Reversal
by Kathy P

His back hurt.

That's all Marrett could think off as he sat in the Replimat of Deep Space Nine waiting for Larin to arrive for their lunch date.

His stomach was upset too.

Looking through the digital menu that was available at every table, Marrett mentally conjured up the dishes being described, using the level of nausea that was induced as a guide for choosing what to eat.

With a sigh, he placed the menu down on the table. Looked like it was toast, again.

Drumming his fingers, he cast furtive looks around the room, becoming impatient as the minutes went by. Where was Larin? He was supposed to have been here three minutes ago. How dare he be late!

Shaking his head, Marrett controlled the urge to tap his fingers on the table. He added being grumpy to the list of complaints he was compiling. Three minutes hardly constituted being late, he chided himself. But, sitting here, annoyed at probably being the centre of everyone's attention, Marrett fought to remain calm.

"Hi, darling," a breathless voice said behind him.

Marrett suppressed the frown at Larin happy tone as he sat down in the seat across from him. Running a hand through his long black hair, pushing it back from his face, Larin said with a chuckle, "Sorry I'm late. You wouldn't believe the problems' Elim and I have been having getting a freighter to Golana in time for the harvest. The captain thought I had told him he was needed in two weeks, not one and....."

Looking at the younger man, Marrett felt bitter at the easy way in which his husband moved. Larin's hands waved energetically through the air as he continued on describing his morning. A sudden silence brought his attention back to Larin's story.

"Marrett, is something wrong?"

Looking into his husband's concerned eyes, Marrett forced himself to smile. "It's nothing, really."

Larin threw Marrett an assessing look through narrowed eyes. "Your back is still sore, isn't it?"

Marrett looked down at the table, sheepishly. "A little," he admitted.

Sighing, Larin rose up from his chair and moved around the table to Marrett's side. "You know that you have to go to the infirmary if your back is sore," Larin chided.

Looking up, Marrett frowned. "It's not that sore."

"That doesn't matter and you know it, Marrett," Larin said, holding out his hand, waiting for Marrett to take it.

Sighing, Marrett took Larin's hand, allowing the younger man to help him out of the chair. Running his other hand down his protruding belly, Marrett winced as his back complained at the movement.

Moving though the Replimat, Marrett glowered at the people who tossed out greetings and well wishes. If one more person told him that he looked ‘glowing' he was going to punch them. He fumed silently as Larin returned the greeting, a smug tone in his voice.

For the hundredth time, Marrett cursed the younger man. How Larin ever convinced him to carry their next child, he would never know, but Marrett vowed to himself to make Larin's life a living hell until the baby was born.

Grinning to himself, he let Larin lead him to station's infirmary, his broken back straightening with anticipation of the mayhem he could cause.

With a jerk, Marrett's eyes flew open. Disorientate by the darkness, he laid still for a moment wondering where he was. Sleepy murmuring cleared his thoughts, cluing him into his location, along with the warm body that laid in his loose embrace.

With a sigh of relief, Marrett pulled his husband closer to him, spooning up behind the younger man. He shh'd Larin's sleepy question, smiling against the other man's neck as Larin fell immediately back to sleep.

Reaching up, Marrett rested his hands on the slightly protruding stomach of the smaller man. Caressing the swollen belly, Marrett sighed again. Larin was a little more than four months pregnant. It never ceased to amaze him how easily Larin seemed to handle his pregnancies. Marrett knew that there was no way he would ever be able to handle the situation so easily and with such grace. Nothing seemed to affect Larin while he was pregnant. Having been the centre of attention all his life, Larin was used to being watched, so the undivided attention of the inhabitants of Deep Space Nine didn't affect him in the slightest. As for the physical part of the pregnancy, Marrett knew that Larin was experiencing some difficulties this time, but there was nothing major to worry about. Larin's sore back and near constant nausea were just now starting to fade.

As sleep sought to claim him again, Marrett sent out a prayer of thanks to the spirits that watched over his family. He knew he was lucky to be blessed with a mate like Larin. And his children were a constant source of happiness for him. Snuggling up against Larin, Marrett drifted off to sleep, content with his place in the universe.

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