Jo walked next to Jack just behind Shazza, Johns and Imam. Riddick had been turned into a beast of burden and was dragging heavy sleds. They were going back to the compound to get the skiff prepared and get the hell of this rock. Jo looked back at Riddick, he smirked at her and she gave a little smile back. When she turned back she could hear Shazza and Paris arguing about Riddick.

"So snap your fingers and he's one of us now" Shazza accused

Johns just shrugged and gave a look back at Riddick. "At least now I don't have to worry about y'all falling asleep and not waking back up"

Imam stepped up next to Shazza "Well I feel we owe Mr. Riddick amends"

Jo began to laugh and the group stopped to turn around and look at her, she stopped and looked around at them.

"Umm… the kid… he said something funny" pointing at Jack who raised an eyebrow but didn't protest.

The group simply shrugged or rolled their eyes; they turned around and continued walking.

"Well I think we should at least give him Oxygen" said Imam

"Nah he's happy just bein' vertical"

Jack pulled up a little and stood in between Shazza and Johns.

"So does this mean I can talk to him?"

In unison all said "No!

Finally they were back at the settlement; everyone began looking around seeing if there was anything they could scavenge to repair the ships wings.

Jo went back inside the apartment block; she bit back her feeling of dread and finally entered into one. She ran her fingers over the dust on an old cot; it had messed up sheets; like whoever was here last got up in a hurry and never came back. She picked up one of the pictures, it held a smiling family; a mom and dad, and two little boys. It's a ghost town. Jo ran her fingers over the faces of the little boys and was so lost in her own thought she didn't feel the masculine presence come into the room with her.

"You should probably stay outside with the others"

Jo jumped at the unexpected comment; she spun around to find black goggles staring at her. "Jesus Christ, Riddick, could you not do that. I mean honestly do you get some sick enjoyment out of being the scary guy. Creepy bastard." She turned back around and placed the photo back and continued looking at the rest.

"If I'm the creepy bastard what does that make you?" He said as he wrapped his arms around her small waist. Jo's finger passed over a young girl smiling happily. What happened to you?

"It makes me a silly girl" She spun around to face him; she looked into his eyes past the goggles and past the walls that all the years had built around them. For a moment she thought she saw the chocolate colored eyes she remembered when she was younger and they were kids. She didn't want to admit it to him, but she needed him not only to get her off this rock but to keep her from turning into the emotionless vessel that her job was turning her into. She wanted to feel love, not something she would normally associate with Riddick, but it was still possible if he were able to get away from his past, she believed he could love too. Jo stopped staring into his eyes and laid her head on his shoulder. Riddick pulled one hand through her hair and held her neck.

He wanted to keep her like that forever he could protect her that way. He might be a creepy bastard but the only thing that was creeping him out was the realization that he actually loved Jo. It was an emotion so unfamiliar to him, but he doubted he could deny it. He pulled her head away from his shoulder and kissed her softly on the lips. Jo almost melted into puddle at his feet; this kiss was the sweetest thing that she'd ever gotten from Riddick.

They heard a door swing open and slam shut with a heavy scraping sound in the complex they were in; Jo roughly pushed Riddick toward a closet and then walked out the door. She leaned out into the hallway looked one way and then when she looked the other,

"AHHHHH"

"Sorry Sorry, I was just looking around I didn't mean to scare you"

"Fuck Jack, nearly killed me."

"I was just looking around sorry"

Jo noticed she'd shaved her head and had a pair of kid's goggles on her forehead. Oh great, Riddick's now a role model. Jo pulled on the goggles then let them snap back on Jack's forehead.

"Its ok, just stick close to me so that you're not popping out at me, c'mon nothing in there except some old pictures"

Jo led Jack back out of the worker apartments, when they had gone far enough Jo glanced back to see Riddick slip out and around the corner.

Damn that kid, Riddick thought. He was so close to her and now he was aroused beyond belief. He kept walking, taking a round about way back toward the group; he was hoping to slip into the back, no such luck. Johns rounded on him with his 12 gage hanging by his side.

"Where have you been?"

Riddick just shrugged. Johns accepted it for now and walked over to where there small group was congregating, Riddick waited in the background listening to the conversation. Everyone now had water from the old well rig they had found in the middle of the settlement.

The group began to theorize on where all the settlers had gone.

"Why'd they leave there emergency skiff?"

"Maybe a larger transport picked them up"

"A skiff is disposable"

Riddick stepped up to the group his goggles off and stared at the ground.

"These people didn't leave, C'mon. Whatever got Zeke got them, they're all dead"

Everyone stared at him like he'd just pissed in the punch bowl.

Jo rolled her eyes she knew he was right, but also knew Riddick well enough to know that he was trying to mess with everyones minds by stating the facts rather than let everyone believe what they wanted.

"You don't really think they left with clothes on the hooks and photos on the shelves"

Shazza looked up "Maybe they had weight limits, you don't know"

"I know you don't prep your emergency ship unless there's a fucking emergency"

Jack stiffened a bit and said "He's fucking right"

Jo pulled her ears, no need for the little shim (she-him) to bring attention to herself. Jo looked around the group; Riddick had done what he wanted and had everyone scared.

Just then the holy man Imam ran through the doors looking very frightened "Has anyone seen the little one, Ali"

"Has anyone checked the coring room" Riddick stated nonchalantly.

Johns shot through the handles on the door to the coring room; he, Caroline, and Imam went in first. Everyone else hung back near the entrance. Jo was at the back of the group and was about to step into the room when she felt a tug on her shirt. She looked to the side to see Riddick leaning against the wall just the right of the doors. She leaned against the door frame and faced the inside everyone was to engrossed in the room to notice she had stopped.

"What do you want?" She said in deadly whisper.

"Don't go inside"

"Why?"

"Trust me"

"You know don't help your cause by being all mysterious and then telling everyone exactly what's going on"

"I don't give a shit what they think"

"You might when they decide you've out lived your purpose and you become a threat"

"I'm a threat now, I'm better off dead to them"

"Yeah well not to me"

With that she walked into the room just as Imam was pushed over by a group of bat-things, they circled the room as everyone ducked out of their way. Jo was a little slow on getting out of the way and was cut across the top of the arm. The flying things zoomed down into a hole in the middle of the room. As everyone cautiously got up the mutilated body of Ali fell down beside Imam. The chrislams took the body outside to bury it while the group gathered to once again talk about their current situation. Jo was getting tired of the guessing, she wished they would stop exploring and just get the skiff ready to get them off this rock.

Everyone gathered around the hole. Riddick was underneath the grating looking into the hole.

"They came in here cus they thought they'd be safe, but they forgot to lock the cellar"

"Well those things like darkness so we'll just stick to the light" Johns said getting ready to round everyone back up.

Once they had explored the hole Caroline explored the coring samples, which led her to an unsavory realization. She took them to a room she had found earlier with a layout of the solar system. Coming up this month was a full eclipse so John's idea of staying in the light was soon going to be worthless.

But instead of hurrying like they should have Jo watched Johns and Caroline walk to the skiff and step inside, she followed them and sat down next to the entrance. She could just barely make out what they were saying. She could hear John's explaining to Fry how Riddick had escaped the last time, and he didn't want him getting a second chance at it. The bastard was gonna turn Riddick in anyways even though they had a deal. Just then Jo felt a hand slide across her hip bone and down to squeeze her thigh, she looked to see Riddick had crawled up beside her and was lying in the sand in the shade of the skiff. Next to him he had a can of grease usually used to lube up machine parts and next to that a shiv. Jo tried to close her legs together to make Riddick stop, but all it ended up doing was trapping his hand between her thighs. She hissed as she felt his fingers slide over the crotch of her pants.

"Riddick someone's gonna see you"

"Not if you just calm down and don't make a scene"

"Easy for you to say, you wanna trade places and we'll see how calm you can be?"

"That's doesn't sound like a bad idea"

Riddick pulled Jo further along the side of the skiff so they were sitting underneath a wing slightly tucked away. He put one arm behind her back and pulled her to straddle his legs.

"Riddick this really isn't a good idea" She looked around and kept going back and forth to make sure there was no one around to see them.

"I kinda like it actually, you on top of me all scared and panicked. Makes me hot and dizzy"

"That is your brain melting from stupidity"

"You know you're enjoying yourself" He ground his erection into her to prove his point.

Jo let out a gasp but quickly bit her bottom lip to keep from being to loud. God she really was enjoying herself and damn Riddick for knowing it too. She ground against him as well and was delighted in the intake of breath she received when she did.

"Ha, you're not so calm now are ya?"

She leaned her mouth down toward his; she'd been waiting to kiss him this entire time. Then the sound of footsteps reverberating on metal halted her actions and she leapt off Riddick and ran off to find the other group. Riddick watched her go and sighed. He slid some of the grease on his head and began to shave what little stubble there was. Jo had just disappeared behind some tarps when Johns rounded the side of the ship and began to reprimand Riddick on having a shiv.