See Part 1 for Disclaimer and Author's Notes.
Chapter 2 – The Meeting
"Mr. President."
John lifted his eyes away from his careful study of his son's face to take in the Minbari aide who had addressed him. He did not immediately respond, and when he did, his gruff voice bore all of the exhausted happiness one would expect of a new human father. It also bore a calmness that, until recently, would not have been a staple of his demeanor. "Yes, Nalenn. What is it?"
"Sorry to disturb you, sir. The visitor you have been waiting for has arrived."
"Good." He nodded and stood, careful not to disturb the slumbering infant he cradled. Nalenn remained rooted where he stood, watching. "Something else?"
The aide continued to study them curiously for a moment. "He is… a marvelous mystery," he said at last.
Sheridan nodded in agreement. "All children are, Nalenn. His heritage makes him no more or less so." The president ran a gentle thumb along his son's cheek and gazed again at his face for a moment. When he spoke again to the Minbari aide, the usual authority had returned to his tone. "Tell Mr. Garibaldi I'll meet him in my office in 10 minutes."
Nalenn bowed and departed, and John looked down at David. "He's a little uptight," he explained, transferring the child to his other arm in a clumsy motion he was still practicing. "Don't hold it against him." He laughed quietly. "Well! Your mother should be just about done with her nap, and Daddy has to go see an old friend. You'll meet him later." He was navigating the halls of Interstellar Alliance Headquarters without looking up, and occasionally a staff member, Ranger or aide would move aside to give father and son a wide berth. John didn't even notice. He reached his family's quarters and let himself inside.
She was a vision, just rousing from her slumber, still stretched across their bed, loosely reaching for him as though she would find him there. He wondered if she did that every time she awoke to find his place in bed empty. A sad smile crossed his face at the thought.
John cleared his throat by way of breaking any peaceful reverie she might have been lost in, and she looked up, a tired smile lighting her face as she took in her husband and son.
"You got him to sleep."
"The sounds of politicking are droning and dull. A nice, peaceful hum that sometimes puts me to sleep… I figured a walk through the halls of this place would do the same for him." He handed the tiny bundle off to his wife. "Michael's here. I have about five minutes." His voice was quiet again, content.
"You'll bring him here tonight, of course." Not a question. A request.
"Of course." John stood behind her, hands resting on her shoulders in a tender, familiar gesture. Delenn turned her head away from their child's sleeping face to gaze up at him, and he answered with a kiss. "See you soon."
"John!"
"Michael!" Michael Garibaldi stood as Sheridan entered the office. He extended his hand, and John grasped it and shook it before using it as leverage to pull his old friend into a back-slapping hug. When they parted, he motioned to a chair. "Well. Sit! Sit. How is Mars?"
"I imagine not quite as good as fatherhood." Garibaldi chuckled. "Thanks for the invitation, by the way. I needed to get away. Lise is swept whole-hog into this wedding planning thing. You know, for me, the civil ceremony on B5 was enough, but no – Lise wanted the whole ball of wax. And since I love her, and since we have more money than God, well… who was I to argue?" He shrugged, then threw his hands up in the air. "I called to tell her I'd made it here and she wasn't home. The maid said she was shoe shopping. For the third day in a row. I swear I have no idea what women feel is so important about shoes."
"You're asking the wrong man."
"Indeed."
"You'll stay tonight, of course. Delenn insists."
"And you?"
"Well, I called you here, didn't I? It would be rude of me to send you on the first transport out. You are welcome to stay for as long as you wish. Of course… after a few days, you'll get wrangled into diaper duty, and then I expect you'll be anxious to leave." John crossed the room to sit behind his desk. A moment of silence fell between them, and then John cleared his throat. "Which… brings me to the reason I asked you to come here. I suppose I could've done it over a distance, but. This seemed more appropriate. I… I need your help, Michael."
"With all due respect Mr. President, the last time you asked for my help, it ended with you hijacking two thermonuclear bombs and using them to blow up a planet while you were still on it." He raised a pointed eyebrow at the other man.
"I trusted you then, Michael. And I trust you now, with this." Another beat of silence. "Delenn and I agreed that in raising David, we would do our best to integrate our cultures; we'd raise him to be equally human and Minbari, and not sway him one way or the other. Well, the Minbari have a tradition that when a child is born, he is visited by a seer – like a telepath, but… different. They're able to peek into the future, get a sense of who the child could be, what he could do. We did that before we left the temple. And it was… amazing." John shook his head in wonder at the memory. "But… humans also have a tradition with regard to their newborn children." He looked down at his hands. This decision had borne heavily on the new father for months before his child was born. It carried quite a different weight knowing that the responsibilities associated with the symbolic role would almost certainly be called upon. "Michael I… I'd like to ask you… to be David's godfather."
"I'd be honored." Michael nodded somberly.
"He won't be baptized; it doesn't mean anything to Delenn, and I'm not religious and I know you're not either, but… you and I both know that before he comes of age, David will need someone to look to in how to be a man. I can't think of anyone else I'd like him to model himself after."
"Yeah." Garibaldi flexed his hands between his knees and looked away. The subject of Sheridan's much-abridged lifespan brought back memories of a time in his life he'd just as soon forget. "It means more than you know that you asked me."
"Oh… I think I've got a good idea." Sheridan's smile was soft and sad, but he met his friend's eyes. "Thank you. I know that you… you will be there for him in the ways that I can't."
Another nod from the bald man. "Well then. I guess this means I ought to meet the little bugger."
"Go on ahead. Delenn is at home. I have a meeting, but I'll be there before dinner."
"It's good to see you so happy, John."
"And you, Michael." They both stood, and Sheridan held the door open for his departing friend. When Garibaldi was gone, he closed the door again and settled behind his desk. "Computer, contact Tessa Halloran on Babylon 5."