12. Riddick: Aftermath

They lay together in the darkness for a long time afterward. Riddick couldn't stop looking at Fiona, shifting his position to see her from different angles. She'd taken him completely by surprise yet again.

"You know, you lied to me," he murmured teasingly as he coiled a lock of her hair around his finger.

"I did?" She looked genuinely puzzled.

"Back at the ship you told me the only thing you had left to lose was your life. You never mentioned your virginity."

She laughed softly and cuddled closer to him, completely fearless, utterly trusting. Amazing. For the first time -- ever -- he felt accepted.

"I could get used to this, Fee," he whispered into her hair, but he wondered if that was really possible. Even if Johns let him go, even if all the other human bloodhounds on his trail were called off... would he ever stop being taken by surprise by this woman?

Outside they could hear voices calling to one another. Slowly, regretfully, Riddick sat up, drawing Fiona up with him. She winced as she moved, a small hiss of pain escaping her.

"You okay?" He couldn't stop his hand from coming up, stroking her cheek. She leaned into his caress, nodding.

"I'm just really sore."

He moved the sheet aside. "You're bleeding. Hang on a minute while I get you cleaned up."

He poured some water from Fiona's canteen onto the corner of the sheet, then gently cleaned the blood off of her thighs. The scent of her body was intoxicating, and it took all of his self-control to keep him from taking her again, hard and fast.

Soon, he told himself. Let her heal up a little and then we'll really start to play.

He contented himself with one more deep, lingering kiss before he drew her to her feet. The two of them began to dress, Riddick in his old clothes, the only set he had, and Fiona in jeans and a tank top from her backpack.

She's not gonna fool anyone, he thought, watching her awkward gait as she gathered up her things. They're all gonna know exactly what happened, the second they see her walk. He found the thought strangely pleasing.

He slipped on his goggles, moving to the window. "Shut your eyes for a moment, Fee. I'm opening the blinds."

Light flooded into the room, cool blue, belying the actual heat of the day. Just outside, Riddick could see their fellow survivors, heading back toward the room where they'd thrown their aborted party. Looks like we weren't the only ones who gave in to our need for sleep, he reflected. Good. Then nobody should have missed either of them too much.

He turned back to Fiona. "I think it's time we found some breakfast, don't you?"

13. Fiona: Thoughts of Loss

Fiona left her backpack in the bedroom and followed Riddick out into the scorching heat. It was difficult to walk. Every movement jolted her, aggravating the soreness between her legs.

Well, she'd been warned. Her sister had told her what it would be like. Mostly. At the time, it had seemed so strangely distant to her, so completely unrelated to anything she understood from her world of books and music. Most of the boys at her old school had avoided her, preferring her twin's vivacity to her own grave quietude. What would Maggie say if she could see me now?

For a moment her grief overwhelmed her once more, before Riddick's arm came around her shoulder and drew her back into the here and now. He was watching her with concern.

"Do you regret what we did?" he asked softly.

"No." She shook her head emphatically. "I was just thinking... how much I'd have liked to introduce you to my sister. She would have liked you." Her voice broke at the end.

He put his hand gently against her cheek. "I don't know what that's like, myself. Never had a family. I'm sorry you lost yours. Sounds like they were pretty special."

She blinked several times, feeling her grief surge upward. She didn't want to cry again, not now. She couldn't have explained it, but she didn't want the others to see it any more. If she was going to cry, she wanted to do it alone... or alone with Riddick.

He stood close to her for a long moment, watching her struggle for control. When the moment passed and she'd won her battle, he took her hand and led her back to the party room.

14. Riddick: Being the Big Bad Wolf

Almost everyone was in the party room when Fiona and Riddick arrived. Someone had dumped packets of breakfast rations onto the center of the table, and the survivors were serving themselves boarding-house style.

Riddick followed Fiona in and watched as, one by one, the others turned to gape at them. Most of them recovered swiftly, dropping their eyes and contenting themselves with surreptitious glances. Johns, however, continued to stare, beating at Riddick with the weight of his hatred.

There were two free chairs left together, between Jack and one of Imam's surviving boys. Fiona sat down next to Jack, and Riddick took the seat beside her, amused by how the Muslim boy began inching his chair away almost immediately.

Guess I'm the Big Bad Wolf again, he thought with rueful humor as he reached for a ration packet.

An uncomfortable silence had descended over the table, utterly unlike the quiet conversation that had preceded their entrance. It was only finally broken when Paris bustled into the room and grabbed the final seat.

"You'd think that someone in this settlement might have had a decent set of toiletries," he groused. The tension in the room broke with an almost audible crack.

"I'm sure we can find some things back on the crash ship," Fry told him. "Once we're done making sure we have enough food and water, of course."

Shazza glanced over at the pilot. "Is that likely to be a problem?"

Fry shrugged. "I don't know. Depends on how long it takes to repair the skiff."

Riddick kept his tone friendly and helpful. "You need any help with that?"

"Don't you worry about it," Johns growled. His voice was gravelly with curdled rage, and almost everyone glanced over at him in surprise.

"Whatever you say, Boss," Riddick answered levelly. He poured himself a glass of water, then turned and poured one for Fiona. For a moment, everyone's attention was arrested by this simple gesture.