Story: Day of the Living By: Sharon Graves E-Mail: sharong@reninet.com Spoilers for Season 5! * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hi all! You've given me so much enjoyment with all your stories. Here's my slushy addition to the list. Based on "Day of the Dead" Ivanova did not leave the station is now Captain. And just guess who turns up for her during the Day of the Dead? Virtual roses & chocolates to Stacey and Cynthia for beta reading. All characters belong to JMS, PTEN, WB, TNT and probably several other acronyms that I've forgotten. I'm not going to apologize for using them because other than re-runs it seems that none of the above has any use for them. Their loss. Day of the Living By Sharon Graves Captain Susan Ivanova slowly headed towards her quarters, exhaustion written plainly across her features. As Captain she was never really off duty but her regular shift had finally come to an end. She was looking forward to a shower and a couple of drinks. "Jeesus! What a hell of a day" she thought to herself as she reached into her pocket to find her indenti-card that would give her access to her quarters. It seemed like it was just one damn thing after another, ending with that weird negotiating session with the Brakiri. They actually wanted to temporarily "buy" a section of the station for some holy day of theirs called the Day of the Dead. Well, since the Brakiri were members of the Alliance, and since the President asked her to do everything she could to be tolerant of different races religious beliefs, and since they would be returning custody of the "purchased area" of B5 to her at 0730 hours, she could see no reason to deny their request Ivanova walked past a couple of Brakiri that were busy marking an area of the hallway with some sort of powder or paint. She glanced at them briefly before shoving her indenti-card into the slot outside her door. After a few seconds the door opened, having recognized her and giving access to her quarters. With her usual brisk stride she entered and asked for lights and the door closed behind her. "God it's great to be home!" she thought to herself. She grabbed a glass and a bottle out of the refrigeration unit and headed towards the couch. Susan flopped down into it, poured herself a drink and bent over to take off her shoes. She sat back closing her eyes and sighed audibly, relaxing for the first time since she got up that morning. Since her eyes were closed she didn't notice the quick temporary change in lighting in her quarters. She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a quirky accented voice from across the room. "Have a hard day at work dear?" "Christ! Marcus! What are you doing here? How did you get here? How can you be alive?" Susan demanded. "Well after all the trouble I've gone through for you, you might at least try to sound a little happier to see me!" Marcus replied. Susan launched herself across the room to throw herself into the arms of a very surprised Marcus. "How did you get here" was the muffled question she asked against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her hugging her to him. "I don't really know Susan. I just am. And I'm certainly not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not that anyone could ever call you a horse!" Susan, still a state of disbelief, found herself looking for explanations. "Maybe it has something to do with this crazy holy day of the Brakiri , the Day of the Dead. Are you dead Marcus?" "Susan as, I said before, I don't really know how I came to be here. Maybe it has something to do with unfinished business between us. I'm here, with you in my arms as I've always dreamed. At this moment in time I'm the happiest man alive." This thought was momentarily enough for Susan but all too soon she pulled herself out of Marcus' embrace to face him. "Why did you do it Marcus? You know I would never have asked it of you. I remember laying there thinking "I'm gonna' die now" when suddenly I felt so heavy, like I was being drawn back into my body. And then I heard your voice telling me that you loved me. At first I thought it was God. I mean you did have the English accent and all. And then I finally had the strength to open my eyes and I saw you and I hooked to that terrible machine. Marcus I tried so hard to pull myself free but I just didn't have the strength to do it." "Susan, you know why I did it. You may not want to admit it to yourself, but you already know. Don't insult either of us by pretending you don't. Remember my crazy chart of the power structure of B5 that I made one day to make you laugh? You were in the center of everything, and why not, I said. Well, for me you're still in the center of everything. It was a small price to pay giving up my life so that you would live. I'd do it over and over again if I had to. That's what love is all about Susan, giving....just like I want to give to you now", Marcus said as he pulled her back into his arms. "Marcus, I once told Lorien that my heart and I don't speak any more. He told me that was a big mistake, that I should embrace the illusion that love lasts forever, but it doesn't! Everyone I've ever loved has left me! My mother, my brother, my father, Talia and now you...'til this moment. I can't open myself to be hurt like this anymore. Everyone I love dies!" "Is that really true Susan? Do they really leave you? Tell me about the memories you have of them. Do they sound like individuals that have really died? As long as you remember them they're not really gone are they?" "But Marcus! I need the people I love to be here! I need them to make me strong." "No Susan you don't! You're an incredibly strong individual in your own right without the support of anyone else. You're the strongest, most beautiful person I've ever known." He pulled her even closer to him rubbing his cheek against her hair. "Hmmm" Marcus hummed. "You feel and smell wonderful". "Marcus, stop that!" Susan said, struggling to try to pull herself out of his arms again. "We've got to think rationally and figure out what's going on here." "No Susan. No more rational thoughts for now." Marcus replied as he lifted her into his arms and began to carry her in the direction of her bedroom. "It's time for you to learn about how pleasurable it is to love. I just want to give you pleasure Susan. Are you going to fight me the whole way? Or are you going to give in gracefully?" She was about to struggle until Marcus placed his lips against hers and kissed her with bone melting intensity. Susan sighed deeply and gave herself up to the sensations that were running like an electrical charge through her body. She realized that she had dreamed of a moment just like this, never allowing herself to believe it would ever happen. Marcus lowered her onto the bed and started to straighten up. "Oh no Marcus. You don't get away that easily" Susan replied as she pulled him down to the bed to sit next to her. "You may have started this but I'm going to be sure to finish it". With that Susan buried her fingers in his long silky hair pulling his head towards her. She gently ran the tip of her tongue against Marcus' lips. When he opened his mouth to sigh softly Susan took full advantage of it, slipping her tongue inside his mouth to plunder the sweet warmth she found there. Within seconds Marcus' tongue entwined with hers in a gentle battle that has no losers, only winners. "I've gotta' get you outta' these clothes Marcus, before I go up in flames!" Susan began making good on her threat, unbuttoning his cape and pulling his sweater over his head. Her lips were drawn like a magnet to his flat male nipples and Marcus sighed with pleasure as her tongue circled first one and then the other. "Wait a minute Susan! I'm supposed to be giving you pleasure," and making good on that statement Marcus went to work, removing the top of Susan's uniform, parting the fabric to reveal a lacey bra concealed beneath her straight laced clothing. "So beautiful" was Marcus' comment as he ran his hands over Susan's breasts, cupping their fullness. He could feel her nipples hardening against his palms, exciting him more than he had ever imagined. Meanwhile Susan was busy working on the fastener on Marcus' pants. She smiled to herself as she ran her fingers over a rather distinctive bulge in the front of his trousers, causing another low moan to escape from Marcus. "Oh my God Susan. I may not live through the night!" Marcus gasped. "Good, because I'm going to need all these memories of tonight to sustain me for the years ahead. I'm not going to miss this opportunity Marcus. If I've only got you for one night I plan on taking full advantage of both this night and most definitely of you!" Susan said as she continued to run her hands over the erection she could feel in his pants. "Well Captain, all's fair in love and war so let's see what I can do to turn the tables on you." As Marcus made this comment he began to unfasten Susan's pants, sliding his hand inside them to cup the warmth between her thighs. It was her turn to moan softly, her moan suddenly turning to a gasp as Marcus' fingers found their way past all the barriers to stroke the sensitive flesh between her legs. "That's it my love," Marcus said as he continued to stroke her body, searching out the tiny nubbin between her legs, to increase the stimulation he was giving her. "I want more than anything to give you all the pleasure I can until you burn Susan. Even all the dampness I feel won't put out these flames my love." "Marcus! damn it! Will you stop talking and make love to me? Geeze, you always did talk too much!" Marcus just laughed softly at her. "I was under the impression that that was exactly what I was doing. Did I miss something?" However, his soft laughter was cut off when Susan grabbed hold of his penis and started rubbing slowly up and down. "Susan! In Valen's name!" Unexpectedly Susan started to giggle. "And what may I ask is so funny that you can't control your mirth at this climatic point my dear Captain?" "Oh Marcus don't your realize what you just said? In Valen's name? Don't you find that a little humorous considering that we know Valen is Jeffery Sinclair?" "Susan, didn't anyone ever tell you not to bring up another man's name at a time like this? And you said that I talk too much!" And with that Marcus kissed her again, dispensing with the few clothes she still wore. He gently pushed Susan onto her back following her down, settling himself between her legs. "Am I too heavy?" He asked with concern. "No Marcus, you're just right, " she replied while running her hands up and down his back, acquainting herself with the powerful muscles of his shoulders. "And I'm going to die if I don't feel you inside me this instant." "As you wish milady. My goal is to please," and with that Marcus slowly eased himself into Susan's warmth. Signing he whispered to her "I feel like I've finally come home.... Everything okay?" Susan smiled at the concern and tenderness of her lover. "Everything is just wonderful Marcus. Please don't stop now. I need you so much." "As I need you Susan." All talk ceased for several minutes as they strove to please each other. Only gentle murmuring, sighs, and gasps of delight could be heard as they reached for the pinnacle of pleasure each knew the other could give them. When the climax hit they were both drawn into a whirlpool of sensation that caused them to cry out at the intensity of it. At that moment Susan used her latent telepathic powers to touch Marcus' mind with her own, prolonging the sensations and impossibly heightening the intimacy beyond anything he had imagined. He almost swooned with the pleasure. Gasping for breath Marcus moved to lay next to Susan. "Susan what exactly just happened?" "Oh come on Marcus! I know you said you were saving yourself, but this needs an explanation? By the way, I think your Unicorn just slipped out the front door while we were 'busy'," as Susan tried to put off the subject with a joke. "Susan, I'm serious here! You were just in my mind! I felt you!" "Marcus, this isn't something I talk about much. As a matter of fact only my mother, Sheridan, and now you are the only ones that know. I realized when I was still quite young that I was a latent telepath. When my mother realized it she endeavored to keep it a secret to protect me from Psi-Corp. I'm not very strong, maybe a P1, but I know whenever I'm being scanned and I can block it. Other than that I can only touch the minds of individuals that I care about like my mother and you." "Well love, thanks for sharing the experience with me. It was so incredible I don't know how to describe it." "Marcus, you don't need to. I was there right along with you. It was a wonderful experience for me as well. As a matter of fact, I'd love to repeat the experiment." "Right now?" "Look, if I only have this one night then I think we should make the most of it, huh? There's lots more things for us to do together." "Like what?" "You need a lesson? Okay! I make a great teacher!" Susan bent over and started whispering in Marcus' ear. By the time she finished he was blushing to the roots of his silky black hair. "You want to do what to me?" Marcus said in mock horror. "Why Susan! I never knew you were that kind of girl!" They made love throughout the night. Both lost track of how often or who started what. They just lost themselves in the joy of being together. However as the morning started to creep closer so did all the questions that Susan had asked when Marcus first appeared in her quarters hours ago. Marcus was actually dozing for a few minutes when Susan in her usual brisk Ivanova no-nonsense way nudged Marcus awake. "Marcus! Wake up!" "Okay, okay! I'm awake already! I just love the way you're all calm and sweet and gentle after making love." Then he quickly dropped his bantering tone when he detected concern and a trace of despair in her beautiful face. "Susan what is it?" he asked gently. "Marcus it's almost morning. We both know you're going to be gone soon. After all we've shared together this night how will I ever be able to go on knowing I'll never see you again?" "You'll do better than you can imagine my love. Just as you've carried all those other memories with you all these years, so now will you have the wonderful memories of our night together. And though it sounds like it will be ages before we see each other again the time will pass faster than you can possibly realize. And most of all remember that I will be waiting for you in a place where no shadows fall. Keep me in your heart. I'll always be there for you. I love you more than life itself." With a quick change of subject Marcus jumped out of bed . "Now I know how crabby you can be without your coffee in the mornings so I'm just going to pop out to the kitchen to make you a cup. Just stay there. Love you!" he threw over his shoulder as he headed into the other room. Moments later Susan could smell the aromatic scent of coffee as it brewed in the other room. Suddenly she was hit by a wave of loneliness. "Marcus?" she called out. But she knew in her heart it was already too late. He was gone. She felt the tears gather in her eyes, burning. Then she heard the words in her head or was it her heart? "Susan, Susan! Take heart my love! I'll see you soon in a place where no shadows fall. Until then be strong as I know that you are and know that I'll always love you!" She stumbled out into the other room for her coffee to face a new day with new challenges. It would be hard, but somehow, someway, she knew she would see him again. She was already looking forward to that day. End