Rating: R
Feedback: Definitely. If you like it, please let me know. If you don't (and are silly enough to read all of it anyway) please let me know specifically how I could improve my writing. It might save you pain in later fics.
Archive: I would be delighted if you would ask.
Special note: There is a mild spoiler for Bone to be Wild. It is a sequel, of sorts, to two previous stories, The Date and The Second Date. A very special "thank you" to my Beta reader, Joanna, who helped catch my errors.
Disclaimer: The characters and concept of Farscape is owned by The Jim Henson Company (and bless them for it) and probably the Sci-Fi Channel as well. This is a work of fan fiction and done out of love for the show. There will be no monetary gain. Although based on the show the idea for this story remains my own.

The Third Date.....already in progress
by Penny (2-00)

"Aeryn," John moaned softly against the velvety softness of her neck. His hands drifting in a slow caress down her back until they cupped her shapely ass, pulling her firmly against him. It had been so long since he had held a woman in his arms, a beautiful woman for whom he cared. Everywhere his skin touched hers he burned.

Aeryn's breath was steady as she arched her back, causing the tips of her breasts to brush John's chest as her pelvis ground into the human's groin. She thought that he seemed to be enjoying running his lips down the side of her throat. She, however, was becoming slightly bored with the activity and wondered when he gets to the "good stuff." She longed for him to begin stroking the underside of her arm in order to heighten her arousal. Was he just teasing her? Was it his intent to cause her anticipation of his nose nuzzling gently at her arm pit to make the actual event all the more erotic?

Her anticipation quickly approaching sexual frustration, she pushed him firmly back from her and grabbed the bottom of his shirt, rapidly ripping it off his back. She had only a moment to admire the lay of his muscles before he took her back in his arms.

John was delighted that Aeryn took the initiative and ripped off his shirt. She obviously wanted him as much as he wanted her. Heart drumming rapidly, he was caught up in his own sensual pleasure. He guided his hands under her shirt as he ravaged her lips, nipping and sucking. He cupped her breasts and ran his thumbs across the nipples. The feel of her was intoxicating and left him lightheaded.

Aeryn felt a thrill of expectation run through her as she felt Crichton's hands on her stomach, touching her, roaming upward. She was certain that soon he would be caressing her in an arousing and exquisite fashion, making her passions soar. The breath caught in her throat at the very thought of what he would be doing to her. When he only began kneading her breasts, she sighed out her disappointment.

John heard Aeryn's soft sigh and was encouraged to touch her more passionately. Her apparent pleasure spurring on his.

Perhaps, Aeryn thought, John had not had many lovers and she must teach him what to do, how she so desperately wanted to be touched. She would show him by example, caressing him the way she longed to be fondled. She ran her nails upward from his hip, trailing from his navel to his hard chest. She rubbed her palms over his shoulders in a slow, sure to seduce, undulation and then down his arm. Her forefingers lazily circled his elbow. As her tongue danced with his, she grasped and squeezed his elbow in a fashion that had always before driven her erstwhile lovers wild with desire.

"Ouch," John exclaimed loudly, his ardor quickly deflating. He stumbled back from Aeryn, his arms feeling limp as he tried with numbed hands to rub his elbows.

"What did you do?" Aeryn asked indignantly.

"What did I DO!" John said incredulously. "You're the one who did that, whatever you did, to my elbow. Dammit, it feels just like I hit my funny bone."

"You have a funny bone? Perhaps that explains your totally incomprehensible sense of humor."

"Yeah, well, you sure know how to kill a mood, must be that Peacekeeper training."

Aeryn felt frustration rising. It had been a long time since she had had the gratification of being with a man. Now this frelling human was gonna stop, well, stop her from frelling. No. No! He would not deny her, her pleasure. Swallowing back a harsh retort, she, instead, lowered her head and looked up at Crichton through her lashes. She had accidentally discovered that approaching John in such a fashion effectively disarmed him. She walked slowly toward him. In a low, husky voice, she said, "I know how to make things better."

John heard the seduction in Aeryn's voice and promptly forgot his tingling forearms. He tried to swallow but found that his mouth had suddenly gone dry.

Aeryn undulated to his side and slowly went to her knees. She rubbed the side of her cheek against his right arm. The tip of her tongue darted out and drew a lazy wet circle on his elbow. She then took it in her mouth and gently blew her hot breath on the joint while flicking it with her tongue.

This was not what John had been expecting. He tilted his head slightly and looked down at her from the corner of his eyes. "Um, ah, Aeryn, you're sucking on my elbow."

"Hmmm," was the only reply that Aeryn could give him. So engrossed was she in the act of pleasuring her male that Aeryn was becoming totally oblivious to all but the act itself.

John was uncertain exactly what he should do. He felt totally ridiculous standing in the middle of his quarters, half-naked with a woman sucking his joint. He started looking around in quiet desperation.

Aeryn began to run her warm, wet tongue down his arm. When she reached his hand, she took his littlest finger and drew it into her mouth.

When John felt sharp teeth scrap his finger, quickly followed by warm suction, it startled him out of his attempt to find a graceful way to escape. He turned slightly so that Aeryn was now kneeling in front of him. He watched as she circled her moist lips around his finger. The motion, reminiscent of another, more intimate, act. He took his free hand and tangled it in her hair, gently urging her mouth into a steady rhythm.

Aeryn's excitement was rising. She imagined Crichton's mouth on her wrist, his tongue lapping wetly in time to the beating of her heart. Her desire was definitely stirring, her body preparing for the joining with John's.

"Aeryn, I want to make love to you," John whispered in a quiet but intense voice.

His words penetrated the fog of her erotic imaginings and Aeryn stopped dead in the act of sucking his digit. She pulled her mouth off and looked up into John's face with wide eyes that were dark with desire, her lips slightly parted and moist. "What the frell are you talking about? I thought we were going to have sex."

John looked down at Aeryn, on her knees in front of him. Their eyes met but not in understanding. John searched her face for what seemed like minutes. The quiet between them grew. He held his hands out to her to help her up. Standing, they were almost the same height. He slid his hands up her arms, shoulders and neck until they cupped her face. "I think what we have here is a failure to communicate," he said gently. He then kissed her once upon her lips with restrained passion.

Still cupping her face, he looked intently into her eyes. "I don't want this to be just about sex." He brushed his lips along her brow. "I want it to mean more than that," he paused to brush his thumb across her slightly parted lips, "because it does to me."

John stepped back from Aeryn, reached down for his shirt and walked away. He paused at the door to his quarters as if indecisive, briefly bowed his head and then walked slowly out.

Aeryn, stunned, could only watch him go.

John wandered aimlessly until he found himself in Command. It was, thankfully, empty. The last thing he wanted right now was company. He had had such great hopes for himself and Aeryn, such great hopes for the evening. He felt like they were finally connecting in a way that he had wanted to connect with her in for a very long time. He thought he would finally have a chance to show her how much he cared about her. He had gotten his expectations up, as well as parts of his anatomy, only to have his elbow sucked. In fact, the whole thing sucked. It wasn’t supposed to have been just about sex. The sex was supposed to have been about the caring.

He walked to the view screen and looked out. Space was big, really big, and oh...so...lonely.

On the other hand, a beautiful woman had just offered to have sex with him, weird Rocky Horror Picture Show elbow sex but sex, and he had turned her down. Was he a fool or what?

John heard heavy footsteps behind him signaling that D’Argo was coming onto the bridge. John crossed his arms and stared steadfastly ahead. If he weren’t all chatty then maybe the Luxan would get the message and leave him alone.

"John," D'Argo said by way of greeting, seeing the human standing before the screen.

John threw his head up in acknowledgment but remained silent.

D'Argo paused his scanning of the control panels. He had traveled with the human for almost a cycle now and was learning to recognize his moods. John was seldom quiet unless something was bothering him. When he had first meet the human, he had threatened to kill him more than once and thought him weak and useless. It was only later that he realized how mistaken he was in his initial assessment. Now he was proud to be able to call John friend as well as comrade.

Ka D'Argo walked forward until he stood beside his friend studied him. John seemed to be holding himself too erect, as if tense, and his eyes were red rimmed in a way they only became when the alien was upset or saddened. "Is something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"Nothings wrong," John replied without even glancing at the Luxan. He could feel D'Argo looking at him. He was going to lose the waiting game and he knew it. "It's private," he finally admitted.

D'Argo nodded. "Moya is a very big ship with a very small crew. Very little that happens remains private."

John looked over at him. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Of course." D'Argo seemed to agree even though he had already decided that he wasn't going to leave it alone. He just waited several microts before prying further. "Earlier I saw you and Aeryn walking toward your quarters. Did something happen?"

"D'Argo, I said it's personal and I don't want to talk about it."

"John, because of the danger and hardship we have all shared, everyone on the ship has become close but some are closer than others. Everyone knows that you and Aeryn have a special relationship." D'Argo looked back at the view screen. "It amuses us that you both go to so much trouble to try to disguise how much you care."

John shook his head. "Yeah, well, maybe the relationship isn't as special as you think."

"It is obvious that you are upset. What has happened?"

"It isn't want happened, it's what didn't happen."

"What didn't happen?" D'Argo repeated, confused.

John came to a decision. He and DK had been able to talk about everything. He missed that more than he could say. It might be good to talk to another guy, and on this ship, D'Argo was as close to another guy as he was gonna get. "It seems that Aeryn and I have slightly different views of our so-called relationship." He looked at D'Argo with a wry grin. "And slightly different ...erogenous zones."

D’Argo stared at John for a microt. He then broke out laughing. He punctuated his guffaws with a friendly slap on Crichton's back, which sent him flying several feet forward.

Still laughing, D’Argo helped the human off the floor. "There is a saying on Lux: It is not the size of the blade that counts, but how skillfully it is wielded."

John stood and took a second to steady himself. He smiled ruefully. "I didn't get to the point of, ah, unsheathing my weapon. We couldn't decide on the rules of engagement."

"Ah, I see." D’Argo continued to grin. "Crichton, when you look at Aeryn what do you see?"

John looked at the Luxan suspiciously. "Is this a trick question?"

D’Argo shook his head slightly.

"OK, when I look at Aeryn I see a beautiful, competent woman."

"And when you look at Zhaan?"

"A beautiful, Technicolor person...."

"Not a woman?"

"Well, of course a woman but, you know, she's blue and she's got this flower thing going on..."

"When you see Aeryn, you see a woman that looks human and whom you expected to respond like a human female."

John had to agree, although reluctantly. "Yeah, but..."

"No buts. When I married Lolann, I knew that my delicate Sebacean flower would not bloom if treated like a lusty, Luxan wench. Exploring those differences added, mmm, diversity to our encounters." He smiles slyly at John. "Tell me, did she fondle your elbow?"

"And then some."

"Lolann would always lick around that joint when she was feeling particularly.... amorous. I remember clearly the night that Jothee was conceived." D’Argo began breathing a little faster, getting caught up in the sexual memory. "The exquisite pleasure I felt when she mouthed my cardells and frills before running her tongue along..."

John quickly interrupted him. "D’Argo, stop a minute, I think we're losing something in the translation here, which for modesty's sake is probably for the best." He cocked his head at his large companion. "Did you actually get anything out of that elbow thing?"

D’Argo grinned lustfully. "Only damp skin, but it was well worth it."

D’Argo suddenly shook himself out of his remembrances and made a mental note to look up Zhaan and finish the discussion about the forth sensation that they had started but never finished. "Perhaps you need more practical advice on physical pleasuring."

John shrugged. "It's not like I'll probably ever get the opportunity again but sure, Dad, shoot, tell me all about the birds and the bees."

D’Argo furrowed his head. "I was going to tell you about Sebacean woman."

"That too."

D’Argo looked down his nose at the human but then decided to just ignore the comments. "Sebacean woman are sexually aroused by stimulating the nerve clusters of their erotogenic nervous system. The nerve runs down the back of the neck and then splits to run down their arms and the backs of their legs. The nerves cluster at several points and, when properly stimulated, cause sexual excitement and," he practically purred, "receptivity."

"One nerve bundle is obviously at the elbow, correct?" John stated.

"Yes."

"Are Sebacean men sensitive in the same way?" John asked curiously.

D’Argo glared at him.

Noticing the glare, John hastily backtracked. "Just forget I asked that." He shrugged his shoulder to relieve the tension. "And just where are these clusters?" John asked curiously.

D’Argo touched John's back, just above the kidneys. "There is a very potent bundle here. I warn you though, do not caress a Sebacean woman there unless you mean business." He lifted John's arm and ran his finger down it to emphasis his instructions. "There is a bundle here," he pointed, "and here and."

"Well, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Chiana purred, startling both men. "But if I am, I hope you don't mind if I stay and watch."

D’Argo immediately dropped John's arm and jumped away from him.

Chiana slinked the rest of the way into Command, deliberately emphasizing the swaying of her hips. She insinuated herself between the two men, looking coyly from one to another. "I knew that everyone on this ship was magra kinkoid, but I never would have taken either of the two of you to be," she paused for dramatic effect, "a man's man." She scowled slightly. "Though, I suppose that could explain a lot."

She touched the tip of her finger to her tongue and then ran it along John's jawline. "Of course, if either of you want somewhere else to, ahm, dock your transport pod and unload cargo, I know of an empty hanger." She turned to D’Argo and traced his brow ridge. "No docking fees."

John took a half step closer to the Nebari, invading what little personal space she had left. "Cute, Chiana, now if you're done with your stirring rendition of "That's Why the Lady is a Tramp", would you make yourself scarce. D’Argo and I were trying to have a conversation."

Chiana tilted her head to the side and smiled at John. "Is that what you call it? Looked more like he was stimulating your erotogenic nerve bundles to me."

Crichton threw his hands in the air and paced a few steps away and then back. "Does everyone know about this but me?"

D’Argo and Chiana looked at him, both giving him identical shrugs.

Chiana stepped forward, hands on hips and thrust her small, but well displayed, buxom at Crichton. "Actually, Crichton, I'm a little offended. If you had wanted some instruction in how to please a woman, you should have talked to me. I would have be happy to give you some oral...instruction."

John pointed an accusing finger at the young strumpet. "You were listening!"

"Were not!" she denied. Then she mischievously cocked her head and smiled. "But even if I was, it isn't like everyone on board doesn't know what's going on."

"I don't think Rygel does," D’Argo stated.

"He does, he just doesn't care," Chiana replied.

"Nothings going on!" John proclaimed, focusing attention back on him.

"You were talking about sex," Chiana contradicted him, warming back up to the topic.

"Any problem I may be having isn't about sex!"

"You're only saying that because you aren't getting any," D’Argo inserted matter-of-factly.

John glared at the Luxan. "Don't help me."

Chiana turned back to D’Argo. "If someone doesn't help him, he'll never be able to tell the difference between his elbow and his...."

John cut in quickly. "We are not talking about this!" He strode over to stand beside his shipmates. "I think you should just let this lie..."

"Apparently that's all it was doing," Chiana smirked.

John threw his hands up. "I give up."

Chiana threw herself forward and locked her hands behind Crichton's neck, fitting her body to his like a well-worn jacket. "Good." She nuzzled his chin with her nose. "I like it when my men are submissive," she purred.

John looked upward in exasperation and then at D’Argo. "Would you mind helping me here?"

D’Argo shook his head while crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You told me NOT to help you. You'll have to figure out where her pleasure areas are all by yourself."

John frowned. He physically took the Nebari's arms from around him and held her away from him. "Nice try, Pip, but no thanks." He released her. "Both of you, I'm glad that I can afford you with a little comic relief." He held his finger up and stated authoritatively, "Not a word!" Seeing that they remained silent, he continued, "But like I said before, this is private and I'm not talking about my relationships or lack of them with you, so no more sexual innuendo's. The subject is closed."

Chiana pouted her way back to stand beside D’Argo. She rubbed her shoulder against his arm, almost absently. "You're no fun, Crichton."

D’Argo nodded his agreement to her statement. "True, but abstinence is the best form of birth control."

"Birth control!" Crichton cried, sounding slightly hysterical. "You've got to be kidding. As you so clearly pointed out, we're not even the same species."

D’Argo took a step away from Chiana, who followed and trailed her fingers absently along his arm, apparently just to irritate him. He gave her a stern look before addressing John. "Normally you would be correct in that assumption. Individuals of different species can not have children, but Sebacean women are unique. Their reproductive DNA is able to combine with the germ cells of almost any other bipedal, anthropoidal species and produce a viable offspring. This ability is why Sebaceans hold racial purity almost as a religious tenet. If they weren't able to breed hybrids, then the prohibitions against extra-species mating would have no meaning. Have you never wondered how it was possible for Jothee to be born?"

"The truth is, I never really thought about it," John said. He seemed to suddenly become distracted. "You mean that if Aeryn and I had.... she could...a baby? I didn't even think that would be possible. I guess it was good that I didn't actually get caught out in the rain since I left Earth without bringing a pair of galoshes."

John's face suddenly took on a look of childish wonder as the implications hit him. "A baby...that's...just...amazing."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Chiana said blandly.

Her comment jarred John back to the present. "It really doesn't matter anyway. Figuratively speaking, Aeryn and I don't even have similar taste in literature and we are certainly not on the same page in the relationship book."

"Relationship! Relationship! That's your frelling problem, Crichton. Or maybe that's your problem with frelling. You should live for the moment, take what life gives you and move on because you never know when the generosity may end," Chiana cried ardently.

Both men studied her silently.

She studied them back. She pouted and stretched her neck in a quick S with cat-like grace. "Well, I know when I'm not wanted." She paused and smiled seductively, "Yet." She turned, and with deliberate care, strutted from the room.

"As loath as I am to admit it, Chiana has a point," D’Argo said once they were once again alone. "Perhaps we should both heed her advice."

"I'm as big a fan of immediate gratification as the next guy, but I don't want it to be like that with Aeryn." John hung his head and sighed. "I'm probably not explaining this right, but D’Argo, did you ever meet someone, and maybe at first you weren't even sure that you really even liked them, but before too long, you couldn't imagine what your life would be like without them?" He looked somberly out the view screen. "The truth is, I'm not sure what I'm more afraid of: that Aeryn feels the same way about me or that she doesn't and never will."

D’Argo looked at Crichton with pain in his eyes. "Lolann and I had very little in common, much less than you and Aeryn have. Yet, when I fell in love with her, I was certain that we would be together forever. Our time together was much too short. That is the lesson, Crichton. If you find someone you care about, you must not let differences or fears deter you. You must love them when you can and for as long as you can because it is better for life to be short and sweet than long and bitter."

Chiana left the men determined that she would help Crichton with his little problem whether he wanted her to or not. She knew exactly where she was going and what she intended to do. It just took a little while to find Aeryn Sun.

Chiana finally found the ex-Peacekeeper in the training area, seriously whipping up on the red, triangular training form. She watched quietly for several microts as Sun delivered tremendous punches and kicks to the bag. During a lull in the punishment, she spoke. "My, you certainly are working-out with a lot of.... vigor." She walked slowly around the outside of the training area, hands clasped behind her back. "I imagine that it has really gotten your heart racing. Personally, I prefer a different kind of exercise to get my heart rate up."

"If you have something to say, go ahead and say it. I am not in the mood," Aeryn retorted without stopping her attack on the punching bag, which absorbed her blows indifferently.

"Maybe not being in the mood is what I want to talk about," she insinuated.

Aeryn stopped her routine and faced the Nebari. "What is it that you want?" she asked impatiently.

Chiana tilted her head ever so slightly and pursed her lips together thoughtfully, making Aeryn wait for her answer. "John," she said finally.

Aeryn barked a quick laugh even as she unconsciously balanced on the balls of her feet, a stance that would allow defense or attack. "You want.... Crichton?"

Chiana started walking slowly around the training circle again, even though she kept her eyes on the Sebacean. "A woman has needs you know, at least I think that you know, and it's not like there are a lot of choices up here. I wouldn't even think of trying to separate Pilot from Moya, plus four hands is a bit more than I'm used to. There's Rygel but that's just too pervert even for me. D’Argo is honorable and," she twirled a small piece of hair around her index finger, "big," she said suggestively. "Maybe too big for a little thing like me, but Crichton, I think Crichton would be just right." She lingered over the last two words.

Aeryn's face hardened. She turned and gave the training bag a roundhouse kick and then began punching it rhythmically. "If you want Crichton, that would be between him and you. Why tell me about it?"

Chiana stopped walking for a minute. "We're all shipmates and have to get along. I wouldn't want to snerch something that belongs to someone else. Not if they could prove it anyway."

Aeryn hit the bag a little harder; each hit or kick punctuated her words. "Crichton doesn't belong to anyone."

Chiana tilted her chin up and wet her lips. "I suppose someone should tell him that. Last I saw him, he and D’Argo were talking about having children."

Aeryn stopped.

"Oh, not with each other."

Chiana began her circuit around the ring again. "No, D’Argo was playing sex tech and Crichton was moaning...." She paused and regarded Aeryn from the corner of her eyes, "About wanting more than just a horizontal relationship." She took a step forward and stopped. "With you. So you see, it's important for me to know that you don't have any interest in him, except as recreational equipment."

Aeryn met her gaze steadily. "If that's what you think, then you'd be wrong. I have a very strong interest in Crichton. He is a very good friend."

Chiana accompanied her words with subtle head movements, her voice a low purr. "Just how good is very good? I was under the impression that he didn't know his elbow from his..."

"I think you should leave now!" Aeryn interrupted her.

"Did I say something wrong?" Chiana asked with false contrition. "You're right though, I should go now. I have places to go, people to do. Later."

Chiana could feel the other woman staring a hole in her back and was suddenly glad that Aeryn wasn't armed. Crichton, she thought with a smile, you owe me, and you owe me big.

John hung his head over the side of the small, hard pallet that served as his bed. He sighed with contentment. After his prolonged abstinence, he was finally physically and emotionally sated. He felt his new lover stir at his side. "I knew it would be different, but I had no idea."

D’Argo propped himself up on his elbow and leaned over John. "It is called the warrior's way."

John looked at D’Argo and began screaming.

"John, John, wake up!" Aeryn said as she grabbed his shoulder and shook him slightly.

John's eyes flew open and he jumped from the bed, nearly knocking Aeryn over.

"You were making sounds in your sleep. At first I thought that you had someone here with you, but then you began screaming."

John rubbed his hands over his face and glanced back at his bed nervously. "Just a bad dream, a really, really, bad, twisted dream."

Aeryn studied him briefly, her mouth compressed into a thin line. "All right then, I'll just be going." She turned to leave.

John leaped after her and stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "No, wait, please! I want to apologize for what happened earlier."

"Nothing happened," she replied, pretending ignorance, still facing the door.

"I know that nothing happened. That's what I want to apologize for." John turned her slowly to face him. "Of all the stupid things that I have done since coming on this cruise, leaving you like I did earlier, has got to be at the top of the list."

"I repeat, there is nothing to apologize for." Aeryn imperturbably held his gaze.

John placed his other hand on her other shoulder and kept her from moving away from him. "I think that there is." He lowered his head briefly in thought. "When I took off in Farscape 1, I wasn't expecting to be gone long. Despite that, I was carrying some baggage with me, some emotional baggage."

Aeryn didn't move and her face held nothing of what she was thinking.

John took a step toward her and moved his hands from her shoulders to clasp behind her neck. "Back home, there was a woman that I loved. The morning that I was going to ask her to marry me, she got out of my bed and told me that she was leaving, an opportunity had come up that was too good for her to pass up. It hurt. It hurt a lot." He began lightly stroking the back of Aeryn's neck and leaned his forehead against hers. In a voice hardly above a whisper, he continued, "I might be stuck out here in no man's land for the rest of my life but I will never stop trying to get home. I can't give up the hope that someday, some way, I'll make it back; but wherever I'm, I want you there with me." He began tracing a line down her back with his thumbs.

"I wasn't turned off by the elbow thing. Confused as hell, but not turned off. I left because you referred to what we were going to do as nothing but sex. I thought that maybe that meant that I didn't mean as much to you, as you mean to me. I got scared and I left." His hands found their way to an area just below her waist. He began to slowly message the area with light, slow strokes. "I've lost just about everything, Aeryn. I was afraid that, someday, I was going to lose you too."

Aeryn began to relax as John's hands worked their magic. His words were sinking into her heart. "You are not the only one who has fears, John. On the ship, intimacy was discouraged as it might affect ones actions in combat, but sex was not. Sex was impersonal, recreational, a way to relieve tension and keep moral high. It didn't mean anything. It wasn't suppose to mean anything." Her lips tilted up towards his. "It would mean something with you, and that terrifies me." She again held his gaze but this time her heart was in her eyes. "I can't make you a promise that I may not be able to keep. I can not promise to follow you to Earth, if you find a way back. That is your home, not mine; but you will never lose me, John Crichton. I doubt that you could, even if you tried."

John moved his lips with excruciating slowness toward hers. "For now, I'll take whatever you're willing to give me. No promises, just us."

Aeryn kissed him gently on the lips. John returned the kiss. Their lips met and slightly parted. Passion grew as the kiss deepened. John began feathering his tongue against hers while continuing his stoking of her back. His fingers kneaded her with harder, deeper strokes. Aeryn's breath caught in her throat as her desired flared like a fire igniting. She rubbed herself against John's groin and felt his desire for her. He obviously wanted her and she wanted him. Now!

Aeryn broke the kiss and began frantically pulling at John's black T-shirt.

John grabbed her hands and drew his lips across her eyebrow. "Not so fast," he whispered to her. "This isn't a combat situation or a frontal attack. Let's take it slow." He pulled her back to him. "Show me what you like" he whispered.

Outside John's door, a DRD oriented its visual sensors toward the pair. Within a few microts several more arrived. The couple was too caught up in their exploration of each other to notice their biomechanical voyeurs.

A deep, melodic thrumming began echoing in Moya's halls. Zhaan had never heard such a sound before on the Leviathan. "Pilot," she said after activating her comlink, "what is that sound? Is something wrong with Moya?"

Pilot searched the controls in front of him before responding. "No, Zotah Zhaan, all of Moya's systems are optimal. Moya is making that sound because she is.... happy."

End