Author's note: Frell, this thing got away from me! It was supposed to be just a nice, simple story, but ... well, take it as living proof that it's a bad idea to give characters too much authority, unless you want to completely ignore the rest of your life for a couple of weekens. The smut I mentioned in the summary is mainly in chapters 3 and 4, so if I haven't gotten there yet, I'm sorry. As for the medical notes at the end of each chapter, I really have no idea how it happened. They just kept coming as I came up with symptoms. They come only from my own twisted mind, so take them for the amusing bits of fluff they are, or defense if you think I've done something screwy.

Rating: NC-17

Spoilers: Everything to just before Fractures, which the previous story in this series - Love, Pain, Sorrow, Joy - replaced. You don't have to have read that one to get this one, as long as you know LPSJ got John and Aeryn back together a lot more quickly than the show ever will

Distribution: Please, just ask me first.

Disclaimer: No, they're not mine, but I don't know if they know that. Hmmm, I wonder if they give Rockne this much trouble.

Even More Chaotic Than Usual
By Gatekeeper

Chapter 1: Surprises, or "I'm what?"

Morning, somewhere near the end of a very happy couple of weekens.

Hmmm. I wonder if Aeryn knows how good the back of her neck smells. I brush my lips against her softness. Tastes good, too.

She stirred against me and I leaned over her, kissed her cheek. "Morning, Sunshine."

Aeryn turned, smiled at me. Frell, she's beautiful. "Good morning, John."

I grazed my fingers down her bare arm. "How long until Moya needs us?"

Her smile widened, warmer than any sun. "Not for another arn." Her fingers left a trail of fire down my chest.

Now it's my turn to grin. "Good." I captured her mouth in mine, and we explored several new and exciting options to a morning exercise routine.

***

Any minute now, Stark, you're going to see Zhaan as well.

And he had, after awhile. First were the voices, though, whispering through the air of this decaying city like the ghost of a song. That had been all that was needed, really, to keep him in this place. Simply having the song with him again.

But then he began to see her. Just glimpses - her delicate jawline, her gentle hands, her sparkling eyes. He did not think to ask how a soul so bound for heaven should be here. He didn't dare. It was almost like having her with him again.

Almost.

Standing in the crowded street, Stark was so lost in his visions that he didn't hear the voice behind him, high and whispy like a child's. A gentle bump, however, made him turn.

A small creature, like a brain, floated behind him. "Greetings, Stark. I am Seer Kraysis - I have dealings with your shipmate, Aeryn Sun." Did his small eyes seem to soften? "Such connections that exist among you. I did not even have to touch you to feel your tie to this Zhaan. It is strong. Very strong. Maybe even enough to bring her back."

That was all Stark needed to hear. Without another word, he followed the creature through the crowd.

***

Ugh. The room spun slightly, and I moved a hand to my stomach.

I have never enjoyed being ill. It makes me feel so ... helpless.

"Baby, what's the matter?" John was by my side in an instant, one arm around me and the other pressed to my forehead. I've never understood the ritual, but I still felt ... comforted by it. I suppose love makes even illness more tolerable. I cannot help but smile slightly at the thought.

But I'd best not let things get out of hand. Excessiveness has long been a trait of ... of my mate. My mind paused at the term, savoring it.

"I'm fine, John. Really." I smile at him again in assurance. "It must have been something I ate.

John still looked concerned. "I wondered why you didn't eat breakfast. We'll check the food cubes." His other hand moved from my forehead to wrap around me, pull me close. The nausea seemed to lessen slightly. I wrapped my arms wound him, and the nausea lessened even further.

John felt me relax against him. "Feel better now, sunshine?"

I sighed contentedly. "Much." Then I began to nuzzle his temptingly close neck. "But if you want to improve my condition even further ..."

John grinned wickedly. "I'll do my best."

***

I've done a lot of things in the past two arns that I'd never exactly planned on. Surprisingly enough, holding Aeryn's hair back as she puked up breakfast was probably one of them.

Not that I minded, of course. The whole thing had a certain "married" feel to it that I liked, among other implications.

Finally finished, Aeryn groaned. "I hate this." Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she leaned her forehead against my chest. "Do you think I've caught something?"

I couldn't stop the thought that sprang into my mind. Yeah ... sperm. I didn't say it, though - I did have some sense of self-preservation. Instead, I drew her close, stroking her hair. "We can have Jool take a look if you want, but ..."

"No," she interjected quickly. "That's fine." Yeah, that's what I'd thought. "But holding me a little longer certainly wouldn't hurt."

"No problem," I replied, grinning. Well, whatever was going on, it was certainly making her cuddly, a fact that I was planning to take full advantage of in the future. But until then ...

The woman I love is puking every morning, her back aches constantly, her ankles are swollen, and she keeps wanting to know if we can find some stewed Ratka root, whatever in the frell that is. It sure sounds like she's pregnant.

But it's too soon to be showing this many signs, unless ...

Frell.

***

A blue shadow passes through the darkness of Moya, comforted by the spiritual presence of those she had left behind. Her soulmate was not here, but ... he had not yet met with success, and his ache for her was painful, sometimes.

She passed a bedroom she did not remember as being occupied. Her eyes light on the sleeping couple. Hezmana, they had finally done it. She was pleased for them, for the love she could feel coming from both of them. They would take care of one another, now that she could not.

One another? No, there were more than two spirits here. There were ... three?

By the Goddess, how lovely.

***

And on top of the nausea, heat flashes.

I tried to sit up in the face of this latest onslaught, but quickly gave in to reason and flopped back on the bed with a groan.

As soon as I was over this frelling virus, I was going to find whoever gave it to me and arrange to have them shot.

No, I needed to shoot them myself - it would be more personal.

For the moment, though, I'd just have to suffer through it, probably in bed. Hmmm - maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I could drag John in here with me ...

Or maybe not. That would mean telling John that yet another symptom had surfaced, which he probably wouldn't take any more calmly than he did the others.

Well, unless you considered him insisting on making me breakfast all the time, checking the food constantly, forcing me to sit down at every opportunity, doing my share of repair work himself, and generally hovering around me like a Gnorian fly constantly as him taking it calmly. I didn't know whether to feel touched or kill him, which wasn't really a surprise with John.

But I'd hate to eventually kill the man he'd loved, no matter how frelling annoyed he'd been. So I probably needed to do something about this.

Frell, that should show you how much I love you, John Crichton, that I'm doing this to save your life.

"Jool," I said into my comm, "I need you to figure out what's the frelling matter with me ..."

***

When I came back from breakfast, Aeryn was leaning against the doorway, sweating and not looking good even to my jaded eyes.

"Sunshine, what's the matter?" I rushed over to help support her. There'd never been a human/sebacean pregnancy before ... what if something went wrong? That device said we were genetically compatible, but who knew what that meant when it came to actually carrying the child?

Aeryn shook her head, trying to smile at me. I hadn't seen a smile that sick since D.K.'s first hangover. "I'm fine, John." At my expression, she amended her statement. "As fine as I can be, until we figure out what's wrong. That's why," she took a deep breath, preparing herself. "I'm going to have Jool run some tests, so we can have a place to start."

Now I was filled with a whole new kind of panic. Jool was kind of a space-case (no pun intended, especially at a time like this) but she knew her science - there was no way she was going to be able to avoid confirming my suspicion.

That was bad enough - Aeryn was going to kick me up one side of Moya and down the other when she found out I'd thought she was pregnant and hadn't told her. But what about when Jool confirmed my other suspicion ...

Hezmana, we'd just gotten everything put back together! I loved her, she loved me, and I didn't have to go kill myself. What was going to happen to that, though, when she found out that it was the other John who was the father? She'd just spent the worst few weekens of my life convincing herself that we were the same guy. Would this kill that?

Desperate, I started nibbling on her ear. "Well, there are other ways to take care of nausea ..."

Chuckling, Aeryn pulled away slightly, kissing my cheek. "And as good as you are at that, John, I'd much rather have Jool take a look at me, so I may eventually be able to enjoy your skills as something other than a health benefit."

Sighing, I helped her down the corridor, still holding on to her. I want this baby, Aeryn Sun, more than the air I breathe and only slightly less than I want you. No matter what the universe says, it's my baby, and if you give me a chance I'll love you both for the rest of my life.

That, of course, is the kicker here. You need to give me a chance.

***

Why the frell was Jool looking at me like that?

For that matter, why was she looking at John like that? The last time I's seen that expression, the man was trying to decide which of the two Dornabian war horses was going to trample him first.
Suddenly worried, I grabbed John's hand. What was going on?

Suddenly coming to a decision, Jool leaned toward her communicator. "D'Argo, could you come to the medical bay for a micron? I may ... need your help with something."

She needed D'Argo for this? For what, to hold me down? A storm of unpleasant possibilities hit, and my patience ended with a snap. "Jool, just tell me the test results."

Glancing at John one last time, Jool shook her head firmly. "No, I'd much rather D'Argo was here." Maybe there was something going on between them ... hezmana. I mentally kicked John for turning me into such a romantic.

Finally, the Luxan warrior arrived, his qualta blade ready and a suitably worried expression on his face. When he didn't see anything jumping out to attack him, he stopped. "What's the matter?" He looked at the three of us, then Jool. "Did you find out what's wrong with Aeryn?"

Looking distinctly relieved but not answering his question, Jool motioned him over. "Could you stand here, please?" she asked, pointing to a spot in front of her. D'Argo complied, still not certain what was going on.

Well, that makes two of us, my friend.

Satisfied that he was in place, Jool peeked over his shoulder at Aeryn. "Aeryn, you're pregnant. Please don't kill me."

Pregnant? Pregnant! "How can I be pregnant? All that happens to sebacean women when they get pregnant is they get chilled and their leathers don't fit!"

Jool, still obviously fearing for her life (and now with good reason) hesitated before answering. "I don't have a lot of experience with the species, but I'd guess that you've been exhibiting signs of human pregnancy. The heat flashes are your body adjusting to a warm-blooded child."

So this was all John's fault! Somehow, I couldn't get properly furious over the idea. I was carrying John's child ... To be honest, I was seconds away from exhibiting some seriously bad emotional metaphors about the experience, and didn't care nearly as much as I should. I was now tied to the man I love in a way that no one could break.

Wait a minute. Wasn't this too soon to be showing signs?

I looked at John, and the fear in his eyes confirmed what I had been thinking - I was pregnant before I ever got back to Moya. But my menses cycle had been so erratic ...

I quell a little flutter of panic in my stomach. They are both the same man, both my John. Now to tell him that.

I shift around on the table to look at him. "John, are you happy about this child?"
"Frell, Aeryn, of course I am!" he burst out, desperate.

I smile, squeezing his hand tighter. "So am I, love. It should be an interesting experience, giving birth to your child." I make sure he notices my emphasis.

The relief and joy that burst across his face is like sunlight. I store it in my heart, as one of many more beautiful sights to come.

Still, a few ground rules had to be established. "Now, about not telling me I was pregnant ..." The grip tightened, and began to include nails.

***

Medical notes: Sebacean women normally get chilled during pregnancy as an added precaution to keep the baby's fragile body from any hint of the sebacean heat delirium.

And I bet you want to know how I attempt to justify the whole sex as a cure for nausea thing. Well, the added heat of the warm blooded child is throwing off Aeryn's digestive system, making her sick. Bringing Aeryn's body closer to the baby's temperature reduces these symptoms, and so ... well, just think of it as a very enjoyable hot water bottle.

As for the Ratka root, I don't know why human women get cravings. Why should I have any idea why sebacean women do?