Unto Us A Child Is Born

by Ann Brill White

Aeryn gives birth; Sikozu rejoins the Moya crew; the PKs make war plans.

Unto Us A Child Is Born

Ann Brill White

Author's Note: this takes place approximately 8-10 months after the events in "Bad Timing".

---

The shifting of the body beside him awakened John Crichton from a deep slumber. As he opened one eye drowsily, he saw an enormous bulge directly in his field of vision. It was covered with the gold bedcover. The owner of the enormous bulge shifted on her side of the bed. John half-rolled over and sat up. He looked into the weary gray eyes of the woman beside him.

"Still awake, babe?" he murmured.

"I can't find a comfortable position," Aeryn Sun complained. "I lay on my back, and my back hurts. I lay on my hammond side, and the baby kicks. I lay on my treblin side, and you snore in my ear. I wish this frelling baby would hurry up and come, so I can get a decent night's sleep!"

John bent over her and nuzzled her earlobe. "From what I understand, we won't be getting a decent night's sleep until the kid turns eighteen," he chuckled low in his throat and stroked her milk-enlarged breast. "You know, I can help you try to get to sleep."

She smiled at him. Her smiles never failed to light up his world. "That sounds like a good plan. But, isn't that how I got to be as big as a budong in the first place?"

"You have a point," he conceded. "But you're the most beautiful budong in the universe. And you're all mine." He kissed her long and slowly, just to prove his point.

She moaned deep in her throat in response to his overtures, and kissed him hard enough that he felt her teeth through her lips. Then he got an unexpected response - a wince and a grimace of pain. She pulled away and put a hand over her bulge. "You forget, I'm not all yours anymore," she observed with a wry smile. "I think he's practicing his hand-to-hand combat. He's really kicking hard tonight."

"I think he's practicing interrupting Mommy and Daddy when they're trying to make him a little brother or sister," John agreed. He put his hand over hers and felt a sudden push outward as the baby kicked. He never got tired of feeling the little miracle that was growing inside of her.

"Well, hold that thought until I get back. Your son is playing that Erp-game, soccer, with my bladder again."

John stood up. "Need a hand up, babe?" he asked as Aeryn struggled to stand without

falling backwards onto the bed, but she didn't say anything. He stepped around to her side of the bed and offered his hand. She took it, then he pulled her up into his arms, enjoying the feel of their unborn son pressing against his stomach. Aeryn's naked body, even in the late stages of pregnancy, was still exquisite. She was glowing, the way that his sister Susan had just before Bobby was born. "Got milk?" He teased as he cupped his lover's left breast in his right hand, feeling the additional weight as her body prepared to breast-feed the baby.

Aeryn batted him across the nose playfully. She awkwardly pulled on some stretchy exercise leggings and a bright blue garment. It was one of several of Zhaan's flowing dresses that had managed to survive the fire aboard Moya a few cycles ago. Once she'd grown out of her leather pants, Aeryn had discovered that Zhaan's old robes made excellent maternity clothes. Since the Peacekeepers transferred their pregnant females to special medical bases, the stash of uniforms aboard Moya hadn't included any maternity clothes. And larger-sized uniform trousers just didn't fit well. Aeryn had felt awkward about using her dead friend's robes in that way, but her growing discomfort changed her mind pretty quickly. Besides, John thought that the color looked good on her - but he wisely kept that thought to himself.

"Hey," he asked as she left the bathroom, "you hungry?"

"Always, these days. As Noranti says, I'm eating for two. Do we have any chocolate left?" Aeryn's cravings, especially for chocolate, had become worse as her pregnancy dragged on. He'd heard from his sister that pregnant women often craved foods that their unborn child needed. Which meant that the Human part of his child wasn't getting enough of two essential Earth food groups - sugar and cocoa.

"Let's go find out. Hang on a microt while I pull on some clothes."

Once dressed, John and Aeryn made their way from the quarters that they shared. After their adventures with the Qujagans, they had both moved from their separate smaller quarters into what had been the officers' quarters one tier up. Aeryn avoided the room that she believed she had occupied during the time she was aboard Moya previously. So, they had moved into the room that would have been reserved for the senior officer aboard Moya. It was the largest room, so it had more than enough room to accommodate two people and a baby. Another feature, or perhaps a drawback, was that it was close to the galley.

As they entered the galley hand in hand, they heard the unmistakable sound of someone raiding the refrigeration unit. They exchanged knowing looks, then peeked in. Sure enough, Rygel was rooting around in the unit. "Hey, Sparky!" John called out. Rygel almost jumped out of his thronesled. "Looking for a midnight snack?"

The Dominar pulled his sled back and turned it. "What are you two doing up this late?" he grumbled. One hand held a half-eaten frozen Snickers bar.

"Rygel!" Aeryn snapped with exasperation, "You'd better not be eating my share of the chocolate! It's not like we're going to be able to go back to Earth to get more!"

"It's not healthy for your offspring," Rygel shot back with a smug look. "I'm just helping you to maintain optimal nutrition..."

Aeryn moved much faster than any pregnant woman had a right to, and grabbed one of Rygel's earbrows. "Drop the chocolate, NOW," she ordered in her best "command" voice. She twisted the earbrow hard.

Rygel cried out in pain and dropped the candy bar. "Peacekeeper bitch!" he snarled.

"Come on, Buckwheat," John laughed as he picked up the bar, "don't you know by now not to get between a pregnant woman and her chocolate?"

Aeryn released the Dominar, who snarled at her. She gave him a warning look. "One of these days, I'm going to do us all a favor and shove him out of the airlock," Aeryn muttered angrily as she snatched the bar out of John's hand and took a bite.

"This is precisely why my wives were confined to their apartments during childbearing. So that they couldn't annoy anyone else," Rygel harrumphed, then hovered out of the galley.

Aeryn examined the chocolate bar closely. With her finger, she wiped the edge where Rygel had bitten into it. She chomped the rest of the chocolate bar with gusto, then leaned in towards him. "So, now what do you want to do?" she asked with an inviting smile.

"Want a back massage?" he grinned as he kissed her. "And then a front massage?"

"You're on," she replied as they left the galley hand-in-hand.

---

"I've been cooped up on this Command Carrier for too long," Sikozu complained to nobody in particular. She looked around Scorpius' quarters. They were the largest quarters on the carrier, but to Sikozu, they seemed like a tiny cell. She paced idly, twisting a lock of her curly red hair around her finger as she did. Then, she strolled over to the computer console and called up the star charts. The carrier's current position was in the center of the holographic screen. Several nearby systems were illuminated. She reached up above her head and touched one in particular. "Hmmm.... A commerce planet called Nida," she observed. "Perfect for a shopping trip." She pressed a button, and the star chart disappeared with a shimmer of red light. She pressed a comms button. "Deck Officer? This is Sikozu Shanu. Have the launch bay prepare a Prowler for my personal use," she ordered. Even though she wasn't a Peacekeeper, her position as the Captain's Personal Advisor on the Scarran military and bedmate gave her a great deal of perquisites.

"Right away, Ma'am," the officer ordered. He knew better to question her orders. Fear of Scorpius was a powerful thing.

Sikozu smiled prettily. "Thank you so much." Even though her position dictated a certain amount of respect, she knew that she had to keep on the crew's good side. She was, after all, an outsider here, and outnumbered. Fear of Scorpius was a powerful thing, but it only went so far.

---

"Granny, are you sure you don't want to stay behind? I mean, D'Argo and I could pick up your herbs for you," John asked Noranti as the malodorous old woman climbed up the stairs into Lo'la. The thought of spending several arns in an enclosed space with her left him cold. And he knew that D'Argo, with his sensitive Luxan nose, agreed with him.

"Oh, not at all," Noranti said cheerfully. "I'm looking forward to it. Besides, you wouldn't know blue cohosh from chickweed, even if I gave you a holographic image of it." She grinned as she settled into a seat directly behind him, in front of the air vent.

John exchanged a look with D'Argo and rolled his eyes. "Pilot, Noranti's finally aboard. Go ahead and open the doors," he said. The cargo bay doors slowly opened. "Hey, baby," he sent a final comm back to Aeryn. "Take good care of the kids while I'm gone."

"Babysitting Rygel and Chiana will give me good practice for keeping our baby out of trouble," she replied back with a laugh. John heard protests over the comms from Rygel and Chiana. "And John? Try to stay out of trouble for a change?"

He and D'Argo grinned at each other. "We'll try. See you in a few arns?"

"Right," she replied. "Love you."

"Love you too." As he signed off, John couldn't help but wonder if he should have stayed behind with Aeryn. Then again, it was probably because he wanted to spend as much time alone with her as he could before they became parents.

---

Sikozu landed the Prowler at the Nida spaceport and checked the holographic map for stores. The port exchanged her credits for the local currency. The Nidans, she observed, were lavender-skinned people with multi-colored hair that were as small-statured as her own race. Both the males and females wore the minimum amount of clothing as modesty would allow to cover their small-boned bodies. They also wore jewels embedded into their skin and woven into their hair, which reflected the wealth of the local population. The jewels captured her interest, but she had other priorities. She headed off towards a chemist's to find what she needed.

---

Aeryn stood in the center chamber and watched Lo'La fade into a small speck on the starfield on the main viewscreen. She missed John already, but she realized that he had to take a break. He and D'Argo had been working non-stop to convert the second room in their quarters into a nursery. Between that, mapping wormholes with Pilot, and their constant evasion of Scarran and Peacekeeper patrols, he needed a break. Unfortunately, that left her on board with Rygel and Chiana. Behind her, they were playing tadek. Or rather, they were arguing over tadek.

"You moved three tiles, Froggy!" Chiana hissed.

"I most certainly did not! I moved five!" Rygel shot back.

"Three!"

"Chiana, you ignorant tralk, I moved five!"

"Would you two shut the frell up!" Aeryn yelled, interrupting them. It worked - they both turned their heads and stared at her in shock. "Honestly! Being stuck here with you makes me wish that Stark hadn't left! At least his babbling made sense sometimes!" She slammed her hand down on the console, then stormed - or waddled - toward the door.

"Having a bad hormone day, Aeryn?" Rygel inquired.

Aeryn leaned forward and grabbed his right earbrow. Chiana put a hand over Aeryn's and separated it from Rygel before she did serious damage. "Hey, why don't you go talk to Pilot?" she suggested. "He always calms you down when you get in one of your moods."

"Good idea," Rygel squawked.

"Fine. Enjoy yourselves," Aeryn snapped, then stalked out. As she made her way to the Den, her anger at her friends seemed to dissipate. As much as she hated to admit it, Rygel was correct. Her mood swings were worse than usual, especially now that she wasn't getting any sleep. To make matters worse, her back had started to ache on the way to the Den. Then she felt her womb contract in what Noranti had called a "false contraction". Aeryn winced and thought about going to her quarters to get an analgesic, but decided against it. The contraction soon passed, but her back kept hurting. She opened the door to the Den.

Pilot looked up from his work and smiled at her. "Officer Sun," he greeted her warmly. Of course, they had long since progressed past such formalities, but Pilot was a creature of habit.

"Hello, Pilot," she grinned.

"Moya wants to know how you are feeling today."

Aeryn smiled gently at him. Pilot's habit of asking questions on Moya's behalf was very transparent sometimes. "Tell Moya that my back is hurting terribly, I'm having false contractions, and I'm about to space Rygel and Chiana."

"I can certainly understand that," he said wryly. "Would you care to sit?"

"Thank you," she replied. She waddled across the bridge and leaned against his console. Pilot put an arm under each of her shoulders and pulled her up gently. She swung her legs over the console to face him. As she did, she felt her unborn child respond. "Oh, he's kicking again."

Pilot put a claw on her stomach. "Oh, my yes. He is quite active today."

"Don't I know it," she sighed in agreement.

He frowned. "Is anything wrong, Aeryn?"

She took his claw into her hands and smiled up at him. "You know me too well. I'm just, well... I hate to admit this, but I'm afraid, my friend."

"I am sure that Crichton will return safely. He always does."

"No, not about that," she shook her head. "I'm nervous about becoming a mother."

"You should have thought about that before you had the stasis removed."

"You're right, it's too late now. But you know what my upbringing with the Peacekeepers was. I'm sure that you heard from Talyn and the others what my own mother was like. I'm afraid that I will make the same mistakes with my child."

He stroked her cheek with another claw. "I do not think that you will follow in your mother's footsteps, Aeryn. Your mother was a Peacekeeper. You have risen above that limited way of living. Your son will have a father as well as a mother, and will not be taken from you and raised like you were. He will know that he is protected and loved."

She sighed. "You're probably right," she agreed. "Thank you."

"I am happy to be of service," he said. He moved his claw from her cheek to the small of her back, and began to massage it. The pressure from the hard claw made her back pain ease, if only temporarily.

"You're as good at that as John is," she commented. "Are you sure that your race doesn't reproduce internally?"

He chuckled - an odd sound that she'd never heard before. "We do not. But I looked in Moya's medical database on pregnancy and childbirth. Her database is rather incomplete on the subject, but this was one thing that it did suggest."

"Thank you," she repeated. "It helps a lot."

"You are welcome, Aeryn," he replied, and continued to massage her back.

As she began to relax under Pilot's ministrations, she watched the interaction of the DRDs and listened the throb of Moya's calorics. She was reminded that she was inside of a living being - one that had forgiven her for her past, and loved her without reservation. Maybe it was just her hormone fluctuations playing tricks with her mind, but Aeryn understood Moya at that moment. She was protected inside of Moya, the way that her son was protected in her. And then she understood how Moya must have felt as she lost the only child she could ever hope to conceive. It was almost too much for her to comprehend. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes, and quickly brushed them away before Pilot could see them.

---

"Let's see," John took inventory of the crates in the rear of Lo'La as D'Argo checked off a list. They had landed the ship at the Nida spaceport. "We've got two cases of chakkan oil cartridges, a flat of jexberries, grallak, cooking oil, drizz, and tuber roots. Do we need anything else, mon capitan?"

"That should be it," D'Argo agreed. "And we're early. Noranti will be meeting us in another arn."

"Too bad we can't find some diapers in this intergalactic Wal-Mart," John cracked.

"Die-pers?"

"Baby stuff. Well, something you put on the baby's butt to keep the stuff..."

"I get it," D'Argo twitched his nose and nodded. "Let me buy you a drink." The Luxan gestured toward a building near the entrance to the spaceport. He lowered his head toward John, and quietly explained, "I remember when Lo'Lann birthed Jothee. Believe me, you need a drink. Right before all hezmana breaks loose." The raucous music and loud noise was indicative of a drinking establishment. He clapped John on the shoulder and steered him toward the bar before the Human could protest.

The interior of the bar was predictably loud, smoky, and smelled of stale fellip nectar. John's feet stuck to the floor as they found an open booth in a relatively quiet corner. It reminded him of many seedy bars he'd been in back home. A lavender-skinned waitress wearing barely enough clothing to cover the naughty bits sidled over to them and gave them a quick appraisal. She showed particular interest in Crichton. "Whatcha havin'?" she asked laconically, with the unspoken invitation that she was on the menu for the right price.

"Two raslaks," D'Argo ordered. "Make his a double. He's about to become a father."

The waitress frowned with disappointment, then slinked away. "Geeze, D, advertise it all over the place, why don't you?" John complained.

"My friend, trust me on this. When you get your first look at your child, your outlook will totally change. Jothee's birth was the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. It will transform your life forever."

The waitress returned with two tall glasses of blue liquid. The two men toasted silently and drank. The warm alcohol burned all the way down John's esophagus, but it felt good. "No pressure," he laughed, but he was dead serious.

D'Argo studied him intensely over the rim of the glass. "What's wrong, my friend?"

John bit the knuckle on his thumb and looked down at his glass. "How can I bring a child into this mess that I call my life?" he pondered.

"It wasn't your decision. Aeryn made that decision on her own."

"That's part of the problem. She's worried that she'll be a lousy mother because of the way she grew up. The Peacekeepers weren't exactly big on nurturing children. And then there's her own mother, who was some kind of psycho-bitch. Not a great role model there. I mean, I keep trying to tell her that she's not like her mother, she's not a Peacekeeper anymore. All you need is love, yeah, yeah, yeah, and all that. But I don't believe it myself."

"You think that she will turn into a sy-ko-bitch?"

"No. I think that I'll be a lousy father."

D'Argo laughed. "I doubt that."

"Seriously, D-man. I mean, you saw how I grew up. Everything I know about being a parent is back on Earth. There's nothing out here that I'm familiar with. No diapers, no Little League, no Sesame Street. I mean, you saw Sesame Street! Aeryn learned English from Sesame Street! Frell, Rygel looks like he should be on Sesame Street! How the hell can you raise a kid without Sesame Street?"

"You'll learn, just like you learned how to fly a shuttle pod and shoot a pulse pistol."

John shook his head. "That's another thing. The last thing my Dad said to me before Aeryn and I collapsed the wormhole was that if the measure of a father is how well his son does, he must be the greatest father on Earth. What the hell am I going to teach my son? How to be a terrorist? Fifty ways to kill a Scarran? Why to be afraid of people that look like Mommy and Daddy?" He took a belt of raslak to emphasize his point, and coughed as the fiery liquor burned his throat.

D'Argo echoed his drink. "I do not know the answer to that, my friend. All I know is that you do the best you can."

As John played with the rim of his glass, the waitress returned. She leaned forward, exposing her ample lavender cleavage. "You want anything else?"

"Nah," John refused both of her offers. "D'Argo?"

"Do you know if there's a store where you can buy things for children?" he asked her.

"Now that's a question I usually don't get asked," she laughed and turned her ample charms toward the Luxan. "I think there's one in Plovak Square, next to the dressmaker's. Two blocks straight ahead once you leave here."

"Thank you," D'Argo replied as he assessed her cleavage, and shook his head sadly over the opportunity his duty forced him to miss. She understood the gesture and walked away with a shrug. The two men finished their drinks, then paid for their drinks, leaving a large tip for the disappointed waitress.

---

Something felt wrong. Aeryn felt a blast of pain shoot from the small of her back into her womb. She gasped with surprise and pain as she felt a trickle of warm liquid run down the insides of her thighs. She jumped down from the console painfully before it Pilot's controls - she hoped.

"Officer Sun?" Pilot looked down at her and asked, his eyes full of concern.

"When are John and Noranti due back?" she asked through gasps.

"Not for another four arns at least," he replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I think," she gasped as another wave rippled through her belly, "that you had better try to call them back sooner."

"Why?"

"My water just broke. I believe that this means that I'm in labor."

"Oh my." He paused for a beat. "Unfortunately, Lo'La is outside of comms range."

"Frell," she sighed and rolled her eyes. Then, she hit her comm badge. "Chiana, can you come up to Pilot's Den? I need your help. I need to get to the medical bay."

"You've gotten there yourself hundreds of times," the girl snapped back.

"Not when I'm having contractions," Aeryn replied.

"What? You mean the baby's coming? Why didn't you say so!"

"You're having contractions?" Rygel piped in. "Well, can't you stop them?"

"It doesn't work like that, your Lowness," she snapped. "You realize that if John, D'Argo, and Noranti don't get back soon, you two are going to have to deliver the baby."

"Frell me!" Chiana gasped.

"Your usual approach to every problem won't work in this situation, tralk," Rygel shot back. Aeryn heard the sound of Chiana stuffing something into Rygel's mouth.

Pilot studied a screen on his console. "Is the contraction easing?" he asked without looking up.

"It seems to be. What does the data bank say about labor and delivery?"

"You should begin counting how many microts between contractions."

Chiana burst into the den with her customary exuberance, followed by Rygel. "We're here! How can we help?"

Aeryn walked carefully across the bridge. When she reached the other side, she put her arm around Chiana's shoulder. "Pilot, pull up the information on labor and delivery and send it to the console in medical. Chiana, you and Rygel are about to become midwives."

"Hey, after being a midwife for a Leviathan, how hard can it be?" Chiana asked as she led Aeryn down to medical.

"At least we won't have to vent the atmosphere so that the baby can come out," Rygel added. "Although being in the tube with you was rather amusing."

"Shut yer mouth, you little perv," Chiana snapped.

"Great," Aeryn muttered at Rygel. "I hope that John and Noranti hurry back. The thought of you anywhere near that part of my anatomy..."

"In your dreams, Peacekeeper," Rygel shot back. "Frelling body-breeders..."

Aeryn gave him a withering look and turned back towards Pilot. "Do you have Lo'La's last known coordinates?"

"Yes, Aeryn. I have already set in a course to follow theirs toward Nida. We should reach the planet in approximate three arns."

"Thank you," she sighed with relief. "At least one of us is thinking...ow!" she exclaimed and doubled over. Chiana was immediately at her side.

"Another contraction? Already?" the girl asked, her voice full of concern. Aeryn nodded. "Frelling great. Pilot, that information had better be there. Looks like this baby's coming."

---

"Hey, D! Check this out!" John held up a stuffed vork. "Just like the real thing!"

"Only this one does not urinate all over the place," D'Argo agreed.

John pointed the business end of the vork at him. "Are you sure about that?"

"No... let's not find out," D'Argo replied. He was more interested in other items in the children's store. "How about this?" He held up a toy pulse pistol.

"Cool! 'My first pulse pistol!' Of course, I'll have to call it Grace." D'Argo gave him a confused look. "Wynonna's kid. You remember, country music?"

"Oh," D'Argo nodded with his "crazy Human" look. "Do you think you have enough infant clothes? Or do we need to buy out the whole store?" He chuckled heartily.

"I think we're fine. Now, if I could just find some diapers..."

"Let's go. I want to stop in that place next door to pick up something nice for Chiana."

John gave his friend a wry look. "So, are you two frelling or fighting?"

"Uh, frelling. Today," D'Argo admitted. John was never sure of the status of the tempestuous relationship between his two friends. It made his own relationship with Aeryn look downright peaceful.

"That's good." He grabbed the stuffed vork and handed it to the Luxan. "Here, carry this. And get the pulse pistol, too." D'Argo looked at the vork, shrugged, then followed John to the checkout counter.

---

Noranti finished making her purchases at the basement-level bodega in an alley just off of Plovak Square. Of all of the herbalists on Nida, this was the only store that did not have the aura of falsehood about it. Unlike those higher-traffic stores with fake Delvian trees, smelly candles, and other gewgaws, the proprietor of this bodega knew her business as well as the old Traskan did. They had a long talk over a pot of farkleberry-leaf tea, discussing different remedies. She'd gotten a lot of advice on how to treat various maladies, and told her about all of the wonderful knowledge that she had learned on Crichton's home planet.

As she was leaving the bodega, her ears pricked up. She heard two voices in the alley - speaking in the Scarran language. Noranti ducked back into the shadowy vestibule as they passed by. "If the Luxan's ship is here," she heard the one say, "the Human Crichton must be with him."

"Perhaps not," the other Scarran said as they walked past. Both of them were the lower-caste Scarrans with the elongated heads. "Crichton has kept a low profile these past few monens. Perhaps he has left the area, and the Luxan is alone?"

As their voices faded, she reached for her comms. "Crichton! D'Argo!" she whispered urgently. "There are two Scarrans looking for you!"

"Roger, Granny," Crichton answered. "We're in Plovak Square, between the children's store and a dress shop. Circle around the back and wait for us."

"Got it!" She tucked her packages into her cloak and struck out in the opposite direction of the Scarrans.

---

Sikozu twirled in front of a full-length mirror. She was in the dressing room of a dress shop in Plovak Square, wearing a dress of skin-tight black leather on top that flared out into a short fabric skirt. It showed all of her best assets. "This dress shop was a real find," she mused. "Scorpius will love it." She uncoiled a lock of her hair and flushed slightly - a difficult thing for a bioloid to do - at the thought of Scorpius helping her to remove it. Slowly. All it needed was a collar. Where were they? What kind of a dress shop didn't have matching collars in stock? Her prurient thoughts were interrupted by two voices that she had never thought to hear again - nor did she want to.

"'Scuse me, ladies," she heard a voice with a distinctive drawl speaking in the Human language, "but my friend and I need to use your dressing rooms." Crichton's announcement was followed by the nervous screams of the Nidan salesgirl. Sikozu opened the dressing room door and stepped out - and ran directly into D'Argo's chest.

"Watch it, you Luxan oaf!" she cursed.

D'Argo looked down at her in surprise. "Sikozu? What the frell are you doing here?"

"Shopping!" she snapped. "What does it look like?"

"Nice outfit," Crichton added appreciatively. "You buying that for yourself or for Scorpy?" He was carrying a shopping bag filled to capacity, and a ridiculous-looking stuffed vork.

"None of your business," she sniffed and tossed her curly orange hair in indignation.

"Well, what is our business is that we've got two Scarrans looking for us. We need a place to hide, and we figured that this was a good spot. So, help us out, here, okay?"

She sighed with resignation. "Very well. But with the required condition that you do not wear any of the dresses. The last time scarred me for life." She hustled them into the farthest booth as she spoke. She ran to the other stalls, pulled clothing out of them, and stuffed them into the booth with John and D'Argo. Then, they pulled the door shut.

Sikozu ran back to her own dressing room, shut the door, and quickly changed back into her normal orange-red bodice and skirt. She shook her hair out and left the dressing room area like nothing was wrong. She approached the salesgirl, who looked extremely nervous. "Just act naturally. I know those two, they won't hurt you. They're obnoxious, but they're not looking to draw attention to themselves." She paused to look over her shoulder at the Scarrans walking past the window, then quickly turned around. "I'll take this one," she said a little louder and in a normal tone of voice. She placed her krindars on the counter as the clerk rang up the purchase. As she did, the bell at the shop's door tinkled, announcing an entry.

"You!" One of the Scarrans yelled out in his native language, "Turn around. Slowly." Sikozu did as he commanded. She made her body language look submissive, like a typical subservient Kalish. Only she made sure to have her hair drape over her face. "What are you doing so far away from Scarran space?"

"I am a trade liaison for the Scarran Empire," she replied innocently. "I am stationed here on Nida." The terrified salesclerk nodded her head in agreement.

One of the Scarrans held out his hand and heat-probed her. The display of filmy scarves behind her began to curl and shrivel from the intense blast. Sikozu gasped as he probed her brain. "You lie! I knew that I recognized you! You're that traitor Kalish that was with Crichton on Katratzi!"

"No," she stammered, but it was useless against the heat probe.

"Where is Crichton, you tralk!"

"I... I don't know," she stammered under the interrogation. "We parted company after Katratzi. I was angry with him for killing so many Kalish."

"No doubt," the Scarran snarled and released the heat probe. He nodded to his companion, who went into the back room.

"Sir!" the salesgirl started to say as she ran back into the changing area. Sikozu followed her back, followed by the other Scarran.

"I know that Crichton is here! We tracked him to this area!" he snarled. As he did, the other Scarran was methodically kicking in the doors of the changing rooms.

Sikozu counted the smashed doors until they found Crichton and D'Argo. She closed her eyes to avoid looking at the door where Crichton was hiding. Suddenly, the sound of a kick, then a loud scream "Get funky!" she heard Crichton yell out. She opened her eyes to see John Crichton wearing a cobalt blue shirt, a frizzy multi-colored wig that resembled Nidan hair, bright yellow wide-brimmed hat piled high with multi-colored flowers. As he pulled off the hat, a blast from D'Argo's qualta rifle shattered the wooden door next to him, spraying splinters all over the Scarran. It gave John just enough time to grab his pulse pistol and start shooting, too. "Hit 'em with your bop-gun, Doctor Luxanstein! Mister Scarran has no funk in him!" John yelled.

"Crichton!" the Scarran snarled as he pulled out his own gun.

Sikozu didn't want to wait around. She ran over to the wall, then up the side of it to get out of the line of fire. The salesclerk dove into an unoccupied booth and covered her multicolored head. The Scarrans shot wildly, trying to hit both men as they dodged. Crichton grabbed his shopping bag and ran toward the back door. D'Argo grabbed the stuffed vork and followed him. "Come on, Sputnik!" Crichton called out. Sikozu made a quick decision to leave with Crichton and D'Argo rather than face the Scarrans. She ran along the side of the wall towards the back door. "Sorry about the mess," John apologized as he tossed a money bag toward the cowering salesgirl as he ran.

Sikozu gave the one Scarran's head a swift kick as she ran past him. "That's for the Kalish!" she cried out.

"Traitor!" he bellowed, firing wildly. She felt the impact and then sudden, burning pain as one bolt hit the outside of her thigh. She screamed and tumbled down the wall, collapsing in a heap on the floor of the dressing room. The smell of singed flesh filled the air around her.

"John, go!" D'Argo yelled out as he turned back, putting the Qualta rifle back in its scabbard. Crichton turned around and covered D'Argo as he ran back to the fallen Sikozu. The Scarran took aim at the Luxan, but D'Argo held up the stuffed vork. Its head exploded as it took the bolt meant for D'Argo, sending singed stuffing everywhere. "Frell!" he cursed. He bent over, and Sikozu put her arms around his neck. He scooped her up into his arms and ran toward the shop's rear service door, dodging bolts from all over the room. As he ran through the door, it slammed shut behind them with a metallic clang. D'Argo jogged to a halt, then turned around. Noranti shoved a metal pipe underneath the door latch to keep it shut.

"Hello, Sikozu," Noranti grinned, her face lit like a jack-o-lantern.

"Noranti," the Kalish girl winced as the burning pain sliced through her leg.

"Let me take a look at that," the old woman offered.

"Not now, Granny! Let's get out of here before they figure out the lock," John urged. D'Argo carried Sikozu as he led them through back alleys, followed by Noranti, then John bringing up the rear. Fortunately, they had managed to give the Scarrans the slip all the way back to the spaceport. D'Argo spoke a few words in Luxan, and the Lo'La's hatch opened. As she was lowered onto the deck, Sikozu got a faceful of some of Noranti's magic dust. Almost immediately she faded off into a painless sleep.

---

John stowed the bag full of baby supplies and pulled on the gloves that were made from D'Argo's hair. Noranti had knitted them so that anyone who co-piloted Lo'La would be able to use the ship's systems without getting any Luxan bodily fluids on them. They itched like crazy, but they worked. John noticed something on the rear sensors. "Hey, D, we've got trouble. Our two Scarran buddies are coming up fast."

"No problem," D'Argo reached over his head and activated the aft cannons. He waited until the Scarrans were just about on top of them, then shot two blasts, effectively incinerating them. "Well, I'm sure that got someone's attention."

"Hey, Granny," John called back to the old woman, "You got Sputnik strapped in?"

"Roger," Noranti replied and gave him a thumbs-up. "I've applied a burn salve to her leg, but she's going to be asleep for a while. I think I gave her too much sedative."

"Just as well," D'Argo agreed, "I don't think I could stand her whining right now."

"And we need to make sure that Scorpy isn't hanging around here waiting for her."

"Good point." D'Argo flipped a few more overhead switches. "We're cloaked. Let's get the hezmana off of this rock before anything else happens."

The G-forces of liftoff made John catch his breath. Lo'La had more of a kick to her than even Aeryn's Prowler. As they ascended through the Nidan atmosphere, John and D'Argo moved in tandem to keep them out of visual and sensor range of any hostile ships. Fortunately for them, D'Argo had taken the time to upgrade Lo'La's sensor array, so that they could spot trouble before it spotted them. That upgrade paid off. John saw a large blip on the sensor screen and touched it. "Hey, D. Looks like we've got even more trouble. Scarran Stryker coming up fast on our treblin side."

"Got it. Hang on back there, Noranti. This is going to get interesting." He increased their speed to hetch six. "Keep them in your gun sights, John. We may have to shoot our way out."

"They're powering up weapons," John reported. "Launching decoy drone." He pressed a button, and a drone broadcasting Lo'La's telemetry shot out of the bottom of the ship. D'Argo headed in the opposite direction of the drone. Sure enough, the Stryker went after the drone. They watched as an explosion marked the spot where the drone had been. "Looks like they bought it," John chuckled. "Scarrans is sooooo stupid."

"At least since we took out their chrystherium supply," D'Argo added. "Setting course back to rendezvous point with Moya."

John breathed a sigh of relief as they sped home. "Shame about that stuffed vork," he commented. "I think that the kid would have liked it." The kid. His unborn child. Although he didn't admit it to his friend, John Crichton would rather have faced the entire Scarran army than deal with becoming a father.

---

In Moya's medical bay, Aeryn cried out in pain as another contraction ripped through her body. They were coming faster, and becoming more painful, as the arns wore on. She was reclining on one of the beds, with pillows propping her back up.

"Breathe, Aeryn," Rygel admonished her. "Breathe in, then three short puffs out." He demonstrated for her, sounding like a deflating Prowler tire.

"Do you need a pain blocker?" Rygel asked, waving a syringe with colored liquid near her. The sight of the syringe, combined with the pain of the contractions, took Aeryn back to her imprisonment on the Scarran freighter. She cringed and pulled away from Rygel's hand. "All right, no pain blocker," Rygel said hesitantly. "Just breathe with me."

Aeryn did as he said, inhaling, then three short exhales. To her surprise, the pain from the contraction seemed to ease up. After about five series of breathing exercises, the pain faded. "That seemed to help," she gasped. "Where did you learn that?"

"Pilot found it in the medical data banks," Rygel informed her. He applied a cool cloth to her brow with surprising gentleness. "Want some of Noranti's tea?" he offered her. She nodded, and he put a straw into her mouth. As she drank, the cool, vaguely minty iced tea soothed her parched mouth.

"I'm glad that she brewed up a batch before she left," Aeryn agreed.

"Let's see," Chiana said from her position at the foot of the table. She stuck her head underneath a bedcover with Aeryn's spread legs. "Looks like you're about dilated about a dench," she observed, then popped her head back out. "What do we have to get to again, Pilot?"

"The data banks say about three denches." Aeryn groaned, and Rygel patted her shoulder to comfort her. "The contractions are currently about a quarter-arn apart," Pilot added. "Moya suggests that you walk around a bit, Aeryn."

"I'll trust her judgement," Aeryn agreed. Chiana helped her swing her legs over the side of the bed and stand up. She took a few hesitant steps, then walked some more. "Well, the longer this lasts, the more chance we have that the others will return. Any word from Lo'La, Pilot?"

"Not yet. I am broadcasting an encrypted message on our normal frequency. I will inform you as soon as I hear anything from them."

"Thank you," Aeryn sighed, then turned her attention back to Chiana and Rygel. "Since Noranti might not make it back in time, I need to tell you two something."

"What's that?" Chiana asked.

"I don't want any pain medication," she told them, very seriously. "I think you both can figure out why."

"Frelling Scarrans," Chiana snarled. "Look, Aeryn, you're not on that freighter. You're here, and we're going to try to do everything we can to deliver this baby..."

Rygel reached over and stroked her shoulder. "Flashbacks?" he asked quietly. Aeryn nodded wordlessly, her eyes threatening to tear up. "I know. I still get them occasionally, even after almost five arns of freedom. I had a lot more time being tortured than you did."

"Thank you, Rygel," she whispered.

"But that doesn't mean that you should forgo a pain blocker."

"I'll take my chances," she replied, hoping that Noranti and the others would hurry back.

---

Noranti looked down at the sleeping Kalish woman on the deck. "Ka D'Argo," she asked, "how long has it been since we left Nida?"

"An arn," the Luxan replied. "Why?"

"I need to change Sikozu's bandage. Crichton, could you assist me, please?"

She saw the Human exchange a look with D'Argo, then he slid out of the co-pilot's seat to help her. John squatted down next to Sikozu and studied her intently. "How's she doing?"

"I've put her under sedation to help her wound heal. While the Kalish are self-healing when their limbs are amputated, I am unsure of how well they recover from other wounds."

He absentmindedly stroked the girl's curly orange hair with one hand. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

Noranti reached for the medkit and handed him a sterile-packed bandage. "When I give the signal, open it and put it over the burn. She may twitch a bit as I pull the old bandage off." She pinched a loose corner of the old bandage - now shiny with gold-flecked liquid under it. "Ready, Crichton?" He nodded tersely. Noranti pulled the bandage up with a ripping sound. As she did, Sikozu made a sound somewhere between a moan and a scream. "Now!" the old woman ordered. John peeled the backing off of the bandage and gently laid it down on Sikozu's burned thigh. He put his other arm around the girl and held her until she quieted down. "You're good at this," Noranti observed.

"I guess I haven't lost all of my compassion over the past few cycles," he replied. His voice held more pain than usual.

A signal from the front console got everyone's attention. "We're being hailed," D'Argo told them. He reached above his head to hit the blinking button.

"Ka D'Argo!" Pilot greeted them. To Noranti's sensitive ears, he sounded tense.

D'Argo seemed to agree. "What's wrong, Pilot? We shouldn't have been able to contact you for at least another arn."

"Officer Sun felt that we should follow your flight path to rendezvous with you as early as possible. Moya and I agreed."

Noranti, John, and D'Argo exchanged worried looks. "Pilot, if there's Scarrans around, just high-tail it outta there," John advised, "we'll hook up with you later."

"Moya has not had any other vessels on her long-range scanners since before you left."

"Then why..." John started to ask.

"We wanted to meet you earlier because Aeryn is in labor." Pilot finished.

John opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out for a few microts. "She... she's having the baby?"

"Not at this moment, but she is experiencing contractions."

"How many microts apart?" Noranti frowned and spoke up.

"Approximately a quarter-arn."

"Put me through to her."

After a pause, they heard the sound of panting breathing, then Chiana's voice came across the comm link. "Uh, Aeryn's a little busy right now," she explained. "She's having another contraction."

John cut in before Noranti could say anything. "And you're helping her?"

"Me and Ryge," Chi answered.

"RYGEL!" John yelled.

"Don't worry, he's not down by her nally," Chiana laughed. "They're hyperventilating."

John looked confused, until Noranti mimed the panting that she'd taught Aeryn to relieve the pain from the contractions. "Oh, okay," he nodded. "Can I talk to her?"

"Hey, Aeryn!" Chiana called out, "Crichton wants to talk to you."

"CRICHTON, YOU FRELLNIK! GET YOUR FRELLING EEMA BACK HERE NOW!" Aeryn shouted between pants. Then she let out a painful scream.

John winced. D'Argo winced in sympathy. "Hang in there, baby," John encouraged her. "D'Argo's putting this puppy into high gear. We'll be there before you know it. Just hang on."

"Chiana," Noranti spoke up, "how far is she dilated?"

"A little over a dench," the girl replied.

"Good. She's about halfway there. Just keep doing what you've been doing, and she'll be fine. We'll be back before the hard part starts."

"What do you mean, hard part, Old Woman?" Aeryn snarled. "I've been having contractions for two arns now!"

"Patience, my dear. Just remember, the longer your labor goes, the more chance we'll have to be back before the baby comes out."

"Hang in there, babe," John encouraged his lover. "You'll be fine. Love you."

"Love you too. But GET BACK HERE!!!" she replied before the comms cut off.

The massive engines revved as D'Argo pushed the acceleration as far as it would go. "Don't worry, John. I will not let you miss the birth of your child."

John scooted over to the co-pilot's station. "We've got other problems, D," he observed. "That Stryker must've picked up our comms. They're headed this way."

"Frell!" D'Argo snarled, then he swore in Luxan as he engaged the cloaking mechanism. "Pushing it to hetch seven will get us there in half an arn, if the Scarrans don't find us by then."

"We'll just have to outrun them," John agreed.

"If not, we blow them out of the sky."

"Agreed. But let's hope that it doesn't come to that,"John said. He bit his lip and tried not to worry about Aeryn - either not getting back in time to help her, or her reaction when he finally did return to Moya.

---

Scorpius left the quarters that he shared with Sikozu and strode onto the bridge of the Command Carrier. In his hand, he held a chip that contained a message from Sikozu. He stared out of the main viewscreen at the vast field of stars, and wondered which one of them was the Nidan system.

Captain Braca, his friend and the nominal commander of this carrier, sidled up to him. "So you know," he said sotto voce, observing the recording chip in Scorpius' gloved hand.

"How long has she been gone?" Scorpius asked, without turning from the screen.

"A few arns," Braca replied. "She requisitioned a Prowler. The deck officer had orders not to refuse her. If I may say so, sir, it's for the best."

Scorpius turned his head and regarded Braca. "You are quite right, Captain. As resourceful as Sikozu is, I did not wish to put her in danger. She will be much safer wherever she is than she would be with us."

"Perhaps you should let her know that, sir."

Scorpius looked again at Braca. A cycle being abused by Grayza had made his exec officer much more astute. Besides, Scorpius' view of auras told him what Braca wouldn't dare to admit to him - or even to himself: he was attracted to the beautiful Kalish agent as well. If Sikozu returned Braca's affections, Scorpius couldn't tell. But nevertheless, Braca was correct. He should at least say his farewells before going into battle. "I'll be in my quarters, Captain," he said, then turned smartly and left the bridge.

---

"Frell!" John swore as he got a readout from Lo'La's sensors. "Those Scarrans are gaining on us. How are they able to see us when we're cloaked?"

"I don't know," D'Argo retorted. "Maybe we should ask them?"

"Maybe you should take this hunk of junk back to the Romulans to have your cloaking device upgraded," John shot back. D'Argo snarled a warning, but kept his focus on the targeting display. "Pilot, can you hear us?"

"Yes, Commander," Pilot answered over the comms.

"We're about a hundred microts out, and coming in hot. Deploy the docking web and get ready to starburst our butts out of here as soon as we're secure."

"Opening the hammond-side hatch now," he replied.

"How's Aeryn doing?"

Pilot paused for a beat. "Her contractions are now two hundred microts apart." Noranti looked up and started counting on her fingers. "Chiana reports that she's still dilated about two denches."

"Good, then we have some time," Noranti chimed in.

"Okay, let them know that Granny and I will be there in a few," John added.

"Hang on," D'Argo warned. "The Scarrans must have triangulated our signal. They're powering up their weapons."

"Can we make it to Moya in time?"

"I'm already on full burn," D'Argo replied. "It'll be tight. Depends on how quickly Pilot can get the DS activated."

"I will do my best," Pilot replied.

"They're firing on us!" John shouted. As soon as he said it, the impact of the frag cannon hit the ship. It shook violently, and sparks flew as panels exploded. "Frell!" John yelled as he protected his face from a sparking panel.

"Target locked," D'Argo informed them, ignoring what was going on at the co-pilot's position. "Firing." Two balls of fire flew out from Lo'La's cannons, and made a direct hit. The Stryker exploded, causing D'Argo and John to shield their eyes.

"Well, strike one Stryker," John commented. "Let's get back to Moya. Granny's got a baby to deliver."

"I am down with that," D'Argo agreed as he banked the ship into a tight turn, "Pilot, lower the DS. We're coming in." He steered back toward Moya.

John could hardly wait for the docking bay to pressurize before he opened the hatch. He grabbed Noranti's arm and pulled her down the stairs to the deck. "Move it, Noranti!"

The old woman looked back at Sikozu, who was just starting to stir. D'Argo grinned and waved Noranti off. "Go, take care of Aeryn. I'll follow you with Sikozu."

"I'll see you in medical," she grinned, then turned to John and patted him on the arm. "Go ahead, Crichton, I'll catch up to you."

John didn't need any more encouragement. He disengaged from Noranti, and tore out of the docking bay. "Aeryn!" he hit his comm as he ran, "I'm comin' baby!" He covered the three tiers to the lab in what seemed like record time. He flew through the open door to see Aeryn in a half-sitting position on the diagnostic table, breathing heavily. Rygel was mopping her brow with a cloth. Chiana was down by her legs, which were spread and covered with a bedcover. John crossed the room in three strides."Hey, babe," he grinned. "Did I miss anything?"

"Just a bunch of contractions," she smiled wearily. "And these two playing midwife."

"Hey, it was easier than when Talyn was born," Chiana joked. "Where's Noranti?"

"Right behind me." John took Aeryn's hand in his. "How ya doing?" he asked as he stroked her hair with his other hand.

"Not very well," she told him. "I'm glad you're back."

"So am I," he whispered as he bent over to kiss her forehead. As he touched her, something felt very wrong. He broke off the kiss, and laid his hand on her forehead, then touched her cheek, then her exposed chest. "Jeeze, babe, you're burning up."

"We know," Rygel hovered in next to him and spoke up. "Her core temperature is way above normal. Chiana and I have been trying to get it down, but we haven't been very successful." The Dominar's earbrows were knotted with concern. They all knew what it meant.

John stroked her hair again and smiled down at her. He tried very hard not to show her that he was worried. "It's all right, Aeryn. You're doing just fine."

"Liar," she whispered, but there was no condemnation in her voice. "I've had heat delirium before. I know what's going on. Just promise me that you'll save the baby."

"Now, none of that," Noranti snapped from the door. She strode in, giving the impression of a woman in her element. "I've delivered hundreds of babies in my lifetime, and I've seen women in worse condition than you are have healthy deliveries," she admonished. As she got to the table, she took a quick look at the monitors that Chiana had clumsily connected to Aeryn. Noranti made a few adjustments, peered at them, and made a "tch" noise. Then she looked down at Aeryn. The old woman's third eye turned from blue to reddish-pink, and started to glow. She felt Aeryn's abdomen, then peeked under the bedcover to check her progress.

"Ow!" Aeryn complained and shifted away from the old woman's hand.

"That explains a little of what's happening," Noranti said as she pulled the bedcover back. "Your blood pressure is elevated as well as your temperature, and your muscles are much too tense. We need to get your temperature down in a hurry."

"We've been trying," Rygel began.

"It's not enough. Water, we need to get you into water...."

"I'll fill a tub," John volunteered as he stroked Aeryn's hair absentmindedly.

"Not enough time," Noranti snapped.

"The shower?" Chiana asked.

"If I may," Pilot interrupted over the clamshell, "I believe that I have a solution. Moya's amnexis fluid is fairly cool. You could float her in the amnexis pool."

Noranti smiled and pointed at the clamshell. "Good thinking!"

"Chiana, you and Ryge help Granny get what she needs. We'll meet you in the amnexis chamber," John ordered. "Come on, babe. Let me help you." Aeryn swung her legs over the edge of the bed and eased herself down with John's help. She put an arm around his neck for support. "D'Argo," John said into his comms, "we're heading down to the amnexis chamber. You and Sikozu meet us there."

"Sikozu?" Chiana and Rygel asked together.

"Long story," John told them as he helped Aeryn out of the room. As they were walking, Aeryn gasped and clutched her belly. He felt her body become warmer almost immediately. He paused and looked at her. "What is it honey? What's wrong?

"Another... contraction..." she gasped. "Wait a microt."

John paused and pulled her against his chest. "Okay, breathe," he murmured. "Just take it easy. Ride it out, and it'll pass." He felt her puffs of breath against his chest as he stroked her hair. He counted sixty microts until the contraction passed.

"They're getting longer and more frequent," she observed between labored breaths.

Once they arrived in the amnexis chamber, he took a microt to formulate a plan. "Okay, babe," he whispered as he stepped over the wall of the amnexis tank. The cool, white liquid went up to his knees, and immediately filled his boots. "You owe me a new pair of boots," he joked and extended his hand to her. She gingerly stepped over the wall of the pool. "Sit down slowly, so it doesn't shock your system," he explained. She held on to him as she lowered herself into the cool liquid. He sat on the wall, and tucked her body between his legs. She eased back against him, letting her hips float naturally. "That's right, babe. Just lean back against me." He pulled her long hair into his hands, then pulled it back out of the amnexis fluid.

"Mmmm.... that's better," she sighed as he massaged her shoulders. She was still overly warm, but seemed to be more relaxed.

Their moment alone was spoiled by the arrival of D'Argo, carrying Sikozu in his arms. The Kalish girl was just starting to wake. "Wh... D'Argo?" she asked. "This is not possible. Where am I? What happened?"

"You're back on Moya," D'Argo informed her. Sikozu's eyes widened as Chiana and Rygel entered the room with Noranti.

Chiana looked at Sikozu and narrowed her eyes. "So, you came back with them, huh? What, you get tired of freaky frelling with Fek-face?"

"No, but I suppose that you would be the expert in that department," Sikozu snapped as D'Argo set her down gently. "I stumbled across these two idiots getting into trouble, as usual. I decided to help out, and I got shot for my efforts."

"It was either take her with us or leave her to the Scarrans," D'Argo added.

John's attention returned to Noranti, who hiked up her skirts and stepped into the amnexis pool. "Chiana! Sikozu!" Noranti snapped. "This isn't helping Aeryn! Now, stop arguing, Chiana, and help me here," she ordered. To John's surprise, Chiana jumped to attention.

"What can I do?" Chiana asked.

"I need a stool or a chair," Noranti said.

"I'm on it," Chiana said, then darted out of the room.

Noranti placed her hands on Aeryn's belly and felt around. She reached down and measured how dilated Aeryn was by sight. "You're at three denches," she announced. "When was your last contraction?"

"On the way down here," Aeryn replied.

"How are you feeling?" Noranti asked.

Aeryn sighed with a mixture of pain and relief. "This is better. I'm feeling cooler, but my back still hurts. John, can you try to rub my lower back?"

He reached down below the water line and stroked her back. "It's an awkward position, and I don't think that I can get it." He looked around the room, then got an inspiration. "Hey, Sparky! Lend a flipper here."

"What the frell can I do?" Rygel asked with a haughty sniff.

"You're amphibious, right? Get down there and rub Aeryn's back."

Rygel looked at him in utter contempt. "What do I look like, a midwife?"

"You did a quarter of an arn ago," Aeryn reminded him.

The Dominar looked from John to Aeryn to Noranti, then back to Aeryn. "Oh, all right," he grumbled as he pulled off his robe to reveal a bright red flannel union suit, complete with a flap over the butt with a hole for Rygel's stub of a tail.

John had to hold back laughter as Rygel dove into the amnexis fluid. Almost immediately, Aeryn sighed and relaxed even further. "I guess the little slug is good for something after all," John joked. No sooner did he say that when several bubbles floated to the surface and popped, emitting a sulfurous odor. He and Aeryn both groaned. "Farting is one thing. I just hope he doesn't decide to pee in the pool."

Aeryn winced with pain as another contraction started. Noranti squatted down into the amnexis between the younger woman's legs. She reached down and started feeling around. "Ah, very good," she nodded encouragingly. "You're starting to transition. If you feel the need to start pushing, go right ahead. I'm going to apply some counter-pressure during your contractions."

"I'm back!" Chiana announced as she darted into the room carrying a three-legged stool. She sat it down into the amnexis, and Noranti made herself comfortable on it.

"Good," the old woman said. "Keep that tea handy. She'll need to cool her throat." It was no lie. John was hanging onto his lover for dear life, as the contraction was causing her to thrash with all of her considerable strength.

"Breathe, baby... in and out...." he murmured to her. "You're doin' great. Just a little while longer."

"It shouldn't be long now," Noranti agreed as she waved Chiana over. "Here. Massage her stomach, like this," she demonstrated. Chiana nodded and started imitating Noranti's motions.

John looked down at Aeryn as she laid her head back on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head gently and stroked her hair. Even though she was in the midst of a contraction, he knew that she wasn't afraid anymore. She was surrounded by her family, and that they would all be there to help her bring the child into the Universe.

---

From her vantage point on the other side of the amnexis chamber, Sikozu watched the proceedings with interest. As a scientist, she was curious about the birthing process. Not that she had any desire - or ability - to reproduce. Naturally, she was concerned about Aeryn. The former Peacekeeper had been one of the few who had really reached out to her during her time on Moya. Not to mention that Sikozu felt somewhat responsible for Aeryn's capture and subsequent torture by the Scarrans. If the Kalish had worshipped any deities, she would certainly be appealing to them now for a safe delivery.

A sharp vibration against the inside of her forearm jolted her thoughts away from Aeryn's labor. She knew immediately what it was - a signal from Scorpius. He had given her a long-range holographic transmitter that she'd embedded into her gauntlet. The only other person who knew about the transmitter was Captain Braca. Since she was often on intelligence-gathering missions for the Peacekeepers, Scorpius and Braca felt that a hidden communications beacon would be necessary. But this was the first time that it had been activated from the Command Carrier. Although she was curious to hear the message, she hesitated to play it in front of everyone. So she waited and watched, knowing that any information that she could take back to Scorpius about Crichton's child would be invaluable.

---

For Aeryn, time was irrelevant. All that mattered was pain and lack of it - breathing through the pain of the contraction, pushing, and focusing on the baby's progress. She felt John's strong arms holding her and was grateful for his support and encouragement. D'Argo was holding one of her hands. Rygel's hands were supporting her buttocks, and Chiana was massaging her abdomen and crooning a soothing melody. But most of all, she felt that, by floating in the amnexis pool, she was communing with Moya in a way that only Pilot would understand. It was as if Moya was encircling and protecting her and the baby.

"Good job, Aeryn," Noranti encouraged. "You're starting to crown. I can see the top of the head. Crichton, come around here so you can catch the baby."

"D'Argo?" John asked as Aeryn felt his body shift behind her. D'Argo released her hand. He slid into position behind her as John slid out. The two men tried very hard not to jostle her, but she still found it awkward.

"Go ahead, lean back against me," D'Argo told her. She relaxed backwards into his shoulder, wedged between his shoulder and his tankas. She reached out and grasped the first thing that she could touch. "But don't touch the tankas..." he chuckled. His beard scratched her cheek as he did, and she started to laugh too.

Meanwhile, John re-positioned himself between her legs, next to Noranti. "She's right, babe. I can see the top of his head." He took her hand and guided it between her legs. She felt a curved skull bone and fuzzy hair. "Wow," he murmured, awe-struck.

Another contraction started. She braced herself against D'Argo and started her breathing exercises again. "Push as hard as you can," Noranti urged her. "We're almost there."

"I'm so tired.... I can't push anymore," Aeryn gasped between breaths.

"Push, you Peacekeeper coward!" D'Argo rumbled into her ear.

"Who... the frell... are you... calling... a coward!" she snarled, and pushed with all of her might and let out a deafening scream to punctuate it.

"That's great, babe," John encouraged her. "The top of the head has cleared."

"Just a little while longer," Noranti added. "Give another push."

Aeryn imagined herself on a long training run in heavy gravity. She dug down into her core and pushed again. She could actually feel Chiana trying to give her energy through massaging her stomach, and she accepted it gratefully. This time, she felt a sharp, burning pain from her vagina and something slide out.

"Commander Crichton!" Pilot called out from the clamshell with a panicked voice.

"Not now, Pilot! The baby's almost here!" John replied.

"His head is out," Noranti cried. "John, put your hands right there."

Aeryn felt John's hand supporting the baby's head, while the other continued counter-pressure on her perineum. "Almost there, honey. Give me another one to get the shoulders out," he said. As she closed her eyes, Aeryn saw a reflection of blue. It was as if Zhaan was reaching out from beyond to share her life energy again. She took that energy and used it to give another push. Two sets of hands maneuvered the baby as she did. Then, finally, she had the feeling of the baby sliding out and into the amnexis fluid. A lot of things happened at once. Chiana stopped her massage. D'Argo cried out with joy. Noranti started saying something to John, but Aeryn couldn't hear it past the sound of her own heartbeat. Then, she felt John put something warm and slippery on her stomach. Aeryn opened her eyes and looked down at her son. He was small and purplish-pink, with wispy black hair on his head and his umbilical cord still attached. Noranti leaned over and gave him a slight tap between his tiny shoulder blades. He coughed once. Some mucus came out of his mouth and landed on Aeryn's stomach. The baby gave a burble, then a loud cry - as if to complain about being taken out of his comfortable, watery environment. John sloshed over to her and took her in his arms. He had tears in his blue eyes. "We have a son, Aeryn. A beautiful son." As she reached out and took her baby into her arms, Aeryn started to cry, too. "I love you so much," he sighed and kissed her.

She curled up into his embrace and looked at the crying, purple infant in her arms. "I love you, too," she replied. Tentatively, she traced the outline of his tiny face with her index finger. The baby opened his eyes and looked up at her with deep blue eyes. "Hello there, little one," she whispered as she felt tears of joy and exhaustion well up in her eyes. "I'm your mother."

Suddenly, she felt a slight jolt as whatever was supporting her from underneath gave way. "Can I come up now?" Rygel asked as he surfaced from the amnexis fluid.

Everyone started laughing. "Yes, Rygel," Noranti chuckled as she tied off the umbilical cord. "You can come out now. The baby's here."

"I know that. I saw it come out. Interesting view from underneath," he began.

"Shut up, Buckwheat," John joked. "No comment about my wife's nether parts." Rygel started to say something, then, for once, closed his mouth.

"So, what's his name?" Chiana asked as she leaned over John's shoulder to see the baby. He was losing his purplish color, and picking up a healthy pink glow.

Aeryn moved the baby up to her breast awkwardly. Noranti moved over and corrected her, then Aeryn guided his mouth over her nipple. To her relief, he immediately knew what to do. He latched on and started suckling almost at once. "He went right for the looma. He certainly is his father's son," she joked, "so I should probably call him John." She smiled up at John. "But, we already agreed on a name before this. So, everyone, meet Talyn John Crichton." D'Argo, Rygel, and Chiana murmured their agreement.

"Crichton... Aeryn...." another voice said from the clamshell.

"Yes, Pilot?" Aeryn asked.

"Moya wishes to thank you for naming your child after hers," he said. "And there's something else that you should see." He switched the visual over to what Moya's sensors showed. A large, blue wormhole appeared on the screen, dead in front of Moya. "It opened up right before the baby came." Aeryn looked down at baby Talyn, then up at John. He was clearly disturbed by this announcement, as was she.

"Do you think it means anything?" Chiana asked.

"I think it does," John said, with a note of fear in his voice. "But what, I don't know."

---

Half an arn later, Aeryn was resting, dry and comfortable, on a bed in the medical bay. She was exhausted, but happier than she'd ever been in her life. John was sitting next to her, holding baby Talyn in his arms and talking nonsense about Earth sports to him. One of his fingers was curled up in their son's tight little fist. Sikozu was on the other bed, trying her best to keep Noranti from medicating her any further. Rygel was hovering around, but D'Argo and Chiana had disappeared somewhere.

Rygel hovered in close over John's shoulder and examined Talyn. "Finally! Something on this ship that's smaller than me!"

"Wait a few weekens, and he'll be smellier than you, too," John laughed. "We've got to teach you how to change diapers."

Rygel snorted. "Are you sure that you shouldn't be feeding him again? My offspring required almost constant feeding for the first few weekens."

"He doesn't want any more right now," Aeryn snapped. "Unlike other small things on this ship, Talyn doesn't have three stomachs." Rygel harrumphed and hovered away.

"I am telling you that I am fine," Sikozu snapped at Noranti as she pushed her away. "I just need to regenerate the skin cells on my leg for a few arns."

"Whatever you like," Noranti shrugged. "I'll check in on Aeryn again." She crossed back over to Aeryn's bedside. "I need to borrow Talyn for a few microts," she said. Aeryn reluctantly handed her child to the old woman. "I just want to give him a thorough examination."

As if on cue, the door opened, and Chiana's eema poked through. "Surprise!" the girl called out as she attempted to drag something through the door. Four DRDs, including 1812, were attached to cables and were attempting to pull the object along with her.

Aeryn saw that D'Argo was on the other side, pushing against something that was covered with a gold bedcover. "Push harder, you Luxan coward!" she teased. D'Argo looked up and snarled playfully at her.

When they finally managed to drag the large object into the room, Chiana cleared her throat. "Everybody.... D'Argo and I wanted to give our friends something special for their first child, and hopefully for many more to come."

"Talk to me about that later," Aeryn interrupted, as everyone laughed.

"We've been working on it for a few monens now," D'Argo continued. "So, go ahead and take the cover off."

John handed the baby back to Aeryn, then stood up. He pulled the cover off of the object and let out a surprised exclamation. It was an intricately carved wooden rocking chair! The design was as familiar to John as the back of his hand. It was an exact match to the one in his parents' bedroom when he was a child. "D'Argo... Pip... I don't know what to say. Thank you!"

"Yes, thank you!" Aeryn agreed. "It's beautiful."

D'Argo smiled sheepishly. "I saw the one in your father's house, and wanted to duplicate it. He thought it was a good idea. He helped me purchase the wood and take photographs and measurements of the original. I'm glad that you like it."

Sikozu cleared her throat. Everyone turned toward her. "If I may," she began. "I do not want to ruin this happy occasion, but I have a message that you may be interested in." She looked up at Crichton. "It's from Scorpius."

"Go on," John said quietly. His body tensed reflexively. Aeryn put a hand on his arm.

"Some of it is rather... personal," she explained. Then, Sikozu extended her arm and pressed a few buttons. A red holographic image of Scorpius appeared in the medical bay. Aeryn felt John's arm tighten around her shoulders, as if protecting his family from his arch-enemy.

"My dearest Sikozu," Scorpius began. Rygel snorted with derision. "The time has come that we must part."

"Oh, no!" Sikozu exclaimed and clapped a hand over her mouth in horror.

"Our Command Carrier has been ordered to rendezvous with the Peacekeeper fleet. We are going into battle. You are much safer where you are than with us, my pet."

"Obviously, he doesn't realize that she's with us," Rygel cracked.

"Be silent!" Sikozu hissed.

The holographic Scorpius continued. "Peacekeeper High Command wishes to thank you for your service to our cause. You and the Kalish resistance will not be forgotten. As for me, I want you to know that you have taught me a great many things. I will never forget you. Also," the hologram said, "if you should happen to encounter Crichton and the crew of Moya, please send my greetings to them." Aeryn felt John's body stiffen even further. She looked up at him with concern. His expression was hard, dangerous. "I will probably be disciplined by High Command for relaying this information, but I owe a debt. The Charrids, at the urging of Emperor Staleek, have launched a pre-emptive attack on the Hynerian Empire." it was Rygel's turn to gasp in horror. "They are, unfortunately, making rapid progress. Within a weeken, Peacekeeper intelligence feels that they will be striking at Hyneria Prime. Dominar Bishen has requested that the Peacekeepers honor their mutual defense pact. We will be continuing on to Hynerian space once we rendezvous with the fleet. Sikozu, if there is any way to relay this message to the crew of Moya, please do so. Tell them that the situation is ripe for Rygel to reclaim his throne, if the Charrids can be defeated. Dearest Sikozu, this is not your fight. All that I can say is, until we meet again..." Scorpius bowed, then the hologram flickered out. Sikozu sat mute, staring at the spot where the hologram had been. Chiana went over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sikozu acknowledged the gesture by placing one of her own hands over Chiana's.

"I don't get it," D'Argo broke the silence. "Why would Scorpius want us to know about this, and enlist our help?"

"It's a setup," John answered. "He told us this so we'd owe him, and I'd turn over the wormhole technology to him."

"No, Crichton, it is not a setup," Sikozu replied. "Scorpius was reinstated into the Peacekeeper ranks on two conditions. One was that he abandon his wormhole research. The other was that he left you alone. It seems that High Command, once they found out who took out Katratzi, decided that you were much more of an ally on your own than in their hands."

"How do ya like that? All I had to do was nuke a planet, and they leave me alone!"

"So," Rygel spoke up, "how are we getting to my homeworld, and when are we leaving?" Everyone looked at him. "Well, you heard him. If I'm going to take my throne back, now is the time. I'm not going to let this opportunity pass me by."

D'Argo looked from Rygel to John. "How soon can your wormholes get us there?"

John looked down at Aeryn, then looked over at Noranti, who was unhooking their son from a monitor. "I'm not sure," he said. "We'll have to have precise coordinates..."

"I'm afraid that we may have to delay that trip," Noranti spoke up. She took baby Talyn into her arms. "Crichton, Aeryn, I have some bad news. I don't know how to say this..."

Aeryn felt her stomach heave. "What's wrong?" she whispered, not wanting to know.

"Talyn appears to have a congential heart defect. His heart muscle is weakened on one side, probably owing to the combination of Human and Sebacean genes. Or some other cause that I can't figure out."

John reached out and took their son from Noranti, and look at him closely, as if trying to look through his skin to his chest cavity. "Why didn't we see this before?"

"Everything appeared to be fine..."

"So," Aeryn interrupted, "what you're saying is that my son is a defective?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"He has a heart defect," Noranti corrected her. "It can most likely be corrected by surgery, and he will develop normally. But I am not a surgeon. We need to seek one out."

Aeryn reached up and took her son from John. She looked down at his pink cheeks, wispy black hair, and long lashes as he slept. "I can't..." she stammered, and looked up at John. "I fought so hard to protect him. Everything that happened to me... the heat delirium, the Scarran drugs and torture, being crystallized and reconstituted... he survived all of that..."

"Hey," John whispered and embraced her tightly. "It's not your fault. You heard her."

Rygel cleared his throat. "If I may," he began, "I believe I have a solution. If we go to Hyneria Prime, I will gladly pay for the services of the best Diagnosan in the Empire to perform the surgery. I promise you that."

John pulled away and looked at Aeryn. There was no question in her mind about what to do. She nodded slightly. John turned to Rygel. "That settles it. We're going to Hyneria to get your throne back, Sparky. May God help us all."

---

Scorpius stood with Captain Braca at his side as they received the holographic commique from Commendant Grayza. Neither man displayed any outward sign of their mutual hatred of the woman, but Scorpius could see the revulsion in Braca's aura. She smiled dangerously as the hologram came into focus.

"Scorpius. Captain Braca," she acknowledged them with emphasis on Braca's rank. "There has been a change in plans. High Command has decided not to honor our defense pact with the Hynerian Empire."

"Why not?" Scorpius asked.

"It is part of a greater strategy, one which will ultimately benefit all of our allied races," Grayza stated earnestly. Or with mock earnestness? She had Scorpius at a loss; the hologram projected too thin a color range for him to see her aura. "Lately High Command has become concerned about voices of dissention among our allies. Some worlds say they'd be better off without us, and after thousands of arns of our protection they wish to withdraw from us. Some say we have been corrupted. Some say we are fighting genocidal battles, wars to suppress cultural or religious diversity, or simply to keep ourselves falsely relevant. Others say worse. And sometimes they use loaded words like 'dialogue', 'discussion', or 'freedom'." She sneered at the last word. "They all have thing in common -- they criticize us, wish to change us from our course as Peacekeepers. There is no good purpose to that. In days such as these, criticism of High Command only supports the enemy."

"And then there is Dominar Bishen, who has taken to an even sillier theme. He says he is the greatest Dominar to ever live. Some of his hangers-on have even convinced his people to call him the 'God-Dominar'. Yes, it translates badly," she smiled coldly. "He says the Hynerian Empire is sufficient unto itself. Obviously, he is wrong. He himself is their flaw. The Empire has become rotten at the core. It is no longer worth defending. However, I have met personally with some members of High Command, and have convinced them that the Hynerians have another purpose."

"Which is?" asked Braca.

Grayza grimaced. Scorpius could guess her thoughts at that point: Shouldn't this be obvious, even to Braca? But Scorpius could see that he was underplaying the situation, and felt pride at how much Braca had learned from him. Braca's -- and Scorpius' -- two real questions were, how far would she take this, and how far had she taken it already?

"Hyneria will serve as the sacrificial example. Bishen says he does not need us? Well, then let him fight his own war. Let him show the worlds how well he does without us. When his head is presented in the Hynerian palace square on the end of a Scarran pike, when the rape, torture, and genocide of the Hynerian people becomes widely known, the other races will see reason. They will know they are better off with the Peacekeepers than without them, and they will end their distracting dissent once they see we are willing to exact a penalty for it."

Scorpius turned and sorted the argument in his mind. It was complete. It was logical. It was brutally effective. The Scarrans would be impressed with its brutality, and overall delighted with her gift to them. He did not need to consider it further. However, he did not allow his expression to change.

Grayza continued, changing to a less earnest command tone. "We have new orders. While the Charrids are occupying themselves with the Hynerians, we will be striking at the heart of the Scarran Empire itself. You and the rest of the fleet are to set coordinates at once for the Kalish system. Do you have a problem with that?" she challenged.

Scorpius exchanged a warning look with Braca. "Not at all," he grinned. "It appears that we are both getting what we wanted after all, Commendant." With that, he terminated the link. "Bitch," he snarled in his Scarran voice. A few bridge officers noticed this with surprise, but even in his heat Scorpius noticed they did not disagree. They would forget the breach -- that was their training. He pulled together his self-control, and continued talking in a Sebacean voice too soft for anyone beyond Braca to hear. "Grayza thinks she can whore for the affection of Fate, just as she uses that poison between her loomas to whore for the control of High Command. Arrogance!" His voice became a Scarran rumble again. "Fate will delude her, have its way with her, leave her to breathe vacuum, her lovely fleshy skin freezing in space until it hardens to leather harder than a Scarran's!" He labored to pull in a calming breath, and his voice became Sebacean again. "But not soon enough. Not before she erases what little of our honor is left." He turned away from Braca slightly, but kept speaking no louder than a whisper.

"Captain Braca, you know my history. I was not born a Peacekeeper. I chose to become one. And when I did, I chose to learn their customs, their regulations, their training, and their history. It is an honorable history. When we began, we were truly protectors of the peace, allowing infant civilizations to grow to maturity. Once they did, some chose to join us as warriors, become part of the great cause. The others were still valuable, though. They brought us food, materials, art, literature, technology, even the support of their gods. We did not consume, enslave, control, condemn or destroy ... such actions are the domain of the Scarrans. Yes, the Peacekeepers fit my need for revenge against the Scarrans. But when I saw their history, I saw, for the first time in my life, a worthwhile use for my genius, my will, my anger." Now, the protectors have become the controllers, the tyrants. Crichton's race has an ugly word for it - Fascism. A philosophy that values nothing but power. It is a natural process, but it does not happen unil those in command allow themselves to succumb to it. Do you understand?"

Braca nodded subtly, with awe at Scorpius' words. "Yes, I do."

"Good. Then I am working with a far better Peacekeeper than that tralk. Not that I had any doubt."

"Thank you sir. So, what do we do now?"

"For now we follow her order ... but we watch and wait for the mistake we know she will make. And, if I know John Crichton, he will frell up her plans somehow." He smiled ruefully. "He really is quite good at that."

Braca raised his head and commanded the bridge. "You heard the good Commandant. Set a course for the Kalish system. We're going to battle." The bridge officers jumped to follow his command.

The tension of impending battle changed their auras to Scorpius' eyes. He turned away from the action of the bridge to stare into the black void beyond. "I was right, my dear Sikozu," Scorpius said to no one in particular. "You are safer where you are than here."

To be continued...