Chained Heart was, as usual, packed with people as local rock bands played. People danced on the main floor, up on the mezzanines, and on raised platforms. Crymson strobe lights on the ceiling illuminated the club, shining off the bar. Dia, Tabby, and Damian were busy as always as they moved quickly around each other to serve drinks of whiskey, gin and tonic, vodka you name it.
"Damian!" she yelled over the music and he looked at her. "AC!" she yelled and he picked up the Absolute Current bottle, throwing it to her. In one move she caught and poured some into an ice filled glass, setting it front of the man at the bar.
"Dia!" Tabby called to her and she looked at her. "JD!"
"JD for HP!" she yelled back and Dia threw Jack Daniels while, at the same time, Tabby threw Hpnotiq, they caught them and poured them into the glasses. This was an attraction of the club, the way the three bartenders choreographed throwing and catching the bottles with one hand, yelling out requests with abbreviations of the names. It took a while to get it down though, with many broken bottles until they wised up and got unbreakable glass bottles. It was more expensive, but definitely worth it, especially if one of the bartenders was having an 'off' day and their hand-eye coordination was shot. They continued to toss bottles back and forth, not even flinching if one of them flew very close past their head. The crowd cheered when Tabby caught two at the same time, flipped them, poured the drinks and threw them back in one move.
Dr. Turner pressed another set of button on the side of the tube and it cracked open with the hiss of escaping air and remaining gasses. The man stirred again and opened his eyes. The doctor smiled and handed the goggles to him, he took them and strapped them on over his sensitive eyes. He stepped out of the tube but his legs faltered and Dr. Turner caught him before he hit the ground.
"Whoa easy there big guy. You've been asleep for twenty years, its gonna have an effect on your muscles." She said and he looked at her.
"That's how long I've been asleep? Funny how it seems just a second ago I stepped into the tube." He said.
"Sleep'll have that effect on you. Come on, let's see if we can get you up the stairs." They slowly made their way to the stairs, stopping every now and then as his drug logged system fought to catch up. Climbing up the stairs was difficult for him, the muscles in his legs temporarily weak from lack of use. He'll gain his strength back soon enough. They made it to the bathroom and he leaned against the sink, panting from the exertion after such a long time. "Ya gonna be able to stand on your own to take a shower?"
"Yeah I'll be fine. Besides the hot water will clear whatever drugs are left in my system. I'll be back to my old self again afterwards."
"God help us all." She said and he laughed weakly.
"Come here kid." He said and pulled her into a hug.
"Not a kid anymore Riddick, I'm as old as you now." She said against his chest and he pushed her back, looking at her from head to toe and meeting her gaze again.
"Yeah you are. Look at you, my Jack is all grown up."
"Its Dr. Jacquelyn Turner now."
"Doctor?" he asked.
"Yeah I have a Ph.D. in psychology." She said and he smiled proudly at her.
"That's my girl." He said and drew her into another hug. They stayed like that for several moments before he pulled away, kissing her forehead.
"Now you shower, I'll have food ready for you when you get back out." Jack said and Riddick nodded.
"But first I have to fuckin pee like a race horse."
"Yeah thanks for sharing that one." Jack said sarcastically and he chuckled, shooing her out of the room. He relieved himself and showered, scrubbing his body and inhaling the steam from the hot water. He didn't have to bother to shave his head and face, since no hair was there except for whatever stubble has been present when he went to sleep. He rinsed, turned off the shower, got out and dried, getting back into his pants. Leaving the bathroom he followed the rich smells of food until he got to the kitchen. "Hey." Jack said, looking over her shoulder at him. "Feeling any better?" Riddick shrugged.
"A little, still tired though." He said sitting down at the breakfast bar, an island in the middle of the kitchen. Jack set a bowl of…something down in front of him, handing him a spoon. He poked at the contents warily. "Uh…Jack? What is this?" he asked, moving a large green vegetable with the tip of his spoon.
"Chicken gumbo. Its really good, if I say so myself."
"I think I'm gonna to have you try it first."
"Oh I already did, had two bowls while you were in the head." She said, moving her head at the bathroom door.
"Okay." Riddick said and ate a spoonful it was good. When he was done eating they sat there in the quiet. "How is she?" he asked suddenly, his voice dropped to a whisper, as he moved the spoon around the bottom of the bowl. Jack didn't need to ask who 'she' was.
"Grown up. She'll be celebrating her 26th birthday soon. She bartends at a club in the city, called Chained Heart. Changed her name when she moved here."
"To?"
"Dia Allen."
"Why'd she change her name?" he asked and she shrugged.
"Probably got tired of people asking her what happened from the time you took her to the time she was brought back."
"I want to see her."
"I know. But you can't."
"Why not?"
"Because Riddick, there's something called a Ten-Year Clause. If a person is not sighted, on any planet, within ten years they are presumed dead. And since you were asleep for twenty years…you get the idea."
"They all think I'm dead." Riddick said and she nodded. "Why wake me up now? Why not later?"
"People think you're dead. That and the fact that whenever I get a new patient I ask them if they really think that the infamous serial killer Richard B. Riddick is dead and most of them just say 'who's Riddick?' People have forgotten about you, the generation that dominates right now doesn't know you, the next generation won't know you even more."
"You've lost the point. Why can't I see her?" he said and she sighed.
"You and everything that you did for her is just a happy dream to her now. I'm her psychologist, she tells me dreams of you from when she was younger. I know that they're memories, but she doesn't. She never sees your face in these 'dreams'. The universe forgot you, and so did she."
"But she didn't forget me completely."
"No she didn't. If you go to her, if you see her, make yourself known to her, there's no telling what that may do to her mentally and emotionally."
Dia, Tabby and Damian were cleaning up. Damian in back loading the glasses into the large dishwashers, Dia crouched behind the bar combining the leftover bottles, pouring whatever was left of the JD into other JD bottles and so on. Tabby was polishing the bar until it shined. Slender arms came around her waist and she smiled as Dia laid her head in between her shoulder blades.
"Tired?" she said and felt her nod.
"It was busier than usual."
"Yeah it was. Thank god we have the night off tomorrow, we can drink some of these instead of serving them."
"Amen." Dia said and she yawned.
"Hey Dame?" Tabby asked.
"Yeah Tabby?" he answered.
"Why don't you take Dia home? She's fallin asleep against my back, I can finish up here."
"You sure? I can tuck her in and come back."
"Nah, its okay. Not much left to do anyway." Tabitha said and Damian nodded, coming over. Dia kissed the back of her neck and pressed her lips to her ear lobe.
"Love you Tabby-Cat." She whispered.
"Love you too Dia." Tabby whispered back. Dia's arms left her waist and her warmth left her back as Damian picked her up in his arms.
"Love you Damian." She whispered and Damian smiled.
"Dia is so affectionate when she's half-asleep." He said and Tabby smiled.
"Hey, I happen to be affectionate all the time." Dia said groggily.
"Yeah I know babe, and I love you too."
"Get her home Dame, before she falls asleep. I'll be home later." She said and she and Damian kissed quickly.
"Okay." Damian walked away with Dia still in his arms and kicked open the front door, leaving the club.
Riddick lay on his new bed, staring up at the ceiling. It felt strange to be lying down after spending so many years standing up. He had spent the last two hours exercising, getting his muscles back in working order and they gave off a pleasant sting. He wanted to see Claudia, or Dia as she was now called, but knew he couldn't just yet. It's been twenty years, would a couple more days really hurt?