From: Korenna Subject: Where No Shadows Fall 1/1 Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 00:06:44 +0200 MD and I wrote this is one of our little depressions (mourning the sad loss of Lennier =( while listening to the Titanic soundtrack, specifically "My Heart Will Go On" and watching clips from "Sleeping In Light"). We both took turns at the keyboard while digging elbow deep into a cookie jar that was bottomless . . . at least until we started to see the crumbs. We decided to resolve Lennier's death . . . our way - the bitter, romantic way. Special thanks go to Becki Blumer for inspiring us with her tear-jerker (in our opinion) "The Other Side of The Door". This is also our first contribution to the list. ENJOY! Babylon 5, characters, names, and all related indicia are trademarks of Time Warner Entertainment Co., LP. (c) 1999 Time Warner Entertainment Co., LP. All Rights Reserved. Ten years after Delenn and Sheridan leave B5 and the mysterious disappearance of Lennier, a Minbari Ranger gives Delenn a message telling her an old friend is back in town . . . and in trouble. Season 5 S P O I L E R S: You've been warned! WHERE NO SHADOWS FALL Korenna and I wrote this is one of our little depressions (mourning the sad loss of Lennier =( while listening to the Titanic soundtrack, specifically "My Heart Will Go On" and watching clips from "Sleeping In Light"). We both took turns at the keyboard while digging elbow deep into a cookie jar that was bottomless . . . at least until we started to see the crumbs. We decided to resolve Lennier's death . . . our way - the bitter, romantic way. - Korenna DELENN'S attention from watching the ISN news feed was distracted by the arrival of a Minbari Ranger named Jerell. He was serious in his presentation and earnest in his appointment. He handed her a data crystal. "Who is this from?" Delenn held it up. "An old friend." Delenn frowned at the crystal. How odd. She had many old friends but none ambiguous in passing along messages. She put it in the computer and a transparent image of a dark-cloaked, hooded man appeared. His voice was unmistakable. "Hello Delenn." "Lennier?!" "It has certainly been a long time." He paused, momentarily coping with a painful memory. "Too long and perhaps not long enough. Surely you've heard by now . . . Despite this, know that I would never do anything to hurt you . . . or your . . . husband . . . ever again. I tell you this because I need your help. It's imperative. Consider it, at least, please. I will understand if you decline, but if you do choose to help me, meet me at the city temples in three hours. I'll be waiting." His image disappeared. Lennier was in trouble - again. If he had returned to Tuzanor, completed his Anla'Shok training, if he hadn't run away all those years ago: none of this would've happened. He was honorable and Delenn refused to believe the lies that he was a mercenary, Drakh agent or had even allied himself to the Wind Swords once. The Clan of Chudomo was good and so was Lennier. Sometimes circumstances made life difficult for him. He had been willing to give up his life for her whenever the need for sacrifice arose . . . and sometimes for others, too. He had never asked, only given. If she could repay him the debt (albeit only a small allowance) then this was the right time. Of course she would have to be careful. She was Entil'Zha, the President's wife and a mother after all and helping someone like Lennier would look . . . bad. This was idiotic of her. He is my friend, I won't leave him. She checked the time. The evening prayers would be over soon and then she would call John and see how his trip was going, and then she would slip out under the cover of darkness and go to the temples. Delenn slipped outside stealthily, but didn't hurry as fast as she would have liked. Haste would only attract unnecessary attention. The temples were quiet. The crystals reflected the light and she shielded her eyes from it. Outside the temples he had said. Where exactly? She could walk around in circles and miss him without realizing it. "Lennier," she whispered sternly. "Lennier." She must've passed the same hidden crystal alcove at least twice before spotting a hooded figure dressed in black. He didn't step out from behind his hiding place and she approached him cautiously. The Minbari streets were safe . . . but was Lennier? Delenn cursed herself at the mere thought of such a thought. "Lennier?" "Delenn . . ." His voice was tired and almost collapsed with relief. "I knew you'd come." "Lennier!" Delenn shrieked, nearly forgetting herself. She hugged him, tightly - a Human custom Lennier was not used to. Hesitantly he lifted his arms to hold her. He had never been big on confidence, not since the incident with Sheridan on the White Star. Perhaps he had collapsed from the pain and was dreaming. Maybe he was already dead and this was the afterlife. Not likely. Lennier scoffed at his old saying: "Fait manages." They were just empty words to him. "I've missed you so much . . . too long, Lennier," Delenn said, fighting back tears. His hands trembled. Her voice. Minbari: he wanted to hear Minbari. "Delenn, I -" The pain! He nearly went to his knees, but Delenn steadied him by grabbing onto his wrists. That's when she saw his hands: burnt black and blistered with dried blood. They trembled. Her mouth opened to speak. "What happened?" "An accident while I was repairing my ship. I didn't have time to see a doctor." Lennier might've been a good liar to anyone else, but she saw right through it. Those wounds were obtained elsewhere under different circumstances. The latter part of the statement was plausible. "You're hurt . . . Let me see your face." She wouldn't recognize him, not after ten years like he'd lived them. She was still as beautiful as ever. Older, but beautiful. Gingerly, he pulled back his hood. Delenn clenched her jaw shut and swallowed. "Oh Lennier . . .," tears blurred Delenn's vision. Lennier avoided her eyes. He could never look at her again. Shame was his greatest weakness. "It's not as bad as it looks." Another lie. She swallowed back the lump in her throat and got a hold of herself. "I should imagine it's only worse. You need a doctor." "Delenn," he said firmly, "don't, please. I don't have time for that. I don't want a doctor." Delenn stared at him, wondered what must've turned into such a man. Did the old Lennier exist anymore? She hoped she could find him amongst the wreckage of this . . . "new" man. "Come, we can't stay out here all night. What if someone should see you? I take it you are trying to stay out of trouble?" She realized what she had just said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it -" "No, you're right. I'm always in trouble. Believe it or not it helps me stay out of trouble." Lennier smiled. His thin lips only managing to rise a little way to avoid the cut that had twice been split in a fight and left his upper lip swollen. "It would be safer for you if we left the streets, Entil'Zha." Delenn blinked. "I am still a Ranger even if the others think I have been dishonorable," he admitted. The fatigue crept back into his voice. "I will tell you all about it soon enough . . ." "Yes, that is a story I would very much like to hear. Come now," she began to lead him back to her residence under the cover of darkness. It would easy to get Lennier passed the Ranger guards. They did not question her actions or motives; they would keep their silence. Thank Valen that John was still away on the Drazi Homeworld with business. She helped him inside and into one of the guest bedrooms. She explained, "Now I will tend to those wounds and then you will rest. In the morning you shall tell me everything." But Lennier had his own thoughts on the situation. As Delenn hurried back and forth between him and the bathroom, he began to tell her what happened, "I was on the Centauri homeworld not so long ago. The Drakh have become an interest of mine. Londo is no longer himself - I'm sure you know this." "I know," Delenn said despondently as she tended to the bloody cuts over his face. "You know then that . . . people's lives are at stake." Delenn stared at him as if she'd been slapped in the face. "What do you mean?" "The Drakh have Londo and the Centauri Empire. Do you think it'll end there? Do you think Londo will end there?" "Londo may have changed, but -" "No one likes to hear something like that . . ., but it's the truth." Delenn was angry at Lennier. "You don't know what you're talking about. How can I even trust you after what's been said about you?!" "Perhaps by remembering the other times you trusted my word over theirs," he replied calmly. She wanted to apologize, but Lennier's attention was distracted. Standing in the doorway were two half Minbari, half-Human children. They stared at the Minbari and he stared right back. "Hello." The boy didn't say anything, but the girl replied meekly, "Hello." In danger of insulting Lennier and acting out of the ordinary in front of her own children, she introduced them. "David, Guiya, this is our guest . . . Lennier . . . He's a Ranger." She hadn't wanted to tell them. For some reason, the maternal instincts in her, she wanted to keep them away from Lennier. David burst out, "A Ranger! What happened to you? Were you in a fight? Do you have a pike?" "Will he be OK?" Guiya asked. "Enough, no more questions. He needs rest." Delenn said firmly. "Come now. Why aren't you two in bed?" She directed them down the passage, nudging them on. Lennier could still hear the inquisitive questions. When she returned, he said, "Don't scold them. They're just children, curious and fearless. It was my fault for waking them up anyway." After some thought, he added, "David . . . he is . . .?" Delenn beat him to the point. "That's all he ever talks about, day and night, how he wants to be a Ranger. And a pike? Valen forbid he ever gets his hands on one of those things. He has too much of his father in him. The sense of adventure . . . forever wanting to see with his hands." She pressed the cold cloth to Lennier's forehead. "Now Guiya, she is the sensible one. A little directionless, but always with a goal to reach. She is a leader. Sometimes I will catch her sitting in John's office pretending she is the president of the IA." Lennier smiled. "They are beautiful." Delenn closed her eyes for a moment. Had she gone too far in bringing him here? Now that her children knew, she couldn't just tell them to be quiet about it. David would surely want to tell his father that he had had a Ranger living in their house. Then she would have to tell John and he wouldn't trust her for not telling him sooner. She wasn't sure how many of the lies John believed about Lennier. He believed at least one, though, which was one more than she did. She hated to keep secrets. They had nearly been the end of her in the past. "Thank you," she accepted the compliment without so much as a smile. She decided to lay down the law. "Lennier, I would appreciate it if you . . . if you -" "Stay away from them?" "I was going to say: I'd appreciate it if you kept your distance." "Of course," Lennier said. She hasn't forgiven me, has she? I deserve what's coming for me just as much as she deserves the right to her children . . . but I still need her help. Delenn bandaged his hands slowly, patiently. They looked so scarred and trembled persistently. She looked at him, but his eyes were fixed on her hands as she dressed the burns. Minbari aged well. They didn't look much different from a decade ago, but she could see Lennier had given up spiritually. He had given up living. One thing kept him going: her. She felt guilty about it, honored by it and sad at it. "About what I said earlier, about not trusting you. It's not true. I would trust you with David and Guiya's lives . . . it's just John - he says he's forgiven you - but we both know he hasn't. He would feel betrayed if he knew, and I can't turn you away." Lennier stole a glance at her, but didn't say anything. Delenn finished dressing his hands. She gathered the medical surplus together and stood. "We will talk of these things in the morning. Sleep now." "Good night, Delenn, and thank you . . . for everything." "Good night, Lennier." LENNIER awoke to the sound of hushed whispers. He peeped out from the covers groggily and saw two young faces peering from behind the doorway. He remembered Delenn's request that he keep his distance. She couldn't rescue him from this situation . . . "Hello again." Guiya smiled. She frowned when he sat up: his face was puffy and swollen and his hands were bandaged. "Are you all right?" "Yes, I'm fine," Lennier said through the dull ache that pulsed through his body. "Were you in a fight?" David asked quizzily. "I was protecting some people." At least that much was the truth. Anything else was not fit for the ears of children. "Do you have a pike?" Lennier smiled. "Yes I do." "Will you show me how to use it?" "Perhaps when you're older." "Can I see it?" "I think your mother would object to that." David looked disheartened, but followed his sister inside the room. He stood beside the bed, while Guiya sat down. "Guiya . . . I have a cousin called Guiya. She was very beautiful" "You mean she's not beautiful anymore?" "No, I'm sure she is, but I only ever saw a picture of her. That was a long time ago." He looked up from Guiya and into the testing eyes of Delenn. She was holding a tray of food in her hands. She said quietly, "Guiya, David, come. Leave our guest alone now. Questions later." Resolved (because Delenn's word was final in the household), they filed out. She stood very still, ready to chew him out. But she had not come for this. She knew Lennier well enough to know that he was trying to resolve the odds and ends of his life because his days here were numbered. She set the tray down beside the bed. Lennier blinked, unable to conceal his surprise at the size of the meal. "You look hungry," Delenn explained. She went out and returned a minute later with a fresh Ranger uniform. She laid it neatly over a chair. "You said you were a Ranger, then you must look like one." WHEN he joined Delenn on the balcony, Lennier was dressed proudly in the Ranger's uniform. She thought: No matter how many times he's defeated, he always comes back for victory. "Tell me of the Drakh and how they have endangered lives." "They have hired agents to bomb the IA Headquarters," Lennier got straight to the point. Improbable considering the security precautions. "How?" "The Drakh have as many allies as the Shadows did, and they are resourceful." "How do you know about this?" Delenn grew worried. "More than half the things you hear about me are lies, but as I said: the Drakh have become an interest of mine . . . and I am a Ranger." He continued solemnly, "I said I would find some way to redeem myself in your eyes. I realize now that there is no one way, but that many make up for that. Perhaps, too, I can make your husband hate me less." Delenn's features quivered with sadness. "He doesn't hate you, Lennier. How could you go through life thinking such a thing?" She put her hand to his cheek. Lennier removed her hand. "Then let us put it this way: he has not truly forgiven me in his heart." He said, "I came to you because no one would believe me. I tried to contact your husband, but no one would even mention the fact that wanted to speak to him It seems loyalty among friends is a rarity these days. I literally had to beg Jerell to bring the data crystal to you." "We'll warn them, clear the building if necessary until the bomb can be found." "That would only be treating the symptom. I must find the cause . . . but I still need you to warn them. They will believe you." He bowed. "I must find the agents responsible." As Lennier began to leave, Delenn stopped him. "You'll need help. The Rang -" "No, this is something I have to do alone. This is my chance for redemption. I know where they are . . . and I understand their technology." He saw Delenn's expression, knew there were questions formulating in her mind. "Don't ask me how, Delenn. There are some lies that are truths . . . and I am shamed by them. Have faith in me, and I will see you again in a little while." AS it turned out, Lennier wasn't the only one keeping an eye out for the Drakh agents. They were keeping an eye out for themselves. Underestimating his resources was something that couldn't be undone and killing him wouldn't be easy, either; Anla'Shok were trained survivors. Then again . . . anyone with a healthy appetite for life was. The best bet was to let him come to them. Fighting on home ground was advantageous. They attacked him as he entered the shuttle bay where their ship was docked. The Minbari fighting pike caught the approaching giant of an alien by the ankles and he tripped. He stumbled, but didn't go down until Lennier delivered a martial arts chop to the alien's back. Immediately he lay still. There were others. One of them drew a PPG and fired a round. Lennier dove out of the way and brought the pike across the alien's hand, knocking the PPG to the other side of the bay. Energy weapons were clumsy, but when used as accurately as Chief Allen might have used them, they were as deadly as the denn'bok itself. Fire from a correctly aimed gun grazed the sleeve of his uniform leaving a smoldering hole. "Come out, Minbari," the alien yelled. "You can't hide forever. Fight honorably." "This is Tuzanor, the authorities will be here soon. If you are going to kill me, then do so," Lennier replied calmly. "The Drakh offered you a substantial fee?" "Do you have a better offer?" The alien, whose PPG had been kicked from his hand, asked. "Yes: if you value your lives then be somewhere else." The alien laughed. "Do you hear that? He thinks he can take us all on! Ha! Stealthy, yes, but you don't have the stamina." Lennier shrugged, "I take it you would rather be dead." Mustering up his remaining strength, he took a deep meditating breath and rushed them. "We live for the One, we die for the One!" Within minutes all but one of the agents lay dead on the floor. "Either you seriously misjudged my tactical abilities or you're incredibly fickle. Now tell me exactly where in the Interstellar Alliance Headquarters are the explosives situated, and I will spare your life." Whether the Drakh agent was telling the truth or not would never be answered. He died right after breathing the answer: "Closer than you think." The shuttle bay? The ship? No, he wasn't the real target (just a minor inconvenience). Drakh agents were not as feeble-minded as they sometimes appeared. There was meaning in those words. He couldn't think straight, his head was swimming. "Delenn . . ." It struck him then and there. The answer was closer to him, closer to his heart: Delenn. How they had known he didn't have time to guess. If anything happened to Delenn either he would be accused of the whole squalid plot, or he would never live with himself. DELENN wanted to send at least one Ranger after Lennier, but instead she sat at home waiting impatiently for him to come back. IA Headquarters had been evacuated as a security precaution, but so far no trace of a bomb or explosives had been found. Perhaps Lennier had already stopped them . . . perhaps he hadn't and was . . . No, if Lennier said he would be back then he would keep his word; he always kept his word. She heard a commotion outside the door and then in he himself burst. "Delenn! Come, out now. The bomb's not in the IA building - it's here!" He grabbed her hand before she could react. "Where are David and Guiya?" "At school - Lennier, what -" "Delenn, I will answer all your questions, but come now. I don't know when it will detonate." Bad omens follow bad words, it is said, and although they were almost outside, a section of the house blew: spewing debris and a dust cloud that took a few minutes to settle. Shouts came from nearby: Rangers. One had been injured in the blast. A local inhabitant was screaming for her baby. And Delenn, she lay face-down in the dirt. The elbow part of her sleeves had been torn away in the dive to the ground before shrapnel could kill them. Them . . . Lennier . . . Where was he? He had been right behind her, he had pushed her to the ground. "Lennier?" "I'm alive." Delenn sighed with relief and climbed unsteadily to her feet. Lennier steadied her, smiling to see that she was none the worse for wear. As she looked into his eyes, something made her uneasy. There was something he wasn't telling her. "Lennier?" His grip around her arm began to loosen. "Lennier?" Lennier felt himself drifting off to sleep and before he could stop himself, he had fallen into Delenn's arms. "Lennier!" She shrieked. He was too heavy to support, but she laid him down in her lap. "Lennier!" He opened his eyelids. "Delenn . . ." His voice was weak and distant. He could feel the life draining from him. "Lennier, Lennier," she repeated, trying not to panic at the sight of her downed friend. She shouted out, "A doctor! Someone get a doctor!" "Delenn . . . I don't have time for a doctor," he tried to make light of his injuries (as serious as they were). He didn't have time for anything. Ten years of guilt, penance and shame. He didn't have all that much to say to her, except that he had kept all his promises and that he loved her. That he'd always love her. "Delenn, I don't have much time. I - I need . . ." "Shhh," Delenn said, cradling him, "don't say things like that." Her legendary calm was crumbling. She screamed, "Get me a doctor!" Lennier clasped her hand as tight as the remainder of his strength would let him. It drew her attention back to him. "Delenn . . . remember all those years ago, I - I said that we would meet again and . . . that when we did I would . . ." He swallowed; it was as hard for him as it was for her to hear it. Delenn felt a lump rising in her throat. "I forgive you, Lennier. I did a long time ago. If only you could've known it then." Lennier smiled faintly. Perhaps he had been wrong. "Then it is true: faith does manage." "Stay with me, please Lennier," Delenn shook him. She was beginning to get angry. Why was he doing this to her? It wasn't fair! "Fight it." Lennier was tired of fighting. He remembered how Marcus had done the same thing for Ivanova. He had never fully understood it, until now as he lay facing a similar situation. The Humans said that when you died, your life flashed before your eyes. If he had a life to flash before his eyes, then it would be his time with Delenn. "To understand one's self, one was must come full circle. My circle is complete." Delenn, on the verge of tears, touched his lips. She didn't want to hear such things. Not now, not like this. She wanted to deny what was happening. How could she? "I love you, Delenn." Ten years since he had said those words to her. And no matter how many times he repeated them in his mind or on his lips, it would never be enough. Never. "Always." Then he mumbled something under his breath and the tiredness enveloped him. "Where no shadows fall," Delenn repeated sadly. "Lennier?" His hands were still in hers, but she realized she had been the one holding on. She let go. "Lennier . . .," she cried as she pulled his lifeless body closer and rested her head on his. "Always . . . Lennier." Comments or constructive criticism? E-mail us: Korenna & MiraDelenn . -- "A dream is a wish the heart makes." ~ Anonymous