(Jake brings a plate of food to a pair of guests.)
BASHIR: I don't know about you, but I'm starving.
KIRA: Me, too.
JAKE: Here you go. Enjoy.
KIRA: Thanks. This looks delicious.
(Hotplates are on a table and the chef is at work stirring a bowl full of, well, green.)
SISKO: Now, Constable, the secret of a good soufflé is consistency. You have to be careful not to over-whip it.
ODO: I see.
SISKO: I hope I'm not boring you.
ODO: Just because I don't need food, Commander, doesn't mean I'm not interested in its preparation. I'm fascinated by the humanoid preoccupation with eating. May I?
(Sisko gives Odo the bowl and whisk while he turns whatever is sizzling in the pan.)
SISKO: By all means.
(Odo is keeping the whisk still and moving the bowl.)
SISKO: Nice and smooth. That's it, it's all in the wrist.
BASHIR: Where did you learn all this?
SISKO: In my father's restaurant in New Orleans.
KIRA: What are we having? It smells delicious.
JAKE: Blackened redfish with creamed spinach and sautéed beets.
BASHIR: Beets?
SISKO: You don't like beets, Doctor?
BASHIR: Well, they're not exactly a personal favourite of mine.
SISKO: That's because you haven't had them prepared properly.
(Sisko ladles out some baby beetroots.)
SISKO: Beets are a very misunderstood vegetable.
BASHIR: Well, I look forward to understanding it better.
(Doorbell.)
SISKO: Come in.
DAX: Oh, what a day. I just spent the last six hours in one of the upper pylons trying to get the new sensor relay online.
SISKO: Help yourself to something. Dinner'll be ready in a few minutes.
DAX: Great, I've been looking forward to this all day.
BASHIR: I hope you like beets.
DAX: I love'em.
SISKO: Keep at it, Constable. Nice, even strokes.
ODO: Do you find something amusing, Major?
KIRA: I just think you look so cute.
(Dax picks up a sort of electronic keyboard.)
DAX: Who's is this?
JAKE: It's mine.
DAX: I didn't know that you played.
JAKE: I don't. I took lessons for a while but I wasn't very good.
DAX: I know the feeling. None of Dax's hosts, even Jadzia, had any musical ability.
BASHIR: Nobody said life was fair.
DAX: Not even if you've had seven of them.
(Dax plays with the keyboard and eventually comes out with a tune)
DAX: You would think one of us would've been born without a tin ear.
KIRA: Sounds like one of you had some talent, after all.
BASHIR: That's lovely.
DAX: Quiet. (she keeps playing) That's not it.
KIRA: What piece was that?
DAX: I don't know. I don't believe I've ever heard it before.
BASHIR: Maybe you hit on it by accident. You know, beginner's luck.
DAX: But I know it somehow.
KIRA: It's probably something from your childhood. You'll think of it.
JAKE: Dinner is ready.

[Commander's office]

(Sisko and Dax are playing traditional chess, and she's humming her new tune.)
SISKO: Do you mind?
DAX: What?
SISKO: Your humming. It's a little distracting.
DAX: Sorry, I didn't realise I was doing it.
SISKO: You've been humming that same tune since we started the game.
DAX: I guess I just can't get it out of my mind.
SISKO: Do me a favour. Try.
(Sisko makes his move.)
SISKO: Your turn.
(She takes the pawn.)
SISKO: You sure you want to do that?
DAX: Your move.
SISKO: Check.
DAX: Where did that knight come from?
SISKO: Your mind is not on the game.
DAX: Oh, so you decided to made an illegal move to get my attention?
SISKO: Of course not. And it's a legal move. You know, why don't we just call it a day. You obviously have other things on your mind.
DAX: Curzon always suspected you were a cheat.
SISKO: Is this some kind of joke?
DAX: Don't play innocent with me, Benjamin. We both know you're trying to cheat me here, so why don't you just admit it?
(She scatters the pieces and leaves)

[Replimat]

KIRA: Dax?
DAX: Did Sisko send you to apologise for him?
KIRA: No. But he was concerned about what happened. I thought you might like to talk about it.
DAX: There's nothing to talk about.
KIRA: You can't really think he tried to cheat you?
DAX: I knew you'd take his side.
KIRA: I'm not taking anybody's side.
DAX: In that case I think you should leave, Kira.
KIRA: Dax.
DAX: I'm serious. Leave. Fine. I'll go.
KIRA: Wait.
DAX: Get your hands off of me before I do something I'll regret. That's the first smart thing you've done since you walked over here.

[Promenade]

(Dax is walking along when it suddenly goes dark and the tune starts up. The Promenade is empty and a masked figure stands on the upper level. Dax looks around, and the figure is gone. She turns and it is now right in front of her. It removes its mask to reveal another one. Dax turn and the figure is in front of her, revealing yet another mask. Dax backs away into)
QUARK: Something wrong, Lieutenant?
(The Promenade is back to normal.)
DAX: No. No.

[Infirmary]

(Bashir scans Dax then leaves.)
SISKO: How do you feel?
DAX: I feel like an idiot. I'm so sorry about all the horrible things I said to you.
SISKO: Don't worry about it. They're already forgotten. And I used to think Curzon had a temper.
DAX: I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel like I have so much anger inside and I don't know where it's coming from.
SISKO: This masked figure in your
DAX: Hallucinations?
SISKO: Do you have the sense of who it might've been?
DAX: That's what's so strange. He seems familiar somehow but I don't know from where. And the music. Benjamin, I have to find out what that music is.
SISKO: Why don't you input as much as you can remember in the computer. It might be able to find a match in the Federation database.
DAX: I'll do it. Well, as soon as Julian lets me leave here.
BASHIR: Jadzia, have you experienced any hallucinations prior to this?
DAX: Never. And I hope I never do again. It was terrifying.
BASHIR: Have any of Dax's other hosts?
DAX: No. Believe me, I'd remember.
BASHIR: Well, according to your file, the only major trauma the Dax symbiont ever suffered was when Torias Dax was injured in a shuttle accident.
SISKO: Torias. He was Dax's fifth host, wasn't he?
DAX: Yes, right before Curzon.
BASHIR: It says here that Torias remained in a comatose state for just under six months. There must've been a lot of tissue damage. The doctors couldn't keep his isoboramine levels up.
SISKO: Isoboramine?
DAX: It's a neurotransmitter that mediates the synaptic functions between the host and the symbiont.
BASHIR: When the levels dropped to below forty percent of normal they had to remove the symbiont.
DAX: Sometimes the host is sacrificed to save the symbiont. Are you checking my isoboramine levels?
BASHIR: Yes.
DAX: How low are they?
BASHIR: They've fallen to seventy three percent of normal.
SISKO: Do you have any idea what's causing it?
BASHIR: I'm not sure. There's no tissue damage, no synaptic degradation.
DAX: Julian, am I in danger of rejecting my symbiont?
BASHIR: I wouldn't worry about rejection just yet, but we do have to get your isoboramine levels back up. And I suggest we take her back to the Trill homeworld and have the doctors at the Symbiosis Commission examine her.
SISKO: Curzon always said he wanted to show me the Trill homeworld. Looks like I'm going to get there after all.

[Bridge]

BASHIR: How long before we reach Trill?
SISKO: A little over thirty seven hours. How's Dax?
BASHIR: Resting in her quarters.
SISKO: It's funny. It's been almost four years since Curzon died, and I still miss the old man. At first I never thought I'd ever get used to a new Dax, but if anything happens to Jadzia
BASHIR: I know. I feel the same way. We'll just have to make sure nothing happens to her. Right?
SISKO: Right.

[Bashir's cabin]

(Doorbell as Bashir relaxes in striped nightclothes.) BASHIR: Yes?
DAX: Oh, good. I didn't wake you.
BASHIR: Not at all. You're having trouble sleeping?
DAX: Yeah, a little.
BASHIR: I could get you something.
DAX: No, thanks, but I could use some company, if you're not too busy.
BASHIR: Oh, no, no, no, no. I was just reading.
DAX: Oh, anything I'd be interested in? (takes the PADD) Trill physiology.
BASHIR: Just some background research. Look, Jadzia, I know you're worried, but the doctors at the Symbiosis Commission know a lot more about this than I do.
DAX: I can't believe I'm going back there. I spent three years as a Trill Initiate, and in all that time I hardly ever left the complex. After I was joined I swore I would never set foot in there again.
BASHIR: Was it really that bad?
DAX: No. What I remember is the endless series of tests they put me through.
BASHIR: Considering the risk of rejection, you can't really blame them. If they were to put a symbiont to an unsuitable host, they'd both be dead in a matter of days.
DAX: That's true. I guess I had such a difficult time because I put so much pressure on myself. I wanted to be joined so badly.
BASHIR: Well, look on the bright side. At least this time you won't be going there as an Initiate.
DAX: No, I'm going there as a patient, and that's much worse. I never told you this before, Julian, but I've always been afraid of doctors.
BASHIR: Most people are. When I was younger I was terrified of them.
DAX: Really?
BASHIR: They seemed to know everything. It was as if they held the power of life and death in their hands. I used to think that if I didn't behave, they'd make sure I got sick. Then as I got older, I decided that I wanted to know what they knew, be as smart as they were.
DAX: And that's why you went to medical school?
BASHIR: That's right. And you know what I learned there? That all I really wanted to do was help people. That's what doctors are there for, to help. So there's really no reason to be afraid of them. Now if that little story didn't put you to sleep, I don't know what will.
DAX: You're a very dear man, Julian.
BASHIR: Listen, Jadzia, you're welcome to stay the night here if you want. You can have the top bunk.
DAX: Are you sure you don't mind?
BASHIR: Absolutely not. Up you go.
DAX: Okay, well, in that case, if it's not too much trouble, would you mind if I took the lower bunk? Curzon fell out of a tree once, and
BASHIR: Whatever you want.
DAX: Thank you.
(She gets in and he turns off the light for her, then climbs up to carry on reading.)
BASHIR: Is this light too bright for you? Dax?
(She's asleep already.)
BASHIR: Sweet dreams.

[Dax's room]

(Her hospital room at the Symbiosis Commission.)
DAX: After they finally finished the neural response analysis, another doctor came in and ran a cortical protein series.
BASHIR: Did they do a bio-spectral scan on the symbiont?
DAX: They had to make an incision so they could insert the scanner.
(A woman enters.)
RENHOL: Jadzia, it's good to see you again.
DAX: Doctor Renhol.
RENHOL: Everyone's very excited about your being here, you know. Jadzia is the only Initiate to ever successfully reapply to the programme after being dropped. You must be Doctor Bashir.
BASHIR: That's right.
SISKO: Commander Benjamin Sisko.
RENHOL: Ah, yes. Curzon's friend.
SISKO: Yes, I had that privilege.
BASHIR: Did you get a chance to look over the test results?
RENHOL: Yes, I did. As you noted, Doctor, her isoboramine levels are low so I've put her on a benzocyatic regimen to compensate. As you can see, there's already a three percent improvement.
DAX: Will I have to stay here for the duration of the treatment?
RENHOL: No, Doctor Bashir can administer it. But I would like to see you back here tomorrow for a follow up, and for lunch.
DAX: I'd like that.
RENHOL: Well, if you'll excuse me I have an Initiate who needs some hand-holding.

[Bridge]

DAX: I don't know why we came back here when I could be taking you on a tour of the Tenaran ice cliffs.
SISKO: You're not taking us anywhere, Dax.
BASHIR: You're going straight to your quarters to rest.
DAX: But
BASHIR: No buts. Doctor's orders.
DAX: But I cannot sleep in the afternoon.
BASHIR: Just lie down, close your eyes, and try not to think.
SISKO: It usually works for me.

[Corridor]

(Dax hears the music and tries to find it. She encounters the masked figure.)
DAX: Who are you?
FIGURE: It's beautiful, isn't it?
(Two men in Trill uniform burst out of a door and grab for Dax. She fights them.)
BASHIR: Dax! Jadzia!

[Dax's room]

BASHIR: I don't understand why she'd have another hallucination. I've checked her isoboramine levels. They've risen another six percent.
RENHOL: That's a larger increase than I'd anticipated. The suddenness could be what triggered the hallucination. I want you to start administering more frequent treatments at a lower dosage.
DAX: Doctor, the people who attacked me, they were from the Symbiosis Commission.
RENHOL: Hallucinations often take the form of latent anxieties, and we all know the time you spent here wasn't that easy for you.
DAX: But the uniforms they were wearing, they were from over a hundred years ago.
SISKO: That was long before Jadzia was an Initiate.
DAX: And none of my other hosts had bad memories of being here.
RENHOL: Well, with seven lifetimes worth of memories it's no surprise things would get a bit jumbled.
SISKO: So you feel we're on the right track with these treatments?
RENHOL: Yes, I do. But I still want to see you tomorrow.
(Renhol leaves)
SISKO: What's on your mind, Dax?
DAX: I wish I knew what these hallucinations meant.
SISKO: The computer's still trying to identify the music. Maybe that'll tell us something.
DAX: I hope so.
BASHIR: Jadzia, maybe you still have some issues you need to sort out about the time you spent here.
DAX: I don't need therapy, Julian, I need answers. Maybe the Guardians could help me.
BASHIR: The Guardians?
SISKO: They're unjoined Trill who have devoted their lives to the care of the symbionts.
DAX: They know more about them than anyone.

[Symbiont Caves]

(Dim lighting and milky rock pools.)
BASHIR: So, this is where the symbionts breed?
DAX: There are interconnecting pools throughout these caves. They stretch back for kilometres. Look, there's two of them surfacing now.
SISKO: What was that energy discharge?
DAX: That's how the symbionts communicate with each other.
BASHIR: Fascinating.
(A man enters with a bag.)
DAX: That's one of the Guardians. Don't be surprised if he seems a little distracted. They're not used to visitors.
TIMOR: (checking the water) Hmm, that explains things.
BASHIR: Can I ask what you're doing?
TIMOR: Yes.
BASHIR: What are you doing?
TIMOR: Oh, just making sure they're comfortable. Checking the ion concentration, temperature, viscosity. They get very cranky if everything's not perfect. You don't want them cranky.
BASHIR: Oh no, of course not.
TIMOR: They can be very demanding. Sometimes I don't know why I put up with it. What's the weather like outside?
BASHIR: Well, it's sunny. Very pleasant.
TIMOR: Ah, sunshine. I miss sunshine. You're Dax
DAX: Yes. Jadzia Dax. How did you know?
TIMOR: I know. Something's wrong.
DAX: Yes.
TIMOR: Do you mind?
(He puts his hand over the symbiont)
TIMOR: Oh. Oh, that is not good. Not good at all. Tell me, how bad are the dreams?
DAX: They're not dreams. They're hallucinations.
TIMOR: Actually, they're memories.
DAX: Then why don't I remember them?
TIMOR: The balance is off.
DAX: You mean the balance between host and symbiont?
TIMOR: What other balance is there? Someone's not playing fair. It wouldn't be Dax so it must be the host.
SISKO: You're saying the problem is with Jadzia?
TIMOR: No, no, not necessarily. It could be any one of the hosts. All right, Dax, come with me. Let's see what we find.
(Timor leads Dax away.)

[Bridge]

SISKO: How did it go?
DAX: Timor is convinced that my hallucinations have something to do with one of my previous hosts. But he's not sure which one. So he wants me to come back again tomorrow to see him.
SISKO: We've got some good news. The computer's identified your music.
DAX: Can I hear it? That's it.
SISKO: The piece was written by a Trill named Joran Belar eighty six years ago.
BASHIR: Does the name sound familiar?
DAX: Joran Belar? I don't think so. Is there a picture of him?
SISKO: I'll see.
(Up comes a picture from personnel database 92794 and suddenly Dax is in another room. There is a man working at a desk, and the masked figure is there too. He stabs the man in the neck.)
FIGURE: He left me no choice.
DAX: Who are you?
(Dax grabs the figure and reaches for the mask. It disappears to reveal Joran.)
SISKO: Dax?
(Dax starts to have a fit.)
BASHIR: She's in neural shock.

[Dax's room]

RENHOL: We had to stabilise her synaptic functions. Activate the neural induction field. Give her another two cc's of benzocyatizine.
BASHIR: Doctor.
RENHOL: Her isoboramine levels are down to fifty one percent. I don't understand it. A decrease that severe is usually the result of tissue damage. Commander, this wormhole you've discovered. Have your people done any surveys of the diametric fields it generates?
SISKO: Yes. In fact Dax did the most recent survey herself.
RENHOL: I'd like to see those reports.
BASHIR: Do you think there's any correlation between Dax's condition and the wormhole?
RENHOL: Something unusual is affecting her and at this point we can't afford to rule anything out. If we can't get her isoboramine readings up to an acceptable level within forty eight hours, I'm afraid we'll have to remove the symbiont.
SISKO: But that'll kill Jadzia.
RENHOL: I'm well aware of that, Commander. But Jadzia would be the first to tell you that our primary responsibility must be to the symbiont. If there's any change in her condition, I'll let you know.

[Symbiont Caves]

SISKO: Timor, we need your help Dax has gone into neural shock.
TIMOR: I'm sorry to hear that
SISKO: The doctors at the Symbiosis Commission don't know what's causing it.
BASHIR: You told Jadzia that her condition had something to do with one of Dax's previous hosts.
TIMOR: That was just speculation.
SISKO: You told her you were certain of it.
TIMOR: If I gave that impression, I apologise. Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, the symbionts need me.
SISKO: Jadzia needs you too. She's dying.
BASHIR: All we're asking is that you come with us to the Symbiosis Commission and consult with Doctor Renhol.
TIMOR: I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do.
BASHIR: How do you know that unless you try?
SISKO: Timor, what's going on here? Did someone tell you not to pursue this?
TIMOR: Why would anyone do that?
SISKO: You tell me.
TIMOR: I hope your friend recovers. I truly do. Now, if that's all, I'm very busy.
BASHIR: He's not busy. He's scared.
SISKO: Why would anyone want him to keep quiet about this? What are they trying to hide?
BASHIR: Yesterday, Timor claimed the problem was with one of Dax's previous hosts. Today, the mere mention of the possibility makes him nervous.
SISKO: You'd think someone doesn't want an investigation of those past hosts.
BASHIR: I can't think of a better reason for such an investigation, can you?
SISKO: It's possible that one of the Dax hosts had something to do with this composer, Belar.
BASHIR: Well, Jadzia seemed to lose consciousness the minute she saw Belar's picture.
SISKO: I think it's time we found out more about him.

[Bridge]

BASHIR: I've accessed the Trill central database. Let's see what information there is on Joran Belar. Here we are. Born on stardate 1024.7, died on 8615.2.
SISKO: Is that all there is?
BASHIR: I was expecting a lot more. When I looked through Dax's records there was detailed information on each host.
SISKO: Could the file have been purged?
BASHIR: If part of the file's been deleted, the data compression ratio might be off. Yes, look at this. The ratio's for a file five times larger. There was definitely more information here.
SISKO: Call up Dax's records. Put them side by side with Joran's. Wait a minute. Look at these dates.
BASHIR: Belar died on the same day as Torias Dax died.
SISKO: The same day the Dax symbiont was put into Curzon.
BASHIR: Oh, this has to be more than a coincidence.
SISKO: Whoever purged the main database might have missed something. Check the enrollment records of all the Trill music academies during Belar's lifetime.
(A list of names I can hardly read but does include Bell, Pacific and probably other jokes too.)
BASHIR: He's not listed but there is someone here with the same last name. Maybe they're related?
SISKO: Yolad Belar. Check the central database. See if he's still alive.
BASHIR: He is.
SISKO: Access the Trill communications grid. Try to locate him.
BASHIR: There's a reasonable chance that he and Joran were related. Musical ability often runs in families. I've established a comm.-link.
SISKO: Put him on the main viewer.
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: Yes, can I help you?
SISKO: I'm Commander Benjamin Sisko of the Federation Starbase Deep Space Nine.
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: What would a Starfleet officer want with me?
SISKO: Are you Yolad Belar?
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: I am. Why?
SISKO: We're trying to find information about a man named Joran Belar. Did you know him?
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: Of course I did. He was my brother.
SISKO: He was a composer?
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: That's right. We both graduated from the same music academy.
SISKO: Are you aware that his record has been purged from the Academy's files?
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: That doesn't make any sense. What's all this about?
SISKO: That's what we're trying to find out. Do you know if your brother knew a joined Trill named Torias Dax?
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: My brother died eighty five years ago. I have a hard time remembering what happened yesterday.
BASHIR: Then you don't remember the name?
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: No, but that doesn't mean Joran didn't know him. You said he was joined? They could've met when my brother went off to become an Initiate.
SISKO: He was a candidate for joining?
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: That's what I just said, isn't it?
SISKO: Was he given a symbiont?
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: Not according to the Symbiosis Commission. They claim he was dropped from the programme after the second year. According to them he murdered the doctor that recommended dropping him, and was killed trying to escape the murder scene.
SISKO: It sounds like you're not convinced that's what really happened.
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: Oh, I believe he killed that doctor. My brother had a violent temper. But about six months before that happened my brother contacted me. He sounded different somehow, more confident, even colder than usual. And when I asked him about it he laughed. He said me he was different, that he'd been Joined.
SISKO: Did he tell you the name of his symbiont?
YOLAD [on viewscreen]: Maybe he did. I was so surprised to learn he'd been chosen to be Joined I can't remember much else. I loved my brother, Commander. In spite of all the things he did, I loved him.
SISKO: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
(Transmission ends.)
SISKO: Doctor, call up Dax's records. I think I'm beginning to understand what's going on here. According to the official records, after Torias died the Dax symbiont was put into Curzon. What if that's not what happened? What if Dax was given another host before Curzon. A host who should never have been given a symbiont.
BASHIR: A host named Joran Belar.

[Dax's room]

RENHOL: Her isoboramine levels have dropped to forty four percent. Tell Doctor Torvin to prepare the new host for surgery. We'll begin transferring the symbiont in fifteen minutes.
(The nurse goes to leave as Sisko and Bashir enter.)
SISKO: Tell Doctor Torvin to get himself a cup of raktajino. He won't be needed.
RENHOL: Commander Sisko, how dare you come in here and
BASHIR: It's over, Doctor. We know about Joran Belar.
RENHOL: Wait outside. Tell the surgeons to stand by.
(The nurse leaves.)
RENHOL: I don't have time for this, Commander. The symbiont is in danger.
SISKO: So is Jadzia.
RENHOL: I can't do anything for her.
SISKO: Can't? Or won't?
RENHOL: I resent that implication.
SISKO: And I resent having to watch my friend die just so you can protect your secret.
RENHOL: What secret?
SISKO: Oh, I think you know. And the thought of it becoming public scares the hell out of you.
RENHOL: Commander, I don't know what you're talking about.
SISKO: I'm talking about the fact that eighty six years ago the Symbiosis Commission mistakenly gave the Dax symbiont to Joran Belar.
RENHOL: I don't recall ever seeing any mention of a Joran Dax on our records.
SISKO: And we both know why, Doctor. The Symbiosis Commission altered the records, just like they tried to erase all knowledge of Joran from Dax's memory.
BASHIR: And now after eighty years the memory block is deteriorating and Dax is starting to remember the Joran host.
RENHOL: What possible reason would anyone have to create that sort of elaborate cover up?
SISKO: We wondered about that too. What was it about Joran that had to be hidden at all costs? The fact that he never should have been selected as a host? No, that simple error in judgement wouldn't be enough, would it? There had to be something more, something that would shake the very foundation of your society.
BASHIR: Tell me, Doctor, how many of your people are suitable for Joining?
RENHOL: I don't see how that's relevant.
BASHIR: I understand the percentage is very low. Maybe one in a thousand?
RENHOL: That's right.
BASHIR: Which is why the candidates are put through such rigorous testing.
RENHOL: That's how we make sure the symbionts aren't given to an unsuitable host.
BASHIR: What would happen if for some reason a symbiont was given to an unsuitable host?
RENHOL: That doesn't happen.
BASHIR: But what if it did?
RENHOL: Rejection would set in. The host and symbiont would both die.
BASHIR: How long before rejection would set in?
RENHOL: Three, maybe four days.
BASHIR: Then someone like Joran Belar, an unstable personality with violent tendencies, should have rejected a symbiont within a matter of days. Yet that didn't happen, did it? According to our information, he was Joined to the Dax symbiont for six months.
SISKO: Six months, Doctor. If a man like Joran Belar can be Joined successfully for that long, how many others can be joined as well? Hundreds, thousands? Certainly more than the Symbiosis Commission would have us believe. And that is what you've been trying to cover up all along, isn't it? That's why you're willing to let Jadzia die. I'm not interested in exposing your secret, Doctor. All I care about is Jadzia. And I promise you, if she dies, I will see to it that the entire planet knows why.
RENHOL: Do you realise what would happen if you did that? It would mean chaos. There aren't enough symbionts for that many hosts. The potential danger to the symbionts would be enormous. They would become commodities to be purchased or prizes to be fought over. Nearly half our population is capable of being Joined. That's what we learned from our unfortunate experience with Joran Dax. Now do you understand why you must not reveal the truth?
SISKO: Do you understand my terms?
RENHOL: It's not that simple. For Jadzia to survive, we have to stabilise the synaptic functions between the host and symbiont. Joran's memories have to be allowed to surface, to re-integrated with Dax's other memories. It could be very dangerous.
SISKO: Jadzia is a strong woman. I say we give her that chance.
RENHOL: What if you're wrong? What if Joran's personality overwhelms Jadzia? Are you willing to risk that?
SISKO: The point is. it's not up to me or you to decide. It's her life and her decision.
(Renhol wakes Dax.)
DAX: Julian.
BASHIR: We've got a lot to talk about, Jadzia. You have a decision to make.

[Symbiont Caves]

(Jadzia enters the pool wearing a long white gown. A symbionts swims over and sends a discharge to her. Joran rises from the water.)
DAX: Joran.
JORAN: You know who I am.
DAX: You're a part of me.
(Dax takes him into her arms and energy plays over them. Or rather her, as he's not really there.)

[Dax's quarters]

DAX: Come in. Checking up on me, Benjamin?
SISKO: Just thought I'd see how you were doing.
DAX: Julian stopped by fifteen minutes ago and said the same thing. I'll be all right. I just need some time to sort things out.
SISKO: I suppose it would have been easier if you'd never found out about Joran.
DAX: No, I'm glad I did. If you want to know who you are, it's important to know who you've been.
SISKO: Good night, old man.
DAX: Benjamin, I'll see you in the morning.
(Sisko leaves. Dax goes to the keyboard and plays her theme.)