Part 8: Return
~~~
"Crichton, hurry the frell up! We're down to less than eight hundred microts!" Aeryn hissed at him.
They were both dressed in the uniforms of the guards as they made their way down the corridors, towards the hangar. Aeryn couldn't help but notice that John was lagging. "What are you doing?" she whispered.
"I'm gonna get him," he responded, his voice tight.
"Who? Scorpius? I don't think so! We have to get out of here, now!"
Crichton turned suddenly, heading back the way they had come. Aeryn grabbed his arm roughly and slammed him against the bulkhead.
"Ow! Dammit, Aeryn, that hurt!" He said.
"Frell you, Crichton, we do not have time. I know you want to get Scorpius. I do, too. But right now, we need to leave so we can kill him when we have the advantage!" Aeryn nearly snarled.
Crichton slumped. "Yeah, okay. You're right. First things first, right?"
Crichton allowed Aeryn to lead him back to the hangar. She pulled up short outside. "Frell."
"What is it?" John asked, suddenly worried.
"There are too many people around," Aeryn said, digging around inside her uniform. "Crais! Crais! Can you hear me? I need you to attack again!"
"Crais?" John asked, surprised.
"Yes, he's helping. How do you think I got in here so easily in the first place?"
"Good question," John muttered.
Aeryn turned to ask him what he meant by that comment, but Crais' voice came over the comm. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, begin attacking again. I've found him and we're ready to leave, but there are too many people in the hangar," Aeryn informed him.
"It's done," Crais said.
Microts later, alarms began to go off on the command carrier. Aeryn watched, amused, as the techs and pilots who had been idling in the hangar sprang to life, scrambling for their workstations and prowlers. In less than forty-five microts, the hangar was nearly empty of prowlers.
~~~
They exited the hangar without a problem. Aeryn began to feel that they might make it back to Moya safely when all hell broke loose.
A warning light began flashing on the console. Moments later, it went dead. "Oh, frell!" She cried angrily.
"What, what's happened?" John asked, sounding panicked.
"The disappearing device just shorted! Stark said that it would last for at least another ninety microts or so!" Aeryn said.
"Uh, Aeryn? We've been spotted," John said. She turned to glance at him. He was staring out the small window at the two prowlers that were headed in their direction at great speed.
"Yeah, I know, now shut up and let me work!" Aeryn grabbed the controls again, concentrating. The prowlers opened fire, and she maneuvered to avoid them. Suddenly, she found herself thankful that John had kept the module in such good condition over the past two cycles.
The prowlers dogged them, firing rapidly. It took nearly all of the skills Aeryn had as a pilot to avoid the fire. Ahead, the asteroid field was visible, getting closer by the microt.
As the module blasted past the first of the asteroids, Aeryn hoped that she was better trained than her tails. She swerved wildly through the field, avoiding asteroids by what seemed like denches. The pilots in the prowlers had ceased firing, clearly focusing their attention on avoiding the giant rocks. Aeryn couldn't help but smile when she caught sight of one clip a nearby asteroid and go spinning off. Moments later, it exploded – and the shrapnel struck the second prowler.
"The other one's slowing," Crichton reported.
"Hit by shrapnel. Probably disabled the hetch drive," Aeryn said. "Are you ready to come home?"
~~~
The module landed gently in the bay. Crichton stared out at his friends, who waited with apprehension. Aeryn opened the hatch, quickly descending to the floor. John stood up, looking around warily, unsure of the reception he'd receive.
The moment he put his feet down on the golden-brown floor of Moya, they rushed to him, welcoming him back. Chiana gave him a hug, followed by D'Argo. Stark clasped his hand in friendship. Even Rygel offered a few words.
John was surprised by the warm welcome. However, everyone else was more surprised when he spoke. "Thank you," he said, his voice still rusty from lack of use.
"John!" Zhaan spoke. "You can speak? How?"
"Scorpy had to fix me to interrogate me. I don't remember how… I don't remember anything until I woke up in a cell," he said, then smiled sardonically. "I guess he did me a favor, after all."
"Is he dead?" D'Argo asked.
John hesitated. Aeryn spoke instead. "No. We didn't have time to kill him; it was more important that we leave the carrier alive."
"And Crais?" Pilot asked. His image was visible in one of the many clamshells that dotted the ship.
"He should be returning within a few microts," Aeryn said. "You and Moya should be pleased, Pilot. Talyn performed well. He has grown much."
The small gathering began to disperse. Zhaan pulled John aside. "John, I want you to come to the infirmary with me, immediately. I want to examine what the Peacekeepers did to you, to make sure there are no side effects or anything else we should know about."
"My thoughts exactly, Zhaan," he said.
"Have you spoken with Aeryn?"
John's expression became unreadable, and his eyes darkened. "No, not yet, Zhaan."
Zhaan took his arm as they began to walk towards her infirmary. "You know you must, don't you?"
He nodded once.
"John, you must realize that you aren't to blame for what happened. Aeryn knows this."
"She does, does she? Even if she does know, she's probably still pissed," John said, a note of defeat in his voice.
"John, sometimes you can be blind to what is so obvious. If you truly think that Aeryn hates you, why would she risk her life and the lives of others to bring you back to Moya?" Zhaan said.
John didn't answer her.
~~~
The next days passed quickly. Moya and Talyn had left the asteroid field quickly, hoping to avoid being trapped there like they had been similarly trapped on a previous occasion. Traveling quickly, they soon left the command carrier behind, taking a route that would hopefully lead them farther away from any Peacekeeper presence. Moya continued to heal, and Pilot predicted that within weekans, she would be fully recovered.
Life on the Leviathan quickly returned to what passed for normal. Zhaan's tests on John had shed no light on the recovery of his speech, to his dismay. Soon, he was eating with the crew again and beginning to reacclimatize himself to his life before the tragedy. Aeryn had readjusted quickly, as well. She worked out frequently, but found herself growing restless without her prowler to maintain. Everyone knew that Moya was in a weakened position, now that they were without any defensive weaponry. A situation that would become worse when Talyn finally decided to leave his mother's side again.
Aeryn had been seeking out John more frequently as well. She knew he was avoiding her, and it irked her. He wouldn't talk about what happened. He would hardly talk to her at all, unless it was necessary for the welfare of the ship. Aeryn had persevered, however. She knew him better than anyone on Moya, and had almost developed a sense for when something was wrong with him.
~~~
"Crichton, are you coming?" Aeryn asked. She'd found him sitting in the central chamber alone, appearing lost in thought.
"Huh?" John replied, looking distracted.
"I said that I was going to train. Are you coming with? You certainly could use any training you can get," she said, smirking good-naturedly. She was worried. Before her death, John had spent what seemed like every spare microt with her, whether it was in training or performing maintenance on Moya and the other ships. Now, she felt lucky if she saw him at mealtimes.
"No."
"Excuse me?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
John stood up abruptly. "I said no, Aeryn. Just leave me alone. It's better that you do, for your sake." He strode out of the room, leaving a very confused Aeryn in his wake.
~~~
Aeryn found John sitting on the floor of his quarters, brooding. His knees had been pulled up to his chest, and his face rested on his crossed arms "John?" she asked tentatively.
"Go 'way," he mumbled, not bothering to look up. "I'm bad luck."
"We need to talk," she pressed on. She refused to have him avoiding her any longer.
"Don't wanna talk," he said, sounding like a petulant child.
"Damn you, Crichton!" Aeryn shouted, kneeling beside him and pulling his arms away, forcing him to face her. He looked her in the eye a moment, but then shifted his gaze to the side. Aeryn immediately regretted shouting.
"Scorpius put you in the chair because of me," he said dully. "And I killed you."
"Crichton, Scorpius captured you and put a chip in your head because of me. Do you remember the Gammak base? Scorpius had you being tortured in the Aurora Chair for two solar days. You wouldn't have been there if you hadn't been trying to save my life."
"Yeah. And I frelled up. And you had to come save my ass, again."
She took his head in her hands gently, drawing his attention back to her face through sheer willpower. "John Crichton," she said slowly and softly. "You are not responsible for what happened on that planet. You didn't kill me. You aren't responsible for what Scorpius did, either. I've already forgiven you, don't you understand?"
"Aeryn…" he said, lifting a hand to touch her cheek. She closed her eyes, leaning into it, ever so lightly. "I'm sorry. I'm no good to you. Everything bad that's happened to you has all been directly my fault." He pulled his hand away guiltily, as if he had no right to touch her.
Aeryn's eyes snapped open. "No, you listen to me, John. You may be a lot of trouble, and you may have caused a lot of trouble. Not just for me, but for all of us. But none of it is your fault. You are the best thing that's happened to me," she said, a slow smile on her lips.
She pulled him forward, so he couldn't escape. Her lips brushed against his for a fraction of a microt, and then she was kissing him, deeply. As much as he wanted – knew – he should stop this, his body would not oblige him. As much as he knew that he was trouble, the greater part of him loved and wanted Aeryn too much to stop.
She pulled away, and he opened his eyes to see an amused look. "For someone who claims that I should stay away, you certainly don't act as though you'd like that to happen," she said, arching an eyebrow.
"You're very convincing," John said, a glint coming into his eyes. "Or I'm just easy."
Aeryn sat down, resting her back against his chest. She could feel his warmth, so distinctly Human, all around her. She took his arms and pulled them around her midsection. A moment later, they tightened, and John rested his head against her shoulder.
They sat together for some time, enjoying the comfort of being together after being separated for so long. There was much healing that needed to be done, both emotionally and physically. But for once, it felt like they were moving forward. The silence between them was more meaningful than any conversation could have been. They'd always spoken better without words, anyway.
"Aeryn, I was just thinking," John said slowly. "Don't you think… do you think we got off too easily?"
Aeryn twisted to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I mean… Scorpy wanted me bad. Still wants me bad. Last time we thought we got away clean, but he put a chip in my head."
"And?"
"What if… what if he put another chip in my head? Or something worse?"
Aeryn watched his face closely. He looked calm, but she saw a fear lurking below the surface of his eyes. To that question, she had no answer.
END.