Chapter Text
It was Hamaras, the festival of lights on Bajor.
And it had just been Rebecca Sarah Sisko-Yate’s twelfth birthday.
As the family of the Emissary, they attended the festival in his absence since he was still walking with the Prophets. Or as Mom grumbled under her breath, “kidnapped by some wormhole aliens, more like it.”
While Mom had always been weary of all the worship directed towards them, she didn’t seem to hate it when they spent time on Bajor. Especially for big events like this, when their schedules lined up. Sure, the stares were intense, but Becca was used to it. After all, she grew up as one of the Emissary's children.
Grandpa Joe wasn’t up for traveling this year. He’d kissed her forehead and handed her a box of pralines to take with her for the trip. Her own secret stash to tuck away into her backpack. Of course, Jake still found them and took two even though he got his own.
But it was nice to spend time with Mom and Jake on the long ride to Bajor. Becca didn’t get a chance to see Jake often since he was working at a news service halfway across the quadrant. And she was really excited to see Aunties Kira and Dax, especially because this year was extra special. Becca was going to get to add another chain to her d’jah phah.
She was twelve years old and closer to being considered an adult, at least on Bajor. The rite of adding a chain was proof of that. Too bad Mom hadn’t gotten the message about that.They still treated her like a little kid who didn’t know a dang thing.
Though Dad had been from Earth, Becca always felt connected to Bajor too. It was like a tether, a connection to Dad. Almost like she could feel him. She had only heard him in holovids. But on Bajor sometimes it was like she could practically hear his laugh, the sound warm and joyous and right beside her. It was hard to live without him, but she had to keep faith that it wasn't forever.
But this trip to Bajor seemed different. Becca got a strange feeling. It happened the minute they had stepped off the shuttle transport. She shrugged it off and assumed she'd eaten too much sugar, but it didn't stop.
On the first night of the festival, it came back at a bad time. Becca was smiling out into the crowd when her vision got blurry on the edges. She took a deep breath, her hand faltering mid-wave from her seat on the parade float. It was just a headache, but it made even the flickering of candlelight painful. Eventually, it faded as they neared the end of the route.
Tons of kids giggled as they ran by their parade float, chasing after them with their sparklers. Auntie Kira always got a bit misty-eyed about that and reached over to squeeze Becca’s shoulder. She never talked too much about what happened during the occupation, but Becca had read up on it. The reminder of the horrors and the dull ache in her skull made Becca tear up too.
Then on the fourth night of their trip, it returned, thrumming through her constantly. It was close to dread, but that wasn’t right. Dread was like the time Mom found out she got a 42% in Calculus. No, this was something different. Excitement, maybe?
Becca chose to be an adult and ignore it. No reason for a weird, spooky ass feeling to get in the way of their vacation. After they set up a spot on the beach, Mom waved her away. Apparently, getting caught up with the Aunties meant laughing about some stuff she wasn’t “grown enough” to listen to or whatever.
So Becca played catch with Jake. She wanted to try out the new glove Uncle Julian sent her for her birthday anyway. The leather was stiff, but it was really nice. Cardassian vole leather, or something? Thinking of animal skin freaked her out so she chose to ignore that fact, but his husband’s stitching was real nice. It would be a great glove once she broke it in.
In the far distance, a few pops went off of fireworks. They were further out from Ashalla, but the sky was still full of lanterns and so far out in the horizon. It was so beautiful, and Becca was glad Dad had bought these forty acres. The beach out back of the small house he’d started planning and Mom completed was their home away from home. It was like Becca had another piece of him here.
As Becca chucked the ball hard toward Jake, she gasped. A sharp pain raced up her spine. What the heck was that? The ball Jake had returned landed forgotten in the sand by her feet.
“Becca, the ball!” Jake called, pointing down. Her vision swam and she hunched forward. Her big brother ran toward her. Jake was talking, but she couldn't make out the words. But she felt him rubbing her back.
Eventually, she looked up and her heart stopped. Becca couldn’t help but gasp. All the air seemed to have been sucked out of the quadrant as her eyes focused on a point in the far distance.
Because right by the shore stood Dad.
Becca didn’t know what to do or what to say. Was she losing it? No. This was Bajor. This was the Prophets, it had to be. Jake turned around, but he couldn’t see what she saw. He yelled out to Mom, but it wasn't necessary because Mom and the Aunties were already running over.
“Baby, you okay, what is it?” Asked Mom, once she’d hurried through the sand. The question was muffled as if she was underwater, their voices far away. She couldn’t focus on the words anyway.
The man in the distance wasn’t a hologram or something, it was him. It had to be. She knew it to her bones. All their questions and concerns grew silent. Even the noise of the ocean and the whistling wind disappeared.
Before she knew it, her feet were pounding against the sand, the grit against her calves hurt. It didn't matter. She had to reach Dad.
Breathless. She came to stand in front of her dad for the first time. The sweat dripping down her forehead, the way her heart pounded didn’t matter. He was back. He was here.
Dad was taller than she imagined. The holovids didn't do him justice. But he wasn’t fully there yet. Becca didn’t know how to explain it, but he was translucent even in his uniform. Like a ghost from a movie. Strangely, he was also dripping wet. Saltwater pebbled off his dark brown skin and fell into nothingness. His brown eyes were unfocused toward the night.
She tentatively raised her hand and waved it in front of his face, and his eyes snapped to her face. He blinked rapidly.
“You can see me?” He asked, but his mouth didn’t move. Becca nodded and then she heard his little laugh of disbelief. Again, his mouth was still a firm line. But she heard it.
His hands were shaking as he tried to touch her face. At first, his touch passed through her, but Becca wasn’t ready to give up. Not ever.
Becca stretched out her arms as wide as she could and wrapped them around her Dad. She expected to fall through and land right on her face, but instead, he was suddenly solid. Whole.
Becca’s face pressed against the fabric of his old, red uniform. The material was soft and warm.
Behind her, she heard the cries of surprise. “Ben? Ben!” Mom's voice rang out louder than everyone else's screams in the distance. She could now hear the running of her family toward them. Becca looked back at them and then turned to look up at her dad.
Tears streamed down Dad’s face. Ones of joy because he started to laugh. His smile was beautiful, his mouth wide. He was here . His laugh was borderline hysterical, but it made Becca start to giggle. The sounds shook through her to the bone.
He smelled of good cooking and pralines. He smelled like the salt of Bajor. Becca leaned back to look into his face through her tears.
"Hey, Dad. I missed you," she said, her voice cracking.
“Oh baby, I missed you too,” replied Benjamin Sisko, his voice a warm timbre. The Emissary, the captain of Deep Space Nine—her father pulled her into the tightest hug.
A hug she’d always dreamed of.