Chapter
Eleven
A/N: Okay,
here's the shippy bit =) which I will endeavour to keep control
over, as my shippy scenes have a tendency to go off on their
own Enjoy! (Oh, and I stole the end scene image from "Mind
the Baby" since my two Muses [who actually ARE John and
Aeryn] decided to desert me and run off to do *ahem* something
considerably less productive than helping me with the fic. By
the time they came back, they were in no state to come up with
anything coherent Sorry about that)
CHAPTER ELEVEN
- Everything I Do
Three arns
after the meeting on the Terrace, John was still looking for
Aeryn. In a last-ditch attempt, he returned to the Terrace, just
in case she'd ventured in there. All he found was Zhaan's good
luck charm. He laughed to himself, wondering if there was anything
she could do that wasn't immensely thoughtful, and moved towards
it. Something's gotta work around here, he thought. He made a
wish that it would all go vaguely well when he finally found
Aeryn, then went to the only other place he could think of
As expected,
he found her in Pilot's Den. His initial plan had been to forcibly
drag her out of there and confront her about her lack of appearance
earlier, or at the very least, talk it through with her. That
plan was thwarted when he saw that she was deep in conversation
with Pilot, so instead, he kept as quiet as possible and moved
until he could hear what they were saying.
"Commander
Crichton has been looking for you," noted Pilot. "His
comms have been off for half an arn and, to be honest, I have
stopped tracking him. He could be anywhere."
Aeryn shrugged.
"Well, then, he'll find me eventually. Doubtless he wants
to talk."
Pilot nodded.
"Why did you not attend the meeting on the Terrace?"
John chose
that moment to risk his life and approach. "Yeah, that's
what I'd like to know."
"I wondered
how long it would take," she said, sighing. "If you
really want to know, I'll tell you."
"I'm all
ears." Before she could react, he added. "Forget it.
Just tell me."
"Fine."
She gestured for him to sit down. "The reason I wasn't on
the Terrace was because I hadn't thought of anything until early
this morning. Just so you know, I did hear everything that happened,
and I believe it's my turn?" John nodded. "Good. My
gift is for Pilot."
"Great,"
said John. "You know what? I'm just gonna go-"
"Stay
right where you are, Crichton!" she ordered. "This
concerns you as well" John sat down, and waited. Aeryn placed
a small, metallic object on top of Pilot's console. "I think
you know what that is, Pilot."
"Yes,"
he admitted. "It's the chip with the history of my joining
to Moya and with your own history."
"And Velorek"
added John, not liking the direction of the conversation.
"And Velorek,"
clarified Aeryn. "My gift to you, Pilot is this." In
one swift movement, she picked up the chip and threw it off the
ledge. It skimmed with a whistling sound, reflected the light
briefly, and then disappeared from view.
"Officer
Sun Aeryn I don't understand."
"That
chip represented the past, everything that came between us. It's
behind us, Pilot, and now I've seen to it that it never comes
between us again."
Pilot placed
a claw on her shoulder. "Thank you."
John was briefly
shocked. He certainly hadn't anticipated something so meaningful
to come from Aeryn, especially when she wasn't exactly thrilled
with the idea but then again, she was very good at surprising
him. "Wow. Um that's great, Aeryn, but what does it have
to do with me?"
"Velorek."
John put on an expression that implied he was repeating his question.
"The past my past." She indicated the chasm below.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" When he still
didn't react, she very quickly vacated the area, annoyed that
he didn't get it.
"Oh frell"
he muttered. "See ya, Pilot" With that, he chased after
her, as the realisation finally hit.
Halfway down
the corridor, he caught up with her, grabbing her arm to stop
her. "Hey, just stop a microt!" She did, wrenching
herself from his grip in the process. "I don't exactly know
what I did, but whatever it was I'm sorry. Okay?"
"Fine.
Can I go, now?"
"No, you
can't." He received the look she reserved for him in these
situations - the one that implied if he didn't explain himself
fast, he was going to lose a limb. "I'm sure Pilot appreciates
your gift so do I. I promise"
"Really?"
"Really,
I do. I'm just slow on the uptake lately." He rubbed the
back of his head. "Just, I'd appreciate it if the next time
you don't turn up for something like this, you'd at least tell
me."
Then, it all
started going horribly wrong.
"Oh. Do
I answer to you, now?"
"That's
not what I meant and you know it." They both sighed. "If
you want it, my present was for you"
"Go on,
then. Show me," Aeryn conceded. John reached into his jacket
pocket and pulled out her locket, which he'd cleaned, re-chained,
and re-hinged. It looked almost new. She took it off him. "Where
did you get this?"
"Rygel
stole it, I got it back, and I thought I'd clean it up for you."
"Thank
you."
Aeryn examined
it, then started to put it on. John got there first. "Here,
I'll do it." He fastened it expertly behind her neck, then
moved away again, knowing he was too close for her comfort. He
attempted to decipher her reaction. She had thanked him, but
didn't sound or look very happy about it.
"You hate
it"
He turned and
began to walk away. Aeryn looked briefly exasperated, then called
after him, annoyed.
"This
was your frelling idea, Crichton! I didn't even want to take
part. I only did this because you forced me into it, and because
I really had to put everything with Pilot behind us. I did what
you wanted - I found a gift, and I gave it to you and Pilot.
What more do you want?" John's back was still facing her,
and he said nothing. "Fine. That's it. Next time, celebrate
your frelling traditions by yourself"
She spun around
at the same time he did, and stalked off, ignoring John as he
called after her, following. "Why do you think I do this,
Aeryn?" She stopped, but didn't answer. "For fun? Because
I like being treated like the local village idiot? Because I
enjoy getting my butt kicked either for you or by you?"
There was still no reply. He moved closer, a lot nearer than
he should. "I'll tell you why I frelling do this all the
time why I told you all about this It's for you everything every
single damn thing I do" He took a deep breath that sounded
almost pained. "And all this, today, this past weeken was
for you because I love you, Aeryn and you never even notice"
John stopped
then and didn't move a muscle, waiting for her to either kill
him or walk away. Aeryn didn't turn, terrified of what she might
do. In situations like this, she didn't trust herself or her
emotions. To buy herself some time, she asked, "What?"
He moved even
closer until he was right behind her, looking over her left shoulder,
and he spoke close to her ear. "You heard me" He manoeuvred
around in front of her so he could face her, and when shelooked
down, he lifted her chin so their eyes met. "I love you."
He was finding
it difficult to ascertain what her reaction was, and he was concentrating
so hard on trying to read her expression that when she kissed
him, it took him quite by surprise. It only took a few moments
for him to react. Aeryn pulled away and looked at him. "You
thought I hadn't noticed?" she asked, smiling. John nodded,
in a minor state of shock. Quietly, she added, "I think
you really are insane"
John smiled
back. "Only because you've driven me to it" He repaid
her in kind by kissing her back, for longer this time, and pulled
away only to check she was real and he wasn't dreaming. To further
clarify it, he raised a hand to her cheek, then took her own
hand in his other. "Come on"
"Where
are we going now?"
"Back
to the Den. I should apologise to Pilot I feel like such a jerk
for running out of there."
"I'm sure
he'll understand."
"Yeah,
I know but still"
An arn later,
they were still in Pilot's chamber, sitting on the floor. John
had his back to the panel, and Aeryn was sitting in front of
him, wrapped in his arms. Neither of them had said a word after
John had apologised to Pilot, and he was beginning to think they
might have fallen asleep. He sent a DRD around to check on them.
John spotted
it first, and laughed. "It's okay, Pilot, we're still here"
"I was
just checking, Commander," Pilot clarified. "Although
it appears Officer Sun is only just here"
"I'm fine,
Pilot" she said. "Just a little tired." The DRD
went back to whatever task it had been previously assigned, and
the room lapsed into silence once more. Aeryn leaned further
against John and rested her head back on his shoulder. He kissed
her temple, without realising he was doing it.
"You can
sleep if you want, honey"
Aeryn seemed
to take him up on the offer, closing her eyes momentarily. Just
when he thought she really was asleep, she spoke. "Thank
you."
"Hm?"
"Thank
you for this. All of it telling us about the tradition, for the
locket everything." She lifted her head again and shifted
position slightly so she was almost facing him, and sitting sideways
on. John moved himself, to compensate.
"Comfortable?"
he asked. She nodded, and, now that she had better access, she
kissed him again, then laid her head back on his shoulder. The
last thing she said before succumbing to the pull of sleep was
barely above a whisper.
"I love
you"
He squeezed
her tighter, and simply sat there, contemplating how truly bizarre
the day had been. There was still a niggling worry that it was
all a dream and he would wake up in the same predicament as before
- hopelessly in love with Aeryn and unable to tell her for fear
of rejection or worse. The lightly breathing form in his arms,
however, was a comforting reminder that it was all very real.
Just when he
was lapsing into sleep himself, he sensed another presence in
the room and pulled himself back into consciousness. He groaned
quietly when he saw who it was.
"Damn,
Harvey, just go away"
The clone was
still holding the blue roses, now very bedraggled, as if he'd
been pulling them along the ground behind him. "So this
is how you repay me, John?"
"Repay
you for what?" He was trying to keep his voice down and
be domineering at the same time, and was only partially successful
at both.
"Everything
Who's been there for you when you were lonely and moping? Me,
that's who. And you repay me with your rejection."
"Harvey
you should be glad, okay? No more intrusive, annoying thoughts
about-" He stopped and lowered his voice as Aeryn stirred
slightly. "About Aeryn"
"But I
got you flowers!"
"Big deal,"
he said. "You didn't get me this, so leave me alone."
Harvey put
on his very best kicked-puppy expression and trudged back out
of the Den, leaving the roses in the middle of one of the gangways
as he did so. John knew he should feel some kind of sympathy
for him - he was, after all, the only person who wasn't particularly
happy with the outcome of his Valentine's Day idea - but he didn't
have the energy to waste his thoughts.
He kissed the
top of Aeryn's head, then leant back against Pilot's console,
getting more comfortable. In a matter of microts, he was asleep,
and unconsciously figuring out the next custom he could inflict
on everyone
~F~I~N~
All over!!!
Sorry I couldn't get the whole thing up for Valentine's Day,
but I completely ran out of time and Muse power. Plus, four-day
"Farscape" marathons really frell your sleeping pattern
up
Thanks to
all those who reviewed each chapter *looks at Eve* and keep your
eyes peeled for more of the Horror Show, which is still fermenting
in my head periodically Plus, very soon, you'll be seeingmy other
parody - "Leviathan Rouge"
Please review
if you haven't already. Thank you and good night!
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