Farscape: The Tourist's Guide to the Uncharted Territories

2 + 1 = ?

By Amelia
Copyright 2002

Rated: PG-13
Archiving: Archive anywhere, just let me know where
Category: Romance
Warnings: Takes place late in Season Three. Written before IP:IA.
Disclaimer: They are not mine. It's kind of like when a friend gets a new car. It may not be yours, but you can still enjoy the ride!
Author's Note: Thanks to Flavia and Quilt Lady for their suggestions and help!
Summary: Four alternate solutions to Season Three's conundrum: What do you get when you cross two Crichtons with one Aeryn?

*Beginning*

"Will you both be quiet!" yelled Pilot. It wasn't a question; it was a command. "I would have thought that your forced shore leave would have made you both a little less argumentative. But it seems that you are only getting worse."

D'Argo made to say something but was abruptly cut off by John before he could begin. "I'm sorry," John said in the most controlled voice ever spoken. "I'm sorry for arguing and I'm sorry for the way that I have been acting lately, but I'm really trying here." John then turned and left the room.

D'Argo was stunned, not by what John had said but by how he had said it. John was acting like he had just been fatally shot. Their argument wasn't anything that serious. Most of them never were. So, why was John acting the way he was? The look John had on his face was one that D'Argo had only seen once before, when they were on the Ice Planet and John had just regained his speech. John was hopeless then, not wanting any comfort or solace because Aeryn was gone.

Pilot's voice broke into D'Argo's thoughts. "According to Moya's scans, there is a Commerce Planet two days from here. You will both..."

"No, Pilot," D'Argo curtly interrupted. "That won't do any good."

"D'Argo, I insist that you and Commander Crichton..."

"Pilot, that won't fix the problem," D'Argo forcefully said, realization creeping across his face.

"What will D'Argo? You two have been acting like children for some time now."

"I think I know what is wrong. And, I haven't been helping the situation any."

"What are you talking about?

"I'll let you know, Pilot. For now, don't plan on dumping us on any planet just yet."

--------

John left Command and slowly walked back to his quarters. Why did he keep letting D'Argo bother him so much? "No, man, it's not D'Argo. It's me," John said out loud. "Why can't I just focus on what needs to be done? Maybe it's because my focus is gone."

John sat in his quarters staring at nothing for several arns. He didn't want to get up and face the others. He needed to go apologize for his recent behavior, but it would be too painful to explain the reasons why. It was late and everyone would either be in his or her quarters or on command. Maybe what he needed was food and rest and then tomorrow the world would seem better. John repeated these lies to himself as he meandered toward the galley.

John mindlessly walked down Moya's corridors. Everywhere he looked, he saw Aeryn. That is the place where Aeryn fixed the control node. There's the spot where I saw the imaginary Scorpy over her shoulder. This is the hallway where I pinned Aeryn to confront her about scenting her hair. That is... No matter how hard John tried to keep his mind on track of what was here and now on Moya, images of Aeryn kept interrupting his thoughts.

John thought to himself, "When did Aeryn become the center of my universe? When did I realize that I couldn't, no won't, live without her? Was it on the Ice Planet when she died? No. I knew before then. Was it on the Royal Planet when I thought that I would be a statue for eighty cycles? No. I knew it before then, too. I remember thinking to myself that after eighty cycles, Aeryn would still be alive, and I would find her again. Was it after she told me about Velorek? I was so jealous of him, even after she told me what she had done to him. No. It must have been before that. So, when was it?" John contemplated this for a few microts and then realized that it was when he very first saw her. Talk about "clicking" with someone. So, okay, the feeling wasn't mutual at first. But John knew then and there that there was something more to Aeryn. Telling her so was partly why she stayed with him. That's when she became his life, the moment she stepped into it.

Having realized all of this didn't change his mood, however. He finally made his way to the galley, tried to eat a little something, and then returned to his quarters. "Maybe if I get some sleep, I'll feel better," he thought. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since Aeryn left aboard Talyn with the other John. He couldn't rest because he was too busy worrying about her. He tossed and turned for arns before exhaustion finally overcame him.

John awoke the next morning in a worse mood than he had been in the day before, which was saying a lot. He knew that he had to get out of this stupor that had overcome him. The only thing that took his mind remotely off of Aeryn was studying wormholes and thinking about returning to Earth. So far, though, those endeavors had been lambasted by the Moya's crew for either wasting time or being selfish. D'Argo had even made the comment that that was why Zhaan was killed? There was no reason for him to say that. Zhaan herself called Crichton "innocent." So, if he needed to get his mind off of Aeryn and couldn't do that by studying wormholes, what else was there? Aeryn was everywhere aboard the ship. Maybe that was his problem. Maybe he just needed to leave Moya for good. If he was honest with himself, he knew that he would never find Earth again. But, he had promised Aeryn that he wouldn't leave her. Did that promise still hold since there was another one of him to keep it? Maybe that's what he should do, find some Sebacean colony where he would fit in. Isn't that what Aeryn had tried to do when she visited Namtar? John was upset and isolated and alone. If he could only see Aeryn again!

John forced himself out of his introspection and decided that he would try one more day on Moya before giving up. Perhaps he could find something that wouldn't drive the others crazy and him even crazier. With his determination mustered, he got ready for the day.

--------

Leaving Pilot, D'Argo realized that he hadn't been much of a friend to John lately. Why hadn't D'Argo realized that John was acting like he was because he missed Aeryn? Was it because D'Argo didn't realize just how close John and Aeryn were? D'Argo knew that there was something there, of course, but he hadn't realized just how much. This was a far different relationship than his had been with Chiana. With Chiana, the relationship was based on physical pleasure. He cared for Chiana, or at least he had. He still wouldn't let himself think about whether he still did or not. But what John and Aeryn had was different. The physical attraction was there. Any being over 5 cycles of age could see that. But there was so much more. That is why John had been such a pain lately--he missed Aeryn more than he tried to let on. D'Argo then realized that John hadn't spoken about Aeryn since their discussion when they got back from the Gotti family, as John called them, and found out that Talyn had left. Since then, John never once mentioned anything about her. D'Argo mused, "He must be trying that hard to hide his feelings."

Along with all of this understanding, D'Argo again realized how unhelpful he had been to John. If he was John's friend, he should have seen what was bothering John, should have seen that John was barely holding onto his sanity, which was questionable to begin with. He felt ashamed for being insensitive. Tomorrow, after they had both cooled off, he would go talk with John, since John loved to talk so much, and maybe he could help him in some way, although the specifics of how were not forthcoming.

D'Argo awoke the next morning and immediately recalled the realization of the night before. If he needed to go make things right with John, he might as well do it first thing. He quickly did his morning ablutions and went looking for Crichton.

"Pilot, could you please tell me where John is?" D'Argo asked after tapping his comm.

"He's in the galley with Jool and Chiana. D'Argo, have you been able to tell what the problem is between you and Commander Crichton?" Pilot asked with concern.

"I am fairly certain, Pilot, but I will let you know if there is anything you can do to help."

"Thank you, D'Argo," Pilot responded, not questioning D'Argo any further. If D'Argo could solve the problems between them, that would be much better than having to exile them away from Moya, again.

D'Argo walked down the corridor to the galley. What would he say to John? Everything he had said lately had been less than favorable. Would John even want to talk to him? It didn't matter. D'Argo was going to help John whether he wanted it or not!

D'Argo finally made his way into the galley to find Chiana, Jool, and John sitting in companionable silence. D'Argo could see by Chiana's face that she was worried about John. Though Jool hadn't been with the crew as long as the others, even she could tell that John was getting worse. Neither of them, though, knew what to say. On seeing D'Argo come into the room, Chiana sighed, rolled her eyes in one of those here-we-go-again faces, got up from the table and left. Jool did the same. John had his back to the door, so he wasn't aware of D'Argo's presence.

"John," began D'Argo.

"I don't want to argue with you D'Argo," was John's quick response.

"I didn't come here to argue. I came here to apologize."

The room was so quiet that all that could be heard was Moya's low whirring. "No, D'Argo. I need to apologize to you," John sadly said. "I haven't been exactly pleasant to be around lately."

"I haven't been helping the situation any. And, I know why you have been so unbearable."

With that, John looked up into D'Argo's face. D'Argo was giving the same smile that he had given right before John was turned into statue, that "this-may-suck-but-whatcha-gonna-do-about-it" smile. John couldn't help but smile back. "You know why I've been 'unbearable'?" John asked, the smile quickly fading from his face.

D'Argo nodded knowingly.

Before D'Argo could say anything, John opened the dam of thoughts and images that he had been hiding to himself and began to say, "I miss her so much D'Argo." His voice was barely controlled, and he looked like a small child whose pet had just died.

"I know you do."

"You don't understand. Not a minute goes by without me worrying about her. Is she safe? Is she alive? Did the retrieval squad find them? Is she hurt? Is she ever coming back to me? Am I ever going to see her again?"

"We are all worried about them," D'Argo began. "But it wasn't until yesterday that I realized what you must be going through. I know what it is like to be away from someone you love. I would probably be just as 'unbearable' if the situation were reversed."

"You were 'unbearable' when the situation was reversed," John said, a small grin curling the corners of his mouth. D'Argo agreeably grinned back. "I'm just so worried about her," John continued, not contradicting D'Argo about his loving Aeryn. He had whispered his love to Aeryn at her funeral, but beyond that, he had never admitted to loving Aeryn in front of any of the others. Maybe that had been the problem all along, not letting the others know how much pain he was in. "I know Aeryn can take care of herself, hell she has to take care of me half the time, but I hate not being there for her."

"You," D'Argo said as he pointed to John, "may not be there, but the other you is. I am sure that he is watching out for her."

"That's another thing that bothers me. What if something happens between the other Crichton and Aeryn? What if they become so close that I'm no longer in the picture? What happens when, if, they come back and there are two Crichtons and one Aeryn? I can't lose her, D'Argo--not even to another me."

"All of those are valid questions, John, questions that I do not have answers to and cannot help you with, although I wish that I could. But, perhaps I can help you to get your mind off of them."

"How, D'Argo? Everything I do makes me miss her that much more."

"If you want to work on wormhole tech, I will not belittle it anymore. Perhaps Pilot could find...."

"No. What would I do if I found a wormhole? Go back to Earth? I don't want to go back without her coming with me."

"Well then, what do you suggest?" D'Argo asked, trying not to grow impatient with John's negativity. "What about your bucket of dren? I know how much you like to mess with that."

"Messing with my 'bucket of dren' just reminds me that Aeryn's Prowler used to sit beside it in the maintenance bay. Used to sit there until because of me, it crashed and she was killed." John felt that he was wallowing in self-pity, which was true. It didn't seem to matter right now, though. Nothing was going to brighten his outlook. Her Prowler was her pride and joy until John caused it to crash. She never said anything to him about it, either. Never even gave him one of her "how could you" speeches that she was so good at. Instead, Aeryn just acted like it never existed, which had made John feel even worse. If only he could make it right, then maybe he wouldn't feel so bad.

"That's it!" John leaped up as he said it.

"What's it?" inquired D'Argo, not knowing what John was onto.

"Aeryn's Prowler. It was my fault it was destroyed. The least I can do is change that around."

"How?"

"I don't know. Find her another one. Make another one out of spare parts. Would she want that, though?" John was now talking to himself more than to D'Argo. "She's been trying really hard not to be a Peacekeeper. Maybe she wouldn't want another Prowler. But, she did like having a ship with weapons. I wonder if I could make her a new ship, something with weapons but something not Peacekeeper. Yeah, that's it. If I get the right parts, and with Pilot's and Moya's help for the biomechanoid pieces, I'll be able to..."

D'Argo sat and watched as John described the entire schematic to himself. A quarter arn ago this idea wasn't even conceived but within microts, John had the entire ship spec'ed out with Moya's modifications and everything. Sometimes D'Argo forgot just how smart the human could be. It was times like this that he was made to remember.

John stopped and looked at D'Argo. His enthusiastic grin and the gleam in his eye quickly faded. "You think it's a dumb idea, don't you?"

D'Argo thought about it briefly and then cautiously replied, "No, John. But wasn't the point to find something that would take your mind off of Aeryn. How is this going to help?"

"It's like reverse psychology."

D'Argo didn't understand.

John continued, "If you are on a high bridge and someone says 'Don't look down,' what is the first thing you do?"

"Look down."

"Right. So maybe that has been my problem all this time. Trying not to think of Aeryn has driven me crazy. Maybe by purposely thinking about her, I'll be more sane."

"You truly have a frelled sense of logic."

"Thanks, big guy. Now we have to find a Commerce Planet so that I can start getting the parts."

"Pilot told me there is a Commerce Planet that we should reach tomorrow. We can go down there and see what we can find."

"You'll help me with this?"

"What else are friends for?" That one comment from D'Argo completely washed away all of the tension that had been erupting between the two males. They were back to being friends, helping each other out.

"I'll let Pilot know that we want to stop at the planet," John began.

"He's probably been listening. Pilot?"

"Yes, D'Argo. I have been listening. I hope that you don't mind. Moya and I have been very worried about the two of you."

"Thanks, Pilot," John said, not feeling quite so alone. Even though he didn't have Aeryn, D'Argo and Pilot were both concerned about him.

"Pilot, you said that we will be at a Commerce Planet tomorrow?" asked D'Argo.

"Yes."

"Pilot, do you think that Moya would help me build some biomechanoid pieces into the new ship?" asked John.

"Moya and I would be very pleased to help."

"Thanks. I have a plan to write down. Thanks, to all of you. This means a lot to me."

"We know," D'Argo truthfully replied.

D'Argo watched as John walked away, glad that he was able to help. Inwardly, D'Argo worried about the plan that Crichton had concocted. What if Talyn didn't return before Aeryn's new ship was ready? How would John be able to deal with it then? D'Argo decided to let those thoughts bother him later. Right now, he would just be content with the moment.

Chiana stepped into the galley not long after Crichton left. She had gotten up to leave so she wouldn't be forced to hear yet another argument between the two of them. But when D'Argo apologized, she stopped and stayed to listen. Throughout the course of the conversation, she was relieved about John and very proud of D'Argo. She smiled to D'Argo as she came in the room.

"That was nice, D'Argo," she said in a genuine tone. She really was glad that the two males were no longer at each other's throats.

"You were listening," he said, not really a question but more of a statement.

"I was only listening because," Chiana paused, not finding the exact words to use. She continued slowly, as if trying to say the right thing but not knowing if it would be, "because I am proud that you are so sensitive and kind and I am pleased that I can call you my friend."

D'Argo was momentarily taken aback by the sincerity of Chiana's words. She really meant what she said. Without thinking, he reached up and put his arms around her. It wasn't an invitation for physical pleasure but rather recognition of what she still meant to him. He was almost ready to deal with his feelings for Chiana, almost, but not quite yet. He thought that this must be what it is like with John and Aeryn.

--------

The next day on the commerce planet, John began his purchases for Aeryn's ship. He began with some type of metal shielding, which D'Argo said was better than that of a Prowler. The next planet they came to had an old junkyard where John found a power converter that, with Moya modifications, would allow the new ship to go twice as fast as a Luxan bomber. Slowly, the pieces for the ship were acquired. D'Argo kept his word about helping John, pointing out the pros and cons of technology that John had not yet encountered. Pilot, too, helped them by guiding them to the most likely locations for spare parts and aiding John with the biomechanoid pieces. Chiana, never one to be left out, was more than eager to help. Her "negotiation" skills proved invaluable when a merchant was unwilling to part with a particular component or only willing to part with it at an exorbitant price. John had told her, though, that no stealing and no frelling were the rules if she were to help. Chiana at first looked rather dejected, but then she quickly acquiesced to John's wishes. Jool was the last to help. She didn't understand why they were stopping at planets with no entertainment value when they didn't need supplies until Chiana told her the whole story. At first, Jool was incredulous of anyone pining for the icy Peacekeeper, but after Chiana told her all the details (okay, Chiana didn't really know any details, but that didn't ruin her story), Jool agreed not to be a pest. After the first five or so planet runs, Jool even began helping. While her studies didn't include shipbuilding, she did have quite a bit of knowledge about ergonomics and chemistry to help with the project. What had begun as one man's attempt at distraction had quickly become a crew-wide preoccupation. Camaraderie reigned on Moya.

Aeryn's ship was almost finished. Just a few more tweaks and a reworked navigation component, and the only things left would be the interior and the seating. From idea conception to nearly finished product had been only 60 solar days. It had taken John years to plan and develop Farscape 1, but with Aeryn's ship, it was only 60 days. When he first started the project, it was with the hope that Aeryn would be back before it was finished. If she weren't back, what would he do to occupy his time? Now, though, John hoped that Aeryn didn't come back until after he was through because he wanted to have her present finished. He had played out many scenarios in his mind on how he would show the ship to Aeryn. In one scenario, he and the crew would say nothing about the ship and let Aeryn find it by herself. He could imagine the shock and questioning look on her face as she examined the ship, wondering where it had come from. John then imagined what her face would be like when she realized that it was built for her. In another scenario, he would blindfold Aeryn and lead her to the Maintenance Bay and surprise her with the new ship. John could just envision her saying, "For me?" John wondered if she would really like it; it wasn't a Prowler. But, it was from him. Hopefully, that would mean something. John spent hours daydreaming about each scenario, thinking of what would be the best way to show off Aeryn's ship. Then, a thought struck John. Aeryn's ship needed a name. He had to come up with something good. Every good pilot needs a good ship and every good ship needs a good name, just think of the Solo on the Millennium Falcon or Kirk on the USS Enterprise. While John finished with the navigation, he began ruminating on the best name for the ship.

John spent the next few days contemplating a wide range of names. The list went something like:
1. Kick Ass
2. Bad Girl
3. Queen Commando
4. Sebacean Pride
5. Aeryn's Ride

The possible names were tanking, John had to admit that, but he didn't ask for help on this part of the endeavor. He wanted to name the ship himself. After four days of contemplating names, he finally found one that met his criteria of being meaningful, human, and something Aeryn wouldn't hate. He did have to ask D'Argo if there was an Uncharted Territories version of spray paint in order to put the name on the back of the ship, but he did the rest of the job himself.

--------

Meanwhile, back on Talyn...

Aeryn rested comfortably in John's arms in the early part of the morning. Everything was almost perfect, for the time being. They were relatively safe on board Talyn, the Peacekeepers were not actively pursuing them at the moment, Harvey was gone, and Crais was tolerable. Despite all of this, though, Aeryn still was not perfectly happy. She knew that despite the warm, loving John next to her, there was another John out there. She had blinded her mind to this fact when she and John first became lovers. All that mattered at that time was the then and there. But what would happen when they found Moya again?

John slightly turned on his side and flickered open his eyes. He saw Aeryn's unfocused, withdrawn eyes and knew that her thoughts were far away. "Morning," he drawled.

"Morning," she automatically said.

"Sleep well?"

"Fine."

John knew that whenever Aeryn answered in one-word answers only, things were not good. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Another one-word answer. "Aeryn, I know you too well, something is wrong. What is it?"

"John," Aeryn slowly started, "what happens when we find Moya?"

"What do you mean what happens? We leave Captain Crunch and go back home."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," Aeryn said, ignoring the comment about "home" for now.

A thick silence surrounded them.

Aeryn continued, "What happens when we find Moya and there are two of you and one of me?" Aeryn finally vocalized the dreaded question that neither of them had been willing to ask.

"I don't want to stop this, this relationship that we have," John finally said after an eternity.

"Neither do I," Aeryn quickly replied. "But, how is that fair to the other John?"

"How is any of what we have been doing fair to the other John?"

"It's not."

"Right. So, why should our continuing as we are be any less unfair on Moya than it has been on Talyn?"

With that comment, Aeryn turned to face him, her emotions unreadable in her eyes. "John, how would you feel if you saw me like this with another man?"

"That's not a fair question."

"How is it not? How did you feel when you thought that Crais and I recreated?"

"You know how I felt."

"You were hurt, mad, angry, right? Do you think that I would ever intentionally do anything to make you feel that way?"

"Of course not."

"So, why would I make the other you feel that way?"

"But, I don't want to stop having you in my arms. How is stopping fair to me? Or to you for that matter?"

"It isn't fair, but it is right." Aeryn arose from the bed and got dressed. Her mind had been refusing to think about this topic, but someday soon, they would find Moya.

John watched her get dressed and sighed to himself. He had finally found his Eden and another John Crichton was frelling it up. Sometimes he forgot just how whacked this part of the universe was.

--------

Talyn was enjoying the extra passengers, not at first, of course, but now he was glad to have the extra hands on board. Since he and Crais had first left on their own, there had been no one to help maintain or enhance the various sections on board Talyn. One man could only do so much. Now, there were four sets of hands, five if Rygel's were counted, to help the leviathan grow and improve. Today's task was fixing the power conduits on the uppermost tier of Talyn's front hull. Talyn had been able to compensate the problems in this area in order to make starburst possible, but the pain was intense for the leviathan. Once the conduit was fixed, the pain would be gone which would improve the recuperation time after starburst.

Crais was on command for this project, while Aeryn and John worked on the conduit from inside the hull. Their comms were on an open channel, so conversation between Aeryn and John was kept to the task at hand. John watched Aeryn work and could see that the old PK bad ass was at work. John hadn't seen that no-nonsense look for almost a quarter cycle, but their conversation that morning had plastered it across her face. John had no idea what to do to change the situation.

"How much longer until the conduit is relinked?" asked Crais over the comms.

"We have four patches to make and then we'll be able to test the power flow," Aeryn replied.

After finishing the last four connections, Aeryn and John moved out of their workspace in order for the fix to be tested. Crais instructed Talyn to slowly power up that section. Talyn began the process, and the links appeared to be holding. The links didn't hold for long, though. Once Talyn's power was up to near starburst, the links blew up, shaking the whole ship.

"Aeryn, are you okay?" asked a worried Crais over the comms.

"We're both fine," John replied, once he had determined that Aeryn was all right. "What the frell just happened?"

"Talyn says that one of the conduits was corrupted, causing a short-circuit of sorts."

Aeryn and John quickly recovered from the blast and began looking back over the patches through the char marks that the explosion had caused. After studying them for a half of an arn, they finally found the corrupted conduit.

"We can fix the conduit," Aeryn replied, "but the power supply for this node has been backed up in Talyn's outer hull compartment. The fuel will have to be manually bled into the atmosphere in order to release the pressure."

"What exactly does that mean?" asked John.

"It means that once we fix the conduit, someone will have to go EVA and manually release the fuel," Aeryn responded, sounding exasperated with John's question.

After repairing the conduit, John and Aeryn prepared to go EVA as she explained to John what needed to be done in order to release the fuel. After donning their suits, they left Talyn and slowly made their way to the spot on the hull above the section where they had been working. Aeryn loosened the hull shielding over the jammed conduit. As she began lifting the hull, a bright yellow glow violently discharged from the hatch. Aeryn attempted to put the hull back in place, but was not strong enough to fight the chemical-powered wind that was escaping. John rushed over to help her secure the panel.

"What happened?" Crais asked from Command.

"The fuel has been tainted with dylaxian," Aeryn replied.

"Dylaxian?" queried John.

"If the fuel is exposed to a moderate amount of clorium, the chemical composition can begin to change," Crais answered.

"And what do we do about this?" John asked.

"We have to let it escape into the atmosphere in small increments. If too much is released at once, Talyn's hull will be irreparably damaged," Crais again answered.

"Is this stuff damaging to Sebaceans?"

Crais and Aeryn were both silent.

"Anyone?" John asked forcefully.

"Yes. If Sebaceans are overexposed to it, the light is blinding to their eyes," Aeryn answered.

"Aeryn, are your eyes okay? Did they get hurt?" John asked.

"No. I'm fine. I closed my eyes when I first saw it."

"Well, then, it looks like I'm the candidate," John resolutely said.

"How do you figure that?" Aeryn asked.

"As everyone loves to point out to me, my eyesight is not as good as yours. I believe the term was 'deficient.' So, let me use my 'deficient' eyesight to fix this."

"John, no. You don't know what you are doing," Aeryn said, worry slowly creeping into her voice.

"I never know what I am doing. Why should this be any different?"

"He is right, Aeryn. The fuel must be bled, and he is the most logical one to do it," Crais said. Crais agreeing with John was one of the rarest things in the Uncharted Territories.

"Fine," she said after a few microts thinking. "Let me show you what to do." Aeryn spent the next quarter arn explaining the process to John. Once John said he got it, Aeryn reluctantly began to return to inside Talyn. "Be careful," she said as she put her suited hand on John. John gave her a big smile and said, "I always am."

Once Aeryn was back inside Talyn, John began the slow work of bleeding the fuel.

--------

Later, back on Moya...

The only items that needed to be finished on the ship were the seats. So far, none of the planets they had gone to had anything that would work. Finally, the prospects for seating were looking up on some out of the way planet named Ritseg. John and Chiana were in the open-air store of a humble tailor of sorts named Hallop. He told them that he could make the seats that John wanted in exchange for passage aboard Moya to his home star system, which was a three days journey away. John wanted to say "Yes" on the spot, but he felt that he should clear the passenger with Pilot and the others. John and Chiana left the shop to find D'Argo and Jool who were procuring provisions for the crew. Once they found each other, John explained the situation.

"What do you think?" John asked them.

Pilot responded over the comm, "Moya and I do not mind giving this Hallop transportation."

D'Argo was apprehensive but replied, "If this is the only way to get the ship finished, I don't see how we can say no."

Neither Jool nor Chiana objected, so the decision was unanimous. John and Chiana made their way back to Hallop's to tell him the good news. Hallop was ecstatic at the prospect of returning home, a wish that no one on the crew faulted him for. Hallop said he could have the completed frames for the seats in 28 arns and could then finish their covers on Moya. John and D'Argo arranged to meet him the following day.

The following morning, D'Argo and John made their way to Hallop's. John noticed a gang of what looked like teenagers who were watching them intently as they walked by. John motioned to D'Argo to draw his attention to the gang. D'Argo cautiously looked in the direction where John indicated. "I saw them, too," D'Argo quietly said without looking at John. "They were watching Jool and me when we were here before."

"Anything to worry about?" John asked.

"Probably not. Just a bunch of kids who have never seen such a fine Luxan warrior," D'Argo replied as a grin took over his face.

John just smiled as they continued to Hallop's. Hallop had gotten the frames done as promised as well as packed up all of the supplies that he would need in order to finish the seats. Hallop had few personal belongings to speak of, his only cargo being the materials for the seats and one medium bag. D'Argo and John took one load of the materials to the transport pod and had come back to Hallop's for the last load. Once Hallop had gathered his things, the three of them began walking back to the transport pod. They were almost there when the gang they had seen earlier stepped out from an alleyway and blocked their way to the transport.

"Do you want something?" D'Argo asked in his harshest tone.

"Just to make a name," the leader of the gang said.

"You want to explain that?" asked John.

"You're the infamous Crichton and D'Argo, aren't you?" the leader asked.

John and D'Argo didn't reply.

The gang took that as a 'yes' and drew their weapons and began firing. D'Argo and John both heaved their heavy loads at the gang, pinning one and knocking down three others. Hallop, who was defenseless, scurried out of the way, taking cover under a street vendor's stall. After hurling the seat frames, D'Argo and John ran for cover and began returning fire on the gang. Through the flurry of bullets, they were able to take out three more. The remainder of the gang kept returning fire at John and D'Argo, but their aim was less than impressive. One good shot did hit D'Argo in the arm. The gang members were now down to three. John was pinned behind a café table, while D'Argo was still firing from behind a planter-box of sorts. While the gang kept firing despite their lack of skill, the leader had slowly worked his way from in front of D'Argo and John to behind them. Just as he started to raise his gun to shoot D'Argo in the back, John noticed him. John tried to fire, but his pulse pistol jammed. He leapt from his place of concealment and flew through the air to stop the pulse from hitting D'Argo. Just as the leader pulled his trigger, John came between the shot and D'Argo. At that same moment, D'Argo had finally gotten the last gang member in front of him. He was startled when he saw John flying through the air in his direction. He turned to see the leader fire, and John take the shot for him. The leader then stood over the motionless John with a smug look on his face. The look didn't last long. Within fifteen microts, the leader was dead; an enraged D'Argo took care of that. He knelt over his fallen friend, and tears began to cloud his eyes. He sat like that for several microts while a crowd formed around them.

--------

Choose your ending!

Ending I
Ending II
Ending III
Ending IV

--------

*Ending I*

After an eternity, D'Argo got up. John was dead! D'Argo carefully carried him to the transport pod and up to Moya. The crew was devastated by the loss. Hallop apologized profusely for what had happened, even if it wasn't his native planet. Hallop hoped that he could still get passage to his home world, despite the tragedy that they had encountered. The crew agreed. Hallop said that he could get the supplies to make another set of frames on his home world, if the crew still wanted it. The crew was sure that that was what John would have wanted. Once they found Hallop's home, he constructed the frames and then began the covering. Sensing the crews' desire to break orbit around his home world, Hallop showed D'Argo how to finish the seats so that Moya could be on her way.

Three days later, Aeryn's ship was ready. Now it was time to wait for Talyn to find them or for them to find Talyn. The waiting was horrendous. D'Argo, Chiana, Jool, and Pilot had lost one of their closest friends.

--------

Back on Talyn...

John had begun to bleed the fuel out of the chamber. He could only do it in small increments, so the progress was slow. Aeryn had shown him how to manipulate the shielding so that only a small amount of fuel was released at a time. John exposed the conduit for ten microts, then closed it and counted to sixty, then opened it for ten, and repeated. John had to do this by touch since it was too risky to keep his eyes open for any length of time. Talyn could slowly feel the pressure easing when about half of the fuel had been bled off.

As he once again repeated this procedure and exposed the conduit, a bright yellow fireball escaped. The power was so strong that the ship shook.

"John?" asked a frantic Aeryn. "John, are you there?"

"John!" yelled Stark, panic in his voice.

There was nothing but silence. Aeryn quickly ran out of Command and to the access port. She hurriedly put on her gear and made her way out to where John was working. When she got there, she found John's lifeless body. Aeryn would not accept that John was dead. Too many thoughts were swirling around in her brain, too many emotions unleashed all at once. She felt lightheaded as though she were going to pass out. She dragged John back inside Talyn, her worst fears slowly taking shape. Once the access port was closed to the cold, empty vacuum of space, the crew opened the inner port door. Aeryn knelt beside John, breathing air into his lungs. Finally, he stirred. He was alive!

"Aeryn?" he said weakly.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" she yelled at him as she held him in a tight embrace. She leaned over and lightly kissed him, not caring if the others saw.

John was weak and needed to be attended to, but the explosion had released the rest of the contaminated fuel and Talyn was now exposed to the outside vacuum. Aeryn told Stark to look after John while she geared up for another trip outside. She quickly repaired the hole without any further problems. Once she was inside, Talyn again powered up, and this time it was successful.

Once the crisis was over, Aeryn went to their quarters to check on John. He was asleep when she entered the room. She bent over him, softly kissing his forehead. He awoke and smiled up at her.

"I meant it, Crichton. Don't you ever do that to me again."

"Don't plan on it any time soon," John quipped back.

"John, what are we going to do when we find Moya," Aeryn said. This time, though, there was more sadness in her voice when she asked the dreaded question. "I cannot lose you."

"We'll work something out," John comfortingly replied, not knowing what that something would be. "We'll work something out."

--------

Within five days of the incident, Talyn and Moya were reunited.

"They're here!" shouted Pilot over the comms.

"Who's here?" asked D'Argo from the galley where the crew was eating.

"Talyn is here!" shouted Pilot.

Chiana was first on Command. "Pilot, put them on screen."

Crais's face came on the viewer as the rest of the crew made it to Command. Everyone started talking at once: "What till we tell you about..." "You'll never believe what we saw..." "Talyn is..." D'Argo searched the view of Talyn's Command for Aeryn or the other John and found them both. The sight of John was indeed welcome.

"Where's your John?" asked Stark, sensing someone was missing. At that, Moya's crew grew very quiet.

"We'll answer your questions once you've boarded," D'Argo ominously replied.

Moya's crew made it to the docking bay and waited for the transport pod from Talyn. The first to come out was John. D'Argo gave him a huge bear hug, and Chiana shed a tear as she welcomed him.

"Where's the other John?" John asked. "You guys get tired of his whining and kick him off?" he said jokingly.

No one answered.

Finally Pilot broke over the comms, "He was killed."

"Open mouth, insert foot, John," John thought to himself.

"Wha, what happened?" Aeryn asked with a wavering voice.

Chiana, Jool, and D'Argo began to relate the story of the seats to them.

"He died while purchasing something for me?" ask Aeryn, not wanting to hear anymore.

"The ship he was working on was the only thing that kept him sane. You made him very happy," D'Argo said.

The room burst into a rumble of conversation: "I can't believe..." "He saved D'Argo..." "When did this happen?"

Aeryn began to lose the control that she had been trying hard to maintain. Although she had John right next to her, the thought of the other John being killed over something for her was too much. She had to get out of there.

"Where is the ship?" she calmly asked them.

"In the maintenance bay next to his module," D'Argo replied. "John had wanted us all to be there when he showed you the ship, but if you want to see it alone, we'll understand."

"No. You can come, if that is what John wanted," Aeryn said as she walked to the maintenance bay with the others following her.

Crais decided that now was time for him to go. As the rest of the crew walked toward the maintenance bay, he left aboard the transport pod and then disappeared with Talyn for parts unknown. He had hoped that he could convince Aeryn to come with him, but he decided not even to ask.

In the maintenance bay, Aeryn was impressed with the ship as she carefully looked over its design. "Where did all these parts come from?"

D'Argo walked her around the ship as they told her about its components and how they built it.

"You built it from spare parts?" she asked, astonished.

"Yes," said D'Argo. "Without you around, John is 'unbearable' to be with. We had to come up with some way for him not to go crazy."

"Thank you, all of you," Aeryn said as she proudly examined the interior.

"We just did what John told us to do. He planned it all himself. He didn't live to see it completed. He was killed before the seats were finished." D'Argo stopped, trying to read whether this conversation was upsetting Aeryn. Aeryn remained expressionless, so D'Argo continued, "He tested it as it was being built, but none of us have piloted it since it was finished. It wouldn't have been right," D'Argo said.

Aeryn took in those words as she rounded the back of the ship. She saw the letters and began to sound them out to herself. "Gu-Oh-ll-du-e-n Su-uh-n".

"John said that your ship needed a name. I am not sure what it says in his language," D'Argo said, breaking into Aeryn's concentration.

"It says 'Golden Sun'," Aeryn said. "It's a play on words, an Earth riddle." Aeryn went on to explain, "This last word is the name of the star on John's home and is also my surname."

"When did you learn to read John's language?" asked Chiana.

"He's been teaching me," Aeryn said as she pointed to the other John, who was feeling very much like a third wheel. He was feeling so many conflicting emotions, that "third wheel" was the only one he could specifically name.

Aeryn pointed to the unusual symbol and said, "What does this mean?"

John started to answer her but felt the question wasn't directed at him. Instead, Jool answered, "When I asked John, he got a goofy grin and said that he only would explain that to you."

"Do you know what those letters are?" asked D'Argo.

Aeryn recognized the letters. "These are my initials and these are John's."

"That's a heart," John said. "It means that he loved you very much."

Silence penetrated the room since no one could talk. Aeryn's eyes slowly began welling with tears. She wanted to be alone, but she wanted to stay with this last piece that John had left behind. "Could you give me a moment?" she asked them in a whisper. They quietly left so that the only person left with Aeryn was John.

"Would you like me to go, too?" he asked.

Aeryn reached out her hand toward John, which he gratefully accepted. They stood there like that until Aeryn's teary eyes became weeping, her weeping became sobbing, her sobbing became anger, and her anger became shame.

John felt helpless to say or do anything to comfort Aeryn. Knowing that it had been a long day, the least he could do was slowly propel her toward her quarters. John wanted to say something but sensed that Aeryn needed the silence. When they came to Aeryn's door, John palmed it open and sat Aeryn on the bed, her exhaustion written across her face. John sat down next to her and leaned back against the wall. He then pulled her to him, and they sat in silence.

Although Aeryn felt relieved to have John close, she felt that she had betrayed the other John. D'Argo had told her what he had been like without her. All this time that he had been missing her and building her the ship, she was having her pleasure with this John. It was as if the wonderful memories of the recent past were now somehow tainted. She didn't know how to tell John this; he was being so comforting right now. But, she didn't want to continue as they had been. What would the rest of the crew think? They had worked so hard on the ship, easing John's loneliness. How could she flaunt her relationship with this John?

A great sadness fell over the couple. Things could never be the same.

That night, a small, opalescent being, which could only be described as a green spectre, passed by the ship. Not immediately finding anything of interest on the leviathan, it quickly left. Not long afterward, a larger being of the same type passed over the ship. The presence of both beings went undetected by the crew.

--------

*Ending II*

Three days later, Aeryn's ship was ready. Now it was time to wait for Talyn to find them or for them to find Talyn. The waiting was horrendous. They had lost one of their closest friends.

--------

Back on Talyn...

As he once again repeated this procedure and exposed the conduit, a bright yellow fireball escaped. The power was so strong that the ship shook.

"John?" asked a frantic Aeryn. "John, are you there?"

"No!" yelled Stark as he collapsed to the floor in Command.

"What's wrong?" asked Crais.

"It's John. He's...gone."

"No!" yelled Aeryn. There was no way that John was dead.

"I felt him go. He was there and then in a split-microt, he was gone," said Stark, beginning to weep.

"I do not believe you!" With that Aeryn ran out of Command and to the access port. She quickly put on her gear and made her way out to where John had been working. When she got there, nothing was there except the ripped end of John's tether. Nothing else. Nothing. Just space. Aeryn would not accept it. Too many thoughts were swirling around in her brain, too many emotions unleashed all at once. She felt lightheaded as though she were going to pass out. She eventually made her way back into Talyn. Once the access port was closed to the cold, empty vacuum of space, the crew opened the inner port door. Aeryn stood there, tearless and emotionless, and said, "He wasn't there."

"Aeryn, I am sorry," began Crais.

Aeryn just walked out of the room and headed toward her quarters. She did not want the others to see the breakdown that was coming. Halfway there, she began running; the tears wouldn't be held back any longer and neither would the sobs. She ran blindly down the corridor, her wailing reverberating throughout Talyn.

The next days aboard Talyn were solemn, to say the least. Each person tried to comfort Aeryn, but she wouldn't be comforted. She did her duties and then spent the rest of the time in her quarters, her quarters that she had shared with John. "Why did we have to argue that morning? Why did I bring up that question that morning?" Aeryn painfully said out loud. "Why?"

--------

Within five days of the incident, Talyn and Moya were reunited.

"They're here!" shouted Pilot over the comms.

"Who's here?" asked D'Argo from the galley where the crew was eating.

"Talyn is here!" shouted Pilot.

Chiana was first on Command. "Pilot, put them on screen."

"Where's Aeryn?" D'Argo impatiently asked, breaking through the conversations.

"She's in her quarters," Stark replied.

"Is she sick?" D'Argo asked.

"There has been a situation," began Crais.

"What kind of situation?" D'Argo asked, thinking that he probably did not want the answer.

"We'll explain the details once we've boarded," Crais said, and then the signal was gone.

The crew on Moya wasn't sure what Crais had meant or how Aeryn would react to finding out about John. It seemed to take Talyn's crew forever to arrive aboard the transport pod. Once the door was open, Talyn's crew began stepping out. The last person out was Aeryn. The sadness written across her face was difficult to miss. D'Argo grabbed her in a bear hug. D'Argo looked for the other John.

"Where's John?" D'Argo asked, hoping that Aeryn's sad look was not an indication.

Aeryn pulled away from D'Argo's hug. "He's dead" was all she said.

"Who is dead?" asked Jool.

"John," Aeryn managed to say. "The other John," she quickly clarified.

"Oh, no," Chiana said, beginning to cry again.

"We all miss him," Stark said as he went to comfort Chiana.

"So do we," Jool muttered.

"What do you mean?" asked Crais.

"Where is the John that was with you?" asked Rygel.

The room was silence.

Finally Pilot broke over the comms, "He, also, is dead."

The room burst into a thunder of conversation: "What happened..." "He did what..." "When did this happen?" The noise was too much for Aeryn. She began to lose the control that she had been trying hard to maintain. She had to get out of there. She bolted from the room and ran towards her old quarters. Her teary eyes quickly gave way to weeping and her weeping gave way to sobbing. For the second time in the last few days, her sobs could be heard throughout a leviathan as she made her way into the depths of the ship.

The crew lingered in the maintenance bay, each one of them expressing their feelings of grief and loss. As the crew started to disband, Crais left aboard the transport pod and then disappeared with Talyn for parts unknown. He had hoped that he could convince Aeryn to come with him, but he decided not even to ask.

Once Aeryn was in her quarters, her sobbing gave way to anger and her anger remained. She had barely been able to remain in the land of the living when John died aboard Talyn. The solitary thought that numbed the pain and prevented her from joining him was that there was another John that she hoped would help her through it. Now, both of them were gone. This is what she deserved from the gods or the universe or whatever. Logically she knew that she must somehow cope, but realistically she was not sure how or if she wanted to.

That night, a small, opalescent being, which could only be described as a green spectre, passed by the ship. Not immediately finding anything of interest on the leviathan, it quickly left. Not long afterward, a larger being of the same type passed over the ship, too. The presence of both beings went undetected by the crew.

--------

A few days later, Aeryn finally left her room. She eventually found her way to the maintenance bay where her new ship was waiting. "D'Argo?" she called over her comm.

"Yes, Aeryn?" D'Argo called back, grateful to hear her voice after the silence of the last several days.

"What is this ship in the maintenance bay?"

"I'll be right there," D'Argo responded. D'Argo quickly told Jool and Chiana that Aeryn had found the ship. Since the whole crew had helped in its construction, John had told them that he wanted them all to be there when Aeryn found the ship.

D'Argo, Chiana, and Jool hurried to the maintenance bay. They found Aeryn going over the ship. She rounded the back of the ship and looked at the letters. "Gu-Oh-ll-du-e-n Su-uh-n" she sounded to herself.

"John said that your ship needed a name. I am not sure what it says in his language," D'Argo said, breaking into Aeryn's concentration.

"It says 'Golden Sun'," Aeryn said. "It's a play on words, an Earth riddle." Aeryn went on to explain, "This last word is the name of the star on John's home and is also my surname."

"When did you learn to read John's language?" asked Chiana.

"He was teaching me before he...was killed." Aeryn pointed to the unusual symbol and said, "Do you know what this means?"

"When I asked John, he got a goofy grin and said that he only would explain that to you," Jool responded.

"Do you know what those letters are?" asked D'Argo.

Aeryn recognized the letters. "These are my initials and these are John's."

"Oh," was all they could say.

"Where did this ship come from?" she asked them.

D'Argo walked her around the ship as they told her about its features and how they built it.

"You built it?" she asked, astonished.

"Yes, we built it," said D'Argo. "Without you around, John is 'unbearable' to be with. We had to come up with some way for him not to go crazy."

"Thank you, all of you," Aeryn said as she proudly examined the interior.

"We just did what John told us to do. He planned it all himself. He didn't live to see it completed since he was killed before the seats were finished." D'Argo stopped, trying to read whether this conversation was upsetting Aeryn. Aeryn remained expressionless, so D'Argo continued, "John tested it as it was being built, but none of us have piloted it since it was finished. It wouldn't have been right," D'Argo said.

"Are you going to give it a try?" asked Chiana.

"Yes," Aeryn firmly responded.

She was lost without John, but maybe this last piece of him, along with her friends, could somehow help her through. She didn't think so, but she was at least going to try.

--------

*Ending III*

After an eternity, John stirred. He wasn't dead! D'Argo carefully carried him to the transport pod and up to Moya. Back in the safety of Moya, Jool wove her medicinal magic over John while Hallop apologized profusely for the treatment that John and D'Argo had received. Hallop hoped that he could still get passage to his home world, despite the problems that they had encountered. The crew agreed. Hallop said that he could get the supplies to make another set of frames on his home world. John healed while they found Hallop's home. As promised, Hallop constructed the frames and then began the covering. Sensing the crews' desire to break orbit around his home world, Hallop showed John how to finish the seats so that Moya could be on her way.

Three days later, Aeryn's ship was ready. Now it was time to wait for Talyn to find them or for them to find Talyn. Somehow the waiting wasn't as bad as John had thought it was going to be. He was surrounded by his friends, he had a present for Aeryn, and he was alive.

--------

Back on Talyn...

As he once again repeated this procedure and exposed the conduit, a bright yellow fireball escaped. The power was so strong that the ship shook.

"John?" called a frantic Aeryn. "John, are you there?"

"No!" yelled Stark as he collapsed to the floor in Command.

"What's wrong?" asked Crais.

"It's John. He's...gone."

"No!" yelled Aeryn. There was no way that John was dead.

"I felt him go. He was there and then in a split-microt, he was gone," said Stark, beginning to weep.

"Aeryn, I am sorry," began Crais.

Aeryn walked out of the room and headed toward her quarters. She did not want the others to see the breakdown that was coming. Halfway there, she began running; the tears wouldn't be held back any longer and neither would the sobs. She ran blindly down the corridor, her wailing reverberating throughout Talyn.

--------

Within five days of the incident, Talyn and Moya were reunited.

"They're here!" shouted Pilot over the comms.

"Who's here?" asked John from the galley where the crew was eating.

"Talyn is here!" shouted Pilot.

John never moved so quickly in his life. He was up to Command in record time. "Pilot, put them on screen."

Crais's face came on the viewer. "I never thought I would be glad to see you," John jokingly said to Crais.

"Nor I you," Crais replied enigmatically.

The rest of the crew had made it to Command. Everyone started talking at once: "Wait till we tell you about..." "You'll never believe what we saw..." "Talyn is..." John searched the view of Talyn's Command for Aeryn or the other John.

"Where's Aeryn?" John impatiently asked, breaking through the conversations.

"She's in her quarters," Stark replied.

"Is she sick?" John asked, unsuccessfully keeping the concern out of his voice.

"There has been a situation," began Crais.

"What kind of situation?" John asked, knowing he did not want the answer.

"We'll explain the details once we've boarded," Crais said and then the signal was gone.

The crew on Moya wasn't sure how John was going to take this. Instead of saying anything, he stood there briefly and then headed to the docking bay. It seemed to take forever for Talyn's crew to arrive aboard the transport pod. Once the door was open, Talyn's crew began stepping out. The last person out was Aeryn. John's heart leapt as he saw her. He ran over to her, kissed her soundly, and put his arms around her, despite knowing that she probably would not like this display in front of the others. John didn't care; Aeryn was back. Aeryn didn't respond to John; there was something wrong. John whispered in her ear, "Did my twin do something to make you mad? You don't seem very happy to see me."

Aeryn pulled away. "He's dead," was all she said.

"Who is dead?" asked D'Argo.

"John," Aeryn managed to say. "The other John," she quickly clarified.

John pulled Aeryn into a tighter hug than before, kissing her check before cradling her head on his shoulder. "I am so sorry," he said, barely audible enough for the others to hear.

"You wouldn't be sorry if you knew what they were doing," muttered Rygel.

Aeryn grew even tenser in John's embrace. "Shut up, Rygel," John said. "I know exactly what they were doing."

Aeryn pulled slightly away and looked in John's face. John returned her gaze and said, "The same thing I would have been doing."

The crew left the maintenance bay, leaving John and Aeryn alone. The question on the mind of Moya's crew was what happened to John, but no one asked this until they were outside the bay. Crais took this as an opportunity to leave Moya. Once aboard Talyn, he disappeared for parts unknown. He had hoped that he could convince Aeryn to come with him, but he decided not even to ask.

Once the crew was gone, Aeryn began to lose the control that she had been trying hard to maintain. John sensed this and pulled her into the most secure and safe hold that he could muster. From that one comment from Rygel, he knew his fear about Aeryn and the other John was true. He would get mad about that later. Right now, his only concern was easing the tortured look on Aeryn's face. That was ALL that mattered. John and Aeryn stood there like that until Aeryn's teary eyes became weeping, her weeping became sobbing, her sobbing became anger, and her anger became calmness.

Aeryn allowed John to slowly propel her to her quarters. John sensed that she needed him there, not talking, just there. When they came to Aeryn's door, John palmed it open and sat Aeryn on the bed. He didn't want to leave Aeryn, but her exhaustion was written across her face. He sat down next to her and leaned back against the wall. He then pulled her to him and said nothing.

Aeryn felt slightly relieved, although she still missed the other John. And here was this John, trying to make her feel better over the loss of another man. She did not deserve this much from the gods or the universe or whatever. Aeryn turned in John's arms and reached up to gently kiss him. John wanted to respond with all of the longing that he had been feeling over the last however many days. He didn't, though, given Aeryn's current emotional state. He broke the kiss and looked at Aeryn.

"Aeryn, this isn't right."

"Yes, it is."

"Aeryn, you are going to wake up tomorrow and be mad at me for taking advantage of the situation. I just got you back. I don't want you mad at me yet." John smiled that adorable smile.

"John, I have wonderful memories of the other John, memories that are solely mine now. I'm not forgetting them. I just want you to stay."

John didn't need any further encouragement. He and Aeryn lay as one.

--------

The next day, John told the others to meet him in the maintenance bay where Aeryn's new ship was waiting. He wanted to give this to her alone, but after all the work the others had done, that hardly seemed right. Aeryn reluctantly allowed John to blindfold her and lead her down the corridor. Upon arriving at the maintenance bay, she could sense the others in the room.

"What is going on?" she asked.

"Just a little something that we've been passing the time with," John replied. With that, he took off the blindfold.

Aeryn's face registered the beautiful ship standing in front of her. The ship was not much different in size than a prowler, maybe just a little bigger. The guns mounted on the side were definitely bigger than those of a prowler. "What is this? Where did it come from?" she asked.

John walked her around the ship as he told her about its features and how they built it.

"You built it?" she asked, astonished.

"Yes, we built it," said John, amused by the implication in Aeryn's question.

D'Argo interjected to Aeryn, "Without you around, John is 'unbearable' to be with. We had to come up with some way for him not to go crazy."

Aeryn rounded the back of the ship and looked at the words that John had written on the back. "Gu-Oh-ll-du-e-n Su-uh-n" she sounded to herself. John stopped to explain the back to her.

"It's the name of your ship. It says..."

Aeryn interrupted. "Golden Sun."

John didn't catch it at first. He started by saying, "I hope you like the name. I thought about...Wait! When did you learn to read English?"

"The other John taught me, rather was beginning to teach me," Aeryn said wistfully. She quickly pulled herself out of her thoughts and pointed to the funny shape with the writing in it on the back of the ship. "What's this?"

John went over to it and traced the shape with his finger. "It's a heart. It says, AS + JC." John didn't want to say anymore in front of the others. He looked at Aeryn hoping she understood it's meaning.

She smiled back at him in understanding.

--------

*Ending IV*

--------

Back on Talyn...

As he once again repeated this procedure and exposed the conduit, a bright yellow fireball escaped. The power was so strong that the ship shook.

"John?" called a frantic Aeryn. "John, are you there?"

"John!" yelled Stark, panic in his voice.

"Aeryn?" he said weakly.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" she yelled at him as she held him in a tight embrace. She leaned over and lightly kissed him, not caring if the others saw.

Once the crisis was over, Aeryn went to their quarters to check on John. He was asleep when she entered the room. She bent over him, softly kissing his forehead. He awoke and smiled up at her.

"I meant it, Crichton. Don't you ever do that to me again."

"Don't plan on it any time soon," John quipped back.

"John, what are we going to do when we find Moya," Aeryn said. This time, though, there was more sadness in her voice when she asked the dreaded question. "I cannot lose you."

"We'll work something out," John replied comfortingly, not knowing what that something would be. "We'll work something out."

--------

Within five days of the incident, Talyn and Moya were reunited.

"They're here!" shouted Pilot over the comms.

"Who's here?" asked John from the galley where the crew was eating.

"Talyn is here!" shouted Pilot.

John never moved so fast in his life. He was up to Command in record time. "Pilot, put them on screen."

Crais's face came on the viewer. "I never thought I would be glad to see you," John jokingly said to Crais.

Crais merely nodded in acknowledgement.

The rest of the crew had made it to Command. Everyone started talking at once: "What till we tell you about..." "You'll never believe what we saw..." "Talyn is..." John searched the view of Talyn's Command for Aeryn.

"Where's Aeryn?" John green impatiently asked, breaking through the conversations.

"I'm here, John," Aeryn said as Crais moved from blocking the view of her.

"Man, are you a sight for sore eyes!" John green said, not containing the glee he was feeling.

"Believe me, we know," Chiana said as she smiled between John green and Aeryn. John green tried to give Chiana a stern look, but his happiness made that impossible.

Again, everyone started talking, telling his or her stories.

"As much as I would love to chat, can we continue this once you are back on board Moya?" John green asked.

Moya's crew made it to the docking bay and waited for the transport pod from Talyn. The first to come out was John black. D'Argo gave him a huge bear hug, and Chiana hugged him playfully, too.

John green waited impatiently for Aeryn to come off the transport. His heart leapt as he saw her. He ran over to her, kissed her soundly, and put his arms around her, despite knowing that she probably would not like this display in front of the others. John didn't care; Aeryn was back. Aeryn responded to John but there was still something wrong. John whispered in her ear, "Did my twin do something to make you mad? You don't seem very happy to see me."

Aeryn shifted her head slightly and whispered in his ear, "No, I am happy to see you." She hesitated and then continued, "You may not be so happy to see me though."

John green thought about what Aeryn said and took it to mean that his second worse fear was true--Aeryn was no longer his. Instead of making a scene or getting mad, John just wanted to hold Aeryn. He pulled her close and whispered, "As long as you don't tell me to go frell myself, I'll still be happy to see you."

Aeryn smiled, "We'll talk later."

This whole discussion did not go unnoticed by John black. He wanted to rip John green's arm away from Aeryn and play the overprotective bit. But how could he? That was him standing there, overjoyed to see Aeryn, as much as he didn't want to admit it.

Both crews continued chattering as they unloaded their cargo from Talyn to Moya. Normally, Crais would have left Moya as soon as possible, but his interest in there being two Crichtons with only one Aeryn was too strong to ignore. Crais wasn't a sadist, although the others might disagree, but he was curiously amused by the rather unusual situation.

Later, they created a celebration from the supplies that they had. It wasn't exactly a feast, but no one seemed to care, except Rygel of course. Everyone was here and alive and safe for the moment. That was all that mattered. Throughout the evening, Aeryn was flanked by both Johns, not in a territorial way, but in a way that expressed how much they both cared.

When the conversation hit a lull, John green announced, "Aeryn, we have a surprise for you."

"What?"

"You're not going to find out that easily," he replied. "Come on." He held out his hand. Aeryn glanced at John black, who sat there trying not to show any emotions on his face, although his jealousy was difficult to mask. Aeryn wasn't sure what to do. She looked back at John green's beaming smile and took his hand apprehensively. John green led her out of the room and the rest of Moya's crew followed. Talyn's crew didn't know if the surprise was private or not, but seeing Moya's crew follow, Talyn's crew also followed them down to the maintenance bay. Outside the maintenance bay, John green asked Aeryn to close her eyes.

"You want me to what?"

"Just close your eyes and don't ask any questions," he said.

Aeryn obliged and was led into the maintenance bay. When the rest of Talyn's crew, even Crais, saw the ship, they were suitably impressed. Aeryn opened her eyes when the others began murmuring, and her face registered the beautiful ship standing in front of her. The ship was not much different in size than a prowler, maybe just a little bigger. The guns mounted on the side were definitely bigger than those of a prowler. "What is this? Where did it come from?" she asked.

John green walked her around the ship as he told her about its features and how they built it.

"You built it?" she asked, astonished.

"Yes, we built it," he said, amused by the implication in her question.

D'Argo interjected to Aeryn, "Without you around, John is 'unbearable' to be with. We had to come up with some way for him not to go crazy."

Aeryn rounded the back of the ship and looked at the words that John green had written on the back. "Gu-Oh-ll-du-e-n Su-uh-n" she sounded to herself. John green stopped to explain them to her.

"It's the name of your ship. It says..."

Aeryn interrupted. "Golden Sun."

He didn't catch it at first. He started by saying, "I hope you like the name. I thought about...Wait! When did you learn to read English?"

"That isn't all he's been teaching her," Rygel muttered.

"Rygel, shut up. Don't ruin this," John green said.

Aeryn then noticed an unusual shape with writing in it on the back of the ship. "What's this?"

John green went over to it and traced the shape with his finger. "It's a heart. It says, AS + JC." He didn't want to say anymore in front of the others. He looked at Aeryn hoping she understood it's meaning. She smiled back at him in understanding.

John black was trying to take this in stride, but it was killing him to watch his lover interact with John green. He knew that he had to let Aeryn decide for herself what she would do, but much more of this would cause him to explode.

After the Golden Sun was shown off, the rest of the crew left Aeryn and both Johns in the maintenance bay. The three of them said nothing; an embarrassed silence filled the room.

Aeryn was tired and wanted to go to bed, but given the current situation, even getting some sleep would pose too many questions of where and with whom. She finally spoke in a surprisingly calm voice despite the present emotional situation. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked, leaving the open-ended question posed to the two Johns.

John green slowly responded, "I don't need to be told what you two have been doing. But there is no way that I am giving in. I can't." His eyes were fierce and his face taut as he spoke.

"I can't either," John black forcefully said. "I love Aeryn more than I've ever loved anyone before. I'm not giving that up."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, Johnny. You may have done whatever you've done, I don't want to know the details, but while you've been gone, I have missed Aeryn more than you could imagine."

The two Johns started yelling at each other. Aeryn wanted them both to be quiet, but neither one of them was listening to her or to each other.

While the arguing continued, a small, opalescent being, which could only be described as a green spectre, passed by the ships. It normally would not have stopped at an ordinary leviathan, but Talyn caught its attention. It quickly began scanning Talyn, circling the ship while remaining undetected by both Talyn and Moya. The immature spectre, that had not quite mastered its power over the physical states, started to become visible and therefore detectable by Talyn. It quickly realized this and again made itself undetectable and moved away from Talyn. Talyn had momentarily sensed a presence, but when it quickly faded, he showed no concern. Having stopped in its traveling, the spectre decided to scan Moya more closely than it normally would have done. It immediately found the "Golden Sun" and proceeded to look the unique ship over since it had never seen anything like it.

Aeryn and the Johns were still in the maintenance bay where the "Golden Sun" was housed when the spectre found the ship. It ignored the beings; it was only interested in their ship. It became so engrossed by the ship that it didn't realize that it had become visible.

As the spectre materialized, the Johns and Aeryn sprung into action. John black pulled Wynonna while John green pulled his pulse pistol. Aeryn, though, was the first with her gun aimed at the being.

Pilot shouted over the comms, "We have an intruder in the maintenance bay!"

"We see it," Aeryn said.

The spectre was startled by the people; it hadn't realized that it had become visible and started to panic. Just as it started to bolt away, a larger being of the same type passed over the ship and quickly located the truant spectre. This bigger spectre noted the situation that the child spectre had gotten into and quickly set about rectifying it.

The bigger spectre materialized into the form of a Sebacean woman. The crew, for D'Argo, Crais, Chiana, and the others had made their way back to the maintenance bay, were surprised by the sight.

The "woman" began to speak, "I have taken a form that is recognizable to you. We mean you no harm. My child ran off, and I believe you startled it." She then pointed to the small spectre.

"Your child?" John black asked.

"Yes. The space-going vessels that we encounter fascinate my child. The unusual Leviathan caught his attention and then so did this ship. That is why he entered this leviathan. I assure you, neither he nor I means you any harm."

Mama Spectre stopped speaking, awaiting the reaction from the people with the guns. The guns couldn't do her or her child any harm, but she still waited for them to make their decision. Slowly, they lowered their weapons.

"Thank you for being understanding. I assure you that my child will be punished for this intrusion."

"Don't worry about it," John green said, grinning at the child spectre. "I would have done the same thing when I was a kid."

Mama Spectre continued, "I would like to repay you for the service that you have done me. If you hadn't been here, I would still be chasing him."

"Well," Rygel began.

"Very well," was all Mama Spectre said as a bright green glow began to form about the two Johns.

"What's going on?" Aeryn asked, afraid for both of the Johns.

"It is what they both want," Mama Specter replied.

"What are you doing to them?" Aeryn urgently asked, helpless to stop whatever force was overcoming the two Johns.

"They both wish for the same thing; that is, for there to be only one of them. They are getting what they wish."

The crew stood there staring as the Johns were completely engulfed by the force. The brightness of the green mass grew brighter and brighter until no one was able to look at it. Then, the mass grew dimmer and finally faded away, leaving one John where two had been.

John's body writhed on the floor, shaking in pain as a thousand neurons fired all at once. Aeryn ran to his side, kneeling beside his form, wiping the perspiration from his contorted face. John started mumbling to himself: "When did you get rid of Harvey? I hadn't gotten to that story yet. I finally got rid of him and now I have him back? Go away, you freak. Great, now I have three people talking at once. The ancients? You ran into the ancients?" John continued this muttering to himself while Aeryn tried to calm down his body.

"This is what they wanted? To be crazy talking to themselves?" she ferociously demanded of Mama Spectre.

"Their memories need time to coalesce. It usually takes many days for this to happen, but only a small portion of their minds was different. They, rather he, will be fine soon. The memories just need time to reconcile."

Mama Spectre corralled the child, and they both disappeared from the ship. D'Argo helped Aeryn carry John to John's quarters on Moya. He was fighting with himself, mumbling unintelligible sounds. D'Argo deposited John on his bed and moved out of the way so that Jool's proffered services as amateur diagnosan could be performed. Aeryn watched as Jool looked over the patient. Jool found nothing wrong and prescribed rest for John. She volunteered to watch John so that Aeryn could get some rest, but Aeryn politely refused the offer, despite her own exhaustion. Aeryn alone watched John toss and thrash for arns. Sometime in the early hours of the next day, John began to quiet and finally fell into a deep sleep.

John slept for the next 15 arns. During that time, Aeryn got some much needed rest while Chiana and D'Argo looked after John. They were spending quite a bit of time together lately, which neither of them seemed to mind. They sat holding hands, watching John sleep. Finally, John began to stir.

"Aeryn, he's waking up," D'Argo spoke into his comm.

"I'm already on my way," she said as she rounded the corridor to John's quarters.

John finally looked up to see Aeryn, D'Argo, Chiana, hell, everyone staring at him.

"I feel like a goldfish," he said without mirth as he raised himself up in the bed.

"That's John, all right," Chiana said.

"What planet was Hallop from?" D'Argo urgently asked.

John didn't understand why D'Argo was asking him. "From Ritseg, why?"

"Who was Mu-Quillus?" Aeryn impatiently asked.

"Smoky from the siren star," John answered, still not knowing why his friends were asking him obvious questions.

After he answered both questions, Aeryn's face, as well as everyone else's (except maybe Crais's), lit up into an enormous, heartfelt smile.

"It worked!" Aeryn finally said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Someone want to tell me what's..." John stopped himself as his memories began to be formed. He remembered the spectre, the green light, and then everything that both Johns had done since they were spliced into two. It was a lot to take in. Again, his head had been frelled with! John lay back down on the bed.

"Someone get the name of that bus?" John asked whoozily.

"We still don't know what it was," D'Argo said.

After a pause, John responded, "Deus ex machina."

"You want to say that again. I don't think I quite got that," Aeryn quizzically responded.

"Deus ex machina. It's something that an ancient people on Earth used in telling stories. It's when a new character suddenly appears in a story and easily fixes a problem that no one else can fix."

"Whatever it is, it worked," Aeryn said as she smiled at John.

After a pause, Jool said to John, "you need your rest," as she motioned for the others to leave the room.

Everyone left, save Aeryn. She took John's hand in hers and brought it to her face, lightly kissing the back of it. "Are you sure that you are okay?"

"Physically or mentally?" John queried.

"Either. Or both."

"I feel like I've been back through the Aurora Chair. I can't make sense of it all just yet."

"The 'day-oos ex whatever' said that you would take a little while to heal."

"It's not just that," John paused, "I'm so mad at you for having sex with me when I wasn't me but then the other half of me knows how happy you've made me which just makes the other half more angry which..." John trailed off, "How the hell does that get resolved?"

Aeryn leaned over and kissed him and said with a smile, "This whole situation has been frelled from the beginning. We'll work something out. But, we're not going to work anything out as long as you are in the condition you're in." She then gave him that quick little grin that is easy to miss but hard to resist.

"I promise that I'll make a speedy recovery."

"You better."

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Fin