As Moya Turns (PG)

Originally posted 7/4/04

Well, somehow I had a terrible time getting this one going, but once Chiana finally started talking to me, it came together pretty well. No, it's not another of my future universe stories (or epilogues), this one is set shortly after We're So Screwed: La Bomba....

I want to thank a whole bunch of people on this one, for a fantastic job of beta-reading and encouragement and suggestions: imloco2, shipsister, CrystalMoon, and MadScientist; for encouragement, Atana; and for encouragement and the inspiration for the title, Casper F. Joke. Thanks, all of you, for the help!

Rating: PG
Setting: Shortly after WSS:LB
Spoilers: Through BT, I guess....
Disclaimer -- Not my characters, not my universe, waiting with bated breath for October!

Enjoy!

As Moya Turns

Chiana walked towards Moya's galley, every once in a while springing into a skip for a motra or two. It was late, well into night cycle, and she was exhausted -- well, D'Argo was exhausted.... The big Luxan was even snoring, and she remembered from previous experience that he'd be asleep for arns.... Chiana herself was more like....hungry! A predatory grin spread across her gray features as she indulged in remembrance of the high points of the past six or seven arns. Between them, they'd managed to be very creative.

Of course, she and D'Argo had always had great sex, at least before she'd frelled it up on purpose to avoid a life she'd known she could never live. It might have been stupid, hooking up with Jothee, but it would have been even more stupid to agree to marry his father and try to become some dull little farm wife.

That pulled her up short again.

Happy as she was that D'Argo had finally forgiven her, as much as she cared about him, as much fun as she'd had with their frell-your-brains-out-'cos-you're-still-alive-when-you-shouldn't-be-after-Crichton's-latest-fahrbot-plan-blew-up sex, she still wasn't ever going to want that life....

Did D'Argo?

Frell!

Why was she going there? She didn't want to go there, she just wanted to be happy, right now.

Fortunately, at that moment she caught sight of Aeryn, heading her way. The Sebacean was dressed in casual clothes, black, of course -- Did Aeryn own anything that wasn't black? Well, besides that one greenish top? Chiana shrugged mentally. Aeryn's long hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and she was moving at a pretty brisk clip.

Hmmm, trouble in paradise? This could be just the distraction she needed.

"Hey!" Chiana called, and was gratified when Aeryn stopped right away.

"Hey," Aeryn said in return. "What are you doing up and about at this hour?"

Chiana shrugged. "D'Argo, he's exhausted," she breathed suggestively, not being able to resist letting Aeryn know her good fortune. She wouldn't say that she and the ex-Peacekeeper were exactly confidants, but...they'd shared some man talk over the past half cycle or so. Aeryn would get it.

Aeryn smiled broadly, that grin she had that left Crichton thinking with his mivonks, and said, "Chiana, that's wonderful! I thought D'Argo was coming around." She smiled again and added, "So, everything's good with you two?"

No, no, no, not going there. "Yeah," she tossed out, probably too quickly, but with a little luck, Aeryn wouldn't catch it. Just in case, Chiana changed the subject. "So, what are you doing up?"

The Sebacean's expression grew just a little wary. "Couldn't sleep," she said shortly.

Well, there were clearly better things Aeryn could be doing with her time than wandering around Moya in the middle of the night. "Crichton?" Chiana asked, hoping to get her talking.

"Exhausted," Aeryn replied, even more briefly.

Chiana giggled. "You wore him out, too, huh? Males are definitely the weaker sex!"

Aeryn's frown was meant to suggest she hadn't done any such thing, but the blush on her cheeks told another story. There'd certainly been some sex.... It was a source of amusement to Chiana that Aeryn -- and for that matter, Crichton -- found the topic of sex embarrassing, at least when it was applied to them.... It wasn't as if everyone on Moya didn't know when they were together! But the Nebari fought down a snicker and backed off, because even though it would have been fun to tweak Aeryn about something, she was actually a bit worried about Crichton -- and something was definitely bothering Aeryn.

"No, really," Chiana said, cocking her head sideways. "Is he okay? I mean, after, you know, blowing stuff up?"

Aeryn looked away for a few microts, then looked back, nibbled on her lower lip, and finally nodded her head. "I think so," she said.

Well, that didn't sound like Aeryn, not the way she'd been since she and Crichton had been back together, anyway. Since the ex-PK had recovered from being tortured by the Scarrans, she'd been resolute, incredibly happy -- and so frelling smug that the Nebari had seriously considered smacking her more than once, friend or not!

Chiana looked the Sebacean up and down, sizing up her current mood. Aeryn's posture was hesitant, as if she couldn't decide whether to turn and stalk off, or stay and talk. A few wayward strands of dark hair framed a face that looked....worried would have to be the word. Or maybe unsure.

Most likely, whatever was worrying her had something to do with Crichton. This was Aeryn, after all. The question was, was it more than just the bomb thing?

Well, Chiana knew how to have fun, even if there wasn't going to be any sex involved. Her new goal for what was left of the night became wheedling Aeryn's concerns out of her without getting a pantak jab. "Come on," she said cheerfully, nodding down the corridor in the direction of the galley. "Let's go get something to drink."

Aeryn twisted her mouth into a small smile and nearly snorted. "All right," she said. "Sure, why not?"

They walked to the galley in silence. Once there, Chiana headed straight for the raslak. She'd opened one bottle and was starting to open another when she realized that Aeryn was rummaging through the cooler. As Chiana watched, she finally pulled out a clear pitcher of bright red erganberry juice and held it out at arm's length.

Chiana eyed her friend and the juice speculatively. It wasn't Aeryn's usual drink.

"I like this," Aeryn insisted, even as she peered at the container with a suspicious look on her face. "We don't have it very often, and it'll go bad if it's not used up soon."

"If you say so."

While Aeryn poured herself some of the tart juice, Chiana plopped her drink on the table and rotated the chair in front of her 180˚ and dropped herself into it. After a pull on her bottle, she crossed her forearms over the back of the chair.

Aeryn put the pitcher away and came to sit down next to her, setting her glass on the table and turning her own chair at a slight angle so they could look at each other more easily.

"So, Crichton's beating himself up over what happened, huh?" Chiana said, once Aeryn was settled.

Aeryn hesitated, and then nodded briefly.

"But, it's not his fault. You gotta do whatever it takes to survive." Even if he should have taken a vote first!

Aeryn sighed and took a long sip of her juice. She frowned slightly, as if surprised by the taste. "I'm not the one you need to convince."

"But--"

Aeryn smiled just a little. "You've seen his homeworld, Chiana. Met his family, his friends." She shook her head, ponytail swishing. "His people can be cruel, it's true, but he wasn't born to this life. It's difficult for him."

Chiana knew that. She wouldn't have been worried about him otherwise. He was Crichton....and he was Aeryn's. Chiana snorted. "That's why you love him." When Aeryn wrinkled her face up in puzzlement, she elaborated, "He's everything you aren't. Weren't. You know, before you met him."

Aeryn contemplated this less than brilliant insight for a while, and then asked, "Would that explain you and D'Argo as well?"

"Sex explains me and D'Argo."

Aeryn snorted and gulped some of her juice, and then gasped and coughed.

"Are you sure you like that stuff?"

Aeryn ignored the question, and went back to her own. "Even you wouldn't spend nearly two cycles waiting on a male who had rejected you, just for sex."

"It's really good sex," Chiana said with a wink. "Besides," she added, trying to turn the conversation back to Aeryn, "it's not like Moya's loaded with alternatives! The only other interesting male, he's yours." She wondered for a few microts if she'd gone too far, considering everything Aeryn had been through this past cycle with Crichton, but Aeryn just snorted and grinned.

"Thank you for remembering that."

Hmmm, was Aeryn being serious or ironic? Or just joking? "It wouldn't have made any difference if I hadn't," Chiana conceded, just in case Aeryn was serious. She could afford to be generous. After all, she'd had him first, as it were, even if Aeryn didn't know that. She hoped Aeryn didn't know that.... Chiana suppressed a self satisfied smile and added, just to be sure Aeryn knew that she knew it, "No matter how frelled up things get between you two sometimes, it's you he wants."

An indecipherable expression flitted across Aeryn's face, and she took another drink of her juice, this time making a face that suggested she actively disliked the stuff.

Chiana couldn't stand it any longer. "Here. Drink this." She shoved her nearly-untouched bottle of raslak at Aeryn.

The Sebacean scowled. "For the love of Cholak! I am not an infant, and you're not my mother! I'm perfectly capable of choosing what I want to drink!

Rather than annoyance, suspicion jumped full-blown into Chiana's mind: Infant. Mother. No raslak. Juice. She cocked her head and asked bluntly, "You got something you wanna tell me about the baby?"

Aeryn's face went cautious, and she took a few microts to lean back in her chair and stretch before she sniffed and said, "Chiana, if I had a secret about the baby -- and please note that I said if -- you are the last person I would tell."

Heh. She hadn't known Aeryn was still holding a grudge about that.

"It's not your fault, I know." Aeryn shrugged. "You're incapable of keeping a secret. It's genetic."

Fair enough. But something about the vibes the other woman was giving out still seemed off, and that worried Chiana. She made another intuitive leap. "But the kid's okay, right? You'd tell me if there was anything wrong."

Aeryn softened immediately. "I have no reason to think the fetus isn't healthy."

Chiana tried to decide if Aeryn was scamming her. It didn't seem likely. For one thing, Aeryn was usually a pretty rotten liar. And everyone on Moya knew she wanted the baby really bad. They all knew what she'd gone through to protect the kid from the Scarrans. No way she could have lied about something being wrong with it without a tell.

Nope. It seemed more likely, what with the juice and all, that the baby was growing in her belly now. Either Crichton didn't know the kid was out of stasis yet, or he was tinked about it. Otherwise, they'd be telling everyone.

A glance at Aeryn was rewarded with an elaborate wide-eyed expression that said, Well?

Now, see, this was why Aeryn was fun sometimes. Anyone else on Moya, they'd be going crazy about the silence. Aeryn was just waiting, while Chiana figured out where to go next.

Truly, Chiana thought, sometimes she and Aeryn really did feel like they were a couple of girlfriends in one of those afternoon TV shows on Crichton's homeworld. Shows like, what was it, "The Turning Earth," all about love and sex and people returning from the dead.

Truly. Truth. Earth. Hmmm, that brought up an interesting question....one she'd been definitely avoiding thinking about regarding herself and D'Argo.

She took a deep breath and leaned her head so far to the side it was almost on her shoulder. "So, is Crichton planning to make a truthful woman of you, now that things are settling down?"

"A what?"

"A truthful woman."

Much to Chiana's annoyance, Aeryn looked completely bewildered.

Frell. She must have remembered the human phrase wrong. Or maybe Aeryn just hadn't heard it before. Maybe it was honest woman? Sincere woman? Chiana managed to flounce, even sitting in the chair as she was, and widened her eyes in exasperation. "Has Crichton said anything about getting married?"

Aeryn shook her head. "We're just taking it one day at a time, Chiana. He's been through too much. I'm not putting any pressure on him."

"Why? It's not like me and D'Argo. You two belong together."

"I think you're underestimating what you and D'Argo have. Could have."

Ah, a brilliant deflection....but Chiana wasn't falling for it. "But if he asked?" she persisted.

Aeryn lightly tossed off a pat answer. "It's up to him," she said with a shrug. "Peacekeepers don't take mates."

Chiana happily called her on it. "That's a load of dren, Aeryn. You haven't been a Peacekeeper for a long time."

Aeryn thought about it for what seemed like forever, choosing her words carefully. "Chiana," she said at last, "I don't think I've ever said this. I really do appreciate your support this past cycle. And I consider you my friend." She paused just a microt and shook her head. "But that doesn't mean that you get to know every frelling detail of my life!"

The words themselves were harsh, but Aeryn's gray eyes sparkled, and Chiana grinned in return. "You can't blame a girl for trying," she said. "And you know if he asks you're going to say 'yes.'"

Just a hint of uncertainty flitted across Aeryn's face before her expression settled into a smile that Chiana thought meant she was right. She was really doing pretty well here. Besides the obvious, that Crichton was feeling guilty over a bunch of Scarrans (and that Aeryn was still worried about that), she'd found out that something was up with the baby (probably the little guy was growing), and that Crichton and Aeryn hadn't talked about marriage -- but that Aeryn was dying for him to ask her.... Hmmm....

Before Chiana could pursue what that little hesitation had meant, Aeryn stood up.

A slight apologetic smile on her face, she said, "I'd better go back to bed. I should be there if John wakes up."

"I think I'm going to hang out here a little longer." Chiana held up her bottle of raslak and laughed breathily. "Finish my drink."

Aeryn's forehead wrinkled just a little. "What about D'Argo, won't he miss you?"

Chiana admitted, "I don't know if I want him to count on me always bein' there just yet."

Aeryn nodded her understanding. She smiled briefly at Chiana on her way out of the galley, after a brief stop to dump out the remains of the erganberry juice and rinse out the glass.

Chiana watched her friend go back to the man in her life. At least somebody around here knows what she wants, she thought. She took a swallow or two of her drink, and then laughed out loud, even though no one was there to hear her.

She was going to have to figure out a way to make sure Crichton made a "truthful" woman out of Aeryn.

Now, herself and D'Argo, that was another story....