Title: Conversations...
Author: Sabine
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Season 1 & 2, up to " A Clockwork Nebari ".
Synopsis: Conversations between some members of the crew lead to them taking a couple of decisions, which could change future relationships between them and the others. This story is set after "A Clockwork Nebari".
Notes: I've only seen Farscape up to " LATP, Part Two" and read about the others up to "ACN" so there might be a couple inconsistencies. (Just so you know J )
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Farscape characters. All Farscape characters, names and situations are trademarks of Jim Henson Company, Hallmark Entertainment, Nine Network Australia, and the Scifi channel © 1999 & 2000.
******
John aimlessly wandered through the halls of Moya. For the past 48 arns he had been trying to avoid both D'Argo and Aeryn, unsure of their reaction as to his electrocuting them so that the mind-cleansing process would be reversed. Although being honest, the latter wasn't exactly the only or the biggest reason for his self-chosen seclusion. No matter how hard he tried; he could not stop Scorpius from making his well-known guest-appearances. He had tried to work things out himself, not wanting to ask for help...not wanting to bother the others with his problem. Afraid of losing their respect or gaining pity for his situation, he hadn't told the others except for Aeryn. She had tried to offer some help, but he instead had pushed her away saying that he'd ask, just like she did and reassured her by making a joke out of the whole damn thing.
Luckily Moya was large enough for him to keep to himself. Hell...he had hid out for days without being found when he had just ended up on Moya, so after a year and a half it should even easier to keep out of sight. The sounds of footsteps alerted him as he retreated into the shades of one of the pillars. In the distance he saw a blurry figure coming his way. Squinting his eyes he tried to make out who it was and much to surprise he discovered it was Chiana.
* What is Chi doing up here? * John wondered, watching her absentmindedly pass him by. He noticed her reddish eyes and the traces of recent tears on her grey cheeks. He felt sorry for her, but had meant what he had said. Whether you preferred to or not, you always had to think of the big picture. No matter how difficult that may turn out to be, because the decision you make could not only be affecting you, but the others as well.
He could understand her desire to go to her brother...her family. John had partially come to terms with the fact that he might not ever return back to Earth and see his family and friends again, still he remained hopeful. Every now and then, it still amazed him how quickly he had come to consider Moya his new home and the others his family. He would go to hell and back for them, even for Rygel. They all had such wide-ranged and different characters. One could say it was quite the miracle that they had grown so close. * It's absolutely true that home is where your heart is * John thought as he stepped out of the shadows and followed Chiana down the hallway.
" Time to come out of hiding, Johnny-boy, cuz there's something important you have to do."
******
Zhaan's Quarters:
" Zhaan, are you there?"
Aeryn came to a stand still in front of the entrance and saw that Zhaan was somewhat indisposed at the moment. * Oh...that's just great. She's meditating...yet again * Aeryn noted irritated, rolling with her eyes. She wondered how long it would take before Zhaan noticed she was standing there. Normally she would have left immediately, but she really needed to talk to Zhaan about something important...about Crichton. Unfortunately lost in thought Zhaan seemed oblivious to Aeryn's presence.
The Delvian was softly humming and sat on the floor with her eyes closed. Zhaan had centered herself within a circle of burning candles and bowl of herbs was placed in front of her. The sweet scent of the herbs lingered all over the quarters.
" Zhaan? Look, I'm sorry to disturb you right in the middle of your meditation, but I need to talk with you about John."
The soft humming ceased as Zhaan opened her eyes. " John? Why? Is there something wrong with him?" she asked concerned, looking Aeryn in the eyes. Aeryn bit her lip as she started walking towards Zhaan. John wouldn't like it if he found out that she gone Zhaan to talk about him, but his behavior of late had caused her great concern. He needed some help, whether he wanted to or not.
" You...you could say that. John, well...he," Aeryn paused. " John is afraid he's losing his mind."
" Please sit down and tell me more about it," Zhaan gestured Aeryn to take a seat down on the ground. She blew out the candles and placed them elsewhere so that Aeryn could sit comfortably. " Will this not ruin your meditation?" Aeryn asked, frowning at the candles. Zhaan laughed and shook her head. " I can always resume the ritual. This however is far more important at the moment."
******
The Cargo Bay:
For about three-quarters of an arn he had been standing behind her, but now John believed it was time to make his presence known to her. He stepped up to her. " Hey there, little girl," John spoke, letting his hands rest on her shoulders. His eyes remained focussed on the frozen image of Neri. In the time he had been standing there, he had watched the message been played over and over again. If it were to be played again, he could say every line along side her brother.
" Hey old man," Chiana returned, quickly wiping away her tears. Smiling sadly, she looked up at him. "How long have ya been standing here?"
" Not that long, but long enough to know that you needed someone to talk to," he replied, sitting down on the bench beside her. " If you want to of course..." A grin appeared on his face as he pulled her into a comforting hug.
" Like I even had a choice," she muttered, mirroring his grin with one of her own. " Nah...you're absolutely right, Chi." John paused for a moment and stared into the distance. Without even realizing it, he had zoned out again. Chiana wondered what was exactly going in his head. Lately he had been keeping to himself a lot. When it first happened she hadn't thought much of it, but then it started to happen more frequently. Chiana had noticed that John's behavior had been a cause of great concern for Aeryn. She picked up on things really quickly, but for Aeryn's sake she didn't let her notice it. The former Peacekeeper had tried not to show that she was obviously worried about Crichton and that meant something was really wrong with him.
" Hmmm..."
" What is it John?"
" That's it!" John exclaimed, jumping up from the bench. " What do ya mean, Crichton?" Chiana asked confused as she watched him pacing about in front of her. He was almost childlike in his enthusiasm and grinning from ear to ear. John turned around to face her. " I got an idea, Pip."
" Really, huh? Anything I'd like?"
A pair of black eyes lighted up and sparkled mischievously. He had gotten her attention all right. John's enthusiasm had definitely rubbed off on her. She curiously followed John's every move. " Maybe..." he spoke with a grin plastered on his face, coming to a sudden halt as he took hold of her hands and pulled her up from the bench. " Come on, Chi. Let's go."
" And do what?"
" Drown our sorrows, Chi and try to forget our problems for a little while. What do ya think?"
" Sounds good enough to me."
******
Command:
D'Argo's fingers swept over the console with a quick pace. Impatiently his eyes searched the data that was being displayed. His actions betrayed his need for a distraction, a distraction from his problems. He had come to command to be alone after he had an argument with Chiana.
D'Argo had sensed that Chiana was keeping something from him and had confronted her about it. Things had gotten a bit out of hand; the tension between them had risen to a dangerous level and escalated into a full-blown argument. In his attempt to talk things over, things had just ended up 180 degrees from what he had intended the outcome to be. Granted he wasn't as talkative as John and at times lacked Rygel's diplomacy, but that was mainly because he was after all a warrior.
Sometimes he just didn't understand Chiana and today had been one of those days where whatever he did turned out utterly wrong when it concerned her. It was frustrating to see that his relationship with Chiana was taking a turn for the worse and would cause for a horrible break-up if something wasn't going to change sometime soon.
Whenever she had a problem she would end up talking about it with John and he was always the one who comforted her. D'Argo wished that she would feel secure enough to tell him about what was troubling her instead of going to Crichton. Granted there were things you'd rather not share with your lover and discussed with other people. Perhaps this was one of those things.
Ah...frell it. She meant too much to him to let her just slip away without giving as much as a fight for their relationship.
" Pilot?"
"Yes, Ka D'Argo?"
" Could you tell me where Chiana is?"
" She is currently... on the terrace with Commander Crichton."
"Thank you, Pilot."
******
The Terrace, several microts later:
" Down the hatchet!" John exclaimed, bringing his glass to his lips and swallowing the drink whole. Chiana giggled as she followed Johns lead. " Here, here Crichton. What is this stuff anyway?" She asked, frowning as she tried to determine the distinct smell emanating from the canister, in which the beverage was being retained. " Cuz it's unlike anything I tasted before."
John shrugged. " Dunno exactly, but I do know that it was picked up from our last run to a commerce planet. I found it while I was...crawling around trying to finish some repairs. Guess Rygel wanted some for his royal Hynerian self."
"So ya found Frogboy's private little stash?"
"Yeah, you could say that again. I figured he wouldn't miss a bottle, especially after I had emptied the substance in another bottle and refilled his one with water. He'll only find it out about the switch after taking a sip from the bottle," he chuckled.
" I can almost picture Rygel's reaction; his indignant face, waving his tiny hands up and down in the air, ranting and raving that someone has stolen his property, pointing fingers at everyone onboard. Forgetting that he himself had stolen it from us in the first place," Chiana laughed, pouring another drink for her and John.
" I want to propose a toast, Pip," John spoke as he gazed into the substance of his glass. " To Rygel, our beloved deposed Dominar, cuz without him snurching the stuff and me finding it, we wouldn't be drinking it right now."
"To Rygel," Chiana joined the toast, raising her glass into the air. But before they could finish their drinks someone cleared their throat to let their presence be known to them.
"Big Guy!" John exclaimed surprised as he and Chiana turned their heads to see who had been standing there at the entrance of the terrace. " Guess this is my cue to take a hike," he spoke as he got up from the ground, placing his glass on the floor. "Remember what we talked about, Chiana."
" Sure, if you'll do the same," Chiana pleaded, looking him in his blue eyes. He smiled and nodded, before walking away. John momentarily stopped in his tracks, coming to a stand still next to D'Argo. "She's all yours, D'Argo. Use this opportunity wisely, Big Guy, you might not get another one like it. Oh... and feel free to taste some of the stuff from the bottle, courtesy of Rygel."
" Thanks John," D'Argo smiled as he looked from John to Chiana.
"No problem...besides there's someone I need to see as well," John grinned as he exited the terrace, leaving D'Argo and Chiana to work out their problems. Which left him to search for someone whom played an important role in his life ever since arriving on this side of the universe.
******
Cargo Bay:
Several tools lay scattered on the floor around and beneath her Prowler. Aeryn was sitting inside the cockpit, to caught up in her work with the controls in the Prowler to notice he had been leaning against the wall, observing her with a big smile on his face. She looked so cute when she was doing work she never would have dreamt of doing in her past as a Peacekeeper grunt. Her black hair hung loosely around her beautiful face, her blue eyes concentrating on her task.
He almost didn't want to disturb her and would be able to just stand there for an eternity, observing her every move, but he had promised Chiana to let Aeryn help him out with his problems. No more pushing her away when she offered to help. John was going to tell her everything from Scorpy to the other stuff that has been bugging him of late. He just hoped it wasn't already too late.
" Aeryn?"
" Yes, John? What is it?" Aeryn asked curiously as she dropped everything she was doing and looked at him. She had taken up Zhaan's advice to wait a bit longer and let John come to her with his problems, instead of her confronting him with it. She could only hope the advice would work, so that was why she wasn't going to start talking about it if he wasn't going to or willing to himself.
" Um...Aeryn, I was kinda wondering if I could talk to you about some stuff. If you still want to help out and listen to me that is?"
Would she still be willing to help me? John wondered. All kinds of doubts and doomsday scenarios floated through his head. He was afraid to look at her and face possible rejection, thus decided to focus his attention at the floor instead. John hadn't even noticed her getting out of her Prowler and walking towards him until she stood still in front of him.
Aeryn gently touched his chin with her hand forcing him to look her in the eyes. A radiant smile had appeared on her face, causing his doubts and worries to immediately disappear from his mind.
"I'd be happy to, John," Aeryn softly spoke, letting her head rest on his shoulder as John pulled her into an embrace. She was glad that she had taken Zhaan's advice and that John had finally decided to confide in her...to entrust her with his problems. Aeryn was going to prove to him that they truly could overcome any obstacle together, no matter how difficult it would be for the two of them.
-The End-