Disclaimer: Babylon 5 belongs to JMS and Warner Brothers. I am making no money from the writing or distribution of this story. It was written for purely entertainment reasons.

Notes: Written for the 11reasons LiveJournal community. The challenge was to take eleven prompts and write eleven small scenes inspired by those prompts.

Spoilers up to and including the third and fourth seasons.

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.hair
It's a rare day when Susan wears her hair loose. Marcus wishes she would do so more often; to him, she is most beautiful with her hair flowing around her shoulders.

.shoulders
When on duty, Susan always holds herself with proper military bearing: chin up, shoulders back, spine straight. Marcus wishes she would let herself relax occasionally, but then, he realizes, she wouldn't be the Susan he knows so well.

.pessimistic
Susan puts up a pessimistic front; Marcus is sure she even believes at least some, if not most, of what she says. But Marcus also knows that Susan hopes: hopes for humanity, hopes for the future, just... hopes.

.annoyance
Marcus has made it his purpose in life to keep Susan in a constant state of slight annoyance. Her eyes sparkle with something almost like affection when they trade verbal barbs, and Marcus can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, she might have finally accepted his friendship.

.clothes
They each of them always wear their uniforms, even when not strictly on duty. Both Marcus and Susan know that they need to be ready for anything at any time, and Marcus can't help but admire Susan's dedication that mirrors his own.

.phrase
When Susan speaks, everyone listens. When Susan declares herself the right hand of God, Marcus believes, no matter if he believed in God before or not. Marcus believes in Susan, and if Susan says there's a God, then there is a God.

.patience
Susan has never been a patient person; Marcus accepted this fact the first time he met her. So to see her waiting almost patiently to see if the First Ones answer their hails makes Marcus realize that there is more to Susan Ivanova than meets the eye.

.diligence
Whether logging flight schedules or commanding a White Star fleet, Susan approaches everything she does with a diligence that Marcus envies. Whatever she does, she pours all of her energy into, and Marcus can't help but wish that, someday, Susan would turn her attention to him.

.glare
If looks could kill, then Marcus would surely be dead dozens to times over. He has heard that the commander's glare is deadly, but can't help himself when it comes to provoking her. People say that he has a death wish, and maybe he does, because he wakes up every morning wanting nothing more than to have Susan's gaze directed at him, death-glare or not.

.grip
Her hand flails as she comes around from her drug-induced stupor. Marcus quickly grasps her hand and despairs at how weak her once-formidable grip is. Susan is dying and they both know it, whether Marcus will admit it or not. His respect and love for her grow as he watches her calmly accept her fate and he knows that he would do anything to save her from this fate.

.anger
Marcus knows that Susan will be angry when she wakes up, but he also know that he won't be around to bear the brunt of her anger. From almost the moment he met her, Marcus knew that he would do anything for Susan, even what he's doing right now. Finding his strength rapidly waning, Marcus lays his head down next to Susan's on the pillow and says the words he never had the courage to say before. And then, Marcus sleeps.

the end.