A/N: new chappie! enjoy!
Chapter 7: Welcome
Vaako watched in horror as Dame Vaako stood over Lenore's dead body, blood covering both of them and she lifted her weapon to stab it into Lenore's gut to make sure she was dead. It made his stomach turn so much that he was sure he was hurl his insides as his heart tightened until he couldn't breathe. His intense grief for Lenore suddenly turned to anger as he glared at Dame Vaako when she turned to him with that evil, triumphant smile.
"You know what this means, Vaako. I get to keep what I kill. You can't escape the Necromonger way."
"I can try."
"And you will fail."
"Damon…"
He shot a wide-eyed stare of disbelief at Lenore as she looked at him with dead eyes, her skin paling.
"You promised…You promised you'd protect me. Why didn't you protect me?"
Vaako shouted as he shot straight up in the bed, covered in a cold sweat and panting for breath. Lenore startled awake and stared at Vaako's back in wide-eyed wonder before sitting up next to him.
"Damon, what's wrong?" she whispered, lifting a hand toward his shoulder and he whirled around to stare at her with wide eyes as well. "What happened?"
"Lenore," he breathed, making her frown in wonder but he only took her hand to pull her toward him, hugging her close when she rammed against his chest and she only wrapped her arms around him in return. "I dreamt she killed you. That she was going to keep what she killed."
"We're not Necromongers anymore, Damon," she whispered. "Our beliefs dissolved the moment Riddick dismantled everything. Even if she comes after us, we can run, or you can fight if you're so worried about me."
"As much as I craved battle before…I think I'd rather run," he murmured. "If I can protect you by running, then I'll do it. I can't lose you Lenore. I watched her kill you and I—"
"Hush, darling," she cut in. "It was only a dream. It won't happen."
"Lenny—"
"Stop, please, Damon," she whispered, hugging him closer. "Go back to sleep. You need rest."
"I can't escape it," he breathed, the both of them unmoving. "Inside…in my mind, I'm still a Necromonger Commander. I don't know any other way to be, Lenore."
"I know," she murmured. "I keep thinking she's gonna come through that door to challenge me again, but I have to remind myself that she won't."
"How can you be sure she's not going to come after us?" he wondered.
"I'm not," she replied, honestly before they pulled away enough to look into each other's eyes as he frowned. "But if I think otherwise, I'll go crazy, like you."
Vaako couldn't help but chuckle before leaning toward her to press a kiss to her forehead then laid back down, taking her with him. She gave a startled shout when he pulled her onto him and giggled when she met a surprising smile over his lips.
"You should do that more often," she murmured, inching closer to his face as he frowned.
"Do what?"
"Smile. Maybe even smile a little bigger?"
Lenore lifted her hands to his face as she lay on top of him, his hands around her still and she placed her finger tips at the corners of her mouth to raise them in a forced smile on his face.
"See?" she giggled. "You look so handsome when you smile!"
"Lenore, you're hurting my face," he muttered through the smile and lifted his hands to pull hers away. "We must sleep. Tomorrow we go shopping for a new place to live. I have to find ways to earn a living as well, if we plan to stay here."
"I've always wondered what it would be like to be a housewife," she grinned, lowering her head onto his chest as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "You can go to work. I'll stay home and take care of the house."
"You may do that…if I find something that pays me well enough," he smirked. "Be prepared to go to work yourself."
"The only career waiting for a former Necromonger harem girl is prostitution," she reasoned bitterly, making Vaako frown down at her, trying to catch her gaze but she remained unmoving. "I will never stoop so low."
"I would never ask that of you, Lenny," he murmured into her hair before kissing the top of her head when she still didn't move. "Perhaps I shall go into the military? The proper military, that is. They pay well, and may even provide a home for us that you can keep up as you like."
"Are you sure?" she wondered. "You may be doing the same thing as you were before."
"It's a better cause than that," he replied. "I'll be protecting people instead of hunting them. My skills would be valuable."
"No doubt," she agreed, hugging him closer. "Still…I worry for you."
"I know," he smiled, unable to keep from doing so. "And I do not take that for granted, my sweet."
"Best not," she yawned. "Otherwise, I'd have to teach you a lesson on taking me for granted."
"A lesson you shall never have to teach me," he replied without missing a beat.
He lifted a hand to start running it through her hair, soothingly. He lowered his hand from her hair to settle it on the back of her neck, the tips of his fingers brushing against the scars left from her purification. His heart sank only slightly in guilt. Had he not betrayed them all those years ago, her family and his would be alive on Celus Four and she would be happy. She wouldn't have gone through all that pain, and neither would he. They would both be happy.
"Damon," she murmured, catching his attention and he gave an affirmative hum in response. "Don't dwell on the past."
He frowned in disbelief before looking down at her with his frown as she looked up at him at the same time.
"How-How did you…?"
"A guess," she admitted, shifting to face him completely again. "The way you got silent when you touched my scar. I could feel it in that touch. I know you, Damon, remember?"
He smirked before laying his head back and staring at the ceiling, replying, "I was thinking…if I hadn't brought them to our hiding place, our families would be alive, and you would be happy."
"Maybe," she nodded in agreement. "But they would have killed you if you hadn't led them to us. I can't imagine a life without you, Damon, and I don't want to. Why think about the past when we can look forward to the future?"
"Your right," he sighed, running a hand through her hair again. "I just wish…we could be like this back home. Maybe…we could've been married and had some children by now?"
Lenore took in a silent breath as her heart fluttered. The fact that he'd even thought of a life with her made her feel like he did love her, even if he hadn't said it yet. That didn't matter to her, it never had, because he'd chosen her over that woman he called his wife, and that in itself made her feel special.
"That would've been nice," she smiled, trying to keep tears of joy from falling from her eyes. "We can still have that, too. It's not too late, if that's what you really want."
Vaako stared at her in wonder at the slight tremor in her voice but soon noticed her glassy eyes and the slight smile over her lips. He gave the warmest smile she'd ever seen him give as he pulled her closer by a hand pressed to her back and she took in a breath when his lips met hers. Her arms slipped up his chest and around his neck as his tongue snaked between her lips and she met his passion with hers for another moment before she lifted her head, slowly to look into his eyes.
"I only want that with you, Lenore," he murmured, answering her question. "No one else can make me happy. I…I love you. I realize it now that I always have."
She stared at him for a moment as he licked his lips, trying to moisten his suddenly dry mouth as his heart raced faster than it ever had before. He frowned when she gave a giggle, then a sputtering laughter before she burst into full, girlish laughter. Her arms tightened around his neck as she lowered her head to bury her face into his chest.
"I don't want anyone else but you," she shuddered before lifting her head and grinning, "Welcome back…my Damon."
"It's good to be back, my Lenny," Damon smiled, finding it easier as long as she was near. She had always been the reason he smiled back home, and she always would be now.
"You know what I think?" she smiled, mysteriously.
"What?" he wondered with a slight frown at her smile.
She shifted to be directly above him, still smiling as he looked at her and she inched toward his face to whisper, "I say…we celebrate."
Damon grinned, taking her aback at the sight for a moment before he rolled them so that she was lying on her back with him on top her. She giggled before moaning when his lips crashed onto hers and she pulled him closer, melting beneath him.
Meanwhile...
Riddick flipped switches in the small ship he sat in, readying it for launch from the Necropolis hangar.
"Sir?" one of the commanders asked him, standing next to the ship. "Are you certain about this? We need you to organize the rest of the launches."
"I left instructions with the other commanders," Riddick replied. "It's all straight forward. You can take care of it."
"What shall we do with the ships after everyone has left?"
"Burn 'em. Sell 'em. Do whatever the hell you want with 'em. I don't care."
"Very well," the commander nodded. "Good luck, Sir."
Riddick only waved him off as he walked away and the hatch on the ship closed and the thrusters started up as the ship readied to launch. He had no idea where Dame Vaako would go, but before he started his hunt for her, he had to warn Vaako and Lenore. If he tried calling them, he risked Dame Vaako catching the signal and following it. As much as he didn't really care about the guy, he felt he owed this to him since he distracted the former Necro Lord Marshal long enough for Riddick to kill him.
"He deserves to be left in peace after all the shit he's been through," he muttered to himself as he pulled the helm up to lift off. "Puttin' up with that botch deserves a warning for someone trying to escape her."
A/N: short, i know. reviews?
