AN:

Sorry for the delay I needed a break. All mistakes are mine. Still no reliable beta. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 7

On the fifth day of the eclipse, Aura woke to a pounding headache. She knew finishing off that bottle had been a bad idea but every time she had put it down she'd start thinking about what Riddick had said and she would pick it up again. She hated that what he said had bothered her so much. Then she'd start thinking about other things about him that infuriated her. She'd made a list of things he did that made her mad. As the night went on and the bottle got lighter and the list got more ridiculous. It had started with him simply choosing her home. Why couldn't he have chosen a house that was empty? She knew for a fact that six families on her block went to a RSI pod location during the eclipse. Then she started thinking about how he just cooked whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Yes, it was stuff she had planned to make for the most part, but he didn't know that! And he was always doing things she didn't ask him to, like the light bulbs. She could have done that herself. Yes, she had told him she expected him to help out, but maybe she had wanted to do that. She didn't, but how was he suppose to know that. After that the ridiculousness started, he left the seat up, he was too quiet, he read her books, he took her in the kitchen, he made too much coffee, he didn't do the dishes the way she liked. The small voice in the back of her head that told her she was just making excuses not to like him and push him away was silenced the more she drank. By the time she had dropped the empty bottle, she was laughing and crying at the same time, thinking about how stupid his bald head looked when it was sweaty. All shiny and looking like a tan bowling ball. It hadn't been long after that that she had passed out.

Aura groaned as she rolled over and looked at her alarm clock. It was almost eleven in the morning. She had no idea what time she had actually fallen asleep so she had no way of knowing how much sleep she'd gotten. If the throbbing in her skull, the aches in her muscles and the stiffness in her spine were any indication, it hadn't been too much. She slowly unfolded her body from her blanket and sheet as she pushed her hair from her face. She needed water and some pain relievers immediately. She made her way slowly to her bathroom, moaning and fumbling over her own feet. When she reached the door and flipped the switch for the light she all but hissed and turned it back off. There was no way she was going to be able to tolerate that much light yet. She laughed then whimpered at the effort it took to make such a noise. She inwardly berated herself for drinking so much. She never had more than a glass or two at a time. She didn't have a tolerance for the stuff at all. And a wine hangover was the worst in her opinion. After she turned on the hot water in her shower she went to the medicine cabinet and got out two pills. She bent over the sink and got a drink to wash them down. Then she gulped from the faucet like she was on the verge of dehydration before standing back up. The water slashed around him her belly and Aura covered her mouth with one hand and leaned against the sink with the other. She had drank too much, too quickly and now felt like she could puke up her stomach.

After a few moments, the bathroom filled with steam and the feeling passed to slight nausea. Aura made her way back to the shower and she went to remove her clothing. When her hands landed on her bare skin she had a flash of Riddick standing between her legs pounding into her. Her legs quivered and she shook her head to get the memory out. Her head pounded, in almost the same rhythm as he had the night before, from the action. She turned the cold water on just a little but didn't wait for the temperature to adjust before she stepped into the steaming hot spray. She shuddered as the water ran down her body. She placed her hands against the wall under the shower head, leaned against her out stretched arms and hung her head. She could feel the water pulling her hair down around her face as it poured down around her head and shoulders. More images from the night before invading her thoughts. She saw flashes of Riddick licking at her breast, his hands gripping her thighs and her own hands pulling him to her. She could feel the ache between her legs and a new one stirring from want as her thoughts brought forth the feelings she'd felt the night before. She pushed her self away from the wall and turned around. With both hands she pushed her hair back over her face and shoulder as she tipped her face up to the ceiling. She let the water cascade over her face, down her chest, over her stomach, between her legs and down to her feet. The heat was relieving the pains of her hangover, as the water washed away the memories, and for that she was grateful.

She stayed in the shower for quite longer than she normally would. When the water started to cool she hurried and washed. When she got out she already felt better. The medication and hot shower had been a good idea. She just wanted something to eat to help with her stomach. Now that it had settled and the nausea had passed, she was extremely hunger. She hurried about getting dried off and dressed for the day, not even bothering to dry her hair. She let it fall down her back as she grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She was tired of wearing pajamas and regular clothes made her feel almost normal again. She slipped on some socks and made her way downstairs.

She entered the kitchen and saw the table set for one. There was bacon, eggs, waffles and coffee. Her mouth watered at the smell and she went straight to the table. She took a sip of the hot and perfectly made cup of coffee as she poured a healthy amount of syrup onto her waffles. She dug in and didn't stop until her plate was empty.

Once she had eaten, she only had a slight persistent head ache that she knew she was just going to have to deal with. She grabbed her notebook to mark off her last task, installing the new fan in the guest bedroom. When she opened the notebook to the page with her list she saw everything was crossed off, including the fan. What the hell? She didn't do that. "That jerk," she muttered.

That was it. She'd had it with that asshole. She stood up and made her way upstairs. She was going to give Riddick a piece of her mind. When she got to the guest bedroom Riddick was standing on the ladder he'd used the day before to change the lights. His back was to her and hadn't noticed her yet. He had already taken the light fixture out of the ceiling and appeared to be capping off the exposed wires. She stopped in the doorframe and leaned against it. She crossed her arms and one foot over the other. Now that he was in front of her, she'd lost some of her steam. As she watched him, she realized she was really just being a bitch and she needed to let this go.

Aura began to turn around when he spoke, "You got a bone to pick with me?" he asked. She froze. She hadn't even known he was aware she was in the room. He turned to look at her and she saw one of his eyebrows cock up in question with a smirk on his lips. He really shouldn't have done that.

"Actually I do," she retorted. If he wanted to know than she would tell him. "I was just downstairs and saw you crossed the fan off the list."

Riddick stepped off the ladder and turned to face her, he had a feeling this was about to get good. "And?" he asked.

Aura stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips. "And," she stated, "The task isn't done yet so it didn't need to be crossed off."

He took in her bitch face and started to smile. "I was going to get it done and didn't know it would be a problem. I'm," he was saying but she cut him off.

"And you didn't put the dishes away right. Did you remember to use the soft scrubber on the pan you used to cook with this morning?" she nagged. "Did you even clean the waffle iron after you used it?"

Crossing his arms and planting his feet, Riddick knew Aura needed to get whatever was really bugging her off her chest. He hoped by the time she was done with her little rant that she would get to what the real issue was. He knew everything she was saying was just small things that weren't really any cause for concern for her and would run out of steam the second she heard herself. For now he would let her have her say.

"Also, every time I go in the bathroom, the seat is up. What's that about? You are the guest here. And you made too much coffee this morning and it will have to be poured down the drain. It's such a waste. As for last night, do you realize how unsanitary it is to have sex in the kitchen? I put food on those counters. And I saw you didn't use a book mark in my book. You dog ear-ed the page. You know those corners never loose that crease after doing that, right?" Aura sputtered. As her speech went on she lost the wind in her sails and she had gotten quieter hoping he would at some point stop her tirade so she wouldn't make an even bigger ass of herself but he never did. She stood there almost out of breath from her list of offense and waited for him to say something.

Riddick once again raised an eyebrow, "Is that all?" he asked. Aura gulped and nodded yes. He smiled and took the few steps it took to get to her. He placed both hands on her biceps and gave them a little squeeze. "Feel better now?" he went on.

Aura's eyes, which had been on his chest, shot to his. Her face began to heat up. "Seriously?" she sneered.

Riddick chuckled and lean down to kiss her. Aura turned her head before he could meet her lips with his and he pulled away.

"Could you be anymore condescending, Riddick?" Aura spit out then turned and stormed away.

Riddick stood there staring at the place she had stood just a second before and shook his head. Aura was really making it difficult to be around her. He knew she was still trying to get used to him and their physically relationship but apparently she couldn't handle the situation as well as he had hoped she would. He shook his head again and began to think maybe it was time for him to leave. He turned back to his project and climbed the ladder. As he reached his arms up, he felt a stinging in his side. He still wasn't hundred percent. He would give it one more night and see how it went before he just cut his losses and left.

Down stairs Aura began cleaning the kitchen. She scrubbed the floor and reorganized her cupboards. When that was done she went into her living room and began cleaning that. She knew she was angry cleaning but didn't care. She had made a fool of herself upstairs and he had just let her. Then the ass had the audacity to try and kiss her. She knew if it had been the other way around she would have told him he was being a jerk and to take his foot out of his mouth. She felt like a complete idiot. She felt the sting of tears in her eyes but refused to let them spill over. All that did was make her irritating headache become a hammering between her eyes. She continued on cleaning things she's already cleaned for the next couple of hours. When she had the downstairs re-cleaned she went upstairs to clean there as well. She cleaned till she blisters then cleaned some more.

She was covered in sweat as she finished scrubbing her bathtub. There really wasn't anything else for her to clean and she figured it was time to try and save face. Maybe if she apologized for acting like a nagging housewife, he would forget the whole thing and they couldn't go back to coexisting in peace. Aura pulled off the rubber gloves she'd been wearing and pushed back the stray hairs that were stuck to her sticky face. She got up from beside the tub and went to wash her hands in the shining sink. She looked up at herself in the sparkling mirror and felt a wave of self pity. She really had been acting like a fool lately. She wasn't ready to admit she had feelings for Riddick to herself yet but she knew that was what it was. She knew they wasn't anyway he would stay. She was simply doing the only thing she could. She was pushing him away. And in the most ludicrous way she knew how. She let her head fall forward and tried not to berate herself.

Aura looked back at her reflection and made the decision to stop acting like a brat. There was nothing she could do about her feelings or Riddick's inevitable departure. She was going to make the best of the time they had together while not showing her true emotions. She would play nice and when he left, she would move on, go back to her life and forget all about him.

After washing her face and brushing her hair, Aura left her room and headed downstairs. When she had opened her bedroom door she smelt dinner cooking. She smiled at the thought that even with all of her bitching, Riddick still went about making himself at home. She was glad he hadn't just said fuck it and left.

Riddick turned to look at her as she entered the kitchen looking chagrin. Her head was down and she was a little fidgety.

"Um, hey, Riddick," she began, "I just wanted to say I was out of line earlier and that I really appreciate everything you've done to help out around the house." Aura stood nervously, with her hands in her back pockets of her jeans while looking at her feet.

He turned from the stove and nodded his head. "It's fine," he said.

Aura looked up, not sure if he meant it or not but took him for his word. Maybe he wanted to just forget about her outburst too. She looked at her feet and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?"

Riddick figured this was her way of waving the white flag so he would take it and forget all about it. As he went back to making one of his favorite meals, steak and potatoes, he answered, "Not much left to do. You could set the table."

Aura made her way through the kitchen, gathering the plates and utensils they would need for dinner. The sound of sizzling meat and plates being placed on the table filling the air as she set the table. After seeing Riddick get potatoes out of the oven, she went to the refrigerator and got out the butter dish and the bowl of sour cream. She saw he'd already had the half bottle of wine from their last dinner together out on the counter and got two glasses. She filled them and took the bottle to the recycle. She noticed it was overflowing and was looking forward to being able to take it out soon.

When she turned back to the table she saw Riddick placing their steaks on their plates. Aura sat down and picked up her fork. "I didn't even know I had steak," she commented as he sat across from her after returning the hot pan to the stove.

They each got a potato from the plate he'd placed in the center of the table as he said, "They were buried in the back under a pail of ice cream and half bottle of vodka."

"I have vodka and steaks?" she asked rhetorically. "I really need to keep better stock of what I have," she said.

Riddick simply nodded and went about eating his food quietly. He wasn't sure what it was exact that seemed to trigger her moods so he figured just shutting up for now was his best bet.

Aura made quick work of her dinner. As she got up to clear the table, she let Riddick know just how much she enjoyed the meal. She picked up her plate, walked over to him and bent down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek as she whispered thank you in his ear. Riddick smiled to himself as she went to the sink. He took his last bite of potato and began helping with the clean up.

When Aura noticed he was clearing the table she stopped him, "You cooked, I clean. Remember?"

"Right," he said coming up behind her placing the skillet into the sink. He pressed his chest into her back and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I was just trying to be helpful, but if you want to do all the work you are more than welcome to," he purred into her ear causing her to shiver against him.

Riddick stepped away, leaned against the counter beside her and watched her finish up the dishes.

After the clean up, they made their way into the living room to watch TV. They surf channels looking for something to watch when they land on one of Aura's favorite criminal investigation programs. Thinking Riddick wouldn't appreciate it quiet as much as she would, she keeps searching for something to watch.

He had noticed she pauses on the shows she has some interest in and when she paused a little longer on one he suggested they watch it.

"Its ok," she says as she kept looking. "We should watch something the both of us enjoy."

"I really don't care," Riddick stated. "I don't really have all that much time to watch TV, its not like I have the time when on the run from one low life merc or another."

Aura smiles sheepishly. It was easy to forget he was an escaped convict inside the walls of her home. He seemed like a decent guy, most of the time. And normally that was what she would watch, so she went ahead and turned it back. If he seemed uncomfortable she would just change it again.

As commercial for RSI was ending, Aura brought up her legs to curl them under her as she pulled a pillow from between them over to lay her head on, on the arm of the couch. Riddick slide over pulling her feet into his lap like he tended to do whenever they spent any significant amount of time together on the couch. With his thumbs pressing firmly into her insoles, Aura sighed and relaxed as the show came back on.

Once the program ended, another began and Aura made a move to pick up the remote to change the channel. Riddick stopped her and insisted he was enjoying the show. Aura smiled and left the TV on the investigative channel.

Half way through the next program Riddick made a comment about police force, merc involvement and how "fucked up the whole entire dumbass jurisdiction" was. Aura sat up from her spot she'd slowly been melting into under his touch at his statement.

"Do you think that because you are on the other side of it or have you always felt that way?" she asked.

Riddick turned and looked at her. "It's always been that way," he shot. "Men have a tendency to think they are better than everyone else when they get any kind of power. Half the people in prison are they because they were just trying to survive. The real problem is with the law makers and the rich."

Aura's jaw went slack as she just stared at him. She hadn't heard him say so much at one time before. She wasn't sure he had say that much in one day to her. As she realized she was staring open mouthed at him, the words he had said took meaning in her head. She snapped her mouth shut and glared at him. Rich, powerful law makers were kind of a sore subject for her. Her father had been a man like that. And at first he had really tried to make a difference. He had been doing really well before truly powerful rich men had stepped in the way.

She crossed her arms as she sat straight up on the couch with her feet planted firmly on the floor. "I agree the rich are the problem but most law makers are just as much victims as the general population," she said calmly. She really didn't want to get into an argument with him after their nice dinner and quiet evening but she felt very strongly about this particular subject.

"If you say so," he grumbled quietly to himself not wanting to fight about it with her.

Aura turned to look at him and replied, "I do. Most politicians start out really trying to make a change. Then the rich guys come in making threats, offering money or both. What can the politicians do? Just sit back and let these people hurt or kill their families? They do what they have to do to protect them. When wealthy people don't get what they want they tend to just take it one way or another. It's not like they care who gets hurt."

Riddick chuckled darkly. "If they really cared and wanted to make a change, they would figure out a way to protect their families and still make fair laws. They would do more than that. They would make sure the communities and the people in those communities were taken care of. Instead they are worthless, spineless, pieces of shits that just take the money and do whatever they puppet masters tell them to do."

Aura shot up from her spot on the couch, looking at Riddick with an expression of disbelief. "You can't possible believe that a man with a wife and children, that he loved and cherished above all else, would simple let death threats go. If he had it in his power to protect them by simple letting a small law or bill pass that would let the rich simple have a little bigger tax cut or lighten up on labor laws" she sputtered.

When she went on to continue, Riddick stood as well, towering over her. "I do. If that meant that a whole town would have to shut down because no one could afford to simple live, to eat, to have a roof over their heads. If it meant that hundreds or thousands would die of starvation and from long cold winters with little to no food," he roared.

Taking a step closer, Aura spat out, "And if the man used the money he was bribed with to help those people instead of keeping it? He went to those people's homes with food, paid theirs bills and made sure they didn't lose their homes?"

Riddick took the last step it took to put him nose to nose with Aura. He looked down at her and took in the sight of her heaving chest, her glistening eyes, her flushed skin as she took a stand for something she truly believed in. "You really believe a man that stooped so low as to take a bribe would then turn around and use that money to help those he fucked over? As if the people who did the bribing would like him?" he fumed.

Aura's eyes shot back and forth between his, trying to see what it was that made him so impervious to see her side of the argument. As she did, she saw just how breathtaking his eyes really were. She'd looked at them before but standing face to face in the light of the TV she could see just how truly beautiful they really were. They were like mercury, silver and almost seemed to be in constant motion taking her in. The colors took in the limited light and reflected them back to her, reflecting purples and blues.

She looked down at his chest and asked, "What?" softly, not having heard what he said after getting lost in his eyes.

Riddick was done arguing with her, not feeling the need to repeat his words. He bent his knees and wrapped his arms around her waist. He lifted her up and over his shoulder, he used one arm to hold her thighs to his chest and headed to the stairs.

"What in the hell?" Aura gasped for breathed as his shoulder dug into stomach.

"I think we've both made our points," he told her as he made his way up the stairs.

Aura placed her hands just above his ass to keep from being slammed into his back repeatedly as he leisurely made his way to her room. "And that means you have to go all caveman?" she asked.

Riddick laughed loudly as he entered her room. He threw her onto her bed where she bounced a couple times before she sat up and glared at him. "Yeah, watching you get all worked up turned me on. Don't say it didn't get you all hot and bothered."

Aura huffed as she began taking off her shirt. There was no use in pretending it didn't. He grinned and turned to close the door. As he turned off the light he said, "That's my girl."

He took her hard and fast the first time, Aura was amazed at how quickly he had gotten to know her body. The second time was slower, they took their time pushing each other to the edge multiple times, in multiple positions before she finally fell with him following shortly after.

As they lay in the dark, sweaty and spent, Aura wondered if they had just had mad sex or makeup sex. Or was it both? While she was thinking about the meaning of both kinds of sex, she felt Riddick's arm snake around her middle and pull her to him. She rolled over and laid her head on his chest, letting her hand crawl its way up his stomach to the small patch of hair in the center. As she ran her fingers through it she realized they were cuddling. If she hadn't been on the cusp of unconsciousness she might have realized it was the first time.

Riddick lay with one hand behind his head, Aura on the other and draped over his chest . Her breathing evened out then slowed. He wasn't sure why he had pulled her body to him, it had just felt like the right thing to do in the moment. He could feel her heartbeat steadily beat against his ribs. He lifted his head to place an uncharacteristically sweet kiss to her head then let it fall back to the bed. He knew he was in too deep yet he couldn't find it in himself to care. The last time he had been in her bed, he'd left after he knew she was in a deep sleep. He'd gone to the guest room and replayed their coupling over and over until he was ready to sleep. He considered it now then Aura mumbled in her sleep about arrogant assholes and he couldn't find it in himself to pull away from her. He brought the hand of the arm under her to push her more firmly into him and left his hand on her bare hip. Caressing her silky soft skin with his calloused thumb he drifted to sleep.

Ending AN:

Reviews are always appreciated. Only three more chapters and then the ep.