Sorry for the long delay between updates. Life gets crazy sometimes. Thanks for the reviews. :) I really hope you guys like this chapter. It was a little harder
for me. Trying to get the flow right. It's kind of long. I hope it doesn't mess with the flow of the story. Let me know what you think. Good or bad, reviews are appreciated. :) Hope you enjoy!

Jessie awoke the next morning with a headache like she'd never had before. She lay in bed a for a moment, wondering where she was. The memories of the
previous night came flooding back to her. So this is a hangover. Ugh.
She was thankful that the windows were covered with heavy curtains. She knew the light would kill her head. She was quite tempted to stay in bed for the
day. Somehow she found the will to climb out of bed and head off to find her bag so she could shower. As she walked into the living room she found Riddick
still asleep on the couch. Sleeping in the same position as before, on his back, one hand under the pillow. She guessed he had a shiv under there. She
wondered what kind of life he'd led to always have him on guard.
She started for the door when she noticed her shoes and bag set neatly up against the wall. Smiling she grabbed the bag and headed to shower. She noticed
through the open door that Jack was still asleep as well.

Riddick awakened to the sound of running water and the scent of lavender shampoo. Very pleasant way to awaken. He rolled over and saw Jack still asleep
through the door. He knew she'd be out for a while and not in a good mood when she did wake up. He didn't envy her the headache headed her way. He
got up and headed to the kitchen. Omelets were an easy breakfast.
When he had finished cooking he heard the water shut off in the bathroom. The steamy smell of lavender filled the apartment.
And for the briefest moment Riddick found himself thinking of the body covered in that steam. Her pale skin, the way it would feel... What was he doing?
He was no stranger to women, he'd known his fair share over the years, but she was usually a fellow inmate or someone he picked up in a bar. Not someone
like her. No one like her.
He shook his head to clear the thoughts and went about setting the table.

Jessie climbed out of the shower and started toweling off. She felt much better after the hot shower. She silently thanked whoever invented showers. As she
dressed she looked in the mirror. The bruise around her eye was starting to fade a little. Wasn't as painful either. She still hated it.
Covering it up with makeup she didn't worry about the ones down her body, they were easy to hide. None of them were greatly painful, except the one just
above her hip on the right side. That bruise seemed to never go away. Was always sensitive to touch. She'd often wondered if it was a birthmark.
She suddenly noticed her stomach growling when she caught a whiff of something cooking. Smelled delicious. She finished the makeup and quickly brushed
her hair and dressed. As she was about to exit she heard Jack's voice asking "So what's the deal with this girl anyway?"
Curious to know what he'd say she listend for Riddick's reply. She guessed his voice was too low because she didn't hear him answer, just Jack laugh and
respond. "Ah, you've gone soft, Riddick," she giggled. "Been outta prison too long?"
Jessie was a little shocked, but realised it made perfect sense. Of course he'd been in prison. That explained his attitude and always being on edge. Wow.
She'd been planet hopping with a convict. The convict had been better t her than any other man she'd ever met. She couldn't hold it against him for not
telling her, she hadn't asked and had accepted his help very willingly.
She took a deep breath and decided that was as good a time as any to enter.

When Jack stopped midsentence Riddick turned to see Jessie coming out of the bathroom wearing a shy smile. "Hi." She looked so lovely like that, Riddick
thought. Jeans and loose sweatshirt. Barefeet. He smiled. "Hi. You hungry?" he asked gesturing to the food on the table. Jack was already sat down and
eating. "Uh, yeah. Thanks. Smells great."
He watched her sit down in the chair across from him, she'd done her best to cover the bruises, they still lingered along her neck and shoulders that were
visible above the collar of her shirt.
It angered him to think of the way they'd been inflicted on her. He felt the hate for the man who'd done it start to grow. "You guys enjoy, I'm gonna shower."
He grabbed his bag and headed off to the bathroom.
Turning the water on, he just stood and let it pour over him for a while. Enjoying the feel of the hot water on his muscles, stiff from sleeping on the sofa. It
was comfortable for sitting, but not for sleeping.
As he stood in the shower he just let the water pour over him. He needed to get out of here, away from both of them. The feelings were always worse after a
visit with Jack. The lonliness. The wish for a steady place.
He hated to ever admit, even to himself that he wished for these things. It was a weakness to feel this way and that would only get him into more trouble.
He'd just have to pack up and cut the visit short. Maybe leave in the morning. One last day.
He closed his eyes and let the water wash away the thoughts.

Jessie and Jack were eating in a pleasant enough silence. Jessie was trying to remember what she'd done last night and Jack was just trying to keep the pain
in her head to a minimum. Jessie looked over at the silent girl next to her. She still had traces of last nights make up on her face. She was dressed in jeans
and a shirt that looked like a 2nd skin it was so tight. Jessie blushed when she realized the girl next to her was not wearing a bra. Jessie couldn't imagine
going without a bra.
There was a faint buzzing sound from downstairs. Jack groaned loudly and pushed up from the chair. "Freakin' customers this early..." she muttered walking
towards the door. Jessie stifled a giggle. 'This early' was noon.
She started to gather up the dirty dishes as Jack went down to see who was there.
Jessie hoped she didn't seem forward but wanted to do something to repay how kind they were being to her. As she worked she thought about how Jack had
just taken her in no questions asked because Riddick had brought her. That showed a great trust. That kind of trust was rare.
"When I said make yourself at home I didn't mean you had to do the work," Riddick's voice broke into her thoughts. She smiled as she turned to reply to him,
temporarily forgetting what she was saying to see him standing shirtless in the door way of the bathroom, steam billowing out around him. That was a sight
worth seeing... She felt a slight blush creep into her cheeks, she had a feeling she'd acted on those thoughts last night. At least slightly. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she turned back to the dishes. "I'm glad to help," was her reply.
Before either could say anything else Jack came back in, looking slightly upset.

Riddick watched the girl who'd burst through the front door with raised eyebrows, a warning going off in the back of his head. Jack didn't worry over nothing.
"What's up?" he asked her.
"Thought you said you'd ditched her followers," Jack replied. "Some jerk just came to the garage, flashing her picture and askin' if I'd seen her."
Riddick glanced over to Jessie to see she'd gone white and was leaning against the kitchen counter. "What'd he look like?" Riddick asked, watching Jack go
back to her plate.
"Well, he was kinda tall. I'd say 6 foot. Dark hair, medium build. Dark eyes, scar on his cheek."
Riddick smiled at the girls attention to detail. Another thing he was proud of her for. She knew that the smallest detail could mean life or death. He glanced at
Jessie again, she seemed to have regained her composure, mostly. Riddick sat down at the table next to Jack and slapped the chair next to him. "Sit down,"
he told Jessie, she obeyed with no thought.
"That your old man?" Jack asked as finished her meal. Jessie nodded mutely. Riddick had a strange urge to wrap her in his arms and tell her it would be ok.
He'd keep her safe. And even though he knew he'd do his best to do it, didn't offer her any comfort at all for the moment. He suddenly backtracked his
thoughts. When had he decided that he was gonna keep her safe?

"I don't know how he found me..." Jessie muttered, to herself mostly. "Of all the ships I could have taken, all the planets I could have visited, how'd he know
where to find me?" She thought back to the idea of a tracking device. She'd searched her bag thouroughly. She was certain there wasn't one. She should
look again just to be sure. She got up and headed to the bedroom. 'Where ya going?" Jack asked.
Pausing she turned back. "I've gotta figure out how he found me. I'm checking my bag again." She walked into the bedroom. Picking up her pack she began
a full search. Along every seam and each fold.
She realized she was fighting back tears. She hadn't cried in ten years. But she'd been so hopeful that this would be her new start. When Riddick had taken
her off that planet she'd actually been happy. Now that was starting to crumble. Would he find her wherever she went?

Riddick looked towards the room where he knew Jessie would be sitting on the floor. All he could see was the white wooden panel of the closed door. "What's
up with her?" Jack asked, reclining back in her chair.
"She's searching her bag for a tracking device. She's done it before. She's certain it's the only way her father can track her."
Jack nodded, pulling her hair up into a messy bun. 'You've gotta admit that it's pretty convenient to just show up where she's staying."
Riddick shrugged. "Not really. She said her mom was from Earth. He's just gotta assume she's gonna go where she's got a connection of sorts."
"But come on, the exact city and building? He's a better tracker than you if that's all he's doing."
Riddick snorted derisively. "No one's better than me."
Jack was looking him up and down with an expression on her face that left him curious. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing. Just wonderin' how with that bod you didn't bring home 10 women," Jack laughed at him. He threw the towel he'd had around his shoulders at her
face. She just swatted it down still laughing.
He finally smirked back. Then frowned when Jessie opened the door to her room. "Anything?" he asked.
She shook her head.

"Oh, come on," Jack said as she stood up and walked over to pat Jessie on the shoulder. "He's already asked here. I told him I'd never laid eyes on ya before.
He's gone now."
Jessie knew that Jack was trying to be kind and reassuring, but somehow she knew he'd be back. A sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I'd like to believe
that, but I just know he'll be back."
Jack shrugged nonchalantly. "If he does, I'll tell him the same thing. Relax, hon. He ain't gonna get ya while you're here. I take good care of my
houseguests." With that she walked into the bathroom for her turn at the showers.
Jessie walked over and started clearing the table again. Lost in her own thoughts. Dreading the possibility of her father coming back for her. She didn't realize
she was shaking until she dropped the last plate as she took it from the table. Riddick caught it before it hit the floor and walked over to stand behind her as
he put it in the sink. She braced herself against the sink, trying to calm herself. She felt the unexpected touch of Riddick's hands on her shoulders. "Hey,
now," he said in his deep and even voice. He turned her around to look at him. "Jack is right. He's already asked about you here. He's gone."
Jessie shook her head. "No, you don't understand. He'll be back. I know he will." She knew she sounded crazy, but it was true. "I can't explain why I know it
or how I know it, I just know it's true. Gut feeling, you know?" She wished he would take off those goggles. She searched his face for some expression to tell
her what he was thinking.

Riddick believed her. Gut instinct meant a lot in survival. And no matter what he'd told Jack, he didn't think it was just good luck that had brought him to their
door. He looked at the face in front of him. Watched her eyes search his face. He let his hands drop and took a step back. "You can't stay here then," he said.
He saw the brief frightened look on her face. But she nodded. "I'll be out of here as soon as I can get a ticket."
He nodded and walked out of the room quickly. Into the living area and paced back and forth, shaking his head. Trying to shake the thoughts that were
flooding his mind. He could not, would not take her with him. It was enough danger to travel alone. Why would he bring another back to watch? That was
crazy. No, no, no. Could just hunt her father down and kill him, a voice suggested.
That would be the easy alternative he admitted to himself.
Jack walked out of the bathroom and laughed at him still pacing. "You are truly a tiger in a cage," she said as she tossed her towel in the hamper by the
bathroom door. Riddick looked at her with a brief grin. He took that as a compliment. Comparison to a tiger was not a bad thing.
He looked at Jack a moment, laughed a brief laugh and sat down. He couldn't believe that this was the rough, little tomboy in disguise he rescued years ago.
"What's so funny?" Jack asked as she sat down next to him. "You," was his simple reply.
"What's so funny about me?"
"The way you've turned out. You're just the same as when I met you, and in a million ways different." He looked at her barely there tank top, with her small
breasts she never saw the need for a bra. That had always irritated him. He never liked the way the guys looked at her.
Her lowrise jeans were like a second skin. Red polished nails. Yeah, she knew she attracted attention and she liked it. Unlike Jessie, who attracted it, but didn't
want it.
Jack loved being a tease. But he knew the girl could hold her own. He didn't have to worry about her.

Jessie finished the dishes and was now uncertain what to do. She was in someone elses house and she didn't have anything with her. She walked down the
hall, trying to sort out in her mind her next move. She had to figure out a way to go where he couldn't find her. But how? She didn't know how he was
finding her now. She walked into the living area and saw Riddick and Jack sitting on the couch. "You took me with you, remember? When I didn't have a
place to stay," Jack was saying. They both stopped talking the moment they saw her. Jack recovered quickly. "We're gonna go hang in the garage for a while,
wanna come?"
Jessie shook her head and smiled before replying with a simple "No, thank you though. I think I'm gonna lay down for a bit."
Jack just shrugged ok and Riddick went to grab a shirt from his bag sitting by the hall entry. Jessie caught herself once again, briefly, admiring the sight. A
man shouldn't look that good, she thought.
She watched the two walk out the door and downstairs. She went and stretched out on the guest bed. She'd decided she'd leave tonight. It was easy to get
away under the cover of nightfall.
She closed her eyes, trying to calm the storm within her mind.

Riddick watched as Jack expertly weilded tools of her trade, repairing motors, trannies, a/c units. There wasn't much she couldn't fix.
He'd been trying to think of a way to keep Jessie out of trouble."You really think it'd be worth it to try to take her with me to another planet?" he asked as he handed Jack a wrench from it's hook on the wall. "Sure, she seems to be alright and like I said, you've taken me all over with you." He smiled. "You were always eager to fight if you needed to, and sometimes when you didn't need to." She looked up form under the hood of the car and smiled. Grease smeared on her forehead. "Yeah, but most aren't as awesome as me." He laughed. A deep real laugh. "That's true, Jack, very true." Jack smiled back at him ad returned to her work. "But she's got to have some quality that appealed to you or she wouldn't be crashing here," she said as she tightened some bolts. He didn't reply for a moment, thinking on it. She was right of course and he'd thought many times about the things he liked about Jessie. Couldn't deny there was something there. He just didn't wanna be worrying about her on the run. After warring for sometime in his mind, he finally conceded that it was going to be. "Alright, I'll take her."
Jack smiled and slammed the hood of the car. "Knew you would."