| Date & Time: | Day 01, 1334 |
| Location: | Infirmary |
| Written By: | Lieutenant Choyi Zaimu Ph.D. Lieutenant JG Hayashi Elle MD Todd Bennett Riley Bennett |
| Post Date: | 03/01/2026 |
| Episode: | Ep. 2 – On Shaky Ground |
Riley found herself looking at the floor the entire time she was following behind her twin brother. She wondered if the man that her grandparents insisted was her father actually was her father. The thoughts were swirling around in her brain like rodents on a wheel. The ten-year-old child stared at the back of her brother’s head for a moment as they moved through the corridor.
The woman who was leading them toward the promenade and the infirmary was a woman who’d identified herself as a counselor. Riley couldn’t remember the name of the counselor in that moment, but the woman was a Bajoran and she seemed nice enough. Riley was nervous, very nervous, and her thoughts wouldn’t slow down long enough for her to make sense of them.
Todd reached out and took his twin sister by the hand. This station was so strange to him, and he could tell his sister was struggling with that as well. He barely remembered a time when it was the two of them without their grandparents and yet here they were. He heard the sounds of the promenade as they grew louder until finally they’d made it across the crossover bridge into the central core of the station.
It was only a few short steps from there and they’d be in the infirmary, when she saw the small space Todd swallowed, “It’ll be okay Riles,” He insisted.
Riley looked over at her brother as they continued to follow behind the counselor, “But, what if they say he’s not our Dad?” She asked softly and knew her brother didn’t have an answer to the question. Riley didn’t necessarily want it to turn out any specific way. She was afraid that this man named Rhys would reject them.
Zaimu could tell both children were nervous, but she tried her best to be as gentle with them as she could possibly be. “This won’t take long and we’ll have the answers that everyone wants to have.” She reassured the two ten-year-old’s. “Just let me do the talking…?” She hesitated as she thought about their names, “Todd, Riley.”
Zaimu then looked at Doctor Hayashi, “All right, as promised I’ve brought them.” She said, “I can wait outside.”
“No,” Riley said suddenly, “Please stay with us Counselor… I mean… Zaimu,” The name suddenly dawned on her. The woman had told them her first name and not her surname. Riley saw the Bajoran woman hesitate. “Please.” She whispered the last part.
“All right,” Zaimu answered.
“You can stay in the infirmary that’s fine,” Doctor Hayashi answered, “My name’s Elle,” She told both children and led them toward one of the biobeds. “You can both sit up on this, and I’ll begin the tests. Since you’re twins I only need one of you.”
Todd looked at his sister and swallowed, “I’ll…” His voice suddenly stopped when he felt the elbow of his sister digging into his ribs.
“Let me,” Riley answered and she stuck her arm out so that the doctor had access to it. “I’ll be brave for this part,” The ten-year-old insisted as she looked at her twin brother. She then looked at the Japanese woman who seemed just as warm and gentle as everyone else had been so far. The child felt a surge of anxiety washing over her as she waited.
Elle grabbed the hypo off the nearby table and drew the blood sample from the girl before turning around. “Okay this shouldn’t take too long,” She answered. Elle could have probably ran the DNA sequencing tests through the computer without the DNA of the children, but she didn’t want to risk bad information.
Zaimu watched as she stood behind the two children and she placed her hands on either one of their shoulders. “I’m confident that everything will work out perfectly fine,” She told the two of them.
“B-but what if it turns out he’s not our Dad?” Riley asked the Counselor, “A-are we going to go back to Earth with Grandpa and Grandma?” The ten-year-old asked nervously, “They’re getting so old and Grandma nearly fell the other day trying to help me get out of the shower.”
Todd looked at his sister and placed his hand over hers before he squeezed it tightly. “It’ll be okay Riles,” He said trying to reassure her once more. The suspense was starting to get to him, and it felt like the computer was taking forever to give them an answer. He didn’t quite understand the purpose of this, his grandparents were so certain.
“I don’t think Lieutenant Bennett will let that happen no matter what,” The Counselor told the two children.
Elle listened to the three of them talking as she ran the DNA through the system, it took a moment to gather all the necessary files. Now the computer was working through the process and she was monitoring the progress it was making. Then as she turned to speak to the three of them the computer finally chimed. Elle turned, and got her answer before returning her attention onto the children.
“You might want to get Lieutenant Bennett’s attention,” She told Zaimu.
“Wh-what do you mean Elle?” Todd asked the woman, then he looked over her shoulder and saw the results on the screen. “Riles,” He said and elbowed his twin sister so that she was also looking at the screen.
Riley looked at the screen and read it slowly several times before she asked the question that was burning in her brain. “When it says a ninety five percent on it does that mean he’s not…”
Elle shook her head, “Oh, no that means he is your Dad.” She answered the twins when she realized they misunderstood. “The only time someone is completely one hundred percent is if there is cloning involved. And, that’s not the case at all. He’s your Dad.”
Zaimu took a deep breath and held it for a second before she let it out. The children now had their answer, their grandparents would soon have the same answer as them. “Your Dad was already getting new quarters for you both to live here. Even if that hadn’t been the result I doubt he wouldn’t have at least tried to take care of you.”
Todd felt a surge of warmth building in his gut when he heard what the counselor had just told them. So this man was planning on taking care of them even if he wasn’t their father? Todd didn’t quite know how to feel about that, but it didn’t really matter. This man that he’d never met before in his life was his father.
He looked over at his sister, she was clearly still in some form of shock. “I-I told you everything would be fine Riles,” He finally managed to say to her. Todd didn’t know if that was enough to reassure the girl or not.
Riley looked at her feet for a moment as she tried to process the situation. She still remembered three months earlier when her grandparents had thought they’d found him. It took a little while longer of confirmation before Riley found herself in this moment. “I-I know,” The ten-year-old told her twin brother. But, she still wasn’t believing this was real, they’d found her father. They’d found Todd’s father.
Riley looked at the counselor, “Now what happens?”
Elle was still standing there, “Now I tell your Dad that its confirmed, and I’ll leave you in the care of Counselor Zaimu here,” She said using the Bajoran’s first name.
Zaimu nodded her head slowly in response to the Doctor, “Now I take you both back to the guest quarters where you’re staying with your grandparents. I’ll make sure your father meets you both down there. We can sort the other details later, but I’m sure your grandparents will be happy about the news.” She then led them both back to the guest quarters.
Riley’s mind was still a whirlwind of thoughts, but instead of worrying about whether or not Rhys was her father, she worried about other things. They’d be living on the station, would he let them talk to their grandparents? She didn’t see why they wouldn’t, now if only they knew what happened to her Mom.
Riley hoped this brought her one step closer to having a family that was whole instead of just grandparents who despite loving them, weren’t able to take care of them.