The Universe Blinked

Part 6

"Dad, do we have to tell Mom about this? She's gonna be really mad."

"I think she'll notice your black eye." Jathenn tried to suppress a grin as he saw the look of resignation cross his young son's face. He opened the front door and put his hand on the boy's back, gently urging him forward. "There's no use worrying. Let's just get you inside and get this over with."

He stopped in the hall, listening for a sign that his wife was home. He heard dishes clinking and headed for the back of the house, Michael slowly following.

"Hello? Any beautiful women lurking about?" Jathenn called, hoping to judge her mood.

"I'm in the kitchen," he heard her call back. "I'm glad you're home. I need to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you about something, too," he said as he stepped into the kitchen. "You see, there was an incident today, and…" Robyn never turned to look at him. She just continued setting the table. "Sweetheart, are you listening?"

"Hmm? What? Yeah, sure, incident. Did you get Mikey from school? Where is he?"

"I'm right here, Mom," Michael offered, keeping his head low as he stepped out from behind his father. "Please don't be mad. It wasn't my fault."

Robyn finally seemed to snap out of her daze as she looked up from the table and focused on Michael's bruised and scratched face. Two determined steps later, she was kneeling in front of him with his chin in her hand. She inspected his bruises.

"Okay, mister, I'm listening."

"You know that new kid at school I told you about?"

"Akyis? Sure. You said he was 'pretty neat'."

"Yeah, well, he's not. He's a jerk. He was calling me names. He said I'm dirty, and my family is a bunch of freaks."

"Why would he say that?"

"His teacher says they were learning Alliance history, and Michael's heritage came up." Jathenn offered.

Robyn released his face and rose to her feet, turning her back on the trembling boy. "Go to your room," she told him through clenched teeth.

"But Mom, I didn't do anything. He hit me."

"Now, Michael. Go."

Jathenn watched the boy, tears in his eyes, leave the room. "Don't you think you're over-reacting a bit?" he asked. He'd never seen her this angry before. He reached out to touch her arm, but she jerked away from him.

"Over-reacting? You, of all people, think I'm over-reacting? Damn it, Jay, where did he get the idea that it's okay to act like that?"

"What are you talking about? He didn't start this fight. He-"

"Who is this Akyis kid, anyway? I want to talk to his parents."

"Actually, that might not be so easy. His parent," he said, emphasizing the singular, "is the new Kymer ambassador. He's been pretty tied up."

Robyn gripped the back of a chair so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her face, on the other hand, achieved a very intense shade of red. "Are you all right?" he asked nervously.

"Kymer? This kid is Kymer? That's what they teach their kids? Son of a-, that's it. I'm taking the job."

"What job? What's wrong?"

"You're cousin called me today. She offered me a-"

The com-system picked that moment to start chiming happily, and the panel in the kitchen flashed the Institute's insignia.

"Damn. Honey, I'm sorry, I have to take this. I told Vic only to call if there was an emergency," he said, connecting the call.

"Thank the gods you answered," Vic blurted before Jathenn could even say hello. "She woke up early. She's very agitated, and she keeps saying your name."

"She's speaking, then? That's a good sign."

"Yes. Right now it's just a raspy whisper, but there shouldn't be any real damage to her vocal chords. The problem, however, is that she's due for her next dose of sleepers. I can't get her calm enough to give her the injection, and we don't need them wearing off while she's like this."

"Ah, hell…okay, I'll be there soon. Keep her isolated till I get there, and have a partial dose ready when I get there. I want her unblocked as soon as safely possible. End call."

After half-heartedly kissing her husband goodbye, Robyn spent the next several minutes pacing the kitchen. Her mind was reeling from the events of the day, and she was experiencing a level of rage that was wholly new to her. Where did anyone, let alone an ambassador to the Alliance, get off thinking like that in this day and age? And to teach those thoughts to children. Prejudice against the half-Minbari had died out centuries ago. She fully intended to bring this to Kate's attention.

Her pacing eventually took her out of the kitchen, into the hall, and past Mikey's room. She was torn from her thoughts by the sound of crying and incoherent mumbling.

Her heart broke at the sound as she remembered how she'd spoken to him. He was too young to have understood what was really going on. She opened the door and stepped inside, wanting nothing more than to comfort her little boy.

"Mikey?" she called softly. He was curled up in a ball, his head buried in a pillow. "Sweetie, you okay?" She sat at the foot of his bed and put a hand on his back, which caused him to jump. He sat up fast and hurled himself into her arms.

"Mom, I swear I didn't wanna fight. The other kid started it. I tr-" he stopped mid word, starting to choke on his tears.

"Shhh. It's okay, baby. It's okay. I'm sorry I scared you. I'm not mad at you. I know you don't pick fights. That's my good boy. Shhh." She rubbed his back and stroked his hair, waiting for him to calm down.

"So I'm not in trouble?" he finally asked through sniffles.

"No, you're not in trouble. You didn't do anything wrong."

"How come you got so mad, then?" He sat back and rubbed at his red, tear stained face.

"Don't worry about that. it's complicated grown-up stuff. All you need to know is that I'm not mad at you, and that I love you very much."

"Love you too, Mom," he told her, hugging her again. She was pretty sure he'd managed to wipe his runny nose on her shoulder, but she didn't really care just then. Clothes could be cleaned. Nothing was more precious than moments like this with her child.

"Okay, let's go wash your face." He nodded at her, and she couldn't help but smile. "I have to make an important call, but how about dinner at the park afterward?"

"At the park? Yay! Is Dad coming?"

"Nope. Just you and me tonight kiddo. Dad had to go back to work."

Jathenn stood outside the mystery girl's room and watched her through the one-way window. She was pulling against her restraints, and she looked like a frightened child. Her vocal chords were working at near normal level now, but she was too upset to manage words. His heart broke to watch her like this. He took the syringe from Vic and stepped into the room.

She was startled by the sound of the door as it closed behind him, and whipped her head around to look at him. He sat down on a stool by her bed and held her hand for a moment, trying to calm her down. She started trying to talk, but Jathenn immediately began speaking over her.

"Hold on a minute. I know you have a lot to say, and I want to hear every word. There's just another matter we have to attend to first." He held up the syringe, and she shied away from him as much as her bonds would allow. She made a high-pitched wimpering sound, and a tear formed in her eye. "Shh, it's okay," he reassured her, "I'm not trying to hurt you. I know the sleepers must be horrible. They're only temporary. You've been gone for quite a while, and we'd rather start your update at a normal, spoken rate than all at once. This is only a partial dose. It will only last for about three hours. I need you to trust me."

The girl visibly relaxed, and he gave her the injection. He put the empty syringe away and smiled down at her. "Okay, let's talk. What's your name?"

"Alisa," she whispered, not quite used to speaking yet. "My name is Alisa Beldon."

"Alisa. Good. Now, I'm told you know my name. How?"

"Who doesn't know about Captain Sheridan?"

"I'm afraid you've lost me. My name is Sheridan, but I'm not a Captain. I'm a doctor."

Alisa looked perplexed for a minute, but quickly brightened as something seemed to dawn on her. "I know," she announced, "you must be his brother. I think I remember Susan mentioning a brother."

"Sorry, wrong again. I'm an only child. Who's Susan?"

"Oh, that's right," she said, seemingly to herself, "it was a sister." Confusion started to set in again when she remembered his question. "Susan. You know, Commander Susan Ivanova? Second in command of Bablyon 5?"

"You knew Susan Ivanova? You spoke to her?" Jathenn's jaw dropped as realization in the form of old history classes flooded in. "Then you must think I'm…"

"Captain John Sheridan. Yes, I thought so for a minute. You look almost exactly like the vid feeds. Are you related to him?"

"Commander Susan Ivanova and Captain John Sheridan." Now it was his turn to talk to himself. The old titles sounded foreign to him. Historical archives usually remembered them as President Sheridan and Entil'zha Ivanova. He looked up at this wonder of a girl with amazement in his eyes. "Did you know Captain Sheridan?"

"No, I never met him. I heard lots about him from Susan and Delenn, though. I'm sorry, Ambassador Delenn."

Jathenn thought he might faint. He'd known she was from their time, but he'd never imagined she would know them.

"So," she said, interrupting his thoughts, "if you're not John Sheridan, then who are you? And how long was I out, anyway?