Marrying Jadzia
This is based on events in “You’re Cordially Invited” and answers some questions I had. First, what did Jadzia say to Sirella in order to win her forgiveness? Second, what happened after the wedding? This story is told from Worf’s point of view, mostly because I find it easier to write in the first person for short stories like this.
I left my quarters on the Defiant for the last time, taking a last look around. I would be trading these cramped rooms for a much more comfortable suite of rooms on the station. Quarters I would be sharing with Jadzia.
Sisko had given us the new quarters two days ago and I had told Jadzia I would move in right away. She decided to keep her quarters until we got married.
“We’re not spending another night together until we’re married,” Dax told me mischievously. “I want you to make an honest woman out of me.”
Our quarters were bare, since the new furniture had not yet arrived. There seemed to be an enormous amount of space, but I knew it would soon be filled once Jadzia and I both moved our belongings in.
I had barely reached our quarters when familiar arms grabbed me from behind. I whirled around and Jadzia was kissing me.
“I thought you wanted to wait,” I teased her.
“I’m just kissing you,” she answered. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in days. You’ve been so busy with all the details, I feel completely superfluous to the situation. Please reassure me, Worf. Am I needed for this wedding ceremony?”
“You just need to show up,” I told her with a grin.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Jadzia sighed. “I can’t believe we’re actually getting married in two days. Are we really getting married?”
“Yes, all the plans have been made, so you can’t back out now,” I gently untangled her from my neck. “Shall we go in?”
Dax nodded, pressing the door open.
“I wasn’t planning on backing out,” she told me. “Unless you were.”
“Not after all the work I have put in,” I answered. “Besides, I owe Martok and his men a good party.”
We stepped into our new quarters and took our first look around.
“Nice decor,” Jadzia said as she noticed the lack of any furnishings.
“We have the rest of our lives to decorate.”
Dax did not answer; instead she walked through the quarters, looking over every detail.
“This should be a nice change from the Defiant,” she commented, walking back to me. We sat against the wall, my arm around her shoulders. “It’s not as cramped.”
“You’re right,” I said. “I think we will be very happy here.”
“Mmm,” Jadzia said in that tone of voice that told me she wanted to talk about something. She leaned her head on my shoulder.
“What is it?” I asked quietly. “What is bothering you?”
“Things aren’t going well with Sirella,” Dax confessed, referring to her future mother-in-law, Martok’s wife. “I don’t think likes me. She pretty much called me an alien to my face.”
This, I thought, was not a good sign.
“Should I say something to Martok?” I asked in concern.
“Give me some time. I will try to figure out a way to get her to like me.”
I tightened my embrace and hoped that yes indeed, Dax would find some way to get Sirella to agree to our marriage.
****
The road to true love isn’t always smooth and Kahless knows, our path has been anything but. To be perfectly honest, I don’t even know when I realized I loved Jadzia. The closest I can come to defining that moment was just after our terrible vacation to Risa, we had retired to her quarters. Jadzia did not cook often; like most people on the station, she depended on replicators. But that day, she made a variety of our favorite Klingon dishes. I can’t say much for her cooking skills, but she had wanted to please me and for that, I was grateful. Later, we had curled up in bed, just talking softly and holding each other. Sometime during the night, I woke up and watched her sleep. There was something reassuring and comforting about her presence in the bed and I realized I never wanted this feeling to end.
So of course I was concerned that Sirella did not like Jadzia; without Sirella’s permission, we would not be able to marry. Jadzia was one to throw convention to the winds and she suggested we have Benjamin marry us. That was an unacceptable proposal, I answered and before I knew what was happening, we had decided not to get married.
I found myself in those empty quarters, thinking how much I wanted Jadzia by my side. After over a year of our relationship and more than two years of deep friendship, I could not imagine a life without Jadzia. With those thoughts in my mind, I went in search of Martok, whose words reassured me that yes, I was doing the right thing in marrying Jadzia.
Of course convincing Jadzia was a little more difficult.
“I won’t apologize to her,” Dax said stubbornly as she rearranged her collection of Trill and Klingon sculptures for what had to be the hundredth time. “She hates me anyway. What does it matter?”
“It matters to me,” I said gently.
Jadzia swallowed hard and looked at me, almost in shock.
“I am sorry, Worf,” she whispered, throwing her arms around my neck. “I didn’t mean to let you down like this.”
“You haven’t. Not yet.”
It was probably the harshest thing I had ever said to Jadzia and I think she was stunned by my words. But I had to say what I felt and I knew I had to be honest with Jadzia about what I was thinking. We stood there in silence for what seemed to be a very long time. I could tell Jadzia was thinking about apologizing to Sirella for her behavior because despite everything we did love each other.
“All right,” she said. “I will do it. For you."
****
I could tell Sirella was surprised when Dax and I arrived on the Rotarran to speak with her. I knew Sirella did not care for me much, but that was just a detail.
“I’ve come to apologize,” Dax said softly.
Sirella’s aristocratic features did not change at Dax’s admission.
“I’m sorry,” Dax continued. “It’s just that it was so difficult. You kept throwing the fact that I am not a Klingon woman in my face and I guess it made me angry. I should have known better. I should have treated you with more respect and deference, but I was too blinded by my own pride to do so. I hope you will forgive me.”
Sirella still didn’t speak and I was suddenly very afraid. Suppose the apology did not work? Suppose Sirella did not accept Dax? I knew then that I would marry Jadzia, regardless of Sirella’s verdict, since in her apology, Jadzia had shown just how much she did love me. Going against Sirella’s wishes would not make me popular as a member of the house of Martok, but then, I had never had good luck with my own people even when I did as they asked.
“I accept,” Sirella said finally. I could feel the tension easing out of my muscles. “I accept your apology.”
Dax’s face immediately brightened and I could tell that she had been very nervous also.
“I want you to know that I love Worf,” Dax said earnestly. “Your approval means everything to him and I really believe he would give me up if you wouldn’t agree to our marriage.”
I turned to Dax, my mouth open in astonishment, but she plunged ahead.
“I know you are concerned about your family name,” Dax said. “But know that I would never do anything to dishonor the house of Martok. I consider it a great honor that you would even consider me as a member of your house.”
Sirella then did something completely unexpected. She placed her hands on Jadzia’s shoulders.
“You were very proud,” Sirella told Dax. “I have never heard such disrespect before, but I have also never seen someone fight so hard before. I approve of your marriage.”
I could feel the tension ease out of Dax’s shoulders.
“Thank you,” Dax said, wrapping her arm around my waist. “Thank you.”
We turned to leave, our arms still around each other, when Sirella called us back.
“I was once in love too,” she told us. “I know how you feel. I just had to be sure that you were strong enough to overcome what others would say about you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Dax said. “It only matters what Worf and I think. Right?”
I nodded, “What others say or think is irrelevant.”
Sirella smiled at me and I realized that she had very nice, kind smile.
“Then your marriage should be successful,” Sirella told us.
In the hall, right outside of the airlock, Dax pushed me up against the wall and kissed me.
“Now can we get married?” she whispered into my ear.
****
If I could offer some comment on the weather on the day of my marriage, I would, but honestly, in space, each day is much like the next. If it had been possible, I would have loved to hold the wedding on the Klingon homeworld, but during these uncertain times of war, it was not practical or possible.
But even so, as I awoke in my - our - new quarters on the day of my wedding, I could feel instantly that this day was different and special.
I had breakfast by myself, knowing that this would be the last time I would eat this meal alone.
Our new furniture arrived just after I had finished eating and I left the workers to their job. I decided to go see Jadzia, to make sure she was awake. Knowing her as I did, I knew that Jadzia could very well sleep through her own wedding.
After a couple of anxious chimes, Jadzia finally opened the door. Her hair was wet around her shoulders and she was wrapped only in her towel.
“Worf, you shouldn’t be here,” she said. I didn’t answer her; instead I wrapped my arms around her, kissing her soundly.
Instantly her towel fell to the ground.
“It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding,” she murmured in my ear.
“I had to see you.”
“Impatient, eh?”
“A little,” I answered. I broke away and gave her back her towel. She wrapped it back around her. “Does the dress fit?”
“Yes, it does,” she smiled at me before disappearing into her bedroom. “It looks wonderful, Worf. Though, I don’t really think red is my color.”
“It is a traditional color for Klingon weddings.”
“Relax, Worf. That was a joke.”
I frowned; much as I loved her, I still did not understand her sense of humor.
“Aren’t there any last minute details you could be taking care of?” Jadzia called from her bedroom.
“No,” I said, settling myself onto the sofa. “They are delivering the new furniture to our quarters as we speak.”
“Oh,” Jadzia came out, dressed in her magenta nightgown. She laughed at the expression on my face. “You don’t think I’m going to wear that gown while you’re here? No, I don’t think so, Worf.”
She settled herself onto my lap, kissing me softly and then resting her head on my shoulder.
“I wish we could stay like this forever,” she whispered.
“Then we would miss our own wedding.”
“Quark has a bet going on whether we will actually get married or not.”
“Are the odds good?”
“Depends who you ask.”
“And if I ask you?”
Jadzia smiled, “Oh, they are extremely good.”
She gave me a kiss and then stood up, “Now, you go and get ready. Or we’ll both be late for our wedding.”
****
I have to admit, I scarcely heard a word Sirella spoke during the wedding ceremony, because my eyes were full of Jadzia. I also have to confess that I agreed with Jadzia - red was not exactly the most suitable color for her. But then, she was always beautiful to me, no matter what she was wearing.
After our kiss, O’Brien and Bashir immediately descended upon us, pummeling us with their sticks as Klingon tradition dictated, though I believe more of the blows fell on me than on Jadzia. I could hear Jadzia laughing and then she wrapped herself around me, kissing me as the crowd around us chanted, “Kiss, kiss, kiss.”
I was a little embarrassed, since I’m not given to great shows of affection in public, but Jadzia did not seem to care.
“Can you believe we are married?” she whispered into my ear, before Bashir dragged her off somewhere.
I did not see Jadzia again until it was time for our wedding feast. The main dish, of course, was heart of targ, which we sliced together. We had asked Sisko to make the traditional toast, before the meal began.
“If you had asked me six years ago if I ever thought that Jadzia Dax would ever commit herself to anything, let alone anyone, I would have told you no,” Sisko began. “I’ve known Dax for a long time and after a friendship spanning two lifetimes, I would tell you there is little that could surprise me. But this old friend was surprised, and very pleasantly, I might add, by Jadzia’s feelings for Commander Worf. Mr. Worf, I don’t know what you did to win Jadzia’s heart, but I’m sure there are many here who would want to know the secret.”
There were several cheers when Sisko said this and I shook my head, feeling the heat rise in my face.
“And as for you, Jadzia,” Sisko continued, “you have, on this occasion, exercised your wisdom and found yourself a man who is loyal, trustworthy, honorable and most importantly, he loves you as much as you love him. I wish you both a very long and happy marriage.”
Sisko sat down and everyone cheered him. Bashir stood next, holding up his goblet of bloodwine.
“I’d like to make a toast to my good friends Jadzia Dax and Worf,” he announced. “May your future be bright and all your dreams come true.”
Jadzia turned to me and we each sipped first from our own goblets before drinking out of the other’s.
“Now,” Martok stood up. “Now, I welcome my new daughter, Jadzia Dax, daughter of Kaela, into the house of Martok.”
Jadzia rose and accepted the crest of the house of Martok. As a non-Klingon, she would not be able to wear the badge and sash as I did, so the gesture was largely symbolic, but it meant a lot to both of us.
****
I believe the food that evening was excellent, but to be honest, I really didn’t taste much; I was too drunk on my own happiness and I didn’t even notice when Jadzia whirled off with Bashir and Alexander for dancing.
I found myself with Sisko, both of us enjoying raktijinos.
“No more bloodwine for me,” Sisko said with a smile. He looked around at the festivities and shook his head. “There is going to be many a hangover tomorrow. Let’s hope the Dominion does not choose tomorrow to attack, otherwise we may be in trouble.”
I could see what he meant; the bloodwine was certainly flowing freely. From where he stood overlooking Quark’s, I could see that Odo was quite nervous about the amount of alcohol the guests were consuming. I shrugged. As long as everyone was having a good time and no one got hurt, I didn’t care.
“I think you and Jadzia will be very happy together,” Sisko said softly. “I’ve known Dax for a long time and believe me, when she makes up her mind to do something, she does it. You never did stand a chance, Mr. Worf.”
“Excuse me?” I frowned.
“Jadzia had her eye on you from the moment you came aboard this station,” Sisko smiled knowingly. “I’m surprised she kept her feelings to herself for so long.”
“I am too,” I admitted.
“I was worried that you might not feel the same as her,” Sisko continued. “I was quite anxious for a while. Especially when you went after Grilka.”
I shook my head, remembering how enamored of Quark’s former wife I had been. It was all very foolish in retrospect.
“I told Jadzia at that time that she had to make her move then,” Sisko said. He smiled at me and touched my arm gently. “You are a hard man to get through to, but I think you heard her loud and clear.”
“I certainly did.”
“I wish you all the best, Mr. Worf,” Sisko nodded towards Jadzia who was now dancing with Nog. “She is a handful and she is all yours.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Kira appeared and Sisko took that his cue to leave.
“I have to check on things in Ops,” Sisko told me. “We still are at war.”
As if I could forget, I thought wryly.
Kira tapped my arm gently, “Great wedding, Worf. If I ever get married, you can plan the ceremony. But it must be Bajoran, okay?”
“As you wish.”
And then Kira melted into the crowd of dancers.
Martok joined me then.
“You are a popular man, Worf,” he said gruffly. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you for a long time now.”
I shrugged, “Everyone is giving us their good wishes.”
“Everyone does wish you both the very best. Even Sirella.”
“I think she was just testing Jadzia.”
“And you,” Martok said gently.
“Me?”
“Marrying one of another species is not done often,” Martok said. “I believe Sirella was concerned that you did not love Jadzia, that you were marrying for the novelty of having an alien wife.”
“What?” I asked, unable to believe what Martok was saying.
“Not to worry,” Martok laughed. “Would you have married Jadzia regardless of what Sirella said?”
“I wouldn’t have been happy about it, but yes. I have wanted to marry Jadzia for a very long time now.”
“I think Sirella knew that,” Martok looked towards his wife. “Once she realized you were determined to marry and once Jadzia apologized, she realized that you two truly did love each other. And look, they are speaking to each other.”
I took the conversation between my wife and my mother-in-law as a sign that they had truly patched up their differences.
Martok noticed a brawl starting among some of his officers.
“Too much bloodwine,” he grumbled, nearly spilling his own bloodwine on my shoes. Odo had already moved to break up the fight, but Martok stumbled after him. Me, I just stood and watched, relishing the fact that I was finally married.
****
I found Jadzia slumped over the tongo table, gambling away what I was sure were her life savings. I tossed a dirty look at the Ferengi and helped Jadzia to her feet. I could smell the bloodwine on her breath.
“It’s on the house,” Quark told me as he poured Jadzia’s money back into my hands. I thanked him since I was in a good mood and I didn’t want to start off married life paying off Jadzia’s debts. Already, I had paid off many of her losses in the past and I was hoping that eventually, I could cure her of this gambling addiction.
“Worf,” she mumbled as we walked out into the hall. I adjusted her arm around my waist so that she had some support as we headed towards our quarters.
“Yes?”
“Is it over?”
“What?”
“The party.”
“For you it is.”
In our quarters, I settled Jadzia on the bed. She immediately fell over.
“You never could hold your bloodwine,” I told her, but she merely offered me an inebriated smile. I pulled off her shoes and then helped her out of her dress. “Here’s your nightgown.”
Jadzia took the nightgown and just stared at it, fingering the purple material. I laughed at her and she scowled at me.
“Do you need help?” I asked. She nodded.
“Raise your arms,” I told her, as I helped her with the gown.
Finally, I tucked her into bed and she immediately curled up and fell asleep. I planted a soft kiss on her forehead before getting ready for bed myself.
****
Sometime in the middle of the night, I stirred and discovered that Jadzia was no longer next to me. I saw a light on the bathroom, so I rose and fetched a glass of water.
I found Jadzia sitting on the floor, her head tucked between her knees.
“How do you feel?” I asked softly.
She lifted her head, revealing the greenish pallor of her face.
“Awful,” she muttered. I handed her the water and two tablets.
“This should make you feel better.”
“Mm, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I feel miserable.”
“You should. Too much bloodwine will do that.”
“Why didn’t you stop me?”
“You looked like you were having a good time.”
“I didn’t make a fool of myself, did I? My God, Sirella. Did I say anything to Sirella?”
“Not that I know of. You certainly did not punch her.”
Jadzia grimaced at the memory of her fist connecting with Sirella’s head at her bachelorette party.
“I suppose I should be grateful for that,” Jadzia sighed, leaning against me.
“I did have to rescue you from Quark. He did return all your money,” I said.
“Was it a lot of money?”
“Quite a bit.”
“Uh,” Jadzia pressed her hand against her forehead. “I’m never doing this again.”
“Doing what?”
“Getting married.”
“I hope not,” I teased her. “Because you are stuck with me.”
“What? This is a lifetime thing?”
“I see you’re feeling better.”
“A little,” Jadzia admitted.
“What did you like most about the wedding?”
“I really can’t remember much after Benjamin’s speech. It was a nice speech, wasn’t it?”
“Very nice.”
“It was a very nice ceremony. You planned it very well. I loved the whole thing. I liked it best because at the end, we were married. So you did a very nice job.”
“Thank you,” I said, amused at her slurred words. I noticed that she was drifting off on me so I helped her to her feet.
“Come to bed,” I told her.
“Oh, I thought you’d never ask.”
“Not tonight,” I answered as I tucked her back into bed. Jadzia pouted but did not make much of a fuss. “We’ll have plenty of time for that later.”
I smoothed her hair away from her face and she took my hand and kissed it gently. I smiled down at her and dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“This is a very interesting night for you,” she murmured.
“You’ve always said our lives together would be difficult but fun,” I told her. “I did not expect marrying you to be easy.”
“No,” she sighed. “Not easy at all. But fun. Very fun.”
“Good night, my love,” I told her softly, just as her eyes fluttered shut. As I crossed over to my side of the bed, I considered that most men would not expect to spend their wedding night this way. As I slid under the covers and felt Jadzia’s arm across my chest, I thought with a grin, most men were not marrying Jadzia.
The End