Chapter One - A New Start

It had all been surreal to even be recruited for this wonderful new start but standing there while staring forward towards the portal in front of them was a completely different experience for the Shannon family. Hearts racing, palms sweating and foreheads etched with worry, the family glanced around at the crowds of people. Maddy was worried the whole way here but she'd decided not to show her worry to her mother and brother..until now.

"Where is he?" she sighed, her voice shaky.

"He'll be here" her mother reassured her. "He promised."

Sparing another glance around the crowd, Maddy's heart refused to slow as she searched each face, hoping to find the familiar face of her father. She had almost given up complete hope when she spotted him rushing forward, pushing past people to reach them.

"He's here!" she cried out, a smile gracing her young face.

"Alright, keep going, we can't let anyone notice" her mothers voice whispered in her ears as two officers approached.

Maddy turned back as the officers reached them, her mother urging her and her brother Josh forward while she slowed her pace so their father could catch up. Maddy vaguely remembered the officers instructing them on what to do, her eyes having been focused on her parents as they swapped packs when an security guard rushed through the crowd, obviously having noticed something was wrong. The officer behind her gripped her shoulder and asked if she was okay.

"I...yes, sorry, uhm...it's just my mom" Maddy replied, her eyes focused solely on her mother as she moved closer.

"It's alright, we'll make sure she follows you and your brother" the man offered her kindly.

Elizabeth approached slowly and gripped her daughters shoulders and looked straight into her daughters eyes and smiled warmly before nodding for her to continue on as the officers stood back to allow the Shannon's to move forward.

"Go, I'll be right behind you" Elizabeth smiled.

"But...dad?" Maddy cried.

"It'll be alright, we'll find a way! Go, go with your brother"

Maddy felt a warm hand close around her own and turned to see Josh smiling back at her, he inclined his head toward the portal and tugged on her arm.

"Come on, I'll be with you the whole way" he assured her.

With one final glance back at her mother, Maddy nodded and followed her brother into the portal.

Clean air. The warmth of the sun and a fresh breeze were the first things to greet Maddy Shannon as she arrived to her destination with her brother, 85 million years in the past. She nervously took in her surroundings, watching as people were being tended to, oxygen masks covering their faces. The clean air brought a smile to Maddy's face, she was so accustomed to the foggy, dirty air of 2149 that she'd never prepared herself for what the clean air would feel like to her. The smile barely illuminated her face before she heard a gasp and a thud.

"Gun! He's got a gun!" She heard a voice call out.

Maddy turned in time to see several officers surrounding a man on the floor, she tried to see past the surrounding crowd, her eyes landing on her mother who rushed over and embraced her, carefully removing her pack to lie it against the tree beside Josh.

"Are you okay?" her mother asked her.

"Yeah...but" she began, stopping when an officer turned.

"That pack over there, search it for more weapons!" he called out, Elizabeth released Maddy's hand, crying out as the officer pulled out a knife as he approached the bag.

The whole family rushed forward, knocking the officer out of the way as they gathered around the pack, Elizabeth rushing to open the zipper, Maddy held her breath as her father crouched down in front of her, there was a collective gasp as Elizabeth pulled the pack open enough to reveal Zoe, Maddy's younger sister.

When Commander Taylor had insisted on seeing her parents, Maddy's heart plummeted, what would happen to her family? Would they be banished from Terra Nova? Maddy stood with her back to a nearby building as her brother comforted Zoe.

"We'll be alright" his voice spoke softly.

"What about mommy and daddy?" Zoe's voice replied, curiously.

"I'm sure they'll be fine" Maddy assured, her voice uncertain.

The next moment, her parents emerged from their meeting with the Commander, smiling triumphantly at their children, obviously conveying some good news. Maddy could barely contain her relief, her mind barely registering the Commander ordering a young soldier to escort the family to their home. She turned and found her eyes connecting with the brightest blue eyes she'd possibly ever seen. Her face flushed as the soldier sent her a shy smile.

"Follow me" his voice called as he took off down the path towards a row of houses.

Jim and Elizabeth moved over to join their children as they followed him, Maddy soon found herself walking alongside him, holding onto Zoe's hand while her brother held onto Zoe's other hand tightly as her parents followed on behind them, she glanced up every now and then and her gaze locked onto those beautiful blue eyes, she'd almost lost count of the times she'd blushed when he caught her staring. This time when she'd looked, he didn't turn away, instead locked onto her eyes as one side of his mouth curved into a grin.

"Why are you blushing?" the sound of Josh's voice effectively breaking the stare.

"Huh? What?" Maddy broke free of the man's gaze to turn to her brother.

Josh glanced at her for a second then shook his head as Maddy's gaze moved back to the man on her left. They soon came to a stop outside of a house that clearly needed more work. The solider confirmed that most of the units were still unfinished though they didn't need too much work, he left after handing over the key, sending one last grin towards her before departing. Maddy smiled impishly before he mind finally caught up with her.

She forgot to ask for his name.