Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it ain't mine.

A/N: My beta is back! YAY! So, as always a big thanks to LiasonFan2 for her phenomenal work.

And now, on with the show…

Jack didn't care that it was raining, she didn't care that she was half dressed, she didn't care that it was the middle of the night, she didn't care about anything anymore. After she finally got her breathing back under control, she picked herself up from the muddy ground and ran as if her life depended on it. Strange that the two of them had the same reaction when life gave them more than they could handle, run. Fight or flight at its finest.

She ran, and she ran, she ran until her lungs felt like they were on fire and her legs were made of jell-o. She wasn't sure where to go. She wanted to go and see Mags, but she couldn't handle seeing the pity that was sure to be in his eyes. She wanted to go and see Kaushal, Bhuvan, or Bansi, but they didn't know the whole of the story, and wouldn't understand why his leaving would hurt so much. She wanted to go and see Durjaya, but she had promised him—and herself—that she wouldn't let Riddick hurt her again. She couldn't let him see her like this.

She finally stopped in front of an abandoned temple in town and took up a perch on the roof. She sat on top of the temple letting the rain wash away her tears. He was gone. She kept telling herself that it shouldn't hurt this much; that she knew he wouldn't stick around. She had been preparing herself for this from the moment she saw him. She should have known he was leaving as soon as he kissed her.

She was so lost in her revelry; she didn't notice the figure looming up behind her. The only thing that pulled her out of it was the sudden absence of the rain. She turned around and looked up to see Durjaya holding an umbrella over her. He didn't say anything, but offered her a reassuring smile and held a hand out to help her up.

She looked up and wished she could feel something more for him. He was so easygoing, and accepted her and all her baggage without complaint. He never asked for any more than she was willing to give, always had her back, respected her, liked her, hell, and maybe even loved her. But she just couldn't bring herself to feel anything more than friendship for him. She did love him, in her own way, but not enough to make their relationship any more than platonic. Riddick had ruined her for anyone else. Even when the bastard was gone, he was still managed to be the dominant figure in her mind.

She slipped her hand into Durjaya's and allowed herself to be pulled up. He gave her the umbrella to hold momentarily as he shrugged off his jacket and tucked it around her shoulders. Once she was firmly ensconced in his coat, he took the umbrella back and helped her as they made their way down from the roof.

When they were back on the street, he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer so they cold both fit under the umbrella. They walked back to his house in comfortable silence.

He tapped his foot impatiently against the console as he spoke, "How much longer till we get to this crap-hole?"

"Take it easy Toombs; we should be there in about twelve hours. I don't know what you're so worried about, they said she docked for emergency repairs, she ain't goin' nowhere."

"When I want your opinion Carl, I'll give it to you," he snapped at his navigator. "Now why don't you shut yer trap, fly this heap, and leave the thinkin' to the big boys, got it?"

"Sure Toombs, whatever you say."

"Damn right it's whatever I say. Now I'm gonna try and catch some z's, so get me up when we reach Helion 5's orbit."

Carl wore a sneer as he nodded. "You're the boss."

When the two of them stepped through the door of Durjaya's house, he quickly shook out the umbrella and set it on the floor. As he turned to take his jacket back, he saw Jack's face clearly for the first time since he dropped her off earlier at her ship.

"What the hell happened B?" He gently grabbed her chin with the tips of his fingers and turned her head in all directions trying to assess the damage. "Where did all these come from, Rochen didn't even…" and that's when he realized what must've happened. " That bastard Dick did this to you didn't he?"

Jack had been oddly silent as he asked his questions, but now gave him a lukewarm smile as she answered. "If you think this is bad, you should see the other guy."

His face was full of concern and his voice was filled with anger, "This isn't funny, Bhakti."

"I know it's not D, I'm not trying to make light of this", she pushed his hand off her face. "But you act like this is the first time you've ever seen me hurt, and I've definitely looked worse than this…"

"Will you listen to yourself Bhakti?" he cut her off. "Are you actually defending him hitting you?"

"I'm not defending him Durjaya", Jack was losing her patience and her she brought the tips of her fingers to her temples. "It was a fight. I hit him. He hit me back. End of discussion."

"No it's not B," he said as he started to put his coat back on. "While you're here, you're under my protection, and if he hits you, then he's insulting me."

He was reaching for the doorknob when she grabbed his arm and stopped him. "No D, you can't."

"Look Bhakti, I know he's your friend and you don't want me involved in this, but it's…"

"No, D, you don't understand," her voice was low and her eyes downcast. "You can't because he's not there."

"What?" He almost didn't believe his ears.

She looked up at him after she made sure her mask was firmly in place. "He's gone Durjaya. He left." She saw a brief flash of pity cross his features before he could stop it. He lifted a hand and cupped her face, his thumb making lazy circles over her cheek.

"Bhakti I…"

"It's okay, D," she cut him off. "I knew this was coming."

"Come here", he said as he pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry Bhakti," he murmured into her rain-soaked hair. "I'm so sorry."

She burrowed closer into him, trying to absorb his warmth. She hadn't realized till now that she was shivering, and apparently Durjaya noticed as well. He pulled back from her, but kept his hands on her arms. "Hey", he looked down at his now damp clothes, "this was one of my best shirts B."

She gave him a small laugh and a fracture of a smile. "Come on", he said grabbing her hand. "I got some dry clothes you can change into."

After he had taken off, Riddick hacked into the mercs' database to see if there was a bounty on Jack. The kid did not disappoint. She left quite a body count when she made her escape from Toombs. A count of twelve. Impressive for a kid without any training, especially considering the shape she must have been in. Nothing after that, though. She was smart enough to lay low. Most mercs don't take to kindly to having a dozen of their men taken out, let alone by a fifteen year old girl.

Riddick kept telling himself that he made the right decision as he flew farther and farther away from her. He shouldn't have kissed her, no matter how much he may have wanted to; though he still felt some guilt about sneaking off like a thief in the night. But she had her own sort of family now, people who cared about her. She had a life of her own; she didn't need him to muck things up for her.

He shouldn't feel responsible for her, so why did he? He did what he came to do; he made sure the kid was all right, that should be enough, right? The sane part of him was saying to forget about her, to move on. But the rest of him knew that if he didn't at least check up on her from time to time, he'd never get any peace.

With a grim resolution, he decided to call up Bobby and have him monitor the girl.

He punched in the hacker's number and lounged in the pilot's chair waiting for him to pick up. When he didn't, Riddick checked to make sure he typed in the number right, then tried again. Nothing. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this. He hung up and dialed one more time. Still no answer, just more ringing.

He quickly switched on the vid screen and turned it to a news station on Bobby's planet.

"…Authorities are still looking into what appears to be an illicit deal turned homicide. Neighbors called the local police department when they heard gunfire ring out from one of the old and supposedly abandoned warehouses. The police entered the building to find a truly gruesome sight before them. The victim, a Bobby McAllister, appears to have been tortured before his murderer shot him point blank in the head. Bobby McAllister was a convicted hacker who was responsible for creating the Ichvar virus eight years ago that was responsible for…"

He shut off the vid screen; he didn't need to hear anymore. Fuck. Someone was onto him, which meant that someone was onto Jack as well. He checked his fuel cells as he prepped the ship to turn around. He should have just enough to get back to Helion 5 and get her.

Durjaya had given her a towel along with one of his tunics and a pair of drawstring pants for her to change into. Jack quickly dried off and got changed in his room. She had just finished towel drying her hair when she walked into his den to join him. He had already changed out of his wet clothes, had put on a white tank and a pair of sweats, and was currently channel surfing as he lounged on his sofa.

She took at seat next to him as she used her fingers to try and comb her hair. "Anything good on?"

He was careful to keep his tone light and casual as he answered her. "Not unless you want to watch infomercials."

She let out a sigh. "Why is there never anything good on this late at night? Its prejudice I tell you. The people who own the broadcasting companies think that since they actually sleep when it's dark, everyone else does, too. What about us insomniacs, huh?"

Durjaya gave her a lazy smile as he answered, "Maybe you should do something about it, B. You know, start a union or something."

"Yeah," she grinned back at him, "maybe I will."

"So you want me to put a movie in then?"

"Sounds good to me."

"What are you in the mood for, B?" he asked as he made his way over his movie collection.

"Put in an action movie or something. I want mindless entertainment with lots of fights and explosions.

He gave her a dazzling smile, "I know just the one". He put the vid-disc in the player and walked back over to the sofa. He leaned back on the arm and made a motion for her to scoot back. She let out a barely audible sigh of contentment as she settled back onto Durjaya's chest and let a small smile spread across her features. Durjaya wrapped his arms around her as the movie began and she relaxed into his warm embrace. For the first time in a long time, she let herself feel safe and loved.

"Come on, come on."

Riddick had no idea how much of a head start the mercs who killed Bobby had, and was pushing his ship as heard as he could. Nothing else was going to happen to Jack because of him. He would make sure of it. He'd be damned before he let Jack get another scar on his account. He'd pick her up and keep her with him till this whole thing blew over. He'd keep her safe he promised himself.

He urged the ship to go faster still. He wasn't going to be too late.

"So, who is it we're going after anyways?" Carl asked his new crewmate and second gunner, Kane.

"Toombs didn't say who it was," the gunner answered. "He just said he had a score to settle with them."

"Wait, there's two of them."

"Yeah, a guy and a girl. Didn't say who they were or what they did, but they must be pretty big for Toombs to be this anxious about them."

"Yeah," Carl said. "A regular fucking Bonny and Clyde."

"Who?"

"Bonny and Clyde." Still seeing Kane's questioning look he began to explain. "They were bank robbers back on…"

"Will you two fuckwads quit your yammering," Toombs bellowed from the back of the ship. "I told you that I was trying to catch some rack time and I can't do that with you two old maids gossiping about the catch of the fuckin' day."

"Sure thing Toombs," Carl drawled as he turned back to the controls. He was beginning to see why no one wanted to work with this guy.

It was still dark when Riddick made it back to Helion 5, and he was lucky he made it there at all. The last leg of the trip was made purely on fumes. As soon as he landed The Morning Star, he grabbed a few things he knew he'd need (mainly his shivs and a few changes of clothes) and threw them into his all purpose duffel. He hoped Jack's ship was fixed.

Although the air was humid and heavy from the deluge earlier in the day, he was glad it had stopped raining. Those wretched drops of water always managed to obscure his vision through his tinted lenses. He didn't need them right now, but the sun would be up soon, and he needed to be able to see any possible threats to him and Jack.

Riddick thought about what he'd say to her as he jogged over to the old man's house. He figured that's where she would be, and he needed to get them both out of there as soon as possible; and an argument wouldn't encourage that. He decided to keep it simple and stick with the truth.

He reached the decrepit building in now time flat. Once there, he pounded on the door and started yelling for the old man. "Dumpster diver, get the fuck up here NOW!" When he didn't get a response, his reaction was to hammer the door harder, threatening to break it off its rusting hinges. He was getting damn tired of people not answering when he called them. "You crazy old man open this fucking door right now!"

Soon he was greeted by tired and confused looking Mags, "I hope there's a good reason for you disturbing my rest and beating on my door as if the hounds of hell were after you".

He had no idea how right he was. "I need to find Jack. She and I need to get off this heap two minutes ago."

The old man was instantly awake. "Why would she be here? Isn't she at her ship?"

Riddick didn't have time to play twenty questions with this loon. He needed to find Jack, and he needed to find her now. "Look old man, is she here or not?"

"No", he answered shaking his head, "I'm sorry, she's not. What is so urgent…?"

Riddick didn't wait to hear the rest of the old man's sentence. If she wasn't here, then she was probably with the chief. That thought made him move even faster and a low growl escaped from his throat.

Jack and Durjaya were into their third movie by this point. The two of them were watching gross out comedy now, and before that, a sci-fi flick. Jack was actually starting to relax and forget about Riddick's leaving. Durjaya's reassuring presence made sure of that. It was as if he knew she needed constant human contact and he hadn't left her side unless it was to change the vid-disc. Right now, his hands were making soothing motions along her sides and her hips; but he stopped abruptly when he felt shape of one of her knives.

"Jeeze B, are you always carrying?" He questioned and his warm breath caressed her ear. "It's just you and me, are you really worried that I'll try something?"

She answered without turning around. "Of course I'm not afraid of you D. But what if someone decides to barge into your house and threaten me—or you?" She shrugged, "I just believe in being prepared".

"Ah, I see. You're just paranoid."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "It's not paranoia Durjaya, if they really are out to get you."

Just then, Durjaya's front door burst open and the two of them shot off the couch. Jack pulled on of her knives from her waist and shot Durjaya a knowing smile that said, "I told you so." But the smile was quickly wiped off her face as she saw the man who stood in the doorway. It took a moment for her to find her nerves, and her voice. But when she did, it was filled with venom, "What the hell are you doing here Dick?"

Riddick made his way over to the two of them. He hadn't seen them lying in each other's arms on the sofa, but he did see her wearing Durjaya's clothes and could smell him all over her. His inner beast was starting to claw its way out. His first instinct was to grab Jack's arm and pull her away from the other male, but reason won out and he kept his hands to himself.

He had put on his glasses before he entered the house, the last thing he needed was for the chief to freak out, and he was glad he could hide his emotions behind them. His gravelly voice was low when he spoke to her, "We need to go, NOW."

Since Jack seemed too furious to speak, Durjaya decided to step in for her. "She does not have to go anywhere with you Dick, especially after what you did earlier. And you are no longer welcome in my home, or anywhere else in Sector 8." He fixed Riddick with his most threatening stare, "So I suggest you leave."

If he thinks that's gonna intimidate me, he's got another thing coming. Riddick turned his head to face Durjaya, "I don't believe I was talking to you chief. So stay the fuck out of this." He turned his attention back to Jack, "We need to leave now," he said once again.

Jack found her voice at last. "What the hell makes you think I'll go anywhere with you?" she spat out.

"We've been made," was his answer.

Riddick saw the color drain from her face, and he could see that she had a lot of questions about how he came across this information. But his Jack was always practical, and he held back a smile at her next question.

"How long?"

"Maybe half an hour, an hour if we're lucky." Like that will ever happen.

She nodded, "My ship still needs a catalyzer, is yours up for the trip?"

Riddick shook his head. "Used up all my fuel on the way back. I'll take the catalyzer from my ship and put in yours. We'll leave in twenty minutes."

"I'll go and prep the ship and get clearance." Jack said as she sheathed her knife, and she was out the door before Durjaya could stop her.

He had been watching the exchange with unadulterated disbelief. He couldn't believe she was going with this Dick. He takes off without so much as 'fuck you', and comes back not ten hours later and she is ready to ride off into the sunset with him? He watched as Dick headed for the door. Nah-uh, he was getting some answers.

"She doesn't have to go with you Dick" he called out. When the Riddick turned around he continued undaunted. "Bhakti is one of us, and we take care of our own."

The son of a bitch had the nerve to smile at him. "Sorry chief, but I don't think so. The girl is coming with me."

Durjaya wasn't ready to give up just yet. "She'll be safe here. I'll make sure of it."

Riddick stalked closer to Durjaya, "Just who is she to you that makes you want to put everyone you know and love at risk?"

Durjaya couldn't believe the man had the gall to ask him that. "She's my friend," he said through clenched teeth. "Who is she to you?"

Riddick pushed his glasses on top of his head as he answered and stared the chief down. "She's mine," and he walked out the door, leaving a speechless Durjaya in his wake.

Jack was requesting clearance for take off when Riddick stepped onto her ship. She had dimmed most of the lights in preparation for Riddick's arrival. It was The Persephone now, and she was waiting to get the all clear from the control tower. It came through a few seconds later, and she made her way to the engine room to tell her new travelling companion.

"We have clearance so we can leave as soon as you get the catalyzer installed," she said from the doorway.

He didn't look away from his work as he answered, "Shouldn't take more than ten minutes."

She nodded, even though he couldn't see it. "I'm gonna go say goodbye to everyone. Come and let me know when you're done."

His only response was a grunt, but Jack spoke enough 'Riddick' to know that was a 'yes'. She stepped out into the balmy night air to say goodbye to her pack. Durjaya had somehow managed to rouse all of them from their beds and were standing on the ground before her. She gave them each a hug and promised to check in as soon as it was safe. She asked Kaushal to move Riddick's ship into his garage and make sure it was ready to go when they came back. He readily agreed.

Next, she turned to Durjaya who took her hands in both of his. "You don't have to leave Bhakti. You're family; we can protect you just as well here."

She let out a deep sigh and squeezed his hands in reassurance. "I know you would D, that's not the issue. The issue is that these mercs are after Dick and me. I'm not going to drag all of you into this." She could see he was about to protest and carried on before he could start. "I'll come back, D," she smiled at him. "I always do."

Durjaya was still worried though. "How can you be sure he won't leave you again if things get too hot B?"

Jack didn't have an answer for that. The truth was she was wondering the same thing herself. So she lied, "I trust him D. That's how." He still looked like he didn't buy it, but gave in all the same, much to her relief. "You're probably going to hear some nasty things about me, and I'd like to say they're not all true," she laughed. "But they probably are." This earned a crooked smile from Durjaya. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a warm embrace. "Take care of Mags for me, okay?" she whispered in his ear. She felt him nod and pulled back.

Mags was standing just behind Durjaya with a worried expression on his wizened face. She walked over to him and brought one of his creased hands to her lips, placing a kiss on his knuckles. He in turn brought his free hand up to cup her cheek, and the tears she was so desperately trying to hold in almost came tumbling out. "Be careful young Bhakti," he said to her. "This is a dangerous path you travel down."

"I know," she all but whispered.

"The only way to achieve salvation is through surrender Bhakti," he continued. "You must surrender your heart and soul to your God, and you shall be taken care of. You will want for nothing, you will be whole." Jack seemed a little perplexed at where Mags was going, but it was more denial than misunderstanding. "But be cautious when you give in Bhakti, the waters must be warm, welcoming, accepting…the fire," his hand pulled away from her cheek and he placed a single finger over her heart, "must melt the ice, lest they both get burned." He brought her hand that still enveloped his to his lips, and kissed her knuckles just as she had done to him.

Riddick watched the exchange between Jack and the old man with profound interest. It was clear to see just how much the two of them meant to each other. He had given them as much time as possible, but if they didn't leave soon, the mercs would surely have both their asses. "It's time to go," he shouted. He couldn't call her Jack in front of these people, but he found he couldn't call her "Bhakti" either. She looked up at him and he could see the unshed tears in her eyes, but she gave him a grim nod of determination as she pulled the old man into one last hug and made her way to the ship.

She turned around one last time from her ship before she closed the hatch and waved to her friends. As she flipped the switch to close the hatch, she heard Durjaya call out to her, "Hey Bhakti!" She peered around the rapidly closing door to see him smiling at her. "You better come back with my shirt. You have no idea how much it cost me." And his breathtaking smile was the last thing she saw before the hatch closed with a "hiss".

Jack made her way up to the cockpit and saw that Riddick was already sitting in the co-pilot's chair. Good. She didn't want to fight over who was going to be flying out of there. An uncomfortable silence filled the cabin as the two of them pulled out of the spaceport and headed out into uncharted territory.

"It's about fucking time we got here," Toombs grumbled as they landed. He turned to face his motley crew. "Alright boys and girls, it's time you learned the names of your payday. Today we're hunting the motherfucker Richard B. Riddick himself, and his little bitch of a girlfriend who went by Jack B. Badd." He felt a smug sense of satisfaction at the quick intakes of breath from his crew. "So ladies, let's cock 'em and rock 'em."

Jesse, his first gunner hit the release for the hatch, and the first rays of morning light filtered through the growing cracks as the crew headed off the ship.

Toombs was the last one off. If some bad shit was gonna go down, he wasn't gonna be the first to step in it. As his feet hit the ground, he looked around him at the bustling multi-colored spaceport. "Sweet mother of Buddha," he said aloud. It looked like it was gonna be more difficult to find them than he thought.

Zilly-pill: Your demands have been met. Enjoy.

Nicole: It will happen, but it's gonna be a long and torturous road. ::evil grin::

Pinkninja83: My beloved Ninja, you're reviews always leave me smiling for the rest of the week. And, trust me, he will pay. Oh boy, will he pay.

Saismaat: I was more careful with my pronouns this chap. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. And don't worry, the two of them haven't solved anything yet. Not by a long shot.

NotAfraidToLive: Got this up as soon as possible for ya. And thanks for your loyalty. It's grately appreciated.

FluidDegree: I want my cake.

Fearthecookie: He is way hotter than the sun, but he is gonna pay out the wazoo for his little act of cowardice.

JacklynK: Always a pleasure to hear from you.

Vampiress-06: There's more than one way to break a man. :)

Tay: Glad you approved. And I hope you enjoy this next installment.

As always people, if you're a readin', please be reviewin'.

Much love

FemmePhantom