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Upon her return from Minbar, Delenn placed the small chest containing Jeffrey Sinclair’s belongings on a shelf in her rooms. She had considered sending it on via one of the many civilian ships still servicing the route between the station and Earth, but could not bring herself to entrust some random crew with such a valuable piece of cargo. She could have sent a Ranger, of course, but with the way the Shadow War was escalating their forces were thinly stretched at best.
The chest remained where it was.
In the following months, every now and then, Delenn would stop to contemplate it, a wistful smile playing on her lips. She would light a candle and remember his sacrifice, his legacy and, first and foremost, her friend.
When the time came to set out for Earth almost precisely one year later, she took the chest with her.
After Earth’s war had finally been finished, she made use of the Anla'Shok's resources after all. And so it was that after meeting John’s parents, she stole herself away to pay a visit to the address the Rangers had provided, wearing a hooded cloak in an effort not to draw attention. With tensions still high she had refrained from telling John about her little detour in advance. She had not realized it before, but she had been wanting to do this on her own all along.
She pushed her hood back just far enough to make her crest slightly visible and rang the doorbell. She recognized the woman opening the door from the photograph she had also been given. “Mrs Sinclair?”
“Yes. And you must be Delenn.”
Delenn bowed her head slightly in confirmation and greeting. Her unique physiology, much as it had caused people to give her grief at times, did have its advantages. “May I come in?”
Not knowing what to make of her visitor, the older woman moved aside and gestured towards the hallway.
Smiling her thanks, Delenn nodded towards the chest she was carrying. “This used to belong to your son. I wanted to return it to you personally. I also came to tell you that your son was a great man. Someone Minbari call a True Seeker.”
Mrs Sinclair shook her head slightly. “I wish he had found what he was looking for.”
“He did.” Much as she wanted to elaborate, Delenn knew she could not. So she merely added, “I am certain of it.”
Seconds passed, both holding each other’s gaze, until Mrs Sinclair finally smiled at her. “Please excuse my manners. Would you like to have some tea?” She gestured towards a door at the end of the hallway.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude, Mrs Sinclair. If you could just tell me where to put this?”
“It’s not an intrusion. And please, call me Gemma.” She set out towards the door, obviously expecting Delenn to follow her. Once inside the living room, she motioned for the couch table. “Thank you, dear,” she said after Delenn had placed the chest on it, “Please have a seat.” Heading towards the kitchenette and starting to make tea, she continued, “He cared about you. He mentioned you in some of his video messages. He didn’t actually say a lot, he always had a bit of an inclination towards the mysterious. But it was enough to know he cared.”
Delenn had to swallow back a lump forming in her throat before answering, “He was my friend. I miss him.”
Leaving their tea to steep, Gemma joined her on the couch and started to go through the precious few things her son had left. Setting aside his Earthforce insignia and identicard, she held up the medal he had been awarded for fighting at the Battle of the Line, pondering it in silence. When she felt Delenn shift uneasily, she looked up. It took her a moment to understand, then she said, “If he didn’t hold a grudge, then I’m not about to start.” She put the medal down. “I was just remembering. I never expected him to make it through that one. So really, anything beyond that was a miracle.”
Smiling wistfully, Delenn replied, “I can relate.”
Gemma returned her smile, but did not ask her to elaborate before picking up the next item. After inspecting it for a moment she said, “I can’t place this one.”
“It’s a Ranger brooch. My people call them the Anla’Shok. I’m aware that a lot of what has happened outside of Earth in the last two years has gone largely unnoticed here, but you should know that the fate of the galaxy was at stake and their role cannot possibly be underestimated.”
Gemma’s eyes had widened. “The fate of the galaxy?”
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.” Delenn paused, carefully considering her next words. “He was the one to make the Rangers as they are. He did all of us a great service.”
“Thank you for coming here to tell me. It means a lot.” She considered the brooch again before holding it out. “Would you like to have it?”
Delenn appeared to consider for a moment, but shook her head. “I couldn’t.”
“Do you have anything else to remind you of him?”
“Quite a lot, actually. But nothing corporeal,” Delenn answered.
“Then take it. Please don’t think I don’t appreciate its value. Considering what you just told me, it must have been very important to him indeed. But I do believe this particular item would mean a lot more to you than me.”
She put the brooch in Delenn’s hand, then proceeded to get their tea, clearly indicating she considered the discussion to be over.
When Delenn finally left Gemma’s home several hours later, they both had learned a lot about Jeffrey Sinclair that they had not known prior to their meeting.
Upon her return to Babylon 5, Delenn placed the brooch on the same spot that had previously been occupied by the chest. And in the years and decades to come, whenever she paused to really look at it, she would not only think of Jeff, but also of Gemma.