Ch15-Needing Her

Riddick was used to never feeling human emotions, to being cut off from the world, but because of Jack, he was feeling things that he never did before and it scared the hell out of him. The first night she was at Imam's he realized he needed her, and he's never needed anyone. He had wanted Carolyn Frye, sure, but Jack was something else, he needed her, a sort of dependence he never knew existed.

There was a knock at the door and he went to answer it. When he opened the door one of his unusual grins crossed his face when he heard a woman say. "Richard B Riddick how the hell are ya?" "Gwen Fisher" He said with a beaming grin. "Oh good you remember me" He ushered her inside quickly. "Of course I do Gwen how could I not?" Gwen Fisher was the second most beautiful person in Riddick's life besides Jack. She had widely curling red hair and sharp blue eyes. "I heard you'd be around here" Riddick's guard was ready to come up. "From who?" Gwen flashed her white teeth in a sly grin.

"Gwen, who told you?" She shrugged easily and examined the room around her. "It's no bid deal Rich" In a blink he had her by the arms and she was hauled against him, if she hadn't know him better, the light in his eyes would have scared the hell out of her. "Yes," He said sharply, then tried to relax his tone. "Yes, it does Gwen, it matters a lot" Gwen searched his eyes for a minute. "People talk Rich, I just heard it when I got off from work this morning". Riddick shook his head like he was trying to clear a pesky headache and left go of her arms.

"What's eating at you Rich?" She asked him as he walked away from her and went into the kitchen. "Nothing" He all but growled it. "Obviously something is" He always liked Gwen Fisher, but she had a way of seeing things that could piss him off. "If something is eating at me Gwen, then it's my business" Gwen bared her teeth and snickered. "You always were too uptight Richie, you need to learn how to relax" She ran her hands over his shoulders and he jerked in response. "Cut it out Gwen" He said sharply and Gwen eyed him annoyingly. "What's the matter with you, you've changed"

He turned on her. "Congratulations Gwen, you're right, I have changed" Gwen wasn't affected by his tone at all, she knew him better then that. "Come on, just come play with me" She said as she stripped off the jacket he was wearing. He jerked more violently and grabbed her wrist. "I think you should go Gwen" She eyed him with disgust. "You're a bastard" She said and wobbled away from him. "Look at you, you're drunk off your ass. Now leave" He said pointing towards the door. "Fine" She said and sniffed and left.

Exhausted by the turn of events, Riddick turned and fell asleep on the couch, simply shoving all the clutter on the floor and pulling a Mexican blanket that he couldn't remember getting over him and willed himself to sleep. His dreams were dark and sharp, but among it all, he saw Jack, standing in the middle of the chaos, looking like an angel. He would die before he hurt her in anyway way.

When he woke up it was as cold as his dreams. He slowly opened his eyes and they ached from the fresh sunlight. He walked into the kitchen expecting to see Jack leaning against the counter drinking coffee, when he remembered she wasn't there he almost broke with loneliness. He had always had Jack just within reach so he could reach for her whenever he wanted, now she was gone.

He picked up the phone and dialed Imam's number. It rang 3 times before someone answered. "Hello?" A soft female said. "Hey, Jack?" There was a giggle at the other end. "This must be Richard Riddick, we had a bet going on that you would call, this isn't Jackie though, this is Imam's wife Kalina. Jack is still sleeping, but I can tell her you called when she wakes up, is that okay with you?" Riddick nodded but he felt like an idiot because he knew she couldn't see him. "Yeah, sure that's fine. Be sure to tell her to call me and that I love and miss her" "Aren't you a sweetie! I'm be absolutely sure to. I hope you'll come by for a visit sometime" "Yeah I might, goodbye" "Goodbye" Riddick hang up the phone and immediately wished he wasn't a stubborn asshole and made Jack go. He realized how much he needed her. He shoved himself away from the wall and walked out the door. He knew there was only 2 things he could do, and by whatever was up there, he was going to do them and do them right. Jackie only deserved the best.