Absentis Monumentum
Title: Absentis Monumentum
Chapters: 5
Word Count: 5958
Originally posted/updated: Terra Firma-30/12/08
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Setting: Between Twice Shy and Mental as Anything. Spoilers up to that point.
Genre(s): Romance, Drama, Filler
Character(s): John, Aeryn, D'Argo, Chiana, Rigel, Noranti, Sikozu, Scorpius, Harvey, Pilot, Moya, 1812
Pairing(s): John/Aeryn, Pilot/Moya, John/Chiana
Beta's: Unfortunately, like always, this idea can to me too quickly to find a beta. So please, don't mind the mistakes.
Disclaimer: Washing your hands does not remove all germs. Oh and Farscape is not mine, never has been, never will be. It belongs to Henson and friends; I'm merely borrowing it.
Summary: Aeryn is injured planetside, and on Moya, John tries to deal with the rest of the crew.
Chapter 1
The pulse pistol fire shot overhead, showering the air with sparks and rubble from the surrounding buildings. John Crichton, Ka D'Argo and Aeryn Sun were hastily retreating while returning fire. Suddenly, errant pulse fire collapsed the building Aeryn was taking cover near, sending an avalanche of debris raining down around her. One of the smaller pieces struck her forehead and she fell into a heap on the ground.
"Aeryn!" John yelled, ducking behind D'Argo as he strapped Winona to his leg. Moving as one, they approached Aeryn's position. Once there, John knelt over her motionless body.
"Aeryn! Aeryn, baby, can you hear me? Aeryn?" John whispered while stroking her long black hair away from her face. He lifted her hand and kissed it while checking for a pulse.
"John, we have to keep moving!" D'Argo called as he shot down another peacekeeper with his Qualta Blade.
"She's got a pulse, but it's faint! We have to get her back to Moya, NOW! Cover me, I'll carry her!" John swept Aeryn into his arms and once again ducked behind D'Argo as they ran back to the transport pod.
Once onboard, John placed Aeryn on the bench behind the co-pilots chair and took the controls, flying the transport pod back to Moya. D'Argo took the co-pilots chair.
"Pilot, we're coming in! Aeryn's been hurt, have Noranti ready to treat her!' John signalled as Moya came into sensor range. Once the docking net had them, her let go of the controls and lifted Aeryn into his arms.
"She'll be okay, John," D'Argo said reassuringly as the pod docked.
John carefully climbed down the stairs into the bay, where Chiana was waiting. After seeing that John and D'Argo were okay, she walked behind them as John carried Aeryn to Noranti.
"Ah, just a head wound, no need to worry!" Noranti said as she shoved herbs into her mouth to sample them.
"Just fix her, okay?" John said and sat beside Aeryn's bed. He took her hand in his and slowly circled his thumb over the back of her palm.
"Hey,' Chiana said, sitting down beside him. "You've got blood all over you, were you hit?"
"No," John realised just how much blood Aeryn had lost. She looked so pale.
"You'd better clean off. She's going to want you here when she wakes, and you covered in blood isn't going to do her much good. I'll stay and help Noranti clean her up."
"Thanks, Chi," John rose and went to the door. "Stay with her until I get back?"
"Of course.," Chiana picked up the rag beside the bed, wet it and proceeded to gently dab away the blood that lined Aeryn's face.
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John walked back to his quarters, knowing Aeryn would not wake for at least an arn. The empty echoing of his footsteps through the tier sent cold shivers down his spine. Just days ago Aeryn had approached him about Noranti's 'treatment' in this same corridor. Since then, they had spent fleeting moments together whenever they could ditch their comms long enough to avoid Scorpius. Their trip to the planet was going to be the final step in them making up. But nothing was ever that simple in Tormented Space. Now, because of him, Aeryn was lying, unconscious in the med bay and if he went to comfort her, Scorpius would find out the truth behind the ruse that only Pilot knew about.
"Ah, FRELL!" John cursed once he was safely in his quarters. His cot was only a few steps away, but he didn't have the control to get that far. Instead, he fell to the ground in vain, hugging his knees and holding his head in his hands at the same time. He no longer bothered to hold back the tears that had barely been hidden on the planet.
"John. John, John, John!" All of a sudden, John had been transported into an small western town from some old western he must have seen once. And, like always, the neural Scorpy clone was in full costume, cowboy hat, boots, pants and shirt. As John got his bearings, he realised he was dressed in similar get up.
"Not now, Harvey! Can't I get a minute to myself any more?" Deep down, John couldn't even get angry, not while he knew that Aeryn was in trouble.
"But John, your mind is the only place I can talk to you with out risk of you being overheard by the others. That is, if you still want them to think that you and Aeryn are-"
"Fine, Harv, What do you want? Are you gonna criticize me about frelling up, again?"
"Quite the contrary, John. I was merely going to remind you that Aeryn has made it through worse."
"I'm not so sure she has Harvey."
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Chiana dabbed carefully at Aeryn's forehead, carefully removing all traces of blood. Tears ran freely, but her mind was elsewhere, on Crichton in fact.
"Frell, Aeryn, " Chiana whispered to the unconscious women beside her. "When you wake up you better tell Crichton the truth about how you feel or there's gonna be a lot more dren to deal with."
If only the two weren't apart. If only they had worked out their problems. Chiana had seen the negative impact on Crichton when Aeryn was gone, and now saw the negative impact of him being angry. It wasn't like John to be like this.
"Frell, frell, FRELL!" She swore, before dissolving into a fresh batch of tears.
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By the time John had cleaned up, the rest of Moya's crew were seated in the galley. They looked up as he came in, but said nothing as he grabbed a plateful of food for himself and headed back to Aeryn's side. She hadn't moved and didn't stir as John sat beside her.
Arns passed with little change. The crew came for a few microts each but all eventually left. John began to worry about whether he'd every see Aeryn wake. He'd already exhausted all his energy whispering to about what was happening out the "window" and was now just sitting in silence.
The silence wasn't entirely a bad thing though. If there had been even the slightest noise, John would not have been able to hear Aeryn's muffled breathing and occasional groan. The noise gave him comfort, hope that she'd soon wake.
There was a sudden movement in front of him, and John snapped to attention.
"Aeryn? Hey, Aeryn, baby, you awake?" John could barely hold back the emotion in his voice, and it seemed to him as if he had choked each word out.
Aeryn looked up at him from the bed. She blinked and John could see her try to get her eyes in focus. She flinched from his touch as they did and she opened her mouth, as if to say something. When no words came out, she licked her lips, swallowed and tried again.
"Name, rank and regiment," Aeryn's voice could only just be recognised as a whisper. At first, John thought he'd miss heard her, but when she spoke again he knew he'd heard correctly, and his stomach fell.
"Name, rank and regiment"
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