Title: In Between
Pairing: /Commander Taylor
Spoilers: Genesis
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Just playing, I will give them back- if anyone still wants them... ;)
Summery: Since there wasn´t enough of Wash in the season premiere, I have thought about some scenarios that might have prevented her from being in on all the fun :)
They stopped briefly at a clearing, letting the pilgrims catch their breath and Guzman followed Wash over to the waiting rover, stopping at the driver´s side.
"You´re going to be ok without me, Guz?"
"Sure, Wash, you go ahead, calm him down for us."
Guzman winced when Wash´s elbow collided with his ribs, muttering under his breath while rubbing the tender spot.
"That´s for sassing your OC" she told him, not at all sorry and Guzman looked at her darkly.
"Meaning you or Taylor?"
"Both- now try and don´t get eaten, see you in a few."
She climbed into the vehicle and drove off, tearing through the jungle and out into the open towards the colony´s gates.
She relinquished her gun to one of the guards, then she proceeded up the stairs towards the command center, finding that Taylor was pacing his office, his face unimpressive and Alicia stood to attention, waiting until her OC turned towards her.
"Report, Lieutenant" he barked, eyes flashing and even though Wash knew him too well to take his frustration personally, she felt annoyed at being addressed in that way.
"Dr. Shannon arrived with her children, turned out there are three instead of just two and then there´s the husband who actually is meant to be in a prison cell back in 2148 right now."
"Did he give you any trouble?"
Taylor asked, his tone calmer now and Wash shook her head, following her OC over to one of the windows overlooking the gates.
"Not exactly, overprotective of his family but I suppose that is to be expected."
"Personally I don´t give a damn how many kids people decide to have, what I want to know is if he´s of any use to us."
Taylor growled, watching the long line of pilgrims approach the gates.
"What are you going to do if it turns out he isn´t, turn him out?"
Wash asked, not really knowing what answer to expect.
In the seven years since Taylor and his unit had arrived through the portal, no one had managed to force their way through without permission.
"All in good time, Wash, I´ll see how it goes when we´re there."
"Very good, Sir- do you want me down by the gate?"
"No, stay here, I want you here when I talk to the Shannon´s, it´ll be easier for the Doc with a woman present."
"Sir?"
Wash asked, eyebrows raised when she looked at the commander.
Taylor looked amused at her irritation and nodded, his hand landing on her shoulder.
"Yes- you are a woman, aren´t you, Wash?"
She stiffened, not at all amused by his teasing.
"You know that´s not what I meant, Sir."
She told him, trying to keep her tone respectful, not to let her anger show, she hated it when he got this way with her, especially since she couldn´t confront him about it.
"Then explain yourself, Lieutenant and make it quick."
"Permission to remain silent, Sir" Alicia shot back, walking towards the wall next to the door and Taylor shrugged, now grinning openly at her.
"Never thought I´d hear that one from you, Wash- permission granted. Tell Guzman I want to see the Shannon´s up here, without the kids."
"Yes, Sir."
He opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony and while he gave his usual welcome speech to the new citizens of Terra Nova, Wash leaned against the wall, taking deep, steady breaths.
She hated herself for reacting so irrationally, he had been right, she was a woman and it might be easier for with her present, a room full of armored men could be intimidating, especially after stepping through the portal.
If she was really brutally honest with herself, what was really annoying her was that the only occasion Taylor seemed to notice that she was in fact a woman, was when he could use it for his purposes, on other occasions she was simply his Lieutenant, one of his guys and she was so sick of it it made her want to scream.
She had known coming here with him had been a risk, her feelings for her OC had already been far from platonic before she had agreed to join him in the new world and during the last seven years they had deepened and now she could hardly deal with them anymore.
She wanted him so much it was eating her up inside and all she could do was try and remain as professional as possible in his presence and his constant teasing and pushing wasn´t making it any easier.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Wash took her radio set.
"Washington to Guzman, are you copying?"
"Copying that, Wash, what do you need?"
"The commander wants to see the Shannon´s up here, the children can wait for them outside."
"Will see to it, Guzman out."
Wash stood up straight again when Taylor came back into the room, looking more relaxed than before.
"The Shannon´s should be up shortly, Sir."
She informed him, watching as he settled himself behind his desk and reached for his data pad, when the Shannon´s entered he was reading the doctor´s accomplishments aloud and Wash felt for the couple who looked intimidated, just like Taylor had been hoping to archive with his little staging.
He send Wash off with Elisabeth Shannon and she went rather reluctantly, irritated once more when Taylor kept Guzman with him instead of her and the mere thought made her want to ram her head into a wall, if she was going to spend the rest of her service under Taylor getting upset at every order he gave her, she´d need to look for another career and fast.
"Do you think we are in real trouble?"
The other woman asked, her voice timid and Wash forced herself to smile briefly.
"Don´t worry too much, Taylor´s tough but he is all about second chances."
The doctor smiled nervously.
"Ok- I´ll try to be positive, that´s what it´s all about after all."
Wash showed Elisabeth Shannon to her children, then beckoned Mark Reynolds over to them.
"Reynolds, wait for the husband and show them over to their housing unit, I have to go back."
"Yes, Ma´am" the young man saluted and Wash smiled, clapping him on the shoulder before making her way back up towards the steps and into the commando center.
Jim Shannon passed her on the stairs, looking relieved and Wash supposed that meant that Shannon wouldn´t camp outside the gate any time soon.
"Hey, Wash" the commander greeted her, smiling and beckoning her over to the window again.
"Makes you proud, doesn´t it?"
He asked, looking down at the still bustling square.
"Yes, Sir."
He turned towards her and Wash felt her skin tingle under his intense gaze.
"You look tired, Lieutenant, when was the last time you took a break?"
"Havn´t had one today, Sir."
"Well, we can´t have that, can we, go and get some rest, I´ll be ok here with Guzman."
"If you say so, Sir."
She nodded at him and left, ignoring Guzman who looked concerned at the sight of her and made her way towards the market where she met Mark Reynolds.
"Have you seen her?"
He asked, sounding uncharacteristically dreamy as he fell into step next to her.
"Whom exactly are you referring to?"
"The girl- Maddy- she´s beautiful" the young private added, smiling and Wash rolled her eyes, nudging him.
"Come on, Reynolds, get it together, you´re sounding like an idiot."
The boy blushed and Wash almost felt guilty, it wasn´t Mark´s fault that her own romantic interest turned out to be immune to her.
"Fine, tell me about it."
He started describing the girl in detail, blissfully unaware that Wash wasn´t really listening to him and she managed to loose him eventually and made her back towards her own house.
Wash was startled out of her sleep by her radio set.
"Guzman to Washington."
"Copying, what´s up?"
"Carter tried to execute Taylor, I need you in the brig, Taylor has gone OTG with Shannon."
Cursing under her breath, Wash hurried to get dressed and all but ran towards the brig.
Guzman was waiting for her, arms crossed as he nodded towards the Sixer leaning against the fence, grinning at them.
"What´s Taylor doing OTG with Shannon, why didn´t he take anyone else?"
She hissed at her colleague, her temper getting the better of her.
"Don´t shoot the messenger, Wash, Shannon saved his life, he saw Carter before we did."
"It´s not that I´m not grateful for that and all but-"
"Easy, Wash, just try and find out what Mira is playing at, he´s not talking."
Alicia turned turned towards Carter, trying to stay calm, she had felt on edge all day and she knew that if she let her temper reign, there might not be anything left of Carter to question after she was through with him.
She handed Guzman her gun and combat west before stepping inside the brig.
"Why now?"
She asked, walking towards their prisoner with measured steps.
"Lieutenant, how nice to see you" the man drawled, his eyes sweeping down her body and up again in an unmistakable fashion and Wash felt the hairs on her neck stand up, anger kicking in fast.
One quick punch broke Carter´s nose, blood running down his face as he howled in pain.
"Talk" Alicia snarled, her hand at the man´s throat, pressing his head back into the fence as he started to choke, desperately trying to push her away from him.
"If Mira hears-" he gasped and Alicia tensed, she hated the leader of the Sixers with a passion and Mira despised her more than anyone in Terra Nova, including Taylor.
Carter grunted when Wash´s knee collided with his gut and he fell to his knees, screaming when she kicked him in the ribs.
Wash felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see the tension in Guzman´s face.
"I think that´s enough for now, Wash" he told her and she nodded, breathing heavily, glad that Guzman had stopped her before she killed the Sixer, knowing Taylor he wouldn´t have approved of her method of vending.
With one last look at Carter, who was still on the ground, clutching his stomach, she strode out of the brig, Guzman following her.
"Get a doctor in here, make sure he´s not dying" she pressed through gritted teeth, taking her gun back from her colleague before walking off in direction of the command center.
Wash had just finished with Taylor´s leftover paperwork when Guzman radioed her to inform her that the Sixers were on their way towards the gates and that Taylor was right behind them, having trouble with some Carnos chasing after them.
Thinking that today couldn´t be over fast enough, Wash told Guzman to make sure everyone was inside the gates before she threw her combat gear back on and reached for her gun, the commotion outside getting louder by the second.
She tore down the steps, just as the Sixers skidded to a halt inside the gates while Taylor was playing tag with a highly irritated Carnosaurus and was almost outside the fence when Guzman caught her arm.
"Stay here, Wash, Shannon is getting him."
She watched the rover making it´s way towards her OC, her eyes narrowing.
"He´d better be all right, or I´ll kill him myself."
Guzman chuckled, then tensed again when the Sixers started to exit their vehicles and Wash nodded for him to cover the opposite side of the gate, the rover came in hot, Taylor jumping down the instant they were inside the perimeter, then turned back to the closing gate and the angry dinosaur.
The relief when the predator turned and retreated was short lived for the Sixers were now aiming at Terra Nova´s security detail and Wash motioned for the units to raise their weapons at their enemies, her eyes narrowing when Mira appeared in the middle of her men.
The rebel leader and Taylor started an unnerving game of baiting each other while tension rose, Wash stepped closer to the commander, she was the best shot on Taylor´s security detail and Mira´s eyes briefly flickered in her direction, the message clear, one wrong move and the the Sixer would be pierced with bullets.
When Taylor ordered them to lower their weapons, Wash did so reluctantly, she didn´t trust Mira and she hated that they were dependent on the Sixers, even if it was just in the way that they controlled the iron mines.
Adrenalin was still pumping through Wash as she watched the commander walking towards her, the Sixers had climbed back into their transports, only Mira remaining outside while they waited for their supplies and Carter to be brought out.
Taylor stepped close, leaning down to her so no one would overhear their conversation.
"I want you to stay by the gate, prevent trouble, with Mira, you never know."
"Yes, Sir."
"Make sure she leaves straight away."
"Yes, Sir."
He turned and walked up the steps to the command center and Wash focused on Mira again who was now leaning against her vehicle, smiling mockingly.
"Still here, Washington? Shouldn´t you be running after him like a good little pet?"
Wash bit her lip, fighting to stay calm but her hands cramped around her gun and it took all her self control not to hit Mira over the head with it.
She wished Taylor had sent her to get Carter and left Guzman by the gate but since she´d already broken Carter´s nose and bruised his ribs while ´interrogating´ him, perhaps it was a good thing that her CO had made her stay behind.
Mira took a step forward, seemingly oblivious to the gun in the lieutenant´s hands, after all Alicia couldn´t shoot her inside the colony now that the commander had made a deal, especially not when the rest of Mira´s men were still surrounding them, armed and within shooting range of civilians.
Alicia instinctively recoiled when Mira stepped so close to her, she could feel her breath against on her face.
"Still can´t get him to screw you, can you?"
Mira teased, she was enjoying this, Wash knew it and still there was nothing she could do about, everyone was watching now, tension thick in the air.
"Shame, you really need a good-"
Mira found herself slammed up against the gate in an instant but before it could get ugly, the commander´s voice was heard over the uproar.
"Washington, up here at once!"
Pushing away from Mira, Alicia gave her one last look that warned the Sixer not to cross her again, then she followed her OC´s orders, making her way up to the command center while everyone stared after her.
She stepped inside, standing to attention and Taylor closed the door before rounding on her.
"I believe I gave you an order, Lieutenant."
His voice was low, controlled but she knew from experience that it only meant that he was so angry he could barely restrain himself.
"You did, Sir."
"Repeat that order."
"Stay by the gate and prevent trouble."
"Exactly- did you follow that order, Lieutenant?"
"No, Sir."
He stepped closer to her, invading her personal space and she felt her heart pounding painfully against her chest, he was intimidating, almost frightening her but she managed to not betray any of her emotions, years of training had taught her how to rain them in.
"And why haven´t you been following my orders?"
"Permission to not answer that, Sir."
"Permission denied- you have five seconds to explain yourself before I have you locked into the brig until tomorrow for disobedience."
Alicia closed her eyes, this was one of the most embarrassing situations she´d ever been in and of course it was once again all Mira´s fault, damn that woman and her foul tongue.
"I´ll take the night in the brig then, Sir" she replied, flinching at the fury that flashed in Taylor´s eyes.
He turned away from her without saying anything else and threw the door open again, stepping outside on the balustrade.
"Reynolds, escort Lieutenant Washington to the brig, lock the gate from the outside and bring her weapons back with you."
"Sir?"
The young man sounded shocked and Alicia felt sorry for him, Mark adored her almost as much as she looked up to Taylor and it was an unfortunate coincidence that he was the one standing guard outside right now.
"You heard me, Private."
The commanders voice left no room for questions and Reynolds entered the room, looking apologetically at Alicia.
"Lieutenant, if you´d follow me, please" he almost choked on the words and she smiled soothingly at him, he was a good kid and it wasn´t his fault.
She walked down the steps behind him, ignoring the commander´s pointed glare as well as Mark´s concerned gaze on her while they made their way over to the brig, to her intense relief Mira and her men had left, if the Sixer had so much as smiled at her she might have killed her after all.
Reynolds left her alone and she was instantly bored, it was only late afternoon and she had no idea how to spend the next twelve hours until Taylor might consider letting her out of there again.
She began to pace, hoping against hope that people would´t notice where she was, she didn´t need the gossip that would certainly start the second word was out that she was in the brig, Taylor wasn´t fond of punishment, he preferred to solve problems and bring things out in the open and she certainly had never been one to defy her CO.
The sun had already set when Wash heard a commotion outside and then the gate opened and Guzman stepped inside, looking tense.
"We need to go OTG, some of the teenage kids have stolen a rover, they are in trouble, he wants you by the gate until we get back."
Guzman headed off towards the waiting vehicles, Taylor was arguing with Shannon and his wife who both seemed to want in on the trip, so probably their son was one of the wayward kids.
Taylor didn´t so much as look at her as she walked towards the gate and then they were gone and Alicia was left in command of the colony once again while her commander was outside, having all the fun, as usual.
Reynolds was waiting at the gate with her weapons and while Wash put on her body armor, he filled her in about the missing teenagers, telling her that Tasha Guzman and Skye were among them, which explained why Guzman had been so short with her when he had told given her the commander´s orders earlier.
Blushing lightly, Mark asked her if it would be ok for him to check on the Shannon girls and she sent him off with a teasing smile, then was left leaning next to the gate with her gun in her hands, waiting for Taylor to come back, hoping that he would, for no matter how much she resented it and how much she wanted to deny it, even to herself, she needed him to come back, furious at her or not.
They were back an hour later, Tasha and two of the boys wounded, the others shaken but otherwise ok and Alicia´s eyes raked over Taylor automatically, checking him for any sign of injuries, relieved when she didn't find any.
"Lieutenant" he addressed her, his eyes cold, "I believe you are supposed to be in the brig."
"Yes, Sir" she responded, her voice flat, she should just have lied to him, made something up Mira had said to her but now it was too late, so she handed her weapons over and walked back inside the brig, hearing the lock click into place behind herself.
Hours later Wash was sitting with her back against the fence, looking up at the stars, when the gate opened and the commander stepped inside, closing the door behind himself before coming over and sitting down next to her.
"Skye came to apologize, turns out teenagers haven´t changed much since I`ve been one."
He sounded relaxed, amused even and Alicia knew she´s forgiven, at least for now.
"Want to tell me now, Wash?"
He asked conversationally, not in the commanding tone from earlier that day but just out of curiosity and Alicia hesitated, knowing that he wouldn´t let it go until he knew, anyway.
"She called me your pet" she hissed, not at all surprised when he reached over to pat her shoulder.
"Now that´s offending, I give you that but not enough to make you slam her into the gate."
Wash stared straight ahead, she wouldn´t repeat Mira´s words, consequences be damned.
Taylor sighed in defeat.
"Private Jones told me, don´t shoot him, I threatened to transfer him to Outpost 6 permanently."
"Perfect" Alicia muttered, this was just what she needed, all she could hope for now was that he would leave without talking about it any further- of course he didn´t.
"She´s right, you know" he told her and she turned on him, her voice icy.
"Excuse me, Sir?"
"You know what I mean, Wash, you and me, it´s not happening."
She bit her lip, desperately trying to restrain herself from saying anything she wold regret later but when he smiled at her in a sympathetic fashion she couldn´t take it any more, she had to get away from him, his pity more than she could endure.
She got up from the ground, Taylor following suit and then they were standing facing each other, blue burning into hazel- they had been at this point so many times it was like a well rehearsed scene from a play but this time Wash was too wound up to stick to her role, to let Taylor walk away from her as though nothing had happened.
Her hands curled around his upper arms, nails biting into muscle and then she was pressed up against the fence and he was kissing her, hard, punishing kisses, his hands underneath her shirt, running up her sides, pressing her harder against him.
She moaned into his mouth, she was feeling lightheaded and when he shoved his leg in between her´s and pressed up against her she shattered, gasping into his mouth and he pulled away from her as though he´d been burned.
She was trembling, her legs barely holding her up, the intensity between them had left her breathless and in desperate need for more but she already could feel the wall going up again between them, Taylor´s eyes had turned cold and he shook his head, running his hand through his hair in frustration.
"Not happening, Wash, no way."
"Why not?"
She hated herself for being so weak, hated that he could reduce her to pleading with him when she knew that there was nothing she cold say to change his mind.
"You kissed me" she added, unnecessarily and Taylor laughed, a hard, mirthless sound.
"What can I say? You´re a beautiful woman, you threw yourself at me and I´m just human."
She couldn´t believe he was talking to her this way, denying that it was more than just a moment of lust, it was hurting her and at the same time making her furious.
"I threw myself at you? You just-"
"I know what I did, damn it! You´re too young for me, you could be my daughter and you´re my second in command, what makes you think I´d break every rule I´ve set, risk it all, for you?"
He was all business again, calm and collected, in control and Alicia knew the moment was over and most likely would not repeat itself.
"You should go home and sleep, Lieutenant" Taylor added, his tone a bit softer and she knew it was a peace offering, they had to work together in the morning and he needed to know that he could rely on her to put her feelings aside and do her job.
"Yes, Sir" she replied flatly, walking past him and out of the brig and towards her house for what she was sure wouldn´t be a restful night.
