Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars.

- Henry van Dyke

The sun was warm on my head and shoulders as I sat on the wooden dock that jetted out into the peaceful river. There was a slight breeze, just barely enough to stir the light strands of hair that hung over my forehead and rustle the leaves in the trees all around me.

John was sitting on the end of the dock, wearing what he referred to as 'trunks' and a loose t-shirt, a long slender fishing pole in hand. His feet dangled off the edge, and from what I could tell, they must have been just barely under the water's surface.

His mother, Mrs. Sheridan, had a seat in the shade of the overhanging trees, reading as I was. I'd borrowed the book I held from her, or rather, she'd given it to me, telling me that the men would be fishing for a while before we 'all went for a dip'. I was slightly unclear on what she'd meant by that, but reasoned it must have something to do with food, as last night's dinner had consisted of raw vegetables dipped in different sauces.

Mr. Sheridan was with John at the end of the dock, also with a fishing pole. I looked up from my book to watch when he gave an exclamation of surprise. He jerked on the pole, and then proceeded to turn a crank near the handle very fast. John was also watching the event, but with more excitement than I.

"Jesse!" Mr. Sheridan shouted, startling Mrs. Sheridan, "Get the net!" She sprung out of her chair with impressive speed for a woman of her age and rushed up to the small storage shed that was on solid ground behind us. Briefly, her top half disappeared inside it, and then she re-emerged with a large net. She hastened out to the end of the dock, net held out. Mr. Sheridan stretched out a hand and grabbed the nigh-invisible string, pulling it up and holding it still. The net was shoved under the water and then came up again, a large, brownish-green/gold, wriggling fish in it.

I stared, vaguely appalled but at the same time curious. From my standpoint as a vegetarian, this was barbaric. But from an inquisitive alien's view, it was fascinating. This was obviously a very old custom among Humans.

I stood, setting my book down and adjusting the towel I had wrapped around myself, and joined the others, standing behind John and looking on from there. Mr. Sheridan had his fingers inside the fish's mouth, removing the barbed hook from its cheek while it gulped for air. I bit my lip, feeling sorry for it. Finally, when it lay still in the older man's hand, Mrs. Sheridan and John leaned in to appraise it.

"It's gorgeous!" Mrs. Sheridan said, smiling. "Stand up with it, boys! I'll get the camera." She bustled away to her pack by her chair and returned with the desired object of her search. Standing a ways back, she motioned for John and his father to stand close together with the fish between them, and I went to move away so as to not disrupt the picture. I had not gotten more than a couple steps before John's arm caught me by the shoulders and pulled me to stand with them.

Startled, I stared at him, then at the fish, then finally back to the camera just as the light to signal the picture blinked on and off. I followed when they crowded around to see the photograph and flushed with embarrassment when I saw my face. I was turning, in the picture, my eyes wide with surprise and my mouth open in a strange expression. Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan tried very politely not to laugh, and John chuckled and patted my shoulder.

"Well," said Mr. Sheridan after a moment, "We have tonight's supper, so let's go swimming!"

"Here here!" agreed John, immediately pulling his shirt over his head. I looked away, strangely embarrassed, and returned to my book. Mr. Sheridan was quick to follow his son's example and was the first into the water, using the small ladder that hung off the dock. John was close behind, waiting only until his father was out of the way before getting a running start and jumping into the air. He tucked his knees up and hit the water with a huge splash that flicked droplets all the way to me. I smiled for a moment—he was so much more at ease here than he was on Babylon 5. I guessed that it was because he'd grown up here.

I stared in horror when he didn't come up again, holding my breath without meaning to. Had he gone too deep and hit the bottom? Had an undercurrent carried him away? Had a giant fish eaten him? I had begun to push myself to my feet to go to the edge of the dock to look for him when a cold, wet something latched itself onto my arm.

I jerked reflexively, biting back a scream that would certainly have been humiliating, and twisted to see what it was. It was a hand, attached to an arm that had stretched up over the edge of the dock and ended in the water.

"John?" I questioned worriedly, at the same time trying to free my hand and pull whoever it was out of the water, "John?!"

Suddenly, a head broke the surface, the face obscured by water-slicked hair. It shook itself back and forth to clear the hair away, flinging drops into my face. It was John, and he was grinning like a lunatic. I sighed in relief, rocking back on my heels and wiping my face of the water.

"You should have seen your face!" he laughed, setting his other arm onto the dock to hold himself up. "You looked like you'd seen a ghost." I gave him a disapproving look, and he wiped the grin from his face. "Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't realize you'd be worried about me." He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you coming in? The water's really warm."

I shook my head. "No, thank you. I'm quite happy here with this book."

"Aw," he pressed, childishly pouting a little, "C'mon, Delenn. You can read later."

"No, really," I insisted, settling back down. I self-consciously tugged my towel back up when it slipped down, exposing the bathing suit I'd been instructed to wear.

"Come on in, Delenn!" called Mrs. Sheridan from the water, beckoning.

"Yeah," enforced Mr. Sheridan, "The water's great!"

I gave them a little smile, "No, thank you."

John must have picked up on my discomfort. "What is it?" he asked kindly, righting himself from floating on his back.

"Minbari do not swim," I explained. "We regard water as something to be respected for its power and necessity to all life. To immerse oneself in it would be… dangerous."

"There're no dangers here," John told me gently, placing a hand on my arm. I felt bumps rise around it from its chilly wetness. I nodded.

"I know," I said, "but… it is difficult to go against something one has been taught all one's life."

"At least dangle your feet in the water," he urged. "Then, you can get used to it, maybe come in later." At his pleading look, I had trouble finding the words to refuse, and so I slowly swung my legs over the edge, cautiously lowering them until my toes met water. It had taken me so long to even get used to showering and cleaning myself the human way, and I had a feeling that becoming accustomed to this would be even harder. John saw my trepidation about even having so little in contact with the water and gave one of my hands a little squeeze.

He pushed off the dock and stroked out a little ways, then turned and ducked under. He was a pale, yellowish form as he returned to me, but as he came closer, I could see him more clearly. He surfaced and stayed stationary in front of me, his head and shoulders bobbing back and forth strangely. In the deep, I could see his legs kicking to keep him afloat, which would explain the odd movement. He gave me a smile and sank under again.

I felt my heart flutter in concern as he faded into a rippling blur, then disappeared completely. I leaned over, searching for any sign of him to reassure myself with, but found nothing. There was a splash from the other side of the dock and I turned to look. He'd come up over there and gave me a little wave when he saw that I'd seen him.

He didn't come back directly to me, though, but rather went over to where his parents were floating leisurely on brightly coloured floatables and so I was left to stare down at the dark water beneath me, watching for fish or anything that could potentially pose a danger to me.

He returned eventually, and greeted me by lightly tweaking my toe. I smiled despite myself at his efforts to put me at ease.

"I haven't gotten pulled under by anything," he said, holding up his hands so that I could see that they were intact, "and the current here is pretty much non-existent. You could come in."

"I'm fine here," I replied, still smiling. He grinned back at me and seemed to be about to say more, but a shout from the house at the top of the hill cut him off.

"Hello?" someone was calling.

"We're down here!" Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan yelled back. Children's voices could be heard faintly, and soon there was a patter of footsteps on the path down to the river.

"Careful!" a woman warned, but it seemed to be to little effect as a young girl and boy came running down onto the dock. "The dock's probably wet!"

They trotted out to the end of the dock, not even noticing me, stripped off their clothes, revealing colourful bathing suits, and jumped straight into the water. I stared, awed by their bravery, frowned at my own silly cowardice that seemed so evident now and pulled my towel off.

The bathing suit John's mother had lent me was of a rather dated design, a simple black one-piece with straps that covered my entire shoulders, but it felt like it fit properly. I saw John staring at me, wondering what I was doing. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself off the wooden slats and into the water.

I sunk immediately, wondering distantly how John and the others managed to stay afloat. I watched the light from the surface fade as I unwillingly headed for bottom, uselessly struggling to copy John's movements to stop my descent. It was dark and murky, and my insides clenched in basic fear. The bottom loomed toward me, blurry brownish lumps. Something moved and I flinched. I was smart enough, however, not to try to breathe, and I tilted my head back to look upwards and stretch my hands up as one of my feet landed on a slimy something—probably a rotting log. I slipped down off it and found myself standing on cold sand. My ears stung, most likely from the pressure, my lungs began to ache, demanding air, and I saw a large whitish thing with a bright red middle come toward me. It took me a moment but as it got closer, I could pick out features and realized it was John.

He grabbed my hands and pulled, to little effect. Was I that heavy? Time seemed to be slowing down, and I had time to reason that if I was, it was because of the bone plating across my back and chest that hadn't disappeared during my transformation. He managed to swim even deeper and grab me by the middle. I felt an odd sensation and the urge to laugh. Bubbles blew out my mouth as I did, even though I wasn't sure why, and miraculously, my lungs stopped hurting for a brief moment. He pushed off bottom with my in his grasp, kicking hard to get up to the surface. I held still, wishing I could aid him but knowing that if I tried, I would only be a hindrance. I was transferred to be carried with one arm, while he used the other to help himself swim. Finally, we broke the surface and I gasped for air, stretching my arms out to grab the edge of the dock.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, worry clearly written over his face. I was still refilling my lungs and didn't reply. "Delenn?" he asked again, "are you alright?"

"Yes," I said eventually. He came up beside me and put a caring arm around my shoulders, squeezing gently.

"I'm sorry I pressured you into—" he began, but a delighted shriek cut him off.

"Johnny!" a middle-aged blond woman cried, running over to us and leaning down to embrace him. The arm around me disappeared and I shivered without it.

"Lizzie," he greeted her warmly.

"Will, Jenny," she called. Two small heads appeared at the end of the dock. "Come say hi to Uncle Johnny!" The two kids paddled around to cling to the dock beside John. He turned to greet them, embracing each in turn.

"You've grown!" he exclaimed to both. They grinned proudly, revealing many missing teeth. "How old are you now? Eight? Nine?"

"No," the boy, presumably Will, shook his head but grinned even wider, "Five."

"Hi," Lizzie said. I turned toward her, looking up. "You're Delenn, right?"

"Yes," I said, giving her a smile even though I was still trembling from nearly drowning.

"I'm Lizzie," she told me, "John's sister."

"My little sister," John put in, "So don't let her tell you otherwise."

"And those are my kids," she continued, studiously ignoring her brother's interjection, "Will and Jenny. They're twins."

A sudden weight applied itself to my head and I very nearly lost my hold on the dock. Lizzie, looking horrified, exclaimed, "Jenny! Stop it!"

John took the child in his hands and pried her off my headbone, apologizing and scolding her simultaneously.

"You're a Min-baw-i," she giggled, paddling about in the water nearby.

"Don't really look like a Minbari." Will got his word in.

"You're a weird Minbari," Jenny deduced. Though it was just childish gibberish, it stung. Nevertheless, I gave the two a little smile and a nod.

"Yes," I said in Adronato, "I am Minbari."

They held absolutely still for a moment, staring at me, then burst into hysterical laughter.

"Say it again! Say it again!" Jenny shrieked.

"Jennifer!" hissed Lizzie, "shush. Come up here. You too, William." The two did as they were told, chastised. "I'm sorry about that," she said sincerely.

"It's alright," I assured her. They were just children, after all.

Now, being as this is set in mid-to-late third season, it's a little AU. It's after Sic Transit Vir, is pretty much all I know, and some things have been changed. Anyway, other than that, it agrees with the general plotline of the show (minus the few details that I've forgotten about, shame on me). Hope you enjoyed it, and there will be more to come.