Author's Note: This is a mix of LiveJournal Friday One Word Prompt Fills, Time, Tactics and Triumph – for Wash/Taylor.

Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, i.e., Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova, among other things.

There will be smut, but there will also be fluff. Because I can't help myself.

Disclaimer is the same, I don't own them, just borrowing, nary a profit to be seen.

"It's been how long for you two?" Elisabeth nearly chokes on her coffee.

Alicia rolls her eyes. "Twenty-three days. It's driving me nuts."

"That's not that long, you know," Mira points out, taking a sip of her tea. The three of them are sitting at Elisabeth's kitchen table, a weekly meetup the three friends have scheduled now, only missed when one of them has an emergency of some sort.

"Until now, since we started our relationship over ten years ago, it had never been more than 7 days except for when one of us was OTG for longer than that. And that was only twice. The only other time that it was this long was right after Gracie was born." Alicia huffs out a breath. "We're both just too busy. We don't have any time to ourselves these days."

"Why not?" Elisabeth raises an eyebrow at her, and Mira nods, looking on expectantly.

"Well, Gracie has suddenly decided that there are monsters, not dinosaurs, but monsters in the colony, thus making her want to sleep with us every night because of nightmares. On top of that, it's harvest season, so we're just snowed under and never alone. It's maddening." Alicia runs a hand through her hair. "Right now, Nathaniel's out at one of the agricultural harvest sites. Yesterday, it was me unavailable, dealing with a dispute in the market. Even when one of us has a little free time, the other one doesn't."

Mira and Elisabeth both nod in understanding, Mira's hand sliding up and down on her five-months-pregnant stomach. "So, it sounds like home won't work if Gracie's there?" Mira gives Alicia a questioning look.

"Right. I know kids grow up fast, but I'm not at all ready for my not-quite-three year old to learn how babies are made."

Elisabeth snorts and then offers, "What about the command center?"

"Too many people around. Years ago, after we got walked in on for the third time, we decided it needed to be off limits."

At that moment, Carter and Shannon walk in. Carter asks, "What's off limits?"

In unison, the three women say, "Sex in the command center."

Elisabeth adds, "We're trying to help Alicia and Taylor get laid."

Mira laughs out loud, and Alicia drops her face into her hand. Carter and Shannon freeze, and, after exchanging a look, they back slowly out of the house. As they go, Alicia hears Shannon squeak, "As you were, ladies."

Once Shannon and Carter are gone again, Elisabeth gets serious. "It sounds like you need a plan."

"Tactics." Mira nods decisively.

Alicia looks at them like they're crazy. "Well, that sounds romantic."

Elisabeth rolls her eyes, and Mira looks at Alicia pointedly. "Do you want romance, or do you want sex? Sometimes they go together, but they don't have to. You two are plenty romantic anyway, what with the way he hovers and guides you around with his hand on your lower back, and with the way you scratch your nails on the nape of his neck when he's tired or worried."

Elisabeth and Alicia both stare at Mira. She blinks. "What? I'm overly hormonal. I notice crap like that now. And the point is, just for the purposes of this situation, sex or romance?"

Alicia is silent for a moment before sighing and admitting, "Sex."

"So, then be what you are. Military. Plan it. Figure it out. Like I said, you need tactics." Mira says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Alicia nods as Zoe enters the house, and Elisabeth gives Alicia and Mira a look that tells them it's time to change the topic. Alicia looks down at her watch and sees an opportunity to escape and think about what Mira and Elisabeth said. She realizes it's time to pick up Gracie, and she is pretty sure that even though Nathaniel is supposed to do it today, he's likely running late. "I need to go get Gracie. Thanks for the advice, ladies."

"Advice on what, Lieutenant?" Zoe's innocent voice pipes up.

Alicia smirks and just calls over her shoulder as she leaves, "Ask your mother."

A few minutes later, Alicia walks into the preschool, looking around for Gracie. One of the teachers smiles at her and points towards the door that leads to the outside play area. Alicia smiles back and heads out onto the playground. She hears Gracie before she sees her, her little voice crying, "Higher!"

Shaking her head, Alicia looks over at the swings, and she sees one of the young teachers, a teenager who is apprenticing here, pushing Gracie on one of the swings. Gracie's back is to the building, but her distinctive, curly black pigtails are a dead giveaway. Alicia walks up behind them, quietly tapping the teacher on the shoulder and motioning to her that she'll take her place.

The girl grins and steps aside, letting Alicia administer the next push. She apparently doesn't do it correctly, because Gracie protests, "No, Cawwie, higher!"

As Gracie gets to her the next time, Alicia catches the swing's chains instead of pushing. "Please, Grace Ayani. Higher please."

Gracie twists in the swing. "Mama!"

Alicia lowers the swing to its resting position, and Gracie jumps off of it and runs around to hug Alicia around her legs. "Sorry, Mama. Should say please."

With a light laugh, Alicia bends down and scoops Gracie up. She then turns and sits in the swing herself. "Hang on, Bug."

Gracie emits a little squeak and wraps her legs around Alicia's waist and her arms around her neck. "'K, Mama. Hanging on!"

Alicia pushes back hard with her legs and a moment later, they're swinging hard back and forth, Alicia pumping her legs and leaning into the swing to give them more and more height and speed. She pays close attention to Gracie, ready to stop if she feels her grip loosen, but Gracie is squealing happily and holding on with a vice-like grip.

They swing for several minutes before Alicia finally feels Gracie begin to lose her hold a bit, likely worn out by the effort to hang on. Alicia slows their swinging gradually, until they are barely moving. Once they stop, Gracie tightens her arms again, hugging herself to Alicia and resting her head on her shoulder. "Thank you, Mama."

Still sitting in the swing, Alicia hugs Gracie back. "You're welcome, little Bug."

"Now that looked like fun." Nathaniel's voice makes both of them jump, and Alicia looks up to see him leaning against the frame of the swing, Gracie's little backpack in his hand. He's grinning at them, naked affection in his eyes.

Gracie lifts her head and returns his grin. "Was fun, Daddy! You swing too?"

Alicia laughs softly as Nathaniel drops Gracie's backpack and reaches down to pluck Gracie off of her. He throws her, shrieking, over his shoulder. He winks at Alicia. "Maybe next time." Then, he tickles the backs of Gracie's knees, making her shriek more and struggle to get away from him.

"Daddy, no tickle! Not fair!" He laughs and sets Gracie on her feet. She glowers at him, and he reaches out to tousle her already-messy pigtails.

Alicia snorts when Gracie ducks away from his hand, picks up her backpack and says, "Nuh uh. No trust Daddy. We go home now, but Gracie walk!"

Nathaniel looks at Alicia, eyebrow raised. Alicia stands to follow Gracie, smirking at him. "She's a smart kid."

She just assumes that Nathaniel is following them as they go through the school and exit out the front door into the plaza area. She's proven right a few seconds later when she hears footsteps behind her, and then, out of nowhere, his strong arms wrap around her, lifting her off of her feet. "Nathaniel!"

He just laughs, and he throws her over his shoulder as he'd done with Gracie. Alicia can't see her, but she hears Gracie say, "Daddy! Let me help!"

Alicia huffs out, "Little traitor!" as she struggles, but she doesn't struggle too hard, as she can't see where Gracie is, and she doesn't want to hurt her. "Put me down right now, Nathaniel Taylor!" Instead of complying, he wraps his arm around her legs just below her hips, tightening and inadvertently (or maybe not-so-inadvertently) pressing her hips into his chest and shoulder. She can't stop herself from enjoying that pressure for a brief moment before reality sinks in, reminding her that they're in a very public place.

She starts to struggle again, and he lets out a slightly pained noise as Alicia lands a nice, hard hit on his lower back. She's about to admonish him again when she hears voices. She looks up to see that several colonists are staring at them, most of them with amused grins on their faces. A few are laughing outright. Two of their younger soldiers stand off to one side, both clearly working hard to hold back laughs. Gracie is also giggling loudly.

Rolling her eyes, Alicia relaxes slightly and thumps his back again. "Nathaniel, people are staring. Put me down."

This time he complies, slowly righting her and sliding her down the front of his body. They're both slightly flushed by the time her feet hit the ground, and she can feel his body's reaction to her proximity as she stands pressed against him. She smirks at him. "So, now that you've drawn a crowd, I'm guessing you need me to stay here and provide cover while you compose yourself?"

He gives her a game smile. "Yeah, this was a poorly executed plan, wasn't it?"

"That it was, soldier."

He snorts, but before he can reply, Gracie's voice cuts in, "Gracie hug too?"

Alicia gives Nathaniel a slightly evil grin, and she leans away from him. She takes Gracie's backpack from her and hands it to Nathaniel. "Your cover, sir." He laughs and shakes his head as Alicia steps away and picks Gracie up, settling the little girl on her hip. "Come on, Nathaniel." He follows with, much to Alicia's amusement, Gracie's bag around waist-level for the first few minutes of their walk.

Later that night, Alicia leaves the bathroom to head to bed. Her hair is loose around her shoulders, and she's wearing one of Nathaniel's t-shirts as a nightgown. When she walks into their room, he immediately steps up behind her, wrapping his arms around her as he nudges the door closed with his foot. Before she knows what's happening, he has her pushed down on their bed, their mouths meeting in a hungry kiss, his bare chest pressing her into the mattress.

As one of his hands tangles in her hair, his other hand slips under her t-shirt, squeezing her hip. She gasps into their kiss, and he takes advantage, sliding his tongue into her mouth to twine with hers. Wrapping an arm around him, she begins to wiggle up to get fully on the bed. He must realize what she's doing, because, without breaking the kiss, he lifts her and moves her until her head is on the pillow.

She reaches out blindly and extinguishes the lamp that was the only light in the room, but just as her hands are slipping under the waistband of his boxers and he is pulling her t-shirt up, they both freeze at the sound of the door opening. Alicia is glad she turned out the light when she hears Gracie's frightened, tearful little voice. "Mama? Daddy? Scared."

Nathaniel rolls off of her, groaning softly. Alicia takes a deep breath and rolls to her side. She pushes down the covers underneath her, getting beneath them as she says, "Come on, Bug. Come to Mama."

In seconds, Gracie's trembling little body is pressed into Alicia's arms under the covers. She mutters, "Bad, mean monsters," as she clings to Alicia. It takes no time at all for Gracie to be asleep, curled against her.

Nathaniel scoots up behind her. She whispers, "I'm sorry, Nathaniel. I don't know what has her so scared, what's giving her the nightmares."

He pulls her back flush with his front, wrapping his arms around both Alicia and Gracie, trapping Alicia between them. She can feel his excitement from earlier as it fades agonizingly slowly. He drops a soft kiss on her shoulder. "It's OK, and it's certainly not your fault."

She sighs in frustration. "Twenty-four days."

He chuckles and kisses her shoulder again, clearly understanding what she means. "But who's counting?"

With the frustration of the night before, after they finish perimeter walk the next morning, Alicia is left thinking that if the likelihood of them getting caught wasn't so damned high, she'd just slam him against the fence and go for it. She can tell he's feeling the same way, as he actually takes care to not touch her as they walk.

She picked up on it when she stumbled at one point, and after catching her, he drew his hand back as if burned. The only good thing about that moment was that it broke the tension between them, and they both were laughing as they got back to the main part of the colony.

But she's also ready to come up with a plan. She knows it's slightly silly, knows that lots of couples go a lot longer than three and a half weeks, but she doesn't care. She wants him so much that it's actually making her irritable. Or, as Shannon might joke, more irritable than usual.

Mira and Elisabeth are right. She needs a tactical plan. Her favorite unmanned guard tower on the east side of the colony will do as a location. She's heading for the command center for the day, and she has a couple of blankets in the small bag she carries with her. Nathaniel already had to head out to the agricultural sites this morning, but Alicia is OK with that. She knows that Reynolds is in charge of the duty rosters right now, and she just called him to meet her at command. They'll get their time together today, come hell or high water.

As she climbs the stairs to command, she sees Reynolds waiting for her. He smiles at her. "You needed to see me, ma'am?"

She nods and motions to him to follow her. He trails behind her into Nathaniel's office. "Thanks for getting here so quickly, Mark. I need you to do something for me." She sets her bag down and leans back against Nathaniel's desk.

He comes to stand in front of her. "Sure, Wash. What's up?"

"You've got duty rosters this week, right?"

He nods. "Yes, ma'am."

She tries to keep her face as neutral as possible. "I don't want any patrols on the east perimeter within 100 yards of the unmanned guard tower between two and four this afternoon."

"I'm sorry?" He looks confused.

"No patrols within 100 yards of the east perimeter unmanned tower this afternoon, Mark. From two to at least four." She levels a hard look at him, one telling him not to disagree.

"OK, Wash. But what's going on?" He looks honestly curious.

She gives him a half-smile, but her expression also basically tells him that she has no intention of sharing her plans with him. "That's Need to Know, Mark, and you don't need to know. Am I clear?"

He continues to look confused, but then something in her face must give him a clue. He relaxes and actually gives her something of a saucy grin. "Yes, ma'am. Crystal clear."

She can't help but blush lightly, feeling a little like she's completely busted. That doesn't stop her from whacking him playfully on the arm and saying, "Mind out of the gutter, kid."

"Yes, ma'am." He tries to look contrite, but fails miserably. "Within 100 yards of the east perimeter unmanned tower, no patrols between two and four. Consider it done." His smirk is unmistakable.

She gives him a gentle shove. "Get the hell out of here, you little…"

He's laughing as he backs out of the room, but then he leans back in. "Are you sure two hours is enough time, ma'am?"

"Go!" She rolls her eyes as he disappears, his laughter audible as he descends the stairs. She runs her hand across her eyes. "Subtle, Wash. Really subtle. At least Reynolds knows you'll kick his ass if he says anything."

The young soldier on duty on the command center deck leans into the room. "Ma'am, is everything all right?"

She immediately drops her hand and goes to sit behind the desk to get some work done. "Everything's fine, Private. Thank you." Shaking her head, she focuses on the requisition lists and construction requests in front of her. She has hours to go before the next step in her plan. From here on out, it's actually a simple one. Just call Nathaniel and tell him where to show up. Hopefully, he'll be able to. She sighs, thinking she may just have to kill someone if he can't.

Shortly after noon, the sound of boots on the stairs makes her look up from the pile of plexes in front of her. She smiles as he enters the room. "How was your morning?"

He drags a chair from the conference table over to his desk, motioning at her to stay seated when she starts to rise to give him his desk chair. He flops down in the chair. "Tiring. How was yours?"

"Believe it or not, it was actually productive." She stands and comes around the desk. She holds her hands out to him. "Lunch?"

He sighs a little and nods, letting her take his hands and pull him to his feet. "Sounds good." He goes to pull his hands away, but she only releases one of them. With the hand she still holds, she entwines their fingers, squeezing tight before leaning up and kissing his cheek. He gives her a quizzical look, but she just smiles in return and pulls him with her down towards the market to find some lunch.

As it approaches 1:30, Alicia starts to get nervous. Before he headed back out to the agricultural areas, only doing so because one of the farmers specifically asked him to, she kissed him again, this time on the lips, and she murmured to him that he should keep his radio handy. He'd given her another quizzical look, to which she simply replied, "Trust me."

She'd considered just telling him the plan over lunch, but she decided that it would perhaps be more believable if she called him. She also knows that if she'd shared the plan, he might not have been willing to wait. His actions yesterday and last night told her that he's just as frustrated and, for lack of a better term, horny as she is.

At 1:45 exactly, as she climbs the steps of the east perimeter tower, she opens a private channel to Nathaniel. "Washington to Taylor, come in."

After a moment, she hears his voice. "This is Taylor, is everything all right, Alicia?"

She takes a deep breath. "Yes, but can you leave?"

"What?" He sounds confused.

"Can you leave where you are? You said over lunch that you were just helping out to show support to the farmers. I want you to meet me at the unmanned guard tower on the east perimeter."

"Alicia, is everything…"

"Nathaniel. Listen to me. This is a private channel. Unless what you're doing is life and death, I'm asking you to meet me at the guard tower. The guard tower that won't have a patrol within a hundred yards of it for the next two hours." She blinks, hoping that he gets the gist of what she's telling him.

He does. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

She laughs out loud, every nerve ending in her body suddenly singing in anticipation. "Take fifteen, Nathaniel. I'll be here."

"Ten, Lieutenant. Maybe less." With that, he clicks off.

She shakes her head, laughing. Walking over to the far wall of the partially open tower, she puts her bag down and pulls out one of the blankets. She spreads it on the floor of the tower, and then she walks over to stand at the rail and wait for him. As she waits, she pulls her hair free of its ponytail and removes her thigh holster, boots, socks and jacket, leaving her in just her fatigues and tank top.

True to his word, just under ten minutes later, she hears his boots on the stairs. At the sight of her loose hair and bare arms, she hears him growl. In two strides, he crosses the tower, dropping his own jacket and holster as he walks. A moment later, his body is flush against her back, and she leans back into him, her ass pressing into his groin.

He groans and buries his hand in her hair, turning her head to meet him. Like last night, their mouths meet in a hungry, deep kiss, his hand tightening almost painfully in her hair. Wasting no time, his free hand moves down and pulls her tank top free of her fatigues, and he yanks it upward. Their mouths separate just long enough for him to whip it over her head.

He drops the tank top on the floor, and with a flick of his wrist, she laughs into their kiss as her bra hits the floor only seconds after the tank top. She breaks the kiss again, turning in his arms. As she gives him a gentle push towards the blanket, she pulls his t-shirt free of his pants, whipping it up and over his head as he had with her tank top. She drops his shirt on the tower floor.

She starts to push him down towards the blanket, but he turns them instead. Putting his hands firmly on her shoulders, he pushes her down to the blanket first. Once she's seated, he drops to his knees in front of her, his arousal already very obvious in his loose-fitting cargo pants.

He leans forward, his mouth melding to hers again. He pushes her shoulders, making her recline back on the blanket. With her down on her back, his hands leave her shoulders. They move towards her belt, stopping briefly to cup her breasts, thumbs brushing against her already rock-hard, sensitive nipples.

Breaking their kiss again, he leans down and captures one of her nipples in his mouth. He sucks hard on it, his free hand kneading and caressing her other breast. She gasps at the contact, arching her back and threading her hands into his hair. He releases her nipple, mouth moving quickly to her other breast, latching on to it a moment later, again sucking hard at the nipple. Her hands tighten in his hair, and he actually growls softly as her nails scratch his scalp.

She feels his hands at her belt, and seconds later, she gasps again when, as he pushes her fatigues and panties down her legs, the cool afternoon air hits her bare skin. He abandons her breasts to lean down and pull her fatigues completely off, her panties following close behind. She tries to sit up to push his own pants off, but he restrains her with one hand on her shoulder.

Their eyes meet, and he just murmurs, "You first," before pushing her back down on the blanket. He grips one of her ankles and lifts her bare leg up, hitching it up to his mouth. He drops a light kiss on her ankle, and he kisses his way down to her leg, along her inner thigh. When he arrives at her center, he gently pushes her knees apart, and, with almost no preamble, he thrusts first one and then two fingers into her already soaking wet core. The sensation makes her arch again, and, as he bends his head down and touches her clit with his tongue, her hands find their way back into his hair.

He thrusts his fingers in and out, sucking hard at her clit, and she can't stop herself from pushing her hips up against his mouth as she moans quietly, her fingers flexing in his hair. Usually, he'd take his time with this, slowly teasing her into a frenzy, working her gently towards completion. But this isn't usual for them, and neither of them is looking for slow and gentle today.

Her moans and cries increase in frequency and volume as he pushes her relentlessly towards a peak, and she feels heat and tension coiling low in her belly, a twinge that tells her she won't last long. As the fingers of one hand continue to thrust into her body, his free hand moves back to her breasts, squeezing one of her nipples, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. That's all it takes for her to arch hard and cry out sharply as her first white-hot orgasm washes over her.

He continues to suck at her clit and slide his fingers in and out of her until her quivering subsides. When she's still, eyes closed and breaths coming hard and fast, he moves up her body and covers her mouth with his again. She can taste herself on his lips, and even after all their years together, it's something she still finds intensely erotic.

As they kiss, she hooks one leg over his, and she pushes up and over, reversing their positions. She pulls back, hovering over him. Their eyes lock, and she loves how his pupils are almost completely blown, his eyes going almost black with just a tiny rim of blue visible. She drops her head down, sucking at his neck before moving quickly down his torso. She has a feeling that today isn't a day for foreplay with him.

She gets to his waist and quickly gets his belt undone. Before she pushes his pants down, she pulls off his boots and socks. Then, she moves back to his waist, grabbing the edge of his pants and boxers, and she pushes them down and off in one efficient movement. She wraps one hand tight around his powerful length, making him release a groan of pleasure. Crawling up his body and straddling him, she doesn't even pause before guiding him to her center and sinking down on him.

They both cry out at the contact, and she shifts her hips to get him all the way inside her. Bracing both of her hands on his chest, she moves up and down, rocking her hips hard against him, each stroke hitting her clit and winding her up again. His hands go to her hips, and he takes back a measure of control, gripping them tight and thrusting up into her, making her moan and throw her head back.

They're able to maintain their rhythm for several minutes, occasionally altering the angle of her hips, and the changing sensations have her barreling towards a second orgasm, this one even stronger than the first. Just a few thrusts later, and she screams, her whole body going rigid as he continues to pound up into her.

She collapses bonelessly against his chest, him still hard and pulsing inside of her. Without withdrawing from her, he abruptly flips them, getting up on his knees and lifting one of her legs over his shoulder. He begins to drive in and out of her again, setting a relentless pace that makes her moan and whimper because of how sensitive she already is.

As his thrusts become increasingly erratic, she knows he's close. Amazingly, she realizes that she's also close again. Her free leg comes up and wraps around his waist, and her hands reach forward, landing on his thighs and scratching up and down them. That's all it takes to drive him over the edge, and he lets out a roaring cry as he stiffens and releases himself inside of her. He continues to move as he comes, and his last thrust pushes her to a third release, crying out again.

He lowers her leg from his shoulder and collapses against her, his head pillowed on her breasts as they both try to catch their breath. For a few minutes they stay like that, basking in the afterglow and the relative silence. After a while, he rolls off of her. He gets on his side next to her, propping himself up on one elbow. "So, this was a good plan."

Still flat on her back, she looks up at him, grinning triumphantly and huffing out a laugh at that. "Yeah, I have them every once in a while."

He grins, leaning forward and catching her lips in a gentle kiss. "We have until four?"

She nods. "We do."

"Good." He smiles again and curls up on his side, pulling her closer to him.

Before turning and nestling into his chest, she reaches for her bag and pulls out the second blanket, covering both of their bodies with it. She puts her watch next to them, with the alarm on it set for four o'clock. Then, she relaxes into him, her arms going around his waist.

She sighs. "We can't go that long again."

"No. Next time it hits any more than five days, we steal two hours like this again."

"Works for me." She nudges his chest with her nose, and drops a kiss on his collarbone before nuzzling her face into his neck.

She's drifting off to sleep when she hears his voice again, his arms tightening around her. "I love you, Alicia."

She smiles against his neck. "I love you too, Nathaniel."