DISCLAIMER;
NONE OF THE CHARACTERS ARE MINE EXCEPT ARIEL. THE REST BELONGS TO JMS. NO
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
" Why is she coming here? To my
knowledge she has never left her temple on Minbar," Lennier asked.
Lennier and Delenn were looking at each
other in bafflement. They had just received the message that the high priestess
of the religious cast was coming to Babylon 5. No reason for her visit was
given and Delenn was restless and worried. " I do not know why. There was
nothing in the message to why she was coming here. But it must be very
important if she is willing to leave the safety and sanctuary of the temple."
Delenn didn't like this one bit. There was this little inner voice that was
telling her that trouble was heading their way.
" You wanted to talk to us?"
Delenn smiled when she saw John and Susan
approach them. Delenn had asked them to
be present when the high priestess was going to arrive.
" Delenn, what is going on? Why must
the both of us be here?" Susan asked.
" I am expecting a very important
guest and I think that I need to fill you in on the details."
Susan exchanged a glance with John. Who was
coming to the station that they needed to be both present to greet this guest?
Susan followed Delenn and Lennier to the docking bay area.
" What I am going to tell you might be
hard to believe. I don't know how to explain all this myself. " Delenn
took a deep breath and faced the two officers. " Last night I got a
message that Ariel, the high priestess of the religious cast, has expressed a
desire to come here."
John nodded. " So, she is
important?"
" Yes, John. She is a clairvoyant, she
can tell the future and every one of her prophesies have come true, "
Delenn replied.
" But you are worried, why?" John
knew her so well. They were engaged to get married and they were only waiting
for this damned war with Clark to end to exchange their wedding vows. John
would be glad when all those damned rituals were over and done with.
" Yes, she has never left her temple
and... She is a Minbari not born of Minbari."
Susan raised her head, her interest
aroused. She remembered Jeffrey going back into time to use that device which
had changed him into a Minbari; Valen.
" She was born human, but she used the
same device Sinclair and I used and she has now human and Minbari features,
much like me. The religious cast refused to accept her in the beginning but the
prophecies proclaimed by Valen convinced them that she was the priestess they
had been waiting for."
" Must be something big if she decides
to leave the temple now," Susan carelessly voiced her thoughts, not
realizing that she was speaking aloud.
" My opinion exactly. That is why I
asked the both of you to be here. I have no idea what her wishes will be,"
Delenn confirmed.
Susan felt uncomfortable without knowing
why. " Is this... Ariel a telepath?"
" Yes... I do not know how strong she
is...but she is a wise woman... I have never seen or met her before,"
Delenn said.
Now Susan knew why she felt this way. She
hated telepaths. She realized that the shuttle had finished docking and the doors
were opening. Susan tried not to look too interested when the first passengers
emerged. They were definitely Minbari, some of them clothed in the traditional
robes; others even wore veils, to hide their faces. They bowed gracefully and
Delenn poked her in her side to return the gesture. Susan mentally kicked
herself. She had to focus. The last person to set foot on Babylon 5 was
completely covered in black robes, the face hidden by a dark veil. The Minbari
bowed when this last person started to move. Susan instinctively knew that this
had to be Ariel.
" I am honored to meet you, Delenn of
the house of Mir," a female voice said.
Delenn answered the greeting in the same
gentle fashion. " I greet you, Ariel."
The high priestess nodded. Susan wished she
could see the face... She hated people who hid their faces.
" I will stay here for some time.
Captain Sheridan, I would be most thankful if you could arrange for some
quarters for me and my servant... the other ones will return to Minbar,” the
high priestess said.
Susan smiled when she caught the stunned
look on John’s face. The high priestess extended her hand. John was obviously
uncertain of how to proceed. Susan shrugged and John rescued the situation by
kissing her hand.
" Ah, on old fashioned
gentleman."
Susan could have sworn that the priestess
was laughing underneath her veil.
" Is there anything else you
require?" Delenn's gentle voice rang through the silence, which had
fallen.
" Yes," the priestess said.
Several Minbari returned to the shuttle and
waited for her sign to leave for Minbar. Ariel nodded. She didn't pay any more
attention to them. Susan watched amazed as Ariel took off the veil. She stared
into the face of a young woman, 25 at most. Delenn had been right. They shared
the same mixed features of both races. Ariel's eyes were brown, almost golden
and her hair was the blackest color she had ever seen. Susan wondered what her
history was. John appeared to be stunned as well. Only Delenn seemed able to uphold
her composure.
" There is something else I
require."
Ariel addressed Delenn, but Susan felt her
eyes staring at her. She quickly threw up her barriers, afraid that this
stranger was trying to scan her. But she felt nothing close to a scan.
" I understand that there is a ranger
named Marcus Cole on the station?"
Delenn was surprised, she hadn't expected
this turn to their conversation. " Yes, Marcus is the station
ranger."
" I want him assigned to me for the
next couple of days."
" As you wish." Delenn bowed
slightly.
Susan saw the baffled look in the
ambassador’s eyes. She was wondering about the same thing. Why Marcus Cole?
Ariel relaxed when she sat down. The
journey had been tiresome and she wasn't used to traveling... not anymore any
ways. She watched Mariak unpack and wondered why she had come here in the first
place.... That wasn't true. She knew why. The memory of the intense visions
flooded her mind. They had all been about
one person. They had all been about Marcus Cole, giving his life force to the
women he loved, Susan Ivanova. Ariel considered the Commander she had briefly
met. She had felt the paranoia in her mind, the distrust, and the hurt. She
understood why someone as innocent as Marcus Cole would fall in love with her.
** I am a hopeless romantic, that's it,** Ariel sighed and changed into more
comfortable clothes. She didn't plan on leaving her quarters today and the
robes were downright irritating. She changed into a black dress and sighed once
more. She hated wearing black, but it was the traditional color for the high
priestess. She knew it had been a necessity to become the next high priestess
but she regretted leaving her former life behind. She shook her head, not
wanting to remember those long years of searching and being lost in time.
" Holy One, the ranger has
arrived."
" Show him inside, Mariak and
then....leave us alone."
Mariak bowed and looked fondly at the woman
she had served for 4 years now. Ariel recognized the kind stare and smiled in
return. She moved to the sole window and watched the stars and planets, locked
in their eternal game of watching the races die and are reborn again. She had
lived too long, she wanted to rest, but there was so much left to do before she
could return to her origin. She heard footsteps, silent and careful not to
disturb her meditation. " Marcus Cole?" She didn't turn. Her mind
silently probing his without him knowing it. Her visions had been right.
Marcus Cole wondered what the hell he was
doing here. Delenn had assigned him to this high priestess from hell, hum
Minbar. He corrected himself but he wished he were somewhere else and not in
her quarters. Delenn had not given him any reason why he was assigned to her.
" Yes, I am Marcus Cole." He resisted the temptation to add a really
bad joke when she turned around. He knew that that ancient machine had altered
her, but he had never expected her to be this young. He shivered when she
stared at him.
" I am Ariel...and you aren't going to
leave this quarters for the next couple of days."
She moved
towards the couch and watched his shocked expression. It amused her to see him
like this. He had no idea yet how grueling the next week would be.
" Why? What is going on?" Marcus
wanted to turn and run. He felt like she was pulling all his strings. They were
in a war with Clark and he wanted to stay near Susan to make sure that she was
all right.
" Why don't you sit down? We need to
discuss a lot of things...you don't even know..."
She ended that sentence in a strange way,
like she wanted to add something but then refrained from doing so. He decided
to take her advice and he sat down opposite from her, trying to put as much
distance between them as possible. " What is it that I don't know?"
" Ah, are you sure you want that
question answered?"
" Yes!" Marcus realized that she
was trying to set the tone of the conversation and he hated not being in
control.
" Do you remember falling out of that
oak tree when you were 6 years old? You had a severe concussion and a broken
leg."
Marcus stirred, how did she know about his
fall? She must have checked his personal records, but he never thought that
they would have made a note of something like that.
Ariel grinned and handed him some tea. She
sipped herself, enjoying playing with him.
" I remember." Marcus bit his lip
not to ask her how she knew about that. He wouldn't give her that satisfaction.
" Then you must also remember that
you were up and running after 2 weeks. A fracture like yours should have taken
6 weeks to heal, not 2."
Marcus wanted to rise and run. He had the
definite impression that he was being manipulated.
" Then there was this incident with
Satai Neroon. Do you realize that you should have died? The trashing you
received was brutal… still you are back at work in mere 2 weeks… Do you see a
pattern here? I do."
Marcus stared at the floor, a bit
embarrassed. " Stephen says that I have the hardest skull he has ever seen
and that I am a fast healer."
" A fast healer?" She mimicked his tone. Ariel was tired of
this game. She had realized by now that he truly didn't know what she was
talking about. It was time for more drastic measures. She uncovered a tiny
knife and rose to her feet.
Marcus did the same thing and was thinking
how small she was compared to him.
" Give me your hand!"
Marcus obeyed her without knowing why. Her
hand felt warm against his and he was startled to feel his alarms kicking in
when he felt the cold steel of the knife in his flesh. “ What?" Marcus
wanted to jerk back his hand but she owned a hidden force and he couldn't move
it.
" Close the wound, Marcus!"
His head shook in denial. Why was she
doing this to him?
" You can do it, Marcus."
She then took the next step and Marcus
didn't realize that she was no longer speaking to him.
< Concentrate on the wound, Marcus. Use
your mind to make it heal. Just look a the broken energy pattern and let the
energy flow towards it... yes that is it.>
Marcus wasn't able to resist her and
followed her every instruction. Yes, it was true. He saw the damaged energy
pattern and he started to rebuild it, slowly... unaware of what he was doing.
Ariel smiled at him. < Marcus, answer
me>
" Yes?"
< Not that way>
Marcus felt hypnotized when he watched the
skin close again. Not even a scar had stayed behind.
< Marcus...do you realize what you just
did?>
" No, it is impossible, that wound
needed stitching. It was deep and bleeding, not to mention it hurt."
< Marcus, I know that this is hard for
you to accept but you have telekinetic powers. You are able to use those powers to heal yourself...
and others.> She felt the disbelief in his mind. He was the reason why she
had come here. She was going to help him to train these powers.
< Am I a telepath?> Marcus cringed when he realized that he had
spoken to her mind.
" You are."
Marcus was desperate, he knew how much
Susan hated telepaths and now it appeared he was one himself.
Susan Ivanova was irritated and filled
another shot glass with vodka. It was the hour of the wolf and she was alone in
her quarters, drowning her fears with alcohol. She didn't expect to hear the
door chime and caught herself hoping that it was Marcus Cole."
Enter." She felt disappointed when Lyta Alexander entered her quarters.
The telepath was going to leave for Mars very soon, to join the resistance
fighters.
Lyta's face was troubled somehow and she
peeked inside to see if she was welcome. " Susan? Can I talk to you?"
" Why not, got nothing else to do. You
want one too?" She waved with the now empty glass.
" No, thank you."
" Please sit down." Susan watched
the telepath sit down and wondered what the hell Lyta was doing here at 0200 in
the morning. Susan waited for Lyta to make the first move.
" I need to talk to you....I know you
aren't thrilled to be a telepath Susan.....but I can pick up your annoyance
without even trying. You have been in this foul mood for one week now. What is
going on?"
Susan pushed the almost empty bottle away
from her. She had drunk too much. Her head was throbbing and she was thinking
of stuff she wanted to bury deep inside her. She felt bad that Lyta had been
disturbed by her mood swings. " I don't know what is going on.....I always
forget that you know that I am latent....I should be more careful."
" Susan. you can talk to me. In a
couple of days you are going to lead the forces into battle against Clark. You
need to be focused. If I can help......?"
Susan pulled her legs close to her body,
resting her head on her knees. She had lied to Lyta. She knew what was bugging
her. " I miss him."
" You miss...who?" Lyta was
trying to figure out what Susan meant.
“ I miss Marcus, his babbling, annoying me.
Making stupid jokes and unbelievable charts ...... he hasn't been around for a
week now."
" You miss Marcus? I always thought
that you disliked him. You had me fooled....what chart?" Susan pointed to
the wall. Lyta rose and pulled some piece of paper from behind the cupboard.
" Where do I fit into the great order of things?" Lyta read the title
and smiled. She suddenly realized what was going on. She pushed the chart back
behind the cupboard and looked at Susan. Lyta sat down next to her. " You love
him?"
Susan stared at her, not knowing what to
say. " Love? I don't know. I promised myself that I would never fall in
love again after what happened with Talia. I never realized that I missed him
till he was assigned to that Minbari priestess."
" Have you told him of your feelings?" Lyta couldn't help
smiling. Susan Ivanova was in love and she was having trouble coming to terms
with it.
" Yeah right....Oh, Marcus....I am in
love with you.... The guy is a virgin, waiting for someone special coming
along. "
Lyta placed a gloved hand on Susan's. She
wasn't sure what to say after that revelation." You should tell him,
Susan"
" But I am afraid."
" Afraid? Commander Ivanova afraid?
What are you afraid of?"
Susan couldn't keep it all inside any
longer. She had never confided in anyone before and she had to go all the way
now. She knew Lyta wouldn't go away before all in the open was. " I
couldn't stand to see the loathing in his eyes when he finds out that I am
latent....."
Lyta nodded, she knew of Susan's fear of
Psi Corps and telepaths in general. " Do you really think it will bother
him that much?"
" I hate being a latent." Susan
reached for the bottle once more, but Lyta pushed it out of her reach.
" Alcohol isn't going to solve your
problem. You need to tell him."
Susan stared at the floor. She knew Lyta
was right.
" You know, there is a war going on
and all of us can die fighting Clark. You can die, Marcus can die.....do you
want to leave this unspoken? "
" I know. I know!" Susan forced
back the hot tears that were trying to break through.
Ariel observed Susan Ivanova pace the room.
The Commander had rushed in here and demanded to be heard. Ariel had been
waiting for her to show up. The Commander looked like she hadn't slept lately
and Ariel knew why. " You wanted to see me, Commander?"
" Yes.....I want to speak to Marcus
Cole."
" I am afraid that isn't possible, Commander. He is resting at
the moment."
Susan was about to explode. " Resting?
He hasn't been out of your quarters for 8 days now....he must really be
exhausted." Susan couldn't hide the sarcasm in her voice. She didn't want
to hide it. She was trying to look right through the door to see what was
happening on the other side. " You get him in here. I don't care how you
do it." Susan was losing her patience. She wanted to throw things at the
priestess.
Ariel was enjoying this little show of
impatience. She knew that the Commander had a temper. Although Marcus had told
her, she herself could see the fire burning inside Susan. Ariel felt that it
was time to act. She rose from the couch and stared right into Susan's blue
eyes, which reminded her of burning lava. " I am not a soldier......you
can't give me orders.....Marcus will join you on the White Star when you go to
fight Clark. But till then, he is staying here with me."
Susan was thunderstruck, did that woman
have the guts to defy her? Susan stared into Ariel’s golden eyes, which were
sparkling with........laughter? She was actually lost for words.
Ariel used that moment to lead the
conversation into the direction she wanted it to go." So, tell me, why are
you afraid to use your telepathic powers?"
Susan was stunned....She’d felt no
scan.....how did she know that she was a latent?
" I don't need to scan people to
see they are telepathic, Commander. I
know you are a latent."
Susan wanted to leave and slam the door
behind her shut. But she halted, when she realized that someone else now knew
of her secret.
" Don't worry, I am not going to tell
anyone. But it is a pity that you allow your fear to rule your mind."
" It is my mind, it is my business
Stay out of it!!" Susan turned her back on Ariel and left the room,
slamming the door hard on purpose.
Ariel
grinned, that woman had one hell of a temper. Well, she had one herself. Susan
Ivanova was going to confront everything she was running from. Ariel would see
to that.
Marcus heard the argument taking place in
the other room. He had been sleeping when he recognized Susan yelling at Ariel.
He didn't really know what to do. Ariel had told him to meditate before leaving
him and he had fallen asleep while meditating. The bed was far too comfortable
to keep focused on the mantras. He had given in to sleep quickly. His heart
missed a beat when he heard her confession that she was a telepath. Great, that
was going to complicate things even more. It had never crossed his mind that
she could be a telepath. Hell, he hadn't even known that he was one himself.
Bloody Minbari.... He saw the door open slowly and sat upright in the bed. He
was tired. He had been here for one week now and Ariel had shown him how to use
his telekinetic powers. He had been relieved when he found out that he couldn't
scan people, the core of his powers were healing capacities. By
rebuilding
the energy structures he could heal people. He had discovered that the use of
his powers left him weak and tired. Ariel had brought him little creatures that
had been injured and he had been able to cure them. He wasn't happy about
having these powers, but he did value them. He could help a person, which was
something he liked.
" You heard her?"
" Yes, it would have been impossible
to miss that conversation."
" Did you know that she was a
latent?"
" No, I never suspected her to be
one." Marcus sat on the edge of the bed, Ariel sitting next to him. He
didn't know why, but he felt comfortable being around her. She seemed to be
genuinely interested in him and that wasn't something that happened very often.
" She misses you."
Marcus stared at the wall, not sure how to
respond. " I wonder why, she usually tells me to shut up and get
lost."
" She likes you very much....you know
that, don't you?"
Marcus shook his head in denial. "
Like me??? No way....she needs someone to be her emotional punching bag.....and
I didn't mind being one." Marcus suddenly realized what his words might
imply.
" You love her, you should tell
her."
" Oh, Susan... I love you and by the way
I am a telepath?"
Ariel heard the bitterness edged against
himself. " How could she blame you for being a healer, when she has
telepathic powers herself?"
Marcus was still in denial. He was
desperate to change the subject. " You said that I was going to accompany
her on the White Star in the war against Clark?"
" You are. You will leave here
tonight. Your training isn't complete, but as long as you try to meditate and
keep practicing all I taught you....you should be all right. " She looked
in his eyes and told him one more thing. < You can always call me, this way.
No matter where I am, I will hear you.>
She gave him a gentle kiss on his brow. The next couple of days were
going to be grueling for him, but she knew that she had meddled enough into
these matters of fate. " I will tell Mariak to pack your belongings."
Marcus felt alone when she left him. His
thoughts wandered off to Susan
Marcus felt like walking over hot coals when
he faced Susan Ivanova, seated in the command chair. She didn't say anything to
him when he came aboard. There was only a deadly silence to welcome him....He
could see that she was mad at him. He had no idea how to bridge the distance
between them. She seemed to be further away then she had ever been and he lost
all hope of telling her about his feelings. She told him to set course and he
obeyed, translating the order into Minbari.
The awkward situation was getting to him,
hours later. But he lacked the courage to address it and the worst thing was
that his mind was trying to reach out for her, rebelling against the cold and
angry feelings emanating from her. He remembered everything Ariel had told him
and kept his distance.
These last hours had been hell. He had
talked her into getting some sleep and he had let her sleep into his watch. She
had been furious with him and then the strangest thing had happened. She had
thanked him for telling her that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Apparently she had taught herself Minbari or had forced Lennier in telling her
what the words meant. He thought that the last option was probably true. He was
touched nonetheless and he been speechless for a moment. He was sure that his
reply had been incoherent, at least it seemed so to him.
He knew that they were walking into a trap,
but Susan stayed in control till the last moment. He shivered when she
delivered her speech. He knew now why she frightened him ” I am sent by
God....."
Marcus swallowed when she gave the order to
open fire. The next moments were mayhem, the attack seemed to be having effect
and they were winning. Marcus smiled at her, the battle seemed over, the
victory hers.....only hers. He was paralyzed when he saw the debris coming
their way. He tried to warn her, but it was too late. The debris ripped the
bridge apart. He fell to the floor, trying to stay away from all the debris
around him, the electricity, the fire....he imagined hell would be like this.
He could only think of Susan. **Please let her be alive**
He couldn't see, the smoke darkening his
view, the screams of people in agony filling his eyes. There was only one way
left to find her. He used his mind to trace her whereabouts. She was trapped
underneath all the debris, but she was alive..... Marcus had no idea how he
managed to get her away from under the debris, but he carried her to one of the
escape pots, trying to get away from the ship that was about to explode. He
watched the White Star ripping itself to pieces. His heart felt the same way.
Susan was alive, in his arms, but he could feel that her mind wasn't
conscious. Tears swiftly followed the
revelation that she was mortally injured.
" I am so sorry, Marcus. But there is
nothing I can do to help her. The only thing I can do is to lessen her
pain."
Marcus felt Stephen's hand on his shoulder,
trying to offer him some comfort. But it didn't work. He stared at Susan. She
had been transported to med lab. The Minbari doctors had told him that she was dying...she
would be dead in less than one week. Marcus had wept icy tears when he realized
that he was going to lose her. Susan had been drifting between consciousness
and sleep for 2 days now. He didn't even know if she realized that he was
sitting at her bed, holding her hand, telling her that she would be all right.
All his hopes had been focused on Stephen to bring her back. But now the same
Stephen Franklin was telling him that he had to let her go.
" Marcus, she will slip into a coma in
a couple of hours.....I am not even sure if she can hear you now, but if there
is something you want to tell her........you have got to do it now."
Marcus knew what Stephen was referring to,
but he couldn't say the words. Not now, not like this.
" I will leave the two of you
alone......" Stephen fled out of the room. He couldn't hide his tears any
longer. He hated feeling this helpless. He had become a doctor to save lives,
not to see people die.
Marcus caressed her fingers. No more words
came over his lips. There was nothing left to say. In his despair he tried to
reach out to Ariel and he shivered when he heard her voice inside his head.
< You know you can save her.....you will
be drained and exhausted for days, but you can do it. Repair the damaged energy structures and she
will be fine. I taught you how to do it. Trust yourself, Marcus. You can do
it.>
Marcus had not considered using his 'gifts'
to bring her back, because he thought that his powers were too insufficient to
do something that dramatically. But her reassurance was all he needed. Marcus
realized that Susan would never want to see him again after this. He needed to
get into her mind for his powers to work and he was sure that she was never
going to forgive him for that. But the important thing was that she was going
to live. He could go on living without her as long as he knew that she was
well. Marcus placed his hands on hers and stretched his mind to find hers. He
experienced the pain and chaos inside her mind as his own. He tried to calm
her, but the pressure inside her head was almost crushing him. He forced
himself to concentrate on the damaged energy lines as Ariel had taught him. He
had to work slowly. He had never before tried to heal a human being, not
including himself, for he hadn't know that he was using those powers to heal
himself. The damage was severe, but as he continued to work on reconstructing
the energy lines he felt her mind begin to stir. His first reaction was to
withdraw, but he wasn't done yet with the reconstruction. He used all his
strength to finish the job.
< Marcus? Is that you? What are you
doing inside my mind?>
He felt her outrage, pain and finally her
puzzlement. < I am sorry Susan, but this is the only way I can help you.
Please, I am almost done.> Marcus ignored the questions that came flowing
towards his mind and sighed when the last torn line was restored. He felt how
weak he was and he realized that he needed to get out of med lab as quickly as
possible, before she would wake up completely. She was going to throw him out
of an airlock. He collected the little strength left in him and ran...
Susan had no clue what was going on. The
last thing she remembered was floating towards this dark, silent place when she
suddenly felt warmth pulsating through her. The warmth felt kind, gentle and
filled her entire body. The pain was driven away and she surrendered herself to
that warmth. She had never felt this warm, cared for, and the pain became
non-existent. She was almost lulled into sleep when she felt a presence in her
mind. It felt familiar and she recognized him at once. Marcus? Why was he in
here? How could he be in her mind? She had seen him sit at her bed these last
days. She had seen him cry, she had even felt the touch of his fingers, stroking
her hand.
< Marcus? Is that you? What are you
doing inside my mind?>
< I am sorry Susan, but this is the only
way I can help you. Please, I am almost done.>
Susan suddenly felt a rush of strength
inside her body and her mind and acted immediately. She forgot about the pain
of her shattered body and forged her way into his mind. There were no barriers,
he had probably never learned how to build the shields to keep another telepath
outside. When she looked into his mind she saw it all: his youth, the loss of
his brother and Hasina, the penance he wanted to do for their deaths.....then
she saw herself. It was the first time they had met and she saw how he fell in
love with her, head over heels in love with her....she started to feel guilty about
doing this, but there was no longer a way back for her. She had to go all the
way. She shuddered when she felt his fear while fighting Neroon and the strange
relief when he expected Neroon to kill him, the disappointment when he woke up
in med lab. She moved through his memories, she stopped when Ariel came aboard.
She witnessed his horror when he found out that he had telekinetic
powers....his despair when he realized that she would never accept his
love...She forced herself to get out of his mind, angry at herself for
trespassing into his mind.
When she was fully connected with her body
again she no longer ached, all her pain gone..... She tried to look at Marcus.
He looked pale and was stumbling over his feet when he ran from the room. Susan
tried to follow him, but the headpiece and several tubes prevented her from
leaving. Marcus' absence left her with a startling loneliness and she knocked
over a tray to get Stephen's attention.
Stephen got goosebumbs all over his body
when he heard that startling sound. He
knew right away that it was Susan and he rushed to her room, afraid that she
was in pain somehow. The sight that greeted him completely stunned him. Susan
was busy ripping the tubes apart, struggling with her headpiece. She had
managed to get off the respirator and was coughing before addressing him.
" Don't stand there, Stephen......help
me, damnit!"
Stephen was speechless, what was going on
here? " Susan? You can't be moving. You are paralyzed."
" Yeah, right Stephen. Get your ass
over here and help me lose this headpiece. It is killing me....jeez,
doctors."
Stephen moved over to the bed. Susan yanked
off the headpiece, handed it to him and walked over to the closet. She pulled
out some sweats.
" Susan.....?"
" I will explain this later. You
better ask Zack to get some search parties together."
Stephen placed the headpiece on the floor,
stared at the empty bed. Susan had disappeared into the bathroom. The med gown
came flying towards him and he picked it up from the floor to put it on the
bed. " Search parties? Who is missing?"
" Marcus is.....Come on, I will
explain everything to you as we go along. He already has a head start...."
Stephen was amazed to feel the strength
Susan used to drag him with her.
Marcus had dragged himself to Down Below.
He felt like he had just received another trashing from Neroon. But he knew
that his body was going to recover in the end. He needed time to rebuild his
lost energy and that would take days. He was no longer able to walk and fell to
his knees. He crawled into the darkest corner of Gray 17. He was sure that
nobody was going to search for him down here. After Garibaldi's little
adventure the section had been closed. He had cracked the code a long time ago
and that came in handy now. He managed to pull up his legs and wrapped his arms
around his cold body. He was trying to stay awake as long as possible. He was
determined to get a shuttle to Minbar in a couple of days when his body had
recovered enough. He remembered how Susan had recoiled when she realized that
he was inside her mind. He clung to the fact that she was alive and would make
a full recovery. He had seen Susan opening her eyes. That sight would never
leave him and it gave him the will to go on.
He rested his weary head on his knees and pulled his cloak
closer.....trepidation grew stronger and he closed his eyes when he fell
asleep.
Susan was shouting at the security guards.
Zack Allen had not yet recovered from her unexpected appearance moments ago and
he was afraid that some of his men had to check into Med lab should she
continue to act like this. They had been searching for one hour now and there
was still no trace of the runaway ranger. Zack looked at Stephen for support,
but the doctor was still trying to deal with the information given to him by
Susan. He rubbed his temples. He never suspected Marcus having telekinetic
powers, although the startling recoveries the ranger had made had stunned him.
It would explain a lot......but it didn't explain why Marcus had run. Susan had
told him that Marcus had been literally drained from healing her injuries and
Stephen was worried for his friend.
" This is madness, we are never going
to find him, if he doesn't want to be found." Susan knew him too well. He
would hide some place they would never think off, but where?
" Perhaps I can help?"
" Lennier?" Susan spun around and
looked in amazement at the Minbari. Lennier had made no sound while sneaking up
to her. " I didn't even know that you were here."
" Delenn sent me when she heard that Marcus was missing. I
understand that he .....helped you recover.?"
" That is one way to put it."
Susan turned around, suddenly realizing that Lennier knew what Marcus had done.
" How do you know....?"
" There are advantages to being part
of the rangers.....I know what occurred and I want to offer my help to find
him."
Susan sighed, she should have known that
Delenn would discover everything in the end. " I don't know where to search......Zack,
you are doing a great job, but...."
Zack appreciated her attempt to apologize
to him and he was even more determined to find that irritating ranger.
" Commander, did you search Gray
17?"
Susan listened and wondered why Lennier
brought up that dreadful place.
" I found him there once, when he was
trying to hide from Delenn."
" He was trying to hide from
Delenn?"
" She wanted him to participate in a
rebirth ceremony......he hates them."
" What are we waiting for? Lets
move!"
Susan, Stephen and Lennier separated from
the search parties and headed down to Gray 17.
Marcus woke briefly when he heard footsteps
coming his way. Not now, he couldn't risk being discovered. He tried to get to
his feet, but his body was experiencing some shut down to hold onto the little
energy he had left. Marcus moaned and started to crawl over the floor without
any real destination. His mind tried to reason with his heart. He should allow
those people to find him, to ease the healing process. For a moment he longed
for a warm bed, not a hard Minbari bed, but a comfortable bed.......perhaps
even a four-poster bed. His laughing was drowned in bitterness. He stopped
crawling as his body started to feel paralyzed from the cold. He could feel how
he drifted off into sleep again....he vaguely registered some voices in the
background.
Susan suddenly halted when she heard the
mocking laughter in the darkness. She recognized the sound and urged her
friends to follow her. " He's close."
Stephen was running after her, blind in the gloomy darkness. So this was
the place where Marcus had fought Neroon? He shivered and wondered how Marcus
was doing.
" I can see him!" Lennier pointed
to the back of the corridor. His eyes had no trouble piercing through the dark
and he led his friends to where the fallen ranger was.
" Marcus?" Susan knelt beside
him. His body felt cold. She pulled his head into her lap and smoothed back the
raven locks from his face. She registered how Stephen told med lab to prepare
med lab one.
" We have to get him back to med lab
at once."
Lennier nodded and he signaled Stephen to
support Marcus' other side. Marcus was mumbling something incoherent. Susan watched
him and gingerly reached out for his mind. She didn't want to intrude, she just
wanted to make sure that he was all right. The impression she got from his mind
was one of utter exhaustion. Marcus' feet dragged over the floor as Lennier and
Stephen carried him towards the lift. Once inside, Stephen used his override
abilities and made sure that this elevator was going straight to med lab.
Marcus felt how he was dragged into the
elevator. Bugger, they had found him. He needed to find a better hiding place
in future. Lennier had told them of course. Wait a moment, Lennier wasn't
supposed to be on Babylon 5. He was baffled when he felt Susan reaching out to
him with her mind. He wanted to tell her that he was going to be all right and
that he would disappear as soon as possible, saving her the embarrassment of
having to face him. But he had no more energy left and he drifted into
unconsciousness when they placed him on a med lab bed.
Stephen was determined to check on the
ranger and he hooked him up to a monitor to see if everything was truly okay.
" How is he?" Susan had thanked
Lennier for his help and the Minbari had left med lab to report to Delenn and
Sheridan, who both were worried for their friends.
" I don't know.....I never treated a
telekinetic before. But the readings only show severe exhaustion. Seems he is
asleep and my guess is that he will need a lot of sleep to recuperate. You can
stay with him if you want to. Otherwise I am going to get a security guard in
here to make sure he isn't sneaking out of med lab again."
" That won't be necessary.....I will
stay with him." Susan looked into Stephen’s knowing eyes and pulled up a
chair. She watched Marcus' pale face and
stroked back some hair. He stirred in his sleep, but didn't wake up. Susan
resisted the temptation to look into his mind again. She was content holding
his hand and looking at his eyelids, which were fluttering...., he was
dreaming. Susan left the room after a couple of hours to join Stephen for
dinner. Stephen had learned his lesson and asked a nurse to watch Marcus while
they were gone. Susan and Stephen discussed everything that had happened and
wondered how to proceed once Marcus would wake up. Susan was in a hurry to get
back and Stephen walked her back, eager to get some sleep He decided to stay in
Med lab and sleep there, just in case something went wrong with Marcus. The
nurse told them that Marcus had been asleep the entire time. Susan pulled up
another chair and made herself comfortable, resting her legs.
Susan woke during the night when Marcus
started talking in his sleep. She gently took his hand into hers and felt how
cold it was. He was shivering slightly and she went to get another blanket from
the nurse.
Marcus had been waiting for her to leave
the room to make his move. When he woke the first time he saw Susan sitting
next to his bed. He sighed. They had found him. He wondered though why she was
sitting with him. He muttered something in Minbari and closed his eyes quickly
when she opened hers. Her touch seemed to burn his flesh and when she left the
room, he decided that the time had come to leave. He managed to get his feet on
the floor, but the room was spinning at an alarming rate. He felt so bloody
weak, but he had to make a run for it now. He stumbled over his feet and had to reach for the wall
to support his drained body. He was so concentrating on his weakened state that
he didn't hear Susan come back again.
Susan kicked herself mentally when she saw
him standing propped up against the wall. She should have known that he would
try a trick like this one. " So, Marcus, where do you think that you are
going?" She saw him freeze, swaying on his feet when he recognized her
voice. Susan dropped the blanket and made her way over to him. She steadied him
and led him back to the bed. " You get into bed and rest....."
Marcus remained quiet. He was waiting for
her to yell at him.
Susan realized what he was probably
thinking and tucked him in, collecting the blanket from the floor and adding it
to the other.
" Susan, I'm sorry."
" What for?"
Susan sat on the side of the bed, caressing
his face. Marcus wondered why she had not yet kicked him out of her life.
" I .....you must know by now that I am a telepath..."
" So am I." It took all her
courage to acknowledge that fact to him and she saw the wonder on his face.
" You saved my life, Marcus. Thank you."
Marcus nodded, what kind of game was she
playing with him?
" Marcus?"
" Yes?" His voice wavered when
she leaned over him, brushing his lips in a teasing way.
" Don't ever run away from me like
that. I WILL find you."
" Why?" Marcus barely managed to
get the word out in the open as her lips returned, capturing his and deepening
the kiss. He felt her tongue begging him to open his mouth and he whimpered
when she started to explore the softness of his mouth.
< Because I love you.>
Susan’s eyes stared at him, pleading with
him. She had decided that it was time to get rid off all secrets in their lives.
< Oh, Susan....I love you too.>
Marcus felt her body close to his, her mind wrapped around his and he realized
that besides accepting him being a telekinetic, she loved him as well......and
she had come to terms with the fact that she was a telepath herself. It was
more than he had dared to hope for.
< Don't ever leave me, Marcus.....>
Marcus tried to answer her that he would
always be there for her, but desire clouded his mind and the only way left to
answer her was by showing her how much he loved her.......
Stephen silently turned away when he heard
Marcus whimper, giving in to Susan’s kiss. He couldn't help grinning.
The
end