Three Square Meals

John stood by the door as the girls filed out of the Briefing Room, giving each of them a goodnight kiss before they went to bed. Alyssa waited until last, then she slid her arms around him and pressed her lips to his, a sultry invitation in that intimate kiss.

When they parted, she gazed into his eyes, "You should come to bed too..."

He brushed his fingers through her golden hair, watching as she leaned into his hand. "I've got some things on my mind... I'll be along in a little while."

She looked at him with concern, but reluctantly left to join Calara, who was waiting by the Tactical Station. John watched the two of them cross the Bridge and waved goodbye as they disappeared from view in the grav-tube. He could see they were worried about him, but he needed a bit of time to himself after the nightmarish day he'd just had.

Alone at last, he plodded up the illuminated steps to his Command Chair and slumped in the seat. Looking over his console at the Bridge, he was struck by just how painfully empty it seemed without Faye's constant presence there. She'd kept careful watch over them for months, always greeting him with a cheerful smile whenever he arrived on the Command Deck. His heart ached for the beautiful girl and he was still struggling to believe that she was gone.

The pep talk he'd given Irillith and Dana seemed to have snapped them out of their grief, setting them a goal to strive for and rekindling hope of seeing Faye again. While he had enough confidence in Irillith's prowess to believe that they might someday be reunited with the purple sprite, he had to wonder if it would really be her they were bringing back. She might have Faye's personality, but how much did the AI's experiences shape her into the wonderful girl she'd become? It was heartbreaking to think that all the memories of her short but remarkable life with the crew had been destroyed... especially the budding romance they'd shared.

Faye had asked that they take their relationship slowly, but he knew she'd done so because she was worried that he might become unsettled by her synthetic nature. John toyed with the armrest of his chair, wrestling with an uncomfortable truth. If Faye had been a normal girl, he knew that they would have consummated their relationship within days rather than months. With Alyssa, Calara, Dana, Jade... all of the girls really... as soon as they'd made the decision to become a part of his life, he'd enthusiastically welcomed them into bed. He felt a sharp pang of guilt as he realised that Faye's fondest wish, her desire to become a real girl, was due to her desperate craving for the intimacy that he'd denied her.

"I'm sorry, Faye..." he whispered, staring at the empty space where she normally perched on his console. "You just wanted to be loved... and I let you down."

"You never let her down," Dana said quietly from behind him. "You were closer to Faye than any of us."

John turned his chair and saw the redhead standing at the bottom of the illuminated steps. He'd been so distracted that he hadn't heard Dana returning to the Bridge.

"I kept her at arm's length for weeks," he admitted, looking ashamed. "I treated her differently to all the rest of you..."

Dana shook her head as she slowly climbed the steps. "You can't go blaming yourself for that. Faye was worried about freaking you out... that maybe you'd have some uncanny valley moment and be repulsed at the thought of being with her. The two of you taking things slow was a good thing."

"But I never got a chance to really show Faye how much she meant to me..."

"Because you didn't get to fuck her?" Dana asked provocatively, raising an eyebrow as she stood before him.

He looked up at her with hurt indignation. "Don't say it like that! You know that's not what I meant!"

"You can dress it up in flowery language if you want, but that's exactly what you meant," she said defiantly. "You're blaming yourself because you think you short-changed Faye somehow, but making love to Faye wasn't the only way of showing her how much you cared. She treasured every second you spent with her... like those dates you had together; they were something special just between the two of you."

"I know I could have done much more for her," John said, his face shadowed with regret. "Faye did so much for us... she was unbelievably selfless."

Dana knelt down in front of him and gently clasped his hand. "John... what happened to Faye wasn't your fault. You might feel like you let her down, but it's just not true. I hate seeing you like this... your confidence is shot to hell and you're crucifying yourself over everything at the moment."

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are," she said firmly. "First there was that comment in the kitchen about me and Irillith being much smarter than you... and us having to carefully explain things like you're some kind of moron. Then you blamed yourself for not taking out Larn'kelnar single-handed and letting us get hurt; you made it sound like you were just standing around jerking off! Now you're feeling all this guilt about not treating Faye right and that you neglected her somehow... but you actually let yourself fall in love with her despite her being synthetic!"

"It just feels like I've been doing everything wrong..." he said, looking dejected.

"John... the way you're feeling about everything is all connected," she said sympathetically. "It's all about your parents."

John's shoulders sagged, his expression turning gloomy. "I really don't want to talk about them right now..."

"I think we need to," Dana said, stroking his hand. "I understand what you're going through, I really do."

He looked into her sky-blue eyes, a sceptical frown on his face. John didn't want to say that there was no way Dana could know how he felt, but she could tell that was exactly what he was thinking.

She refused to back down and met his doubtful gaze. "For years I'd lie awake at night, wondering who my parents were and why they left me at that shitty orphanage in Karron. I just knew my mom and dad must be out there somewhere, desperately searching for their lost little girl. One day they'd find me, wrap me up in a big hug, and tell me how it was all a big mistake... that they loved me and now we could be a proper family like we were always supposed to be."

John flinched as he remembered similar dreams when he was a child, wondering where his parents were and wishing they'd come home. He saw the hurt in Dana's eyes and reached out to gently cup her face. "I'm sorry, Sparks."

She leant into his hand and sighed. "Don't be... you've had it much worse than me. Not knowing who my parents are is bad enough, but to find out they're a couple of complete fucking assholes would be terrible."

He rubbed a hand across his face and said wearily, "It wasn't really Jessica's fault... she was enthralled by my father and basically forced to do whatever he wanted. I guess I can't really blame him either; Rahn'hagon was just desperate to escape from Xar'aziuth's control... and when he realised all his plans had failed, he panicked and lashed out at me."

"Ah, bullshit! Stop making excuses for them!" Dana exclaimed, bristling angrily. "Your own mother just dumped you on Terra, then ran away to be with her lover! The bitch didn't even think twice about you in 40 fucking years! And as for your dad... what kind of asshole attacks his own son?! A real piece of shit, that's who!"

John was startled by her vehemence, then caught her watching him carefully despite her furious outburst. "You didn't really mean all that..."

Her expression softened and she inched closer, placing her hand over his heart. "Yeah... but that's what you're feeling in here. You spent your whole life desperate for answers about your parents and when you finally found them, your mom and dad both rejected you. There might be perfectly logical reasons for why they did what they did, but it doesn't change the fact that they deliberately abandoned you and didn't even feel bad about it... and that's got to hurt."

He pulled her up so she was sitting sideways across his lap and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Resting his head against her ample cleavage, he let out a despondent sigh.

"I get it, John... I really do," Dana said softly, her heart going out to him. Running her fingers through his hair, she whispered in his ear, "You got your hopes up and they dumped all over them. So now you feel stupid for spending your whole life wanting to meet your parents and you're left wondering what you did wrong that made them reject you..."

John didn't reply, he just swallowed around the lump in his throat and held her tighter.

"But you're not stupid for believing in them," she said, brushing his pointed ear with her fingertip. "They're stupid for letting you down so badly. You're brave, generous, kind, and loving... you're smart and resourceful, a great leader, and a wonderful fiancé. I actually feel sorry for your mom and dad, because they'll never get to know this amazing guy that their son turned out to be."

"Thank you," he murmured, never wanting to let her go.

She held him close to her chest and gently massaged his head. "You don't need them, John. They were part of your past, but now you can close that chapter and move forward. You've made a whole new family for yourself... it's just you, me, and two-dozen other girls who all think you're awesome."

He chuckled and lifted his head to look into her sky-blue eyes. "I guess I was overcompensating a bit?"

Dana gave him a loving smile. "That's okay. If you feel like you need to overcompensate a bit more, I'm sure Alyssa will be delighted."

"I bet she would," he agreed, returning the smile. He kissed the tip of Dana's nose and continued, "Thank you for coming to speak to me, it was really good to talk about it."

"Please don't push us away when you get sad," she said, with a look of sympathy. "I know you're hurting, but you wouldn't let any of us suffer alone, would you? You're part of a big family now that loves you, so if you start to feel down, just ask any of us for some TLC."

"I will. I'll have to thank Alyssa and Rachel too; I really appreciate the three of you trying to make me feel better."

The redhead blushed. "What makes you think everything I said didn't all come from me?"

"I know what parts were from you, honey," he replied quietly. "You were right; you do understand what I'm dealing with at the moment. It was worse for you though; at least I had my grandparents to look out for me... but you were on your own."

"Not anymore," she said, looking deep into his eyes. "You changed all that. I'll never be on my own again."

He slipped his hand inside her top and stroked her toned stomach. "We'll have to make sure you have lots more company in the future..."

Dana's cheeks flushed again, but not with embarrassment this time. She leaned against him, giving him a doe-eyed look as he caressed her. "I want to have your baby so much," she murmured with a wistful sigh. "I thought we were done with all the fighting when we killed Larn'kelnar... I hate that we're nowhere near retiring."

"You understand why we're doing this, right?" John asked pensively, tracing circles around her navel. "I'd love to start a family with you... but I can't, not while we're under constant threat of Progenitor attack. I'm not going to risk you being in danger when you're pregnant, so that means I need to deal with them before we can have children. If I have to wipe those bastards from the galaxy to keep you safe, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

She gave him a mischievous smile. "I never thought that galaxy-wide genocide could be so romantic..."

"My beautiful girl deserves nothing less!" he exclaimed dramatically, giving her a playful kiss.

Dana giggled and hugged him affectionately.

He rubbed her back, then his voice turned sombre, "All joking aside, we haven't got much choice here, honey. After everything that's happened on the Astral Plane, Xar'aziuth isn't going to stop until he takes us out, which means we're not going to be able to avoid a showdown with lots more Progenitors. Rahn'hagon might be an asshole, but I'm sure he's right about that."

"Yeah... I think he's right too," she agreed, with a rueful frown. "Don't worry, I'm backing you 100%."

"I always knew you would," he said quietly, studying her face. "But that's not because I'm taking your support for granted... I just knew you'd have my back no matter what."

"I love you," she said earnestly. "And I trust you with my life. You've been really down on yourself for not being ready to fight Larn'kelnar, but you shouldn't be. Just think about all the shit we've had to deal with over the last six months... and you've managed to steer us through all of it. As you got stronger, you could've hoarded all your power like those other Progenitor jerkoffs, but instead you decided to share your abilities and power up your girls to fight beside you. Larn'kelnar never knew what hit him... and we kicked his fucking ass! None of us came up with that idea... it was your plan all along to make us so powerful."

He gave her a loving squeeze. "You are pretty special."

"Only because you made me that way," she said, her tone serious now. When he was about to object, she raised a hand. "No, this isn't the time for a 'you were special all along' pep talk. Let's be brutally honest here: before we met, I was a scared little orphan girl who just had a natural talent for fixing things. Since we got together, you've enhanced the crap out of me! I can design multiple schematics simultaneously, I can look right into materials, alter their properties with my mind... shit, I can even create my own fucking black holes! All that came from you... and you did the same thing with the rest of the girls."

John was quiet as he considered what she was saying.

"You didn't let us down in the Larn'kelnar fight... you were fighting him using us!" Dana said emphatically. "Alyssa trashing his shields and drilling his leg through with a psychic lance? All you. Sakura stabbing him with a Crystal Alyssium sword and freezing his balls off? Yep, all down to you as well. Me dropping him in the floor and trying to rip him in half to save Sakura? Yeah, that was all your handiwork. Rachel shielding us? You gave her those powers, so you kept everyone safe as well. Then when Jade attacked him-"

"She was a shape shifter already..." he interjected.

Dana rolled her eyes, then said patiently, "John... when we first met Jade, she was pretty much just a mindlessly obedient sex slave. Not only did you develop her personality and give her free will, you turned a harmless Nymph into a lightning-breathing dragon that was powerful enough to blast through a Progenitor's shield and rip his fucking arm off!"

He couldn't help smiling as he remembered Larn'kelnar's look of abject terror when Jade hurled him across the room. "That was pretty awesome."

"Yeah... and Jade was only able to do that because of you," she said softly. "I don't know why you decided to share all your powers with us, but everything we can do comes from you. Beating yourself up for not doing enough is just so stupid... I can't even get my head around it. It's lovely the way you try to boost our self-esteem and make us believe in ourselves, but I think you get so wrapped up in us, that you forget what's really going on. Take Helene for example: she's only got psychic powers because you decided you needed an empath. All those Outer Rim colonists had been traumatised by the Kirrix, so you rewrote Helene's DNA and gave her the ability to help them. We're all a bunch of super-powered psychic badasses only because that's what you wanted us to be."

"Fuck..." he muttered under his breath, looking shocked.

She gave him a wry smile. "Still think you let the side down?"

He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "No... I guess not."

"We're all team Blake," Dana said, turning on his lap so she was straddling him and staring directly into his eyes. "Your dumbass parents might have let you down, but we never will. We're all with you, right to the bitter end. Then, after we bitch-slap Xar'aziuth and all his Progenitors for messing with us, you're going to show us how grateful you are by getting us all knocked up. Now, does that sound like an awesome plan or what?"

"That is a hell of a plan," he agreed with a smile. Raising an eyebrow, he joked, "Maybe you should be in charge?"

"Nope, that's your job. I could never do it as well as you," she said sincerely.

John slid his arms around her and held her close, burrowing his face in her long auburn hair. "You've no idea how much I needed to hear all that tonight."

"Yeah, I know," she said, pulling back to give him a sympathetic smile. "You were really hurting... we could all see it."

"Team Blake always looking after me," he said self-consciously.

She slid off his lap and held out her hand. "That's right, buddy... and don't you forget it!"

"I won't." John took her hand and rose from his chair. "So where to now?"

"You're in desperate need of some loving," Dana replied, grinning at him over her shoulder as she led him down the steps.

He followed her into the red glow of the grav-tube. "Sparks, I don't think we should. It feels... disrespectful to Faye."

They dropped down to Deck Two and when they stepped out into the corridor, she gently cupped his cheek. "She loved watching you make love to us; I can't think of a better tribute to her memory. Besides... we'll get Faye back. As you said, it might take years, but that's nothing when we're going to live forever."

John thought about it for a moment, then nodded. The thought of being psychically connected to all the girls was a very appealing one, especially with the incredible feeling of intimacy it provided.

Dana led him down the corridor a few paces, then stopped outside the quarters right next to the grav-tube. She smiled and wrapped her knuckles on the door.

"I thought you and me...?" he asked in confusion, glancing down the corridor towards her quarters.

She shook her head, auburn tresses sweeping over her shoulders. "I'd love to, but you need someone who can really perk you up."

The door slid open and Helene greeted him with a warm smile.

"Hello, John," the teal-hued beauty said in a husky voice. Her baby-blue eyes seemed to look deep into his soul. "Will you let me take care of you tonight?"

He took her hand, letting her lead him into the bedroom. John paused and looked back at Dana. "Thanks, Sparks."

She blew him a kiss, then waved goodbye as the door shut behind him.

Shoulders sagging with relief, Dana turned on her heel and strode down the corridor, heading for her own bedroom. The door opened ahead of her, so she went straight inside and flopped onto the bed.

"Are you sure he's gonna be alright?" she muttered, looking worriedly at the blonde and brunette who'd been waiting for her. "John's really busted up... I've never seen him this vulnerable before."

"You were amazing, babes," Rachel said, gently stroking her hair. "You covered all the key points, but you were far more eloquent and impassioned than I could have ever been."

Alyssa leaned down to give her best friend a tender kiss. "He needed you and you were there for him. No one else could have reached him like that."

Dana's eyes welled up and her voice broke as she said, "How could his mom and dad just shit on him like that? He never deserved to be treated that way."

"I know," Alyssa said sorrowfully. "I tried to make things better with Jessica... I just wish I'd had more time."

Rachel placed a hand on her shoulder. "You did what you could, but that opportunity is gone now. We need to keep positive and look towards the future; it's up to all of us to be the family John needs."