Babylon 5 in 2284 was little different to the station as had been in its heyday, during the Shadow War and the later conflict with Earth. On this particular day, life was going on as normal for the five million inhabitants. However, for some, life would never be the same again. It was over twenty years since Sheridan had died on Z’ha’dum; over twenty years since Lorien had brought him back to life. Those close to Sheridan knew he was dying; it could not be held off any longer. They had gathered one last time on Babylon 5 to say farewell to their leader. Delenn was there, of course, already grieving for her husband. Garibaldi had arrived from his home on Mars; Franklin had returned from his post as Chief Xenobiologist on Io. Zach Allen had never left B5, and had been waiting for each of them as they arrived. Only General Ivanova had not yet made an appearance – she had been detained on Earth, but was on her way.

The old friends met in the Sheridans’ quarters for dinner. To their surprise, David Sheridan, John and Delenn’s eldest child was also present.

"I didn’t realise you’d be here," commented Garibaldi as he walked through the door. "Figured you’d still be on Minbar, instead of coming to the old folks’ reunion." David smiled at his father’s friend. "I could hardly not come, Michael, under the circumstances." Garibaldi recognised the truth in this and fell silent. A hush fell over the assembled company as they thought of the reason behind the gathering. Sheridan’s death had been foretold; they had all expected it to come. As Delenn had said though, knowing about it didn’t make it any easier.

While they all sat there with their personal thoughts, the door to the Sheridans’ quarters opened and Ivanova came in, closely followed by both Lennier and Vir. The three had met each other coming off their respective transports.

"John," greeted Ivanova, hugging her old commander. "It’s good to see you."

"And you, Susan." Ivanova took the drink Delenn offered her, and, with murmured ‘hellos’ to the others, sat down beside David.

"It’s been a while since I last saw you," she mentioned, taking in his decidedly grown appearance. "Must be nearly four years," he agreed, smiling at his favourite non-aunt. "I’ve changed somewhat since then." Ivanova nodded, agreeing, as she noticed his outfit. "You’re a Ranger, then."

The conversations carried on in a similar theme for the rest of the evening; old friends trying to catch up, desperately ignoring the facts that had brought them all together for the first time in several years. At last the evening drew to an end, and the various persons present started to make moves towards their own quarters. Immediately after David left, though, a bright light overcame the room, blinding them. When it dissipated, there was one extra figure. There was a stunned recognition.

"You’re one thousand years in the past, saving the universe," stated Ivanova, ever the practical. Jeffrey Sinclair smiled at his old second in command. "I was. Now I’m here, saving the universe."

"Well, you’re a little late for that, Jeff," interrupted Michael. "We did that twenty years ago, remember?"

"Something went wrong," explained Sinclair. "Something happened that shouldn’t have happened, and now the universe is at risk. We can’t change the past if it has not already been changed, but I have found a way to make some alterations to reality, if you like." He stepped aside, and the assembled group saw the young woman lying behind him. "She will tell you who she is. You may not believe her, but she will tell the truth." With that, Valen turned to leave. Then he checked, and turned back, looking at Ivanova. "Marcus was not meant to die. But neither were you. It was not meant to be." He changed before their eyes, a translucent flame of wondrous beauty: image that would stay in their hearts and minds till death and beyond.

As the residual flares died down, attention was focused on the woman lying on the floor. Stephen crouched down beside, checking her pulse and other vitals. "Well, she’s alive," he said, looking up. "There doesn’t seem to be much wrong with her except that she’s unconscious. I’d better take her to Medlab until she wakes up; do a few tests on her, make sure there is nothing wrong." As he contacted the doctor on duty, though, there was a stirring, and the young woman awoke, sat up, clasped her head with a groan, and lay back down again.

"Christ, it feels like there’s an enraged maintenance ‘bot doing the can-can inside my head," she complained to no one in particular. Opening her eyes, she gazed up at Franklin, who was still leaning over her. "If you value your hide, Steve, I’d do something about it right now."

Franklin looked at her in amazement, a look that went unnoticed by the woman since she had closed her eyes again. He would swear that he had never met her before, but she certainly seemed to know him, and know him well. The others were equally surprised. The woman sat up again, grimacing as she took in the sights around her. "We’re on B5."

"Yes," agreed Franklin, who seemed to have become the official spokesman for the bewildered friends.

"What am I doing here? Last I knew I was happily ensconced in the garden at Bellande reading a book." They all looked at each other, even more surprised now. Bellande was the Sheridans’ home on Minbar. It was very private; only friends and family were ever admitted – state functions, of which there were many, took place in a much grander building in the centre of the Minbari capital.

"What were you doing at Bellande," queried Sheridan, a little worried by her knowledge – a worry that was only very slightly lessened by the fact that she had been brought to them by Sinclair. His question elicited an equally worried look from their unknown visitor. She looked at him strangely. "You invited me. Last week. You contacted me while I was on Minbar and asked me if I’d like to stay for a while. I said yes. John, are you alright?"

Michael had had enough of all this back and forth rubbish. Jeff Sinclair may have brought her, but frankly Michael wasn’t sure that a millennium-old Minbari god could be trusted quite as easily as his old friend. "Look, miss, we don’t know you, so we’d really appreciate it if you’d tell us your name and where you’re from. And why you’re here would be good, while you’re at it."

The woman stared at him in disbelief. "Hello, Michael? What on earth are you talking about? It’s me, Madeline, your favourite not-niece. You remember? The one you taught to love Bugs Bunny then ruthlessly showed me the episode where Elmer shot him for rabbit stew?" As Garibaldi continued to look blankly at her, Madeline started to panic. She was surrounded by people she loved and who loved her, but they seemed not to recognise her. It was like her worst nightmare. As that thought came to her, Madeline relaxed. Of course. A nightmare. That’s all that this was. Some awful nightmare no doubt brought on by that dreadful Minbari dish she’d been forced to eat earlier to avoid hurting Lennier’s feelings. Following quickly on from that, however, was the realisation that she wasn’t waking up, no matter how hard she tried. Okay, so scratch the dream idea. There had to be a logical explanation for all of this. Her mother had taught her that there was always a logical explanation, even if it seemed frankly weird at the time.

They looked on as the woman thought, her face creased in a frown that did nothing to detract from her beauty, for a beauty she was. She didn’t seem to be particularly tall, though it was hard to tell while she was stretched out on the floor. She was slender, and dressed in a dark green gown that did a very good job of highlighting her attributes. Her hair was long, waving, and very dark, a stark contrast to the pale fineness of her skin. Her eyes were a blue-grey colour that was eerily familiar to those present. Suddenly they jumped. She had started talking again.

"Okay, it’s fairly obvious that you don’t know me from Adam. Or Eve. Whatever. I also know damned well that you should recognise me. Now, you may think I’m a little nuts here, but trust me, until five minutes ago, I’d have bet my life quite happily that you knew me. It seems I’d have lost," she added in an undertone. "Anyway, I think the important thing is to figure out just what’s happening here."

"Absolutely," agreed Garibaldi. "Incidentally, what do you know of Jeffrey Sinclair?" Madeline looked at him in surprise. "Jeffrey Sinclair? Not much. He fought in the Earth-Minbari War, was the commander of Babylon 5 for about a year before he was transferred to Minbar as the Earth ambassador. Then he disappeared, only to reappear one thousand years in the past as the Minbari god, Valen."

There was a short silence. Then Sheridan voiced the thoughts of the others. "No one knows that Sinclair is Valen."

"You do," replied Madeline softly. "You told David there all about what happened during those years. My parents told me. By the way," she continued, looking around her, "where’s Marcus? You’re obviously all having some kind of get together. And I think I know why" – and she looked at Sheridan – "but why isn’t Marcus here?"

"Marcus is dead." It was the first time Ivanova had spoken since Sinclair’s departure.

"What? But…he can’t be dead!" Madeline blanched as Ivanova’s words sank in. "My God, what happened? Was there an accident? No. No, you’re wrong. He’s not dead. He can’t be."

Delenn reached out to the distraught young woman. "Marcus died over twenty years ago," she said quietly. Madeline looked at her as if she’d gone stark staring mad. "What are you talking about? I saw him a couple of weeks ago; of course he didn’t die twenty years ago."

It was clear that no headway was being made. No one was getting the connection that seemed, to Draal at least, patently obvious. It was all the same with humans, he decided. They just can’t see what was right in front of them. He heaved a sigh. There was nothing else for it. He would just have to go and explain things himself. Normally such occurrences supplied him with a little much needed entertainment, but this really was too important to wait until they understood exactly what was needed.

Madeline sat in the middle of the Sheridans’ quarters, oblivious to the concerned looks the others were casting in her direction. A shimmering attracted their attention.

"Draal," whispered Delenn, as she recognised her former mentor.

"Greetings," announced Draal as he smiled benignly upon the crew that had once stood between light and dark. "And how are we all today?"

Madeline looked up at the being that inhabited the Great Machine. "Draal," she whispered, unsure whether he would recognise or not.

"And greetings to you, Madeline. Good heavens, you have grown up since the last time I saw you." Madeline smiled in relief at his acceptance of her. "Well, it was several years ago," she admitted. "I think I was still in school. We came for a holiday, all of us."

"Yes, I remember. You and David went exploring in down below and got lost."

"Security was searching for us for three hours," Madeline reminisced. "Christ, Dad was furious."

"Your mother too, as I recall."

"Well, Mum was always furious at something."

The two suddenly became aware that the stunned attention of the other occupants of the room.

"Draal, please tell me that there’s a good explanation for all of this," sighed Sheridan, apparently without any great expectation that there would be. "Commander Sinclair turned up with her about half an hour ago, and so far we don’t have an idea about what’s going on."

"That’s because you humans have no imagination," uttered Draal, seemingly sorrowed by such a discovery.

"Well pardon us," interrupted Garibaldi, "but we can’t all be some universe-knowing super-Minbari like your noble self!"

"Alas, that it very true," commiserated Draal. "Nevertheless, I would hope for some glimmer of comprehension from at least one of you." At an impatient movement from Michael, Draal hurriedly continued. He may be a hologram and a far superior being; still it never did to antagonise someone like Michael Garibaldi. People like that always found a way to get back at you. "Madeline, perhaps you’d care to inform the company who your parents are."

With an encouraging nod from Draal, Madeline looked up and stated briefly, "Marcus and Susan Cole." There was a small explosion from the corner where Ivanova was sitting.

"Excuse me, Madeline, but I have never had a child, and certainly not with Marcus Cole, who, as we have already informed you, died twenty years ago. So take your nasty little claims and go and shove them up your…" At this point Draal thought it best to intervene. Although loath to admit, Ivanova had loved Marcus Cole, although he had to die saving her life before she realised what she felt. Madeline’s announcement was doubtless hurtful to her, perhaps in part because she represented the future that Susan and Marcus had never had together. Madeline too was upset. To all intents and purposes, Ivanova was her much loved mother, and her apparent disregard would not be good for any future relations between the two. "Hum, Ladies? If I might make a small explanation at this point?"

"Please do," requested Sheridan, anxious to get the whole thing sorted out, at least superficially. This get together was, after all, a sort of pre-death wake, and this wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind when he and Delenn had planned it.

"Madeline is not from this universe." Draal noted with exasperation the blank faces in front of him, including that of Madeline herself. Before anyone could make one of those smart comments for which they were all well known, he carried on. "She comes from what one might call, for want of a better term, an alternate universe. That is, a universe where one simple action or decision leads to another reality. During the war against your President Clark, you, Susan, were fatally injured. In an attempt to save your life, Marcus Cole gave his life that you might live. This was not meant to happen. We don’t know why it did, but the fact remains that it has happened and we cannot change it."

"Hang on a minute. Why can’t we change the past? We’ve done it before. On Babylon 4, with Zathras. Why is this different?"

"A fine question, John. The difference is that that was meant to be. It was destined. This was not meant to be. Some kind of cosmic joke – who knows? Thus it cannot be changed. When you die, John, David will leave his friends and family, leave his life as a Ranger. You will not be able to find him, despite his genetic distinctiveness. In the universe as it should be: one where neither Susan nor Marcus were killed, their daughter Madeline goes and finds him and brings him back. David must become the President in time; it is imperative. The Shadows were not permanently defeated, only badly damaged, and it will be centuries before they regroup and attack again. If David does not become President, all that you have built and worked for will collapse, and the Shadows will overrun the universe – even the First Ones will be unable to stop them."

There was a silence as the assembled listeners took in what Draal had just told them. Such a foretelling of the future was almost eerie; it seemed to emphasise their unimportance in the general scheme of life, while at the same time reaffirming their importance.

Madeline noticed the flaw in this plan. "I was brought from this alternate universe, right? So, what happens there, when David wanders off and I’m not there to find him?"

"In that universe, it isn’t necessary for David to be around immediately after his father’s death. You have a brother, yes? Alexander fills in with the duties that David would have done until he returns. It has all been most carefully calculated." Draal saw the glassy eyes that indicated that these people had taken in just about enough for one evening. "Perhaps it would be wise if you were all to retire for the night. We can continue this tomorrow." And with that, Draal vanished, back into his machine to co-ordinate some other grand scheme for the universe.

Sheridan took over once Draal was gone. "Right, everyone, I suggest we all go to bed, and meet again at 08:00 tomorrow morning. Madeline, if you wait a moment, we’ll find you somewhere to stay for the night." Ivanova came forward. "It’s alright, John. She can stay with me. The station’s pretty full up anyway; you might have problems finding somewhere. There’s enough room for two in my quarters." Sheridan acquiesced, and Madeline followed the woman that was so like her mother yet at the same time so different. Entering her quarters, Ivanova called for the lights, then turned to face her ‘daughter’. "Is the couch alright for you?"

"Yeah." There was an uncomfortable silence between the two women. Finally Ivanova spoke. "Look, I’m sorry about what I said earlier. It was uncalled for." Madeline smiled at her. "That’s okay. It must have been a shock; I’m sorry." There was another silence, this time a little easier.

"How did Marcus die?" Madeline asked suddenly. Ivanova jumped slightly. "How Draal said. We were fighting Clark’s forces, when the Whitestar we were on was almost destroyed. I was injured – badly. The doctors said I was dying and there was nothing that they could do. Stephen had this…this thing. It was alien, a kind of healing device. It took the life force from one person and gave it to the one who was injured. So, that’s what Marcus did. He loved me you see," she continued in a rush, horrified at the confidences she was spewing out to a stranger but incapable of stopping herself. "I never got the chance to say how I felt about him – he was already gone by the time I woke up." Madeline was quiet. She knew how much her mother loved her father, and imagined that this Susan felt the same about the Marcus who had died. It was hard to imagine that her mother had lived without the family that was so familiar to Madeline.

Another silence. Each woman was occupied with her own thoughts: Susan with what her life could have been had Marcus not died, and Madeline with how her mother had managed to survive without those she loved. They both seethed with questions for the other, but it was Susan who asked first: "What was it like? Life with ‘our’ family?" Madeline took a little while to think of the right answer. How did you condense the feelings and experiences that made up her life?

"We have a very…volatile household. You…Mum and Dad fight all the time. Not seriously; not so that Alex and I worry. But you always have some little axe to grind with each other. It’s quite entertaining sometimes. Not when you’re mad with us, of course…"

"Does that often happen?"

"You being mad at us? A little too often, we sometimes feel. If you’re in a bit of a bad mood you get set off rather easily, but we’re used to it. We usually fight back, anyway. There’s a lot of love though, so the fights don’t really matter. Mike always says it’s like walking into a landmine area, but knowing that there’ll be no serious harm done after the mines go off." She continued, "I remember that one time Draal talked about; the last time I was on Babylon 5. David decided that it would be a good idea if we went exploring. We’d already seen all the normal stuff – you know, the Zocalo, C&C, Medlab; places like that. So, we thought it would be more fun if we went where we hadn’t been before."

"So you went to Down Below?"

"Mm hmm. It was really exciting, too. Anything could have happened to us, I suppose; after all, you and Dad, and John and Delenn were all well known. But no one even came near us. We were gone hours, with everyone looking for us. You were absolutely livid. Dad was too, which was more unusual." She laughed. "We were grounded for the rest of our visit. Needless to say, after the reaction we got, that was one outing we never repeated!" Susan smiled, but it quickly faded. Like most women, she had fantasised about having children, but after the death of Marcus she had never found anyone she cared to have them with. The thought that somewhere out there she had been married, happily if Madeline was to believed, and had two children conjured up a great deal of envy for this unknown replica of herself.

"What’s he like, your brother?"

"Well, he looks like you. A more male version, I mean. He’s quite tall; taller than Dad, and has dark red hair. He’s more like Dad in temperament, though – quite calm and collected, but he likes getting a rise out of anyone he can. Me, usually," admitted Madeline with a rueful smile. "I’m usually quick to take the bait. He’s a Ranger now, of course. He and David went off together."

"Do you know David well?" Susan wanted to know. She had not met with Sheridan and Delenn a great many times once they had left the station, but it seemed from what Madeline said that there was much more communication between the families in her ‘universe’.

"Of course. We all spent the summer holidays together. Either David would come to Earth, or Alex and I would go to Minbar." The difference between her lives was enough to make Susan weep. She had always been career military; had never given any thought to a family; children. Now a whole world that she would never know was laid bare before her. Looking at her ‘mother’, Madeline realised that she had had more than enough for one night. So had she, when it came to that.

"Look, we’ve talked enough for tonight – tomorrow isn’t going to disappear. I can answer your questions better when we’ve both had some sleep." Madeline laughed lightly. "This has been just a tad traumatic, and I think it’s catching up on me." Susan saw the wisdom of this: nothing would be gained by the two of them collapsing from lack of sleep in the council chamber on the following day.****

The following day.

The news that rocked Babylon 5, and indeed most of the Alliance was totally unexpected to all but a handful of people. President John Sheridan, seen by many as the saviour of the whole universe, was dead. ISN and all the other news channels were filled with reports of how he died quietly and (it was rumoured) inexplicably in bed on the station where he made his contribution to so many people and planets. To that handful who knew of their friend’s imminent departure, the news was less of a shock, if not less distressing.

Susan and Madeline were woken at 0500 by Delenn, telling them what had happened. Two hours later they were ensconced in the Council Chamber with all the others: Stephen, Michael, Vir, Lennier, Zach. Delenn and David were the only ones not present.

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