Author's Note: Same context as my other stories, this is set post-A Phoenix By Any Other Name and pre-Wait, What – no need to read those, just note that Wash survived the shot to the head, is home, and married to Taylor now. : ) Disclaimer wise, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.
Alicia cuts through the market as quickly as she can. Damned paper hearts hang from practically every booth, and the overabundance of baked goods and flowers are creating a sickening smell in the air. Scowling, she just nods at people who call out "Happy Valentine's Day, Lieutenant!" to her.
She will admit it openly. She hates Valentine's Day. She hated it in the future, and she has been terribly disappointed that the horrible "holiday" followed her back over 80 million years into the past.
She isn't entirely sure when her burning hatred of this day began. She knows it was long before she reached adulthood. Her mother, when she was alive, loved Valentine's Day. Every year, she'd make heart-shaped cookies and a card for Alicia, and in return, she'd make a card for her mother. But even then, she remembers wondering what was so special about the day, wondering why people didn't love each other the same way every other day of the year. It just didn't make sense to her practical mind.
Growing up, her opinion of the day did not improve. If nothing else, as she got older, she hated the day more and more. After her mother died, it became, quite literally, her least favorite day of the year. The stupid red hearts and flowers everywhere only reminded her of her mother and of how alone she was.
She slips out of the market and up the stairs to the command center, heading for Nathaniel's office. She seats herself behind his desk, knowing she has a lot of paperwork to finish with him and Shannon being OTG all day today, returning in the morning. Grumbling, she can't help but think that they planned this, Nathaniel to get out of paperwork, and Shannon to get out of Valentine's Day.
She guesses that Nathaniel probably isn't concerned about Valentine's Day. He has known her longer than anyone else, and he knows of her long-standing dislike of it. He got a taste of it back in Somalia, the first year she was his medic. Her then boyfriend sent her an extravagant, flashy necklace and some seriously tasteless lingerie, thinking that would somehow make her happy.
She spent the entire day stomping around their camp, complaining about the waste of money on something she'd never wear in her line of work and about people buying gifts more for their own benefit than for the benefit of the recipient. That boyfriend became an ex-boyfriend the next time she saw him in person. The son of a bitch then made the mistake of asking her for the necklace back, and if that wasn't rude enough, he asked if she wanted to use the lingerie for a, his words, "last hurrah." After that, her dislike of the holiday took on the searing hatred she has for it today.
Almost every boyfriend she had after that, while they were decidedly few and far between, was read in early on Alicia's dislike of the holiday, usually by a sympathetic member of her unit. Alicia actually knew her unit didn't like a guy if they didn't warn him about Valentine's Day.
The only one in her unit who had ever been brave enough to wish her a happy Valentine's Day after that first year had been Nathaniel. He knew she'd never push back on him for it, given her respect for the chain of command. He was also subversive as hell, leaving her some sort of schmaltzy gift hidden in her things every year. One year it was a pink teddy bear, another year it was a memory chip of cheesy old romance movies and love songs, yet another year, it was a box of chocolates.
She hadn't minded that last gift so much, because she was never one to complain about being given chocolate, whatever the occasion. She smiles a little at that memory. After her positive, nearly enthusiastic reaction to the candy, every gift after that one included chocolate. Then Alicia sobers briefly, knowing that before Ayani was killed, Ayani was the one who would help Nathaniel get the gifts for Alicia. Ayani told her about it once, as she thought it was pretty funny.
Even after they got here to Terra Nova and began seeing each other in a capacity beyond friendship, he'd kept up the tradition of the cheesy Valentine's gifts. She suddenly frowns, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. For the past six Valentine's Days that have passed since they began their romantic relationship, he gave her a gift.
Even when he'd been OTG, he'd found a way to get the gift to her. But this year, the first Valentine's Day since their marriage, he didn't do anything. She looks down at her wedding band, twirling it on her finger, brow furrowed. She can't help but wonder why he didn't leave her anything. Silly as it sounds, she finds herself feeling a little disappointed by the fact that he seems to have decided not to do anything for the day now that they're married.
She huffs out a breath, irritated with herself for even thinking such a thought. "Get a grip, Alicia. He's just respecting your healthy dislike for the day. It doesn't mean anything more than that."
Her thoughts are interrupted by her comm unit chirping in her ear. She taps it. "This is Washington, go ahead."
"Alicia, it's Elisabeth. Since our husbands appear to have abandoned us, do you want to go grab lunch in the market, maybe play hooky for the afternoon?"
Alicia seriously considers saying no, but she's hungry and suddenly grumpy, not wanting to sit here doing paperwork any longer. "Sounds good, Elisabeth. Meet you at the bottom of the command center stairs?"
"I'll be there in five minutes," Elisabeth replies, and then the comm clicks off.
After sorting the plex pads on the desk into piles of finished and unfinished work, Alicia shoves the chair under the desk and heads down the stairs to meet Elisabeth. She's waiting at the bottom of the stairs as planned, and the two women head off to find lunch and something to do.
They spend a little time shopping in the market, but they both keep getting stopped by colonists with either medical questions for Elisabeth or colony business questions for Alicia. Eventually, they buy some bottles of water and a box of Valentine's cookies, and they retreat to one of the unmanned guard towers. They hide out there, playing gin and talking about Valentine's Days of the past for the balance of the afternoon. They both answer their comms when called, but they're otherwise as out of pocket as they dare to be.
A few hours later, they emerge from the tower and head home. "Thanks for the afternoon, Alicia. It was fun, and I was happy to get out of the infirmary for a bit."
Alicia nods, smiling. "Same here, Elisabeth. I was just doing paperwork that Nathaniel has been avoiding for the last week. I seriously think he planned this OTG day just to avoid the administrative stuff that needed to be finished."
"What, you think it wasn't to avoid Valentine's?"
Alicia snorts. "No. He knows I hate Valentine's Day. Always have. He should know he doesn't have to avoid the day for me."
"Ah," Elisabeth smiles as they arrive at Alicia and Nathaniel's house. "Well, hate the day or not, Alicia, this was a good Valentine's Day by my accounts."
"Same here, Elisabeth. Have a good night."
Elisabeth smirks. "You too, Alicia."
As the doctor leaves, Alicia has a confused expression on her face, wondering what that smirk was about. She shrugs, turning around to enter the house. When she walks in, she is immediately on edge, sensing that someone else is there.
She's reaching for the gun in her thigh holster when a pair of strong arms wrap around her. She struggles against them until she hears a voice in her ear. "No gun needed, Alicia."
She stops struggling, and instead, she whacks one of the arms wrapped around her. "Damn it, Nathaniel, I might've shot you!"
He releases her, chuckling softly. "Why do you think I was waiting right here where I could get the drop on you?"
She turns and glares at him. "Would it have killed you to call me and let me know you were back? You know, instead of trying to scare me half to death?"
Shaking his head, he says, "I didn't let you know I was back because I never left. And telling you that would've ruined the surprise."
"You never left? What are you talking about? And what surprise?" She puts her hands on her hips and cocks her head at him in confusion.
"Turn around, Alicia."
She blinks. "What?"
Putting his hands on her shoulders, he forcibly turns her. "Turn around."
The sight that greets her makes her gasp. The whole house is littered with vases of her favorite flower, one that looks like what they used to call lilies. On the table, there are candles and plates set out, and she can smell something wonderful coming from the kitchen. Which makes her suspicious. "Please tell me you didn't try to cook."
He laughs. "Would I do that to you? I paid Maddy Shannon to cook for us."
"What is all this, Nathaniel?" Over her surprise now, she wants to know what's going on.
He's suddenly serious. "Alicia, I know you hate Valentine's Day, but did you really think I was going to just ignore the first one after our wedding?"
"Nathaniel, you didn't have to…"
"I know. I wanted to, Alicia." He takes one of her hands and kisses it before pulling her over to the kitchen.
"The Shannons were in on this, weren't they?"
"Maybe." They arrive at the kitchen. He releases her hand and grabs a large box off of the counter, handing it to her. She shakes her head and walks over to the sofa to sit, putting the box down on the coffee table. She leans forward to remove the bright red ribbon tied around it as he sits down next to her. As she removes the box lid, she's immediately greeted with the smell of leather, and she shoots him a look.
He nods at her, encouraging her to continue. She moves aside the paper covering whatever is in the box, and she gasps for a second time. The box contains a jacket. She reaches out to touch it, and she realizes that it's made of the softest black leather she's ever seen.
She looks at him, and he gives her an unsure smile. "Claire," he says, referring to the woman in the market who makes clothes and does tailoring, "Used a photo to try to re-create your old one, the one that went missing when the Phoenix Group left. We didn't have much leather left, but I asked her to use some of it to make this for you. I know it's not exactly the same, but…"
Instead of interrupting him, she just leans forward and kisses him. After a moment, she leans back and whispers, "It's wonderful, Nathaniel. Thank you."
He grins, pulling away. He picks up the jacket and helps her slip it on. It fits her like a glove, and she can't help her smile at how great it feels. She'd missed her old jacket terribly, but she'd been so happy just to be back that she hadn't wanted to make a fuss about it.
She turns to look at him, annoyed with herself for the tears she feels forming in her eyes. As she does her best to blink them back, he says, "I know you hate Valentine's, Alicia, but maybe I can just like it enough for both of us?"
She smiles and shakes her head, reaching up to cup his face in her hand. She brushes her thumb across his cheek. "I don't have anything for you, Nathaniel, but I'm wondering. Will dinner keep for later?"
He looks confused. "It should. Why?"
She gives him a leer. "Maybe I can make up for not getting you a gift." She reaches out and grabs his belt, dragging him towards the bedroom. He just grins and lets her lead him.
They get to the bed, and she pushes him down on it. He reaches out and grips her hips, pulling her to him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Alicia."
She straddles his legs and sinks into his lap. "Happy Valentine's Day, Nathaniel."
She's kissing him deeply as her beautiful new jacket hits the floor, and all she can think is, "Maybe Valentine's isn't so bad after all."