Hey all.
Been a long time since I actually finished a fic. Working on a lot of big things, none of which are finished, but I hope to do so soon.
Here's another fic in my Derry-verse universe. Alternate Universe, especially after the mini airs tonight. No spoilers in this; there are some minor references to other Derry-verse stories I've written, but they are not necessary to follow the plot - though there isn't much of a plot here - of this story.
For those of you who would like to catch up on my stories, you can find them at:
http://cretkid.com/blog/wip.html -- and now that I look at the site, some stories are missing. I'll get them there eventually.
So, here ya go.
Title: Moment Away (Derry-verse)
Author: cretkid (
cretkid@frontiernet.net,
rdcottrell@yahoo.com)
Rating: G-PG
Spoilers: none, future alternate universe fic
Author Notes: Hussy Wagon Boston Beer Party members and honorary initiates! woo hoo! Not really beta'd. Tough noogies. A fixed and edited version will be posted to my website later.
"Moment Away"
Till the little ones, weary,
No more can be merry:
The sun does descend,
And our sports have an end.
Round the laps of their mothers
Many sisters and brothers,
Like birds in their nest,
Are ready for rest, --
William Blake, "The Echoing Green"
If anything could be said, their child followed a set schedule.
"In about three arns, Winnie the Pooh will be very bothered," John had said smugly as he tucked a pillow under his head and asked for the illumination to be lowered.
"And seeing that you're home, it's your turn with the teething terror! Hope you got some sleep on your little field trip."And so it was, three arns after that prophetic statement, that Aeryn found herself moving John's arm from where it rested against her belly. The shift of weight didn't wake him; she wondered if a decompression of the hangar bay would have created a stir. His head was now buried under the pillow - how he managed not to suffocate was a wonder to her.
Then she noticed the bed linens were skewed off the far corner of the bed.
"Oh, and watch when you get up; Derry's been camping out on the floor the last few nights."Sure enough, Daughter Number One was lying on top of their bedding with only her shoulders and head wrapped in her own blanket.
The whole head-covered-while-asleep behavior had to be a Crichton trait.
Careful not to step on Derry as she rounded the bed, Aeryn headed for the baby's room. She'd wait to tackle Derry's sleeping habits another time.
Aeryn had no doubts about what she would find when she entered. Cribs, playpens, high chairs for feeding -- all were slow forms of torture for the child, or so it would seem from the near constant struggle to get out of any sort of restraint. Even being held in the arms of a parent was barely tolerated.
Sulwyn Sun-Crichton did not like to be confined, imprisoned, entangled or handled.
At eight months, the baby was crawling and grabbing at anything within reach. But without the strength to pull into a standing position, Wyn could only sit and clutch at the wooden slats of the crib with the indignation of someone falsely imprisoned. Aeryn had to smile at the look of utter frustration on her child's face.
And as John would say, she was not a happy camper.
At the sight of her mother, Wyn slapped at the slats in baby rage. Aeryn reached into the crib, fully prepared for tantrum and theatrics. She was surprised when neither appeared. Judging from the baby's attire, only a diaper and a shirt, there had been a fit earlier.
"Come on, little one," Aeryn cooed, carrying her over to the changing table. It never hurt to check, and sure enough, Wyn's diaper was wet. With uncharacteristic civility, the baby lay still as Aeryn swapped the soiled diaper for a clean one. She spotted the pajama set John must have tried to put the baby in, lying over the railing of the table. But the baby was docile, Moya's internal temperature comfortable, and there was no point in tempting fate.
A quick but thorough wash of hands later, the baby was lying against her shoulder gumming her shirt. One of Wyn's hands was fisted in her hair, the other in her sleeve. And it did not appear she was going to let go any time soon.
"I suppose this means you aren't ready to go back to your crib," Aeryn observed. "Well, I can't sleep either. Let's go for a walk."
Her own sleep schedule had been frelled. A weeken-long expedition with Stark and Chiana to scout out new shipping lanes seemed much longer. Chiana never seemed to sleep and Stark was in manic-upswing mode. With the two of them to share bunk space, it was a wonder she ever got any sleep at all.
A walk through the tiers might do them both some good. Though the 'field trip' was uneventful, the non-stop adrenaline surge had yet to subside. Perhaps a stop by the center chamber for something for Wyn to chew and gum; she only hoped John had the foresight to freeze teething sponges.
As they walked, Wyn kicking her idly in the side, Aeryn noted that Moya illuminated the hallways ahead of them just enough to see. Moya was carrying more than her usual crew compliment these days, taking on refugees from the Nebari territories. The refugees were, thankfully, on the other side of the ship; she didn�t need to worry about waking anyone.
Maybe there was more than the adrenaline surge keeping her awake.
There was something big on the horizon concerning Nebari Prime; they had been hired on more than one occasion to ferry people, ammunition, and information across the border. Though they had found new and better ways to mask Moya as a simple cargo vessel, a plan that had worked for well over 3 cycles ...
... their plans never worked so well for so long.
She hadn't realized she'd walked as far as she had until she came upon the central chamber. The galley was empty, save for Pilot's image on the clamshell.
"Commander Crichton has inquired if you were here," Pilot told her as she opened the freezer unit.
"He requested that I inform you, the special popsicles are on the tremblin side of the refrigeration unit.""Thank you, Pilot."
There, to the tremblin side of the freezer, were the ring shaped sponge-y 'special popsicles', dyed the oddly purple color of penta juice. She tickled Wyn's cheek to get the child to let go of her shirt and presented the baby with the frozen ring of malleable juice flavored material.
"How was your scouting trip?"Aeryn thought for a moment before she answered. If John had been coherent to ask that question when she arrived in their quarters a scant few arns before, he would have demanded every little detail - from what she had to eat to what planets and systems they passed. Pilot, on the other hand --
"Tedious," she replied, pulling strands of her hair out of Wyn's hands before they could become mired in the sticky ring. "And how are you, Pilot?"
"Stark has just left my chamber."She noted a touch of exasperation in Pilot's voice.
"You have my sympathy," Pilot continued.
"At least I only shared his company for three arns."Aeryn smiled in spite of herself. It was a rare occasion when Pilot openly complained about any crew member.
She shifted Wyn to her hip as she walked to the cupboard to grab a glass. The same penta juice they used to help tired and stubborn children fall asleep faster also worked remarkably well on adults. Though, as soon as Wyn spotted the glass of juice, she wanted nothing to do with her teething ring.
Down went the teething ring, bouncing off the floor.
Out stretched baby hands, reaching for the glass of juice.
"This is not meant for you," Aeryn told her daughter, placing the glass away from curious fingers and reaching for the dropped frozen juice ring.
Wyn's eyes tracked the glass as Aeryn moved from the floor to the sink to wash off the ring. When Aeryn tried to give her the ring back, Wyn shook her head vehemently.
"All right, all right." Aeryn slid on to the counter and swung the baby around so that Wyn sat in her lap. "But I hold the cup. And small sips."
The baby's hands barely rounded half the circumference. Aeryn palmed the bottom of the glass, careful to hold the weight and tip ever so slightly, forward and back. After a few sips, Wyn pushed the glass away.
"Finished?" She picked up the discarded teething ring and ran it under a stream of cold water again to be on the safe side. "Want this?"
Wyn reached for the ring and clamped on with hands and gums.
"Aeryn, I believe your other daughter is headed for the Central Chamber," Pilot said over the clamshell.
Sliding off the counter, Aeryn slipped one arm under the baby's bottom and the other across her belly. "Thank you, Pilot." Best to wait for her eldest in the hallway.
Derry's arrival was preceded by a DRD, no doubt sent by Pilot as accompaniment. Dragging on the floor behind her was what John called Derry's security blanket. How it was any different from any of the other blankets found in Moya's stores, Aeryn didn't know. But Derry could pick it out of a pile of similar linens within microts.
Derry bounced off Aeryn's legs with a yawn much too large for such a small body. She looked up, and once she realized who she had run into, a wide grin split her face.
"Mama! You home!"
"You're supposed to be sleeping," Aeryn said, kneeling down to be at eye level with Derry. Wyn straddled her thigh, spending more time hitting Aeryn's knee with the teething ring than teething with it.
Derry's tired mannerisms were gone, to be replaced by the overexcited energy her father displayed on more occasions than Aeryn cared to count.
"You said help Winnie," Derry reminded her.
Aeryn couldn't argue with that. Before she had left, she'd pulled Derry onto her lap and asked her to behave, to help her father with her sister, to mind D'Argo and the others. It seemed Derry listened.
Now that Derry was awake and animated, Wyn was never going to settle down to sleep. Wyn started bouncing, kicking, bucking. Dropping the teething ring in her much loved game of 'make mama get my toy.'
Aeryn wasn't falling for it. And the DRD had already swept up the teething ring from the floor. Pilot was familiar with the baby's favorite past time.
"Want to help me now?" Aeryn asked, standing and shifting Wyn so the baby sat on one hip and taking Derry's hand. "We need to make new teething rings for your sister."
And perhaps she could get both girls to settle down with little effort.
Aeryn led Derry to the refrigeration unit, helped her up the stair step John and D'Argo installed for Noranti so she could reach the higher shelves. On the top stair, Derry's shoulders barely cleared the counter.
It was a familiar enough routine. Derry flipped over the shallow baking dish they used to hold the juice and pulled the bag of spongy rings from a drawer next to the refrigeration unit. Aeryn switched her hold on the baby; with Wyn over her shoulder, the baby's kicking was kept to a minimum with a well placed forearm.
Grabbing the pitcher of juice from the counter, she soaked the sponges Derry had laid out in the dish. When all of the juice was absorbed, she had Derry open the refrigeration unit for her and transferred the new teething rings on the freezing sheet.
Aeryn drained the rest of her abandoned juice glass in a single sip and refilled it before placing the juice back in the cold keep. There was a spill-proof cup on one of the shelves ready for late night sleepless intervention for Derry. Aeryn grabbed it before closing the refrigeration unit.
"What did you do today?" Aeryn asked as Derry toddled off to her regular seat at the table.
Derry climbed into the chair, folded her legs under her so that she was kneeling more than sitting. "Daddy chased a critter. Unca D helped."
"Really?" A critter? They hadn't made planet-fall or had contact with anyone in monens. It had to be one of the bats from the bottom of Pilot's den. John hated them. D'Argo even more. The bats were the only things that would make both John and D'Argo bother to chase the resident creatures on Moya.
"They used bad words," Derry giggled.
Aeryn had no doubt about that. She passed Derry her cup, returned to the counter for her own, and sat down opposite her first born. "And how would you know that?"
"Daddy told me to watch Winnie."
"Where?"
"In the cage."
Aeryn cut off the groan before Derry heard it. So, they were in the maintenance bay. And John had left them in the play area, surrounded by waist-high plasticene fencing to keep curious children out of places they should not be.
"It's not a cage," Aeryn told her, and could have recited Derry's response word for word.
"Daddy calls it a cage."
"Your father sometimes says things he shouldn't."
Derry giggled.
Aeryn nodded to the cup on the table. "Drink your juice. Use both hands please."
They sat silently, sipping their juice. Derry readjusted her position so she was sitting in the chair properly. From the way Derry's torso rocked forward and back, Aeryn knew she was swinging her legs under the chair. And it was then she noticed her other daughter had stopped kicking.
If Wyn was asleep, Aeryn didn't want to disturb her; but if the baby was still awake ...
Aeryn turned so that Derry could see the baby's face. "Is Wyn asleep?" she asked quietly.
Derry's head shook side to side, the sipper on her spill proof cup firmly clamped between her teeth.
"What is she doing?"
The sipper was pulled away with a
pop. "Looking outside."
Wyn wriggled in her arms until the baby's line of sight was again the large portal window against the far wall of the center chamber. What
had caught her child's attention? They weren't traveling through any systems at the moment.
And Aeryn's curiosity had been piqued. She slowly stood, baby still over her shoulder, and walked closer to one of the portals. The portal, like so many entrances and windows on the exterior walls of Leviathans, was an energy shield that did not reflect the interior lights. So it wasn't a mirror image that Wyn found fascinating. It was something
out there.
On the off chance that maybe,
maybe something -- Derry had inherited a bit of Pilot DNA and could 'hear' Moya, for lack of a better description; perhaps, maybe ...
"Pilot, are there any spatial anomalies in the immediate vicinity?"
"No, Aeryn. Is there something wrong?""No, nothing, Pilot. Thank you."
She was being paranoid. She knew she was being paranoid. John would say she was being paranoid. His wormhole knowledge wasn't in his DNA. They had not been visited by the Ancients since before Derry was born.
She was simply being paranoid.
Maybe the baby was just naming the stars, drawing maps in her mind.
The baby let out a yawn, and resettled her head on Aeryn's shoulder so that she could still see through the portal. Within a few microts, Wyn had started kicking again.
There was a persistent pat on Aeryn's thigh. She looked down and found Derry holding the corner of her blanket up for Aeryn to take. "Here, Mama. You hold mankie."
Aeryn had no doubt Moya had something to with Derry's offer.
Taking Derry's hand, the corner of the blanket caught between their palms, Aeryn said, "I have a better idea."
* * *
John rubbed his hair from the back of his head forward several times, fingers kneading his scalp as he yawned and crossed from their bedroom to the girls' room. He'd rolled over to find Aeryn still gone, Derry missing from the floor. Before calling Pilot for a missing persons report, he figured he might as well check the girls' room first.
What he found would have made a Kodak moment if he'd ever seen one. Aeryn was sitting in the window alcove, back set against the natural curve. Wyn was lying against one shoulder, face turned towards the window. Derry was curled in Aeryn's lap, her head resting just below Aeryn's chin. Derry's 'mankie' was covering them both.
Aeryn's eyes were closed, but he doubted she was asleep. The running lights along Moya's hull reflected off his mother's rings as Aeryn caressed the hair on Derry's head.
She opened her eyes as he approached, a tired smile on her face.
"They asleep?" he asked, settling into the other side of the alcove.
Aeryn tipped her chin toward Derry's head. "She's been down for about an arn." She jostled the arm holding the baby slightly. "This one is still kicking me, so I assume she's still awake."
John leaned toward the window, and sure enough, Winnie had her eyes open and was staring out into space.
"It's not fair, you know. The little monster put up quite the fuss this evening when I put her down."
Aeryn rolled her eyes. "Maybe if you didn't call her a 'little monster' ..."
"You won't let me call her Aeryn Junior."
John let out a gentle chuckle at the scowl she sent his way.
"They missed you," he told her, tucking the corners of the blanket more securely around Derry.
Aeryn looked like she might have laughed if it wouldn't disrupt her daughters. "I missed them."
"And if I were to say that I missed you--"
Aeryn did chuckle, hugging Derry closer so as not to move her too much. "You'll have to wait in line. There's no more room in my lap."
"Who said anything about your lap?" John teased. He reached for Derry, wrapping her round with her special blanket and carrying her to her bed. Then he offered Aeryn an arm for leverage as she pulled herself out of the alcove.
Aeryn set the baby back in the crib, and John noted that she made sure to lay her so that the baby still had a clear view of the outside. He'd have to remember that. The baby must like the stars. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"Did you have a fine mother and child reunion?" he asked, drawing Aeryn out of the girls' room and back to their bedroom.
"Yes, I did," Aeryn replied.
"Productive trip?"
Aeryn shrugged her shoulders as they drew the privacy curtain. "I'm glad it's over."
"So am I."
John caught her hand and waited until Aeryn stopped yawning before leading her back to bed.
"What time is it?" she asked behind yet another yawn.
"Three arns 'til first meal," John replied. "Why," he asked with a leer as he climbed into bed after her, "did you have something in mind?"
"You mentioned something about laps ..."
END
Author
