Author's Note: OK, so, here I go again…another little adventure for Wash and friends.
Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, but relatively unnecessary to read those for this to make sense – just be aware that in my context now, Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova.
Will do my best to get updates up quickly, but real life can be a real pain in the tuckus, you know?
Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.
If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it. - The Original Murphy's Law
Alicia sighs. "What do you need, Malcolm?" It's the end of the day, a Tuesday, and she's ready to go home and spend some time with Gracie and Nathaniel. She has to swallow a grin, because she knows Nathaniel will be cranky when she gets there.
Yesterday, while on a training exercise with some of the soldiers, he somehow managed to break his right ankle. Thus far, he has refused to admit exactly how he did it, so she knows it must be somewhat embarrassing. Elisabeth ordered him to stay home, completely off of the ankle, for at least two days. He'll be on crutches for two weeks, and in his protective boot for at least six weeks.
Malcolm gives her a funny look, and she realizes that her amusement at Nathaniel's managing to hurt himself on a training exercise (of all things) must be showing in her face. She schools her expression back to one of mild curiosity. "Malcolm?"
He shakes his head. "Sorry, yes, I think we need to take a team out to a mineral deposit. It's one Mira told me about; she said that the mineral had some interesting qualities, both magnetic and as a potential power source, or at least that's what Lucas told them."
She winces at the mention of Lucas' name, and Malcolm must notice. "Look, Wash, I know he was pretty much off the deep end, but he was a brilliant scientist, too. I've hesitated to raise this because of it being based on information from Lucas. But the truth is that while our solar power set up is working very well and is more than adequate, as our population grows, we may need something more. If this stuff can be mined with minimal damage, and if it runs clean, it's worth looking into. Mira saw the deposits. She thinks they could be easily accessed."
"Malcolm, one of the biggest reasons we're here is because of what we did to the planet the first time." She gives him a pointed look.
He nods and holds his hands up. "I know. If we can't extract and use this cleanly, I'll let it go. You have my word."
She looks at him for a moment before nodding. "I have to discuss it with Nathaniel. To me, consider your case made, but you know the ultimate call is his. Is Carter also familiar with the site? Mira can't lead us there at this point." She knows Elisabeth would veto any such trip for their six-months-pregnant friend.
"I believe so."
"OK," she gives him a brief smile, "I'll talk to Nathaniel tonight. In terms of a team, what do you think you'll need?"
"Myself and one other member of my staff, and some military for cover, of course. Just in case. And I'm assuming Carter."
"All right. I'll let you know tomorrow. We may call a meeting to discuss, probably at my house because Elisabeth still has Nathaniel sequestered." She looks at him expectantly. "Is that it?"
He nods, a happy look on his face. "It is. Thanks, Wash."
"No problem, Malcolm. I'll give you a call in the morning." He clearly understands that it's a dismissal, so he just murmurs a thank you and leaves.
Looking at the plexes and whatnot piled on the desk in front of her, she decides to just organize it into piles by priority and to call it a day. She needs to go get Gracie from school and then go home to discuss Malcolm's request with Nathaniel. It's a little early to leave, but she honestly also just is worried about Nathaniel and wants to go check on him.
After stops at Gracie's school to pick her up and a quick pass by the market to pick up some vegetables for the stew she plans to cook for dinner, she is heading home, a chattering Gracie in tow. At the end of a long, rambling story about one of her teachers, Gracie is quiet for a moment before saying somewhat timidly, "Mama?"
"Yes, Gracie?" Alicia is a little concerned by Gracie's sudden change in demeanor.
"Is Daddy still going to be gwumpy when we get home? He was mad this morning. Fussed at Gracie." Alicia stops walking to look down at Gracie, who is wearing a wide-eyed, apprehensive expression.
Alicia crouches down in front of Gracie. "Little Bug, what happened? I didn't see Daddy get mad at you."
Gracie blinks a little, her big blue eyes tearing up. "Was twying to get my book for school. You were taking your shower. I asked Daddy if book was in your bed still. He got mad, said book not there, told me to go my room. Did Gracie do something bad? He still be mad at Gracie when we get home?"
Alicia's heart breaks a little to see Gracie upset, and she opens her arms. "Come here." Gracie leans into Alicia, hugging her neck. Transferring her bag from the market to her left hand, Alicia wraps an arm around Gracie and straightens up, settling Gracie on her hip. She starts walking towards home again, her concern for Nathaniel replaced with irritation.
As she walks, Alicia says, "Gracie, I'm sorry Daddy got mad at you. You didn't do anything bad, his foot just hurts and it's making him cranky," she squeezes Gracie tight to her, "You OK, little Bug?"
"Uh huh." She sniffles.
"Tell you what, when you get home, why don't you go play in your room for a bit while I talk to Daddy? I'll get you your book first."
Gracie's arms wrap tighter around Alicia's neck. "'K, Mama. Thank you."
"You're welcome, little Bug."
They're quiet for the rest of the walk home. When they get there, Alicia stops by the kitchen to drop off the market bag, and then she walks to Gracie's room. She gets her settled with her favorite stuffed dinosaur, then says, "I'll be right back."
She goes into their bedroom to find a rather surly looking Nathaniel on the bed, reading a plex. He starts to say something, and she just holds up a hand and levels a glare at him. She walks to her side of the bed and finds Gracie's book there, half under her pillow. She pulls it out, holds it up for him to see, and she shoots him a pointed look.
He seems confused, but she doesn't care. Her Mama Bear instinct is in high gear after seeing Gracie upset. After she takes the book to Gracie, she returns to the bedroom, closing the door behind her. He once again starts to say something, and she holds up her hand again. "No, Nathaniel, me first."
She glares at him again, and he seems to realize he's in a small amount of trouble with her. He nods stiffly, clearly less than pleased and looking a little defensive. "I get that you're achy and cranky, and I get that you are very unhappy to be sequestered here. Given that I am generally no better a patient than you are, I know how trapped and frustrated you feel."
She pauses, her face growing angrier. "But that does not give you license to take out your frustration on Gracie."
He looks indignant. "I didn't…"
She cuts him off, hands on her hips. "You did. She was in tears on the way home from school, worried that you'd still be upset with her. You got mad at her and sent her to her room for asking for her book, Nathaniel? What were you thinking?"
It appears for a moment that he might argue with her, but then he visibly deflates. "She was crying?"
"She was."
He shakes his head. "Damn it."
Seeing that he's now the one upset, she sits next to him on the bed, facing him, careful not to jostle his booted foot which is propped on a pillow. "Nathaniel, I know you don't like this. I know how much you hate being stuck here. But you owe Gracie an apology, and you need to quit moping around."
"I'll apologize to Gracie. But Alicia, this is ridiculous. I don't need to be trapped here. I can elevate my foot at the damned command center."
She rolls her eyes. "Maybe you can, but that doesn't mean you will. Elisabeth knows that, and that's likely why she ordered you to stay home. I know it's frustrating, Nathaniel, but it's only for a couple of days."
He crosses his arms defensively across his chest. "You don't know what it's like."
She narrows her eyes at him. "Seriously?"
He looks affronted. "Of course seriously. You've never broken a leg or ankle, never had your mobility taken away."
"That's just complete crap." He looks even more indignant, but she is no longer even mildly amused by the situation. She stands up, giving him an icy glare and crossing her own arms across her chest. "Three bullet holes, multiple infections and complications, almost six weeks confined to a bed, six months of PT, and over a year before I was one hundred percent again. This is two damned days in bed and only a few weeks of real inconvenience. Get over yourself."
She turns to go. "If you decide you're ready to end the pity party and start acting even marginally like a grown up again, you feel free to come to the kitchen and hang out while I make dinner. If not, I'll fix you a plate later, and you and your bruised ego can have dinner alone."
Heading into the kitchen, she knows she was probably too hard on him, but the truth is that she can't stand it when he gets like this. She's never been a big fan of self-pity, and it's particularly incongruous coming from Nathaniel. And for him to tell her that she doesn't know what it's like was a significant tactical error.
She puts a pot on the stove, getting the meat browning for dinner, and then she starts to wash and chop the vegetables to add. As she does, she can't help but let her mind wander to her time in the hospital after Somalia. The memories, not just of the pain and frustration, but also of learning of Ayani's death and all that went with that, make her cringe.
She's so lost in thought that she doesn't even hear it when, ten minutes later, he thumps up behind her on his crutches. "Alicia?" His voice makes her jump, and she actually drops the knife she's using on the vegetables. She turns quickly, and he's close to her, leaning on his crutches. "Sorry about that. At least this time you can't accuse me of moving too quietly."
She huffs out a breath and runs a hand through her hair. "It's fine. Did you need something?"
He sighs at her still slightly irritated tone. "I already apologized to Gracie, but I owe you an apology too. Between you coming back so well from it and the haze I was in after Ayani, I sometimes forget what that year must have been like for you. I'm sorry about that, and I'm sorry for the way I was acting. I really don't do well when I'm injured, do I?" He looks so sheepish and contrite that she can't stay upset with him.
She steps up to him and drops a light kiss on his cheek. "It's OK, Nathaniel. I know you hate feeling helpless. I hate it too. But as much as I can take the attitude and the grousing, Gracie can't. She can't parse things that are personal and things that are about your injury. Her little brain doesn't work that way yet. And for the most part, I was upset about Gracie. You know I don't handle it well when she's upset."
"As well you shouldn't. And I know. It kills me to know that I upset her, and it's just worse knowing that she was probably upset about it all day." He drops his head and his hands tighten on his crutches.
She reaches a hand up and cups his cheek. "Nathaniel, all that matters is that you apologized. Was she OK?"
He nods and gives her a half-smile. "I think so. I got a hug and an 'it s'ok, Daddy,' so I think she's fine."
Laughing softly, Alicia says, "Considering that she's really not good at bullshit yet, I'd say yes, she's fine. And you need to sit." She goes to the dining area and grabs two chairs. She drags them both over and motions to him to sit. When he looks stubborn for a moment, she lifts an incredulous eyebrow at him, and he sighs and drops into one of the chairs, propping his booted foot up on the other one. She takes his crutches and leans them against the wall.
As she goes back to working on dinner, he says, "So, I realized that you're home early. Everything quiet today?"
She nods. "It was, but I also wanted to run something by you. I just got distracted by being pissed off." She shoots him a smirk.
He gives her a rueful smile. "Sorry about that. Again. So what was it that you wanted to discuss?"
While she works on dinner, she runs through Malcolm's proposal with him, giving him facts only and omitting her opinion. Once the food is all on and simmering, at his request, she sits in the chair opposite him, moving his foot into her lap. "What do you think, Nathaniel?"
He looks pensive for a while before replying, "As much as I hate the idea of mining here, if we monitor it the right way and it runs as clean as Malcolm predicts, I can live with it. We just have to control it. We can't let this be the start of a slippery slope." He looks at her, clearly seeking her opinion.
She nods. "That's pretty much my take as well. And honestly, Malcolm's not wrong – as our numbers grow, it would be nice to have a secondary power source available. There's some potential for hydro, but this is worth exploring." She hesitates before going on, and she can see that he notices.
He suddenly gets a resigned look on his face. "You want to lead the team, don't you?"
"It should be you or me, Nathaniel, and clearly, it can't be you right now." She rubs her hand on his lower leg above the boot.
He sighs. "I know. OK. I want to keep Guz inside for now. If it hadn't been for the Phoenix Group, I never would have been OTG so much once you were six months along. He's hesitated about his last few OTG assignments."
"No problem. Maybe I could take Shannon and Carter, as well as Reynolds, Dunham and a few of the younger kids? I don't think there will be trouble, but I'd hate to be undergunned if we run into a carno or something."
He winces at that idea. "I agree. Let's get Malcolm, Mira, Shannon and Carter over here in the morning. We can plan and Mira and Carter can lay out the risks and needs for us, at least based upon what they know of the location of the mineral deposit."
She nods. "I'll call them."
As she rises to stir the food, carefully placing his foot back in the chair, he reaches out and takes her arm. "I hate this. You know that, right? You'll be careful?"
A few years ago, she would have bristled at his worry, but these days they've had enough brushes with their mortality that they're both a lot more direct and honest about their concern for each other's safety. "You know I will. And I'm leaving you Reilly to help you with Gracie. Consider that a gift." She smiles at him, running a hand through his hair.
He rolls his eyes at that. "I wish I could say I won't need help, but with those damned crutches, it would be a blatant lie." His face turns pensive again. "Maybe Skye can help too."
Laughing, she goes back to the stove. "Maybe we need another Gracie Duty Roster." She just laughs harder when she feels a dish towel hit her back.
**WT**WT**WT**
On Thursday morning, they're gathered at the gate, the teams loading into a rover and two rhinos. Over Malcolm's grumbling, Reynolds and Dunham will be driving the two rhinos while Alicia drives the rover. She already said good-bye to Gracie this morning, with no small amount of clinging and sniffles from Gracie.
Balanced on his crutches and now allowed out by Elisabeth, Nathaniel stands by, looking antsy and unhappy. She walks over to him, leaning up and dropping a kiss to his lips. "We'll be fine. We're not even going through known predator territories."
He nods. "I know. I don't have to like it, though."
She cups his cheek with her hand. "Understood. We'll be careful, Nathaniel. We always are."
"You've got Carter and Shannon in the rover with you?"
She grins. "Yes. They're over there fighting about who gets to ride shotgun. I'm going to make them rock-paper-scissors for it."
That makes him crack a smile. "You're going to have your hands full with those two. Good luck."
She kisses him again. "Yep. Gonna need it." She turns and sees the scientists and junior soldiers load the last of the gear into one of the rhinos, and Malcolm begrudgingly climb into the front of the one that Mark is driving. Mark and Dunham each give her a wave, signaling that they're ready to go. Everyone's respective spouses are hanging about, seeing the group off.
Alicia looks over at her rover, and she smiles when she sees Carter and Shannon shoot for shotgun, just as she'd said she was going to make them. Nathaniel chuckles softly when Shannon's paper covers Carter's rock, leading a grumbly, pouty Carter to climb into the back seat.
She looks back up at Nathaniel. "Got to go, Nathaniel."
He reaches out and hugs her to him. "OK. I'll miss you, Alicia."
She smiles as she pulls back. "I'll miss you too." With one last brush of her lips on his cheek, she heads for the rover and jumps behind the wheel. "Ready to go, kids?" Shannon laughs and Carter grumbles, and she can't help but grin.
With a nod to Nathaniel, he calls, "Open the gate," to the soldiers up in the tower. It lifts, and she waves at him before gunning the engine and shooting out of the gate, leading the way for the two rhinos behind them. Just a routine OTG mission. That's all this will be, she's sure of it.