Out Of Their Minds: Epilogue

Author: Saturn
Feedback: Please let me know what you thought of it.  Space_chick50@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: OOTM obviously! Probably bits of season 2 before then
Disclaimer: Farscape belongs to Jim Henson Co., Network Nine, Hallmark Entertainment and other lucky people, not me. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little fun.
Notes: I need to give everyone a warning before you read this. BEWARE I think the mush content is so high you could be seriously ill!

"Well, they say you have to walk a mile in someone's shoes to understand them."

"And I certainly know what you were doing when you were in my shoes Crichton," Aeryn replied, not able to hold back the grin that threatened her beautiful features. It was nice to be just sitting and talking with John, she thought, especially after the rather bizarre events of the day.

"Give me a break," he said looking slightly embarrassed, but not very much.

"It's okay, it's okay y'know, you were in my shoes, I was in your pants..." Aeryn couldn't help the mischievous look that spread over her face fully now as she edged her way towards the door.

"You!"

Aeryn turned and fled from the room at top speed, laughing uncontrollably.

"Aeryn! Get back here!" John yelled with laughter as he chased after her, sprinting fast. He followed her all the way through Moya's gently curving corridors and down to her quarters. Aeryn managed to keep ahead of him all the way but she didn't get any further in front. At last, she rounded another corner and darted into her room, clawing at the door controls before John could get in behind her. Not that she didn't want him too... Aeryn thought she had made it when suddenly John also rounded the corner at top speed and dived through the rapidly closing doors He threw himself towards Aeryn, sending her crashing to the deck beneath him before sitting up to straddle her.

"In my pants you say?" he questioned, amusement drawing the corners of his mouth up and destroying the serious expression he'd tried to create.

"I was doing no more than you did in my body," she replied quickly, grinning too as she rolled over suddenly and pinned him to the deck underneath her. His broad smile told her he was enjoying this as much as she was.

"So, did you like what you saw?" Aeryn purred softly to him. The shock registering in his crystal blue eyes was so unbelievable that she had to laugh at him. His speechlessness was so unusual that Aeryn's laughter carried on, becoming near hysteria as he lay wordlessly beneath her, his mouth flapping open and closed as he tried to come up with something to say. Calming down a little, Aeryn began to rise off his chest to free him. To her surprise this time, John reached up and grabbed her arms, pulling her back down beside him.

"I liked it very much," he replied to her earlier question in a low, husky voice. Aeryn's eyes widened and she began to open her mouth to reply before she decided to abandon that idea and instead leaned in towards his body and kissed him softly. John responded to her, hugging her slim form closely to him and leaning in to her gentle kiss. Aeryn slid her arms up and around his neck, opening her mouth slightly to let him deepen the kiss, sighing silently as his tongue slipped into her mouth to touch her own

Suddenly she drew back and got up from her awkward position on the floor, leaving John lying there looking worried and a little hurt.

"What is it Aeryn?" he asked, anxious that he had pushed her too far, too quickly.

"Nothing's wrong John," Aeryn replied smoothly as she locked the door. "Everything's fine." She turned back towards him, desire burning in her eyes. She reached out and pulled John up from the deck before kissing him again, more passionately this time, and backed him towards her bed.

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The next morning, Aeryn became aware of her surroundings slowly. At first, she took in the room around her, her quarters. She gazed at the items of clothing flung on the floor and then became aware of the warm, strong presence beside her and encircling her.

"Morning Sunshine," John's voice whispered softly in her ear. Aeryn turned in his comfortable embrace to find herself gazing into his eyes, her face mere centimetres from his. She realised suddenly that their legs were closely entwined with each other's, but she made no attempt to detangle them.

"Morning John," she replied softly back. She stretched up and pecked him lightly on the lips before settling down again, her head on his shoulder.

"How did you sleep?" he asked her, his hand gently stroking her hair.

"Fine thank you," Aeryn answered, glancing round the room once again. "Why are our clothes..?" she asked, nodding her head towards the garments scattered across the chamber.

"Don't look at me gorgeous!" he replied with laughter in his voice, "That was all your doing." A smile played its way across his lips as Aeryn blushed slightly, remembering the events of the night before.

"Some night, huh?" he said, trying to ease her embarrassment.

"Yeah," Aeryn replied absently, her mind still elsewhere. They lay together silently for a few microts and Aeryn thought how natural it felt for her to wake up next to him and be held in his arms. John gazed down at the beautiful woman next to him and sighed in contentment. Then, unable to resist any longer he leaned down and kissed her again.

"Aeryn," John began when they finally broke apart "Uh...don't get all pissed with me now but I was...um...wondering if y'know, we could uh...keep this up?" He watched as Aeryn smiled at him and chuckled softly.

"You mean you want to sleep with me from now on." It wasn't a question but John felt he should reply anyway.

"Yeah. I want to be with you Aeryn. Will you move in with me?"

*It may only be the second time we've been 'close',* he thought, *but I know what I want.*

Aeryn gasped a little at his request but before she could think about what she was doing she found herself nodding and wrapping her arms around him tightly, burying her face in his warm neck. "I'd love to John."

John was ecstatic at this news. He rolled over until Aeryn was underneath him and kissed her fiercely, his hands caressing her shoulders as Aeryn kissed him back. Suddenly, Pilot's voice echoing over the comm badge broke them apart quickly.

"Commander Crichton, are you awake?"

John leapt out of the bed and crossed the room, hurriedly searching for his comm badge before Pilot became suspicious at the silence.

"Commander, are you there?" he asked again as John grabbed his T-shirt from the floor.

"Do we tell them?" he hissed at Aeryn whilst gesturing towards the two of them.

Aeryn shook her head frantically so John answered Pilot. "Yeah Pilot, I'm up. Did you need me?"

"I was just checking to see if you were awake Crichton. The rest of the crew finished their breakfast two and a half arns ago."

"Thanks Pilot, I'm just having a lie in this morning. Let me know if there's anything that has to be done."

"I will, thank you commander." Pilot replied before closing the channel.

"Well, he didn't seem too suspicious did he?" John asked playfully as he knelt on the end of the bed and leaned in for a kiss. Aeryn turned away and looked rather ashamed.

"I'm sorry I didn't want to tell him John," she said, her eyes facing down to Moya's brown and gold deck.

"Hey, Aeryn, it's all right sweetheart. I don't mind. Anyway, it'll be kinda fun trying to keep it secret!" Aeryn turned back to him then and smiled.

"Thank you John. Sorry."

"Officer Sun, are you awake?" Pilot's voice rang out once again, this time over Aeryn's comm badge. Aeryn groaned as John leapt off the bed again to grab her shirt.

"Yes Pilot, I'm awake thank you. I'm going to be training all morning so please do not disturb me."

"Very well Officer Sun. Thank you." Pilot terminated the communication and Aeryn dropped her comm badge to the floor before leaning back into her pillows.

"So, we both have the morning off do we?" John purred into her ear. "I can think of plenty of things to do. What about you?"

"I think I smell." Aeryn stated plainly. "I need a shower." The twinkle in her eyes betrayed her blunt words and John found he liked the look it gave her.

"That's fine babe. I think I need a shower too."

Pilot and Moya were happy. Happy for Commander Crichton and Officer Sun. Pilot had suspected that they had spent the night together before he found that the comm channels originated from the same room because, the DRDs had discovered that Officer Sun's bed had not been slept in. Pilot wanted to make sure they were left alone, but could not do so without arousing the suspicions of the rest of the crew. So, he decided not to do anything, seeing no reason why anyone else would want to go to Crichton's quarters this morning.

But someone did want to. Crichton had promised D'Argo the day before that he would help him with some maintenance that had been assigned. D'Argo waited two arns for Crichton to show up, getting angrier and angrier by the microt while he did the other odd jobs that Pilot had requested him to. Eventually he hit his comm badge and spoke into it.

"Crichton, I demand that you meet me in the maintenance bay now! Have you forgotten that you said you would help me?"

D'Argo waited, expecting an apologetic reply from the Human. Instead he got static. Crichton wasn't answering him. D'Argo strode off towards Crichton's quarters in blind rage, not caring about anything else except getting the Human to keep his word and help him.

"God Aeryn, you are so beautiful!" John couldn't hold it in any longer, he had to tell her.

"You're not so bad yourself, Crichton," Aeryn replied, grinning at him. John wanted to do nothing more than hold her closely to him and stay that way forever, but some how he didn't think Aeryn would really go for the idea. Instead he settled on running his hands up and down her slender arms as she showered, supplying the soap that Moya called cleansing fluid.

They stood together under the spray of comfortably warm water and Aeryn felt completely content. This was what life was about. It was about being happy and feeling safe, and she found both of those things in John. But Aeryn still couldn't shake the strange feeling left from their brief conversation with Pilot earlier, with her not wanting to tell anyone that they were going to live together. Aeryn wasn't sure why she didn't want to. She certainly wasn't ashamed of feeling so close to the Human, but she'd never let anyone but her very best friend know who she chose to frell with when she was a Peacekeeper and some of her old habits just wouldn't leave her alone. Anyway, John didn't mind so they would tell the rest of the crew when they were ready to.

"Hey, Aeryn? You still in there?" John's amused voice broke through Aeryn's thoughts and pulled her back to the present.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I was just thinking about you actually." Though it seemed to be impossible, John's grin widened at that.

"I hope it was good things," he said before grasping her round the waist and lifting her up into the air, kissing her passionately. Aeryn wrapped her long, slender arms around his neck and kissed him back. Her damp hair fell about her face and tickled John's cheeks. He leaned back against the bulkhead, placing Aeryn back on the ground but not breaking apart from her for even a microt.

Suddenly, D'Argo's angry voice shattered the perfection of the moment. He was shouting and ranting Luxan obscenities that didn't translate to either English or Sebacean.

"He's in the room!" Aeryn whispered with a look of absolute panic. John made his way to the shower door and was about to peer out when the door was flung open and D'Argo's head appeared. He didn't seem to notice Aeryn but continued with his ravings at Crichton, most of which the translator microbes couldn't handle. Suddenly, he stopped dead and just stared at the two of them, his eyes larger than they had ever been before.

"Oh...uhh...I'm sorry to interrupt." he choked out before turning away from the door, embarrassment obvious in his tone of voice. "You said you would help me repair Moya's damaged access shaft Crichton," he said. "I just came to find out where you were."/p>

Crichton wasn't listening to D'Argo's words; his whole attention was focused on Aeryn. Her entire body was stiff with tension and her face held a horrified look.

"I've got to go!" she whispered before grabbing a towel and rushing out.

"Aeryn! Aeryn come back!" John yelled, chasing after her.

"Look what you've done you tentacled freak!" he spat out at D'Argo. "Do the repairs by yourself."

D'Argo managed to contain his anger, barely, and strode out of the chamber muttering curses. John rushed off towards Aeryn's quarters, hoping that that was where she would be.

Aeryn was in her quarters, her face in her hands when John got there. He sat down on the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her slim form.

"Hey, Aeryn, it's alright. Don't worry about D'Argo seeing us, I'm sure he isn't going to tell anyone.

"It was just such a shock," Aeryn said, her voice muffled by John's neck. "He looked horrified and disgusted and now the whole crew is going to know."

"Aeryn, baby, he was just a little shocked and so what if the rest of the crew know? They're not going to do anything."

"I know, but I wasn't ready to tell anyone. I've never experienced these emotions before and I wanted to understand them before anyone else knew."

"It'll be fine. I'll help you babe. Now then, where's playful Aeryn gone? I liked that one." Aeryn pulled back from him at that, smiled and hit him on the arm.

"I should hope that you like me whatever mood I'm in!"

"Of course I do sweetie. And please don't hit me again, that hurt."

"Don't be such a baby. Do you want me to kiss it better?"

"Yes, that would be an acceptable apology for such an injury."

Zhaan was just beginning her morning meditation when a very angry Luxan strode into her quarters. Zhaan sighed to herself and reached for her blue robe, knowing that the rest of the crew were not all that keen on her nudity when she was meditating. Today however, D'Argo wouldn't have noticed is she was dressed in a Peacekeeper Commandos outfit, he was in such a state.

"Do you know what he called me Zhaan? A tentacled freak, that's what. If he thinks he can insult me and get away with it he is gravely mistaken. He will pay for this!" D'Argo raged, pacing back and forth with great steps.

"D'Argo, perhaps you could explain what has happened to make Rygel call you a name like that."

D'Argo stopped his pacing and looked at her in shock. "It was not Rygel, Crichton said it."

Zhaan gasped at his answer. John was usually so calm and placid. He never called anyone anything unless he was very upset. "D'Argo, perhaps you could start from the beginning and explain the events that lead up to this."

"Yesterday Crichton promised that he would help me with Moya's access shaft. I waited for him for two arns this morning and then I went down to his quarters to get him." D'Argo stopped then, contemplating what had happened next with a slightly embarrassed blush. "He was in his shower so I went in and informed him that he said he would help."

"I really don't think that John would get that angry because you walked in on him in the shower." Zhaan replied in disbelief. "There has to be something else."

"Well...uhh...he was in there with...um...Aeryn." D'Argo spluttered out in embarrassment. "She got rather upset and ran off."

"There you are then. You would have been upset yourself if...Hang on, he was with Aeryn?" Zhaan interrupted herself as she realised what he had said. D'Argo just nodded./p>

"This is wonderful!" Zhaan exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "We must wait until they tell us though. I would not want to add to Aeryn's embarrassment. And don't tell Rygel or Chiana." With that, Zhaan returned to her cross-legged position on her bed and began a prayer of joy to her Goddess. D'Argo trudged out of her chamber, still angry but not seeing any need to kill or harm the Human any more.

When Chiana retired to her quarters after the evening meal she found that she really wasn't tired at all. She decided to have a creep about the ship to make sure she wasn't losing any of her stealthiness, and see what the rest of the crew were up to at the same time.

*Not much I don't expect,* she thought to herself. *They're so boring sometimes. Maybe D'Argo will want to talk to me.*

However, Chiana never made it as far as D'Argo's quarters before her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself drawn down the darkened corridor towards wordless sound's coming from John's quarters. *What's he doing at this time of night? And with who?!* She crept down the hallway not making a sound, her thief background in full operation. When she got to the entrance of the Human's room she suddenly wondered if she should be spying like this. Putting that thought to the back of her mind, Chiana sidled up to the closed door and peered through the gap between the two. Whatever she expected to see Chiana wasn't sure, but she did see John and Aeryn laid together under one of Moya's golden blankets, obviously busy. Chiana backed away from the doorway, absolute wonder spread over her face. *They got together and didn't tell me?!* Then another thought played into her mind, *I could have some fun with this.*

When they settled down to go to sleep that evening both John and Aeryn were tired out with the days happenings. The single bed was tiny. Too small for one really, it was uncomfortably so for two, more than one night in a row anyway.

"Aeryn, this really isn't going to work." John said suddenly. They were pressed up close together in a tight embrace but John's butt was still hanging off the edge of the bed.

"What isn't?" she murmured sleepily, pushing herself back into him a bit more and revelling in the feel of his warm skin against her own.

"This bed, Aeryn. It's tiny! I think we need to tell everyone that we're together and then find some other quarters with a larger bed."

"Okay John," Aeryn yawned. "But not now."

"Sleep well baby," he said as he kissed her already sleeping form softly.

The next morning, John pulled Aeryn from their bed at the normal time, despite the serious physical injury that was associated with this task. They both got dressed and then headed up to the central chamber hand in hand, to get some breakfast.

When they entered, everyone was already there which John was relieved about. It saved cornering them all one by one.

"Everyone, Aeryn and I have something to tell you all." John missed the knowing look that passed between Zhaan and D'Argo, as he did the smirk on Chiana's face. "We've decided to move in together"

There was silence for a microt, and Aeryn got slightly worried. Then everyone started talking at once.

"I'm so pleased for you both! Isn't the Goddess wonderful?" exclaimed Zhaan.

"Well, I'm pleased for you both. As long as there won't be any more mouths to feed. I'm not going to share my food." Rygel said, his voice warm with genuine happiness, despite his comment.

John looked at Aeryn startled for a moment. "Is there something I don't know here?"

Aeryn grinned at him. "I'm in the black too."

"That's 'I'm in the dark' Aeryn" John corrected her with a smile.

"That's great! I'm really pleased!" Chiana almost shouted. "But I already knew."

John and Aeryn's heads snapped towards D'Argo but he shook his head. "How did you know Pip?" John asked her, puzzled.

"I heard you last night. You two make enough noise for five couples!" Since there didn't seem like there was going to be any chance for friendly black mailing, Chiana decided she would get a little fun in now instead.

"That's enough from you," John said, turning back towards Aeryn and slipping his arm around her waist. Aeryn tensed a little in front of the others but soon relaxed into John's side. "We're going to find some bigger quarters after eating something. Do you guys know where there are any?"

"There is a cell with a double bed in the corridor where your quarters already are." D'Argo supplied.

"Thanks big guy. I'm really sorry I got stressed with you yesterday. I didn't mean anything I said."

"That's okay John, but don't ever insult me again. And don't worry, I will knock next time." D'Argo blushed slightly as Rygel and Chiana turned their questioning gazes on him.

When they had eaten, John and Aeryn left the centre chamber and went in search of the quarters that D'Argo had told the about. They found the cell easily enough and both stopped in the doorway. Suddenly, John reached down and gathered Aeryn up in his arms.

"John! What do you think you're doing?" Aeryn cried as she slung her arms around his neck to keep herself from falling.

"Aeryn, it's traditional for the bride to be carried over the threshold of the new house. Now hold still, you're heavy."

John staggered through the doorway and collapsed onto the bed, letting Aeryn go first so that she lay under him. Then, he leaned down to kiss her slowly. Aeryn's arms came up to his head and she ran her long fingers through his short hair. Suddenly, John pulled away with an intent look in his eyes.

"Aeryn, I really don't want to scare you away but it's time I told you this. Aeryn Sun, I love you."

Aeryn lay completely still on the bed until to her utmost surprise, her eyes filled with tears. "Oh John, no one's ever said that to me before. I love you too."

John got up then, pulling Aeryn with him. He stood in the middle of the sparsely decorated room and grasped Aeryn to him, holding her tightly./p>

"I love you Aeryn."

The End