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Chapter 7

A jolt of excitement passed through me and I swallowed hard, unable to tear my eyes away from him. I think I was in shock- firstly that he answered, and secondly that I got a yes answer. And I abruptly squashed the little naive pathetic thought in my mind that he was talking about me. I just felt like the kid that he wanted to prove I was all along. The only thing that I could think about though, was how the woman he wanted looked like. She had to look a hell lot different than me.

Riddick leaned back in his seat and watched me for a long time with a slightly anguished look, before he dropped his gaze and his lips quivered into a smirk. "You don't want to know who she is?"

I shook my head as he looked up at me. I didn't want to know about the sex bomb that he wanted to fuck. I didn't want to feel even more miserable by knowing how poorly I'd compare to her. "You wouldn't tell me anyway." I said.

He chucked softly. "No. I wouldn't."

"See."

"But you want to know."

I didn't answer him, just watched as he grinned and stood up.

"Didn't sleep much tonight, did you, Ivy."

For the first time today I noticed I was tired and that I wanted to bed, so I nodded.

"In three days we're reaching Morpheus systems. We'll drop you off there."

I swallowed and looked down. I was feeling so mixed up. I didn't know what to do- I didn't have anyone to go to and I didn't have the smallest idea of where aunt Rosie was, or whether she was still alive. I didn't have much cash either; I was just a young student and a girl on top of that. There's not much you can do with that and I knew what people would offer me to do as jobs. A shudder passed through me when I realized this. No way I was going to be a slut. No way.

And then there was Riddick. And Jerry. I liked him. He was nice to me, a new friend I found. I didn't want to leave him. I couldn't figure out why my brain mentioned Riddick on first place, though.

"Ivy?"

"What?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you listening to me?"

"No." I answered truthfully.

Riddick rubbed his hand over his head and sighed. "What's the problem?"

"Nothing." I said, bluntly. "You wouldn't care."

Riddick tilted his head and gave me a quizzical look. "I wouldn't care?"

"No."

"What the fuck's that supposed to mean?" He growled out.

"It's supposed to mean, that you're gonna drop me off and I have nowhere to go." I said, dryly.

He threw his hands up in disgust. "Well, fuck, kid. This is my ship and I can't just drag around strangers with me."

I bit my lip. "Yeah, I know. I'm a stranger… and you don't want anyone to travel around with Richard B. Riddick either, huh?"

He looked at me like I'd pronounced his name wrong. "The ship costs something, kid. I can't have a million people around and I'm the one who's gonna pay for it if something goes wrong. And you're not even an adult. If something happens to you, I'm the one who's gonna get fucking charged."

I felt like he was accusing me. It wasn't my fault I was going to be 18 in two weeks. "Yeah. That's why you're gonna happily drop me off."

He raised his eyebrow in an is-that-so expression. "That's what you said, kid: Take me as far as to the next stop."

"Yeah, I did. Coz I knew you wouldn't take me anywhere else."

"And you think you were right."

I laughed bitterly. "Wasn't I? No-one really cares what happens to me. Even the detective just told me to pack my stuff and get the hell away from Earth. No-one cares where I go."

He sighed.

I dropped my gaze and swallowed the grief. "I'm right, Riddick, aren't I?" I said, almost inaudibly. "Lets face it, you don't care shit what happens to me."

I could hear him taking a breath and he walked over to me slowly, stopping above me. I had my eyes glued onto the table and I wasn't going to look up at him and see that face of his, that beautiful face of his, twisted in disgust and irritation because of me.

"Look at me." He said.

Swallowing, I shook my head quickly. The centre of the table looked pretty nice, as far as I was concerned.

"Ivy, look at me." He repeated. Surprisingly, there was no menace in his voice, just a hint of something I couldn't distinguish.

"Nuh-uh." Jesus, why couldn't he just get it over with?

He leaned over me and reached out with his hand, softly tilting my face up. All I could see was how he treated me in the cockpit earlier-the way he roughly moved my face up, the way he seethed because of what I'd done. I winced and abruptly turned away from him.

He had to know what I remembered, because he didn't touch me again. I couldn't believe those hands could be so soft one minute and so rough the next.

"You have no idea, Ivy." He said, huskily, breaking the deafening silence. "No idea." A voice barely above a whisper.

"Bout what?" I muttered, my eyes stinging. I was suddenly so close to crying again and I was NOT going to in front of him. I was so sick of my pathetic behavior, but all I could see was myself, alone, with no-one to turn to and no-one wanting to bother themselves with me. I choked a bit trying to stifle the thoughts.

"About everything." He said.

"I'm right about you." I managed.

"Oh yeah? You know shit about me."

"I know you're gonna kick me out and you have no reason why not to."

Gee, Ivy, make yourself even more miserable with the truth.

He sighed again.

"What do you want, Ivy?" He asked, hoarsely, his voice echoing round the room.

Oh God, the answer was too clear suddenly.

You.

I sucked in my breath and my eyes opened wide. What? I wanted him? Even though I was scared shitless when he yelled at me? Even though he played around with me? Even though he cared sh-

"I asked you a question." He said. "You gonna answer me?"

"What I w-want?" I stuttered.

"Yeah."

"Well, Jesus, Riddick, I don't know." I spat out at him. "I have nowhere to go and I kind of like…it here. I don't have any qualifications, nowhere to live and there's no job for me to do outside. You got the slightest idea what people will want me to do?!"

"What, whore yourself?" He asked, sarcastically.

I stared at him coldly.

"You didn't have any problems with that earlier, though now, did you?" He tilted his head, giving me an accusing look. "You offered yourself to me, Ivy- and you can easily just do it again in the outside world, can't you."

I abruptly stood up, clenching my fists.

"Imagine the money that someone'd pay for a virgin." He continued, visibly amused with my reaction.

"Fuck you!"

"You want?" He grinned.

I was boiling inside, hurting, and I almost absently raised my arm to hit him.

He caught it mid-swing.

"Oh, common, Ivy, you don't want to play the games I play." He chuckled, my hand firmly in his.

He abruptly took a step forward to me, closing the distance between us, so we were just inches away from each other. He had to feel the fury radiating from me and I could feel his damned amusement coming in waves.

In the snap of two fingers, he became serious. "If I ever find you slutting around or offering yourself, pray I don't catch you." He growled down at me.

"Care, do you?" I laughed bitterly into his face.

"You lose it to some motherfucker and I'm gonna rip him in two." He informed me.

"Him or me?" I asked, irritating the hell out of him. He had to be fucking with me, he couldn't possibly care.

"Both."

"So very kind of you." I said sarcastically, leaning back away from him, trying to free my arm with no visible effect.

"There's not many guys out there who would refuse an offer like you made me before, little girl." He said, holding my wrist firmly.

"Thanks for the information." I rolled my eyes.

"Think it funny? Think it's fun being screwed up against the wall by some sick fuck? You don't even want to know about the things these guys want."

"What if I don't have a choice?" I asked innocently, praying I'd always have a choice. "What then, Riddick?"

He gritted his teeth. "Then you can stay on my ship."

My jaw dropped open and I blinked, staring at him.

"What?" He asked, surprised. I wasn't sure if he was surprised because of what he'd said or because of my reaction.

My lips spread into a wide grin and I immediately threw my arms around him, smiling into his chest like a lunatic.

"Thank you! Thank you, Riddick!"

He ruffled my hair with a big hand, chuckling softly.

I leaned back then, picking up courage, a question I wanted to ask him haunting me. I nervously licked my lower lip. "You really care about who fucks me?"

 

Chapter 8

"Breakfast time people, you in here guys?" Jerry broke the silence.

I tore my eyes away from Riddick painfully and sat down on the chair almost depressed. Jerry always had to come in and interrupt us.

I felt Jerry looking me over as he drew breath to speak. "You didn't sleep much tonight, people, did you?"

There could've been a second meaning in that even though I wasn't sure, and I looked up, seeing Riddick and Jerry staring at each other, Jerry almost menacingly and Riddick remaining as unreadable as ever.

"No." Riddick said. "We didn't." And I could swear his lips twitched into a smirk for just a second.

There was a moment of awkward silence, so I stood up and shortly looked at Riddick and then back at Jerry, smiling at him a bit.

I cleared my throat, feeling almost what, guilty? "I think I'll go to bed." I said, after second thought, and walked past Jerry for the door. No-one was stopping me, so it must've been a good move.

I closed the door quietly and took a first step down the stairs, when I heard:

"Now what the fuck was that supposed to mean, Riddick- you gonna tell me?" Jerry snapped.

"What's what supposed to mean?" Riddick grunted, his voice tired.

"You and Ivy. Last night you were all over her, man- you don't dance like that with a sister, do you. Can't you fucking see it?"

I gasped, jerking back away from the door, hoping they didn't hear me. They were talking about me?!

"See what, Jerry?" Riddick sounded irritated.

"See the way she looks at you. The way she talks to you. She likes you, man."

"The way she looks at me?"

I was barely breathing.

"Oh c'mon, you know what I'm talking about. You're gonna get her in trouble if you fuck her. She's not even fucking eighteen."

"She's not." Riddick said, flatly. "And I won't fuck her."

"Now where did I hear that the last time, hm?" Jerry asked, sarcastically. "Just before you fucked Jack?"

I had no idea what they were talking about.

"That was just a mistake, Jerry."

" Just a mistake? Don't start with that shit. Jack had been looking at you the same way Ivy does now. And look what happened. I like Ivy, but it's a good thing we're gonna drop her off."

"We're not."

"What?"

"She has nowhere to go. She stays."

"No. She won't stay. And you know why? Coz you just fucking can't keep your hands to yourself!"

"Now what the fuck is your problem, Jerry?" Riddick growled out at him.

"My problem?" Jerry spat out. "I don't want to see her hurt. I don't want to find her crying in a dark corner like I found Jack, because you told her you couldn't stay with her and love her."

"Look, I won't fuck Ivy, alright. I don't want her."

I sucked in my breath, swallowing the lump in my throat. Oh God. He doesn't want me. He doesn't want me. Riddick doesn't want me. The mantra was buzzing in my head, making me sick.

"Oh please, quit the bullshit."

"She's a virgin, Jerry. I won't fuck her."

Jerry was quiet for a while and then: "Jack was once too. Until you came along and changed it."

"That was a long time ago. Jack understands. I won't fuck Ivy. Period."

"But you want to." Jerry said, almost inaudibly.

There was a moment of silence, deafening and I was shaking, shivers running up and down my spine.

"No." Came the answer. "I don't."

 

Chapter 9

Everything was happening so fast.

I swallowed down on the sharp knot in my throat, caught my breath as I ran. The bleeding gash across my heart was something I could not get rid off though and doing so was beyond me. I didn't know what was happening, but I knew one thing. It hurt.

The metal door of Jerry's bedroom slammed shut behind me and I flinched, the grating echoing through the room, bouncing of the walls and consuming me from within. Shaking violently I collapsed onto the floor and sobbed, pulled my knees up to my chin and cradled them in my arms, my back pressed against the door, keeping it closed, because there was no lock.

I felt betrayed much to my surprise- betrayed by Jerry for wanting to send me away, betrayed by Riddick for not wanting anything to do with me… It was pathetic and it made me cry harder, and I hated myself for it. For acting like a big baby. I kept telling myself I was lucky that I was alive, that Benny didn't kill me when he had the chance, but for some reason those thoughts and feelings never made it to my brain, and all I could concentrate on was Riddick… The first time when I saw him, when I offered myself to him, and he refused; as much as I thought he wouldn't. The board in the police station had a notice on him there: SERIAL KILLER AND RAPIST WANTED DEAD, OR ALIVE. And he didn't rape me when I jerked back away from him, when I panicked and winced; when I realized I couldn't do it. Couldn't pay him or anyone else with my body for taking me off of the planet. And despite all the things I read about him, I couldn't make myself hate him or look at him with contempt. Maybe the things people said about him weren't true. Maybe he was just a normal man, waiting for someone to notice… And as much as I'd been scared of him in the cockpit, when I'd gotten the ship off course, and he'd been yelling at me, as much as I'd been embarrassed in the kitchen when he'd asked me if I ever fucked a guy and as much he'd been in a bad mood the last few days, exasperated, and he didn't want me… I couldn't bring myself to stop thinking about him.

He was there, in my mind, always, constantly, and I couldn't shake it.

I heard someone knocking on the door and I snapped to reality. The someone cleared his throat and spoke.

"Ivy? You in there?" he asked, and the voice sounded so distant, so far off to me and it took me a moment before I realized it was Jerry behind the door, not Riddick. "You okay?"

I managed to get the words I intended to say out of my mouth, my voice hoarse, raspy- fingernails on a chalk board. "I'm fine, Jerry."

My voice cracked. I was a bad liar. I heard nothing for a while, apart from the pounding in my head, and I tried to calm down a bit, relax, just breathe. I was in a mess, tears staining my cheeks and my face swelled up. 'Yeah, fine,' I thought bitterly.

No luck, Jerry pushed the door open and I crawled aside a little to help him enter. There was no use trying to keep the door shut, because it was his room, and I just slept in there, and I wanted to save the door from getting knocked out as well.

"Aw, Ivy," he mumbled and crouched down next to me when he saw me. His hair was black as coal, spiky on his head, and his eyes were sea-blue, fixed on me, and there was concern in them.

"You don't want me around, do you," I said, my voice still coarse. Jerry raised his eyebrow and then sighed.

"You'd been listening, huh."

I tore my eyes away from him, unable to hold his gaze.

"Should've told me, Jerry."

He reached out with his hand and tilted my chin his way, so he could look me in the eyes. "I do, Ivy. I mean, I want you around," he said, then drew breath to speak again. "Everything's so different since you stepped on this ship, you know… I can finally talk to someone who's on the same mental wave as I am, and the same shitty cook." He chuckled softly, and I rolled my eyes. He grinned and then sobered again. "You know, you've changed Riddick, too."

I scoffed. Sniffled, let his words sink in. No way in hell I could have done that. The skepticism in my voice was obvious. "I have?"

"Yes, you have. He's different now, Ivy. Talks more."

"Talks more?"

"He's more communicative," Jerry said. I wasn't sure if he was taking it seriously or just mocking me, playing games with my feelings. "Never heard him say so many words like in the last few days."

"I haven't even seen him in the last few days."

Jerry chuckled. "Yeah, well. Imagine how it'd been like before. Just me and Rocky."

I had to laugh. Jerry was a movie freak. There was a moment of silence, and I just stared back at him. Stared at the deep blue striking eyes, but couldn't read them.

"You can stay," he said, suddenly, then shrugged. "I know you like Riddick… I'd have to be blind not to see it… but you heard how he is. It's your choice."

"My choice?" I gasped out. "In what?" Jerry cut me off.

"Ever read about the Hunter-Gratzner crash?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well, this girl- Jack, was one of the survivors," he told me.

"I thought that was a boy?"

He grinned. "Nah, just dressed like it."

I watched him sit down next to me and lean against the wall. I studied his profile for a while, then dropped my head and lazily ran my hands down the scratchy material of my pants, fidgeting a little.

"Jack was a kid from the street, you know. Making her way around dressed like a boy. The Systems are no place for a girl to travel around alone-" He paused and I felt him looking at me. I raised my head and caught the lopsided smirk on his face, the smile in his eyes. I grinned, and he shook his head. "And Riddick'd been her hero like for a long time. She bought the ticket for Hunter-Gratzner just because of him, even though he was being transported back to Slam. She even shaved her head." I laughed, softly, and Jerry gave me a funny look.

"What?" I asked.

He raised his eyebrow. "Just imagining how you'd look without hair."

I scowled, then cracked up. "Aargh, I'd look like G. I. Jane, definitely."

He laughed back and then the silence loaded the air again, before I broke it.

"She had a crush on him, huh." I said, looking at Jerry and he nodded.

"Yeah. Loved him ever since she set her eyes on him. And you know, she'd been just a kid. Fourteen, or something, and obviously, when they got off of that planet, Riddick thought of her as of his sister, or a tomboy sidekick- take your pick." The image of a small news article I read about five or six years ago flashed before me. I remembered it, cause I'd been fascinated by the photo at the time. Three people, dressed in Muslim robes. I'd found it interesting to see that the only survivors of a merchant ship crash had been three Muslims. I had no idea then that Richard B. Riddick had been of them and his future fuck-buddy stood beside him.

I tried to remember exactly how the survivors looked, but the photo was of bad quality and my brain wasn't able to put the picture together. And thinking about this, I felt Jerry watching me and I glanced his way.

"Yeah, she's beautiful," he said, grinning. I grimaced. So much for trying to act cool and uninterested. I wanted to know how Jack looked like. How the woman that Riddick wanted looked like, and Jerry could read it straight off of me. Shit.

"She lived with Imam, a guy that lost three of his sons on the planet, for two years. Riddick dropped them off on New Mecca and never really came to visit them. You know, said it was putting him and them in danger, so he better stay away. Jack was crying so much then, at least that's what she told me afterwards. Said she couldn't believe he left her. Riddick came to visit them once though. When he'd thought the commotion around him died down a little and it'd been on her sixteenth birthday. And you know.." Jerry trailed off and I screwed my eyes shut. I couldn't believe what I was feeling suddenly. Jealousy. God damn, I was jealous of a girl I saw six years ago on the net-com on a picture; I just couldn't believe it. I stole a glance of Jerry and his eyes firmly fixed on me made me look away again. He was intently watching my reaction, searching my face.

"And he- I mean, does he love her?" I stuttered out. I felt pathetic asking, but I wanted to know. Needed to know. Jerry gave me this look, this look like he knew all along that I liked Riddick. That I couldn't keep my eyes off of him.

"Nah, he doesn't," he said, finally. "Not in the way you mean, that is. Of course he cares about her, but it's a weird relationship, I can tell you that. He fucked her, and the next day I found her crying, cause he told her he couldn't stay with her. Said it was still too dangerous and he couldn't be the man she wanted. She didn't understand, but you can't blame her. She was sixteen, loved him all her life, still does, and he left her again. Couldn't get over him for a long time, but eventually she kinda understood. Knew he had to be on the move."

"So how come you're here with him now?" I asked, more curious than I'd ever been. "If you're here then she could be too, right?"

"Wrong." He grinned. "I always meet up with Riddick for this one trip. To Earth and back to Morpheus. Help him get his loot and then I don't see him for the rest of the year."

"And what does he do the rest of the year?" I asked. Jerry shrugged.

"Who knows."

* * * * *

I didn't get to see much of Riddick in the next three days before we landed on Morpheus. But at least I got to explore the whole ship. It was huge. The living quarters were small though, but the cargo areas were monstrously big; halls filled with wooden boxes from floor to ceiling, so large that your voice echoed in there when you spoke. I didn't ask what they transported though. I figured that wasn't my business and no one would tell me anyway and I didn't want to be the nosy runaway kid sticking my nose in stuff I shouldn't know about. So I got to see the whole ship at least, but not it's owner. When I woke up in the morning Riddick was already gone from the kitchen and then spent the day locked away in his room, or in the cockpit most of the times, or in the cargo area, checking the loot, fixing panels and so on. And normally he just found his way round the ship through the dark unlit places, so he wouldn't have to wear the goggles, so I got to see very little of him. And when I did, he would barely notice me. He would say "Hey, Ivy" and walk right past me.

Jerry joked about him being a creature of the dark and that he liked to go about unseen and he told me about the time when Riddick scared the shit out of him once when he pounced on him in the middle of the night. Said Riddick was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. I smiled at the thought and wondered when was the last time he did something like that.

"And Slam? Does he talk about that?" The question left my mouth faster than I had time to re-think it.

"Slam?" Jerry pushed is fingers through his wet hair, sitting down in the dojo. "No, he doesn't. I never talked to him about it and I don't think he'd tell me about it either. He made it clear once that the topic's closed between us, you know."

I nodded, sitting down opposite to him and wiping my face. The workout left me completely wasted. I reached for the mineral water in the freezing box next to me and pressed it to my face. It was instant relief, but the shudder that passed through me had a different source. The things I heard about Slam were horrible and I shivered just thinking about the things they had to do to Riddick in there. I wondered who were the people that sent you to rot in a black hole saying you were inhuman. Who were they then?

"How long was he there?" I asked. "Before he escaped?"

Jerry shrugged. "Says half of his life."

I swallowed. Jerry gave me a smile when he saw the look on my face.

"Dun worry. I bet he just says that," he told me, softly. "Hard to imagine Riddick rotting somewhere. He's a master at prison break-outs. Broke out of more prisons then I'd ever seen in my life."

"So they caught him several times?" An empty hollow feeling filled my stomach.

"Yeah. Then sent him off to Slam," he said.

"For what?"

Jerry gave me a look. "Don't ask questions you don't want truthful answer to."

We worked out for a while longer. Jerry taught me how to block a series of punches. Told me that you always see what the opponent wants to do by the way they move. Sometimes you see it in their eyes, but most of the time it's a slight move in their arm, or hips. That is how you can predict what they want to do and block it just in time. We watched martial arts movies too and had a laugh when we watched Jackie Chan movies, too. I read an article about him once on the net-com, saying that he studied Chinese opera since he was seven years old and that he woke up each day at five and trained until midnight. Jerry teased me telling me I was going to be just like him. I smirked.

"We're gonna teach you to kick some ass, miss Chow," he said, grinning. "Jackie and I."

I had to laugh. "And who's gonna teach you, huh?"

He cracked up and called our training session a night. He laid down on the tatami mats on the floor of the dojo and breathed away, sweat glistening on his forehead. I smiled to myself, realizing I could finally get my own back at him, since he was so exhausted. It was evil, I know, but he made me do pushups for a minute at a time. I walked up to him and hovered above him with a triumphant smirk on my lips.

"What?" he asked, a half-groan, half-laugh escaping his chest.

"C'mon, one more round," I said, smiling down at him. "One more round and then I'll leave ya alone."

He chuckled. "Ah, Jesus. Look at me, Ivy. I'm dead already."

My hands went to my hips.

He laughed some more. "My butt's too young to get kicked twice in a day."

It was my turn to laugh, but I wasn't letting him off the hook. He grumbled as I pulled him to his feet.

"Okay. One round," he said, smirking. "Prepare to go down."

"Nuh-uh. It's your turn to say hi to the tatamis."

We circled around each other, grinning like lunatics, our fists clenched in front of our faces.

"Come and get me, babe," he laughed. "What are you waiting for, Christmas?"

I rolled my eyes and caught him by surprise, my fist shooting out and locking with his face. But it barely did anything to him. He was trained in karate and boxing, and underwent the training of the Navy Seals. He was so full of energy that I knew he was playing with me just a minute ago. He never was tired.

"Started yet?" he teased and I scoffed in frustration. "Cause I'm taking a nap just now."

He blocked my next series of punches rapidly, all the time never attacking me back, just passively blocking.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath, and he laughed.

"Try to do it faster," he told me. "Bang, bang, bang."

And with that my feet left the ground and my back hit the floor with a thud. Jerry was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. That infuriated me even more. Like a lightning flash I sprung up to my feet and kicked him in the stomach. Or that was what I intended at least. He moved out of the way and I stumbled to the floor, locking my foot underneath me. I heard something snap and I cried out in pain.

"Ah, Jesus Christ," I moaned. My leg was twisted underneath me and it hurt so unbelievably much.

Jerry stopped laughing when he saw I wasn't getting up and crouched down next to me. He helped me move my leg and examined it.

"Ankle's swelling up," he said. "But it's not broken. Just twisted."

"Hurts like it's broken though."

"Yeah." He gave me a soft smile. "You're gonna feel it for a week or so."

I watched him take some kind of a tube out of the med box in the dojo and he sprayed the contents over my ankle.

"That should help," he said. The contents left a green pattern on my skin.

"What is it?" I asked. "It looks disgusting."

"Then don't smell it," he chuckled. "Chemical ice, new version."

I grinned and tried to move the leg, but it hurt like hell so I stopped trying.

"Just wanted to get my own back," I said, with a half-sigh, half-moan. Jerry grinned.

"You will. You will. Just don't do any sharp moves for a few days at least."

I nodded and Jerry helped me stand up. I told him I was going to go take a shower and then go pass out to bed. He laughed and said he would clean up the dojo, and then he would see me in bed. Which made me crack up this time. We slept together in Jerry's bed, because there was nowhere else for me to sleep and his bed was huge, so I didn't mind. Jerry definitely didn't- no guy minds a girl sleeping in bed with him. I padded over the mats to the door, said night to Jerry, and exited into the corridor. The lights were low as always and I found my way to the bathroom more or less by touch and memory, groping my way around.

The shower jets massaged my neck and shoulders, and I washed my hair, and shaved my legs, and I tried to relax as well, tried to get my treacherous mind to focus on something other than on the fact that I didn't get to see much of Riddick in the last three days. I switched the water of, disgusted with myself, feeling still dirty, but this time mentally. I knew he didn't want me and I still thought about him. There was no way he would ever want anything to do with me. And then there was the fact he was an escaped convict and had to be on the move.

I stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my body and pulled on a new shirt and pants. The shirt was white, sleeve-less and tight, and the pants were straight, with a military print on them. My skin was darker than before I boarded the ship I noticed. My red sunburned cheeks turned brown and my shoulders were darker as well, standing out against the sun-starved white of the top. My hair was lighter as well, honey blond locks framing my face and the pale grayish-blue of my eyes stared back at me in the mirror. If I had Chinese genes in me, they had to be hiding deep.

Light was coming from the crack above the threshold to Jerry's bedroom when I reached for the knob. I found him sitting on the king-size bed, rummaging through some papers.

"Flight codes," he said. I nodded and told him I was going to get myself some milk. It was an excuse for the obvious. I knew we were going to land tomorrow, so I wanted to have one more look at the star path from the cockpit. I had butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. I closed the door behind myself again and found myself in the darkness of the corridor once more. It was quiet and the door to the cockpit was slightly open, which was a good sign. When Riddick was in there, he always kept the door closed. I peered into the den and seeing no one, I slipped inside, silently closing the door behind me.

Beautiful. It was beautiful. It was just like looking from my old bedroom window on Earth, only this was more real. More intense. Closer. Millions of stars, planets, systems. I noticed a red planet in the darkness and wondered whether it was Morpheus. It reminded me of Mars a little, but this planet had blue mixed in as well. Water. Life.

"Looking for trouble, kid?"

The deep rumble of a voice hit me like a boulder. I sprung round and found myself gazing at two silver pools, that were watching me back intently. "Cause if you are, then you just found me." I couldn't make out the tone in his voice and I couldn't see into his face either, because his whole body was hidden in complete, utter darkness of the cockpit.

My breathing hitched and I tried to get the words I intended to say out of my mouth. "No, I…I just wanted to have a look at the stars. I wasn't trying…"

Riddick emerged from the pitch black and my mouth kept on moving, but no words were coming out. He was dark and gorgeous, his scalp freshly shaved and his massive chest was rising and falling slowly with each breath he took, and there was a cocky self assurance to him that I found so intensely intoxicating. I watched him cross his big arms over his chest, lean against the doorframe and give me an amused look. Desire hit me like a wave, together with the rich, throaty baritone of his voice.

"Don't give me that, kid. I know you wanted to fly the ship. It's in you. Deep inside."

I swallowed. "No, really, I didn't.. I just..I just wanted to have one more look from the cockpit before we land…" I was talking fast, stuttering, and I was perfectly aware that it was Riddick's doing. His presence, that got me into a state like this. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. He was beautiful; caramel brown skin glowing in the dark and the wetness of his tongue covering his lips when he licked them. He was utterly in reach and completely unattainable.

He hooked one arm above himself and leaned forward, grinning. "You sure you tellin' the truth?"

I cleared my throat. "Why would I lie?"

"You tell me, Ivy." He played with my name on his tongue, like he were tasting it, and let it slowly leave his mouth.

"I don't lie, Riddick. I say what I think." I sounded more confident then I really felt.

The corners of his mouth twisted into a lopsided smirk. "You do?" I watched him cross the floor of the cockpit towards me, his whole body slowly coming into view. He stopped about one foot away from me, looming over me, his arms loosely by his sides and fixed me with his eyes. "And what are you thinking just now?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

I bit down on my lip. "J-Just now?"

He nodded, slowly.

I was going to get into trouble if he kept that up. I couldn't lie to Riddick, even if I wanted to. "I..I'm thinking that your eyes are beautiful."

God, I'm dead meat.

He chuckled softly, cocked his head to the side. "You think my eyes are beautiful?"

"Yes," I breathed.

"Interesting."

I was about to dive past him and get out of there to save face before he humiliated me again, when he abruptly filled the gap between the seats, large and heavy, blocking my only exit. He was inches away from me and when I looked way up into his face, I saw him staring right back at me. I was frozen to the spot and almost stumbled backwards.

"Now where do you think you're going?" he asked, grinning. My mind was reeling, and I tore my eyes away from him, trying to find a way to get out of there, fast.

"I'd like to know what else you think about me, Ivy," he rumbled. "Because I see you do think about me."

"Do you ever regret it?" I asked his collarbone, changing the subject.

"What?" he asked, and I swear a chuckle escaped his chest.

"The shine-job." What I meant to say, was 'fucking Jack'. I wondered what Riddick saw when he looked at me. A small kid? A nuisance? Or was he completely oblivious to the fact that I was on his ship?

I looked up again, my eyes locking with his, but not before they lingered on his mouth. It was obvious. He would have to be blind not to notice how much I..

His brows furrowed for a moment.

"Never," he said, roughly. And for just a second a thought ran through my mind if he were answering something else.

"But you lost some cells in the process, didn't you?"

He gave me a questioning look. "Now how do you know that?"

Shit. I read it on the net-com. Could I say that? Tell him that I'd been reading up on him? Or would it make me look like a complete idiot?

"Um. Dunno. Read it somewhere, I guess," I muttered, trying hard not to stutter, "Is it true?"

"You guess, huh," he said. "Yeah, it's true. I don't see color. Much."

He licked his lower lip slowly, giving me a perfect view of his tongue. My face flushed and I dropped my gaze. It was painful knowing I'd never have him. I was drowning in my misery when I felt a hand on my chin, tilting my face up. I looked up at Riddick and he pulled his hand away from my face. His breathing was shallow.

"But I still see the things I want to see," he said softly, watching me with heavy-lidded eyes. I barely just nodded, his words ringing in my ears.

"I er.. I should go to bed." I muttered and tried to make a step forward, staggering a little on my hurt leg. But he didn't let me and just stood there, kept blocking my way and I almost bumped into his chest, because he didn't move.

"What happened to you?"

I groaned. "What?"

He nodded to the floor. "What happened to your leg?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing's making you stagger?"

I shot him an irritated look. "Nothing happened to my leg, Riddick. I was just stupid, okay? Fell over."

"Let me see." And it wasn't a suggestion. He gently nudged me back, until I had to sit down, slumping back into his pilot seat, and then he sat down himself opposite to me.

"Really, it's nothing, Riddick," I said, sighing. I didn't want him to think I was a whiny kid, who had to run to Mummy every time something happened. I tried to twist my leg away from him, but he stopped me, cupped my knee in his hand and grinned. I bit down on my lip in frustration and almost winced, when he reached for my knee with his other hand as well and pulled it into his lap. I sucked in my breath and watched him run his dark calloused fingers over my ankle.

"Inward twist," he said, "could've torn the three lateral ligaments of the ankle."

"Could have. Which means I'm okay and you can let me go."

He chuckled.

"No. I won't let you go," he told me. "This green chemical ice you got on there is no good. Lets get you the real thing."

I scoffed. "I don't need it. I'm okay."

I was about to protest some more, but my breath was knocked out of my lungs, when Riddick bent down, roped one arm around my waist and scooped me up into his arms. I couldn't believe he was holding me at first, thought it was a wicked joke my mind played on me, but he was. And he gave me an amused look as he watched me squirm. "Hmmm… wiggle some more and maybe you'll start to enjoy it. Lets get you some ice from the kitchen."

"Oh, man," I hissed. I couldn't look up at him, because the moment I would I was sure I'd do something stupid. I tried to concentrate on the fact that my ankle was hurting rather than on the fact that my heart was. I crossed my hands over my chest, not giving in to the temptation to hook them around his neck.

"You're so sweet and caring," I said under my breath, sarcastically.

"Sweet?" he smirked. "That a compliment? Cause I sure as hell didn't hear that one before."

"There's a first time for everything."

He sobered then and there was a silent question in his eyes. "Yeah, there is a first time for everything."

I watched him maneuver my body through the gap between the seats with ease, then through the door, lightly, like I was no extra weight at all, and then he kicked it shut with his boot behind us. We were plunged into darkness of the corridor, which enveloped us from all sides, and a strange feeling crept into my body, a feeling like it was just the two of us suddenly, like there was nothing apart from me and him, no problems, no law, no other people, no prejudice. It was a strange feeling and I relaxed against Riddick's body, rested my cheek against his chest, listened to his heart beat, and let him carry me, let him hold me, let him navigate us through the long tunnel of the ship's corridor to the kitchen in silence. In a moment of particular weakness I smiled into his chest and raised my head to look at him.

"You know that all I can see now are your eyes?" I whispered.

He smiled down at me. For a second I thought he'd say something..something that wouldn't be another smartass response, but when I caught sight of the smirk I knew nothing like that would come.

"Yeah," he grinned. "And they're beautiful, I know."

I rolled my eyes and the feeling from before was lost somewhere. He entered the kitchen with me still in his arms, then walked over to the table with me and lowered me down onto it, carefully, his warm hands leaving my waist. Then he pulled the goggles over his eyes and ordered lights to twenty.

"Don't you dare move," he said, chuckling.

I smiled back at him sweetly and watched him now, since I could see the whole of him, move around the kitchen and get me ice. Despite how big he was, he moved lightly, with ease, and I watched his muscles play as he shifted, cursing myself inwardly. I needed to try and forget about him, not go start looking for a droolbucket instead. I knew I could stay on his ship, but no one said for how long. And I had the feeling the time I'd have to leave would come sooner than I thought and I wondered whether it would be for better, or worse.

Riddick got some crushed ice from the fridge, slipped it into a watertight bag, then opened one of the drawers, took out a thin cloth, and wrapped the bag in it. Then he walked over to me and reached for my ankle and pressed the bag on top of it. He held it for me, inspecting the swelling, then met my questioning eyes.

"Ice numbs the skin," he said, "reduces swelling by constricting blood vessels. Know why it hurt like hell before? The pain was caused by swelling from torn blood vessels. And this li'l miracle bag right here will get you on your feet in no time."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, interrupting him.

"Doing what?"

"Caring whether I walk, or not," I said. "A few days ago you wouldn't care whether I'd stay back on Earth and get my head blown off."

Riddick eased his grip on the icebag and looked me in the eyes. "That what you think?"

"Well, you didn't actually prove me otherwise," I said.

"So you wanted me to prove it to you?" he asked, a slight frown creasing his brow. "Like how, running around screaming your name?" He was serious, but I cracked up at the image and he smirked when he saw me laugh.

"You should do your own show," I said. "You're too funny. Something like Late Night with Richard B. Riddick."

He raised his eyebrow then shook his head, a small smile forming in the corners of his mouth. "And what would I do? Walk around topless? I'm not exactly your everyday talkshow host."

I laughed harder, my breathing getting ragged. "Yeah, aim for nude. That would raise the profits. And ratings."

"Nude?" he asked. "Kid, you're crazy."

I was laughing so hard now my stomach hurt and I almost fell of the table. "Imagine the crowds of women paying to catch a glimpse of you, shouting your name."

"And why would that be?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Think, Riddick," I said, smiling. "Any woman would kill to see you go nude."

"Kill, huh?" he grinned. I grimaced.

"Okay, not the best choice of words, but you get the picture, right?"

He looked confused for a moment, so I laughed softly and drew breath to speak again. "You wouldn't want hundreds of women screaming your name?"

He chuckled then, and I knew he'd tricked me, played me all along, pretending not to get it. I snorted and punched him in the shoulder. He pressed his hand to it in mock-pain.

"A little too old for playing tricks on people, aren't we?"

He grinned. "I'm not playin' tricks. I do mind-fucking games. And I'm not old."

I scoffed, and he licked his lower lip, rested one big hand on the table.

"What were you saying about the women?" he asked, leaning forward to me.

"Screaming your name," my voice came out a whisper. He grinned, flash of white teeth.

"Babe, I already got women screaming my name," he said, slyly. "Underneath me each night."

My breathing hitched and my face flushed. He chuckled, running his tongue over his teeth. I dropped my eyes fast so he couldn't read them and fixed them on his hand on the icebag, firmly holding it to my ankle.

"Thanks," I said, nodding to it. "I think it's okay."

"Few more minutes," he said, smiling.

"How long is that? Until my leg gets frozen stiff?"

"Your leg is doing okay, kid."

I grimaced. "So far."

"Looks good."

"My leg looks good?"

He gave me a funny look. "Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?"

"I tell myself that everyday."

"Maybe I should find a way to silence you then," he said.

"And how would that be, Mr. Richard B. Riddick?"

"You want me to tell you, or demonstrate?" he grinned. I snorted. He watched me for a moment, then sobered and pulled out a chair for himself, and eased his big torso down on it. Then he leaned forward again and pressed the bag of ice to my ankle again.

"Soo… Ivy Chow. What do you do when you're not running away from murderers and stowing away on escaped convicts' ships?"

I searched his face for any signs of mockery, but found none much to my surprise, so I just looked down at my hands in my lap and fidgeted a little. "Well, I..study."

"What do you study?"

"Well, school just ended and I.. I wanted to go to a translators school, but now…now I don't know if I'll survive long enough to apply," I said, bitterly.

"C'mon, Ivy, no need to worry," he gave a reassuring squeeze to my healthy leg. "Benny's not going where we going, you know that."

I sighed, heavily. "I hope you're right, Riddick."

"I'm always right," he grinned. "Motherfuckers like Benny will get their own head blown off sooner or later, so stop worrying."

I looked up at him, oddly relieved that he was telling me this. That he cared, or at least did a great job of faking it. "You know, I'm not scared that he'll come and find me, but…"

"But what?" he gave me a knowing look. "You feel guilty? I know the feeling, Ivy. It's gonna eat you up until you let it go. But there was nothing you could've done, kid. He woulda ghosted you just like he did to your guy friend and I don't mean to be brutal or anything but he'd have your guts for breakfast. I know the type, and hiding was the smartest thing you coulda done when he took out your pal."

I met his eyes then, saw the concern. I wondered how much I really meant to him. I wanted to thank him, but didn't, so I just hoped he knew how grateful I was. He smiled back, softly.

"So, where were we..you studyin', huh?" he said, knowing I was glad that he changed the subject. "So, what ya do when you don't study? I mean, you relax, don't you? At least sometime."

I nodded, a smile creeping into my pale face. "Yeah, I relax. Sometime."

"And how do you do that?" he asked, grinning.

"Relaxing? Well, I watch TV, read a book, go out."

"Aaah. Now we're getting somewhere- 'going out'," he chuckled. "I never was the stay-at-home type myself."

"Nah, I wouldn't think you one either," I laughed.

"Most of the times I was the running-away-from-home type. If you call a foster home a home, that is."

The smile died on my lips. "Your parents died?"

"Shit, no," he said. "Some guy found me in a dumpster with the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck. You could say my mother was real caring and took great pride in wrapping it round my neck tight. Funny how fate would let me live."

"I'm sorry, Riddick," I whispered, hoarsely.

"Hey, she was a bitch and I'm alive. I don't need your pity."

I nodded, silently, and watched him examine my ankle, take the icebag away.

"So you spent your childhood in a fos-"

He cut me off. "Your ankle's looking good, kid. Lets wrap the party up and get your ass to bed."

I gave him a funny look, but he didn't seem to notice. He just stood up and walked over to the sink and emptied the water from the bag into it. I rubbed my ankle, the pain subsiding a little. He was right, real ice was much better than the chemical one. I looked up and saw him crossing the room back towards me again. He held out his hand.

"C'mon, I'll help you up."

"It's okay," I said, dryly. "I can manage."

He raised his eyebrow at me and cocked his head to the side. "You okay, kid?"

"Fine."

He gestured for me to do as I wanted then and watched me slid down off of the table carefully, taking all of my weight on my healthy leg. Then I slowly shifted a little onto my injured one and noticing it was a lot better than before transferred all of my weight on it. He reached out with his hand again, but I didn't take it. Instead I limped over to the door and let him follow me. I didn't understand my bitterness all that much, but I was sure it had something to do with him not wanting to tell me about his childhood. Maybe he didn't trust me like I trusted him and that was cutting me like a sharp knife.

He turned the lights off in the kitchen when I found myself in the corridor and once more we were plunged into darkness.

"Shit," I muttered. I heard a chuckle slice through the air from behind me.

"What, you see shit?"

I snorted. "Yeah."

"C'mere," and I felt a strong arm wrap round my waist then, catching me by surprise, and I flinched a little, a shudder passing through me. "I'll be your eyes," he whispered into my ear and all I could do was stifle back a sob that suddenly wanted to escape my chest.

'God, I want you to be so much more, Riddick.'

The same feeling from before seized my whole body again. The feeling that the darkness was something that brought me and him together. It was a strange, consuming feeling and I didn't know what to make of it.

I tried to concentrate on his arm around me, on the warmth penetrating from him through my shirt, leaving my skin aching for more, and I tried I to memorize every place he touched, but found I couldn't and could only feel.

We stopped in front of the large metal door of Jerry's bedroom, and I suddenly wished that Riddick would be the one sharing the bed with me, but immediately snapped out of it. Coldness crawled back into my body when he let go off me and I turned to face him, my back almost pressed against the door. His hands were deep in his pockets and the pair of knowing eyes watched me intently.

"Good night, kid."

"Night, Riddick."

He licked his lower lip slowly, then turned around and walked off.

* * * * *

We landed on Morpheus the next day.

I didn't get to see much of the from the ship, but I was anxious to know how it looked like. Jerry told me to wear my shades when I go out, because the suns on the planet were deadly. So I grabbed my shades and went to the ramp to get the first sight of Morpheus and watched Riddick lower the ramp. Jerry was standing next to him, checking something on the control panel.

Blinding white light shone through the crack in the ship as the ramp lowered and I squinted my eyes, slipping on my shades. The two suns on this planet were heating up the planet almost unbearably. I felt the heat enveloping me, the thick humid air making it hard to breathe. It was like someone dropped me off in a rainforest. Or at least that's what I read about rainforests, because I never saw one in my life. There were none on Earth anymore when I was born.

The warmth surged into the ship and I watched Riddick disappear through the ramp, so I decided to go see for myself. And then, then I saw Morpheus for the first time, or a part at least, a huge port full of ships, but I didn't care about that, because my eyes instinctively searched for Riddick. He was standing at the bottom of the ramp, arms crossed over his chest, his massive shoulders already glistening with sweat and I smiled to myself; he was gorgeous. And then I followed the line of his sight and my eyes rested on a blond girl who was heading his way. She was about twenty, twenty-one, smaller than me, but very beautiful, her cheekbones high and her eyes a striking green color. She was wearing a pale blue cotton dress on thin straps that clung tightly to her tanned body and as much as I hated to admit it, she had a great figure.

The girl reached Riddick and threw her arms around him, his own hands slipping round her waist, hugging her back.

Then Riddick bent down and kissed her on the lips. I couldn't breathe.

"Hello, Jack," he said, smiling down at her. "Good to see you again."

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