They had plans to spend their afternoon fighting in the holosuite but Jadzia and Worf could not even do that. There was just too much weighing on their minds. Jadzia started pacing around the holosuite, preparing herself for what she was about to say.

"... Worf, you know, ever since we've taken care of Kirayoshi, I....", Jadzia's voice trailed off. She had absolutely no idea how Worf would react to the idea of a baby.

" What is it Jadzia?"

" Worf, it's just that I miss babies, and well... I was just thinking that maybe we could you know, start trying..." Jadzia, finished off her sentence and thought to herself, " well, I finally got that one over with."

" Jadzia..."

" I know, I know, you don't want a baby..."

" Jadzia..." Worf, cut Dax off, she wasn't letting him get a word in edgewise.

" No need to explain Worf. I know, we're both starfleet officers, how could we possibly have the time to raise a child..."

"Jadzia..." Worf cut her off again, sometimes Jadzia would never give him a chance to speak. He took Jadzia by the hands and looked in her eyes, " I was going to tell you that I would be happy to."

" You mean we could start trying???" Jadzia was overjoyed, she hasn't heard such wonderful news for such a long time.

"Yes."

Jadzia's face is practically beaming at this point. She gives Worf the biggest hug in the universe, then realizes," Oh god, we better get out of here, we've been in here 20 minutes too long."

And with that, Worf and Jadzia step out of the holosuite and walk down the stairs from the holosuite into Quark's bar. There awaits an impatient Bashir who has been waiting a full TWENTY minutes for his holosuite reservation. Bashir and Quark wonder what the couple could have been doing for the past hour and 45 minutes. Bashir gave them puzzling look, no broken bones... blood... bruises... sweat...

" We were talking... It is a private matter."

"We're thinking about having a baby!"

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

In the docking ring of DS9, the Defiant's crew prepares for it's departure. War with the Dominion is close at hand and they have no time to lose. Outside the airlock to the Defiant, Jadzia sees her fellow crewmates off before they go to war with the dominion. While Jadzia says good-bye to Kira, Kira informs her that she has said a prayer to the prophets for the couple the previous evening...

"The prophets can be helpful in such matters."

" I hope they're listening." Jadzia, gives her final good-bye to Kira before turning to Worf, who arrived just in time to hear about the prophets divine intervention. Jadzia turns to him, telling her beloved good-bye and informing him that," We have a lot of work to do when you get back."

" I do not consider that work."

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

With the Defiant gone and all of the squadrons off to fight the dominion, the station is left in the capable hands of Lt. Comdr. Jadzia Dax. At the moment, she can be found on the promenade talking to Bashir who is giving her promising news.

"The ovarian resequencing enzymes I gave you appear to be working."

" You mean Worf and I could have a baby!?!" Jadzia was beaming.

"It certainly looks that way."

And with that, Jadzia gives Bashir all of her gratitude and heads back to work, but not before stopping at the Bajoran temple.

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

Inside the Bajoran temple Jadzia lights two candles, preparing herself to talk to the prophets. She walks towards the orb, feeling a bit uncomfortable and out of place. She herself wasn't even sure if she believed in these so called "prophets" of the Bajorans. But something special was helping her out. And nobody but Worf and herself knew how much she wanted a baby. At this point Jadzia was willing to try anything.

"I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly. I don't come here a lot. And to be perfectly honest, I feel more comfortable thinking of you as 'wormhole aliens'. But um... Kira believes you're much more than that. Maybe she's right... I don't know. But if you are prophets, and you are listening, I just want to say..."

Out of nowhere, a gust of wind comes into the temple, extinguishing the candles Jadzia has lit. She turns to see what has just happened and Gul Dukat transports into the temple, right before Jadzia's eyes. She reaches for her phaser," Dukat!"

Suddenly, a burst of energy spews out of Dukat's hand and lifts Jadzia into the air, holding her in place and shocking her. Then, out of the orb, a burst of energy comes out and consumes Jadzia. Jadzia's body, caught midair between the Prophet and the Pah'raith, can barely take anymore of the beating. The transporter on Gul Dukat ship beams him out, leaving the pah'raith behind. The prophet finally takes control of the altercation and slays the pah'raith, engulfing the Bajoran temple in a burst of light.

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

Outside the temple, in the promenade, Bashir passes by on his way to the infirmary. He sees the blast of energy and light come out of the temple's entrance and after, runs in, concerned that Jadzia may have still been in there. His fears were confirmed when he ran into the orb's shrine and saw Jadzia's body sprawled on the floor, unconscious, and barely alive.

" Bashir to OPS, this is an emergency, two to beam directly to the infirmary." A second later, the two are transported to the infirmary.

Inside the infirmary, Bashir scans Jadzia with the tricorder, discovering that her life signs are minimal and he must bring them back up immediately. He places a neural cortical stimulator on her forehead and puts her on life support.

" Come on Jadzia, you've done it before, come back to us..." Bashir couldn't bear to lose her now. It wasn't just that fact that she was his crush for so many years. He just couldn't let Worf and Jadzia down on their quest to have a child. Jadzia was so happy when she received the news that the enzymes worked. It crushes him to think that she may not even get a chance to bear a child... after all that she's been through.

With Jadzia's condition thready but stable, Bashir leaves her bedside to contact Worf on the Defiant.

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

Back on the Defiant, it's crew and the crews of the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan squadrons continue to fight their way through the Chintaka system. The Cardassian's defense systems were causing considerable damage to all of the ships involved in the fight. Garak informs Sisko that there is something "odd" about their defense systems. It turns out that the defense system is powered by a single, central source. Sisko orders the Defiant and the rest of the fleet to try to destroy the power source.

Suddenly, Sisko half collapses in a wave of dizziness. He tries to support himself against the railing of the Defiant's bridge. Jake and the rest of the bridge crew become really concerned about Sisko's condition...

" It was as if the prophets were reaching out to me."

Kira tells Jake to bring his father to rest in his quarters and she takes command of the Defiant. O'Brien comes up with the ingenious idea to make the Cardassian defense systems turn against its own power source by making them think that it was an enemy ship. The plan worked and the power source was destroyed. The bridge of the Defiant was in the middle of rejoicing when O'Brien stated,

" There's a priority one message from DS9. It's from Julian."

Kira wondered what Julian could possible have to tell them, but it must be important because it's a priority one message. " Put it through, "A disturbed looking Bashir appears on the viewscreen of the Defiant, " What is it doctor?"

" It's Jadzia... She's been..." Bashir stopped, he couldn't find the words.

" Jadzia???" Worf was not ready to hear what he was about to," What is it doctor."

"Jadzia, she's in the infirmary, barely alive. Something happened in the Bajoran temple. I found her in there on the floor, unconscious.... "

" But she is still alive?" Worf just had to know.

" Yes."

" Ok Julian, we're coming back to DS9 right away..."

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

Hours later, back on DS9, the Defiant docks and Worf runs out of the airlock to the infirmary to be with his wife. The rest of the crew follows, hoping and praying that Jadzia will survive this ordeal.

In the infirmary, Bashir informs everyone that Jadzia's condition has improved but, she still has a long way to go," If her condition doesn't improve to at least critical within the next 48 hours, she may risk rejecting the symbiont. "

The crew is taken aback by the news. Worf goes into the room to be with his wife. Most of the crew decides to either go home or stay in the infirmary to await better news. But, Kira decides to go to the Bajoran temple to prey for her friend. Odo notices that Kira was leaving and asks, " Where are you going?"

" I'm going to the temple to pray for Jadzia," Kira states, still shocked by the news that her friend is near death. She walks out of the infirmary and heads to the temple.

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

Back in the infirmary, in Jadzia's room, Worf walks to his wife's side. Jadzia is still unconscious from the shock. Worf, gazes at his wife and takes her hand, holding it tightly in his. Worf could clearly remember the last time that they were caught in this situation, it was after that damned mission to retrieve information from that Cardassian spy. Worf could do nothing but wonder why it was always Jadzia who had to get hurt, and never himself, for he felt so helpless in these situations. There she was lying in front of him, unconscious, and all yet he could do was stand there and hope for the best. Worf was never sure why fate always dealt him these particular cards. This time Jadzia was closer to death than any other time before. He just could not lose her, not now, not when everything in his life was going so well...

" Jadzia, if you are listening, I just want you to know that I am right here by your side. I am here for you Jadzia Dax. I love you and I want you back. You can not die. Not now. We are supposed to be living our lives together. We still have children to raise. There is so much we still have to do together." Worf takes a long breath ," I promise you, Jadzia Dax, we will both cross the river of blood to Sto'vo'Kor together..."

Suddenly, Worf felt Jadzia's fingers moving. Jadzia was coming back to consciousness. " Doctor," Worf called out to the other side of the infirmary," Jadzia, she is waking up."

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, two days later , in the Bajoran temple, Kira prays for her friend , Jadzia Dax. She lights a candle and kneels in front of the orb. Kira talks to it quietly, her mind fully focused on praying. While in prayer, a burst of energy from the orb surrounds Kira and possesses her body. Kira gets up and walks to the infirmary.

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

Back in Jadzia's room in the infirmary, Bashir runs scans on a now conscious and stronger Jadzia. The room is now filled with her friends Bashir, Sisko, Odo, and of course Worf who is still at her bedside.

" Jadzia, can you tell us what happened?" Sisko inquired.

" I was in the temple, praying to the prophets about having a baby and Dukat appeared. My guess is that he was possessed by a pah'raith because there was something different about him. He acted like Jake when Jake was possessed by a Pah'raith."

" Why did Dukat attack you." Odo asked.

" My guess is because I reached for my phaser. Dukat was going to do something to the orb. The next thing I knew, I was in the air, the Pah'raith's energy consuming me. Then I felt another presance, A prophet came out of the orb and killed the pah'raith and Dukat along with it. At least that's what I'm guessing. I was unconscious through most of it."

"What happened to Dukat?"

" I have no idea."

" Jadzia, your condition is becoming more and more stable by the minute. But there is one thing that concerns me. There is an anomalous presance in your system that I can't quite diagnose. All I know is that it has some relationship with the energy of the wormhole."

" What does it mean doctor?" Worf wants to know what the hell is going on in here. His wife's life is on the line and Dr. Bashir can not even determine what is affecting her.

Through the door Bashir sees Kira and Kira, still possessed by the prophet, walks in.

" Kira," Bashir was surprised by the way she entered the room.

" Kira Nerys is not present. I am a prophet of the celestial temple. I have come to converse with Jadzia." The prophet spoke with such an air of greatness which made Kira appear almost godlike. The prophet walked up to Jadzia's bedside. " We have come here because a prophet has preserved your life. "

" You saved my life?" Jadzia made it more of a statement than a question.

" You assisted the Sisko in discovering the celestial temple and there is now a prophet existing inside of you. We could not allow you to perish, not in the temple and not in this place. But now you must come with us."

" What do you mean?" Jadzia was starting to worry where this was going.

" A prophet has rescued you from a pah'raith and as a result you must return to the celestial temple with us."

" For how long?" Worf was getting worried, he just wanted to have Jadzia back.

" You still live in a linear existence, you will not understand. Time does not exist in the temple. Past, present, future are the same thing . Jadzia will exist with us in nonlinear time."

Those words rang in Worf's ears. It was not what he wanted to hear. " Can you explain?"

" The anomaly that Dr. Bashir has detected in Jadzia is a side effect of the confrontation between the prophet and the pah'raith. The prophet which has preserved her life is now a part of her. In order for Jadzia to survive, she must come to the temple and exist with us until she can come back to your linear existence... Come Jadzia, it is time."

" But, what if she does not go?" Worf, just wanted Jadzia back, he did not want to wait for her any longer.

" Jadzia will perish," It was a blunt statement but it rang with such a resonance in everyone's ears, including Jadzia's, " As will the prophet."

Jadzia had to make the difficult decision. " Then I will go."

" Jadzia..." Worf was ready to do anything to stop this from happening.

" Worf, I have to go. You heard what they said. If I don't go, I die and so will the prophet. Please Worf, don't make this any harder than it is now. If we have any chance of a life together, we must take this risk." Jadzia turns to the prophet, hoping to buy more time to say good-bye on the station. " How long do I have to get to the wormhole?"

Then, prophet then rose out of Kira's body and headed back to the wormhole, leaving Jadzia with an unanswered question. Kira, bewildered by the fact that she was in the infirmary and not in the Bajoran temple asks, "What am I doing here?"

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

After two hours in Jadzia's linear existence, she felt the sudden urge to leave for the wormhole. There was nothing that Jadzia could do, the part of the prophet that was still inside of her was forcing her to go back to its nonlinear existence. Jadzia could do nothing but follow the will of the prophet.

Jadzia and Worf head to the docking bay where a runabout and Jadzia's fellow cremates are waiting for her departure. When Jadzia and Worf arrive at the airlock, the rest of the crew surprises Jadzia with their presance.

" It's so great that I get to see you all before I leave." Jadzia's eyes start to well with tears, " I just want you all to know that I'm really going to miss you and I'll try to come back sooner than later." Now, Jadzia forces herself to do what she had been dreading, to say her final good-byes.

" Chief, make sure you say good-bye to Kirayoshi for me later ok?" Jadzia and Miles hug.

" Consider it done."

" Odo, just make sure that when I get back, that the promenade will be the same. And um... good luck with you and Nerys." Jadzia gives Odo a hug. At this point tears start falling down her face.

" Thank you."

" Quark, remember, you still owe me those 10 strips of latinum. I expect it by the time I get back." Now it's time for Quark's hug. At any other moment he would've looked forward to it, but he was NOT looking forward to this hug.

" Just don't forget how to play tongo while you're gone. I want to be able to win those strips back."

" We'll see about that... Nerys, you've been such a good friend to me. I'll miss you while I'm gone."

" I'll miss you too. But I know you'll be looking down on us from the celestial temple." Jadzia is surprised by Kira's strength and conviction in her beliefs, even in times like this. Jadzia embraces Nerys, after all these years, who would've know that they would become such good friends.

" Julian, thank you for saving my life, countless times. Without you, I may not be around today. I hope you enjoyed chasing me around the station for the past 6 years, I sure did. I'm sorry that you never had a chance to go out with me."

"When you get back, I'll be expecting to be able to have at least one lunch with you."

" Done" Jadzia embraces the man who had been chasing her for several years now. as much as she hated to admit it, she's going to miss it after a while.

" Benjamin," Now, all the tears in Jadzia's eyes start flowing out. " What can I say? You've been such a good friend to me over two lifetimes. Not many Trills get that experience. I'm just glad that it was with you. Thank you." Jadzia and Sisko hug each other and Jadzia starts feeling the tears come down uncontrollably.

" Just promise me one thing Old Man, that you'll take care of yourself while you're out there. Ok?" Jadzia nods for the last time at her captains orders.

And finally, the person she was not looking forward to saying farewell to, Worf. Jadzia embraced Worf as closely as she could, trying to make it last an eternity.

" I don't know what to say Worf. You've been such a wonderful husband to me." Jadzia takes a deep breath, tears spilling over," I just can't find the words .I love you so much. Never forget that Worf. I will love you now and forever. And I'm going to miss you."

" As will I," Even Worf's voice was shaking at this point.

" I promise, when I get back, we'll have a baby."

" I am going to hold you to that promise."

" Every time I see the station I'll remember you. Promise me that you'll remember me every time you see the wormhole. "

" I will..."

" I wish I could be here with you..."

" You are." Worf puts his hand to his heart, " Right here."

" Oh, you know I love it when you get romantic." Jadzia embraces her husband for the last time and kisses him for what seemed an eternity to her. " I have to go."

" I know," is all the warrior could say, not being able to let go of his beloved wife. Jadzia breaks free of his embrace and walks into the airlock, trying her hardest not to look back. The tears are falling rapidly now and she wasn't sure how she could be without all of her friends and family for so long. But, she knew that it was something she had to do. The airlock closes behind Jadzia and she takes the runabout into the wormhole. From one of the viewing ports on the promenade, her friends watch the runabout disappear into the wormhole, Jadzia along with it.

(-|-) * * * * * * * * * * *

Months later you can still see that Klingon warrior looking through the same viewing port, watching the wormhole open and close for hours, awaiting the day when he would be reunited with his beloved wife.

---- THE END---