Chapter 25

The commercial transport Dolphin was scheduled for an early departure, at 0830. Her passengers, preparing to board in Babylon 5's departure lounge, were a mixed lot: a minor Centauri official accompanied by two of his wives; a small clutch of warrior-caste Minbari, keeping strictly to themselves; a lone Pak'ma'ra, munching something smelly from a cardboard box and given a wide berth by everyone else in the lounge. There were also about a dozen Humans, mostly traveling in groups of two or three.

Marcus and Abbie stood off to one side, not speaking, not looking at one another. Both of them were studying the departure board, which ticked down the seconds and minutes with heartless efficiency. Dolphin would depart right on time. Final passenger boarding would take place in twenty minutes.

"I'm not gonna cry or anything," Abbie announced abruptly. "I'm not a baby."

"I know, love."

He wanted to reach down and take her hand, but she had her arms folded protectively across her chest. One fist clutched the strap of her new carryall, from which Baloo the bear's brown plush face peeked out.

Virgie, standing a little apart watching them, bit her lower lip and said nothing.

Fifteen minutes left.

"Almost forgot. Brought you something." Marcus reached into an inside pocket and brought out a small package. "Give you something to do on the way."

"Can I open it now?"

"If you like."

The package was austerely wrapped in plain white paper. Abbie opened it, still clutching the carryall strap, and read the title of the small book in her hand. "The Little Prince, by—" Her brows knitted as she studied the odd name.

"Antoine de Saint Exupéry," Marcus supplied.

"What's it about?"

"Oh—space travel. Sunsets. Friendship. All sorts of things. Thought you might like it."

Abbie, blinking her eyes rapidly, swallowed hard and tucked the book into her carryall. "Thanks." She dug around in the carryall's depths. "Here. I've got something for you, too."

Marcus didn't open the parcel she thrust up at him. He didn't need to. The moment it was in his hand he recognized the shape and heft of the Jungle Books. "Are you sure, love?"

"Your attention, please. All passengers of Transgalactic transport Dolphin, please prepare for boarding. Final boarding call in ten minutes."

Abbie and Marcus froze. Their eyes met. Their faces were twin mirrors of desolation and dismay.

Then he was down on one knee and she was locked in his embrace, her own arms wrapped fiercely around his neck as she pleaded, "Please keep it—I want you to have it—so you won't forget me."

"Not possible," he said, softly, but she heard him clearly; his breath warmed her ear and the back of her neck. "Not possible. I never forget anyone I love."

"Me neither." She clung to him for few more seconds, then let go and rubbed a fist over her wet face. "Can you—will you still be my kinsman?"

"Always. Always. I promise," he said. "Tell you what I've done. I contacted the Ranger headquarters, on Minbar. Gave them your name and your new address. Told them you're my kinswoman."

She drew herself up, smiling through tears, with all the dignity she could muster. Marcus kissed her once, on the forehead, received her kiss in return, and got to his feet. "Write to me," he said. "Let me know how you like the book."

"Okay."

"Your attention, please—"

At almost the last minute Marcus remembered Virgie and turned to her. She caught him in a quick embrace, holding his wet, bearded face against her cheek for a moment. She was aware, as Abbie could not be, of the fuller implications of his naming Abbie his next of kin. "Don't be a stranger," she whispered.

"I won't. I promise."

"You'll be in all our prayers," she promised, and released him.

Abbie, clutching her carryall, refusing to take Virgie's hand, took one last look over her shoulder before vanishing down the gangway with the Dolphin's other passengers. Marcus lingered a moment, then went swiftly to the observation port. Avidly, like a tourist who'd never seen a launch before, he watched as the Dolphin slid out of the docking bay into space. The jumpgate's lights came up, flashed one by one down along the structure's gates in their prescribed sequence, and the Dolphin leaped forward and vanished. A final flash, like a single star, signaled the ship's safe passage into hyperspace.

"Splash." Delenn's gentle voice, at Marcus' elbow. "She is safe, now, your little starfish?"

"Yes, I think she is." Marcus turned from the port. He was grateful that Delenn had remembered when Abbie was due to leave and had chosen to come; even more grateful that she had waited for the exact right moment before speaking to him.

"You certainly made a difference to that one," Delenn said. "And you, Marcus? That part of your heart you thought had gone dead?"

"She took some of that with her, I think." Marcus started to walk away from the observation port, which could hold no further interest for him now. Delenn fell into step beside him, and he went on, "Left me with a bit of hers, in exchange." He couldn't have admitted that to anyone except Delenn; and now, even with her, he felt suddenly reticent, almost shy, and turned the subject. Gesturing a little with the wrapped parcel in his hand, he said, "Not sure what to do about this, though."

"What is it?"

He unwrapped it with great care under her watchful eyes. "It was hers. She wanted me to have it."

"A book? You, of all people, are not sure what to do about a book?" Delenn's voce was lightly teasing.

"I don't keep things," he explained. "I don't own things, beyond the bare essentials. It's a distraction."

"I see. But let me be sure I understand. Abbie wished you to own and to keep this book, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"I would call that essential," said Delenn. She stopped walking, drawing him to a halt beside her, and lightly placed the fingertips of her right hand on his chest. "Keep the child in your heart," she said. "Keep the book in your quarters. They will give you strength. I think you will find that neither of them is a distraction." Withdrawing her hand, she resumed walking. "May I ask, where do you usually meditate?"

"My quarters, usually, when I'm on the station. Someplace quiet."

"And without distractions. I see. If I may suggest—go someplace else. Someplace noisy, with many, many distractions. Go now. See if you are able to focus your heart."

Marcus slipped the book into the crook of his arm, leaving his hands free for the formal Minbari bow. Delenn bowed back and quietly left him. His eyes followed her until she turned a corner and was lost to sight.

Noise and distractions. At this hour of the morning, the Zocalo provided an abundance of both. Marcus wandered on for a while, selected a bench at random, and sat down.

Focus your heart. Find that place that is no place; slip out of Time; glide past grief and regret to the love that beats at the heart of the Universe.

Sitting on a bench in the Zocalo, in the midst of hurrying pedestrians, amid a babble of random conversation, Marcus briefly heard the silent beat of that loving Heart. A whisper, no more, but enough to tell him that Delenn was right. For a long time he remained there, Abbie's love-token in his hands. It seemed to him he could still see, marking her safe passage home, a single flash of light, like a star.

-Finis-

-Soli Deo Gratia-