John Sheridan stood near the big bay window on the
observation deck of the White Star lost in thought.
The deep reddish orange hues of hyperspace swirled
around them, drawing his eyes repeatedly to the
unusual formations the energy displayed. Hearing the
swoosh of the door behind him he didn't acknowledge
his companion until he heard the voice.
"Here you are. I have been looking for you," Delenn
stated as she strolled toward him, the soft fabric of
her robes dancing about her feet.
"I'm sorry I should have thought to leave my
whereabouts with T'neer," he returned holding out his
hand. "I hope you haven't been looking for me long."
"Long enough." To anyone else her words would have
put them on guard, but to John, he simply smiled
knowing her tone held nothing but amusement as she
took his offered hand and stepped to his side. "What
has drawn your attention away?" she inquired looking
out the view port as well.
"Nothing out there," he admitted wrapping his arm
loosely around her small shoulders. "I've just been
thinking."
"About what?"
He sighed. "Life in general… the future."
"The future will attend to itself John. Why must you
continue to ponder its arrival?" she asked lifting a
hand and rubbing his chest affectionately.
"Because its not just us anymore Delenn. We have
David to consider," he returned seriously. "What kind
of a life is he to lead? How will the universe as a
whole take his appearance… his mixed heritage? I don't
want him ridiculed as he gets older."
She gave him a look, "Do you not think it is a little
late to be having second thoughts?"
"Second thoughts? I'd never have second thoughts
about our children," he corrected shaking his head.
"He's the light of my life, you know that. He's
perfect." Looking back toward the swirling mass of
color outside the ship he spoke again. "But we're not
always going to be there to protect him and I'm afraid
of what he's going to have to endure. The universe is
a hateful place. He's never going to have a home on
Earth or Minbar."
"He will have a home with us," she said tenderly.
"Will that be enough?"
"It will. He is of strong character John. There is
much of you inside him."
"And you," he added kissing her bone crest gently.
"If that alone doesn't give him an advantage, I don't
suppose anything will." He sighed again. "I never
really understood what dad said that night I left home
until now. He told me that being a parent never got
easier regardless of how old your children became. He
said that I was always going to be his little boy and
that he was going to worry about me whether it was
logical or not. Those words really mean something to
me now Delenn. I have a family to consider and the
welfare of our children…"
"Our family is well taken care of," she returned
laying her head against his chest. "The rangers do not
allow him to leave their sight."
"I know and to tell you the truth, you don't know how
thankful I am for that. But the rangers aren't always
going to be there…"
"Yes they are."
He shook his head again drawing back away from her to
meet her eyes. "We're talking about our son here
Delenn. As much as we try to teach him right from
wrong there's too much of me inside of him. He's going
to get tired of being watched as he gets older and
he's going to slip away to find his own adventures…"
"The rangers will not allow that," she stated
strongly.
He laughed at her. "You don't know our son very well.
He's not going to sit back and allow himself to being
babysitted all his adolescent life. He's too strong
willed for that."
"He will learn…"
"He will not," he corrected, "and that's the problem
I'm having with all of this. Right now he's perfectly
happy with having T'neer as a playmate, he's Dave's
best friend. As he gets older he's going to want to
strike out on his own, be his own man…"
"John, there will be several years ahead of us that
will allow us to explain to him the ways of the
universe. David will understand the importance of his
bodyguards as he grows," she interrupted.
"He'll resent them for being there and hate us for
forcing the issue," he complained rubbing his face as
he released her and gazed once more out the silent
port. "I don't want that Delenn, I know it's going to
happen, and… if he grows to hate me it's going to kill
me."
Feeling her hand sliding along his arm, he exhaled
slowly. "David will not hate you my one. You are his
hero, you are his father."
"You haven't raised a teenager before," he muttered.
"You don't know the emotional struggle they go
through…"
"Neither have you," she pointed out.
He looked toward her then shook his head. "No, but I
was one. I know the shit I put my dad through. I
seriously doubt you were the hell raiser I was when
you were growing up. David's half-human Delenn.
Despite all the training we're planning on giving him
in his Minbari heritage that human side is still going
to come up and bite us in the ass."
She blinked, opened her mouth to say something then
seemed to rethink her words. "Regardless of what that
last statement meant, I am sure the two of us can
handle him."
"You think so huh? He's our only son."
"I am aware of this."
John laughed again, reaching out to caress her arm.
"He's going to be spoiled rotten."
"He is now," she agreed matching his expression.
"So you really don't see a problem in the future?" he
asked in surprise.
"I see many problems," she corrected, "I however,
know we will attend to them when necessary. Do not
discount our abilities John. We are two very strong
willed individuals. We command many great powers."
"Yeah that's true, but we have a carbon copy of
ourselves running around that's just as strong willed
and stubborn as we can be on our best day. That's
scary as hell Delenn. He's already starting to push
the limits. Did I tell you I caught him up roaming the
halls last night well after his bedtime?"
She shook her head.
"Oh yeah, at two in the morning his happy butt was
heading down to the mess hall, said something about
wanting a midnight snack." He smiled, then sighed.
"This is just the beginning, he's starting to become
independent and we're in for a world of hurt from here
on out. "
"I am sure we will manage."
"We'll manage all right, the question is… will we be
sane after it's all over?"
She smiled, taking his hand tenderly in hers and
brought his fingers to his mouth. "If we are not then
I am willing to be insane as long as I am with you."
"Yeah well, I've heard it's not nearly as much fun if
you go it alone." Feeling her kissing his fingertips
he drew her against his strong body and tipped her
chin upward. "Thank you for your words. You are my
strength, I love you," he whispered.
"We are the better half of each others soul," she
responded quietly as he leaned down and captured her
lips.
Drinking in the delicious flavor he knew only as
Delenn, John sighed inwardly feeling the velvet touch
of her lips caressing his. With a flick of his tongue
he teased them apart and strengthened the kiss.
A soft moan filtered toward him as he felt her
tremble slightly in his embrace, her hands doing
wonderful things along the nape of his neck as her
fingernails tickled his scalp. When he pulled back
smiling into her eyes, Delenn's expression sparkled
with wickedness. "Does this mean you are willing to
try for a second child?" she teased.
"I'm more than willing to practice all you like
Ambassador," he said laughing as he held her close.
At that moment the door parted again and pounding
footsteps preceded the small voice by a mere second.
"Daddy, I've been looking for you," David said
excitedly as he ran into the room. John stepped away
from Delenn long enough to reach out and grab the
young boy as he vaulted into his arms. "You promised
to take me down to the engine room today, member?"
He laughed as the boy wrapped his arms about his
shoulders, holding on tight as John stood back to his
full height. "I remember Dave. Can mom come along?"
"Oh sure, she can come," David agreed with a fast
nod, looking toward his mother. "She's seen it before,
but it might still be fun for her."
"It might indeed," she agreed.
"Come on, let's go." David jerked on John's neck
motioning him toward the door. "T'neer said if you
didn't mind he was gonna doing something for a while
since you're watching me," he continued as John and
Delenn started toward the hallway. "Are we almost
home? How much longer is it going to take?"
"We should be home in a couple of days. Where is
T'neer? I thought the two of you were out exploring,"
John asked.
"He's coming," David assured him. "I just
outdistanced him on the home stretch and won. He
doesn't run very fast," he said lowering his voice to
a quiet whisper. "I'm gonna have to work with him. He
needs a bunch of practice."
John laughed as they headed down the hallway, seeing
his wife smile when he shifted his son's weight in his
arms. "I can just imagine. I'm sure you'll give him
all the practice he'll need in the future."
* * *
The End
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