Chapter 6

As the fire died, Crichton lifted Aeryn from the floor and pulled her close to his chest. Her hair fell over his arm and she lay her head on his shoulder while she continued to kiss him lightly on the neck. He set her down as they approached the door of Kate's old room.
Here's where I say goodnight. I hope you sleep well.
She pressed her mouth to his again, pulling him down to her. He pushed her against the door and deepened their kiss, then he broke away from her and whispered in her ear.
He pulled her arms down from his and took a step back.
She kissed his cheeks and his mouth, pulling at his shoulders to bring him in closer.
I just can't. I can't take advantage of you, you've had a lot to drink, and I wouldn't feel good about it. He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips, kissing each finger gently. You rest. If you need anything, I'll be right here across the hall. He watched her retreat and hoped that she didn't think he was rejecting her because she was not human.

Crichton stepped into his room and turned on the bedside lamp. The room was as he left it four years ago when he decided to return to the world that had shattered after the launch of the Farscape 5 module. He unbuttoned his shirt and let it fall to the ground, talking to himself in the vanity mirror. Crichton, you are a dumb ass, he thought. He unsnapped his pants, stepped out of them and hung them over the back of a chair. After turning the light off, Crichton slid into the bed between cool cotton sheets and decided to ease his physical tension manually. He lay there in the darkness, wondering what it would feel like to be with her, to have her responding to his kisses, to watch her as he brought her to the edge of madness. He imagined that he could see her in the room across the hall; her black leather half shirt unzipped and tossed aside casually. Her leather pants crumpled in a heap as she slid into the bed, perhaps in a t-shirt that she came across, or in nothing at all. Crichton moaned remembering how she felt beneath him, her mouth parting slightly to let him in as he became insistent that she kiss him. He was startled when the door opened quietly and Aeryn appeared, naked in the doorway.
Uh, Yeah, Aeryn? What's wrong? He found himself staring as she came towards him. He leaned over and switched on the lamp, careful not to let her catch him taking her in from head to toe. As she sat down beside him, he could see that her cheeks were wet with tears. Oh Aeryn.
She sobbed in her hands and he put his arms around her. He heard her struggling to come up with the English words to explain why she was crying, and he felt ashamed for thinking of her the way that he had.
Crichton, I-I ache.
Fearing that the unfamiliar food that he had prepared had made her sick, he tilted her face up to his.
Where does it hurt? He hoped he had Pepto-Bismol, but then again, would it work on someone so different?
She pointed to her heart, and then lowered her head again, letting her hair spill around her so that he couldn't see her face. I'm loscht.
Finally realizing that she was heart-sick, he kissed the top of her head and she looked up at him, her eyes pleading.
Please need me. She climbed onto his lap and straddled him, pulling his mouth toward hers.
I do need you Aeryn, I do, he moaned as she parted his lips gently with her tongue. His arms came up behind her to crush her slight frame against his chest. She cried out as he wrapped his fist in her hair and kissed her more passionately. She grabbed the top of the headboard as he fell against it gasping, her tears running down his cheeks.

Crichton lifted her off his lap and pulled the sheets back, sliding down into the bed to lie flat on his back. Aeryn climbed on top of him and growled as she gently bit his neck. He rolled her over and slowly entered her. She arched her back, then wrapped her legs around him. He stared down at her as she engulfed him, and felt his own tears streaming down his cheeks. He cried out as they entwined, biting and kissing; their need for each other growing. He pressed his mouth to hers as they shared a final kiss before crying out into the darkness, and giving in to the desperation that had claimed them both.


Crichton lay with Aeryn curled beside him. He watched the sun rise for the last time in his life, and drifted to a dreamless sleep.





When Crichton awoke, Aeryn was nowhere to be found. He climbed out of the bed and parted the curtains, the clock on the desk read 1: 30. He slipped into his clothes and headed down the stairs. He found Aeryn carrying the last box through the living room.
Hey, let me get that. He recognized the book on top as one of Stephen Hawking's. He stepped out into the warm afternoon sunshine, and had a pang of guilt that he and Kate would be leaving his father without any explanation. He decided that when the time came to leave this world, this galaxy, he would leave his father a letter explaining his decision.
Aeryn led the way to her Prowler, holding the branches back for him this time. She was radiant, as she climbed the stairs to her ship, placing the last box in the back. He helped her down and she motioned for him to get in.
What? Now? Is that it? We just go?
She nodded, and he stood still for a moment, hardly believing that this was it.
Just give me a minute, there's something I need to do. Crichton raced back to his mother's cabin and took a quick look around. There were so many things that he wanted to take, photos of his mother, of Kate as a baby, of Jack, but he knew there wasn't time. He settled on the blanket from the bed that he and Aeryn had shared. As he folded the blanket into a manageable rectangle, he searched the room for paper and pen. By the phone in the kitchen, Crichton scribbled a hasty note to his father, wishing that he could say more.
the note read, I fell in love with a girl. Grabbing the bag of oranges and saying a quick prayer, he tore into the woods to find Aeryn Sun strapped into the forward seat of her Prowler. He waved the blanket at her and she smiled, recalling where she'd seen it before. Crichton crisscrossed the harness over his shoulders as Aeryn had, and signaled to her that he was ready.
He felt his heart pounding as hydraulic machines whirred, and the canopy settled down over the top of the ship. There was a loud whine, as a blast of flame shot from the rear of the craft. Crichton held on to the sides of the seat and recited The Lord's Prayer.
As the ship began to lift, Crichton looked out over the trees and watched them bend and sway under the force of the propulsion system. The ship rose higher and higher, and Crichton looked down at his Mother's land once more. He closed his eyes and was thrust back into his seat. When he opened his eyes again, the sky was becoming a deep navy and he estimated that they were on the edge of space. Within moments, Aeryn and John had broken through Earth's atmosphere and he was able to see the world as he had only seen in pictures.
It's so beautiful from here. He waved to the shrinking planet beneath them, as the Prowler picked up speed. Thank you, Kate, thank you.




The final two chapters to come, I promise.