Wake up, it's time to go.
- Hi, honey. - lt's almost seven. Time to get ready.
- Time to get ready for what? - The picnic.
- What picnic? ls that today? - Yes, don't you remember?
- We better get going then. - l'm going to wear my blue jumper.
Good idea, sweetie.
l can't believe how much she's grown since l saw her last.
- Look who's talking. - What?
- What have you been eating? - The usual.
l'm back and you're going to start eating right.
- Can't it wait till after the picnic? - No.
- Mummy, can you help me put this on? - Of course, sweetie.
- Where's the sunscreen? - l've packed it.
This is where we're going, Yoshi. See?
Last time we went to Golana you were in Mummy's tummy.
Better get down to the airlock. The shuttle leaves in 20 minutes.
- Can we bring Chester? - That wouldn't be a good idea.
- He might get lost. - On second thought...
- All right, let's go. - Come on, Lupi.
No sausages?
- l know what l'll be when l grow up. - You do?
- l'm going to be an exobologist. - An exobologist? What's that?
Someone who studies animals from other planets.
Like Chester.
lf you send us away, can we take Chester?
- l'm not going to send you away again. - You're not?
No. l only did it because it wasn't safe for you on the station.
- l know. - We're never going to be apart again.
l promise.
- Want to see me do cartwheels? - You bet!
- Wow! - Good one!
And what about you? What do you say?
l couldn't have said it better myself.
Real sunshine, fresh air, you and the kids.
Life doesn't get any better than this.
- You made Molly a big promise. - l meant it.
What if the war heats up and the station isn't safe?
l'll put in for a transfer. l don't want us to be apart again.
Molly?
Molly!
Molly!
Molly.
- Molly! - Molly?
- Daddy, help! - Molly!
- Daddy, help! - Molly, l'm coming!
- Daddy! - Hold on, Molly. Hold on.
- Daddy's coming. - Daddy, help!
Take my hand. Come on, just take my hand.
Keiko.
Have you figured out what this thing is yet?
lt's some sort of time portal.
From the chroniton signature.
We think it sent Molly back about 300 years into the past.
l wonder what this place was like three centuries ago.
Odo contacted the Bajoran Archaeological lnstitute
to see what he could find out.
How do we get Molly back?
First we have to find a way to reactivate the portal.
lt's been abandoned a long time and was destabilised when Molly fell.
The problem is we're not sure how this technology works.
The Chief isn't going to stop until he figures it out.
Something tells me you're right.
Assuming you get this back on-line, what then?
Punch a scanning beam through the portal
and lock it on to Molly's DNA signature.
- And pull her back into the present. - That's the idea.
Oh, bollocks!
lt's all right, sweetie. lt's all right.
Take him to the Defiant. lt may be too cold for him.
- l'm not going anywhere. - l'll take him.
- Come on. - lt's going to be all right, Yoshi.
- lt's going to be all right. - You're OK, sweetie.
Give me a hand here.
OK.
- Yes, l know. - You're very good with him.
He knows me. l had him inside of me for five months.
Oh, l know.
l think l might want to have one of my own someday.
According to the archaeologists l talked to
the portal was built by a civilization that vanished 2,000 years ago.
Which means if Molly survived the fall, she would have found herself alone.
You're saying that the planet was uninhabited 300 years ago?
Bajoran colonists didn't arrive till the turn of the century.
An eight-year-old girl stranded alone on a deserted planet. Poor Molly.
With luck, the Chief will beam her out a few minutes after she fell.
She'll hardly know she was gone.
Miles, l'm getting scared. You've been at it all day.
Just tell me you're getting closer.
l think l've found a way to modulate the field generators.
lf it works, Molly will be home in a few hours.
She's been looking forward to coming here
ever since l told her we were coming back to the station.
Where's our baby?
Dear, come on. Come on. We're going to get her back.
Everything's going to be all right.
- Dax to O'Brien. - Go ahead.
The power converter is ready to go on-line.
- What does that mean? - lt means Molly is coming home.
Come on.
- Transporter interface link. - Synchronised.
- DNA acquisition sensors. - Locked in.
We're as ready as we're ever going to be, Chief.
OK, let's do it.
- The field is destabilising. - We're losing power.
- Temporal field established. - We've got a DNA lock. lt's her.
Molly?
There's no need to be afraid.
There's no doubt. The DNA sequences match.
This is definitely Molly. My readings suggest that she's 18-years-old.
- We pulled her out ten years too late. - lt's a miracle you got her back at all.
lf you tried again you could pull her out when she was still a little girl.
Do that and there'll be no one to grow up and become this Molly.
- You'll be erasing her existence. - But we'd have our Molly back.
Miles, this is our Molly.
Missing the last ten years of her life
doesn't give us the right to take those ten years from her.
She's been deprived of human contact. lt won't be easy to reassimilate.
Her language skills are rusty. You are the best hope of helping her.
She doesn't remember us.
She was so scared, l doubt she even looked at us.
Maybe she blocked out her early memories to cope with isolation.
So what do we do?
l'm going to keep her sedated until we get back to DS9.
l've asked Captain Sisko to create a safe environment for her.
A cargo bay will be converted. l want you to be there when she wakes up.
- What happens then? - A case like this, there are no rules.
We'll just have to feel our way through the process.
Hi! We have a little visitor.
Come here.
What is this infant doing in my home?
l offered to watch him so the O'Briens could spend some time with Molly.
You said you were working tonight.
l was going to run a scan of the comet that's passing through.
- But if l did that, who'd watch you? - Me.
That's all right. l want to stay with him.
Jadzia, you have waited for this comet for weeks.
- There'll be other comets. - Go. l will take care of Yoshi.
Worf, that's very sweet but you're not good with babies.
l raised Alexander.
He was four-years-old when he moved in with you.
You didn't have to change diapers. Babies are a handful.
- l should know, l've had nine. - Five as a mother, four as a father.
- l can handle a 14-month-old child. - l didn't say you can't.
Fine. Go run your sensor scans.
- You're holding him wrong. - Leave us.
All right, all right. l'm leaving.
Hello, Molly.
lt's all right, Molly.
We're not going to hurt you.
Would you like to eat? l bet you're hungry.
Golana melon.
lt's delicious.
lt's for you.
lt's good, isn't it?
Hi, Molly.
Remember me? Mummy.
- What is she doing? - She's trying to figure out who we are.
Maybe she remembers looking up at us when she was little.
Ma...
That's right. Mummy and Daddy.
Ma...
Show it to her.
l brought you something.
lt's Lupi.
She slept next to you, on your pillow, every night. She's missed you.
Go on, take her.
You remember Lupi, don't you?
- This is a ball, Molly. - May l have the ball?
Would you like the ball, Molly?
Molly, give me the ball.
- Julian said it would take a while. - l hope it's soon, we're running out.
This is a ball, Molly.
Would you like the ball?
l'll give you the ball, then you give me the ball, huh?
Give me the ball, Molly.
Molly, give me the ball.
Please?
- Yes, that's it! - Good girl!
Good girl! That's it. That's my girl. That's my Molly.
- ls he all right? - He is fine. He just will not go to sleep.
- You changed him? - l changed him.
- You fed him? - l fed him.
- You read him a story? - l read him a story.
- You sung to him? - Till my throat was raw.
Sounds like you tried everything. l'll take over from here.
- That is not necessary. - You're exhausted. Get some sleep.
No. l am a Klingon warrior and a Starfleet officer.
l have piloted starships through Dominion minefields
and battled against Kelvans twice my size.
l won the heart of the magnificent Jadzia Dax.
lf l can do these things, l can make this child go to sleep.
Talk about losing perspective. Listen to yourself.
Why is this baby-sitting thing so important?
lt is not important to me.
- lt is important to you. - What are you talking about?
You are judging me on my fitness to be a parent.
Don't deny it, Jadzia. l can see it in your eyes.
l have proven myself to be a worthy husband,
but you are not convinced l would be a good parent to your children.
Who said anything about having children?
Go to sleep. l have work to do.
Sorry l'm late.
Hi.
- She went to sleep two hours ago. - How does she keep from falling?
You got me.
Dax will look after Yoshi until your shift's over.
Good.
l've fallen behind in my repair schedule the last couple of days.
Miles.
You want the brush, Molly? You can have it.
The more l look at her the more l can see the little girl she used to be.
- Has she spoken yet? - No.
But she understands what we're saying.
- Has she responded to her name? - Absolutely. Look at this.
- lnteresting. - She drew it. Not bad?
She's anthropomorphized the landscape.
She loves to draw. Did l tell you she began eating with a spoon?
At this rate she'll be reading and writing in weeks.
Don't push her too hard.
lf frustrated, she might withdraw and relapse into old behaviour patterns.
l'm not going to push her.
l don't have to. She's doing fine on her own.
- "Gung-gung-gung." - "Gung-gung-gung?"
l was instructing your son in "hheh-DUHPP."
"Hheh-DUHPP?"
lt's a Klingon exercise, teaching children hand-eye coordination,
so they will become warriors.
l get it. The rattle is like the baby's first "bat'leth" kind of thing?
- How did he do? - He acquitted himself well.
Thanks for watching him.
Worf, you might want to leave the rattle
just in case Yoshi wants to practice his "hheh-DUHPPing."
- Molly, come on. Molly, please. - What's going on?
She's been like this for over an hour.
- l'll try to calm her down. - l have to go.
l have to pick up Yoshi and take him home.
Home!
- Did you hear that? - Home.
- Molly, what are you trying to say? - Home.
- Home! - Home. Molly.
- That's right, Molly. - Molly, home.
You want us to take you home with us?
- Daddy, home, Molly. - We'll take you home.
Mummy and Daddy will take you home.
Home, Molly. This is home.
- Starry stars. - They're pretty, aren't they?
- Home? - That's right.
Would you like to see your room?
- Molly. - Home!
- Home. - No, this is your home.
Miles...
l know. You lived there a long time, but this is home too.
- Molly home. - l know, sweetie.
We can't go there right now.
Maybe we can.
Look, Miles. She's so happy.
- She has no idea it's a holosuite. - lt must be confusing to her.
One minute, she's on a space station, the next, she's running round outside.
There's no reason we can't take her here every day.
l'll talk to Quark about scheduling some regular time.
Mummy, Mummy. Daddy.
That's my girl!
- l'll be right back. - OK.
Look at this.
Sorry to interrupt, Chief, but your time is up.
These gentlemen have a reservation.
l'll pay for their time if they can wait another half hour.
They seem to have their heart set on some afternoon carnage...now.
All right. Give me a minute.
Let me buy you gentlemen a drink.
- Oh, pretty Molly! - Molly, honey, we've got to go.
Molly.
Computer, end program.
- We'll come back tomorrow. - Home!
We have to go, honey.
- lt's OK. - l know, sweetie.
We'll come back another day, l promise.
l'm sorry, little lady.
Molly!
- Molly! - On stun.
- Molly? - Odo to Dr Bashir.
We have a medical emergency in Quark's.
The Tarkalean she attacked is recovering.
Dr Bashir tells me he should be on his feet soon.
He's filed charges: assault with a deadly weapon.
She wasn't trying to hurt him, just trying to get away.
l told him, but he wasn't interested in hearing excuses.
As far as he's concerned she's dangerous and should be incarcerated.
lncarcerated?
l've talked to the Federation magistrate.
She wants Molly taken to a care centre on Dalvos Prime for evaluation.
They're going to keep her there, aren't they?
We might be looking at a long-term situation, yes.
But it's the best facility of its kind.
Molly belongs with Keiko and me.
lf she makes a connection, it will be with us,
not some therapist she doesn't even know.
l'm sorry, Chief. l wish there was another way.
Captain, please. Don't let them take her away.
Her body is flooded with adrenaline.
Being confined might send her into shock.
We have to find a way to calm her down.
Molly.
Molly.
- Daddy. - Molly, don't!
No!
- Miles! - Turn it off, damn it!
- What are we going to do? - lt won't do to keep sedating her.
She needs open spaces.
- She'll get that at a care centre? - We'll put her back in the holosuite.
But what happens when they put her on a transport?
What a day! l can't wait to get out of my uniform.
Where's Kirayoshi? Worf, what's wrong?
- Kirayoshi took a little fall. - ls he all right?
Just a small bump on the forehead.
- A little sleep, he'll be as right as rain. - Thanks.
l've got to get back to the lnfirmary.
You want to tell me what happened?
We were playing. l was pretending to be a grint hound and chased him.
He was laughing and did not look to see where he was going.
- He fell against the table. - lt was an accident.
- lt could have happened to anyone. - l was too rough.
l was careless. You were right to question my fitness as a father.
Worf, l never questioned your fitness as a father.
l failed Alexander, l failed Kirayoshi,
and l would have failed our children as well.
- Where are you going? - l shouldn't be here when he wakes up.
- Worf! - l am sorry l failed to prove myself.
We can't let them take her away.
We don't have any choice. We just have to hope Molly can adjust.
How can you say that? How can you just give up?
- You're planning something. - What?
Miles, l've known you a long time.
You are planning something and you want to keep me out of it.
- The less you know, the better. - Why?
- There's going to be consequences. - We'll face them together.
- Listen to me. - Don't argue.
l am as stubborn as you. What are we going to do?
We'll steal a runabout and take Molly back to Golana.
That's the first place they'll look for her. They'll find her.
Unless...we send her back through the portal into the past.
Yeah.
Once she's through, we can destroy it. That way, no one will ever find her.
- But we'll never see her again. - l wish there was some other way.
Golana's been her home for ten years. She knows how to survive there.
She'll be all right.
How is she?
Dr Bashir said she'd be unconscious for a few more hours.
- We'll transfer her to a holosuite. - There are no holosuites available.
Odo said we should move her back to the cargo bay.
- He didn't mention it to me. - Check the log.
- Did you get everything? - lt's all in here.
Chief.
Jones to security. l've found them.
They were trying to steal a runabout.
Find out if Deputy Pinar has regained consciousness. l'll need his statement.
Odo, please let us go.
lf you put her back in a holding cell she'll die.
l'm disappointed in you, Chief.
lf anyone could break a prisoner out of a holding cell
and get them off the station, l'd have thought it would be you.
On your way.
Thank you. Thank you.
Go.
- There's a knife and a blanket... - Lupi.
Yes, that's right, sweetie.
Everything's ready to go.
l've recalibrated the temporal field generator.
We should be able to put her back at the same time that we took her out.
Molly, honey. Can l show you something?
You're going home now, Molly. Home is right through there.
Home?
Mummy loves you, sweetie.
l love you too.
Go on, honey. Home.
Stars.
- Your home. - That's right.
When you look up at the stars, that's where we'll be, watching you.
Go on, honey.
Molly loves you.
lt's OK.
- Molly? - l want my mummy and daddy.
There.
Mommy, Daddy there.
Molly home.
- Molly? - Mummy.
Look at you! Are you OK?
Hi. You can come in, he's gone.
l dropped him off at the O'Briens'.
You should have seen his face when he saw his sister again.
- Did you apologise to them for me? - Yes, they said not to worry.
lt isn't the first time he's bumped his head.
They invited us to dinner tonight to thank us for watching him.
What did you tell them?
l told them we had a holosuite reservation and that l'd check with you.
By the way what does ''gung-gung-gung'' mean?
- Why do you ask? - lt was the strangest thing.
l took Yoshi home, and he kept shaking his rattle saying, ''gung-gung-gung''.
- He did? - He seemed to get a big kick out of it.
- So what does it mean? - That is between Yoshi and me.
l see.
Well...
you made a big impression on him.
Maybe you're not as bad with children as you thought.
- Or as you thought. - All right. Maybe l had my doubts.
But l've never been happier to be proven wrong.
We'd better go if we're going to make that holosuite reservation.
- And insult the O'Briens? - We wouldn't want to do that.
- He really said, ''gung-gung-gung''? - Over and over again.
The Captain has volunteered to represent me at the hearing.
lf anyone can make Starfleet understand, it's him.
- Mummy? - Yes, sweetie?
The girl who found me, can l see her again?
- Not for a while, honey. - She was so nice.
According to Dax, the recalibration didn't hold,
so the portal sent her back to the same point in time that sent Molly.
l wonder if she realised that the little girl was herself?
l hope so. l hope she realised that in a way she was going home too.
Look.
lt's where we had the picnic.
- Don't you like it? - lt's beautiful.
Sweetie, it's lovely. Just lovely.

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