denblue
10-14-2002, 10:06 AM
This story is set after the episode "Coup by Clam" in season four.
The Just Be Glad Game
Sitting on his bed in his quarters he waited to hear her distinctive walk down the passageway. It was sick they way he would long for just a glimpse of her. It was pure hell for her to be so close and yet so far away. For months on the dying leviathan, Elack, he dreamed of her, of touching her and feeling her dark silken hair run through his fingertips.
He was the one that drew the line in the sand. “Come back when you get your story straight,” he had said coldly. The words were easier to say then the actions to enforce. It was so easy just to be with her when they were dealing with Doc Snot and those damn mollusks. They had a mission, a purpose. After all she did tell him, before they went on the command carrier that they always worked well together.
Rubbing his hands across his face, John got up from the bed and walked to the door. It was then he heard her footsteps down the passageway. They were so her. Crisp and true. Still with the precision of her Peace Keeper training she moved closer to his chamber. As she drew near, he leaned from her sight. When she passed by his breath caught at the sight of her. Her long raven hair hung loose down her back and her right hand rested on the butt of her pulse pistol as it always did.
There were times he wished he had been the one to end up on Talyn with her. It was a stupid dream he knew, because he would be dead by now.
Just then a flash of Aeryn’s face came to his mind. They were on Talyn and he was lying on her hip as she ran her fingers through his hair. The vision became sharper and he heard her say, “Why are you crazy,” with a half smile on her face.
“That was weird,” John said aloud. Those visions have been coming more and more frequently, he thought. They were memories, but they weren’t his. It was like watching a movie about your life, and you aren’t the star.
In other flashes he saw him and Aeryn racing across sand dunes in a buggy, running through a jungle with Aeryn and Crais, and the most erotic was Aeryn licking his finger. It was either side effects to the old woman’s lacka or one hell of a dream.
Just then John remembered the game he and Chiana had been stuck in. The VR Stark said he had absorbed the other John’s memories. Could he have picked up some of those memories in the game? It would explain all of this, he thought.
Moving away from the wall, John made a decision. He was going to talk to Aeryn. Not the chit-chat they had been doing as of late, but a real conversation. It was time.
Aeryn was doing some routine maintenance on her Prowler when she heard someone coming from behind her. Closing her eyes and taking a breath, she prepared herself, because she knew who it was. It was John.
“Hey,” he said tentatively.
With her back still turned from him, Aeryn smiled slightly. It was there code that one of them wanted to talk. It always amazed her how they broached a serious subject with his so called small talk.
Cleaning her hand on a cloth she turned to face him. “Hi,” she said with a small smile.
Leaning against the Prowler she watched him shuffle his feet and rub his right hand through his short brown hair. He was nervous, she thought.
“Listen, Aeryn, I need to ask you something,” he said. “It’s important.”
Steeling herself for questions she knew she couldn’t answer Aeryn reminded him of her promise. “John, you know there are things I can’t tell you.”
A look of frustration crossed his face. It was the wrong thing to say, and Aeryn knew it. She half expected him to turn from her and leave, but he didn’t.
“I’ve been having these flashes, well more like memories,” he said. Aeryn turned her head in confusion and gave John that what are you talking about look.
“Listen, Aeryn I am going to just come out and tell you what I have been seeing and you tell me if it is things that happened with the other John,” he said quickly.
John noticed the pain cross her face. Even though he said there was no distinction, he could tell the hurt was still there, and she still missed him.
Moving away from the Prowler Aeryn moved closer to John. She brushed a strand of dark hair from her face and shook her head. “Alright,” she said.
John recounted all he could remember. The flashes of Talyn being swallowed by the Budong, the encounter with the lava guy, meeting Aeryn’s mother and running into Furlow again. There were other memories, of him and Aeryn and he spoke of those in vague terms, unsure what her reaction would be.
All the while Aeryn only shook her head and he noticed tears welling in her eyes. When he finished he waited for Aeryn to speak.
“They are his memories,” Aeryn said weakly. “How do you have them?”
“Hell if I know,” John said. “The only reason I can think of is that I assimilated them in the VR game.”
Aeryn only shook her head again, and then turned from him. He watched her shoulders shake slightly and knew she was crying.
Tears. Her tears. Tears touching his face. He could almost taste the salt. “I am very angry,” he heard her say. So much pain, but there was also peace. She loved him and he wasn’t alone.
It was the other’s death. He could feel the life draining from his body, but could also feel her warmth beside him. He could feel her turmoil, and feel her pain.
Moving close to her, John place his hand on Aeryn’s shoulder. “Aeryn,” he whispered. “I remember it all. Don’t ask me how, I just do.”
She turned to him and moved into his embrace. She was thin. He hadn’t realized how thin until her body was so close to his. She had gone through hell. They both had.
The decision was his. No matter what guidelines he sat down, it had always been his. He could keep this woman at arms length and live with the pain, or he could live in the moment. He could play the just be glad game his mother always told him about.
Just be glad that they were both alive. Just be glad they were back together. Just be glad that they had each other. Just be glad that their love hadn’t been totally destroyed.
Taking her cheek into the palm of his hand he moved her face to his. John tasted her lips with his tongue and then her mouth opened to his. The kiss was slow and uneasy at first until their longing became uncontrollable.
There were still so many unanswered questions. The baby being the biggest one, but for now John pushed it all away. He was just glad Aeryn was in his arms and for the second chance that fate seemed to be handing them.(B)The Just Be Glad Game(/B) The Just Be Glad Game
The Just Be Glad Game
Sitting on his bed in his quarters he waited to hear her distinctive walk down the passageway. It was sick they way he would long for just a glimpse of her. It was pure hell for her to be so close and yet so far away. For months on the dying leviathan, Elack, he dreamed of her, of touching her and feeling her dark silken hair run through his fingertips.
He was the one that drew the line in the sand. “Come back when you get your story straight,” he had said coldly. The words were easier to say then the actions to enforce. It was so easy just to be with her when they were dealing with Doc Snot and those damn mollusks. They had a mission, a purpose. After all she did tell him, before they went on the command carrier that they always worked well together.
Rubbing his hands across his face, John got up from the bed and walked to the door. It was then he heard her footsteps down the passageway. They were so her. Crisp and true. Still with the precision of her Peace Keeper training she moved closer to his chamber. As she drew near, he leaned from her sight. When she passed by his breath caught at the sight of her. Her long raven hair hung loose down her back and her right hand rested on the butt of her pulse pistol as it always did.
There were times he wished he had been the one to end up on Talyn with her. It was a stupid dream he knew, because he would be dead by now.
Just then a flash of Aeryn’s face came to his mind. They were on Talyn and he was lying on her hip as she ran her fingers through his hair. The vision became sharper and he heard her say, “Why are you crazy,” with a half smile on her face.
“That was weird,” John said aloud. Those visions have been coming more and more frequently, he thought. They were memories, but they weren’t his. It was like watching a movie about your life, and you aren’t the star.
In other flashes he saw him and Aeryn racing across sand dunes in a buggy, running through a jungle with Aeryn and Crais, and the most erotic was Aeryn licking his finger. It was either side effects to the old woman’s lacka or one hell of a dream.
Just then John remembered the game he and Chiana had been stuck in. The VR Stark said he had absorbed the other John’s memories. Could he have picked up some of those memories in the game? It would explain all of this, he thought.
Moving away from the wall, John made a decision. He was going to talk to Aeryn. Not the chit-chat they had been doing as of late, but a real conversation. It was time.
Aeryn was doing some routine maintenance on her Prowler when she heard someone coming from behind her. Closing her eyes and taking a breath, she prepared herself, because she knew who it was. It was John.
“Hey,” he said tentatively.
With her back still turned from him, Aeryn smiled slightly. It was there code that one of them wanted to talk. It always amazed her how they broached a serious subject with his so called small talk.
Cleaning her hand on a cloth she turned to face him. “Hi,” she said with a small smile.
Leaning against the Prowler she watched him shuffle his feet and rub his right hand through his short brown hair. He was nervous, she thought.
“Listen, Aeryn, I need to ask you something,” he said. “It’s important.”
Steeling herself for questions she knew she couldn’t answer Aeryn reminded him of her promise. “John, you know there are things I can’t tell you.”
A look of frustration crossed his face. It was the wrong thing to say, and Aeryn knew it. She half expected him to turn from her and leave, but he didn’t.
“I’ve been having these flashes, well more like memories,” he said. Aeryn turned her head in confusion and gave John that what are you talking about look.
“Listen, Aeryn I am going to just come out and tell you what I have been seeing and you tell me if it is things that happened with the other John,” he said quickly.
John noticed the pain cross her face. Even though he said there was no distinction, he could tell the hurt was still there, and she still missed him.
Moving away from the Prowler Aeryn moved closer to John. She brushed a strand of dark hair from her face and shook her head. “Alright,” she said.
John recounted all he could remember. The flashes of Talyn being swallowed by the Budong, the encounter with the lava guy, meeting Aeryn’s mother and running into Furlow again. There were other memories, of him and Aeryn and he spoke of those in vague terms, unsure what her reaction would be.
All the while Aeryn only shook her head and he noticed tears welling in her eyes. When he finished he waited for Aeryn to speak.
“They are his memories,” Aeryn said weakly. “How do you have them?”
“Hell if I know,” John said. “The only reason I can think of is that I assimilated them in the VR game.”
Aeryn only shook her head again, and then turned from him. He watched her shoulders shake slightly and knew she was crying.
Tears. Her tears. Tears touching his face. He could almost taste the salt. “I am very angry,” he heard her say. So much pain, but there was also peace. She loved him and he wasn’t alone.
It was the other’s death. He could feel the life draining from his body, but could also feel her warmth beside him. He could feel her turmoil, and feel her pain.
Moving close to her, John place his hand on Aeryn’s shoulder. “Aeryn,” he whispered. “I remember it all. Don’t ask me how, I just do.”
She turned to him and moved into his embrace. She was thin. He hadn’t realized how thin until her body was so close to his. She had gone through hell. They both had.
The decision was his. No matter what guidelines he sat down, it had always been his. He could keep this woman at arms length and live with the pain, or he could live in the moment. He could play the just be glad game his mother always told him about.
Just be glad that they were both alive. Just be glad they were back together. Just be glad that they had each other. Just be glad that their love hadn’t been totally destroyed.
Taking her cheek into the palm of his hand he moved her face to his. John tasted her lips with his tongue and then her mouth opened to his. The kiss was slow and uneasy at first until their longing became uncontrollable.
There were still so many unanswered questions. The baby being the biggest one, but for now John pushed it all away. He was just glad Aeryn was in his arms and for the second chance that fate seemed to be handing them.(B)The Just Be Glad Game(/B) The Just Be Glad Game