Trio
Standard disclaimer applies; not my characters or settings or backgrounds. But they are my words.
To the Minbari, three is sacred.
Late that afternoon, Delenn had finally decided she needed to talk with Lennier. She had time, she thought, to go and get back before John returned with their dinner guests. Lennier's guest quarters were close to the command staff area, so she headed that direction. Earlier that day, she had found some of Lennier's words and attitudes disturbing, and she felt the need to try and 'get things out in the air', as the humans would say. It would be difficult, but she was worried if they did not speak, then the tension between them would continue to grow. They had entered a new phase of their relationship with her marriage, and his deciding to join the Anla'Shok. Perhaps this would lead them back to the supportive friendship they had shared for so long. She hoped so; she missed him.
She was looking at a directory screen, when the Brakiri takeover of that part of the station occurred. The red flickering field that cut her off from her own quarters was so strange; she had never seen anything like it. Trying to cross it had gotten her nowhere; it had felt like someone was squeezing all the air from her lungs. It was impenetrable, even to communications. Since she couldn't go back, she decided to go ahead with her plan, and find Lennier.
Locating his quarters from the directory, she set off on the most direct path, but she kept getting side-tracked by the barrier. It was getting late, and she passed no one in the corridor. Finally, she came upon a room with an open door, and a light on inside. She started to pass by, but her curiosity was aroused, and she paused. Wondering if someone within needed help, she re-traced her steps, looked inside, and called, "Is anyone there? May I be of assistance?"
"You must be Delenn. Please, come in," a voice answered from within the room.
The tone was familiar, as were the words, but she couldn't place either. She entered cautiously, uncertain what to expect. What she saw was someone she never expected to see; not again, not in this life.
"I'm Anna Sheridan, John's wife. Well, his second wife, as I understand you've discovered recently." The slim redhead sat on the edge of the bed, one leg crossed underneath her. She patted the bed, "Sit down," she invited, then pointed towards a chair opposite her, "Or there, if you prefer."
Delenn's native poise deserted her, and she groped her way towards the offered chair, and clumsily sat down. Staring at the other woman, she said, "I thought you were dead."
"I was. I am, actually. It's the Day of the Dead, you know. What did you think would happen?" Anna's eyebrows quirked upward, and she smiled at her own question. "People see their dead, the dead who are important to them. That's what the day is all about."
Delenn was still in shock, but her training and natural courtesy let her ask, albeit slightly ungraciously, "And you are my important dead? Why you? There have been so many…"
"That is true," Anna stood, and went over to the kitchen area, "Would you like a drink? I have water and…water, I'm afraid. These quarters were unoccupied."
"That would be fine. Thank you." Delenn answered, still trying to wrap her mind around what was happening. If it was a hallucination, it was an extremely powerful and exact one. Anna Sheridan looked just as she remembered, and she was not likely to forget a single detail of that night. She reached up to take the glass, and her fingers brushed Anna's. She was warm, real. Delenn's eyes widened; Anna was real. She realized she had doubted her own eyes up till now. She took a sip of the cool water, and then asked quietly, "But why are you here?"
"Well, as I understand the rules, such as they are, on this night we dead respond to the needs or wishes of the living. Maybe you wanted to see me. Maybe you needed to." Anna looked curiously at her. "You know we haven't met before. That wasn't really me, that night. Not entirely."
"I know. I knew even then, but I was not in any position to challenge you." There was resignation, pain, and a hint of shame in Delenn's voice.
Anna looked at her with quiet understanding. "So what is it you want from me? There is something unfinished between us." She sat back down on the edge of the bed, leaning forward, her elbows on her knees, her hands clasped beneath her chin. "I could not be more sorry for the use the Shadows made of my body. It was agony for what was left of me to watch what happened to John. I loved him very much, you see."
"As do I." Delenn looked down at her hands, twisted together in her lap, clutching the water glass between them. "Do you know that? How much do you know of what has occurred since you died?"
"Which time?" Anna said, laughing. At Delenn's look of consternation, she went on, "Once you've been dead, death has no further power over you. John knows that. You have known it before, and will again, in time." Then, seriously, "Is it my understanding you want? My permission? My blessing?"
Delenn took a deep breath. She couldn't let this opportunity go by. "Perhaps your forgiveness…"
"For not telling him some part of me might still be alive; that he could find me again? That was understandable. You had both strategic, and emotional, reasons. Either way, you were protecting him. How could I fault you for that?" Anna looked at her solemnly. "For what it's worth, you have my forgiveness. I ask only one thing in return."
Delenn looked at her predecessor, her eyes glinting with repressed emotion. "And what is that?"
"Love him. Make him happy. He's a good man, and he deserves that." Anna leaned back, tucking her legs under her on the bed. "Now, we've put that behind us. What else would you like to know?"
Delenn looked up almost shyly, and then smiled.
**************************************
The clock on the com screen indicated it was almost sunrise. Anna looked pointedly at it, and said, "It's almost time for me to go." Her voice tightened, "Part of me wishes I could stay, but that wouldn't work out very well, would it? Don't tell him you saw me, all right? I'm afraid it would hurt him to know."
"I will not." Delenn stood as well, and faced Anna. "Thank you for this. You have honored me with your presence, and your words." She held one hand to her heart, and extended the other towards Anna, palm outwards, closing her eyes which were blurred with tears.
Anna smiled, echoed the gesture, and disappeared.
Delenn opened her eyes to an empty room, and the sounds of people, talking, and moving through the corridors. Going to the door, she spied Captain Lochley, and impulsively called to her. As the woman slowed her steps, Delenn left the room, and joined her in the hallway.
"Captain! What happened? Is it over?" said Delenn.
Lochley looked at her with relief. "There you are! I spoke briefly with the President earlier; he's worried sick about you."
Delenn smiled, "I will contact him right away. I am sorry he was concerned, but it was a most illuminating evening."
Lochley went on, her eyes still shaded with visions of her own dead, "I don't know exactly what happened, but it seems to be over. The forcefield, or whatever it was, is gone. Everyone's gone." Her voice sounded singularly bereft, almost grief-stricken.
Delenn looked at her, knowingly, and said, "You saw something, didn't you?"
"Yes," said Lochley shortly. Her voice softened as she added, "An old, dear friend." Then, curiosity striking her, she asked, "Did you see someone?"
Delenn hesitated, then plunged ahead, "I saw Anna Sheridan."
Lochley blinked, and said cautiously, "That must have been…interesting."
"Very," answered Delenn, then almost wistfully, "I wish I'd known her when she was alive."
"I only met her once. She seemed a lovely woman, and she suited the President. Not that you don't," Lochley added hastily.
Delenn said, with a sudden friendly smile, "I believe we can safely say he has excellent taste, don't you?"
Lochley's stoic expression wavered, then she grinned back, "I believe we can."