Hi! Here's chapter 2. I changed the spacing on this one- hope it will be easier to read now.

Chapter 2 - Domestic issues

The woman could hear her own heartbeats as she ran through the corridors. She felt the adrenaline pumping through her blood as she stopped and breathed deeply a few times before opening the door.

"How is he?"

The room was filled with doctors, guards and people she knew. She noticed them as little as they did her in the chaos until she saw Gray in the middle of everything with a bandaged arm, shocked and wounded but seemingly not fatally.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you have to leave" a guard told her as he tried to shove her out waving his PPG.

"No, it's alright, thank you." Delenn spoke gently and finally the room turned towards the intruder.

As the others saw who it was, she couldn't help to smile at the faces the men made. John froze, Michael froze, G'Kar froze, Stephen froze, Gray froze, the rest froze seeing the President freeze and Delenn was contently amused. In the following silence the young woman took the time get the situation under her control and to gather herself a bit, and as John got his speech back she was cold as ice.

"Susan?"

"Hello, John."

"What- What are you doing here?" He looked at Delenn, who stood and watched them in harmonic silence.

"You knew she was coming?"

"Yes."

"Susan."

"Hello everyone." She said calmly and turning towards the author: "Well, you don't look too injured."

"Susan." Gray started.

"I think it's better for you to be quiet right now." His voice broke off.

"Susan. It's good to see you."

"You, too Delenn," Captain Ivanova said embracing her friend.

"Susan! What the hell brings you here?" Stephen asked while she made the round hugging and shaking hands. While the others seemed to gather themselves, the good doctor still had a sickly pale appearance.

"He does." She said pointing at Gray.

"You.know each other?"

"Yes" Gray started.

"We have known each other."

"I know you're angry."

"Angry? I'm angry?" The composed manner was gone and she turned to him furiously. "I tell you what angry is. That's when you do something modERAtely bad, like.cracking my grandmother's china or robbing a bank. That makes me angry. I'm not angry." She spoke in a high pitched voice as if she wasn't aware of the others, and they did everything to make themselves invisible.

"Susan."

"Don't 'Susan' me. You promised!"

"I'm sorry. But I couldn't."

"You could have died right now!"

"Please forgive me."

"Nathan, you get death threats every week! Mail bombs! Crazy Rangers with loaded PPGs! They want to see you dead, don't you ever get it?"

"And what am I supposed to do then. Accept it? Get a bodyguard and show them that they really scare the hell out of me? That I give them credit for what they do? I am afraid, yes. But there's a little bit more on stake here than my petty fears. Why do you think I write? I believe in something. And because of that belief I have a responsibility here. Whether we like it or not they think that I represent the little weak man. Those, for whom no one fights, those who still believe in a democracy, a free world without corruption and all that, but are helpless. If I show fear then they've lost. Then the bad guys have a place in the universe, and the good will be forgotten in this whole mess!"

"Lovely speech, honey, I'd really be impressed if I hadn't heard it a thousand times before and if I wouldn't see the reality in it. You're no good for anyone being a martyr, are you? Well, not for me at least. Being the superman is the easy part here, you don't have to live to pick up the pieces - you won't be the one that suffers when you're dead."

"Nice to hear that from our favourite soldier! Aren't you the one with that kind of job? Get killed for Earth in some stupid battle, but hey, that's ok, we get a flag and a medal on your funERAl! You are the one that gets paid to get killed when everything comes around." Then he added silently, as if he wasn't sure if he could say that but still hoping it would make her mad enough to end the fight.

"And you are the one that kills."

"I get paid to protect Earth! I don't like to kill; neither do I want to get killed. But that's not the issue here. Besides I have paid my price. I kept my promise and faced the consequences. Do you think I adore the tasks I get? Sitting in that dark little office writing reports all day? But I still do it, because I have decided what's important to me and realized that you can't have everything. Now I at least know where you're priorities lie."

"Please, Susan, try to understand! Earth, my home, is being eaten up from inside like a wormy apple. I have to fight it."

"Cut the oratories. This is not TV. And no, I don't understand. And I won't. Of course you should fight it. I don't like it either. But there are many ways of getting what you want, and I don't see the good in what you do. And-" A deep and very tired sadness swept away her voice.

"You promised - I trusted you. That's all that count's for me."

He didn't reply because there was nothing left to say and the entire room pretended as if they couldn't hear.

"Ok..I can't live with that." She moved to the door.

"Wait!"

"I can't. I won't be grieving for you. I can't do that to myself. Goodbye, Nathan."

"So.this is it?" he called after her shocked, but she had already left.

After Susan had stormed out it was as if she had sucked the air out of the room and taken it with her. People moved slowly and cautiously since they didn't know anything else to do. The guards and medics were sent away and left six people alone in silent awkwardness.

"So you know Susan?" Michael asked trying to break the stillness.

"Isn't that obvious?" Gray answered more out of duty than real interest in the conversation.

"I thought you were married." John finally blurted out, instantly regretting his words. Maybe he felt for Susan because she was his friend, but Gates was still his guest.

"I am."

"Oh"

Gray seemed to reconsider the question.

"With all due respect, Mr. President, but what kind of a thing is that to ask?"

"Sorry" Gray rose from his chair.

"I'm sorry, but I have a terrible headache." For heavens sake, who was he fooling, he felt like shit. And pretty humiliated, too.

"If you'll excuse me."

"If you don't mind a few guards will accompany you. Just to be on the safe side." Michael said hesitantly. He didn't know what to fear more, an author's murder or Susan's reaction if it really should happen.

"And there are still some unanswered questions."

"Sure. Bye."

"How did you know?" John asked his wife as soon as the door had closed behind the guest.

"She told me."

"She told you? When?"

"When I spoke to her. If you had contacted her you would have known, too."

"I figured she was pretty glad to get off the station. I didn't want to disturb."

"No, she wasn't, you all know that. She was in a misERAble state. But she had to leave. I think I will be going to see how she is now."

The President's wife nodded apologizing to the company and left. G'Kar followed her rather sheepishly, happy to get out of this mess. Sometimes Humans where like a big question-mark to him.

"Susan said something about him getting a lot of death threats."

Michael changed the subject since he almost could touch the thick layers of remorse that clouded the room. He didn't know why he hadn't made his social call, but he wasn't up for thoughts about that now. Time and place for everything and all. He didn't know how wrong he was but it really didn't matter.

"Guess that comes with the job description." John said.

"Still-"

"Get that fake Ranger; see if he's working for someone. If yes, get him, too. I'd appreciate if you'd do it yourself. I want this solved - fast. But I wonder much more if Marianne Gray knows about this.Susan-and-Gray-thing. You said she was a PSI-cop."

"Yeah, I'll look into that."

Within the second Garibaldi had left.

It was first now that he noticed Dr. Franklin standing silently in the corner.

"Stephen?"

"There is something I have to tell you."

"Can't it wait?"

"No."

"Alright. Sit down."

Hesitantly Stephen sat down but didn't speak.

"So, what's wrong?"

"It's quite complicated to explain. I don't know what to say."

"You want more money."

"No, no, no. I have funds. That's not the issue here. It's just- It's about my research."

"Come on, it can't be that bad." "It's not. It's good. I guess."

"So..? Please, Stephen, get to the point!"

"Well, the thing is th-"

"Mr. President?" The screen blinked before him and Michael's worried face appeared on it.

"Yes?"

"You should put on ISN, John."

"News about Endana 2?

"Not this time. It's Earth."

"Ok, Sheridan out."

Garibaldi nodded and his front was replaced with the even more serious face of the ISN-anchor.

"About three hours ago, riots broke out in the capital of Earth, Geneva. Hundreds of demonstrators are marching against President Luchenko's statement that the government has agreed to financially support the ERU. In return the ERU stated twenty minutes ago, that they were willing to help getting this situation under control with force if necessary. The President of the association, Bennet M. Mulroney, told our reporter just a minute ago, that these demonstrators are supported by groups that have plans to do everything they can to disturb Earth peace. Furthermore he states that the ERU sees this tumult as a widespread problem that threatens the internal stability and has to be dealt with immediately. He has gotten a go-ahead from the President to take care of it at once; we will follow with updates as soon as possible."

The screen obeyed President Sheridan's order and went blank.

The little interruption had made Stephen gather his courage and although he knew that this wasn't the time for such a thing, he blurted out what he wanted to have said. John who still dwelled in metaphysic ponderings and had been highly unaware of the good doctor's presence, looked at him strangely and asked very calmly:

"What?"

Dr. Franklin took then the liberty to repeat it.

"What?" he answered once again, not knowing what else to say and still hoped that Stephen would tell him a third and a fourth and a fortieth time. Some days were just too strange to be remembered, he stated philosophically after a rather comically hour of retelling. A week later he would be remembering this strange day as one of the last days of controlled chaos, permanently peculiar, but all in all acceptable.

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Well, apologizes for this chapter, I know, it's kinda slow. And if there really is an ERU of some kind, it's really purely coincidental, no offence intended. Anyway thanks for the reviews so far - to Sabrina - *smile* there is a lot more to come - patience. Well, guess that was enough giving away hints now. Still, comments are always welcome, so please r/r. Bumble-bee-free