*     *     *     *     *

The evil that men do lives after them
 -Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar”

//I should have known,// Ty Kajada thought.  //Why didn’t I see this coming?//

But it was too late for such thoughts, too late for anything except attempting to escape the monster who pursued her.  A monster wearing the body and face of a good man.

The eyes gave him away.  Ty Kajada knew, the instant he woke her with a hypo, and she looked into his face, that this was not Dr. Julian Bashir.  His hazel eyes, once filled with kindness, now gleamed with malice.

On the surface,  she remained calm, even as her insides curled into knots.  But he saw through her.

“You recognize me,” he said in a voice as cold as his eyes, “how splendid.”

“You won’t get away with this Vaantika,” she said.  However, Ty knew she was too weak too stop him and too slow to escape.

“I’ve heard that before,” he said, watching her drag herself off the biobed and attempt to stand.  “Nobody has stopped me yet, and nobody ever will.  Least of all you.”

“You can’t escape forever, Vaantika, not from justice or from death,” Ty said.  She hid her terror, as her weak legs threatened to give out.

He watched her with undisguised pleasure.  “Oh, but I think I can.  This body will serve me for many years, as I continue my research.”  He urveyed his new hands with satisfaction.  “It’s rather more attractive than my own body, as well.  I might even find time for some fun.”

“I thought you got your fun from murder,” she spat, backing toward a control panel.

“That won’t work,” Vaantika said, a gruesome smile splitting his handsome face.  “I also disabled all the comms.  And Dr. Bashir decided to give his staff the rest of the day off.  Wasn’t that nice of him?”

“Bastard.”  Ty moved further way from him.

He started following her slowly, enjoying the fear in her eyes.

She brushed up against a wall and froze.  With nowhere left to go, she braced herself.

“You don’t know how much I’ve been looking forward to this,” Vaantika purred.  “For twenty years, you’ve pursued me, disrupted my work, attempted to capture me... kill me.”  His voice sunk into a snarl.

“Coward!”  Ty sneered back with all her strength.  “I am not afraid of death, as you are!”

He stood a mere foot away from her now.  “I have no intention of killing you,” he answered.

She moved to the left, but he was fast, so damned fast.  He pinned Ty to the wall.

And yet, only when her strength failed her, only when no other recourse was available, only when she felt her him invade her body, only then did Ty Kajada scream.

**********

Darkness.

Only in darkness did Dr. Julian Bashir feel he belonged.  Away from people.  People he might hurt, as he hurt...

//No,// his mind whimpered, and he clamped down on the images- Ty Kajada, brutalized, cringing away from him; Dax, explaining how Vaantika controlled him, her look one of unwanted sympathy; Sisko, assuring him it was not his fault and no charges would be pressed.

But it was his fault.  He should have fought Vaantika, prevented him from...

Julian buried his face in his fists, shoulders heaving as more wracking sobs seized him.  He cried until his eyes stung and his back ached.

The chime rang, and he ignored it.

It rang again.

“Go away,” Julian choked out.  “Please...”

After a moment of silence, the door slid open.  Elim Garak stood framed in the doorway.  He hesitated a moment before entering.  “Dr. Bashir?”

“Don’t want company,” Julian muttered.

Garak stepped into the room.  “But perhaps you need some.”

Julian turned to look at the Cardassian.  “I don’t want to hear anymore about it not being my fault!  I raped her!  Doesn’t anyone understand that?”

“You had no control over what was going on,” Garak said.

“I should have stopped him!” Julian cried.

“You could not.”

Julian glared at him, but quickly looked away.  “Please Garak, you’re not making this any easier.”

The Cardassian surveyed the slumped form of the Terran standing before him.  When he first decided to visit Bashir tonight, he told himself he came because this was the perfect opportunity to get the doctor under his power.  Bashir was vulnerable, and Garak planned to take advantage of the situation.

But now that he was here, Garak was forced to admit the truth.  He wanted to comfort the beautiful man, not take advantage of him.  Bashir was so young, so innocent... so in need of protection.

He took another step closer to Julian.  “I know how much this has hurt you,” he said quietly, “but you cannot let it defeat you.”

Julian laughed bitterly.  “You didn’t see her cringe away from me.  You didn’t hear her scream when I tried to treat her.”

//Oh my dear Doctor,// Garak thought sadly, //I know exactly how she reacted.//

Bashir continued, “I’m supposed to help people, but I... I...”  Julian struggled to contain another wave of sobs.  “Please Garak,” he managed to say, “leave.  I don’t... I can’t...”

Garak moved until he stood beside Bashir.  He placed a gentle hand on the young man’s shoulder.  Julian stiffened at the touch.

Neither spoke.  Garak remained there, offering comfort with his presence.

Julian fought back tears with grim determination.  He had already made a fool of himself in front of Garak, and he did not want to make it worse by blubbering like a baby.

The longer Garak stood beside him, the harder not crying became.  And finally, Julian hiccuped a sob that became a torrent of tears.

Garak wrapped the slender human in strong arms, cradling Julian’s head against his neck.  The Cardassian felt tears run down his neck and soak his tunic.  He did not mind; it felt good to hold the weeping Terran close.

Eventually, Julian ran out of tears and stood mutely in the tailor’s grasp.

“Are you feeling better?”  Garak asked.

Julian shook his head minutely.

Garak sighed.

“I’m sorry,” Julian said, “but I cannot forgive myself so easily.”

“I understand,” Garak answered.  “However, it is pointless to blame yourself for things that you did not do.”

“But I...”

“No, Julian,” Garak said firmly.

“No?” Julian repeated, surprised as much by the tailor’s use of his first name, as what he said.

“Vaantika used your body, but that does not make it your fault.  He raped you as much as he raped Kajada.”

Julian blinked.  “I don’t think that makes me feel any better,” he said.

“No, I suppose not,” Garak said, “but if you must feel awful about something, at least make it the right thing.  What Vaantika did to Kajada was not your fault.”

Julian smiled slightly.  “You do have a way with words, Garak.”

The Cardassian chuckled.  “Years of practice dealing with difficult clients.”

“Indeed,” Julian said dryly.  “I suppose spies learn how to use words, too.”

“They might indeed,” Garak said brightly, pleased that Julian was perking up.

Julian lifted his head from Garak’s neck and gazed into bright blue eyes.  For a moment, he did not move and then, he leaned forward and gently pressed his mouth to Garak’s.

Too stunned to respond, Garak felt Julian murmur “Thank you” before he pulled his soft lips away.  He felt a terrible sense of loss when Julian left his arms and walked across the room to sit on the couch.  After a moment’s deliberation, he followed.

“Garak,” Julian asked shyly, “would you...  I mean... do you think... we could... um...”

The Cardassian stared at the babbling man with increasingly wide eyes.  “What are you asking, Doctor?”

“Can we meet for dinner tomorrow?” he asked in a rush.

Garak sank down on the couch.  “I would enjoy that very much, my dear Doctor.”

“You have made me feel very much better, you know,” Julian said.  “Maybe tomorrow I can even get back to the Infirmary.”

Garak smiled.  “I’m glad.  The work will do you good, as will seeing your friends.”

Julian returned the smile.  “Yes, and I need to face Ty Kajada again.”

The Cardassian nodded agreement.

“And after all that,” Julian continued, “I may need you to cheer me up all over again at dinner.”

“It will be my pleasure,” Garak said sincerely.

**********

Ty Kajada looked up as Dr. Bashir entered the room.  She fought the urge to tense up.

“Hello Ms. Kajada,” Bashir said formally, “how are you feeling?”

“Ready to leave,” she answered in a voice that shook slightly.

He cringed inwardly at her obvious fear.  “Well, I think you are good to go,” he said, “provided you don’t stress yourself too much.”

“I... I won’t,” Ty said.

“Ms. Kajada... Ty,” Bashir said gently, “I am so sorry about what happened.  I wish there was more I could do.”

She laughed bitterly.  “Why, Doctor?  It wasn’t you who did it, it was Vaantika.  You had nothing to do with it.”

“And yet, seeing me causes you distress.”

Ty nodded.  “And I feel bad about that, too.  I know that my fear hurts you.  I understand that Vaantika used your body in much the same way he used mine.  But everytime I see you, all I can think about is him.  Him in that body, laughing as he took me.  Sneering at my weakness when I screamed.  Your body, your features, your voice... but not you, not you!!”  She began crying quietly.

Unthinkingly, he moved to her side.  She jerked away from him.

“If I could have done anything to stop him, I would have,” Julian said desperately.  “Killing myself would have been better than being a party to what happened.  But I was not aware!!  He robbed me even of that!”

She continued to cry, but moved no farther away from him.

Mimicking the action of Garak, Julian placed his hand on Ty’s shoulder.  “We were both the victims of Vaantika’s evil.  I want us to be friends and thus triumph over the terrible things he did to us.”

“I’m still afraid,” Ty whispered sadly.

“And I still blame myself,” Julian said.  “But so long as we do that, Vaantika wins.  We cannot let that happen.”

“No,” she whispered.  “We can’t.”  She looked up at him.  “You really are a good man, Dr. Bashir.”

“You don’t know how much those words mean to me,” he said softly.

And through her tears, Ty Kajada smiled.

**********

Dax placed the ‘remains’ of Rao Vaantika on the counter in front of Julian and Ty.  The two looked at the lighted container for several moments.

Finally, Kajada asked Sisko if the prisoner was hers again.  And upon answer to the affirmative, she drew her phaser and blasted Rao Vaantika out of existence.  That done, she left the Infirmary without a word of farewell.

“Interesting woman,” Sisko said finally.

“Yes,” Dax said.

Bashir merely smiled in quiet understanding.  “Well, if you will excuse me,” he said to his senior officers, “I have an appointment for dinner.”

“With Garak again?’ Dax asked teasingly.

Julian grinned at her.  “However did you guess?” he asked before leaving the Infirmary himself.

Dax’s stomach tightened.  Was that a stir of jealousy?

“Well,” Sisko muttered, “if all our days go like the last few, we are never going to get any rest.”

Dax nodded.  “And I get the feeling we may be in for many days like these.”

*End*

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