A/N: This one takes place after Dog With Two Bones, and is chocked full of spoilers, so if you're adverse to knowing what happened, don't read. As to the final revelation in Dog with Two Bones regarding Aeryn, I'm dealing with it and dismissing it in my own way. I have my reasons which will come through in the plot in later chapters.
I'm rating this as PG for now; it is very rare that my stories stay that way for long, but as I am not sure where this is going just yet, I figure I'll let it go for now.
They're quite obviously not mine; they belong to the Henson Production Company, Rockne O'Bannon, et. al.
Looking forward to hearing what you think, either here or by email. :)
In The Hands of Fate
Part Four
By: Danae Bowen
Email: logansfox@rogers.com
John lay back on the bed, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. They had arrived on this commerce planet nearly two full solar days before, hoping to re-fuel the prowler and module and find out if any of the local natives were aware of unusual wormhole activity in that general area of space. John hadn't lied to Aeryn when he'd told her, "anywhere in the universe, you pick the planet"; he honestly had little interest in returning to Earth anymore, not to stay anyway. That was not why they were chasing wormholes, yet again; John felt as if he had a duty to Pilot and Moya, and now he wouldn't rest until they were back.
The door opened but John didn't look away from the ceiling as it closed again. Instead he closed his eyes, sighing softly. "Hey, baby. How'd it go?"
Two full solar days and they'd not fought, not even when they'd had to make a decision about how they were going to go about finding Moya. Aeryn was quiet as she moved around the room, but even with his eyes closed he could feel the change in their relationship. The last few solar days aboard Moya had been tense when they were in the same room together. Hell, just being on the same ship together was tense. Still, whatever decision Aeryn had come to in her prowler had allowed most of that tension to ease away, now. They'd still not yet moved forward, lingering in limbo, but for the first time since Talyn and Moya had reunited, they were all right.
"Not well. There is no one on this frelling planet willing to offer us passage. I had not thought of trade when I packed my belongings and you have nothing. Short of selling one of the ships, I'm really not sure we'll be getting off this planet any time soon."
He heard her flight jacket hit the chair in the corner of the room, sighed once more, and pulled himself up. "So, we sell one of the ships. It's a plan, at least."
"Right, and I suppose I know which ship it will be."
"C'mon, Aeryn. You know Farscape One's better equipped to go through a wormhole if it comes down to it. 'Sides, who on this side of the universe would be willing to pay for it? You said it yourself, according to you people, Farscape's a pile of dren. A Peacekeeper prowler, on the other hand..."
"Yes, I know, John. I never said it was a bad plan, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"No, I guess it doesn't." He shifted over on the bed so that she could sit next to him, leaning back against the headboard. He ached to reach out and touch her, to hold her, to kiss and love her, yet still, something held him back. Two nights they'd slept in the same bed, not touching. John couldn't explain it; it was nothing Aeryn had said or done, in fact, if anything, she'd encouraged the few physical gestures between them; his mind just hadn't yet registered that she'd come back to him. Hell, his mind hadn't yet registered that if he touched her, she wouldn't kill him. "So, any clue where we start? I mean do they have a used prowler lot 'round here or something?"
"Really, John, now isn't the time for human idioms." She sighed and leaned closer to him, grateful when his arm came around her shoulder. "We'll need more supplies than just your module. Even with Scorpius gone, we cannot afford to be reckless."
"So, I'll go on a shopping spree while you offload the prowler. We'll settle up with the merchants when you've got the creds on hand." They fell silent for a while, merely enjoying the comfort of the other's company. John very softly allowed his hand to trail along her arm, his eyes glowing with wonder as he lost himself in the familiarity of her cool, soft skin. "I'm sorry," he said, suddenly, frowning and glancing away from her.
"For what?" She caught his hand before he could move away, matching his frown as her eyes registered honest confusion.
"Everything, I guess. Mainly that you've gotta sell your prowler."
She sighed and chuckled softly, shaking her head. "It's only a ship. We need the currency."
"Only because I'm going off on another one of my tangents. We could just stay here, y'know." He met her gaze, his expression dead serious as he cocked his head to the side. "We could get jobs, settle down and just kinda live. We don't have to do this."
"Right, and completely abandon Pilot and Moya after everything they've done for us both." She lowered her head to his shoulder, shifting until she was securely wrapped in his warm embrace. "It would be nice, though, wouldn't it?"
He grinned, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "Nah, you'd knock me on my ass after a weekan and you know it." He paused. "We'll get you another prowler when this is over. I don't know how yet, but we'll get it for ya."
She answered his smile with one of her own, patting his thigh quickly. "Our first priority is Moya. Until then, I suppose your pile of dren will have to suffice."
He laughed softly, his body shaking with absolute pleasure for the first time in what seemed like forever. "Bitch."
Her eyes flashed quick humor, and her hand tightened on his leg. "Human."
He gasped in mock insult. "Hey, since when did being human become an insult?"
She laughed loudly then, pulling away from his arms to crawl off the bed. "Since the day we met, Crichton, and you know it." She pulled her flight jacket back on, and turned for the door. "If you're going "shopping", then you'd best hurry. Try to stay out of trouble this time, would you?"
"Hey, it's not like I'm gonna go looking for it!" He scowled at her back good-naturedly.
"Right, and I'm not irreversibly contaminated." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder, and flashed him a final smile before disappearing into the streets of the market.
***********
John wandered the market for several arns, making arrangements with the vendors for bulk amounts of food, and several different pieces of equipment they'd need to make modifications to the Farscape's systems. Thankfully, this world seemed to understand the concept of payment on delivery, so he set the delivery date for three solar days in the future, hopefully giving Aeryn enough time to get a decent deal on the prowler.
Now, he walked along the quieting streets, keeping his eyes open for any sense of trouble, but at the same time busily taking in the wares of vendors from whom he knew he needed nothing. Knowing Aeryn, she'd be at the landing base for quite some time to come, fighting anyone interested in the prowler for the best price she could get, which left John with far too much spare time on his hands.
A small body with shocking white hair turned the corner ahead of him, and John paused. "What the hell?" He shook his head, questioning his sanity for a moment before increasing his speed. He rounded the corner a microt later, catching another glimpse of the light colored body. A genuine grin split his features as he broke into a run, chasing after the familiar form of the Nebari.
When only a block of vendors separated them, John paused, certain now, and raised his voice into a greeting yell filled with pleasure. "Yo, Pip!"
Chiana paused, half turning in the street, glancing around for the source of the familiar nickname. From the distance between them, John saw his name form on her lips as she scanned the thinning crowd. He raised his arms, drawing her attention to him, and her eyes registered pure shock at the sight of him. "Crichton? What the frell are you doing here?!" She spun towards him, jogging down the streets as she flung herself into his arms for a tight hug.
"The usual SNAFU."
"Well, at least I know it's really you." She grinned and shook her head. "What's a snaffoo?"
John chuckled, looping his arm around the young Nebari's shoulders. "SNAFU. It's an acronym; you take the first letter of a series of words, and form a new word. Basically means, situation normal, all frelled up. Like my life." He grinned widely. "But y'know what, Pip? Life's suddenly gettin' better!"
She stared at him in amused confusion for a microt, and then joined in his laughter. "So, why are you here? Re-stocking Moya?" She glanced around, suspiciously. "I haven't heard any irritating whining, so I'm guessing you came down alone?" When John's expression sobered quickly, Chiana frowned. "Okay, Crichton, what the frell's going on? 'Cause I know you and you're not telling me something."
John sighed. "C'mon, Chiana. Have dinner with me and Aeryn tonight and I'll fill you in."
"Aeryn?!" Her head spun around yet again, searching for the ex-peacekeeper. "You're kidding me right? I leave you alone for two solar days and you've gone and frelled it all up again, haven't you?"
John chuckled. "Sparky and D'Argo hanging around? I really don't want to have to keep repeating myself if you're all here."
Chiana's face darkened at the mention of D'Argo and she shook her head. "D'Argo followed us here when we left Moya, but never landed. You might find Rygel around, though; last I heard from him he was still looking for transport out of here. Check the food vendors. I only stopped to re-fuel the transport pod and, um, procure supplies for myself. I'm leaving at sunrise."
"Don't make any plans, Chi, until you hear what I gotta say. When I'm done, you might just want to stick around and help."
"I don't think so." She sighed with frustration, the thought of finding Nerri her main concern, but it didn't stop her from following John back to the hotel to hear his tale.
End Part Four.
I'm rating this as PG for now; it is very rare that my stories stay that way for long, but as I am not sure where this is going just yet, I figure I'll let it go for now.
They're quite obviously not mine; they belong to the Henson Production Company, Rockne O'Bannon, et. al.
Looking forward to hearing what you think, either here or by email. :)
In The Hands of Fate
Part Four
By: Danae Bowen
Email: logansfox@rogers.com
John lay back on the bed, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. They had arrived on this commerce planet nearly two full solar days before, hoping to re-fuel the prowler and module and find out if any of the local natives were aware of unusual wormhole activity in that general area of space. John hadn't lied to Aeryn when he'd told her, "anywhere in the universe, you pick the planet"; he honestly had little interest in returning to Earth anymore, not to stay anyway. That was not why they were chasing wormholes, yet again; John felt as if he had a duty to Pilot and Moya, and now he wouldn't rest until they were back.
The door opened but John didn't look away from the ceiling as it closed again. Instead he closed his eyes, sighing softly. "Hey, baby. How'd it go?"
Two full solar days and they'd not fought, not even when they'd had to make a decision about how they were going to go about finding Moya. Aeryn was quiet as she moved around the room, but even with his eyes closed he could feel the change in their relationship. The last few solar days aboard Moya had been tense when they were in the same room together. Hell, just being on the same ship together was tense. Still, whatever decision Aeryn had come to in her prowler had allowed most of that tension to ease away, now. They'd still not yet moved forward, lingering in limbo, but for the first time since Talyn and Moya had reunited, they were all right.
"Not well. There is no one on this frelling planet willing to offer us passage. I had not thought of trade when I packed my belongings and you have nothing. Short of selling one of the ships, I'm really not sure we'll be getting off this planet any time soon."
He heard her flight jacket hit the chair in the corner of the room, sighed once more, and pulled himself up. "So, we sell one of the ships. It's a plan, at least."
"Right, and I suppose I know which ship it will be."
"C'mon, Aeryn. You know Farscape One's better equipped to go through a wormhole if it comes down to it. 'Sides, who on this side of the universe would be willing to pay for it? You said it yourself, according to you people, Farscape's a pile of dren. A Peacekeeper prowler, on the other hand..."
"Yes, I know, John. I never said it was a bad plan, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"No, I guess it doesn't." He shifted over on the bed so that she could sit next to him, leaning back against the headboard. He ached to reach out and touch her, to hold her, to kiss and love her, yet still, something held him back. Two nights they'd slept in the same bed, not touching. John couldn't explain it; it was nothing Aeryn had said or done, in fact, if anything, she'd encouraged the few physical gestures between them; his mind just hadn't yet registered that she'd come back to him. Hell, his mind hadn't yet registered that if he touched her, she wouldn't kill him. "So, any clue where we start? I mean do they have a used prowler lot 'round here or something?"
"Really, John, now isn't the time for human idioms." She sighed and leaned closer to him, grateful when his arm came around her shoulder. "We'll need more supplies than just your module. Even with Scorpius gone, we cannot afford to be reckless."
"So, I'll go on a shopping spree while you offload the prowler. We'll settle up with the merchants when you've got the creds on hand." They fell silent for a while, merely enjoying the comfort of the other's company. John very softly allowed his hand to trail along her arm, his eyes glowing with wonder as he lost himself in the familiarity of her cool, soft skin. "I'm sorry," he said, suddenly, frowning and glancing away from her.
"For what?" She caught his hand before he could move away, matching his frown as her eyes registered honest confusion.
"Everything, I guess. Mainly that you've gotta sell your prowler."
She sighed and chuckled softly, shaking her head. "It's only a ship. We need the currency."
"Only because I'm going off on another one of my tangents. We could just stay here, y'know." He met her gaze, his expression dead serious as he cocked his head to the side. "We could get jobs, settle down and just kinda live. We don't have to do this."
"Right, and completely abandon Pilot and Moya after everything they've done for us both." She lowered her head to his shoulder, shifting until she was securely wrapped in his warm embrace. "It would be nice, though, wouldn't it?"
He grinned, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "Nah, you'd knock me on my ass after a weekan and you know it." He paused. "We'll get you another prowler when this is over. I don't know how yet, but we'll get it for ya."
She answered his smile with one of her own, patting his thigh quickly. "Our first priority is Moya. Until then, I suppose your pile of dren will have to suffice."
He laughed softly, his body shaking with absolute pleasure for the first time in what seemed like forever. "Bitch."
Her eyes flashed quick humor, and her hand tightened on his leg. "Human."
He gasped in mock insult. "Hey, since when did being human become an insult?"
She laughed loudly then, pulling away from his arms to crawl off the bed. "Since the day we met, Crichton, and you know it." She pulled her flight jacket back on, and turned for the door. "If you're going "shopping", then you'd best hurry. Try to stay out of trouble this time, would you?"
"Hey, it's not like I'm gonna go looking for it!" He scowled at her back good-naturedly.
"Right, and I'm not irreversibly contaminated." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder, and flashed him a final smile before disappearing into the streets of the market.
***********
John wandered the market for several arns, making arrangements with the vendors for bulk amounts of food, and several different pieces of equipment they'd need to make modifications to the Farscape's systems. Thankfully, this world seemed to understand the concept of payment on delivery, so he set the delivery date for three solar days in the future, hopefully giving Aeryn enough time to get a decent deal on the prowler.
Now, he walked along the quieting streets, keeping his eyes open for any sense of trouble, but at the same time busily taking in the wares of vendors from whom he knew he needed nothing. Knowing Aeryn, she'd be at the landing base for quite some time to come, fighting anyone interested in the prowler for the best price she could get, which left John with far too much spare time on his hands.
A small body with shocking white hair turned the corner ahead of him, and John paused. "What the hell?" He shook his head, questioning his sanity for a moment before increasing his speed. He rounded the corner a microt later, catching another glimpse of the light colored body. A genuine grin split his features as he broke into a run, chasing after the familiar form of the Nebari.
When only a block of vendors separated them, John paused, certain now, and raised his voice into a greeting yell filled with pleasure. "Yo, Pip!"
Chiana paused, half turning in the street, glancing around for the source of the familiar nickname. From the distance between them, John saw his name form on her lips as she scanned the thinning crowd. He raised his arms, drawing her attention to him, and her eyes registered pure shock at the sight of him. "Crichton? What the frell are you doing here?!" She spun towards him, jogging down the streets as she flung herself into his arms for a tight hug.
"The usual SNAFU."
"Well, at least I know it's really you." She grinned and shook her head. "What's a snaffoo?"
John chuckled, looping his arm around the young Nebari's shoulders. "SNAFU. It's an acronym; you take the first letter of a series of words, and form a new word. Basically means, situation normal, all frelled up. Like my life." He grinned widely. "But y'know what, Pip? Life's suddenly gettin' better!"
She stared at him in amused confusion for a microt, and then joined in his laughter. "So, why are you here? Re-stocking Moya?" She glanced around, suspiciously. "I haven't heard any irritating whining, so I'm guessing you came down alone?" When John's expression sobered quickly, Chiana frowned. "Okay, Crichton, what the frell's going on? 'Cause I know you and you're not telling me something."
John sighed. "C'mon, Chiana. Have dinner with me and Aeryn tonight and I'll fill you in."
"Aeryn?!" Her head spun around yet again, searching for the ex-peacekeeper. "You're kidding me right? I leave you alone for two solar days and you've gone and frelled it all up again, haven't you?"
John chuckled. "Sparky and D'Argo hanging around? I really don't want to have to keep repeating myself if you're all here."
Chiana's face darkened at the mention of D'Argo and she shook her head. "D'Argo followed us here when we left Moya, but never landed. You might find Rygel around, though; last I heard from him he was still looking for transport out of here. Check the food vendors. I only stopped to re-fuel the transport pod and, um, procure supplies for myself. I'm leaving at sunrise."
"Don't make any plans, Chi, until you hear what I gotta say. When I'm done, you might just want to stick around and help."
"I don't think so." She sighed with frustration, the thought of finding Nerri her main concern, but it didn't stop her from following John back to the hotel to hear his tale.
End Part Four.