Author's Note: Hi! Here is my first multi-chapter story! It is rated M for mature themes. WARNING : slightly unconventional pairings, but I tried to make it as realistic as possible. I hope you like it!

Sitting on the hammock with Josh, Skye leaned in, her lips brushing his gently. Only this time, he didn't break away. The kiss deepened and she sighed into him, wanting more. Running her hand up his chest, she felt his heartbeat under his jacket. She had waited so long for this. She had never wanted anything more than she wanted him. Glancing up once more, she meant to stare deeply into his blue eyes; to make this moment theirs and no one elses'.

They weren't Josh's eyes. Bright green, full of rage and hatred and desire, the eyes staring back at her were familiar and terrifying. Lucas smiled, his deranged gaze penetrating. "I knew you'd never forget, Bucket."

"You betrayed me again." He said quietly, his hand clutching her cheek. Then, he kissed her again, not gently this time, threading his fingers through her hair, gripping the back of her neck, his beard scratching her face. Fear and need flooded her veins. Confused, she tried to get up and run away, but was locked to him by way of her lips and his green eyes.

"You promised, Bucket." Before she could reply, her head slammed into the cold, hard, metallic rover and her vision went black.

Skye awoke, her hand flying to her head, expecting to see stars and Nykoraptors. She was in the new housing unit she shared with her mother. Built for members of the 11th pilgrimage, the anticipated occupants had either been blown apart by the suicide bomber or hadn't made it through the portal at all. She suspected Taylor had assigned them there as a reminder of what she had done to the colony.

As she shifted to look at her alarm clock, something pressed into her ankle. It took her a moment to remember what it was: a tracking device. Shortly after order in the colony had been re-established, and before any reconstruction had begun, Commander Taylor summoned her to his office and meted out her punishment for aiding the Sixers and Lucas.

Although she had redeemed herself by helping retake Terra Nova and saving his life, Taylor wanted to make it clear that she was in part responsible for the colony's losses. First, she was to work at the infirmary as an orderly. She would no longer be considered an intern. Instead she would arrive early in the morning, cataloging the supplies needed for the day and sterilizing equipment.

During operation hours, she would clean up after the doctors and nurses, empty bedpans, fetch any equipment or perform any menial task the staff required. She was on her feet for twelve hours a day, six days a week. On the seventh day she was to remain in her unit with her mother, and not venture outside without permission from the Commander himself.

This would be ensured by the tracking device clamped around her ankle. It monitored where she was at all times. If at any moment she strayed from the location where she was supposed to be, an alarm signal would be transmitted, and a soldier would be dispatched immediately to find her. Taylor decreed that she would wear the device for three and a half months. During this time, she would only be allowed to venture between the infirmary and her unit, with special permission granted to go grocery shopping in the marketplace.

After three months Skye hadn't gotten used to the device. She itched underneath it and tried to adjust it to be more comfortable, but she did not dare try to remove it. As much as her lack of freedom ate away at her, her hope for reconciliation with the Commander outweighed any desire to sneak outside the gates.

She had barely seen any of her friends in the past three months. Tasha would check on her mother while she was at work, and they had lunch together on her days off. Josh had noticeably not visited during that time. She figured that she had time to win him back. She knew that he was probably still mourning Kara, focusing on re-establishing his life, his future, in Terra Nova.

Skye looked at her clock: 0300. Only two hours left before she had to wake up for work. Sighing, she glanced at the date next to the time and smiled tiredly. Today was her last day being tracked. That evening her device would be remotely disabled and it would fall off on its own. No fanfare, no soldiers, no Commander to announce her freedom.

She thought about her plans to celebrate that night. Her old housemates, completely unrelated to her impending freedom, were throwing a party. Ever since the trauma of the invasion, the youth of Terra Nova had been feeling more rebellious. Josh would be there; Tasha had confirmed that he had been at every other party they had thrown. Skye would finally tell Josh how she felt about him. Or, at least how she thought she felt about him.

He defended you from Lucas and almost got himself killed for it, she told herself. You've loved him since the day you met him and saved his life from Slashers.

This thought, however, brought up an unpleasant memory, filling her with the same dread she had felt upon waking up. The memory of the second time she saved his life, three months earlier.

Lucas, his swollen cheek darkening quickly, swallowed a pill and washed it down with a mouthful of the unknown liquor he kept by his desk. The Shannon boy would pay dearly for his insolence. Clenching his (father's) desk, bruised knuckles whitening while his rage seethed close beneath the surface of his skin, licking like dancing flames.

"Lucas." His head snapped up and he saw Skye standing before his desk, looking terrified but determined.

"I'm not in the mood, Bucket." He growled, and took another sip of his drink, feeling the cool drugs start to mingle with the buzzing calm of the alcohol through his veins.

"Lucas, please don't kill Josh Shannon." Skye's voice sounded braver than she looked.

"Why shouldn't I? He attacked me. Plus, his father may need some ... encouragement when I interrogate him about our father." He raised his eyebrow and looked straight into her eyes, which were pleading for her friend's release. She puffed out a held-in breath and looked away. He clearly enjoyed having her at his mercy.

"Is he your boyfriend, Bucket? Is this why?" Quickly, he rounded his desk, stood in front of her with his hands on her shoulders, his face inches from hers. She could smell the alcohol on his breath, trying not to imagine how much more dangerous a drunk Lucas Taylor could be than his sober counterpart.

"No, he's not." Skye said nervously. "He's ... a friend."

"A friend …" Lucas sneered "... with benefits?"

"No!" Skye replied defensively.

"But you do have a boyfriend, don't you, dear sister? A pretty girl like you." Lucas was enjoying watching her shift uncomfortably under his interrogation.

"No," Skye heard herself saying, shaking her head, "never."

"That's good," he said, his arms dropping suddenly from her shoulders as he rounded the desk, business-like. "I'd hate for my little sister to have been … deflowered by such a pathetic coward." He smiled, mockingly.

"He's not a … " Skye nearly yelled, but stopped when Lucas' head snapped up and his eyes flashed with rage.

"You want to save your 'friend,' Bucket?" Lucas asked venomously.

Skye nodded, bracing herself, staring into his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"As your brother, all I ask ... is that you promise me ... dear sister ... that you'll save yourself, your … purity," he said with an affected air and gesture towards her body.

"... for someone who truly deserves it. Not a worthless boy like him. Promise me that?" Lucas was once again in her personal space, his face close to hers, his hand brushing her hair away from her cheek. She could smell the alcohol on his hot breath and the jungle on his skin. He ran his fingers against her face, her neck, her shoulder, her collarbone. She was aware of her chest, rising and falling so close to his.

Her heart pounding furiously, she looked into his green eyes and replied: "fine."

"Wonderful," He whispered hoarsely, straightening up quickly. "Come on, we'll go release him now. I'd like a few words with his father, anyway."

"Wait!" Skye's face fell in astonishment. "You wanted this to happen! You used me to provoke Josh, knowing Mr. Shannon would protect him!"

"Oh, Bucket. You really are too smart for your own good." Lucas flashed his bright, white teeth and again caressed her face possessively.

Skye followed Lucas to the brig. At one point, he rested a hand on her lower back, guiding her along. Shivers raced up her spine and she didn't pull away. She knew what she had promised, and she could no longer pull away from Lucas Taylor.