Chapter Text
Almost a year ago, John Sheridan came back from the dead.
Eight days ago, he was betrayed by one of his best friends, drugged and beaten viciously, and thrown into a cell.
The next week was a continuous round of cells, shackles, shocks, poisonings and manipulation. Days, nights, hours, minutes, all meaning nothing. Lights and recorded voices distorting his senses. Shockingly violent attacks of sickness, and pains that threatened to rip his body in half. No such thing as sleep, only drifting occasionally into muggy half-consciousness. And then those brief moments of respite when he believed himself to be safe on Babylon 5 among friends, part of him wanting only to go along with it, while another part of him fought back until he was once again on Mars with Clark's interrogators.
Twenty-four hours ago, he was rescued.
Twenty hours ago, he discovered his other best friend was dying.
Twelve hours ago, he thought he was going to have to sacrifice himself for the second time in a year, taking an entire crew with him.
Four hours ago, he had to answer to the authorities for taking up arms against his own government. He agreed to resign.
On the transport back to Babylon 5, John felt numb in a drunk sort of way, detached. He remembered his resignation speech, how it had felt as though he was on the outside, watching somebody else. The brief reunion with his father had taken him for a short time back to the security of his childhood. Now it seemed like a dream, as did the kiss and embrace, also all too brief, with Delenn aboard the White Star. He'd reassured her his surprise holiday on Mars hadn't been that bad. He had lied.
She would be there when he returned, at least. He tried to cling to that certainty, not knowing what else would be waiting for him.
He could hear Stephen in his head, telling him to get some sleep, but no concept in the galaxy could have felt more alien right now.
*
Back on Babylon 5, a crowd had gathered in the Zocalo to watch the ISN broadcast about Clark's suicide and Sheridan's resignation. Stephen had appeared briefly from Medlab 1 and stood next to Delenn, focused as she was on Sheridan, his frown troubling her.
"What's wrong?" she asked him quietly.
"When he gets back on board, I want him brought to Medlab straight away. No excuses." he saw her face "Don't panic, but he's been pushing himself harder than I thought possible even for him. It'll be better if we can intervene before he burns out".
*
Returning to Medlab, Stephen began preparing for the captain's upcoming arrival, all the while with a ghost of an idea about something completely different nagging at the back of his mind, demanding time and attention he didn't have. One of the monitor screens bleeped and he responded quickly. Commander Ivanova.
She was stirring slightly when he entered the room, and her eyelashes began to flicker. Stephen braced himself. First had come the devastation of knowing he was about to lose a patient who was also a close friend, then had come the tense journey back to Babylon 5, and he had found himself instead with two patients who were critical but likely to recover. He was happy to have Susan back, of course he was, but the entire incident had been deeply unsettling. He wanted the alien device off the station and preferably destroyed. Thinking about alien tech caused the other issue to rise to the front of his mind again, and he pushed it back.
She was awake now, and met his eyes questioningly. He put on his best reassuring smile.
"Hi Susan. How are you feeling?"
"Better, different... Something happened?"
"You're going to be okay," Stephen told her. "I mean it!"
"There's something you're not telling me. Oh god, is it John?" she sighed and lay back.
"He's fine. He's on his way back from Earth now."
"Michael?"
"Still on Mars. Checked in a couple of hours ago." He saw no need to mention the tense conversation where the former security chief had explained he would never come home.
"You know," Susan said quietly ,"I thought I was dying. I heard a voice with an English accent like - Shit! It's Marcus, isn't it?"
Stephen nodded "I’m afraid so. Fortunately, we got there in time, and you're both going to make a full recovery, but yes. He hooked you both up to the alien healing device. Any longer and we would have lost him."
He watched the expression on her face change from shock and disbelief to anger. "That damn- tell him when I get out of bed, I'm gonna kick his ass!"
"I'll let him know when he wakes up," Stephen smiled.
*
Later, Stephen sighed to himself, and called Lillian Hobbs.
"Look, I've had an idea about those telepaths."
"They're going to the Earth facility in a couple of days. It's all arranged."
"I know. But I think I know how to help them. I want to keep one back. If what I'm thinking is correct, we can send Earth the data." He thought for a minute "Keep Carolyn Sanderson back, as we've met her, so to speak. I'll be honest, this is madness. We've got enough to deal with right now. But I'm sure I can help them."