"You seem to be taking this well!"
"Believe me... I'm not."
"I didn't think so!"
Dr Julian Bashir and Lieutenant Commander Dax were sitting next to each other after watching the Carrington award announcement. He had been nominated, but he had not won. Still he had the honour of being the youngest doctor ever nominated for the award, thanks to Dax. She had had him nominated. Even though he knew he would not win, he was still disappointed that he had not. Now that everyone except Dax had left he was just sitting there moping. Jadzia was trying to cheer him up but he was not really responding. Jadzia finally gave up and said "This should help cheer you up!" With that, she leaned over toward Julian and kissed him gently. Even though it was only a short kiss, the effect it had on them both was electric. Dax pulled back as if she had been burnt.
"I had better be going back to work. I can't stand around here all day."
"Dax, would join me in a commiseration dinner tonight. I really don't want to be by myself tonight." She looked like she was trying to think of a way out so Julian added "Just as friends!" Dax looked relieved at this and agreed to meet Julian at his quarters at 1900 hours.

After Dax had left, Julian thought back to the kiss. It had been totally unexpected, but at the same time it felt really right. It might have been a light kiss, but he felt it in every part of his body. He could still feel where she had touched him. Suddenly all of his feelings came together and he realised that he was in love with Jadzia. Looking back he realised he had always loved her. At first it was just a crush, but slowly, without him realising it had deepened into a love that was very strong. He knew that he needed her in his life. She was everything that he had ever wanted. She was intelligent and also very beautiful. He was definitely looking forward to tonight.

After the shift was over, Dax returned to her quarters to change before going to Julian's quarters for dinner. What had possessed her to kiss Julian before? And why couldn't she get that kiss out of her mind? She only thought of Julian as a friend - didn't she? She was so confused and almost called Julian to cancel the dinner, but then she told herself that she was being stupid. Julian probably didn't read anything into the kiss. He had stopped chasing her quite a while ago and they were now very good friends. She would just have to keep telling herself that. With that she marched out of her room and made her way to Julian's quarters.

Julian was also worried. He thought that if he tried anything tonight and it backfired, he might lose his best friend. He really didn't want to lose her friendship as he valued that greatly. He would rather be only friends with her than lose her completely. If it ever came to that, he didn't know what he would he do. He came to the decision that he would not chance anything. He would act like he normally did and let her decide what would happen. With that decision, he went into the living room to prepare some drinks for when Jadzia arrived. The door chime sounded and Dax entered Julian's quarters. To her relief, he seemed the same as he always did. He looked a bit more cheerful than earlier, but he was still a bit down from the disappointment of the day. She sat at the table while Julian ordered their dinner from the replicator. He produced a mixed number of dishes and they settled down to eat.

After dinner, they both moved to the couch. Julian got them both some wine and they sat and reminisced. They wine was making both feel very relaxed and they were now leaning on each other. Julian was talking and Jadzia was listening. All of a sudden she sat up and said "You talk too much!" With that she bent over and kissed him. This kiss was not gentle like before. They were both caught unawares by the power of the feelings that the kiss evoked. Neither could think coherently and they continued to kiss each other with a passion that was greater than anything they had felt before.

Jadzia's hands crept under Julian's shirt and she started to rub her hands over his supple flesh. He took his cue from her and started to do the same. They had completely lost track of reality and knew of nothing other than the feelings they were experiencing. Somehow they both managed to make it to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes behind them to mark the way. By this time they were both naked and they fell onto the bed, needing to get closer to each other. Julian kissed his way down Jadzia's spots and then continued until he found the heart of her passion. He proceeded to explore her until she tensed underneath him and cried out as she experienced a powerful orgasm. As she came down from the high that Julian had taken her to, He moved up above her and entered her slowly. She moaned and wrapped her legs around him to pull him closer. He looked down into Jadzia's face and thought about how beautiful she was and then started to stroke gently within her. Jadzia started to move under him and soon he lost all of his control. They frantically moved within each other until as one they passed beyond into ecstasy.

It took them quite a while before they were able to comprehend what had happened. They lay tangled together exhausted. Slowly they each started kissing and caressing the other, and both felt the stirrings of renewed passion. This time they came together more slowly and headed again towards ecstasy.

Jadzia woke early in the morning and looked across at Julian. She thought back to last night and the strength of their feelings for each other. It scared her to think that she could feel so much for him. She was not allowed to have feelings for him as he was not a Trill. Quietly, so as not to disturb him, she climbed out of bed and dressed. She wrote a message on a padd and left it in the bed in her place and left quickly before he could wake. As she walked out of the door, she felt as if she was leaving part of herself behind and it caused a great pain that felt as if she was being torn in two. The last time she had felt something like that, was when Verad had taken her symbiont for himself. No, she thought, it can't be the same. She entered her own quarters and lay down and cried.

Julian woke very slowly and was aware that he felt great. Memories of last night came back to him and he started to feel his body rouse. He reached over for Dax, but his hand hit a padd instead. He smiled and reached out for the padd. As he read, he felt the bottom fall out of his whole world.

"Julian,
Last night was fun, but it cannot happen again.
Do not try to get a repeat as the answer will be no.
Jadzia."

Julian was devastated. How could she do this? I love her! He put the padd down and broke down crying. It didn't ease the pain he felt. This was worse than when he was forced to remove Jadzia's symbiont. He had felt pain then because he could cause her death. He didn't know how he was going to cope with seeing her everyday. He managed to rouse himself and put on a clean uniform. He picked up the uniform he had been wearing yesterday and put it in the reclamation unit. There was no way he was ever going to be able to wear *that* uniform again. He finally left for the infirmary feeling like he would never be happy again.

Up in ops, Jadzia was in a foul mood. Kira came to ask her a question and she bit her head off. The only person who escaped her wrath was Sisko, but that was only because he was hiding from her. He had seen Curzon's tempers and knew that Jadzia was no better. He didn't know what was affecting her, but he was smart enough not to go and ask her. When she was in a bad mood, she made Kira look tame. Luckily she did not lose it very often. Still, he would like to know what was wrong.

In the infirmary, Julian's staff were not faring much better. He had personally caused two ensigns to burst into tears and one of the nurses to think about a transfer. They were now giving him a very wide berth. When he wasn't yelling at his staff he was in a depression so deep that it was lucky the infirmary wasn't busy as he would have been incapable of working. He left early that day and the staff all heaved a collective sigh of relief as he left. He had left early so that he could get back to his quarters without bumping into Jadzia. There was no way that he could face her now. He was hurting too much to be able to stand it. On his way back to his quarters, he stopped at Quark's to buy himself a couple of bottles of drink. Quark took one look at him and gave him the strongest stuff he had. Julian thanked him and hurried back to his quarters. That night he spent the whole time going over the previous evening and trying to dull the pain with the alcohol. He finished one bottle and then moved onto the other. He was halfway through it when he finally passed out.

As she came off shift, Jadzia thought about going to see Julian, but then changed her mind. If she went, she didn't think she would ever want to leave. There was no way that she could have a relationship with him. For starters he was far too young for her, but most importantly, he was not a Trill. If she was involved with a non-Trill, it could mean her disgrace. This would mean that she would be considered dead as far as her people were concerned and that the Dax symbiont would die with her. Her people could not afford to lose the knowledge that Dax had accrued over the last 300 odd years. With that she entered her own quarters and tried in vain to sleep. Her dreams were disturbing and she couldn't help but feel that she was losing part of herself.

The next morning, Julian woke and found himself still sitting on the floor where he had been last night. He tried to stand up and almost passed out again. His head started pounding and he felt angry at Jadzia. She had caused this! He slowly moved to the shower and washed some of the alcohol smell from himself and changed into a clean uniform. He then slowly made his way to the infirmary. The staff took one look at him and decided that his mood had not improved. They walked on eggshells around him all day, which was just as well, because he felt rotten and was spoiling for a fight. Luckily it was another quiet day.

After shift he bought some more drink from Quark. Quark looked at him worriedly, but didn't say anything. Julian left and just as he was about to enter his quarters he saw Jadzia and the pain hit again stronger than ever. He entered his quarters quickly and sat down to his brooding. He started to drink and think about what he could do. There was no way that he could stay on the station. He would not be able to live knowing that she was only a short distance away, and that he couldn't touch her again. The only answer was transfer. Before he was too fuddled from the drink he sat down and wrote his request for a transfer, stating personal reasons. He signed it and sent it to Sisko's office. He would find it in the morning.

Julian then settled down to drink the rest of the bottle. No matter how much he drank, it would not numb the pain. He opened a second bottle and drank all of that. Tonight it was not having the desired effect. He drank the leftover half bottle from last night and then tried to get some peace. It wasn't working. He kept thinking about her and was unable to sleep. He stood up unsteadily and made his way back to the infirmary. He would get something to help him sleep there. Something at the back of his brain told him that that was not a good idea, but he ignored it. It was quiet in the station as it was the night cycle. Bashir looked at the time and found it was 04:00 hours. At the infirmary he walked into his office and filled a hypospray with a mixture of chemicals that would help him sleep. He walked into the small room next to his office and injected himself. He lay on the sofa and felt the nothingness creep over him.

The next morning in ops, Jadzia arrived and looked terrible. She looked as if she had not slept in days. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked as if she had lost weight. The whole of the ops crew steered clear of her as it was obvious that her mood had not improved from the previous day. She had been on duty for an hour, when an urgent call came in from the infirmary. Dr Bashir had been found unconscious in the room next to his office. It appeared he had been drinking heavily and had then injected himself with sleeping drugs and the combination was almost lethal.

Sisko convened a meeting of the senior staff officers to discuss the problem with Bashir. "Apparently his blood/alcohol level was so high that that alone should have killed him. He then injected himself with something to help him sleep and the combination of the drugs and the alcohol has meant that he is in a Coma. Does anyone know why this may have happened?" During the discussion Jadzia had gone deathly pale. She looked like she was going to cry at any moment, and Sisko realised that she knew something. She looked as guilty as sin.

After the meeting broke up, Jadzia stayed behind to speak to Sisko. "Benjamin, I would like to request a transfer."
"Why do you want that?" asked Sisko.
"It's... personal."
"I need more than that to go on. Why do you want to transfer?"
"I can't tell you that Benjamin."
"Well I need a little more than that to approve a transfer of my Science Officer."
"I just need to get away from here... I can't say why."
"Take the rest of the day off and think about it Old Man."
"Thank you Benjamin."

Jadzia left ops and walked to the infirmary. She couldn't help feeling guilty about what had happened to Julian as she knew that he had done it because of her. She had not seen him since their night together, but she knew that he looked as bad a she did, if not worse. At the infirmary, she was relieved to find that Julian was out of the Coma, and was now just sleeping off the effects of the previous night. She did not go in but watched him from a distance. He looked so fragile and she had caused it! The guilt was too much and Jadzia fled the infirmary for her quarters. At her quarters, she broke down completely.

She was still crying an hour later when Kira dropped by her quarters to see how she was. The sight of Dax like that totally shocked Kira. Dax was known for her calmness in any situation, but to see her like this really scared her. She ordered some coffee from the replicator and sat down to talk to Dax. Dax had by this stage actually noticed that Kira was in the room.
"Dax what's wrong? The last three days you have been in the foulest of moods and this morning when you heard about Julian you looked as if you were going to pass out."
"I can't talk about it, except that it is all my fault."
"What do you mean it is all your fault?"
"Everything is all my fault!"
"Can you expand on that please?"
"I... just... can't!" With that, Dax broke down again and Kira was at a total loss as to what to do.
"Try and get some sleep Dax. Maybe things will seem better in the morning."
"I doubt it."
Kira walked to the replicator again. "Cow's milk, hot" She then walked back to Dax.
"Here this should help a bit. Benjamin recommended it to me once when I couldn't sleep."
She handed the milk to Dax who sipped it gratefully. After Kira left, Dax curled up on her bed and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

Dax had just woken up when she received a summons from Sisko to his office. She looked quickly in the mirror and was horrified by what she saw. Her eyes were puffy, but the rest of her looked gaunt. In other words, she looked terrible. 'Well' she thought, 'this will have to do'. She left her room and made her way quickly to ops.

When she arrived at ops she quickly went into Sisko's office. She was shocked to find that Julian was already there. She snuck a look at him and realised that he looked even worse than she did. This brought back her feelings of guilt and she moved to stand as far away from him as possible.

Julian almost ran out of the office when Jadzia entered. He did not realise that she had been called here as well. He tried not to look at her, but he failed. His one consolation was that she did not look any happier than he did. Why did she have to do this? Why couldn't they be together. Didn't she realise that he loved her. He couldn't take much more of this pain. Because of her he had almost killed himself the night before. The medical staff were surprised that he was even alive. He had drunk enough to kill a Klingon and then combined that with the sleeping drugs. He was lucky he was not dead. Maybe that would have been better. Then he wouldn't have to worry about the pain again.

Sisko just watched them for a few moments. The behaviour of the two confirmed his suspicions that this had something to do with them. Something had happened between them. He just didn't know what it was. After a few more moments he addressed them. "I have called you two here to discuss these ridiculous requests for transfer. I do not want to lose either of you and I am not going to authorise these transfers." Both of them looked up at him in shock. "Instead I am ordering you two to go away together to work this out. Kira has recommended a remote part of Bajor where there are no other people and you are to go there. I expect you not to return for at least two weeks. You *will* work this thing out as I am not prepared to lose two of my best officers. Is that understood?"
"Yes Sir!" They both replied in unison.
"The runabout will be ready to leave in an hour, and we will be checking to see if you go to the right place! Dismissed."

Both Jadzia and Julian turned and left, but were very careful not to touch each other as they were leaving. They both stood at opposite sides of the turbolift and refused to look at each other. They went, still without speaking, to their quarters to pack. They both knew that if they weren't at the runabout on time then Sisko would transport them there whether they were ready or not!

Back in her quarters, Jadzia wondered how they were going to get through the next two weeks. It was obvious that Julian wanted nothing to do with her. The hurt in his eyes when he finally looked at her was more than she could bear. He was being torn apart and it was all her fault. Well she was determined to find some way to repair some of the damage.

Julian was also wondering how he could cope with the next two weeks. He knew that he was not going to be able to stand it. He knew that the only way to survive this was to ignore her. He was not going to be hurt again! With that thought he packed some of the clothes that he bought from Garak over the past several months.

They were both at the runabout in exactly one hour. Sisko was there to see them off and to warn them that if they had not worked it out at the end of the two weeks then they were ordered to stay there until they had. In other words, not to come back until they were themselves again.

Jadzia thought that the trip to Bajor would never end. They were both ignoring each other. and she didn't really see much changing. She had tried to say something to Julian to break the silence, but he just walked to the back of the runabout. The only sound he had made since they had left the station was to order some Tarkalian Tea from the replicator. She wanted to explain to him about the disgrace, but he wouldn't even look at her let alone talk.

Julian walked to the back of the runabout. He hated Sisko at the moment. There was no way he was going to survive this trip. He was going to ignore her no matter what it cost him. She had already made it clear as to how she felt about him and he wanted much more from her. He loved her so much that it was absolute torture being in the runabout with her. He just wished that the journey was over so that he could escape somewhere away from her. Sisko did not say that he had stay aboard the runabout, just that he had to stay at that particular spot.

Finally they landed at the spot that Kira had recommended. It was a beautiful spot far away from any habitations. It was a spot that Kira had often come to to escape from her troubles. If they weren't feeling so badly, they would have noticed that it was incredibly beautiful and seemed to have escaped a lot of the damage that the rest of the planet had attained during the occupation, but they were both too wrapped up in their own problems.

It was late afternoon when they arrived and they both spent the time scouting around the immediate area. They were both trying to ignore each other. At dinner the only sound made was when they ordered their meal from the replicator, and they both went to sleep on opposite sides of the runabout. Neither of them slept very well as they were both very aware of the other only a short distance away. Julian spent the next day wandering around so that he wouldn't have to speak to Jadzia. Unfortunately she kept trying to follow him around. Several times she tried to talk to him, but he just continued to ignore her. Because he wasn't looking at her he didn't see the pain on her face every time he pointedly ignored her. If he had, it might have broken down his resistance, but he remained unaware of her pain and just concentrated on his own.

Jadzia had given up following Julian. She had tried to talk to him, but he had refused to answer her. It really hurt knowing that he was deliberately ignoring her. She wanted everything to go back to how it was before. Actually she wanted more than that, but that would be preferable to what was happening now. She went back to the runabout and lay down in one of the bunks. 'This is hopeless' she thought, 'I've lost him, and it's all my fault'. She felt like crying but she wouldn't give in, especially when he would return at any moment. She couldn't let him see her cry. She felt a gnawing sensation in her stomach and realised that she had not eaten since yesterday. She walked over to the replicator just as Julian returned.
"Julian do you want anything for dinner?" She turned to look at him and he turned away.
"Chicken soup, hot" She took her meal and sat down to eat it. Julian ordered toast and munched on that silently. After they had finished eating he ordered a drink.
"Julian I don't think that is a good idea after what happened before." He turned and looked at her. His eyes were full of anger and pain. She couldn't stand it any longer and the tears that had threatened earlier started to pour out. She ran to the bunk and lay face down. She tried to stop the crying, but it was stronger than her.

Julian watched her run to the end of the runabout and felt glad. He then heard sobs coming from where she had gone. _No, not that, anything but that_. He had been determined to ignore her, but hearing her crying was his undoing. He couldn't stand to think that he had made her cry. He loved her so much he didn't want her to be hurt. A particularly loud sob came from the back and Julian could hold back no longer. He ran down to the back, and saw Jadzia lying there. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. He sat down on the bed and gathered her into his arms and held her while she cried. He didn't say anything, he just held her. Eventually the crying passed and they both fell into an exhausted sleep.

The next morning, Julian woke feeling a bit stiff. He was still holding Jadzia and he looked down at her face. There were long streaks down her face and her eyes were puffy. Even so, she was still beautiful. He felt a very strong urge to never let her go, to keep her safe in his arms forever. Then he remembered that she didn't want that. As he was thinking this, Jadzia woke up and looked up at him. She saw the naked pain in his eyes and knew that she had caused it. It made her feel like a low-life, but she had to tell him why she did it.
"Julian... We have to talk."
"I know"
"I need to tell you why I did what I did. Please hear me out and don't interrupt. When I am finished you can say what you want."
"Go ahead"
"The night we spent together was incredible, and I realised that I cared for you as more than a friend. In Trill society, a joined Trill is not allowed to be involved with a non-Trill in anything but a casual affair. What we shared together was more than that and I was scared. If I get involved with a non-Trill, it could cause my disgrace on Trillian. If I am disgraced it means that as far as Trillian is concerned, I am dead. It also means that when I die, Dax will die with me unless I go through the initiate training all over again. Even then there are no guarantees that Dax would be accepted again. I knew that if we continued I would not be able to leave you and this is what would happen. I know I don't agree with everything I have been taught, but Trillian is my home. This is why I left the next morning. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. When I was told that you were in a coma, I knew that it was because of me and I felt so guilty. I wouldn't know what I would have done if you had died, so I went to Benjamin to ask for a transfer off the station. I thought that if I didn't see you, then this would pass, but I realise now that this wouldn't happen. I really hate the fact that I have hurt you, but I was scared. It is not an excuse, but the truth." The whole time while she had been talking, she was looking at Julian trying to gauge what he was feeling, and how he was taking her explanation. At least he was listening - that was a start.

"I knew that your government did not like us non-Trills, but I did not realise that it was so bad. I had no idea that you could be disgraced. You know the way I feel about Trillian. I have not been impressed by some of the things that I have learnt about your world, but at the same time there are probably things about Earth that you don't like. I love you Jadzia and I always have. At first it was just a crush, but over the last couple of years it has strengthened and I didn't even realise it until the other day when you first kissed me. I don't' know how I could stand to watch you everyday and know that you couldn't be mine. It would be even worse if I saw you involved with anyone else. That is part of the reason that I also asked Sisko for a transfer, though I did it before you did. If there is any hope at all. I need to know, otherwise I will still be requesting a transfer because I couldn't stay."
Julian then looked Jadzia straight in the eyes and asked her, "Is there any hope for us Jadzia?" "I don't know Julian. It is a tough decision to make. What if I choose you and it doesn't work out? I would then be left with no-one *and* no home. Can we please just take this one day at a time?"
"How about we have some breakfast and then spend the day exploring the area?"
"That sounds fine to me."
"There is just one condition."
"What's that?"
"If anything does happen, I want your promise that you are not going to run away again. That whatever happens, we will face it together."
Jadzia turned to look at Julian "Agreed. I won't run away again. I promise to talk to you before doing anything."
They came to a silent agreement that they would not discuss heavy subjects during the day and just concentrate on enjoying the day. They ate breakfast in companionable silence, and then packed some lunch for later.

Julian and Jadzia spent the day idly wandering around the area and talking about various things that had happened to them in their lives. Nothing serious, just humorous anecdotes etc. They walked hand in hand, but other than that, they did not touch. They spent their lunch by a beautiful pool of water which had a waterfall in the corner. After lunch they lay back and listened to the birds and just enjoyed being in each others company.
"It's such a beautiful day, lets go for a swim." suggested Julian.
"But I don't have my costumes."
"There is no-one around and after the other night I think it's a little late for you to worry about us seeing each other. Also I'm a doctor, I see naked bodies all of the time."
Julian began to strip off his clothes and Jadzia could not help but stare at his beautiful caramel-skinned body. "Come on. Last one in is a Ferengi."
That statement got Jadzia's attention and she hurriedly stripped off and raced after him to the water.

They both entered the water at the same time, and started to swim towards the waterfall. Jadzia got there first and stood on a rock that was directly under the falls. When Julian got there he found that the only rock was already taken, so he pushed Jadzia off so that he could stand there. This started a full scale waterfight between the two until they decided that maybe both of them could share the rock. When they stood on it together, they had to stand very close and they were both very aware of the other.
"I think this rock is a bit small."
"Actually Julian it is just the right size." She looked at him and they were both mesmerised. Julian broke the gaze and dived in the water. "Race you back to the other side".
As they climbed out of the water, they realised that they had no towels and so they just slipped into their clothes while still wet. They then wandered back to the runabout for dinner.

Dinner was just as casual as the rest of the day and after dinner, they sat together and talked some more. Eventually they were both having trouble keeping their eyes open and they stood up to go to their bunks for some sleep. Julian bent down and kissed Jadzia gently and then said "Goodnight Jadzia".
"Goodnight Julian" They both slept well that night knowing that the other was nearby.

The next day was similar to the day before. They wandered about the area in the morning and had their lunch by the pool again. This time they had remembered to bring towels with them. After lunch they went swimming again and found that there was another rock under the waterfall, where they could both sit down and enjoy the water pouring over them. They sat for a while, but they were very aware of each other. Julian then started to kiss the spots running down her neck. Jadzia groaned and started to run her hands over his body in return. Very soon they had lost all sense of where they were. They were one and nothing else mattered. Their coming together was shattering and it took them quite some time to come back down and realise where they were. They then swam back to the shore and helped each other dry off and then came together again.

That night as they ate dinner they kept getting distracted by stray glances and wandering hands. They fed each other and were generally unaware of anything other than each other. After dinner they retired to the bunks so that they could further explore their feelings for each other.

The rest of the two weeks passed in much the same way. They spent the daytimes wandering, making love and swimming and the night times were spent further exploring their feelings for each other. They were both incredibly happy, but the future was nagging at Julian's brain. He knew that he had agreed to take everything one day at a time, but he needed to know that this was not going to just go away when they reached the station.

On their last night together before returning to the station Julian ordered a special meal from the replicator and had set up candles on the table. They had a romantic dinner and then Julian could wait no longer.
"Jadzia I know that we agreed to take one day at a time, but I can't go back to the station without knowing where I stand. I love you more than anything else in the universe and I couldn't stand to ever lose you. Will you marry me Jadzia?"
Jadzia took all of about two seconds to make up her mind.
"Yes Julian... I'll marry you." They sealed their agreement in the best way they knew how.

The journey back to the station was completely different to the one on the way to Bajor. This time they spent quite a bit of time in the back while the runabout took them back to the station on autopilot. They also planned out how they would tell the others and what sort of wedding they wanted. They agreed that they wanted Sisko to perform the ceremony and that Miles should be the best man. Jadzia decided that Kira should be her bridesmaid and that little Molly could be a flowergirl. They had both agreed on an earth wedding. They had even decided that Garak should give her away.

When they docked at the station they came out of the airlock to find the whole of the senior staff there to greet them. They took one look at the faces of Dax and Bashir and knew that everything had been worked out.
"Since you are all here, we should tell you now." announced Jadzia.
"And what should you tell us Old Man?"
"Julian and I are getting married."
The entire crowd was stunned for a moment, then as one they all cheered.
"Benjamin, we would be honoured if you would perform the ceremony."
"Of course. I would be proud to."
Benjamin hugged her and then turned to the rest of the group.
"I think this deserves a celebration. Everyone let's go to Quark's - first round's on me!" All of the crowd agreed with Sisko and they all trooped off to Quark's to celebrate the engagement.

Jadzia stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself. She was feeling a bit nervous as today was the big day. She was marrying Julian! She had received a sub-space communication from Trillian that morning stating that if she went ahead with the wedding today she would be disgraced. She had been upset, but it did not change her decision. She knew that she loved Julian, and that together they had a love that would survive anything. Their love was special and very few people ever found a love as strong as theirs.
Kira came over to where Jadzia was standing and gave her a big hug.
"You look so beautiful today. I only wish that I could find someone who loves me half as much as Julian loves you."
"There is someone who loves you a great deal, and I think you'll find that he is right under your nose."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I can't say any more than that. Just remember that good friends make the best lovers."
"Sometimes you infuriate me Jadzia, but I won't yell at you today. Be happy and may the prophets bless you both." Kira moved away to finish doing her hair and applying her makeup. Jadzia had talked her into wearing a beautiful midnight blue dress that came to just above her knees. Keiko O'Brien was also in the wedding party and was wearing a dress that matched Kira's. Little Molly was in a Mid blue dress that made her look like a fairy princess. She was to carry a basket filled with rose petals and scatter them in front of the bride as she walked down the aisle.

Garak had definitely outdone himself on all of the clothing. The men were all dressed in Tuxedo's with matching blue bowties, but the crowning glory of his work was Jadzia's dress. The dress had a tight fitting bodice which came down to a V at the front. The Skirt was full and consisted of several layers of a fine gauzy material over a silky underskirt. The bodice was the same colour as her eyes and the underskirt was the same midnight blue as Kira's and Keiko's dresses. The overskirts were a swirl of various colour blues and to top it all off, there was a row of variegated blue flowers around the waistline and a matching wreath in her hair. The effect was something very ethereal.

Finally everything was ready and Garak came into the room to collect her. She took his arm and proceeded out of the door into the temple. She was feeling a bit nervous, but the moment she looked up into Julian's eyes everyone else disappeared. He looked absolutely gorgeous in his Tux and she couldn't work out why it had taken her this long to know that she loved him. He had always been there for her all through her troubles, and had always shown her how much she was loved! Her heart was almost bursting with the love she felt for him.

Julian was standing at the front of the temple waiting for Jadzia. _What if she changed her mind?_ He was nervous but at the same time he was beyond happiness. He heard a murmur go through the crowd and turned to see Jadzia enter. The others in the party had already walked in but he hadn't seen them, he only had eyes for Jadzia. She was so beautiful! He was so proud that she was going to be his. He felt like pinching himself to make sure this was not a dream, but decided not to because if this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up!

Jadzia reached the front and Garak handed her over to Julian. They were gazing into each others eyes and had forgotten about the rest of the room. Sisko had to tap Julian to get his attention so that he could start the ceremony. The crowd laughed at this and then Sisko walked forward to address everyone.
"One of the greatest privileges of commanding a station is to join two people in love in matrimony. Today I am privileged to be joining two of my best officers Lt Commander Jadzia Dax and Doctor Julian Bashir. As you all know, I have known Dax for the last 20 odd years. I first knew her when she was still the 'old man' Curzon, and then later when she came to this station as Jadzia. I must say that in both forms she has always been a good friend and officer! I have only known Julian for a few years now, but I must say that I have come to respect him, not only for his skill as a doctor, but also for his friendship. We all agree that he was annoying at first but he has proved himself to be a great officer and friend to all of us. I am sure there are many of us who wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Julian. That said, I think we should get back to the task at hand."

Sisko then launched into the more familiar words of the wedding ceremony. Julian and Jadzia both had tears in their eyes as Sisko pronounced them man and wife.
As they kissed each other, a loud cheer went up from the crowd.
Julian looked adoringly at Jadzia "I love you *Mrs* Bashir".
"And I love you my good doctor!"
They kissed again to seal their love and knew that it would be one of many to come in their years together!

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