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Immediately after the end of "Coup By Clam"
"Okay, kids, everybody hold hands," John smirked as he sat with his hand in Sikozu's. He avoided looking directly at Aeryn, who was sitting across the table from him, holding Rygel's left hand. Or flipper, or whatever the little slug called them.
"So, what the frell are we going to do for three arns?" Sikozu whined, obviously bored already.
"I don't know. Sing Kum-ba-ya. Tell ghost stories. Whatever," John shot back at his partner. He was rapidly losing his patience with her. Not that he ever had much to begin with. It was just that he really, really needed a hit of Granny's joy juice if he was going to sit here facing Aeryn all night. And with Sputnik feeling everything that he felt - and most likely reporting it to her new best friend Scorpy - that was out of the question.
"How about a nice game of tadek?" Rygel suggested with an evil grin at Aeryn.
"You never play a nice game of tadek, Sparky," John rolled his eyes.
"What's tadek?" Sikozu asked. Rygel smiled in anticipation of an easy mark.
"Besides," Aeryn chimed in, "how are four of us going to play? Especially when some of us can't reach the end of the board." She looked pointedly at Rygel.
"Two-on-two," Rygel explained. "Crichton and Sikozu against you and me," Rygel explained. "I could beat both of them, even without the liability of you as a partner."
Aeryn gave Rygel a dirty look. "Don't forget, we're still linked. I've been trained to withstand extreme pain - the kind that I could inflict on you."
"And don't you forget that I had three hundred cycles of Peacekeepers inflicting pain on me," he reminded her.
"Just so we understand each other," she said flatly.
John missed the easy banter that he'd had with Aeryn before everything had fallen apart last cycle. He had wanted things to return to the way they were, but their relationship was too far gone to get it back. He didn't even want to try anymore.
"All right then," Rygel nodded, then touched his comm badge with his free hand. "Chiana! Get the tadek board and tiles from my quarters! And don't snerch anything while you're in there!"
"I never snerch anything from you, Ryge," Chiana shot back over the comms.
"Gee, honor among thieves," John smirked. "Who'da thought it?"
In a few microts, Chiana appeared carrying the tadek board and a small sack with the game pieces. "You never have anything good to snerch," Chiana sassed as she set the board down on the table, then gave the Dominar's earbrows a tug, and a quick kiss on the top of his head. "So, Aeryn, did these boys look good dressed as women?" she teasingly asked.
"Frell no! If Sikozu and I hadn't been half-dead, I think we would have died laughing!" Aeryn shot back. She grinned conspiratorially at Sikozu.
"Yeah, yeah. It was a real drag," John snorted. "Are we gonna play or not?"
Chiana just laughed as she left the dining area, leaving all of them to their own misery.
Half an arn later, the team of Aeryn and Rygel were soundly beating Sikozu and Crichton. Of course, all that Aeryn was doing was working the generator. Rygel was doing all of the strategy and moving of tiles. She didn't understand the game, nor did she care to. In fact, Aeryn was feeling slightly nauseous, and having cramps in her lower abdomen. Obviously, her partner's digestive distress wasn't over yet. The room was getting warmer, too. Or, at least it felt that way. She put her hand on the control generator as Rygel pushed the tiles forward on the board much more slowly than before. Instead of the towers of light, she heard a loud buzz and felt an electric shock on her palm. She pulled her hand back with a jerk. Rygel's left flipper jerked in her hand in sympathetic response. Aeryn was barely able to hold on to him.
"You stupid Peacekeeper bitch," Rygel snapped. "Pay more attention!"
"I can't help it that you made the wrong move," she shot back.
"You kept your hand on the generator too long!"
"Hey, kids," John interjected. "Break it up or we're going to have to stick you both in the corner! Knock it off!"
Rygel shot Aeryn a dirty look. "Keep your mind on the game," he muttered.
"How can I, when I have to put up with your gas pains? Which one of your three stomachs is causing these frelling cramps?"
"What do you mean my gas pains?" Rygel sniffed indignantly. "I'm the one getting your intestinal problems! Sebaceans. They're built to be cannon fodder, not to be efficient."
"Drinking the antidote should have stopped the sympathetic emotional response almost immediately" Sikozu observed. "So, I don't see why you're blaming each other."
"Shut up!" Aeryn and Rygel yelled in tandem.
Suddenly, a sharp pain ripped through Aeryn's lower abdomen. She gasped, closed her eyes, and doubled over, almost losing hold of Rygel's hand in the process. Rygel did the same thing a microt later.
"What the frell?" Rygel gasped in confusion. "That's not from any of my stomachs. That's you, Aeryn."
The Dominar's voice sounded distant, like he was inside of a tunnel. Aeryn tried to focus her eyes, but a red mist kept getting in the way. "Help," she stammered. She clutched Rygel's hand like a lifeline. She could feel his grip slipping as he, too, cried out in pain.
She felt a strong, familiar hand on her shoulder. "Aeryn?" John asked, his voice sounding strangled and distant. "Aeryn, what's wrong?" His blue eyes, filled with concern, met hers. Sikozu stood next to him, one hand in his, the other on her comm badge.
"Pilot, tell the others to get up to the dining area. There's something wrong with Aeryn and Rygel!" the Kalish girl ordered.
"Aeryn, talk to me," John asked as he squatted down beside her. His hand left her shoulder and stroked her cheek. "God, you're ice cold."
"Don't feel cold," she panted. "Feel... like Larraq..." She tried to explain, but another cramp ripped through her gut. Cycles of training to suppress pain from injuries had taught her to suppress crying out, so she just whimpered quietly. Rygel, who had no such training, moaned loudly as the cramp coursed through his intestines.
"What does she mean, feel like Larraq?" Sikozu asked as she gave Aeryn a cursory examination. "I don't know anything about Sebacean physiology."
"She was stabbed in the side by a Peacekeeper named Larraq a few cycles ago," John explained quickly. "Is that what you're trying to say, Aeryn? Stabbing pains?"
"Of course it's stabbing pain, you yotz!" Rygel cursed. "And I'm getting it, too!"
"Just hang on to Aeryn's hand," John told him, and put his hand over Aeryn and Rygel's joined hands for emphasis. "Don't let her go or you'll both be dead."
"If this doesn't kill both of us first," Rygel complained.
"We've... both... had worse," Aeryn gasped. "We'll get through."
"Here," Chiana said as she ran into the room carrying a rag. "Tie this around their hands, so they don't lose contact." She held the cloth out to John, looked at his hand in Sikozu's, then proceeded to do it herself. She tied one end of the rag around Rygel's wrist, wound it tightly around their joined hands, then tied the other end to Aeryn's wrist. "That tight enough?" she asked. Aeryn and Rygel both nodded.
Hot on her heels came D'Argo, followed by Noranti. "What's going on?" D'Argo asked.
Aeryn looked up at him through hazy vision. "Something's wrong..." she gasped, then another wave of pain and nausea made her double over. She fought to keep the contents of her stomach from coming back up. John's hand stroked her hair comfortingly.
"D, uh, you didn't have any ill effects from the antidote, did you?" John asked.
"Other than having to be near Noranti for three arns, no," D'Argo replied with a glare towards the old woman, who was kneeling down to look at Aeryn.
Aeryn caught a whiff of the Traskan's body odor, and it made her more nauseous. "I think I'm going to..."
Rygel interrupted her by throwing up all over the tadek board. Ironically, Aeryn's nausea got a little better, even as everyone else looked sick themselves. "Sorry," Rygel apologized.
"Dear, where is the pain?" Noranti asked her. Aeryn held her abdomen below her navel. "And this just started?"
"Since I drank that frelling antidote," she gasped. Another cramp hit, and she winced.
"Let's get both of you to the infirmary," Noranti said, her three eyes showing concern.
D'Argo knelt down and lifted Aeryn into his arms. She put her left hand around his neck, while Rygel awkwardly lifted himself up along with them. Her right arm was sticking out and twisted painfully. "Rygel," she grumbled, "just get on top of me. D'Argo can carry us both."
Rygel looked skeptically at the Luxan, but got out of his thronesled and climbed onto Aeryn's stomach. Her arm was more comfortable, but Rygel's weight on her already-tender stomach was almost too much. He felt her discomfort, and looked up at D'Argo. "Move it, you Luxan oaf, or we'll both vomit on you!" D'Argo started walking. Chiana, and Noranti walked to either side of them, trying to balance Aeryn. Noranti was muttering some sort of nonsense under her breath. Finally, Sikozu and John brought up the rear, hand in hand. Aeryn didn't know whether to laugh or be sick, so she concentrated very hard on not doing either.
When John saw Aeryn go pale and almost pass out, his heart skipped a few beats. All he could remember was her being sick with Heat Delirium, wearing a cooling suit that was disturbingly similar to Scorpy's. Then, the image of her in that cryo-coffin came to him unbidden. Oh, God, do I need a hit of Granny's Joy Juice... he thought. But, even if he could hide it from Sikozu, she would feel the numbing effects of the lakkan essence and know what he was doing. So, he had to tough out the feelings without any outside help.
"Crichton!" Sikozu interrupted his thoughts by tugging on his hand. "Come on! We need to get down there before D'Argo brings in Aeryn. I'll need your help to run the medical devices."
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked as she practically dragged him through Moya's corridors.
"Of course not! I said before that I don't know a thing about Sebacean physiology."
"Look, Prissy, I don't care if you don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies. Aeryn's in pain. You fix it." he snapped, a sick feeling coming over him that had nothing to do with eating the shellfish.
They reached the medical bay, and Sikozu handed him a medical scanner. "Hold this while I work the buttons." As she said that, D'Argo arrived with Aeryn and Rygel in his arms. Aeryn was looking much worse. So was Sparky. "Put them on the table," Sikozu ordered. As D'Argo laid Aeryn down, Sikozu touched Aeryn's forehead. She's burning up." Aeryn suddenly screamed and tried to sit up to relieve the pain in her abdomen.
John immediately dropped the scanner and stroked her hair. "It's okay, baby. Just relax, and we'll get you fixed up," he murmured. She seemed to respond, because slumped back down onto the table. "Pip, you're an expert with these kinds of things. Get her pants off," he said as Chiana came barreling through the door.
The Nebari undid the zipper on Aeryn's leather pants, and slid them down over her hips. Chiana's hand came away red, and her eyes were wide with shock. "Frell, Wrinkles! She's bleeding out of her nally!" she gasped.
"I was afraid of that," Noranti muttered and started reaching into her herb pouch. "She's having a miscarriage."
"Chiana, spread her legs and put those towels under her knees," Sikozu ordered. The girl did so, still staring wide-eyed at Aeryn, who was writhing in pain on the table. "D'Argo, hold her down." Sikozu moved down to the end of the table, but was hampered by holding onto John's hand. She paused, looked down at the link between her and Crichton and bit her lip in frustration. Then she reached over, grabbed another bedcover, and tossed it to Chiana. "Here, put this over her, then cut off her underwear."
"Don't worry," Noranti said, "I've helped plenty of women in this situation." She reached into a pouch at her waist and pulled out some herbs that smelled like dirty socks.
"Oh, no you don't!" John stretched out and grabbed the old woman's arm. "Get away from her with that stuff!"
"It's just something to relieve the pain," Noranti started to explain.
"It's bad enough you blow that crap into my face all the time. You aren't using it on Aeryn. Tell her, Sputnik," he growled and pulled Sikozu forward.
"We're wasting time here. If she knows how to save the baby, let her help. I don't know anything about Sebacean biology, remember?" Sikozu snapped.
"Perhaps I could be of assistance?" John heard a familiar voice from behind him. Scorpius stepped into the medical bay and regarded Aeryn with a look that could almost be construed for pity. "I am half Sebacean, of course, and have a great deal of medical knowledge."
"Yeah, it comes in handy when you're torturing people," John snarled and grabbed Scorpy's shoulder. He pulled the hybrid away from Aeryn. "Get out, Scorpy. You're not going anywhere near Aeryn, especially when she's in this condition."
"May I remind you who saved her life recently," Scorpius reminded him. "Not to mention yours."
"Frell this," Sikozu snapped. "Crichton, I need his knowledge to help Aeyrn. He stays." Scorpius took a microt for a victory sneer at John before he took the scanner that Sikozu was holding out to him. "Now," she said, "Do you know why she's bleeding like that?"
"I know," Noranti replied. "I've been around long enough to know."
"If you're going to help," Sikozu sniffed haughtily at Noranti, "at least wash your hands. I don't want her to get an infection."
"No, no, no... can't wash. All of the protection will come off," Noranti replied, staring down Sikozu with all three of her eyes. "Time is wasting," she said and pushed Sikozu out of the way. "Rygel?" she asked as she peered into the Dominar's face. "I need your help."
Noranti motioned Chiana forward to help her. Both women put their hands under the bedcover. Noranti muttered something, and Chiana nodded. Scorpius worked the medical scanner, with Sikozu looking over his shoulder at the results.
Suddenly, Aeryn and Rygel both moaned in pain and clutched their abdomens. He tried to go back to Aeryn's side, but Sikozu pulled him in the other direction. "No, I need your help here with the microscope. Besides, you won't do her any good."
"Ohh...." Rygel moaned. "What's happening to me?"
"Aeryn is having a toxic reaction to the antidote for the mollusk poisoning," Scorpius said matter-of-factly, then turned back to the medical scanner that he was holding. "Do not give her any more drugs. They will only make the problem worse."
"She's having a bad reaction to Rygel's piss?" John asked. "I thought it only exploded when he ate tannot root?"
On the table, Aeryn writhed in pain and cried out something unintelligible about the Lokothians. John looked over at her helplessly while D'Argo held her steady and held her hand. She gripped his hand so tightly that D'Argo's eyes bugged out.
"Rygel, I need you to breathe slowly and try to calm yourself. It will help lessen the pain for both of you. Chiana," Noranti ordered, "get me the towel on the counter, quickly." The girl grabbed the towel, and handed it to Noranti.
"Frell," Chiana whispered as Aeryn screamed as she writhed and lifted her hips off of the table, causing Rygel to fall forward onto her chest. John focused on her face to avoid looking at what the two women were seeing. It was hard enough to see Aeryn's face, normally calm even in the face of certain death, wracked with pain.
Everything went quiet for a few microts, except for Aeryn's pained cries, Rygel's deep breaths, and Pilot's voice over the comm system, praying in his native language. For a moment, Aeryn regained focus and looked up at D'Argo. "Please, stop. I didn't mean to hurt you," she begged. D'Argo stroked her hair gently. "Make it stop," she pleaded.
"The worst is over," Noranti affirmed. The old woman stepped out from behind the table, rummaged around in her filthy coat, and pulled out some herbs. She bent over and blew them into Rygel's face. "This herb is a strong painkiller. It will help them rest." Immediately, Rygel's eyes closed and he relaxed. Aeryn also relaxed and released her iron grip on D'Argo's hand.
Scorpius stepped forward with a hypo. "And this is an antibiotic to prevent infection. It will do more to help than any of her nasty herbs," he said with a righteous sniff towards Noranti.
"Says you," the old woman shot back, then turned back to Aeryn. She went back under the cover, and pulled out a bloody towel. "Get me a fresh one. She'll be bleeding for a while, but she should be fine."
John sighed with guarded relief. "What about her baby? Were you able to save it?"
Noranti closed all three of her eyes and shook her head. "There was nothing that I could do. I'm sorry, John."
He felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. Unconsciously, he started to move his right hand to his mouth to bite his knuckle, but Sikozu's hand in his stopped him. Tears started to well up in his eyes. "Thank you for trying," he whispered.
D'Argo released Aeryn's limp hand and crossed the room to John and Sikozu. The big Luxan put a supportive hand on John's shoulder. "John, I think that you and Sikozu should leave the room." Sikozu started to protest, but D'Argo interrupted her. "There's nothing that you can do while you're still joined to each other."
"As much as I hate to admit it," Scorpius chimed in, "I have to agree with Ka D'Argo. I will run the necessary tests, and Noranti can look after Aeryn and Rygel."
"And I'll stay behind to keep an eye on Wrinkles and Scorpy," Chiana added.
John smiled wryly at Chiana, then nodded his head wearily. He was tired, but something else occurred to him. "We need to let Pilot know what's going on."
"I have been monitoring the situation from here," Pilot's face came up on the clamshell. He looked worried as well. "Moya and I are very concerned about Officer Sun. Please take good care of her."
"We will, Pilot," Chiana reassured both Pilot and John. "Now, go.
He didn't protest when Sikozu led him out of the medical bay by the hand, with D'Argo on the other side. All he wanted to do was take a hit of lakkan, sleep, and wake up the next morning to find that none of this had happened. Not that that had ever worked before. But, there was always a first time.
***
Chiana watched D'Argo and Sikozu lead John out of the room as she filled a basin full of warm water. Although she had promised John that she'd help look after Aeryn, all she wanted to go with them, rather than stay here to help Wrinkles and Scorpy. She didn't trust either of them, and none of the others were available to keep an eye on them. Old Noranti was puttering around, trying to see what kind of herbs Zhaan had left. Scorpius was at the microscope, analyzing a blood clot that had come from Aeryn. A clot that used to be a baby. Chiana shook off the creepy feeling that she was getting. Gently, she lifted the bedcover and shuddered at the sight of Aeryn's blood-streaked legs. "If Aeryn finds out about this, she'll probably take a pulse rifle to my head,"
Chiana said aloud. She dipped a cloth into the water, and started to wash Aeryn's blood away.
"Probably," Noranti agreed. "Better you than me."
"Shut up and let me work," Scorpius hissed. "I've got something here... Wait a microt," he said incredulously. He pulled back from the microscope and readjusted it. "That cannot possibly be correct."
"What?" Chiana asked, suddenly curious. She stopped what she was doing and crossed over to where Scorpy was working. She peered over the hybrid's shoulder as if she could see through the scope herself.
"I appreciate your assistance, young Nebari," Scorpius looked up from the microscope and smiled at her. It gave her the creeps. "But you had best continue to monitor Dominar Rygel and Officer Sun. Please let me know if there are any problems."
"Fine," she snapped. "I know where I'm not wanted." She tossed her head, then went back to Aeryn and Rygel's unconscious bodies, while keeping her focus on Scorpy.
***
The voices were calling out to her, calling from whatever netherworld they lived in now. Mostly they were unintelligible whispers. Ghostly hands reached out to try to seize her. Aeryn had died before, but this was different. When she'd drowned, she was in a peaceful, quiet place until Zhaan pulled her out of it. This place was... well... it was anything but peaceful.
She felt arms around her from behind, grabbing her. She struggled against them, turned, and saw Captain Larraq. "I know all about you," he snarled, then plunged a commando knife into her side. The pain ripped through her, and she cried out as she fell.
Larraq changed, and merged into another dark-haired Peacekeeper. Velorek stood over her, a pained look on his face. "I trusted you, Aeryn, and you betrayed to further your career. And look what happened. You turned traitor anyway."
"Velorek..." she called out and reached for him. He turned away from her, and changed into another Peacekeeper. "You are an abomination!" Xhalax Sun's contemptuous sneer caused Aeryn to reel in horror. "I should have killed you instead of your father. At least he never turned traitor!" Aeryn turned away from her mother and encountered yet another Peacekeeper. Henta looked down her nose at her former friend. "Traitorous bitch!" As she watched in horror, Henta pointed an accusing finger at her, then exploded into a ball of flame. "Henta! I'm sorry!" she cried out. "I didn't mean for you to die!" The flames spread and morphed into a Sheyang who was flame-breathing at members of her old unit. They turned from the Sheyang to look at her accusingly. "This is all your fault," one of them said. "We wouldn't be on guard duty if you hadn't turned traitor. Our blood is on your hands." Aeryn looked down at her hands, which were covered in sticky red blood. "I didn't have a choice!" she screamed. Her comrades died as the Sheyang vaporized them. The flames filled her vision, then turned into the burning ruin of the Lokothian parliament building. The victims changed into the Lokothians that she and her comrades assassinated while she was away from Moya. "They used bio-weapons on innocent colonists!" she said in her defense. Their blood dripped from her hands anyway. "They murdered those colonists without cause!"
"So did you," came another voice from behind her. She turned. The Prefect and the other sixteen subjects that she'd killed while under the influence of the insect bites looked at her accusingly. "I know what you're going to say," the Prefect silenced her protest. "But that doesn't change the fact that you killed us in cold blood."
"I'm sorry," Aeryn answered quietly. She was spent. "I have no defense for that."
"I know, Officer Sun," a familiar voice answered her. She turned, and faced Bialar Crais on Talyn's command deck. He reached out and caressed her cheek. "What you did, you did to protect those you love."
"So much blood... on my hands," Aeryn started to cry.
"You and I both," Crais said with regret.
Crais then morphed into another friend. Zhaan leaned in and put her forehead gently against Aeryn's. "Yes, you have killed many beings. But think of the lives that you have saved, especially your own."
"But Zhaan, you died because of me, too."
"Yes, but I made that choice. Besides, I'm not really dead. You carry a part of me within you," Zhaan explained.
"As you carry a part of me," another voice added. She looked up to see John, her John, standing behind Zhaan.
"Not anymore," Aeryn said, and the tears came again. "Our child...."
"I know," he said gently, then an infant appeared in his arms. She looked down at the infant, which had blue eyes and a wispy tuft of black hair. "He's with us now, Aeryn. So you can start fresh, with the other John. Love him as you loved me. Do this for me," he asked.
"I will. I promise," she answered as John, Zhaan, and the child faded off into a gray mist.
***
"D'Argo, just get out of here, will you?" John snapped at the Luxan, who was hovering around him like a mother hen. They were back in the dining area, sitting around the table sharing a bottle of raslak. John was really getting annoyed. Having to hold hands with Sputnik for another arn was bad enough, much less having to deal D'Argo's sympathy. He supposed that D'Argo was just being concerned with safety of the others on the ship. It came with the role of Captain. "Look, I'm not gonna go postal, if that's what you're worried about. I just don't want to talk about it. Is that so hard to understand?"
"I am not concerned about you going poe stall. I am concerned that you are going to start shooting up Moya and the rest of us."
"That's the definition of going postal," he explained. "Oh, never mind. Go keep an eye on Scorpy, help Granny, talk to Pilot, or whatever. Just leave me alone for a little while, okay?"
"I think you should listen to him," Sikozu added.
John glared at her. "It's bad enough you have to be here, too. Just shut up and leave me alone, Sputnik." Sikozu tossed her head and ignored him.
D'Argo refused to budge. He cocked his head at John in confusion and sympathy. It was a look that he'd seen on the big guy's face more often these days. "John, I know how difficult it is to lose a child."
He turned away from D'Argo. "I don't get it. She didn't tell me that she was pregnant. Then she didn't tell me that she was in danger of losing the kid."
"Perhaps Aeryn didn't realize it," Sikozu suggested. "Everything happened so quickly."
"She does have a point. And, it's not like Aeryn's in touch with her feminine side," D'Argo added. "I know a little bit about Sebacean females getting pregnant. Lo'Lann didn't find out that she was pregnant until six weekens after I'd left on a battle campaign," D'Argo shared. "By the time the message got to me, it was too late. I was on the General's staff. I couldn't leave the field of battle to be with my pregnant wife. She had a difficult pregnancy, and I wasn't there to help her with it."
"That sucks," he agreed.
D'Argo laughed heartily. "Actually, I was the one that did most of the sucking the night that Jothee was conceived," he chortled lustily.
John hesitated, then broke into laughter with him. Trust D'Argo to put the right kind of spin on things to make him feel better. His friend's laughter was infectious. D'Argo kept laughing as he poured another round for both of them. Sikozu, on the other hand, had taken a sip of hers, made a face, and cursed their nasty Peacekeeper beverages. D'Argo called her a killjoy.
"So," D'Argo changed the subject, "you really put on a dress and wig to rescue the girls? Did you have loomas as well?"
"Big ones," Sikozu laughed. She motioned with her hand to show the size of John's falsies. D'Argo's eyes got big, then he downed his raslak with gusto. "Let's just say that he was better endowed as a female than he is normally."
"Very funny, Sputnik. If I wasn't going in there to save your life..." John snapped.
Sikozu and D'Argo continued to have a good laugh at his expense as they got more intoxicated. After what seemed like arns, with those two giggling at him, John felt a layer of oily goo begin to coat his hand. "Hey, I think it's working," he slurred and held up his and Sikozu's hand. Sure enough, a yellow, snot-like substance was all over their joined hands.
"Iccch," Sikozu sneered. "I guess it's done."
"Good. Get this crap off of me," John replied. He let go of Sikozu's hand and pulled slightly. The yellow snot separated. They looked at their hands, then both of them ran over to the basin and started scrubbing. Getting the gunk off took a while, but they were soon clean. "Thank God," John breathed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go do something in private." He nodded knowingly at D'Argo, then headed back to his quarters. After relieving himself, he contemplated the essence of lakkan sitting on his bedside table. He picked it up, started to break it in half, then stopped. "No. I've got to stop doing this."
"Crichton," Chiana's voice came over the comms, causing him to jump. He looked around at the clamshell, but fortunately, she was only using audio. "Aeryn and Rygel seem to be waking up. You should probably get down here."
"Uh, thanks, Pip," he replied. "I'll be right there." He picked up the capsule, put it down, then picked it back up again. Then, John closed his eyes, then broke the lakkan capsule in half, stuck it in his nostril, and breathed deeply. He experienced the usual blast of memories of Aeryn, then that part of his mind faded into the background. "I... have become comfortably numb," he sang the line from the Pink Floyd song softly as he left his quarters.
***
The heavy load on her chest was causing Aeryn to have trouble breathing. To make matters worse, she had intense pain in her lower abdomen and had fabric wedged between her legs, which were naked. Was she trapped under some kind of fallen debris? Not only that, but she appeared to have some kind of sticky, oily substance on her right hand. The same hand that appeared to be tied to something. The object in her hand wiggled.
"Chiana," Rygel said, practically in Aeryn's ear, "Get this dren off of me, now!"
"Shut up, slugface! You're gonna wake up Aeryn!"Chiana's voice answered, coming noticeably closer to Aeryn. She felt the Nebari's cool fingers untie the object on her right wrist. "Good. It's done," Chiana determined. Her voice was right in Aeryn's ear.
"Well, then hurry up and get it off of me!" Rygel snarled.
"All right, keep your caftan on," Chiana shot back.
Aeryn felt something cool and wet touch her hand. She finally got up the strength to open her eyes, and found herself staring right into Rygel's face!
"Oh, good, you're awake," Rygel smiled. His breath made her queasy. "Feeling better?"
"I will be," she whispered hoarsely, "as soon as you get your eema off of me."
"Sorry," Chiana explained as she rubbed Aeryn's palm to get the green goo off of it, "When you almost passed out, I had to tie Rygel's hand to yours to make sure you didn't separate before the time was up. We had a little trouble getting you both down here." The girl took Aeryn's hand in both of hers. "You had everyone pretty scared for a few microts."
"I did?" Aeryn frowned. "The last thing I remember was playing tadek with Rygel, John, and Sikozu. What happened?"
Chiana started to say something, but was interrupted by Noranti. "Here you go, dear. Drink some of this nice tea." She shoved a cup of steaming liquid under Aeryn's nose. The contents smelled like the old woman's dirty socks. Aeryn wrinkled her nose and turned her face away. "It will help get rid of the pain." Aeryn relented, and took a few sips of the tea. It tasted as bad as it smelled.
"Yotz," Rygel cursed, "even I wouldn't drink that!"
D'Argo and Sikozu came through the entrance together. D'Argo was carrying Rygel's thronesled. He came over to where Aeryn and Rygel were lying and gave her a smile. "I thought you might want to get that dead weight off of your chest," he joked as he held out the sled.
Rygel gave the Luxan a withering look as he crawled off of Aeryn and back into the sled. "At least this is one throne that I can reclaim," he sniffed and wiped his left flipper on D'Argo's shoulder. Some of the green goo remained. D'Argo stared at the stain, then growled a warning at the little Dominar.
Aeryn took a deep breath, then a sharp pain in her lower abdomen made her catch her breath. She looked over at Sikozu and Scorpius, who were conferring together over by the lab equipment. "What's he doing here?" she asked.
"He wanted to help," D'Argo replied with a shrug.
"And you let him?"
"We didn't have much choice," Chiana interjected. "You were pretty bad off, and Sikozu wasn't able to help much, with being attached to Crichton and all. And Wrinkles, well, she kept trying to help, but none of us trusted her."
Aeryn took another sip of the tea and made a face. Yes, it did taste awful, but the pain was beginning to lessen somewhat. Then, she looked around. Someone very important was missing. "Where's Crichton?" she asked D'Argo.
"He had to clean up," D'Argo explained. "He said he'd be along in a few microts. I don't know why he's not here."
She couldn't explain it, but she really needed him to be with her. Aeryn put the cup of tea down slowly, then closed her eyes. "Can you call him?"
As if on cue, John ran into the infirmary. "I'm here," he panted. Then, he looked over at Aeryn and stiffened noticeably. "Hey," he nodded to her. "You're awake." He made a move like he was going toward the bed, but stopped himself suddenly and stayed in the doorway.
Aeryn was surprised at his reaction. John was back to freezing her out. She thought that they'd made a breakthrough after they'd almost killed each other under the influence of the insect bites. Up until a few arns ago, she felt like they were getting back to what passed for normal in their fahrbot relationship. But now, when she really needed him, he didn't even sit down next to her. "It appears so," she answered him. "You never answered my question," she said as she turned back to Chiana. "What happened to me?"
Scorpius stepped away from the lab table and walked toward her. "The bacteria in the mollusks, combined with the highly volatile nature of Hynerian urine, caused you to have a toxic reaction," he explained, then came to a stop behind Chiana. "I am afraid that the toxins in your bloodstream made it into the placenta, then penetrated the embryonic stasis membrane, causing a spontaneous abortion. I am sorry, Officer Sun, but you had a miscarriage."
"Oh," she whispered. So my dream was right, she thought. She looked over at John, who stood impassively in the doorway, deliberately not meeting her eyes.
"Yotz! I am so sorry, Aeryn," Rygel murmured, and reached down to stroke her hair. "I didn't realize..."
She smiled up at the little Dominar and took his left flipper in her right hand, like when they were joined. "It's all right, Rygel. We had to take the antidote, or we'd both be dead by now, and so would my child. It's not your fault."
"I know," Rygel replied, glaring at John, who was still putting distance between himself and Aeryn. "But I know more than anyone else here how much that child meant to you." As he spoke, Aeryn felt her eyes beginning to water, and she fought the urge to cry. If she started, she'd never stop.
"I'm very sorry, John," Scorpius said as he clapped a black-gloved hand on John's shoulder. "I did everything that I could to save the child."
The Human shrugged the hand off with a glare. "Shut up, Scorpy. I don't need your phony sympathy. It wasn't my kid anyway."
Aeryn turned her head and stared in shock at what John had just said. It was one thing to be distant, but he'd never been outright cruel before this. The others were equally as stunned at his reaction. If I wasn't as weak as a newborn grosalan, I'd knock him silly! she thought.
Fortunately, she didn't have to. Chiana turned suddenly feral and launched herself right at John. "You ignorant frellnik!" the girl spat as she shoved him backwards. "Aeryn almost died twice today, and you have the nerve to insult her like that! And don't try blaming it on the raslak! I've seen you completely dren-faced, and you've never said anything that nasty!"
John grabbed Chiana's wrists to keep her from raking her nails across his face. She snarled and struggled to break free. D'Argo stepped in and enveloped the girl from behind, picking her up and taking her out of the way. Then, he turned back to John and growled.
"Aeryn's child may not have been yours..." he started.
"It was Crichton's," Sikozu interrupted. Aeryn struggled to sit up to look. Noranti placed a sleeping wedge under her back.
"Go on," John said quietly. His previous mask of indifference was starting to crack. He looked more shaken by this revelation than she thought he would be.
"I tested the embryo's DNA," Scorpius stepped forward to explain. "It matched yours. However," he paused to push a button. A holographic projection of the fetus' DNA appeared in mid-air. "I noticed something strange. Here," he pointed out the remains of what looked like a partial third strand. "This recombinant DNA is somehow connected to the Sebacean half of the strand, but not the Human half. I was, of course, surprised at this finding, since Officer Sun would never have become a Peacekeeper with this contamination in her genetic material. When I showed it to our lovely Sikozu, she gave me another insight."
"I don't understand how this could happen, but the DNA in the phantom strand matched Pilot's," Sikozu informed them.
Aeryn looked over at John again. He was biting his thumb. They made eye contact, then he quickly broke it. "NamTar," they both said at once. Aeryn slumped back onto the wedge and closed her eyes. Rygel and D'Argo both had looks of total shock on their faces. The others were looking even more confused than before.
John looked over at Sikozu. "Four cycles ago, shortly after we all wound up on Moya, we found a scientist called NamTar. He took a DNA sample from all of us, which he said would find a way to get us home. He took a sample from everyone except Aeryn. His price was..."
"His price was one of my arms," Pilot snarled from the clamshell. "D'Argo cut one of them off and gave it to him." She wasn't surprised that Pilot was listening in. Even Sikozu, who had been willing to butcher a still-living Leviathan for its toubray tissue, looked appalled. D'Argo hung his head in shame. He'd never forgiven himself for that terrible incident.
"Yeah," John nodded. "Anyway, this NamTar injected some of Pilot's DNA into Aeryn as some kind of sick experiment. She started taking on some of Pilot's characteristics."
"D'Argo, Zhaan and I were too busy arguing amongst ourselves to notice what had happened to Aeryn," Rygel confessed. "Fortunately, Crichton was able to work with that monster's assistant to restore Aeryn back to her normal form."
"But I knew that I still had some of Pilot's DNA in me," Aeryn added. "I didn't even think about what would happen if I ever reproduced."
"I see," Sikozu sighed, trying to absorb all of this information.
"Aeryn's child had some of my genetic material?" Pilot asked, looking confused.
"Yeah," John answered. "You were as much of a father to the kid as I was."
"Probably more of one, if you ask me," Chiana hissed at him.
John bit the knuckle on his thumb again, then looked at Chiana. "Yeah, Pip," he said, "you're probably right." Then, he turned around and walked back out into the corridor!
Chiana started to run after him, but D'Argo stopped her. "No, let me go," he told her as he held her back. "We were talking before. Maybe I can figure out what's getting onto him."
"D'Argo," Aeryn said as she propped herself back up, "thanks." D'Argo nodded, then followed his friend out the door. Rygel gave her hand another squeeze, then followed D'Argo. A few microts later, Scorpius slipped out the door, unseen by everyone except for Aeryn. She stared after them, forcing herself not to cry. It wasn't working. The tears started slowly. Then, as if an explosion happened in her emotional core, Aeryn broke down into deep, racking sobs. She felt arms encircle her, and a hand reach up to stroke her hair.
"That's all right, let it out," Chiana whispered softly to her. "D'Argo's gonna go talk some sense into John. Or, at least, figure out why he was being such a fekkik to you." The girl kept rocking her and crooning comfortingly as Aeryn's grief washed over her like a tidal wave. Finally, after she had no more tears left, Chiana released her.
"Thank you," Aeryn whispered hoarsely. "You must think that I'm weak..."
Chiana took her hand and held it tightly. "Frell that," she replied. "Don't worry about it."
Noranti held the teacup out to her again. "You need time to mourn your loss," she counseled, "in order to face what lies ahead. Now, drink your tea. It will lessen the physical pain and help you heal."
Aeryn obeyed the old witch and drank the tea. Sikozu walked over from the lab table with a hypo in her hand. "Here, this will help prevent infection," she explained as she injected the contents into Aeryn's neck. "If it is any consolation to you, Crichton was unwilling to talk to us earlier. Before, when you were sleeping, D'Argo and I were trying to get him to talk. He was..." she searched for the right word, "unresponsive. He was in shock, but he wasn't hostile." Sikozu frowned, like she was trying to place something. "I can tell you that, when we were linked, I felt edgy, nervous, and like my body was craving something that I couldn't get. If that helps any..."
"It was probably just a reaction to the mollusks," Noranti said quickly. But Aeryn didn't really care. Between the medicine, the old woman's tea, and loss of blood, she was feeling tired.
"Thank you all," she said to the three women hovering over her, "but I think I'd just like to rest now."
"Go ahead," Chiana said and stroked her hair again. "I'll stay here and watch over you." The girl took her hand again and held it, crooning a song softly. The sound lulled Aeryn into a deep and mercifully dreamless sleep.
John stalked down the hall quickly, and ducked into a passageway. He took the lakkan capsule out of his vest pocket and looked at it. He really, really needed it's numbing effects. John broke the capsule and inhaled the essence. The familiar burst of visions about Aeryn hit like a brick wall, then retreated to the back of his mind. He stepped back out into the corridor and smacked right into D'Argo.
"What the frell has gotten into you?" the Luxan grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him up against the wall.
"Leave me alone, D," he hissed and shoved D'Argo backwards. D'Argo looked genuinely surprised. John immediately regretted it. "Sorry, man. I guess I'm just upset."
"I should say so!"
"Look," he held up his hands and said, "I need to work this out on my own, okay?"
D'Argo looked at him skeptically. "All right, John. I'll back up.."
"Off," John corrected him.
"Off. But Aeryn needs you right now."
"She doesn't need me. She made that perfectly clear when she didn't let me know that she was pregnant with the other guy's kid," he shot back.
"That is no longer an issue."
He hated to admit it, but D'Argo did have a point. But, rather than concede, he turned away from his friend. "Just, give me a few arns to think about this... alone!" he said as he stalked down the hall, leaving the Luxan stammering in his wake.
Once he got back to his quarters, he slapped the lock on the door. As soon as the doors closed, he dug out another lakkan capsule and inhaled it. "Dammit!" he yelled as he looked at the broken capsule and threw it into the corner. Then, he sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. The drug wasn't helping the emotional turmoil. So, he grabbed the bottle of raslak and drank directly from it without bothering to pour it into a glass. He chugged the contents down, hoping that its alcohol would burn the feelings from his soul. But that didn't help either. His eyes focused on the EVA suit and helmet hanging in the cubby that functioned as his closet. An idea sprang into his head. He quickly stripped and pulled on the suit. With the helmet under his arm, he headed for the docking bay. Unfortunately, he couldn't escape without being seen.
"Where do you think you're going, John?" Scorpius asked as he jogged to catch up with John's longer strides.
"Out," he replied curtly.
"Are you sure that's wise? You've been drinking heavily, John. I can smell it on your breath. Do you really need that?"
"What I need, Scorp, is less crap from you."
Scorpius walked along with him. "Wormholes, John. That's what you need to focus on. Not Aeryn. Wormholes."
"For once, I agree with you," John answered. "I've got a theory I want to try out."
Scorpius was actually leering with anticipation. "May I be of assistance?"
"No," John told him flatly. The hybrid's face fell, disappointed. Then, as he reached the door to the hangar bay, John reconsidered. "Actually, you can do something for me. Stay the hell away from me." He shut the door in Scorpy's face, and waited for Pilot to depressurize the hold. Soon he was floating alone in space. The silence helped to clear his head. He found himself looking for the bright star that he'd used as his guide before they'd left the Uncharted Territories. He turned in a complete circle, looked up and down, but it was nowhere to be found. In a way, he found that it was appropriate. He'd lost both of his guides - the star and Aeryn - and he was completely alone in the vastness of space.
