Shadowed Paths

Part 10

Over the Rainbow

Kyizi

Disclaimer: Okay, so Crais got away, but I still got John…Mwahahahaha! ;)

Email: kyizi@hotmail.com

Notes: So…this is it, the final part…*sob* my baby's all grown up! This was the third fic I ever wrote…or was it the second…hmm…not sure now. I have written over 28 fics (not all on the net yet…or finished…but be patient! ;) ) and I've been slowly working my way through this one as I went, and now I'm finally finishing it. Ah, the end of an era ;) Hope you all enjoyed the ride.

Laura, this one's for you. You've waited ages to finally get the end and you still can't read some of my other fics because of spoilers, so hopefully this'll be compensation! ;)

~x~x~x~x~x~

Aeryn cried out in pain as she landed awkwardly on her bandaged ankle. The increasing drop was, not only pissing her off, but was beginning to worry her as well. If she had to travel through many more of these worlds, she'd end up outside the ship. Shuddering at the thought and groaning, she pushed herself up and hopped for a moment to gain some balance.

She began limping cautiously toward the door, her eyes scanning the room, but always sure to keep the door in her view and her concealed weapon at easy reach. She'd almost forgot that she had it, but it was there, comforting her. Suddenly, a DRD rolled into her path and beeped. Hearing a noise behind her, she dropped to the ground and slipped behind a nearby crate.

"Someone there?"

Aeryn's heart flipped in her chest as she heard his voice. John. What would he be like in this world? What would she be like? Was she even here? There were so many questions, too many answers. But the thought that tugged at her heart the most was, simple. Was this her universe? She was almost afraid to find out.

"Hello?"

Slowly, she stood up and walked into his view. She closed her eyes, fighting back tears. This wasn't her universe.

"God, Aeryn, you scared the begeesus outta me." Shaking his head, he laughed a little and reached his hand to pull her into a hug.

"I'm from an alternate universe," she stepped back, cursing instantly as she put weight onto her sore ankle.

"Aeryn, what the frell are you talking about?" John frowned. He took another step towards her, but she stepped away. They both turned as the door opened, and John's eyes widened as Aeryn entered clutching a small child in her arms.

"Woah." He said softly, looking between the two. "Aeryn, no!" He stepped in front of her, shielding her from the other Aeryn's gun. How she had managed to pull out the weapon, hide the child and aim in such a short time, Aeryn didn't know, but it was nice to know that, even caring for a child, she was still an efficient soldier.

"What the frell is going on?" the other Aeryn asked, slowly walking towards them, her gun still raised.

"I'm not exactly sure yet," John answered, holding up the stub of his right arm, "but I'm sure we'll find out if you lower your weapon."

"This has to be some kind of trick."

"I swear to you it is not." Aeryn said, hobbling out from behind John. "I know what you're thinking…"

"How can you possibly know?" the other Aeryn spat.

"Because I am you! Because I've already been to more alternate universes than I ever wanted to know about!" She ignored the tears on her cheeks, finally letting go of the anger that had been bubbling up inside of her for a while now. She stared at them wordlessly for a few moments, her breathing erratic. Taking a few deep, calming breaths, she closed her eyes before looking back at them.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Come on, lets go get something to drink and you can tell us what's going on." Aeryn groaned at the thought of having to explain everything again, but allowed him to lead her from the room. She noticed that Aeryn had magically retrieved the little girl she had been carrying upon entering the room, she was snuggling into Aeryn as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

The girl looked up as John and Aeryn approached, and began to wriggle in the other Aeryn's grasp when she noticed there were two of them. Squealing to get free, she reached out her arms to John, and casting a fearful glance at both Aeryn's she hid her face in John's top.

Aeryn sighed, That's what I needed, she thought, casting a glance at the other Aeryn. She was staring at the little girl with hurt in her eyes, and then she looked furiously in Aeryn's direction.

Things just keep getting better and better.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Having explained her story more times than she cared to think about, Aeryn wandered aimlessly through the ship, taking note of all the small changes. They toys hidden in various nooks and crannies, the unmistakable ticking of the DRD's that, for some reason, just didn't sound right. These were things she had only vaguely noticed since being thrown into different worlds. The little things that just weren't right.

I mean, there were the obvious things, like her being dead, or an admiral, or dead, or having a child, or dead, or with John…she shook herself, but there were other things as well. Having taken a small amount of time to think about it, she realised that there were things that shouldn't be different, but were.

She smiled. D'Argo had believed her this time. The first time since the first world, but the most important. This world was the most like her own, the only different being the year old girl that seemed to have the intelligence of a five-year-old. Shaking her head, she wondered where it could have come from.

"Mummy!"

Turning sharply, she spotted the small curly haired girl running towards her, shrieking. She panicked. What in Hezmanna was she supposed to do with it? Reaching down, almost automatically, she picked the child up, and held it at arms length. She wasn't sure why this one scared her more than her other child had, perhaps it was the knowledge that this child was hers and John's. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the small hair clasp that Tey'Lin had given her and rubbed it between her fingers, before placing it back in her pocket. Perhaps, some day…

"Mummy, why you cry?" Startled, Aeryn watched as the girl removed a tear from her cheek. She hadn't even noticed it had fallen down her cheeks.

"Little one, do you remember what your mummy and daddy told you in Pilot's chamber?"

"That you weren't my real mummy. You were another one."

Shocked, Aeryn realised that the little girl knew that she wasn't her mother, but the alternate one. Just as Tey'Lin had. Children were, indeed, more insightful than she would have ever given them credit for. She smiled and wandered towards the Terrace, as her mind wandered to what Lucy and DK had told her in one of the other dimensions.

"I mean, that if someone chose for her to go through this then perhaps there's a reason. Maybe she's supposed to learn from it,"

"You think that someone decided she should see how different her life could have been if she'd chosen differently."

How her life could have been. She could have a little girl…she could be an admiral…she could be with John. The girl in her arms struggled to get free and she placed her on the ground, realising that she still didn't know her name.

"What's your name, little one?"

"Li'Anna."

Aeryn smiled, "That's a lovely name, Li'Anna."

The girl giggled, "I know," touching Aeryn's nose, Li'Anna frowned and leaned forward, gently kissing the tip of her nose and then smiled, scrunching her face up. "You're like my mummy. In here." She placed a hand over Aeryn's heart and gave her a cuddle before skipping down the corridor, singing something about being over the rainbow.

Slowly, Aeryn stood and walked the final corridor to the Terrace, sitting down and curling her knees under her chin, wrapping her arms around herself. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting on the terrace, staring at the stars before she heard a noise behind her. She groaned and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure who she wanted to see less. John, because he, for obvious reasons, reminded her of her John, or Aeryn, who was ready to kill her. She had known from the moment she saw Li'Anna that the child was, indeed, this John and Aeryn's. Not that she could have believed anything else. The child had Aeryn's unruly hair and stubborn jaw, but no one could mistake those eyes, that were undoubtedly John.

"Hey," he said, sitting next to her.

"Hey," She continued to stare at the stars, wanting to ask but unsure whether or not she had the right.

"It was Crais."

"What?" She turned to him and he held up his arm, indicating the stub where his right hand had once been. "Oh."

He smiled at her, "Knew you were wondering, thought I'd save you the torture of deciding whether or not to ask." She smiled as he stared at the stars and continued, "Sounds like you've had one hell of a ride."

"You could say that." She almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it. Yes, it had been one hell of a ride.

"You learn anything?"

She frowned, "I've been asked that before, you know."

"And?" he continued, staring at the stars.

"And I'm wondering who you are."

John smiled and shook his head at the ground before turning to look at the stars again. "You are very perceptive, indeed, Miss Sun."

"Well?" she questioned, "Who are you? And why have you put me through this?"

"It was nothing that you, yourself, did not ask for. All we did was show you the possibilities, the decision is yours alone to make."

"Decision?" She turned to look at him, unnerved that he still looked like John. "What decision?"

He sighed and turned to face her, "The hardest thing in life, Miss Sun, is the ability to accept that which we have chosen for ourselves. You have seen only a handful of the decisions that could have changed your life, some were yours to make, and others were not. What you have to decide is, whether or not you wish to go back to what you had, or whether you wish one of the lives you have seen."

"Who are you?" she asked again.

"My race are what you may call Dreamers. We live in a realm filled with hopes and dreams, nightmares and despair. When we are called, whether knowingly or not, we seek out that pain which called us, and hope to turn it to love and happiness. Sounds cheesy as your Crichton may say." At her look, he smiled, "Yes, Miss Sun, he is your Crichton. Whether you chose to accept that or not, is up to you. I may only guide you."

"What…what called you to me?" Aeryn asked, unsure as to whether or not she actually wanted to know the answer.

With a wave of his hand an image appeared before her, something she instantly remembered.

"John…I don't know what life would be like for me if I had chosen not to stand up for you…we make so many choices in life and we never know how it will turn out…I can't tell you whether or not I'm happier now, because that is something that I will never know…I can tell you this much…I do not regret it."

"No," she whispered to herself, "I do not regret it."

Smiling, he helped her to her feet, waving his hand again, she felt the pain in her ankle subside. Frowning she turned to him, "Why the drop? Why did I have to fall through the energy?"

He smiled, "It made things more realistic. Besides, your reaction was rather amusing." Before she could react, the world before her disappeared.

She was in a corridor of sorts, light bouncing from the non-existent walls, piercing her eyes. There were portholes of energy along each side, one for each decision, one for each world. As she looked upon it, she saw them multiply, an infinite number becoming larger, more to chose from than she could ever hope to look through. They were there, waiting for her to step through, frozen in time for her to decide to join them.

The worlds around her she recognised. To her left, she saw a small cheeky face, and she longed to reach out, to hold Li'Anna in her arms as if she belonged to her…she could. She walked yet further, Admiral Sun. She could take her place, could make things easier for that John…could make things better. And then there was her own world. Standing alone in the center of the corridor, following her through the decision. Time unfroze and she watched as John searched for her, frantic, calling her name…calling to her.

She stepped towards it, reaching out to him, her hand mere inches from the energy that could take her home. But was it the right choice? A voice rang out through the place that didn't exist, through the corridors of choice, and she made her decision. Smiling, she took one last look at all her choices, and, confident that she had made the right one, she went home, the voice ringing out behind her.

"In our lives there are many shadowed paths, Miss Sun, many choices. But which will you choose? Will you follow the course that life and your own choices have laid out for you? Or will you drift through the corridors of choice, praying for what could have been?"

~x~x~x~x~x~

Epilogue

~x~x~x~x~x~

Aeryn groaned, the ringing in her ears making way for a frantic noise. Scrunching up her face a little, she gently opened her eyes making way for a little light, too much light as far as her head was concerned.

"Easy, Aeryn, easy."

Her eyes snapped open. She looked up at him, waiting for him to completely come into focus. This was her John, she knew it, she just knew it. Tears prickled her eyes and she sat up, pulling him into an embrace, clutching at him as if he were her lifeline.

"I'll, eh, I'll just head down to Pilot's den. See if he knows what the frell that was." She felt John nod his head as D'Argo cleared his throat. Listening to his footsteps down the hallway, she sighed and let go.

"Aeryn, are you all right? You…you touched that energy and fell to the ground…We…I…I couldn't wake you."

"I've been here all the time?" she asked frowning.

"Of course. Where else would you be?"

Aeryn smiled as a voice rang through her head, "We live in a realm filled with hopes and dreams, nightmares and despair." "Nowhere." She said, noting the confusion on John's face.

"I-I thought I would loose you."

Looking up at him, she reached a hand out to his cheek, startling him slightly. "You'll never loose me, John. Never." After a moment, he smiled and placed a hand over hers.

"That's good to know."

"John, Aeryn, there is nothing on the sensor's. It's almost as if the energy was never there."

"It's okay, D'Argo." Aeryn said, through the comm, "It did no harm, it may have even helped."

"How could it have helped?"

She let out a small laugh, causing John to smile in confusion, "Never mind." Cutting off the connection, she smiled up at John and prepared to stand, allowing him to help her to her feet.

"There's something you're not telling us, isn't there?" he asked, guiding her down the hallway.

"Yes," she said softly, "there is. Maybe you'll find out. One day." She smiled as her fingers reached into her trouser pocket and, fingering the small clasp, she whispered, "Maybe you'll see for yourself."

~x~x~x~x~x~

THE END

Well, that's it. My baby's all grown up. Shadowed Paths is now finished…Ah! What will I do now? LoL!

I hope you've all enjoyed the ride. I know that some parts were better than others, but I hope the ending wasn't a complete let down. Laura, you know this was for you, and I hope it met your high expectations J

Feedback is a wonderful thing to share with a writer, please let me know what you thought.

This is Ky, over and out!