The hallway had been empty as he had made his way towards the laboratory
where Aeryn was being held. John had half expected hell to break loose the
moment he would step out the door and into the corridor. He had no idea
idea if he was supposed to be glad about it since his experiences had shown
him that if things seemed to be going his way something always happened to
screw it up.
John felt little hands grabbing hold of his shirt and tucking at it. He smiled as he looked down upon his son's face. Something sounding like a soft giggle escaped from the boy as he let his head rest on John's shoulder. In some way it seemed like the boy instinctively knew who John was as strange as it seemed.
His son was remarkably calm considering the situation and it was something that unnerved him. John had no way of knowing what those freaks had done to the toddler. There was no way of knowing how the aliens had interfered with the boy's development, unless they managed to get one of the aliens to spill the proverbial beans.
Coming to a halt in front of a door, John took a deep breath before touching the panel that would allow him entry into the laboratory. According to the alien there would at least be one scientist present in the room and he would in all likelihood be monitoring Aeryn very closely.
The best course of action would probably be to run inside and hit the alien with a heavy and painful object. It was just too bad that an anvil just couldn't happen to drop on its head. He could of course just shoot the alien and be over with the entire thing, but that could turn into a problem since he had neglected to ask his own personal attendants where he would be able to pick up a nice getaway ship.
John eagerly hit the panel and watched the door glide open. His gun was the first thing to enter the room as he scanned the room. The first thing that came to mind was that the alien had lied to him. Aeryn wasn't in this laboratory. No one was. Yet something compelled him to explore the room. Shielding his son as best as he could he finally stepped inside, knowing that if he remained where he was one of the guards on patrol would surely find him at one point in time.
Lights on the consoles flashed and a low humming noise emanated from them as John walked passed them. John's eyes moved rapidly from one side of the room to another. He didn't want to be surprised. There wasn't a lot known about the people who had kidnapped him and Aeryn.
For all he knew they had some kind of gizmo that could turn them invisible, but if they fought like the ones John had knocked out there wouldn't be much of a problem. He headed towards a slab similar looking to the one he had been held on, but as he drew near he noticed boots sticking out from behind the slab.
Dreading that it might be Aeryn, John moved closer to investigate. Relief washed over him as he saw that it wasn't her, but an alien with his face split open and revealing several more eyes than the standard norm was. He kneeled down to check if the alien was still breathing and attempted to balance his son on his hip, so he wouldn't keel over.
Hearing something move directly behind him, he turned his head to look over his shoulder and couldn't help but notice the gun pointed at him.
"John? What." Aeryn dropped the gun's aim immediately as she recognized her lover.
"I came to rescue you, but I should have known it wouldn't be necessary," John grinned as he got up and turned around to face her.
Aeryn felt her mouth go dry as she stared at the little boy John was holding. It couldn't be, but yet it was. It had to be, because there was no other explanation for it. This boy was the baby she had been carrying inside her womb before the aliens had extracted it. She wondered how John had exactly managed to locate their son. Aeryn wanted to ask him, but now wasn't the time for doing so. Judging by his size he could be anything up to two cycles old. Placing her gun on the slab next to her, she reached out and touched the child's face.
With a puzzled expression the little boy watched as a tear rolled down Aeryn's cheek. He then decided to copy the gesture she had made and touched her cheek with his fingers at the spot where the tear had left a trace.
"Can I hold him?"
John nodded as he delivered the boy into her arms. " He looks like you, Aeryn. He's got your eyes, baby."
" Our son..." Aeryn spoke softly as she gazed into her son's blue eyes. "They told me they had taken him away from me, John. I thought I would never see him again. They thought they could keep me docile and under control by drugging me. They were wrong."
Looking at Aeryn and his son a sense of pride surged through him. He counted himself a lucky man. The wormhole that had sucked him into the Uncharted Territories was the best thing that had ever happened to him, because without it he would never have gotten the chance to get to know Aeryn and the others.
" Aeryn, I need to ask you something..." John paused. " Did one of the aliens ever say something about how we could leave this place?"
" No," Aeryn replied as she shook her head. " I don't think they meant for us to leave their base of operations, John. And I have no idea how long they have been keeping us here to study and analyze us. From what I have managed to observe they have been very thorough about what they have been doing. I saw every cell of my body mapped out and displayed on one of the consoles and they wouldn't have done it any differently while they were analyzing you."
" I guess that will mean that we've got to find a way to destroy the research data they've got on us. We don't want that stuff the fall into the wrong hands," John stated. He didn't like the idea of either the Scarrans or the Peacekeepers getting their hands on that data. There was no way of knowing how they were going to use that kind of information to their advantage. He didn't even want to think about it.
" I don't even think D'Argo and the others know that we are alive, so it's safe to say that we will have to do this on our own."
"Yeah, I kinda already figured that one out. I thought we could use mister multiple eyes over here to our advantage as some kind of bargaining chip. He's bound to know some useful things. So...do you want to wake him up from his beauty sleep, Aeryn?" John chuckled softly, nudging the unconscious alien's body with his boot.
" I want to do something else before we wake him up, John," Aeryn interrupted as she placed a kiss on top of her son's head. It was something she felt that they needed to do before they continued with their escape.
" Sure...what is it, honey?"
" I want to name our son," she explained. " I would love to believe that we might all make it out of this situation alive, but if we do not I for one don't want our son to die without a name. Those aliens have already taken so much from him and from us. We have no idea what they have done to him, but I will not allow them to take anymore than they have already done."
"I'm thinking you've already got something in mind..." John smiled, stepping closer to her.
" I want to name him after two people who have made it possible for me to be here with you," Aeryn spoke as she returned John's smile with one of her own. " I want to name him after my mother and Crais. My mother wanted me to live the life she never had to chance to live and by naming my son after her I wish to honor her memory. Our son will bear a proud and worthy name and it will be Xhalax Bialar Crichton."
" Welcome to our world, Xhal," John murmured. " Being the son of Aeryn Sun and John Crichton you will not have an easy life, but I guess you have already experienced that first hand. As long as we are alive your mother and I will do our best to protect you."
A moan suddenly interrupted the intimate moment between Aeryn, John and their son. It originated from the direction where the alien had dropped to the floor. John was the first to move, his gun aimed at the alien. Several eyes had a surprised look when they gazed into the barrel of John's gun and realized what was going on.
" I guess this means that we won't have to wake our sleeping beauty after all..." John laughed.
To Be Continued...
John felt little hands grabbing hold of his shirt and tucking at it. He smiled as he looked down upon his son's face. Something sounding like a soft giggle escaped from the boy as he let his head rest on John's shoulder. In some way it seemed like the boy instinctively knew who John was as strange as it seemed.
His son was remarkably calm considering the situation and it was something that unnerved him. John had no way of knowing what those freaks had done to the toddler. There was no way of knowing how the aliens had interfered with the boy's development, unless they managed to get one of the aliens to spill the proverbial beans.
Coming to a halt in front of a door, John took a deep breath before touching the panel that would allow him entry into the laboratory. According to the alien there would at least be one scientist present in the room and he would in all likelihood be monitoring Aeryn very closely.
The best course of action would probably be to run inside and hit the alien with a heavy and painful object. It was just too bad that an anvil just couldn't happen to drop on its head. He could of course just shoot the alien and be over with the entire thing, but that could turn into a problem since he had neglected to ask his own personal attendants where he would be able to pick up a nice getaway ship.
John eagerly hit the panel and watched the door glide open. His gun was the first thing to enter the room as he scanned the room. The first thing that came to mind was that the alien had lied to him. Aeryn wasn't in this laboratory. No one was. Yet something compelled him to explore the room. Shielding his son as best as he could he finally stepped inside, knowing that if he remained where he was one of the guards on patrol would surely find him at one point in time.
Lights on the consoles flashed and a low humming noise emanated from them as John walked passed them. John's eyes moved rapidly from one side of the room to another. He didn't want to be surprised. There wasn't a lot known about the people who had kidnapped him and Aeryn.
For all he knew they had some kind of gizmo that could turn them invisible, but if they fought like the ones John had knocked out there wouldn't be much of a problem. He headed towards a slab similar looking to the one he had been held on, but as he drew near he noticed boots sticking out from behind the slab.
Dreading that it might be Aeryn, John moved closer to investigate. Relief washed over him as he saw that it wasn't her, but an alien with his face split open and revealing several more eyes than the standard norm was. He kneeled down to check if the alien was still breathing and attempted to balance his son on his hip, so he wouldn't keel over.
Hearing something move directly behind him, he turned his head to look over his shoulder and couldn't help but notice the gun pointed at him.
"John? What." Aeryn dropped the gun's aim immediately as she recognized her lover.
"I came to rescue you, but I should have known it wouldn't be necessary," John grinned as he got up and turned around to face her.
Aeryn felt her mouth go dry as she stared at the little boy John was holding. It couldn't be, but yet it was. It had to be, because there was no other explanation for it. This boy was the baby she had been carrying inside her womb before the aliens had extracted it. She wondered how John had exactly managed to locate their son. Aeryn wanted to ask him, but now wasn't the time for doing so. Judging by his size he could be anything up to two cycles old. Placing her gun on the slab next to her, she reached out and touched the child's face.
With a puzzled expression the little boy watched as a tear rolled down Aeryn's cheek. He then decided to copy the gesture she had made and touched her cheek with his fingers at the spot where the tear had left a trace.
"Can I hold him?"
John nodded as he delivered the boy into her arms. " He looks like you, Aeryn. He's got your eyes, baby."
" Our son..." Aeryn spoke softly as she gazed into her son's blue eyes. "They told me they had taken him away from me, John. I thought I would never see him again. They thought they could keep me docile and under control by drugging me. They were wrong."
Looking at Aeryn and his son a sense of pride surged through him. He counted himself a lucky man. The wormhole that had sucked him into the Uncharted Territories was the best thing that had ever happened to him, because without it he would never have gotten the chance to get to know Aeryn and the others.
" Aeryn, I need to ask you something..." John paused. " Did one of the aliens ever say something about how we could leave this place?"
" No," Aeryn replied as she shook her head. " I don't think they meant for us to leave their base of operations, John. And I have no idea how long they have been keeping us here to study and analyze us. From what I have managed to observe they have been very thorough about what they have been doing. I saw every cell of my body mapped out and displayed on one of the consoles and they wouldn't have done it any differently while they were analyzing you."
" I guess that will mean that we've got to find a way to destroy the research data they've got on us. We don't want that stuff the fall into the wrong hands," John stated. He didn't like the idea of either the Scarrans or the Peacekeepers getting their hands on that data. There was no way of knowing how they were going to use that kind of information to their advantage. He didn't even want to think about it.
" I don't even think D'Argo and the others know that we are alive, so it's safe to say that we will have to do this on our own."
"Yeah, I kinda already figured that one out. I thought we could use mister multiple eyes over here to our advantage as some kind of bargaining chip. He's bound to know some useful things. So...do you want to wake him up from his beauty sleep, Aeryn?" John chuckled softly, nudging the unconscious alien's body with his boot.
" I want to do something else before we wake him up, John," Aeryn interrupted as she placed a kiss on top of her son's head. It was something she felt that they needed to do before they continued with their escape.
" Sure...what is it, honey?"
" I want to name our son," she explained. " I would love to believe that we might all make it out of this situation alive, but if we do not I for one don't want our son to die without a name. Those aliens have already taken so much from him and from us. We have no idea what they have done to him, but I will not allow them to take anymore than they have already done."
"I'm thinking you've already got something in mind..." John smiled, stepping closer to her.
" I want to name him after two people who have made it possible for me to be here with you," Aeryn spoke as she returned John's smile with one of her own. " I want to name him after my mother and Crais. My mother wanted me to live the life she never had to chance to live and by naming my son after her I wish to honor her memory. Our son will bear a proud and worthy name and it will be Xhalax Bialar Crichton."
" Welcome to our world, Xhal," John murmured. " Being the son of Aeryn Sun and John Crichton you will not have an easy life, but I guess you have already experienced that first hand. As long as we are alive your mother and I will do our best to protect you."
A moan suddenly interrupted the intimate moment between Aeryn, John and their son. It originated from the direction where the alien had dropped to the floor. John was the first to move, his gun aimed at the alien. Several eyes had a surprised look when they gazed into the barrel of John's gun and realized what was going on.
" I guess this means that we won't have to wake our sleeping beauty after all..." John laughed.
To Be Continued...
