Lwaxana Troi pays a visit to Odo's office with the surprising news that she is pregnant. She is thrilled to be having a baby boy, but her Tavnian husband insists she adhere to the custom of giving him their son to raise alone until the child is sixteen. Unwilling to give away the baby, Lwaxana decides to give birth to him on Deep Space 9. Meanwhile, a mysterious alien woman named Onaya arrives on the station, telling Jake that she can help him with his writing.

Majel Barrett (Lwaxana Troi)
Meg Foster (Onaya)
Michael Ansara (Jeyal)
Patricia Tallman (Nurse Tagano)

• Tavnian children are raised by the parent of their gender: Boys are raised by their fathers, and girls are raised by their mothers. The children are not made aware of the other gender until they are 16 years old.
  
• Odo marries Lwaxana to prevent her from losing the baby. The marriage is later annulled.