O'Brien is reunited with his wife, Keiko, and their two children. But during a celebratory picnic on a nearby planet, eight-year-old Molly falls into a vortex of swirling energy. When the rest of the crew arrives to help, they determine Molly slipped through a time portal that sent her back 300 years, to a time when the planet was uninhabited. They reactivate the portal and transport herout, but their calculations are off by a decade. When Molly materializes on the transporter pad, she is an eighteen-year-old woman.

Rosalind Chao (Keiko O'Brien)
Hana Hatae (Young Molly O'Brien)
Michelle Krusiec (Teenage Molly O'Brien)

• The O'Briens picnic on Golana, a planet colonized by Bajor.
  
• Keiko, Molly, and Kirayoshi return. They haven't been seen since last year's "The Begotten".
  
• According to Ronald Moore's AOL posting, Joe Menosky originally pitched this story for the The Next Generation, but it was Alexander who fell through the time portal and was whisked off to a harsh and brutal planet for 10 years. He eventually finds his way back to the portal and returns to the present. From Worf's point of view, his son has been gone for only the blink of an eye, but his little boy is now a scared and troubled teenager. Alexander would've stayed a teenager for the rest of the series. The entire writing staff absolutely loved the story, but Michael Piller absolutely hated it and refused to put it into development.
  
• The writers and producers debated over leaving Molly 18, but decided to return her to her proper age.
  
• Molly wants to be an "exo-bologist" when she grows up.
  
• Odo is clearly uncomfortable when Kira talks of having a baby someday.
  
• Worf gets to baby-sit Yoshi....