Kira felt decidedly out of place in her dress uniform. Still, as a representative of Deep Space Nine, she had had to look the part at the official function she had been summoned to. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she scanned the room to see who had shown up. All she seemed able to focus on was the decorations festooning the room, not the people who were talking too loudly, drinking too much, and being all too joyful. Kicking out at a ridiculously stuffed reindeer, she let out a soft gasp when it wobbled more than she had expected, and Kira reached out to steady the figure before anyone could witness her gaffe.

"I would want to kick them, too." A warm, honeyed, voice spoke close to her ear, and Kira stood at attention suddenly, whirling around to face a beautiful redhead. The closeness of her caused her to take an unsteady step backwards, and Kira found herself tripping over that damned reindeer and landing on her ass with a hard thud. The redhead laughed a little as she reached down and helped Kira to her feet. "You must be Major Kira. Worf has told me a lot about you."

Kira cocked her head to one side as she gave the woman a quick up and down. "Then you must be on the Enterprise. Worf didn't open up too much about that time, but seeing as how he fell in love with my best friend, it seems that he had other considerations on his mind."

The grin on the woman's face widened as she tightened her grip on Kira's hand. "I'm Beverly Crusher."

"Kira Nerys," she replied, feeling like she needed to introduce herself, even though Beverly knew her. "I don't really like being at these things."

"Neither do I. Though I think that you came more to see the O'Brien's? Kirayoshi is truly an adorable child."

She blinked rapidly, wondering for the first time just how much this woman knew about her, and she drew her hand back as she turned to regard the crowd once more. "They put up a stocking for me. I only vaguely know the meaning, since I only got to spend one Christmas with them before the War really kicked into high gear, but I know that they were trying to include me in the family."

"Keiko was always one to think like that, to try and include everyone. Did Worf ever tell you the story about Molly's birth?"

She shook her head no, and Beverly nodded a little as she guided Kira over to the refreshment table. Picking up two flutes of champagne, she handed one to Kira before drifting over to a more secluded spot in the room, as if she knew that Kira would follow after her. And as if she had a magnet attached in her, Kira found herself drawn to Beverly, wanting to know what she was going to tell her. "Well? I believe I was promised an interesting story?"

"Well, if you've heard anything about the Enterprise, you know that we got into a number of weird and tense situations. Well, Keiko was heavily pregnant when our ship encountered two quantum filaments. And as chaos reigned over the ship, she went into labor, with only Worf to act as her midwife. I didn't even know Klingons could blush until I had to drag the story of what happened out of him. He actually told Keiko when she was supposed to give birth, as if she could just do that on command!"

Kira laughed at the mental image of Keiko just giving Worf a withering look as she tried to get through labor. "Men. They really have no clue, do they?"

Beverly shook her head, a small giggle escaping her lips as she downed the rest of her drink. "But we still love having them in our lives. Some of the time."

"Yeah, they are good for heavy lifting." She tried not to think of Odo, of Miles, or Jadzia. Of all the missed connections she had, and how she had always ended up alone, in the end. She must have been unable to hide her wistful look, since Beverly reached out and touched her shoulder softly, offering her comfort. "So, why are you keeping a morose Bajoran company at a fine event like this?"

"You looked like I feel."

The frank admission made her pause for a moment and really look into Beverly's eyes. "You aren't someone who should be sad," she whispered before she realized what she was saying. Beverly sighed a little as she stroked her thumb back and forth across Kira's shoulder.

Just as they were about to say something more, a hush fell over all assembled, and she found herself turning to see what had happened. As she looked towards the center of the room, Kira found a man in a tuxedo approach the band, a black folder in his hands. "Oh, great."

"What?" she asked, confusion tinging her voice.

"I completely forgot that there was going to be a caroling part to this function, since it's so close to Christmas. Believe me, you do not want to stick around for this." Beverly slid her hand down Kira's arm and tugged her over towards the door. Casting one last look back at the ballroom floor, she frowned deeply, even as she allowed herself to be led away.

Finally, though, they came to a halt in the gardens, and Kira felt herself relax a little more as she took a seat on the closest bench and let the cool night air wash over her skin. "This is nothing like the station, or even Bajor. There's a serenity that has yet to come back to my planet."

Beverly took a seat next to her, closer than she might have liked, but it was still comfortable for her. There was a momentary feeling of shock when Beverly rested her head on Kira's shoulder. "If you want my opinion, there will come a day when this sort of tranquility will return to Bajor. We won't be alive for that moment, but it will come. You just need to plant the seeds for that future now, from your space station."

Kira nodded a little as she let her hand come to rest on Beverly's knee, unable to help but wonder at why she had taken such a brazen liberty with the woman. But there was just something about this moment that called for liberties. In tandem, their gazes turned to the sky, and Kira started to pick out stars. They were different from the ones she watched from the station, but that didn't seem to matter all that much in the moment.

"There's another Terran tradition that people still follow around this time of year."

"Oh?"

"Kissing beneath the mistletoe. And it seems like the hotel decorated the garden for this express purpose." Kira didn't know if Beverly was teasing or being serious, since she couldn't read her as well as she would like. From the way her heart pounded, she almost felt like it wasn't playacting on Beverly's part, and so she turned her head slowly to face the other woman. "Jean Luc is off in France, tying up loose ends, and I find myself thinking of what could be."

She nodded, understanding that feeling completely. In the space of a breath, then, they were leaning into each other, their lips brushing against each other in the softest of kisses. It was perfect for that moment, and Kira sighed as they pulled apart once more. Beverly's blue eyes seemed to sparkle a little more in the starlight, and a soft breath escaped Kira's lips as she reached up and ran her fingers through Beverly's hair.

"There is a certain magic in the air tonight, isn't there?" she whispered, watching Beverly blush a little as she nodded.

"There is. Dance with me?"

"There's no music out here."

"If you listen hard enough, you can hear the music," was her quick, honest, reply, and Kira nodded as she stood, allowing Beverly to wrap an arm around her waist as they began to move in time to a music that only Beverly seemed to be able to hear. And then, the longer they danced, the more Kira could pick out a faint melody and she relaxed into it. They twirled under the stars, and Kira was grateful that Beverly was a strong leader when it came to dancing, since usually she had two left feet. "You move so well," Beverly murmured, as if she could read Kira's thoughts.

"Only because you're very good at this. Usually, the people I have to dance with are not this graceful." Another warm blush stained Beverly's cheeks, and Kira surmised that she was a romantic at heart, something that made her pleased for a reason she couldn't really put her finger on. Leaning up on her toes, she pressed her lips against Beverly's cheek in another soft kiss, letting the magic of the night seep deep into her bones as they continued to dance beneath the radiant glory of the stars.