Title: Deus ex Machina
Genre: Farscape; J/A; romance/action
Rating: PG or PG 13 at most for violence and some suggestive situations; mild swearing.
Disclaimer: Please see Part 1
Author's Notes: See Part 1

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7




John sat on the bed in his quarters on board Moya. Before him, was Stark's mask. From the mask, a blue hologram of John Black with his dying message, played. John listened quietly.

"Peacekeepers, they're your problem," the hologram said.

John looked away and down.

"Look at me," the hologram insisted, as if he could see John, as if the hologram was something more than just an image.

"Now look at yourself."

John was silent.

"You know," the hologram said. "Don't let Scorpius crack this. Whatever it takes."

The hologram of John laughed lightly and a bit ruefully.

"Okay, I'm gonna piss you off now, man," the hologram paused before continuing, as if waiting for the living John to be ready.

"Be smart. Don't push her. She takes time," the hologram paused once more, seemingly waiting for the living John to accept the words.

"Oh, one more thing," and one last time, they played rock, paper, scissors before the hologram faded, a blue light flickering over and into the living John...


John gasped as he came back to awareness, with a concerned Aeryn kneeling before him.

"John?"

"I'm okay," he replied, his breath coming in small pants. As he looked up, images flickered through his mind's eye, and he realized consciously, for the first time, that the other John had given him more than just advice or a message goodbye. John looked at Aeryn a moment before he whispered, "I remember."

Aeryn looked at him a little oddly before she suddenly found her lips captured in a brief, fierce kiss. When they pulled apart, Aeryn smiled lightly, and with a somewhat bemused expression, replied softly, "I see."

When they heard the sounds of conflict outside, they both turned their heads in the direction of the noise. Quietly, Aeryn motioned for John to stay where he was, and she carefully made her way to the hole in the wall. John watched as Aeryn moved away until the pressure of the mind probe pulled him out of his awareness and into the past...


John sat near Aeryn, both of them on his bunk next to the window looking out on the stars. Around them, Talyn hummed softly. John sat quietly listening, his journal book held open on his lap. Aeryn sat in a loose slumping position, her head bowed and her arms resting lightly on her leather clad legs.

"You saw the recording, and you didn't say a word. You are like a plague, John Crichton, and you have ruined my life."

Aeryn continued to look down, so she could not see the intense and fragile look that John was giving her.

"And yet, I just keep coming back," she sighed, still keeping her head bowed. Her voice choked, "You could talk now," she said, her arm gesturing helplessly in his direction.

John's face softened and seemed to reflect the hope that he held about his sudden decision. "Let me show you something."

John ducked under the low overhang above his bunk. He stretched out on the bunk and reached a hand out to Aeryn. "Come here, I'm not gonna bite."

Aeryn sighed softly and took John's hand to climb onto the bunk next to him. She stretched out next to him, the starlight reflecting through the window to wash over both of them. John paged through his notebook until he found the page that he wanted and smoothed it flat.

"This is a star chart," he explained, his voice soft.

He pointed to a small symbol that he had drawn on the parchment in black ink. Beneath the symbol, was a word written in English.

"These are the names I give the stars."

Aeryn glanced out of the portal, then down at John's star chart. "They've already got names," she said quietly, sounding as if didn't understand why John would be naming them.

"Yeah, I know, but Mintaka Three sounds boring to me," John answered her quietly as he looked out the window and then back down to his chart. "Anyway, that's Hewey, Louie, and Dewey," he continued, pointing to each symbol in turn. "You see that one?" John asked, tapping the symbol in the heart of the star chart.

Aeryn looked to the central symbol.

"That's that star right there, the bright one," he said, pointing to the brightest star glowing outside the widow.

Aeryn followed his gaze to look at the star that he had pointed out. John looked to Aeryn, watching her, the love he felt filling his quiet gaze. "That's my point of reference, my guide, and it always becomes the center of my chart."

Aeryn continued to watch the glowing star, listening to John's gentle voice as he spoke next to her.

"I always name it, Aeryn," John whispered, his heart in his voice.

Aeryn finally looked to John, seeking his blue eyes. "You say it's your guide?"

"It's my one constant," he answered, his voice deep and sincere.

Carefully, he lifted his hand to caress her face. "Would you like to name some stars?" John asked hopefully.

"There's a lot of them," Aeryn whispered.

"We could take our time."

Then, irresistibly, they were drawn together. With a sublime tenderness, they kissed. Outside, the stars glimmered, the light washing over them as they continued to kiss. John reveled in the feel of Aeryn's soft lips, warm against his...


"John? John?"

His unfocused eyes flickered as he tried to respond to the sound of Aeryn's voice calling his name. He shook with convulsions as if in the throes of a seizure. The pressure in his skull had reached a point that was on the verge of pain that fought with the feelings that the memories recalled.

Even now, John could feel the memory of Aeryn's lips on his own, and that sensation conflicted with the pain that the Peacekeeper mind probe was causing. Violently, he shook as the probe dug deeper still. Dimly, John could still hear Aeryn calling his name and talking to him. And he realized that her voice held a deep fear and pain that he had rarely heard coming from her. He wanted to reach out to her and comfort her, but the pressure and pain were too great as the probe took over once more...


"I'm coming with you."

Aeryn ducked under the wing of her Prowler and moved to pick up a small case from amongst a large stack of containers nearby. "No. I'm sorry."

John stepped up a few steps on the ladder of the ship and peered inside the Prowler.

"Well, you're not leaving without me," he replied simply as he turned to face her, leaning against the side of the Prowler.

Gently, Aeryn set the case that she was holding back on the floor. With a quite voice, she asked, "What do you want?"

"You," John answered, his voice full of love, desire, and need.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy for me, you see," Aeryn began as she stepped forward to close the gap between them. "You died. I watched that happen and yet you're still alive," she said, pausing a moment. She looked up to John, her face filled with pain. "I have to go."

"Then say good-bye."

"We don't say good-byes," Aeryn replied simply.

"We do this time," John said, his voice deep and quiet. He leapt down from the ladder, and stepped close enough to Aeryn that if he reached out, he could have taken her in his arms. "You see, you leave, and then you come back and I…I can't... handle the in- between, Aeryn." He paused a moment, and with his voice still deep and low said, "Say good-bye."

Aeryn watched him carefully a moment before she took a tight breath. Then she moved a step away from him and to the Prowler, saying tersely, "Fine. Good-bye, Crichton."

She was still one step away when he grabbed her arm to spin her around to face him. "John! My name," he began fiercely, before she pulled her arm free but continued to face him. "Is John. Good-bye, John, to my face."

Suddenly furious, her face full of pain, Aeryn pushed him away. John stumbled back with both the force of her shove and her emotion.

"Guarantee you won't," she began, punctuating her words with shoves against his broad shoulders. "Die in my arms again!"

"Guarantee you won't die in mine," he raged back pushing her in return.

"I can," she replied as she shoved him back. "By leaving!"

She whirled, and while heading back to her Prowler, was stopped by John's next question, his voice full of anguish.

"Do you love John Crichton?"

He took a slow step toward Aeryn. "Not him." He took another small step toward her still form. "Not me." He reached her and she turned to slowly to face him. "John Crichton."

She nodded slowly, answering with a whisper, "Yes."

He leaned forward to kiss her. She was hesitant, but returned the kiss as if she could not help herself. All too soon, the kiss was over and he pulled back slightly, though still standing close enough to touch her.

"Then what does that taste like?" John whispered.

"Yesterday," she whispered back, closing her eyes.

John gave a small bitter laugh. "Well, nobody can compete with that. I am so much better dead."

He turned, retreating from the pain in her face and that which he felt.

"I can't do this again," Aeryn said fiercely.

John wheeled about, shouting, his voice choked with tears, "And I can't let the one thing I love fly away in a crappy little ship!"

They stood there looking at one another, both frozen with love and fear, and a desperate need. Aeryn was the one to break the emotional stand off by stepping toward John.

"You once said it was as if the fates meant for us to be together."

"And I believe that," John said quietly.

"Well, then, if it's true, we will be together again," she responded just as quietly.

"Running away is not fate, Aeryn. Running away, is running away," he replied, his voice intense.

He fumbled for something in the front right pocket of his black leather pants.

Quickly, he pulled a small object out. "Fine, if you want fate, here, I've...I've got fate."

He extended his hand, rotating a large coin in his fingers. "Fate, here."

"What?"

"Coin toss," he answered.

John gestured Aeryn closer. She sighed and moved closer, gesturing to the shining coin. There were unshed tears in her eyes.

"What, like that side up, you stay?"

John kept his crystal blue eyes on her ocean blue ones as he flipped the coin up into the air. Aeryn's gaze followed its progress and she caught it on the decent.

She stared at the coin a moment before she said, her voice angry, "Just make a frelling wormhole and go home." She threw the coin at his feet and turned back toward her Prowler.

"There is no home! There is no wormhole! There's only you," John said, his heart in his voice.

He paused a moment, ran both hands over his face, and pressed his fingers to his lips as he searched for the words to express everything that he was feeling.

"Aeryn," John said softly, "anywhere in the universe. You pick the planet."

"It's too late for that," she replied quietly.

"It's not too late," John insisted.

"No, you're not listening to me. It's too late for me."

John looked deeply into Aeryn's pained eyes. "You do this, and we'll never see each other again."

She turned away again, but moved no further. She stood there, silent in her pain for a moment before she asked softly, "Do you love Aeryn Sun?"

A long moment of silence passed while Aeryn waited. A single tear slipped from her eye.

"Beyond hope."

"Then, don't make me say good-bye, and don't make me stay…”


Aeryn tried to control the wave of helplessness that washed over her at seeing John convulsing on the ground before her. She took several deep breaths and calmed her racing heartbeat as John continued to shake in the throes of whatever gripped him. Aeryn crouched down and reached to brush his brow. Just as she touched him, John came back to awareness, his eyes searching, and his hand reaching for hers. When he finally found her eyes, he began to speak, his voice shaken.

"Beyond hope," he whispered.

"John?"

Still shaky, John tried to sit up. Aeryn quickly moved to assist him, helping John to lean back against the wall. Unable to resist the impulse, Aeryn brushed his brow and his cheeks, just touching as if to reassure herself.

"John," she whispered.

"Frell," John muttered, reaching up to take her hands.

His breath came in small pants and his skull felt like someone had been using it like a soccer ball. The memories that the mind probe had brought to the fore wracked him with pain, desire, and desperation. His grip tightened on Aeryn's hands in his.

Aeryn responded to something that she saw in John's eyes. She leaned forward to kiss him. Hungrily, John returned the kiss and intensified it. His hands moved from holding hers, to resting on her waist. Her hands slipped around him, drawing closer. When they finally parted, John was breathless for another reason and most of his shaking had passed.

"John," she murmured.

"Come here," he whispered.

John pulled her gently onto his lap, the last of his shaking having subsided. "Come here," he whispered again.

"John, we have to try and figure out how to get out of here and back to Moya. We have to figure out how to get passed the Scarrans. And we have to figure out how to get that probe out of your mind."

"Mmm," he murmured, as he started to nuzzle her neck.

"John."

"I know, Baby, I know," he murmured, acknowledging the truth of her words even as he trailed kisses along her jaw.

Aeryn sighed and when John trailed his kisses to her lips, she returned his kiss with passion, her tongue dancing with his. Suddenly, they heard shuffling sounds coming from the direction of the hole in the wall. Both moved as one, reaching for their weapons, only to realize that they had none, since the Retrieval team had taken them. They turned in the direction of the sound. Aeryn rose quickly, but John, still somewhat unsteady with the effects of the mind probe, stumbled slightly as he rose as well.

TBC