After the best night’s rest either of them had had in forever, morning came and with it responsibility, a daughter, and the whereabouts of Moya which they needed to discuss.

“Good Mornin’, Sunshine,” John’s musical voice cooed.

“No, it’s not morning.” Aeryn slid further under the covers to hid her face from the rays of light streaming through the window.

“Nope, it’s not morning.” John copied Aeryn and ignored the light. He pulled her closer.

Aeryn would have been contented to lay in John’s arms all day, all weeken, all monen, all . . .but it was morning and there were things that needed to be done. After what seemed like less than a microt (though in reality it was half an arn), Aeryn threw off the covers saying, “Good morning John.”

He groaned his reluctance and then stared, just smiling at her.

What’s so funny?” She placed her hands on her hips.

“Nothin’ sweetheart. It’s just great to see ya.”

Aeryn laughed and threw a pillow at him.

****

“Moya’s gone, John.” Aeryn sipped what John called “orange juice” though it tasted more like another citrus John stopped her from describing.

“How’d you get here?” John finished off his toast.

“We took my prowler. After Scorpius left us alone, I followed what was left of your module’s records and found my way to your Erp-Earth,” she corrected herself. “It took us about a year.”

“At least you were able to escape Scorpius ad his PK torturers.”

“It was lucky that he didn’t know about Cylaera. Otherwise, he might have taken her.” Aeryn’s eyes burned with hatred for the Scaren/Sebacean half-breed.

John’s grip on their daughter, who sat on his knee, tightened. Cylaera looked up at him with her wide, innocent blue eyes. Aeryn had been shopping and had clothed Cylaera in a pink frilled Easter dress. Though uncharacteristic of Aeryn, she had seen another mother with her child. The other young girl had been dressed similar and she assumed it an Earth custom. She had also bought bows to match and drawn their daughter’s long hair into pigtails.

“You ready to leave?” John asked.

“But you’re home, John.”

John shook his head. “Home is with you.” He could tell Aeryn wasn’t accepting this. He reached across the table to hold her hand. “Besides, I can’t stand that my dad doesn’t believe me; not even with you being here. I don’t think I could stand not being able to share with him or anyone . . .” He was, of course, not including Aeryn in this statement. He squeezed her hand. “I don’t understand how the time-continuum could be so off. I still keep thinking that this might not be my real Earth. I mean, maybe this is just a parallel Earth like on ‘Sliders’.”

“Whatever you say, John.” Cylaera had slipped off John’s knee and ran over to her mother. She stood next to Aeryn and stretched out her arms. Without words she begged her mother to pick her up. “Oh, come on,” Aeryn said as she lifted the girl onto her lap.

“Where’s your prowler?”

“Just outside town.”

“It’s amazing no one saw it.”

“I acquired a cloaking device similar to the one we used to have aboard Moya.”

After John had finished his meal he said, “I’m going to go say goodbye to Dad.”

“How are you going to explain? What are you going to tell him?”

“I’ll . . .” John thought on his feet. “I’ll tell him I’m going on vacation . . .with you—”

“With us?” Aeryn was surprised.

“Yeah,” John assured her. “I already tried explaining my situation, but you know . . .”

****

While asleep in a rented lodging on a commerce planet, John was abducted by Seventh Division Peacekeepers working directly under Scorpius. Aeryn, with fully intact PK senses, awoke with a start. She watched helplessly as John was taken, knowing full well, the sooner she got to him, the easier the escape would be. She ran to her prowler and tailed the vessel that stole the only man she could ever truly love.

She was easily able to slip onto the ship without being detected. She assumed the identification of a conveniently “indisposed” lieutenant and after awhile of learning the procedure being done to John, she was granted access to the room in which John was being held captive. She found John hooked up to the Extraction machine, unconscious.

“Oh, John . . .” she whispered. How the frell was she going to get him out of there? It would take her arns to unhook al of the wires and she knew she hadn’t time to waist! She found her way to the control panels and finally she found it: the auto-shutdown switch.

“Aeryn . . .”

Aeryn turned her head to see John sitting there, helpless, with his eyes closed, murmuring her name in his dreamlike state. Before she touched the switch, she realized she ran the chance of shutting down his brain as well. A decision had to be made and it had to be made quickly. She found her way to the Dream Extractor’s main power frame . . .