name = Vo
email = Vo_W@hotmail.com
title = Family ties
warnings = A bit of language
story = Family Ties 
By Vo
This is the first piece of fan fic that I have ever even tried to write down.  This comes from my wacked out world, so beware! Now, I'm sure you know that Babylon 5 and all the characters in here , excluding Tasha, Robbie, Tom, Jolenn, Julie Samson, Mark Williams and arguably David, belong to Warner Brothers, JMS and probably a ton of people I don't know about.  But, to avoid breaking copyright, I need to say that.
This takes place in 2266, and Marcus did die, but he got brought back.  He married Ivanova, who is captain, and they had a daughter.  Delenn and Sheridan had a son, and Delenn is pregnant.  Garibaldi married Lise Hampton, and they have a son.  Lennier became a Ranger in 2263, and is on Minbar. And Tasha Williams was Marcus' replacement, who stuck around because Delenn said she would need more help when she had her child.  No sex or violence, but swearing does occur.
Okay, enough with my stalling.  On with the show.  Feedback is welcome.  E-mail me at Vo_W@hotmail.com. 

Psi-cop Julia Samson tapped her foot with annoyance.  She was here with important Corps business, and she was wasting her valuable time stuck in some customs line.  She sighed.  It wasn't that she enjoyed breaking up families, but she was eager to return to hers.  Her marriage was one of the few in the Corps that was both love and convenience.  The line moved forward and Samson came into view of the bustling area where friends and relatives were waiting.  A smile broke the Cops features.  The familiar face of her sister came into her vision.  The other, feeling Samson's presence turned.  
"Julie.  Come to see us mere mundanes on you vacation?"  Tasha Williams addressed her flesh and blood coldly.
"There are no vacations for Psi-cops.  We are always on call.  I'm here on business," there had never been much love between the twins, despite their how little time they had known each other.
"Well then I'll let you get to it.  I'm waiting for a friend." Tasha turned and went back to the waiting area.

Lennier looked through the sea of people for Tasha.  He then noticed a woman of Tasha's height, with long black hair and light brown skin.  In fact, she looked almost exactly like Tasha.  But there was something wrong with her.  Then he noticed Tasha walk up to the woman.  Although she wasn't in her ranger uniform, Lennier was sure it was Tasha. She was wearing her ever present dream catcher necklace and green hat.  She and the lookalike exchanged a few words and then Tasha went back to the waiting area.  He handed the security officer his identicard and went on to meet the other Ranger.
"Lennier!"  Tasha greeted him happily as he approached her.  He smiled
"Hello Tasha.  How is the station holding up?" Lennier asked as they headed out of the overcrowded customs station.
"Same old.  Robbie and David have been trying to learn how to use the pike and it's kind of stressful for Delenn being pregnant and all."  Lennier nodded.
"No terrorists or insane bombers?" The Minbari joked.
"Nope.  But Brother Theo is very eager for you to finish your community service from when we, well," Tasha trailed off.  They both remembered all to well why Brother Theo had demanded them to do community service for a while.  Who would've guessed it was his motorcycle?     
"I saw you talking to someone in customs.  Who was it?" Lennier was quick to change the subject from the previous path it was taking.  Tasha looked nervous.  She thought for a moment.
"My, uh," she struggled for a story.  She did not particularly want to mention her family, "sister." she said resignedly.
"Is she visiting you?" Tasha got the feeling that Minbari curiosity would be the death of her.
"No.  We don't really get along."  Tasha hastened to change the subject, and they walked on.

Lou Welch hit his link.
"Welch to Allen, we have a Julia Samson in Custom area 7, a Psi cop.  says she has official business with Captain Ivanova. You wanna check it out?" 
Julie had been here for over half an hour. Welch was listening to his superior's response.  

"What kind of business?" The security officer asked.
"Private," Julie replied.  Welch reported the answer to Allen.
"Hey Smith!  Come over here!" Welch yelled.  A red-haired woman came over.  Welch spoke to her quietly.  She nodded.
"Come with me Mrs. Samson," Smith escorted her off.

Ivanova, Marcus, Sheridan, Delenn, Lennier, Franklin, Garibaldi and Tasha were being briefed on what was going on by Zack.  The Captain shook her head.
"And she wouldn't say what she wanted?" She asked.
"She said it was private," the security chief replied.  Ivanova paled.  Tasha decided it was time to speak up.
"Her primary field is tracking down blips.  Her secondary is training," everyone turned to her.
"Do some extra credit Tasha?" Marcus asked.  She shook her head.
"That's my sister," Tasha confessed.
"Your sister is a Psi-Cop?"  Ivanova looked angry. "And you didn't tell us?"
"It never came up."
"I thought your Psi-Corps would not miss such a powerful telepath's sister?" Delenn commented with confusion.
"Well, "Tasha fidgeted with her cloak and told them the story, "they didn't.  We were born into the Corps, my parents are influential Corps officials," seeing that this was the wrong way to explain her case, Tasha tried a new approach. "Sometimes, there's a child of two or one teep that the telepathic gene skips for some reason.  It happens rarely.  The Corps made sure this was what happened with me, and then put me up for adoption, since I was just another mundane." 
Ivanova thought for a minute.  "Will she be more reasonable if you talk to her?"
"Not too likely.  We don't really get along that well."  The red-haired security officer came in.
"She wants to talk to the Captain immediately," Smith said.  Ivanova look worried, and started to follow the woman toward the room that held Samson.  
"Lennier, stall her," Tasha instructed.
"Why me?" The Minbari Ranger asked her.
"We need time to think of a plan.  She'll talk to you.  Talk to her about why she's here, her kids, anything!"  Tasha hastily instructed the Minbari.  He left.
"What would the Psi Corps want with you Susan?" Doctor Franklin asked.  Stunned as they were by most of the happenings of the meeting, they had work to do.
"I'm a latent.  They must have found out somehow.  Damn!"  Ivanova looked angry.  Garibaldi looked worried.
"It's worse than that," he said.  The gathered party turned to him.
"How is that?" Marcus struggled to keep his voice even.
"Well, the Corps ain't stupid.  Telepathy is genetic."  Garibaldi replied.  It only took a minute for his meaning to sink in.
"Robbie," Ivanova breathed.  Her daughter Robin, called Robbie, was 4, and could be latent too.  They had no way of knowing.  
"I'll start checking legal technicalities," Tasha left for her quarters.

Julie looked across at the Minbari ranger across from her.  He was stalling her, trying to pry the reason she was here out of her.  Tasha had probably sent him.  He looked like someone who Tasha would befriend.  Tasha was most likely trying to find out why she was on Babylon 5.  That was something Tasha would do.  When she did, Tasha would make it her mission to thwart her.   
"Tasha sent you," it was a statement.  The Minbari nodded.  "Go tell them I want to see the Captain now."  As the Minbari left, Julie sent him a short thought she had picked up from Tasha.  The Minbari looked surprised, and left to inform the others of Samson's request.

In Tasha's quarters, she and Marcus were looking over legal technicalities.
"Not one bloody exception," Marcus muttered angrily.
"I know!  They could take the Pope!" the chime rang," Come!"  Lennier entered.
"I thought you were stalling that bloody Psi Cop," Marcus said by way of greeting to the Minbari.
"Captain Ivanova went to see her.  I was told to come help you with your search.  The others are looking for political exceptions."
"Good Luck!" Tasha muttered and continued scanning the list.

"Captain Ivanova.  I am pleased to finally meet you.  I assume you know why I am here."
"For me," Ivanova said coldly.
"No need to be so harsh.  I am not as bad as my sister makes me out to be.  But you are right.  It is my duty to take you and your daughter to Mars."
"You have no idea if Robbie is latent!  You could leave her if you weren't a heartless bitch!"
The Psi cop looked hurt.  "I am not without a heart Captain.  I am married for love and convenience, and have 2 small children, 4 and 2.  But I have a job to do, and we both know that when the heart and the job conflict, you go with the job.  You knew we'd come for you.  We have.  And you have to accept that.   And we've come for you daughter."
"But you have no proof that she's a teep.  And I know what you'll do to her if she isn't," the tears welled in the Captain's eyes.  Julie had to agree.  "Even if she is, I'll never see her again, and neither will Marcus.  And you expect me to bring her willingly?"
"No.  You have no choice.  You and your daughter can come to Mars, go to jail, or take the sleepers.  I don't think you will commit her or yourself to any other option than the Corps."
"She has a fourth option," Lennier's calm voice stated from the door.  Susan and Julie whirled around to see Lennier, Marcus and Tasha at the door.
"What?"  The Psi Cop and the Captain said simultaneously.
"Because Captain Ivanova is married to Ranger Cole, she has the choice of extending his Minbari citizenship to her, meaning both she and her daughter are Minbari citizens, and not under Psi-Corps jurisdiction." It seemed to Tasha as if there were at least 100 simpler ways to get that point across.  Marcus obviously agreed.
"In other words" he said, taking up a position next to his wife, "you can't take them."  Julie left to consult with her superiors.  A ranger came in and cleared his throat.
"Entil'zha has requested your presence in Medlab," the ranger obviously thought this was enough explanation and left in the direction of the lift.  The group followed him.

In Medlab, Delenn was lying on the bed, with Franklin monitoring her condition.  Sheridan was fidgeting with some sort of antibiotic.
"Gimme that!" Franklin snatched it out of his hands as the Marcus, Ivanova Tasha and Lennier came in.  He moved on to the next table and picked up a beaker full of pale green liquid and started fidgeting with it.
"What do your children have about choosing the worst possible time to show up?" Ivanova inquired of Sheridan, remembering when David had decided he wanted to be born the day she and Marcus were getting married and Tasha was attacked.  It was obvious that was what was happening now they were there.
"I don't know.  Just lucky I guess," he replied, as Franklin snatched away the beaker.

"You were right to call Julie.  This is a problem.  I guess we'll have to send Al over, he's used to dealing with them," Julie's father and supervisor Mark Williams told her.  Julie snorted inwardly.  She would have asked for her husband Ben, but the kids would have to go in the Corps day care program, and they loathed that.  Bester, in her opinion, was an arrogant, self-absorbed, heartless jerk.  He was also, unfortunately, her boss.
"All right," Julie said finally, and then remembered something, "Hey Dad, you know what?"
"What?"
"Tasha's here.  I ran into her in customs waiting for some Minbari friend of hers.  They came up with the legal issue along with Ivanova's husband."
"I'm not surprised.  She always was smart."
"Yeah.  I'll expect Mr. Bester shortly then?"
"Yes, I'll download the information on a secondary channel.  Williams out."  Her father's image was replaced with the Babcom screen.  Julie was secretly relived by the discovery of the technicality.  This way she didn't have to break them up, and didn't get blamed.  If she was, she shook her head at the thought.  She would have their fate.  Her family broken apart.  She wouldn't let that happen.  Ever.

"Congratulations John, it's a girl," Franklin handed Sheridan a little bundle wrapped in a white cloth.  As she opened little green eyes up toward him, Delenn's future words echoed through his mind 'Our son is safe.  David is safe.'  She gripped his hand, and Sheridan wondered if he'd just signed this child's death certificate.  A tug on hid shirt brought him back from these thoughts.  David, Robbie and Tom had been brought to see David's little sister.  David tugged his father's shirt again and John knelt down to show the three of them the baby.
"So," Marcus asked, "what are you naming her?"
"We decided to name her in Minbari fashion, by taking the beginning of her father's name and the end of her mother's," Delenn explained, "so her name is Jolenn Sheridan.  Jolenn Neroon Sheridan."  Jolenn knocked over one of Franklin's beakers.
"I see a resemblance to John already," Ivanova commented as Franklin rushed off to call matinence.

"Mr. Bester.  If we weren't back with earth I'd let Garibaldi lose on you.  But I've decided against it and am instead going to unceremoniously boot you off the station," Ivanova greeted Bester, "so consider yourself lucky."
"I'm afraid you no longer have that privilege.  Although you have come up with a technicality that will keep you out of the Corps, as an exposed latent, you cannot serve in Earth Force.  You are, as you so wonderfully put it, 'unceremoniously booted' from the position of Captain.  Mrs. Cole." Bester informed her and turned to leave adding, "if you decide to join the Corps for some income, we'll be here until tomorrow."


"Tasha, I'd like to thank you for not making me tear their family apart.  And, I thought you'd find a way to stop it, so I did you a favor.  I think you'll be happy with it," Julie turned and left, following Bester, then adding, "remember what I told you."  Lennier nodded discreetly.  This seemed to satisfy Julie and she left.
"Delenn told me to tell you," Tasha said to Ivanova as the left, "that now she has two young children, and you're unemployed, she wants you to take over as Entil'zha.  The pay isn't too shabby.  But, you'll have to go to Minbar for some training.  Get back to her before Lennier's vacation's over and you can hitch a ride with him."
Tasha and Lennier walked off leaving Ivanova to her own thoughts.  They had a meeting to get to with the new Commander of Babylon 5.
"How long do you think Corwin'll last in charge?"  Tasha asked Lennier as they got into the lift.


A good deal of people gathered to bid the ex-Captain goodbye.  She had decided to take Delenn's offer not to long after she got it, so she and Lennier were travelling to Minbar together.  Tasha was there to say goodbye to him.  It had been nice having everyone on the station.  But it was falling apart again.  It depressed Tasha deeply.  The Minbar held up his hand.  Tasha did the same, a tear falling down her face.   She couldn't help hugging the Minbari.  She wasn't sure when she'd see him again.  When Lennier pulled away, he felt Tasha's necklace tied around his neck.  
Everyone there noticed Robbie Cole crying to see her mother go.  No one saw the ranger crying silently and alone.


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