False Dawn

Jack grinned and clapped her hands together as the candle finally went out. A collective sigh was mixed with the chuckles from the rest of the occupants of the room. She didn't give any of them a second glance, leaning forward instead to pull the single candle from the center of the little cake set before Aiden. He had been unable to blow it out, and in his attempts had spit on it enough to douse the small flame.

As soon as the '1' candle was out of the way he seemed to take the hint and sunk his little hands into the cake. White icing and white cake squished between his little fingers as he filled his hands. He lifted both of his hands to his mouth at once and tried to shove them both into his mouth, grinning all the while.

Jack smiled as she watched the boy, a small whisper of counsel in her mind going ignored. She knew he would need a long bath to wash off all the stickiness. That when she gave him baths she ended up wetter than the child. But it was worth it. It was his birthday! And her little boy was never going to know anything but happiness.

A while later the three men quickly lost interest in a sticky child trying to open wrapped presents. Chip made his excuses first, bowing out almost before he'd finished saying the words that would allow him to exit. Trow and Riddick stayed, but were only watching a bit as they kept off to one side, speaking softly.

Jack couldn't care less. She was beyond ecstatic to be with her son on his first birthday. She'd feared she wouldn't see any of his birthdays. When his little tugs at the paper were inadequate she dropped to her knees beside him to help. They unwrapped the little farm set together, Aiden repeating 'moo cow' over and over as soon as he saw the little black and white animal.

She had to pull her shiv to separate the stubborn package from the prize inside, and then smiled with tears in her eyes as Aiden grabbed up the dropped cow. She just sat and watched him. He spoke mostly gibberish, but he really did seem to be speaking to the little plastic animal. His surprisingly lucid speech on the day they had rescued him had seemed to be a one time thing. He was obviously a gifted little boy, but he'd settled into the slow small words that babies were most comfortable with.

A hand on her shoulder made her glance up to see Riddick standing over her. He slowly lowered himself to their level and she smiled at him.

"You okay?"

"Moo-cow, Dada!" Aiden screamed, holding up the animal to show his treasure.

Riddick took the proffered animal and then quickly relinquished it when Aiden grabbed for it. They watched him return to his play, now including the other animals.

"Yeah," Jack said in answer to his earlier question. "I just love him so much."

His arm tightened around her, pulling her sideways into him, and she smiled as he kissed her head.

"How many more of these little things do you want to have?"

Jack smiled. Riddick's discomfort with Aiden had not faded at all in the weeks they had been together. She had hoped he would learn to see that Aiden wasn't going to break if he touched him. But on the other hand, she couldn't ever imagine Riddick being fatherly. He just didn't know how. So she left it alone, knowing that Aiden would grow up to have the best friend in the world in his father, but that she was alone in the diaper changing.

"None."

He released her so that he could look down at her. "None?"

Jack smiled at his surprised word. "None, Riddick. Aiden is enough."

Riddick's expression remained thoughtful, but he nodded.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

They were going to Earth.

Chip wanted to live there. For his help, they had promised to take him anywhere he wanted to go, and help set him up. He had said that he never would have considered Earth, except that they were so close. Trow had never been to Earth, born and raised on a variety of space stations and smaller ships like the Ohanzee, so he was unmistakably excited. Riddick had been there several times on missions for Chem Industries, but had never been there for any period of time. Jack had been born there. When she'd lost all her family and had been threatened with foster care she had run. At the age of ten she had hopped on a cruiser heading off planet and hadn't been back since.

Over the month since they had rescued Aiden, Jack and Riddick had stoically stayed away from the Vids and any news of what they had done, not wanting to allow news of the outside to interfere with their reunion. Jack knew Chip hadn't done the same. Several times she had found him looking at her and he had just smiled slightly, showing those ghastly teeth, before turning away.

But, now, as they were returning to civilization, they needed to know what was going on. Chip loaded a recorded disk of the latest top stories into the Vid and Riddick and Jack sat down to watch.

Different newsmen came and went. The first stories were about Chem Industries, of course. Riddick turned his eyes on her for a moment, before turning back to listen and watch. All of Chem Industries files had been sent, uncensored to every media and law enforcement agency on every planet within possible reach. The company was charged with innumerable crimes, some against humanity itself. The AR-virus experiment hadn't been their only atrocity, and each of the 'subjects' had charges filed on their behalf.

Jack watched a slow smile spread across Riddick's face as he watched. On the fifth day after Chem Industries was exposed, Aurick Ndale was reported dead. He'd taken his own life. Jack shrugged at this. She wished he'd not died so easily, but wasn't sorry that the bastard was dead.

Several days worth of news passed, mostly just repeating what they knew. The universe was always rabid to sink their teeth into someone else's faults. An hour or more into the recording Jack got what she'd been waiting for.

The newswoman sat behind her formidable desk looking straight into the camera as she spoke. "Due to the recent exposure of Chem Industries' crimes there have been some very unexpected points of interest that have come to light. A lawyer, Dr. Tuvler, has come forward with new information. He has reported that he was anonymously sent all the files on Chem Industries' AR-virus experiments, as well as all the criminal files on Richard B. Riddick." The woman smiled here, only a small echo of the grin on Jack's face. The anchorwoman continued, "Due to the information regarding Richard B. Riddick's crimes, a judge has overturned the rulings against the renown escaped convict. As of today, April the sixteenth, Richard B. Riddick is a free man. All bounties are dropped, all convictions are overturned. The local law enforcement has asked us to report that if Mr. Riddick would go to the nearest police precinct and sign several documents he will be given his official ID."

Jack hit the button to turn off the Vid when the woman went into the next story. Riddick hadn't moved, and she moved to kneel before him. His eyes shone abnormally bright as they focused on her.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

"You did that."

She nodded, "It was one of the programs I had Chip run on Chem Industry's computer system before he fried their mainframe."

"You planned it all along?"

She nodded again, "Yeah, even before you found me on Hezeweld. It was the least I could do. I knew you'd find out wherever you were."

"Jack, I don't know what to say."

She smiled, his growl of a voice and crinkled forehead telling her how disturbed he was. "I know, Riddick. You don't have to say anything. I love you. I've always loved you."

He crushed her then, pulling her into him and burying his face in her hair. "God, baby. You are incredible."

Jack just held onto him, thrilled that he was free finally, and with her. "You're incredible," she whispered into his chest, though she didn't know if he could hear her.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

They separated the ships and landed them separately on Earth, in the nearly ancient city of Houston. Riddick and Jack and Aiden would be leaving together when they finished their visit. Trow would be leaving alone.

After a week they had found Chip a little house to settle in. He was excited about it and started to set up his computer systems immediately. They all left him to his work, knowing he was never happier than when he was with his computers.

Riddick had been tense when Jack had forced him to go to the police station and report who he was. Looks were exchanged among the officers on duty, but then the sergeant was brought out and he was actually polite. It appeared even when the hunted were no longer to be hunted the animosity didn't go away, but they managed to avoid any confrontation. They left with Riddick's ID card, and he'd been silent for long hours after. When he had climbed into bed with her that night she had felt his frustration, and had reveled in it, enjoying the pleasurable benefits. Neither slept until dawn was lighting the sky.

Jack and Riddick enlisted Trow as a babysitter so they could go out without Aiden. Trow grumbled about it endlessly, but Jack knew he had fun with the bright little boy. Other times they all went site seeing, not knowing if they would ever be back on Earth.

Jack found little time to be away from Riddick, and finally had to get Trow to take him out for a while so she could get some stuff done.

The following day she packed up Aiden and the three of them left. She wouldn't answer Riddick's questions about where they were going, and made the several hour trip while adamantly refusing to tell him what they were doing. He was getting angry, but she wouldn't relent.

Finally their rented cruiser came to a stop before a ranch style home made of brick. Riddick's eyes bored into her as she climbed out and took Aiden and all his gear.

"What is this place, Jack?"

The home was on a wide expanse of green lawn. The drive she had stopped in was still thirty or so yards from the front of the house and she started to walk through the park like front lawn. Flowers and ornamental trees were spotted through the front yard, arranged appealingly.

Riddick's fingers bit into her arm, pulling her to a halt. "Jack." His voice was low and dangerous.

She smiled up at him. "Riddick, I'm sorry. Just trust me."

He took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing, but finally nodded. She waited for him to indicate he was ready and then walked forward again.

The front door opened before they reached it. A woman stepped out, easily in her late fifties or so. Her eyes were red-rimmed as if she'd been crying, and she held a knotted tissue in her hand. It was obvious who had her attention.

"Richard?" she whispered.

Riddick stopped several yards from the raised porch, his discomfort obvious. "Ma'am."

Jack stepped closer, looking up at the woman, "Lorra, he doesn’t know," she whispered, earning her a sharp look from Riddick.

The woman started crying again, tears running down her face. Jack patted her arm and then held the baby out to her.

"Aiden?" she breathed reverently.

Jack smiled and nodded. She let Lorra take the baby, who was quite eager to exchange his mother for this unknown woman. Lorra hugged him to her, crying softly.

"Go ahead and take him in," Jack told her, "We'll be in in a moment."

The woman nodded and obeyed, disappearing into the house, with a long last look at Riddick.

Jack set the diaper bag down on the porch and approached Riddick. He had that wary look, face held in a deadpan. He wore his goggles against the bright sun, and she wished he hadn't.

She took his hand and then just held it, looking down at it as she rubbed his fingers with her own. "There is something I've been keeping from you," she finally said.

He didn't respond, didn't react in the least.

Jack took a deep breath. "A long time ago, a young woman had to move away from the home she loved, from her long time boyfriend, and try to find work in the city. She found out later that she was pregnant, and was terrified. She wanted to keep the baby, knowing it was a part of the man she loved, but under the circumstances, she knew she'd have to give it up.

"A man approached her one day, seeing her condition, and offered to help her with her medical expenses. She didn't understand what she was agreeing to, seeing only a chance to receive medical care, when she hadn't been able to at all.

"Months passed, and eventually the man even offered her a place to live. She started suspecting that something wasn't right. The doctor's visits were very private, and she felt strangely sick at times."

Jack continued to rub Riddick's fingers, knowing even if she looked up at him she wouldn't be able to look into his eyes, so just continued her story.

"One day she found that the nurse had left her file in the room with her and she read it. She was scared when she found that there was some sort of experiment being done on her baby, and that the man that had been helping her worked for Chem Industries. She ran. She knew she couldn't keep the baby, she was too poor, and now she knew that if Chem Industries were to ever find her with the child it would be taken and experimented on. So when she went into labor in a safehouse she had found she bore it as well as she could and then took the baby out with her. She wrapped him in special blankets she had made, hoping that whoever found him would allow him to keep them, then she set him in an open box outside a busy shopping center."

"Right next to a liquor store," Riddick inserted.

Jack nodded, biting her lip, tears welling in her eyes. "She watched until a woman came and found the baby, and then the police were brought out. They wrapped him up and tucked him into a carrier and whisked him away. She thought she'd done well, that Chem Industries would never associate this orphaned child with the baby they had wanted. Years later she found a way to come home, her mother had died, leaving her and her brother with the house they had grown up in." Jack lifted her face to look around. "This house."

She looked up at Riddick, "That woman ended up marrying the boyfriend she had had to leave behind. He had waited for her. They looked for the baby they had lost and couldn't find him."

Riddick was silent. His deadpan expression only altered by his lips pressed tight together.

"I'm sorry, Riddick. I know this is a lot to take in. Your mom and dad live here. They had three other children, two girls and a boy. Aiden is their sixth grandchild."

She could see Riddick's chest rising and falling rapidly, his fingers tightened on hers painfully. His jaw was hard as he finally spoke, "What do you want, Jack? Me to just rush in and hug my long lost family?"

His sneered words made her pull away from him, and she realized not for the first time that this was in no way going to be a happy reunion. "No, Riddick," she whispered, crying silently, "I would never expect that from you."

"I've hated this woman all my life, and now she wants to be a mother to me? I don't need a fuckin' mother."

Jack actually smiled at his growled words. He needed her more that he'd ever know. The abandonment by a mother must be horrible. Hers had died when she was young, but she still had some memories. Riddick didn't have any. And she was certain that all the pain and hardships throughout his childhood had been blamed on a mother that wasn't there for him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you into coming here." She turned and picked up the diaper bag before facing him again, now almost level with him, as she stood on the second step, with several yards separating them. "You can go. Come back in a couple hours."

His face actually relaxed for a moment in his surprise. "You're staying?"

She nodded, smiling sadly, "Yeah. Lorra might have screwed up when she was scared and lonely by leaving you, but she's still Aiden's grandmother. She has suffered for that one decision too much, making her husband suffer as well, and I don't see why Aiden should suffer for it too. My parents are gone, but by some miracle you still have yours, and I want Aiden to know them, and his two Aunts and his Uncle and his five cousins. I love you, Riddick, and I understand why you don't want to be here, but I can't take Aiden away from this. That wouldn't solve anything."

With that said she turned and walked into the house.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Riddick stood and stared after Jack, in complete shock. She'd been beside him in every decision he had ever made. Something this big almost felt like a betrayal. He didn't care about a family that left babies in trash bins! He didn't need a family after not having one for so long.

He turned and stalked toward the cruiser, his thoughts in chaos at the truth of Jack finding his parents for him. As he got closer and closer to the gravel drive he was walking slower and slower. He became aware that not only was he walking away from the mother who had abandoned him and the father that had abandoned them both, but he was walking away from his Jack and Aiden too. And that hurt strangely.

He finally came to a halt between clusters of bright flowers swaying in the breeze that was rolling over the expanse of land the house was situated on. He turned back to look at the house, his altered vision taking in the large barns and fenced in areas behind it. A smile threatened at the thought of being raised on a farm. Or a ranch, by the look of it. He could see horses and cows dotting the rolling hills in the not so far distance. He shook his head with a frown on his face. This was a world, a life he couldn't imagine. A place where a man didn't have to live by survival alone, and as intriguing as that was, it was also intimidating. He knew he was good at what he did, that he stood here now proved it, but this was an unknown to him.

The front door opening again caught his attention, his vision allowing no detail to go unnoticed, no matter how deep the shadow. Two men stepped out onto the porch, both looking out at him. Nervousness washed over him in a wave that was impossible to push away. If Jack was right, these men could be none other than his father and brother.

Brother.

It didn't seem possible. He'd never imagined having a family. When he'd been a boy he'd longed for it, but over the years had just accepted that he was just Richard B. Riddick.

Even at this distance he could see that both men bore a resemblance to each other, and a resemblance to him. Both had dark hair, cut short, but still blowing slightly in the wind. Both were dressed in comfortable looking jeans and shirts, boots clomping as they walked to the railing to look out at him.

He closed his eyes for a minute behind the dark goggles. A nearly painful tightness in his chest made him feel sort of breathless. He didn't like it, but saw no way to make it go away. Taking a long deep breath, he did what he'd wanted to do for almost four decades. He walked towards the house that should have been his home.

That his woman and son were inside made him feel a bit more at ease, but not nearly enough. As he walked closer, he started to compare himself with the two men standing there. As always he was dressed in solid black, head shaved, skin glowing. He could see that neither man was built as well as he was, or that either was as dark as him.

He reached the porch much too quickly in his opinion and was forced to take the steps, or stand below them, which he would not do. Finally he stood before them, body tensed to the upcoming confrontation, not knowing what would happen next.

The older man stepped forward first, his eyes suspiciously wet as he held his hand out. Riddick glanced down at it for a moment before reaching out with his own.

"Hello, Richard," he said, smiling, his voice as unusually deep as Riddick's own.

Then the other man was stepping forward and Riddick found himself staring at what could have been him. The man was younger than him, but Riddick knew he had never aged properly. He knew if his brother shaved his head and put on about sixty pounds they would look almost fucking identical.

"I'm Jon. It's nice to finally meet you, brother," the man said, smiling, as he clasped Riddick's hand.

Riddick unfortunately said the first thing that came to his mind, "I can't say the same."

Both men blanched and swallowed uncomfortably. A heavy silence fell for the space of several seconds, neither man able to meet his gaze for more than a heartbeat.

Then the front door burst open and Jack was there, smiling at him. He could have hugged her right then.

She looked from him to the two men, her smile never faltering. Her hands wrapped around his arm, clinging to him, as she smiled up at him. "You came back." He could see the relief in her eyes, feel it in the way her fingers clutched at him. But he couldn't bring himself to speak.

"Lucas, I—"

Riddick looked up as the older woman from earlier stepped out onto the porch. She stilled in the doorway, her hand frozen on the door frame, her eyes glued to his. Jack released him as he turned to face the woman . . . his mother.

"Richard," she whispered, just as before.

"It's Riddick."

She nodded, though he saw another flash of hurt in her eyes. But she moved forward, only stopping when she was standing just a foot away, her head tilted back slightly so she could look at him. "May I?"

He frowned, "Ma'am?"

She flinched at his question. "It's Lorra."

He nodded. He was aware of the two men retreating, moving as quietly as they could back into the house. His Jack was retreating as well, but not as quickly. Then his attention was focused only on 'Lorra' as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. No person other than Jack had ever dared touch him and he was taken off guard. She was taller than Jack, her head reaching his shoulder, her arms strong for someone her age.

"I'm sorry, son. I'll never forgive myself," she whispered, her voice sounding wet with tears.

He closed his eyes, letting thirty years drop away. He was in his mother's arms. His own arms wrapped around her as he thought of all the times he'd wished for a mother to love him. He knew he'd never accept her fully, never trust her. It wasn't in him to do. But for these few seconds he just wanted to pretend.

The squeak of the door made him open his eyes to see Jack slowly withdrawing into the house. She was smiling at him, at them. And she was crying.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Riddick took refuge with Jack when she asked to use one of the spare bedrooms to put Aiden down for his nap. The baby was already sleeping in her arms, and she just needed to make him comfortable.

The 'family room' had been a sort of torture for Riddick. His two sisters, Grace and Marjorie, were staring at him nearly continuously. The children, ranging in age from one to eight saw him as an object to be inspected. It seemed even his own family was scared of Richard B. Riddick, free or not, blood relation or not. His convictions had been overturned, but there had never been any question of whether or not he'd committed the crimes. He was a killer and they were afraid of him. It was just that simple. He knew his lack of conversation was not helping the situation, but there was nothing he could do about that.

So when Aiden was tucked into the bed, pillows all the way around to keep him from rolling, he quickly pulled Jack into his arms. She seemed to realize that he just needed this time alone with things he was comfortable with, and just held him in return.

After a long while she spoke, "Are you okay?"

"No."

She snorted at his quick answer and pulled back. "They're nice people, Riddick."

"I didn't say they weren't."

She frowned at him and then was reaching up to him, "Take these off. I hate not being able to see your eyes." She pulled off his goggles and then smiled up at him, her breath gasping that tiny bit like he was used to.

"They're afraid of me."

She just smiled, "And you are doing so much to put them at ease. You are really quite formidable when you just stand there and don't say anything."

His eyes narrowed, "What do you want me to say, Jack? Think they'd like to hear about Slam? Or T2? Or finding my woman bleeding a Chem agent?"

She blanched at his questions, making him regret speaking at all. She moved away from him, turning her back to him as she stood across the room from him.

He just watched her and then slowly approached her rigid back. "You named Aiden after my father."

His low words spoken so close to her didn't startle her, though he knew he hadn't made a sound to warn her. "I liked it," she said. "And I knew he'd meet them someday."

Aiden whimpered in his sleep and Jack reacted as if she'd been shot. She turned, rounding Riddick, as if he were just an object in her way, and was leaning over the bed. Aiden sighed contentedly at his mother's touch, and went instantly back to sleep.

Riddick couldn't help smiling at her, at them. He didn't know where they would go from here, didn't know what kind of life they'd have. Finding his parents was like a blow to him, something that he needed to get away from to deal with, but he knew he'd come back. For Jack, and for Aiden, and maybe even for himself. Seeing his son lying so peacefully under Jack's comforting touch made him ache for something he couldn't name. But what he knew he had was right here with him. Jack was brilliant in his altered vision, as always. He couldn't imagine his life without her, and hoped that he would always be able to keep her as happy and safe as she deserved to be. She had conquered enormous obstacles, and had been thinking of him the entire time. He knew he didn't deserve that type of loyalty, but he would do anything to keep it.

"I love you."

Jack's head came up, her eyes wide as she looked at him. "What?" she whispered.

Riddick smiled at her shocked expression, and even more shocked tone. "I love you, baby. Thank you."

In the one second it took her to fly into his arms he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. He closed his arms around her and closed his eyes, breathing in her scent, knowing that he had finally found his home.

~THE END~