Riddick ran next to Ellie back to Jack's room while she explained what was going on. "Jack's heart rate went erratic and her blood pressure and body temperature shot up." Ellie dodged out of someone's way as she continued. "The doctor's drew more blood and ran some tests only to find out there's another poison in her system."
"What?" Riddick asked, not even out of breath. "How the hell can that be?" Ellie had to take a moment to catch her own breath before answering him.
"All they know about it is it's not a synthetic poison like Xanthia, it came from something living." Riddick stopped running just outside the doors to the medical facility and Ellie didn't notice until she reached for the handle. "Riddick?" She walked over to him noticing the faraway look in his eyes.
"Living?" he asked quietly, trying to figure out what the hell 'fate' was trying to do now. He really wanted to strangle that bitch.
"Riddick," Ellie repeated as she took him by the arms. "Yes, living and a weird thought keeps coming to mind," she said softly, looking away. Riddick could see she was thinking, wondering, and maybe hoping, just like he was. Curious about what this 'thought' was, Riddick moved into her line of sight, catching her eyes with his. She became focused again, snapping quickly out of her daze.
"Okay," she started, taking a deep breath. "Jack told me once that she had to take care of you because you were bit by something."
Riddick nodded, "Yea, could've died." He was suddenly thrown back into that memory, seeing it now from a different perspective. He remembers how Jack took care of him, dragged him out of bed, unafraid of the beast he had let out; pulled him in the shower when his fever spiked and even came in with him.
She held onto him as he shivered violently under the water and soothed him with her hands and voice…and the massage. Holy shit! The massage. How could he have forgotten about that?
At the time, he saw it as entertaining the way she touched him, the way she got lost in it. It had turned him on but it was more of his body reacting to her body. He hadn't been sure if he should feel more for her, but all that has changed.
Looking back on it, his insides stirred at how she had closed her eyes as she leaned in to him, becoming more brave the more she touched him; moving her hands over his skin like she would with a lover, the changes in her breathing, the heat of her washing over him.
He suddenly realized that it wasn't just a crush she'd had on him. She's felt something more for him for a lot longer than he had thought. But all good things must come to an end and the sweet vision was replaced by the cruel reality of the whole fucked up situation.
Riddick was so caught up in his own thoughts that he wasn't even aware that Ellie had dragged him through the door.
"We need to draw some of your blood," she said, looking back at him when he didn't respond. "Riddick." She gave his arm a shake and snapped out of it. "We need to draw your blood." He gave her a weak nod and let her lead the way.
********************
The room was in near complete darkness except for the lights on Jack's monitor and all was silent except for the slow beeping of Jack's vitals.
Riddick sat in the chair at Jack's bedside, back to his 'old' self. He contacts were out, eyes glowing brightly in the dark, goggles hanging around his neck. The only way he could keep from losing his mind was to go into self-preservation mode; an art form he perfected while in Slam. But it was hard for him to move back into that dark place. Carolyn had found the switch to his humanity and flipped it back on and Jack shorted it out, preventing him from slipping back without a fight.
Riddick stared at the tiny puncture wound left by the needle Ellie had used to draw his blood. Such a small mark yet it held his attention as if it contained all the answers…but what were the questions?
Ellie had something on her mind but she wasn't going to tell him just yet, she wanted to be sure of her findings. For the first time in Riddick's life he felt impatient and he was afraid it would overwhelm him as his control began to fade away, which was something he wasn't used to.
Jack found a way; somehow, to over power him once, even though it was for a short period of time, she still had it. To Riddick, it never felt like he'd lost control, it was more like a shared power of sorts that he discovered wasn't such a bad thing to just let her have a part of it, a part of him.
She was the only one he really trusted, the one he wanted to see every minute of the day, to talk with, to feel next to him at night; and now she was carrying a life that they created. His heart was torn as he rested his hand over the slight swell of her belly. The mental torment brought on actual physical pain as the thought of losing the one pure thing he'd ever done in his entire miserable life danced around in his head.
Riddick took Jack's hand and kissed it softly, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. He looked at her peaceful face, so beautiful lying there. Riddick brushed the hair away from her cheek and trailed his fingers over her smooth skin. He began having difficulty breathing, gasping for air as if he was being smothered and the unwanted sting in his eyes returned.
A low mournful groan escaped his throat, weakening his body and his will. He shifted his position on the bed so he could lie next to her; snuggle up to her neck, pulling her slack body up against him. It wasn't supposed to be like this, he was supposed to be the strong one. He wasn't supposed to give in to grief this easily but with it being a new emotion for him, he didn't know how to fight it. All he could do was hold onto Jack and hope that she would somehow come back to him.
********************
Ellie could not understand what she had seen and what she and the doctor were now discussing. But as the unusual facts sunk in, she felt that small glimmer of hope creep back in and she couldn't keep the smile off her face.
Unfortunately, the hope was tainted, being there was no guarantee for anything she had discovered and now it was just a waiting game.
She ran to give Riddick the news yet was afraid of giving him a false hope that in the end could destroy him. But with the darkness he was probably dwelling in right now, she felt he could use a little light.
Ellie slipped quietly into the dark room, leaving the door open so she could have some sort of light and waited for her eyes to adjust. When they did she saw Riddick on the bed with Jack, his form barely visible to her. The room was so thick with emotion that even if you weren't aware of the situation, you'd certainly know what was happening the moment you stepped into the room.
The hurt he must be feeling to expose himself like this was heart breaking. "Riddick," she called out. Riddick propped up on his elbow and looked in her direction. Ellie was stunned into silence as the gleam of his eyes reached her. She couldn't seem to catch her breath as the chill from his stare penetrated her skin. It's not like she didn't know who he was, the whole crew knew right from the beginning, and she knew about his eyes; she's just never seen a shine job before.
"Uh, I ha-have…" Ellie took a second to compose herself and began again. "I have some interesting news." She watched in silence as Riddick fluidly slipped from the bed and gently fixed the sheets around Jack, smoothing her hair away from her face before reluctantly moving away. As he approached, Ellie couldn't help but hold her breath. The atmosphere around him was heavy and sinister and it moved with him as he gracefully took the few steps to her, surrounding her in its entirety.
"What is it?" he asked, his tone was slightly darker than she remembered.
"We've found out that the poison is still in your system and it looks like it always will be but you've grown immune to it. In fact, it's worked its way into your gene make-up."
Riddick crossed his arms over his chest and glanced back to the bed, "And what does that have to do with Jack?" Ellie nervously shifted her weight to the other foot.
"It's the same poison that's in Jack's body now." Riddick cocked a questioning eyebrow at her.
"How is that possible?" he asked skeptically.
"What we're figuring, and this is just our best guess judging from the results of the amnio they did, is that when you got Jack pregnant you passed along the gene that carries that poison and now your baby has an immunity to it." Ellie led Riddick to the chair and sat him down. She crouched down in front of him and put her hands on his knees, making eye contact with the silver glare of his eyes.
"Mother and child share everything. What affects the mother also affects the baby. When she got shot…" Riddick suddenly stiffened and his breath audibly caught in his throat as he looked over at Jack. He was gripping the arms of the chair so hard his knuckles were turning white. Ellie didn't have to say the words for Riddick to know his baby was suffering.
His gaze came back to Ellie's and the bright glow of his eyes dulled and shimmered slightly.
"We found something though," Ellie said, squeezing his knees. "When the baby sensed the mother's distress it sent that poison into her system…somehow, that's when her stats went all crazy…" she trailed off, but came back quickly, wanting him to hear this next part. "It's counteracting the Xanthia…she may have a chance." Riddick stood up abruptly nearly sending Ellie to the floor but she recovered quickly and stood to face him.
She had a chance and now so did he. The heavy weight that had settled itself on his shoulders suddenly lifted away making him feel light-headed but good. He grabbed Ellie's arms and pulled her to him in a fierce hug; suddenly grateful for everything she's done, for being Jack's friend and his. Ellie hugged him back noticing the sudden lift in his spirits and she hoped to God that she wasn't wrong about this, as far-fetched as it may seem.
"We just need to wait and see. There's no telling when she'll come out of it," Ellie said, pulling out of his arms and putting her hands gently on his face. Once again his eyes shimmered and now she understood why they were doing that. It was from the tears. So Richard B. Riddick did cry; he actually had feelings. Ellie had more respect for him now than she's ever felt for anyone in her life. He truly has changed his life around and as fucked up as 'fate' can be, it's the reason he was able to do it.
If he and Jack hadn't got together, she wouldn't be pregnant right now and she would surely die. And they wouldn't be together if it hadn't been for that fateful and horrifying crash on that hostile planet. It was almost like everything he and Jack had to go through in their lives before they even met was the only reason why they were together today. The events in their lives were taking them on such different paths but somehow managed to curve back around, throwing them right at each other.
Riddick surprisingly didn't regret his choices in life because of where it landed him. He would go through all the shit again just to be with Jack.
Ellie backed away from him when she saw he was staring intently at Jack. He didn't move at first, shocked at the turn of events, but his mobility returned and he walked to her bedside.
"I'll leave you alone with her. Let me know if there are any changes." Ellie backed up to the still open door and watched through her own tears as Riddick climbed back onto the bed and pulled Jack close, moving her arm so it draped over his waist. She couldn't turn away from Riddick's show of affection, running his hands through Jack's hair, kissing her on the forehead and nose. They were the luckiest people she's ever met but luck had nothing to do with it. For as many years as they've been alive, this was always meant to be.
Ellie finally left them to go give Taylor the news. Letting her hope shine through when she saw him was the only answer he needed. He smiled at her and closed his eyes, dropping his head back, breathing a sigh of relief. Ellie sat down with him and told him everything.
********************
Riddick wasn't sure how long he had been lying with Jack and he didn't care. He would stay with her as long as he needed to. His body and mind were tired but he couldn't fall asleep. He wanted to be awake when, and if, she came out of it.
He reached for her wrist and pulled her hand up to his face, kissing her fingertips before holding her hand to his chest, over his heart.
"Please, Jack," he whispered. "Don't leave me." He left her hand where it was and traced her lips with his fingers, moving to her chin and then along her jaw. As gentle as he's ever been, he kissed her lightly on the lips, lingering a moment before pressing them to her forehead. Inside he was pleading with her to live, barely holding it together as he held her in his arms.
A couple hours later, Riddick was in the same position, lying very still as he continued to beg silently for Jack's life. He almost didn't notice the chain around his neck shift, the cold metal sliding over his chest. But the slight movement brought his attention downward and he stopped breathing when he saw Jack's hand wrapped tightly around his ring. His vision blurred as he looked back at Jack's face.
Her eyes were open and looking right into his. He smiled and let out a small whimper as she weakly smiled herself. "God, Jack," he said with more emotion than she's ever heard. Her eyes were slightly glazed over but she was alert and aware. With a gentle tug of the necklace, Jack brought Riddick closer to her and kissed him on the lips. It was soft but he could feel her need so he pushed a little harder, wrapping his arms around her.
She broke the kiss and hugged him, moving to his ear and spoke with the voice he never thought he would hear again.
"I love you," she said hoarsely and Riddick cried. Life and power surged back into both of them and when he could find his voice he repeated those perfect words to her.
"I love you."
