Disclaimer: All characters pertaining to Pitch Black belong to USA Films.

Guarded Trust (Part 5)

Caroline Benson

She put away a few more things and decided to go see if Riddick really was asleep. Walking softly, so not to wake him if he was sleeping, Carolyn made her way down the hall and padded down the stairs. In the kitchen, she slipped her shoes off. Now in socks, she walked slowly to the doorway of the sitting room. She stopped and leaned on the frame. Riddick looked at peace in his sleep. Not troubled at all, like he had seemed before. She smiled. He was so cute! She giggled at the thought and turned back into the kitchen. Her stomach growled and she rolled her eyes. She hadn't had very much to eat lately.

Walking over to the auto-chef, she decided she wanted some fried chicken. It had been a while since she'd had that. She hit some buttons, and cringed at the loud sound they made. She didn't want to wake Riddick up. The chicken was done and she grabbed the plate it was on. Turning around, she yelped and jumped back. Riddick was standing right behind her.

"Oh God!" she whispered, smiling, "You scared me!"

"Sorry." He said.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up. I was hungry. I didn't mean to be that loud."

"It's alright." He just looked at her. She got an uncomfortable feeling and walked past him. She maneuvered around the kitchen so that a table was in between them. She didn't think he was going to do anything, but she couldn't be sure. She hoped he didn't notice it though. Beginning to pick at her chicken, she looked back up at him. He was in the same spot, only turned around to look at her again. Carolyn looked down again.

"So, uh, I was thinking," she started, "you know that hot tub in the bedroom? Well, I was thinking that maybe we could go out and I could get a swimsuit, you know, so I could go for a dip or something."

Riddick didn't show any kind of reaction in his face, so it was a good thing that he spoke, "Yeah, lemme know when you wanna go, alright?"

And before she could answer, he went back into the sitting room. Carolyn watched him walk away. 'Ok,' she thought, 'what was that all about?' But she didn't worry with it.

She finished her chicken and went back upstairs. Down the hallway and in to the bedroom. She turned and shut the door, and started to look for another pair of clothes to wear. She picked a pair of tan pants and a white muscle tank. She slid her black pants and shirt off and replaced them with the new outfit. After sliding on her tan boots, she brushed through her hair quickly and went back downstairs.

"Hey Riddick," she yelled, "I'm ready!" He appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Well come on." He mumbled and turned to walk out.

"You got the cash credits?" she asked as she followed.

"Yeah." He didn't turn around. They walked out the door and Riddick locked it. Carolyn waited on him and let him lead the way. He walked past the ROLA registration building and toward a line of shops.

"This look Ok?" he paused. Carolyn looked around.

"Should be fine." With that, Riddick walked on. Carolyn walked beside him, looking at the stores ahead of them.

"Oh! There's a suit store!" she jogged ahead.

"Alright, I'm gonna look in here." He pointed to a gun and knife store. Carolyn smirked.

"Okay, I'll meet you there in a bit." She walked on ahead. Riddick turned and entered the store. The owner gave him a suspicious look. Riddick noticed there was a whore in the corner, she was smiling at him. He turned his back to her and began to look ever some guns. He hadn't been looking for five minutes when he heard high-pitched screaming coming from down the street. He ran out the door, and the prostitute was close behind him, wanting to know what was going on.

Riddick looked down toward the direction of the screaming.

"Carolyn!" he started running.

Carolyn was pinned down on the sidewalk by a husky man who was attempting to kiss her and unzip her pants at the same time. Carolyn was wildly struggling to get out from under him. Clearly, he was drunk and horny, and things like this weren't uncommon on pleasure planets.

Riddick reached the two and grabbed the man by the shoulders. Heaving him off of Carolyn, he didn't realize that the guy had a hold of Carolyn's arms.

When Riddick threw him off, he let go of Carolyn, sending her off balance and she fell back, hitting her head on the ground, hard enough to knock her unconscious. Riddick saw blood coming from her head, and turned to hit the man in the mouth. The punch sent the man backwards; he grabbed his mouth, and at seeing a tooth in his hand, cursed under his breath and ran off.

Riddick turned his attention back to Carolyn. There was now a small puddle of blood under her head. The prostitute was now standing over her.

"What happened?" she asked. Riddick didn't hear her. He bent down and picked Carolyn up. At a quick pace, he headed for the Star Gazer. It would have an emergency med-lab. The whore followed him, but he didn't notice, he was too concerned with Carolyn.

Upon reaching the registration building, Riddick picked up the pace. He asked where the med-lab was. Once he was there and had explained the situation, three men had come with a stretcher and taken Fry off to heal her head. Riddick was shown to a waiting area, along with the prostitute. They sat for a few minutes before she tried to talk to him.

"Are you two a couple?" she asked, brushing her frizzy hair out of her face. Riddick glared at her.

"I'm sorry, my name's Reba. You?" Riddick snorted and got up and walked out.

"Well fine then!" The woman said. She stood up and walked towards a med-tech.

"Excuse me, can I see the young woman who came in unconscious?" The med-tech led her to where Carolyn was.

"She's hazy, in and out." And he left. The prostitute went to Fry's side. Carolyn woke up and looked confused at seeing the woman there.

"I'm Reba. I saw everything. That man you're with hit the hell outta that guy that was on top of you!"

Carolyn wrinkled her brow. "Huh?"

"Oh yea honey! He just ran up and slugged the other guy. And once he was gone, your man picked you right up and basically ran with you over to here. Hardly ever see that kind of caring on a pleasure planet. Wish I had a man that sweet." As soon as she said that, Riddick walked up behind her. He stopped and glared a Reba, who got slightly edgy.

"Uh, well, honey, I hope you're alright. I gotta get back to, uh." she dropped the sentence and grabbed her handbag. She quickly scurried past Riddick and was gone.

"How are you doin?" Riddick asked as he walked over to stand beside Carolyn.

"My head hurts." She whimpered. Looking up at Riddick from where she lay, she realized just how big he really was. Fry got a little edgy and shifted positions.

"What?" he looked shocked and puzzled.

"Oh, nothing, my head just really hurts. What exactly happened, anyway?" she questioned.

"I'll tell you about it later. The med-techs told me you'll be fine and that I should take you home for rest. They also gave me some pills that they said you should take." He held a bottle up. Carolyn nodded.

"And how exactly am I supposed to get to the apartment?" she sighed.

"Well," Riddick started, "it's not far at all so they're not gonna get you into a transport.can you walk?"

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Carolyn grimaced as she sat up. She put her hand on her forehead.

"Uh, ouch." She whined. Riddick looked concerned.

"You want me to carry you?" he stepped forward. Carolyn blinked. "Uh, well, lemme try to do it myself." She swung her feet over the edge of the stretcher she was on. Setting her feet on the floor, she hesitated.

"If I fall." she looked up at Riddick, shyly.

"I'll catch you." He finished her sentence. Fry looked relieved. She slowly stood up and headed toward the exit door. Riddick followed her closely.

They made it out of the med-lab and registration building without much difficulty. The distance to their apartment, however, seemed to grow with every step Carolyn took. She started to wobble and stumble. Her vision was getting blurry and her hand was constantly at her head. Riddick looked worried and concerned.

About halfway to the apartment, Carolyn stumbled and fell. Riddick lurched forward and caught her just before she hit the ground. He hoisted her up and carried her the rest of the way. Fry didn't fight him; she was too weak to even try.

Riddick finally made it to the front porch of the apartment. He set Carolyn down on the steps and opened the door. Picking her up again, he walked through the house, up the stairs, and down the hall. Gently, he laid her down on her bed. He pulled a blanket up to her chest.

Carolyn looked up at him. She was wondering how someone so tough and cruel could be so gentle with her. She smiled.

"What?" Riddick looked puzzled.

"Nothing." Carolyn mumbled, and she fell asleep. Riddick leaned over and brushed the hair out of her face. He stood and looked at her for a few moments before he turned around and walked out of the room. He shut the door behind him.

Outside in the hall, Riddick sat down and ran his hand over his face. He was really confused. He knew he was worried about Carolyn, but to be worried for her, he had to truly care about her. And that scared him.

Richard B. Riddick didn't care about anything or anyone. Especially not a girl. But somehow, he did. He did care about her. The only problem was actually admitting it.

Carolyn woke up late at night. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked around. Everything was dark. She sat up and rubbed her head. It still hurt, but not nearly as much. She swung her legs over the bed and sat there for a minute. Slowly, she stood up and began to walk towards the door. She walked down the hall to the bathroom.

Turning the faucet on, she splashed water on her face. She sunk her aching head and let the drops roll and fall off her face. Deeply breathing, she just stood there, hunched over the sink, and thought. Why had Riddick been so considerate? And gentle? After those first encounters with him, why would he be so nice now? She didn't want to seem ungrateful, but she didn't know if she could really trust him, and she didn't want to take any chances. Carolyn raised her head to look in the mirror. She jumped.

Riddick was right behind her. At seeing her start like she had, Riddick put his hand on her back, to steady her. She wasn't quite stable on her feet yet.

"Sorry." He said. Carolyn moved slightly, but just enough to move out of his reach. He dropped his hand.

"It's alright, you just have a habit of startling me." Carolyn looked away.

"Yeah, sorry." Riddick mumbled. Carolyn looked at him and thought she saw true sincerity in his eyes. She was sorry she had phrased her words that way.

"How are you feeling?" Riddick asked.

"A lot better, my head still hurts a little."

"You need to take one of those pills."

"Yeah, and I could use some food, too."

"Alright," Riddick turned, "come on." He walked out the door and went downstairs. Carolyn hesitated, but followed.

When she got to the kitchen, Riddick had already gotten her a pill and water. She swallowed both.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Around three," Riddick shrugged his shoulders. "What do you want to eat?" He walked over to the auto-chef. Carolyn bit her lip.

"Umm. I'm not really hungry.so, just some tomato soup. That sounds good." Riddick nodded and punched it in. After a few minutes, the bowl of steaming soup appeared ready. Riddick picked it up and brought it over to a table, motioning for Carolyn to sit down. She did.

Riddick sat the bowl down in front of her and took a seat himself, directly across from her. Everytime she looked up, she found Riddick sitting with his arms crossed in front of him, and he was always staring at her with his metallic eyes.

Riddick could tell that his staring was making Carolyn uncomfortable, but he didn't want to look away from her. So he didn't. He just wanted to watch her; she was still weak, he could tell, and he was worried. So he would just watch her. Finally Carolyn broke the silence.

"So what happened to me, anyway?" Riddick sat up.

"I was looking around in that gun shop, and all of a sudden, I heard screaming. So I ran outside, and I saw you, pinned down by some horny asshole who was trying to get in your damn pants, right in the middle of the fucking street. He was drunk."

"I remember that." Carolyn interrupted. Riddick paused.

"Yeah, well, I ran up and jerked the bastard back, and he had a hold of you and you fell back and hit your head on the pavement. It knocked you unconscious." He looked at Fry.

"Oh.alright." she said. "So what happened to the guy?" Riddick leaned back in his chair. He smiled.

"Let's just say he'll need some dental work, compliments of Richard B. Riddick." Carolyn looked surprised, but smiled.

"Thank you, Riddick." She whispered. Then she got up and went upstairs. "Goodnight." She called from the top of the staircase. Riddick didn't respond, he was smiling. She had just said thank you to him.

Carolyn woke up again to see darkness. She sighed.

"Can't I get any sleep." she sat up and yawned. Quietly, she walked over to a clock. It was four-forty-five. She hadn't gotten hardly any sleep at all. She decided to watch the sun rise, for something to pass the time. She put on a pair of soft-soled shoes.

She slowly walked downstairs. In the kitchen, she stopped. Riddick was asleep in the sitting room, and she'd have to go through the room to get outside. Deciding to try it, she crept forward, trying to get her eyes used to seeing in the blackness. She was about half way through the room when she ran into something hard and big. She started to fall backwards, when two massive arms wrapped around her waist and caught her. Not realizing who or what she had run into, Fry started to struggle. The arms tightened their grip and pulled her close to a heavily muscled body. She froze.

"Riddick." she whispered, barely audible. His breath brushed through her hair.

"I heard you come down the stairs and I wanted to know where you were going. You were headed toward the front door." Carolyn could barely hear him; he was speaking softly and his voice sounded like thunder. She could see his outline, but not his features.

His voice came again, "So? Why were you going to the front door?" he asked. She could tell he was thinking that she was trying to run away from him. "I woke up again and I needed something to do so I figured

I'd watch the sun come up." She tried to pull away from his grasp, but at her attempt to break loose, his arms wrapped more tightly around her, bringing her even closer.

"Really." he muttered. He sounded like he only half believed her.

"Yes really!" her voice was more firm, "It's the truth! I don't know why you don't believe me." She sighed and stopped struggling against him, realizing that he wasn't going to let go. Riddick was silent for a moment, and then he drew Carolyn even closer yet, until there wasn't an inch in between them. Carolyn didn't fight him. His head lowered and he whispered in to her ear.

"I trust you." And he let go. Fry wasn't sure if he had moved out of the way or not. She put her hand up, and when she didn't feel anything, she walked through the room, and out the front door.

Out on the porch, she sat down on the steps. She didn't quite know what Riddick had meant when he said he trusted her. He trusted her not to run away? She couldn't think of how else he could mean it. But she wasn't going to worry herself with it right then. Lifting her head, Carolyn waited for the sun to come up.

Riddick was inside watching her from a window. He couldn't take his eyes away from her. Truthfully, he had thought she was running away. Now, he didn't quite know if she would or not. He hoped she wouldn't. Looking at her out here, waiting on the sun to appear, Riddick was reminded of things from that damned rock they had been marooned on. He thought back to when he had been alone with Carolyn on the skiff. He had been so close to her, smelled her hair, whispered in her ear. Then she had thought of him as Slam city scum. He wasn't sure of what she thought of him now. Sure, she was scared of him, but did she still take him for a cold-blooded killer? Did she trust him? He didn't know. He got up and walked upstairs to take a shower.

Carolyn watched the sun come up and stayed outside for a while. When she came in, she heard water running and upon going upstairs, realized that Riddick was in the shower. She kept walking until she was in the bedroom. The water cut off after a few minutes, and Carolyn proceeded to get undressed. She grabbed a robe and wrapped herself in it.

Riddick was out and downstairs when Carolyn went into the bathroom. She stepped into the stall and turned the water on after she had dropped her robe on the floor. Wanting to be quick, she shampooed her hair immediately.

She was about to wash her body when there was a knock on the door. She froze.

"Uh.yeah?" she hesitated.

The door opened and Riddick's voice came, "I left my shirt in here, can I get it?" Carolyn got a little nervous, "Umm, there's no door or anything in front of the shower." she waited.

"I know," Riddick sounded amused. "I won't look, I promise."

Carolyn sighed. "I guess you can come in." she backed up into a corner of the stall. She heard footsteps and Riddick appeared directly in front of the stall, his back to her. His shirt was behind him. Carolyn cleared her throat. "It's behind you."

"That means I'll have to turn around." and before Carolyn could respond, Riddick spun around and bent down. Not sure if he had looked at her, Carolyn dropped her hands to try to cover up. She knew she was blushing so automatically she dropped her head. When she didn't hear Riddick walk out, she looked up. He was staring directly at her, his eyes were covered by his goggles, and that her frightened.

"Do you mind?" she demanded. Riddick grinned.

"Not at all, in fact, I'm quite enjoying myself." He didn't move. Carolyn didn't know what to do. He laughed and walked away. Fry heard the door shut. She exhaled deeply.

"God." she muttered and grabbed the body wash.