Her Daughter's Eyes.
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Hadassah and the plot.
Author's note: I was disappointed to find that I didn't have any reviews for this story. I realized after the story was already on line that the paragraph was rather long. It was not supposed to be. It is also rather deviant from the plot line. I assure you the story will not remain so. The first paragraph was just providing background information as to what is different. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and please review.
That battle went on for a good twelve hours. Afterwards, most of the children remained in the school as their parents struggled to repair the heavily damaged station. After another twelve hours had gone by, most of the children had returned to their parents, even David, whose ambassador mother had a limited role in the Alliance these days. Diplomacy had more or less failed and while there was a continued effort to form alliances, it served little practical purpose. Hadassah was taken to Brother Theo's and the monks where she spent time in similar situations. It was nearly two days later when her mother returned. The school closed for a few days as it always did after major battles. The children would be in communal day cares, for the most part. Hadassah preferred the company of the simply devout yet well educated monks, who returned her affection and tutored her when school was canceled. By the time Susan Ivanova ran in to see her daughter, still in the clothes she had worn the day of the attack, hair loose, streaks of grease from machine oils over her face, bags from sleeplessness and weariness from days of constant work, someone had fetched some of her daughter's things from their quarters and cared for her, lead her in lessons, seen to her basic needs and kept her company. The five year old ran to her mothers arms. The tired woman after thanking the men had wrapped an arm around the child's shoulders and lead her through their halls. It was time for dinner. As her mother made sandwiches and found tomato soup she had frozen earlier and thawed and warmed it, Hadassah put away her things. Everything was in place and clean. Even the clothes she had taken with her had been cleaned and ironed. She was ahead in her homework and it was all checked. The two ate and Mama packed the leftovers for Hadassah's lunch. Hadassah bathed and went to bed. Susan ironed clothes for the next day and prepared everything, took a shower without bothering to wash her clothes and fell into the bed with her daughter in an exhausted sleep. To Hadassah, this schedule or lack there of was the norm in her young life.
The year was 2266. It was nearly seven years into the two wars that shook the galaxy and Babylon 5 was in the middle of them both. Shortly after the wars started, trade started to taper off. Despite early victories, the fact was that the Alliance was basically a rebellion fighting two wars with minimal forces. Their Earth based businesses and bank accounts had been sealed. To save money they had moved quarters and sold most of their possessions, as had many of the crew. Even now, Susan and Hadassah were subsisting on less than a hundred credit's a month. Their food was all scratch products from the end of the barrel that Susan used to feed them. The cloth came from the end of the roll of cloth. The leather was hand made by some of the rangers. Hadassah had no memory of her mother's jewels handed down from her mother; they had been sold before she was born, as had the silver and dishes. However, she did remember Susan selling off her collection of books one by one until all that remained was the Torah.
The next day Susan returned in the early evening, a rare occurrence for her. Both mother and child showered quickly and dressed in black and blue silk dresses respectively. Susan tied a long piece of red silk around her waist, brushed her hair out, wore her only stilettos and one lipstick and perfume. Hadassah who wore her navy blue dress and shoes thought her mother, in her simple dress, looked beautiful. The two joined hands and walked to the small banquet hall where they met up with the Sheridans, Garibaldi, Franklin and a few other officers in waiting for a few business men they hoped to impress enough to use Babylon 5 for trade in hopes of gaining desperately needed credits. As the officers waited, Ranger representatives began to arrive, one of them the Entilzah who had been on various planets as he was needed, in recognition of the help the merchant could provide. After his aides entered, the officers rose to greet him. A tall man with dark locks and beard and a muscular build came in and headed straight for her mother, a huge smile on his face as he pressed his lips against hers and murmured something softly in a British accent. Mama allowed his attentions with a gentle smile. After several minutes he came to kneel in front of Hadassah and said to the child's surprise, " Hello, my girl." running a hand through her hair and pressing a package into her hands before their guest arrived and all rose to meet him.
Author's note: What do you think? Please read and review. I appreciate all comments.