This is an alternate story based on "Only Human" by Alara
Rogers (aleph@netcom.com), although it isn't in her continuity. 
I got sufficiently obsessed by the story "Only Human" that I
wrote an alternate set in this universe.  Alara's permission has
been secured for this.

All chapters of PropinQuity are available by FTP at
ftp.europa.com, in the directory /outgoing/mercutio/PropinQuity/. 
The index is also available by FTP at ftp.europa.com, as
/outgoing/mercutio/IndexToPropinQuity.txt.  They can also be
downloaded through the WWW.  The WWW address is: 
http://www.europa.com/~mercutio/PropinQuity.html.


PropinQuity by Mercutio (mercutio@europa.com); based on
"Only Human" by Alara Rogers


"You're not going to trick me into corruption that way again," Q
said, referring to how she'd somehow managed to maneuver him
into bed with her even while grossly pregnant.  That she'd
managed to do it again now was the substance of his protest,
although it would have been patently ridiculous to anyone but Q
that she could be attempting to seduce him.

"Of course not," Naomi said blandly, not even about to ask how
she was supposed to trick him into anything while she was lying
flat on her back.  "Next time I'll use a different method."

They were lying on the bed together, Naomi propped up against
the pillows for maximum comfort.  She didn't feel truly
comfortable anywhere but here and the bathtub, and she couldn't
get out of that without significant assistance which Q had refused
to provide after the first time when she'd slipped and almost
fallen.  He had some petty, ridiculous ideas about assuring her
safety.

Q was lounging across from her, booted feet elegantly crossed,
the picture of sartorial splendor and lazy indolence.  As a
performance, Naomi gave it high marks.  As an actual
conversational style, it was missing something.  Like a backrub. 
But that was unlikely to happen, even if she begged.  Q was even
more leery of touch than he had been before.  Her attempt to get
him over his sexual problems had worked beautifully, but it had
backfired.  Now his guard was up, and he was wary of all
touches coming from her, especially massages.

She was going to have to do something about that situation. 
Eventually.  When she no longer felt like she'd swallowed a
watermelon and she had the time and energy to actually chase the
man down.  Naomi had a ludicrous picture of her own swollen
self lurching after Q, who was wearing nothing but an alarmed
look, and grinned suddenly.  There was something to be said for
the idea.

"Next time?" Q asked, oblivious to her preoccupation.  "Did I
say there was going to be a next time?"

"Is it up to you?"

He raised an eyebrow.  "You won't get very far without my
cooperation."

Naomi grinned, still seeing that picture of her pursuing him in her
mind.  "I don't think I'd get very far right now under any
circumstances.  You might actually be able to get away from me
without breaking a sweat."

Q regarded her with a glint in his dark eyes, choosing her
complaint about what pregnancy was doing to her body to focus
on, rather than the more troubling issue of her sexuality or lack
thereof.  "This was all your idea.  I seem to recall some earlier,
*slimmer* version of yourself saying that this was what you
wanted."

"Don't remind me," Naomi said in a pained voice.  "I was young
and foolish then."

"It's not too late to change your mind," Q said, examining his
manicure.  "They have ways of fixing your problem."

Naomi glared at him for a moment out of force of habit more
than anything else.  She certainly wasn't going to be able to
convince him that he was wrong and that he should shut up with
the abortion remarks already.  And, after this long, she was
getting the feeling that Q's comment was more pro forma than
anything else anyway.  "I made my decision, and now I'm going
to live with it."

"Literally."

"Thank you for that helpful reminder," Naomi said, groaning as a
stab of pain shot through her.  The birth could take place nearly
any day now, and it certainly felt like it might happen right
*now*.  She'd been experiencing a low, grinding sensation in the
lower part of her back which Li had assured her was perfectly
normal before telling her not to bother him again until she was
actually in labor.  Which was helpful advice, since she didn't
have a clue when that was going to be, or what it was like.  She
anticipated that it would be fairly horrible, and had forewarned Q
what to expect.  He hadn't taken that at all well.  But then, what
did he take well?

At nine months, two days and counting, Li was cautiously
approving of her progress, while somewhat amazed that she'd
managed to wait this long.  Self-restraint was not something he
associated with Naomi, but it was a good thing for the baby's
development that she'd managed to reach her due date.

"Tell me a story," Naomi said suddenly.

Q looked over at the formerly slight, red-haired woman propped
up on the pillows.  "Suddenly you're six years old?"

She turned her head to look at him, an eager, pleading expression
on her face.  "A story about the big bad physicists and the Q who
thwarted them."

Q felt flattered and amused all at once, and decided it wouldn't be
all that much of an imposition to give into her.  "Once upon a
time, in a land far, far away..."

"Which was remarkably like this one."

"Who's telling this story?" Q asked, raising an eyebrow at her. 
She closed her mouth and he smiled smugly.  "That's what I
thought.  Once upon a time, in a land far, far away where snippy
red-haired women were continuously interrupting their betters..."

Q paused for a moment to see if she *would* interrupt and say
something about that comment, but Naomi only made a face at
him, not saying anything.  When he decided she wasn't going to
rise to the bait, he continued.  "...there lived a brilliant,
unappreciated former godling named Q, who was continually
harassed by the requests of lower mortals."

"Does anyone die in this story?" Naomi asked, a puckish look on
her face.  "It wouldn't be a good story if people don't die."

"People are gruesomely murdered.  Does that make you happy?"

"Uh huh.  How about romance?  Does the hero win the heart of
the beautiful maiden?"

"Don't make me nauseous.  Besides what do you know about
maidens?" Q asked archly.

Naomi looked down at her burgeoning stomach, a wry expression
twisting her face.  "Apparently not a whole lot."

"I rest my case.  Now be quiet.  I'm telling a story here."

She stuck her tongue out at him, then quieted.  "Go ahead, Papa
Q."

He ignored that.  "The worst of the ignorant barbarians was a
physicist named Campbell, who had wild red hair and a tendency
to use big words which he didn't understand."

"Like other people we know."

"If you're feeling insecure about your vocabulary, I'll get you a
dictionary," Q said dismissively, going on with his story.  "The
ignorant physicist refused to admit how inferior he was.  A
common failing among humans, who all want to prove that
they're the smartest and the brightest bunch of simians around."

"Well, we are."

Q considered her for a moment, then decided he had to ask. 
"How do you justify that?"

"We are the brightest bunch of simians around," Naomi said,
lightly accenting the word "simians".

"Well, that's true," Q said, mollified.

"Of course," Naomi said, not quite finished with the topic yet,
"that assumes we are evolved from simians, and not just created
from whole cloth by the Continuum as some sort of bizarre
experiment."

"Believe me, we'd never want to use you as an experiment."

"Oh, really?" Naomi asked, a challenging glint coming into her
eyes.

He shrugged.  "Why use humankind, when there's so many other
more intelligent, malleable species roaming around?  Like the
dolphins or the mice?"

"Mice?" Naomi asked, voice rising with a tinge of outrage. 
"You're saying that *mice* are brighter than we are?"

"Of course they are," Q said, enjoying himself.  "Unlike you,
they don't waste their time electing officials and pretending that
they can describe the motion of the stars with a Lite-Brite."

"They also don't wear clothing," Naomi said, picking on one of
Q's favorite weaknesses.

"Well, that *is* a point against them," Q said regretfully.  "Good
fashion sense is always a mark in a species' favor."

"Aha!  So there is something good about humankind."

"Other than hats, no."

"So the meaning of life has something to do with hats?"

"Of course, it does," Q said reprovingly.  "People aren't wearing
enough of them.  Woman, get thee to a haberdashery."

"Maybe a little later.  I'm listening to a story right now."  Naomi
curled up a little closer to Q, ignoring the pulling pain in her
lower back.  It hurt nearly constantly, and she was beginning to
wonder whether she wouldn't be better off up and pacing around
the room.  Any change of position would help.  On the other
hand, listening to Q was almost as good as a change of scenery;
arguing with him made her forget about the pain altogether at
times.

"Oh, yes.  That."  He looked down his long nose at her.  "You
keep interrupting me."

"I'm sorry."  Naomi didn't look particularly penitent.

"You should be.  If you kept quiet, you might learn something." 
He waited for a moment, to see if she would say anything, but
she didn't.  Disappointed, Q continued.  "Since the illiterate and
undereducated physicist refused to admit that he belonged in a
profession more suited to his talents, such as..."

"Such as singing praises to your name?" Naomi asked, a twinkle
in her eye.

"Exactly."  Q smiled approvingly at her.  "Because of this
failing, it was up to me to provide the appropriate correction."

Naomi got a picture of Q standing over the recalcitrant physicist
with a ruler, like some sort of demented schoolmaster, and started
to giggle.  That set off another wave of pain, and she bit her lip,
tears coming to her eyes.  It was horrible.

Q didn't seem to notice.  "Said correction entailed..."

Naomi wasn't listening to him.  She couldn't stand the pain
anymore.  She had to get to Sickbay.  But she wasn't going to let
herself be beamed there again.  Li had made it perfectly clear
without saying a single word what he thought of people who
pretended things were emergencies when they really weren't.  She
wasn't going to make that mistake again.  She'd get there under
her own power, walking.

"What are you doing?" Q asked suspiciously as Naomi got up off
the bed, waddling for the door.

"Taking a stroll," Naomi said.  "Care to join me?"

"I'm not finished with my story yet."

"I know.  You can tell it to me later."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then I suppose I'll never hear it," Naomi said waspishly, feeling
rather impatient with him.  The pain was keeping her from
thinking straight, although it could have been much worse.  It
was merely at the point of feeling like little men with chisels had
established a base camp on her back and were busily searching
for gold.  When the entire mining crew started trying to drill their
way to the surface, that would be bad.

She left the room.  Sanaharrar was curled up in the common
room, apparently asleep, her tail twitching.  She came awake as
Naomi passed through, eyes narrowing.

"It is time?" the cat asked, without moving.

Naomi nodded.  "I *think* so.  I could be wrong."  She
grimaced, a little from the pain, but mostly from the thought of
making a fool out of herself.  "I don't really want to show up in
Sickbay complaining about nothing.  I'm not a wimp about pain. 
I can handle it."

Sanaharrar looked at her, a silent black statue, as Q came out of
his room.  He saw Naomi and looked relieved for a moment
before his customary mask fell over his face.  "So the stroll was
merely a figure of speech, an excuse to rudely leave before the
story was over."

"If I *had* made an excuse, I wouldn't call that rude," Naomi
said to him.  "But, in any case, I was serious.  Coming?"

Without waiting for an answer, she waddled out the door, trusting
that the two of them would follow her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Q demanded, catching up
with her in the hall, Sanaharrar at his side.

"I'm taking a little walk," Naomi said calmly, trying to keep any
hint of what she was feeling out of her face and voice.  It was
easier at sometimes than others, the pain being rhythmic rather
than constant.  "Down to Sickbay."

Q fell into stride at her side, being fundamentally incapable of
simply grabbing her and forcing her back into the room.  "Why
would you want to go there?  They have doctors and nurses and
all that there."

"Exactly," Naomi said.  "I think I may be going into labor. 
Those things could come in handy, don't you think?"

Q stopped, then caught up to her in one long stride.  "Excuse me,
did you say *labor*?  What are you doing wandering around? 
This is why the human race invented the concept of transporters. 
Have you gone completely mad?"  He looked at Sanaharrar.  "I
expect you to inform me of these things.  It's just too dangerous
to leave a psychopath living with me."

"Ha ha," Naomi said sarcastically.  "Very funny.  Keep it up and
you may get your own holo show."

Q gave one last look at Sanaharrar, impassively keeping stride
with them, then turned on Naomi, expression cracking to reveal
the panic underneath.  "What if you gave birth right here?  What
if the larva squirts out of your body now?"

"Instead of Ariadne, I'll name the baby Turbolift One.  How
about that?"  Matching actions to words, Naomi stepped into the
turbolift.

"That's not funny!" Q said, following her.

The door closed behind him.  "You mean you don't like that
name?" Naomi asked, expression perfectly serious.  "I think
it's..."  Another wave of pain hit her, this one stronger than the
last, and she sagged against Sanaharrar who happened to be
closest, face going pale.  It hurt horribly, and it was all she could
do to restrain herself to whimpering brokenly, like an animal in
pain.

She felt hands on her shoulders, and she turned into Q, not caring
why he was there, only wanting the comfort that was attached to
his presence, even though she knew with what remained of her
rational mind that there was absolutely nothing he could do for
her.  Burying her face in his chest, she moaned again.

"Is this some sort of bizarre human ritual?" Q asked acidly, too
frightened to be anything other than entirely cutting.  His hands
were trembling and he wanted to shake some sense into Naomi
before it was too late.  Not that it already wasn't.  "To wait until
you're in immense pain and then go on little side trips for the fun
of it?"

"Actually," Naomi said, panting a little as she held onto Q for
balance, the wave having passed for the moment, "once upon a
time, there used to be these Native American tribes who were
hung from their nipples.  And it wasn't for torture either.  They
did it to prove their manhood or something like that."

Q shuddered.  "Did I really need another example to prove how
depraved humanity is?"

She pushed away from him, still looking and feeling weak and
shaken, but able to stand on her own.  She didn't want Q to know
how she really felt.  He was a wuss about pain, and could very
well overreact.  She didn't want him to be worried, or worse, to
send her to Sickbay via transporter when she was quite capable of
getting there on her own.

"You asked."

"I did not," Q said indignantly.

The turbolift stopped on their deck, and Naomi got off.  She
didn't wait for Q or Sanaharrar, but started walking, grimly
determined to get there at all costs.  If she waited, she might
change her mind, and that was just unthinkable.

"You know, it's not too late to reconsider this."

Naomi looked up at Q, panting with the effort of trying to walk,
talk and pretend not to be in pain all at the same time.  "What are
you talking about?  It's just a little walk.  I can handle it."

"Pregnancy seems to have softened your brain along with your
body."

"I'm not in the mood for guessing games," Naomi said.  It was
the truth.  If it had been absolutely necessary to get the
information from Q, she would have preferred holding him down
on the floor and prying his fingernails off one by one.  While
normally she abhorred violence and certainly wouldn't have
considered harming Q of all people, right now she had a definite
urge to spread the pain she was feeling around to everyone else. 
Personally.

Q studied her with a sardonic air, still panicked, afraid of what
might happen to her.  He didn't have the slightest idea what to do
if anything went wrong, or worse, went right and she started
giving birth right here, besides, of course, calling for help. 
Knowing that he could call for help if anything went wrong was
not especially reassuring.  Something could happen before there
was time for any help to respond, and then he'd be devastated by
his own lack of knowledge and ability to do anything.  Q resented
Naomi for having put him in this position.  It was rather
inconsiderate of her.

"The bright thing to do would be to have Li cut it out."

"I've never been particularly bright," Naomi said.

Q didn't give up.  "Or he could just beam it out of there.  Why
not that?"

Naomi made a dismissive sound.  "Oh, right, like that's really
going to work..." she said, her voice trailing off as her breath
whooshed out of her.  That one was really bad.  She found
herself leaning against the wall, Q hovering over her, without any
memory of having moved.  That was bad.

Naomi smiled weakly at him.  "Good thing we're almost there,
huh?"

His expression darkened.  "If we weren't almost there, it would
be because you had insisted on doing a few extra laps around the
ship first just for exercise."

"I'd never do that," Naomi said, gathering up strength to push
herself away from the wall.  She overbalanced, and swayed into
Q, who was fortunately large enough not to be shaken at all from
a collision with her swollen frame.  She looked up at him, a
feeble smile on her face.  "While I might want to do something
like that, you'd probably insist on following me, and I'd never
make you exercise like that.  It'd be cruel."

"How nice that you've finally learned to think about other
people," Q said sarcastically.  "You have truly horrible timing,
did you know that?"

Naomi shook her head.  "Not me.  I have beautiful timing."  She
clutched onto Q's sleeve as she started walking again.  If she
grayed out like that again, she wanted him close to her.

The doors opened for them as they entered Sickbay.  Meruit
looked up and saw them, Naomi leaning against Q, exhausted
from the walk and Q bending over her like a mother bird
protecting her chick.

"The baby's coming now, Naomi?"

Naomi looked up and smiled wearily.  She was here finally; she
didn't have to worry anymore about giving birth in the middle of
a corridor somewhere.  "Either that or I need my appendix out. 
Hard to say."

Q was nearly frantic with worry about Naomi.  Getting here had
been one thing, but this was Sickbay.  These people were
supposedly part of the medical profession, right?  Why weren't
they doing anything to help Naomi?  "She's in pain.  *Do*
something."

Li bustled over, taking charge of the situation, all
professionalism.  "Let's get her on a table.  How far apart are the
contractions?"  When Naomi didn't reply immediately, he looked
steadily at her.  "You *are* having contractions, aren't you?  I
hope you're not wasting my time."

That was precisely the sort of accusation she'd been hoping to
avoid.  "If you like, I can go back to my quarters and call you
after the baby's actually been born," Naomi said, biting off her
words and trying not to catch her lip at the same time.  "I'll have
Q send out smoke signals to alert you when it's time.  One for a
girl, two for a boy, and three if it's some sort of alien hybrid."

Li looked at Q.  "I see you've been teaching her your lovely
manners."

There were a number of witty and infinitely cutting things Q
could have said at that point, but he was too worried to come up
with any of those.  He snapped at Li, "Just do your job, doctor. 
I assume you still remember what that is.  Helping people and all
that."

Li scowled at him, then asked Naomi again, "How far apart are
the contractions?"

Naomi shrugged slightly, grimacing as another wave of pain
passed through her.  "Often."

"Oh, that's helpful," Li said with a sigh.  "Let's take a look and
see how far you're dilated."

Q stared at Li, who got Naomi lying down, and then started
doing gross and disgusting things to her.  But Naomi didn't
appear to be perturbed at all by the violations being visited upon
her.  "You're going along with this?"

Naomi glanced at him, and followed his gaze.  "This is nothing. 
You didn't watch the vid of Trina giving birth, did you?"

"I don't have a morbid interest in human reproduction like you."

Naomi took that as a no.  "Well, there's going to be a lot of
blood, possibly some screaming, and then a baby's going to come
out of there."

Q looked down his nose at her.  "I knew that."  That was true. 
He had a passing grasp of the mechanics of childbirth.  While this
was his first intimate encounter with it, he did have a working
knowledge of the subject.  However, the knowledge was all from
a time when he had found human antics amusing in a detached
sort of way, an experience quite different than having Naomi
here, about to calve right in front of him.

"Then why'd you ask?"

Li straightened up to look at Naomi, his expression reproving. 
"You should have been here an hour ago.  If not sooner.  Taking
chances like that could be risky for you, given your history."

Naomi wasn't in the mood for attitude.  "I'll make a note of that
for next time."

"Next time?" Q asked, alarmed, his voice rising.  "There isn't
going to be a next time."

Li looked up at Q with some annoyance.  "If all you can do is
complain and cause a fuss, you can leave.  I don't need the
commentary."

Naomi nodded an agreement to that.  She wanted Q here, found
herself instinctively reaching toward him for support, but he
wasn't going to be able to handle it, and she wasn't going to be
able to handle the infighting between Q and Li.  "You don't want
to be here, Q."

Perversely, that made Q want to stay.  He'd had no intention of
doing so.  Witnessing an actual birth didn't strike him as a fun
way to spend the afternoon.  Even if he'd had some parental
interest, which he didn't, he wouldn't have wanted to watch this. 
Blood?  Pain?  Half-formed humans emerging into the world? 
How utterly repulsive.  But they wanted him to leave, which
made this an entirely different matter.

Then Li did something even grosser to Naomi, and Q decided
wisdom was the better part of valor.  "I'll... be somewhere else."

Neither Li nor Naomi appeared to notice his retreat, although
Naomi felt it like a blanket being torn away or the sun going
behind a cloud.  It was better not having to reassure Q that she
was all right, not having to pretend for his sake that she wasn't in
pain, wasn't about to die, but there was also comfort missing. 
She drew an odd kind of strength from his presence, felt better
with him there, bulwarking her against whatever unknown she
was rapidly descending into.

"Does this have to hurt?" Naomi asked waspishly, as Q
disappeared.

"We prefer it that way," Li said drily, concentrating on
something else.  "Decreases the repeat business."

Naomi grimaced.  "Come closer and I'll wring your neck with
my own hands."

"Of course, we can make some exceptions."

****

Q paced the floor again, and Harry stared at him, bemused.  Q
had barged into his quarters over an hour ago without a word,
and had immediately taken up pacing back and forth.  He'd
mumbled a brief explanation, consisting of key words like,
"Naomi" and "baby", which had clued Harry into the situation,
before starting his revolutions.

Harry had tried to talk to him, and failed miserably.  Q was
locked into his own mental processes, whatever they were, and
wasn't listening.  There was nothing Harry could do for him but
watch and wait.  He'd commed Sickbay, and been informed that
Naomi was indeed there, and giving birth, if he'd had any doubts
about it.  She was in fine condition, although Q wasn't.  Frankly,
Harry was wondering when Q would fall over from exhaustion.

If that was what Harry was watching for, he was doomed to
disappointment.  Q was quite capable of entirely ignoring his
body and its needs for short periods of time when he was focused
on another goal, and right now, he was completely obsessed with
what was going on down in Sickbay.

"They threw me out.  Can you imagine that?" Q tossed out at
Harry, not waiting for an answer before turning on his heel and
stalking in the other direction.  "Not that I want to be there.  But
politeness is, as ever, too much for them."

"Of course," Harry murmured from where he was seated on the
couch, watching Q.

Q didn't hear him, or if he did, disregarded Harry's statement as
inconsequential.  "Babies.  I knew it would come to this.  I
warned her about this, but did she listen to me?  Of course not. 
Why would she ever want to listen to me?  Just because I have a
brain the size of a planet..."

"Not to mention the ego," Harry said softly, not worrying about a
possible rejoinder from Q.  Q simply wasn't listening.

"...so of course anything I say isn't worth listening to.  How
typical."  Q stopped and glared at Harry.  "Can you believe the
nerve of that woman?"

"That's why I never get involved with women," Harry said
smoothly.  "Nothing but trouble."

"Oh, that's helpful," Q said, glaring at Harry for a moment
before being swept up by his concerns again.

Q didn't stop pacing, and Harry didn't stop watching him.  He
had better things to do, yes, but someone had to be there to catch
Q when he eventually fell over.  Q still hadn't forgiven Harry for
letting him hit the ground when he'd been poisoned, and Harry
wanted to make up for that.  He'd keep watch over Q for
however long it took.

****

Several hours, and a good deal of what Naomi considered to be
unnecessary pain later, Naomi had what she'd been spending the
last nine months of her life waiting, planning and suffering for --
a daughter.

Li let Naomi hold the baby.  "Don't drop her."

Naomi didn't look up at him, having eyes only for Ariadne, a
small, wrinkled reddish bundle cradled protectively in her arms. 
She reached out a finger to see if Ariadne's eyes would focus on
it.  "Isn't she adorable?"  She couldn't quite believe this was
happening or that Ariadne was really hers.  There was something
infinitely awe-inspiring about the notion, and for the briefest of
moments, she wished her own mother was there so she could
share that feeling with her.  But that was impossible, and foolish
to wish for besides.

"Quite," Li said dryly, looking at Naomi.  "If you like, I can put
off notifying Q so you can get some rest first."

For Li, the offer was quite compassionate, since other people's
feelings weren't something he often thought about.  But Naomi
didn't take it that way.

She looked up at the doctor, eyes shocked.  "Why would I want
to do that?  He should know.  He might be worried."

Li drew in his breath sharply, but didn't say anything.  He had
deep doubts that Q would care at all about the baby or even about
Naomi's physical condition.  He'd seen Naomi push herself past
reasonable limits for Q without any evidence of concern on Q's
part, had even seen Naomi show up in Sickbay with bruises on
her face while claiming that Q had nothing to do with it.  That
she was willing to sacrifice for that bastard, Li had no doubts. 
That Q was worth it, that he would have any concern at all about
Naomi, Li doubted greatly.

The doctor nodded.  "Fine.  Call when you need the baby taken
away."

He left, but Naomi was oblivious to his departure, watching
Ariadne with every evidence of great interest.  She was very
tired, but it didn't really matter right now.

Only with great reluctance did she comm Q at all.  It wasn't that
she didn't want him to know, just that she was unwilling to share
Ariadne with anyone at the moment.  Of course, Q wasn't just
anyone.

Q showed up minutes later with Harry in tow, having nearly
teleported from Harry's quarters to Sickbay to get there as
quickly as possible.  Naomi looked up as they came in, and
smiled brilliantly for Q.  "Isn't she adorable?"

He walked over to them, bending over Naomi.  Q didn't quite
share Naomi's enthusiasm for the rather repulsive looking object
in Naomi's arms.  This was what they'd been waiting nine
months for?  "In comparison to a Denebian slime worm, yes."

Harry was rather inclined to share that opinion, but being wiser
than Q, kept his mouth shut.  He did know a few things about
women in general and Naomi specifically, and he wasn't stupid
enough to insult anything of Naomi's.

Naomi smiled up at Q, and freed one hand to pat a free space on
the bed next to her.

Q sat down uncomfortably, accommodating her request, even
though he didn't particularly want to get close to her at all.  She
might make him hold that thing, and that was a frightening
thought.  Naomi promptly snuggled against his side, holding
firmly onto Ariadne again and glancing up at Q out of the corner
of her eye.  "She's absolutely beautiful."

Harry was almost in hysterical tears, holding back his laughter
with an effort, at the sight of Q in such a cozy domestic position. 
He wished he had a recording of this; it was too precious for
words.  Q holding Naomi, who was the very picture of
motherhood with her baby.  It would have been a classic scene of
family life if not for the disgruntled scowl on Q's lips, which
made it just hysterical.

Q looked up at Harry and saw the other man stifling his laughter. 
"If you can't say anything nice, Harry, then leave."

Naomi looked up at Harry, as if seeing him for the first time,
which was pretty much true, since she'd only had eyes for Q
when he'd come through the door.  She wouldn't have cared if
the entire population of Belgium were arrayed around the bed at
the moment, and certainly hadn't noticed a single hanger on.

"I never thought I'd hear those words pass your lips, Q," Harry
said, coming over to stand close to them.  "You, lecturing
someone else on politeness?"

Q scowled at him.  "A momentary weakness brought on by your
complete dearth of manners."

Harry grinned at him, then turned to Naomi.  "Can I see?" he
asked quietly.

Naomi tugged the light blanket Ariadne was wrapped in a little
further back from her face and tilted her towards Harry.

He bent over them.  "She's beautiful, Naomi."

Naomi beamed at him.  "Thank you."

Q frowned.  He didn't like Naomi being happy with anyone else
right now, didn't very much feel like sharing her at all.  He
didn't question the feeling, didn't even know why he was having
it, since certainly he had no paternal urges towards the creature in
Naomi's arms.  That relieved him.  He'd had a hidden, sinking
fear that such urges might suddenly appear, like the urges for
sexuality and companionship had.  He hadn't cared for those
either, but hadn't had any choice.  Will he, nil he, he had those
desires.  However he felt nothing when he looked at Ariadne,
only a wave of protectiveness for Naomi, who was white and
drawn, despite the happiness radiating from her.

"Go away, Harry," Q snapped.

"Go away?  I put up with your pacing and muttering and
mumbling for five hours and you tell me to go away?" Harry
asked, a little indignant, although more so by Q's rudeness than
the request.  He really didn't have any reason to be hanging
around here, but it would have been nice if Q had been grateful
for Harry putting up with him and his eccentricities.

"Don't be tiresome, Harry.  It makes you look old.  Now go
away.  Shoo!"

Harry sighed deeply, then left without any further argument. 
There wasn't much point to it.  And it was, after all, his own
fault.  He really should know better than to let Q in, really
shouldn't have answered the door when Q had first come over,
hours before.  It was always a mistake.  But somehow, he
couldn't seem to help himself.

Sanaharrar, who came in with the two of them, had curled up on
the floor at the foot of the bed, but Q didn't say anything to her,
didn't even seem to notice the feline bodyguard.

Naomi sighed, settling more heavily against Q.  "I'm tired."  She
closed her eyes.  She really didn't want to let Ariadne go, didn't
want to call someone to take her away, even temporarily.  But
she was so tired.  Naomi yawned and closed her eyes.  She'd just
rest a minute.  Just a minute, and then she'd say something to Q. 
She'd wanted to tell him something, although she couldn't seem
to remember what right at the moment.  It didn't matter.  If it
was important, it'd come back to her.  She just needed to rest her
eyes, and then she'd be fine.

The heavy, even breathing didn't tip Q off.  It was when Naomi's
arms sagged and Ariadne started to slide backwards that Q
realized what was going on, and panicked.

How dare Naomi fall asleep like that?  How inconsiderate could
you get?  She knew he didn't want to be a parent, didn't have an
idea what to do in this situation, and still she was putting him into
this predicament.

He would cheerfully have chewed Naomi out for that, but she
was asleep and he didn't want to wake her up.  Naomi got very
annoyed when she was suddenly woken up and Q had learned
through trial and error not to do that.

But Ariadne was slipping out of Naomi's lax grasp and he had to
do something, couldn't just sit there and do nothing, as much as
that seemed like a good idea.  With an awareness of how stupid
he felt, and how embarrassed he would be if anyone saw him
doing this, Q reached around Naomi where she rested against him
and held Ariadne, supporting her against Naomi.  It was a bizarre
experience, and he hoped no one saw him like this.

Which left him with a dilemma.  He could call someone to come
and get this thing, but then they'd see him with it.  And that
would be unbearable.  Or he could wait for Naomi to wake up. 
And he had absolutely no idea when that would be.

Resigning himself to the inevitable, Q held them both.  Having
them there obscurely comforted him.  He didn't care one way or
the other about Ariadne, of course.  The baby was hardly real to
him at all, much less important to his mental welfare.  But
knowing that Naomi was safe, and well and there was, for no
reason he wanted to think about too much.  But she'd better be
grateful to him for this when she woke up, or he was going to be
very upset.

****

The transition from Sickbay to home was not an easy one.  Li
released Naomi early, perhaps realizing that to do anything else
was to invite Q to stay with him permanently.  Both mother and
child were healthy, none of the earlier possible complications
attendant upon premature labor having carried through, and
everyone involved would be happier if Naomi and Q and Ariadne
were in their own quarters.  There should have been no problems
at all.

"Can't you stop that infernal brat from crying?" Q asked
irritably, coming up from what had been a good night's sleep. 
He was tired of this already, not that it had ever been
entertaining.  You'd think Naomi would have caught a clue by
now.  Especially since the baby never did anything *but* cry.

Naomi mumbled, not quite awake.  "Hmm?"  She hadn't gotten
much rest since this started.  A few hours here and there, and
that was it.  She lived her life at the beck and call of someone far
more demanding than Q had ever been, and Naomi had no idea
what she'd been thinking to get herself into this situation.  It had
been almost a week since Ari had been born, and things didn't
seem to be getting better, despite unsought reassurances on the
subject from Diana.

He shook her shoulder.  "It's awake again.  And louder."

She sat up and looked at him, sleep muddling the outraged look
on her face.  She hated being woken up more than anything else,
and being as tired as she was only made it worse.  "What'd you
do that for?"

Before Q could come up with an even more biting insult to
describe the thing currently disrupting his life, Naomi heard
Ariadne crying.

"Not again," Naomi said wearily, not wanting to get up but not
having a choice, struggling out of bed with an effort.  She wasn't
even sure why she was bothering to try to sleep.  It wasn't
working, and all it made her was more irritable when she did get
woken up.

As she picked up the baby, making her way out to the common
room, Q snuggled back down under the covers.  Lazily, eyes
closing, he said, "I advised you to drown it, you know.  You
should have listened to me."

Naomi's reply was lost in the closing of the door.  There were
things she didn't need to hear right now, and comments about
drowning were one of them.  She wasn't sure whether that was
because it seemed like a good idea right now or because she felt
like pummeling someone and didn't need a target to take it out
on.  In either case, such solutions were uncalled for, immoral,
and most of all, impractical.

After getting what she needed, Naomi settled down on the couch
to feed Ari, still only half awake.  Sometimes it seemed that it
would never end, the feedings all blurred together in her mind
with dreams until she wasn't sure whether she was awake,
feeding Ari, or asleep, dreaming about doing it.

Naomi shivered involuntarily, feeling cold after the warmth of the
bed, then reached for the blanket on the couch to wrap herself in. 
Q would scold her for that, she was sure.  Its function was purely
decorative, and there was no way she'd ever be able to get it
draped back properly to his satisfaction.  Even if she didn't end
up getting something on it, which was rather likely.

Ari protested the change in positioning, but subsided as Naomi
returned her back to where she'd been.  She was apparently quite
hungry.  As Q would say, like mother, like daughter.

Naomi sighed and let the couch support her, grateful for its
softness and the warmth of the blanket.  She was very, very tired,
and waking up in the middle of the night, every night, wasn't
helping any.  She supposed she should be grateful.  Instead of
having a major fit about the baby and throwing a temper tantrum,
Q was putting up with the current situation.  He could have
moved out or thrown them out, and while Naomi didn't like the
way that idea made her feel, she'd been half expecting something
like that.  He wasn't happy with the idea of a baby, and he'd
made it perfectly clear that he found babies utterly repulsive and
nauseating.  He'd turned green and fled the first time he saw her
feeding Ari.

Naomi grinned despite her exhaustion.  That had been rather
funny, actually.  Seeing Q flee just because a baby was feeding
from her breast was amusing in the extreme.  He'd actually had
to wait until she told him that they were done in order to lecture
her about it because he was too revolted to come back into the
room with them.  There were other things she could have said
which would have made him even more ill, but she had refrained. 
Sometime down the road, when she wasn't entirely worn out and
emotionally frayed, she was going to want him to think of her as
a desirable creature again, and it wasn't going to work very well
if he refused to touch her breasts at all, based on the fact that
he'd seen Ari feeding from them.

And yet, despite the strides Q had made, it wasn't enough.  He
was putting up with the situation, allowing it to continue like
some deranged hobby she had just happened to pick up along the
way.  And while that was something, it wasn't nearly enough.

She didn't have any right to expect more, *hadn't* expected
much more when she'd first gotten into this.  While she'd been
firmly convinced that Q wanted children, that didn't mean he was
suddenly going to enjoy taking care of them when he felt all
physical things were revolting.  She knew better than that.

But there was too much for one person to handle, and she was
slowly sinking under the weight of it.  If Q was all for this, she
could deal with it, but he wasn't and she had the sense that he
was waiting for her to admit failure.

Unfortunately, failure was not an option, or she would have given
in long before this.  She wasn't the kind of person who stuck to
her guns just to make a point.  At least, not for this long.  Not
when it was making her completely miserable.

When Ariadne was done feeding, she burped her, then rocked her
until the baby fell back to sleep.  It could have been minutes, it
could have been hours.  Naomi really didn't know.  And it didn't
matter.  In either case, she was going to be grateful to get back to
sleep.

Naomi got up from the couch, letting the blanket fall back into a
heap, and shuffled into the bedroom.  Ariadne was going to need
to be changed reasonably soon, but being able to sleep for a while
first would be nice.  Naomi laid her down and made her
comfortable, then turned back to bed.

Q had sprawled out over the whole bed, lying more or less
diagonally across it.  He was obviously fast asleep and very
comfortable.

Naomi didn't even think about it.  She simply pulled back the
covers and crawled in next to him, accepting what little space
there was left.  She didn't need much, and right now, any
reasonably flat surface would have done nicely.

As soon as she closed her eyes, the darkness claimed her.  Naomi
didn't notice Q curling up to her, and didn't stir, not even when
he put an arm across her, holding her to him.  Right now, the
only lover she cared to embrace was sleep.

****

The day started badly.  All of them seemed to start badly now,
and that didn't help to make Naomi any happier.  She hadn't
gotten much sleep the night before, having been woken up twice
by Ari, and once by Q, who seemed to feel she had no need for
sleep at all.

Considering that she seemed to be doing without it, he might
have a point.  Not that she was ever going to agree.  

But today was very bad.  She'd been up since early morning,
unable to go to bed after Ari had woken her up again.  Naomi
would cheerfully have tried to go back to sleep, but Q was up by
then, and he had a very annoying habit of assuming she should be
awake if he was awake.

Eventually, she was going to have to do something about that, but
Naomi didn't have the energy for a prolonged argument with Q. 
Not that she'd win anyway, but just having the argument would
signify her opposition to his actions, and that would probably be
enough.  Of course, then he'd just think of something to annoy
her with, to retaliate for her having dared question his behavior. 
Which was what Naomi couldn't bear to deal with right now.  If
she'd been better rested, the whole situation might even have
been fun, but she wasn't, and she couldn't imagine handling it
right now.

But Harry was coming over just after lunch, and she didn't have
a choice but to be ready for that, and as awake as she could
imagine.

Even if she'd already been spit up on, drooled over and smelled
faintly of vomit.  And it wasn't even noon yet.

Naomi looked down at her clothes, and then at Ariadne, who was
actually in much better shape in her mother.  But then, Ari had
someone waiting on her hand and foot to clean her and get her
changed.  It wasn't quite the same.  And of course, she was
absolutely adorable.  Even if she had, and certainly would have,
any minute now, drool hanging from her chin, Ari would still be
adorable.  Naomi was fairly sure that this would not be
considered true of herself.

She had to get cleaned up.  Of all the people she didn't want to
appear less than put together in front of, Harry was one of them. 
Naomi didn't want to think too much about why that was.  She
definitely wasn't jealous of the man; nothing of the sort.  She just
needed a shower and a change of clothes, that was all.

Without thinking about it further, Naomi thrust Ariadne at Q. 
"Here.  You take her."

Q didn't raise his hands.  "Do I look like I have any desire to
hold or nurture that thing?"

She glared at him, expression set, not put off one bit by being
half his size and not nearly as mean.  She hated it when Q called
Ariadne a thing, but there wasn't much she could do about it.  If
he *knew* she hated it, he'd be that much more likely to use the
term.  "I'm absolutely filthy and I want to take a shower. 
Someone needs to watch her."

"So let her take a nap," Q said off-handedly, trying to repel
Naomi with sheer disdain.  He really didn't want to have
anything to do with this.

"Even if she hadn't just been fed, she'd start screaming in an
instant," Naomi said wearily.  "She only goes to sleep when I'm
already asleep or busy.  It's some sort of plot to drive me
insane."

"It seems to be working," Q said, without considering the impact
of his statement on Naomi, who immediately lost whatever small
hold she'd had over her temper.

"Yes, it does, doesn't it?"  She set Ariadne down on his lap, not
waiting for him to take her, then turned on her heel.  "I'll be
after I'm done changing clothes.  You can handle the situation
until then."

She was out of the room before Q could make a protest.

He stared helplessly at the tiny creature on his lap.  He really,
really hated this.  There was nothing attractive to him about the
young of any species, and all of Q's experience with young
members of his own race had taught him that they should be
drowned at birth and only allowed to survive if they somehow
managed to learn the trick of reconstituting themselves from their
basic atoms.  But Naomi wouldn't let him do that to this one. 
What a spoilsport.

Ariadne teetered dangerously to one side, lopsided weight and
gravity pulling her down, starting to fall to the floor, and Q put
out his hands, holding onto her.  She seemed to smile at him, and
Q scowled at her.

"Don't get the idea that this means I like you, because it doesn't. 
I'm only doing a favor for your mother."

Naomi didn't hear that particular comment, although she probably
would have liked to hear it.  Q rarely said anything positive about
Ariadne, even so much as to acknowledge that she might be in
the room with him, much less that she was the most perfect baby
in existence, as Naomi knew to be true.  But Naomi didn't hear
Q's comment, because she was already out of the room, out of
her dirty clothes and into the shower.

There was nothing like taking care of a baby to give you a fine
appreciation for personal hygiene and replicators.  Although Q
derided her lack of originality in dressing almost entirely in
replicated clothing, there was a certain something about just being
able to go over to one and get a clean shirt whenever she wanted. 
Her silk kimonos and patterned dresses couldn't be so easily
replaced, and she wasn't going to waste them, which is what
would happen if she wore them around here.  A piece of clothing
could be cleaned only so many times before the stains became
permanent, and Naomi did know better than that.

However, there still was something very luxurious about being
clean after having been drooled on and gummed and everything
else so many times.  Naomi stepped out of the shower and started
picking out clothes.  Not that she had much choice in the matter.

She shrugged on a pair of loose trousers and then pulled a white
cotton shirt over her head.  A darker color would show the stains
the less, but it was after all, only replicated clothing, and didn't
have to last very long.

She checked the time as she went through the door.  Just over
twenty minutes total.  Not bad at all.

Naomi came out to total chaos.  Ari was screaming; a strange
choking bawl, and Q was terrified, standing in the middle of the
room, looking in all directions, as if expecting help to come to
his rescue.

For once, he was right.  Naomi rushed over, and plucked
Ariadne out of his hands, holding the baby against her chest, and
rocking her.  The crying stopped almost at once, only a tiny
hiccup still coming out to let the world know that someone was
not very happy with life.

Q glared at the both of them.  It was obvious that it knew who it
liked best, and it wasn't him.  He was furious with Naomi for
putting him into this position.

Naomi looked at Q.  "What happened?  What's wrong?"  Even as
she asked, she had a good idea.  The front of Q's tunic was
covered with vomit.  Ari had evidently thrown up on him.  There
wasn't a whole lot on Ari herself, which was all for the best,
considering that Q's clothes couldn't get any more ruined than
they already were, and hers could.

She went to get something to clean Ari's face off with anyway,
while Q was still sputtering.

"She threw up on me!"  Q's tone was outraged.

"Babies do that," Naomi said calmly.  "Fairly frequently, too,
judging by how often she does it to me."

"You didn't tell me she was going to do that!"

"I didn't know.  Sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn't,"
Naomi explained patiently, dabbing Ari's face with the cloth. 
She looked up at Q, tilting her head.  He seemed more disturbed
that he really should be.  Naomi wasn't sure whether he'd been
more upset that one of his treasured outfits had been ruined or
because this tiny thing had been ill and he had thought it was his
fault.  

Ari's face clean, she started dabbing at Q's tunic.  Q glowered at
her, then pulled away, stalking off to his own room to change
clothes.

****

By the time Harry actually arrived, Q had managed to complete
his toilet to his satisfaction, even if he was still glowering off and
on at Naomi for what she'd pressured him into doing.  Naomi, on
the other hand, was already beginning to look a little worn around
the edges.

When the door chimed, Q answered it, stopping the relentless
pacing that was rapidly moving from irritating to oddly soothing
for Naomi.

Harry entered with a melodramatic bow, and came over to
Naomi, offering her a medium size box with a large bow on it.

"For me?" Naomi asked with a smile, taking it.

"For Ariadne, actually," Harry said, grinning.  "Go ahead, open
it."

Naomi shifted Ariadne so that she could set the present down on
her lap and unwrap the box without asking for help.  She undid
the bow, removed the wrapping paper, then lifted the lid off. 
Inside was a stuffed bear.

She pulled it out and held it up, showing it to Ariadne.  "Oh, it's
adorable, Harry.  Thank you."

He smiled at her, "You're quite welcome.  I didn't think you had
any stuffed animals yet."

Naomi shook her head.  "It didn't occur to me."

"Exactly what made it the perfect present.  I'd hate to be
commonplace."

Q scowled at Harry.  He didn't like the way Naomi was smiling
at Harry.  He wasn't jealous, of course, but it did seem like
Naomi was giving all of her attention to the baby of late.  And
while he could almost understand that, since after all, giving her
attention to it kept the thing quiet, it still outraged him that she
would be smiling at Harry, and approving of him, when she
didn't seem to have anything but whining and pouting to share
with Q.

Naomi nodded, holding the bear to her, almost as if it gave her
some comfort.  "Thank you very much, Harry."

He grinned at her again, and then went down on his knees in
front of the two of them, looking closely at Ariadne.  "Aren't you
the cute one?"

Ariadne moved her head to look at the new sound.

Harry held out his finger to Ariadne, and she closed her tiny hand
around it.

"I think she likes you, Harry," Naomi said, smiling indulgently.

"Women always like me.  Never does me any good," Harry said
in a mournful tone, smiling at Naomi.  "I'm exactly the kind of
man women want to take home to their mothers.  The problem is
that it's their brothers I want to meet."

Naomi giggled, feeling something loosen inside her.

Q glared at the pair of them from his standing position behind the
couch.  How dare they have fun and ignore him?  "It hates me."

Harry looked up at him, no evidence of discomfort in changing
the focus of the conversation.  He did like Ariadne, but babies
were not exactly a major focus in his life.  Even if his parents
wouldn't stop pressuring him on the subject whenever he paid
them a visit.  "So soon?  I thought they were supposed to grow
up and become teenagers before they started hating their
parents?"

"Very funny," Q said, in a tone that indicated he found Harry's
remark anything but.  "I'm hardly its parent."  Then, continuing,
he added, "It keeps throwing up on me."

Naomi looked at Harry.  She felt comfortable about teasing Q in
Harry's presence; Harry was the closest thing to a friend that Q
had, other than herself.  "Ari only threw up on him once, earlier
today, and he thinks it's the end of the world."

"Once would be more than enough for me," Harry said, grinning
up at Q.

Naomi shrugged.  "Unfortunately, that's not an option.  Babies
do what they want, when they want to."

"Well, you shouldn't have any problem with that," Harry said
with a smile.

Naomi looked and him, eyes narrowing.  "And why is that?"

"You should be used to people who do whatever they want
whenever they want by now."

Naomi smiled, getting the joke.  "You'd think so, wouldn't you? 
Unfortunately, Ariadne requires more attention than that.  *All*
my attention usually.  If I didn't know better, I'd swear she waits
for me to relax to start fussing."  Naomi didn't appear too
perturbed by the possibility, looking down at Ariadne with every
evidence of maternal affection.

"Well, I'd swear there are certain physicists who do the same
thing."  Harry moved to take a seat on the couch, leaning back
into it and tucking his hands behind his head, and looked up at Q. 
"You remember Dr. Brocke, don't you?"

"The name escapes me," Q said in a bored tone.  "They're all so
much alike."

"He was the one who was putting up Wanted posters with your
name on it after you told him he was stupid."

"Again," Q said mockingly, "the description escapes me. 
They're all like that, Harry."

"Well, you may not remember him, but he remembers you."

"I'm sure his visit with me was the highlight of his brief life."  Q
was beginning to enjoy himself now that Harry was paying
attention to him.  That was the way it should be after all, and he
was not at all displeased that the focus of the conversation had
finally shifted away from that damned baby.

"I suppose that's one way to put it," Harry said drily.  "In any
case, I've never seen such spoiled behavior in all my life.  I
would have thought you'd remember though.  He was a standout
even among the other people you've torn apart into little shreds."

"They all deserved it," Q said, a tinge of sulkiness entering his
voice.

"I'm sure they did," Harry said.

"Well, stupidity *is* a cardinal sin," Naomi said gravely, adding
her own opinion.  "Right up there with being boring and poorly
dressed."

"What is this?" Harry asked them, grinning widely.  "Some sort
of alternate religion?"

"It seemed fitting," Naomi said, still keeping her face from
twitching into a smile.  "We do, after all, have a god in our
midst."

"Former god," Q qualified, not actually disagreeing with the
description.

Naomi was watching Q's face carefully to make sure she hadn't
offended him with that remark.  She didn't much like to remind
Q, even in jest, of what he'd lost.  It seemed rather cruel.  But he
didn't seem upset, and she relaxed.

"But of course," Harry said.  "How ever could I forget?"

"Obviously you need a memory transplant," Q said silkily.  "You
seem to forget the more remarkable things, Harry.  I imagine you
have difficulty remembering the difference between the
gravitational constant of the universe and the feeling of an apple
hitting your head."

"If this is going to become a physics discussion, I'm leaving,"
Naomi said, looking between the two of them.  She knew how
easily they could get sidetracked into talking about the nature of
the universe and other, more esoteric things which she didn't
understand at all.  And this looked like a prime place for the
conversation to start going elsewhere.

"No, no, no," Q said, speaking to Naomi, but still taunting
Harry.  "I'm forgotten more than Harry knows.  Harry doesn't
know enough to be able to forget anything important.  He's not
worthy of having a discussion with about physics."

"As long as I remember how to find my way home in the
morning, I'm happy," Harry said with a very solemn look on his
face.

Naomi giggled.

"I was being perfectly serious," Harry said, spoiling it by
grinning.

"Good," Q said acerbically.  "Because it's a little late in your life
to be attempting to develop a sense of humor."

"Better late than never, that's my motto."

Naomi grinned.  "I thought it was, 'I'll try anything once'."

Harry nodded.  "That too.  Except I'll try the good things more
often."

The conversation wandered from there, spilling over rather
naturally into physics, as well as general gossip about the various
inhabitants of the starbase.  If the base was a little town, then
Harry was one of the town criers.  He knew everything there was
to know about everyone, including the latest variation on the
replicator joke, namely how many Security guards it took to
operate a replicator (two, one to operate the replicator, and the
other to hold the phaser on it).

Harry stayed until nearly dinner time, not showing one sign of
disgust or upset at the various tasks Naomi had to perform for
Ariadne while he was there.  He didn't seem particularly
interested, but neither was he like Q, who simply pretended that
Naomi didn't exist at those times.  Naomi was almost sorry to see
him take his leave when he finally did go; Harry was lighthearted
and fun enough that she almost managed to enjoy herself in his
presence and forget about her world weariness for a moment.

For a moment.

****

The next two weeks passed in a blur of diaper changing, feedings
and baths for Naomi.  Times like Harry's visit, which were
actually a welcome break in the routine, were few.  Or perhaps it
was just that she didn't much enjoy them or notice them when
they came.  She was too tired and miserable.

She couldn't have said whether it was night or day if not for the
light cues in the suite; she had entirely lost track of the changing
hours; the time given by the computer seemed unreal and attached
to nothing in particular, certainly not relevant to the rhythm of
her own life.  She felt propelled by some force out of her control,
kept running by some sort of automaton under the surface of her
skin which took over and stepped her through her paces.

The only bright spot in all of this was that she appeared to be
losing weight.  Sleeplessness, lack of appetite and an activity
level she was having to force herself through were combining to
keep her running at an energy level that was either going to kill
her or turn her as gaunt as Q in short order.

There was some humor implicit there, given the current situation. 
When she'd first moved in, she'd only seen him eat when she'd
ordered first, then pretty much forced him to eat what she'd
ordered by passing him a plate of food.  Those roles were
reversed now, as she ate mostly only when Q handed her
something.  She suspected he was doing it to get her goat, trying
to annoy her with repeatedly giving her things he knew she didn't
want, but she couldn't really muster up the energy to be outraged
by his actions.  She just didn't care about anything anymore.

The infrequent visitors were almost as bad.  For most of them, all
Naomi had to do was get cleaned up, then sit in a chair and play
smiling Madonna, while Q danced attendance on them, trying not
to seem like the proud father, while simultaneously taking the
lion's share of the attention.  Naomi was happy to let him have it. 
She didn't want it.  Being present at all was a strain on her, and
being nice through all of it an almost unbearable imposition.

Their scientific guests were harder to handle, because she actually
had to do something then.  And it was even more difficult
mediating between Q and someone else when she might at any
minute be called away to get Ari up from her nap or change her
diaper.  On the other hand, it did tend to keep the meetings short,
since no one really wanted to be around when she was feeding
Ari, least of all Q, and there was some value to lessening the
duration of those interminable meetings.

But, on the whole, she was being worn down slowly and there
didn't seem to be anything she could do about it.  Fatalistically,
she wondered when the end would be.  Would she ever just get
worn down to nothing, and what remained would blow away in
the wind?

No.  She wasn't that lucky.

The door chimed, and Naomi groaned inwardly.  Not again.  She
really didn't want to deal with this now.  There wasn't anyone on
the schedule, but that didn't mean anything.  Everyone was
perfectly certain they could just drop in and impose, since after
all, she and Q were usually at home.

Naomi felt like suggesting they go and hide, except that wouldn't
do much good.  How did you hide on a starbase?

"Come in," she said, bracing herself.

She felt very tired, stressed out, and in no mood for this.  The
only reason she wasn't going to kill the next person who bothered
her was that she didn't have the strength for it.  She couldn't hold
them down and force them to be still while she strangled them, or
it would have been a lovely possibility.

She needed sleep badly; her eyelids were dropping, closing every
few seconds.  Her entire body was exhausted; her breasts ached,
her head hurt, and overall, she felt like being temporarily dead
for a while, just so she could get some rest without anyone
bothering her.  Even being kidnapped by the Dilkinen seemed
like a good opportunity right now.

But, despite her fatigue, she couldn't actually go to sleep; Ari
would wake up the moment she did and start fussing.  And with
someone at the door wanting her attention, it really wasn't an
option.  Or course, if there weren't someone at the door, then Q
would be in here, expecting that she be up to engaging him in a
battle of wits.  Well, she wasn't.  She'd have trouble even against
a half-wit, and that wasn't an accurate description of Q, who
could make mincemeat out of her on her best days, not to
mention how she felt right now.

Not that anyone cared, or would care.  Naomi hadn't complained,
wouldn't complain, about her problems.  Q would suggest the
obvious, that she couldn't handle a baby, and therefore she
shouldn't have one at all, and what had she been thinking of? 
She could hear his mocking voice, see his face changing as he
realized he'd won, that she really was a wimp.  She wouldn't put
it past him to replay a recording of her first telling him that she
wanted a baby and how badly she wanted it.  Rubbing salt into an
open wound was not Q's style, it was his modus operandi.  She
dreaded that, and yet, there was still something seductive about
telling him, something increasingly seductive about throwing her
arms around his shoulders and confessing that she just couldn't do
this anymore.  Not that the reaction she'd get would be the one
she wanted, or that she even knew what she wanted or thought he
might be able to do for her, but any sort of comfort would be
better than none.

And anyone else would give her even less sympathy still.  Li
would think she was just whining, and she couldn't quite see
dumping this on any of her friends.  There was nothing anyone
could do about the situation and, in any case, some of them might
well react poorly.  Jinn would undoubtedly laugh hysterically
over this.  His son was just going on four years old now, and
there was no question in Naomi's mind that he would definitely
think she was making too much of what was really a very little
problem.

The door slid open, revealing her guests, Commodore Anderson
and Counselor Medellin.

Naomi bristled as soon as she saw them.  While she had taken
care of the counsellor, she still bore a grudge against Anderson
for what she'd done to Jinn.  Oh, she hadn't done it directly, but
that didn't matter.  Because of her, and her silly, useless rules,
Jinn had been punished for something so minor and innocuous
that it was ridiculous to even consider taking offense.

Not that Naomi hadn't gotten her revenge.  She had.  But that
didn't stop her from being outraged on Jinn's behalf.  He was one
of her friends, and she felt very strongly about people who hurt
her friends.

"Good afternoon," Naomi said, controlling her voice to a frosty
burr.  "Did you want to see Q?  I'm afraid he's dressing at the
moment.  If you'd called ahead, we might have been able to
arrange something..."

As her voice trailed off in a semblance of politeness, the
commodore shook her head slightly, while Medellin smiled
thinly.  The counsellor had a good idea what would have
happened then.  She had no illusions about her popularity with
either or the both of them, and she was sure they would have
found some excuse to be out or conveniently "unavailable" if
they'd been notified she were coming.  She wasn't sure she
wanted to be here at all, but Eleanor had insisted.  While
Medellin would have liked to help Q and Dr. Allen with the
changes they would need to make in order to effectively raise a
child, she knew that they would never take such advice from her. 
That much she'd learned, painfully.

Naomi set her chin.  It didn't look they were going to leave, and
it wasn't in her to be completely rude to people... at least not
before they'd given her a reason.

"Please, have a seat."

"Thank you," the commodore said, seating herself gracefully, as
if Dr. Allen hadn't just kept her waiting awkwardly for such an
opportunity.

Medellin followed suit with less grace.  She wasn't used to this
kind of encounter, and it threw her off balance to be the
supplicant to someone so obviously and hostilely opposed to her.

"Why are you here?" Naomi asked, holding Ariadne protectively
close to her, without even being aware that she was doing so. 
She'd just picked up Ari after her nap, and wished she hadn't. 
She'd rather have her daughter farther away from these people. 
Not that either of them would hurt Ari, but Naomi felt
uncomfortable with them here.

Anderson cleared her throat.  This was more in the way of a
courtesy call, Q being the most important "guest" currently on the
starbase, and it being appropriate to visit after he'd had a major
event in his life.  There were a number of other reasons behind
this call, but Anderson didn't intend to announce them outright. 
Although she was a naturally blunt person, she knew more of
strategy and tactics than that.  Repeated dealings with Q would
have taught them to her, if nothing else.

"May I see?" the commodore asked, indicating Ariadne.

Reluctantly, Naomi lowered Ariadne, pulling her blanket back so
that she could be clearly seen.

Surprised, Medellin commented without thinking.  "Why, she
looks like Q!"

"You think so?" Naomi asked, a small bit of warmth leaking into
her voice.

"Just look at that nose."

Naomi looked more closely at Ariadne.  Frankly, she couldn't see
it.  Ari's nose looked like a nose.  Not completely button-ish, but
it was just a nose nonetheless.  Politely, she said, "I'm sure that
will come in handy as she gets older."

Medellin didn't look up, reaching out to the baby, a rapt look on
her face.  "Aren't you a cute one?"

Unwillingly, Naomi felt a surge of warmth for the counsellor. 
Anyone who liked Ariadne couldn't be all bad.

But that didn't stop them from having a past history.  "Why are
you here?"

Her question included the both of them, and it was the
commodore who answered.

"A social call, nothing more," Anderson said blandly.

"I'll believe that when pigs fly and monkeys..."

The commodore raised her hand.  "I think I understand your
meaning."

Naomi switched topics.  "So why did you come down on Jinn so
hard?"

"I'm sure you don't know what you mean."

"Of course you do.  He's the one who got reprimanded for
sending me a jack-in-the-box with a cream pie in it as a present at
my baby shower.  I don't see how you could have forgotten."  

Naomi glowered at Anderson and Medellin, not giving up the
initiative.  "Jinn's just an innocent prankster.  He's never killed
anyone, or even tried to.  What he did was very minor, and I
even thought it was funny.  And yet you punished him.  It was
one thing for him to get busted down in rank; I don't even think
he cares about that.  But to kick him out of the computer lab..." 
Naomi shook her head.  "That was just plain cruel."

Medellin shifted uncomfortably.  She didn't know what this was
about, but she hated being in the center of conflicts.

Anderson cleared her throat.  "I was unaware of this particular
incident; however, my orders were specifically meant to prevent a
repeat of what happened with Dr. D'oritt and Q."

Naomi didn't buy that for a second.  "What Jinn did was
harmless and funny.  *And* he's one of my best friends.  The
whole idea of him hurting me is absolutely ridiculous."

"You're missing the point, Dr. Allen," the commodore said, a
stern note in her voice.  It would have been so much easier just
to be able to order Allen to obey, but that was the problem with
dealing with civilians.  They wanted explanations for everything. 
"*All* of the practical jokes must stop.  It's irrelevant whether
they're humorous.  They're unprofessional, and they don't belong
in Starfleet."

Naomi glowered at her, but before she could make a retort, Q
came out of his room, magnificently dressed, as always.

If he was surprised to see their guests, he gave no sign of it,
coming over to where they were seated, with every evidence of
pleasure.  "Why, Nian, and *dear* Eleanor.  How good to see
you again."

Neither one flinched at the use of their first names, although Q's
evident cheeriness gave at least Naomi pause.  Whenever he was
his most ebullient, Q was the most dangerous.

He came to stand next to Naomi, not taking a seat.  His height
worked best for him while he was standing.  "And what pray tell
brings you here?"

Medellin glanced at Naomi, who had sat back further in her chair
at Q's appearance, making herself less visible.  She didn't want
to discuss the pranks with Q here.  She'd told him she wouldn't
talk to Anderson about them, and it seemed unwise at the least to
flaunt the fact that she was disobeying in front of him.  But she
didn't have any choice.  Naomi was incapable of letting Jinn
suffer, incapable of abandoning anyone she considered to be a
friend, even when it might be inconvenient for her.  The soft
chair nearly swallowed her up.  Ariadne was curled into her
arms, and the pair looked like some ancient representation of
Madonna and child, a Titian painting updated in a modern setting.

"Given your recent entrance into fatherhood," Medellin began,
only to be cut off by Q.

"Fatherhood?" he asked sharply.  "I don't know what you're
talking about.  I'm nobody's father."

"That wasn't my understanding."  Medellin looked at the
commodore for support.

"You claimed fatherhood when you invoked paternity leave two
months ago," Anderson said matter-of-factly.  "Are you telling
me that was a lie?  That you made it up to get out of fulfilling
your responsibility to the Federation?"

Q couldn't say that, even if it did happen to be true.  Not when it
was put like that.  "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Let me refresh your memory..."

Q held up his hand.  "No, no, that's quite all right."  He was
stuck.  There was nothing he could do.  She had a recording of
him saying that; he was sure of it now.  Eleanor wouldn't be so
forthright if she weren't sure of her ground.  And, in any case,
he remembered doing it.  It had seemed like such a grand prank
at the time, using Elly's own rules to tie her hands, but now it
didn't seem so bright at all.

The commodore smiled grimly, mouth a tight line.  "You admit
to standing in a position of fatherhood to this child?"

"Well, I wasn't lying," Q said, desperately trying to avoid the
question.

"Good.  It's settled then."

Naomi looked up at Q, face troubled.  Q had just admitted to
being Ariadne's father.  But she wasn't happy.  He didn't want
any responsibility for the child and she knew it.  Just forcing him
to speak the words wasn't going to be enough to make him into a
father, even if the commodore seemed to think so.  She wanted
him to be Ariadne's father, would have like it very much if he'd
felt as much affection for her as she herself did.  One of Naomi's
original assumptions had been that Q wanted children and deeply
regretted not being able to have any.  Q had denied that, and
Naomi was beginning to believe him.

"What's settled?" Q asked suspiciously.

Anderson glanced at the counselor, who cleared her throat. 
"Becoming a father is a major step in your life, Q..."

Naomi stifled a laugh that ended up turning into a cough.  She
had no sympathy for Medellin or for this particular plan;
counselling was the last thing either of them needed right now. 
But there was something faintly ridiculous about the whole
situation.

Q glared at her before speaking to Medellin.  "When I want your
help, I'll ask for it.  And the day I admit you know more than I
do about my psyche..."

"Hell will freeze over?" Naomi added helpfully.

He didn't even bother to glance down.  "...I'll commit myself to
a mental institution."  Before anyone else could react, he added
an additional embellishment to that.  "Of course, I understand
your confusion on the issue.  Mortality is, of itself, a lunatic
asylum."

"Q, you don't understand..."

"Was there anything else?" Q asked, cutting her off.  "Because if
there wasn't, I must confess I'm bored with this conversation."

Medellin exchanged a helpless glance with Anderson, who rose
from her seat, standing and looking at Q.  "You haven't heard the
end of this, Q."

"Oh, goody.  Threats."  Q's tone went from falsely overjoyed,
back to sarcastic.  "As if I hadn't heard those before.  Do come
back when you actually have something to say, why don't you?"

Sensing that Q was in fine form today, Anderson didn't bother to
make a retort to that, leading Medellin out.  She did have other
business with Q, but there was not point in broaching that now. 
She'd tried to do this the easy way, but he wouldn't listen, and he
would find out to his detriment what the hard way was like.  It
might even do him some good, although she doubted it.

When they left, Q's posture slumped a little, the challenge and
the light going out of him.  He was still impeccably dressed, and
intimidating as always, but not unapproachable or unbeatable. 
Life wasn't nearly as much fun without an opponent.

Naomi looked up at him.  "You don't suppose that the counselor
is finally going to take the hint, do you?"

"No," Q said idly, flipping his sleeves and staring at the closed
door.  "I don't think so.  I didn't spell it out in very little words
for her."

"I tried 'Go' and 'away'.  How much smaller can you get?"

"'Away' is two syllables.  Very complicated.  That's where you
made your mistake.  Really, Naomi, I expected better out of
you."

"Yes, I am a disappointment to you, aren't I?" Naomi asked, tone
light, but disguising a wealth of bitterness underneath.

"Constantly," Q said, not really paying attention.  The banter was
an easy thing to do, hardly taking up any of his thought at all,
and he was entirely unaware that he might be hurting Naomi's
feelings.  Q was much more concerned by what Anderson had in
mind.  She was a dangerous woman, and he didn't trust her, even
with his contract to keep him somewhat safe.  It was only words
after all, and easily disregarded.

Naomi bowed her head over Ariadne and didn't say anything
more.  There really wasn't anything to be said.  A tear leaked
out, and she wiped it away before it could splash on Ari.  There
was nothing to be upset about; Q was just being himself.

So why did she feel like curling up in a ball and sobbing?

****

After Medellin and Anderson left, Q contented himself by
running through a batch of mailed queries, while Naomi sat on
the couch and played with Ariadne.  It wasn't what she would
have preferred to be doing; eventually, someday, she would also
like to have a job to do.  Her brain was virtually atrophying in
her head from lack of use.  But she didn't have the time or
energy to think about that right now.  She was counting Ariadne's
toes.

Q couldn't help overhearing the singsongy conversation Naomi
was carrying on with Ariadne.  He could easily have moved into
his bedroom to get away from it, or out of his quarters entirely. 
But that didn't occur to him.  There was something oddly
reassuring about the sound of Naomi's voice, something he found
comforting about having her around him, even when she insisted
on babbling inanities at something which couldn't understand or
talk back to her.

He wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing, not that
he needed to pay attention to it.  The queries he got were
generally insipid attempts to count the number of stars in the
universe, or calculate the number of angels who could dance on
the head of a pin, as if these kinds of questions hadn't been asked
several hundred times before.  Of course, they could only be
definitively answered by someone like himself, but that didn't
make them any more challenging.  Briefly, Q thought of
Daedalus.  Now there was someone who actually cared how the
universe worked.  Unfortunately, scientists of his caliber were
few, and apparently nonexistent.

Which left Q with most of his attention free for other things.

Startlingly enough, Q was beginning to feel urges again.  Strong,
*sexual* urges.  He'd been feeling these all along, couldn't help
but feel them, but thinking about Naomi's grotesque body had
gone a long way towards stopping them.  There had been
something growing in there, an alien life form that no longer
seemed quite so alien now that it was out of there and constantly
screaming for something or the other.

Of the two options, he preferred it inside, but he didn't have any
choice in the matter.  Of course, if he'd had any choice in the
matter at all, Naomi would never have gotten pregnant, and his
smooth little life would never have been interrupted.  He could
have gone on the way he had without any problems.  Naomi had
provided him with an acceptable diversion from the routine of his
day, and if she'd made the occasional other demand on him, he
could tolerate that.  Enjoy it as well, but Q didn't see any reason
to admit to enjoying something as long as he could blame it on
someone else.  He didn't want to be human, had never wanted to
be cast out of the Continuum and made mortal at all.  He was
surviving as a human, since of course, that was so absurdly easy
to do that even these half-evolved simians could do it.  But he
wasn't going to enjoy it.  That would only put the capper on all
of this.  His fellow Q would no doubt be showing up soon after
to laugh at how far he'd fallen, to actually give in and *enjoy*
the depravity visited upon him.  That he'd ridiculed them in the
past for their own brief sojourns in mortal form only made it that
much more likely that this would happen.  In some fashion, he
deserved it.

But that didn't mean he was looking forward to it.  Or that it
made the prospect of pleasure any more desirable.

However, there was a distinct difference between pleasure and
need.  He had many needs, and he couldn't deny them without
horrible results.  Not eating caused black-outs, not sleeping did
the same, and he didn't even want to think about what had
happened when he tried to ignore the others.  But sex had seemed
safe to ignore.  Nothing would or could happen to him from
leaving it alone.

Or so he had thought.  Until the need for it drove him into Om's
arms, and he'd found out what humiliation really was all about. 
At least with Amy Frasier, he'd had the self-control to stop
before he'd made a complete fool out of himself.  He'd done no
such thing with Om, instead satisfying those darkly depraved
needs that racked his body.  And he'd paid.

Q had no desire to repeat that experience.  He would do anything
to avoid it.  Including touching himself, including seeking out that
pleasure that he didn't want to feel, didn't think he needed, and
couldn't resist when it came.

But there was a better way to satisfy those desires, and he found
himself steadily more attracted to that possibility, to Naomi. 
He'd had no desire for her at all while she was pregnant, hadn't
wanted her at all.  The shame of his failure swum in front of him
again.  He knew exactly how little he had wanted her, how much
she disgusted him.

But that hadn't seemed to matter when she'd taken advantage of
him a few scant weeks ago, and it didn't seem to matter now. 
He didn't find anything disgusting about her now, despite that she
wasn't as slim as she had been or even really aesthetically
pleasing yet.  The dark circles under her eyes and constant look
of fatigue were not attractive, as he'd tried to tell her repeatedly. 
Not that she'd listened to his concerns of course.  Naomi was
rather stubborn and pigheaded that way.

And he wanted her.  He wanted her body, wanted *her*, in a
combination that was destroying to his control.  The only
reassurance he had was the secure inner knowledge that Naomi
found him attractive, and wouldn't hurt him or send him away. 
She wouldn't ridicule him for these desires, would instead
assuage them.

That was a good thing.  Q hated being reduced to this level, but
if he had to be, then this was the way to do it.

****

The first indication Naomi received of Q's changed attitude was
the look on his face when he came over and sat down next to her. 
She could read Q's expressions with a fair degree of accuracy,
considering that they were mostly masks, and not really emotional
responses at all.

This one was a lazy expression of approval that she hadn't seen in
a long time, certainly not at all since Ariadne had been born.  Q
didn't approve of Ari at all, and she was surprised to see it now,
given that she was holding the baby.

"Did you want something?" Naomi asked, unsure how to interpret
his current mood.

"Do I have to want something?" Q asked, a little offended.  "I
thought I was still welcome here in my own quarters.  Unless of
course, I'm in your way."

Naomi felt sorry almost immediately for her abruptness, as he
prepared to stand up.  "No, I apologize.  I didn't mean to sound
rude.  I *like* having you here."

"All the more reason to leave," Q said, settling back down next
to her.

She smiled tentatively, feeling warmed by the fact he was staying. 
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

He declined to answer the inanity.  Humans were frequently
guilty of such rhetorical questions, which they sprinkled through
their conversations like seasoning.  Unfortunately, he found the
flavor rather off.  "Do you ever do anything but service that
baby?"

Naomi looked ruefully down at Ari, who was trying to decide
which tasted better, her own fingers or her mother's fingers. 
"Sometimes it seems like I don't do anything else, doesn't it?" 
She got a dreamy look on her face.  "You know, I think I used to
have free time once.  And even an actual job that I did.  But it
was all so long ago and far away that I can't remember
anymore."

Q looked suspiciously at her, not sure whether to take her
seriously.  For lack of a better conversational alternative, he
decided to behave as though she did mean what she was saying. 
"You know what you can do about that."

Naomi made a face at him.  "No, thank you.  I didn't go through
all this trouble to give her up."

He flipped a negligent hand at her, while resting indolently in the
corner of the couch, pretending that he didn't care, which was
false.  She loved that thing more than she did him, and even
though he didn't care whether she loved him or not, it hurt.  "If
that's what you want, I won't stop you.  Far be it from me to
keep mortals from rushing to their own doom."

She glared at him a moment.  "Yes, far be it.  It seems that you
care an awful lot about this for someone who pretends not to
care."

"Of course I care," Q said, not moving one whit.  "I do get
disturbed by that thing's constant howling."

That didn't make her any happier.  "Ari doesn't howl constantly. 
She's perfectly happy.  See?"

"For now."

Naomi glowered at him, feeling like her face was setting
permanently into hostile lines.  "Why are you so jealous anyway? 
She's just a baby."

"I'm not jealous," Q denied.

The denial came too quickly, and with a suspicious amount of
firmness.  Naomi distrusted it immediately.  "*Are* you jealous
of Ari?"

"What?  Me, *Q*, be jealous of a mere baby?  I don't think so."

"You're jealous," Naomi said gloomily.

Since she was after all correct, Q found it hard to argue with that
assumption.  He stared down at the fit of his tunic, wondering
whether this had been a good idea at all.  He couldn't quite help
himself from wanting to be here -- just being this close to Naomi
was a relief all by itself, some of the tension he felt lessening
when she was near.  But that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Really, Naomi, you should stop jumping to conclusions. 
Someday you might get lost and not be able to find your way
back."

"I look forward to it," Naomi said drily.  "Right now I could use
a change of scenery."

Q didn't like that comment at all.  It sounded to him like she
didn't want him, like he was the scenery she didn't want to have
around.  "Perhaps that can be arranged," he said stiffly.  "I'll
remove myself from your presence."

Naomi stared at him.  Why was he trying to get away from her
like that?  If he wanted to go, he should go, but it didn't sound
like he really wanted to leave.  It sounded like he wanted to stay
and that she was pushing him away.  But she wasn't; she liked
having him there as much as she was capable of enjoying
anything right now, which wasn't much.

"Don't feel obliged on my account," Naomi said, her depressed
mood making the words come out harder than she meant, then
softened it.  "I really don't mind having you here."

That wasn't very encouraging, but since he really didn't want to
go anyway, Q accepted it.  "How encouraging."

She couldn't figure out what he wanted, and looked back down at
Ariadne, trying to give herself some room to think.  But Ari was
no help.  She'd fallen asleep right there, still half-clutching one of
Naomi's fingers.

With a sigh, Naomi stood up and went over to lie Ari down for
her nap.  At least Ariadne was asleep; that much was a blessing. 
She couldn't take much more of the fussing and fretting that
seemed to go part and parcel along with the cuteness, lovability
and other qualities that kept Naomi from taking Q up on one of
his many helpful suggestions.

She straightened up and turned around to find Q there behind her. 
Automatically, she put her hands up for balance, touching his
chest.

Q stiffened under her hands, but didn't move away.  There was
something essential about that contact, something he didn't want
to avoid.  Having her close to him sent a jolt of pleasure through
his overstressed body.  He really did need her, more than he
would have admitted even to himself.  The depraved hormonal
storms that came along with being human forced him to this
point, and he couldn't help himself, couldn't stop himself from
reaching out for what he needed when it was so close to him,
even though he knew it was wrong, knew he could expect only
hurt and pain to come from it.

Q bent over her, leaning down over her, hands coming up to
frame her face, not able to disguise the faint trembling of desire
in his hands.  He wanted this, couldn't survive without it.

His lips met hers, and he shuddered, feeling that contact all the
way through him.  It had been too long, and he couldn't hope to
control the tension surging up within him, demanding to be
released.

The last thing Naomi expected was for Q to kiss her.  He never
reached out to her, and even the rare occasions when he had, had
all been a long time ago, before she'd ever gotten pregnant. 
Maybe even since she'd made the mistake of getting mad at him
that one time when he'd teased her beyond bearing.  She didn't
have a clue why he was doing this; he'd said he found her
pregnant body repulsive, and without the time or energy to work
on that, she really was still less than attractive.  She didn't
understand what he wanted.  Well, actually that wasn't
completely true.  Q didn't initiate physical contact lightly or on a
whim.  He wanted her, *had* to want her to be doing this.  The
only problem was that she wasn't sure she wanted him.  She was
tired, worn-out to the point of nodding off whenever she was
sitting down, and not feeling up to the emotional struggle which
came with trying to give Q wanted he needed without damaging
his pride.

But she couldn't turn him away, didn't have it in her to reject Q
under any circumstances.

Her arms went up to wind around his neck, and she pressed
herself against his lean, waiting body.  One of his arms came
down around her waist to support her, and she felt that gratefully;
she really had no other guarantee that she might not fall over
right here from dizziness and lightheadedness.  The pressure of
his lips against hers was a warm heat, a smooth, slick intrusion
that she couldn't resist, all too willing to let her lips open under
his for whatever plundering he might have in mind.

Q felt that surrender with a rush of pleasure.  He hadn't been
sure until then that this was the right thing to do, hadn't been
sure of his welcome at all.  But her physical response was more
than enough for him, the feeling of her body against him, those
subconscious signals that she still cared for him, still wanted him,
being more than enough to convince him.

After a timeless interval of pressing against each other, trying to
meld themselves as close together as two fully clothed, standing
humans can possibly get, Q broke away from Naomi, resting his
forehead against hers, panting.  He needed her, needed more than
this, but he didn't know what to do next, didn't know what the
magic words were to persuade her further.  He'd expected her to
take the initiative, and she hadn't, and that scared at him.

He looked down at Naomi, not knowing how much of his
expression was filled with desperate pleading.

Naomi couldn't help but be affected by that, couldn't ignore how
much Q wanted this, even in face of how tired she was, and how
little she was looking forward to this.  "C'mon."

She unwound her arms from his neck, falling back on her own
feet, and tugged at his hand.

He held still.  "What about it?" Q asked, pointing at Ariadne.

Naomi made a face.  "Hopefully, she can sleep that long."

"And if not?"

"Don't think about it," Naomi said.  She certainly didn't want to.

Q wanted to make a protest, because he for one certainly didn't
want to have to deal with a squalling infant during an intimate
moment, but then Naomi touched him again, hand resting on his
side, and he found he couldn't make himself care.

Naomi led him away from the crib, to the bedroom, sitting on the
bed, Q following her.

They looked at each other for a long moment, Q studying Naomi
with dark eyes.

She sighed slightly, a outdrawn breath hardly even audible at all,
then laid back, pulling him down with her.

He came willingly, leaning over her, legs tangling with her own. 
The pressure of his body against hers was a familiar weight, long
absent, and she welcomed it, tugging his face down to hers.

As if spellbound, Q let himself be pulled down, lips meeting hers. 
He couldn't quite find himself in all this.  It had been so long,
and everything, ever movement of her body against his, the
sliding feel of her lips on his, her tongue teasing on the corners
of his mouth... all of it was sensual and sexual, all of it an
overload to the pleasure centers of his body, which had rather
unfortunately been trained to survive without any at all.  He
needed her, couldn't refuse her, but every touch was winding him
tighter, increasing the delicious tension he could feel building
inside him.

He felt a shock of surprise run through him as she placed one of
his hands on her breast, over the tunic she was wearing.  She
wanted her to touch him, and he couldn't quite believe it,
couldn't understand why he felt so affected by the softness he was
feeling under his hand.  It was enough, and yet, nowhere near
enough.

Without even realizing he was doing it, he removed his hand
from where she'd put it, slipping it under the cloth, touching her
bare skin.  His hand slid up her midriff to her breast, the softness
even more destructive to his defenses than it had been before.  He
wanted her, couldn't stop wanting her, and a low groan escaped
from his throat at the realization.

Naomi brushed his face with the tips of her fingers, trying to
reassure him, or get closer, she wasn't sure.  She didn't really
want to do this, would have preferred to take a nap if that had
been on the list of options, but now that she was here, she
couldn't help but be moved by the depth of Q's need and the
sheer honesty of his responses.  He wasn't hiding anything,
although she was sure he would have liked to.  But he couldn't,
and that was enticing and endearing all at once.

She levered herself up to a half-sitting position, pulling the tunic
over her head, then laid back down.  The room wasn't
particularly cold, but she could feel every movement of air across
her skin as Q leaned over her, unable to resist what she was
offering him.

A lazy hand started at her collarbone, then traced its way down
her body, outlining the curve of her breast before slipping down
to smooth over her exposed stomach.

She watched his eyes carefully, but didn't see any hint of the
disgust he had claimed to feel before, had *seen* in his gaze
before, when she had been pregnant.  He seemed to like her
body, to want this, and she found that strangely gratifying,
especially considering how her body hadn't yet returned to its
former shape, and she was herself revolted by her changed form.

His hand slid under the waistband of her loose trousers, and
without a second thought, she was helping him out of them.

With a pout, she looked up at him.  "It doesn't seem quite fair
that you're clothed when I'm not."

"Life isn't fair."

"How pithy.  I'll have to embroider that and put it up on the
wall."

"Is that some kind of threat?" Q asked, not stopping his slow and
seductive explorations.

"If it'll get you to take your clothes off, yes," Naomi said, not
quite trusting the look in his eyes.

"I make it a policy never to respond to terrorists," Q said, tone
silky.  He couldn't quite remember why he'd put this off for so
long.  It was like he'd rediscovered a missing part of himself
here, and he knew there was nowhere else and no other time
when he felt so whole.  Naomi cared for him, and wanted him,
and he was accepted, all the way down to the deepest, most
hidden parts of his crooked soul.  If he could be said to have
anything so common, which of course, he couldn't.

"Well, that explains why you get shot up so much."

"*Please*," Q said sarcastically, drawing the word out.  "I have
*never* been shot."

"All right, beaten, bruised, poisoned, suffocated, whatever,"
Naomi said.  "You pick the correct verb."

Before he could make up another protest to that, her hands were
busy on the fastenings of his shirt, and he found himself batting
at her hands, too impatient to let her do it, wanting to feel... to
feel *more*, even though he knew it was wrong to need this so
much, to want the inevitable pleasure that his body was even now
anticipating.

He pulled it free and dropped it over the side of the bed on the
floor, not caring how it might wrinkle.  It was only a shirt.  He
had more.

Naomi reached up to him, hands brushing his bare skin, and Q
stiffened, moaning.  The feeling was exquisite, and he could only
imagine what it would feel like to have that touch on the rest of
his body, to have the even more intense, wet warm caress of her
mouth where he most needed it...  Q shuddered, unable to help
himself.  The mere thought was sending electric shocks of
sensation through him, and he couldn't resist the thought, didn't
even want to.

He couldn't give in that easily though, couldn't let her simply
overwhelm him with that need.  He had to do something, a
vaguely remembered request on her part, something he was
supposed to do in order to reciprocate for what she gave him.

Q shut his mind away from what the feeling of her hands on his
body was doing to him, and concentrated on what he needed to
accomplish, his hand slipping down her body to her hip, stroking
the curve of it with practiced skill.

He paused, his hand on her bare skin, and Naomi knew what he
wanted to do, what he was going to do next.

"No, please don't," she said quietly, still touching him.

The word rocketed through him, and Q recoiled as though he'd
been struck.  "No?  Am I doing something wrong?"

As soon as he'd asked the question, Q felt a surge of panic and
remorse.  The question was unworthy of him, exposed him to a
possible opinion on her part of his incalculably low skills in this
area.  And he couldn't help but remember, be utterly mortified by
the memory of the other time she'd stopped him here, stopped
him and threw him out of the bed.  He didn't know what he was
doing, and he hated her suddenly and passionately for reminding
him of that.

She touched his arm gently, not liking the woundedness she heard
in his voice.  "No, you're not doing anything wrong.  It's a nice
thought, but I just don't feel like doing that right now."

"Of course not," Q said, striving for an unconcerned tone, and
failing entirely.  "Why would I ever think something like that?"

"Because you care about me and want me to be happy," Naomi
said so matter-of-factly that Q couldn't help but be distracted
from his internal maunderings into taking offense at the remark.

"I *don't* think so," Q said, still holding in place.

"Of course you do," Naomi said placidly, stroking his bare chest. 
"If you didn't, I might sell you to the Romulans in exchange for
doughnuts.  It's sheerest self-protection on your part."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Q asked darkly.  It was so like her
and so ridiculous all at the same time that he couldn't help but
half-believe it even as he knew he was being teased.

"Of course.  As long as they weren't jelly doughnuts.  I hate jelly
doughnuts."

"I'll have to make a note of it."  The feel of her hand on his skin
was eroding his barriers, and he couldn't remain aloof any
longer.  But he tried, looking down at her.  "You don't want that
and you don't want me either."

The statement was unbearably stark, coming from Q, and Naomi
reacted immediately, drawing him down to her, trying to reassure
him with the warmth of her body.  "Of course I want you.  How
could I not want you?"

Q felt embarrassed that he'd even said such a thing.  How weak
was he?  If this was what going without sex did to him, he
resolved to take up the pursuit of physical pleasure immediately. 
Even if he couldn't think of anything more depraved.

Since Q seemed incapable of answering, Naomi took the burden
away from him, kissing him gently while running her hand down
his side.  He responded gratifyingly to that, giving her more of
his weight and exploring her mouth with his own.

Without speaking a word or trying to break the kiss, because
Naomi didn't want to give Q any doubts whatsoever about this
and cause him to flee or worse, repeat that devastating encounter
where he'd been unable to do anything at all, she repositioned
him with little touches on his hips and thighs, getting him to
resettle himself over her.  He was heavy, and she was
unaccustomed to it, but she didn't mind.

Q felt her reaching down between his legs, and he wanted to
resist, knew that there was some reason he should be resisting,
but couldn't remember right now what it was.  And then she
touched him, the most aching part of him, and he didn't mind at
all.  She guided him inside her and that was even better, so much
slicker and hotter and wetter than he remembered, the sensation
tearing at his defenses like only pleasure could.

He pulled his mouth away from hers, and laid his forehead in the
corner of her shoulder, groaning.  His hips were moving
searchingly; he couldn't seem to stop seeking the source of that
heat, needing more and more of it.  He shouldn't want it so
much, but he did, and it was terrifying and right all at once.

And then she was stroking his back with light teasing hands and it
was too much, and he couldn't stop himself from wanting this,
didn't want to, no matter how much it might cost him.  It was too
good, too right, too perfect.  He propped himself up on his
elbows, trying to bring as much of himself into contact with as
much of her as he could, rhythm increasing.

Naomi didn't stop him, even though it was tight and it hurt more
than she had expected.  She could stand a little pain, and in any
case, Q was likely to be far more sore than she was tomorrow. 
He wasn't used to exerting himself and this kind of effort could
only be bad for him.  He'd never forgive her if he pulled a
muscle.

He looked down at her, holding still, and Naomi brushed a strand
of sweaty hair away from his forehead.  "This is...all right?" he
asked, panting.  "I'm not hurting you?"

She didn't know where he'd gotten that idea from, but she was
absurdly touched that he'd care.  Not that she was going to tell
him; he needed this far too much for her to stop him now.

"I want you, Q.  You're a good lover, and I want *you*."

The words rocketed through him, and Q groaned again, feeling
the pleasure arc through him in an intensifying wave.  He
couldn't stop, didn't even want to.

He plunged into her, feeling the need build with each time he
sunk into that soft, warm waiting caress.  He needed her, needed
this, and as much as he couldn't stand needing anything, the
feeling of it was overwhelming, and he let go of his defenses, let
go of everything, feeling his release wash over him in a
shuddering current.

With an outdrawn moan, Q collapsed on her, too weak and
shaken to move.  That was everything he'd needed, warmth after
long isolation, the intimacy between them that had been torn away
by her pregnancy restored.  He didn't want to think too much
about why physical intimacy should govern emotional intimacy,
didn't want to consider why he had an urge to kiss Naomi and
curl up in her arms where he was loved and safe.  The shudders
continued to rack his body, and he couldn't seem to stop
shivering, even though she was holding him, even though he'd
been and still was sweating in an extremely disgusting manner.

When he could move, and his mind was more under his control
again, Q lifted some of his weight off of Naomi, and then looked
at her, growling, "Good?"

It took Naomi a minute to place his reference.  "What, you would
have preferred me to tell you that you're a bad lover?"

Q scowled at her.  He hated being teased, especially over
something this important.  "I'm merely good?"

Naomi grinned as she realized why he was upset.  Apparently Q
was equating good with mediocre, which wasn't what she'd meant
at all.  Her experience was somewhat limited, but she preferred Q
over the others she'd known.  Dharvi had been more skilled, but
his consideration had annoyed Naomi to the point of distraction. 
And the various temporary liaisons since then had lacked the
caring and emotional intensity that made this so rare.  With Q,
she had passion and caring and intensity all wrapped up in one
attractive, seductive package, and if he didn't know that, she
didn't have any idea how to convince him it was true.  But that
didn't mean she couldn't try.

She reached a hand up to cup his cheek, reassuring him with her
touch.  "You're wonderful, the best."

"Don't try to spare my feelings," Q said irritably, pulling away
from her, and lying down next to her, too spent to actually get up
and walk away from her, even though he wanted to.  He hated it
when Naomi was kind to him; he would have preferred an insult
to a comforting lie.

She turned on her side, looking at him.  His eyes were closed,
and his breathing still uneven and ragged.  He looked tired, and
just a little unhappy.

Tugging a blanket from the foot of the bed, she pulled it over
them, then snuggled close to him.  "I wouldn't have said it at all
if I wanted to spare your feelings.  I would never have even
brought it up.  I said it because I meant it."

Q let her get close to him, too exhausted to resist.  She filled an
empty spot with her presence, and he hardly noticed the warmth
of the blanket next to her welcome heat.  "More lies.  How
wonderful.  I am just the object of your charity today, aren't I?"

Naomi gave up on the issue, wrapping her arm across his chest. 
"Absolutely.  I enjoy donating my time and body to you.  You
make such good use out of both."

Q considered making a reply, but it was too much trouble.  He
was tired, completely relaxed and warm, and there was absolutely
nothing wrong anywhere in his little universe.  With a small sigh,
he gave himself over to sleep, Naomi following him soon after,
just lying down at all with her eyes closed being sufficient to put
her to sleep.

****

It was hours later before either of them woke up.

Naomi was the first to wake.  Although she was far more tired
than Q, and needed the sleep, could have slept for a full twelve
hours if permitted, her subconscious had been well trained over
the past month.  She couldn't stay asleep for more than a few
hours before feeling that something was wrong, before listening
for the inevitable cry.

She stirred, yawning heavily and sitting up reluctantly. 
Something was missing, nagging at her, and although she couldn't
remember what it was, she knew she wasn't supposed to be
asleep right now, couldn't sleep any longer without going to look
for whatever it was.  Somewhere back in her mind, she knew
what it was, but she was too tired to focus, running on automatic.

The movement awakened Q, who opened his eyes, an irritable
expression on his face.  "Are you going to feed that thing?  She's
going to start howling any minute."

"She has been awfully quiet, hasn't she?" Naomi said, Q's words
waking her out of her stupor and jarring her to an awareness of
what exactly was missing.  She stood up, beginning to feel a little
worried.  She didn't want anything to happen to Ariadne, and as
much as she wished her daughter would just shut up sometimes,
she'd rather hear something than nothing at all.

Quickly pulling her tunic over her head, Naomi padded into the
other room, leaving Q to pull the blanket back over his chest and
roll into the warm spot left by Naomi's absence.  She didn't
know now why they'd left Ari out there.  Ariadne usually spent
the night in Q's room, with the both of them, and while it wasn't
night, they couldn't really keep much of an eye on her while she
was somewhere else.

Anxiously, Naomi looked toward the noiseless baby, and only
then saw Sanaharrar, lying next to the crib, purring loudly
enough that Naomi should have heard her from across the room.

Naomi came to stand next to them, looking at Sanaharrar, feeling
her heart racing.  She'd begun to get worried about Ariadne --
leaving her out here hadn't been the brightest of actions on her
part -- and seeing Sanaharrar there was a great relief.

"Is she all right?"

Sanaharrar had what passed for a long-suffering look on her face,
and Naomi realized that Ariadne was chewing on the tip of her
tail.  "Arri is well."

Naomi distracted Ari from Sanaharrar's tail and picked her up. 
Almost immediately, Ariadne began to cry.  Naomi checked her
diaper.  She was wet, and apparently had been for a while. 
Naomi moved over to change the baby.  And, if she'd been
asleep as long as she thought she had, then Ari was probably
hungry as well.

Which didn't make any sense.  Ari should have been crying, and
crying loudly, long before this.  Unless...

"Were you keeping her from crying?" Naomi asked Sanaharrar,
even as she deftly got Ariadne changed.

Sanaharrar had moved along with Naomi, and was sitting there
next to the table.  Naomi could have sworn that the look on her
face was a guilty one.  "She wanted to crry.  And you werre
distrracted..."

"Yes, we were," Naomi said, putting a period to that sentence. 
She felt very bad for having neglected Ari like this, for having
been so caught up in first making love and then in sleep to have
left Ariadne out here like this.  That Sanaharrar had somehow
temporarily managed to take care of the problem and keep
Ariadne happy when she should have been miserable was no
excuse.  Ariadne was her responsibility, and only her
responsibility.  Unfortunately.

Their little interlude, what had just passed between Q and herself
in the bedroom, had changed nothing, solved nothing.  She was
still entirely responsible for Ariadne, still had no idea how or
what she was going to do to take care of her without losing her
own mind nd sanity in the process.  Having Q's support would
have been helpful, but it wasn't likely that she was ever going to
get that.

She was stuck, and she didn't know what to do.  With a weary
sigh, she picked Ari up and held her.  The baby was making
happy little noises, and involuntarily, Naomi's mouth pursed into
a small smile.  She was so cute, even though Naomi was too tired
to care, more tired now than she had been before Q had managed
to successfully seduce her into bed with him.

Naomi moved back to the couch and sat down, hardly aware of
her eyes closing.  She was so tired.  She didn't care where she
was, didn't care about much of anything.  Ariadne would have no
qualms about signalling if she wanted anything, and Naomi just
needed to rest.  Just for a little while.

Sanaharrar took up position on Naomi's other side, watching to
make sure Ariadne didn't fall, as Naomi fell sound asleep again,
despite all her recriminations, all her promises to herself to do
better.

****

When Q woke up that morning, Naomi wasn't there.  That was
somewhat surprising.  She almost never got up before him; she
was considerably lazier than he was, and addicted to such sensual
pleasures of the flesh as sleeping.  He had no such weakness.  Or
tried not to anyway.  And even with her getting up in the middle
of the night to take care of that thing she insisted on keeping, she
was always back in bed by now.  Something seemed wrong.

Without any particular haste, Q got dressed, reflecting as he did
on what to do about the current situation.  He couldn't go back to
work until Naomi was well, and he was bored with the little he
had to do right now.  Seeing a few people from time to time and
correcting their homework via computer just wasn't enough to
keep him from being bored.  He needed to get back to the real
thing, where he could torment people to his heart's content. 
However, Q wasn't sure he'd call Naomi's current state of being
"well".  But he had to do something.  Being here, alone with her
and that *thing*, was driving him slowly mad.  It had been three
weeks now, and it just seemed to cry more and more and demand
more and more of Naomi's attention.  He would have felt left out
if Naomi hadn't had the annoying habit of shoving the child at
him at every opportunity.  He couldn't quite bring himself to
actually drop the baby, which unfortunately had seemed to give
Naomi the idea that he liked being imposed on that way.

He couldn't stand it.  He had to get out of there.

But he couldn't just go back to work.  Not without Naomi.  He'd
lose too much face in front of dear Eleanor if he did.  Q had said
he wouldn't be back without Naomi, and anything else would be
an open admission of how he could be forced to do what Starfleet
wanted him to do.

The possibility that he couldn't face the scientists without Naomi
there didn't occur to him, except in the deepest corners of his
mind.  He had a better reason, or at least, a more acceptable one,
to believe, and his well-trained ego banished the other possibility
somewhere far out of sight.

Q looked at himself in the mirror, studying his appearance
critically.  Although he wasn't leaving the room, and theoretically
no one would see him but Naomi, they'd been having a surprising
number of visitors of late, and he wanted to look his best.

He strolled out of his room, and into the common room,
expecting to see Naomi feeding that constantly hungry child.  It
was entirely possible that it had started crying again, and she'd
actually been considerate enough to get up and do something
about it without having to disturb his rest first.  Unlikely, but
possibly.  However, Naomi wasn't there.

A bit alarmed, Q looked around.  And there she was, slumped
down into the couch.  She was sitting propped up against the
couch, fast asleep.  Ariadne was leaned against her, held loosely
in Naomi's arms, and squirming.

Q came over to them.  Naomi appeared to be entirely exhausted,
as though she'd fallen asleep right there without enough strength
or energy to even try to get up and come back to bed.

Ariadne, on the other hand, looked up at him hopefully as he
approached them, with an expression Q was already beginning to
distrust.  Naomi had tried to tell him that babies that young were
incapable of plotting anything, but Q knew better.  He had a
distinct feeling that the child recognized him, was aware that he
didn't like her and enjoyed tormenting him all the more because
of that.

He knelt down next to them, intending to wake Naomi up, but
was quickly distracted.

Naomi woke slowly, and reluctantly.  She didn't want to wake up
at all, but her responsibilities were nagging at her, and coloring
her dreams with endless assembly lines of babies needing to be
changed and fed.  Even her subconscious was aware that Ari
would shortly be crying and starting through the seemingly
unending cycle of changing and feeding and fussing.  The heavy
weight on her chest only reinforced that.

She knew was still dreaming, though, not yet awake.  Because
she could swear she heard Q talking to Ari.

"If you're going to live here, we're going to have to get a few
things straight," Q said in a firm voice.

Ariadne gurgled back at him.

"Stop that.  You can't influence my judgment with emotional
trickery.  I know your evil ways, and you can't fool me with
cuteness.  Now, you're going have to stop waking up in the
middle of the night.  I find that very disturbing.  And this crying
has got to go.  You don't see either of *us* crying, do you?"

Ariadne gurgled again, and then Naomi realized it wasn't a
dream.  She opened her eyes to see Q's face hovering over them,
a fond expression around his lips, quickly banished as he saw her
waking up.

"What was that all about?" Naomi asked drowsily, not moving,
still more asleep than not.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Q said, straightening
up, his tone stiff and sardonic.  "Perhaps now that you're awake,
you can do something about her.  From the smell, I'd say she
needs to be changed."

He'd moved away before she could react.  Naomi didn't think Ari
needed to be changed; she would have been crying if that were
the case.  Fed perhaps, but not changed.

Slowly, Naomi moved to get up, shoving aside how much she
didn't want to do this.  She couldn't let Q see that, even though it
was harder every day to hide it.  But she had to.  He already took
every opportunity he could to tease her mercilessly about Ari and
the mistake she'd made in having a child at all; admitting that he
was right and that she really didn't want to do this anymore
would only make matters worse.

Besides, there was nothing she could do, even if she made that
admission.  She was committed now.  She really should have
listened to her mother.

Q watched Naomi moving haltingly from the couch, but didn't
comment.  Instead, he went to the replicator and ordered
breakfast.  It was an enormous concession on his part; he hated
using the replicator at all after what had happened with the
poisoned food and D'oritt, but he couldn't let himself be afraid of
it.  The annoying part was that Naomi didn't notice or
acknowledge the sacrifice he was making for her.

Naomi didn't come to the table, not even after she'd gotten
Ariadne changed and dry.  She sat on the edge of the couch,
staring at nothing in particular and bouncing Ariadne up and
down.  A heavy wave of depression was holding her down, the
feelings too strong to fight.  It seemed like everything in her life
was wrong, and yet it had been her own choice.  There was no
one she could blame the current situation on but herself, and that
alone made it unbearable.  There was nothing she could do, and
no one she could turn to.  It had all been her own choice, and it
was her responsibility to deal with it.  Somehow.  She focused on
Ariadne, watching her with detached eyes.  There was nothing
wrong with the baby; Naomi loved her very much.  She just
couldn't take any more of this.  Her tiredness only reinforced the
hopelessness she felt, because she couldn't think of anything else
she could do but sit here and despair.  But that was the problem. 
If she had time and energy to think, there wouldn't be a problem
at all.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Q asked irritably, feeling peeved at
having his grand gesture go unnoticed.

She looked up at him.  Going over to the table suddenly seemed
like far too much trouble.  "I'm not hungry."

He arched an eyebrow.  "You must be ill."

"I'm fine!" Naomi said defensively, feeling under attack.  She
couldn't take this, couldn't take it at all.  Tears started rolling
down her face, and she couldn't stop them.  "I'm just fine. 
Just... just leave me alone."

He looked at her for a long moment.  He didn't see the tears, her
face being hidden from him.  But he didn't need to.  Naomi was
slowly falling apart, and her lack of appetite was just one of the
signs.  Q didn't see any reason why he should put up with this
silliness and melodrama any longer.  There was such a thing as
making a statement, but Naomi had taken it too far.

"You can't do this anymore," Q said firmly.

Naomi glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye, and
choked off a sob to reply.  "What?  More helpful advice about
drowning and smothering?  No, thank you."  She couldn't take
much more of this, and it wasn't just Q's teasing that was
affecting her.  He did it all the time, and if she hadn't been so
tired, she would have been able to cope with it.

But she was, and she couldn't.  Tears continued to leak from her
eyes, and Naomi ducked her head, trying to hide her face.  She
didn't want to open herself to renewed charges of inability to
handle a baby and excessive emotionality, especially when they
were correct.

Ignoring the food, Q continued grandly with his pronouncements,
"Dear Elly will just have to do something about this.  I can't
have my chief assistant moping around all the time and not
eating, can I?  I'll never get anything done.  No, someone else
will have to take care of that wailing monstrosity."

"How thoughtful of you," Naomi choked out.  Chief assistant was
such a flattering description of what she was to him, and black
hatred flashed across her mind.  She was so tired, and she just
couldn't stand it anymore.  She wanted to lash out at him, but
couldn't quite find the strength to do so, all of her frustration
rebounding on herself, making her cry harder.

"Isn't it though?" Q replied almost automatically, then looked
over to make sure she was properly appreciating his generosity.

With a shock, he realized the ridiculous woman was actually
crying.  The way she was bending over like that, the slight
shaking of her shoulders, and the silent tears she was trying to
hide from him were all immistakable, impossible to hide now that
he knew what he was looking for.  Q knew his gesture had been
generous, but it wasn't that generous.  This was in reaction to
something else, although he didn't know what.  

And Q couldn't stand it when she cried.  He knew what depth of
pain it took to reduce him to tears, and there was no reason to
believe that Naomi was any different.  It wrenched at his heart to
see her like that, and without realizing he was doing it, he went
to her.

"Stop that at once," Q said, leaning over her, not quite knowing
what to do to fix it.  His tone was irritable, but his eyes were
worried.  "It's bad enough with just one of you crying."

Naomi looked up at him, face red and blotchy.  He was right in
front of her now, looming over her, and she couldn't help but
want to be comforted even if he wasn't being very comforting. 
She rested her head against his chest, and Q responded
automatically, coming down next to her and closing his arms
around her.

She nestled deeper into his arms, holding Ariadne protectively
between them, crying harder and audibly now that he was there.

Q looked down at her, exasperated and a little panicked.  He
hated this, hated it horribly when she cried.

A tiny face screwed up, getting red, and Q looked down at what
he could see of the baby, alarmed.  "Oh, no.  Don't you start,
too."

Ariadne looked up at him, eyes wide, as if briefly considering the
matter, and rejecting his offer as unacceptable, then started
bawling.

"Good Lord, will it never end?" Q muttered, not letting go of
Naomi.  He was definitely going to have to get some earplugs.

****

When Naomi finally stopped crying, after an endless, heart-
wrenching time, she still didn't let go of Q.  He was all the
stability in the world and after a few weeks of feeling like the
floor was falling out from under her, she wanted this moment to
last as long as she could.  Because there was no guarantee on
when this would ever happen again, or even if it ever would.

Sniffling slightly, she looked up at Q.  Her eyes were still quite
red, and she was unconsciously bouncing Ariadne up and down to
keep her quiet.  "Thank you."

He looked down at her, still feeling irritable, but tender all at
once.  Naomi depended on him so greatly at times, and while Q
was absolutely sure he'd fail at that, he did very much like to be
needed.  The role of beneficent, all-knowing protector was one of
his favorites, and it satisfied something deep within him to be
able to assume it now.  Q didn't say anything to her, just held her
close, stroking her back soothingly.  He didn't know what to say,
and he would have been tremendously embarrassed if she had
called him on what he was doing.

Finally, Naomi pulled away from him.  She didn't really want to,
but she had to maintain some control.  She was already in enough
pieces without making it any worse by pretending she had
emotional support from Q.

"Thank you," she repeated in a quiet voice, mopping at her face
with one hand.  "I needed that."

He stayed close to her, an unconsciously open expression on his
face.  "Don't depend on me to help you.  I still don't want
anything to do with that thing."

Naomi glanced down at Ariadne, then back up at Q, a wry smile
forming on her lips.  "Yeah, well, I'm afraid we're a package
deal now.  Two for the price of one and all that."

"One for the price of two," Q muttered under his breath.  He
took a seat next to Naomi, crossing his booted ankles moodily. 
"Tell me, when you said you would obey me when we first met,
and pretending to pledge me your fealty, did you know then that
you were lying, or did it only occur to you later?"

"Are you impugning my truthfulness?" Naomi asked, looking up
at him.  He wasn't *quite* close enough to lean against, but she
solved that by scooting closer and resting against him.

Q accepted her with bad grace, harrumphing slightly under his
breath.  "That was the general idea, yes."

"Well, then, anything I tell you could be a lie.  Not much good
asking me if I were lying if I actually was, you know."  She felt
more at ease trading these sort of comments with Q.  And the
arm which had gone around her waist spoke volumes about how
he really felt.

Q studied her with a gloomy air.  "I think that's what I love most
about dealing with humans.  Their capacity for bringing up
inconsequential and immaterial points at every opportunity."

"We try."

****

From Q's point of view, the conversation had resolved one issue. 
Naomi was completely incapable of taking care of Ariadne on her
own.  It didn't occur to Q to help; it wasn't his responsibility,
and he wasn't ever going to let it become his responsibility. 
Naomi had made this choice on her own, and she was going to
have to deal with it.  On the other hand, it wasn't too much of a
stretch for him to take the steps she should have thought of for
herself a long time before this and get something else to take care
of the child for her.  Naomi couldn't handle it, and it was rather
charitable of him to think of her at all, in his opinion.  On the
other hand, the annoying creature was affecting his life too, and
for that reason alone, he was justified in taking steps to prevent
further incursion.

Q didn't bother contacting the commodore personally.  That
would make this sound too much like a personal request, which
of course it wasn't.  Elly wasn't doing a favor for him, she was
responding to a demand.  There *was* a difference.

He left a carefully worded message for her, outlining what he
wanted.  Q took a certain smug satisfaction in knowing she
couldn't refuse.  There were advantages to his new contract with
Starfleet, and one of them was being an honored guest and
subcontractor rather than some sort of battered possession of
theirs that they felt they could do anything with.

****

It was two days later before Anderson managed to make anything
happen, and in that time, no one had bothered to inform Naomi
of what was going on.  Anderson was assuming this was as much
Naomi's idea as Q's, and Q would have said, if asked, that only
an idiot wouldn't have realized from his prior conversation with
Naomi that acquiring decent childcare was the appropriate next
step to take.

Q had fled for an early lunch with Harry, leaving Naomi alone. 
She knew she ought to be angry with him, feeling deserted and
left to take care of Ariadne, but instead she was rather grateful. 
Having both Ariadne and Q around was sometimes very much
like having two children, and it was nice of Harry to babysit Q
for a while.

The door chimed, and Naomi called, "Come in."  She really
ought not to.  Things were not nearly clean enough to meet Q's
demanding standards for perfection, not that babies or children
were ever capable of doing so.  It was only going to get worse,
judging by Benjy and Ginny, but she wasn't about to tell him
that.  Any visitors would be less than impressed with the current
state of their quarters.

On the other hand, almost all of their unscheduled visitors had
been friends and acquaintances wanting to see the baby, so most
people were prepared for whatever they found.

She didn't recognize the person who entered.  Almost
immediately, Naomi looked for Sanaharrar.  Just because no one
had tried to kill her or Q in the past two or three months was no
reason to assume it wasn't going to happen again.  Naomi had
already been abducted by a stranger once; she didn't see any
reason to want to go through that again.  But it was a trifle
paranoid to presume everyone she didn't know was going to hurt
her.  However, it still would have comforted her to see
Sanaharrar.

"Excuse me?" Naomi asked politely, trying to cover up the
nervous reaction.  "Who are you?"

The woman looked confused.  "You weren't expecting me?  My
name is Fiona Mehler."

"And?" Naomi asked, somewhat warily.  "What branch of the
sciences do you specialize in?"

The woman looked even mo