Treacherous

Bell was running the second the dock was closed. Thea held tight to her, she jogged down the line of newly returned ships until she saw Riddick. “Where are they?”

Riddick had removed his helmet and goggles. His eyes turned to look inside and she was moving in an instant.

“J!” they screamed together and she went to her knees, pulling them both to her.

“Oh, god, babies. I’m so sorry.” She buried her nose in their sweat-damp hair and wanted never to move.

Riddick gave orders outside the ship, sending the men about the business of withdrawing their forces. Bell wished for one second for the cruelty to kill the entire planet. They had the firepower. They could do it. She lifted her head when she felt Riddick looking at her.

“It doesn’t make it right, Bell.”

She chewed her lip, not convinced.

“I doubt three children are the only innocents down there.”

That had her. She wouldn’t condemn the victims along with the captors. “It doesn’t make walking away right either.” She stood and faced him, Colin and Wies each gripping a leg as she visibly faced off with this man.

“What do you want? I’m not responsible.” He moved toward her, angry now. “It would take a jury years to sort that shit and you know it. Who’s the most guilty? Who deserves to die?”

She nodded, “I know. I’m sorry, but you can’t understand how angry I am. They took so much.”

“Be surprised,” he mumbled, probably hoping she wouldn’t hear. Louder he said, “Not the savior of this whole fucking universe.”

She moved toward him, trailed by her boys. She could feel the burden of overwhelming pressure bearing down on him as he thought of all that everyone expected of him, even her. Thea slid down and toddled a step or two. Bell moved toward Riddick, eyes only on him when he wouldn’t look at her.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t ask for anything more than what you’ve given me.” She lifted her hand and forced him to come down to her level, and then just wrapped her arms around him, armor and all. “Thank you.”

He didn’t return her hug, but she felt him relax for the few seconds before he stood. And he met her gaze now. “I don’t know how to do this.”

She shrugged, “Coulda fooled me.” She took a step back, “Colin, Wies, this is your father.”

Riddick looked like she’d slapped him, but his eyes dropped to the boys. They looked at her, and then looked up at Riddick. Maybe five seconds passed before Riddick turned and left.

Bell smiled after him. He didn’t do fear well. She knelt to talk to Wies and Colin. “No worry. You know how you never saw your daddy before?” She waited for them to nod, so cute in their identical motions. “Well, your daddy didn’t even know who you were. So you’re a really big surprise and he just needs a little bit to get used to it.”

“Does he like us?” Wies asked, always the worrier, where Colin was the silent one.

She rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way, “You just can’t imagine how much. It’s so much that even he can’t measure it.” It seemed to ease Wies’s concern, but Colin was her worry. He stared off after Riddick.

Bell tugged on his shirt to get his attention, “Okay?” He waited the appropriate amount of time to make her worry further before nodding.

Thea was taking off, babbling about something. Bell chased after her and swung her up and into her arms. “Okay, then. We get to go see a doctor.”

Through the ship Bell had to answer an endless stream of questions from the boys, well Weis anyway. Twice she had to pull Thea’s fingers out of her hair. And she gave them information about some of the things they were passing to help them understand. This many people moving around was foreign to them. At least it had been before Militia had nabbed them. It didn’t help in the least that every Necromonger stared at them as they passed, even the soldiers, which was the worst.

The medics checked them out, giving them a few antibiotics and bandages. Bell was truly relieved by the little amount of damage done. What had Militia been doing with them the whole time? She ordered Ramsay brought down and then sat and talked to him a bit.

He was thrilled to see the kids, especially Thea. He would never lay claim to the child, but Bell knew he felt an attachment to her. He had sired her, despite it not being his DNA.

As they left Bell kissed him on the forehead. “They’re going to shut you down, Ram. You okay?”

He smiled, “Just keep them safe.”

The boys each hugged him. He was their friend. The only one they’d ever known. She had to pull Thea away. The girl was too young to fully understand that Ramsay wasn’t human.

All three of them were crying as she left with them, and even she had to wipe a tear away. A direct look at the technician conveyed her message. ‘Mess this up and she’d mess him up.’

“We’ll take care of him, My Lady.”

Bell got the kids moving until Wies stumbled and fell. He was quiet about it, but he was crying. She knelt down to hug them all again. “I’m sorry, guys. Ramsay is going to be fine. He just needs to be looked at, okay?”

“They could mess him up,” Colin said, with barely a hint of emotion.

“But they’re not going to.” She smiled. “Or else.”

He nodded at that.

God, she wished Riddick could see him like this. They were so much alike it was scary. Could a person duplicate themself in an offspring? Riddick had.

Bell hadn’t made arrangements for the children, not wanting to look that far ahead. So she took them to the chamber that up till now she and Riddick had shared. They needed to eat and sleep, and she wasn’t ready to let them out of her sight.

Three women stood outside Riddick’s door. They stepped out as she and the children approached. All were young, teens maybe. The tallest and presumable the oldest spoke to her, “My Lady.” They all curtsied a bit. “My Lord has given us permission to aid you.”

“Aid me or aid my children?”

The two younger ones looked at each other, but the older one gave a soft smile. “We wish to help, My Lady. Children have never been allowed on board.” The look she gave Thea was almost wistful.

Bell turned away and pushed into their chamber, “RIDDICK!”

He turned from where he’d been standing, “Ah, My Lady.” He bowed to her!

Bell saw red! “What did you just fucking say?!” She let Thea slide to the ground. “Stay here,” she told the boys in the calmest voice she could manage. Then she was stomping towards Riddick.

“You don’t like your new title?” he taunted as she neared him.

She stopped short, not wanting to get too close for her own sake. Enraging this beast might just lead to her untimely death. “I have no title, you ass. Thought you were going to tell me why they started calling me that. And what is this giving me servants? Those are my children. Your children.” She raised a brow here. Had he forgotten? “I’m not handing them over to be raised by fucking Mongers.”

He smiled at her! Then he looked past her. A simple nod had the three girls cajoling her children to leave with them. Thea started crying, Wies started grouching, but they went.

Riddick stepped close to her, looking down at her, his voice low, “You get pissed about some stupid shit.”

“Fuck you,” she whispered.

“Those girls came to me.” He gave her a second to let that sink in. “The one of them couldn’t talk she was so scared of me. They’re from Aqua Major, the last world the Necros destroyed. Without purification they’re more like themselves than they are Necros.” Again he was silent for a minute. “They called you ‘My Lady’. Didn’t know you had a title. Thought is was kinda good.”

Bell chewed her lip.

“Don’t know a damn thing about kids, Bell. They’re stupid and shit in their pants as babes, start talking and never shut up, then get stupid again as teenagers. That’s about it. You had Ramsay to help before,” he shrugged and finally moved away from her. “And I would like you to not have kids hanging off of you once in a while. I didn’t think it would hurt. Didn’t know you’d get pissed.”

She turned to follow his progress as he walked away from her. That damn outfit wasn’t fair. His wide back and rounded ass were flawlessly displayed in those skin-hugging garments. It distracted her for a second from what she’d even been pissed about. Oh, yeah, Riddick was an ass!

“Why’d you walk away from us?”

He turned toward her, but didn’t come closer. “What was I supposed to do? You threw them at me!”

“So? They’re your kids! And if you get over being so damn stupid you’d love them.” He didn’t respond, damn it. If he would she’d have a purpose to this yelling rather than just poking at shadows. A deep breath, and a little more quietly she said, “You’re great with kids, Riddick. Ziza loves you, and did you once hurt her?”

Blank stare.

“They don’t know you either. You’re big and really fucking scary looking.” She sighed, “I don’t expect you to play peek-a-boo. I just want you to…to just be around them,” she finished.

He nodded slowly, his eyes staring at the floor, his arms crossed. Bell moved toward the door, which he was currently blocking. He’d move if she hit him with the door, right? She didn’t want him to play Daddy right now, but she needed to see that her kids ate something and got to bed. By the ship’s clock it was late.

She reached the door and he stepped out of the way, but as she opened it his hand snapped out and held it. She was literally in his shadow, an intimidating place to be, but she didn’t move, just waited.

“Are you leaving now?”

Leaving?

“You got what you wanted. Are you going to leave?”

Bell reached out to him with her apparition, but he was blocking her, holding himself in. That wasn’t fair. “Do you want me to?”

“I—“ He didn’t finish.

She looked up at him slowly and for once he didn’t look away. Oh, the turmoil we live. He wouldn’t ask her to stay, but obviously didn’t want her to go. That he asked at all on such a sensitive topic was progress.

“No, I’m not leaving.” She glanced at the bed and then slowly looked back at him, her apparition finishing the reminder of her declaration in that very bed. He could block her out, but he wasn’t able to hide that jaw tensing in understanding. “I’m staying.” She smiled slyly, “You’ll have to kill me to get rid of me now.”

His eyes narrowed, but he gave a bit of a nod and released the door.