A/N: new chappie! enjoy!

Chapter 3: A Fan

Zain knelt down next to the body of his ex-partner and gave a sneer. He should have been the one to kill him, but he guessed it was better Riddick or his girl did it. He stood and headed for the cave, pulling his cloak tighter around himself from the cold. When he entered it he scanned around then growled and punched the air.

"They're gone!" he snarled. "They've been gone for who knows how damn long?"

He turned back out and bolted to his ship to take off again, cursing himself on the way. He shouldn't have been so trusting, but there was nothing he could do about it now, except go after Riddick. Flipping the switches on his console he slammed his fists onto the arm rests of his seat then tapped at his screens as they came on.

"That little piece of shit ship couldn't have gotten far," he told himself, looking at his screens. The Messer System came onto the screens and he grinned. "They'll have to stop there for supplies and food and shit. I just have to figure out which planet."

He tapped through the screens again and found the first planet in the system was Kalos. He'd start there and work his way down.

It took Riddick and Deirdra almost two days to get to Kalos, and after some debate, he allowed her to go get supplies. He hadn't wanted to but she brought out the fact that she wasn't wanted anywhere…yet. Now, here she was on Kalos again and looking for supplies for a journey she had no idea how long would be.

Pulling the hood of her cloak over her head a little tighter, she shifted her gaze around, her guard never dropping. There was a bustle of people hurrying through the market place. Compared to the planets following it, Kalos was rather primitive. It was like the Biblical times of Earth with a few modern differences. They had to receive news and universe wide information and they did that through computers. But other than that, extremely primitive. Especially compared to Capernium.

Capernium was the most advanced planet of the Messer system. It had the most technology, the most advanced medicines and machinery. It would have been the more logical choice, but Deirdra didn't want to chance being recognized. She didn't want to lead anyone to Riddick, and she didn't trust anyone to leave her alone once they saw her.

Deirdra didn't know too many people on Kalos. Last time she'd been there she had kept to herself, stayed inside and not going out unless she absolutely had to. Any of the people she knew anyway were probably gone. Anyone she'd met had only ever talked about getting off planet, so they had probably gone ahead with their own plans.

She grunted when something shoved against her arm and saw a little bald boy run past her right and when he spun around to apologize for bumping into her, Deirdra felt her heart skip a beat. She quickly reached out and grabbed the kid's arm before he could turn back to running down the street and she pulled him close to speak to him.

"Where'd you get those goggles, kid?" she asked, jerking a nod to the black goggles that looked a lot like Riddick's had looked that were on the boy's forehead.

"What's it to ya?" the kid shot back and Deirdra smirked. She held up a finger to the kid, signaling him to wait and she let go of him to dig into the pocket of her brown shorts. She brought her hand back out and jingled a few coins in her hand.

"I've got enough here to feed you for a month," she negotiated. "Maybe even your parents, brothers and sisters. Just tell me where you got those goggles and I might even give you more."

The boy bit the corner of his mouth as he looked around in thought then looked back behind her. He pointed to a booth behind her and she looked around at it but before she could really examine it she turned back to the kid and pulled out some more coins from her pocket then handed them to the kid.

"Go eat good, kid," she smiled, patting his head. He looked up at her and grinned as she knelt down to the kid's level and wondered, "You a fan of Riddick's?"

The kid nodded vigorously and Deirdra nodded with a smile. They were very few and extremely far between, but once in a while, they stumbled over a few. Mostly in the news. Copy-cats or fans. She nodded at the kid to step closer so she could whisper, and he looked around before doing so.

"Any fan of Riddick's is a friend of mine," she whispered with a smile and pulled out another coin from her pocket and placed it in his hands.

"Wow! Real-?"

Deirdra placed a hand over the kid's mouth to keep him from yelling then said, "But you gotta keep it quiet, ok? Not even your parents or your best friends."

"I don't have any friends," the boy sulked and Deirdra felt guilt grip her heart.

"My name's Deirdra. What's your name, kid?" she asked.

"Fisher," he replied.

"How old are you?" she wondered.

"Twelve," he answered.

"How much did those goggles cost you?"

"Ten coin."

"Ok," she pulled out more coins from her pocket and put them in his hands. "You wanna do Riddick a huge favor?"

Fisher nodded vigorously with a huge grin and Deirdra couldn't help smiling.

"Ok, that should be more than enough. You go back and get me two pairs and whatever's left of the money is yours. How's that sound?"

"Sure!" he grinned and took off back to the booth.

Deirdra smiled as she watched him weave through the crowd. If she could keep this kid long enough to go get everything she needed from all the shops, she could keep herself from being seen. She smirked in pride when the kid came back with two pairs of goggles and handed them to her.

"Good boy," she smiled, patting his head and taking the goggles then knelt down to him again. "Now, how'd you like to do another favor for him?"

"Yeah!" he grinned, nodding almost uncontrollably.

"If you stick with me, and get all the things I need from all the shops we stop at, you'd be doing him a huge favor," she smiled, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I'll give you a bit more coin when we're all through, ok?"

"If you know him, how come he's not here?" Fisher asked and Deirdra couldn't help but smirk at his intelligence.

"He trusts me to get everything we need," she replied. "After all, he's wanted, remember? He can't just go off-ship whenever he wants. People would recognize him and report him to the mercs. We can't have that, can we? They'll take him to slam!"

"Nah-uh!" Fisher breathed in disbelief.

"That's why he's not here with me."

"Will you take me to him? You can keep your money if I can meet him, please?"

Deirdra's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that. Did this kid really want to meet the terrible, murdering, Richard B. Riddick? That would not do at all. She couldn't let this kid meet him, fan or not. Riddick certainly wouldn't like it. That kid would be lucky to get within a few feet of him. But looking at this boy's wide, amber eyes, begging for her to take him to see his idol made her want to say yes.

"We'll see," she said, standing and placing her hand on the boy's head. "He may not wanna see anybody."

Fisher couldn't help his excitement, even though she'd said it was a maybe and started jumping up and down in giddiness. Deirdra couldn't help but smile as they began walking down the street again and he held onto her hand as she glanced around at the different booths and shops to see which sold what she and Riddick needed. She couldn't help but see that this boy looked a lot like he could be her son, and that scared her but cheered her at the same time. It made her want children even more, but at the thought of Riddick leaving her, she was instantly frightened.

She turned her thoughts to the goggles she'd had Fisher purchase for her and lifted them to pull one pair around her neck. She'd always thought his goggles were cool, and had wanted a pair herself, but she never knew where she could find a pair. Now she had a pair each for them. Wouldn't Riddick be surprised?

The rest of the day, Deirdra let Fisher lead her to the stores that had the best of whatever she needed. There was even a medicine store that had plants that could keep women from getting pregnant. After her discussion/argument with Riddick about children, she decided it wouldn't be so bad to have a contraceptive at least for her. She almost bought out the whole shelf, but settled for one or two boxes of the plant which she would have to eat only once a year. They were leaves that you either ground and sprinkled on your food or in your drink or just ate raw.

Fisher suggested lots of band aids which, frankly, Deirdra agreed with. Lord knew Riddick could get pretty battered. With all of Fisher's suggestions, Deirdra could see he was a really smart boy, and couldn't understand how he'd ended up being a fan of a convict. It bugged her so much that she finally asked him about it as they headed down the street with bag loads of things Deirdra and Riddick would need.

"Hey, Fisher," she began and he looked up at her. "Not that it's a bad thing, or anything, but how come you're a fan of Riddick's?"

"He kills mercs," he replied simply.

"Well, what do you have against mercs?" Deirdra wondered.

"A merc killed my big brother," he replied in a low voice and Deirdra stopped to stare at the boy with wide eyes. Fisher stopped and stood next to her, placing his load on the ground for a rest.

"I'm sorry," Deirdra breathed but the little boy shrugged. "What happened?"

"Damn merc, said my brother was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Fisher replied angrily through gritted teeth and Deirdra couldn't believe she was witnessing a little boy growing up in a split second. "Didn't even apologize. He was after this guy for a lot of money. Big brother brought me here to get me some sweets, two years ago, and someone bumped into him. Then there was a lot of shouting and gunshots. It happened really fast. But I remember seeing my brother on the ground and he had been shot. He didn't say anything, he just smiled and died."

Deirdra felt her eyes water and when Fisher looked up at her he panicked.

"Don't cry Miss Deirdra!" he pleaded. "I'm ok! I turned out ok! Please, don't cry."

"Sorry, Fisher," Deirdra shrugged with a sniffle and a smile. "I can't help it."

Fisher looked around and picked up his load again then said, "We'd better get your stuff to your ship."

She nodded, but felt panic strike her heart and when Fisher began walking down the street she stopped him.

"Wait!" she called and he turned to her again. "You've been really good today, kid," she smiled and placed her load on the floor to rummage through her pockets. "Here, take what's left of my coin-"

"But what about-?" Fisher cut himself off and looked around then hurried to stand in front of Deirdra and whisper, "What about what you said about seeing if I could meet Mr. Riddick?"

"Look, kid, I'm gonna be straight with you," she said, kneeling to his level as he put his load on the ground again. "Riddick and kids don't mix. He's said so himself. Trust me, he won't be what you think he is. He's not nice. He won't like you, no matter if you're a fan of his or not. It's better if you don't meet him. He'll dash all your illusions to hell. And just between you and me, I'd rather you think of him the way you do now, instead of what he really is, ok?"

"I've heard he's a son of a bitch before," Fisher admitted. "But I wanna show him that not everybody thinks he's a jerk. I wanna show him that some people think he's awesome!"

"He knows there're people out there that like him, kid," Deirdra replied, still trying to protect him. "He doesn't need to meet you to know that. I'm trying to protect you, kid."

"I wanna meet him!" Fisher hissed and stomped his foot, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't give a shit what you say, I wanna meet him!"

"You shouldn't talk like that, kid," Deirdra scolded as she stood then sighed.

What was she gonna do with this kid? His intentions were good, but he was going to be sorely disappointed when he actually met him, she knew it. And this being in the wake of hers and Riddick's talk of kids, he was not going to like it at all. She'd known that before, but it was sinking in now.

She sighed again and looked at Fisher who was still standing in a huff in front of her. She needed help getting the supplies to the ship, it was true, but Riddick and this kid being in the same room together-no, being near each other scared the shit out of her, for the kid's sake.

"Alright," she growled, rolling her eyes then pointed a threatening finger at the kid. "But don't say I didn't warn you." She knelt down to his level again. "And don't tell anyone about it. You hear me? Not a soul!"

"Ok!" Fisher nodded and picked up the load he'd been carrying as Deirdra did the same with hers and they headed down the street.

The whole time they headed for the ship, her mind was telling her it was a bad idea. Telling her not to do it, but she couldn't deny this little boy that looked like he could be her son. She knew Riddick was going to kill her for this, if he didn't kill the boy. They headed for the hangar and Deirdra told Fisher to stand behind her as they approached the ship, which he did. She stopped a few feet away from the hatch as it came down and Riddick marched toward her. She stiffened as he came closer.

"What the hell took you so long?" he growled. "Did you pick up a stray or something?"

"Actually-"

Riddick stopped her by holding a hand up in front of her. He sniffed the air and Deirdra closed her eyes, preparing for his rage. When she opened them he was looking at her with angry, silver eyes and shoved her aside to reveal Fisher behind her. The boy gasped and took an involuntary step back, but still looked up at Riddick who stared down at the boy in slight shock. He hadn't expected that scent to belong to a child.

"Riddick, this is Fisher," Deirdra said, stepping closer to the boy in case she had to shove him out of Riddick's range. "He's a fan of yours. He helped me shop today."

Riddick looked at Deirdra with a burning gaze then back at the boy with the same gaze. Fisher swallowed but never looked away from the man. Riddick smelled only a bit of fear coming off the boy. It was mostly admiration and awe that filled the boy's gaze.

"He wanted to meet you something fierce," Deirdra smirked. "He got these for you."

She placed her things on the ground at her feet and pulled a pair of black goggles out from behind her back and held them toward him. Riddick looked over at her then caught sight of the goggles and snatched them from her. She didn't jump but Fisher did as Riddick examined them and looked back at him.

"Well, what do you want, kid?" he growled. "An autograph or some shit like that?"

Fisher shook his head quickly and Riddick gave a quick frown.

"Well, what the hell do you want then?" he asked again.

Fisher said nothing as he put down the things in his arms and shuffled toward the man. Deirdra had to keep herself from snatching the kid back toward her to keep him from being killed, but watched Riddick closely. He didn't move, and only stared at the kid as he came right of front of him.

"I…" Fisher tried, still staring up at the man towering over him. "I-I wanted to-to thank you."

"What the shit for?" Riddick snapped and Fisher jumped as Deirdra frowned at the boy in confusion.

"For killing mercs," Fisher replied then swallowed. "A merc killed my big brother two years ago. I hope they never catch you. 'Cause if they did, I'd go and get you out of slam. That'd be bad for them."

Riddick threw his head back and roared with laughter, making Fisher jump with a start but he didn't step away. When Riddick was finished he looked down at the kid with a smirk.

"You're a cute kid," he said and pulled his new goggles onto his head as Fisher grinned, but Deirdra's guard didn't drop. Just because he thought the kid was cute didn't mean he wasn't still going to kill him. Riddick knelt down in front of Fisher and continued to smirk. "Now listen, you tell anyone I was here, and I mean anyone, you're gonna wish you never met me, got that?"

"I'll never betray you, Mr. Riddick," Fisher said, firmly as Riddick stood and shook his head at the boy. "Can I ask you a favor, Mr. Riddick?"

"Depends on the favor," Riddick replied, crossing his arms over his chest with a serious face. "What'd ya have in mind?"

"Could you find the merc that killed my big brother and kill him?" the kid replied without hesitation and Deirdra's eyes widened.

"Now there's something I can do," Riddick smirked. "Who is he?"

"I think he said his name was…" Fisher trailed off, trying to remember the name. "Toms…no. Troops…no-"

"Toombs," Riddick growled and Deirdra stepped up next to Riddick as Fisher's face lit up.

"Yeah! That's it! Could you do that, for favor, Mr. Riddick?" Fisher asked and Deirdra looked at Riddick, wondering what he would tell the boy.

"Well, kid, I'm sorry you didn't catch me earlier," he replied and Fisher frowned. "I killed Toombs two years ago. Must have been after he killed your big brother, but not too long after." He looked at Deirdra and smirked. "Told you I did the universe a favor."

Fisher suddenly ran at Riddick and threw himself at him, causing Riddick to give out a grunt as the boy slammed into him. Deirdra gasped as Fisher threw his arms around Riddick's waist to hug him gratefully.

"Thank you, Mr. Riddick!" he nearly sobbed as Riddick straightened to balance himself properly. "You're even more my hero now! Thank you for avenging my big brother! Thank you!"

"Uh…" Riddick replied, his eyes shifting around as Deirdra only stiffened, ready to yank the kid away but he only continued, "you're welcome."

He patted the kid on the head and Fisher unlatched himself from Riddick then turned to Deirdra and charged her for a hug as well, but she was ready for it and hugged him back.

"And thank you, Miss Deirdra for letting me meet Mr. Riddick!" he said and stepped away from her.

"Well, thank you for helping me today," Deirdra smiled, relieved that he was just about ready to leave. "Now remember, don't tell anyone he was here."

"No one!" Fisher promised, shaking his head and he turned back to Riddick. "Go get 'em, Sir."

Riddick couldn't help the frown he gave the kid before he spun on his heel and sped off toward the exit to the hanger and Deirdra smiled after him. She turned to Riddick and smacked his chest with the back of her hand.

"Come on," she urged. "Help me get this stuff on the ship."

She picked up a load and Riddick picked up another. He shut the hatch behind them after he headed into the ship behind Deirdra and she took the things from him to put them away.

"Well, that went well," she assured him. "I honestly thought you were gonna rip that little boy's head off."

"Yeah," he said, unconsciously.

Deirdra looked at him with a frown as he headed for the pilot's seat. He sat down and tapped on the screens, looking for another place to go and she walked toward him. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she started rubbing away the tension she instantly felt in his muscles.

"What's wrong?" she murmured, still messaging his shoulders.

"That kid," he began, making Deirdra's frown deepen slightly. "He looked kinda like… Never mind."

He went back to tapping at the screens, and realization dawned on Deirdra. She smiled and leaned toward his ear to whisper, "Like he could be our son."

Riddick stiffened beneath her hands and she knew she was right. He stood from the seat, their gazes locking and he gripped her arms, tightly.

"I don't do well with kids, Deirdra," he growled in reminder.

"I know, Riddick," she replied, calmly. "I was so afraid of bringing that kid here, you have no idea."

"Then why did you?" he snarled, shoving her away.

"Because I couldn't say no to him," she said. "I don't know why, but I couldn't."

"Well, next time, say no!" he snapped and headed back toward the pilot's seat but Deirdra caught his arm and he turned back to her with a burning gaze.

"I'm-"

Her attempted apology was cut short when Riddick yanked his arm away and gripped her wrist to pull her toward him and his lips came crashing down on hers in a scorching kiss. He quickly pulled away and bit her lip.

"Don't you dare say it," he growled, knowing she was going to apologize. "You know I hate it when you say that."

She could only moan in response when he kissed her again and this time, he shoved her against the wall behind her. Her hands went to his head to pull him closer as one of her legs came up and rubbed itself against his, seductively. He groaned back in arousal and bucked his hips toward her, making her squeak against his lips when she felt his desire for her and she pulled her mouth away from his.

"We-We can't stay here," she reminded him, breathlessly as his lips trailed down her neck. "We need to get off planet before we can relax, babe. Get us off planet and you can have me then."

Riddick growled, knowing she was right and let her go to sit in the pilot's seat and tap on the screens, flipping controls and strapping himself in. She stumbled when he let her go and turned to place the rest of their supplies in a container on the wall to keep them from falling all over the ship then strapped herself in.

It wasn't long until they were in the air and when they broke atmo, they unbuckled their belts at the same time. After Riddick set the ship on autopilot to drift a while, he stood and turned to Deirdra as she threw herself at him. He stumbled back into the seat and she wasted now time in trying to undress him.

"We've never done it like this before," she smirked and Riddick growled in more arousal he'd ever had for her as she yanked off his shirt and her lips came crashing down on his. They'd find some place to go later. As she sat up to remove her shirt, he caught sight of the goggles hanging around her neck that looked like his and stilled her movements, making her frown at him.

"What is it?" she asked, breathlessly. Riddick only lifted the goggles slightly and she glanced down at them before smiling and shrugging. "I wanted a pair for myself. I hope you don't mind."

"Why would I mind?" he wondered as she leaned into his face with a seductive smile. "You can get whatever the hell you want."

"Why, thank you," she smirked and her lips crashed against his. Neither one of them noticed the censor pick up on a ship whizzing past them toward the hanger of Kalos.

A/N: reviews?