All Fall Down

Written by: farchild628

Farscape and its characters are property of the Jim Henson Company.

Part 1

John took a deep breath as he stepped off Lo'La, Winona at the ready. He scanned the maintenance bay looking for signs of any intruders. But Moya was still and silent except for her gentle rumble. What had he expected? Aeryn to come walking through the door? The knot in his stomach tightened at the thought of Aeryn.

"All clear!" he called to D'Argo and the others.

They slowly made their ways off the Luxan ship. Savoring the moment of their return home.

"Home," John thought, "It won't feel like home again until Aeryn is back aboard."

Aeryn screamed in pain and fear as yet another explosion shook her Prowler. She was flying as fast as she could, dodging to stay out of reach of her pursuers. However, their ships were faster, more powerful, and, most importantly, undamaged. She kept flying; she must protect her precious cargo.

With each shot, the Prowler was becoming harder and harder to control. Another blast hit, causing her to spin wildly, although she managed to stay on course. Blood poured from a gash above her eye, making it even harder to see. If she could just get to the asteroid field, maybe she could lose them, at least for a little while.

It had been twenty solar days since John and the rest of Moya's misfit crew had returned. John was up in the middle of the sleep cycle, yet again. Unable to sleep without seeing horrible images of Aeryn being tortured by the Peacekeepers, Scarrans, Nebari or whatever other species had it in for him. Tonight he had woken in a cold sweat after dreaming Aeryn was being chased by a creature that looked something like a mix between a Scarran and a Nebari.

He entered Command, "Hey, Pilot."

The Pilot's face appeared on the clamshell. "You're up late, Commander. Is there anything wrong?"

"Oh, no, there's nothing wrong. I just can't sleep. So, is there anything that needs repairing?"

"Nothing that the DRDs cannot take care of. Why don't you go back to bed?"

John didn't have the strength to argue; he just turned around and left Command.

As Aeryn had expected, it took them less than three arns to find her even in a vast asteroid field. The microt the sensors locked onto her position, she flew like a bat out of hell, as Crichton would say. Just as she exited the field, there she was, she had finally found it; Moya.

John was just getting back into bed when Pilot called him. "Commander, since you are the only one awake, there is a ship approaching at top speed. It's a Prowler."

His heart stopped, "Is it Aeryn's Prowler?"

"Several other ships have appeared on Moya's sensors. They are pursuing the Prowler."

"Well, for God's sake, let her on and starburst."

John was already halfway to the docking bay. It just had to be Aeryn.

One more pulse blast hit her Prowler as she sped through Moya's opening doors. She had barely any time to slow down before she crashed into the wall. The sound of Moya starbursting was her only comfort as everything went black.

The echoing sound of smashing metal made John jump. He had never seen Aeryn crash her Prowler, a transport pod or anything else. She must be in terrible shape. The hangar doors couldn't open fast enough.

He raced over to the mangled Prowler and wrenched the top open. There sat Aeryn, unconscious, bloody, and bruised. Her clothes were tattered and stained, as if they had never been washed. There was dirt on her face and dried blood in her hair. For several microts all he could do was stare until a small movement in a sling around Aeryn's neck distracted him.

Holding his breath, John pulled down a corner of the blanket. Inside was a tiny baby, no more than one or two weekens old. The child let out a squawk and looked up at him with big, blue eyes that were almost identical to his own. Slowly, he let out his breath, hardly believing what he saw.

Without warning, Aeryn jerked awake and grabbed John's wrist so tight her knuckles grew white. "Don't you dare touch her," she said in a voice of deathly calm.

"Aeryn, everything's okay. It's John. You're home. You're on Moya. You're safe. You're gonna be all right," John soothed.

She released him as tears filled her eyes and spilled over. "John," she whispered as she finally recognized him. He reached over and touched her face. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. "It's been so long."

"Let's get you out of there," John said, his voice choked with tears.

Pulling Aeryn's arm around him, he lifted her out of the Prowler. She winced, but gritted her teeth and climbed out, keeping one hand firmly held around the sling.

Once she had two feet on the ground she leaned heavily on John and slowly they left the maintenance bay. Without thinking, John started moving towards his quarters and Aeryn didn't object.

As they walked, John's eyes rested on the baby, who was snuggled up against her mother. "She beautiful," he finally said. "Does she have a name yet?"

"No, I wanted you to name your daughter," she answered quietly.

John's heart swelled. When he had found out Aeryn was pregnant, there had always been the shadow of doubt that the child wasn't his. To hear the words that confirmed he was the baby's father was almost more than he could take. He leaned over and kissed her quickly on the lips.

"I missed you so much," he said gruffly.

Aeryn didn't know how to answer. She was so grateful to be back on Moya, to be here with John, to be safe, to have her child safe, that tears began to fall down her cheeks again. "I missed you, too," she said tearfully.

When they reached John's quarters, he helped her get into the bed, and almost at once both mother and child were fast asleep.

Aeryn woke drenched in a cold sweat. John was at her side, "Hey, I'm here. I'm here," he said and she realized she had called out loud. "Shh, it was just a dream."

With great effort she pulled herself into a sitting position. "Where's my baby?" she asked suddenly when she noticed the infant wasn't beside her.

"She's right here," he answered comfortingly, pointing out to her a makeshift cradle on the floor. It was only a drawer with a pillow and a sheet in it, but the baby was sleeping peacefully.

"The little squirt and I had been getting to know each other a little. And I think I've picked a name."

"Yes?" she said slowly.

"Reyna."

A wide smile spread across her face.

"If you rearrange the letters, it spells Aeryn."

"It's perfect."

John leaned over, "With your mother's approval, I hereby dub thee Reyna Sun."

They sat there, letting the silence fill the room. Each of them had questions and answers burning inside them, but neither wanted to discuss the things that needed to be said. John was just as happy to have Aeryn back in his life, details could wait, for a little while.

Aeryn would be forever grateful for how John acted on her first night back on Moya. He put no pressure on her to tell him what had happened and why she had left. He was simply the strong support she needed right now. Of course, she knew he expected her to talk to him. But not now, not tonight, she would tell him when she was ready.