Namesake

Originally posted May 25, 2007 at Terra Firma for Starburst Challenge 16.
It was issued by Captain Aeryn Sun-Crichton. This was her challenge:

I'd like to see post-PKW fics where John or Aeryn teaches something to their kid (D'Argo and/or any subsequent they could have had) that the other doesn't want the kid to be taught.

You can have both happen in different moments of the fic; it can have happened earlier and John and Aeryn are now discussing it... whatever possibility you can think of that would involve the theme.

The fic doesn't have to be written from John or Aeryn's point of view of course. You can tell it from the POV of some other character that witnesses the scene.

I have it in my mind that the Sun-Crichtons remain to live on Moya. The story can take place either on Moya or on whatever planet/commerce station/other ship you can think of, but if it doesn't take place on Moya, please include a reference, a line, that would indicate, more or less clearly, that they're living on Moya.

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Thanks to Aeryncrichton for the looksee.

Rating: Very G

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money is made and no disrespect intended.

Post PKW.

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"I'll fwip you for it."

Fwip? John wondered. When did I mention flipping for something? I must have at some time. He eyed the bone of contention, the very last chocolate chip cookie made with the very last bit of chocolate on Moya. He thought he'd stored plenty. Who would have thought it would all be gone in such a few short years?

He wasn't a *bad* father..he really would be willing to give up the last chocolate chip cookie in the known universe for his son. But somehow he thought it might be insulting to his pint-sized opponent, who had climbed up on a chair to be standing eye to eye with him when he made his challenge.

"I doubt you could flip me, my man."

The small figure scowled at him in a perfect imitation of his mother. "No, Daddy, we fwip something *else*."

"If there is one bit of wisdom I could impart to you, my son, it would be that you should never leave the important things in life to a coin toss."

John could see the wheels turning in his son's head as he thought about this piece of wisdom. D'Argo regarded the cookie carefully, and then nodded in agreement.

Inspiration struck. "We'll play Rock, Paper, Scissors for it."

"What's wock, paper, scissors?"

"Here, I'll show you," John said, warming up to the idea. "Okay, so hold your hand like this.." he demonstrated the v-shape to D'Argo, then reached over and put one of his fingers down, as three were showing. " See, it's a pair of scissors."

D'Argo looked at his hand skeptically. "That's Piwot's hand."

"Okay, " John agreed." It does look like Pilot's hand. Hmmm..we'll call it Rock, Paper, Claw."

"Wock, paper, claw. Wock, paper, claw."

"All right. Now, to make a wock..a rock, make a fist. See, that's a rock."

D'Argo regarded his rock with satisfaction.

"Good, good. Now, to make paper, just make a flat hand."

"Paper? Like the notebook?"

"Yup. Paper, like Daddy's notebook. There you go. Now, we both count 1, 2, 3, and make a rock, paper, or sci-or a claw. Let's try it. This one won't count yet, it's just for practice."

John was surprised. Little D got it right the first time, with perfect timing, and what's more, produced a rock to his claw.

"You win this time, D! See, it's because rock smashes claw. "

"No." D'Argo opened his hand quickly. " I don't wanna smash Piwot's claw."

"It's just pretend, D'Argo. It's okay."

"Noo," he whined, his voice rising higher. "I don't wanna hurt Piwot."

"Okay, okay, we''ll make it scissors again, okay? You don't care if you break the scissors, do you?"

"No, that's okay."

"All right. And scissors cut through paper." D'Argo was nodding, he was with him so far. " So scissors win against paper. And paper wraps rock, so paper wins against rock."

"Daddy, that's dumb. Wock is harder than paper."

"Yeah, but the paper goes around the rock, like this," John said, wrapping D'Argo's small hand in his.

"But the paper doesn't hurt the wock. The wock is too tough."

"Well, but that's just the way it is for the game, son. Something has to win against the rock. We could say the scissors cut the rock..and uh, the rock beats paper, and paper -hmm..beats scissors. Well, that wouldn't work too well.."

"Scissors can't hurt wock, " D'Argo said scornfully.

"It could if it were a pair of pliers, or maybe Pilot's claw-no, not that," he backpedalled hastily at the look of alarm in his son's eyes.

D'Argo reached over and grabbed his father's hand, spreading it out flat and then smacking it with his smaller one.

"Ow," John said, in the tones of the unjustly attacked. "What was that for?"

"See? Wock beats paper!"

"All right, all right. No more demonstrating on your dad," John said, dropping the teaching daddy voice for sterner tones momentarily.

"Sorry, Daddy."

"Okay. Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, rock beats paper. Now let's decide who gets the cookie, shall we?"

On the first few throws, John and D'Argo both made fists. John quickly realized that his kid had caught on that rock was now the only winning move, and threw the game by throwing scissors.

D'Argo grabbed the cookie triumphantly. "Yay! I win!"

"Good for you, my man."

"You want some of my cookie, Daddy?" D'Argo said, carefully breaking off half and handing it to his father.

"Sure thing. You know what, kid? We need to make a trip to see your Uncle Rygie."

"Why?"

"Because he swore he was going to devote his rule to making sure that Hyneria produced massive amounts of the finest sugar and chocolate. I think we ought to see how he's doing with that." And if not, to see if he made off with any of the chocolate from Moya, John thought to himself.

"Thanks for teaching me the game, Daddy."

John winced. Oh, well, he could always try again when he was a little older.

D'Argo stuffed the last of the cookie in his mouth and climbed down from the chair. "I gotta go show Mommy."

"Uh..wait, " John said, but the small figure was already gone. Brushing the crumbs from the table, John wandered after him, to where he had last seen Aeryn, in the corridor close to Pilot's chamber. He was amazed at how quickly those sturdy small legs could carry his son-he was already leaving again as John arrived.

"Where's D going?"

Aeryn mock -scowled at him. It looked pretty much like her real scowl-only years of experience could tell them apart. "He had to go show Pilot." Aeryn rolled her eyes at him. "Why did you have to teach him that silly game? You know he's going to bug us with it for days on end."

John sidled up next to her and put an arm around her waist. "You can't deny a father the right to teach his kid silly games. And I'll give you a hint-" he added conspiratorially. " Throw rock."

"I think I'll leave this to you two."

"Well, I did learn something from this," John said.

Aeryn quirked an eyebrow at him.

"We gave D'Argo exactly the right name."

Aeryn softened, smiling, "I'm glad you have someone to play with again."

John found himself unexpectedly misty and squeezed her a little harder.

"Now why is it our son informs me we're going to Hyneria?" she asked briskly, changing the mood.

"We're out of chocolate."

"Ah. Well, in that case..." Aeryn returned to the circuits she had been working on while John started to follow D to Pilot's chamber. He turned and looked back at Aeryn and smiled when Pilot's voice came over the comms, announcing immediate Starburst.

"I guess he threw scissors."

Aeryn smiled back. "Or else he knows we're out of chocolate.."