Skye woke the next morning feeling better than she's ever felt in a very long time. There was no dizziness, no more feeling like shit. Energy flowed through her arms and legs as she stretched. She took deep breaths and rolled over to look and the clock. Nine? Why did they let her sleep so long? Then she remembered the incident the night before. Groaning, she pulled herself out of bed, feeling like an idiot. She was supposed to be this tough, trained, important piece to the group, and she passes out from a little cabin sickness.
She dressed, ready to work and saw that Raven was already gone. The ship was quiet as she headed to the kitchen. No one was in there either. She decided to eat breakfast first and then look for the others. In other words, she would head right to where they were. Her senses came back to her and she realized that the past couple days were fuzzy to her. That cabin sickness sure did a number on her. Dulled her senses and even her memory.
Everything was clear to her now. She could feel where everyone was on the ship and she even felt Raven before she walked through the door.
"Hey Raven," Skye said, not turning around to look at her.
"How did you know it was me?" she asked.
"Let's just say I'm feeling a lot better." She finally turned to face her, leaning up against the counter.
"That's good to hear. We were worried last night. Even Riddick checked on you." Skye gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. "What's wrong?" Raven was worried Skye was still sick.
"Shit, that reminds me. I had a dream about Riddick." Raven visibly relaxed as she rushed to Skye.
"Do tell." The smile on her face made Skye laugh.
"Well, I was in my bed and suddenly he was there." Skye began playing with the hem of her shirt, trying to keep her gaze elsewhere.
"Go on," Raven encouraged.
"He kneeled by the bed and said something but I couldn't hear him. Then I did it." She finally looked Raven in the eyes and noticed they were sparkling with anticipation.
"Did what?" she asked, nearly jumping up and down.
"I kissed him." She looked away and Raven let out a whistle.
"Was it good?" Raven seemed to be enjoying Skye's embarrassment.
"You would not believe how good it was. He didn't kiss back at first but when he did, it was amazing."
"Damn, I wish I could have dreams like that," she said as she hopped up onto the counter.
"Did you do anything else?"
"No. But man I'm tellin' ya, it felt so real. I could smell him, feel him, and even taste him." Skye took a deep breath, willing the redness to vanish from her cheeks.
"What did he taste like?" Skye looked at the ceiling, bringing back the dream.
"Vanilla." The excitement Skye was feeling lessened considerably and Raven noticed.
"What's wrong?"
"It's gonna be hard working with him now."
"Wait, I thought you kind of liked him before? I mean, I noticed it," Raven said. She watched Skye with curiosity.
"You're right but this dream has, I don't know, raised my awareness level of him a few notches." Skye held her hand at her waist and then raised it above her head as she spoke. Indicating to Raven high much higher that level went.
"Look, he doesn't know about the dream so you can go on as normal," Raven said.
"I know." Skye began pacing the kitchen. Raven's eyebrows came together in confusion.
"But?" she asked. She knew there was a 'but'. Skye stopped pacing but kept her back to her.
"But…I don't know if I want things to stay normal. I think I want more but how can I tell if he does?" Raven slid off the counter and came around Skye so she could face her.
"There's something I learned while being on this ship with these guys." She took a hold of Skye's arms. "They like to mess with your head and Riddick's the best at fuckin' with your mind. What you need to do is not let him fuck with you." Skye looked a little confused so Raven explained it to her. "Okay, when he makes a comment to you that would normally embarrass the hell out of you, you turn around and answer him in a way that he's not expecting. Like yesterday when we were waiting for the bathroom." Skye started to figure out what Raven was trying to explain to her.
"I think I understand," she said, a smile forming on her lips. Two months ago, she never would have tried anything with him. Afraid she would be humiliated but she was a lot stronger now.
Skye walked through the halls of the ship, taking in what Raven had told. She headed in the direction of the cockpit knowing Riddick was there. He was there all right but all she could see was his lower half. She moved down the few stairs as quietly as she could. He was underneath the main console, one of his legs was bent, foot flat on the floor while the other leg was out-stretched.
"You gonna just stand there and watch?" His muffled voice floated out to her.
"Uh, what are you working on?" she asked moving closer.
"I'm installing a new tracking and computer system."
"My specialty. Here, let me take a look at it." She grabbed his knee for support as she squeezed into the small space. He started to pull himself out but she stopped him.
"No, stay there. I might need your help," she said, as she scooted under the console, lying down on her back on Riddick's right.
The panel was off and a mass of wires made up the guts. To an amateur this would have confused the hell out of someone but not to Skye. She reached her hands up into the wires and sorted through them to find the one she was looking for.
"Here we go," she said, clearing a black wire from the other ones.
"How do you know that's the right one?" Riddick asked, quizzically.
"Because it disconnects in the middle, see." She pulled the two pieces apart and let them hang.
"Okay, now what?" He wanted to see just how much she knew. There was a definite change in her since she boarded. He figured this is what she was really like now that she wasn't sick anymore.
"Where's your main line for the tracking system?" Skye held her breath as he reached down between them to retrieve it. His hand moved over her side until it reached the floor.
"Here," he said, handing it to her. With shaky hands, she took it and tried to focus. The main line was in the shape of a Y with connectors at each of the three ends. She connected the two smaller ends to the two ends of the black wire she had separated. The tail of the main line was left.
"Um, do you have a sensor clip?" She looked around as much as she could without climbing all over him.
"Yea, but why do you need one?" This was new to him. She spotted one on his other side and reached over him to get it. When she turned back, she realized how close she was to him. He looked slightly amused as she stared at him. The air in the small space was heating up and his scent only added to the strange feeling that came over her.
"Uh," she stammered. "The sensor clip will transfer power to a power source that's not being used as much. That way you won't overload any one system. Without it, let's say you're star jumping and it's connected to the main drive. It won't transfer to another power source and you risk draining your cells."
"Interesting," he said.
"We need to find the right plug-in or the clip will be useless."
"So, how do you know which one is the right one?" He asked.
"I'll show you. Here," she said, handing him the sensor clip. She reached up to the side panel on Riddick's left but couldn't reach it. "Is it okay if I lean on you?" she asked, daring to look at him.
"Sure." He smiled. Skye rested her left forearm on his chest and reached up with her right hand to open the panel. Riddick could have done it for her but he liked putting her in this position. He liked the pressure her body put on his.
There were three plug-in slots that were empty.
"Okay, check this out," she said, plugging in the tail end of the main line into the first slot. "See, you can't tell which one to put it in." She put it in the other two to show him. "That sensor clip does more than just transfer power. It tells you where the best hook-up is." She took the clip from his hand and snapped it onto the wire and plugged it into the first slot again. Nothing happened. She proceeded to the second one and got the same results. On the third one, the guts of the clip began to glow red through the transparent casing.
"It's always the last one," Skye joked, lowering herself onto her back.
"You're good. I never would have thought of it." He was impressed by how smart she was.
"Yea, you would've. You seem pretty smart to me." She gave him a smile then slapped him on the leg. "I'll stay here while you check the console setting. See if it's actually working."
"All right," he said. Riddick reached up and got a grip on the edge of the console and pulled himself out. Skye watched the muscles in his arms contracting with the effort. He was beautifully built and she actually had to hold her mouth shut.
Once he was in the co-pilots chair, she moved to Riddick's previous spot, noticing the metal floor was still warm from his body. She was now aligned with him and carefully adjusted her legs so she wouldn't kick him.
"Tell me what you see, big guy." She grimaced as she realized what she just called him but he appeared not to have noticed
"Systems loading," he said. There was a beep after a few minutes. "Hey, Skye," he said, patting her leg to get her attention. "There's a switch behind you and to the left. Give it a flip.
"What's it for?" she asked.
"I had to cut some of the power earlier. That switch will turn us back on." Skye heard Riddick flipping switches as the system ran.
"I'm already turned on." The noises above her stopped. "You know, talking about putting things in slots. Being surrounded by hot metal." She kept her voice serious which made Riddick laugh. He went back to work and she allowed herself to smile, knowing he couldn't see her face.
"Everything looks good up here. How 'bout you?" he asked after he was set.
"Looks good," she said as she maneuvered herself out from under the console. "Anything else I can help you with?" she asked, standing next to him. She could only hope. Being around him made her feel good.
"Yea, I'm switching the 'brain' wires of this computer for faster more efficient ones." Riddick removed a panel on his right and began sorting through the wires. Skye leaned over the console's monitor and typed in a program find. It will detect what wires need to be switched. Riddick noticed she was a little uncomfortable with the position she was in because he was in the way. So, as gently as he could to not scare her, he put his hands on her hips and pulled her onto his lap. Skye jumped inside but managed to keep her cool on the outside.
"Okay, you need to find F132, DL19, and, 459-JC." Her voice didn't waiver even with the nervousness she was feeling at the moment. She adjusted herself on his lap to get more comfortable making him voice a small growl for his opinion on that.
"Sorry," she said.
"It's okay," he said making his own adjustments. "Now, how can you tell which one is which?" He was looking at all the wires and their outlets trying to find the codes she just read off.
"Um, let's see," she said leaning over to the panel. She rested back against his chest so she could get closer to the wires. Careful examination found her the numbers.
"They're written on the wires but they're so small it's sometimes hard to find. Here is DL19." She handed him the wire so he could switch it out and she turned back to the computer to see what the other numbers were.
"I've got the other two," he said.
"Good. Let's do a run-up on the system to see if we got it right." She leaned back against him again and reached up over her head to pull down a transparent screen. It switched on automatically when she pulled it down, showing an internal map of all the systems wiring. Using the touch screen, she indicated what she wanted the system to check.
Riddick wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her steady while he leaned forward to start the run-up.
"It's running," he said leaning back but not letting go of her waist. Skye pushed a button and the screen slid back up into the ceiling. On its way up she saw the reflection of somebody behind her and she casually looked over her shoulder. It was Raven. Giving her the thumbs up and smiling. Skye returned the smile and shook her head. They sat there quietly while the system ran. Skye tried to concentrate on the monitor on the console but all she could think about was Riddick's arm around her. The heat and strength that emanated from him.
A series of beeps indicated the system was done and Riddick leaned over again, still gripping her.
"Good job. It works," he said, letting his impressiveness show in his voice.
"Thanks." She couldn't help the smile that formed at his compliment.
"Where'd you learn all that?" He shifted her on his lap so her legs dangled over one side. That way he could see her face. She rested her arm around him comfortably.
"It's just a fascination I have. The amazing things they can do with technology. It's like there's nothing that can't be done." She looked into his eyes and noticed he actually looked interested so she continued. "I've read some stuff about people a long time ago and I have no idea how they were able to live. The simple things that we do everyday that they had to live without. It's amazing." He chuckled a little sending vibrations through her.
"You seem pretty handy. I hope you plan on sticking around for awhile."
"Yea, me too," she said looking away from him. He wondered what she meant by that and he wanted to ask but he figured he would leave it be for now.
**** You're awesome brina, all my readers are. The next chapter will be up very soon. R & R.