Friends and Family

A Deep Space 9 Fanfic

---

Ziyal was certain she wasn't imagining it, because that was what she had thought at first. But it had been over a week since the return from the Gamma Quadrant. He had to be avoiding her. Trying to appear casual, she entered the replimat as he was finishing lunch. "Doctor, do you mind if I join you?"

Bashir froze momentarily, seeming disconcerted. "Of course not, but I'm nearly finished eating."

"It's alright. Red Leaf Tea." She ordered from the waiter. "We haven't had much time to talk. You always seem to leave lunch with Garak and I early."

"I've been finishing some research." Bashir explained away. Actually, his research had slowed remarkably lately. Perhaps his time in the prison was still affecting him even more than he'd guessed. Still, it was the most handy excuse.

"Really? What about?" Ziyal asked, accepting the cup of tea from the waiter.

Bashir hesitated. "Oh, I'm sure you wouldn't be interested."

"Well, I doubt I'd fully understand it, but I'm willing to listen." She offered, certain he couldn't escape this ploy. Everyone knew how much he loved to talk about his projects. If he tried to excuse himself now it would be an awkward situation.

"Well...I've been doing research on -"

"Infirmary to Doctor Bashir." His combadge chirped.

"Bashir here." He was all business.

"There's an emergency. We need your assistance immediately."

"I'm on my way. Bashir out." He stood. "Sorry, Ziyal."

Despite the apologetic words he didn't sound sorry, he sounded relieved. And he didn't even say 'another time' or any such words of promise before he walked away. It annoyed her, she realized, to be ignored. The Doctor was a friend. True, she'd ended up closer to the changeling in the last month than she'd been to the man. But the changeling had been imitating him, and she'd hoped she could rekindle that warm friendship with the real Doctor Bashir. He seemed reluctant to do that, though, for reasons she couldn't fathom.

---

It was childish. Like returning the darts had been. Like destroying any research it had continued in his projects. But he had to seperate himself from that changeling. Had to find something to concentrate on other than the feeling of taking back up his life after someone else had lived it. It was eerie, disturbing, frightening...violating. And Ziyal wanted a friendship that had belonged mostly to the changeling. He wasn't sure he could take that, he really wasn't. He felt close to cracking as it was. He tried to ignore the guilt he felt over Ziyal's crestfallen look at his departure, he didn't do a good job at it...

---

Ziyal, mulling over her tea, missed Kira's entrance. "Hey, you look down."

"Nerys, hi." Ziyal smiled, despite herself. "I didn't know it was obvious."

"Is it your father?"

"No."

Kira paused, then tried again. "Garak." Ziyal shook her head, and Kira frowned. Well, if she was speaking to her it couldn't be her. "Then what is it?"

Ziyal hesitated. Should she tell her? Would she think she was imagining things? Would she agree with her? Either way it seemed likely she'd talk to him...and when you got right down to it, that didn't seem like a bad idea. "It's the Doctor."

"Bashir?" This had taken Kira completely off guard.

"He's avoiding me."

"Avoiding you?" Kira thought that sounded a bit overdramatic. And since when did Bashir matter so much to Ziyal? Sure she and he - no - she and the changeling had become closer friends over the last month. That might be the root of the problem...if there was one. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. He always hurries away from lunches with Garak and I before they're really finished. But he always finishes lunches when it's just Garak. And he spends hours with Martok having dinner at the Klingon restaurant. So I thought I'd approach him."

"But he just up and left?"

"Not exactly...he did get called to the infirmary, but he seemed relieved. Like he was happy to have an excuse to get away from me."

"Look, Ziyal, Bashir went through alot in that Dominion Prison. Garak, Martok - he shared that experience with them. He's probably still recovering, and wants to talk to them since they were there. He probably figures nobody else really want to hear it."

"I'm willing to listen if he needs someone to talk to. I spent six years as a prisoner of the Breen, I think I'd be a sympathetic ear."

"I'm sure you would be, but...look, why are you so worried about Bashir anyway?"

"He's a friend."

"Sort-of." Kira grimaced slightly. "Sort-of not."

"No, even before the conference we shared lunches with Garak. The three of us would talk. He never once seemed to hold it against me that I was half-Bajoran-half-Caradassian, or that I was Gul Dukat's daughter. So that made him a very important friend to me. One of my only friends. I was happy when he...when the changeling-him started giving me more time. Strengthening our relationship. He was a very good friend, I'd like to have that again."

Kira nodded. This really seemed to be bothering Ziyal. Even if she turned out to be mistaken, talkng to Bashir certainly couldn't hurt. "It must be hard...it must feel like you've lost a friendship."

Ziyal nodded - that was exactly how it felt...

---

"Bashir." Kira entered the infirmary that evening.

"Major, what can I do for you?" Bashir turned from entering data into the computer.

"Are you busy?" Kira took a moment to ask, not wanting to intrude. She still wasn't sure whether this whole problem was just in Ziyal's head. She loved the half-bajoran girl like a daughter, but she knew her well enough to know she was a bit of a brat and like to be payed attention to.

"Just finishing some datalogging. My shift's almost over. Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure." Kira admitted, watching him carefully. "It's about Ziyal."

"Is she ill? Injured?" Bashir asked, instantly the doctor.

"No...not exactly...she's upset."

"...Well, I'm sure it bothers you that she is upset. But why come to me?" He had a sinking feeling, but pressed on anyway. "Wouldn't Garak be -"

"You're who she's upset over." Kira explained, feeling a little foolish.

"Me?" Bashir paused in disbelief. She'd gone and complained to Kira?

Kira smiled, mistaking his shock for confusion. "She seems to think you're avoiding her. You know what it's like at her age, never sure of yourself. So she's upset."

"Alright..." Bashir turned back to is work. He felt strangely embarrassed. He couldn't believe Ziyal had complained to Kira, and she'd come to talk to him. Like bickering children ordered to play nice. "What do you want me to do?"

"Spend a little extra time with her?" Kira suggested.

Bashir stiffened. He couldn't, and what's more - he didn't have to. Who did she think she was? Telling him to spend time with someone! "Is that an order?" He asked a bit cooly, not turning from his work.

Kira was surprised by his reaction. She hadn't anticipated the usually docile doctor to protest her idea. He was usually willing to go out of his way to help someone - which sometimes put him IN someone's way, but that was besides the point. His refusal alone made her take Ziyal's complaint more seriously. "No, of course not."

"Good." He said simply, concentrating on his work.

Kira, shocked, left the infirmary convinced Ziyal was right. And with the nagging sense that the doctor's withdrawal from Ziyal was just one outward sign of a deeper issue.

---

Ziyal bit her lip, watching the replimat from a distance. She wasn't sure if she felt like an annoying sister or a nagging wife. She didn't usually intrude on Bashir and Garak's private lunches, but she was a girl on a mission. Desperate times called for desperate measures, as it was. Taking a deep breath she headed casually across the hallway.

---

No one, Bashir decided when Ziyal approached them, could accuse the girl of a lack of determination. But he couldn't expect anything less from Gul Dukat's daughter.

"Garak. Doctor." She greeted. "May I join you?"

"Of course, my dear." Garak was instantly solicitous.

Bashir had two choices, try to get along or make a scene that proved Ziyal's suspicions and would have Garak and Kira teamed against him. Too tired to even contemplate the second choice, he managed a smile. "Here." He got up, giving her his chair and stealing another one from a nearby table.

Ziyal beamed. "Thank-you, Doctor." Relief poured through her. Maybe, just maybe, this would work out after all. "Red Leaf Tea, please." She ordered.

"That's not the healthiest of lunches." Bashir mentioned. He needed the strength being a Doctor afforded him now.

"Oh? So do you have an opinion on what does constitute a healthy lunch?" Ziyal asked.

"The good Doctor has an opinion on everything." Garak put in. Ziyal buried her smile in the delivered tea.

"Where as you, Garak, aren't a man with opinions on everything?" Bashir challenged.

"Why, Doctor, of course I am. Many opinions on the same subjects even."

"So I've learned."

Ziyal smiled. She wasn't part of the tete to tete, but just the fact that Bashir was comfortable enough to stay gave her hope. "So, about my lunch, since you two are so...opinionated. Maybe you have suggestions?"

---

"How odd." Kira glanced over at the three.

"What is it?" Dax asked. "Garak, Ziyal, and Bashir? What's so aodd about that? Garak and Bashir are friends, and you know how Ziyal feels about Garak. So it's only natural they would become friends. Even the changeling - "

"That's just it. Ziyal complained to me just the other day that Bashir was avoiding her."

"Mabye she over-exaggerated."

"That's what I thought, but for her sake I went and talked to Bashir. He was really defensive about the whole thing. I was worried he was a bit overworked. He seemed stressed."

"In need of a day off?" Dax teased her.

"If I were chief medical officer I would have put him off duty for extreme stress." Kira grinned. Dax laughed.

---

"Well, that was a delightful meal." Garak sat back. "I hate to take leave of you both, but I do have a shop to run."

"Oh, I must have been due back at the Infirmary atleast twenty minutes ago." Bashir stood, startled.

"Yes, I was surprised by your restraint today, Doctor. Perhaps Dr Zimmerman's influence?"

"His only influence is the influence to stay away." Bashir couldn't help but say.

"Yes, he does seem a trifle overbearing." Garak commented, standing as well.

"I really thought he seemed obnoxious." Ziyal opinioned.

"Working with him only makes matters worse." Bashir turned to her before he thought about it. "He's stiff as a board."

Ziyal, pleased at the success of the lunch, stood as well. "Stiff as a board?" She repeated.

"An earth colloquialism, no doubt." Garak interjected.

"Just...someone who doesn't know how to have a good time." Bashir explained as they moved away from the table and out of the replimat.

"Ah...yes. He doesn't seem capable of relaxing, does he?" Ziyal commented. "I'm surprised he chose you. You're so much lighter."

Bashir couldn't help but bristle. "I take my work very seriously."

Ziyal realized her mistake instantly. "Yes, but you're much easier to get along with."

Bashir froze, unable to not make the connection.

---

"Over a month?" O'Brien asked. "I've been hanging around with a changeling for over a month?"

"You never even suspected it wasn't me?" He'd asked, hurt but not wanting to tell him.

"The worst part is, the clues were right in front of me the whole time."

"What clues?" He'd been genuinely curious.

"He was so much easier to get along with."

Barb shot and scored. He'd glared at his friend, who only smiled. He'd probably thought it was a good joke - but at the time he hadn't needed it.

---

Garak had noticed his distraction, and stopped. Luckily they weren't far from his shop and he could cover up Bashir's freeze. He knew exactly what it was about. "Well, my young friends, back to my work. Ziyal." He touched palms with the young woman. "Doctor." He nodded.

"Garak." Bashir nodded back, his senses were still reeling. Enough to suddenly notice how returning the Cardassian farewell was so natural to him anymore. Strange, he hadn't realized it...

"Shall I walk you to the Infirmary, Doctor?" Ziyal asked, hopeful still.

"Quite alright on my own. I've walked it many times." He told her, feeling slightly ill at ease now that they were alone. What hit him was that he'd enjoyed the lunch so much. A part of him wished he hadn't. "Another time." He nodded for her as he had for Garak. Ziyal held out her hand, expecting the infamous farewell she shared with Garak. He hesitated, then slowly touched her hand with his. "You and Garak are trying to make me Cardassian, I swear." He teased before walking away.

He didn't see the guilty look he left on Ziyal's face. "I...I didn't realize..." She found herself saying to thin air. The moment she'd seen him and Garak interact she'd understood what it meant. Garak treated Bashir like family. A younger brother, possibly even a son. He treated him Cardassian. And the one instance she'd seen her father interact with the Doctor, she'd noticed he'd treated him like one too. She'd followed suit, and it seemed surprisingly natural. She'd never once thought he might not see it. Might not realize it.

The complexity of his thoughts. His apprecitation of art and literature. The lively lunch debates. How he knew in his work when to be subtle and when to be forceful. It was all so...Cardassian. His acceptance of the darker side of Garak's nature. His everlasting determination - even the touch of smug pride. Cardassian all the way. Little wonder he'd said once he wasn't popular on the station at first! No, he hadn't said that, the changeling had. She had to remember to seperate them. And she would, she was determined...

---

Bashir stood quietly in the infirmary, looking at the screen in ront of him. He lowered his gaze to the keys, as if he couldn't remember what buttons to push suddenly. He turned back to look at his desk, where a piece of rolled paper sat. He unrolled it carefully. It was a drawing of Deep Space Nine. The wormhole open behind it. But to one side were three planets...Bajor, Earth, and Cardassia Prime. The symbolism made him uncomfortable in some ways. He hadn't really allowed himself to think about howw it connected with what she'd said that day...

"I haven't spoken to Garak." He'd admitted to her, surprised at the fact that he was willing to talk to her so easily. Nothing like a crisis to get your head on straight with.

"Oh, I'm sure he's proud." Ziyal assured him.

"Proud? That I've lived a lie? Lied to Starfleet, to Bajor, to him?"

"You haven't lived a lie, you've told one - and lived with it. It's very...Cardassian..."

"You and Garak seem to forget sometimes that, geneticlally enhanced or not, I'm human - not Cardassian." He'd been amused at first.

"Aren't you?" She'd asked pointedly, and suddenly it wasn't so funny.

Alone in the infirmary Bashir traced the outline of the three worlds and Deep Space Nine on the painting. "Maybe I'm both..." Putting the picture back he turned back to the console. "Computer, log death certificate for Tora Ziyal." Glancing out over the empty infirmary, he smiled sadly. "Rest in peace Ziyal, thank-you for making me your friend...no, part of your family..."

---

Salmon 2005

I seem to write strangely plotless stories sometimes. lol But what inspired me to write this was the fact that Garak had no problem letting Bashir see Tain die, yet Dukat objected to Kira even seeing the bodies of the dead Cardassians because she wasn't a Cardassian. It seemed to me that allowing Bashir to see Tain dead, but covering him when the others entered was like giving him rights as a Cardassian, which meant that in some ways he had to see Bashir like a Cardassian. It made me actually wonder what he meant by telling Tain on his deathbed - "It's just the two of us now." Him and Tain, or him and Bashir?

I wasn't up to writing a fic from Garak's point of view though. lol I figured the other person who it would be obvious to would be Ziyal, and since you do see her, Garak, and Changeling-Bashir having lunch, but never them and the real Bashir having lunch, I thought - Hmmm...and this fic was born.

Not sure if anyone else would agree on my view, but that's okay. I actually enjoyed writing this fic alot. :)

Salmon