Go back to part three

3:37 am

John rolled over in bed, awakened by the noise outside his window. Initially confused by his surroundings, it took him a moment to realize he wasn't on Moya.  A flash at the window caught his attention.  Ahhh, a thunderstorm.  He loved thunderstorms at night.  The rumbling always seemed to calm him.  But it usually didn't wake him...  He listened intently for a moment, then he heard it.  A muffled cry, barely audible over the wind. "Ah, hell - Aeryn," he mumbled as he scrambled out of bed, pulling on a t-shirt as he left the room.

Stumbling down the hall, he slowly pushed open the door next to his and peeked in.  Aeryn sat huddled in the middle of the bed, her arms locked tightly around her knees, her head down.  His blue plaid boxers peeked out from beneath the hem of his favorite long-sleeved t-shirt, which proclaimed Aeryn the "Property of NC State".  It billowed around her slender form, but the cuffs were clenched firmly in her fists.  Trying not to startle her, he slowly approached the bed and sank down next to her.  She jumped, then relaxed as she recognized his presence.  He moved closer, wrapping his arms around her.  She leaned into him, and he gently rocked her, pressing his lips to her hair until the shaking subsided enough for her to speak.

"Frell, Crichton, what is it?"

"Rain.  Don't you remember?  It stormed in my memory, too."

Aeryn looked up at him, amazed and slightly annoyed.  "This is also rain?? I remember rain, Crichton, and it was nothing like this!  I certainly don't remember feeling as if we were in the middle of a battle!"  A bright flash of lightning lit the room as thunder rattled the windows, and Aeryn again tucked her head into her arms.

Worried, Crichton held her tightly and desperately tried to think of ways to calm her.  He had never seen Aeryn scared of something... normal, like this. Not like I've ever freaked out about something Aeryn or the others considered 'normal'... he reminded himself.

Lightning crashed again, and out of habit, he started counting.  "One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand..."  Thunder rumbled, and still Aeryn trembled.  Another streak of lightning, more counting, and another clap of thunder.  But this time, Aeryn looked up at him, curious.

"What are you doing?"

Surprised, John shifted to look down at her.  "Wha - ?  Oh, the counting. Ummm, it's a scientist thing.  Sure you still want to know?"  Aeryn gave him one of her looks, so he continued.  "Well, since light travels faster than sound, you can figure out how far away the storm is.  When you see the lightning, you start counting.  When you hear the thunder, you stop.  That's how many miles away the storm is.  A mile - that's about how far we walked to the phone this afternoon."

Aeryn nodded, and after the next flash of lightning, she watched him as they both counted.  "Two miles away."

"Yep.  It's getting closer, but as fast as it's moving, it should blow over pretty quickly."

She shivered.  "I hope you're right."

As the storm raged, John continued to distract Aeryn by rambling about thunderstorms.  When he bored her with the science, he started relating old myths about dwarves bowling in the heavens.  After about half an hour, he was able to turn her attention back to the storm itself.  Once she was more intrigued than afraid, John moved to open the blinds covering the window. Returning to the bed, he again took Aeryn in his arms, shifting sideways to look out over the backyard.  In the distance they could see the bolts of lightning striking the ground, and soon Aeryn was completely fascinated by the power of Mother Nature.

Finally, the pounding rain subsided into a heavy drizzle.  Only an occasional rumble could be heard in the distance.  Aeryn yawned, and John realized how late it was.  "Better now?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes, much."

"Good.  Get some sleep, and I'll see you in the morning.  Later in the morning," he amended.  Crichton tightened his arms around her, hugging her to him one last time, then slowly stood, stretching his cramped muscles.  As he started to walk towards the door, Aeryn called his name.

"John?"

"Yeah."

"Can we go outside?"

Wondering if he had misunderstood her, John's forehead wrinkled as he spun around.  "What?"  He studied her expression, his eyes widening.  "You're serious.  You were freaked, and now you want to go outside."

Aeryn looked back at him, slightly embarrassed, but determined.  "Yes.  Yes, I do.  I remember... I liked the feel of the rain.  On my face.  I want to know if it really feels like that."  She smiled like a small child asking for an impossible gift.  Forgetting how exhausted he was, John suddenly realized he would do anything for that smile.

Nodding, he held out his hand.  "Okay, then.  Let's go."  Aeryn reached up to grasp his hand, and together they left the room.

*****

Jack Crichton could have sworn he heard laughing.  He shifted to look at the clock.  0420 hours.  They had talked well into the morning hours; obviously his exhausted mind was playing tricks on him.  Or perhaps he had been dreaming.

No, there it was again...  Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he stood just as he heard someone softly padding down the hall.  He opened the door to find DK slipping down the stairs.  Following him into the living room, he watched the young man open the front door and look outside.

DK heard a slight shuffling noise behind him and turned, apologizing.  "Oh, sorry I woke you."

"DK," Jack sighed, "when have you ever been able to slip out of this house unnoticed?"

Refusing to look even the least bit chagrined, DK waggled his eyebrows. "Like I'd tell you, even now."

They laughed, and DK inclined his head towards the door.  "You heard them, too, huh?"

Jack suddenly remembered why he was awake.  "Yeah, I guess so.  What the hell are they doing?"

DK grinned.  "Playing in the rain."

"What?"  Shifting closer to the wall, DK motioned for Jack to look through the door with him.

John and Aeryn were running around the front yard, soaked to the skin.  And very nice skin, DK thought absently, thinking back to John's earlier comparison of human and Sebacean physiology.  Their laughter carried to the house, interrupted only by the fading rumblings of thunder.  If he listened closely, he could hear John slaughtering the lyrics to "Singin' in the Rain".

Aeryn raised her face to the sky and called something to John in her fascinating language.  John chuckled, then yelled, "Yeah, well it's a good thing you're not a chicken!  You'd have drowned yourself by now!"  Aeryn glared at him, exasperated, and DK laughed.  Finally realizing they had spectators, the pair turned to the house to see DK and Jack observing from the doorway.

"Watch it, buddy!  If you're gonna laugh, you're gonna get wet!" John threatened with a grin, grabbing Aeryn's hand and slowly advancing towards the house.

"Oh yeah?" DK challenged.  He hesitated for a moment, then stripped off his socks.  "Fine!"  Jack shook his head as DK ran out the door, sliding across the wet grass to join the other two.  Aeryn laughed again, pleased that he was joining their fun.

Thankful that the neighbors were too far away to be disturbed by the ruckus, Jack stood in the door and watched them cavort like children.  He hadn't felt this happy - this alive - in a long time.

And now, the conclusion
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