Chapter 5 (Chapter 1-4, Chapter 8-11)
Title: Ghosts of the past
Author: Kes
Fandom: Pitch Black
Pairings: Riddick/Jack, Riddick/OFC, Jack/OMC
Rating: NC-17, for non-consensual sex and the subject matter.
Summary: Jack tries to deal with sexual abuse. Takes place roughly 15 years after Pitch Black.
Disclaimer: Not mine and I don't own them.
Feedback: Yes please.
Notes: This is not a particularly nice story, but I started wondering....Although we've long since parted ways, I must still thank Leane for the brainstorming session to work all this out.
Chapter 5
"Everything they said he did, Chris, he did." Jack emphasized it for the fifth time. "I looked up to him; believed he wasn't that bad. I mean, he came back. We sat there so certain we were going to die and then he and Fry showed up. In my mind, I made him into something he wasn't; I know that. It was easier to think he was human than to acknowledge he was a monster. The proof that he's a monster is that he played on that. He played on my trust and used me."
Chris sat back. They were in Ann's office, but Ann wasn't there. There'd been a private call she'd needed to take, so she'd left the two of them alone. "He killed that many people?"
"Maybe those numbers are exaggerated, but maybe not. Riddick doesn't regret anything he's done."
"All the more reason for me to be your bodyguard."
"I've survived this long without one."
"So what happens when he shows up? You put in for another assignment; take one so far out that when he does catch you there's no one to hear your screams? That's no way to live, Audrey."
"Maybe it isn't." Standing from her chair, she began to pace. It no longer felt strange to be alone in a room with him; Ann had engineered that with regular get-togethers after work. The three of them would gather in Ann's quarters and talk or eat dinner. Always Ann's quarters. Neutral ground perhaps? Jack was aware that Ann thought Chris was perfect for her. The woman was a match maker. There was no denying that Chris was a great guy; Jack could see that for herself. She just wasn't sure she deserved someone like him. He needed a woman who hadn't been forcibly fucked by an escaped convict for six years. That meant not her.
"You can't keep following me, Chris."
"Yes, I can. If it keeps you safe, I will. I'll keep following you and if he shows up, I'll take care of him."
She turned to look at him. His face was set in determination. "No. Promise me you won't get in his way, Chris."
"I can't do that. If he's that dangerous, then he's a threat to the station. I'm the head of security, Audrey. It's my business."
"I don't want you dead. Do your job, but stay out of his way."
"You want me to just sit back, let him waltz onto the station and do whatever the hell he wants with you?" At her shudder, he also stood. "I didn't think so." It was his turn to pace. "You know, I understand why you're hesitant with men, really I do, but not all of us are like Riddick. We're not going to hold you down and take what we want."
"We don't know each other well enough to be having this discussion..."
"Shit, Audrey, I'm human. We need to have this discussion if you're ever going to trust me."
"I'm still standing here, aren't I? Three weeks ago, I would have run from the room as soon as Ann left."
"Yeah, you've made progress, but not a helluva lot. You flinch if I brush against you. I'm not going to throw you down and have my way with you, Audrey. I'm not Riddick. I won't force you into sex." He went to her, stood still only a foot from her. "Look at me."
Heart in her throat, she did. He didn't look dangerous. He didn't look like he could ever be the head of security. He looked like the boy next door that every girl sighed over.
"I will never hurt you like he did. I don't like that you feel you need to keep me at arms length. I've done everything I can think of to earn your trust."
"I do trust you." Her voice wavered.
"Then let me help you. Tell me what I'm doing wrong; why you won't come near me."
She crossed her arms over her breasts. "I can't. You won't understand."
"Try me."
Shaking her head, Jack felt tears building behind her eyes.
"Try."
With a sharp indrawn breath, she let it spill. "I tried to have sex with a man besides him once. The man showed up dead a couple days later. He was gutted. Riddick-style."
"Riddick must have seen something; been following you."
"No. He knew. He just knew. He always knows. Sometimes the presents he sends have these messages....he knows things he shouldn't."
Looking down into her eyes, Chris saw that she really believed that Riddick had mystical powers. "Tell me what happened."
Jack stepped away, still with her arms crossed, and sat in Ann's chair, putting the desk between them. "You a therapist now?"
"A concerned friend."
"His name was Brian. We had classes together. He was nice. I could best him in a fight."
"I've seen you fight. You're good."
"I mean really best him, as in kick his ass. He was comforting; very understanding. He'd been abused as kid, so he knew where I was coming from. We decided to try and help each other out. Experiment. It wasn't my decision to stop; it was his. We were going to try again the next evening and he never showed up. I waited and called his apartment and finally ended up talking to the authorities. They found him in his apartment...." Putting her head on the blotter, she began to sob. "I've never told anyone that...."
Going around the desk, Chris knelt beside the chair. Slowly, he put a hand on her back. When she looked at him, he spread his arms, inviting her to cry on him. After long moments of hesitation, she did just that.
Jack slipped into his embrace with reservations, but his arms weren't too tight around her and he only rubbed her back. If she wanted to pull away, she could easily do so.
It felt good.
The door slid open and Ann walked in.
Her mouth opened at the unfamiliar sight of Jack accepting a hug from a man.
She said the first thing that came to mind.
"Did I miss something?"
A month passed, then another, the lingerie in the bottom of Jack's closet forgotten. She relaxed. There were no more notes, no more presents. It wasn't like Riddick to send a present and wait, but she began to wonder if he really was there on the station.
It could be coincidence that he'd sent her that set; Mena did have a catalogue site. He could have ordered it from her site and had it wrapped and delivered knowing it would unnerve her. That was the sort of joke he'd like and something he'd do. Riddick liked to fuck with peoples minds.
He liked to fuck with her any way he could.
She conveniently forgot about the handwritten note.
Chapter 6
She was getting comfortable again.
Good.
He liked Jack comfortable.
Let her think he wasn't there; she'd walked right by him several times, stood next to him in the lifts and never known it was him. He wouldn't call himself a master of disguise, but it was amazing what a wig, colored contact lenses, teeth caps, a beard and the right posture could do to change how others saw you. He'd served her those vodka Collins she sucked down several times a week.
Let her think he hadn't been watching her for nearly eight months, stealing into her quarters while she slept. He'd contained his urges and kept from waking her as he'd wanted, taking only tiny touches on her skin to remember the feel and scent of her.
"Hey Will. I'll have a margarita." Ann Lefler sat on front of him, setting the folders she carried on the counter and massaging her neck with one hand.
With a last glance at Jack, he smiled at Ann. "Evening honey."
"How soon until you're off? I'm ready to eat."
"About ten minutes." Ann wasn't as good as Jack, but she was as good a honey as any to dip into.
She smiled. "I've been looking forward to this evening all day."
"Bad one?"
"You could say that." Ann took the full glass he set on the counter and lifted it to her lips. She loved Will's voice, gruff and low; it was what first attracted her to him. That and his great body. He wasn't exactly the most intellectual man she'd ever met, but who needed brains when he looked like that?
Riddick wiped the counter. "Can I ask you something, Ann?"
"Sure."
Jerking his head in Jack's direction, he leaned over the counter. "What's with Audrey? She comes in here, gets a few drinks and never says more than a hello to any of us bartenders. Usually I hear more than my share of stories, but from her...nothing."
"Audrey is a very private person."
"Obviously. Care to elaborate?"
She glanced at Jack. "She's got man trouble; more than most women. She doesn't talk to men much."
He nodded as though that explained everything and left to finish the end of his shift.
Ann watched him without hiding her interest. He was the best thing she'd seen at the station in months, not counting Chris. Will took care of whatever his duties were, then was back at her side in minutes. "That was quick."
"How can I keep a beautiful woman waiting?"
She laughed. "Smooth."
They left.
-------------------------
Jack watched Ann and the bartender Will.
He looks like Riddick, she thought, then shook her head and finished her drink. Her paranoia was showing through. Will had a beard, a thick thatch of light brown hair and dark green eyes. He was not Riddick, but sometimes, from the right angle, he was enough like Riddick to scare her.
She tried not to go in the bar when he was working, but his shift now coincided with her only time to relax. Ann often came in now, too, and went straight to the bar. Ann had started dating Will, although 'date' wasn't the word for what they were doing. Ann was happy and Jack guessed that was all that mattered. Still, Jack would be happier if she herself never had to see him.
Oh, he was friendly enough, trying to chat with her at the bar, his good ole boy accent as smooth as Johns' had been, but there was just something about him that creeped her out. It was nothing overt, nothing she could point to. Will bothered her. She felt his gaze on her and sometimes, caught a look on his face and in his eyes, like he was undressing her in his mind and doing things to that image. He wasn't Riddick; there were too many physical differences, but occasionally, Jack caught herself wishing he were Riddick. Then, she could turn him in to security and maybe they'd get rid of him before he was aware he'd been found out....
It was only a wish.
Will was not Riddick.
Glancing up from her empty glass, she saw Chris threading his way through empty tables towards her. Jack smiled a little. It wasn't a big, welcoming grin, yet Chris seemed to take it as such, sitting across from her and placing his hands palm up on the table, his expression eager and questioning. With only a seconds hesitation, Jack placed her hands in his. His fingers closed warmly and loosely about hers.
"Audrey."
"Chris."
"It's our three month anniversary."
"Excuse me?" He was teasing, right?
"It's been three months since you first had dinner with me."
"I ate about four bites and ran off."
"You still ate. It counts."
Despite herself, her smile widened. "Oh, it does?"
"Certainly."
A waitress approached and both declined to order a drink. When the woman sauntered away, Chris leaned slightly across the table. "Alone at last."
"We're not alone."
He frowned, but his eyes were twinkling. "You're not cooperating. Pay attention and imagine this."
Jack nodded. "Okay."
"We're alone. A saxophone is playing on the sound system and the tables are pushed back. I hold out my hand and ask you to dance..."
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to draw you in here. Hush. Concentrate."
Jack opened her mouth, then closed it. He was being a goof.
"You stand and move into my arms. We sway to the music..."
"I can't dance."
"In this you can. There's no one there but us. Nothing bad anywhere...do you trust me, Audrey?"
"Trust you for what?"
"Do you trust me to treat you right?"
"Yes." She did, too. She'd never thought it possible for her to ever trust another man as implicitly as she had trusted Riddick, but she did. She trusted Chris. In an amazingly short time, he'd gained her trust and confidence.
"Have dinner with me tomorrow night."
Jack swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Chris..."
"Just the two of us. No Ann. In public; I wouldn't suggest I cook for you, although I would like to in the future. I make seafood crepes that are sinful they're so rich." He paused. "Say yes, Audrey."
Her eyes fell to their hands. She liked how he always asked, verbally or with body language, before he touched her. She liked how he treated her as a lady. Most of all, she liked him. Jack raised her eyes to his.
"Yes."
Chapter 7
Ann opened her door to find Jack in a panic. "Jack, what's wrong?"
"I need your help, Ann."
Ann drew Jack into the living room and to the couch, giving her a light shove so that she'd sit. "Relax. Calm down and tell me." What could it be? What could have Jack so worked up? Had she spotted Riddick or gotten another present?
"Chris and I were talking last night..."
"And?" The other woman's eyes were wide and frightened, with dark circles around them that indicated she hadn't slept well the night before. Ann hoped Chris hadn't said or done something stupid.
"He asked me to dinner."
"And?"
Jack swallowed hard. "I accepted."
Ann waited for more, but Jack sat there silent and staring at her, her expression pleading. "You have a dinner date with Chris?"
"Yeah."
"In the cafeteria?"
"Yeah."
"Well that's great Jack!"
"No, no, no it's not. Ann, I've never had a real date before. The only thing I know is Riddick coming into my room in the middle of the night and what he wanted isn't appropriate for a first date. How do I behave? What do I say? What...what if he kisses me?"
"You're comfortable with Chris now, right?"
Jack nodded. In her lap, she twisted her hands together nervously. Yes, she was comfortable around him and it scared her that she was.
"You two talk all the time."
Another nod.
"There's no reason for panic."
"What if he kisses me and I hurt him?"
Ann waved a hand. "He's security; he's used to being hurt."
"I'm serious Ann."
"So am I sweetie. You talk with him all the time. You've eaten with him before. There's nothing to worry about."
"What if I dress wrong?" She began to cry silent tears. "This is tonight Ann. I should call it off...I'm not ready..." Jack looked away, then back at Ann. "He's gonna think I'm a tease..."
Moving to sit beside her friend, Ann placed her arm around Jack. "Chris won't think you're a tease, Jack. He's a decent man. Give him a chance."
"I gave Riddick a chance and look what he did to me!"
"Chris isn't Riddick."
Jack hung her head and wiped at her eyes. "I know. I know he's not and I trust him and I like him, but..."
"You're attracted to him and it scares the hell out of you." Ann supplied.
"Am I so obvious?" Jack sniffled, her tears subsiding.
"To me."
"I want to look good for him, Ann. I don't know how to do that."
"Want me to help you?"
"Who else would I go to?"
----------------------------------
She was beautiful, but then he'd always thought that.
Ann had coaxed her into wearing a dress, one that skimmed her slender curves and made her look every inch the woman she was. The dress was the same blue as her eyes and would emphasize that brilliant color.
He adored her eyes; such expressive orbs that reflected her every mood.
Her blond hair had been cut into a layered bob and curled, the delicate lines of her face now appearing fragile, but he knew the strength inside her. She was so strong when she had to be. As she walked across the cafeteria, she didn't seem to register the admiring looks she was getting.
Perhaps she didn't notice them.
He watched her meet the security man; watched that dance begin between them. She was tentative, charming in her uncertainty, and shy. He watched the man put her at ease, and had to remind himself not to grip the glass in his hand so tightly.
Riddick nursed his drink, taking his time with his dinner and studying the two without appearing to. Grudgingly, he noted that they looked good together. His eyes narrowed slightly when Chris held out his hand and she took it without hesitating.
Maybe she was getting too comfortable.
Maybe he should remind her just who she belonged to.
When the couple got up and left, he followed at a discreet distance. Bits of conversation drifted back to him, but nothing that made any sense. Chris saw her to her door and didn't even try to kiss her before he left.
Riddick leaned against the wall.
Interesting.
Not even a kiss.
He stared at her door and wondered if she'd told Chris about timid Brian, who'd begged quite nicely for his life. He'd known exactly why he was going to die; Riddick had explained it to him. Normally he'd go in and kill quickly, but Brian was a special kill. He'd put his hands on Riddick's property and no one took what was his unless he gave them permission to do so. Brian hadn't had permission.
Neither did Chris.
Straightening, he moved towards Chris Braeker's quarters.