Ayann tried to shush David's keening wails. The water from the pipe had stopped flowing, and neither she nor David had had anything to drink since then. Ayann didn't know how much time had past. It seemed like ages.

"Help!" she cried again. No answer. She wasn't expecting one. Not by now. It seemed they would never be found. She wished someone would find them. She was hungry. Any longer, and she would probably start debating eating her own robes.

The silence she had grown accustomed to was suddenly shattered. It sounded as if more debris in the hall was crashing down. Ayann waited for it to settle when she heard it. Voices. Someone was here at last! She opened her mouth to call for help again, but the cry died in her throat. The voices weren't speaking in Adronado. They were speaking in a different language.

Warriors, she thought to herself. Unbidden images of her mother's limp forms sprang into her mind. The warriors had killed her. But she had survived. And she would this time too. And so would David. Whatever they did, Ayann wouldn't let them get their hands on her precious charge. Ayann looked around. She had to hide. It wasn't difficult, there was debris scattered everywhere. Ayann hesitated to hide under one of the fallen metal beams in case it might fall on her. She found a cupboard hidden behind a sufficiently large pile of debris. She took David and dragged them both across the room. Her leg wasn't any better, but the sheer need of the situation forced her on. When she had made her way to the cupboard she climbed in. Before she shut the door she moved some of the debris back in front of the cupboard door, then shut it almost all the way, leaving a tiny crack to see out of.

David, unhappy at being moved into a dark, damp cupboard, began to cry. Ayann panicked. He couldn't cry, the warriors would find them! She tried to shush him, but he began to scream. She clamped her hand over his mouth to muffle his wails. Then she heard the warriors enter the room.

John and Marcus landed their flyer beside the wreck of the once beautiful Whitestar. When they boarded, they found massive piles of debris blocking their way. Whole corridors had collapsed. Beams from the ceiling had tumbled into the corridors. Some lifeless bodies were mangled and interwoven in the debris. John tried not to disturb them. The whole time, he kept listening for the sounds of crying.

Marcus led him to the corridor that connected with Delenn's quarters aboard the Whitestar. He was dismayed at the damage the Whitestar had taken. It seemed unlikely that they would find David, but he didn't even try to go down that road with John. He knew the man wouldn't give up until he had an answer one way or the other, and Marcus wanted to hope that somehow, David had survived. He remembered that on occasion, Delenn had told him that 'faith manages'. He prayed it would this time.

Several massive beams blocked the way. Together, they managed to shove them down, creating quite a ruckus. In the silence that followed, John thought he heard something. He held his hand up to still Marcus, and listened again. Yes! He thought. There it was. The faint but distinct sound of a child's wail. "C'mon Marcus, I can hear him! He's alive!" Marcus nodded, and managed to squeeze through the opening into the rest of the corridor. John followed him. They picked their way around several more obstacles before arriving at the door. When they got inside, John noticed that even Delenn's quarters hadn't escaped disaster. Noticing a crib in the corner of the room, he ran over to it. When he looked into it he was dismayed to find it filled with blocks of debris. Gently he pulled them off, one at a time. His heart leapt when he realized that his son wasn't buried under the debris.

"Marcus, he's not in here. Damn, where is he?" John and Marcus looked all around the room. They overturned as many piles of debris as they felt they could without inviting more collapse from the unsteady bulkheads. They searched the bathroom, the bedroom, and Delenn's meditation corner. They couldn't find him. Damn, John thought, where could he be?

Ayann heard the warrior go over to the other side of the room. Even though she didn't understand his language, she could tell that he swore. Ayann wondered why. Was he looking for something? Something he hadn't found? Was it possible that he knew about David? Or had he heard the child's cries? These questions raced through Ayann's brain so loud, she almost wondered that the warrior couldn't hear them ricocheting off the inside of her skull.

Ayann had finally managed to shush David as the warriors came into the room. She only hoped he would stay quiet. She dared a peak out of the cupboard. She almost screamed when she realized that one of the warriors was right in front of her hiding place. Then she saw him bend down and pick something up. In Valen's name, she thought, it's Delenn's letter! The one for her mate! I dropped it... oh, how could I have been such a fool?

John noticed something on the floor of the kitchen unit while he was searching. He bent down to pick it up. It was a letter, addressed to him, in Delenn's handwriting. He opened it, and read it.

Dearest John,
I'm sorry I have to do this. It's the only way to end the war. Please know that I love you, and I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to do this. But sometimes, we have no choice.

David is a bright, happy young boy, John. He looks just like you. I know you'll be as proud of him as I am. I hope that someday, you can both forgive me for what I am about to do.

I don't know what else I can say. There are no words, in my language or yours, to express my love for you. I told you once that if I didn't see you again here, I would see you in the place where no shadows fall. I will wait for you there, my love. And I will always love you.

Love,
Delenn

Oh my God, she thought she was going to die! She was going to sacrifice herself! John was furious at her. How could she do that? How could she leave him? John fumed for a while, holding the letter in his hands. Then he realized that he had almost done the same thing, when he had ordered the Agamemnon to ram the missile platform over Earth. His anger and astonishment turned on himself. How could he do that to her? To his son? He owed them more than that. Was he really that careless? He supposed that the answer was yes. He vowed that he wouldn't ever do anything that stupid again, not if he could prevent it. He was selfish. He wanted an eternity with Delenn, and David, and he wouldn't give them up one second earlier than he had to.

Marcus, noticing that John had stopped searching, came over. He saw the letter in his hands from Delenn. "John?" he asked, "we should move on. I don't think David's in here. Maybe he's in the next room. I heard him cry too; he can't be far."

John nodded. Just then, he felt a bump on the back of his legs. Turning around, he watched in amazement as the cupboard behind his legs opened and a small Minbari dragged herself out.

She looked up at him with fear in her eyes, but that melted away when she saw his face. "Joh-hn?" She tried to make her mouth form the unfamiliar word.

John was nothing short of astonished. Dumbly, he nodded. Then the young girl scooted back into the cabinet. "Wait a minute..." he tried to stop her. But she came out again, holding a small infant in her arms. Shyly, she offered the baby up to John.

John was stunned. He took the baby in his arms. "David?" he asked. He didn't really need to ask; he could see Delenn in the baby so well. Ayann nodded anyway. John's enormous smile returned to his face. Here was his son, his son. He stood there for a minute just rocking him.

When David realized that someone else was holding him, he opened his eyes. Seeing an unfamiliar face staring down into his, he started screaming anew. John smiled. Whatever anyone said about him, he definitely got that from John.

The young girl started to babble in Minbari. John wasn't sure what to make of that. He didn't even know five words in his wife's language. Luckily, Marcus stepped in. After a few minutes of conversation in rapid Minbari, Marcus turned to John.

"Her name is Ayann. She's Delenn's cousin's child. She was living in Yedor when the warriors attacked the city. Delenn's cousin was killed in the attack. Her father's a Ranger, and she doesn't know where he is. She found Delenn, and was taking care of David for her when she left. Delenn gave her that note you found when she left. Ayann thought we were warriors, coming to find them and kill them, so she hid in there until she heard us saying your name and David's. She also says that she hasn't eaten in a long time, and neither has David. She managed to get some water for them at first, but then the supply stopped flowing. She's also hurt her leg, and can't move very well."

John nodded, but never took his eyes off his son. "Alright. You carry her out, and I'll take David. We'll get them on the transport, and fly to Tuzanor."