"Zhaan," Aeryn called as she walked into the room that the Delvian has set up as an apothecary. "Do you have a basket, bag or box that I could borrow?"

The former Pau looked up from the powders which she was carefully measuring. "I'm sure that I can find something suitable," she said as she returned one of the powders to its container. She carefully sealed the vial and set it to the side. "What size do you require?"

"Not too large, I should think," Aeryn replied thoughtfully. "Large enough to carry enough food cubes and beverage containers for two." Seeing Zhaan's questioning look, she went on to explain, "Crichton and I are going on a peek-neek. That is a human dating ritual. He wants us to take our food to the terrace and eat it. Apparently we must sit on a blanket and stare into space while doing so."

"What an odd thing to do," Zhaan said with a touch of wonder in her voice as she rummaged beneath her console for the suitable receptacle. Finding what she sought, she straightened and set it on the work table.

"He is Crichton," Aeryn replied, eyeing the basket provided by Zhaan with approval.

"Yes, of course he is," she answered almost distractedly. She studied the ex-Peacekeeper. "Tell me, Aeryn, do you find it significant that John has initiated a courtship ritual with you?"

Aware that she was being studied but strangely embarrassed by the question, Aeryn picked up the basket and pointedly studied it. "No, why should I? As John explained it, even though dates are a part of human courtship ritual, they don't necessarily have to mean any serious commitment. It is a distraction, nothing more."

"You are certain that it is nothing more?" Zhaan asked knowingly.

Aeryn lifted her head and met Zhaan's steady gaze. "Whatever more could it be?"

John arrived on the terrace early to find the perfect spot for their picnic. Looking around, he quickly determined that no one spot was any better or any different from any other. He had brought the blanket and a certain amount of enthusiasm. He had considered asking Pilot to supply a few DRDs to play the role of ants, all in the name of realism, but had quickly dropped the idea. No sense in making things crowded. He walked to the center of the terrace and spread the blanket. He felt strangely light-headed and excited. Not to mention just slightly anxious. It wasn't as if he didn't see Aeryn every day but this was different. This was social. This outing would have to be better than their first official date. Not that their first date had been that bad. After all, they had survived. He had even, all most, gotten a good night kiss. So what if his first time at bat he hadn't made it to first base; he had at least gotten a foul tip off the bat. Just maybe, this time he would improve his batting average.

John was reluctant to examine his feelings for Aeryn too closely. He felt a certain responsibility for her and all that had happened to her. He was also willing to admit to himself that he was attracted to her and admired her strength. Lust was also a factor, but hell, he had always been attracted to members of his own species and he didn't think he should have to apologize for that. Of course, technically, Aeryn wasn't human. Actually, even non-technically she wasn't human but she looked human. She looked, well, she looked like home.

"I've brought the food," Aeryn said as she entered the terrace. "Where would you like me to put it?"

They ate mostly in silence but were acutely aware of the company.

"How was the meal?" Aeryn asked, mostly just to have something to say. The quiet between them beginning to unnerve her.

"The basket you brought it in would probably have been tastier," John said with a smile. "But that just made me appreciate the company all the more."

Aeryn lay back on the golden blanket that John had spread on the deck of the terrace. She looked at the brilliant flares of heat and light that formed her canopy and allowed herself a brief indulgence of fancy as she imagined the exotic worlds and peoples that they would be shining on. Growing up on a ship, she was intimately aware of space and what it contained but had never thought about the wonder of it, the sheer diversity of life. In fact, it wasn't really like her to think such thoughts. Still, she was doing many things that she would never have thought was like her since meeting Crichton. Thinking of John made her acutely aware of the heat of his body where he lay next to her.

John's thigh brushed against Aeryn's hip as he lay on his side. His elbow supported him so he could look down on the ex-Peacekeeper's face. Her hair looked as dark as the void of space where it contrasted against the golden shimmer of the blanket. Her face was luminous in the star light, her eyes bright mysteries. John felt a catch in his chest as he looked at her. Desire and longing filled him as he began to slowly lower his head toward hers. Oh, he thought, this is right, this is very, very right. What...could...possibly...go...wrong?

"What's that?" Aeryn asked sharply.

"I'm just happy to see you," John murmured quietly as he continued to lower his mouth toward her moist lips.

Aeryn abruptly sat up, pushing Crichton over onto his back where he landed with an audible humph. She pointed at a bright speck that was rapidly becoming brighter. "Pilot," she said into her comlink, "check vector 16." She jumped up and ran inside the Leviathan. "And call the others, have them meet me in Command."

John lay on his back a second and muttered to himself, "Somewhere a guy named Murphy is rolling on the floor and laughing his ass off." He climbed to his feet and hurried after the Sebacean. "Yo, Aeryn, wait up!"

"The object is of no direct threat to Moya or her offspring," Pilot's image informed the others. "Sensors indicate that the outer layer is mostly composed of ice crystals of methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. That is why it appears so bright. The crystals are reflecting the available light."

"So it's just a big, old, dirty snowball." John looked at the others. "Well, that's no biggy. Why don't we all go back to what we were doing before comet interruptus."

"It is not a comet, John," Zhaan quietly corrected him. "The object appears to be hollow."

"Zhaan is correct, Commander," Pilot said. "The object is apparently a small ship. The ice crystals were....formed when the interior atmosphere was voided."

"There are no readings that suggest any life forms aboard," Aeryn added, staring at the sensor readings.

"With no interior atmosphere, there wouldn't be, would there," D'argo commented dryly.

"The ship appears slightly larger than a transport pod," Aeryn continued.

"I claim the salvage rights to that obviously abandoned ship in the name of Dominar Rygel the sixteenth," Rygel formally proclaimed. "Now, go out an get my property," he commanded. Seeing five sets of eyes turn in his direction, he slyly added, "And I just might be willing to let you share in the profit." He then turned his throne-sled and left the room.

"We probably should check it out," John said, the scientist in him having armwrestled the man in him and won. "There could be maps or other information that we could use."

Aeryn nodded sharply. "Pilot, prepare the Prowler for immediate launch."

"Already being done," Pilot returned.

"I'm coming too," John said quickly. "Wait while I go suit up."

"I am more than capable of reconnaissance of a ship as small as a transport pod. It is so small that we would likely just end up in each other's way," Aeryn disagreed.

"There are three reasons that you're wrong about that: one, even if the ship is small, you don't know what you might find and it just makes sense to have someone along to watch your back; two, I may be from a backwater world but I'm still the closest thing we have to a scientist and if you're going exploring, I might have a different take on things than, if it moves shoot it; and three," he moved closer so that he could whisper the remainder, "our date isn't officially over until I walk you to your door. Where you go, I go."

Aeryn looked at him briefly before smiling slightly. "You're quite right. I could use someone to guard my back. I'll meet you in the hanger."

Aeryn and John walked out together. Zhaan and D'argo looked at each other knowingly. Chiana just rolled her eyes. "Someone should throw some water on those two."

"I don't see any hull breach. How did the atmosphere escape?" John asked as the Prowler slowly circled the small ship.

"The outer airlock isn't totally closed," Aeryn explained. "You can just make out the demarcation."

"So someone left and forgot to close the door after themselves?"

"Or it was done deliberately. On most ships the outer airlock will not open until the inner one is sealed. In order for the ship's atmosphere to have escaped, both would have to be opened. That could only have been done by a command over-ride."

"Well, one thing is certain."

"What would that be, Crichton?"

"If that was the way the air got out then that's the way that we can get in."

Aeryn and John entered the inner lock and shone their lights around the small control room. Aeryn walked to what appeared to be a control panel and scanned it. She tentatively reached out and pressed a button. Lights flickered and then came on but with a definite greenish tint.

"Pilot, I appear to have restored power to the ship."

"Yes, Moya is reading the power surge. She estimates it will be at least a quarter arn before ship power levels are optimal."

John activated a button by the air lock door. At first nothing happened but then the door slid slowly but silently shut. "This is working now. Aeryn, why don't you see if you can get an atmosphere back."

"I'm working on it but the board is of an unfamiliar configuration. If I activate the wrong system, I don't know what the outcome might be. It might be better just to wait until we bring it onto Moya before we begin exploration of ship systems. Our suits have a more than sufficient supply of --" Aeryn turned around and noticed that John wasn't by the air lock any longer. She began slowly walking toward the back of the small cabin. There was a hatch way to the rest of the ship. It was open. She couldn't recall if it had been open when they had entered the ship. "John?"

John stepped into the door way. "In here Aeryn. I think I've found the pilot."

When Aeryn joined him, John was kneeling by a corpse. It was not of a race with which she was familiar. Its skin had erupted outward as the water in it froze when exposed to the cold and vacuum of space. Likely its internal organs were in a similar shape. Still, its over all shape was preserved. It was a bipedal anthropoid with three arms and eyes rather than the usual two. "It must have died when the ship lost atmosphere," Aeryn said.

John shook his head. "Not unless this honking big hole in his back was due to rapid decompression." He turned the corpse over revealing the wound. John stood carefully. "But if he was the killee then where is the killer?"

"Nothing could still be alive on this ship," Aeryn said adamantly while she looked carefully around what appeared to be a cargo area.

John wandered to the back of the area where he noticed some ruptured containers. They appeared empty. The ruptures looked to have been caused by some kind of weapon or projectile. Several of the ruptures left sharp, jagged edges on the sides of the containers. "Maybe they're not on the ship anymore. The airlock was open and the power was deliberately turned off. They could have left. The question is are they coming back?"

The ship suddenly lurched to the side. Aeryn caught herself on the hatch but Crichton was thrown into the containers. "Pilot, what was that?" Aeryn cried as she hurried over to the fallen human.

"The ships aft thrusters fired. Moya believes that was the last command that was input into the navigational console before the power was shut off. Now that the power levels are coming up, the ship was able to execute the command." Pilot's voice paused. "Once the power levels became sufficient, a communication beacon also began broadcasting. I will get back with you as soon as it is translated."

"John, are you all right?" Aeryn asked with evident concern.

"Dammit!" John looked up at Aeryn, there was only a slight tinge of panic in his voice. "I may be in trouble here. One of these jagged edges cut my pressure suit and breached its integrity. I have a slow leak!"

"Don't worry," she said calmly. "The suit is designed to be self-sealing. Just apply a steady pressure to the breach."

"OK, got it." John began pressing on a small hole on his right thigh. "Ouch, it looks like more than suit integrity was breached. I think the edge cut me." He grinned up at Aeryn through his helmet. "I hope my tetanus shots are up to date."

Aeryn reached down a hand to help up her fallen comrade. He took it firmly and stood.

"Aeryn, John! You must leave that ship at once!" came the Luxan's voice through the comlink.

"What is it D'argo?" Aeryn asked as she and John looked at each other in confusion.

"Moya has translated the transmission. It is a warning beacon. The ship was transporting biohazardeous material, some kind of infectious agent. You must leave now!"

John glanced down at his thigh. "Ah, D'argo, we may have a problem. Give us a few minutes."

A growl came over the link. "Do not tarry. You may be putting us all at risk."

"This is just another perfect ending to another perfect day," John uttered quietly. He forced himself to meet Aeryn's eyes.

"Whatever was in that container has been exposed to cold, vacuum and radiation. It is unlikely that it would still be viable," Aeryn said, unsure if she were trying to convince John or herself.

John just looked into her eyes.

"You don't know that you were infected!"

John remained silent.

"Even if you were, Zhaan can..."

"Aeryn, we both know that I can't go back to Moya until we're sure that it's safe. I can't risk..."

"You wouldn't be."

John shook his head. "I can't risk everyone else. I won't."

Aeryn felt her blood run cold. She exploded in anger. "What do you suggest? That we just stay here and wait to see if you get sick, wait to see if you die? That I just watch you? I can't do that. I won't!"

"I'm not saying we should just sit and wait, only that we proceed with a little caution. You could find the main computer and download the files. Take them back to Moya. Maybe there'll be some information in it about this, whatever it is, that they were trying to get rid of, symptoms and such; if there's a way to detect it, how contagious it is, anything might be helpful. You could isolate some scrapings from the container to see if the agent is still alive and kicking."

"John..."

"You're probably right. I'm probably being paranoid for no reason. Let's just be safe." John searched her face, visible through her visor, and saw the resignation there. "OK?"

Aeryn reluctantly nodded. She then immediately set about the tasks that John had outlined for her. Once finished she paused at the airlock. "I'll be back."

John nodded, "I know."

"You haven't walked me to my quarters yet." Aeryn stepped out and the air lock door slid shut behind her.

John watched her leave. As quiet as the door had been, it sounded very loud in his ears. Resignedly he slid his back down the wall until he sat beside the small craft's original, now defunct, crew member. "It looks like it's just you and me pal."

"Do you know anything yet?" Aeryn asked, a thin patina of calm covering her fear for Crichton.

Zhaan straightened from where she was bent over the computer terminal in her apothecary. "Some, but I am afraid that what I have learned is not good."

"What have you found out?" Aeryn braced herself internally though her outward appearance was one of the stoic Peacekeeper.

"The organism was artificially created and is highly contagious. It is viral in nature and in harsh conditions produces spores that can survive all but the most extreme environments. It is air borne but can also infect the host through any break in the skin. The symptoms begin with respiratory difficulties and fever as it first colonizes the lungs. It then spreads to the brain causing a progressively delusional state in which the infected person becomes paranoid and prone to violence. Next comes delirium, seizures and eventually death." She paused to study how Aeryn was taking the news before continuing. "The time from infection to death can range from just a few arns to a weeken."

"Yes, that is all very interesting, but how is it treated?"

"My dear," Zhaan said slowly, "the information in their computer indicates that mortality is one hundred percent. They found no cure. The creators of this pestilence lost nearly a sixth of their planet's population before they were able to contain it and then only by taking the most severe measures."

"How are we to help Crichton?" Aeryn asked, unwilling to acknowledge Zhaan's words.

"The only help that we can render him is mercy, that we who care for him not permit him to suffer needlessly." Zhaan reached out a hand to gently touch Aeryn's arm, one tear coursing silently down her cheek. "One must accept the will of the Goddess and trust that she knows best in all things."

Aeryn's eyes also filled with moisture but she did not cry. She was first and foremost a soldier, used to loosing friends and comrades into the blackness. Crichton had agreed to grant her mercy once, when she had feared she would succumb to the Living Death. Could she do any less for him? Still, there was one last hope. "We do not even know for certain that he is infected."

"My child," Zhaan replied with gentle compassion, "the sample which you brought back was contaminated with the agent's spores. Can there be a doubt that he has been infected?"

"...superstitious man," John said to his deceased companion, "but sometimes I think that this side of the Milky Way, if I'm still actually in the Milky Way, knows that I don't belong here and goes out of its way to get rid of me." He touched the corpse with his boot, nudging it a few inches. "Of course, I guess I shouldn't complain, even one of my bad days must be better than one of your good ones."

He heard the airlock's relatively silent glide and smiled. Aeryn was back. "Don't you just hate it when company drops in without calling first," he said glibly to no one in particular. He stood. "Hey, Aeryn, I'm glad you're back. The air in this pressure suit is starting to get a little stale."

"John," Aeryn began.

"Whoops, it's bad news isn't it?"

Aeryn fully enter the compartment. "How did you know?"

"You called me John. You almost never call me John."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"Yes I do!" Aeryn stopped. She really didn't think it very honorable to argue with Crichton just then, even if he was wrong. "All right, maybe I don't, but you are correct, the news is bad."

"OK, give me the good news first."

Aeryn shook her head in confusion. "I said the news was bad, Crichton."

"Yeah, I know but when delivering news like this you're suppose to say: which do you want first, the good news or the bad news."

"But there is no.."

"Work with me here, Aeryn."

Aeryn thought hard and then nodded her head, a condemned man's last request and all that. "All right, which do you want first, the good news or the bad news?"

Crichton sighed. "Give me the bad news."

"But I thought you wanted the good news first?"

"Just give me the bad news, Aeryn. I'll save the good news for last. I think I'll probably need a little pick-me-upper later."

Aeryn nodded, whatever the human wanted, no matter how strange it seemed, she would try to give him. "The contaminant is like a virus. It is highly contagious and the mortality rate is one hundred percent. It first affects the respiratory system and then moves to the brain causing behavior changes before causing seizures and death." She paused before adding. "There were spores of the contagion on the canister that cut you."

John nodded his head as he absorbed the news. "OK, what's the good news?"

"I am willing to kill you before you begin to suffer."

"That's the good news? You're really not very good at this are you?" Crichton shook his head in denial. "This isn't the way our second date was suppose to end," John said quietly. "We were suppose to enjoy our picnic, look at the stars, maybe make out.."

"Make out what?" Aeryn interrupted.

John paused and thought about the better part of valor. "I'll explain later about that."

Aeryn nodded, afraid that there might not be a later but willing to humor the human in this instance. "How was it, our date, suppose to end?"

"At your place."

"I'm sure it would have been very nice," Aeryn said wistfully. Then she was back to Peacekeeper mode and all business. "Now, if you're ready, I'll prepare the shot."

"Just hold on a second, Aeryn. I need a chance to think," Crichton said, lifting his gloved hands up in front of his chest in the classic human -stop right there- position.

"You may not have much time before your thinking is affected," Aeryn responded. As an afterthought, she added, "And I am not totally clear that I will be able to tell the difference when that starts to happen."

"Funny, Aeryn, but trust me, I got time. I'll make the time. Besides don't be in such a hurry to deliver the coup de grace."

"John, I am only offering you a quick death out of concern for you."

Crichton grinned tightly. "Yep, nothing says I care more than a Peacekeeper kill shot unless it would be the Vulcan death grip." John took a step closer to her. "Listen, I really do appreciate the sentiment but I don't think I'm ready to die just yet."

"John, the virus results in a horrible death. I would not have you suffer if it is within my power to keep it from you. You do not know how difficult it is for me to do this for you."

Crichton reached out and took her hand. "Aeryn, remember when you had heat delirium and were afraid you were facing the Living Death? Remember what you asked me to do? I do think I know just how difficult this is for you," he whispered. "But I don't feel that bad! It's just getting a little hard to breathe because my oxygen supply is getting low. And, I do have this itchy feeling in my nose like I'm..I'm..AH-CHOO!"

Aeryn startled. "Crichton, your nose just exploded!"

"It's called a sneeze Aeryn." He hand came up and rubbed futilly at the outside of his visor. "Damn, I got snot all over the inside of my helmet and can't even clean it off."

"The contagion has begun affecting your lungs," Aeryn said forlornly.

"Maybe, maybe." John sounded rather resigned. "But we don't know how long it will take to progress to the next stage; probably longer than my O2 is going to hold out." He sighed. "Do you think that you could go back to Moya and bring me back a portable atmospheric generator. I may only have a few hours left but I want every single one of them."

"I don't need to go back to Moya. The computer download gave instructions in how to put the environmentals back on line."

"It wouldn't do me any good even if you did." He gestured minimally toward the corpse. "Bubba here was most likely a methane breather."

"Why would you say that?"

"The composition of the ice crystals that formed when the atmosphere vented."

Through the green and white speckling on the inside of his visor, Aeryn suddenly saw Crichton's eyes open wide while his body became completely still. Suddenly his hand came up and hit the front of his face plate with his palm.

"Man, sometimes I can be so slow. I'll attribute it to lack of oxygen to the brain. He was a methane breather, Aeryn! The contagion was designed specifically to affect and colonize the lungs of other methane breathers, of which I am not one!"

Seeing that Aeryn was looking slightly lost, John got more specific. "This thing isn't likely to do any more than give me a runny nose while my body gets it out of my system." He coughed and quickly began to feel very light headed. "The virus isn't likely to kill me but running out of oxygen is certain to, I have to get back to Moya. Now!"

D'argo and Rygel both went to meet the Prowler after it landed in Moya's hanger. D'argo to comfort Aeryn, and Rygel to stake his claim to the human's meager belongings. They watched as Aeryn climbed from the cockpit and remove her helmet. She leaned back and attempted to manhandle a limp form over the side.

"Why did you bring the body back?" Rygel questioned. "We won't be able to reuse his pressure suit."

"He's not dead, at least not yet."

Rygel turned his throne-sled around and hurried away while shrieking, "Plague! Plague!"

D'argo pulled his Qualta blade and pointed it at the Sebacean. He shook his head slightly. "Aeryn, what have you done?" he asked somberly.

Aeryn gave up the task of attempting to get Crichton from the Prowler single-handedly. She turned to her Luxan companion. "The creatures that created that pestilence breathed methane. That virus was made to thrive in a methane atmosphere, not an oxygen-nitrogen one. Crichton may have been infected but the contagion shouldn't be able to harm him or us."

"Then why is he unconscious?" D'argo said, unconvinced.

"The oxygen levels in the pressure suit are very low. He's slowly suffocating." She turned and again began pulling at the motionless human. "D'argo, we need to get him to the infirmary, to the medical scanner, to confirm that the virus hasn't colonized his respiratory system. I promise you, if it has, I will do what must be done. I will not take his life until I know. I will not wonder the rest of my days if I could have done something to save him."

D'argo struggled within himself for a microt and then angrily put up his blade. He rushed forward and took the human into his arms, carrying him as easily as a child. "We must hurry then. How much oxygen does he have left?"

"Less than a quarter arn."

It occurred to John that his chest hurt and he felt like he needed to sneeze. He slowly opened his eyes. There was a bright blur and a dark blur. He blinked. The blurs resolved into the face of Aeryn. "Hey," he said weakly. He suddenly smiled. "I'm not dead."

Aeryn returned his smile. "Not today."

John tried to sit up but Aeryn placed her hands on his chest. "Just rest. You were right about the contagion not being able to survive in an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere since it was created specifically for a methane one. However, your respiratory system has become quite congested in its attempt to remove the dead pathogen from your lungs."

John turned his head to the side and coughed. "Congested is right, I feel like I'm drowning in my own skin," he said, his voice stronger but slightly slurred.

"Zhaan gave you something to help but she said it would probably be sedating."

John, noticing his surroundings, turned to Aeryn and raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question.

Aeryn seemed to color slightly. "She also thought it best if someone watched over you while you slept, as a precaution. I had D'argo bring you to my quarters."

John smiled drowsily. "Cool, we made it back to your place." He yawned. "That was my plan for our second date. I don't...suppose...that I might...get..a..good...night...kizzzzzzz." His eyes closed in obvious sleep.

Aeryn gently stroked John's hair back from his forehead. Looking at his sleeping face, she noticed, almost as if for the first time, how handsome and how vulnerable he seemed. She was suddenly filled with a fierce tenderness toward him. Another emotion which she had seldom felt and could not put a name to also filled her, causing a bright spark of joy. She leaned over and tenderly brushed her lips against his. "Good night, John Crichton."

End