"Explain!" The words came out as a rough growl leaving no room for protest.

Taking a deep breath, Jack looked up into Riddick's goggle-covered eyes and started her explanation. "It was five years ago that I started having some problems: weakness, dizzy spells - things like that. I didn't think anything of them at first. I was always staying up late studying and thought it was from lack of sleep." Jack trailed off then, trying to organize her thoughts before continuing. 'This shouldn't be so hard, it's just Riddick!'

The little shake Riddick gave her brought her back to reality. Blushing slightly, she cleared her throat and continued her story. "One day I was walking down the stairs when suddenly my legs gave out from under me and I collapsed. I woke up in the hospital three days later. Imam had found me at the base of the stairs unconscious when he got home from work, and called the EMS (emergency medical services). I had a few broken ribs and a slight concussion, nothing too serious. However they also found a slight anomaly in my blood work. They ran some tests and found that I had a rare heart condition. The walls my heart are slowly deteriorating. Now in most people this deterioration is normal, the byproduct of the constant movement of the heart muscle. The only difference is, for most people this deterioration is counter balanced by the continual grow of new tissue. My body, for some reason or another, can't grow this new tissue so the deterioration of my heart just keeps getting worse and worse as time goes on. Since it has been happening all my life without me knowing it, its only now that the damage had progressed far enough for me to feel the effects."

Jack held her breath as she waited on Riddick's reaction. He was completely still, he didn't even blink. If she didn't know better, she would have thought him carved from stone. The only evidence that he even heard her was the ridged set of his jaw and the slight uneven rhythm of his breathing.

"What's the bottom line Jack?" The words were spoken so softly that she barely caught them.

Closing her eyes in despair she answered him. "The wall of my left ventricle has suffered the most damage. The muscle and tissue are extremely thin, and the doctors don't think I have long until it gives out."

"How long?" His voice was ruff and strained as if he were dying of thirst.

"Six months, maybe seven." was the whispered reply.

A few tears slipped past Jack's closed eyelids. Wrapping her arms around herself she turned her back to Riddick, not wanting him to she her pain. She didn't want him to know what it was like to find out she would never have a normal life. She would never have a family, friends, or a future. She had to be strong; she couldn't let others see how scared she was. Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a hard chest. Riddick's scent filled her nostrils - the smell of fire, sweat, and man.

Giving in, Jack leaned back into Riddick's strength, taking the silent comfort he offered. They stood there in silence, just reveling in each others presence. 'How can she be dying?' That thought seemed to be echoing in Riddick's head as he held Jack in his arms. He could feel her trembling slightly, and the smell of her fear all but suffocated him. 'She's innocent! She doesn't deserve this. Hell, I can't watch her die. I can't watch her suffer. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Just sit on my ass and watch her wither away. Fuck that.' Abandoning the little argument he seemed to be having with himself, he decided that as much as he didn't want to, it was time to break the silence between them and find out what else he needed to know.

"Is there a cure?" He spoke the question without embellishment, and with no emotion evident in his voice.

Turning around, Jack looked into Riddick's eyes. "Yes, there's a cure. Sort of." The uncertainty could be heard in her voice. "The doctors told me that if I can get a transplant of stem cells, they would grow back the tissue I need and continue to repair any new deterioration."

"So what's the problem Jack?" The gentleness in his tone was slightly shocking. She'd never heard him like this before.

"I can't afford it. Stem cells are extremely expensive, not to mention the cost of the doctors -if you can find one that will perform the procedure at all."

Bitterness filled her heart thinking about all the doctors that had turned her down, not even caring that they could save her life.

"We'll find a way Jack, I promise." He spoke with complete confidence, as if the possibility of failure was unknown to him.

"I trust you Riddick." The words were out of her mouth before she had the chance to register what she was saying. 'It's true though. I do trust Riddick.' That fact was somewhat of a shock. She didn't expect to feel so safe with a man she hadn't seen in ten years, regardless of what he did for her in the past. 'I trust him.'

Riddick closed the door to Jack's room with a sigh. She had finally fallen asleep, she needed the rest. Her injuries were healing fine, but he didn't want to risk her reopening any of them. Making his way into the cockpit he lowered himself wearily into the pilot's chair. Ordering the lights to ten percent he removed his goggles and put his face in his hands. 'What am I going to do? Fuck! Sure, I could probably scrounge up a doc to do the transplant for her but how the fuck am I going to pay for it? I have some credits, but not much and this piece of shit cargo ship isn't worth more that ten or fifteen grand. Shit!'

Jumping up from his seat, Riddick started to pace. Racking his brain, he desperately tried to come up with a solution to this mess. 'I can't let her die, I CAN'T!' Letting his frustration get the better of him he sent his fist crashing into the wall, not even noticing the pain when his knuckles met metal. Trying to calm himself he turned his mind to thoughts of how much Jack had changed. 'She's truly grown up.'

Unwanted, the memory of her soft body pressed up against his during their embrace rose in his mind. 'No, Jack is DEFINITELY not a kid anymore. not with those breasts and not to mention that nice, tight ass. Fuck! What the hell is wrong with me? This is Jack for fuck's sake. She's like my little sister.' No matter how many times he reminded himself of that fact, the reality kept slapping him in the face. Jack wasn't his little sister; she wasn't just some kid that needed saving anymore. She was a woman now, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was attracted to her. Even now he could still smell her scent. 'Waterfalls and jasmine.' Feel her breasts pressed up against his chest, see the light sparkling in those beautiful blue eyes. FUCK!

Marching back to the controls Riddick checked the auto-pilot and made sure their course was plotted. After double checking everything he ordered lights off and made his way to his room. After a quick shower, he slid into bed - the cool sheets causing goose bumps to dot his flesh. Laying his goggles on the end table beside the bed, he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep - hoping that the images of Jack would fade from his mind.