"Elim - stop! I'm going to be late for work," Julian pleaded vainly as he toweled himself off, attempting to extract his various appendages from Garak’s determined grasp.

"Work?" Garak responded in amusement, as he finally managed to capture his intended target with his hands.

"Ohh…yes…" Julian gasped both in pleasure and in response.

"Ah - that’s a bit over-enthusiastic about work, even for you, isn’t it dear? Besides, you don't have to go to work today," Garak reminded him, bending low and licking his lips in anticipation of his next planned action.

"That's…ohhh… that's right…" Julian moaned, pushing himself a bit closer to Garak.

"We're on our honeymoon, remember?" he said, and claimed his prize.

"Ohhh…. ohh… that feels good… don't stop," Julian begged.

"I don’t intend to stop," Garak replied wickedly and took Julian fully into his mouth.

"So… where…uhhh…where are we… ahhh… going?" Julian asked as he struggled to retain his composure and act as if they were simply having a relaxing conversation.

"I think at the moment we're going back to bed," Garak teased, pausing only briefly in his ministrations.

"Bed? Wouldn't you ohh… rather be… ahh… on Risa?" Julian asked, trying to take advantage of the situation.

Garak drew his head back for a moment and responded, "Laying on the beach in the obscenely bright scalding sun with no privacy? I think not." Garak went back to his task.

"Standing on the beach, ohhh… beads of sweat glistening on my firm golden chest. Ahhh… I approach you…mmmm… ask you to rub lotion on my back… uhhh… but you don't stop there…Ahhh… your hand slowly slides into my swim trunks and- ohhhhh don't stop… don't stop Eliiiiiiiim!"

"Fine… we'll go to Risa."

******

"You realize we need to have the entire shuttle sterilized now?" Julian asked as he stepped out of the shuttlecraft onto the landing pad.

"You didn't seem to mind what we were doing at the time," Garak responded with a sly grin.

"Well no… but-"

"Are you implying that you regret our… activities?" Garak asked.

"No! Of course not," Julian replied.

"You are so… appealing when you blush dear," Garak said taking Julian into his arms.

"Mmm, thanks," Julian responded, snuggling up close to Garak. "I never knew it would be so nice - holding you like this."

"I knew… I knew a long time ago," Garak said tenderly.

"I was such a blind fool… I never realized," Julian admitted.

"Well, you do now. We both do now."

"Yes… that's what matters."

******

"Are you two gentlemen checking in?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes," Julian answered.

"For a week," Garak added.

"Do you have reservations?"

"No," Julian answered again.

"I'm sure we can fit you in. Would you like adjoining rooms?"

"Just one room - with a nice large bed. Really Julian, does everything embarrass you?"

"Not everything…"

"Just everything related to me."

"It's not that it's you… never think that."

"I don't - not really," Garak said with a smile.

"You're just playing games with me then?"

"Must you think of that in such a negative light?"

"I don't - not really," Julian stated with a grin that equaled Garak's.

"This is going to be quite an adventure."

"Yes, it certainly is."

 

******

 

The blinds moved slightly in the breeze, making it seem as if the sun was flickering off and on as it tried to slink into their suite, stealing a very satisfied Julian from his slumber. He looked over at his peacefully sleeping husband and paused for reflection, taking in all that had happened recently. He felt a little shame for how blind he had been in the past, so blind he had nearly lost the man he never knew he loved until it was almost too late. Julian quickly shut out that line of thought though, not wanting to sacrifice the present and future worrying about what could have been.

He got out of bed to put the finishing touches of his plan into place, hoping Garak would not awaken. Julian grinned as he thought about all the things he had in store for the first day of their honeymoon, glad that the Risans had been so eager to help him out.

******

 

Garak awoke and lingered before opening his eyes, wanting to prolong the contented, sleepy feeling that he had awakened with. He took a deep breath and indulged in a luxurious stretch, then rolled over to give his love a good morning kiss and -

"Julian!" Garak sat bolt upright and was standing next to the bed only moments after opening his eyes. Seconds later he realized that Julian must have awakened before him and was getting cleaned up. He silently crept toward the bathroom to surprise him in the shower, but as he grew closer he heard no telltale sound of running water, or of Julian’s incessant singing while he bathed…

As he entered the bathroom the agent in him kicked in and he examined the room closely for clues. The air was slightly warmer than in the rest of the suite and a bit more humid, the shower stall had water droplets on the walls, and some used towels were in the recycler to be laundered.

‘Julian likes his showers nice and hot, so he’s been gone awhile already’, Garak analyzed. If he had only been gone a short time, the air would still have been steamy and the mirror would have been fogged up; Julian never remembered to turn the refresher switch on.

Garak exited the bathroom and activated the computer console at the desk in the main part of their suite to see if there was any note from Julian as to his whereabouts. Finding nothing, Garak sighed in exasperation at being left in the dark and was resigned to do the only thing he could do - await Julian’s return.

After a few moments in indulging his desire to mentally berate Julian for being so inconsiderate he noticed a small black strap barely sticking out from under the bed.

‘That’s odd’, reflected Garak as he pulled the satchel from under the bed and examined it. ‘I don’t recall either of us bringing anything like this with us…’ Garak carefully opened the bag, as if a vole would jump out at him at any second. Breathing a mental sigh of relief when none did he peered inside and took inventory of the contents. A tricorder, a datapadd, and some emergency food rations.

Garak gingerly picked up the datapadd as if he were taking a charmed snake out of its basket; he was afraid it would explode upon use. He activated it and he relaxed as an image of his beloved appeared on the viewer saying, "Close your eyes, count to 10, and yell ‘Ready or Not Here I Come!"

Garak stared in bewilderment for a few moments as the screen went black before reacting. "What an infuriating man he is!" Garak fumed, tossing the padd aside, and then chided himself for speaking out loud. ‘He must know I’d find it impossible to be upset with him when he’s so enthusiastic about whatever he’s up to. There’s no mistaking that mischievous glint in his eyes.’ Garak picked up the padd again but was unable to get the message to repeat.

Just as he was about to toss it aside again Julian reappeared on the screen saying "Come on Elim, do hurry up and find me…"

Garak shook his head. ‘What an adolescent game’ he thought, but he couldn’t help but grin in anticipation of their play and of his reward when he eventually found his quarry.

******

Julian glowed with happiness and excitement as he made his way to various places on Risa leaving both obvious and not-so-obvious hints about his next location. He felt good, better than he had in a long time. He and Garak were both safe and could share their lives together within the protection of the Federation. He could finally let his guard down and truly enjoy himself again. As long as he had Elim Garak nothing else mattered.

******

Garak exited their suite after preparing himself for the hunt and headed down to the lobby keeping his eyes out for clues. As he stepped into the turbolift that led to the ground floor the viewer activated again and Julian said, "And remember…you can’t tell anyone you’re looking for me. That wouldn’t be any fun now would it? And while we’re at it, no asking the computer to locate me either." The screen faded to black again and Garak had to forcefully suppress a grin. ‘Does he really think he can outwit me? Genetically enhanced or no, he simply cannot expect to elude me for long,’ Garak mused as he tucked the padd away and exited the turbolift.

******

Julian headed toward his final destination, unaware that a figure trailed not too far behind. It observed him as if the universe itself hung in the balance with his every move.

******

Garak boarded the runabout to search for clues. He hadn’t expected Julian to use it as transportation, that would make things too easy, but he’d had to be sure…and besides, it was an obvious place to search. Julian might have left some clue to his actual location here.

Garak was just finishing up a rudimentary search of the crew quarters when suddenly he felt the craft go into motion! Julian must have preprogrammed a flight path, Garak reasoned, and headed towards the front again to see if he could figure out what the destination was.

Just as Garak began activating the control console, he heard an odd buzzing sound coming from the floor…

******

Julian glanced up at the sky, and smiled as he saw a familiar shuttle approaching, when suddenly the Risian sky was lit with a giant fireball that erupted where his beloved and the shuttlecraft had been.

Before Julian could react, the hidden figure pressed a button on a control-padd in his hand and both men disappeared, leaving only a transporter trace behind.

******

"Doctor Bashir! It’s always a pleasure to see you," Sloan said. "I wish that it could have been under more pleasant circumstances, but it was about time someone got rid of that spy before he got us all killed, or worse...enslaved."

"Garak is not a spy anymore, Sloan, even YOU should know that!" Julian screamed, seething with rage that he had never felt so powerfully before. He lunged towards Sloan, hands out and ready to clench his throat, eyes ignited with fury, only to slam into a force field and drop to the floor unconscious.

******

Garak stared in shocked disbelief at the sight of the shuttlecraft exploding before his eyes only moments after he had managed to transport out of it. Luckily he had decided not to take any chances with a sound coming from an area of the ship that shouldn’t be making any noises. He was sure the bomb had been deliberately rigged to buzz, giving him just enough time to exit the craft. Who would do a thing like that, though? Surely not Dukat! Dukat would certainly want him dead, knowing that if he captured Garak alive again the Dominion would only force him to turn him over to the Federation once more.

But who else could it be? Nearly everyone has at least a few enemies, but his Julian? Then a disturbing thought occurred to the tailor, one that crept unwillingly down into his bones and filled him with dark fear and depression. Could Julian himself have done it?

******

Julian’s inert form lay prone on the floor where it had landed. Silence dominated the otherwise empty room.

******

‘There is no way he would have done something like that just for the sake of the game!’ Garak assured himself. ‘He wouldn’t risk my very life for such ridiculous reasons even if he were confident in my ability to escape in time. He just is incapable that, not to mention the fact that destroying a Federation Shuttlecraft would not be on his top list of fun things to do.’

 

Like the bomb that blew up their ship, the seed of doubt had been planted, and Garak was determined to defuse this bomb BEFORE it exploded.

******

Julian crawled out of the heap his body had become because of his collapse. His face and hands stung where they had struck the force field, he was stiff, his muscles ached, and he had an overpowering headache. ‘I must have been unconscious for some time,’ Julian surmised. Then realization dawned on him as the shock that veiled his brain lost its grip - Garak, HIS Garak, was-

A single tear slid down his face before the doctor could manage to shut his sorrow out. He could not crumble and fall! He would avenge the death of his love, as Garak would have done for him in his place. Now was not the time for mourning and self-pity. He had to escape! ‘The first duty of every officer is to attempt escape when captured. Plot, plan, analyze, DON’T let yourself feel Julian,’ he ordered himself.

As he attempted to stand, Julian stumbled around trying to maintain his balance. Evidently the force field had some kind of neuroshock built into it.

He looked at his surroundings. Before, he could see Sloan outside the force field, but now it was so dark that it was as if nothing existed beyond the platform stood on. And that’s all there was, the platform, barely large enough for him to lay down on, completely surrounded by the neuroshock force field.

Before he was captured he’d had a medical tricorder (a good doctor never went anywhere without one) and a few other things on his person, but they had all been taken from him. He didn’t even have a COMM badge since he was on vacation and was wearing civilian clothing.

All he could do was wait for Sloan to deactivate the force field.

******

Garak pulled the datapadd out of his tunic; immeasurably thankful he hadn’t set it down somewhere in the shuttle while he was searching for clues. He would have to try and hack into the programming to hear all of Julian’s messages at once, rather than waiting for their time intervals to elapse or until he happened to do the right thing to trigger the next message. He just couldn’t wait that long.

There was always more to a situation than you could see on the surface. He just had to figure out what was going on, who was involved, and what role each person played.

‘Enough analysis…to work then,’ Garak decided, finalizing his thoughts.

******

Julian had just managed to drift off to sleep again when he heard a door opening and then closing again. He didn’t hear any footsteps nor did he hear any voices. He hated feeling so helpless, trapped behind a force field that he couldn’t even see beyond, let alone attempt to break out from. He fought down the urge to call out. He did not want to seem as if he were pleading with Sloan or whining to him. And what was it that Sloan wanted of him? In his past experiences with Sloan, he had always been manipulated into acting in a certain way for Sloan’s benefit because his moral and ethical beliefs wouldn’t allow him to act otherwise. Sloan knew that Julian was in a position to get certain things done that he couldn’t.

This situation here was totally different however. He has me trapped here and isn’t even talking to me let alone getting me to participate in some scheme of his. And he kil - Julian abruptly cut off his line of thought. Unable to continue, he squeezed his eyes shut tight as if that could help him to shut out his feelings. It didn’t work. No longer unable to hold himself back, his tears fell freely down his face for his beloved tailor.

"Doctor," Sloan whispered almost inaudibly. "Doctor, I had to do it you understand. He was a threat to Federation Security to say nothing of how severely he had you brainwashed."

"Brainwashed! He did NOT brainwash me! Do you think people incapable of changing? Of redeeming themselves?" Julian fumed.

"People like Garak and I cannot be redeemed, Doctor. We would do anything, ANYTHING, for the safety of our home, our people. The lives of the innocent must be safeguarded, even if that means saving them from themselves."

‘We?’ Julian pondered. "Is that what all this was about then? You’re trying to save me from myself? Well, believe me, Sloan you’re the last one who could ever hope to give moral guidance to anyone!"

"Exactly doctor, and your tailor is exactly the same."

"Is?" Julian asked hesitantly.

Sloan’s face twitched as he realized his slip, "Is…was…it doesn’t matter. The end result is the same. He can never hurt you again, doctor, I have made sure of that," Sloan said with finality.

"Garak and I have a home," Julian said brightening up slightly, grasping onto a shred of hope that Garak might still be alive, even though Sloan meant for him to think Garak had died. "Do you have a home- a wife and children? Would you sacrifice them for the Federation? Garak’s true ‘home’ is with me, his chosen mate for life."

"What makes you think he’d stay with you doctor? One day he’ll be able to return to his people. Do you really think he would deny his entire race to be with you? Or even worse, would he harm you, if it meant he could return to Cardassia?"

Julian hesitated a moment, unsure of the answers, and then something occurred to him. "If you can ask that then you KNOW he isn’t a spy! If he WERE a spy, then he wouldn’t have to do something like that to get back to his people! What IS this all about, Sloan? And where’s Garak? Why do you want me to think you killed him?"

"You never have been able to figure out what’s really going on until it’s all over Doctor. There is always more going on than what’s on the surface."

******

Garak arrived at the first location shortly after retrieving the clues Julian had programmed into the datapadd. He’d left a fairly obvious trail for him to follow, and Garak was tempted to just skip ahead and go to the last location first but he knew he couldn’t do that. He had no idea how far through his plan Julian had managed to get when the shuttle had exploded. Whoever was after them would have done something to him right then if they had indeed intended to do anything at all, one would suspect, so that meant each location had to be inspected thoroughly.

He could seek help from the Risans or from the Federation but Julian had asked him specifically not to seek help in their little game and there always remained the possibility, no matter how unthinkable, that Julian himself was responsible for the shuttle’s demise. A dark sick feeling settled in the bottom of Garak’s stomach at that thought and he redirected his focus to his searching.

He walked casually around the cafeteria-style restaurant that Julian’s first clue had led him to, carefully observing everything within sight and earshot and before long a hostess had seated him at a table in a central location. From here he could still see most everything that was going on.

‘Whatever happened, I doubt it occurred here. Likely it would be a more secluded place with fewer witnesses,’ Garak decided. ‘It just wasn’t busy enough for someone to easily slip unseen in and out; no there were much better locations that this.

‘Down to other matters,’ Garak decided. The first clue had led him here in search of a bottle of fine wine, so when a maitre d’ brought him a complimentary glass of the house wine, he informed him that he was here to pick up a bottle of wine for his husband.

"Would that be Doctor Bashir?" the man asked. He ran off to retrieve the bottle when Garak nodded his assent.

Half expecting the bottle to explode, Garak placed it gently into his satchel and headed out of the restaurant, leaving the complimentary glass of wine untouched.

******

 

Hearing something that could almost be the words of his Elim in this situation shocked Julian.

‘Why did Sloan think that Sloan and Garak were so similar?’ Maybe Garak used to have some things in common with him, but the things in his present defined who he was just as much as the things in his past. In the past Garak would have been capable of many atrocities against others, himself included. But now? No. He just couldn’t entertain the possibility that Garak would ever hurt him like that. ‘The fact that Garak is even capable of loving me shows just how much he’s changed. If he were still the same person he was back when he was in the order, he wouldn’t possibly allow himself to feel so strongly toward me, let alone show it. That wouldn’t mean he didn’t have any feelings at all of course but - ’

Then it occurred to him that if Garak and Sloan had a few things in common, maybe they also had one major thing in common as well… "Why is it always me you chose for these little games of yours anyway? Surely there are others who would be willing participants in all of this."

"I’ve explained this all before, Doctor."

"Oh yes…my high moral code…I think it’s something more than that though. There have got to be any number of people in the Federation who have as good or better morals than I."

"The fewer people I expose myself to, the safer certain things remain."

"As you yourself said, there is always more going on than what’s on the surface. You have many things in common with Garak, including your feelings for me!"

Sloan’s face registered brief shock that he quickly masked, "That’s preposterous Doctor! Such things would be nothing but a burden to my goals."

"Nevertheless, it is true. We don’t choose the ones we love. Believe me, if we did that, the last person Garak would have chosen to love would have been a high moral’d jabbering Star Fleet doctor. But unlike you, he has never tried to hurt, manipulate, or use me."

"If you believe that then you are even more naïve than I thought you were doctor. And even if that were so, that’s a risk we cannot take. Garak must die."

"Then he IS alive still! You can’t kill him and you know it! Garak is the one inside source to Cardassia that we have. He’s too valuable to the Federation, you claim to be trying so hard to protect. What would you sacrifice to save the Federation, Sloan? Because Garak will find you. He will hunt you down no matter how long it takes and you know he will. That is, unless you let me go. If you do that then I can convince him to not go after you.

"He could never find me. You never could."

"He’d watch, he’d wait, he’d strike the moment he could. You yourself said you are like him. It’s what you’d do. Let me go, it’s the only way."

Without another word Sloan exited the room, leaving Julian alone with his thoughts again.

 

******

The man piloting the transport ship that would take him to the second location gave Garak a friendly smile as he boarded- an action that made Garak immediately suspicious under the circumstances. "On second thought, I think I’ll walk there," he explained as he started to exit the craft. "It’s such a brilliant day," he exclaimed almost convincingly.

"I think not," Sloan responded pulling out a phaser.

Garak immediately lunged for him, making sure to knock the phaser out of his hand and pinning him down to the floor of the craft.

Sloan looked up into Garak’s face in amazement at just how quickly the Cardassian had been able to maneuver. Apparently, he hadn’t drunk the glass of wine…how unfortunate…

"Mr. Garak, your actions are futile. At the press of a single button I can be gone and you will never find your precious doctor," Sloan said in a superior tone of voice.

"I only have one button to push as well Terran," Garak said in fury and cracked Sloan in the nose with his skull.

The moment Sloan was unconscious all that remained was a transporter trace. Garak flew to the control console in a futile attempt to track Sloan.

He was gone. And what’s more, any clues to his Julian’s location had just transported out with the only living thing he hated more than Dukat. One did not just assume such matters were true though, Garak reminded himself as he started a thorough search of the flight cabin.

As he was looking under a control console he noticed a brief flicker in the power. He was sure he had seen something beneath the surface. How was that possible? Unless - holo-emitters?

"Computer, end program" Garak commanded. Surprisingly, the simplest solution was the one that actually worked for once. The emitters all shut down their programs revealing the control console of the Federation shuttlecraft he and Julian had arrived on.

"Of course!" Garak exclaimed adding all the pieces up. ‘What better place to hide someone you kidnap than on the very ship they came on! Simply rig some holo-emitters to project an explosion and transport it out of there.’ Garak flew to the rear of the ship to the crew quarters where he was very delighted to find his suspicions proven correct.

The lights were dimmed, and a force field was being generated by a platform. That, he assumed, was where Julian was being held captive.

"Julian?" he called out gingerly, almost afraid of what response he’d get. When he got no response of any kind Garak retrieved a tricorder from his tunic and started scanning the device hoping to find a hidden control pad of some sort. Finding none he looked around for other possible power sources.

Having no luck there either, Garak realized Sloan must have taken the control pad needed to shut it off. He’d have to cut off the power source. It was most likely tapped into the ship’s systems in some way.

"Computer, shut down all systems including life support." Garak commanded. They were on the ground, no need for such things. The already dim room went pitch black and Garak had to retrieve a flashlight from a pocket of his tunic. He activated the tricorder again and confirmed that the force field had been deactivated with the rest of the ship’s systems.

After assessing the damages to his love, Garak gathered Julian in his arms and cradled him to his chest tenderly and protectively.

******

 

"What I don’t understand is, why he made it so easy to rescue you. If he’s as skilled as you’ve said then it was done intentionally," Garak surmised.

 

"I’m not sure if even Sloan knew the real reason he kidnapped me. Not at first at least, so maybe he was just in shock...denial…wanted to end things so he could clear his head." Julian explained to Garak as he tossed a rock into the water and watched how many times it skipped.

Garak listened silently and placed his hand on top of Julian’s.

"He had convinced himself that I was a threat to the Federation since we had gotten married. When he reasoned it out though he realized you weren’t a spy- you couldn’t be and also risk so much to help the Federation and the resistance. He also knew he couldn’t really kill you because of those very things- they make you an invaluable asset to the Federation. What he didn’t realize, though, is that his actions were driven by a desire for me that he didn’t even know was there."

"What made you realize that, my dear?" Garak asked gently.

‘Because he’s just like you would be if you made the wrong choices and went too far,’ Julian answered Garak in his mind. He would never say anything so hurtful though, especially to his Garak… "I- well, he felt that you and he were the same type of person, only on opposite sides of the fence. I figured if he felt that way he also might have the same feelings you do for me."

Garak could tell that Julian wasn’t quite speaking the truth, that there was more to what he was saying. Not an unexpected thing if it were anyone else, but Julian usually shared his feelings easily. Once he realized he had them, Garak added. There was more to all this business with Sloan and him being one and the same, would be his best guess, especially with what Julian had just said…

"My dear Julian," Garak said pulling his husband close to him. "His feelings could never be the same as mine."

"Why is that?" Julian asked, confused.

"Because- I - love you," Garak said simply and swept Julian into his arms and gave him a crushing kiss.

Julian returned Garak’s embrace, relaxing in his husband’s arms after realizing that Sloan and Garak were nothing at all alike. Sloan could never be capable of having or sharing such depth of feelings for another like his Garak.

~The End~

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