WOW, this chapter feels like it took me forever to write a post. I don't know why but there were some things in it that I just didn't like not to mention my lack of time as of late to just mess about with my words. It sucks working a job, going to three separate meetings a week and trying to juggle a social life. Anyway, even though this took me forever to post it is still kinda rough so any help on improvements would be welcome. Some big plots stuff will be coming after this chapter so just hold on tight.

As always please do drop me a review, if it weren't for the reviews I wouldn't be writing or posting nearly as much so keep it up. Your reviews give me inspiration.

Kayla

Chapter 19: Home

Jack loaded the last of her things onto The Chancer twenty-four hours before The Aurora was meant to dock. Preparation kept her mind off the inevitably of the next few months. The anonymity that she had built up for herself and the safety within it had been shattered and now she had to face the consequences of actions beyond her control.

Damn Manor!

As much as she liked and respected her Captain for the things that he had done with and for her, she hated the way that he dropped her in situations that hurt her hell of a lot more then helped her.

Part of her wished that she could go back to the relative safety of being Kit O'Donnell. Anonymity was a gift given to few. She mused as she watched Riddick tinker with the ship. He had taken to never leaving her on her own and Jack had a feeling that Candace and Sam were in on it too somehow.

While she had been preparing her little ship that day, he had already re-charged the ship's power cells, even though there was more then enough juice to get them home. He had bolted down the bunks and helped her with a small plumbing problem. They had spoken little but it had given her the chance to study him. It was something that she couldn't get over, something about him screamed for her to constantly watch him, but then it had always been like that.

"Gods Jack," She had eventually chided herself. "You keep looking at him like that and he really will think that you're a messed up, love sick teenager."

But she found that her eyes still strayed.

"We're making good time eh?" Candace walked slowly up the lowered ramp. She had only been cleared by the good Dr. Loring for gentile exercise and walking a little bit, two days earlier but she still stressed and tired easily, not that she let that get her down. She had walked everywhere at least twice and had even been told by the Doc to slow down or she was going to hurt herself.

"We'll dock in twenty-four hours." Riddick answered her.

"Oh." The teenager lowered herself onto a bench and watched them work, Riddick re-fitting the power cells and Jack was putting her things away. "Thought it would be sooner the way you cleared your things out of that room Jack."

"At the moment, I really am tempted to just leave but we wouldn't make much better time then The Aurora, Sam needs to clear the ship and I have to dock her." Jack said.

Much to Jack's displeasure it took near enough thirty-two hours to dock and clear the ship of cargo and passengers, which involved getting Candace's things and her mother signing her over to Jack. It had also involved avoiding Dr. Johnson and his cronies like the plague but they made it extremely difficult.

Finally instead of trying to corner her again, Dr. Johnston himself sent an envelope to her through Sam who gave it to her with little pleasure. In it were a generous amount of paper credits and a note saying;

There's plenty more where that came from.

You just have to help us.

You know where I am, I know where you are.

Instead of sending him the money back, she gave it to Candace and sent her off with a station guide to buy some clothes. As far as she was concerned it made for good reparation payment for the damage they had caused the teen. Not enough but it would do under the circumstances and Dr. Johnston had seen what she had done with the money, she had made sure of that.

Jack and Riddick stored Candace's old things and her newly acquired possessions and started all the pre-flight while they waited for Sam to sign The Aurora over to the station security.

"How long will it take us to get down to the planet?" Candace asked as she buckled up to take off.

"Roughly nine hours to get to the strip but it'll be another six before we leave. Jack likes to make sure her ship is in good condition before she leaves it." Sam shook her head.

"There's a bunch of movies and some games downloaded into the vid. console in the bunkroom. All your stuff is in there too." Jack said as Riddick steered her little ship away form The Aurora and the station. "You going to be alright up here for a while Riddick?"

"I'll be fine. Do you have the auto-pilot programmed?"

"All you have to do is type command, keyword colon home. It'll take us to the point where I can start landing. I need to take a shower and deal with registration papers for Candace. No questions are going to be asked right away but I want to be prepared when they start being asked and she'll need them to enroll in school." He laughed as she unbuckled herself and went through to her own little side room that her things and Riddick's things had been stored in.

Sonic showers weren't exactly as nice as the real thing but she didn't feel like she could honestly wait till she got back to her apartment for a real water shower. By that time, she was sure all she would be able to do was collapse; she already knew she was going to push her body to the limits, she did every time she did a night landing though she did have the benefit this time of a few good nights sleep behind her.

Jack pleated her hair and adjusted the temperature before standing in the compartment and starting the ten minute cycle, letting the heat soak into her skin as the sound waves worked on removing the feeling of dirt and grim from her skin. She closed her eyes, letting herself relax, her hand massaging the muscles in her neck and shoulders, working out knots she hadn't even realized were there.

A yawn escaped her lips surprising her. She laughed at herself, she was so used to not sleeping for long stretches that all the sleep that she had gotten since Riddick had been back had thrown her body way off. Damn it! She shook her head again but a smile was still on her face. She'd just give herself ten minutes to lay down before she got her registration papers for Candace in order. She told herself as she rolled her neck and startled herself as a couple of the vertebra cracked. And there she had been, thinking that the extra sleep had been to her advantage.

A hand was laid gently on her shoulder and fingers gripped her flesh firmly. Jack lifted her head; her eyes fluttering open from her light doze and looked at herself reflected back in the reflective surface of Riddick's dark goggles.

"You know I didn't get the work I needed done, done." She said softly. "I fell asleep."

"I can see that." He laughed. "Don't worry, there will be plenty of time for paperwork later, it's time to land this baby." He rumbled when she looked up at him again.

"You might be better off in here. I'm going to need the lights on full after I've taken my nice little emergency remedy for tiredness." She said as she stood up and cast off the blanket, systematically testing muscles as she moved out of the room, Riddick following her only to stop in the doorway. She hadn't meant to sleep for as long as she had and was pleasantly surprised to find that she hadn't had any nightmares to disturb her sleep.

Jack moved toward the front of the ship, taking the small bottle with the red liquid in it out of her vest jacket pocket and drank it down in one gulp. The stuff tasted vile, not like the stuff that Joe normally sold but then, technically the stuff he gave her was safer then what he sold to his normal clientele. She couldn't get hooked on it. She hated relying on this stuff because she knew what would happen after the kick was gone and it wasn't nice, it was another little deterrent that Joe had installed in the stuff he gave his friends.

She pulled her sunglasses out of her pocket to hide the red tinge that came to the whites of her eyes and let the lights flare to full, illuminating the area around her. Still, Riddick didn't move. As her hands settled on the controls she could feel the juice kicking in, giving her the main rush. Her tiredness slipped away and a rush that could only be compared to adrenaline flowing quickly around her body started taking over.

"Cool it Jack." Riddick growled as the girl bound her hair up and fit the headset into place, her movements a little too quick and jerky for his liking.

"White Field Tower, this is Captain Kit O'Donnell of The Chancer. Bill Cody, it's your favorite fly girl coming in to land, please respond." Jack's hands deftly flicked a couple of switches and pulled a leaver, not understanding what the hell was taking her old teacher so long to respond, usually he was getting back to her with sarcastic quips the minute she started talking. "White Field Tower, this is Captain Kit O'Donnell of The Chancer. Bill, where the hell are ya?"

"Chancer, This is David Cody of White Field Tower. What's The Chancer's current landing registration code?"

"Sending landing codes." She said as Riddick walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder before taking a seat in the co-pilot's chair. She looked over at him and smiled. He motioned for her to take off her glasses but she shook her head. "Where's Bill?"

"You're landing has been approved, come on in Chancer." The male voice from White Field Tower said. "Bill's at home sick. I was called in last minute to look after the airstrip. What's your approximate E. T.A?"

"One hour. Is hanger four ready for use?" She said.

"Hanger four is ready and waiting." And communication was ended.

"Take it easy kid." Riddick strapped himself into the chair he was sitting in as Jack clenched her jaw in concentration.

"I thought I asked you not to call me that again, a long time ago." Jack snapped, her forehead furrowed slightly as they entered the planet's atmosphere and the thermostat that monitored the hull's heat started blinking an orangey yellow color.

"And I told you not to get lippy Jack."

"Let me do my job Riddick."

The landing as it turned out was quite routine, not that Jack had expected anything else but she had managed to take on some of Riddick's pessimistic traits. They touched down and taxied to hanger four, their hull scanned for any devices that weren't meant to be there, the whole procedure taking roughly four hours. It was another two hours before Jack was happy to leave The Chancer in it's hanger and load their things in her car.

A good number of people gave their small working crew of four a wide berth as they had gone about their jobs. It was something she wasn't altogether used to, the people who worked at White Field knew her and Sam but when she remembered just who it was who was working with them, she didn't blame the people quite so much. Riddick was an imposing sight at the best of times; his whole presence seemed to scream danger.

'My friends are going to love this guy.' She thought shaking her head as she looked over at him at one point and caught his eye. 'Well, everyone but Johnny.' She knew what it was like when two big guys were forced into each other's company and the frustration on both sides that could ensue. Really, it was just what her friends needed, but they were used to her strange assortment of friends and she couldn't hope that Riddick wouldn't be an acceptation to their hospitality.

"How far is Sam's flat from here and yours from Sam's?" Riddick asked as she closed the trunk and he walked to her side, the key for hanger four held firmly in his hand as their two passengers climbed into the car.

"The whole thing will take a grand total of half an hour. Any longer then that and we'd be spending the next twelve hours on The Chancer. I remember just how bad your driving skills are and to be honest I don't ever want to be put through that again. I don't think you ever really grasped the fact that driving a car and piloting a ship are two totally different skills." She answered looking up at him and running a hand through her hair.

"My driving is not that bad Jack."

"You weren't the one in the passenger's seat Riddick." She said pointedly.

He gave her a level look but let the subject slide. "How much time left before you zone?"

"Two hours maybe, depends on the mix." She got into the driver's side then grimaced suddenly. "I take what I just said back, my head is starting to pound, I've got about an hour left before I will be dead to the earth." She shook her head and hit the gas, letting the car glide away from the airfield and toward the lights of the nearby city.

First stop Sam's, second stop home.

The city that she lived in wasn't huge but it wasn't small either. She lived right near the center, in a block of flats four flats. Around the corner was a small club called Zion that was owned by Kelly and Jonathan Marks, good friends of hers but most importantly it was a quiet neighborhood. Nothing that strange or murderous had happened in that part of town since the death of Bret Robson and before that there had been nothing.

It was generally a good place to live; the couple who loved above her had two dogs and fought all the time. The couple below her had a habit of having rather noisily company in the middle of the night but other then that, the place was nice enough. Her flat had two bedrooms, an open plan kitchen and dinning room, a living room, a small study and a bathroom. It was furnished comfortably and decorated completely by Bret. She had only made a few security changes after his death and added a small hidden vault where she kept her weapons or anything else she didn't particularly want just anyone to find.

They threw their bags over their shoulders and made their way up the flight of stairs that led up to her flat. She opened her door and put her bag down to one side in a little alcove where a couple of pair of boots were stored along with some jackets. But what no one who just looked at that little space would have guessed was the fact that there was a gun hidden behind the coats. Mercs didn't come around all that frequently but when they came around, she was ready to give them a very warm welcome.

"Candy, your room is first on the left, Riddick, first on the right. The bathroom is the last room on the left, kitchen and dining room are on your left, living room and study on your right. Kelly keeps this place pretty well stocked while I'm away so there should be plenty of food in the cupboards." Jack walked into the bedroom she had directed Riddick to and pulled open the top drawer of the chest of drawers, taking a pair of flannel shorts and a man's t-shirt that was well warn as Candace walked into her room, the door clicking shut.

"Bedroom's all yours." She said to Riddick as she left and disappeared down the hallway to the bathroom where she quickly changed and grabbed a spare blanket out of the drying cupboard. She walked into the living room and put the lights on full before laying down on the couch and letting her eyes close. It was more out of force of habit then anything else. She barely used her bedroom anymore, she had gotten so used to sneaking into the living room and sleeping on the couch there so that she could sleep with the light on during her time with Bret that she never broke herself of the habit after he was gone, that and she wasn't sure she wanted to be too close to Riddick now that she had a choice in the matter. Maybe by sticking close she was inviting more problems for herself.

"Come on Jack." Riddick's voice broke though her nearly sleeping mind a good while later, as his arms lifted her and he held her close to his chest.

"Put me down." She mumbled, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting her head rest on his shoulder contracting her voice. She could feel a small chuckle rumble in his chest as he walked out of the living room and down the hall to her bedroom but she was too sleepy to say anything about it.

"I can't keep an eye on you if there are walls in the way." He said as they entered the dark bedroom. The bed had been pushed up against a windowless, doorless wall, the curtains had been drawn across the window and the door shut firmly after them. He laid her down on the bed and she rolled over, snuggling under the duvet. The minute he had laid down and covered himself, she shifted slightly so she was closer to his warm bulk.

"I can take care of myself, I don't need you to." Was the last thing she had to say before snuggling closer to him and falling asleep.

---

Kelly Marks sat quietly on the floor behind the bar of Zion, counting paper credits into a lockbox, like she did every night after closing when there was nobody around to see her. She was a quiet ghost there days, keeping to times when the only people who would see her were her family and a core group of people, most of whom weren't all that legitimate as far as the law was concerned and who preferred the midnight hours as much as she did.

All of it was for her brother too.

She wondered for a moment if he would have felt the same about the girl if he had known who she really was, then she shook her head. Bret would have loved Jack anyway, the stupid fool. He didn't know what was good and what was bad for him, not that it had been entirely Jack's fault. The girl was protecting herself and had fallen for her brother while she was making sure she was safe. She had never meant for anyone to die, she had never meant for herself to be found again by anyone connected with her life with Riddick. Poor Jack had actually loved the criminal, his death had hurt her, Kelly was sure, as badly as Bret's death.

But it seemed that a girl like Jack wouldn't be allowed to be safe.

Kelly really did love the girl like a sister, why else would she have made sure they didn't think that it was Jack who had killed Lang. It wasn't like she could really get out much in that part of town any more anyway; she had sustained serious damage to her legs and would never be able to walk again.

All of it for her brother and the girl that he loved.

The side door of the bar opened and Kelly's hand gripped the gun by her side tightly but with an expert hand and she waited. She was on the mercs' wanted list, mind her bounty wasn't all that high but there was no way that she would be taken to a prison or worse, to a slam. There would be no way that she would survive. Hands gripped the bar tightly and the lithe figure of her adopted son landed on the other side, his startling blue eyes looking right into her's.

"God damnit Damien!" Kelly hissed putting the gun down again after putting the safety back on. "I'm going to end up killing you one of these days if you don't get careful and smart quickly."

"Naw, you wouldn't ma, you're no good at killin'." The seventeen year old grinned at the thirty-two year old women in front of him. Kelly and Jonathan weren't really his parents but he'd lived with them since they picked him up off a street corner as an eleven year old and had taken to calling them mom and dad. They didn't mind, he was as close to being their child as they were ever going to get and Kelly loved him like she would have her own child.

"That's not what the mercs think kido and I know fine well how to shoot a gun. I've spent hours doing it and as far as I'm concerned the mercs that come around here sniffing for my bounty aren't human." Kelly smiled at the teenager affectionately and he grinned back.

"Aye, well, that don't mean you could kill a person. You ain't cold blooded like Kevin or Jack." Damien cocked his head to one side, his golden colored bangs falling across one eye. There were times when he reminded Kelly of a little golden retriever puppy dog and that was one of them, with his soft golden hair and big blue eyes.

"Jack isn't cold blooded Dame. If she hadn't gotten to Lang first, then I would have killed him. Bret was important to her." Kelly put the last of the credits in the lockbox and stowed it away. Jonathan would take care of it first thing in the morning like usual. Routine was probably one of the only things that had kept Kelly with her family as long as she had managed to stay.

"Yeah, so important to her that she has a guy in their house. A guy had a hurt teenager girl." Damien seemed to enjoy the look of shock on his almost mother's face. "We all know about her random string of skilled boyfriends but she's never let them into that house before, but this guy, it looked like she couldn't wait to get him up there, the girl and all."

"Was it Adrian?"

"Naw, Adrian might be a fuckin' body builder but..." The boy was cut off by a clip to the back of the head.

"Watch your mouth." Jonathan said.

Damien glowered up at him but continued. "But Adrian wouldn't know what to do with himself in a fight. Naw, this guy reeked of danger. Like he could kill a man by blinking, why the hell do you think I didn't go up there myself to see her?"

"You've been reading too many of your mother's fantasy novels." Jonathan leaned down and gently kissed his wife.

"Am not kidden ya. But she seemed more then happy for him to be there and he hovered all over her, like she needed his protection or something. It was weird. He pretty much ignored the teen." Damien sat down. "Had dark goggles on, covered the whole of his eyes. How much do you wanna bet he's got a shine job?"

"A merc?" Kelly looked up at her husband suddenly concerned more then shocked.

"Naw." The teenager shook his head. "Didn't move right for that."

"What are you trying to tell us Damien?"

"My guess is that he's a little less then kosher." He looked at them his eyes shining bright with excitement.

"You really do have your head in the clouds."

"I see things. You know I'm right, when have I been wrong?" Damien answered back. "He's probably some sort of crook or a killer or something like that." He ended lamely.

"You have no idea what you're saying Damien, this isn't something that you should be kidding about!" Kelly said and her husband picked her up.

"I'm not kidding about anything, not that going around there right now would be that good an idea. You won't get a word out of Jack. She was acting like she was coming off Joe's good red stuff. I figure she's safe enough, give her 18 hours." Damien shrugged and followed the couple up the back stairs that led to their home. "Like I said, the guy looked more like he was watching out for her then waiting for the best time to kill her. Anyway, red stuff or not, Jack can handle herself."

---

"Punk ass kid." Kevin Bentley said a number of hours later as he walked into the house and gave Damien a shove that sent him hurtling across the room. "Always getting in the way, stupid punk."

"Touch him like that again Kevin and you're going to get leathered." Jonathan grabbed the red haired man by the back of the neck and growled. "You're forgetting that I've beat the shit out of you before for touching him. He's my kid."

"Maybe you should have raised the kid as less of a wimp then." Kevin snarled back as Joe slunk into the room and into the kitchen. The lanky man sat down at the kitchen table and looked at Kelly out of red tinged eyes.

"Wanna give me a vodka and coke and info on why Jack's back so late?" Joe smiled lazily. His face was slightly pale, his long brown hair looked a little greasy and wet. Even when he was in the best of health he looked ill. It was something that no longer concerned the people that knew him but that had bothered Jack a lot when she had first met him. Like most people she had taken one look at him and wondered if he was going to just keel over and die right then and there.

"You high on your own mix again Joe?" Kelly poured him the drink and put it down on the table in front of him, her eyebrows raised. She had never gone soft on Joe for his habits, be that the excessive drinking and womanizing or his drug habits but she was the only one who ever truly got away with it.

"I like the stuff Kelly, do you blame me?" Joe let out an almost feminine giggle. "Tastes good and keeps you awake. Nothing can touch you when you're awake to get away from it."

"When was the last time you slept Joe?" Damien asked.

"About four days ago." Joe answered shrugging. "It was something else stumbling across this mix. I've only had to take two doses and I've been high as a kite ever since."

"Stop encouraging Damien." Jonathan ordered intercepting the drink and bringing it to his own lips for a quick sip.

"I'm not going to start taking his red stuff." Damien said. "What do you think I'm a fool."

"I want you to stop given your fancy shit to Jack." He withheld the alcohol until Joe actually gave him a serious look. "She doesn't need that kinda addiction floating around in her life. You know almost better then the rest of us that she has other stuff to deal with, with out introducing shit she shouldn't have to deal with in the first place."

"Last I looked Jack's a big girl boss man." Kevin snorted. "She can look after herself."

"Hell ya." Damien said as he glared at Kevin but kept a weary distance. "She knows how to stay away from you. She knows the right men to turn down."

"Watch your fucking mouth kid." Kevin lunged for the teenager but found himself face down on the floor with Jonathan looming over him a nasty look on his face.

"Don't touch my kid." Jonathan growled as Damien turned his attention back to Joe.

"Do you guys think Jack's stupid or something?" Joe looked at them through his slightly red eyes, eyes that looked almost feral. "The kid can't get hooked on the shit I give her and she doesn't tend to use it either unless she's making a night landing, which as you know isn't as often as she thinks." He looked straight at Kelly deadly serious. "Any news about where she's been. She was meant to be back three weeks ago."

"I don't know why she didn't come back before now so don't ask and from what Damien could see, she's high on your red stuff." Kelly said giving her husband a level look and the tall man handed Joe his drink back. "How long has it been?" Kelly looked at the sulking Damien.

"Twelve hours, thirty-three minutes and twenty seconds." Damien answered looking down at his wristwatch. "Give her another couple of hours before you go over there, all guns blaring. It might even be a good idea to let her explain herself before you pump lead into whoever is with her. You never know, you might just send her on a killing spree if you kill whoever is with her, remember, she has killed before and has proved that it doesn't take a lot to make her blood run cold."

"When I need you to tell me how to handle myself, then I'll ask you." Kelly snapped. "It's only one in the afternoon, just surprised to see you out of your bed already. I didn't know that you ever saw this time of day."

Damien gave her a look and snarled under his breath before stalking off through the house and slamming the door to his bedroom. Kevin started howling with laughter but stopped the minute that both Kelly and Jonathan sent him looks that would have killed if they had been given the chance and then Jonathan gave his wife a reproachful look.

"You shouldn't egg him like that." He said with a shake of his head.

"I know and I'll pay for it later." Kelly shook her head.

"You will have to go easy on Jack Kel, it's her home now. Bret left it to her." Jonathan said as Kelly wheeled herself through their kitchen and into their living room. "And just because she's really moving on with her life this time doesn't mean that she cares any less about your brother. It just means that she's moving on. Moving on is a natural part of life and she is still young, she has a lot of life left a head of her if she plays it right."

"I know Johnny, really I do know, it's just, if I were her and I had lost you..."

Jonathan didn't even let her finish. "It's not you or I we're talking about here Kelly, it's Jack. A twenty-two year old girl whose greatest fear besides the dark is being alone."