Back to part one

April 3
2:57 pm, EST

John Crichton popped the hatch on Farscape and stuck his head out.  They had landed in the middle of an open field, well away from civilization. Breathing in the cool spring air, he sighed.  Home.  Finally.  For real, this time - of that he was certain.  It just... felt right.  He should have noticed, the last time.  Something - he couldn't explain quite what - had been missing, and he hadn't even realized it until now.  Something important.  But not this time.

Smiling, he jumped to the ground, then reached back as Aeryn Sun appeared in the opening.  She took a moment to look around before speaking.  "So.  This is your Earth."  He nodded, and she accepted his hand as she exited the craft.

"Yep, this is it.  Florida, to be exact.  But there's a lot more to it than this, I promise.  And this time it must be real -  'cause I have absolutely no idea where we are,"  he yelled, spinning around with his arms spread wide.  Aeryn shook her head and muttered something about 'human nonsense'. John just laughed.  "As we came in, I saw a gas station a little ways back. Hopefully they'll have a phone.  Ready for a walk?"  Aeryn turned to him and nodded.  They quickly stripped off their flight suits and tossed them back into Farscape.  John briefly considered trying to hide the module, then decided the waist-high grass surrounding it provided sufficient camouflage. Trudging through the field, they came to the road and started back the way they had come.

After about a mile, they came to the gas station.  It looked deserted, but luck was with them.  A phone booth stood in the corner of the overgrown parking lot.  John entered the small structure, leaving the door open, but Aeryn remained outside.  She surveyed her surroundings, intrigued.  She had been to many different planets in her time - once she had even believed she was here, on Earth.  But this time was different.  This was real.  This was Crichton's home.  He may consider Moya his home now, but she would always think of Earth in those terms.  Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she turned her attention back to Crichton and the strange contraption he was using.

"Yes, I'd like to make a collect call."  John gave the operator the number, praying that DK was home.  After two rings, a familiar voice carried over the line.

"Hello?"

"Sir, will you accept a collect call from - "

Recognizing his cue, John took a deep breath and said, "Roy Neary."

Silence.  C'mon, DK, remember....

After a few seconds, his friend replied, "Uh, yeah.  Sure, I accept."  John sagged against the wall of the booth in relief.  Aeryn peeked into the booth, concerned until she saw the huge smile on his face.

"John?  Is that really you?"  DK asked hesitantly.  "Because if this is another damn prank - "

"Yeah, man, it's me.  It's really me."  John winced and held the receiver away from his ear as DK whooped with joy.

"How the hell... where?  What the hell happened?  You were there, and then suddenly you weren't there, nothing was there, and - "

John cut him off, otherwise DK would prattle on forever.  "Look, this isn't really something I want to discuss over the phone.  I'm calling from some deserted gas station out on -"  He squinted, trying to make out the number on the faded sign farther up the road.  "- eleven.  North of forty, I think. How soon can you be here?  And bring the trailer, too.  We'll be up the road about a mile with Farscape."

"Okay, if you're where I think you are, I can be there in about forty-five min-.... wait a minute.  We?  Holy shit, John, WE??"

Crichton shook his head and grinned.  "Look, just get here, okay?"  He hung up the phone as DK continued to sputter in his ear.  He exited the phone booth and tapped Aeryn on the shoulder.  "He'll be here in about forty... a little less than an arn.  Let's get back to the ship."

As they walked, John rambled non-stop, pointing out things he never realized he had taken for granted.  "And that's an oak tree.  In a few months it won't be green - it'll be yellow, or red, or orange."  When he didn't hear the expected remark about trees that changed color, John turned to find Aeryn gone from his side.

Looking around frantically, he breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted her standing next to a fence at the edge of a field.  A herd of cows had wandered into the field to graze, and a small brown calf had approached the fence.  Aeryn stared at it, fascinated.  The calf stared back, its soft brown eyes regarding her curiously.  So that's what I look like half the time, John thought, amused.  He approached the pair slowly so as not to frighten the animal.  Without taking her eyes from the calf, Aeryn softly whispered, "What is it?"

"It's a cow," he answered.  "A baby cow, so it's technically called a calf."

Aeryn slowly reached out and touched the top of the calf's head.  Crichton was surprised when it didn't back away.  Aeryn smiled as its soft coat tickled the palm of her hand.  "What are they for?"

Uh-oh.....

"Ummmm, we get milk from them.  It's something we drink."  Mentally, John crossed 'big, juicy burgers' off his list of dinner possibilities.  Oh, well.

He hated to disturb Aeryn's thrilling discovery, but even though he hadn't seen a single car since they had arrived, he felt uneasy about leaving Farscape alone and out in the open for very long.   He gently placed his hand on the small of Aeryn's back and told her, "Considering the way DK drives, I imagine he'll be here in just over half an arn.  We should get going."  Across the field, a cow bellowed.  Apparently the calf's mother thought it was time to go, too.

Aeryn patted the calf one last time, then they all turned from the fence and started on their way.

*****

John was wrong.  DK made it in twenty-five minutes.  He and Aeryn had just arrived at Farscape when a junky blue pickup rattled to a stop, the door flying open.

Aeryn watched curiously as a dark-haired man jumped out and ran towards John.  Both humans were yelling and laughing and hugging, slapping each other repeatedly on the back.  A strange feeling flowed over her.  Crichton had told her about his friend - he had moved next door to DK when the boys were twelve, and from that point on DK had practically been raised by the Crichton family.  John had always insisted that they were closer than brothers.  At the time she had not been able to identify with the strength of his emotions.  Now she realized just how important DK must be to him. She really had no basis of comparison, but even so, seeing them together made her feel... happy.  How confusing...  She shrugged it off, deciding she was just caught up in the moment as the men separated.  John's friend was grinning widely as he said, "Damn, I can't believe you're actually here!"

"Me, either.  Me, either..."

DK finally looked past John, his eyes widening as they settled on Aeryn.  He took in her flowing hair, the snug gray tank under her black vest, and the black pants tucked into heavy boots.  He whistled softly, then muttered, "You always were a lucky s.o.b..."

John rolled his eyes and called for Aeryn to come closer.  "DK, this is Aeryn Sun.  Aeryn, this is my best friend, DK Moore."

Aeryn nodded and smiled.  "I am glad to finally meet you."

DK's eyebrows shot up and he took a small step backwards.  "Whoa!  What was that???"

John looked at him, confused.  Then it dawned on him.  "Damn, no microbes," he said to Aeryn.  "I totally forgot."

Aeryn, too, had forgotten.  "Yes, you're right.  I can understand him, but he won't be able to understand me.  Nor will anyone else."

Perplexed, DK interrupted their conversation.  "Wait a minute, buddy, you know what she's saying??"

John looked back at DK and sighed.  "Yeah, it's a long story.  Basically, she can understand everything we say - well, almost everything - and I can understand her.  Guess I'll have to be the interpreter for this little vacation."

DK suddenly remembered there was a bigger question to be answered.  "Back up a minute.  How'd you hook up with her?  You flew out alone."

"Uh, that's a long story, too.  We kinda... met... right after I arrived."

"You mean she was already there?  Humans are already out there?"

"Oh, she's not human."  John grinned evilly as DK's jaw dropped.  "She's Sebacean.  There are a few differences, but as far as we can tell, we're almost identical physiologically."  Unbidden, various memories of close encounters with Aeryn's 'physiology' popped into his mind.  Stuttering slightly, he quickly amended, "Well, uh, not 'we' as in 'Aeryn and me', but 'we' as in 'humans and Sebaceans'.  In general."

He watched DK try to process this new revelation.  "Shocking, ain't it?"

Shaking his head in amazement, DK carefully studied Aeryn from head to toe. "I never thought they'd look like us."

"Oh, not all of them do," John answered casually.  DK's head shot up, and John tried not to laugh.  It was shocking, and he shouldn't tease DK like this.  But it was sooo much fun.  No wonder they all get such a kick out of me, he thought.

"Look, DK, if you open the trailer I can stick this thing inside and we can get going," John said as he moved towards Farscape.

DK, still staring at Aeryn, nodded absently.  "Yeah, sure, whatever."  He moved to the trailer and lowered the back door, then returned to stand near Aeryn.  "So, you can understand me.  Okay, how about I ask questions, and you tell me yes or no?  Just nod your head if it's yes, shake it if it's no."  DK spoke slowly, demonstrating the actions.  Aeryn stifled a laugh. Had she been like this with Crichton?

DK eventually relaxed as he asked question after question.  "Are there lots of others like you out there?"

Nod.

"Are there lots of others not like you out there?"

Nod.

"Wow.  Ummm, do all the different species get along?"

Emphatic shaking 'no'.

"Where is your home?  Oh, wait... let me try that one again..."

They 'talked' continually for over ten minutes.  John finished securing Farscape and exited the trailer.  DK was waving his hands in the air while Aeryn shook her head, smiling.  John grinned, then closed the trailer securely.  He watched them interact for another minute or so, then reluctantly interrupted.  "All right, we're all set."

DK looked at him, his eyes all but glazed over as he tried to process the new information.  "Wow.  This is so incredible."

John laughed.  "Tell me about it.  C'mon, let's go."

DK crawled into the pickup while John led Aeryn to the passenger side. Opening the door, he told her to climb in.  "Now, scoot."  She slid to the middle and John settled next to her, digging around for her seat belt. "Restraints.  The way DK drives, you'll need them."  DK made a face as he held up the other end for Aeryn.  Amused by their banter, she secured the belt around her waist.

John nudged her hip out of the way as he fastened his own safety belt, then unrolled his window and hung his arm down the side of the truck.  His left arm stretched comfortably across the back of the seat.  "Home, James," he instructed.

"My pleasure."  DK put the truck in gear and they started towards town.

Along the way, John continued to point things out to Aeryn.  She questioned him constantly, never before realizing that learning about a new planet could be so interesting.  Usually she had a specific mission to be accomplished, no time for exploration - or, as was often the case recently, she found herself on the run from someone who wanted to capture or kill her. As they sped down the road, she discovered that she loved the feel of the wind in her hair, the open windows making it whip wildly around her head.

While Aeryn was enthralled by everything around her, DK was simply captivated by Aeryn.  He watched her every move as carefully as he could without driving them into a ditch, often adding his own remarks to John's running commentary.

He took great delight in demonstrating the radio when she questioned him about the soft voices she could hear.  Pointless entertainment was unacceptable among the Peacekeepers, so the idea of communication devices designed exclusively for transmitting music was fascinating.  Experimentally she pushed a button.  Everyone winced as their ears were assaulted by unintelligible chanting, accompanied by screeching noises and a pulsating rhythm that made the windows rattle and the seat vibrate.  Aeryn quickly pushed the button again.  A few tries later, gentle sounds that reminded her of ancient Sebacean music filtered through the vehicle and she stopped, fascinated.  Next to her, DK made a strangled noise.  "Oh God, Aeryn, no. Not Zamfir.  Please, not Zamfir."

With an exasperated sigh, she tried again.  She continued to push buttons and turn dials for another three minutes before John finally grabbed her hands and placed them firmly in her lap.  "This one's good.  Trust me.  Keep it here.  Please."  He looked over her head to meet DK's amused gaze. "You've created a monster," he told his friend.  They laughed as Aeryn scowled at John before settling back against the seat.

As they approached town, John opened the glove compartment and grabbed the battered cap DK always kept there.  Pulling it low over his eyes, he ducked his head and slumped in his seat, pretending to sleep.  DeLand wasn't a small town, but he didn't want to take the chance someone would recognize him.

He monitored their progress through half-open eyes, his breath catching in his chest as they pulled onto his street.  His final childhood home.  The house where his mother had died, only weeks before he and DK had graduated from high school.  His father, in a rare show of emotion, had chosen to retire here.  It sat on a full acre of wooded land, well-hidden from the road and even the nearest neighbors.

As they turned into the winding driveway, Aeryn glanced at him, then reached out to gently touch his arm.  "Home?"  she asked softly.

"Yeah," he whispered.

DK pulled the truck through the carport into the large garage attached to the back of the house.  He turned the engine off and they sat silently for a moment.  "Are you ready?" he asked John.

Taking a deep breath, John unhooked his seatbelt and opened the door.  Aeryn turned to follow him, momentarily surprised when she couldn't.  Remembering the restraints, she fumbled with them before DK reached over to help her. She looked up at him questioningly.  He might not comprehend her language, but he understood the concern in her eyes.  "He'll be okay.  And his dad hasn't been the same since he disappeared.  It'll be good for both of them." Aeryn smiled gratefully in response, and they both left the pickup.

John stood near the door connecting the garage to the kitchen, lost in his thoughts.  He looked up as DK approached.  "Why don't you - "

"Yeah, I'll go first."

DK opened the door and Jack Crichton's voice floated through the house. "DK?  That you?  I was wondering if you were ever gonna bring my truck back."

At the sound of his father's voice, John froze.  This time it was really happening.  He barely heard DK reply, "Yeah, well, I had to pick up a surprise."

"Hmmph.  And what surprise is that?"

Aeryn's gentle push propelled John through the door just as his father rounded the corner.

"Hey, Dad."

Jack stopped instantly, the color draining from his face.  Suddenly he looked very, very old.  "Johnny?"

Crichton smiled, trying to remember the last time his dad had called him that.  "Yeah, Dad, it's me.  I'm home."

Both men moved at the same time.  Tears gathered in their eyes as they hugged each other tightly.  DK observed them happily, and Aeryn even felt moisture pricking the back of her eyelids.  This must be that family-connection thing Crichton and D'Argo were always talking about. Strange.

She carefully studied the man she knew as Crichton's father.  She recognized him from John's memory, but this time she felt no hostility.  Maybe deep down inside, she had known, too.

After a few moments, Aeryn decided that he looked different than she remembered - than John had remembered.  Older, perhaps a little thinner, with dark circles under his eyes.  Obviously John's disappearance had taken its toll on his health.

Suddenly Jack Crichton laughed and moved to hold his son at arm's length.

"So what the hell happened?  Where have you been?"  Glancing towards the door, he caught sight of Aeryn.  He raised an eyebrow and grinned at John.

"Looks like you've got some things to tell me..."

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