Disclaimer: I don't own Babylon 5 or the characters. For now, I must be content to write fanfiction. . . -Sighs heavily-
Anyway, here goes nothing.
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"I love you," Marcus Cole said softly to the prone form of Commander Susan Ivanova beside him. He leaned against her bed, his last reserves of strength gone, sucked away by the alien healing device attached to his arm.
The greatest sacrifice…She would be angry with him for this, Marcus knew. And, he hoped she would feel something else, too…
Marcus closed his eyes and felt his life slip away.
---
Susan Ivanova lay in her quarters. It was one in the morning, but she wasn't sleeping. She lay on her bed, thinking.
Why? Why did he do it? she asked silently, though she already knew the answer. He loved me.
Damn him! Damn him and his romantic notions! She had been ready to die, had seen her death and accepted it. And here she was, alive, but confused and uncertain.
Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, and Susan angrily dashed them away with the back of her hand.
I love you. His last words to her. She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow, crying again.
Because inside, she knew she felt the same way about him.
---
Doctor Stephen Franklin sat at his console. The last few days had been exhausting. Ever since he had gotten back and found Marcus…well, it had been one crisis after another. The most recent incident had been a shipful of Pak'ma'ra injured in an attack by Drakh fighters.
His thoughts returned to Marcus. He'd put the Ranger in cryo as soon as he had arrived. There must be a way to save him. There was the alien healing machine, but that left them in the same situation as before—one person giving up his life so another could live.
Damn. With the First Ones gone, there would be no miraculous recovery like Sheridan's. Marcus needed life energy, and modern medicine, advanced as it was, couldn't give him that.
Suddenly Stephen sat up, raising his comm link to his mouth.
"Franklin to Lieutenant Corwin."
"Corwin. Go ahead."
"I need you in Medlab, ASAP. I've got an idea."
---
Susan walked into C&C. She was on medical leave for three days more, but she needed to do something, anything, to take her mind off Marcus.
Corwin looked up at her from his console, obviously surprised.
"Commander! Aren't you…I mean, shouldn't you be…"
"Medical leave, I know." She sighed. "I'm going to go stir crazy if I don't do something."
She walked over to the window. "I'll just stand here and watch you guys…and yell at you if you mess up."
"Alright, commander," Corwin laughed.
A voice came through the comm system.
"We're ready to go."
Susan narrowed her eyes.
"Is that Stephen? What's he doing?"
Corwin ignored her and replied, "You're clear for launch."
Susan walked toward Corwin. "Where's Stephen going?"
Corwin looked down at the console suddenly.
"Commander, there's a message coming in for you on Gold Channel. It's the captain."
"I'll take it in his office," she replied. "Patch it through."
Susan climbed to steps to the office and sat in John's chair. This is a nice chair, she thought, distractedly.
Then John Sheridan's face appeared on the screen. His boyish grin lit his face as he saw her.
"Susan," he greeted her warmly. "How's it going?"
"Fine, John," she answered, but felt tears start to form in her eyes. Angrily, she blinked them away, looking down at her hands.
"I heard about what happened," John said in a softer voice. "I'm so sorry, Susan."
Her throat constricted, and Susan drew a shuddering breath. What was happening to her? She had to regain her composure.
"But, that's not why I called," John continued. "I suppose you've heard, we took back Earth, and I've given myself up"
She nodded, that much had been on ISN for the past few days.
"President Luchenko offered amnesty for the crew, if I resigned my position in Earthforce. I agreed."
"John," Susan started to interrupt, but he cut her off.
"Susan, before I resign my commission, I want to give you something you've been due a long time. I am officially promoting you to full captain."
Susan's jaw dropped, and for several seconds she was speechless. John laughed at her reaction.
"John, I… ah hell, thank you," she finally said.
John smiled. "You're welcome, Susan. I'll see you soon." And with that, he ended the transmission.
Susan sat back in the chair. Captain. The title sounded foreign in conjunction with her name. Captain Susan Ivanova.
---
Susan collapsed with a sigh onto a chair in her quarters. She held an empty glass in one hand, and a bottle of vodka in the other. She filled the glass, and studied it for a moment. As she lifted the glass to her lips, the tone sounded, indicating an incoming message.
Damn. Everyone here has the worst timing. Susan set down the vodka and stood, facing the screen.
Doctor Franklin's face appeared on the screen.
"Susan, you were due in Medlab eight minutes ago," he told her. "Are you all right?"
"Stephen, I'm perfectly fine," she replied, "And you know it. I don't need another examination."
The doctor gave her a stern look. "I expect you here in three minutes," he said, and ended the transmission.
Susan rolled her eyes, but Stephen missed that.
Precisely three minutes later, Susan stepped into Medlab.
Stephen was waiting for her. "Step this way, please," he said, guiding her to an examination table.
"Don't play the good doctor with me," Susan snapped irritably.
He ignored her. "Take a seat," he said, indicating the padded table.
She sat while he ran a scanner over her body.
"Arm, please," he said, meaning he meant to do a blood test.
Susan winced, just barely noticeably, as the needle pierced her skin, remembering the injections her mother used to get. Needles still haunted her.
"You know, this really isn't necessary," she said.
"I beg to differ," he retorted. "What am I supposed to do if I can't stick someone with a needle at least once a day? That's the real reason I became a doctor, you know," he said, conspiratorially.
Susan didn't even crack a smile.
Stephen sighed. "Alright, if you're going to be that way…Now promise me you'll behave. . ."
"What?" Susan was confused. "Well, fine."
"Good," Stephen said, and then led her to a room with all the blinds down over the large observation windows. He opened the door, and Susan froze.
There, on the bed, lay Marcus; eyes closed, skin pale, but very definitely alive.
Susan fainted.
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First of all, I want to thank you, the reader, for, well, reading. -I finally got my story online!- Sorry-must try to contain my joy. Anyway, please review, now that you've read! I really want to know what people think about my writing!
More to come (hopefully) soon!