Prologue:
Ambassador Delenn’s personal log
Earth Date: January 25th, 2261.

	My love, John’s return has been tainted.  For along with the joy of 
seeing him again, I must face the sorrow of losing him again.  Lorien has 
enabled him to live for another twenty years, but no more.  He renews John’s 
life force by using his own, but ca only grant him a portion of his life back.  
We are now to be married, he said that he wishes to spend those twenty years 
with me, twenty more years than we would have had otherwise.  Twenty years, 
an eternity to short for either of us to bear.  Twenty short years.

Part 1

	She looked down at the tenderly smiling child she held in her arms.  
David, her son.  Her tear streaked face was covered with sweaty strands of 
hair, and her body ached from the pain of childbirth, yet she paid no mind, 
for all of these seemed distant, calmed by the joy of her heart over this new 
life.
	"I’d say we did pretty darned good Delenn," her husband told her.  He 
stood beside her bed, and gazed down at the sleeping infant she so delicately 
held in her arms, it was his child too.  They had been married less than a year
before, a day which neither they, nor their friends would ever forget.

	//--//The ceremony had been small, but wonderful.  The chapel had 
been decorated with an abundance of flowers, and Reverend Will Dexter had 
performed the ceremony.  It had seemed appropriate, he being the one who had 
convinced John to hold onto Delenn’s love, rather than pass up the best thing
to ever happen to him.
	She had tossed the bouquet, caught by a rather red faced Ivanova.  
Susan had spent the entire morning trying to tell Marcus that she wasn’t even
going to try to catch it, but it had managed to hit her on the head, and she 
had gotten angry at it afterwards.  
	It had been a blessed day indeed.  The official (not to mention 
public) affirmation of a love that had been there long before.//--//

	He looked back down at his wife, and their newborn son.  He had known 
for so long that this was going to happen, and she had known for the past 
month about his trip to the future, and her words to him.
	Then, as he carefully pushed a fine, damp, chestnut lock away from 
his wife’s forehead, the baby stirred.  Tentatively he opened his tiny eyes 
to take in the world around him, mint eyes.  He had his mother’s eyes.  Thus 
far it was the only aspect of him that was his mother’s, save the green line 
around his head that would become a bone crest.

					|--|--|--|--|

	"Please, we have got to see them," Ivanova called out across the room 
to the man who was sitting on the floor, leaned up against the far wall.
	He always hated it when they fought, but there was always times when 
they did.  When they were debating it was different, but this was downright 
arguing.  Their casual teasing was a comforting jest, but when insults were 
thrown here, they stung.  He always hated it when they fought.
	"I’m sorry, it’s just that I don’t get along well with babies.  I 
don’t know why, but they just don’t seem to like me," Marcus complained.
	"But they are our friends, and this is one of the most important days 
of their lives.  It would be rude of us not to go see David," she argued back.
	He didn’t want to argue with her, he didn’t have the strength to right 
now.  He had lost most of that strength, but more, and more, as time wore on 
he was regaining it.  It had been at that final battle on Z’Ha’Dum, that he 
had lost it.  When he had been hit, and knocked down to be exact.  That 
answered the when were and how, but the most important question was still 
unanswered, why?  What had gone wrong to allow it to happen.
	"Fine Susan, I don’t want to argue right now, I’ll go," he drowsily 
gave in.
	"God, Marcus are you feeling all right?" she asked, her voice filled 
with concern..
	"Yes, I’m just a little weak today, that’s all," he responded with a 
yawn to her question.
	"That’s why you don’t want to see the baby isn’t it?" she asked both 
out of curiosity and annoyance.  
	"No Susan, that may be one factor in my choice, but it by far isn’t 
the main."
	"Don’t lie to me Marcus.  You just aren’t up to it."
	"No Susan."
	"I said don’t lie to me!"  she retorted.  Stepping beside him she 
grabbed his arm, and pulled him to his feet.  "We are going to Medlab, you 
haven’t seen Stephen in over three months, and I’m starting to worry.  It’s 
about time you start taking care of yourself."
	"Yes, ma’am," he said sarcastically, resigning himself to his fate as 
she pulled him out the door.  *Aaah..* he thought to himself, *This is love.*


In part 2, and the beginning of part 3, Delenn deals with John’s death, 
flashes back to a fight they had about the E/M war.  She couldn’t believe he 
could ever forgive her.  The entire thing is about  the E/M war, and 
forgiveness.


Part 3 (rest of)
	The tears flowed freely down her rosy cheeks, a sharp contrast to her
usually pale, ivory skin.  She fled the room, fleeing the confines of his 
quarters, longing for more open spaces, where her anger could be released.  
She ran through the endless halls of the station, reaching her sanctuary, the
beloved Zen Gardens.  It had always been her place of refuge, a place of peace, 
and a means of aiding even her deepest of meditations.  Even though the gardens 
were tranquil, and the fragrant blossoms filling the vast expanse with their 
soothing scents, she could find no peace in her current state of confusion.
	She had yet to realize of the presence following her, shadowing her 
every motion, and trailing her into her haven.  Soon though, the familiar 
voice broke through her mental barriers, and forced it’s way into her mind, 
asking for a reaction.  "Delenn, stop it.  What good will it do us if we 
can’t even talk?  How are we?  I mean?" he stumbled.
	"John, what?" she responded, looking up at the face of her fiancee.  
A face which was covered in lines of worry, and an expression of compassion, 
and sincere concern.  A face which portrayed his emotions toward this woman’s 
current state of heart, the woman which he loved, torn between two worlds, 
one of past, and one of present, and future.
	As he reached out a hand to comfort, she silently protested, turning 
her face from him, and facing the bushes behind the semi-circular bench.  
The soft, sensitive skin on the back of his hand gently caressed the length 
of her bone crest, causing her to shudder, and chills to run through her 
spine.

	Come, Delenn, tell me what happened, tell me all of it," he 
encouraged as he slowly placed his arms about her small frame, and sat down 
beside her limp form.  
	She pressed herself away from his embrace, and quickly stood up 
stating sharply, "What happened then is not important.  Do the humans not
 have a saying, ‘let bygones be bygones?’  John this happened so long ago, 
can we not let it pass?"
	"Delenn, we can not learn to face our fears unless we can admit what 
they are.  You are the one who taught me that.  And if this isn’t a fear, but 
rather a mistake, how can I help you to deal with the pain, if I don’t know 
what I’m dealing with? Oh please help me out on this one Delenn," he pleaded 
looking up at her through eyes filled with the torment of seeing a troubled 
loved one.
	"John, I led the war.  It was upon my order that we nearly annihilated 
your entire people.  It was upon my order, that I nearly lost you.  Worst of 
all, that order was made in a fit of passion, an uprising of violent emotion 
due to the loss of the one I was to replace.  John, I was Satai.  I was to be the next leader of my people.  Can you ever forgive me?" she asked, as the tears continued to stream down her face.
	He pulled in against his chest, allowing her to bury her face in the 
cloth of his uniform.  "Didn’t I answer that before.  You are my reason for 
living.  How can I love that much, and not forgive?"//--//


	Her mind returned to the present, and she sat back down on the bed.  
She had hardly even realized she was standing, she was to caught up in her 
reverie of her husband.  *How can David be so controlled, so untouched?  I 
thought he would take this much harder,* she thought angrily.  *He was the 
boy’s father, surely he must feel something.  Has he so little respect for 
him, that he isn’t touched by his loss?  I wonder if Lyta has anything to do 
with it?*  Her thoughts drifted to the dark haired 15 year old who 
accompanied her parents, as well as David, near to everywhere these days.  
She looked so much like her parents, and was headstrong as her namesake, in 
more ways than one.  She was a telepath, and overprotected by her parents 
because of it.  If only her grandmother had not died because of Psi-Corps, 
she might not be kept under such tight control.  But then her mother had 
already lost so much, she feared losing her daughter too.  Then, her thoughts 
drifted back to her son, and then his father, *John, you forgave me so long 
ago, how can I not forgive you now?*  She wished she could speak to him, 
touch him, see his face once more, but his soul had already been lost, she 
could do nothing now.

					|--|--|--|--|

	He brushed aside a stray lock of graying dark hair from the damp face 
of his wife.  Her blueberry eyes  
were a shade grayer than before.  She had lost one of her dearest friends, 
and that loss had placed a dark shadow over her soul, and self.  It had been 
a long time since he’d seen her in this sad state of worry, and distress.  It 
hadn’t been like this since he was injured, and she’d almost lost the man she 
had never realized she was in love with before coming so close to losing him.  
	She cried a gentle storm on his shoulder, as he stroked her hair down 
her back.  She could see him in the son he had left behind, the one she saw 
so often.  When had her daughter and he become such good friends? It was a 
question she had asked herself many times in the last few days.  The two 
children had been raised together, and were only 20 months apart in age.  
They had both been alone in the world, and had found friendship in  the 
continuous mischief they were always getting themselves into.  They would 
jovially debate for hours at a time, enjoying every second of their arguments.  
They were always teasing each other, or trying to find ways to avoid running 
into each other, knowing what would happen if they did.  *Strange* Susan 
thought, *almost sounds like me, and Marcus.*  She nearly hit the roof (and 
would have had Marcus not restrained her) as the realization hit her.  Her 
daughter was in love.

End Part 3.  Hope you like it.  Any suggestions for part 4 would be greatly 
appreciated.

I Remember When Part 4
	By Christina Jarrett, and Laura Hale

	*No he silently screamed.  *Come back to me, don’t go away.*  He knew 
his mental efforts would be of no use, his father was gone, he could never come 
back.  His parents had told him that this day would arrive, and had prepared him
for it.  *It’s too bad they never prepared me for the feelings," he inwardly 
scolded them.  They had taught him well, he was ready for his father’s 
absence, but only in body, not his absence of mind, and spirit, that was 
another story completely.  He was not, and would never be able to deal with 
those, no matter how well prepared he was.
	"David, you are troubled," came the sweet, soothing voice of his 
closest friend.  "Please tell me about it," she invited him to talk, and tell 
her of his deepest of emotions.
	"God Lyta!  Don’t worry about it.  It’s just Dad, and now Mom.  What’s 
wrong with my family, we used to be so close, now…  I mean Dad just stops one 
morning, and he knew it was going to happen the entire time.  Mom, she runs 
off to Minbar , just leaving me here," he raved on and on.
	"You will be leaving for Minbar in two months time.  You chose to 
stay here, with us until your mother finishes her mourning.  She loved him, 
and he loved her.  They were soulmates David, when she lost him, half of 
herself, half of her soul left with him.  She will never be complete without 
him, she will only be half of what she used to be," Lyta calmly, and 
compassionately told him.
	"Still, even if it by choice, two months is a long time to spend away 
from someone you have spent your entire life with.  Lyta, I have no one."
	Her heart skipped a beat, *David, I am here.  I love you, and you 
don’t even know it.  I have since the day I was born, you are my soulmate,*  
"David, my family is here for you.  We are all here to help.  We’ll make it 
through, we all will," she closed her eyes tightly for a moment as he touched 
her hand, and his thoughts flooded her mind.

					|--|--|--|--|

	Delenn fell upon her bed, head cradled in her arms as she cried 
herself into a fond reverie.

	//--// John had just come home after being away for a month and a 
half on Earth.  He had been asked to temporarily fill in as president of 
Earth Alliance until after the coming the election.  David had welcomed him 
back with all the love in his five year old heart.  The small human/Minbari 
boy had gathered his father in his arms before John had even had the chance 
to put down his bags.  Delenn  had just laughed at the sight of the 
rambunctious child who wouldn’t dare let go of his father for fear of him 
leaving again.//--//

	Delenn’s eyes flew open as she came out of her memory, only to close 
again as she slipped into another dream-like trance of remembrance.

	//--// "Mom, can I go eat at Lyta’s tonight?  Aunt Susan is making 
spaghetti, except there is more tomato sauce on Uncle Marcus at the moment, 
but she invited me," her son asked her childishly.
	"Of course you can David," she laughed in reply at the ten year old.
	She looked at the small pair, her little one only ten, and Lyta at 
that time nine.  She was bright, and had a vibrant personality.  She had her 
father’s ebony hair, and her mother’s bright blue eyes.  She was active, and 
her smile shone with the brilliance of both her parents’ combined.  She was 
gentle like her father, and tender like her mother, sensitive like her father, 
and she had her mother’s temper.  She was beautiful, she was also David’s 
best friend.
	If Delenn had only known then how much of her son she was really 
letting go of to that little girl. //--//

	She slowly drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with memories of 
days long gone.

					|--|--|--|--|

	"Marcus," Susan Ivanova-Cole called out into the black of their 
bedroom.  "Did you notice anything peculiar with Lyta, and David?"
	Her husband turned over to face her, placing a gentle hand upon her 
hip.  "No, dear.  I can’t say that I have.  I’ve been too busy wrapped up 
with helping you that I haven’t really noticed much else."
	"She’s your daughter too you know.  You really should pay more 
attention," she answered knowing all too well the truth in his statement, she had taken it all pretty bad.
	"I know that."
	"I remember when we acted like that, what it got us into.  Hell, we 
still act like that," she laughed into the darkness.

	//--// That first night they had spent together had for both of them 
been bliss.  Her dress was beautiful, simple in design, but had been perfect 
for their wedding considering the size of ceremony they had chosen.  They had 
just wanted to be joined in front of their closest friends, no one else.  
	His eyes locked onto hers, and his hand began to gently caress her 
cheek.  As his lips met with hers, his hands lightly mad a path down her 
side 
to the back of her gown, his fingers working at the fastener.  Her hands 
grabbed at his white shirt, wrinkling bundles of the fabric in her fists.
	She knew that he had been waiting his entire life for this single 
moment.  He had saved himself, wanting to be pure for this night.  He said 
he hadn’t found the right person yet, but now, he knew that he had.  She 
silently thanked him as his hands slipped beneath the cloth which covered 
her, and contacted the soft skin below.
	He had given his name to her, and now he made his claim on that 
which he had not already taken.  She belonged to him, heart, soul, mind, and 
now body.//--//

	Her hand lifted to stroke the his dark beard, now sprinkled lightly 
with a few graying hairs.

	//--// He placed a gentle hand on her swollen abdomen.  The silent 
girl growing inside rewarding hiss touch with a firm kick at her mother’s 
stomach.  He kissed her lightly, only to be scolded, "Last time you did that 
look where you got us."  He just continued where he had left off, covering 
his wife’s mouth with his own.//--//

	Now their daughter was falling in love, and they could do nothing 
about it.  She could see it in Lyta’s eyes every time they were together, 
every time she saw his face.  *If only David would realize what is before 
him, surely he can’t be so blind as not to notice when a girl flirts with 
him,* Susan thought to herself.  Strange though, she hoped that he wouldn’t 
notice, that he never became anything more than his daughter’s friend.  
*God, I’m being over-protective.  I have got to learn to give that girl a 
little breathing space.  It must come with being a parent."

I Remember When Part 5

	He looked into the bright eyes of the woman who’s hands he held in 
his own.  A thin, white veil framed her long, pale, gently rounded face, and 
her black hair was pulled back neatly.  He gently slid the golden ring, with 
it’s bright white stone onto her long finger, and paused for a moment.  As 
their lips me, and closed, gently capturing each other’s, their hearts soared.
	They could hear the soft coming from the front row, and inwardly 
wished her heartache to leave.  She was letting go of her last remaining 
piece of her late husband, she was letting go of their son, and it hurt.
	The young couple looked deep into each other’s eyes, with a gaze dark 
with passion.  They had loved each other for as long as they could remember, 
with a love based on friendship, trust, and unbending loyalty.  It was just 
such a pity that it had taken so long for them to figure it out.

	//--//She had looked at her opponent.  A man, tall, well built, 
dressed in black.  *Psi-Corps* she hissed inwardly.  She backed away from 
the ever approaching figure, trying to keep out of his line of sight using 
fast motions, it had been no use.  She backed herself into a box, and had 
stumbled.  Seeing this opportunity, he leapt at her, grabbing her wrist with 
his bare hand.  As his thoughts tortured her struggling  mind, she heard a 
voice in the distance.  A plead, a cry for vengeance, she heard *him*.  
*David.* //--//

	They ran out of the chapel, and through a storm of brightly colored 
confetti, and reaching the end, turned and waved to the crowd.  All they had 
left to do was attend the banquet, and then they would be alone.

				|-|-|-|-|


	He brushed the remaining bits of colored paper out of her soft hair, 
which she now wore down, waving gently against her shoulders.  He leaned 
forward in the solitude of his quarters, their quarters to brush a gentle 
kiss across her lips.  *So long* he thought to himself, *I have loved her for 
so long.  It was three years after Dad died that I realized it, another year 
after that that I told her.  And now another four years after that, we’re 
married.*
	His hands fumbled with the fasteners on her gown, as his lips traced 
a delicate pattern on her neck.  Her nimble hands found his, and pushing them 
away she undid the dress, and it fell to the ground. His hands found her 
slender waist, now uncovered, and she fell onto her back.  The bed beneath 
them bounced slightly at the weight of it’s  inhabitants, who now almost 
clumsily worked their way to the head of it.

						|-|-|-|-|

	She awoke the next the next morning to an empty bed, *God, What have 
I done?* she thought to herself.  Turning over she found a note slipped 
beneath his pillow.  *My love, I shall return.  I shall never leave you.  I 
need to get a few things before we can leave.  With all my love, David 
Sheridan.*
	She let out a sigh of relief, and fell back against her own pillow, 
still tired from the night before.  *I don’t think I fell asleep till at 
least three,* she laughed inwardly.  It was true, they had never known such 
pleasure, and had enjoyed every tantalizing moment of it, until the pleasure 
subsided, and they had fallen asleep.

						|-|-|-|-|

	"Mother," he cried out through the darkness.
	"I am here my son," she comforted him, knowing that she could not for
 long.  She was ill, and dying, and had sent for him before she passed beyond
 the veil.
	"You can’t do this to me!  You should have another forty or fifty 
years left, don’t die on me now," he scolded.  He knew the real reason she 
was dying, it wasn’t from any illness the doctors could help her with, or 
medicine could heal, he was dying from a broken heart.  It had been eight and 
a half years since John  had died, one year since her son had left her, and 
the loneliness was taking her from them.
	*He looks so much like his father,* she thought to herself.  "David, 
it is my time to go.  If the universe wishes me to go, their is nothing we 
can do to help it.  The universe has a plan, and we must follow in with what 
it has in mind.  Farewell my child," she said.  Her hand went limp in his 
own, and her eyes closed, she was gone.

Epilogue:

	He looked down at the wrinkled face in front of him.  The cries of the
young child echoed throught the room, a sound muffled only by the sobs of
his parents.  The red face of him was topped off with a tiny tuff of dark
brown hair.  He opened green eyes to the world, and looked at his mother,
and then his father.  As his cries faded, and the tiny child yawned his
parents looked on on wonder.  And they named him, John.


	Okay, it's been a long time in the making, but, the stories over.  
Thus ends the tail of three families, and the beginning of a tale of another 
who knows how many.  But I'm not going to write that one, someone else can.  

    Source: geocities.com/area51/corridor/4875

               ( geocities.com/area51/corridor)                   ( geocities.com/area51)