One Mistake
Chapter 11

((Wow, more than a year and a half since I last updated this fanfiction…there's so many things I want to go back and edit, but I think I'll settle with finishing this story off before I maybe start off on a new one (this one to do with COR, maybe? If everybody wants me to). I'm sorry I've neglected you guys but I kind of lost interest in Pitch Black for a long time…and then I had school and life to attend to. But I'm here guys, and I'm going to finish this story if it kills me. And oh my goodness I forgot how hot Vin Diesel is…wow…))

When Alicia awoke again, it was very quiet. It was also very dark and for a very brief moment Alicia had the disoriented feeling of not being sure if she were awake or still asleep. Once she figured out she was awake, it was an even more difficult process to rouse up the brainpower to remember where she was. Then it all came back to her, every detail crisp and clear in her mind in the way that only a completely fresh mind can muster up. Taking a slow, deep breath, she turned and stood up slowly, ignoring the harsh cold metal flooring on her bare feet, waiting for a moment as her eyes began to get used to the dark. Alicia had never liked the dark, she'd been terrified of it as a child and even though the child-like fears were gone, their echo haunted her adult mind. It didn't help that she'd just gone through the most traumatic experience of her life, which had all taken place in complete and utter darkness.

Moving forward once she was secure enough in her sight to be sure of not banging into things, she wandered into the cockpit, expecting to find her confidante sitting there serenely but she found it strangely empty. Taking a seat in the pilot's chair, she took a glance at the controls and dials, trying to determine where they were, but the fact was even if she could figure it out, she wouldn't understand what the numbers meant. Looking out through the view point, all she could see was a lot of stars, dotted here and there with a faraway planet. Still a long trip before they got home. She glanced back to where Jack and Imam were both sleeping and frowned: Riddick was nowhere in sight. The emergency skif was currently on autopilot and she sank back into the chair, staring out into what felt like never-ending darkness.

Suddenly, as quickly as the silence had fallen upon her, it was broken, a low beeping sound heralding its arrival. Just as quickly as the silence was broken, the view screen was suddenly very much less empty as a very large ship suddenly came into view from above. Suddenly where there had been endless stars there was a large metal plate bearing the words 'Theodora' followed by a series of numbers and letters. Standing up, Alicia stared, her mouth agape, not sure how to react or who to tell. "Riddick…?" She called backwards and turned, looking for him and screamed slightly and jumped as he suddenly came down from above, where he had apparently been doing chin-ups from a pipe on the ceiling. For a moment they both just stared at each other.

He had put back up his mask and his shields, his gaze cool and calculating, no trace of the affection that had been there earlier. His eyes were ungoggled and they gazed down at her, glowing in the dark as she stared right back up at him, her tongue tied in her mouth. Before either of them could say a word, a voice came from behind them.

"Merchant vessel Theodora to emergency vessel 499 is there anybody aboard?" Riddick moved forward past her without a word and pressed some buttons, beckoning her closer. "When I say, so tell them that we're here and that we need pick-up." Riddick said, and for a moment Alicia didn't realize he was talking to her until he nodded and she cleared her throat and started speaking awkwardly.

"Yes, yes, we're here…there's three of us here. We require pick-up and transport to the nearest major planet." Alicia said, her voice tired and with the ragged blankness that comes with having come through Hell and finding oneself back in the normal. Nothing seems to affect you quite as much as it used to.

"Okay. Turn off you're autopilot and then we'll pull you in. You're in safe hands now." With that, the connection cut out and Alicia looked down where Riddick had severed the connection. She stared at him quietly, knowing she should go awaken Imam and Jack, but not moving.

"You're not coming with us…" Alicia said this more as a statement than a question and Riddick looked down, but said nothing. "Let me come with you, please…" Riddick still said nothing and pushed past her, moving with a sort of sleek power, like a panther or a wildcat before he stopped at the opposite end of the skif, his back to Alicia. Alicia stared down at the ground, tears filling her eyes and trailing down her cheeks.

"You don't want my life, Alicia…" Riddick said quietly, his voice reaching her as if from far away. "You don't." Alicia shook her head and started to walk across the small space, stopping halfway before starting to speak, her voice cracking slightly with emotion.

"No, you're right…I don't want your life. But I've got it and I had it before I even came…you gave it to me already. I'm willing to be there for you. I'm willing to hide and to do what I'm told. And I know the rules, I know them, you don't even have to tell me…" She eyed him desperately, but he showed no reaction, no tensing of his muscles or twitch of his head to indicate he was even listening to her plea. "Riddick…I…I care for you. I don't know why or even if I should, but I do. You can't change that…you can't change how I feel. You may control a lot of things, Riddick, but you can't control how I feel."

There was silence for what felt like a long time, as they stood on opposite ends of the skif, and behind her she could hear the skif whirring as the merchant vessel began to pull them into their cargo bay. Alicia felt, in that moment, the most vulnerable that she had in what felt like a very long time. She had bared her soul, allowed him to take it or leave it, and she had nothing left to lose.

"You would do everything I'd say?" He said finally, and she looked up, afraid to even dare to hope what he meant. "Even if what I say is to stay with Imam and Jack? If I tell you to stay with them, because they can keep you safer than I ever could, would you do it?" Alicia's heart dropped into her stomach as he turned around, tears filling her eyes and he looked at her, standing there, vulnerable and trampled and a quiet sob escaped her as she slowly nodded her head.

"Then that's it then…" Alicia said, her voice breaking as she looked at him, and he moved closer, but not quite close enough to touch. "That's it. That's our beginning and our end…all in the space of a day." He came closer still and carefully, as if it were a motion he was not used to, he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her against his chest where she rested her head, feeling his heartbeat beat against her ear.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, and then suddenly the door began to open behind her and he disappeared up into the rafters before she could even say goodbye. Taking a deep breath, she leaned down and shook Jack and Imam awake carefully, wiping her face carefully, before they all slowly walked down the ramp towards waiting medical teams. Alicia turned once and looked back at the seemingly empty skif, where dials still beeped quietly.

"Goodbye Riddick…" She whispered, and then the skif closed up behind her and she re-joined Imam and Jack without a second look back. It was time to move on.

((There you go guys. It's very short I know, it's just to try and close it off. I tried to do what I thought Riddick would do…and honestly I didn't want to try and push it farther. It was confusing trying to continue the 'relationship' and still stay true to Riddick's character…I think I'll stage a reunion for them in my next story. If I write another one, we'll see. Well that's it guys…I hope you enjoyed it.))