To all my favorites, and those who review just try and deciper the message Janis sends...
Sista SITA wuv ewe too.
Rose: look for the quippy quote to make your day. See if it's the one I think it is.
To all, thanks for sticking by me. Yes, Toombs is an ass but hey, we all can't be Jack, oh wait, I am a Jack. Lucky me....
Toombs stood on the deck of the bridge thinking over his options. On the one hand, Janis had never given him the slightest hint of her disloyalty, and with his track record with crews had never been the greatest, he wondered.
Did she warn them? Could she warn them? If she did could he use that to his advantage? Or was he just fucken paranoid?
Everyone was sitting in the mess, all five of them, including Roper, who had quickly became his "right hand man."
"Now here's how it's gonna play. I'm gonna ask the questions, if I don't get the answers I want, then I'm gonna be the bad cop, to your good cop. She likes you better anyway." He said to Roper who set the auto pilot and got up off the pilot's chair. "Fucken Arabic crap."
"Doc, we need you to come to the mess." Roper had asked sweetly.
"Sure Danny give me a minute." Janis said typing on her keyboard and hitting send.
The message read and in English:
My dear children,
I hope all is well with you. I can only hope that your days are filled with brightness and your hearts are filled with joy. My thoughts are with you in your lowest times. I look forward to seeing both very soon. Once this job is done I shall join you and see the suns set. But for now, please take great care and keep yourselves safe from harm. Take good care of my baby grandson, his life is precious. Nothing is more important.
I hear the wild animals near your home are keeping you worrisome. It would do you good to see that you attack them rather than be attacked. But that is men's work and nothing I can help with.
I am doing my best to stay calm and await your message letting me know you are very well. Until we see one another again, I love you. Do write soon.
Your mother.
When Janis arrived in the mess she could feel that everyone's eyes were on her. there was a chair in the middle of the floor and Toombs was smugly leaning against the door.
"Hey Doc. So glad you could join us."
Jack showered for at least 30 minutes when she woke up. The water felt good and she knew that the sweat from childbirth was horrible to smell. Riddick helped her up once she woke up, some four hours later, and helped her to their rooms.
She felt energized by the vigorous spray kneading her sore leg and back muscles and the hot water definitely helped get her milk to start running. Layne would be hungry no doubt and when she heard a banging on the door she figured her time was up.
"Hey? You okay in there?" a gruff shout came from the other side. She quickly dressed, adjusting her flattened stomach into a pair of jeans and her favorite pre baby black shirt and put her hair up as quickly as she could.
"Yup. Damn fine shower." She said smiling. Riddick looked down at her. He looked back up and shook his head.
It was like she was never pregnant, except of course for the larger than usual size of her breasts. "Nice rack Jack."
She rolled her eyes. "Why thank you, on tap 24/7."
He wiggled his eyes. "None for you big boy, this is not for you."
He pouted.
She laughed as he grabbed her ass and walked next to her. "Back to normal are we?"
"I was never normal princess. You look good for giving birth four hours ago. A little pudgy but I can live with that. Sasha says you'll be out of commission for a while."
"I am not pudgy." She contended.
"Let me rephrase that. Slightly, softer than usual." He said looking at her up and down.
"Two weeks according to her databanks on Furyan women, and not a second longer. Got a craving already for meat." She said giving him a knowing smirk.
He growled at that. She smiled even bigger. "You want to make out with me right now, don't you?"
"Every minute of every day man o mine." She said holding his hand.
God he loved Jack, everything about her. Damn even after childbirth he still wanted to devour her. Her smell even turned him on...
They could hear Layne screaming his head off from the mess and walked faster until they reached the incubator.
"Hey little man." His mother said as he grabbed her finger. "Someone sounds hungry."
She had taken classes with the other women, and had seen many do it. Taking her son to her breast was something she never pictured herself doing. But surprisingly didn't feel awkward about it, except for the fact that Riddick was not watching, he was staring, a hungry look in his eyes.
"Do you mind?" she asked as his eyes went wide.
"Nope, just enjoying the show. Damn Jack, wish I was a baby right now, so bad…" he purred making her weak at the tone of his voice.
Four hours after having his baby and she was already wanting him in her bed again and inwardly smiled knowing he wanted her there too.
"Riddick!" she said incredulously. "You perv."
"What you got performance anxiety or something? Go on feed my boy." He growled playfully sitting on the bed. "Come on."
She rolled her eyes and picked him up and his lustful cries filled the room as she soothed him with her touch, and her voice. "Sh, little guy, dinner's coming."
Riddick watched with such fascination as Jack took Layne into her arms and allowed him to suckle, calming him immediately.
"He was hungry." Riddick said sitting next to her on the bed. "I love you Jack. I never thought anything would be normal in my life, and with you, I'm almost there."
"Almost?" she asked looking at him.
"Yeah." he said and she knew what he meant. Free from Mercs, would be the ultimate reward for his trying to redeem his life.
"Soon baby. Soon." She said kissing him tenderly.
"My boy's got an appetite." He said noticing the aggressiveness of his son as he took the milk.
"Just like dear old dad." She quipped.
"Remember what happened the last time you made fun of my age?" he remarked kissing her ear lobe.
"Yes, and this is where we ended up." She smirked switching him to the other side.
They laughed and looked down seeing that Layne had fallen asleep. She burped him softly and put him back into his warmer and adjusted the specialty undergarment she bought just for this particular vocation. He was amazed at how she took to motherhood and smiled a broad grin.
"What?" she asked as she tucked her shirt in.
"Remembering what you looked like after T2. Night and day Jack. Night and day." He purred pulling her into his lap.
"You're bizarre." She told him.
"And you're starving!" he laughed against her torso as he heard her stomach growl.
"I could eat." She told him as they kissed their son on the forehead and walked towards the mess.
"Good evening Riddick." Anne said as she stood in front of the stove. She was reheating the soup that Jack had made, and cutting some of the chicken that nearly went unchecked hours earlier. "Are you hungry?
"Starving." They both said in unison.
"Sit, eat. I know Layne was certainly hungry. Is he asleep now?" she asked handing Riddick a plate.
"Little guy ate like a man and went right back to sleep." Jack told her enjoying food like she hadn't eaten in days.
"You look wonderful Jack, I am amazed at how you have recovered." Anne told her sitting down beside her.
"Thanks. I feel good. Not too sore." She said remembering that Furyan DNA would allow her to heal and recover faster.
"He has your eyes Jack." Kalifa told them as he walked in smiling. "He was awake and as quiet and content as you please."
"He does?" she asked, smiling as she drank some water.
"And Riddick's skin. Smooth and clear." He said as everyone laughed hysterically. "Hey, I mean that in a clearly non homosexual, just noticing another man's attractiveness kind of a thing."
"Right Kal, never knew that about myself but hey, whatever floats your boat." Riddick told him winking.
Kalifa paled at the big man's remark. "Kalifa?" Jack said breaking him out of his stupor. "Hey, he's fucking with you."
He laughed nervously. He wasn't sure if she was telling him the truth until Riddick broke out into a deep unrestrained chuckle. "Yeah Kal, I'm fucking with you. Actually, he has lighter skin than me, a bit of both of us."
"You do have one thing in common, BALD heads." Kalifa offered trying to salvage his dignity.
That bought him another roar from Riddick. "Needs baby goggles. Gotta find me some when we land on Talos Prime." He joked.
"Speaking of gifts." Salim said walking with a hand made bassinet. "Many blessings from Allah Riddick and Jack."
Her eyes misted up as Anne and Kalifa walked out and quickly returned with theirs. Anne bought Jack a book of stories that she could read out loud, and Kalifa bought them a blanket made from the softest material.
"Guys!" she said misty. "Shit. You shouldn't have."
"Layne needs a place to sleep Jack, and that warmer is not going to do for long." Salim said smiling. "As his Baba Salim, I must insist."
"You knew!" she said glaring playfully at Riddick.
His not so innocent smirk gave her a laugh and he pulled her into his lap. "Well," she asked, "do you have something for me?"
"In private princess and NOT before." He said smiling giving her a wink.
In private indeed…
"What's going on?" Janis asked as Roper stood by the door.
"We gotta know something Doc. Who do you think you are tipping of our mark that we're coming after them?"
"What are you talking about?" she said suddenly on the spot.
"Have a seat Dr. Janis." Roper told her as the crew watched as she took her seat.
"I'm no hacker Doc but something about your message to your "kids" smelled funny. So spill it. What did you actually say, in ENGLISH." He snapped raising his voice.
"First of all, I don't even know who you mean, second, my children are on a planet in the Aquilian system safe from those same bastards on Hellion Prime who broker in flesh instead of Light and Energy like they should. So, I got them off that hell hole so they could have my grandchild in freedom. So, don't mind me if I ask you to kiss my ass and say I don't have to tell you anything."
If her voice didn't betray her, her body language made Toombs wonder. "Quit your jaw jackin sweetheart and spill it or I swear I'll knock the shit out of you."
"Would you like to see a translation, Harold?" she said as he stalked her walking around the chair menacingly.
The others sniggered at hearing his first name and he glared at them daring them to fuck with him.
"Actually that wouldn't be a bad idea. Roper, you pulled the last transmission Dear ole Doc sent didn't you?"
"I did Harold." He said emphasizing Harold to make him seem feminine.
Through his teeth he asked her to read it completely unaware of the embedded message. She had gotten more careful and needed to make sure in case she was discovered that no one would be able to find out. Thank Allah, she thought, for Jack.
"My dear children,
I hope all is well with you. I can only hope that your days are filled with brightness and your hearts are filled with joy. My thoughts are with you in your lowest times. I look forward to seeing both very soon. Once this job is done I shall join you and see the suns set. But for now, please take great care and keep yourselves safe from harm. Take good care of my baby grandson, his life is precious. Nothing is more important.
I hear the wild animals near your home are keeping you worrisome. It would do you good to see that you attack them rather than be attacked. But that is men's work and nothing I can help with.
I am doing my best to stay calm and await your message letting me know you are very well. Until we see one another again, I love you. Do write soon.
Your mother."
"There are you happy now?" she glared looking directly at Toombs who felt the fool all of a sudden.
Roper looked at him with a shrug, "I'm convinced, how about you guys?"
The murmurs from the rest of the crew made Toombs furious. They couldn't help their way out of a paper bag.
"Out!" he told everyone feeling very stupid. What was he thinking? She showed interest, she was a good person, she didn't care about their bounty, she just wanted to do her job and get to her kids. Damn he was going soft.
Everyone filed out and he was left alone staring at her. "When you've been through as many crews as I have, havin them stab you or dick you over so many god damn times, you can never be too careful."
"You Harold are an ass, and I don't want to talk to you right now. If you ever accuse me of tampering with this mission again, you had better watch you eat, you may find it poisoned." She snapped walking passed him and down to the lab.
"Well ride me hard and put me up wet." He said looking at her ass. Damn is she didn't have balls.
Inside she was shaking like a leaf. When she reached the privacy of her quarters she walked to the toilet, closed the door and vomited anything left in her stomach.