"Jack, can I ask you a question?" Anne asked looking at Jack sitting in the mess. Jack was wearing a pair of loose fitting cargo pants, not so loose now that she was nearly four months pregnant. The deep olive color seemed to enhance the glow of her skin and the loose yellow button up shirt she wore hid her condition enough to where a stranger wouldn't give her a second glance.
"Sure." She answered braiding her chestnut hair back away from her face. Her lush green eyes seemed to twinkle when she talked now and Anne was grateful that Riddick was able to bring the old Jack back to them.
"How long before you knew that you loved Riddick?" she asked sitting next to her drinking a glass of cold water.
"I," she chuckled looking at her. "It's not your usual kind of "love" story, I was fourteen and he was a lot older. He saved my life so many times, and it started out as hero worship, but when I grew up, it was definitely something else. I waited for four years and it was really frustrating at times."
Anne sighed, a frustrated sigh of someone who was needed relief. "Frustration is definitely something I am not handling well."
"Daddy always looking over your shoulder?" she quipped pointing towards the gym where Salim, Riddick and Kalifa were sparring.
"You have no idea. We can't even touch one another. AT ALL. It's been that way since we left New Mecca."
Nearly two months… Jesus talk about frustration…
"Got an idea, but it's gonna take a little work. You up for it?" she asked looking at her friend who no longer donned a veil or even a head scarf and who wore what clothes she couldn't fit into any longer.
"If it means me actually getting to kiss him, you bet." She said scoffing Jack.
"Meet me later on the bridge, I'll have a plan." She said confidently and Anne watched as the wheels began to turn.
"Man I thought Riddick was dead?" Roper, a twenty something pilot with bad skin, asked Toombs as they hit the bridge of his new ship. It was an incentive purchase to get Riddick and Jack and he knew that he'd need to make sure they came back in one piece. Along the wall towards the pilot's chair was a room lined with cryo tubes and retraints.
"Me too, but pictures don't lie Danny-boy. This is one dangerous mother fucker." Toombs said popping in the vid disc and watching the show.
Roper flinched as he watched with deadly presicion how Riddick worked in near darkness in tandem with the two others on their list. "Why is this Jack so important?"
"See Danny boy, these Pilgrims, these holy rollers like things a certain way." He said putting his feet up and watching with sadistic glee how Riddick worked. "Man, talk about beautiful. Gotta admit the bastard's got style. You see, Jack, beautiful piece that she is, don't let those bruises stop ya, I saw them on the hanger deck when she was a kid and I knew that she'd stop traffic with those legs. Damn."
"Uh Toombs, you need a minute?" Roper laughed looking at her picture on the view screen before the men came in to have fun with her.
"Shut it, I'm making my point asshole. Riddick, the holy man, he's dead now, and this little fish survived the crash of the Hunter Gratzner."
"They were on that fucken ship? Holy Shit!" Roper asked looking at the scene where Faisal and his brothers walked in. He was amazed that every room had a live feed and watched with morbid fascination the unfolding of events.
"Yeah, according to reports, Riddick was supposed to have died, but he really didn't. He's like a fucken cockroach... He saved the girl. Now, my question at the time was why? That got answered when he reached New Mecca and I saw him leave her. You could cut the tension with a knife Danny boy. He loves her, so much it hurt. He walked away, and I could see it in his face, ah, the torment."
"Why didn't you grab him then?" Roper asked adjusting his seat in the chair because he had been watching them hurt her so brutally.
"Sentimental I guess. No one had a payday on his head, everyone thought he was dead, didn't interest me cause I didn't get anything out of it." he said plainly cocking his head to one side as he listened to the taunting between Riddick and Faisal. "See, listen. This is a good part, part of the charm he oozes."
And both men heard Riddick tell Faisal why he was gonna die.
"Get the fuck away from her." They heard him growl, and watched as he descended upon them. In a cold animalistic fury. "Mother fuckers couldn't find your own women, you had to steal mine? Big fucken mistake. You," he said pointing his shiv towards Faisal, "made three mistakes. First," he said moving him away from the bed, "you put your hands on her."
"See what I mean here? Look at him. He's putting himself at risk telling that fat fuck that. But he knows his capabilities. Look at how he taunts the prick." Toombs said pointing at the screen. "I love this part."
"She is mine and I demand your blood for killing my brothers, then I demand hers for this." he spat his chest dripping blood from Jack's slash. Riddick stood there shivs ready and smiled.
"Mother fucker doesn't even know he's already dead. Wait, I love this part too. Like I said, Style." He continued playing with the other discs in his hand.
"Second, you went after her. Mother fucker you need to learn when to quit." He said taunting him with his shivs. "Three, you went and pissed me off by hurting her."
"And we're gonna go after that? You sure you wanna die?" Roper asked sweating a little.
"Two Million for him and a quarter million for her AND this new ship, you got to be shitting me." Toombs said scoffing Roper's question. "We just need to get a crew together I can trust. Then, we'll just turn on the homing beacon they hid on the landing gear and it's just a matter of time."
"Good evening Jack." Riddick said coming quietly up behind her. His arms wrapped around her and she never felt more loved.
Turning around she put her arms around his neck and leaned back giving him his kiss, deep and penetrative. "Good evening there you."
He chuckled deep in his chest and she laughed as well. "Never get tired of that you know. Good rules are so important."
"Are you captain of your ship?" she asked as his hand drifted to the small distention under her shirt.
"Yeah." He said smiling as he rubbed her. She purred and let him keep his hand pressed flat against the child that grew so strong inside her.
"Got a little problem that I need you to help me with." She asked as they walked to the bridge.
Sitting in the pilot's chair he pulled her onto his lap and continued to pet her, something she'd never get enough of. His mouth rested against her neck and he pecked lightly at her skin, purring because she made him feel so incredible. He couldn't believe how lucky he was, here she wasin his arms, his baby growing inside her andshe loved him. Sometimes it was too much to take."So little lady, tell me what I can do to help you with this problem." He told her with a knowing look.
"I've got a friend of mine, a good friend who's REALLY frustrated, needing to get some very, very bad." She said and his hands drifted upward from the sleeping bundle in her stomach to her lush full breasts. "She'd like you to make that problem go away."
"I bet." He crooned in her ear, nipping it.
He was driving her to distraction, not good for the moment since she was talking about Kalifa and Anne not about her, but it could definitely be her at that point.
His fingers grazed her sensitive nipples and it took every ounce of concentration to be able to focus. "Mm baby, listen to me. Anne and Kalifa are in love, and have been since before he got married the first time. Mm Riddick, stop for a minute."
"Don't want to, I like making you squirm, this close I can smell you and I know you like it. Try and deny it Jack." He said low and gruff in her ear.
Her moan as his fingers tortured hersensitive skinwas answer enough. He smiled and put his hand back down on her stomach causing her to groan out loud. "You were saying." He asked her as innocent as a lamb.
"Marry them. Salim is not even letting them touch each other AT ALL." she said feeling suddenly very weird. That strange feeling had been coming and going and she had asked Sasha about it who only laughed. "He won't even let them alone in the same room.
"I can do that?" he asked looking up at her.
"You're the captain, of course you can, then it's horizontal mambo for our best friends."
"Your best friends, you're mine and all I need." He told her kissing her chin and smiling.
"So you'll do it?" she asked feeling it again, this time much stronger. It was a twinge and a thump and she instantly knew what it meant.
"Sure. What's wrong, your face is all scrunched up again." he said suddenly concerned. "You in pain?"
"Give me your hand." She demanded. She took it, placed it underneath the loose fitting shirt and placed it on her stomach. "Talk to me. About anything. Just talk."
"About what?" he asked confused.
"Anything." She said in an excited hurried voice.
"Well, today we nearly killed each other in the gym and Salim was kind of impressed at the fact I'm so god damn fast." He said as his eyes went wide like fried eggs. "Holy shit Jack!"
The baby kicked him, strong and hard. "Say hello to Daddy kid, that sultry sexy growl is all his."
His face glowed with pride. "Hey kid, you in there?" he said standing Jack up in his lap and leaning his face on her shirt. His low vibrating tones caused his baby to kick again and Jack laughed hard and loud and he joined her so fucken happy he couldn't stand it.
"Damn Jack, and I thought it couldn't get any better." He said pulling her into his arms. "You can have anything you want."
"I knew that." She quipped smiling.
"I'll talk to Kalifa." He told her snuggling against her neck. "Then you and I are gonna have a little "private" time."
Dinner in the mess was always a family affair and Salim was the only one who didn't realize that something was going on. He rose from the table, went towards the gym where he could meditate and bid his good evenings.
"So," Riddick started sitting on the couch. "I was wondering how you both felt about you know, making it official."
Kalifa looked at him shocked. Riddick never talked about New Mecca or what had been going on the predicate him saving Anne. "Uh," looking at Anne who helped Jack clean the dishes. "we don't get a lot of chances to talk about it. Father is very…"
"I know I see. What do you say Anne, you gonna put up with this guy for the rest of your life?"
"Yes." She said shyly. Riddick had never been this open with her and it made her nervous.
"We're 12 hours out of New London, I think we can safely put down if you can handle the fast restock and refuel." He told them taking Jack and walking with her out.
Jack squeezed his hand when she heard the squeal of delight from Anne, then a hushed silence. "Thank you."
"Now, I think you and I need to "talk"." he told her lifting her up and carrying her towards their room.
He slammed the door, locked it and they did more than just talk.