Title: Once Upon A Time... Two People Got Married
Author: Auna
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The world of Farscape is not my own, and I am not making any money off it. The most payment I have received is the happiness of scaping a few co-workers who wanted to know what I was writing about. More eyes for the mini... YAY!
Beta's: ScaperRed and shipsister, who were very nice and didn't get mad at me for bugging them constantly. CrystalMoon helped me work through a rough patch, and I express heartfelt gratitude to all of them. Thank you.
Author's Note: Both my betas were screaming at me at the end of this. But I'd like to believe it was in a good way. Yes, this is part of the Future series. If you've never read any of this series before, I don't believe you'd have the slightest interest in this, and I strongly encourage you to read all gazillion previous stories, of you are truly interested. Otherwise, this will make no sense, at all. I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think. I can take the truth, honest.
"Grampa, how are you doin' out there?" a young voice carried to him from the yard.
He smiled and pushed a lock of white hair out of his eyes and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his dirty sleeve. "I'm fine, honey," he assured with as much conviction that he could muster. In truth, his back hurt and he was completely out of energy. Man, he was feeling his age entirely too often lately. He smiled ruefully to himself. He was still pretty spry for being 203 cycles in a few days.
The blond ten-cycle-old appeared in the doorway of the barn, her hair in pigtails brushing her shoulders. Her penetrating blue eyes scolded him the moment she saw him leaning against a pitchfork, and she almost spilt the glass of water she held in her hands when she stomped her foot. "Gram-pa!" she scolded.
"Aer-yn!" he returned in the same voice she'd used.
"You were supposed to wait for me to help you!"
"Well, it looks like you showed up at the perfect time. I needed a break right now anyway."
"You need to take better care of yourself," she reprimanded.
His eyes rolled before he could stop himself. "You've been talking to Grandma again, haven't you?"
"She's right," the girl insisted.
Before she could begin the same rant he'd heard a million times from his wife, he diverted her attention. "Is that for me, or did the horse look particularly thirsty?" It worked. The girl smiled at him and held it out for him.
Grabbing the glass, he breathed in deep and began chugging like it was Fellup Nectar on a Friday night in the local pub drinking contest. He finished the cool liquid in one breath and gasped for air when the final drops were swallowed, making the little blond giggle in delight. "Ahhh, that was good. Hit the spot." She looked so pleased with herself when he handed the glass back. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Grampa," she said and tippy-toed, lips puckered. He took the hint and leaned over far enough for her to smooch his weathered, stubbly cheek. "Why don't you sit down for a few minutes? You said you wanted a break, right?"
Ahh, the true reason for her generosity had finally made itself known, and he bit back a chuckle. "You know I can't tell you any more of the story without your brother present, right?"
"Pleeeaaasse, Grampa? I only want to hear about the wedding. D'Argo doesn't even like the mushy stuff, and he'd ruin it anyway. Please?"
He stopped to consider her plea for a second, and realized she was right. The twelve cycle-old wasn't the least interested in the mushy stuff yet, and he would spend the entire time rolling his eyes and making smart remarks. It would ruin the telling for him, and the hearing for his granddaughter. But he couldn't acquiesce that easily, she would think he was a pushover. So what if he actually was.
He raised one eyebrow and made a show of hobbling over to the nearest hay bale. "You know it's against the rules. When I started telling you two this story, it was said right up front that both of you had to be present for all of it, so that no one would miss anything."
"But... but... Gram-pa," she begged sitting next to him and cuddling up close, wrapping her arms around his waist in a loose hug. She was pulling out every trick she had, wasn't she? He chuckled, thinking of his wife. Either Aeryn was taking lessons, or some things were inherited.
"It's all right, Bug. I know D'Argo doesn't want to hear this part." He leaned back against another hay bale, getting comfortable. He knew there would be a lot of questions. He would not be allowed to get away with a short telling. These two always seemed to know when he was leaving out details. "Where did we leave off?" he asked, knowing the answer for himself, but wanting to see if she remembered.
"Brennik, Seth, Aeric, Laighn and John all got on the transport to go back to Moya after going back in time to Earth. You promisedthat the next story would be the wedding."
"Yes, it is. They all got back to Moya safely."
"Why hadn't Aeryn gone through the wormhole to help save John and Aeric?" she asked curiously. "Was she having the baby?" Her eyes were bright with the possibility.
"No, Bug. Sorry. The old witch Noranti had given her a potion to knock her out so she wouldn't go. Nobody knew how stable the wormhole was, and they didn't want to take a chance with the baby."
"How long does it take to cook a baby?" she asked in exasperation and the old man laughed.
"Patience, little one. I'm telling the story in order, remember?"
She sighed dramatically and cuddled up even closer. "Yes, Grampa. But sometimes it's hard to wait for the good stuff."
"Yes, you're right. But waiting for the good stuff can be almost as fun."
She snorted in disbelief. "So when did they have the wedding?"
She couldn't be diverted for long, could she? "All right, honey. The wedding. It was about a monen after they got back to Moya. They were deep in Tormented Space, running from Peacekeepers to save Brennik from being captured for scientific experiments at the hand of Scorpius..."
"I KNOW all this already, Grampa!"
He sighed, trying to adjust his thoughts to think of how the story could be told to the ten-cycle-old girl; what she'd actually be interested in, and what she could understand. "They got married in Pilot's Den," he started.
"Were there flowers?" she asked.
"Um... I think Yetia had gone down to a planet and picked some for Brennik. They'd become really good friends by then."
"Wait, who's Yetia again?"
"I thought you remembered everything," he teased.
She poked his side. "She wasn't in most of the story, and it's been a long time since we last visited."
"She was the waitress that they had accidentally kidnapped when escaping from the Peacekeepers at Gweer's place."
"Oh yeah."
"Yeah. Her. Are you going to let me tell the story, or are you going to keep interrupting, because we can wait for D'Argo if..."
"No, no. I'm sorry. Tell it how you want to, Grampa. You always tell it real good." She became silent, and he knew he had the floor now. Sighing, he reached back in his mind and picked out what needed to be shared.
Brennik had chosen to have her wedding in Pilot's chamber, so that he and Moya could participate and not simply watch it on the clamshell. The decorations were simple; Moya had turned on all her lights to their maximum luminescence, and the entire chamber was filled with blue and purple shadows.
Yetia had ventured down to a planet they were passing and picked basketfuls of exotic and colorful flowers that she and Chiana had painstakingly arranged on all the walkways. The entire chamber was filled with their fragrance, which, actually, wasn't all that pleasant.
"They stunk?"
"Yeah, really bad. But they were pretty, and nobody wanted to hurt Yetia's feelings by telling her, so everyone pretended they couldn't smell them."
"Didn't that ruin it?"
"Honey, nothing could have ruined that day for Brennik and Seth. Brennik didn't care and Seth just made sure not to breathe in too deep."
"Yuck."
D'Argo stood in front of Pilot, dressed in red robes, decorated with gold trimmings and embroidery. It had been the same robe he'd worn at John and Aeryn's wedding. To his left stood Chiana, Laighn, and Tean. To his right stood Aeryn, Aeric, and Yetia. In front of him was Sethya. Everyone was wearing his or her best clothes, and all the black leather had been shined to a full gloss.
Then, the door opened and in walked Brennik in a beautiful white leather dress with a white jacket and white leather boots. She was holding the arm of her father, John, and together they slowly walked across the path of flowers toward their family as everyone hummed Three Blind Mice to the DRD's mechanical accompaniment. She had chosen that song because, according to her, it had saved her life on three separate occasions.
Aeryn shuddered slightly, and swiped her eyes with her sleeve. Behind D'Argo, Chiana reached over and patted her arm comfortingly. Aeric stepped closer to his mother, giving and receiving emotional support. He hadn't realized how hard this moment would be, even though he was thrilled for his sister. He looked to Seth, and the look on the older man showed him an emotion he couldn't understand yet.
He turned his eyes to his father and saw joy and sorrow combined in the old man's eyes. Brennik, on the other hand, was lost in a fantasy world inhabited only by herself, and possibly her groom. She wasn't seeing any of the decorations, but stared at Sethya and smiled so brilliantly that everyone seemed to sigh.
At last, they reached D'Argo and Sethya. John lifted the younger man's hand and placed it in that of his daughter's. He pulled them both into a tight hug before stepping to Aeryn's side and taking her hand into his own. He wrapped an arm around Aeric's shoulders, and the three of them silently watched the ceremony together.
"Family, friends," D'Argo started out in a solemn voice. "I want to start by saying... that I am really, really glad that you two did not take as long to get it together as your parents." The small crowd chuckled and everyone seemed to relax. D'Argo continued. "It has been twenty-four cycles since I have performed this ceremony, with the authority of being the captain of this vessel, and I am honored that you have chosen me.
"You have asked that I perform the same ceremony for you that I did for John and Aeryn. Please, kneel before me."
Entwining their fingers, the bride and groom knelt before the Luxan. He took a long strip of purple cloth and wrapped it around their enclosed fists, tying it tightly into a knot.
"Sethya Miskaahl, do you promise to always love Brennik, to protect her, to honor her and to share all your worldly goods, in sickness, in health, or under threat of torture and imprisonment by insane Peacekeeper Commanders, until the day of your death?"
"Absolutely."
"Brennik Crichton, do you promise to always love Sethya, protect him, honor him, and to share all of your worldly goods, in sickness, in health, or under threat of torture and imprisonment by insane bounty hunters bent on revenge, until the day of your death?"
"Yes," she replied solemnly.
"Then by the power invested in me... by all of you... I pronounce you married. Sethya, kiss your bride."
Sethya reached over and held Brennik's free hand in his and looked deeply into her eyes, intent on the woman he'd been dreaming of for over a cycle. He saw no one else in the room and his breath was low and shallow. At last, she was his. With agonizing slowness, he drew closer to her, wanting to savor this first kiss bound to his woman. His lips brushed hers softly, teasing her for what would come next, and then...
"Captain," Pilot's voice shattered the magic of the moment, distracting Sethya and causing everyone in the chamber to turn and glare at the giant crab piloting their vessel.
"Yes, Pilot?" D'Argo's answered in restrained patience.
"Two ships have appeared on Moya's sensors; their weapons are primed and are headed toward us at hetch 9."
"Frell!" everyone in the room shouted simultaneously as a blast rocked all of them, nearly causing them to tumble off the walkways.
He paused in his telling and looked sideways at his granddaughter with a sly smile. "Well?" the young girl asked, staring at him wide-eyed and eager. "Who shot them, who was coming after them? Why?"
The old man began to laugh. "Nu uh, Bug. That wasn't the deal. You asked for the mushy, girlie stuff without the interruption of a certain older brother. I have supplied you the wedding story with just that. But we both know that D'Argo will be very upset if we leave him out of the rest."
"Gram-pa!" she whined.
"Aer-yn!" he mimicked laughingly. "The answer is still no." He scooted off the hay bale, pulling her with him.
"Please Grampa?"
"The next time you come to spend the night, I'll tell both you and D'Argo all about it. But by now your mother is done talking with your Grandmother, and they will be waiting for you."
"You promise Grampa?" she asked, batting her blue eyes at him.
"Yes, Bug, I promise."
He was rewarded with a soft smooch on his cheek and a warm, gentle hug. "I love you Grampa. And not just 'cause you tell good stories, either."
"I love you too, Aeryn." He kissed her cheek and retuned her hug. "Now get going. I'm behind in my work and your mother is waiting."
With misty eyes, he watched her run from the barn. The two young children never knew how emotionally draining it was for him to tell his stories. He told them anyway, despite the cost to himself from remembering. The stories needed to be passed on, though, and he was the only one left to share them.
Sighing he picked up his pitch fork and attacked the hay with renewed vigor, grateful for the outlet. It would be another week before his grandchildren would able to spend the night. That gave him a little time to think about the next telling.
He smiled to himself. They would absolutely love the next part.