"Happy Halloween," Garibaldi announced, winking at Susan, as he took a seat next to her. She glared at him.
"What," asked Delenn, "is Halloween?"
"October 31st." Said Susan matter-of-factly.
"Yes," Delenn persisted, "but, what significance does it have?"
"We used to dress up in costumes," Michael began, "and try to frighten people."
Susan stuck her thumbs in her ears and her tongue out, wiggling her fingers she said, "Boo!"
Delenn's eyes widened in disgust as she backed away. Michael, Susan, and the Captain laughed. Delenn looked at Sheridan and frowned. Immediately he stopped laughing, though his eyes betrayed him.
"I'm sorry, Delenn," he said trying not to laugh. "What is it you want to know about Halloween?"
"I have been studying Earth customs and holidays," she began, "this one is particularly puzzling to me. First what is the significance of the holiday and then who or what is a Jack-o-lantern. What about the custom of sacrificing vegetables?"
Garibaldi began laughing so hard that he nearly choked on his breakfast. Susan could no longer contain herself, either, so she excused herself to get more coffee.
"Delenn," the Captain began, with a gleam in his eyes, "Halloween began a long time ago as a ritual to celebrate the harvest and allow the spirits of those that died during the year access to the Great Beyond. Part of the celebration consisted of leaving food and drink for masked revelers, and lighting of bonfires."
Delenn nodded.
"But later as the Church began to dictate how holidays were celebrated, it was said that the spirits were evil and that the spiritual beings of the older religions were creations of Satan."
"How closed minded your culture is."
"Was, now we are more tolerant of the differences in religions."
"You should be, you humans have so many of them."
Sheridan nodded.
"So Halloween is a celebration of the dead?"
Sheridan nodded, "all of the spirits are said to be wandering around on that day. Then at midnight, poof, they're gone for another year."
"Why do people dress up?"
"To keep the evil spirits from possessing them."
Delenn nodded. "What about the Jack-o-lantern?" She asked.
"I can take this one, Captain," said Garibaldi. "It comes from a folktale. A man named Jack had tricked the Devil. So that when he died his spirit was denied access to Hell, and because of his evil ways he was denied access to Heaven. The Devil took pity on him and gave him a single ember to keep him warm, and light his way as he wandered. Jack put the ember in a pumpkin to keep it burning longer."
Delenn nodded. "What about the giving candy and other goodies."
"No one knows for sure where that came from." Said Susan, taking a piece of chocolate candy from Garibaldi's pumpkin.
"I believe it's a way of keeping the spirits happy."
"Like an offering?" Asked Delenn.
"Yes."
"Well, this is very interesting. Thank you for explaining your customs to me."
"It was nothing," said Garibaldi, going back to his meal.
"Good morning, all," said Marcus approaching the table, with a big smile on his face.
"Looks like your date went well last night." Said Garibaldi.
Marcus nodded.
"Marcus had a date!?" Exclaimed Susan.
"With Zack's sister," said Garibaldi.
"Really?" Susan said, looking at Marcus.
"Tell us about it," said Garibaldi, "she's a hot babe. Did you get any?"
Marcus frowned at him and Susan kicked Garibaldi under the table.
"He's a gentleman," she said, "and doesn't tell about all of his encounters like SOME people."
"Humph," snorted Garibaldi.
"So tell us all about it," urged Susan. "Don't leave out anything."
Marcus pulled up a chair between Susan and Michael and straddled it. Then looking around conspiratorially he said, "We had a very marvelous dinner."
"And," said Garibaldi.
"And wine," said Marcus.
"And what else?" Said Susan.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
Marcus shook his head.
"It was the first date, you know." Said Garibaldi.
"So," said Susan, "what does that have to do with anything?"
"She may be an old fashion girl."
"Maybe. . ." Susan began.
"There you are!" Shouted Zack, "you lecherous Casanova!"
"How did he know?" Whispered Michael to Susan. She shrugged.
"You keep your hands off my sister!"
"I never touched the girl, although I wanted to. I never did." Said Michael.
"Not you, Chief." Zack said quietly, "That long-haired home wrecker over there."
"Marcus," said Susan, "what are you not telling us?"
"Look," Marcus began, "Zack I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep. I didn't mean to upset your sister."
"Upset!" Shouted Zack, "now she's talking about not getting married. She wants to go back to Mars and join the resistance."
"It's a good cause."
"I know," said Zack, calming down, "but Kevin could have given her everything she could ever want."
"At the price of her beliefs?"
"You have a point. Okay, I'm sorry I blew up."
"It's all right, I would have done the same thing, if I had caught you on the couch with my sister."
Susan's mouth flew open, Garibaldi smiled broadly at Marcus. Delenn took the Captain's hand and practically drug him away from the table.
"No hard feelings?" Said Zack.
Susan and Garibaldi looked at each other open mouthed and quickly left the table.
Marcus shook his head. "No," he said.
"Okay," Zack said, "she's going home this afternoon. It would be best if you weren't around."
Marcus nodded. He and Zack shook hands and Zack left the café. The rest of the group returned to the table.
Susan was barely able to keep from laughing out loud. "No hard feelings!" She squeaked.
Garibaldi bellowed with laughter. Marcus looked innocently at them and shrugged.
"Shall we all get to work now?" Said Captain Sheridan, looking toward the exit.
"Yes, Captain," said Susan standing. Delenn, Marcus and Garibaldi followed suit. They all followed Susan out. Sheridan started for the exit, then turned back and picked up the plastic pumpkin which he took with him.
*************
The Zocalo was nearly empty this morning. Suddenly, it became crowded with people, pale ragged people, wandering to and fro. The 19th Century couple appeared in the middle of the crowd.
"Looks like this year was particularly bad for Babylon Five." The man said, "We haven't had to coordinate this many spirits since the Mimbari War."
"I remember that year," the woman said. "There had been so many deaths we had to call in reinforcements."
"I hope this year we can keep the renegades in line and get them to the Great Beyond."
"I think there are still two or three that we missed."
"It's four and I know where to find three of them. We can get them today."
"Great, that will improve our quality scores with the Great Maker."
"That's true, then maybe we can get off of Halloween detail."
"I don't want to. I like inhabiting live bodies for short times."
"That's the problem with being a spirit. I really miss having sex, especially with you."
"True," she said, "when we're done here, we can have one more fling before midnight when we have to be back."
"Yes," he said, "but this time I want to have Marcus. His body is in great shape and he has so much energy."
"All right, but I get Susan."
The man nodded.
"I get Susan, you get Marcus, and we'll get together by eleven."
"Agreed, now off to work." He said as he waded into the crowd of spirits. "You," he shouted, "start a line headed that way. Cargo bay 13 is the meeting place."
The confused ghosts began heading in the direction he indicated.
"It's going to be a long day," the woman sighed as she watched.
**************
Garibaldi sat in his office rolling a baseball around on his desk. He was waiting for Londo Mollari to arrive. He was anxious to get the questioning over with, because he and Doctor Franklin were going to watch Frankenstein after work. That was one of Garibaldi's favorite movies. He told Stephen it was perfect for Halloween.
The door opened and the Centauri Ambassador walked in.
"Hello, Londo." Michael said. "Have a seat."
"Thank you, Mr. Garibaldi," He said. "I'll stand."
"Have it your way. What was in that vial those women gave you, down in the cargo bay yesterday?"
"Some colored water."
Garibaldi scowled, "Why did you buy it?"
"Is there a law against helping the less fortunate?"
"No."
"It's my way of donating to charity."
"Fine. Fine, take your charity and get out of my office."
"Good evening, Mr. Garibaldi."
"Good evening Londo. Charity my butt."
**********
Doctor Franklin was puttering around in Medlab while his three patients slept. The 19th Century male ghost materialized next to the first woman. Stephen didn't notice that anyone was there.
"Okay," said the ghost, sternly, "come out of there!"
"No," said a voice from inside the woman.
"Don't make me come in there after you."
"Okay, okay, I'm coming."
"Bring the others with you."
"Come on guys, we're busted." Just then grumbling noises erupted from all of the women. Three ghosts, dressed in old style Earth Force uniforms slowly emerged from the women.
"Come on, hurry it up, we haven't got all day." Said the 19th Century ghost. The other ghosts hurried out the door to join the crowd of ghosts, going by outside.
**************
Doctor Franklin stood by the first woman and read her vital signs. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around.
"Doctor," she said, "where am I?"
"You're in Medlab, you've been quiet ill."
"Oh, I feel a lot better."
"I need to run some tests on you and the other ladies. If you check out all right you can go home."
"We don't have a home. We came here to Babylon Five to look for work on the docks, but couldn't find a job."
"When was that?"
"About a year ago."
"We have more traffic now, I bet you could find a job now."
"Do you think so?"
"I'll see if I can't pull some strings and get you an interview. But you and your sisters have to get better first."
"Oh, I will, Doctor. So will my sisters."
"Good, now rest."
The woman smiled and closed her eyes.
Stephen made his way to his desk and began recording his medical log. "I can't believe the improvement," he said, "that these women have made. Their psychosis is nearly cured. Tomorrow, I will run more tests on them, but the prognosis looks good for them to be released in a couple of days. They also appear to be willing to work on the docks. I will contact Swenson with the Longshoreman's Guild and see what he can do. These ladies would be an asset to him, if given the proper diet and preventative medicine. End medical log."
Stephen sat back in his chair and smiled pleased with himself.
"Doctor Franklin," said the computer voice, "you have a meeting with Michael Garibaldi in twenty minutes."
"Damn, I didn't realize it was that late. Computer, time."
"Nine forty-one PM."
"Franklin to Garibaldi."
"Garibaldi, here." He said.
"What movie are we watching tonight?"
"In honor of Halloween, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein."
"Be there soon, Franklin out."
"Garibaldi out."
***************
Marcus sat in the café on the Zocalo and sipped tea after a good meal. Today had been a long day, he had watched Adrian's transport enter the jumpgate on the way back to Mars. He couldn't even say good-bye, not because Zack warned him against it, but more so because he was embarrassed. He did not love her and he felt he had somehow betrayed her by making love to her. He hoped she would understand.
"Hello, Marcus," said Delenn from behind him.
Standing, he said, "Hello, Ambassador."
"Please sit," she said, pulling a chair up beside him. "I can see something is bothering you. Do you care to talk about it?"
"No," he said.
"Very well," she said handing him a small envelope. "Zack's sister left this for you. She wanted to say goodbye but was in a hurry to catch that last transport. She hoped you would understand."
"Thank you, Ambassador." He said formally, taking the envelope from her.
"Remember," she said, "a sadness in the heart cannot be cured by moving the body to a different place."
"But," he finished sadly, "a gladness in the heart knows no limits."
Delenn nodded and disappeared from the café.
Marcus opened the envelope, the note inside read:
"Dear Marcus, I have decided to return to Mars on the next transport. I don't have time to say good-bye in person, I'm sorry. Last night showed me that Kevin's life is not for me. I am going back and tell him that we're through. Then, I'm going to join the Mars Resistance. Don't blame yourself for my change of heart, I had misgivings all along. Last night just convinced me that I need to join the fight and not quit until Mars is free. After that, I can think about the future, after that, I will have a future. Thank you, Marcus. Hugs, Adrian."
Marcus sighed and put the envelop in an inside pocket of his cloak.
"You want to talk about it?" Said Susan from behind him.
"No," he said, sadly turning to face her. "Will you have a seat?"
"Yes, thank you." She said reaching for a chair. Marcus stood and held it out for her before she could get it. They laughed together as she sat. "She's better off you know," Susan said.
"She didn't go back to him." He said, "She's joining the Resistance."
Susan raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She said, "what did you do to change her mind?"
"Nothing, we had dinner and talked."
"If having dinner with you does that to a woman, maybe I should stop turning you down."
Marcus smiled. "Here we are," he said, "have you eaten?"
"Yes," said Susan.
Crestfallen, Marcus said, "Oh."
"But I could go for some dessert."
"I think I could too."
"How about hot fudge?"
"I'll get it." He said as he got up from the table. He smiled broadly at Susan and sighed.
Susan sat at the table going over the agenda for the next day in her head, when Marcus returned. He placed a large hot fudge sundae in front of her. He sat down with a small slice of apple pie.
Susan eyed the pie and said, "After a day like today, you deserve more than that."
Marcus smiled. "No," he said, "this is a decadent as I get. I happen to like apple pie."
"Oh, you ate too much of Garibaldi's candy."
Marcus smiled.
"I did too, but I could live on chocolate. It's my down fall."
"I'll remember that."
"I'm sure you will," she mumbled.
Susan finished her sundae as Marcus picked up the dishes. "Why do you do that?" She asked. "There are people here that get paid to pick up the plates and stuff."
"It's a habit, I guess." He said returning to the table.
"Well, look at the time. I have to get up early in the morning."
"I'll walk you to your quarters."
"That would be nice." She said, smiling.
They walked to her quarters, chatting. The two 19th Century ghosts followed them, smiling.
"And then the next thing I knew I was hanging upside down next to Zack." Said Marcus.
Susan laughed. "You should have known better," she said.
"I did, I meant to do that."
"Yeah, right."
"I did."
They reached her door and she unlocked it. "Won't you come in?" She said.
"Just for a moment," he said as they walked into her room.
The ghosts followed.
"Marcus," she said, taking his hand, "there's something I want to show you."
He shrugged and went with her into the bedroom. She shut the door.
The ghosts looked at each other and then at the view screen. An ISN broadcast showed President Clark addressing the Earth Assembly.
The male ghost said, "Ha. There's the last one!"
"You're right. Is there time to get him?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to try." He said as he disappeared.
"I'm right behind you," the female ghost said as she disappeared.
"What did you want to show me?" Asked Marcus.
"Nothing," said Susan, pushing him against the door and kissing him passionately. He didn't resist, in fact he gave as good as he got. The Susan helped him out of his shirt and pants. She took off her uniform. While she unbuttoned her blouse, Marcus started to leave, but she pulled him back. Then, she pushed him to a sitting position on the bed, and sat on his lap with her legs around his back. She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him carefully on the forehead and cheeks. He tentatively kissed her on the chin. She felt her heart race. Then their lips met, his mouth enveloped hers and he kissed her hungrily. His strong arms held her tight. He said something to her in Mimbari.
She smiled. "Shut up" she said as she pushed him down to lie on the bed. She straddled him and kissed his chest all the way up to his neck. She licked his chin and kissed him passionately on the lips. He held her tightly, and they kissed passionately. Later, Susan watched as, Marcus lay beside her, smiling. She seemed to explode with joy, he rolled near her and held her close. They cuddled the rest of the night and slept in each other's arms.
**************
The next morning Captain Sheridan and Delenn were already at breakfast when Susan and Marcus arrived. Neither Susan nor Marcus could keep from smiling as they took seats next to each other. Garibaldi arrived just moments later and looked from Susan to Marcus, then back to Susan.
Sitting next to Susan, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Is there something, I should know?"
"Nothing that I can think of," said Marcus.
"Nothing," said Susan.
Sheridan and Delenn shrugged at each other and everyone looked innocent.
"Yeah right," snorted Garibaldi.
1 Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1
2 IBID
3 IBID
4 Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 2
5 IBID
6 IBID
