Odo struggles with his feelings for Kira as a Bajoran dignitary visits.
First Minister Shakaar of Bajor visits the station for talks on Federation membership, and Odo and Worf guard him against the Cardassian extremist True Way. Odo and Shakaar get along at first, until Shakaar confides that he is falling in love with Kira. Distracted while riding a turbolift with the couple, Odo hands control to a voice he assumes is Worf's; it is a True Way agent, and the lift plunges until Odo braces it with his own body. Sisko reprimands him.
Kira tells Odo she and Shakaar are now together, and Odo wrecks his quarters in private. Quark, who lives below, arrives to complain but instead advises him, claiming only to care about his business, to either declare his feelings or let Kira go. Odo ends their weekly meetings. The fourth-season episode develops his unspoken love for Kira and the grudging friendship between Odo and Quark.