Authors notes: Just a little bit of fluff my muse told me to write. Hope you like it.

Chapter 61

House of Mir, City of Yedor, Planet Minbar: Healer Massalon was packing the last of her bags, when the chime of her door rang. When she answered it, she saw Delenn standing there. "Delenn, it's so good to see you again. Please enter."and Massalon stepped aside. Delenn looked at her as she entered, and Massalon asked, "What brings you to see me cousin?"

Delenn smiled a little at her, "I've just heard an interesting rumor, and I wished to see if it was true."

"And what would that rumor be Delenn?"

"It is being said around the temple that one of our healers is about to travel to the human world of Vega. Have you not heard this rumor?"

Massalon looked at her, and tried not to smile, "It is no rumor Delenn, it is true."

"Why Massalon?"

"Delenn, I was one of the healers that was caring for our warriors from the battle of Beta Durani. When I heard of not only what the humans did for our people, but of some of their methods. I felt that I had to go there and see for myself if the stories were true. Then when Lennon helped to arrange for our medical data to be given to the humans, I contacted the humans and asked if I could come there and study their ways. I see this as a chance to learn more, and I hope to bring back what I learn so I may better serve the people of Minbar"

Delenn smiled at her, "Is this what you truly wish to do cousin?"

"Yes Delenn, it is."

Delenn nodded, and then touched her cousins chest lightly as she bowed her head. "Then may the blessing of Valen be upon you."

Massalon did the same, "And upon you as well."

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Chief of Staff office, Melvin White Medical Center, Vega-3: Dr Haynesworth was looking at the Minbari woman sitting in front of his desk. "It is an honor to have you here Miss Massalon."

"The honor is mine sir."

"Miss Massalon, I understand that on Minbar, you are known as a healer. But to help the people here deal with your being here, I would prefer if you use the title of Doctor while you're here."

"That should not be a problem sir."

"Good. Now since I and my staff are unsure of how extensive your medical background is. We would like it if for your first few months, you and some of the doctors from earth attend classes about the various species that you may have to work on while you're here."

Massalon nodded her head, "That is a wise thing to do."

"Also, if you could, we would like it if you could perhaps help the other doctors learn more about your own people. They in turn can help you learn more about Humans."

"I am willing to assist them if I can."

"Great, I've assigned Dr Lloyd to be your Mentor while your here. She's a senior member of the staff, and a damn fine doctor. She'll help you in any way she can. You just have to ask her."

Massalon smiled a big smile, "I have heard of her from the warriors she treated. I believe I will like working with her."

"That's good to hear. Now, my secretary has the information on where you will be staying, and she will help you get set up here at the Center. She will also give you your class schedule, and your work rotation schedule."

Massalon just looked at him quizzically,"I thought that you said I would be in classes."

"Oh you will be, but you and the others will also be expected to do other jobs around the center until your classes finish."

"What sort of work?"

Now Dr Haynesworth looked at her with a serious look on his face, "I won't lie to you, it's 'grunt' work. Moving patients about the center, assisting the nursing staff, and other not so pleasant duties. But it's also a chance for you to observe how things are done here, and you might learn a thing or two."

Massalon nodded her head, "Then I will do this 'grunt' work as best as I can."

Now he smiled and stood up, "Well then Dr Massalon, let's see about getting you settled in then shall we?"

"Yes sir."

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Her first weekend, Massalon had time to walk about the area of the city around the medical center. She was a little surprised to see beings from several races in and about the shops. She saw a store, and something from inside of it smelled very appealing. As she entered the store, she saw many different types of pasties in the display cases. A young human woman smiled at her, and she smiled back at her. "Hello, can I help you?"

Massalon looked at her, "Yes, what type of place is this?"

"It's a bakery. We make and sell various types of confections and pastries here."

Massalon looked at the various things on display, and saw what looked like small loafs of bread. They smelled wonderful to her. She pointed at them, "What are these?"

The girl looked at what she was pointing at, "Those are my dads special Jalapeño and Pepperoni breads. Would you like one?"

Massalon was unsure, she knew she could eat many of the same things as the humans, but she didn't know what 'Halapayno's were. "I do not know if I can."

The girl smiled at her, "They're a spicy pepper, and a spiced meat wrapped in a bread dough. One of the guys I go to school with is Minbari, and he eats them all the time."

"Then I will try one."

The girl gave her one, and when she bit into it, Massalon found that it indeed was spicy as she had said, but it was also delicious. Just then the front door opened and a man walked in. He saw Massalon and she saw that there was clearly anger in his eyes. "Your kind aren't welcome in my store. Get out."

The girl looked at the man, "Papa, she was just buying some Pepperoni bread."

He looked at Massalon, "I don't care. She has to leave."

"Perhaps I should go."

As Massalon started to leave the store, the man went in the back. The girl came around the counter and up to Massalon. "I'm sorry about that. We lost my mom during the war, and my dads still a little touchy about it."

"I understand. Thank you for the bread."

The girl looked at her, and saw her Medical center ID. "Do you work at the hospital?"

Massalon just nodded her head. "Yes, I am doctor Massalon I have just started to work there."

The girl smiled, "Well, my name is Sarina Castillo. I make deliveries there every morning. What do you think about me bringing you a Pepperoni bread every once in awhile."

"Please, I don't want to get you into trouble with your father."

"Oh you won't, I'll just put you down as the pepperoni lady on my list. My dad will never know."

Massalon just nodded, "Thank you. I would like that."

"OK then, see you around doc."

Massalon left the bakery and went back to her room at the residents dorm.

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During her first two months at the center, she and the others were kept very busy. She didn't mind the menial work, as she had done similar things during her training on Minbar. She also enjoyed helping the other doctors with their studies on the treatment of Minbari and Mopani patients. They also helped her learn more about the human patients, and soon she had made several new friends. She was amazed at the teaching methods they were using here, as it consisted of not only reading materials and lectures. But also holographic patients that they were to examine and diagnose. The only area she didn't like was when she and the others had to spend time working in the pathology section. She felt that this is the area where people would end up if she failed. She also was allowed to watch several of the surgeries that were performed, and some of the other therapies that were being done at the Center. She and the others also had to take several exams while they were there, to determine their progress. She found out from the instructors that she was doing far better than she had expected.

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During her third month, she went to see Dr Lloyd, she wanted to ask her more specific questions about the replacement treatments that she had seen. She found Dr Lloyd in her office."May I come in Dr Lloyd?"

"Of course Dr. Massalon, what can I do for you?"

"I wished to ask you about the organ and tissue replacements that are performed here."

"What would you like to know?"

"I was curious, can these treatments be used for other species besides humans?"

Heidi looked at her and smiled, "Of course, but there are a few things that have to be done first."

"Such as?"

"Well for one, the DNA of the species has to be mapped out, so we can know which specific genomes to activate. Also, we need to synthesize the correct enzymes and proteins to activate the genomes. Then we just collect stem cells from the patients bone marrow, and place them in a growth medium. We then subject them to the specific enzyme and protein regimens in the correct order to force grow the specific tissue or organ. Then once it's done growing, the organ or tissue is put into the patient. The muscles, nerves and circulation are reattached as needed. Then the patient is placed on a regenerative regimen to help the body heal faster. And since the organ or tissue is the patients own cells, there is no rejection by the body."

"Have you mapped out the DNA of other species yet?"

"Well, we already have the Mopani, Firekan and Human DNA mapped out. And we are currently working on doing the same with Narn and Centauri samples we have."

"But not Minbari?"

"I'm sorry to say, that your people didn't supply us with any samples to work with. But we did recently get samples from one of the Minbari students we treated here last week."

Now Heidi looked at her, "Would you perhaps be willing to give us some samples? For comparison studies"

Massalon thought about it for a moment. "I will do so. Then perhaps I can take this procedure back to my people as well."

Heidi smiled at her, "I think we need to go to the lab."

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During her fifth month there, Massalon was asked to come to Heidi's office. When she arrives there, Heidi asks her to please sit down. "Dr Massalon, first I want to thank you for your help in the ER last week. Did you ever think about becoming a Trauma doctor? You seem to have a knack for it."

"I had not really thought about it."

Massalon felt that Dr Lloyd was hesitating. "Is there something wrong Dr Lloyd?"

Heidi looked at her, "Well, it's about the samples you gave us. We found something unusual in your DNA."

"Unusual?"

"I don't really know how to say this, so I'm afraid I'll have to be blunt. Is it possible that someone in your family line was human?"

Massalon just looked at her. "No Dr Lloyd. I am from the House of Mir, and we can trace our line all the way back to Valen himself."

Heidi looked at her, "I've heard a little about this Valen. He was a very important figure in your peoples history. Wasn't he?"

Massalon's face almost lit up, "Oh yes Dr. he was our greatest leader. He came to us during our last great war, a Minbari not born of Minbari. He changed the face of our people almost a thousand years ago."

Now Massalon looked at Dr Lloyd, "But why did you ask if there was a human in my line?"

Heidi just activated the monitor on her desk, and turned it toward her. She saw three sets of chromosomes on the screen. "The set on the left we extracted from you. The center one is from the Minbari student. The set on the right is from a Human."

Massalon looked at the strands, and the Human set looked different to her from the Minbari sets. "I don't understand Dr. Lloyd."

Heidi tapped the keyboard a few times, and the monitor zoomed in on a specific area on the strands.

"In Minbari DNA, we have found that the base pairing is very similar to humans. But we also found these in your DNA. Two pairs of recessive genomes, that are paired exactly like corresponding human genomes. But we didn't find them on the other Minbari sample."

Now Heidi closed her eyes for a moment, as if picturing something. "Now if a Minbari were to have both of these pairs of genomes, then it's possible that they would probably develop a rather human characteristic during puberty."

Now Massalon began to blush a little and Heidi looked at her. "I take it that you have something different than most Minbari?"

Massalon just nodded her head, "Yes I do Dr Lloyd."

This bit of news about the genomes was very strange to hear. She wondered how this could have happened. She tried to remember the stories her grandmother used to tell her of Valen. Then her eyes began to widen a little. "Doctor Lloyd, I must ask that what I am about to tell you must remain a secret between us. No one can ever be told about it."

"Of course Massalon, you have my word."

Massalon looked at her and nodded. "All of my people know of Valen, and they know that after our last great war, he married his woman from the stars. The only representations we have of them are statues. It is also said that before Valen, Minbari men had no facial hair. It is considered to be a blessing from Valen. But what very few people know is that many of the women from the House of Mir are also blessed."

Now Heidi was intrigued, "How are you blessed."

Massalon looked at her, and she blushed again. "When we enter puberty, some of us develop uh. "

"Develop what?"

Massalon had an embarrassed look on her face. "We to grow hair on our bodies in a rather unusual area."

Heidi looked at her now, and suddenly realized what Dr Massalon meant. "Pubic hair?"

Massalon only nodded, and Heidi could see that it had been hard for Massalon to tell her this.

Heidi also knew instantly that what Massalon had told her was not something that she wished others to know about. So she made a decision and looked at Massalon. "Don't worry Massalon, I won't tell any one what I found. I'll just leave out this portion of the report, that area doesn't have any impact on the organ or tissue regrowth procedures."

"Thank you Dr Lloyd."

After Massalon left the office. Heidi made a minor adjustment to the report, but she kept an unchanged copy for her personal files.

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Two months later, after her pediatric rotation, Massalon found that she could not get comfortable as she tried to sleep one night. Her entire body seemed to itch, and she felt a little feverish. She went and knocked on the door to Jack Berman's room. His was the room next to hers, and he had been a good friend to her since she had arrived. He opened his door, and she saw that he had been asleep. "Yeah. Oh, Mass, what's wrong?"

"I am sorry to awaken you Jack, but I believe that I may be ill."

Jack rubbed his eyes, and stifled a yawn. "What are your symptoms?"

"I believe that I have a fever, and I itch all over my body."

Jack opened his door for her and let her enter. He grabbed his bag and took out a hand scanner and ran it up and down over her. He looked at the readings, then smirked a little. "Lift your shirt up a little."

She did as he asked and he looked at her abdomen. "Yep you're sick all right."

"What have I got?"

Now he looked at her with as straight a face as possible. "You have an acute contagious human disease primarily seen in childhood, caused by the Varicella virus. It's characterized by a fever, and superficial eruptions of macular transparent vesicles which appear in successive crops on different parts of the body."

"I have a rash?"

"No. Congratulations Mass, you've got chicken pox."

"I won't die from this will I?"

"I doubt it. But with you being Minbari, I can't be sure. Lets get you to the center and have you checked out just to be safe."

They both got dressed and he took her to get her checked out. She was admitted for two weeks to make sure she was OK, and to make sure she didn't infect anyone else.

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Over her first eight months on Vega, Massalon had learned far more than she had expected. She had surprisingly made more than a few human friends. Most of them worked at the Medical center, but some were from the area around the Center. She had become friends with Sarena, and saw her almost every day. Besides the Pepperoni bread which was her favorite, Sarena sometimes brought her other types of pastries. She had found that she liked the fruit danishes and the chocolate donuts almost as much as the Pepperoni bread. One Sunday morning after working all night, she was making her way back to the residents hall when she heard a loud crashing sound nearby. As she ran toward the sound she heard another small bang as well. When she rounded the corner, she saw that a vehicle had lost control and struck a building. There had been a second small explosion of the power cell. Now she saw that people were hurt, and her training took over. She checked the driver of the vehicle. She was a little shaken up but otherwise OK. The next person, a human male with minor injuries to his arm and hand. The third one made her gasp a little. It was a young human girl, and she saw a large gash on her neck. She also saw that the blood was pumping out quickly from the wound. Massalon believed that the girl had cut or punctured her carotid artery and quickly reached into the wound and found the puncture. She held her fingers over it and with one hand started to empty out her med kit. The little girl was just looking up at her, and Massalon could see the fear in her eyes.

Massalon smiled her biggest smile at her, "Your going to be fine, I'm going to take care of you."

While still holding the artery, Massalon ran a scanner over the girl. She could see that she had lost a lot of blood, and was starting to go into shock. She also saw that a small metal sliver was still in her neck. Now Massalon was trying to get her arterial patching kit out with just one hand..

Sarena and her dad had heard the crash, and came to see what had happened As they arrived, he saw Massalon with her hand on a young girls throat. Then he saw the blood and he freaked out "Get away from her you bitch."

As he tried to lunge at her, Sarena grabbed him and was trying to hold him back. "Papa, can't you see she's trying to save her life? The only thing keeping the girl alive right now is Dr Massalon."

Her father looked at her, and then really looked at what was happening. A minute later a rescue vehicle arrived, and the Med techs recognized Dr Massalon. "What we got doc?"

"A young human female. Penetrating wound to the neck, and a puncture to the left carotid artery, with heavy blood loss. I have the bleeding controlled for now but we have to get her stabilized and to the center immediately. The other is a human male with a possible fracture of his left arm and wrist. The driver of the vehicle is a human woman, she is dazed and in shock. But the girl is the most critical."

"You heard the doc. Nick check out the other two and stay with them. Juan, lets get her to the center right away."

Sarena's father could only watch as these people worked on the injured people. He then realized that he was saying a silent prayer, not only for the girl, but for this Minbari womans skills as well.

They quickly loaded the girl and they were back at the center in less then two minutes.

In the ER, Dr Takahashi saw Massalon with her hand in the girls neck and guessed why right away.

"Talk to me Mass."

Massalon told Dr Takahashi what she knew of girls injuries.

The Trauma team quickly repaired the injuries to her neck, and then admitted the girl for a few days to make sure there were no complications. Dr Massalon stayed with the girl the rest of the day.

The following morning when she came to the center, Dr Massalon found that there was a box for her at the front desk. When she opened the box, she found a dozen fresh danishes and a few Jalapeño and Pepperoni breads in the box along with a note. The note was from Sarena's father, "Dr Massalon, I am sorry for the way I treated you, and you are welcome in my bakery anytime. Raphael Castillo."

Massalon smiled a little after reading the note. She knew today was going to be a good day.