Heya! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about y'all... I DID get published, though. Check it out! smashwords DOT c o m/books/view/350703

So... I don't own Riddick (mmm... THERE'S a thought...) or anything Serenity or the Neil Gaiman quote. Yeah... sux to be me! lol Enjoy!

Mal wants this. Mal wants that. Mal wants to settle on a price for transport that involves Rick playing muscle-for-hire in a dangerous mission...

Not that he minded being a merc. And it was only fair to repay the crew for covering his and Piglet's asses. Just the way Mal went about assuming Rick would just agree... It rubbed the Furyan wrong, in all the right places.

The primal part of him was waffling between accepting Mal's Alpha role and wanting to take control of things because Mal wasn't really an Alpha.

He slinked into the kitchen to make a cup of tea and found the kettle already hot, a mug laid out with dark, cooling liquid already poured in. There was a spoon, sweetener and dried milk powder set next to the mug, as if the setting were waiting for someone.

"You." River's voice floated in from the lounge. He peered around the kitchen wall and saw her standing at the porthole, stargazing.

"What?" He asked, just a little startled that he hadn't noticed her standing there and didn't hear her enter.

"It's tea for you." She answered.

He shrugged and took a sip of the tea. It was strong and bitter so he added a little sweetener and stepped out, into the lounge.

River gazed out the porthole at the unending starscape. She shifted to the side a couple inches so Riddick could get a better view when he came up beside her in his silent way.

"A philosopher once asked, 'Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?' Pointless, really... "Do the stars gaze back?" Now that's a question..." She quoted.

"That's one of my favorite books." Rick commented. "A classic."

"I know." She replied with no hint of the smugness that statement could have held.

"I wish I knew how you always seem to know about me."

"If wishes were stars," She murmured, pressing her fingers to the thick, cold glass. "The granted ones would be the space between."

They finished their tea in silence, watching the stars move endlessly not at all.

~:}Y{:~

"AAAAHHHHH! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Riddick just glared at the screaming kid. Why was 'No' always the first word any child learned? It was as if the fates were laughing at every child-ward in the universe. The Wild Child was screaming and hopping into the air so as to be able to stomp louder and with both feet.

"I SAID COME HERE AN BE'ZUI!" It was the first time Riddick displayed the power of his lungs in present company and it shocked Piglet into blessed silence... For a second.

Once the child got over the shock of such a roar coming from the normally quiet man, he started to pitch an ear-piercing fit. He walked right up to Riddick, screamed in his face and kicked his shin.

1... 2... 3.. 4.. 5..6..7.8.91011... Fuck it! He couldn't get to 20. He could hear those fates laughing their asses off as he dragged the flailing, shrieking, sobbing child into his bunk.

He tossed the kid onto the bed of the passenger bunk they had assigned him and slammed the partition home, latching it as the child flung himself into it with a rattling thud. Riddick balled his hands into fists and pounded the bulkhead beside the door. He pressed his forehead into the cool, smooth panelling and roared at the child who was still railing against captivity.

He turned around when he heard movement in the hall behind him and saw Kaylee's wide eyes taking in the violence.

"Well, you're just a big ol' ball a anger, ain'cha?" Kaylee asked the glaring Furyan.

"Actually," He surprised her by replying, "I don't waste energy on anger. It only gets in the way."

"Could'a fooled me!" She frowned at him, "Simon said that he found something and wanted to talk to you about it."

"I don't know a damn thing about medic'ing." He growled.

"I'm sure he'll explain it." She assured him, "Besides, you need a break. Go on, the kid ain't getting outta there any time soon."

Riddick looked at the door, once, before heading down the hall toward the infirmary. When he reached the well-lit room, he stopped just beyond the threshold and knocked on the door post.

The doctor looked up from whatever he was working on and motioned Riddick in with a slight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. The physician was concerned about something. Mal was leaning against a cupboard, looking impatient.

"What's up, Doc'?" Rick asked.

"Well," Simon looked to Mal, who shrugged. "I ran a few blood tests on... Piglet..." He cleared his throat to indicate his displeasure at the name.

"...And...?" Riddick prompted the doctor.

"Well... I found a couple genetic anomalies that I couldn't figure out, so I looked up disorders on the Cortex."

"Anomalies...?" Rick frowned. "I'm not sure why you need to talk to me about it." Simon exchanged another look with Mal.

"Have you got any kin?" Mal asked, "Brothers... Sisters... kids...?"

"I know what kin is, Mal. No. My home planet was wiped of life and I make a point of not reproducing."

"Richard." Simon regained Rick's attention, "The only humans who develop this particular set of anomalies are Furyan." Simon's sharp eyes pierced through Riddick's goggles and held his gaze. The doctor wasn't pulling a prank and wanted Rick to know it.

"I'm not the only Furyan to have escaped." Riddick shrugged. "Makes sense the others might breed."

"My initial exam showed that the boy has already had a hard life." Simon continued. "Broken and dented bones, probably from fighting bigger people and animals; Excess muscle build-up, meaning he knows what hard labor is; Scars on his face, shoulders and legs from multiple beatings and what looks like whip lash marks across his back... There's even faint scarring from some sort of ligature around his neck that couldn't have happened too long after he was born."

OK... I know the strangled babies were a special circumstance thing. Bear with me for a bit & don't send me stupid "OMG THAT'S SO WRONG THAT I HAVE TO SEND YOU ASININE PMs!" messages. Kthxbye.

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