And again, Toni, who did double duty on this one! <G>

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Dancing With The Devil Part 5
by Christina and Toni

It was afternoon. Riddick had decided he would spend
the rest of the day walking around the valley. He was
still trying to figure out what he'd seen last night.
Grace was with a tall, well built man, leaving a bar
and obviously heading toward his place. Hadn't he
been the one to save her from the humiliation of being
raped, and how had she repaid him. Why did he even
care? Because he did, he hated admitting that even to
himself. He had to clear his head, find his center.
The park seemed like the best place to start.
Besides, maybe there was something here he could use
to get Grace's attention. He never promised to abide
by all the rules. He found a glen that was
practically obscured by trees. Crouching down, he
watched all the mothers playing with their children.
He watched pets and their owners playing frisbee or
taking walks. So that's what it meant to be a part of
the human race.

Suddenly, he sensed that his path was blocked by
something, and looked down. A young boy, not even a
year old, had crawled over to him while he was
standing still watching something and was now
patiently waiting to be noticed. As he saw the big man
look down at him, he grinned, showing his four teeth,
and raised his arms to the man, making his "insistent"
noise to be picked up. Before he could respond to the
child, a short woman, obviously in her 30's, came over
to the two and smiled, "I see you've met my son; he
took off so fast at a crawl I couldn't tell where he
was going until he sat down in front of you - I hope
you don't mind, but he believes in making friends with
*everyone* new to the Valley. I'm Toni Nolan, and this
is my son, Michael Pasco." She held out her hand in
greeting; Michael, for his part, waited patiently for
his mum to finish with this peculiar grownup ritual
he'd seen many times.

Unbelievable! Life was nothing but surprising.
Still, he looked down at the baby before locking his
eyes on the woman. Giving her a smile, he took her
hand with his and shook it. "Richard Riddick, escaped
convict." Best to get that out in the open right away
so the woman could pick up her son and run away.
Crouching down again, he said, "He's a very cute boy."

The woman tilted her head slightly as she thought
about what he'd said...escaped convict. But something
told her she had nothing to fear, and she asked
softly, "Thank you. Mr. Riddick...would you mind very
much removing your goggles and letting me see your
eyes? Just as Michael sits in front of someone and
makes friends that way, this is my way....if you
wouldn't mind." She didn't elaborate on exactly *how*
she made friends that way; she would tell him after
he'd done it.

He looked at her momentarily and then chuckled
lightly. Had Grace been telling people about his
ability? Had she been warning them? "I will if you
answer one question for me. Do you know Grace
Hammond?" He watched her intently for her reaction as
well as her answer.

There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary, as
she replied, "No...is she a friend of yours?" She
wasn't looking at him with anything except the normal
curiosity one would expect on mentioning someone new.

He laughed then. "Friend? Naw. She's my captor."
He stood and took a step back into the shade. She
wasn't lying about not knowing Grace so maybe she
hadn't heard. Slowly, he removed his goggles and
stared directly into her eyes, a twisted grin on his
face.

Toni, in the time she'd lived in SIM Valley, had seen
every manner of eyes, from normal to vampire; so when
she saw the unusual quality of Riddick's eyes, it
didn't cause her any alarm. She looked into those eyes
for a long moment; she seemed to actually be looking
*past* the shine, somehow, though not in an unnerving
way, simply observant. After that moment, she smiled -
she'd gotten her answer - and told him, "Thank you,
Mr. Riddick; now I will explain my actions. My cousin
and I both have the ability to tell a person's true
nature by looking into their eyes; not every little
detail about them, but whether or not they are someone
to be trusted or not, which as you can imagine comes
in handy when meeting new people. I don't know what
you've done, or why you have a captor, but my 'people
radar' tells me that you are a man who can be trusted,
and it's never wrong." The woman was truly not afraid
of him, not in the least, as she stood still relaxed
in front of him.

Michael, on the other hand, had decided he'd been
patient long enough; now that his mum had talked to
this new friend for awhile and looked at his eyes, it
was his turn! He held his arms up again and again made
his "insistent" noise, a little louder; Toni laughed
softly, "I think you'd better pick him up and tell him
hello eye to eye, Mr. Riddick; my son never takes no
for an answer when he's trying to make a new friend.
That is, unless you'd mind? I know some people are
nervous about holding babies." She looked at him with
concern, but for *him*, not herself in any way.

He bent back down and looked at the child. A tingle
ran through him as he thought of the vulnerability,
the innocence. But it passed quickly. Reaching out,
he touched the boy's face then looked back up at the
mother. In one swift move, he picked up the boy and
said to his mother, "I don't know that trusting me is
the best way to go. I don't even know my true nature.
I'm just learning how to live with people and not
have the urge to hurt, maim, or kill them... to quote
Grace."

Toni nodded, impressed with his honesty, and smiled,
"Well, between my son's judgement and my own
observation, I'm pretty well reassured. The only one
that neither my son nor I or my cousin appreciate
being around in this town is a man called Kronos;
there are a few versions of him living here and we
neither like nor trust any of them. I only took him as
my charge to keep an eye on him, which sometimes works
and sometimes does not, but he's the only one that
Michael fusses at the sight of." Her own distaste of
the scarred man showed plainly on her face as she
spoke about him.

Riddick's eyes darkened momentarily. "You are the
person in charge of Kronos. I've met his Bronze Age
version." Briefly, he forgot about the baby and his
mother. "I should have ghosted the fucker while I had
a chance." He came back to himself and saw the child.
"Sorry. Like I said, I'm integrating. Guess I need
to make a mental reminder not to swear in front of
innocents. How about if I say, I dislike the Bronze
Age version intensely. How's that?"

"Then I would say, Mr. Riddick, that you and I are
definitely friends. I am in charge of the modern
version; but as I said, I neither like nor trust any
of them." Michael had not appeared to be affected much
by the rough language; he put his head down on the big
man's powerful shoulder and proceeded to tell him
about his day, in fluent baby talk, as he did with all
his friends; his mother stood by and smiled to see her
own opinion of this man so clearly reinforced by her
son.

Grace had called Riddick's apartment and gotten no
answer. She wasn't too excited about his reaction to
her reunion with MacLeod. Besides, it wasn't his
business. Now she had to find him. Where would he
be? He liked to watch people and he would do that at
the park. When she made her way there, her biggest
fear was confirmed. Not only was he leading a woman
into a dark grove, but he had her child as well.

"Well, I know I'm not one to talk, but he does things
that not even I would do. And I've done a lot of
things that people with morals consider to be evil.
But never..."

His monologue was interrupted by Grace's entrance.
She hadn't pulled her gun, but her hand was on it.
"What the hell are you doing, Riddick?"

Grinning broadly, he lowered his goggles and said,
"Visiting."

"Like hell," she said.

Somehow, Toni figured that this was probably Grace;
she told the woman, "It's true; my son, who insists on
making the acquaintance of every new person in the
Valley, came over to Mr. Riddick and sat himself down
right in front of him,wanting to be picked up; I came
over to meet him, and found him to be as trustworthy
as my son thinks he is. Not just by his words, in case
you were thinking that, but by his eyes. I can tell a
person's true nature by their eyes, even ones as
special as this man's here. It's a sort of gift, like
some people can tell by reading their aura. By the
way, I'm Toni Nolan, and this is my son, Michael
Pasco." The just mentioned child was looking at Grace
from his comfortable perch in Riddick's arms; since
this was a woman, he was giving her a coy, shy smile.
Never let it be said that Nick Pasco's son didn't know
how to be around ladies!

Grace was tense and nervous with him holding the baby.
Hell of it was, she could tell he knew it. Shaking
the lady's hand, she said, "Richard Riddick
trustworthy."

"She doesn't agree," Riddick teased.

"Give me one reason why I should."

"I haven't killed anyone yet, and I saved your ass the
other night."

Grace sighed. "There's a baby present, Riddick. And
yes you did, and I thanked you for it."

"Is that what that was?"

"Can we discuss your problems later?" To Toni, she
apologized, "I'm sorry for the assumption, but what I
learned about Riddick took more than a look into his
eyes. I'm desperately trying to get beyond his past,
but he enjoys baiting me."

Toni hid a small smile; she'd known plenty of people
like that herself. To the woman, she smiled, "Well,
although I don't know Mr. Riddick's past, he so far,
at least with myself and my son, hasn't done anything
to raise our suspicions. If he were truly evil, my son
would want nothing to do with him, and yet as you can
see, he has no problem with him. Oh, Michael, leave
his goggles alone; Mr. Riddick needs them to protect
his eyes, they're not a toy." Michael, having been
tugging gently on the strap that held them on the
man's head, looked at his mother and grunted, looking
insulted, and laid his head on the large shoulder once
more, as his mother softly laughed.

Grace looked around. It was dark enough here, he
didn't need them, except that he knew she carried the
high beam flashlight. "He's wearing them now for
protection against me. See, I'm not the only one with
lack of trust here." Her eyes locked on Riddick and
the child. The killer was swaying back and forth and
patting the infant's diaper. She couldn't help it, it
made her nervous. No matter what, she knew there was
more going on in his mind than he was letting on.

"Ms. Nolan, I hear from sources that most women here
are involved in more than one intimate relationship.
I assume you are well protected, as is the child."
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Grace. This
particular comment was made just to set her off.

"Knock it off, Riddick," she warned.

But Toni didn't mind answering; she smiled, "Well, in
fact I am; one of my lovers and soulmates is the man
in charge of this Valley, and my other soulmate is
Michael's father, who is also in the military. Besides
them, I am currently expecting by a third lover who
has....well, dealings with unusual occurrences, and my
fourth is a Scotsman who's been known, before he came
here, to have the courage to take on members of the
King of England's militia. So no, I wouldn't worry
about me too much. I may be mortal, and not too big,
but I'm not afraid of much. Only where his welfare is
concerned." She reached out and caressed her son's
hair, which got her a big smile from the young man -
he'd apparently forgiven his mother for her attempt to
ruin his play.

That knowledge put Grace at ease a bit. Softly, she
said, "Good."

Riddick nodded. "Even the strongest of women need
protectors, don't they Gracie."

She gave him a look that said 'Fuck off', and then
replied, "Even the strongest of us have mental lapses,
what's nice is having people willing to step in when
they are needed and not hold those moments over your
head for the rest of your life." To Toni, she said,
"I'm glad you have that. I now have these full time."
She patted her weaponry.

"Never leave home without it," Riddick teased. "I
heard that in a commercial yesterday."

Toni nodded. "Though hopefully it won't be needed
here, I can understand that particular kind of
security. Before I came here, I used to carry mace,
even if it was illegal. Thank God I never had to use
it, but as you say, it's good to be prepared. I've
been taught some self defense, and a friend of mine,
Nick Boyle, gave me this to keep on me when he found
out I was pregnant by a man he considers to be his
adopted father, Derek Rayne - he's the one who's dealt
with unusual occurrences. Nick says he was just
looking out for one of his family." Toni took a small
derringer from a waist holster she'd had clipped
unobtrusively to her jeans in the back and showed it
to Grace; she still had the one Methos had given her
long ago, but the ex-SEAL had insisted, claiming you
could never have too much protection.

Grace's eyes flicked to the gun and she smiled. "I
know Nick Boyle. In fact, I work for him. Midnights,
since this one likes to roam at night as well." Her
focus went back to Riddick. "And there's no harm in
carrying a gun."

Riddick popped in. "Though showing a killer where you
hide it is probably not the best tactic."

Grace laughed, like she'd have a chance to get to it.
"You're so full of it, Riddick. I'd swear if I could.
As I was saying... I know Mr. Boyle and even know the
father of your child."

"He's the live-in lover of her teacher... Jasa O'Neil,
if I have the name right. They have an infant too."

Grace's eyes darkened and in all seriousness, she
said, "Don't even start that one, Riddick. Leave it
be." All she got in response was a laugh. To Toni,
she said, "Jasa was... is my teacher. And I have had
the fortune of meeting young Emma."

"Beautiful baby," Riddick added. Grace tensed and
then he smiled, clearly scoring a point in their
unspoken game.

Toni's eyes lit up at the mention of her lover, and
she smiled, "Talk about a small world! It's indeed the
same man, and yes, Jasa and I are sort of....co-moms
to the child I'm carrying, Elyse. She and Emma will be
sisters, in about 7 months from now, and we both feel
very blessed to have their father in our lives. He's a
wonderful man, and Michael adores his Uncle Nick! He
and his lady, Jennifer, often babysit this one when
Derek and I, well, want some time to be alone."
Despite all she'd been through, the mention of
spending a certain type of "quality time" with her
love still had the power to make her blush.

Grace smiled, knowing that no one had ever really made
her blush at the mention of just his name. Most names
just filled her with dread.

Riddick's eyes were on Grace this entire time, the
image of her walking out of that bar with MacLeod
forced him to smile and say, "Derek, huh? Must be a
special man to attract two very beautiful women.
Special and lucky. I'll have to meet him some day."
Crouching down again, he gently set the toddler on the
ground and patted his head. "A very charming child
indeed. I'm sure the other will be just as healthy
and happy."

Grace acknowledged that this last statement seemed
quite sincere and then she caught sight of his shirt
and couldn't help but laugh. Without thought, she
took a handkerchief and dabbed at the wet spot. It
was then that Riddick reached out and patted her
knife. It wasn't an attempt to grab, just letting her
know that it was close and the thought was being
denied. She didn't back away, instead, she leaned in
and said, "Play nice." Ever so slowly, she backed
away. "It seems Michael was indeed comfortable on his
shoulder."

Toni looked at the spot, saying, "Oh Mr. Riddick, I'm
so sorry...he has this habit of drooling when he
grins, and he was so happy in your arms, and then
again when Grace came along...." Because she didn't
consider him dangerous, Toni took out one of the
absorbent cloths she kept within reach when she was
with her son, and tried to dry the big man's shoulder
herself; she knew Grace would keep a temporary eye on
the culprit who'd caused it, looking innocently up at
the adults as he sat where he'd been placed. The boy's
mother was close enough that Riddick could easily have
done her harm, and yet there was absolutely no alarm
in her body language at all, as Grace watched both her
and the boy closely.

The thought ran briefly through Grace's mind that in
one quick move, Riddick could end this generous
woman's life. It was lesson time, time for Grace to
exercise a bit of that trust that she was trying so
desperately to give him. Turning her back on the
pair, she reached down to pick up the baby. She held
him in her left, unconsciously deciding that her right
should be free to grab her gun if needed. But she
didn't think she'd need it. She even put distance
between them.

"Ms. Nolan," Riddick said, "Grace is right in not
trusting me completely. I know you think that you
have this insight into my nature, but caution is
always best. You trust your senses that much?"

The woman looked up at him and said, with absolutely
no doubt in her eyes or her voice, "Yes, I do, because
they've never been wrong, ever; and neither have my
cousin Shannon's. You should meet her sometime soon,
she usually brings her 2 month old twin daughters to
this park during the day, to make the most of the
winter sun. And please, call me Toni."

"Ok, Toni. No one's ever trusted me... Well, wait, I
take that back, there have been a few who have trusted
me. Out of those, only two are still alive. And
though I didn't kill them, I also didn't live up to
that trust. You see Grace, she doesn't trust me any
farther than she could throw me. And yet, I've put my
life in her hands. It's a game, really." Then to
himself he said, "I wonder who will break first." To
Toni, he said, "And if I'm to call you Toni, you must
call me Riddick. Sorry, I've rarely, if ever, heard
my first name spoken. In the Slam, using the last
name keeps you less human, so I'm used to it. Call me
Riddick."

"All right, Riddick; but if the time comes when you'd
rather I call you Richard, please let me know. It's a
strong name, it deserves to be used." Their
conversation was interrupted just then by Michael, in
Grace's arms, calling to his mother with his insistent
sound, then looking directly at her breasts and
putting his fist in his mouth and sucking on it,
giving a clear signal of what he wanted. "Well,
someone wants to eat, and it's too cold to nurse out
here, so I'm going to have to take him into the
ladies' room to do it, which means I'll have to cut
our time short. It was very nice meeting you, Riddick,
and I sincerely mean that, on behalf of both Michael
and myself." She reached over and took her son from
the other woman, and smiled, "It was wonderful meeting
you too, Grace; I hope we see each other again soon.
Thank you for keeping an eye on my son."

As she put Michael in the carriage and turned to wheel
him toward the ladies' room, she turned, looked at the
big man before her, and said softly, "And
Riddick....make that 4 people who trust you, although
one is a bit young." It was clear she obviously meant
herself and her son, and Michael waved goodbye to the
two other adults as he and his mother left the scene.

When the baby and his mother disappeared, Grace looked
at him. "I won't ask what that was all about, all
I'll ask is this... no bullshit?"

Sighing, Riddick said, "They are alive, aren't they?"

"That wasn't the question."

Moving into her personal space, he said, "No, Gracie.
There was no bullshit there. You know, I've never
held an infant before. And that's the truth."

Grace nodded and started to walk away. "Well, then,
if you're hungry, we could get some lunch."

Riddick laughed. "Good deeds paid in meals. It
really is the way to a man's heart."

Grace shrugged. "Oh, I didn't say I was cooking for
you. I couldn't be held responsible for the outcome.
There's a place called The Captain's Lady. We can eat
there."

"You're paying," he said as he jogged up beside her.
MacLeod may have had sex with her, but he wasn't
having lunch with her. And for some reason, that
thought set his mind at ease.