Getting Away from it All (Ain't What it's Cracked Up to Be) (PG-13)

[aeryncrichton]

Originally posted 2/29/08

I had a lot of fun writing this.  It's on the long side for me (about 14,000 words), and it was just great having John and Aeryn (and the kids!) talking to me! (And I wish to remind you that Aeryn carries a pulse pistol. I do what she tells me.  ) This is a Family Ties story, and it probably helps a whole lot if you've read at least Fun and Games and End Game, because this takes off a month or so after those stories and deals with events kicked off by Chiana's chaotic visit.

Rating: PG-13 (language, violence, a little sex....)
Setting: About 14 cycles after PKW, a monen or two after my story End Game
Spoilers: through PKW
Disclaimer: Not my universe, not my characters (except for Pip!), no money being made.  Just playing with them to keep the universe alive

So, it's been a bad couple of months, what with Chiana's visit, and Aeryn having to rescue Pip and shooting those Nebari...  John decides the family needs a vacation....

Many thanks to Loco and Shipsister for keeping me going on this, and to Auna and MadScientist for drivebys!

I'm going to post this in three parts, right here.  Enjoy!

Getting Away from it All (Ain't What it's Cracked Up to Be)
A Family Ties Story

John listened to D'Argo's footfalls as the boy stalked purposefully through the house before entering Pippin's room and coming to a halt in front of his father. Dar crossed his arms. "Where the frell is Mom?"

"Language," John cautioned reflexively, nodding his head towards Pippin, sitting beside him, supposedly doing homework, and Nel, sitting in his lap with her thumb jammed in her mouth. Not that he had any illusions the warning was going to do any good, of course, given that it was a "Do as I say, not as I do," kind of caution. He turned his attention back to Dar's question. "Why?" he asked, buying time before he had to answer.

But Pip blurted, voice squeaking with nervousness, "The garda came and took her! Because of the Nebari bad guys she shot!"

D'Argo's angry blue eyes took on an edge of fear and John hastened to settle him. "They just had some more questions, D'Argo, it's nothing to worry about. You know how these things go, there's a frelling lot of paperwork." He tried a reassuring smile.

The teenager wasn't buying it. "We need to do something!"

John took a deep breath and, even though every instinct of his own agreed, he shook his head. "There's nothing we can do right now. We need to let the garda finish their investigation." Then we'll do something, he thought grimly.

D'Argo snorted with all the disdain of a teenager who's been let down by his elders. He turned and stalked off to his own room. No doubt if he could have slammed the door, he would have.

John looked down at Pippin, whose black eyes radiated alarm. "She'll be fine, Pip," he promised. "She'll be home soon." Hoping he wasn't going to be proven a liar, he raised his voice and called to his elder daughter, "Hope! How's that homework coming?"

"Fine, Dad," she yelled back.

He debated whether to go and check. He wasn't sure he was up to the power struggle just then. "Come on, Nellie," he said instead. "Let's go build something with your blocks."

* * * * * * * *

The second time the garda came for Aeryn, it scared the crap out of John. A certain amount of police attention was expected, to be sure. After all, there was a dead Nebari cleansing squad on the streets of their fair city, and some of those deaths had been his wife's handiwork. But she'd been protecting her child, and her child's birth mother, and by the rules of this planet, that should have made it a slam dunk for calling the shootings justified. And indeed, the first time around the investigators seemed comfortable leaving it at that. All's well that ends well, and John and Aeryn both let out a huge sigh of relief and tried to get on with their lives. So when another pair of officers came for her again a monen later, this time eyeing her with less deference and more suspicion, and hauled her off to their command center to "talk," the only thing that kept John from a complete and utter freak out was their four children.

It had been a hell of a bad couple of monens for the Sun-Crichton family. Chiana's precipitous arrival, and equally precipitous departure, had upset the grown-ups; devastated young Pippin; left the two elder children – D'Argo, 14, and 11-cycle-old Hope – touchy and hostile; and confused the heck out of the baby of the family, Nelja, who, at two and a half cycles, understood only that her fun Nebari friend was gone, and everyone else was acting oddly. Pip had been fighting at school, as had Hope. Dar kept himself to himself, as teens are wont to do, but which hadn't been his style before – but at least they weren't getting notices home from school about their firstborn. At home, the younger kids were cranky and clingy, the older ones were prickly, and the adults were ready to scream – at each other as well as the kids. There had been rather a lot of yelling of late...and also some pretty spectacular make-up sex after the kids were in bed for the night.

Yeah, he and Aeryn were doing okay, despite the yelling, but the kids...they did not need their mom hauled off to jail on top of everything else, and so, while John was absolutely terrified that the garda were going to charge her this time, he ignored the ice in his stomach and the knot in his chest, and pretended everything was going to be fine. He carried Nellie around on his shoulders, nagged Pip and Hope about their homework, gave D hell for coming home late from his flying lesson, and generally tried not to keep looking at the clock. He was in the kitchen, rustling up the evening meal, when the front door slid open and Aeryn walked in....

* * * * * * * *

"Hey!"

The kids heard their mother's voice and swarmed into the front room, all four of them. Aeryn picked up the baby, and hugged the rest as they wrapped themselves around her. John stood just inside the room, watching the family reunion with a big stupid grin on his face, even though he was still holding his breath, waiting for details. Aeryn looked up and caught his gaze.

"Love you," he mouthed. She grinned, which was a good sign, and he cleared his throat and asked, "How'd it go?"

The kids all looked up at her expectantly.

"It's fine," she assured them, with an extra glance at John that promised she wasn't lying. "The Nebari government filed a formal request for a second investigation." She shrugged. "They had to comply. But the decision is the same. I did what I had to do to protect Pippin. The deaths were regrettable, but not illegal."

"What if the Nebari complain again?" Hope asked. "What if they just keep complaining?"

"They can't," Aeryn told her firmly. "The process allows one request for a review. It's over."

It's over. Those two words finally unlocked the tightness in John's chest, and he nearly collapsed right then and there with relief. Some tiny corner of his mind persisted in reminding him that they'd thought it was over before, but he told it to go mind its own business. "My turn," he declared, and waded into the crowd of offspring. He took Nelja from Aeryn's arms and handed her to D'Argo, then wrapped himself around his wife. She held him tightly in return, and he could tell she was as relieved to be home as they all were to have her there. He never wanted to let her out of his sight again!

Of course, that was stupid, life didn't work like that, but suddenly the thought of going back to their daily routine tomorrow, with work, and school, and homework, and lessons, when they were still all so unsettled, was intolerable. "I've got an idea," he whispered in Aeryn's ear, hoping she'd go with him on this one. He let go of his wife and turned to face the family. "We need a vacation!"

Aeryn frowned. "What?"

"We need to get away from here, just the six of us. Get some R & R."

"But there's school."

"Frell school."

"Work?"

"Frell work."

Aeryn searched his eyes and something of his driving need must have reached her. She broke into a smile. "Why not?"

"Then it's settled," he said, slipping his arm around her waist. "We leave tomorrow." He expected some argument from the kids, complaints about missed lessons or games or play dates, but the only comment came from Hope. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Out there," he told her, almost giddily. "That-a-way."

* * * * * * * *

Aeryn lay on her back in bed, wide awake, thoughts tumbling around in her head. John had fallen asleep arns ago, an arm and one leg draped possessively over her. She could have shoved him aside, of course, or scooted out from under him, but she didn't want to. She savored the comfort of his body covering hers, the evidence that she was home, safe and sound, after having to explain her actions yet again to the authorities. It had been difficult, being polite and tactful with those frellniks at the garda, and for a while there, she'd been afraid that they weren't going to let her go. However, neither her husband's weight nor her experience with the authorities was what was keeping her awake tonight. No, it was something completely different.

She should have told him. She almost had when he'd said, "the six of us," but something stopped her. Things were just so complicated in their lives right now. Adding another complication, more upheaval, more decisions...she just couldn't bring herself to do it, not when she was still savoring the relief of being back home. Surely he'd understand that?

But she had to tell him. Soon. She'd find the right time, on this vacation of his, some moment to tell him they'd created another tiny spark of life, held in stasis within her....

She sighed, and John inhaled sharply in his sleep and shifted his position. He remained draped across her, and she smiled into the darkness.

* * * * * * * *

In the cold light of morning, John's adventurous declaration of, "Out there, that-a-way," gave way to a borrowed summer home only a few arns' flight time from the family's urban dwelling. The peaceful setting on the edge of a lake turned out to be just right for getting away from it all. After all, they'd had more than enough adventure and excitement for a while!

Under Aeryn's watchful eye, D'Argo flew their transport to the vacation site. The chance to fly – and, John suspected, the evidence of their trust in his abilities – did wonders for the teen's recent surly mood. John gritted his teeth when they hit the ground a little hard, but he'd certainly been in worse landings, and the kid was only 14. Hell, when John was 14, he'd just been figuring out how to drive a stick shift without grinding the gears! Pushing memories aside, John shooed everyone out of the pod and they hauled their gear to the house and got settled in.

They soon realized that this place reminded them all strongly of the rural home they'd left just over a cycle earlier. Everyone, including the baby, felt at ease with the grass, and the trees, and the water nearby. True, their old home had been near a river, not a lake, but that hardly made no never mind. The weather was beautiful – warm and sunny, with a nice breeze in the afternoon – so they broke out the summer clothes (cargo shorts and tank tops for Aeryn, Hope and Nel, similar shorts paired with T-shirts for John, D'Argo and Pip), and spent most of their time outdoors. Over the next couple of days, they played games of all kinds, demolished more than a few targets with pulse pistols, fished, swam, hiked and generally goofed off.

With kids ranging in age from toddler to teen, they often ended up splitting into groups for age-appropriate activities. That wasn't bad, of course, because smaller groups meant less friction, and John and Aeryn deliberately made room for some one-on-one time with each child, too. But on the second afternoon, John decided they needed a group project, something they could all do. Aeryn rolled her eyes when he announced that they were going to build a raft, but the kids dug into the project enthusiastically.

Jobs were parceled out according to age and ability, which meant the adults and D'Argo did the heavy work, and little Nel most frequently ended up proudly dragging tools from person to person. It took several days to collect all the dry wood they needed, cut it to the right size, attach the pieces together, and seal the cracks between the pieces of wood. When it came time to launch their creation, they discovered just how heavy the two-motra-square vessel really was.

"Push, Aeryn, push!" John yelled from the water, where he and D'Argo pulled hard on the front edge of the raft. "No, wait!" he called as an afterthought. When the pushing stopped, he let go of the raft, pulled his T-shirt up over his head, balled it up, and pitched it towards shore. D'Argo followed suit, and after a quick look at his son to be sure D was ready, John said, "Okay, let's try it again!"

With Hope, Pippin, and even Nelja lined up along the landward side of the raft to help, Aeryn shoved with all her might. "It's caught on that rock," she yelled in annoyance. "Lift it!"

John and Dar heaved.

Aeryn put her whole body into pushing on the raft, grunting as she strained, and her helpers added their own efforts.

And suddenly, the obstruction was past, and the craft jumped forward at an alarming rate. John and D'Argo scrambled to move aside in the waist deep water as the raft came rushing towards them. It slammed into the lake with a huge plop and a gigantic splash that shot at least three motras into the air, and if anyone had planned on staying dry, that hope ended then and there. Water streamed down John and D'Argo's bare chests, and those on shore ended up just as wet.

While the rest of the family whooped with delight, Aeryn wiped the water out of her eyes and, with an indulgent smile, surveyed the crude construct now floating in the lake. Nellie shrieked with laughter and pointed at the raft, Pippin and Hope gave each other high fives, and John and D'Argo did the same. When their creation remained on the surface after a hundred microts or so, John claimed the right to be the first passenger.

"It was your idea. By all means, you go first," Aeryn snickered.

Still in the water, Dar stood beside the raft to help steady it as his father climbed aboard. John hauled himself onto the raft and sat cautiously on the edge for a few microts. The raft bobbed gently in the lake. John scanned the sun glinting off the water in front of him, and his family on the tree-lined shore behind him, watching expectantly.

He got to his feet more or less where he sat, pleased that his weight wasn't tilting the raft much, even though he was near the edge. Without more thought that that, he gave in to the impulse to let loose with some of his pride at what they'd created together. With a loud, "Woo-hoo!!" he flung his arms above him and jumped straight up in triumph.

The leap wasn't so bad. It was the landing that was his undoing. He landed with one foot on top of a log, the other in a "valley" between two of them, and, with the raft rocking rather dramatically, flailed frantically for balance. He lost the battle and pitched sideways into the lake. He managed to hold his breath as he dropped through the waist-deep water like a stone, landing on his rump and thrashing his way to the surface. As he sputtered and wiped his face, his was greeted by the sounds of uninhibited laughter from his offspring and his wife. Embarrassed, he glared at them all.

"Are you all right?" Aeryn called, as the children continued to laugh.

"Yes!" he snapped, flapping one hand at her in a "Don't hover!" gesture.

She shaded her eyes against the glare of the light and looked at him with irritation.

She had a point. It could have been worse. He could have gone sprawling onto the raft. At least this way he'd made everyone laugh. He smiled sheepishly at Aeryn. "Well, that's what I get for showing off, huh?" He shook his head, sending water flinging all directions, and climbed back onto the raft, sitting down this time. He surveyed his family. "Well, come on then," he said, gesturing them aboard.

D'Argo was aboard in a flash, Hope and Pippin right behind him. Aeryn stood on shore for a few microts longer, waiting, no doubt, to be sure the craft would continue to float. At last, she picked up Nelja and stepped into the water.

* * * * * * * *

In bed that night, hoping the uncomplicated fun of the day on the water had put John in a receptive mood, Aeryn propped her head up with her elbow and said, "I need to tell you something."

He looked at her with suspicion. "Good, or bad?"

She hesitated a microt, and then breathed, "Good," immediately hedging by adding, "I think." After another microt, she just came out with it: "I'm pregnant."

John blinked. "Pregnant."

Aeryn eyed him, trying to assess his reaction. She licked her lips and nodded. "Apparently my implant failed. The fetus is in stasis."

"When were you going to tell me?"

Exasperated, she snapped, "I just did!" In a slightly milder tone, she explained. "You knew I had a routine exam scheduled the day the garda came! I was as surprised as you are when the medic told me."

"You could have told me that day," he said, stubbornly.

Angry now, in part because, yes, she could have told him that day, but she'd made the decision not to, Aeryn retaliated: "You never even asked how the exam went!"

"I had a few other things on my mind!"

"Well, so did I!"

They came to a halt and glared at each other in the low light.

Why were they fighting over this? They were going to be parents again. Surely that was a cause for rejoicing? But she'd known instinctively that first night that the timing was really bad. Even though they had cycles to make any decisions about when or even if they wanted to release the pregnancy, it was one more thing on top of everything else. Angry in spite of her understanding, Aeryn rolled over in bed without another word.

John didn't bother talking to her back. He rolled over in the opposite direction, tugging at the covers, and they went to sleep in strained silence.

* * * * * * * *

Aeryn slept poorly that night. It was still dark when her aching back told her it was time to give up the attempt. Still, she lingered in bed a while longer, hoping John would wake up so they could sort through the conflict of the night before. When he showed no signs of waking, she got up and got ready to face the day.

She'd just pulled her hair back into a pony tail and was pouring herself a glass of cold pava juice when Pippin walked into the kitchen. Surprised, she asked, "What are you doing up?"

Pippin shrugged.

Aeryn tapped her fingers on the counter and observed her son. Like her, he was dressed for the day, though he'd made no attempt to tame his unruly mop of black hair. He looked wide awake even though it was much earlier than he usually got up. He also looked as if he had something on his mind. Getting him to talk about it might be a challenge, though. "Want some?" she asked, holding up her juice.

"Yes, please," he replied, and she reached for a second glass.

They stood in the kitchen, quietly drinking juice. Between the unfinished argument with John, and her conviction that something was bothering Pippin, the inactivity chaffed on Aeryn. When their glasses were empty, she nodded towards the front door and announced, "Come on."

Pip snorted in disdain. "It's dark outside."

"I want to see the sunrise," she declared. "There should be a good view from the meadow."

He shrugged again, and said, "Whatever you say."

Aeryn hid a smile of triumph as she sent Pip for a jacket. He bounced back into the room as she finished writing a short note for John, letting him know where they were going.

The sky was already getting light as they started out on the tree-lined path towards the meadow, approximately a metra away. Aeryn estimated they had more than enough time to reach it before the sun's rays hit the horizon, even walking at a fairly leisurely pace. Pippin bounced ahead of her briefly, and then scurried back and took her hand.

"Can we take the raft home?" he asked suddenly as they walked.

"What do you think?"

He sighed. "I think it's too big," he admitted.

"There's your answer, then," she agreed. "But we can ride on it again while we're here."

"Today?"

"We'll have to see what everyone else wants to do."

With another sigh, he added, "Okay."

As they continued to walk, Aeryn observed, "It's getting lighter," at the same time as Pippin blurted, "It's my fault."

Still looking through the trees at the sky overhead, Aeryn asked, "What's your fault?"

"That you got arrested."

She stopped dead. For the love of Cholok! What gave him that idea? She crouched down in front of him, taking his hands in hers. "Pippin, things happen in this universe. Most of the time, they're nobody's fault. If anyone is to blame, it's the Nebari government. If they didn't treat their people badly, then Chiana and Nerri and others like them wouldn't be fighting against them."

"But you were trying to protect me!"

She realized suddenly that he'd heard that rather a lot since the incident. It was her legal defense. No wonder he thought he was to blame! "And I would do it again in a microt," she said, fiercely. "And I would do it for D'Argo, and Hope, and Nelja, and for your father. It's what we do in this family, Pippin. We protect each other."

Pip cocked his head to the side and studied her for what seemed like a very long time. At last he said, "It's not my fault?"

"It's not your fault."

Black eyes glistening, he threw his arms around her neck, nearly knocking her to the ground. Moved, and feeling more than a little guilty not to have realized sooner how much Pippin was taking on himself, Aeryn hugged him tightly. After a few microts she said gently, "Come on. If we hurry, we can just make it out of these trees for the sunrise."

He let go of her and nodded vigorously. Aeryn got to her feet, examined Pip once more, and then set off again at a brisk pace to cover the remaining distance to their goal.

As they neared the meadow, Aeryn had a sudden sense that something wasn't right. She scanned the shadowed expanse of trees to either side of the path, looking for something that would explain her uneasiness. Apparently oblivious to her bad vibes, Pippin saw the path open out ahead of them, and skipped ahead before she could stop him.

A gray ghost – a Nebari female – materialized out of nowhere and made a grab for Pip. Aeryn screamed his name, and barreled forward. Pippin pulled his arm away from the Nebari woman's grip just before Aeryn crashed into her, taking both women to the ground. She knocked her victim senseless, only to look up and see three or four more ghosts appearing from the shadows, some with black hair, some with white, all with the menacing air of trained soldiers. "Pippin, run!" she bellowed, struggling to her feet so she'd be in a position to fight.

The boy didn't have to be told twice, and he sprinted back they way they had come. One of the black-haired ghosts got a grip on his arm, making Aeryn's blood run cold. She reached instinctively for the weapon she should have been carrying. Furious, she screamed, "No!" and flung herself in Pippin's direction. Her only goal at that moment was to cause enough trouble that her son would be able to get away, but there was at least one Nebari between her and the child, and another was closing on her from behind.

She could see Pippin struggling with his much larger captor, and with a glimmer of hope she yelled, "Pippin! Pantak!" Whether he even heard her, she had no idea, as she blocked a punch from the nearest Nebari, then swung around to put a kick into the stomach of the one coming up from behind. There was an angry bellow from the direction of Pippin and his captor – an adult bellow, not a child's voice. Aeryn took a microt away from her own fight to see what was going on. The Nebari was doubled over in pain, clutching his mivonks. Of her son, there was no sign.

Well done, Pip! she thought, hoping against hope he'd truly gotten away.

But her moment's inattention, checking on Pippin's safety, cost her dearly. A fist slammed into her stomach, taking her breath away and causing way too much pain to ignore, and that was followed up by a second fist, this time to the head.

Stunned, Aeryn fell to the ground. Frell! Why had she come out without a weapon, just because they were supposed to be on vacation on a peaceful planet? She was getting soft!

* * * * * * * *

[aeryncrichton]

John's first giddy thought on waking was, "Hot damn! We're having a baby!" This was followed immediately by "....and I am an idiot!" as the rest of the previous night's conversation came back to him. He turned his head to the side and saw that Aeryn wasn't there. A swipe of his hand confirmed that her side of the bed was already cold, so he assumed she'd been up for a while, probably pissed as hell at him. With a groan, he got up and went through his morning routine, starting with a dentic. It wouldn't do to have morning breath when he was trying to make up with Aeryn.

To his surprise, when he padded, barefoot but dressed, out into the main part of the house, he discovered his wife wasn't there. There were signs of life coming from the bedrooms, but they all sounded like the kids, not their mother. A quick glance in the kitchen solved the mystery. There were two rinsed glasses on the counter, and a note. Aeryn and Pippin had headed to the meadow to watch the sun rise. Huh. John peered out the window, and noted that sunrise must be nearly there. They probably wouldn't stay out much longer than it took to watch the lightshow and then walk back, and by the sounds of it, the rest of the kids would be out soon, too. He decided to make a hot breakfast as a peace offering. Before he walked away from the window, he opened it up to let the scents of nature in.

Taking stock of their supplies, he settled on cooking the rest of the fish they'd caught the previous afternoon. Maybe he'd fry up some of those root veggies that were almost-but-not-quite like potatoes, too. He was chopping the pommes when D'Argo appeared, carrying Nelja on his shoulders. Someone had dressed the little girl in shorts and put her hair in pigtails, and Dar was ready to face the day, too.

"Munchkin wants to eat," the teenager announced.

"Well it's a good thing I'm cooking, isn't it?" John drawled. He nodded towards the stack of clean plates and added, "Get the table, will you?"

"Where's Pip? That's his job."

"Out walkin' with your mom."

With an exaggerated sigh, D'Argo put his sister on the floor and went to set the table. Last one dressed, Hope appeared just as John dumped the potato-substitute into the hot pan. The pommes sizzled in lutra oil as he patted them into an even layer with a spatula, humming. Ah, life was good. It was amazing how just a few days away from it all could take away all the stress. Sure, he'd frelled up last night with the baby thing, but they'd sort that out. Aeryn would understand she'd just surprised him....

He glanced out the window and his eye was caught by movement. Pippin was running hell bent for leather up the path to the house. His short legs were pumping and his arms were flying. There was no sign of his mom, and with a frown, John leaned closer to the window for a better look.

"Daa-aaaad!" Pippin screamed as he ran. "Help!!!!"

Alarmed now, John turned off the heat on the cooker and headed for the front door. He got it open just as Pippin barreled in. "They got...they got...." Pip sobbed, gasping for breath. If he'd had any color to lose, John would have said he was white as a ghost. It seemed pretty clear that "they," whoever they were, had Aeryn.

Heart pounding in fear, John picked up the boy and wrapped his arms around him, trying to calm him down. "Shhh, shhh, Pip, take it easy. Just tell me what happened."

Pippin took a few deep breaths and snuffled, and actually managed a complete sentence. "The Nebari bad guys! They got Mom!" But he lost control again and degenerated into incoherence. "We were at the...at the...at the...."

"Nebari?" John asked sharply, brushing Pip's hair out of his face. "You saw some Nebari? How many?"

"By the meadow! In the trees! I don't know how many!" he wailed. "Lots!"

What the frell? Why would the Nebari be sitting in the trees? Pip's words were not making sense. The family comms chimed, and John, desperately trying to understand what Pippin was saying, hollered to Hope to pick it up. If they were lucky, it would be Aeryn, saying it was all a galactic-sized misunderstanding and she'd be home in a few microts. Yeah, right. Like that happened in their lives....

"Dad...." Hope's voice was full of alarm. John whirled around to face her and she continued, "They want to talk to you. It's about Mom."

He crossed the room to the comms station in a few large strides and set Pip down on the ground. With all four kids watching his every move, John cleared his throat. "Who is this?"

"Are you John Crichton?"

He opened his mouth and "Who wants to know?" came out. But the reflexive answer wasn't the smart answer, and he backed off immediately. "Yes. I'm John Crichton. Where's my wife? Is she all right?"

"We have taken Aeryn Sun into custody in the matter of the deaths of six of the Establishment's citizens. She is currently unharmed."

Shit! Of course, he'd known in his heart what was coming, as soon as Pip had said it was Nebari that'd attacked them. "Aeryn? Baby? You there?" he called, hoping to get some sense of how much freedom she had.

There was a pause during which John could hear the low rumbling tones of an argument. At last there came a beautiful sound: Aeryn's voice, sharp with irritation. "I'm here, John. I'm all right."

"You just hang tight, you hear me?" he told her, relieved at the strength in her voice.

The unknown Nebari voice returned. "Crichton, my superiors would like very much to subject your mate to a full mind-cleansing for her interference in the lawful capture of the renegades Nerri and Chiana."

Lawful my ass! John couldn't help it, that just pissed him off, and he snapped, "You let her go right now! You have no jurisdiction here! You didn't have it then, and you don't have it now!"

"However," the voice continued, as if he'd never spoken, "we are prepared to make a trade. Your mate for the Nebari child, offspring of Chiana."

John's breath caught, and the kids all stared. They all jumped when Aeryn yelled into the comms. "Don't you dare give them Pippin, John!" There was a high-pitched oscillating whine, and then Aeryn grunted in apparent pain. The sound intensified as she struggled to continue speaking, and she finally broke off with a strangled gasp. "Don't you da—"

With horror, John recognized the hum of a Nebari control collar. The last vestige of self-control he had vanished. "Get it off her!" he bellowed into the comms. "Get that frelling collar off her or I'm going to hurt someone!"

The response was infuriatingly simple. "Bring the boy to my coordinates."

John broke off communication with a snarl. He closed his eyes and counted to ten to get some kind of hold on his emotions. When he opened them again, Hope had a pulse pistol in her hands, and D'Argo had three.

"What are we waiting for?" Dar said. "Let's go!"

John briefly considered calling the garda for help, but it would take a couple arns for them to get there, and he was pretty sure they had no experience with something like a Nebari retrieval squad. Mind made up, he snagged Winona and a second pulse pistol from his eldest son and stuck them in his waistband. Jamming his feet into a pair of shoes, he proclaimed, "I am going to go get your mother. You four are going to stay here!"

There was a barrage of complaints, and then Pip's voice cut through the babble. "But Mom says we protect each other!"

John looked up and saw that D'Argo and Hope were nodding in agreement. And truthfully, he wished like hell he could take Dar with him. The teen was as big as a man, and plenty skilled with weapons. But he didn't dare leave the little ones unprotected, and Hope by herself, however good a shot she was, wasn't going to cut it. And Aeryn would have his hide if he brought Pip into this. He caught their attention. "I know you want to help – all of you –" he said, so he wasn't singling Pippin out. "But sometimes the very best way you can help is to keep yourself safe."

The protests started up again from everyone but Nellie, who had no idea what was going on. "But, Dad!"

"No!" John's vehemence startled him as much as it did his children, and Nel started to cry. While they stared at him, wide-eyed, he said more calmly, "You can't help with this. I need to know that you're safe. So you are staying here, like it or not." He picked the baby up and handed her to D'Argo for emphasis.

D'Argo settled Nelja on his hip and scowled, but he nodded in acceptance.

"You," John said, pointing at D'Argo, "and you," he continued, pointing at Hope, "bring your pulse pistols. I don't know that they'll try to come here, but if they do, you do what you have to do to defend the little ones. Right?" When they nodded, he tried to herd them into what he thought was the most secure room in the house, the central sanitary facility.

But Hope protested, "Dad, we need an escape route! We'll be trapped in here if they get in the house!"

He wanted to argue with her, because the only escape route from the house would be a window, and the bad guys could shoot in through windows, but, conscious of the microts passing, John gave in. "Fine. Your bedroom," he told her. "It's got a window if you need to get out, but stay out of the line of sight. Go now!"

They went, and he rushed for the front door. Terrified of leaving them, but knowing he had no other choice, he paused in the doorway. "Hey, D! Hope! Keep the safety on unless you need to shoot. I don't want to come back and find your baby sister's shot you with your own weapon!"

"Dad, just frelling go!" D'Argo yelled back. "Get Mom! We'll be fine!"

Blood roaring in his ears, John pulled Winona from his waistband and bolted out the door.

* * * * * * * *

Aeryn took heart in the knowledge that Pippin had made it home safely. That much was clear from what John had and hadn't said. She sat on the ground, back up against a tree, where her captors had shoved her after John broke the comms connection. Her injuries at the moment were minor, just aches and bruises. If it wasn't for the stasis, she might have worried about the baby after that punch to the stomach, but as it was, she was more concerned about John, who was undoubtedly trying to balance the safety of their family against coming to her rescue.

With her legs stretched out in front of her, she fidgeted with the control collar, running a finger between it and her neck, gathering her strength and trying to ease the discomfort of the metallic ring. She made no sudden moves, because she had no wish to be subjected to the painful shock again. So far as she could tell, only the leader and one other of the six-member squad had the control buttons on their foreheads. Whether there was a backup hand controller, she had no idea, but she hoped not.

Movement drew her attention to her captors. The squad leader gave orders in low tones, and two of the Nebari faded away purposefully into the woods.

Her stomach tightened with fear, for John, and for her children. Waiting was not her strong suit, but she knew from experience that she couldn't get the collar off on her own, and as long as she was wearing it, there was precious little she could do. When John arrived, there would be more options.

She closed her eyes and went back to fidgeting with the collar.

* * * * * * * *

Away from the house, and the need to keep it together for the kids, John let his fury build, because he knew he could use that anger. He was angry at Chiana for bringing trouble back into their lives, angry at Aeryn for not telling him about the baby sooner, angry with himself for acting like a drannit when she did tell him....and most of all, he was angry at the goddamn, frelling Nebari for being such a bunch of space Nazis! Whatever it took to get his wife, his pregnant wife, away from these no good SOB's...he'd find a way to do it!

The coordinates he had from the comms were pretty much where Pip had said they were attacked – about a metra southeast from the house, probably the edge of the meadow. Didn't sound like they'd moved. John figured they had a ship nearby, and were hoping to make the switch, Aeryn for Pippin, and take off without delay. At least, he hoped they were genuinely planning a trade. It would make them easier to deal with if they weren't already planning a double cross.

Assuming that they'd expect him to take the direct route, he avoided the path and walked through the trees instead. It wouldn't slow him down much, and it might give him the chance to suss out the situation before they saw him. Pip hadn't been sure how many Nebari there were, but it seemed likely it would be at least half a dozen armed men. And he'd need to see what Aeryn's condition was before he did anything. He suppressed a shudder. At least the baby was in stasis. That was one less thing to worry about.

Goddamn frelling bastards!

He hefted Winona, and walked on.

* * * * * * * *

Pippin stood up and started for the bedroom door.

D'Argo looked up from the tower of blocks he was building with Nelja, in an attempt to keep the toddler quiet. "Stay here!" he ordered.

"I gotta go," Pip whined.

"Can't you hold it?"

He danced in place. "No! I gotta go now!"

"Oh, let him go, Dar," Hope said.

"Come right back!"

Pippin scurried out of the room, and Hope and D'Argo went back to waiting with ill-disguised concern for their parents to return. Dar and Nellie added another row of blocks to the tower wall, and Hope, pulse pistol in hand, kept watch at the window.

After a short while, though, the two older kids realized that Pippin hadn't come back, and they hadn't heard the sound of the sanitary disposal, either. Hope and D'Argo looked at each other, and D'Argo heaved a martyred sigh and said, "I'll go get him."

He knocked on the door to the facilities. There was no answer, so he opened the door. The room was empty, and with a sinking feeling, he quickly searched the rest of the house. There was no sign of Pippin....

"Frell! Frell, frell, frell!" he yelled from the front room, and Hope came running with Nellie trailing behind her. "That little frellnik snuck out on us!"

"He wouldn't! Dad said to stay here!"

"Dad said to stay here," Dar mimicked nastily. "When has that ever stopped Pippin? He does just want he wants to! He always has!" Furious, he declared, "I'm going to go get him. You watch Nel!"

"Dad wants us to wait here!"

"Dad wants us all to wait here!" D'Argo said, dismissing Hope's objection. "I'm getting Pippin!" Pulse pistol in hand, he hit the controls for the front door. Before the door was fully opened, a pulse blast hit the floor near his feet. "Frell," he yelled, seeing a black-haired Nebari male charging the door. He slammed the door controls again, and got off enough shots while the door was closing to keep the Nebari back.

After the door slammed shut, D'Argo reset the lock. He and his sister exchanged a nervous look, and Hope took up a defensive position at the front windows while he went to lock Nel in the bath. The little one screamed her head off, but she'd be safer there than wandering where there might be weapons fire. With the sound of Nellie's crying in the background, D'Argo joined Hope at the front windows and peered out to see what they were facing. Damn! There were at least two of them! He could only hope Pippin had made good his escape before the frellniks got there....

* * * * * * * *

John was maybe 100, 150 motras from the clearing when he heard the sound of running feet, coming up behind him on the path he was paralleling. He checked that Winona was ready to fire, and then, moving from tree to tree for cover, he edged towards the path to see what trouble was coming. The trouble, as it turned out, was Pip, hurrying as fast as his legs would carry him. John toggled the safety on his pulse pistol, and without even thinking about it, reached out as the boy approached and snagged him, pulling him into the trees.

Pippin squeaked in panic until he realized who had grabbed him. He stared at his father, wide-eyed, while he caught his breath.

John grabbed his son by the arms and gave him a shake. "What the frell do you think you're doin'? I told you to stay at the house!" John hissed, trying to keep his voice low so it wouldn't carry to the Nebari in the meadow. He was going to kill D'Argo....

"I wanna help!" Pip declared, and John could almost literally see the kid digging in his heels.

John stared at Pippin, thinking furiously. He couldn't afford the time to take him back to the house, and was afraid to send him back alone, because capturing Pippin, it appeared, was what this whole party was about. He tried to ignore the little idea bobbing around in his brain like a bubble trying to break the surface.... Maybe...maybe...just maybe he could use him.... There, he'd thought it. And the rational part of him pointed out that Aeryn was going to kill him for even thinkin' that! He was just a little kid. What kind of a father brings a seven-cycle-old child into a situation where the bad guys are trying to snatch him?

A father who's run out of options....

John closed his eyes for a microt, then looked Pip in the eye. There was absolute determination in the child's expression, and John had a sinking feeling that the decision was out of his hands anyway. Pippin was going to follow him if he didn't tie him up somewhere, and that he could not, would not, do. He took a deep breath and accepted the inevitable. "It's going to be scary, like when they were shooting at you and Chiana in town," he warned.

"I know. But we have to get Mom."

"Okay," John sighed, knowing they had to get moving. "But you have to promise me two things."

Pip looked at him earnestly, waiting for the conditions.

John held up a finger, counting off. "1. You have to do whatever I tell you to do, the microt I tell you! No hesitation, no questions. Just do it! Got it?"

Pip nodded.

John searched his own heart then, knowing that there was a good chance he was going to have to say unforgivable things in front of his son to pull this off, maybe do terrible things. "And, 2, you have to trust me, Pip. No matter what happens."

As Pip nodded solemnly, they heard the muffled echoes of pulse fire coming from back towards the house. Father and son looked that direction, alarmed. From the sound of it, there were two Nebari weapons being fired, and there was answering fire from a single standard Peacekeeper pulse pistol. John's heart sank to his stomach, and every instinct screamed that he needed to get back to the house. But he was a lot farther from the house than he was from the clearing where the Nebari were holding Aeryn, no doubt getting twitchier every microt he delayed. Torn between his wife and his children, John froze. You cannot panic, he told himself harshly as the sound of gunfire died away after a short exchange. You knew when you left the house that this might happen. If you didn't think Hope and D could handle it, you should have called the garda and stuck with the kids. On Earth, he would have done just that. He wouldn't have had any choice. But this wasn't Earth, and these weren't earthborn kids. Nobody'd ever actually shot at them before, but they could handle themselves in trouble way better at this age than he could when he'd arrived in the UTs, a grown man. Maybe he was rationalizing, but his gut was telling him that at this moment, the kids were in less danger than Aeryn was. He hoped to God he was right.

Setting his jaw and hefting Winona, he turned to Pippin. "Let's go get your mom."

* * * * * * * *

The distant sound of pulse fire brought a frown to Aeryn's face, but she didn't allow herself any other reaction. Given the direction and the apparent distance, it had to be at the house, but she had no way of knowing what it meant. She was saved from fruitless speculation – and worry – by the noise of someone approaching through the nearby brush. More than one someone by the sound of it, she thought, frowning again. Had the Nebari soldiers who left earlier captured John? Then who was firing Nebari weapons back at the house?

All became infuriatingly clear when John emerged into the clearing, Pippin at his side, holding his hand. She'd specifically told him not to bring Pippin into this!

She was going to kill him, if they got out of this alive!

* * * * * * * *

John made a quick visual survey of the figures standing about three motras from him in the clearing. Aeryn was getting to her feet, but the look she spared him was anything but welcoming. Obviously, she'd seen Pip.... In addition to Aeryn, there were four members of a Nebari cleansing squad, two of them with the tell-tale forehead buttons. They didn't look nearly so battered as the last squad he'd actually seen, cycles ago on Moya. In fact, they looked pretty spit and polish, and well-equipped besides. One was standing guard next to Aeryn, and all of them were pointing weapons in John's direction. Aeryn was still wearing the frelling collar, not that he'd really expected they'd do as he'd ordered on the phone and take it off. It was their standard method of control. He waved Winona casually in greeting.

One of the two buttonheads reached a hand out towards Pip and got straight to the point. "Give me the boy."

Pip stiffened in alarm, and John guessed it was show time. Taking a calculated risk that they weren't going to start shooting this early in the game, he shrugged. "No."

The squad leader cocked his head to one side, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "That was our agreement. The boy for your mate. Don't you want her back?"

It didn't take much acting on John's part to look furious. He surreptitiously squeezed Pip's hand to reassure him, and then he pointed Winona directly at the thug. "Get that collar off of her," he barked. "Now!"

The Nebari raised a taunting finger toward his forehead and sneered. "Why should I?"

John flicked a quick glance at Aeryn in hopes that she would understand what he was about to do, and how much he hated it. Damn, she looked pissed! But she also got that he had a plan, he could see it in her eyes. "I'm not handing the kid over till that collar's off her," he declared. "You'd just zap her before she even gets to me, and keep her anyway. You said yourself the Establishment wants to brainwash her." He paused briefly for effect. "Collar first, then the kid." Please, please, please be a reasonable space Nazi, John sent through the ether.

But the leader shook his head. "No. Give me the boy, and I'll leave the remote behind so you can remove the collar when we're gone."

Aw, frell! Well, it had been a long shot anyway. Time to go to plan B. "Wrong answer," John said. Praying that this would work, he turned to Pippin and put Winona in his hands, murmuring, "Don't shoot. Just point it at them. Got it?" Even before Pip replied, John picked him up. Pip wrapped his legs around his father's waist even as John turned around and started to walk rapidly back the way they'd come. Pip held the pulse pistol with two hands and braced it on John's shoulder, aiming behind them. John hoped the implied threat would keep the Nebari from shooting him in the back. The Nebari didn't shoot, but they did the next most predictable thing.

John heard it when the collar activated, and he heard Aeryn gasp in pain. He kept walking. Pippin screamed, "Mom!!!" and John held him tighter, feeling the boy's heart pound against his chest. Pip's whimpers cut through John's heart nearly as badly as Aeryn's desperate gasps. It killed him to play chicken knowing how much he was hurting Aeryn, but if he couldn't get that collar off, they were up a creek anyway, so he made himself play tough.

He took one more step, and another, cringing as Aeryn's gasps for air became more desperate. She couldn't possibly still be on her feet. He took another step, taking Pippin, their prize, farther from the Nebari. Come on you frelling assholes, turn it off, turn it off.... He felt almost physically sick at what he was putting Aeryn and Pip through, and it got harder and harder to keep taking those steps. There was murmuring behind him, and he hoped desperately that they were remembering that John Crichton was the Madman of Qujaga, and quite likely to be crazy enough to keep on going if they didn't do it his way. They might still just shoot him in the back, but he was counting on them not taking the risk of injuring or killing Pippin. Goddamn it, turn it off!!!

It was all he could do not to let his knees go out from under him when the whirring abruptly stopped...followed by an incredibly welcome "snick." John whirled around just in time to see Aeryn sit back on her knees, rip the control collar off her neck and fling it into the woods, well out of easy reach of the Nebari. Pip wanted to run to her, but John hung onto him tightly, patting him on the back to soothe him.

Aeryn sat there on the ground, massaging her neck and taking in huge gulps of air. This time, when she locked eyes with John, she didn't look quite so pissed. Round one to the Sun-Crichtons!

Now, if he only knew what he was going to do for an encore!

* * * * * * * *

[aeryncrichton]

Grateful to be out of the control collar, Aeryn did a quick visual survey of the clearing in the microts while everyone was regrouping. Her personal guard was still standing near her, but all four of the Nebari seemed just a bit stunned by what had happened. Apparently they weren't used to being defied by members of inferior species. Her eyes came to rest on her mate. You are frelling crazy, John Crichton, she thought with a mixture of anger and delight. Of course, she had known that from very nearly the moment they'd met, when he pointed a weapon he had no idea how to fire at a squad of trained Peacekeepers, and insisted on saving her life. It had taken her a lot longer to realize that that was part of what she found so attractive about him. His crazy plans, the wild risks he took, the hunches he followed...they taught her how much more there was to life than the rules she'd grown up with. Since his latest lunatic plan had, against all odds, actually worked, she would forgive him for involving Pippin in this frelling mess.

However, they weren't safe yet. There were four armed Nebari in the clearing, rapidly regaining their wits, and there were two more of them out there somewhere nearby. That wouldn't normally be bad odds, especially since John was armed, but having a child to protect as well limited their options. The smartest thing to do might have been to wait and see what the Nebari would do next.

Aeryn had obviously spent too many cycles in the company of John Crichton.

She caught John's attention with the slightest of eye movements. He blinked, indicating he didn't have any better ideas, and she gave him a faint smile. Coiling her muscles surreptitiously, she counted to three, and then sprang straight up. The element of surprise worked in her favor, and she slammed an elbow into the stomach of the woman who had been guarding her. The Nebari crumpled, and Aeryn tore the weapon from her hands and shot her in the leg to make sure she stayed down.

Aeryn turned to choose her next target, and her eyes narrowed at what she saw....

* * * * * * * *

Back at the house, the suspense was wearing on D'Argo and Hope. The two Nebari outside seemed content to lay siege to the house and prevent them from getting out. Their little sister was furious at being locked inside the sanitary room, and she was making that very clear. Her high-pitched voice was only slightly muffled by the door, and they could hear the thumping as she pounded on it with her fists. "Let me out! Want out! Mamaaaaa!" she wailed.

D'Argo looked at Hope and said with a sigh, "You think she'll stop if we let her out?"

Hope shook her head, setting her brown braid swinging, then shrugged. "She might. She's pretty tinked, though."

D'Argo considered the options. Keep her where she was safe, and have her drive them crazy with her yelling, or let her out and hope for the best. He peered out again, and realized he didn't see either of the Nebari slegenots. He jerked his head towards the window to get Hope's opinion.

Hope leaned forward to look outside, and considered. "They're either gone, or they're not," she announced with yet another shrug.

Dar scowled. "We're lucky we have you here to tell us these things!" But she was right, of course. There was no way of telling whether they'd given up, gone for reinforcements, or had something more devious up their sleeves. Nellie wailed from the other room. D'Argo stood up. "The door stays locked till Mom and Dad get back, but I think it's okay to let Nel out."

His hand was actually on the controls to free Nellie when there was a sudden loud crash from the back bedroom, the one they'd been hiding out in earlier. "Frell!" he bellowed, and, pulse pistol at the ready, he rushed to the room, stopping just outside the door. Leading with his weapon, he leaned around the doorjamb. No surprise, there was an armed Nebari climbing in through the room's single window, trying to avoid the broken shards of crystal in the frame. Without allowing himself time to think, or be scared, D'Argo stepped into the room and let off a barrage of pulse fire at the invader.

Figuring D'Argo had the bedroom covered, Hope ran from room to room through the rest of the house, checking through the windows to see if they were under threat of attack from another direction. It wasn't until she got back to windows by the front door that she spied another soldier sneaking up to the house. D'Argo was still engaged, so, thinking they were really going to get in trouble for damaging this borrowed house, she smashed a small window with the butt of the pulse pistol, and opened fire herself. The noise of the crystal breaking must have warned the Nebari, because he ducked behind a tree, and her first shot missed.

Trying to ignore the rattlers in her stomach, Hope knelt beside the window and waited for him to move into her line of sight again....

* * * * * * * *

As soon as Aeryn made her move, John snatched Winona from Pippin's hands and took out another of the Nebari with a non-lethal pulse blast. His triumph was short-lived, however, as a third member of the squad tackled him and his pulse pistol went flying. He tore his attention away from the fight long enough to yell, "Get out of here, Pip! Run!" Whether Pippin was able to comply or not, John had no idea, because this frelling Nebari was in a lot better shape than he was for hand-to-hand grappling, and the fight took all his concentration.

The sound of pulse weapons echoed in the distance again, more sustained this time, and it spooked the Nebari. Taking advantage of that distraction, John got a solid grip on both his opponent's arms. He was trying to get the man onto the ground when there was a sudden loud discharge and the man went limp. John looked up into Aeryn's satisfied eyes.

Three down, one to go. John snatched Winona from the ground, and he was just beginning to relax a little when Aeryn saw something behind him.

"Pippin!" she screamed, and lunged, but not quickly enough. "Don't hurt him!"

Her voice was tight with supplication, and John's heart sank. He whirled around to see a terrifying sight: Three of the Nebari were down, it was true...but the fourth, the leader with the buttons on his forehead, had Pippin pulled up tight against him. One hand was wrapped tightly around Pippin's arm just above his elbow, and the other held a wicked-looking pulse pistol, pointed directly at Pip's head.

"Stay there!" the Nebari commanded, even though neither John nor Aeryn had moved.

John and Aeryn stood where they were, side by side, both of them fixated on Pip's frightened face. His black eyes were pleading for help, but he didn't say a word, and he didn't move, either. He looked literally scared stiff.

"Drop your weapons!"

Without hesitation or consultation, both weapons hit the ground. How could they do otherwise, with Pip's life at stake? Thinking frantically about options, John remembered he still had a spare pulse pistol stashed in his waistband. He'd intended to pass it to Aeryn at some point, but things hadn't worked out that way. Maybe either he or Aeryn could reach it on the sly. He tried to keep the hope out of his eyes, because there was no telling what the desperate Nebari would do, especially if he thought they were planning something.

"Just walk away, or I'll shoot him."

"Not without our son!" Aeryn said defiantly, at the same time as John repeated her earlier plea: "Don't hurt him!"

The Nebari seemed genuinely puzzled. "Why do you care what happens to him? He's not your blood! He's not even your race!"

John stared, and he knew Aeryn was thinking the same thing he was: How do you explain that though he's not of your blood, he's deep in your heart? While Aeryn tried to put their love into words, John put some thought into the more practical problem: Could he reach the spare gun without setting this bastard off? He'd just about made up his mind to try, when the two missing members of the squad staggered into the clearing. Both were bloodied, and they were swearing up a blue streak about the kids back at the house.

Well, how 'bout that? "Hey, baby," he said to Aeryn softly, as the squad leader berated his troops for their poor performance. "Those are definitely your kids!" She grinned, and he slowly reached behind his back and lifted up the edge of his shirt. Aeryn followed his movement with her eyes, and caught sight of the weapon. She flicked worried eyes to his, and then took a quick look over at the man who was holding Pippin. She and John could both see that he was distracted by his troops, and his gun was wavering. She nodded almost imperceptibly. John nodded back and wrapped his fingers around the pulse pistol.

One. Two.... On his mental count of, "Three," he aimed quick and high. The blast caught the Nebari in the shoulder, and he screamed in pain. His weapon fell to the ground as he slapped his hand on the wound. Pip jerked away and ran straight to his parents, hiding behind them. Aeryn scooped up the weapons they'd dropped earlier and held them purposefully, just to make sure none of the Nebari were going to try anything stupid.

"I think that's checkmate," John said with satisfaction.

* * * * * * * *

Pippin wanted to get the hell out of there right that microt, and John couldn't blame him, but they had things to do first, and neither John nor Aeryn was going to let him go off alone, even if he'd wanted to. Instead, he sat on the ground, knees drawn up and arms wrapped around his legs, and watched morosely as his parents first patted down the members of the Nebari squad and then tied their captives' arms and legs with belts and straps and strips of fabric from their clothes. It was only after all six were secured that they felt safe enough to get on the comms. While Aeryn called the house to give the rest of the kids the all clear (along with orders to sit tight and wait for them to come home), John called the garda to come and clean up the mess.

Making a last check of the prisoners, John found his anger building again. Aeryn was safe. Pippin was safe. The rest of their family was safe. All's well that ends well. But, dammit, they were living a nice, peaceful life here! The Nebari had no right, no frelling right, to come in and kidnap his wife, threaten his son, attack his children.... Aeryn would be fine, but how dare they put his children into the position of having to play soldier for real? Target practice and strategy games were one thing – but Hope and D'Argo had shot some of the frellniks! They were just kids! How were they going to handle that? And then there was Pip – who'd had a gun to his head, with the bastard threatening to kill him....

He looked over at Pippin. The boy had never looked so miserable, not even when they'd been fighting with Chiana over him. He was still hunched up on the ground, arms wrapped around his legs, and now he had his head down, resting on his knees. John's heart broke just looking at him. Something definitely had to be done. "Aer'n," he said softly. When she looked up at him, he nodded towards Pip. "Can you take him home? I'll wait here and keep an eye on these guys."

She looked from him to their six prisoners and back to him again. If he had to put a name to her expression, it would have been 'suspicious.' "You sure you don't need help?"

"Nah, they're well and truly tied up, and the cavalry's on its way. Besides, I don't think Pip should be here any longer."

Aeryn spared a sympathetic glance at Pippin, but when she looked back at John, he could see the wheels turning. No question she suspected he had some kind of ulterior motive. After a moment, though, she leaned over and kissed him and then picked Pippin up as if he were half his age and carried him out of the clearing towards home.

John waited until her footfalls and her voice, speaking gently and soothingly to Pip, had died away, and then he walked over to the Nebari prisoners. In no mood to be polite, or even civil, he kicked the nearest one and demanded, "Where's your ship?"

The Nebari muttered something that was apparently the equivalent of "Get stuffed," and John whipped out Winona. "Look, I'm not askin' you for state secrets here. We all know you have a ship somewhere around here. I'm not interested in searchin' it, or takin' it. I just want to make a long distance phone call. Hell, you might even figure a way to get loose before I get back!" He winced a little, wishing he hadn't put that last idea in their heads, but he and Aeryn had done their tying with the knowledge that it would be arns before the garda showed up. He was pretty sure that, short of a blade hidden inside their flesh, they didn't have any chance of cutting themselves loose if he left them alone for a little bit. The two buttonheads conferred in low tones, and then with a scowl, the leader pointed into the meadow.

John followed his gaze, and sure enough, there was a ship about the size of a Marauder, sitting maybe 100 motras away. The sun was still low in the sky, and there were a lot of shadows between here and there, which helped mask it from casual view. "Any booby traps?" John asked. "Come on, remember, this is my planet, not yours, and the cops are on their way. You wouldn't want to look uncooperative." The leader scowled, but said, "No." John nodded his thanks and took off in that direction, saying, "See you boys in a little bit."

A short time later, John was standing at the foot of the landing ramp for the Nebari ship. He entered cautiously, Winona at the ready, but he quickly confirmed that it was empty. Next order of business, find the communications console.

It didn't take too much button pushing to get a call through to the team's home base. The tech who answered demanded to know his access code. "I don't have an access code," John said patiently, "but my name is John Crichton. I'm sure that name will sound familiar if you run it through your data banks. I suggest you let me talk to your boss." John had no patience with bureaucrats, and when he got the run-around from a couple more people, he finally snapped. "This is John Freakin' Crichton, you got that? Now put me through to the guy in charge!"

After some scurrying and some time on mute, a new voice came on the line. "I'm Councilor Negad, head of planetary security for Nebari Prime. What are you doing on our military communications channels?"

John had never heard the name. For all he knew, this guy was the chief Boy Scout, but you had to trust sometimes.... "At last. We're getting somewhere. Well, Councilor Negad, a few of your boys here just came after me and my family. Scared the crap out of the little ones, which makes me and the missus very unhappy. Your team's a little the worse for wear, and we're doin' okay, but it's not going to happen again, ever. You got that, Councilor?"

"We do not take orders from outworlders, Crichton. Not even you."

Well, no big surprise there. John brought out the big guns. "I have two words for you, Councilor: Wormhole. Weapon." He glared at the comms console, and his nose twitched. "I swear on my mother's grave that if any of your people so much as look cross-eyed at me or mine again, you will see one, way closer than you ever wanted to!"

There was a very long pause.

"You think I'm bluffing? Just talk to the Scarrans, or the Peacekeepers. They will tell you I do not bluff when it comes to my family."

There was another very long pause, and then Negad said, "You have my word, John Crichton, that certain...overzealous...individuals will not trouble you again."

"Thank you," John said, breathing a sigh of relief. Admittedly, the guy could be lying through his teeth, but it was the best he was going to get. John was reaching to break the connection when he had a sudden thought. "One more thing. My wife and I consider Chiana's boy to be one of our own. That clear?"

The response from Nebari Prime was simple and straightforward: "Perfectly."

"Then I believe our business is done." John cut the comms and walked back to the clearing to sit with the prisoners until the garda arrived. He had been bluffing, of course, given that ol' Einstein had removed the wormhole weapon knowledge back at Qujaga, but he'd meant every word, and if he needed to make good on the threat, he swore right then and there that he'd find a way to do it!

* * * * * * * *

Cooling his heels for a couple of arns waiting for the garda to come and take charge of the Nebari squad gave John time to calm down. It was well into the afternoon by the time he headed back to the house, and by then, his thoughts were far from vengeance, and wholly on his family. His ears picked up when he heard the sound of voices and laughter coming from the lake. He snuck up quietly to see what was going on. Aeryn was sitting on shore, cross-legged, with Nelja in her lap. Nellie had her thumb in her mouth, and the two of them were watching the rest of the kids leap from the raft into the water, and then climb back on to repeat the process. Was it really just yesterday that they'd built the thing?

Satisfied, John continued down to the shore, stopping beside Aeryn. She looked up at him.

"Hey," she said with a weary smile.

John nodded towards the kids. "They okay?"

Aeryn sighed. "Mostly, I think. We cleaned up the house, and then I thought it best they do something normal."

John could certainly agree with that! At that point, the kids noticed him, and came scrambling to shore, demonstrating they were still more than a little rattled. John hugged them all and assured them that everything was okay.

His voice quivering with worry, Pippin asked, "What about the Nebari bad guys?"

"The garda have them, Pip. They're being expelled from the planet even as we speak. They won't bother us again."

"But what if they send more?" Hope asked.

"I took care of it," John assured her. Something in his voice must have made Aeryn suspicious, because she looked at him through narrowed eyes.

"But Dad—" D'Argo began earnestly. He stopped when John held up his hand.

John looked at them all, avoiding Aeryn's gaze, and said flatly, "I talked to someone way higher on the food chain than these clowns. They're going to leave us alone." Aeryn gave him the expected 'We're going to talk about this later' look, and he nodded. He'd always figured on telling her more or less what he'd done. She needed to know, and besides, they didn't keep secrets from each other. Not that kind, anyway.

His attention was drawn back to the kids when Pippin grabbed his hand and asked, "You promise?"

John looked out across the lake. Did he dare promise? How could he not! If he didn't, these kids would never have a moment's peace; they'd be looking over their shoulder for their entire childhood. Besides, he was pretty sure he'd scared the crap out of the Nebari government. "I promise," he said, looking each child in the eye. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

D'Argo looked unconvinced, and John was willing to bet he'd be having this discussion more than once over the coming months, but for now, he thought it would be okay. Aeryn was right. A return to normalcy was definitely what was needed here. "Come on, back to the raft," he said. "Shoo!" After a microt's hesitation, the big kids all scrambled back to the lake, and Nelja climbed out of her mother's arms to follow them.

Aeryn got to her feet and counted heads, making sure everyone had gotten onto the raft safely. Then she turned to John. "It's all right?"

"It's all right," he promised her.

"All right, then," she said, and took his hand. They walked down to the lake and joined their offspring in healing fun.

* * * * * * * *

Under other circumstances, John and Aeryn might have left D'Argo to babysit and taken a walk to get themselves a little alone time to talk, but as it was, they didn't manage any time together until they got into their PJs and hit the sack. By that time the stress of the day had caught up to him, and there were so damn many things to talk about, John had no idea where to start. Just pick something, he told himself, as he and Aeryn lay there on their sides, facing each other, lights on low because they weren't ready to sleep yet. He reached out and brushed Aeryn's cheek and said, "I didn't mean to bring Pip, you know. I left him here, but...he snuck out."

Aeryn reached out and touched his lip with her finger. After a few microts, she confessed, "The children told me what happened. But when I saw you with him, I thought you might have done it on purpose, and I was furious. You and your plans...." She grinned at him then. "But having him there worked out, didn't it?"

"Better than it had any right to!" he agreed with an answering grin. But then he remembered the sound of that frelling collar, and Aeryn's pained gasps, and he scooted a little closer to her. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Babe. If I coulda thought of any other way...."

"It doesn't matter. It got the collar off. No harm done."

"Maybe so, but it just about killed me to do it. Pip too. I was just glad the baby's in stasis."

Abruptly, Aeryn rolled over onto her back and looked up at the ceiling.

Uh-oh, was she still upset about the baby thing last night? He shoulda cleared that up at the beginning. "Aeryn?" She turned her head sideways so she could see him. "Baby, you know you just surprised me last night, right?" He reached out and settled his hand on her stomach. "I think it's great we're gonna have a baby!" That was totally the truth. On the other hand, four kids kept them hopping as it was. Five certainly wasn't going to make things any easier, so he thought he could be forgiven for being just a little nervous about the whole thing.

She searched his eyes. "You're sure?"

He wondered suddenly if she was ambivalent about this pregnancy herself. They certainly hadn't planned it, and with everything else that had happened recently, the timing of this new little miracle of life certainly sucked. "Come here," he said, patting the bed next to him. Aeryn rolled over onto her side and scooted back against him, and he dropped his arm over her and pulled her more tightly against his body, spooning. "Aeryn," he said softly into her ear, "we just got our noses rubbed in the fact that there's never going to be a 'good' time in our lives, crazy stuff is always happening. When one of those crazy things is a new baby, even if we didn't do it on purpose, it's pretty damn wonderful!"

Aeryn bent her elbows up and settled her hands on his arm. "It is, isn't it," she said at last. She rotated her head back against his shoulder so she could see his face. "We should have it before Nelja is so grown up that it's hard to go back to having a baby in the family."

"Good point," he agreed. "But we should probably give the kids a little time to get over this little adventure."

Aeryn flopped over onto her back again, though this time she remained pressed up against him. "What did you do?" she asked. It seemed like a complete change of subject, but he knew it wasn't. What did you do to be able to promise the children that the Nebari are never coming back?

She wasn't going to like the answer, but he sucked it up and told her: "I called up the head of Nebari Prime planetary security, and threatened to sic a wormhole on them if they bothered us again."

"You did what?"

"I was royally pissed. Probably made me sound convincing."

Aeryn stared at him for a while, looking into his soul, and abruptly, she laughed, a deep, throaty, sexy laugh. "It probably did."

Just the sound of that laugh was enough to set his blood a pumping and stir certain body parts.... Aeryn pressed her thigh into him, completely derailing his train of thought. Ah, who cared? They'd covered the biggies anyway, surely. He groaned at his own unintentional pun, and slid over on top of his wife. She reached her mouth for his, and he reveled in the touch of their lips, the taste, the feel of her body beneath his....

Their hands were roaming freely, when something occurred to him, in the dim recesses of his conscious mind. He pulled back just enough to be able to see her face, and somehow managed to get enough air to speak. "So, um," he breathed, "you said your implant failed and that's why you got pregnant. Did you get it fixed?"

Aeryn frowned slightly. "Yes."

"Okay, good," he said, and went back to kissing Aeryn's neck. But she stiffened in a way that had nothing to do with desire, and he stopped nuzzling and looked at her face. She looked hurt, and he could have kicked himself. He brought his hand up and brushed her hair out of her face, and tried to explain. "Baby, I'm going to love the baby to pieces, you know that. I'm just thinkin' I'm really getting too old for us to be makin' twins."

She contemplated this for a microt, and then smiled. "Or triplets," she teased, eyes wide with feigned innocence. "What? I thought three was the perfect number."

He stared at her in alarm, and she laughed at him – that deep, throaty, sexy laugh – and suddenly they were right back where they'd been before his stupid question. In moments, they were naked and lost in lovemaking....

* * * * * * * *

Unaccountably, John found himself wide awake long after Aeryn had drifted to sleep, a satisfied smile on her face. He propped his chin up with his elbow, and watched her chest rise and fall. Why was life never simple for them? They'd taken in a friend's child in need of a home, loved him as their own, and look what came of it. What was that they said? No good deed goes unpunished? Well, they'd just have to live with it. Look how well they'd done today. Much as he wished they hadn't had to do it, D'Argo and Hope had successfully defended their home and their sister. Pip had been brave enough to face an enemy he knew was after him, personally. And he and Aeryn had done what they had to do to protect their brood. Nothing was ever easy – but they'd faced it as a family. You couldn't hate that, could you?

Aeryn stirred lightly in her sleep, and John put his thoughts on hold to watch her. Damn, she was beautiful! Even after all these years together, she took his breath away. She settled back in more or less the same position, and he reached out and touched her hair, twirling a strand around his finger.

He supposed they should be heading home soon. After what had happened today, it would probably be good to call an end to the vacation and get the kids back into their regular routines, the school, the lessons, the play dates, the sports, the endless fights about homework.... He smiled in the dark. Just another day or two, he promised himself. Then we'll go back to all that.

The yawn came out of nowhere, but he took the hint. Time to get to sleep, old man. He leaned over and kissed Aeryn's shoulder, then settled himself down on his back.

He was just drifting off to sleep when a thought occurred to him: They really needed to find some nice Nebari to introduce Pippin to, or the kid was going to get a complex about his heritage. He made a mental note to mention it to Aeryn the next day. Before the thought was even fully formed, he was snoring.

[aeryncrichton]

Always enjoy the additions to this series......and a nice view of Aeryn and John protecting their brood. You do so well showing the continued growth of Aeryn as a mother. Thanks so much for putting another child on the horizon for this dynamic group. Mom is going to have them able to defend and protect each other.....regardless of what gets thrown at them!

Thank so much for the tale and all the hard work you put into this one. Really enjoyed it!;)

I have to blame Aeryn for there being another child on the way....  I've been wanting to write a story with her being pregnant, but I wasn't planning on it being THIS one!  They've already got four kids in this universe!  But she was pretty insistant about being pregnant, and she's got a pulse pistol, you know.  I really can't argue!  LOL!

Anyway, seriously, I'm glad you enjoy this series.  I really enjoy writing John and Aeryn and their family.