Part 1
Chapter 2
Crichton's encounter with Aeryn had left a bitter taste in his mouth. Damn her, coming here, ruining his fun on Christmas. He just wanted one damn moment to enjoy what his life used to be. But it seems that enjoyment had been robbed from him forever. Perhaps he just does not fit in on earth anymore.
He is only half paying attention to the celebration around him, when something on the TV catches his eyes. The headline. "Alien virus going to wipe out the planet."
He turns the volume up, hushing his family, and listening to the idiotic news reader telling that one of the "Aliens" had come down with a mystery illness, which was probably contagious and going to wipe out the entire human race. Through the crowds of reporters, onlookers, security, he spies Chianna first, then D'Argo, D'Argo carrying Aeryn's lifeless body in his arms.
Without a word he sprang from the couch, grabbing his car keys, and took off speeding towards the hospital.
All he could see was Aeryn in the blurry footage on the news, lying in D'Argos arms. What happened to her ? He talked to her less than two hours ago. He thinks back to his last words to her, or more accurately the last weeks of words to her. The way he had been so hurt that he felt the need to give her a taste of her own medicine He kicks himself. He had such a special thing with her, and he let it crumble away. She came over wanting to talk to him and he pushed her away. And now...would he ever get a chance to tell her he loves her? He needs her? She completes him? What if he never got a chance to tell her anything ever again.
It's easy enough to push through most of the crowd, the security. After all, he is John Crichton, Astronaut who discovered alien life forms. But he is stuck at a nurses desk, being told to wait for the doctor to speak with him.
"I will not wait! He screams and with one swoop of his arm he reaches over and knocks everything flying off the desk to the floor. The nurse stood back in fear.
"I'm sorry. " He mumbles reluctantly through gritted teeth. "But my,...I mean...Aeryn Sun. She is here, I need to know if she is ok."
"She is stable." The nurse tells him, still backed up against the wall lest he have another outburst of anger. "The doctor will speak to you."
"I need to see her Aeryn. Now."
"That isn't possible."
"Why is that not possible?!" He demands, raising his voice.
"Miss Sun..." The nurse begins.
"Officer Sun!" He corrected angrily. "Do you even know your own patient? What kind of a hospital is this?!"
"Officer Sun specifically left instructions she did not want to see you." The nurse mutters fearfully.
"Great." Crichton says under his breath. "So she is trying to get me back because I blew her off at the house. Will these god damn games never end?!" He kicks at the nurses desk in frustration.
"Mr Crichton?" He hears his name and turns to find a doctor in a white coat. "My name is Dr Magnus, would you come with me."
"I need to see Aeryn." He insists.
"First let's talk in my office." The doctor calmly leads him into the office.
"Is Aeryn ok?" He demands.
"She is stable at the moment."
He feels the relief throughout his entire body. "What happened?"
"Best we can tell is that her body is having some kind of adverse reaction to the pregnancy." Dr Magnus explains.
"The pregnancy?" He repeats dumbly.
"Yes. Inadvertently during the medical exam when Aeryn first arrived on earth, our doctors released an embryo from stasis." The doctor admits.
"And the baby is making her sick?" Crichton is struggling to understand.
"It is not a baby of the Sebecean species, which is possibly why the reaction is so severe." Dr Magnus breaks the news to him without realising the significance.
"It's a human baby?" Crichton asks, hopefully.
"Yes." She acknowledges.
"I'm going to have a baby." He mutters in disbelief. Then a wide grin crosses his face, and louder he repeats it "I'm going to have a baby!"
"Mr Crichton, I am very sorry, but it is very unlikely Aeryn will carry the baby to term." Doctor Magnus tells him gently.
"Why?" He wants to know. "You must be able to do something."
"It seems like her body is programmed in some way, to prevent inter species breeding. Her body is trying to destroy the embryo, and is doing so by raising her body temperature."
"You can't let that happen!" Crichton warns. "When Sebaceans body temperature rises they get heat delirium, it causes irreversible brain damage, 'the living death', Aeryn would rather die than experience that kind of hell."
"I am aware of the concerns. I have discussed this with Aeryn, as well as D'Argo and Chianna. All I know about Sebacean heat delirium is what they have told me, but I can see it is something to be avoided at all costs." The doctor acknowledges.
"So what can we do? You can help, Aeryn, right? You have to help her!"
"The only thing to do, the only safe course of action to be certain to prevent heat delirium, is to terminate the pregnancy." Dr Magnus tells him sadly. "I am sorry."
Crichton felt a crushing pain in his chest. "Oh, I see." So fleeting was his joy, at being a father, at having a baby with Aeryn. All gone with just a few words.
"I'm very sorry." Dr Magnus repeats.
"But Aeryn will be ok? Aeryn has to be ok. That's what matters most." Crichton tells the doctor adamantly.
"I'm afraid that is up to Aeryn. At this point she is refusing to terminate the pregnancy."
"What? Thats insane! Aeryn wouldn't do that. She knows what heat delirium is. Why would she do that.?"
"She wants to save the baby." The doctor tells him.
"Will she?" He asks hopefully.
"No." Dr Magnus shakes her head sadly. "Once the heat delirium sets in, the same thing will happen to the baby. There is no way to save the baby, I'm sorry. That is the truth of it."
"Then why would Aeryn do this?" Crichton is puzzled.
"I don't think it's fully sunk in yet. She can't accept the fact that she would have to terminate the pregnancy. She isn't ready to let the baby go."
"But they will both die, or worse, if she doesn't."
"Yes. That is why I wanted to talk to you. I am hoping you can talk to her, help her come to terms with what needs to be done."
"Just terminate the pregnancy." Crichton orders. "I don't think I'm the person to get Aeryn to agree to anything.
"I can not do that against a patients wishes." Doctor Magnus informs him.
"Aeryn isn't even a citizen of this planet. All of the visitors are here under my protection. The decision is not hers to make." He felt a coldness in his soul as he said it. As if he had the right to take away Aeryn's choices. But bottom line is this- he will not lose her. He will not.
"Ordinarily I would be appalled by a man taking away decisions about a woman and her own body. But the fact is, both will die, or worse, if we don't terminate. And I do question Aeryn's state of mind. The fevers could be affecting her ability to make rational decisions. But if we terminate the pregnancy within the next few days, I can save Aeryn."
"Then save Aeryn. You have to save Aeryn, she is all I have. Let me talk to her."
"You should know, she doesn't want to see you."
"I know. I've been a jackass. I need to apologise, I need to tell her I'm sorry, I need to tell her about the termination, I have to be with her. She is delirious, you said so yourself. You don't know Aeryn, she pushes people away. This is my baby too, and I love Aeryn more than life itself. Please, let me see her. Let me explain about the termination. I am the only one who will get through to her. You said yourself you wanted me to talk to her."
Evidently the doctor is satisfied with his plea. "Ok, this way. I'll give you some time to talk to her, and I'll prepare for the procedure. Her room is second on the left. She is in the bathroom, we are trying to keep her temperature down in a cool bath. Your friends D'Argo and Chianna are with her.
"Thank you Doctor."
"I'm sorry, about the baby, Mr Crichton."
Crichton only nods sadly. He is sorry too. Maybe if he paid more attention, took better care of her, maybe she would not have got so sick. He can barely face her, he is full of shame, but he needs to be near her, he has to break through those walls, he can't let her go through this alone. "Just save Aeryn." He tells the doctor.
She nods in reply. "I will."