So, you want to hang with me?

Richard B. Riddick had a choice to make. His life was a dangerous one, uncertain and filled with death at every turn. Still, the darkness in his soul had sought something. It was not always easy for the killer, the animal, and the man to agree on something but the three days he had sat with Jack in his lap hammered home one simple fact. He needed her. He'd ached with a pain so rending when he thought she would die that he just couldn't face the meaning behind it. It was not love. Love was something that his limited experience had no use for. It was not lust. He'd had plenty of lust in his time. He really didn't know what it was for sure, if he'd been forced to name it. All the same it was stronger than anything he had ever felt before. Richard knew that he was fighting a battle he could not win. His inner darkness was determined to keep what it had claimed; the killer saw no reason to push the Jack away. He had to make sure that she would survive in his world. He picked up his shirt and slid into it. "You are gonna do pull-ups. Grab that bar and get started." Time for lesson three. She really couldn't argue. Jackie had to leap to reach the bar, and Riddick didn't move to help her. His no nonsense approach made it a gruff process to ensure that she was doing everything right, from holding the bar to the position of her legs. They had at least a month, and Riddick figured that this way their physical teasing would have an outlet that Imam and Fry could be comfortable with. "Go on, pull."

Jackie began tightening her arms and lifting her body. "How many?"

"Until I say stop." He listened to the slight creak of her hands on the metal as they shifted to her weight ever so slightly.

"Bastard."

Riddick moved to the front and lifted the blanket, tucking it up so that he could keep an eye on Jackie to make sure she didn't stop. "I'll watch for a while, Carolyn."

"Yeah? Sure. I could use that." Fry got up and moved to the back. Just watching Jackie build up a sweat made her tired. Fry settled down into a chair well out of the way and picked up the blanket she'd been using from the stack neatly folded on the floor. She yawned, "Are you sure you should be pushing Jackie this hard, Riddick?"

"Hard? Hell, I've just started. There will be push-ups, squats, curls, and sit-ups too."

Jackie laughed at Fry's expression. "Heh, I asked for it, Fry." Riddick got a self-satisfied look on his face at the sound. If Jackie had enough energy to laugh she had enough to work out. Imam watched Riddick as he took over the pilot's chair and scanned over the readouts. One thing the holy man had to acknowledge was that Riddick was intelligent in ways that bordered on genius. The beads slowly clicked through his hand as he turned his attention back to his prayers.

"You've got more spunk than I do, kiddo." Fry leaned back and watched Jackie until her eyelids were too heavy to keep open. It did not take long, as Fry had been awake for the better part of the last 3 days on top of the stress of their escape.

Imam waited until Fry was sleeping before looking at Riddick. He sensed that some things just would not be shared the with the docking pilot until Riddick knew her better. It was possible that Riddick would not share with him either but he needed to know about the man's past. He needed to understand what the large, obviously trained killer had seen that was enough for the Company to not only lock him away, but wipe pieces of his past clean. Imam lightly broached the subject; "You were security on Sigma 3. How did you end up in prison?"

"I got tired of the horse-bit, Father." Riddick glanced back at Jackie, "Don't stop."

"My arms are getting shaky." Jackie stuck out her tongue; "I have an itch on my nose."

"So scratch it. But don't stop."

Imam looked back at the young woman with compassion but could tell she was fine. "Horse-bit, Mr. Riddick? I don't fully understand."

There was something about the cleric that brushed Riddick's soul. While he was not an open man, so few bothered to ask him how he'd ended up like this that the opportunity was just too sweet to pass up. Of course, it meant showing some trust in someone. Richard trusted Imam Abu al-Walid on some level that was unusual for him. He looked at the dark skinned man for a long moment before answering. "Company took me on when I was 12 or so. I should have gone into the slave camps like all the other kids in the group home, but I must have caught someone's eye. I ended up a Sweeper. It's a suicide job. Ninety-percent mortality rate. I survived longer than the officer's sons I was posted with did, in spite of getting misted by the local life form. Company man, Johastein, put me in the Strike Force training program on Sigma's moon base. He took me under his wing and put me in charge of security. The price I paid was that I had to keep my mouth shut. Then Jackie came along and they tried to shuffle her off to a home. It was the last straw." Long story kept short, none of the gory details required.

"Carl Johastein?" Jackie asked. She was moving slower but still moving. It was 'pops'. The memories flooded back to her, freezing her in place for a moment. Her breathing caught in her throat. It was a name she had never wanted to hear again. A sinking feeling threatened to weigh her down. She felt like lead had settled in her stomach.

Riddick noticed the change instantly, but ignored it for a moment as he let his almost mate hang from the roof. He finally, slowly stated, "Yeah."

"Fuck."

There was so much dismay in the curse that Riddick immediately connected with the feeling. He knew who had beaten her and what had happened to make her flee Sigma 3 at that moment. Could he teach her to use that emotion to fuel her training? Would she respond? He shifted his focus, "What he'd do to you Jackie?" Riddick turned to look at her, willing her to own the pain and anger.

"Everything, Riddick. He did everything." Her voice was so bitter that Imam looked startled. Somehow the story he'd heard about her being sent away made no sense with the clear agony and rage she was feeling. He puzzled on that while he listened to the banter as it continued.

"Channel that anger, girl. Focus on your arms and make them keep going."

Jackie gritted her teeth and pictured finally being able to beat the crap out of the man who'd made her life living hell, "Okay, I can do that." Her pace strengthened and her face set in determination.

Imam watched in silence for a time, marveling how Jackie seemed to get a second wind. Riddick had turned back to the readouts. Imam looked at him. "Did they tell you how you ended up in the company home, Mr. Riddick?"

"Found me in a dumpster, behind a liquor store. Umbilical cord still attached and looped around my neck. A breech birth gone bad, likely. Thought I was dead, until they cut the cord off and I started breathing." Riddick paused, 'Why am I telling you this, preacher? Why do you care?' Yet he found himself unable to stop, "They told me that they looked for my mother; she never came forward."

"I am sorry." Imam reached out and put a hand on Riddick's shoulder. "Have you tried faith?"

"Yeah, I got faith, Imam. I believe in God, alright." Riddick looked up at the older man, "No offence intended, but I absolutely hate the fucker."

"None taken, Mr. Riddick. God loves unconditionally, regardless of how you feel in return."

Riddick didn't respond. Silence stretched out until Jackie let out a verbal protest as she forced her shaking arms to lift her again. Riddick didn't respond to that either. "Ah—" Jackie said as she lowered her body, "How—much—more?"

"Five."

"You must be joking!"

"Yeah, do ten."

"Shit."

"Okay, 15."

Jackie got the picture, the more she talked the more he added. She stuck out her tongue as she struggled with the first of the 15.

"Don't cheat, or I'll spank you."

"I—might—like—that." Two more done.

"Add five, sweetheart." Crap, up to 17.

The grunts of effort were not punished, Jackie discovered, but she was very careful not to say anything until she'd done the requested amount. Riddick didn't respond; he didn't say stop. Jackie hung there for a moment and scowled at the back of his head. Then she slowly forced another pull out of her exhausted arms. "Stop." Riddick's voice rolled like a wave of distant thunder. Jackie never thought she'd be so glad to hear him say that one word. 'Like a parched desert waiting for rain,' she thought. Riddick poured her a cup of water, "Come here," he held the cup up and out but did not come over. Jackie lightly dropped down from the bar and walked over to the offered water. Her arms quivered oddly.

"You are an ass, you know that, don't you?" She took the cup and sipped at the cool liquid inside.

"Next set I'm gonna add my shoes to the weight of your legs."

"What? You're gonna make it harder?"

"I could do twice as much with you on my back, and only one arm, girl. You got a long way to go."

"That's not a fair comparison, Riddick."

He laughed. "No, babe. But life's not fair." He took her hand and pulled her wrist up to his nose. 'What, do I stink?' She was watching his face closely. Imam was trying not to watch, putting his focus on the black and gold beads in his hands. Riddick sniffed up Jackie's arm to the inside of her elbow, making Jackie tingle again inside, "Finish your water and lay a blanket down on the floor."

"For what?" Jackie asked.

"Crunches," he gave her a sly grin.

"Ass."

He slapped her butt as she turned away, "You are getting a nice one, girl."

Jackie turned red. "What? This bony thing?" She patted her own rump as she picked up one of the crumpled blankets and began folding into a mat size.

"You're not bony."

"Right…"

"Fine, get your 'bony' ass down on the floor and start moving."

Riddick treated the sit-ups and curls much the same way he'd treated the pull-ups, but instead of having her stop completely after the normal round he introduced variations. Because of the injuries Jackie couldn't do as many of each type, so he worked around her limitations. It left her sweaty and shaky. He held out more water, just for her to see and wiggled a finger. "Do you want me to hate you?" Jackie asked after a moment. He flashed her a wicked grin. Imam just watched as the exhausted young woman on the floor fixed Riddick with an exasperated expression, "It's not gonna work." She wiped her face with her sleeve; "You are stuck with me." Jackie rolled over and got to her feet. Fry was still asleep, softly breathing between slightly open lips. Jackie passed her and walked up to take the water. Riddick caught her and pulled her down into his lap before giving her the cup. "You are so confusing."

Riddick looked at Imam. "I'm trying to be considerate."

"There is no need on my behalf, Mr. Riddick. When I was on my first Hajj as a youth, Furya was a place we visited. According to their laws, Jackie is a woman with the right to choose her mate. Clearly she has done so." Imam fixed the pair with a steady gaze.

Riddick grunted; he knew Jackie was a woman. She was fertile; he could smell it. "You assume, Holy Man, that she's a member of this dead race. Why?"

"The old Furyan man at the slave camp was giving her mother food, a clear sign that the child she was feeding was his. It was a typical behavior."

"He was the camp cook."

"It was extra food, and I sense that he paid for the deed with his life."

Riddick went quiet. It did make sense. Hell, the old goat shielded Aubrey with his body when the other members of the group caught her with the food. He fought them off until they beat him down. Then he had covered her from the rocks being thrown at them when he could no longer support himself to fight. As security, Riddick and his men broke up the stoning to find the cook a bloody battered mass, curled around a woman who was injured but far less so that she would have been otherwise. The child hadn't even been touched because of the old cook's body blocking the blows. Come to think of it, he personally had shielded Jackie, more than once. "So, how is that conclusive?"

"Jackie knew of the place, Mr. Riddick. None of us mentioned it. They were a very spiritual people."

Jackie watched Imam. He seemed so certain. "Can I get more water?" Imam refilled her cup. "Thanks. You know, I kinda think Imam is right about the old cook that you mentioned Riddick. It just makes sense. I knew Johastein wasn't related to me. None of his kids looked anything like me. Hell, my eyes are a totally different color from either Mom's, his, or any of them." She snuggled into his warmth again, liking how he made her feel. "Besides, he hated me." Imam noticed Jackie had the warmest hazel eyes he'd ever seen, big and enchanting. Clearly she felt safe where she was.

"He kept you to hurt me." Riddick whispered into the top of her head and followed it by brushing his lips through her velvety short hair. "I betrayed him, prison wasn't a big enough punishment. Maybe he thought you were my kid. He told me he was gonna ruin everything I had. He successfully did that to your mother, Jack, but I'm not gonna let him get his hands on you again." He looked at Imam, "I'm gonna get you and Fry back to New Mecca and Jackie and I are gonna disappear."

"I would invite you to stay awhile with me, Mr. Riddick. No one would dare think that you would go to such a bright place. Perhaps you and Jackie could enjoy the time peacefully."

"Maybe."

"Nah, Imam. There's gonna be questions no matter where we go, even with the ID switch. Never know who we could run into, or which of us is gonna slip up and call the big guy here," Jackie patted his arm, "by his real name at the wrong time. It's too risky for us to stay on New Mecca." Yet in spite Jackie's rejection Imam could see that Riddick still considered his offer and was far from certain in his rejection of it. Something in that fact made the holy man feel almost as if he'd passed some very difficult test. Riddick was accepting him in a way that he'd not accepted the docking pilot. The three of them sat silently together watching the stars while Carolyn Fry caught up on her sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The days picked up a rhythm, at least to Jackie. She would wake, eat, tease Riddick, embarrass Fry, exercise until she was to tired to move, or beyond, depending on Riddick's mood, and settle down for several hours of data manipulation on Johns' computer. Riddick's interest in the latter usually slowed what was an already tedious process, but Jackie was kind of glad that he was paying attention. In between times of sleep and wakefulness, the four of them learned about each other. Imam revealed far less about himself then he learned about Fry, Riddick, or Jackie. Riddick, the holy man noted talked more around Jackie, like when he was touching or holding her than he did otherwise. Something about Jackie calmed and opened the large man up to sharing his experiences. Jackie revealed little shards of her life at the most unexpected moments. Like when hauling out a water bladder and revealing how many infants she'd taken care of, or watching Riddick shave and quietly stating how perfect he seemed in contrast to the men she'd seen her mother with. Fry was by far the most open, speaking about her struggles and battles to just make it to docking pilot only to find that she hated cryo. Occasionally though, Imam would speak about himself, his faith, his travels, and his home.

Jackie thought that of the four of them Imam's life seemed the most peaceful, and a huge contrast to any of their experiences. She could see that her life in particular seemed to stab deep into the holy man's being. That alone made her quiet about what she'd been through and tightlipped about why she'd run away. For several weeks she deflected near constant attempts by Imam as he sought the source of her pain and anger that Riddick so regularly exploited to push her workouts beyond her normal limits. Still Imam persisted even to the point of trying different tactics. He finally resorted to asking, "Why do you not want to talk about it Jackie?" when everything else failed.

Riddick had her in his lap again as he watched the skiff controls and her work with an embedded video message she'd found while digging through Johns' weakly encrypted files. " 'Cause I don't, Imam. It serves no purpose to dwell on it." Riddick was not coming to her defense this time. In fact he was getting a little annoyed with the constant but gentle digging. "Look, it was a Company world, with Company rules…what more do I need to say?"

"There are Company worlds then there are company worlds, Jackie. Help me understand." Imam was so tenacious.

Riddick nuzzled her ear, "What is that?" he pointed to something in the background of the image she was picking apart.

"A shadow, Hassan, I think. I'm gonna isolate those sections and save them, I can use it to hide any cuts."

"Not Hassan. Carolyn."

"Whatever." Imam waited, watching them. Finally Jackie looked up at him, "You heard Riddick mention Johastein. What type of world do you think Sigma 3 is Imam? Civilization hasn't reached it, and the Company will strip it barren before its finished with it. You figure it out." Her eyes were so filled with torment that it broke his heart. It was not normal for someone to carry that type of torture around inside of them. He feared that it would cause permanent harm if Jackie did not open up to someone. Riddick must have thought nothing of it, perhaps because he also carried that deep pain around. But Jackie still had a chance of healing, if only she shared the damaging experience.

"Please Jackie, talk to me." Imam tried again.

She sighed, 'Don't want to talk about it. Won't ever tell anyone.' Riddick slid his hand under her arm and onto her stomach, feeling the results of the exercises he'd relentlessly put her through. Jackie felt her resolve waver, "It'll just hurt you, Father."

"Tell the man what he wants to know, Jackie." Riddick was siding with Imam only because he was tired of the endless questions. "I got you, you're safe here."

"I left 'cause he beat me." Jackie busied her fingers with a piece of data.

"Why does not ring true?" Imam stated.

"Okay, he beat me and—stuff. God, do you have any idea how painful it is to think about what he did to me?" Jackie looked from the laptop to the concerned face watching her. She felt Riddick's arms hug her. She sighed again, "How descriptive do you want me to be, Father? Is it enough to know that he raped me?"

"I am sorry, Jackie. I did not know. But you need to talk about it. Why is that enough for you to leave when you had already endured so much?"

"It was the way he did it…" she shifted uncomfortably. "He was threatening to send me to the slave pits, Okay?"

"Meaning?" Imam really had no idea where she was going with her revelation. He could see Riddick understood. She was only confirming something the ex-ranger already knew. Imam shifted his look to the man behind Jackie, "You clearly know."

Riddick knew this would hurt her, just the words in clear plain speak would hurt. There was little he could do to shut the holy man up without answering his persistently annoying questions. He put the entire thing on the table and readied himself for the backlash from the woman in his lap. "Sigma 3 is a mining world," he began. Jackie stiffened and sat still. She gave Riddick a look that begged him to not say it… but he ignored her, "Corporation sends indentured-workers and orphans there to work. Like me, Jackie is legally an orphan. Company owns us, lawfully. Virtual slaves." His eyes focused on the star field as he flatly spoke the part Jackie had never wanted articulated, "And Johastein was gonna pimp her out." He felt her twist in his arms, knocking the laptop to the floor, curling against him with a sob. The pain she felt stabbed him like a razor sharp shiv. Anger welled to fill the spiritual wound. "You happy now, Imam?"

Jackie felt Riddick again growl. It was a deep vibration of a sound, filled with unspoken menace. She sobbed harder hoping he wasn't pushing her away. Imam stood, "I seem to not be wanted here. I will leave you." Jackie heard the rustle of his clothes and the sound of the blanket falling into place. Riddick nudged the computer closed with his toe. Neither of them said anything as she cried herself into a tired numb state.

Finally Riddick said, "Sorry, babe." Jackie weakly hit his shoulder. Sometimes he made her so, so… Hell, she didn't know how he made her feel. She wanted to hate him, sometimes…. Yet she was terrified that he'd go away leaving her behind. And the expression on his face when she raised her head to look at him was so, so…. God, she wanted to kiss him, or slap him, or… Her body was ablaze with electric energy again, radiating up from his lap and washing over her like a tide. Even her arms and legs tingled.

"You confuse me," she whispered after a long pause.

He twisted his lips into a teasing grin, "Sorry, babe."

"No you're not. You like seeing me this way!" she hit him again. It had been days since he'd gotten to her, not that he hadn't been trying. She fixed an angered stare at him only to have him laugh.

"Yeah. I can think of a few other ways I'd like to see you, too, but I don't think you want to be a freak show." He slipped his hands under her shirt and traced her spine with his fingers, enjoying the results of his punishing exercise regime. Then he leaned in and nuzzled the crook of her neck where it met her shoulder. It didn't help matters much. Lately his scent and taken on a, well, erotic, dimension and now she was bathed in it. She melted, folding into him.

"Keep up like this and I won't care, Riddick."

"Yes you will." He was speaking softly right against her skin, tasting her. The tingle began to work into her toes while what she felt in her torso began to be more like a raging inferno than a tingle. Her breathing changed. Whatever he was doing he had to be enjoying driving her crazy, Jackie told herself. She nuzzled his neck, gently, tentatively, brushing his skin with her lips and cheek. Somehow her hands found their way under his tank and around onto his back. She was dimly aware that she was tracing his spine much as he'd been tracing hers. She felt him stir beneath her. "You are a bad girl," he said as he pulled back. His face told her what he wasn't saying; 'I want you.'

Jackie found it in herself to laugh, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he purred.

It was his teasing that Jackie found so frustrating. It was like being on an emotional roller-coaster. One minute he was all over her, the next he retreated into a shell. And she kept falling for it. He pointed to the laptop on the floor; "You should finish that." He lifted her up onto her feet, slipped past her, and moved through the curtain. "Come on Carolyn, you've been back here for too long."

"You wanna switch? Yeah, okay I'll eat up there then." Jackie listened as she picked up the laptop and settled back into the chair still radiating from Riddick's heat. Fry joined her up front. Jackie started to get up again, "No, you're fine, Jackie. Just hit the control switch button there to flip the controls." Jackie pressed the button. They sat in silence with only the clicking of Jackie's fingers at work to keep them company. Fry slowly munched on the ration she was eating as she watched the controls and looked out at space. She finally looked at Jackie, "I think I know what Riddick's doing, kiddo."

"Oh? 'Cause I haven't a clue, Carolyn. He's making me crazy." Jackie stopped and looked at the woman who was finally settling into the realization that she had to approach Jackie in a neutral, rather sisterly fashion, in order to avoid provoking Riddick.

"Ever see two birds mate in the wild?"

"Birds? No. I've only seen birds in picture books."

"It's a courtship. Like an instinctive ritual. Every step he makes that you follow satisfies him for a time. That's why he backs off." Fry looked away, "Let it go slow, kiddo. You are lucky."

Jackie snorted, "Well, fine. But he's still making me crazy."

Fry laughed, "I can tell, and he is loving it. Crazy." She shook her head, "I hate to say this but the two of you really make time fly. It's like watching a vid-program. Only I care far too much about the characters involved."

"We got what, 9 days, until we hit the shipping lane?"

"Looks like. We might hit a communication beacon before that, so you should get the changes made."

"I know, it's almost done except for this vid-message Johns tried to bury. Damn it if the audio track is a separate file. I gotta get it integrated, or it won't work." Jackie growled, "Or I could just link it and let the random interference make it look like Johns was a total dip-shit."

"He was a dip-shit, Jack. Just link 'um back up the way he had it," Riddick was almost laughing.

"Go to sleep, you big lug." Jackie shook her head at Fry, "See what hell I put up with?"

"Sure do."

Jackie found herself working on the files until Imam reminded her that Riddick would be putting her through her workout in a few hours. She shrugged, "I'm almost done, then I'll sleep after I take my punishment, Imam." Jackie was finishing up the final strings when Riddick loomed over her. "You will have to wait for like 5 minutes, I'm almost done." He stood over her waiting the entire time. Jackie reset the message and her encapsulated files to auto-transmit as soon as the link was in range. "Give me a wet-wipe, huh?" Riddick shot her a questioning look but got her the wipe. She wiped off the keys, the screen and the outer casing. "I want to hide this someplace Johns might have hid it, but where we wouldn't have found it."

Riddick grinned at her. He moved over to a panel and lifted it up. Paris had hidden several pieces of statuary there. "Let's put it here." Jackie smiled at him. An extra box of Johns' red shells were already hidden there too. They hid the link without getting anymore prints on it; Jackie wiped down the hidden grips too. "Now Jack, time to get sweaty." Even being awake all night didn't keep her from being pushed until she was shaking. As she went to do push ups he sat and crossed his legs over her shoulders, firmly pushing against her upward movement. He was amazed at how strong she was getting and how much resistance he had to apply to make the workouts hard on her. "You know, you really should do that one-hand."

"You're joking!"

"No, I'm not. Wrap one arm up behind your back."

"Bastard." But she did it, carefully balancing on one arm. He eased up on the pressure, leaving his legs on her. Imam and Carolyn busied themselves knowing the routine all too well. Each day he had made the workouts harder so that they were not getting longer. Plus it kept the banter between he and Jackie on an innocent level. It kept them playful towards each other and gave them both an outlet for the physical energy that built up in the tiny space of the skiff. The better-toned Jackie became, the more Riddick worked with her, teaching her stretches, pulling against her, and even joining her by challenging her to see who could do more. She had him on the flexibility already. It was something he could push himself to match.

Jackie found that for the next week more of her time was spent doing physical stuff. She was working her legs more, bending more. Every time she thought she was starting to do well, Riddick increased the difficulty. She found herself doing odd things too, like holding balancing positions for long periods of time. He was usually doing the same thing and Jackie imagined that Imam and Carolyn must've thought they looked really strange.

Riddick was also starting to teach her how to read the controls of the skiff. Not piloting exactly, but how to understand the dials and readouts. A first step. Jackie listened with far more attention than she'd ever listened to her teachers at school, back when Johastein had let her go. Half the words on the readouts she couldn't pronounce, but she was learning what they stood for and that was something of a big deal right there. Carolyn noticed, too. She actually helped out. Between the two pilots Jackie was discovering that she might just have the smarts to fly. It both thrilled and frightened her.

Imam had backed off about the questions. He hadn't even talked to her for several days other than to say hello. It was hard to tell if he just had nothing to say or if Riddick had scared him off. Jackie imagined that he was still dealing with the loss of his boys. Hell, she was not over that yet, and in reality she'd barely known them. It hurt to think about it. Jackie finally moved over and sat next to Imam as he worked his beads through his fingers. "Imam?" He looked at her, his eyes were so sad. "What you gonna do once we get to New Mecca?"

His face brightened, "Get a shower. Funny how that one thing is bothering me. After all that has happened I want a shower."

"Yeah. The wipes just don't cut it do they?" Jackie smiled at him. "I'm not mad at you, Imam. You were right, I did need someone to know…."

He took her hand and squeezed it; "I could have never imagined anyone wanting to do that to you, Jackie. That's an evil I cannot fathom." He looked at Riddick; "Before I learned of your past I could not fully understand how or why you would welcome his lifestyle. Now, though, I see that you will always have to keep moving. It's better for you to stay with Mr. Riddick than to be on your own. But, if you change your mind, my door will always be open."

"Thanks, Imam. I doubt that I'll change my mind, but I appreciate the offer." They sat in silence for a while until Carolyn moved to the back with a yawn. Jackie stood up, "Tired, Captain?"

"Um, yeah. Why don't you go up front, kiddo."

Jackie stood and moved to the co-pilot seat. "We're gonna be hitting the shipping lane in two days." Riddick looked at her. "Man, there's gonna be a lot of questions, no matter who we run into. Could even be a Merc ship. What are we gonna tell them about your eyes?"

"Um…"

"Riddick? I'm worried that the ID transfer won't work." Jackie chewed on her lip for a moment, "What if Johastein is looking for me?"

"Babe, you worry too much."

"But…"

Riddick patted his lap and wiggled his finger. Jackie made a face and moved over to him. "Jackie, we just survived a crash. So we tell whoever finds us that my eyes got fucked up in the damn crash. Relax." He pulled her into his lap and held her. Jackie sighed. He always made it sound so simple. Slowly, she relaxed into him. She could spend her entire life right here, in his arms. How had this happened? Not so long ago she'd idolized him and now….

"Riddick?"

"Yeah, Jack?"

"Okay." He chucked and nuzzled her head. Jackie felt his pleasant rumble radiate through her back and his face playfully move through her hair. In the last month and a half she'd grown enough hair back to be annoyed with it but not enough to style it. She was so tempted to cut it back off, but Riddick seemed to like it so it stayed, spiked up into the air like some type of exotic tawny fur. She couldn't even imagine what she had to look like now, all tall and lean with this impossible hair and ill-fitting boy's clothing. The one thing that she'd brought with her on this trip that still fit were her shoes. And the on thing that she'd dreaded, that monthly curse of woman-hood, hadn't happened again. She was not sure why. It could've been the exercising. She knew she wasn't pregnant… Riddick hadn't done anything but tease her. Besides, Carolyn or Imam surely would have known if he'd done something while she'd been in the coma. And surely they'd have said something. She was worried that the injury messed something up. Every time she thought about it, it filled her with uncontrollable panic. And fear – what if Riddick changed his mind about keeping her because she was damaged? She was too scared to ask him. But the more she thought about it the harder it became to push it away.

"Jackie, what's wrong?"

'God, he can sense it, can't he?' She tried to relax again, not realizing until he spoke that she was sending out tiny signals of terror. "I – I should've had a period, Riddick."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I didn't have one. Carolyn had one, but I haven't." It sounded so dumb. Riddick knew about Fry's period, they all did. It was kind of hard to hide that kind of thing in this small skiff. "I know, it's stupid. But I was regular, like clockwork, for the last year, so why did I miss this one?" He just held her. Jackie waited for the other shoe to fall, for him to reject her, but he just held her. The minutes piled up. "Riddick, what if Johns fucked me up? What if--"

He curled his arms around her tighter and sniffed her, "He didn't."

"What? Did you do some sampling while I was out?" She didn't want an edge to the words, but it was there none the less.

"Jackie! No. I wouldn't do that." Riddick turned her in his lap to look at her, shocked that she'd even think that he'd take advantage of her in such a manner. "I'd kill the man who tried, understand?"

Her eyes welled up with hot tears; he looked kinda pissed, kinda sad, and totally confused that this was an issue. "What does your super-nose tell you then?"

"It tells me that you are all woman, Jackie. Nothing's wrong with you. Maybe you don't need to advertise anymore. Maybe that's one of the things that makes you – what'd Imam call them? Furyan?"