Uncharted Love

Chapter 3

Aleki ducked away from John Crichton and rolled on to the floor, intending to get out the door. "Crichton! Calm down!"

"Daddy! Leave him alone!" shouted Kira as she tried to stop her father.

"Don't you 'Daddy' me!" shouted John as he smacked his daughter's hand away from his shoulder.

Aleki scurried out the door and ran through the cargo hold to the halls of Moya. He ran past the ships and out into the main hall. He headed towards the dining area, where he was sure safety would probably be.

Crichton chased after Aleki. He dodged through boxes and cases, tripping over one and banging his head on the floor. He got up and continued after him. John had Aleki in sight.

Aleki bolted into the dining room. "Help me! He's a mad man! He's gonna kill me!"

"Have fun? It sounded like you did! Is she any good?" inquired a cranky Rygel.

"Oh, shut up!" screamed Aleki, who had just realized that he was just in his shorts. "Yo People! Help me!"

John ran into the dining room, tackling Aleki. He grabbed him by the shit and banged his head on the floor. "What gave you the idea that you could just up and FRELL my daughter! HUH! You scum!"

"Crichton!" screamed Aleki, "get a hold of yourself! Let me explain!"

"Explain what?! I don't want to hear it!" John picked up Aleki by his shirt and slammed him against the wall and punched him repeatedly in the head.

Aleki took advantage of the opportunity that his legs were free and kneed John in the groin. John crumpled to the floor in pain and moaned. Aleki ran to the other side of the room holding his nose, sure that it was broken. "Now John! I don't want to fight with you!"

Kira ran into the room and looked around. Everyone was staring blankly at Aleki, who was holding his nose. Aeryn looked up from where she had her head in her hands. "I'm surprised at you Kira!"

Kira ran over to Aleki and stood in front of him. "Daddy! Stop! He didn't do anything wrong!"

John got up from the floor and intended to lunge at Aleki, but saw Kira in the way. "Move. Aside. Now!"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"Because I won't let you hurt him! I love him!"

"You WHAT!"

"I. Love. Aleki! And there is nothing that you can do about it!"

Crichton was silent for a second. "He didn't know what to say and he also didn't like what he was thinking. "I want you," he motioned to Aleki, "off of this ship in five arns!"

Kira looked at her father with nothing but hurt in her eyes. "You want what?"

Aeryn stood up in her chair. "John! No! How could you?"

D'Argo also protested. "John! Be reasonable!"

"I knew that from the beginning that you would be trouble! Just like your father! Always rebelling against rule and order!"

Aleki, full of rage, punched Crichton hard in the face. Crichton spun around backwards. "My father was a good man! He rebelled against the Peacekeepers and died trying to save THIS Leviathan!" Aleki squatted next to Crichton. "Try to understand, Crichton, I love Kira, and from what I know, she loves me. There is nothing that you CAN do about it, I will always love her. I can understand why you're mad, an I shouldn't have done that so soon," Aleki said calmly to Crichton, who was now in sitting position and staring into space, out the window, he showed no signs that he was paying any attention to what Aleki was saying.

"Fine, I'll leave." Aleki got up and headed back to the secure room where he had earlier left his clothing. Kira ran after him an tried to keep up with his fast pace.

"You aren't serious! Are you?" Kira grabbed his arm. She tried to stop him from walking away, he just shrugged her off and kept walking. "What is your problem!"

"I don't have a problem! Your father does! Apparently he can't accept me, for some odd reason. Talk to him about it!"

"He has never done anything to you! Nor you're to him! Is it that you re a peacekeeper, I don-"

"I WAS a peacekeeper! I am no longer one of them! To them, I am dead! Killed by Scorpious! I was one of those who helped him lure in his victims.

"You were one of those who helped Scorpious? Well, no wonder he has never liked you!"

"What did he ever have to do with Scorpious?"

"What did he ever have to do with Scorpious?" Kira repeated. "No one ever told you?"

"Told me what?!" They were in the room now and Aleki was getting dressed.

"Before I was born, Scorpy got a hold of my father when he tried to break into the PK base. He put him in the chair to try and get the wormhole technology. When he couldn't get it, he placed a clone of himself in my father's mind. It ruined his life. It also almost killed my mother!"

Aleki was silent. He had never known that. Whenever he would mention Scorpy or PK's, Crichton would get up and leave the room, he had always thought it a touchy subject, so he hardly ever mentioned it. "How did it almost kill your ,other it if was in your father's brain?" he inquired.

"During one of his take over spells, he flew out on his ship and my mother went out to get him. Well, the Scorpy clone took over and landed the Far cape on her prowler. She was forced to eject and when she did, she crashed into a frozen lake. They all thought that she was dead, so they put her in her coffin and left her be. Then one day, while Dad was walking through, he saw her move and opened the case. She was alive, maybe the cold preserved her, we will never know."

"I never knew that. So John was just waiting for me to mess up, so that he would have a reason to get rid of me!" He said it more to himself than to Kira.

"I don't think that he would do that," said Kira.

"Oh, well then, do you have another explanation?!" he nearly shouted at her.

"No I don't!"

"Well then! That seems to be the only logical explanation then!" he said as he tied on his boots and stood up.

"Maybe you are right then! But it's not my fault! If you leave, I'm coming with you!" Kira said as she pulled her pants on.

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am! And you're not going to stop me!" Aleki stared at her.

"You would give up your entire life, just to be with me because your father is stubborn and can't let anything go?"

"Yes, I would. I know that I would never be able to come back, though." She lowered her eyes.

"I'm not going to be going anywhere then," he said slowly. "I'm going to go talk some sense into your father." He got up from the bed and left the room, Kira tagging behind him.

"You do know that you are probably not going to be successful, right?" she grabbed his arm and he stopped walking and looked at her. "I mean he might kill you, or worse."

"What is worse than death?"

"Not being with you." Aleki pulled her into his arms and held her, trying to hide his own tears.

"That would be worse than death."

Kira sobbed into his arms. It was just too much at once. He let go of her, and kissed her passionately. This might be the last time that they ever could be together like this. When he broke their embrace, they continued down the hall toward the dining hall where they guessed everyone would be. When they got there, John started for them as soon as they entered.

"I thought that you were leaving!" he spat at Aleki.

"I just have one question for you, Crichton! Who is it that you are mad at, Scorpious or I! Or are you angry at me because I used to work for the monster?"

Crichton was silent for a moment. "That is none of your concern!"

"I that it is, Crichton! I understand that you hate the guy, but honestly! Are you going to kick me out because I was a slave to him? It's not my fault! With Peacekeepers, we cannot choose what we get assigned, we just get assigned to it!"

"But you still could have prevented things that happened from happening!"

"Oh, yeah, and get KILLED in the process! Correct me if I am wrong Richton, was or was not Aeryn once a Peacekeeper? Did or didn't she kill the previous captain of this Leviathan--" he was cut off by Aeryn.

"People change, Aleki!"

"Oh!" Aleki made a sarcastic face at Crichton, "people change, do they? Hmm? Who ever thought that that could happen! Am I not a person, John? Can I not change? Or am I just like Scorpious, a lifeless monster who can't feel anything?"

"Once a Peacekeeper, always a Peacekeeper!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but was not your WIFE one! That would mean that she still is! Why don't your give her the boot also, the mother of your only child! Have you no sense, John?"

John sat and stared at Aleki for a moment with a hard face, and then it changed. His face softened and he got up off the floor. "I don't know what to say, how to apologize for how I have treated you."

"Say that I don't have to leave." He smiled at John.

"You don't have to leave." He smiled back at Aleki.

"Oh, thank you, Daddy!" Kira ran to her father and jumped into his arms and kissed him lovingly. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Whoa! Slow down there, Doll!" He hugged his daughter and smiled at Aleki. "I don't care if you are seeing my daughter. Just try not to, uh..." he motioned to the coms.

"Understood," they both said in unison.

Aeryn looked at John. "I'm surprise that you felt like that about Peacekeepers, John." Crichton lowered his head. "But, I'm glad that you finally got it out." Aeryn smiled at him. "Come on, I'll give you some physical training." A sly grin spread across her face as she walked out of the room. Crichton grinned and chased after her.

Kira threw her arms around Aleki's neck and kissed him passionately. "I'm glad you didn't have to leave."

"So am I, love, so am I," he said before he returned her passionate action.

"OH, look! They're at it again!" blurted Rygel, who had surprisingly stayed quiet throughout the entire heated debate.

"Oh, shut up!" said Liana. "Be glad that they are not fighting with each other. for once!"