&fic;

 

Sharing the Wealth

by sugargroupie

G, 709 words

Summary: she's greatly underestimated just how thoroughly John has coached the boy.

Disclaimer: Not mine; O'Bannon, Henson, Kemper, et. al.

Notes: written for the Sprog Wars mini sprogathon for Feldman. Post-PKW fluff. Thanks to Kernezelda for the timely beta. Mistakes are mine.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

She hears the child before she sees him. Laughter precedes the shallow footfalls as he runs across the cargo bay, finally drawing within her line of sight.

Aeryn takes a quick survey of the half-opened storage containers and its contents littering the floor around her. She's sorting through the results of their earlier supply run -- components for her Prowler, clothing, foodstuffs -- while John spends time with the boy.

Satisfied that there's nothing easily available for small hands to grab hold of, she turns her attention back to her son. He's not allowed on the scarcely used tiers of Moya for this very reason. The boy's curiosity rivals his father's wide-eyed introduction to their niche of the universe. They've chosen to raise D'Argo with a brand of child-rearing just as hybrid as the boy himself. They can protect him up until the point that he chooses to put an unknown substance he found on the floor into his mouth. Which he does often. Aeryn has accepted that children -- her child -- wants to learn from experience.

As expected, John trails behind D'Argo, purposely leaving a wide enough gap between them so that their son believes he can outrun his father. D'Argo squeals in excitement, running as quickly as short legs will allow, and ducks behind a stack of crates with a giggle.

Aeryn rises to her feet with a sigh and turns to John. He already has one finger pressed to his lips as he takes the opposite path behind the containers. A few microts later she hears John shout, "Boo!" followed by another squeal of laughter.

She resumes her task of divvying their purchases, all the while keeping an ear out for the antics of John and D'Argo. There's a brief scuffle of boots on the floor interspersed with loud whispering, and then an energetic three cycle old boy comes charging toward her.

"Mama!" he calls and the smile on her face is instant. She releases a huff of laughter as his small body collides with her legs, his arms wrapping around her. He digs his chin into the soft leather of her pants, turns his face up and says, "You play?"

Aeryn runs her fingers through his soft hair and switches her gaze to John, who looks suspiciously up to no good. "You put him up to this, didn't you?"

Shaking his head, John quirks his mouth, valiantly attempting to hold back a grin. "Aeryn, no. The boy obviously wants to spend time with you." He takes a step back. "So I'll just leave you two to some mother son bonding time, and I'll be in the maintenance bay working on the guppy."

Aeryn would believe him if not for the relief in his voice as he tries to leave the bay. "John."

He stops, faces her once again. "Aeryn."

"You're not going anywhere. We agreed."

"Maybe we need to re-negotiate," he offers as he comes to her side. D'Argo takes the opportunity to step between his parents, still holding onto Aeryn's pant leg with one hand while leaning back into John.

Oh. She's greatly underestimated just how thoroughly John has coached the boy.

Still, John's expression has remained open and happy since first entering the room, so she knows he's not entirely serious. "Hmm," she responds noncommittally.

She sighs softly as he slides his hand beneath her hair, gently massages her neck with his fingers. After considering the remaining supplies she has yet to unpack, Aeryn looks down at the boy. "D'Argo, how about you keep your father out of trouble for me, and as soon as I'm done here we'll play."

Grey eyes meet hers and D'Argo's answer is immediate. "'Kay!"

Catching John's eyes, she smiles slowly and says, "The three of us."

"Sounds good to me, babe," he agrees, and reaches down to cup the back of D'Argo's head. "Ain't that right, D?"

The boy nods and jumps up and down between his parents, no longer content to stand still.

John takes D'Argo's hand to lead him away, and Aeryn returns to sifting through their supplies. An idea begins to form for a suitable turnabout. Her teeth catch her upper lip, and she bites back a smile. Two can play at re-negotiation.

*

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