The Dance (PG)

Original title Last Dance. I don't even know if this one ever saw the light of day anywhere but the bunnyboard. Posted on the Bunny board Dec 2, 2004. I have made a few slight modifications to this version just so it won't suck quite so bad. *g*

Rated: PG
Set: Some time after Look at the Princess...
Turn about is fair play. Now it's Aeryn's turn to get married. John wouldn't gloat would he?
Disclaimer: Farscape belongs to Henson.

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The Dance

John was grinning as he strode down the hall of the palace. An observer would also have seen him mumbling to himself, arms punching the air he went.

“This time it’s her turn to be the consort. See how ‘she’ likes it! Run away? Ha! Look who’s Not running away. Paybacks are such a bitch.” He kept up the monologue until he reached the main chamber. The guards at the door bowed slightly and moved to open the door to their newest visitor.

“Hey, hey... a party!” He laughed as he entered. He picked up some raslak, took a sip and started moving to the music, which seemed to him to be a cross between the Stars Wars Cantina song and Strauss.

“Quite the celebration you’ve got here.” The pretty girl he was addressing just looked at him for a moment before walking away. He was so used to the ‘he’s crazy’ looks he didn’t even notice anymore. He watched her leave for a moment admiring the slender
hips revealed by the tight dress she was wearing. She came to stop next to a Yobara male who was equally impressive in his ceremonial dress. These people sure knew how to get dolled up. He liked that.

There was plenty of music around here but no sign of anyone dancing. Mostly, everyone he could see was just standing around talking and trying to pretend they weren’t looking at the person in the corner of the room. He was just wondering if dancing was forbidden
on this planet when the object of so much inattention caught his eye.

She was standing straight and tall in the corner of the room and trying to motion to him without being seen. He made his way across the room slowly and came to a stop in front of her. He almost hadn't recognized her. The grin that spread on his face couldn’t be stopped.

He looked her up and down, taking in the intricate hair style, the ruby lips and the red cheeks. The dress would have done a ballroom dancer proud. Deep blue, tight until it suddenly split and flared out around her knees.

And the front... well, low cut was putting it mildly. He’d like to see somebody dance in that! It was the closest thing to Earth clothes that he had come across since he got here. He had a hard time tearing his eyes away but when he did, he found himself staring at the best pair of legs he could ever remember seeing. Who knew she even had legs, he thought, snickering to himself. All of Aeryn’s...assets were there for everyone to see. And for once, he figured he had as much right to look as anybody.

Of course if looks could kill, he be 20 feet under the Potomac by now. He knew he’d pay for this later, but the look on her face was priceless.

Until he spotted the bandage on her hand. Suddenly, all amusement was wiped away.

All bets were off if the bastards had hurt her. Fun was fun, but nobody touched Aeryn if he could help it.

She saw the look come over his face and his hand inch towards Wynona and shook her head slightly to indicate he should calm down and do nothing.

He took a deep breath and tried to count to 115. At 10 he moved closer and addressed the man standing next to her.

“Your highness." He bowed low. "I was wondering if I could take her Royal Queen to Be on the floor for a spin?”

The King looked slightly taken aback. “Spin?”

“You know spin. Dancing. Two people move around...” He tried to show them, but stopped at their uncomprehending expressions.

They didn’t know about dancing? Perfect.

“It is customary on my world to dance at celebrations like this. It’s a sign of acceptance and peace and goodwill towards man ...and it’s good exercise too.” He couldn’t tell if Jabar was buying any of this bullshit, but he kept going.

“Here, let me show you.” He reached a hand out for Aeryn who hesitantly put her hand in his. The guards moved to intercept but the King waved them back.

"Perhaps you're right," said the King. "This could be very interesting."

They didn’t take their eyes off of each other while they walked to the center of the room. John stopped and drew one of Aeryns hands to his shoulder and he captured the other in his own.

In a loud voice that everyone could hear he made a great show of teaching her the moves.

“You move one foot back and then the other one too and then do the same thing only forward. Now, side to side.....” As they started moving awkwardly around the floor their bodies instinctively drew closer, as though magnetized. That always happened. He didn’t know why, but it suited John just fine because he needed to talk to her.

In a hushed whisper he said in her ear “Did they hurt you? If they did, I’ll have Talyn blow this place into smithereens. After we leave of course.”

“No. They didn’t hurt me.” She looked at her bandaged hand. “Actually I hurt it myself. On someone’s face.” She grinned at the memory. “I might have broken it though and they haven’t healed it yet. I think they want to wait until after the ceremony so Jabar will
be .... safer.” She glanced over at her betrothed who was watching her with a frown.

“Now, you turn this way and lean back.” Aeryn was a little wobbly with the heels on, but she was doing remarkably well. The fact that a planet in the UT had women wearing high heels was amazing. He was almost enjoying himself. Of course, anytime he could get
her in his arms was a miracle not to be taken lightly.

She smiled at John through clenched teeth, saying fiercely “What are you doing here? You know I can’t leave. He’s got Chiana hidden and he’ll kill her .........” John cut her off with a grin. “Not anymore he doesn’t. She’s waiting for us in my module.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Well, why didn’t you say so. Let’s get out of here now.” She tried to pull away from him but he held on tight.

“Not so fast, Your Queen to Be ness. They’re not going to just let us waltz out of here you know.” He stopped for a microt and with a grin said “Hey, baby. Put your dancin’ shoes on. I’ve got a plan.”

He didn't pay any attention to her suddenly worried look.

His voice grew louder. “Now this dance is called the waltz. It was designed just for Kings and Queens. The King of Siam used it all the time at his celebrations.” He started to swing Aeryn faster and faster around the room. Each pass he made brought them closer
and closer to the door.

She had resisted at first, but when she saw what he was doing she tried her best to follow his lead. She thought she might like this thing called dancing if she could just get John to follow ‘her’ lead.

Just when they came around to the door again, John reached for Wynona and shot the power generator he’d seen earlier. They were plunged into darkness, but he had his bearings. He moved towards the door as fast as he could holding on to Aeryn’s hand. It
didn’t take long in all the confusion to get out the door. The guards didn’t even give them any problems. They were still trying to figure out what happened. There was a faint light in the corridor and once they were around the corner they took off as fast as they could. His module was waiting with Chiana outside pacing impatiently.

“Oh, you found her. It took you long enough. Come on!” She waved them in and they were off.

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They had just touched down inside the hanger when the finery started coming off. First was the hair pins, then the heels. She climbed out of the module barefooted and started taking off her dress.

“Whoa... wait a minute. Don’t you want to.. um.. go somewhere else and do that?” He was getting embarrassed. Not that he didn’t want her to take off her clothes, but not when other people were around. And his body was liking it a little too much. He shifted to ease some of the pressure.

“Don’t start with me. You were having fun down there.” She gave him an accusing look. “Did it amuse you to see me humiliated like that?”

What was he going to do, admit it? “No. No. It wasn’t amusing ... at ... all.” He got a faraway look on his face and grinned. “Well, maybe when you...” He stopped as her eyes narrowed and he realized he better not go there.

He turned serious suddenly and gave her that look that always caused her heart to skip. “No. I’m glad you’re back. Safe and sound.”

She took her eyes off of him long enough to examine the dress. “I just want this frelling thing off. Now.” She continue to tug until the dress ripped and fell off in a heap.

The sight of her in ‘her’ Calvins and black tee greeted him. The contrast between the elegant marriage dress and the decidedly practical undergarments should have brought a smile, but the sight of Aeryn with so little on made him feel like anything but laughing.
He was thankful that Chiana had left to find D'Argo and to tell Pilot to starburst. Yep. This was getting embarrassing all right. Maybe he ought to leave.

Before he could make a move to go she picked up the dress and used it to try and wipe the makeup off of her face. The results were more Auntie Mame than cover girl. She reached up to feel her hair and let out a moan. “Frell this! How am I going to get
this...dren out with this?” Her bandaged hand was given a look of disgust.

She had a point. It looked like somebody had dipped her hair in gel. He thought for a moment. “Hold on.” He held up a hand and said “You wait here and I’ll be right back. I have an idea. Wait!” He turned and ran out of the room leaving her staring after him.

He was back soon with two buckets of water, a rag and what passed for shampoo in this part of the galaxy. He set them down and pulled up a couple of boxes, one for her and one for him. Sitting down he motioned for her to come and sit next to him.

He put his knees between Aeryn and the bucket of water and motioned for her to lean back against him so that her head would be over the bucket. She looked like she would refuse but must have decided this was the lesser of two evils. John started with her face, taking the rag and cleaning the smeared makeup until her face was clear and smooth again.

He scooped some water up with a cup and began to pour it over her hair. It splashed onto his pants but he didn’t mind. He’d had worse on them, for sure. He had never done this before, but he remembered his sisters washing each others hair. How hard could it be
anyway? Once her hair was completely wet he squirted on the shampoo mixture. It smelled pretty good. It vaugely reminded him of the time just before they came to the Royal Planet. He’d liked the smell then too. Of coure that had got him into nothing but trouble.

As he worked up a lather he suddenly realized the situation he was in. Aeryn across his legs in nothing more than her underwear. Although she didn’t seem to mind. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be enjoying the sensation of his hands rubbing her head. The temperature in the room seemed to go up considerably. Frell, it was gettin’ hot in here. He took a breath and tried to slow his heart while, slowly and rhythmically, he moved his hands on her scalp. The long strands were becoming clean now. He ran his fingers
through it and it felt like warm, silky fringe. The kind you could run your hands through again and again just to enjoy the sensation along your skin.

He shook his head. Ok, time to rinse. He wondered if she could hear his heart beating from there?

He picked up the cup and started to rinse the soap out of her hair. It was hard to get it all out. At least that’s what he told himself as he spent long minutes rinsing and rubbing. Aeryn didn’t seem to mind either. Her breathing was a little erratic and she had
spent most of the time with a smile on her face. It was worth anything just to see that. Smiles were rare these days.

When he was sure it was clean, which meant he had run out of water, he squeezed the excess water out and helped her sit up.

“There now, we can get you to Jool. She’ll be able to do something about that hand.” His voice came out throaty and low. He turned to go.

"Crichton."

He turned back.

"Yeah?"

"Thank You."

"For what?"

Her lips twitched, but he grew hotter under her gaze.

"For the Dance."