Back to part four

1:28 pm

The blue pickup rumbled to a stop along a familiar stretch of deserted road. The four occupants, though cramped in the small confines of the cab, made no move to exit the vehicle.

Aeryn sat silently on John's lap, an arrangement she had protested until she realized it was the only way all four of them would fit in the truck.  Back at the house there had been a few moments of awkward fumbling as they tried to situate themselves, but they had eventually settled into a rather comfortable position.  Her arm was draped around his shoulders while John's right arm circled her waist, the other reaching across her legs to secure her in place.  DK, incredibly amused by the whole situation, had finally muttered something cryptic about letting John drive so he could play 'Twister'.  Crichton had replied with a comment about her 'bony butt' , to which Aeryn responded by tweaking his ear.  Hard.  That had effectively ended the conversation.

Now, after almost an arn in the same position, her neck had begun to stiffen.  She stretched it experimentally.  John noticed her discomfort and caught her gaze, a silent question in his eyes.  She reassured him with a small smile, and he let go of her waist to finally reach for the door handle.  With a sigh, DK switched off the engine.  One by one, they exited the truck slowly but deliberately, each dreading what was to come, yet knowing it had to be.

After a few minutes, Farscape I had been unloaded from the trailer and sat in the field, waiting for the return trip to Moya.  The small craft was packed tightly with canned food, satisfying both Pilot's request for staoin and John's craving for "real" food.

Standing alone in the open door of the truck, John reached into the small duffle that sat on the seat.  He knew exactly what was in it, but he mentally checked off the items one more time.  An atlas, to show his crewmates his little part of his world.  Extra batteries and blank tapes for his recorder - he had left the original tapes with his father and DK, just as he had always hoped he would be able to.  An electric razor with a package of compatible batteries.  Half a dozen books.  Two packages of pens and a large spiral notebook.  A handful of t-shirts and socks.  Another pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.  Almost a dozen pairs of Calvins, as well as the outfit Aeryn had worn to bed the night before.  He was just closing the bag when Aeryn and DK appeared over his shoulder.

"I thought everything was loaded.  What's in there?" she asked curiously.

"Stuff," he answered evasively.  "Like extra clothes, so you don't have to steal my underwear anymore."  Aeryn gasped and put a hand to her chest, pretending to be offended.  DK raised an eyebrow but wisely declined to comment.

John hefted the bag over his shoulder.  "I'm just gonna toss this in, then we'll be ready to go."  As he moved towards Farscape, Aeryn walked over to Jack Crichton to say her goodbyes.

"I'm glad to have met you, Aeryn Sun.  Take good care of yourself, now." John's father grasped her shoulders and leaned towards her with a conspiratorial grin.  "And take care of my son, too.  He's always been good at getting himself into trouble."  Aeryn rolled her eyes and smiled, nodding enthusiastically.  Jack chuckled, then kissed both her cheeks.  "Goodbye, dear."  He didn't understand what she whispered, but he didn't have to know the words to recognize the promise in her voice.

With one last smile to the man who had come to mean so much to her, Aeryn moved to stand in front of DK.  He smiled teasingly and said, "Okay, Officer Sun, we've got this down now.  Ready?"  Aeryn inclined her head in agreement.

"I had a great time."

Nod.

"It was very nice to meet you, DK."

Nod.

"John has told me so many wonderful things about you, and now I know they're all true."

Aeryn pretended to think for a moment, then nodded.  DK grinned wickedly.

"In fact, I've decided to ditch the geeky fly-boy and stay here with you, instead."

Aeryn burst into peals of  laughter.  DK joined her as John's head popped up from Farscape's hatch.  "I heard that!!!"

DK cleared his throat and reached for her hands.  "Seriously, though, I'm glad John brought you with him."  Aeryn smiled.  He met her smile, then reverently brushed his lips across the back of her knuckles.  "Come back soon, okay?" he whispered.  Aeryn nodded and squeezed his hands.

As he dropped her hands and backed away, she suddenly felt sad.  She would miss this place, these humans.  She looked over her shoulder at John as he slowly walked towards them, knowing she could never comprehend how hard it must be for him to leave.  As he moved to stand next to her, she squeezed his elbow gently.  Smiling once more at Jack and DK, she retreated to Farscape, giving John the privacy to say his goodbyes.

After a moment of awkward silence, DK shifted uncomfortably and asked, "So, are you gonna be able to take off with all the supplies we stuffed in there?"

John laughed.  "Trust me, we should be fine.  Assuming I fit."

Smiling, they repeated their mantra from dozens of teenage road trips. "Everything always fits!"  Jack simply rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, the lady at the all-night supermarket thought I was nuts.  I finally told her I was going to spend a few weeks in my cabin."

Raising an eyebrow, John reminded him,  "DK?  Your cabin's in Canada."

DK smirked mischievously.  "Yeah, but she doesn't know that."

They laughed, then John suddenly looked thoughtful.  "Hey, can I get a set of keys for that place?"

"Sure." DK dug around in his jacket pocket, pulling out the carabinier that doubled as his key ring.  Unhooking a single key, he tossed it to John with a confused frown.  "Why??"

John shrugged as he caught the key in midair.  Stuffing it into the back pocket of his jeans, he answered, "If I get the chance to come back anytime soon, it'll have to be somewhere cooler than here.  Aeryn doesn't handle heat very well."  Jack and DK exchanged a look as John struggled to pull his flight suit over his shoulders.  "Well, I guess it's time."

DK stuck out his hand and John grasped it tightly.  "Thanks, man.  For everything."

DK smiled.  "Hey, what are friends for?  And I wouldn't have missed this for the world."  He stared at John for a moment, suddenly serious.  "Be careful out there, okay?"

John nodded.  "Yeah, I will.  And if nothing else, Aeryn's gotten kind of used to babysitting me."

DK grinned and pulled him closer, whispering conspiratorially, "Do me a favor?  See if she's got a sister."  John glared at him in mock disapproval, then laughed and pulled his oldest friend into a hug.

Finally John turned to his father, who regarded him somberly.  "I'm sorry, son."

"Dad, for what?"

"All those times.  All those times when I put my career ahead of you and your mother.  Now I know what it's truly like to wonder if someone you love is ever going to come home... and I regret having put you through that."

"It's okay, Dad."  He glanced up at the sky.  "Now I think I understand more why you went."

"I'm proud of you, you know.  I always have been, even if I didn't say it very often."

John smiled, feeling years of bitterness fade.  "I know.  And I think I always did.  Thanks, Dad."

Jack met his smile, then engulfed his son in a hug.  After a few moments they separated, and John clasped hands one last time with his father, then DK.  With a final smile, John turned and walked to his ship.

Once he had climbed into Farscape, John stood on the seat, leaning back against the edge of the opening to make room for Aeryn.  She squeezed next to him and together they waved goodbye to his father and DK.  After a moment she dropped back into the module, moving towards her seat.  John lowered himself inside and with a sigh, slowly closed the hatch.  He sat silently for a moment, then activated the engines.  Still staring at his family, he asked, "Are you ready to go?"

Aeryn's smile was bittersweet, her voice gentle.  "The question is, are you?"

He thought for a moment, then decided to answer honestly.  "No, but I need to.  And now that I know I can come back, leaving doesn't hurt so much."

He was finally starting to initiate the flight sequence when Aeryn said something in Sebacean that his microbes didn't translate.  He twisted around in his seat, confused.  "What was that?"

Well, frell.  She had hoped that he wouldn't be able to hear her above the noise of the engine.  Slightly embarrassed, she explained, "It's an ancient Sebacean blessing.  When someone leaves, it is for the hope that they will return again safely.  I hadn't thought of it in cycles, but... I don't know, it just seemed right."  Crichton stared at her intently, and she suddenly worried that she had upset him.

She had opened her mouth to apologize when his lips lifted in a small smile. "Thanks."  She nodded, and John turned back to the controls.

*****

As the engines fired, Jack and DK moved well away from the small craft, knowing that its power far exceeded its size.  Finally, the engines started to whine strangely, and in an instant, there was a streak of light. Farscape I was gone.

The humans stared for a moment in awed silence.  "Wow,"  DK said finally. "We talked about the technology John's adapted, but that was pretty impressive."  He softly started to whistle the 'Star Trek' theme.  Jack nodded absently, still trying to reconcile the physics of what he had just witnessed.

After a moment, DK stopped whistling and grinned broadly.  "He doesn't have a clue, does he?"

"No.  And he's totally gone."

DK chuckled, knowing that they weren't talking about space travel.  "Yeah. Hook, line, and sinker."

Jack Crichton sighed and looked towards the sky.  "Leave it to my son to fall in love with an alien."

They laughed together, then Jack slapped DK on the back.  "C'mon.  I'll buy you dinner.  And then we've got a pile of tapes to listen to.  I'm curious to find out exactly what's been going on up there."

Returning to the truck, they headed for home.

***** end
wait@kca.net

More Author's Notes -

DeLand, Florida is a real place, about half an hour inland from Daytona Beach.  This puts it about an hour to an hour and a half from Cape Canaveral.  Average April temperature- 74 degrees F; cooler inland.  Home to a former(?) Naval Air Station.  "Oak-shaded streets."  It sounded pretty good to me!  ;)  For more info and pictures - http://www.flausa.com/deland/index.html
http://www.volusia.com/deland/

I don't know how Moya got to this solar system.  I don't know what John could do to make Farscape undetectable.  I don't know how it can disappear in a flash of light.  If you have any theories, feel free to let me know.  I just wanted them here, so darn it, they're here.  You can figure out the other stuff on your own.  ;)

I had 90% of this written *before* 'A Human Reaction' aired.  The last three months have been spent *re*-writing it to make it fit with that episode, and some of the subsequent ones.  But now, I quit, and it's all yours.  :)


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