I HOLD NO CLAIMS TO ANY MEMBER OF THIS STORY. Only Riley and Jack are mine!

Chapter Nine

Going Home

"Shit!"

"What is it?" Jack watched from his seat as Riley rushed towards the guns, grabbing another rifle from the rack and trying her hardest to load it as fast as she could. He heard the strange screeches and bags outside on the dock and it was soon followed by more of Newt's screams. "What's out there, Riley!?"

"The Queen! She followed us!"

"There's a Queen!?" Jack cried. "We were right?!"

"She…she got on the ship…I have to go help!"

"Wait, I can-" Jack stopped his words as she left the ship again, the rifle in hand. "Shit!"

Newt had crawled under the floor and Ripley had disappeared somewhere, leaving the Giant Alien to try and grab the girl. Riley stared at the large creature for a moment, the size of it standing at full height was twice as horrible as the other had been, before beginning to shout at the alien.

"Over here!" She cried, moving around the platform. The sound of her voice didn't grab the attention she wanted and she aimed and loosed a few shots into the Queen's back.

That got her attention.

"Come on you big, black, fucker," She growled, shooting more rounds out as the Queen began to pace at her. "That's right. Keep your eyes on the prize." She tried her hardest to keep the Queen away from the ship and from the compartment that Newt was hiding in but there wasn't really far she could go. Any thoughts of help were behind the locked cargo doors and the other thing in here was the airlock.

The airlock!

Remembering what Jack and Ripley had done to the other Alien that had boarded their other ship after the first event a plan began to form in her head. If she could somehow get the Queen to the Airlock then she could blow it out that way. It could work if she-

"Gah!" Riley hit the ground hard. She had forgotten about the other half of Bishop's body being flung out over the platform and low and behild she just had to trip over them while firing at the alien. ~None of this shit wants to go right, does it?~ She rolled over and tried to get up to grab the gun again but the Queen was upon her in seconds, her tail stabbing into the platform, trying to hit her. Riley rolled, trying to dodge it but gave a huge cry when the Queen stopped her foot down on one of her legs. Riley knew right away that the bone had snapped, she had heard it. ~Well, this is great~ She glared up at the Queen as the black creature hissed down at her. If the thing could talk, Riley was sure that it would be laughing at her, telling her that this was payback for killing all her babies.

"If you're gonna do it, do it!" Riley roared at it. "Do it, you slimy, piece of-"

The sound of a door opening made the Queen whip around, removing her foot from Riley's leg. Crawling back on her hands, Riley watched, relief and fear in her, at the sight of her sister in one of the exosuit cargo-loaders, a furious look on her face.

"Get away from her, you bitch!"

(Most epic line in any sci-fi film, don't you agree?)

The Queen lunged forward just to get hit in the face with one of the claws. The exosuit was slow but if Ripley used it right then she should be able to overcome the Queen.

"Riley!"

Turning her head, the woman saw Newt rushing to her, getting out of the way of the fight. "Are you all right, sweetie?" She asked, grabbing the girl.

"Your leg," Newt went to touch it but Riley pushed her hand away. "Honey, go get on the ship. It's the safest place right now."

"But-"

"Go!" Riley ordered her. Newt's bottom lip trembled for a moment before she nodded and ran for the stairs.

"What are you going to do?" Bishop's voice made Riley's head turn to see that the other half of the robot wasn't as far away as she thought.

"I'm gonna help my sister, that's what." She rolled over on her stomach and began to use her hands and unbroken leg to crawl towards her gun. Hearing a huge screech, Riley whipped back around to see that Ripley had caught the Queen's head in one of the claws and was holding it back. Its tongue, with those sharp teeth, was trying to reach her, as was the tail, but to no avail. Lifting the gun again and taking aim, she fire at the creatures side multiple times, knocking it away from her sister for a moment.

"Ripley!" the woman glanced at her sister for a moment before turing back to the Alien. "The airlock! Send it out the airlock!"

Liking that idea, Ripley began to punch in the code on the strip of the Cargo loader and opened the inner door. The Queen struck again though, it's tongue going in for another strike. Riley fired at it again but the Queen just ignored it now, its eyes set on the bigger prize in front of it; until Ripley shot a small flame into its face. Riley watched as her sister, the Alien locked in both claws of the cargo loader, turned to drop the Queen down into the airlock but the creature wasn't having that and grabbed one of the bars near Ripley's face, dragging her down with it.

"Ripley!" Riley cried out. Using the holes in the floor she began to drag herself towards the airlock, trying to get there fast enough to help her sister. She could hear her grunts but she wasn't fast enough. And then the alarm began to go off. She cried her sister's name again, trying to crawl faster but a form from the ship stopped her. Jack limped out of the stairs, heading for the airlock and his wife. She gave a sigh of relief and rolled on her back. Jack would save her.

"Eleanor!" Jack dropped to his waist as he peered down into the airlock. The Alien had grabbed a hold of her foot as the woman was opening the airlock. Knowing that this was going to hurt like a bitch, Jack locked one of his hands into the floor vents and got his hands ready to close the airlock from the switch before him the moment that alien was out of the ship.

"Just hold on baby," Jack told her as the doorway opened. "Just hold on."

The look of pain on his wife's face made Jack's heart hurt. "Just let go of her, damnit!" He roared at the Queen. "It's over! Just die already!"

As if waiting for the cue, Ripley's show ripped off, leaving the Queen to drop down into Space.

Jack slammed his hand down on the switch, closing both the airlock doors before reaching down there and pulling his wife up into his arms.

Riley pushed herself up into a sitting position and grinned at the two of them. "Hell of a party, right?"

Ripley gave a sigh, taking a deep breath. "Shut up."

"Not bad for some humans," Bishop commented, staring over at them. The suction from the airlock had pulled both him and Riley closer before they had locked their fingers into the floor vents like Jack had.

"We need a vacation," Jack sighed, shaking his head.

It was a few hours later that everyone was gathered around in the cryogenic beds. With Bishop's orders over her shoulder, Ripley had been able to reset Riley's leg and it now sat in a cast as she and Jack watched Ripley get Newt ready for sleep. They had all taken showers and Hicks was already in his own bed, what was left of Bishop right beside him.

"I wanted that other kiss, damnit." Riley growled.

Jack gave a chuckle and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax. I'm sure that's what he's gonna wake you up with so be ready. It'll be here in what seems only minutes."

Riley chuckled and then gave a sigh. "I don't want to go back into Space, Jack"

He echoed her sigh. "Neither do I."

"Are we gonna sleep all the way home?" Newt was asking.

"All the way home." Ripley nodded.

"Can I dream?"

"Yes, honey," Ripley curled the child's hair behind her ear. "I think we all can."

As she tucked Newt in, Jack stood up and gave a stretch. "All right you two," He curled an arm around Riley's shoulders and then another around Ripley's when she joined them. "I've got to say that my life has gotten crazier and crazier since I met the two of you, but you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way."

Riley snorted. "I would."

Ripley nodded in agreement. I would keep the two of you, but I would love to erase those monsters from her memories."

"Wouldn't we all?" He kissed Riley on the forehead and let her go to hobble off to her own bed beside Hicks before turning all his attention to his wife. "I was afraid there for a while, Eleanor. When your sister came rushing back onto the ship for that gun I didn't know what to think. I feel no regretting in saying that I'm glad it was Bishop and not you."

She gave a soft chuckle before giving her husband a kiss. "You and me both."

"That includes me!" Riley held up her finger from her position in the bed. "Now, if one of you would be so kind, I believe I deserve a nice, long sleep."

Ripley laughed at her sister. Leaving her to take care of her sister, Jack moved off to his own bed, one question ringing through Ripley's head.

~What would I ever do without the two of you?~

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