Jack and Riddick were still in bed when the sun went down and all was dark, lying in each other's arms.  They dozed for a while but Riddick woke when Jack stirred.  She said something; too quiet for Riddick to understand then resumed her normal breathing, still asleep.  Riddick rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.  So much has happened since he got back that his mind was constantly buzzing.  Jack had done so much for him, never gave up on him, always trusted him and with a new thought popping in his head, he was about to test her once again.

He rolled back to his side and propped up on his elbow.  With strong fingers, he traced lazy shapes over her bare stomach, lightly tickling her awake.  Jack moaned and moved a little as the sensations broke through the fog of sleep.  His touch, at first, was non-existent to her but as her brain made the connection that her skin was being disturbed, she woke.

Riddick could feel a change in the air around him as Jack's heart rate and body heat increased with the normal process of waking up.  She moaned again and rolled to her side cuddling into him.  Riddick draped an arm over her, kissing the top of her head.  He felt her lips on his chest, half kissing half dragging them up to his neck.

"Hi," she whispered as she reached his jaw.  Riddick tightened his arm around her.

"Hi," he replied.  His voice sounded rough, cutting through the blackness of the room.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked, tracing his lips with the tip of her finger.

"I don't know…a while," he said, kissing her finger as it passed.  Jack pulled herself up the bed so she was at his eye level even though she couldn't see him. 

"Are you okay?" she asked.  Riddick brought his hand up and put his finger on her lips, dragging it across the soft flesh.  He couldn't stop the feeling that traveled down his arm, taking over his body and pushing him closer to her.  Kissing her warm lips through his finger caused Jack to melt against him.  She took his finger into her mouth and rolled her tongue over it as he continued to kiss her lips.

Riddick pulled away from her and watched as she sucked on his finger.  He shifted uncomfortably as other parts of his body stirred with jealousy. He tried to remain focused on his new plan but the attention she was giving his finger was driving him mad.

Jack felt him moving and stopped sucking, sliding his finger out of her mouth.

"Something's on your mind," she said matter-of-factly, kissing the tip of his finger before letting go.

"Yea," he said dropping his hand to the bed.

"Talk," she said.  Riddick took a deep breath.  This shouldn't be this hard.

"I've been thinking about what to do with the money you gave me…" Jack ran her hand over his stomach inching her way down, making him lose his train of thought.  He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers.  He wouldn't be able to get through this if she kept touching him like that.  "When I was gone with Trey, he showed me the ropes of his transportation business.  And I've decided I want to start up one of my own."

"Riddick, that's great!" Jack exclaimed as she sat up.  The moon had come up, bathing them in a soft blue glow.  The sheet slipped off and Riddick took a moment to admire the curves of her body as her skin glowed in the natural light.  He shook his head to get back on track and sat up.

"It's gonna take a lot of work to get this going.  I'll have to by a ship, find a suitable crew…" Jack cut him off.

"I thought you didn't trust anyone.  How are you going to find a suitable crew?"  Riddick smiled.

"Trey has connections plus I know a few people."  His smile faded with the next part.  "I'm gonna have to go away for awhile to get this all sorted out.  It's best if I leave tomorrow."  Jack snapped her head around.

"What?" she asked in a whisper.

"I won't be gone as long as before.  Only a few weeks."  Jack searched his face in a desperate attempt to find that he was kidding.  But he wasn't.

"Can I come with you?"  Jack winced as her words came out childish.  She knew the answer as soon as Riddick looked away.

"You need to stay her and get certified."  Jack turned away from him and pulled the sheet up to her chin and closed her eyes.  She finally got to be with him and now he was leaving…again. 

Riddick reached out and stroked a hand over her shoulder and down her back, feeling her flinch a little.  He expected that. 

"Look, Jack.  I want you to be head of medical on our ship and that means you need to be certified."  Jack felt her heart melt at the sound of 'our' ship.  She turned back to face him and even managed a smile.

"What kind of transport ship is this going to be?" she asked.  Riddick felt relief wash over him as she warmed to the idea.

"It's going to be a low-profile, high-class armored transport."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, those high-class people, you know, the ones with money and a lot of political power or some shit like that, want to travel without it being known, best way to go would be on a low profile ship with a crew trained to protect.  I'm talkin' low profile.  Everything about our business will be handled with extreme discretion."  Jack's smile became real as she watched Riddick's eyes light up as he talked.  This would be something he would be good at and she knew he would succeed.

"Okay.  I'm all for it but…" Jack trailed off as she moved in closer to him.  "Do you have to leave so soon?"  Riddick touched her cheek with his fingers and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"The sooner I leave the sooner I can come back to you."  Jack placed the palm of her hand on his chest and let it slip down to his stomach, watching the movement with her eyes.  She moved it even lower, dipping under the sheet that barely covered him. 

Riddick looked down at her hand as she began stroking him and growled out his approval at the sight of her touching him.

"But we just got started," she whispered, her voice husky.

"Baby, we have all night," Riddick purred.  He pulled Jack to him and laid them both down.

Riddick made love to her until the pre-dawn breeze blew in through the window; never tiring of listening to her call out his name, how her soft body felt against his, how she moved with him to an unheard rhythm.  He was gentle with her unless she asked for more, kissing her with a deeper passion than he's ever known with anyone else.  For the first time in his life, he felt in his element with her, like he's always belonged here.

******************************************************************************

The sky outside lightened to a dark shade of blue, a sign of the impending dawn and Riddick's departure.  Riddick pulled himself out of bed and away from the warmth that Jack had given to him. 

He looked at her lying in the darkness, his contacts not constricting his night vision.  She was right when she told him he would still be able to see in the dark while wearing them.  Instead of the usual alternating shades of pink, purple, and black he was accustomed to, the colors now appeared to be just a deeper shade of the original.

Riddick tore his gaze away from Jack and quietly slipped out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom for a shower.  He'd wake her when he was done but right now, she needed her sleep.

Jack woke to the feeling of a feather light touch trailing over her cheek.  She didn't feel Riddick get out of bed but when he touched her, it brought her senses to life.  Her nerve endings tingled as her sense of touch and smell worked overtime to process who was touching her.  She knew, even before she was fully awake that it was Riddick.  There was something electric in his touch that her body stored away in her memory.  She would always know

She smiled and slowly opened her eyes.  It was still dark in the room but this time there was no silver glow penetrating the darkness.  That came as a shock to her; to discover just how comfortable she had become with his shined eyes.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hi," she replied reaching out into the blackness to find him.  Her hand brushed against his shoulder and she used it to pull herself up and into his arms.  He held her warm body against his and stroked her back while she cuddled into his neck.  They were quiet then, just enjoying the feel of each other.

Riddick knew that this time would be harder to leave.  They were closer than ever and although he didn't quite understand these new feelings, he did know that he didn't want to be away from her.  Jack was feeling the same way.  It was obvious how she was clinging to him; her desperate attempt to hold back the inevitable.  This was the best thing to do and they both knew it.

Surprisingly, Jack pulled away first.  The room was lighter than before so now she could barely make out his features.

"Almost time, huh?" she asked, sadly.  He nodded.  "I just wish that in the process of bettering our lives, we could at some point stay together."  Riddick rested his forehead against hers.

"Still worried I might not come back?" he asked.

"No," she said shaking her head.  "I'm worried you won't be able to come back."  Riddick sighed and pulled back.

"Jack, there's a reason we made it off that planet and a reason I was able to clear my name and make it back to you the first time."  Jack watched him intently as he spoke, at the way the increasing light brought his face into focus.  "There's a reason why I was bit and poisoned and a reason why you pushed so hard to save me."  His voice took on an eerie quality, making Jack shiver.  "I don't know why, but I do know that we can't change our fate and we can't stop it either."  Jack looked away as she thought about what he had said.  Fate hasn't been too kind to her in the past but maybe she was looking at it wrong.  "We can't stop living because we're afraid of what might happen."

"Since when did you discover a deeper meaning for life?"  Jack asked, meeting his gaze once more.  Riddick looked at her in silence, as if contemplating his answer.  He already knew what his answer would be, it's just that the words sounded so foreign to him, but he answered her anyway.

"Since I met you."  He took her face in his hands and pulled her to his lips, kissing her deeply before she had time to respond.  But she did respond, by kissing him back.  By exploring his lips and mouth with her tongue, drinking up every parts of him in desperation.

She placed her hands on his and moved them away from her face.  Riddick felt himself resist but she wasn't pushing him away, she held tightly onto his hands as she guided them around to her back.  Riddick caught on and pulled her tight against him just as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Jack stopped kissing him and rested her cheek against his.  An onrushing torrent of emotions flooded through her, leaving an odd ache fluttering in her chest.  Every time it fluttered it pushed the tears closer to the surface.  She held on to Riddick, clutching his back with her small hands, forcing herself to focus on the fact that he was here with her now, not that he was about to leave.

Riddick had just shaved, leaving his face and head smooth and it struck Jack as funny that a man like him, so rough and intimidating, could be so soft.  Not just in the way his skin felt but by how gentle he was when he touched her, as if he might break her.  She wouldn't break.  Jack was a lot stronger than she realized.

Jack moved her hand from Riddick's back, placing it on his neck as she slowly rubbed her cheek against his soft warm skin.  Her hand drifted down, dragging her fingers over the smoothness of his neck and pressed her hand to his chest.  They sat there motionless for awhile but Riddick reluctantly pulled away…it was time to go.  Jack didn't question him when he moved her off his lap.  She remained on the bed and watched as he slipped a white v-neck shirt over his head and slid the material down over his sculpted muscles.

Riddick grabbed his boots and sat down next to Jack on the bed to put them on.  She moved closer to him rested her head on his shoulder.  He paused briefly when he felt the contact, her heat burning through his shirt but he continued on.  When he was through, he stood up and went for his bag, grabbed it and tossed it on the bed.  He looked around the room his hands on his hips, thinking of something then left the room.

Jack pulled his bag over to her and looked inside.  She found another one of his shirts and pulled it out and brought it to her nose.  Inhaling deeply she found it was completely covered in his scent.  She quickly put it on nearly drowning in it and moved the bag back to its original place.

Riddick walked back in with a small case in his hand and stopped when he saw Jack wearing his shirt.  She looked up at him and smiled.

"You don't mind if I keep this one, do you?" she asked sweetly.  Riddick shook his head.

"No, I don't mind," he said.  Jack stood and closed the short distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist.  His strong arms wrapped around her and held her close.  He brought his lips close to her ear and lightly brushed against them.  Jack let out a soft moan and then her body shivered as his rough voice tickled her ear.

"I have to go," he started and felt Jack's arms tightened around him.  "I'll keep in touch."  Jack looked up at him, resting her chin on his, tears glistening on her cheeks.

"Okay," she said sadly.

"Try not to worry about me."

"Okay."  The tears were flowing freely but she smiled through them.  "Hurry back."  Riddick nodded and wiped the tears away, kissing her on the lips.  She returned the kiss, keeping it simple.  His lips were hot against hers and she closed her eyes hoping she wouldn't forget what it felt like.

Riddick kept his arm around her as he broke the kiss, took a few steps to the bed, threw the case he was holding in his hand into it and grabbed the straps.  Hefting the heavy bag onto his shoulder with his arm still around Jack, he led them from the room and to the front door.  Their steps didn't falter as they walked but they were both tense.

Riddick had to remove his arm from Jack to open the door.  Cool air breezed through the door caressing Jack's bare legs but she didn't notice.  Her attention was on the man she loved, on his dark animal beauty, his intelligence and strength, and the safety he provided. Riddick moved in for another kiss, one that was much shorter than the last one but Jack welcomed any kind of contact.

He was now having to force his body to walk out the door and Riddick wasn't used to not having control over his body.  He gave her one last look and left.  Jack shut the door quickly and ran for the window to watch him leave.

The sun was up but people weren't out yet and Riddick was the only soul on the street.  Jack's eyes were on him and she observed how he looked cautiously in every direction except back at her but she didn't take it personally.  She knew, as well as he, that if he looked back he wouldn't be able to leave.

Jack felt an emptiness creep into her heart as Riddick disappeared around a corner knowing it would be weeks before she would be able to feel him next to her, the tingle of her skin as he touched her, the shiver she'd feel down her spine as he whispered to her.  Her nights were going to be long and lonely.

With a heavy heart and a deep reluctance, Jack turned away from the window and once again immersed herself in her work; more determined now to finish her certification before Riddick got back.

Studying and working took up all of Jack's time and she was exhausted.  She worked out but it was with less enthusiasm than before.  Her body just couldn't get into it and she felt like she was dragging all the time.

Imam had come home but it was only long enough to tell her that he was leading a religious group and that he would not be coming back.  He only came by to make sure she was okay and to inquire if Riddick had returned.  Jack told him what was going on between them excluding the details and he wished them well.  Happy that Riddick was turning into the man Imam had hoped.

Jack was sad to see him go; her heart felt heavy with the pain of being away from the only two people in this Universe that she felt deeply for.

Riddick contacted her when her could but sometimes he would go three or four days in between calls.  The next time she talked to him she told him about Imam.  He listened intently but half way through Jack finally noticed how tired he looked.

"I shouldn't keep you," she told him.  "You need to get some sleep." 

"I'm okay," he replied.  "Just busy but I wouldn't miss seeing you for anything."  His voice came out deep and scratchy.  Jack wondered how long he'd been awake as she placed her fingers on the vid-screen.  Riddick did the same.  He looked happy, smiling warmly at her and even though they were separated by thousands of miles, he still made her insides melt.