****Sorry this took so long to get out. I've been working a lot and I've had no time let alone motivation or inspiration. So any thoughts you want to send my way are very welcome.
Jack leaned casually against the side of the ship, waiting patiently for the others to return from their first pick-up. Her expression was that of boredom but it was for the benefit of those that passed by on their way to or from one of the other docking bays. She scanned the crowd with ever-watchful eyes, trying to remember everything Riddick had taught her about what suspicious activities to look for. So far she had seen nothing.
The pick up spot was predetermined and Tarak, the expert in surveillance, was sent ahead the day before to stakeout the area. He made Jack very nervous in the way that you never hear him coming. Jack never heard Riddick either but when he was around she could feel him. Her skin would warm up and start to tingle if he got close enough. Tarak could walk into a room and step up right behind you and you would never know it until you turned around and ran right into him She could see why Riddick chose him.
After what seemed like forever the transport arrived. Jack finally released a deep sigh of relief as she watched Riddick step into view but she didn't let her guard down. She wanted to rush into his arms and hold him, putting everyone at risk at the same time and that wasn't going to happen.
Riddick made eye contact with her for a split second before turning his attention to the Senator and his wife, keeping them close as they walked to the ship. Yet it didn't look like Riddick was trying to protect them, just a casual walk to the docking ramp. Nobody had dressed extravagantly so no unwanted attention was drawn to them.
Daven had their bags and was pulling up the rear with Taylor, both of them glancing nonchalantly in either direction. Tarak would be the last to arrive. He was watching for a tail and would do so until he got back. The last two of the security team, Nick and Adrian were running scans on any tracking device that someone might be using…they were in the green.
The others on their crew took over and escorted the Senator and his wife to their room and would get them settled. Riddick came back down the ramp and stood next to Jack to wait for Tarak.
"How ya doin'?" he asked. Jack glanced over at him.
"Better now that you're back," she said, a little more emotionally than she intended. Riddick kept his eyes on their surroundings but he reached down and took Jack's hand.
"I'm here, Jack," he said. "I always will be."
********************
A week had gone by and they were at the end of their first run and so far everything had gone well. Jack became very comfortable with the staff and especially with Ellie. She was ten years older than Jack but it didn't matter, now she had someone she could relate to and it didn't take long for them to develop the beginnings of a friendship that would last the rest of their lives. Jack trusted Ellie and that's why she buzzed her this morning.
Jack was pacing the living room of her cabin after Riddick had left, trying to push back the panic that was slowly rising in her. She figured if she kept moving she could stay ahead of it but it was still there, nipping at her heels.
When the buzzer on the door sounded Jack nearly jumped out of her skin. 'That was fast' she thought as she hurried to the door to open it, meeting the worried expression Ellie had on her face.
"I hurried as fast as I could," she said, sounding a little winded. Jack moved back from the doorway so Ellie could come in. "You sounded freaked…what's wrong?" The door slid shut behind Jack and she moved back into the living room and began pacing again. Ellie took a seat and watched her. She had her hands covering her eyes and when she ran them through her hair, Ellie saw the tears she was holding back but she waited patiently while Jack found her voice.
"I'm pregnant," she said. Two words said deep and sad but with so much behind it.
"Does Riddick know?" Ellie asked carefully. Jack shook her head no and hugged herself.
"I just found out."
"You guys weren't using anything?"
"It never occurred to either of us," Jack said.
"This is a good thing, though. Isn't it?" Jack gave her a small shrug of her shoulders.
"I don't know if this is what he wants. I don't know how he'll handle being a father." That word nearly knocked Jack on her ass. 'Father' Riddick a father. She just couldn't picture it.
"What do you want?" Ellie asked. Jack looked at her feet for a moment before answering.
"I want this baby and I want Riddick to be a part of its life… a part of my life."
"Then you need to tell him."
"I'm afraid to. I don't want to ruin what we have," Jack said as the first tear slipped past her well-guarded emotional block. Ellie stood and walked over to Jack and put her hands on her shoulders.
"How does Riddick feel about you?" Ellie asked. Jack swallowed hard and looked down.
"Honestly, I don't know."
"Sure you do."
"Well, he's never said what he's felt for me and I haven't told him what I'm feeling…" she trailed off as her lower lip trembled with the realization of how stupid she was for not telling him that she loved him. Ellie's heart broke at the sadness Jack was feeling.
"Granted I haven't known Riddick long but I do know that he is a man of very few words. He's very physical but even with body language, it's still hard to tell what he's thinking." Jack nodded her head in agreement, her body starting to shake as she held back the drive from her over-forceful emotions. "Think about it Jack," Ellie continued, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Jack's ear. "How is he when he's with you? Is he gentle…sweet? Does he show you what he's feeling?"
"Yea, I guess he does," Jack said quietly.
"Okay then, after we land and finish this job, bring him back here and tell him you love him. Tell him everything you're feeling and tell him about the baby. Don't be afraid. I'm willing to bet you you'll get all the answers you need and he won't have to say a word."
Jack wiped away the tears and ran a hand over her stomach. She could feel the life she and Riddick created, growing right beneath her fingertips. Ellie looked down also and smiled.
"Do you want me to examine you?" she asked.
"Maybe tomorrow." Jack's brow furrowed as she thought of something. "You know, you'd think with me being a doctor that I would've known I was pregnant. I have all the symptoms but no…didn't have a clue."
"That's because sometimes you don't recognize the most obvious symptoms in yourself. If it were someone else, you would've recognized it immediately. I know, it's strange." Jack absently looked around the room, breathing in the smells, feeling the tingle of memories as it tickled its way through her brain. Thinking of Riddick and the way his presence alone silently demands the attention of everyone in the room and the genuine smile he seems to save only for her.
Suddenly she was feeling a little excited to get him back here that night and talk to him. Maybe do a little more than talk.
"Well," Ellie said, interrupting Jack's thoughts. "I'm gonna get a few things ready for landing so I'll see on the main deck in 30." She gave Jack a hug and turned to leave but Jack stopped her.
"Thanks," she called out. Ellie gave her a sweet smile.
"Anytime," she responded as she headed for the door again. Jack hurried to her room to get dressed. She wanted to see Riddick before they landed, just to be near him.
The halls were filled with the crew as they prepared for arrival and she nodded or said hi to them as she passed. She walked to security, swiped her badge and stepped into the quiet coolness of the room. Julian was working on something at the far end of the room and Eddie was sorting through some files at one of the tables. Riddick was off to the side mapping out their next run, all dressed up and looking fine as hell. When they did a pickup or a drop-off he always looked his best
He was wearing black slacks, black thick-soled shoes, and a white button down long-sleeved shirt tucked in. Pretty simple but he made it look professional.
She walked silently to him but as soon as he froze she knew that he knew that she was there. As she got closer she could see him smiling as he went on with his work.
Jack looked at what he was doing letting her chin rest on his arm near his shoulder. Riddick turned his head to look at her, bringing them nose-to-nose. He was still smiling and his brown eyes had a sparkle to them. Jack could smell the cologne he had bought while he'd been gone; her eyes fluttered shut as it filled her nose and warmed her body. She couldn't help the sigh that worked its way up from her chest.
Riddick leaned in and kissed her on the lips, feeling the heat of her trying to coax a sigh out of him. When he pulled back he licked the taste of her from his lips.
"You taste good," he commented, turning back to the star charts.
"So do you," she whispered. She watched as his hands moved over the maps, making marks here and there with such precision that Jack was amazed. He was so smart it was almost scary.
"Okay," he said, straightening to his full height. "We're all set for the next run. Julian and Tarak will shuttle out to the pick-up spot tomorrow and we leave in four days."
"Sounds great," Jack said, putting her arm around his waist. Satisfied with his work, Riddick turned his full attention on Jack.
"We have a few minutes," he began, turning her to the door. "I wanna show you something." Jack eagerly went with him, relaxing into the idea of him…of being with him forever, raising their child together and becoming the family she's always wanted but never had.
Riddick opened one of the doors they came across and Jack stepped through, instantly enfolded in the darkness. It was so deep and thick it moved around her as if alive, as if she could reach out and touch it.
The darkness reached out for her and wrapped around her waist, pulling her to the solidity of its being. There was nothing she could see, she could only feel. She was engulfed by its blackness yet consumed by warmth.
A weight pressed against her lower back and moved upward to her shoulders, trailing down her arms and entwining with her fingers. The darkness pressed against her forcing her to take a step back…and another until she hit the wall.
The heat surrounding her almost became suffocating but she found she was always able to breathe. A wet heat sought her mouth and drank from her, relieving its thirst for her, drinking up everything about her and she kissed back, giving all she had.
The pressure slipped from her fingers and slid between her legs, warming itself with the fire that had started up inside her. Her heart pounded in her chest as her other senses became enhanced to make up for her loss of sight. Every whisper of a touch sent chills through her and the familiar scents she picked up sent a little electric buzz to her aroused parts.
She was lost in the cloaking black of the room and for a split second she was afraid of the dark but unsure why. The dark was Riddick, Riddick was the dark. This was his life and he wanted to share it with her, and she fully accepted that; pulling her clothes from her body and inviting him in.
Jack was standing on the main deck with the others as Riddick gave out the orders while the ship landed. The docking bay was secure according to the scans they were running but that always didn't mean safe. That's why Riddick insisted his orders be followed exactly but he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. His animal instincts were trying to tell him something was very wrong.
The crew descended the ship and part of the security team split off to make sure the area was in fact secure. This was a busy time of day and there were a lot of people bustling around. As soon as the Senator's feet hit solid ground he spotted a man he knew and broke off from the group. His wife called out to him catching the attention of Riddick and Jack. Riddick made a move but Jack, being closer, got to him first.
She grabbed him roughly by the shoulders from behind and turned him back to the group. In that instant Jack's body jerked violently and she fell to her side, taking the Senator with her.
Riddick shouted out to Tarak, "Upper west corridor!" Tarak was already moving, along with Daven and Nick. Although there was no sound, Riddick figured a shot had been taken and with his instincts now screaming in his ears, he knew where the gunman was. The whole scent and feel of the perpetrator had invaded his senses moments before Jack had gone down.
Finally at Jack's side, Riddick gently took her arm and helped her to her feet. Taylor had the Senator and was hurrying him off to a safer place. A few people had slowed down and even stopped to see what all the commotion was but it was the farthest thing from Riddick's mind.
"Jack, are you okay?" he asked once she was standing. He ran his hands over her arms and turned her this way and that looking for any signs of an injury.
"I think I'm okay," she answered, sounding unsure. She felt out of sorts and in complete shock. As she moved her head and her arms she could feel a pinching in her chest near her collarbone.
Ellie rushed to them when she saw Riddick helping Jack up, tripping over her own feet but managing to stay upright.
"Jack, Riddick, are you guys hit?" she asked, looking them both over. Jack tried to shake away the dizzy spell that began to consume her as she took a few tentative steps forward.
"I'll be all ri…" Jack never finished that sentence. Instead, she fell forward as all color faded from her sight and all the sounds around her disappeared, dropping completely from her conscious world.
Riddick managed to catch her and he scooped her up in his arms, running to the docking bay's medical facility. Ellie kept close behind him running easily as he cleared the path ahead of them.
Riddick rushed through the doors with an unconscious Jack in his arms. Whether it was the wildness in his eyes or the slack body of the girl in his arms that got the medical staff moving, or something else, he didn't know and he didn't care. Riddick was apprehensive to let go of Jack when two orderlies pulled her from him but Ellie convinced him as she gently pried his arms from her.
They followed the nurses and doctors as they raced down the hall but were not permitted past the double doors. One of the nurses told them to sit in the waiting room and surprisingly enough Riddick followed her orders. He was in too much shock at the moment to protest anything.
Riddick paced up and down the rows of chairs and Ellie sat and watched him even though it was making her dizzy. She was just as worried about Jack as he was but there was so much intense, red-hot anger coming off him that he was burning off enough steam for both of them.
He ran his hand over his head to the back of his neck, clenched and un-clenched his fists; his shirt was partly un-tucked and the top few buttons were undone; he occasionally shook his arms or cracked his neck attempting to relieve some tension, but it did no good. Ellie looked him over in sadness at the emotions he was trying to hold back. She wanted to help him but was unsure how or if it was even safe to approach him.
There was no doubt in her mind that Riddick loved Jack. Only the worry of a loved one could make a man like Riddick this anxious. Riddick never lost control of let his emotions slip but when it came to Jack, his control was slowly dissolving.
A strange voice broke through her thoughts making her jump and turn toward the door.
"Excuse me, are you two with," he paused, looking down at his chart, "Jack?" Ellie stood up and walked a few hesitant steps to the man with Riddick suddenly at her side.
"Yes," she answered.
"We have her stable for now but…"
"What happened?" Riddick demanded. The doctor looked nervously at the large man before him.
"She was hit with a tiny capsule filled with the black-market drug, Xanthia. We were hoping the capsule was still intact when we removed it but it had shattered, spilling to toxin into her system. It will shut down her organs one at a time…"
"Wait. I've heard of that drug before and…" Ellie stopped in mid-sentence and raised her eyes to Riddick's. The sad realization in her eyes deflated Riddick of any hope. "There's no cure," she finished, looking away. The doctor nodded slightly in agreement. Riddick remained extremely still but his shoulders slumped down and he closed his eyes.
"How much time?" he asked, his voice coming out as rough as broken shards of glass.
"We don't know enough about the drug to say for sure. It could be hours, it could be days," the doctor explained.
"I wanna see her," Riddick said evenly, leaving no room for protest.
