Marcus woke up with a start. *Where am I?* Then he felt someone wrapped around him, head on his chest, arm around his waist.
Susan.
He remembered now; he was in Susan's quarters where they had made love a couple of hours ago. He smiled at the memory, it had been so unbelievably good. She was so beautiful, so soft and curvy and she had been so gentle.. well, not too gentle. He grinned and stretched carefully, trying not to wake her. He gently brushed her silky hair away from her face and stroked his hand down her neck and shoulder to pull her closer. She murmured in her sleep and moved up in his arms a bit, but didn't wake up. He smiled and kissed her forehead. She was his, all his.
*And I'm not ever letting her go again,* he thought. *I'm the luckiest bastard in the universe.*
He didn't feel guilty, he didn't feel regret, he was just completely and utterly, unbelievably happy. Susan had made up her mind and had decided she was gonna leap and break down her walls for him. And who was he to protest? He knew her well enough to know that she might have some moments of doubt in the near future and he was prepared for that. But he wasn't gonna let her go.
"Nope, you're stuck with me," he whispered against her hair, "Whether you like it or not."
Susan moved again, only this time he felt her kiss his chest.
"Hmmmm.. Don't worry.. I like it," she said in the dreamiest voice. She moved up and kissed him lazily. "Hmmm," she purred, putting her head back against his shoulder, "I like waking up like this." Marcus chuckled. "What time is in anyway?" she asked, wanting to know how long they could stay in bed like this, before the real world came crashing in full force.
"I don't know," Marcus replied "Computer-"
"Good morning. The time is oh-five-thirty, Earth Standard Time. You have the following messages: message from Captain Sheridan, message from Station Security, message from Dr. Franklin, message from Ambassador Delenn, message from Lyta Alexander.." the computer droned on and on.
"My guess is it's time for you to get up," Marcus said grinning, adding, "My, you -are- a popular girl."
Susan groaned and snuggled closer to Marcus again.
"I don't wanna get up."
The computer had started listing her meetings for the day.
"Well, you could hold your meetings here, but I don't know what the Captain will say about that," Marcus quipped.
Susan laughed, "Knowing how the rumour mill on this tin can works, between John catching us like he did and me having meetings here like this, it wouldn't make much of a difference."
Marcus snorted, "I suppose not. Speaking of tin cans, what -are- we going to do about that?"
"What, the rumours? Well, I know they're gonna pester us to death, so I'm definitely -not- going to volunteer any information."
"You mean: they're going to pester -you- to death," Marcus said with a wicked smile. "-I- expect apologies from certain people for being cosmically wrong, literally." Susan turned to look him in the eye and raised an eyebrow. Marcus continued smugly, "And from the others I expect congratulations."
"What?!"
"Well, after all, I managed to thaw the Russian Iceberg," he said, looking at her innocently.
Susan started to get out of bed. "I'm gonna take a shower, 'cos this is just.. You'd better have some caff ready when I get out," she said, pointing a finger at him threateningly.
Marcus flashed her his 10,000 volt smile, running his eyes over her naked body, and said: "Do you know how absolutely gorgeous you are when you're angry?"
"OH!!", she exclaimed, exasperated, and disappeared into the bathroom.
*Luckiest bastard in the universe indeed,* he thought as he stretched luxuriously. He got up, found his briefs and a pair of sweatpants and put them on. They were a bit short, but they'd do. He went into the kitchen to make that caff and tea for himself. He had to keep on her good side.

===

Commander Ivanova entered C&C whistling. She took the log from the past night and the arrivals log for today from Lt. Corwin who eyed her curiously. She walked to the observation dome, glancing at the log, still whistling. Then she moved to the arrivals log.
"Drazi diplomatic convoy.. nice", she said, sarcasm obvious in her voice, and continued her concerto.
The whole of C&C had stopped with what they were doing and was staring at her. When Susan turned around she saw them all gaping.
"What?!" she snapped.
Everyone scurried back to their stations. She looked over at Corwin who pretended to be innocent and shrugged at her to prove it. She was about to walk over to his station and tell him what exactly she thought when her comlink beeped.
"Ivanova, go."
"Commander, I need you in my office ASAP."
"On my way Captain, Ivanova out."
*What could that be all about?* Maybe he wanted to see her about whatever it was he had called her about last night.

===

Susan walked into Sheridan's office. She found the Captain and Michael Garibaldi there, talking softly and then laughing. She cleared her throat to announce her presence.
"Ah Commander. Michael, we'll discuss this later."
Garibaldi nodded and turned to Ivanova. "I came upon some suspicious activity last night. Thought you might be interested. I left you a file on Babcom."
Ivanova nodded and Garibaldi walked away, trying very hard not to laugh.
"What was -that- all about?" Ivanova asked, suspicious.
"Nothing, now how can I help you?" Ivanova did a double take.
"If I remember correctly, -you- asked me to come here. Is this about that business you wanted to talk to me about last night?"
"That? Oh no, I got that fixed, don't worry about it," a mischievous smile crossed his face and Ivanova started to worry. "How was your evening anyway? I hope I didn't spoil all the fun."
Susan felt her face start to burn. "It was fine. If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna look at that file Mr. Garibaldi left for me." And she stormed out the office.
As soon as she was gone Sheridan started to laugh.
"Yes, you do that Commander," he said.
Garibaldi came back into Sheridan's office.
"She gone to check out that file?" he asked with the biggest grin on his face.
"Yup," Sheridan replied, equally big grin on his face. They looked at each other and started to count: 4.. 3.. 2.. 1..
Garibaldi's comlink beeped.
"Garibaldi, go."
"Garibaldi!!!! You're a =dead= man!!!!" Ivanova's voice yelled at them.
"Do you think sending her that screencapture of the security cam outside her door was pushing it?" Garibaldi asked.

===

Marcus was strolling through the Zocalo. He was looking for foodstuff. He had decided he was gonna make Susan dinner tonight. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to make, it depended on the ingredients he could get his hands on. He was inspecting some Minbari dealer's stuff when he heard Dr. Franklin's voice.
"Hello Marcus."
"Hello Stephen."
"How have things been since you got back from Mars? You gave us all quite a scare there." Marcus smiled widely.
"-Things- have been just fine Stephen. Couldn't be better actually."
Stephen grinned even wider than Marcus. *He suspects something,* Marcus thought, already enjoying the 'payback' he was gonna get.
"How so?" Stephen asked innocently.
"Well, let's just say that two galaxies collided.. and merged." Marcus saw realisation dawn on Stephen's face.
"You didn't!" Stephen said, not able to believe his ears. Marcus nodded with a smug look on his face. "You -did-?!" Marcus nodded again. Stephen laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Congratulations Marcus. I never thought you would be able to do it. Hell, I never thought -anyone- would be able to get through to her! Well, I'm really happy for you guys."
"Thank you Stephen."
"Just promise me one thing?"
"What?"
"-Please- don't annoy her too much. I don't wanna be the one to clean up the mess after your domestic disputes."

===

Ivanova was sitting in the mess hall, eating lunch. God, things had been about a thousand times worse than she'd expected this morning. Apparently half of Security had seen the introduction to their evening. Which meant that the other half had known about it this morning. And C&C, well, after Johns interruption she hadn't expected anyone to -not- know, but still. They could have been a bit more subtle about it!
As far as Michael was concerned, she was still thinking up ways to properly torture him for sending her that pic!
"May we join you Commander," came Sheridan's voice from behind her.
Damn! She hadn't seen them coming. If she had, she would've made a run for it. But now she was trapped.
"Sure, by all means. Who am I to stop you?" The sarcasm was dripping from her voice.
Sheridan, Garibaldi and Franklin took their seats.
"So, aren't you having lunch with your loverboy?" Franklin taunted.
"No," she said, "and he's not my 'loverboy'. " She spat the word out.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Susan. My Security cams say otherwise," Garibaldi replied, wiggling a finger at her.
"You are gonna bug me about this forever, aren't you?" Susan asked with a big sigh. She was in too good a mood to get really angry.
"Yup," came from all three. Susan rolled her eyes.
"Why?" she sighed, more to herself than to the others.
"Because it's too much fun," Sheridan said with a grin.
"Besides," Franklin added, "We really don't understand. I can't remember ever hearing you say anything nice about him." The others nodded.
"Was I really that bad?" Susan asked, incredulous.
"Does this sound familiar? 'He's so annoying' 'He's such a pain in the ass', " Franklin said.
Garibaldi went on, " And: 'Marcus, what are you doing here?' 'Go away, Marcus' 'Get lost, Marcus' and my all time favourite: 'Marcus, shut up'. "
Susan was starting to blush again. Then Sheridan made it worse.
"Let's not forget 'I'm going to -kill- him'. " Garibaldi and Franklin nodded vigorously.
"So, I gave him a second chance-" Susan said, getting annoyed.
"Second?" Franklin snorted.
"Yes, and I like him, " three pairs of eyebrows went up, sceptically, "And why the hell am I justifying myself to you lot?"
Susan got up and stormed out. The three men sat laughing.
"I don't know about you guys, but I know I'm gonna enjoy this," Garibaldi said.
"Don't go too hard on her, Michael," Sheridan said.
"Aww, why not?" Garibaldi pleaded.
"'Cos I have to deal with her and her bad mood in C&C!"

===

Marcus pressed the chime on Delenn's door.
"Who is it?" came Delenn's soft voice.
"It's Marcus."
"Enter. Ah, hello Marcus, come in. Sit down. Have some tea with me."
"Entil'Zha," Marcus greeted her with a bow and sat down.
"I understand you have recovered from your ordeal on Mars?" Delenn asked.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," Marcus replied.
Delenn took a sip of her tea and said, "I'm so glad you're safely back with us again, Marcus. Susan was quite distracted when you were gone."
"I know," the Ranger replied dreamily, his thoughts drifting away to Susan.
"How is Susan?" Delenn asked.
"She's great," Marcus sighed, not fully realising what he was saying.
"I am so glad you finally found each other.. And that you finally forgave yourself," Delenn said. When he didn't answer, she saw that Marcus was not with her. She smiled, something important had happened last night, she knew instinctively.
"When are you planning on getting married? Soon I hope," she said.
Marcus startled out of his reverie. "In Valen's name Entil'Zha! Marriage is not something I ever hoped for. Besides, it's really too soon for that."
"But you do love each other?"
"Yes."
"And you have known each other for how long now, two years?"
"About one and a half."
"And you still think it's too soon?"
"Yes! It's not the love that we need to get straightened out. It's the trust that's hard for both of us."
"But you trust her with your life, do you not?"
"Yes, that is true."
"And she trusts you with hers."
"Yes, but-"
"So what is the problem?"
* Damn it! Why does she make it sound so simple?,* Marcus couldn't help thinking. "We're neither of us used to sharing.. anything.. Or to rely on someone else.. We've both been alone so long, we don't know if we can.. trust someone like that anymore.. It's.." His voice trailed off.
Delenn looked at him, compassion clear in her face. She felt for both the Ranger and the Commander. They had lost so much and now that was standing in the way of their happiness together. She wish she knew a way to ease away their apprehension.
"Marcus, life is made up of moments. Promise me to enjoy them, cherish them, all of them."
Marcus looked up into Delenn's eyes. "I promise." he whispered.
They drank their tea in silence.

===

Susan opened the door to her quarters. She walked in and was not surprised to find Marcus there. She was surprised to see him in her kitchen, cooking! He was actually making her dinner.
"Hello love. Hope you don't mind me using your kitchen."
"Uh, hi. No I don't mind, whatever you're cooking, it smells good."
She felt herself gravitate towards the kitchen. She'd wanted to fall down on the sofa, but she was drawn to the Ranger. She walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist. She sniffed again.
"Hmmm, smells -really- good. What is it?"
Marcus lifted the lids of the pans, "Pasta, cream sauce with tuna, and lettuce salad."
"Wow! Where did you get the ingredients?"
"Don't ask. Besides, I told you what it represents, never said it was real," he grinned. Susan moved around to face him and pressed her lips to his.
"I've had enough harassment for one day," she said.
"Oh, my poor Susan. Did they pester you?" Marcus said sarcastically. Susan made a hitting motion at his shoulder.
"Yes. And how was -your- day? Anyone bug you?" she said, sure to hit a nerve.
"Actually, most people congratulated me and asked if I'd gone mad. Loving a woman who constantly threatens to space me, and all." That earned him another blow to his shoulder."Ow! Hey! Stephen asked to tell you to leave me in one piece! Said he didn't want to be the one cleaning up the mess."
Susan threw her hands up in the air and walked to the sofa. *Enough already!* She sat down heavily, with a big sigh and rubbed her eyes. Marcus felt bad for teasing her and briefly checked his pans before walking to the sofa and sitting next to her.
"I'm sorry-" he began
"No, I'm sorry. It's just.. I'm tired, it's been a long day.."
Marcus wrapped an arm around Susan and pulled her to him. Susan leaned into him and sighed, this time a happy sigh. They sat in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, just hugging each other. Then Marcus remembered he had been cooking. He helped her sit up again and said, "Come, lets have dinner and then call it a day."
"Sounds like a plan to me." she smiled at him.

===

They had dinner in relative silence, feeding each other bites every now and then. After they had cleaned up the kitchen, Marcus sort of stood in the middle of Susan's quarters, not sure if he should stay or go. Susan smiled, he looked positively lost and so shy. She'd thought he'd lost that shyness after last night, but she had to admit that she loved the fact that he hadn't. She walked over to him and took his hand. She smiled at him reassuringly and pulled him to her bed.
"Cooking like that for me tonight has earned you the privilege of staying tonight," she said to him, teasingly.
"The privilege huh? I'd better stay on your good side then," he smiled and pulled her to him. He kissed her neck, murmuring, "Is this your good side?"
Susan moaned softly, Marcus chuckled, "I guess it is." Then he moved to the other side of her neck, nuzzling and kissing it. "And this, is this your good side too?" Susan took his face in her hands and brought it to hers.
"Shut up already," she said, smiling, before kissing him.
When they came up for air again, Susan pulled back reluctantly.
"I have to get up early tomorrow and it's gonna be another long day. And I'm really tired," she sighed, apologetically.
"It's okay, I understand," Marcus said with a smile. She really looked tired.
They took turns in the bathroom, Susan first. When Marcus came back to the bed, he saw Susan was already asleep. He smiled and slipped next to her underneath the sheets. He carefully took her in his arms and just looked at her beautiful face. She looked so peaceful. He gently kissed her forehead and went to sleep. His last thoughts were of waking her up properly tomorrow morning.
 
===

Three weeks, Susan had endured their incessant harassment for three weeks. She had been friendly, not lost her temper, she had smiled, then she had become less friendly. And now she had been threatening them with spacing for the past week, without any result. They just didn't stop!
And enough was enough. She was finally gonna strike back. Full force, no mercy.
Susan entered Garibaldi's quarters. Oh, the infinite possibilities! Where to start, where to start?
"Computer, set shower temperature preferences to 20 degrees Fahrenheit." That was a nice, old fashioned way to start. She walked over to the kitchenette and started swapping the contents of the salt and sugar containers.
"Computer, set alarm for 0300 hrs, 0330 and 0430. Do not accept any request for change of this program. Authorisation code."
There, that should keep him awake, literally. Susan grinned and screwed the lids back on the sugar and salt containers.*Okay, now where does he keep his vids?*

===

Susan managed to barely escape from John Sheridan's quarters. Now all she had to do was find something sufficiently nasty to do to Stephen. *The 'good' doctor,* she thought sarcastically, *I could send Marcus out to harass him.. nah.. I can do better than that!*

===

That night, just after his shift had ended, Susan casually strolled by Sheridan's quarters. She had seen him enter five minutes ago. She waited patiently. And was rewarded with a loud yelp, followed by a very loud "Ivanova!! I'm going to =kill= her!!"
Susan laughed. *This is just the beginning dear captain, this is just the beginning.*

===

John Sheridan was rummaging through his vid collection.
"Where did I put it?" he asked.
Delenn frowned. He had promised to show her one of the 20th century's greatest romantic movies, "Gone with the Wind", but now he didn't seem to be able to find the vid. Oh, there is was, he'd already put it at the media wall. He put it on and sank into the sofa, wrapping an arm around Delenn.
"Ehhhh, what's up doc?" Bugs Bunny's nasal voice came from the speakers and on screen the rabbit was peeking out of his rabbit hole.
"What the-" John was at the media wall in two long strides. He picked up another crystal and put it on. This time Daffy popped up.
Delenn sat up.
"I have seen these, these drawn animals before. What did Mr. Garibaldi call it again? A cartoon?"
"Yes, but I don't understand. I don't have any cartoons on vid! And what happened to-" Realisation dawned on the Captain. "Oh no, first the shower, now =this=? She's -definitely- gonna pay for this!"
Delenn looked up at him, "Who is going to pay for what?"
John was lost in thoughts of retribution and said, more to himself than anything else, "She should've realised I outrank her."
Delenn giggled, "John, did Susan finally get back at you for your horrible teasing?"
"Yes, I should've realised that setting my shower to ice water was only the beginning of it!" Delenn couldn't help but laugh. "Oh sure, laugh at me! I'll see if I can get my vids back." He went to the Babcom unit and contacted Garibaldi.
"Captain, what can I do for you?"
"Michael, have you tried watching any of your vids tonight?"
Garibaldi pulled up his eyebrows. "Have I what?"
"Just put on the nearest vid and tell me what you see."
Garibaldi disappeared for a second, then came back into view. He was watching the vid screen. Romantic music started to come from the speakers and his face cringed in disgust.
"What the hell-"
Sheridan laughed. "I had the exact same reaction when Bugs Bunny showed up on my screen."
"What -is- this smut?"
"That, Mr. Garibaldi, is the greatest romantic epic ever filmed."
"How did it get-... Susan. She's dead!" Garibaldi was about to start raving when Delenn cut in.
"Hello Mr. Garibaldi. I understand that we have your vids and you have Johns?"
"Oh, hello ambassador. Yes, seems like the Commander pulled one on us. Captain, I take it you want to swap these STAT."
"Yes, please!" John grinned.
"Okay, be there in a bit."
"Oh Michael, I suggest you check your shower settings before you go in."
"Will do." Garibaldi replied grimly.

 ===

The next morning, Commander Ivanova, Delenn, Lennier and Dr Franklin were waiting in the Captain's office for their staff meeting to start. About ten minutes late, Sheridan and Garibaldi came stumbling in. They both looked like hell.
"Whew! You two look like crap! What have you been -doing- last night!" Ivanova said, a little too innocently.
"You of all people should know, Ivanova," Garibaldi growled, "you're gonna pay for this, you know."
Ivanova laughed. "If I remember correctly, I've been paying for the past =three=weeks=!! And don't say I didn't warn you."
Stephen started to get worried. He couldn't remember anything strange happening last night. And he couldn't imagine the commander skipping him in her obviously major payback campaign.
As the meeting got underway, his curiosity got the better of him. He whispered to Susan, "What have you done to them?"
"You =really= don't want to know, Stephen."
"Oh, but I do."
"Well, let's just say that it involved them waking up a couple of times during the night.." Ivanova informed him, malice in her voice.
"Oh.." Stephen started to seriously worry.
Sheridan started talking about the new reconnaissance mission to Mars. Ivanova got up to elaborate.
"As you all know, the last mission was cut short by the attacks on Mars resistance cells."
"And how lucky for her that was," Garibaldi commented under his breath to Stephen.
*I heard that,* Susan thought, *and boy, are you gonna love =this=!*
"But we still need the contacts and the information. So, we've set up a new mission. This time we're gonna send two people in."
"Lemme guess, herself and Marcus," Garibaldi whispered to Stephen, who chuckled.
"Wrong, Mr. Garibaldi. As much as I'd =love= to see Mars this time of year, I can't leave this tin can right now."
"Awww," Garibaldi said, "so who's the lucky one to join Marcus on this one?"
"Wrong again Mr. Garibaldi," Ivanova said, "Unfortunately, Marcus has other duties, to Delenn. So, this one's for you and Stephen."
Garibaldi and Stephen looked at each other, surprised.
"Marcus does have all the information you need, including your identicards. So I suggest you meet with him for briefing."
"Speaking of Marcus, where is he?" Garibaldi asked, mischief in his eyes, "what =have= you done with him Commander?"
Ivanova didn't even flinch. "Like I said, he has other duties."
"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever," Garibaldi grinned.
Ivanova smiled at him sweetly. *You laugh now, you just wait and see*
For some reason, Ivanova's sweet smile worried Garibaldi, it worried him a lot actually.

===

Stephen and Michael were in Medlab, waiting for Marcus to arrive and brief them.
"Did you see that smile on Ivanova's face when we walked out?" Garibaldi said, "It worries me."
"Now that you mention it, she looked altogether too sweet," Stephen admitted.
"Who looked too sweet?" Marcus' voice came from behind them.
"Your commander did," Garibaldi said with a grin.
"Ah now, Mr. Garibaldi, that's where you're wrong. You see, she is =your= commander. And she could never-"
"Look to sweet. Yea, yea, yea," Stephen finished, mock annoyed grin on his face, "Spoken like a true love-struck fool."
"Is that your professional clinical diagnoses, Stephen?" Marcus retorted.
"Yes it is. Now let's get on with this mission -your- commander is sending us on. For some reason she got you off the hook."
"Yes, what's up with that?" Garibaldi joined in again, "She unable to do without you already?"
"You know, you two are starting to look a little green. You know, that bright, jealous complexion."
Stephen and Michael groaned.
Marcus continued, "No, the commander is going to have to do without me either way. I'm leaving for Minbar tomorrow. Delenn needs me at the training facility at Tuzanor. "
"Awwww!" Stephen and Michael said together, with smug grins on their faces.
"Anyway, you two are going to Mars. Together. And I mean -really- together." An evil grin sspread across Marcus' face, while Stephen and Michael looked worried.
"Why do I have the feeling that I don't want to hear this?" Stephen said to Michael.
"You have that feeling too?"
Marcus grinned, and said, "Obviously it is kind of hard to get identicards, and getting identicards for two is even harder. So, this is the best they could do. You are Stefano Parelli and Miguel Santos, newlyweds on their honeymoon."
There was a short silence where the information had to sink in. Then both exclaimed, "WHAT?!?!"
"She did this on purpose! I'm going to -kill- her!!" Michael raged.
"Mr. Garibaldi, you will do nothing of the sort. She has authorised me to use any means necessary to calm you down," Marcus said, evil grin still on his face.
"I bet she has! I thought she wasn't -your- commander?" Michael retorted, adding, "She -is- gonna pay for this."
"Oh I don't think so, Mr. Garibaldi, " Marcus replied calmly, "I think her exact words were: 'I've been paying for the past three weeks. Besides, he should know better if he cares for his health at all.' Personally, I recommend you do go after her."
Stephen just shook his head and said, "Face it Michael, paybacks are hell."

===

Marcus entered Susan's quarters. The lights were low and he could see Susan in the kitchenette. She greeted him without turning around, "Marcus, you're late."
Not the greeting he had hoped for, but she didn't sound angry or annoyed. "I come bearing gifts," he said with a smile.
Susan turned around and Marcus noticed she was wearing her black satin robe.
"Oooh, I like gifts. What did you bring?"
Marcus pulled one of his hands in front of him and said, triumphantly, "Desert."
Susan saw he was holding a bowl with what she knew to be Minbari, strawberry-like fruit. "Oh, yummie! I hope you brought whipped cream to go with that."
Marcus smiled at that and said, "How could I ever forget that?" while putting the bowl of fruit on the counter and producing another bowl with whipped cream. "You know how much I =love= 'Susan a la creme'," he added, wiggling his eyebrow at her.
"Do I ever," she purred. She walked over to the counter, picked up a piece of fruit, dipped it in the cream and fed it to Marcus. Marcus returned the favour, but made sure to get some cream on her lips. She was about to lick it away, when he stopped her and said, "Allow me."
He leaned in close and put his mouth over hers, sucking and licking the cream off her lips. He pulled away and whispered, "Hmmm.. very nice."
"Same here," Susan whispered, before kissing him again. She grabbed the bowl of cream and Marcus' waist and started moving towards the bed, still kissing him.
Marcus made a sound in the back of his throat and pulled away slightly. "Just what exactly are you up to?" he asked her softly.
"I decided that I want my desert now," she said innocently.
"Is that so? And what makes you so sure that =I= don't mind passing on dinner?"
Susan grinned mischievously at him, slipped her hand down his back to his butt and pulled his hips against hers firmly. She wiggled an eyebrow at him and said, "A little birdie told me," giving him one more firm push.
Marcus blushed slightly, his physical state had betrayed him again. Susan saw it and smiled at him warmly. "Come on Rangerboy, show me what you can do with whipped cream again."
"Why commander, are you propositioning me?" he asked in mock surprise.
"What does it feel like?" Susan said, pulling him close again.
He pulled away slightly, parted her robe underneath the belt with one hand, put it against her crotch and felt the wetness there seep through the fabric of her nihtgown.
"I'd say you were," he replied, passion flaring in his eyes.
Susan regained her wits for a split second, eyes still locked with Marcus', and said, "Computer, hold all messages till 0600 tomorrow morning. And I mean =all= messages." She smiled at Marcus, who dipped his finger in the cream and drew a pattern across the bit of her chest that was exposed. He finally broke their gaze and dipped his head to her chest to kiss, lick and suck away the cream.
"Oh yes, 'Susan a la creme', my favourite," Marcus whispered in her ear. Susan shivered and managed to say, "Marcus, you're overdressed for this occasion."
They managed to get undressed and made it to the bed, where they ran out of cream in a matter of minutes.
They lay stuck together, Marcus trailing patterns across Susan's back. Susan's head was resting on Marcus' chest and she was playing with his chest hair.
"Marcus?"
"Hmmm?"
"Are you really going to Tuzanor?"
Marcus was a bit surprised by her question, and not sure where she was going with it. "Yes I am, why? Afraid you won't cope without me for two weeks?", he said with a smile. But Susan was serious.
"No, I mean, I'll miss you, but are you really going to Minbar? Are you sure it's not just a cover for one of your usual missions of no return?"
Realisation dawned on Marcus. She was afraid he was not coming back. He moved her around so that he could look her in the eyes.
"Susan, I'm going to Tuzanor to teach a couple of classes. The most dangerous thing I'll be doing is teaching a pike fighting master class. I'll probably be a bit bruised when I get back, no doubt one of those damn warrior caste fanatics is going to give me a good beating, but that will be it. Trust me."
He kissed her softly, but Susan didn't look too convinced yet.
"I'll tell you a little secret," Marcus continued, seeing he had caught her full attention with that, "I seem to have lost that damn death wish ever since that night after that little incident in Balfours. I'm not going to be running off and not giving a damn what happens to me anymore. There's two of us now, I have a responsibility to you now. And I'm a selfish bastard, because I want to enjoy you for as long as I possibly can.
So, I'm -not- going to die on you, I'm -not- going to disappear. But I -will- have to go on dangerous missions every now and then. Just like you will have to go on dangerous missions every now and then.
But this isn't one of them. You'll have me back in two weeks, I swear. By that time I'll be so deprived, nothing's going to keep me away from here!"
Susan smiled at his last words, then grew serious again and said, "Thank you Marcus, I really needed to hear that."
"I know, love, I know," Marcus replied and kissed her. He tried to move her in his embrace, but their skins stuck together from the cream. Susan broke the kiss and giggled.
"I think we need to shower," Marcus said with a deadpan look on his face.
They got up out of bed and Susan walked to the bathroom. Marcus walked over to the closet and said, "You go ahead, I'll change the bed and then I'll join you, okay?"
Susan walked back over to him and pulled his face to hers for a kiss. "Thanks, you're a keeper."
"A keeper?"
Susan was back in the bathroom and said from there, "Means you're sweet enough to hang on to."
"Great! I feel really special now!" Marcus said, preteding to be insulted.
"I didn't hear you!" Susan yelled, right before she turned on the shower.
Susan let the soothing water stream down her face. She felt good. Better than she had in many many years. She felt at peace. Even with all the craziness around her of impending wars, of dangerous missions and of Marcus, she felt at peace.
Marcus, her standard daily dose of insanity, and her daily miracle. He knew exactly what whe felt when she was still trying to figure it out. Yes, she loved him, she knew that now. More than life itself. She was gonna miss him like crazy the next two weeks.
She felt two hands slide around her waist and moved over to let him get into the small shower cabin with her. She let him soap and massage her back. Then she turned around to face him, wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "I love you," before kissing him.
 
 
 

To be continued in 'Lost and Found IV: Epilogue'...

[Home]