More Than a Lifetime #4: A Love Less Ordinary

Chapter 5

"Ensign Janeway? Ensign Janeway?"

Dani, who was just leaving the replimat on her way to Ops for the start of her shift, turned to see Jake Sisko's tall frame running to catch up with her. Once he finally caught up, Dani greeted him.

"Mr. Sisko," she said resuming her course for the station's center of operations. "What can I do for you?"

Jake Sisko was the only son of the station's former commander, Captain Ben Sisko. Jake was tall, a little taller than Dukat but not quite as tall as Will. He was slimmer than both of them, though, and despite the fact that he was a few years older than Dani, he still maintained a boyish appearance.

"'Mr. Sisko'?" he said, repeating the way she'd said his name. "That sounds so...old. Call me Jake."

"Okay, Jake," Dani said. "Can I help you with something?"

"You sure can," Jake said. "I hear that you and Dukat have become awfully close in the past few weeks."

Caught completely off-guard, Dani stopped walking, and looked up at Jake. "Where'd you hear that?" she asked him, taking extra effort to keep her tone neutral.

"It's all over the station," Jake told her. "Of course, they're just rumors, for now. People are talking, Ensign."

"What kind of rumors?" Dani inquired.

"Rumors," Jake said, raising a dark eyebrow.

Dani swallowed. She and Marac hadn't taken any extra precautions in order to keep their blooming romance a secret, but they hadn't exactly gone about the station advertising it, either. Their public relationship was so ambiguous in appearance that they could very easily have passed for good friends. Many times, they'd both appeared with Ziyal, a common link between them.

Dani had known there would be talk anyway, though, and she'd expected the rumors to start flying. "I've been dealing with the public and rumors on a normal basis since I was nineteen," she informed the young reporter. "This is nothing new."

"Maybe," Jake said. He lowered his voice and moved a little closer to Dani. "But the difference this time is that people are beginning to take those rumors and speculations for the truth. They're not just rumors anymore. They've evolved into fact. And it's spreading." Dani's eyes rose to meet Jake's. "Like wildfire," he added. "The most popular and most believed thread is that you and Dukat are an item."

Dani maintained her composure, despite the fact that she felt as if her legs had been kicked out from under her. Her thoughts immediately turned to the possibility that her parents were finally about to find out what their little girl had been up to. She suddenly felt helpless, like things were about to spin terribly out of control.

"Jake, I'll be glad to talk to you," she began, "but I've got to get to Ops for my shift. Why don't we discuss this over lunch?"

"Of course. The replimat?"

"Yes, that's fine. 1200 hours?"

"I'll be there." He turned and walked away with a smile on his face, knowing that he was on the brink of one of his best stories to date. A squeaky clean Starfleet officer and an infamous Cardassian traitor. Beauty and the beast. Forbidden love. It was classic!

Dani turned and resumed her journey to Ops, a heavy feeling of dread descending upon her.

Xxx

Dani sat across from Jake, sipping on her mug of warm raktijino. She was trying to remain calm about this whole thing, but how could she possibly do that, when she knew that anyday now, her life could be turned completely upside down?