No Place Like Home
by Shaye
DISCLAIMER: Farscape is the owned by the genius of O'Bannon, Henson,
Hallmark, Sci-Fi &etc. I do, however, own Leroy and Velma.
SPOILERS: The Locket, Exodus from Genesis, That Old Black Magic
RATING: PG-13
**Third Story in "The Fluff Series: A Man, a Woman and the Car He Loves"**
SUMMARY: John buys Aeryn a house. J/A Fluff.
NOTES: I just couldn't enter Natalie's SapFest 2000 without writing another
in the Fluff Series.
"Keep 'em closed, Sunshine."
"Oh, for frell's sake, they're closed. Are we almost there?"
John Crichton smiled at his wife in the passenger seat of the car. "Yeah,
Aeryn, we're almost there. Your eyes still closed?"
A calm smile appeared on Aeryn's face. "Yes, but you do know that I don't
need to see you in order to hurt you, right?"
John chuckled. "Just making sure."
"What is it with humans and keeping your eyes closed anyway?" Aeryn didn't
like riding around in the dark. It reminded her of a few of the less
pleasant Peacekeeper battles she'd been in.
"Element of surprise," her husband explained astutely. "If your enemy
doesn't know what's coming, you have the advantage."
"Oh, and I'm your enemy?"
"No, but I can use any advantage I can get when it comes to you, darlin'.
Anyway, we deficient humans like surprising people with good things.
Somehow it makes it seem more special."
Aeryn grinned in spite of herself. "So this is a good thing?"
John sighed. "Of course it's a good thing. I wouldn't make you come all
this way if it wasn't."
"And where is it that we are? Massa..."
"Massachusetts."
"Bless you."
The human turned in shock to his Sebacean wife, beaming widely. "Aeryn, I
do believe you've picked up an Earth-saying."
Aeryn's eyes snapped open, and she turned quickly to him. "It's all your
father's fault. He used to say that quite often before I mastered your
language and would lapse into Sebacean."
"Uh-huh, okay." John turned his attention back to the road and mildly
instructed, "Eyes closed, Aeryn."
"Damn you. I was hoping you'd forget." She sighed and let her lids close
heavily over grey-blue eyes.
*
The brakes squealed slightly as John pulled up to the curb. "Gotta get that
looked at," he muttered under his breath.
"Are we there? Can I open my frelling eyes?" Aeryn admitted to herself
that she was a little excited, though she would never own it to John. She
tried to get a beat on her surroundings by using her other senses.
Something smelled very pungent, though not bad, and she thought she could
hear a faint rushing somewhere in the distance. The air was colder than in
Florida, which Aeryn acknowledged was a good thing.
"Hold on a sec, darlin'." John quickly ran around the side of the car and
opened Aeryn's door. "Now don't peek," he teased as he guided her onto the
lawn.
"I refuse to dignify that with a reply."
John laughed. "Looks like you've been hanging around my sisters a little
bit too, haven't you Sunshine?" He stood in front of her, squaring her
shoulders so she'd have just the right vantage when she opened her eyes.
Standing next to her on the lawn, he took hold of her hand and squeezed.
"Okay. Open."
Aeryn Crichton opened her eyes and could only be confused by what stood
before her. It was a large white house with red shutters. "You brought me
up here to look at a house?" Her voice held none of its usual banter, only
puzzlement.
"Not just any house, Aeryn. <Our> house."
Her eyes widened slightly and she examined it with a closer interest.
Suddenly, it was not just a house. It was beautiful. "Oh my," was all she
managed to get out before John took off across the lawn, tugging on her
hand.
"Come look at the garage, Aeryn. There's room for my car, and the pickup,
and even..." He threw open the door of the detached garage and gestured to
the open rafters above. "If we finish out that attic area, there's room for
your Prowler up there, and no one will ever see it."
"Wait, John. Explain this to me. This house is really <ours>? Our very
own?"
"Well, we do have to make payments on it. But if we keep up those payments,
no one can take it away from us. We hold the deed." At her look of
confusion, he explained, "That's just a piece of paper that says the house
is ours."
Aeryn nodded. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but John was
too eager. He grabbed her hand, jingling a set of keys. "Let's go look at
the inside."
*
For the most part, the inside of the house seemed smaller than it looked
outside, but overall Aeryn was glad of it. She was accustomed to close
quarters anyway, at first on various training vessels and Command Carriers,
and later on Moya. Too much space would have felt uncomfortable to her. A
strange, warm feeling settled in her stomach as she realized John had chosen
this house with that very thing in mind.
"So. You like it?" John asked, coming up behind her and threading his
fingers with hers.
"Mm-hmm. I like it."
"Good," he grinned. "We can do the move-in in three days."
"Three days!"
"Yeah. I asked Dad and DK to pack up our stuff. They've got the girls
helping too. As soon as I call them to give them the go-ahead, they'll be
on their way in the U-Haul."
Aeryn looked at the home with renewed interest. In three days, it would be
her home. She wandered through the house almost in awe. "Small kitchen,"
she commented, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yeah, well. Neither one of us really cook. I figure we'll order a lot of
take-out."
"That sounds all right to me. If it'd been up to me on Moya, all we'd ever
have eaten was food cubes. I was more than happy to let Chiana take care of
it. Besides, that Kung-Pao Chicken really is quite good."
John smiled, pulling his wife close and kissing her temple. "Anything's
good as long as I have you for company." He wrapped his arms around her
waist, burying his face in her hair. It took him a moment to realize that
Aeryn was uncharacteristically quiet. "Sunshine? Is everything okay? If
you really don't like it, just tell me. I know we didn't make a decision
the last time we came, but I didn't think we'd seen anything you really
liked. And then I saw this one and..."
She turned around in his embrace. "It's perfect."
"Then what?"
Aeryn frowned when she found that she was beginning to cry, warm tears
trickling down her cheek. "I just...don't think I've ever been this happy
before."
John cocked his head to the side. "Aw, sweetheart. You don't have to cry.
We have a whole lifetime of happy moments in store for us. You just wait."
She clutched him fiercely to her chest. "You'd better make good on that,
John Crichton."
After a few moments he whispered into her hair, "I will. Promise."
Aeryn smiled, murmuring, "John, let's not wait. Let's move in tonight."
"What?"
"I want to sleep here tonight."
*
Velma Sauderberg was long past the prime 0f youth. But that didn't mean she
hated young people. On the contrary, most of her thrills these days came
from watching her youthful (and usually bohemian) neighbors through the
window in her front room. She'd been sorely disappointed when the
Milburrows in the Cape Cod directly across the street had announced they
were moving to San Francisco. They had three children and Sharon had been
more than happy to bring them over for frequent visits. A sweeter couple
she'd never met.
So Velma's interest was peaked intensely when a red Thunderbird, '62 by the
looks of it, pulled up in front of the Cape Cod. An almost sinfully
attractive young man got out of the car and ran around to guide his equally
attractive wife onto the lawn. It was possible that she was blind, but
Velma put her money on a strict directive "not to peek."
Oh, these ones were going to be fun to watch.
*
Aeryn frowned when a knock came at the door. No one she knew would knock,
and some old habits die hard.
"Sunshine, you gonna get that?" John called from the master bedroom, where
he, Jack, and DK were assembling the bed.
"Yeah," Aeryn replied, still frowning. She opened the front door abruptly
and found a shriveled little old lady standing on her doorstep holding an
enormous, primitive-looking container wrapped in some kind of colored,
transparent material.
"Yes?" Aeryn didn't bother to hide her perplexity.
"Well, hi sweetie. Aren't you just the cutest thing!" Velma screeched.
"Here, I've brought you and your honey there a fruit basket.
The old woman hefted the basket into Aeryn's arms, and for a moment she was
sure she'd drop it. The basket felt like it weighed more than the woman did
soaking wet; if Aeryn, a former Peacekeeper in top physical condition, could
barely hold the thing, she had no idea how this frail little human had
managed.
"Um...th--thank you," Aeryn stammered.
"Well, sweetheart, I'm Velma, Velma Sauderberg, and I live with <my> husband
Leroy right across the street there. Just wanted to welcome you to the
neighborhood."
"Right."
Velma looked at Aeryn expectantly, and Aeryn stared back. Finally John came
to the rescue. "Hey Aeryn, who is it?" He came to stand in the doorway
next to her, sweating but beaming at the old woman. "Hey, ma'am. How are
you today?"
"Well, the week's a brighter one since you two are movin' in. I'm Velma, I
live right over there."
"John Crichton." He wiped his hand and held it out to be shaken. "And this
is my wife Aeryn."
"Oh, Aeryn and I have already gotten to know each other quite well, haven't
we?"
Aeryn looked helplessly at her husband, who turned to Velma and laughed.
"Well, you're doing better than I did, then. It took me months to get Aeryn
to look at me twice." Velma let out a high-pitched squeal of laughter, and
John continued, "I'd invite you in, ma'am, but things are a little messy in
here right now."
"Oh, I understand honey. I just thought I'd take it upon myself to act as
the welcome wagon!"
"Well, we'll have to have you over sometime when we get settled."
"That'd be real nice. Me and my husband Leroy would be delighted."
"Well, okay. We'd better get back to work."
Velma turned to leave, and John nudged Aeryn. "Say thank you."
"I did."
"Well, say it again then!"
"Thank you!" Aeryn called after Velma, who waved her hand without turning
around.
John shut the door behind Aeryn. "What an odd creature," she commented
dryly.
He shrugged. "A lot of old women are like that."
"If I'm ever like that, I hope someone takes pity on me and kills me."
Jack Crichton and DK entered the room just in time for Aeryn's last comment.
"Like who?" Jack asked.
John told his father and best friend the story, right down to the look of
absolute horror on Aeryn's face. She scowled and carried the basket into
the kitchen, but the men naturally followed in search of food, howling with
laughter at the story.
"Hey, score!" DK exclaimed, pulling out a bottle of red wine. "John, this
stuff is expensive!"
The younger Crichton frowned. "I hope she didn't go to too much trouble."
"I wouldn't be too worried about it, son. Most of the retirees around here
have more money than they know what to do with."
Aeryn rummaged through the basket and pulled out a box, smiling smugly.
"What was it you once said? Finders, keepers?" She held up the box,
containing gourmet chocolates, and was almost pounced on by her husband.
"Chocolate! Oh, Aeryn, you've gotta share this."
"You mean like we shared the sleeping bag? Is it as good as all that?" The
smile on her face became even more smug.
John smiled seductively, leaning in for a kiss. At the last second, he
turned his head aside and snatched the candy from her hand. "Better,
actually."
"You <will> pay for that," Aeryn deadpanned.
They could have gone on for hours, but DK was experiencing some symphonic
stomach grumbling. "Hey, guys. Do you mind? I'm starved!"
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Jack put in.
"What are you waiting for?" Aeryn laughed, watching as the three men
ransacked Velma's slightly over-the-top fruit basket.
*
After some three hours and more junk food than it was healthy to consume in
a lifetime, the four sat around a fire in the Crichton's new living room,
finishing off the last of the red wine. No one had spoken for some time,
which Aeryn secretly put down to a miracle. She'd never known people to
talk as much as these three did. And when John's sisters were around, it
was even worse.
She snuggled closer into her husband's side, and he slid his hand onto her
leg.
"Hey Sunshine?"
"Yes?" she asked sleepily.
"Remember the first day we saw the house, and you said you didn't think
you'd ever been so happy?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Did you mean even at our wedding?" He looked at her curiously, his face
showing now signs of the latent insecurity he felt.
Aeryn sat up straight and looked him in the eye. "John, at our wedding,
Chiana cried so much she couldn't stop hiccuping, D'Argo got drunk, and
Crais crashed the party afterwards. Not to mention that Rygel ate too much,
even for him. Or don't you remember cleaning Hynerian vomit off the floor
in the Center Chamber before we went to bed?"
"Whoa, wait a minute. You guys had to clean up the mess at your own
wedding?!" DK probed.
John laughed. "Well, bro, drunken Luxans go into hyper-rage <very> easily.
He ended up breaking an essential part that powers the DRDs when they were
about halfway through."
"Yes, and Chiana had a hangover, Zhaan and Stark had forcibly escorted Crais
back to Talyn, and Rygel was still feeling quite ill. And you don't just
leave Hynerian vomit sitting around."
DK looked a little green, but Jack just laughed. "Sounds like you had a
wedding that would have made the MacDougalls proud."
Aeryn frowned. "MacDougalls?"
"My mother's family. Big drinkers, those Irishmen."
"Right. Someday I intend to know what you're talking about."
Jack managed to pull himself out of the recliner he was ensconced in,
yawning widely. "Well, I think I'm headed off to bed."
"Dad, it's only nine o'clock," John protested.
"Well, son, DK and I took turns driving all night. I'm a little beat, if
you don't mind."
"Oh, yeah, sure. There are some sheets in...one of the boxes around
here..."
Aeryn reluctantly got up from the sofa. "I know where they are. Come with
me."
As Aeryn and Jack exited the room, DK shook his head. "I can't believe you
really live up here now."
"Hey, it's only a few hour's drive to the lake in Maine. I sometimes get
this feeling that I <really> need to take Aeryn there."
"Yeah, but it's a good two days from Florida."
"It won't be so bad, DK. It's better than the whole universe."
DK laughed. "Right you are."
"You look pretty tired too, man. Maybe you should go to bed."
Stifling a sudden yawn, DK nodded. "'Night, John."
"'Night." DK left and John took a deep breath, surveying the piles of boxes
they still had to unpack. Luckily, they hadn't been back long enough to
acquire an entire houseful of objects, but the task was daunting
nonetheless.
A few minutes later, Aeryn reentered. She, too, looked over the situation,
then sighed and opened another box.
"Hey, Aeryn. Don't do that tonight."
She smiled sleepily. "It's got to get done sometime."
"Yeah, but not now. C'mere." She took his hand and let him lead her out
the back door, to where their backyard sloped gently down toward the beach.
He guided her to the crest of the hill and pulled her down next to him on
the dewy grass. "Lie down," he instructed.
She did so, gazing up at the blanket of stars.
"Not quite the same as the Terrace, huh?"
She smiled gently. "Not quite. But close enough."
"I promise you Aeryn. We'll go back there someday." He laid down in the
grass beside her.
"No, I don't think we will," she commented.
"Why do you say that?"
She pulled his hand up to her mouth, kissing it gently. "Because there's no
reason to leave. And even if there was, it's too dangerous for you to go
back."
John sighed. "But you'll get homesick," he objected, gesturing up to the
heavens.
Aeryn shook her head. "I don't think so." She sat up, gazing at the ocean
in the moonlight, then twisting her head around to see their new house.
"Besides, <this> is my home. Home is where you are. Wasn't that the one
vow we made to each other at our wedding?"
He reached up to kiss her gently. "Yeah, it was."
"And if I start to feel 'homesick,' as you call it, I can always come out
here. It's amazing how close you do feel to the stars out here." She
stretched out on the ground again, resting her head on John's stomach.
"Yeah. You can have your cake and eat it, too."
She grimaced. "You can't go five minutes without saying something like
that, can you?"
"Aw, Sunshine. You know that's why you fell in love with me." John raised
his head up to give her one of his infamous grins.
"Oh, you're right. So very right." She sighed peacefully and continued
contemplating the sky.
"I should teach you some constellations sometime. Then the sky won't look
so foreign."
"That sounds good. Why not start now?"
"Okay. Well, see those three up there?"
"Those? Yes."
"That's Orion's Belt."
"Just his belt? What happened to Orion?"
"Oh, he's there somewhere, but I can never find him."
"So he's up there somewhere with his pants around his knees?"
John laughed heartily. "I love you, Aeryn."
She murmured her reply, then sat up suddenly. "Let's go for a swim."
"Now? Tomorrow. I promise."
"No, now."
"It's too late now. Now, it's time to go to bed, I think."
"Will it be better than swimming?" she teased.
"Much. Especially at this time of year. That water's damn cold."
"Bed it is, then." She stood up, holding out her hand to help her husband.
"God, my muscles ache," John complained, moving stiffly.
"I still don't see why you wouldn't let me help with the furniture."
"Because my dad is a good Southern gentleman who'd never allow a lady to do
such a thing, even if said lady could clean the floor with him."
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, rubbing her
shoulders when she shivered. As they reached the door, John stopped her.
"Wait, it's tradition."
"What is?"
He grinned, bending and sweeping her up in his arms over the protesting of
his muscles. Kissing his wife soundly, he carried her over the threshold of
their new home.
FINIS