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Aeryn strode ahead and John followed her automatically. It wasn't until she hit the latch to open the door that he realized they were at her quarters. Aeryn went on thorough to the dressing area as she said, "Put her on my bed, she may as well be comfortable. I need to change into something else since I'm going to be meeting your father. He looks different from the man I met on the false Earth, much older. Do you know who the other man is, the one she called Derrick?"

John lay Amanda down and began to restlessly pace the room. "Yeah, it's D.K., my best friend, the one who helped me build my ship. We lived next door to each other when we were growing up. After his parents died he moved in with us. I should have realized something was wrong on the false Earth when D.K. wasn't there. After all we went through to get the Farscape built, nobody would have been able to keep him from seeing me if I really had made it home. I think that Amanda and D.K. are married. She's wearing wedding rings, and as long as I've known him only two other people have called him Derrick, his Mom and my Mom. For her to call him by his real name means that she is important to him."

Aeryn felt a rush of relief but was careful not to let it show in her voice "So wearing a certain type of ring is an indication of marriage on your world?"

"Not a certain type of ring, any kind of ring the people want to wear is fine. In most of the countries on Earth, wearing a ring on the third finger of the left hand is an indication that you are committed to someone. Women will wear what we call an engagement ring when they accept a proposal from a man. It is usually a ring with some kind of gemstone. When the marriage ceremony is preformed a band ring is added. The man usually wears a matching band ring as well. As you can see Amanda is wearing two rings, that indicates she's married."

"She can't be comfortable in that suit, maybe we should take it off her." Aeryn offered. Now that she was sure the woman wasn't going to be a rival she felt concern for her.

"Sure Aeryn, whatever you think." John continued his pacing. "How did they find us? To just pop out of space right in front of us like that. Part of me is still afraid that this isn't really happening, that I'm asleep and dreaming the whole thing. Or that it's another illusion. And for it to be today, of all days."

"This isn't like that time on the false Earth John. Everyone there was someone you had met before, and you don't recognize this woman. So you have only two choices, this is a dream or this is real. I don't think that you would be questioning it if we were in a dream, so this must be real. Besides, what is so special about today?"

"I knew you didn't remember. As far as I have been able to keep track, it was three years ago today that I came through the other wormhole."

Aeryn, who had just finished removing the flight suit from the unconscious woman, turned and looked at him in disbelief. "John, are you sure? Three cycles today?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Three years ago today that I met you." John stopped his pacing and walked over to where Aeryn was standing. He smiled and said, "Happy anniversary, Sunshine." Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her gently.

Amanda had been floating in and out of consciousness since John had carried her into the medical bay. Part of her wanted to speak up and tell them she was awake, but the other part, the part that wanted to hide from the situation, was stronger. She could hear what was going on around her, but she couldn't respond. It was interesting listening to John explain about wedding rings (what do they use here?); but what did they mean, illusion and false Earth? It felt good to be out of the suit, it was so hot. And cycle and year meant the same thing? That meant Rygel was over 100 years old! Her curiosity was winning. She started to let them know that she was awake, when she heard John say, in a softer, deeper tone of voice, "Happy anniversary Sunshine." She opened her eyes to see the other two in a loving embrace. As the kiss continued she began to feel a little like a voyeur, but she didn't know how to leave without disturbing them.

Amanda heard a whirling sound, looked toward the door and saw Rygel sailing into the room. He glanced at the kissing couple, snorted, and floated over to where Amanda lay on the bunk. "I have to put up with this from these two all the time. I suppose you and that other young human male will be just as bad?" He huffed, "Body breeders, I'll never understand you." He turned back to John and Aeryn, who were now standing apart, smiled maliciously, and moved toward the exit. At the door he stopped, and without looking back said gruffly, "I'm glad you're better," then continued on his way.

"Well, you and Sparky seem to be getting along just fine. The first time I met him, he bit me." John walked over and helped Amanda to a sitting position. "How are you feeling?"

Amanda looked at him in confusion. "Sparky? I thought his name was Rygel. I'm feeling better. At least," she said ruefully, "my head doesn't feel like it's going to explode and the ringing in my ears has stopped. It's still hard to believe that we're here and that we've really found you. I figure that everything will finally sink in after I go to sleep and I'll wake up everyone with my screaming." She stopped then, seeming to just realize what John had said. "He BIT you? Rygel? You're joking, right? He's been so nice to me. He didn't really bite you, did he?" She looked at the two, who just stared back at her in silence. "But, he's so sweet."

Rygel's voice floated in from the hallway. "That's right, Crichton. I'm sweet." They heard the whirling of his chair as he finally moved away from the door. When the sound faded in the distance, they all started laughing.

"Ok, you seem to know all about me," John said. He indicated the woman by his side. "This is Aeryn Sun. She is a Sebacean. She looks human, but there are some differences. You'll have plenty of time to get to know her. Right now I want to know about you. How long have you known D.K.? How did you meet? And how did you know how to find me?"

"As you say, there'll be plenty of time for the details, so I'll just give you the condensed version." Amanda settled on the bunk with her back propped against the wall. "How long how I known Derrick? Almost three years. How did I meet him? In a way you could say that you introduced us. How did we find you? Sheer luck." She stopped. John crossed his arms and looked at her impatiently. She gave him an impish grin, "I see, you want a little more detail than that. You had better sit down, this could take awhile." Watching as Aeryn sat in the only chair and John sat on the floor beside her, Amanda wondered about the two of them. What was their story? Well, as he said, plenty of time for that later.

"I had just finished graduate school and started a job at M.I.T. For weeks all that anyone had been talking about was your flight. Everyone at the lab was clustered around the TV that day. When they announced that something had gone wrong, that the Farscape had been destroyed, it was like a member of the family had died. The President declared the day of the memorial service to be a national day of mourning. I watched the service on TV; Derrick and Jack both looked so....lost."

"A month later, my supervisor called me into his office and asked me to analyze some data. I wasn't to discuss it with anyone else, just report my findings to him. Since we did a lot of classified work I didn't think anything about it at first. Typical type of missile telemetry; speed, heat, friction, things like that. It wasn't until I was doing a second run-through of the figures that I spotted something strange. After the point where the data suddenly stopped, there was another faint blip. I got an audio version of the data, and when I turned the sound up really high I could hear it. In fact I heard two data bursts, the second one even fainter."

"When I showed my findings to my supervisor he brushed them aside, said that the last two were obviously echoes. I ran the figures again. The last two data bursts were real, not echoes, and they showed that whatever was sending the signals was moving away fast, very fast. When I took my new findings to my supervisor, he thanked me for my thoroughness, set the file down and dismissed me."

Amanda paused for a minute then continued, "I knew he didn't believe me, that he wasn't going to do anything about my findings. It was so frustrating. The data was important, but I didn't know to whom, or why. At the end of the day I went back to my supervisor's office to try to talk to him again. His door was ajar and just before I knocked I heard him talking on the telephone. He was telling someone that he had given the Farscape telemetry to all of his engineers and that none of us had found anything unusual. I was furious, but there was nothing I could do. It wasn't until later, when I was home, that the thought occurred to me to call Derrick myself."

"He was so relieved to hear from someone who had found the same results that he had. His biggest fear had been that his guilt over the accident was clouding his judgment. We talked for hours. The next Thursday I received a package of data with a note asking for my opinion and telling me he would call. That was the beginning. Every Thursday I would get a package and every Friday evening we would talk. This went on for about two months. Then one week, no package. When I got home there was a message on my answering machine to call him - urgent."

"Derrick said that he had something he needed me to see, but he didn't want to send it, he wanted me to come down there. When I protested that it was rather short notice, he insisted that it was urgent, no time to waste. He sounded so rattled that I said yes. He told me that he would have a ticket waiting for me at the airport for the 8:00 p.m. flight and hung up. I packed a bag, called work to say I was going out of town on a family emergency, rushed to the airport and just made the flight."

"The new data that he wanted me to see was a video tape. One of the astronauts on the space shuttle that launched your Farscape module had brought along his personal camcorder and videotaped the flight. Somehow Military Intelligence learned about the tape and confiscated it, claiming it was a possible threat to national security. It had taken Derrick almost four months to get access. It was incredible John. The tape showed the wormhole forming and the module disappearing into it. When we showed the tape to Jack he said, "John could still be alive. How soon can we go after him?" That was the beginning of the Farscape II project."

"I won't go into the details of what it took to get Farscape II built, I'm sure you can imagine the difficulties. Equipment, money. The government would have nothing to do with it so the whole thing had to be privately funded. Jack was a man possessed and Derrick was almost as bad. Nothing was going to get in the way of their coming after you. We were all living together in Jack's house, so it was easy to work nights and weekends."

"It wasn't until about six months ago that I made myself face the facts. This wasn't a rescue mission, not in the truest sense of the word. The whole focus was on creating another wormhole and looking for you on the other side. There was no talk of coming back. Derrick was going on the flight and I would never see him again."

"I fell in love with him the first time we met, but he never gave any sign that he felt anything more than friendship for me. I knew that I would never be able to smile cheerfully and wave goodbye when they climbed into the shuttle, so I started looking for a job. I had sent out several resumes and was considering some offers when Derrick opened one of my letters by mistake."

"He came storming into the lab, wanting to know what the hell I was doing. Why was I leaving the project? I was amazed. I had seen him under some pretty stressful conditions during the past two years, but he had never shouted like that. I lost my temper and shouted back. I asked him what else did he expect me to do. I had to have a job to support myself after they were gone. He looked stunned, then turned and left the room."

"I decided to cut my losses and to accept a job in California. Sunday morning I called a cab and went to say my good-byes. I couldn't find Jack anywhere. Derrick was in the lab, pretending to be busy. I said the little speech that I had prepared. He just stood there looking at me. I thought 'What do I have to lose, I'm never going to see him again.', so I grabbed him and kissed him. When I let him go, he still didn't say anything, so I left. I cried all the way to the airport."

John started laughing. "Boy, you must have really thrown him for a loop. The D.K. I grew up with would never have passed up an opportunity to kiss a beautiful woman. How long did it take him to follow you to California?"

Amanda smiled back at him. "He didn't. He was waiting for me when I got to the airport. I don't want to think about how fast he must have driven. Not only did he beat the cab, but he got there far enough ahead of it to buy two tickets to Las Vegas. We were married that evening."

Still laughing John said, "Now that's the D.K. I know. Zero to sixty in 10 seconds. But married after only one kiss? That's a little fast, even for him."

"Well, when you know what you want, why wait to go after it? We didn't know for sure when we would launch. The ship was ready; we were just waiting for solar flare activity and a good launch window. Though Jack said all along that we should go on the anniversary of your flight. He felt that it would bring us luck to wait until then."

"So you didn't launch until today?"

"No, we launched three days ago. Weather was getting bad and we were afraid the mission would be aborted. We just stayed in orbit until flare activity reached its peak which, as it happened, was today."

John sat shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm amazed. I don't understand how you could do this not knowing where you were going. My flight was different. We thought we knew what was going to happen. My ending up here was purely accidental."

Amanda looked at him soberly. "John you don't understand what your flight did to them. Derrick was consumed with guilt. For those first few months he was sure that what happened was due to some mistake that he had made. That you were dead and that it was his fault. Jack had given up. You were all he had, and you were gone. When we saw the tape, it gave them hope that you were still alive. The project gave them a purpose, a reason to go on."

John stared at her, pain and guilt in his eyes. He drew his knees up and lowered his head onto them. Aeryn reached down and gently stroked his back, giving him what comfort she could. After a few minutes he straightened and took Aeryn's hand in his, holding onto it like a lifeline.

Amanda continued. "We had made calculations based on the size and speed of your craft along with the radiation level in the solar flare that you had encountered. We factored in the difference in size of the two crafts and came up with the speed and radiation level we thought we would need to hopefully go where you did. But, after three days monitoring flare activity we knew that there wasn't going to be one big enough."

"That left us with two choices. Abort the mission and return to Earth, or just go for it. The first choice was never an option; we weren't going back. Jack made the final decision. We started the maneuver the same time, to the minute, that you started your slingshot. He said it would bring us luck. Looks like he was right."

Zhaan's voice came over the com system. "John, I have finished my examinations. If Amanda is awake, the two of you can come back here and stay with these two until they regain consciousness."

"Thanks Zhaan, we'll be right there." The three exited Aeryn's room and headed back to the medical bay, each lost in they're own thoughts.

Amanda stared in wonder at her surroundings. This ship was a living being. Remarkable. Her mind was filled with questions that she wanted to ask John, but now wasn't the right time. He needed to come to terms with everything she had told him. Besides, it was better to wait until the others were awake. That way John wouldn't be answering the same questions more that once.

Aeryn walked silently beside John. Much of what Amanda had said made no sense to her, but John had understood. She suddenly realized how much he had changed in the past three cycles. She had thought that they had just become accustomed to his manner of speech, but he must have been censoring himself. He had probably gotten tired of explaining things. She felt guilty; she hadn't wanted John to change. She loved him just the way he was.

John's mind was spinning with all that Amanda had told him. They had knowingly taken a one way trip, just to try to find him. He was sure that the odds against their success had been incalculable, but here they were. Dad here, on Moya. It was almost too much to take in.

They walked into the medical bay. Zhaan smiled at them in greeting. "The scanner revealed no serious injuries. Derrick had two broken ribs. That was what was causing his breathing difficulty. They have been repaired and he is now resting comfortably. Your father had bitten the inside of his mouth, which accounts for the blood that you saw. Both men had minor head injuries as well, which explains their unconscious state. Just to be on the safe side, I feel we should not inject the microbes until they are awake."

*****

Amanda went to the table Derrick was lying on and gazed down on his face. She reached over to brush his hair off his forehead and he stirred under her touch. Zhaan moved to the other side of the table. Derrick moved restlessly, opened his eyes, and saw Zhaan. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Amanda laughed and said, "Welcome back. As you can tell, we're not in Kansas anymore."

John drawled, "I don't know, Rygel does bear a slight resemblance to Toto."

Derrick abruptly tried to sit up, then sank back with a moan. He looked around for the source of the voice. John moved over to the side of the table, next to Zhaan. Derrick stared up at him in disbelief. "John, is that really you?"

John positioned his hand in the Vulcan salute and said, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Derrick laughed, then winced. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts. I guess that proves I'm still alive, you wouldn't feel pain in heaven."

"What makes you think you're going to end up in heaven? After some of the stunts we pulled, I think we're headed for a warm afterlife."

"You and me, maybe. But not Amanda." Derrick took her hand and kissed it. "Are you okay, darlin'?"

She smiled; her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I'm fine, just a little bump on the head. I was so worried about you. Don't scare me like that again!"

Zhaan smiled and said, "Amanda, please ask him to lie still. I want to run the scanner again before I inject the translator microbes."

"Okay, Zhaan. Sweetheart, Zhaan wants to run another test, so please lay still."

"How did you know what she said?" Derrick asked in bewilderment.

"I'll tell you, but you need to lie still. Instead of some kind of mechanical devise, like the universal translator on Star Trek, they inject people with microbes that do the same thing. Kind of like the Babel Fish from the Hitchhiker's Guide stories. After Zhaan makes sure that it will be alright, she will inject you."

While John's attention was focused on Derrick, Aeryn had moved over to the table that Jack was lying on. His eyes were open and he was quietly gazing as his surroundings. When Aeryn leaned over him he started to speak, but she put a finger over his lips and shook her head. Picking up the other scanner, she checked his vital signs. Everything looked good, so she injected him, then helped him sit up. "John," she said.

"Yeah, Aeryn" he said as he turned. He drew in a sharp breath. The two most important people in his life were standing together, smiling at him. "Dad," he said in a choked voice. He stumbled forward, reaching out.

Jack met him halfway and pulled him into a crushing hug. "We found you, John. I knew you were alive, that somehow we would find you. God, it's good to see you son."

Behind him John heard the murmur of voices as Zhaan completed Derrick's check-up, but couldn't bring himself to concentrate on them. It was taking all of his control to not break down. For three years all he had thought about was that he would never see his Dad again, because to see him would mean leaving Aeryn.

So many things to tell him. Three years worth of experiences, good and bad. The words bubbled up inside him, but the only thing he could force past the lump in his throat was "Dad." He gripped him tighter, suddenly, irrationally afraid that when he let go, he would disappear. He became aware that his left shoulder was getting damp. Pulling back in surprise, he was shocked to see tears flowing down his fathers' face. His Dad never cried. Yet here tears were falling with no attempt to stop them. He reached and gently wiped them away saying, "I'm sorry, Dad. So sorry that I put you through all this."

"We're together now son, that's all that matters. Right now I think I'd like a proper introduction to your friends." Jack turned to look at Aeryn. "How did another human get out here? Are some of those alien abduction stories true?"

John chuckled. "Not that I'm aware of. Dad, this is Aeryn Sun. She isn't human, she's Sebacean. Aeryn, this is my Dad."

Aeryn smiled. "I'm happy to meet you. John has spoken about you often." Surprising both men, she walked over and gave Jack a hug.

"You should feel honored, Dad. When we first met Aeryn knocked me down and sat on me."

Amanda laughed, "You obviously don't make a good first impression. Rygel bit you and Aeryn knocked you down."

"That's not all, Zhaan threw me across the room, D'Argo choked me, and Pilot sent the DRD's to attack me." John said wryly.

"Now John," Zhaan said, "You must admit that the situation was unusual. We didn't know that you were a potential ally. We thought you were a PeaceKeeper." She turned back to Derrick and helped him sit up. "The scan shows your ribs have almost finished healing. You should be fine as long as you avoid sudden movements for the next few arns."

At Derrick's puzzled look John explained "An arn is roughly equivalent to an hour. Since Zhaan has given the green light, how about a tour of the ship? Just the highlights, then you can settle in your rooms."

John led the way out the door and down the corridor. As a group of DRD's crossed in front of them he said, "These are service robots. They fix all of the small things, I do most of the rest." Continuing down the hall he waved his arm around to indicate their surroundings. "The ship is a living being, a Leviathan, and her name is Moya. She permits us to live inside her. Our first stop will be to introduce you to Pilot. He is a symbiotic being that is bonded to Moya. He handles all of the ship functions, lights, air, water, etc. He can never leave his den."

As they entered Pilots' den Amanda was amazed. The image she had seen earlier had not been a fraction of his true size. He was huge. He didn't look so reptilian in person, more like a lobster. A hard exoskeleton, multiple arms, and claws. Very alien, and a little frightening. All of that didn't matter though, because his eyes were the gentlest, kindest eyes she had ever seen.

"Pilot, I want you to meet my human family. This is my Dad, my best friend D.K., and his wife Amanda. Everybody, this is Pilot, the guiding hand of Moya."

"Moya and I welcome you. I am pleased to meet them Crichton. Amanda and I spoke earlier; you were a little busy at the time. I am glad to see that you are feeling better, Amanda."

"Thank you, Pilot. I hope it won't be too much trouble having three more of us on board."

"No trouble at all, Moya has ample room. Make yourself comfortable. When you decide which rooms you wish to inhabit, I will send the DRD's to clean them for you."

Aeryn joined the conversation. "Pilot, can you tell us where the others are now?"

"Of course, Aeryn Sun. Rygel and Chiana are in the dinning hall. D'Argo and Zhaan are in command."

While the other three went to examine Pilot more closely, Aeryn pulled John aside. "I'm going out to the terrace. I assume that you will be bringing them there?"

"Last stop on the tour. Wait for me, okay?"

Aeryn nodded, then turned and left the room. John turned back and watched the others interacting with Pilot. He was basking in their attention, explaining one control after another. John hated to break up the party, but he was anxious to continue showing them around the ship.

"D.K., it's not like you're catching the next train back to Earth." John grinned at them. "You'll have plenty of time to talk to Pilot. I want to show you a few more things, then you should rest for a while. You just took quite a trip."

He ushered them back out into the corridor. "The next stop is the dining hall. That is where you'll usually find Rygel. For such a little guy, he can sure put away the food cubes."

Jack looked at him, puzzled. "What are food cubes?"

"Food cubes are kinda like Army rations. They have all the nutrients you need to sustain life, but they taste like dren." John didn't notice the puzzled looks the others exchanged when he used the unfamiliar term.

"John," Amanda began. "We have food we can contribute. In the hold of the shuttle we have a three years supply of freeze-dried meals. Just add water. Do you think the others might be interested in sharing them?"

"Rygel will worship the ground you walk on. He will eat anything. The others will be interested in trying." They continued down the bewildering maze of corridors. Making a sudden turn to the right, they entered the dinning hall.

Rygel and Chiana looked up briefly, then resumed their meals. John called, "Hey, Guido, save some for the rest of us. Dad, D.K., this is His Eminence, Rygel XVI, Dominar of the Hynerian Empire. He is currently in exile. The young lady is Chiana, she is from a race known as the Nebari. She is also a pain in the ass. Guys, this is my family. My Dad, D.K., and his wife, Amanda." Rygel grunted and kept eating.

Chiana slinked over to the group and sidled up next to D.K. "Welcome aboard. If you need anything, let me know. I can be very helpful."

John frowned at her. "Down girl, he's married."

"What does that mean?"

Amanda bared her teeth in a smile. "It means he's mine. Back off."

Chiana just laughed. "You can't blame a girl for trying." She turned and looked Jack up and down. "What about you? Are you hers too?"

Jack chuckled. "No, I'm mine. What do you have in mind?"

"You sound like you're more fun than Crichton. Are you sure he's your son? He's so dull."

"I love you to, Pip. You'll have lots of time to get to know each other. Right now, I want to complete the tour. Next stop the command center."

Zhaan and D'Argo broke off their conversation when John entered with the others. D'Argo walked over to Amanda, took her hand, and bowed over it in a courtly fashion. "I apologize for frightening you earlier. I trust that you are felling better."

Amanda gazed up at the man towering over her. What a difference the translator microbes made! The voice that had sounded angry and threatening before, now sounded gentle and soothing. "I'm much better now. It wasn't your fault that I was frightened. It was just the circumstances."

"D'Argo, this is my Dad and my friend D.K. Guys, this is D'Argo. He is a Luxan warrior, and the best person to have watching your back during a fight that I have ever known." John turned to the other person in the room. "You've met Zhaan, but you were never properly introduced. She is Delvian."

Jack mimicked D'Argo's actions by bowing over Zhaans' hand. "Thank you, for taking care of our injuries. I'm sure that we couldn't have been in better hands." He looked out of the viewing screen. "This is incredible, son. I could stand here all day."

John smiled, thinking of the surprise he had in store for his father. "You can come back and look to your hearts content, but I have one more place to show you." He led the way out of command. They followed him through more corridors until he stopped in front of the first closed door they had seen on the ship.

"Dad, for the past three years I've been incomplete. With all of the things that I've seen and experienced, I knew I didn't belong on Earth anymore. At the same time, I knew that I couldn't be happy here because I didn't know how you were. As the saying goes, home is where the heart is, and my heart was divided. One half was with you and D.K. and the other half was with the family I had found here. Close your eyes, I want to show you something special." John opened the door and led them out onto the terrace.

"You can open your eyes now." As the others gazed in wonder at the beauty surrounding them, John walked over to Aeryn. He stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her and turned to Jack. "My heart is whole again. Everyone I love is here with me. Welcome to my home Dad, welcome home."

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