A Toe in the Water (PG)

A Toe in the Water
By CrystalMoon

Spoilers: Post-Bad Timing story
Rating: G
Summary: Crichton takes everyone swimming.
Feedback: Yes, of course!
Disclaimer: Farscape characters owned by Henson. I just play with them.

Noranti stood on the edge of the lake and dipped her toes in the water. Cool and pleasant and definitely wet. Yes, much too wet for her taste. She pulled her foot back and squished it into the gooey mud and lantha grass, reveling in how it felt oozing between her toes. She sighed in pleasure. Mud was much better than water. Kept her juices safe. Yes, yes, kept them safe.

As the sun warmed her shoulders, she gazed out at the others. Crichton dove under the water and popped out again shouting “whoo hoo” at the top of his lungs, his hair slick and black. He shook water from it, spraying Aeryn, who chuckled at his exuberance. Aeryn, stood in water waist high, her arms out at her sides as if she didn’t want to get them wet. She wore her underwear, Peace Keeper issue, black and practical. They all did. There was no swimming attire in any of Moya’s storerooms.

Chiana stood next to Aeryn, tentatively dipping her white fingers into the water. Her underwear was also black but much less practical, shimmery wisps of fabric that had caused the males to gape and blink when she’d first removed her top. Noranti remembered how Aeryn had scowled and then removed her own top, causing Crichton to switch his attention. A smug smile had come over Aeryn’s face as Crichton stumbled on the grass.

Then he and D’Argo had removed their clothes, and Noranti had been thankful for her role as the doddering old woman. None of them suspected that an old hag like her might still feel lust or appreciate a fine male form. She could stare all she wanted. And in Crichton and D’Argo, she was not disappointed. Crichton, lean and muscled, wore black Peacekeeper underwear that covered more than Noranti wished. D’Argo had stood next to him, much larger and that much more muscled. His underwear was looser than Crichton’s but the drape of the fabric had satisfied Noranti’s curiosity about Luxans. Not bad. And not an ounce of fat on either of them. If Noranti were a sculptor, she would find them worthy subjects.

So Noranti stood on the edge of the lake, fully clothed and warm from the sun. She munched on a handful of crepper raisins and breathed in the humid air that smelled of wet grass. She watched the water sparkle on Crichton’s skin as he swam arm over arm. She watched D’Argo float on his back, tentacles bobbing, massive chest glistening in the sun. She watched Aeryn and Chiana stand half-in and half-out, still uncertain. She tried to watch the Hynerian but couldn’t find him. No, there he was, about a metra away, tiny feet paddling, seemingly intent on making it to the far shore.

And a memory came to here then. She was immersed in water, her hair floating, weightless, and graceful. She’d been oh so young, so free. It’d been before the juices mattered, before her eye developed, before she’d known heartbreak or loss.

“Chiana, Aeryn,” called D’Argo, breaking Noranti from her thoughts. He lifted his head from the water. “What are you waiting for?”

Chiana licked her lips and tested the water with her fingers. “My people don’t swim, okay?”

“Well, come here. You don’t have to swim, just float. It’s relaxing.” He closed his eyes and sighed.

Chiana glanced at Aeryn. “Aren’t you going in?”

Aeryn’s shoulders tensed. “I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure?”

“I mean I’m not sure. Go on, Chiana, there’s nothing to be frightened of. D’Argo will support you.” She gave the Nebari a small shove, muttering, “Crichton and his brilliant ideas.”

“All right. I’m going. You don’t have to push.” Chiana waded toward D’Argo. As the water reached her shoulders, she let her arms sink. Then she took a couple more steps until the water reached her chin. “Uh, D’Argo, what do I do now?”

D’Argo glanced at her and swum over lazily on his back. “Just grab onto me. It’ll be fine.”

Chiana slung one arm around D’Argo’s chest and dug her fingers into his skin.

“Ow, watch it.” D’Argo pulled her free and settled her against him. As he floated away from shore, Chiana relaxed. “Much better,” she purred, stroking his arms. “I’m starting to like water.”

Noranti nodded in approval. Young love. Or was it lust? It was hard to tell with those two. Then she turned her attention to Crichton and Aeryn. Lust and love in equal abundance, she decided, with perhaps a smattering more love than lust.

Seeing both couples brought back more memories of water and a young man she hadn’t thought about in a long time. She remembered an afternoon similar to this one. While she swam, he sunned himself on a rock, bronzing his skin and watching her dive and play in the water. Noranti felt something stir in her heart, something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

“All right,” said Crichton, “it’s your turn.” He waded toward Aeryn, who continued to watch Chiana and D’Argo. Then he deliberately splashed her. When she turned to glare at him, he grinned. “Oops.”

Aeryn wiped water out of her eyes and crossed her arms. “Very funny.” Then she took a step forward and stopped. Then another one. Noranti noticed drops of sweat break out on her forehead.

Crichton splashed Aeryn a couple more times, a look of mischief on his face. “Sorry, did I do that?”

Aeryn ignored him and took one more step, her forehead creased in concentration. The water was up to her arms now, which she held tightly against her chest. Noranti noticed her start to tremble about the same time Crichton did. “Whoa, are you all right?”

“Yes.” Aeryn took a deep breath and shook her head impatiently, the bottom of her hair trailing in the water. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

Crichton waded over to her and rubbed her upper arms. “You’re shaking. Is it too cold?”

“No.” Aeryn pushed him away and stepped to the side. “I said I was fine. I’ve been swimming countless times. Why should today be any different?”

Crichton raised an eyebrow. With hands on hips, he just watched her.

Aeryn took a deep breath. She squared her shoulders and marched forward. The water rose from her chest to her chin. As the wind blew a small wave toward them, the water rose above her nose. Aeryn backed up, suddenly frantic. She seemed to be trying to get to higher ground, running as fast as one could in water. Just then, she stumbled and sank below the surface. Then she rose up, splashing and sputtering in complete panic.

Crichton tried to grab an arm. “Aeryn, slow down,” he said, getting an elbow to the mouth. “Ow, watch it.”

She continued to scramble for shore until Crichton managed to wrap his arms around her. “Baby, put your feet down. It’s shallow. Just stand up.”

Noranti wondered if she should help. She had a sedative in her bag, but she wasn’t sure if the powder would work if it got wet. Then it didn’t matter anyway. Aeryn did as Crichton said, and managed to stand in the waist-high water. Crichton started to stroke her hair, but Aeryn broke away and ran to dry ground. Once she cleared the water, she stopped running, and her feet sunk in the grass. Panting, she looked back across the lake, mumbling “frell” and “stupid frelling dren” to herself.

Crichton followed more slowly. “I had Pilot check for sea monsters before we came down,” he said. “Only things in there are itty-bitty fish, but I doubt that spooked you.”

Aeryn shook her head, scowling.

“Talk to me,” he said.

“Talk to me,” muttered Aeryn. “Always ‘talk to me.’”

“Uh huh.” John touched his lip and winced. “Just talking. No … elbowing.”

Aeryn stopped and kicked the edge of the water, sending a big splash of mud toward Noranti, who jumped back with a small yelp.

“All right. Fine. I’ll talk.” Aeryn paced back and forth. “I don’t know what’s happening. I think about swimming, and I’m fine. I remember doing it as a cadet. It was required training and rather enjoyable. A good way to exercise our muscles. And when you suggested it this morning, I liked the idea.

“But now, when I try to do more than think about it, when I try to actually go into the water, I don’t like the idea anymore. I have to force myself. I feel certain that I will drown, and all I want to do is get back on land. My heart beats as fast as when I’ve sprinted full out for an entire metra. I feel scared, and I have no idea why. It’s stupid.” Aeryn pressed a hand on her chest as if she was feeling her heartbeat.

Noranti munched on another raisin and nodded. She could tell Aeryn a thing or two about unreasonable fears.

“It’s a panic attack,” said Crichton.

“A what?”

“A panic attack. It happens when you get scared over something that wouldn’t scare someone else and you panic. Like being scared of enclosed spaces or spiders or another Star Trek series.” John shrugged. “Humans get them all the time.”

“Humans.” Aeryn sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Of course. What do humans do about them?”

“Well, first we try to figure out the cause. Do you know why the water is scaring you?”

Aeryn turned away and folded her arms. Noranti watched her bite her lip for a moment. “Well, this excursion has reminded me about the last time I was in water …”

“When was that …” began John. Then his mouth dropped open in realization. “Oh, God. You drowned. The last time you were in water, you drowned. ‘Cause I killed you.”

Aeryn whirled around. “Scorpius killed me. Scorpius.”

John had a stricken look on his face. “And I’m the bozo that brought you here to go swimming.”

“But it shouldn’t happen,” said Aeryn impatiently. “I’ve been in numerous life and death situations. None have given me a … a panic thing before.”

Crichton slogged over to Aeryn and placed an arm around her shoulders, drawing her close to him. “Your friends ever kill you before?”

“No, they haven’t.” She leaned her head against Crichton’s, and they stood that way for several microts. Noranti munched on another raisin and enjoyed her status as the invisible old witch.

“Have you ever had a panic attack?” asked Aeryn quietly.

Crichton glanced away and frowned. He squished a clump of mud with his toes and didn’t say anything.

“Well, you said humans get them all the time.”

“Uh, yeah,” he said, hunching his shoulders uncomfortably, “it was when we were on the Royal Planet. First time I saw Scorpius, I thought I was going to die. Literally. Just drop dead in front of the empress. Had a hard time breathing. Even got this sort of tunnel vision. Didn’t know it was possible to be that scared and not have a heart attack.”

Then Aeryn did something that surprised Noranti, who never thought of Aeryn as possessing a tender side. Aeryn placed a hand on John’s face and stroked his cheekbone. Then she leaned over and kissed him on the nose.

John gave her a surprised look. “What was that for?”

“Nothing,” said Aeryn with a small smile.

Just then, Rygel’s head popped out of the water a few hand-lengths away. “What the yotz are you three doing on land? I thought this was a swimming holiday. Crichton, the least you can do is get wet.”

“I am wet, Sparky, in case you haven’t noticed. And it’s none of your damn business why we’re not in the water.” John scooped up some mud with the top of his foot and kicked it at Rygel.

Rygel effortlessly glided away. “Hmmpf, amateurs,” he said. Then he faced Noranti. “And you, old woman, why aren’t you swimming? Afraid you’ll sink and never come back up?”

Noranti squinted at Rygel, her third eye closing from the sun. “Not that it is any of your affair, but I am trying to discern the properties of this grass. I think I’ll take some back to Moya. It will make a delicious salad. Or perhaps a poultice.” She squatted down and pretended interest in the useless stuff.

“Just as long as you don’t try to feed me any of it.” Rygel shook water from his whiskers. “Grass,” he said disgustedly.

As John started talking to Aeryn about a creature called a horse and why it was important to put a seat on it and take it for a ride again, Noranti looked around. She watched D’Argo and Chiana share a kiss as they bobbed in the water, Chiana looking so natural that one might think she’d been raised by a water species.

Then, Noranti watched Rygel dive and come back up, moving much more gracefully than he ever did on land. She watched Crichton and Aeryn holding hands as they waded into the water, stopping when it reached waist level and just standing there as if they had all the time in the world.

Time, she thought, standing up and eating the last of her raisins. She used to have so much of it when she was younger, but it was almost gone now.

“Noranti,” called D’Argo, “are you going to stand there all day?”

“Yeah,” said Chiana, “the water is great. Aren’t you hot under all those things you’re wearing?”

“Oh, no, no, no,” said Noranti, “I’m not coming in. It’ll wash off all the juices. Wash them off. I can’t have that, can I?”

“Well maybe you should wash them off,” said Chiana. “Then you can start fresh with new juice.”

“Ugh,” said D’Argo.

“What? That’s how she talks.”

New juice, thought Noranti. New. And that memory of the sunny afternoon of many years ago resurfaced so strong that Noranti felt dizzy. Cool water sliding against her skin, the feeling of being weightless and buoyant, the way light refracted through the surface to distort and illuminate the world below, the sound of laughter muffled through the water.

“Come on, Granny,” said Crichton. Noranti turned to find him and Aeryn looking at her. Crichton had a welcoming smile on his handsome face. And Aeryn, well, she looked like she might actually want Noranti to join them, albeit reluctantly.

“Come on, already, you three-eyed bitch,” said Rygel. “Get clean for once in your life.”

“Yeah, come on,” said Chiana.

“The water is very pleasant,” said D’Argo.

“There aren’t any critters,” said Crichton.

Finally, Noranti succumbed. She briskly tucked her hair behind her ears. Then she unbuttoned her vest and removed it, tossing it onto a dry patch of grass. From there she removed her blouse, skirt, and underclothes. Finally, she lifted her arms to the sun, closed her eyes, and let its rays warm her naked skin.

“Oh for Chilnak’s sake,” Noranti heard Aeryn say.

“Aaah,” said Crichton, as if he were in pain, “not twice in one lifetime.”

“I will never be able to forget this,” exclaimed D’Argo. “Never.”

“Why isn’t she wearing her underclothing?” said Chiana. “Is she tinked? I think she’s tinked.”

“Just tell me when she’s covered up,” said D’Argo.

“I don’t think any of us will be looking, big guy,” said Crichton.

Noranti smiled at their silly notions of propriety. Then she opened her eyes and placed one foot and then another into the water. Ah, it was just as she remembered, cool and wet, an abundance of sensations that she hadn’t felt in many, many cycles.

Noranti waded in, enjoying the way the water crept up over her body. When it reached her waist, she couldn’t wait any longer. She slipped under the surface, opened her eyes, and swam. With muscles she hadn’t used in decades, she pulled herself farther and farther from shore. Soon her lungs burned with need, so she kicked off the bottom of the lake and swam for the surface. When her head cleared, she sucked in huge gulps of air.

She saw the others closer to shore, settling back in their own little worlds. D’Argo and Chiana cuddling. Crichton and Aeryn holding hands. Rygel floating on his back, grooming his eyebrows. Noranti sighed in pleasure and turned on her side, slowly sidestroking to nowhere in particular.

Right now, she had all the time in the world.