“Would you deny a war hero such a simple request?” Verelan teased. Her tone was playful, but she felt the gravity of the situation and craved the chance to step outside these four walls and speak to different people for a change. “I thought it might be a great honor for you too, to be seen by the side of your wife the war hero.”
Odime leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand. “You’re right about that.”
“And my absence could prove to be a minor scandal.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,” Odime replied as she stood up. “But I will give it the consideration it is due.”
In time, Odime relented and even began to look forward to the event. Verelan had learned in her time with Odime that she was a woman who cared deeply about her own status and cherished any opportunity to show herself off. She had her best blue and silver formal robes altered to accommodate her change in weight since the last time she wore them, and she bemoaned the fact that Verelan would be wearing a military uniform instead of a matching set.
My wife the war hero.
It was astonishing how much Odime’s attitude toward Verelan shifted when she saw her spouse and a prize to be displayed.
Odime’s enthusiasm grew as the date approached, but Verelan began to wish that the affair would hurry up and be done with. Even with her improved attitude, Verelan preferred to keep her distance from her wife, and Odime insisted on making a great fuss over every detail. It was like her mother came back to life, but at least Odime rarely drank.
Odime had advice and correction right up until the moment of their arrival–another uncomfortable reminder of the way Verelan’s mother used to behave, but the moment she had to put on a social face Odime transformed from a nagging spouse into a lively social butterfly, a side of her that Verelan never saw before, a woman who spoke warmly and laughed.
Verelan, however,had a different transformation. There was too much to see, hear, and smell. Odime’s constant attention and the time they spent in preparation left her tired and dizzy, and with every unfamiliar face she saw she felt a sense of anxious shame. She had no way of knowing who of these people she was supposed to know and who were perfect strangers. Through the crowd, though, she saw one familiar face that helped restore her sense of calm: Falleen.
She dared not approach, not with Odime by her side. Her wife’s warnings rang clearly in her head, and so she hung back. However, she did not need to make any move. Faleen came to her with slow and easy steps and a serene look on her face.
“Verelan.” Faleen’s voice was soft and warm, and she did not so much as look at Odime. “I’m glad to see you were able to make it.”
“Likewise,” Verelan answered, her mood lifted. “Though I am surprised to see you here.”
“And why wouldn’t I attend? My brother was killed in the war.”
Verelan opened her mouth to apologize for her poor choice of words, but Odime cut her off.
“And your brother’s sacrifice will be remembered with honor, but I recall telling my wife that I didn’t like the idea of her speaking to you.”
Verelan took a quick little breath to help herself find the courage to say what she meant to say. “You said she was not welcome in your house, not that I was forbidden from talking to her.”
Faleen couldn’t hold back a playful smirk, and Odime narrowed her eyes and glanced from Faleen to Verelan. “Glad to see your memory has been improving. I will leave you to it.”
“Come,” Faleen said. “There’s someone you should meet.”
Odime slinked back and allowed Falleen to lead Verelan to the acquaintance she was so eager to introduce. He stayed near the back of the room, an older man, tall with gray hair and a stern face. While they kept a normal conversational distance between themselves, he spoke in a low voice that Verelan strained to listen. “We cannot waste time on pleasantries. If you wish to make the journey to Virinat, go to the woods around the back.” With a swift and elegant motion, he slipped a small device into the palm of her hand.
Verelan fought to keep her shock from showing on her face. She answered in a tone that was both soft and frantic. “You’re both taking on a massive risk in helping me. Odime…”
“We are both aware of the risks,” he interrupted. “The choice is yours to make. I suggest that you wait until seating begins and excuse yourself, the better to slip out undetected.”
The man turned to go, and as Verelan watched him walk away her fingers curled around the device so tightly that she felt the edges dig into her skin.
“You should go back to Odime,” Faleen suggested. “I imagine she thinks we’ve been talking to one another long enough.
Verelan returned to Odime’s side and tagged along with her in silence, trying to pay attention to her trivial conversations or at least seem like she was listening by maintaining eye contact and giving the occasional small nod. Her mind was occupied, though, twisted up with panic and the looming knowledge that she was minutes away from a decision that was both exciting and terrifying.
After a brief announcement, the crowd began to move to the dining room, and Verelan knew what she had to do.
“I’ll meet you there.” The panic she felt made it easy to come off as pained and frantic. “I’m not feeling well.”
“Verelan…”
“No. Please.” The hand that clutched her stomach moved from instinct, not as part of an act. Her very real nerves tied her stomach into knots. “I’ll be fine.”
She rushed away as best as her unsteady body would allow, first going as if she meant to dash to the facilities, but after glancing over her shoulder to confirm that Odime had not followed her, she took a sharp turn toward a back door and stepped outside. Her doubt about sneaking away without notice grew as she crossed the small courtyard and into the overgrown woods. The deeper into the dark overgrowth she traveled, the more exhausted and doubtful she became until she stopped to catch her breath and noticed the woods around her dissolve away to be replaced with the transporter room of a cargo freighter.
It was in the morning with silvery dew on the ground when Verelan beamed down to her father’s new home on Virinat. Rather, her father’s new husband’s home. He was waiting for her just outside the door and nearly broke into a run to close the distance between them, and when he stopped to take his daughter’s hand in his he studied her closely. The lines on his face deepened with worry as his eyes darted from the scars on her face to her cane to her swollen belly.
“Verelan. You’ve lived a lot of life.”
“And I can’t remember most of it.” Verelan looked down at the ground but snapped her head back up only a moment later when she felt a presence, stronger than she had felt since she left Deep Space Nine. “T’Lyra is here?”
“I wanted that to be a surprise, but I now see how foolish that was. Come inside.”
He led Verelan into the house, which was modest but didn’t feel small because the rooms were wide open and the windows large. Her heart fluttered when she saw T’Lyra standing by the window, and Verelan lost herself staring at T’Lyra’s elaborate braids, just like when she first saw her watching the Bajoran wormhole. Verelan gasped when T’Lyra turned to face her and came closer.
“I…” Verelan looked away and blinked. “I chose poorly.”
T’Lyra placed her fingertips to Verelan’s. “And yet your choice has reunited you with your father, so the outcome was not entirely unfavorable.”
Verelan held her bondmate’s hand and let T’Lyra’s calm sense of grounding ease her worries. “As thrilled as I am to see you, I hope you haven’t made yourself a deserter to be by my side.”
“An extended leave of absence, standard practice when one’s partner is expecting a new child. I am willing to either resign to remain with you on Virinat or to request reassignment to a vessel where my family will be welcome, whichever proves to be more logical.”
“I don’t know, T’Lyra.” Verelan looked down and felt that sense of calm fade away. “I can’t ask you to make such a sacrifice, and I doubt if I will ever feel safe within the Empire. But I don’t care for the idea of my son growing up in space surrounded by foreigners.” She looked up and gasped, shocked by the words that came out of her own mouth. Elements, she sounded like her mother. “That came out all wrong. I only meant that I don’t want him so far removed from his home that his own culture is foreign to him”
T’Lyra pulled her hand from Verelan’s and placed her fingertips along the side of Verelan’s face. “No decision needs to be made now, and you have my word that you and your child will be safe wherever you choose to live.”