A/N Okay, so this little plot bunny grabbed a hold of my muse much like a bulldog and just flat out refused to let go! I'm also working on a TN collaboration story with mouse95 so that should be up soon - so long as no more bulldog's decide to take a bite out of me 'n my muse! This is just something I came up with when I saw the little snippets in the first preview for 'Within' airing this Monday (12/12/11). Some of the snippets you'll recognize and others I expanded on/changed a little bit to work for the story. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.
A/N2: For those who are wondering, I am also hoping to finish up my WIP's shortly... but no promises because, well, that just never works with this muse of mine! :o( My apologies. I can only write when inspiration strikes for each individual story. On the upside, this one is all one chapter, so you won't be waiting for updates. *hopeful smile*
Without further ado...
KARA
As Jim left Taylor's Command Centre, his focus was so set on figuring out who the lady spy was, he nearly barrelled straight into Lieutenant Mark Reynolds. "Mr. Shannon," the lieutenant started, "I need to speak with you - "
"Sorry, Reynolds," he tossed over his shoulder as he continued on his projected path. "I've got a lot on my plate, right now. Can it wait?"
"It's about Josh," Reynolds stated simply, his words bringing Jim to an abrupt halt. "I'm just coming back from lunch at Boylan's and..."
"And, what," Jim prompted when the younger man seemed reluctant to continue. "Spit it out, Lieutenant."
"Uh, yes, sir. Josh and Boylan got into a bit of an... altercation."
The detective's eyebrows shot into his hairline, his eyes flashing with anger. "What kind of altercation? Did Boylan hit my son?"
"No, no, he didn't hit him. Josh was serving lunch to me and the guys when Boylan took him aside and whispered something to him."
When the lieutenant paused yet again, Jim sighed with barely reigned in frustration. He pinched the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger, then said, "Reynolds, if this is all you have to tell me, then you and I have two very different definitions of the term 'altercation'."
"No, sir. Just choosing my words carefully, sir," Reynolds told him. Then, doing his best to not trip over his words but not quite succeeding, the lieutenant continued. "The altercation part came when Josh freaked out. He yelled at Boylan, calling him a liar, then he decked him. Josh decked Boylan, I mean. Not the other way around. Then Boylan fell back into some tables, and Josh stormed out of the bar. Josh seemed quite... upset, sir. I figured you would probably want to know."
Taking a deep breath, Reynolds did his best to not turn and scurry away from the man he hoped would someday be his father-in-law. It had been a long time since anyone had ever made the young lieutenant nervous like Jim Shannon seemed to do on a regular basis. The only other person had been several years ago, before Reynolds had come to Terra Nova. The Shannons weren't the first ones to stow away on the portal trip back in time.
Having no idea what memories were currently coursing through the mind of the young man in front of him, Jim remained deep in thought for a long moment. Josh had always had a bit of a short fuse, arguably something he had inherited from yours truly. But this job meant a lot to him and Jim was pretty sure he wouldn't jeopardize his one source of independence for nothing. "You were right to come to me, Reynolds," the detective finally said, unable to miss the exhale of relief from the young lieutenant. "Did you hear what exactly Boylan said to Josh?"
Reynolds shook his head. "I was only able to catch bits and pieces, and even that was hard to make out."
"I'm flying blind here, kid. Anything at all that you can remember would be a big help."
"The only word I was able to hear clearly was 'Kara'. Does that mean anything - ?" Before he could finish his question, Jim Shannon was bolting down the stairs in search of his son.
TNTNTNTN
After managing to sneak out of Terra Nova yet again, Skye sat next to her mother's bedside. She hated herself for betraying her friends - Taylor, Hunter, Josh. She felt an even stronger pang of remorse at the thought of Josh, which led to the memory of betraying his parents, as well, when she'd sabotaged the blood evidence Detective Shannon had collected... her blood. But what else was she supposed to do? She couldn't just let her mother die, not when there was a way to save her!
The fact that the medicine was something only the Sixers could get their hands on made life in Terra Nova more than a little difficult for her but it would all be worth it if Mira was able to keep her promise and cure the disease currently ravaging her mother's body. This illness had already taken the life of her father. It had eaten away at the body of the once robust and healthy man, leaving behind nothing more than a husk. When he finally passed away, he had become a shell of the man he used to be. She just couldn't bear the thought of losing her mother the same way.
It just seemed like, every time Skye thought her debt was paid, that the Sixers would keep their word and release both her and her mother with the meds, Mira came up with some new, increasingly underhanded thing for her to do. Skye was at Mira's mercy and they both knew it.
As if sensing her daughter's pain, Skye's mother opened her eyes, her own pain evident within them. Deborah squeezed Skye's hand, making her lack of strength all that much more apparent to the teen.
"Mom?" Skye whispered the word with something close to reverence. Her eyes filled with tears at this rare opportunity to actually make eye contact with her mother, to have a conversation, however short it may be.
Deborah smiled up at Skye with clear adoration. "Skye, sweetheart. I'm so glad you're here."
"So am I, mom. I wish I could be here more often. It's so hard to get out of Terra Nova without being seen. Commander Taylor has really beefed up security and - "
Skye's rambling was silenced by her mother reaching up and placing two shaking fingers over her lips. "Shhhh. It's okay. That's not what I meant, honey. I've just been anxious to speak with you about something. Something important."
"O-okay," Skye replied, her heart hammering with dread. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Do you remember before we came here, when your grandmother died?"
"Of course, I remember," the teen answered, voice now filled with a trepidation to match the dread in her heart.
"Do you remember what I told you after we left the hospital?"
This time, Skye was unable to speak. She just nodded her head, tears filling her eyes and sliding down her cheeks. She bit her lip to stop a sob from erupting from deep within her soul.
Deborah reached up and gently wiped a tear off her young daughter's face. "What did I tell you, Skye?"
"You... you said that it was her time," Skye said, her voice catching with emotion. "You said that she would live with... God from now on and would look down on me and... and take care of me from heaven."
"That's right. And now it's my time, sweetheart," Deborah whispered. Her heart broke at the thought of leaving her daughter alone on this pre-historic planet but she knew that Nathaniel would take good care of her. He'd made a promise to do his best to at least partially fill the void left behind when Skye's father had passed away, and Deborah new in her heart that the commander would never break that promise.
Skye was openly sobbing now, tears streaming freely down her face. She shook her head in denial, tears flying into the emotionally charged air with each swing. "No. No, Mira said she can cure you, mom! I just have to do one final thing and - "
"No," Deborah responded with more force than her body seemed capable of emitting and, in turn, startling Skye into silence. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, the fire was gone, replaced with a deep, unending love for her daughter. "Sweetheart, you know as well as I do that Mira will just keep giving you more and more things to do, making sure each task carries a greater risk than the one before it." She lifted her daughter's hand to her lips and placed a gentle kiss on the knuckles. "You need to let me go, honey. You don't have to do this anymore."
"I can't," Skye whispered, leaning down and placing her head on her mother's chest.
Deborah wrapped her arms around the quaking shoulders, then pressed her mouth against her daughter's ear and whispered urgently, "You have to, Skye. Commander Taylor has been a good friend to our family. He and your father were like brothers. You can't keep betraying him like this. It's just not right."
At that moment, Mira stepped into the room. She was unable to hear the words being said, but she couldn't miss the tears and the sobs filling the room. Her eyes held sympathy but not enough to keep her from ending the touching mother-daughter moment. If anything, the sight just worked to firm her resolve to be back in her own daughter's life.
"It's time to go, Skye. I have a new mission for you."
Before leaving, Skye raised her mother's hand up to her lips and kissed the backs of her fingers. She could only hope that her mother was able to read the apology in her eyes. The apology for doing what she was about to do.
TNTNTNTNTN
Jim Shannon's first stop was Boylan's. Reynolds had told him that Josh stormed out of the bar so Jim wasn't expecting to find his son here, but he was determined to get some answers from its owner. As the detective descended the stairs, he saw the man in question nursing a swollen and bruised jaw, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of pride in his son for causing that kind of damage at such a young age - especially to a miscreant like Boylan.
When the bar owner became aware of Jim's approach, his eyes widened and the tiniest bit of fear sparked in those deceitful orbs. "Knew it wouldn't be long before you found out," Boylan laughed bitterly. "You come to finish your son's work," he asked, hiding behind his sarcasm.
"No," Jim told him with a forced calm. "Just want to know what you said to set him off like that."
"I didn't say anything," the bar owner coolly deflected. "Kid just threw a temper tantrum!"
As Boylan turned to move to the relative safety of the area behind the bar, he was yanked back by not only an angry detective, but an angry father! Boylan didn't have a hard time figuring out which side he should be most fearful of.
"I don't believe you, Boylan," Jim bit out, "because, you see, my son may throw the occasional fit but he always, always has a darn good reason for it. He has a big heart, so when it gets broken, the pain that comes out is just as big." He gave the bar owner a quick, harsh shake to drive his point home. "What did you say to hurt my son? What did you say about Kara?"
"Why?" Boylan responded with his usual snark. "So you can kill the messenger? I think not, Shannon! You want to know what was said, you ask your son! I'm not saying a word!"
TNTNTNTN
Skye sat hunkered down behind some bushes just outside the Terra Nova perimeter, all too aware of the contents in the satchel draped over her shoulders. As soon as the coast was clear, she hastily wiped a stray tear off her face and ran the short distance to the gap in the fence. Once safely inside the compound, she headed straight for her destination, refusing to allow herself to second guess her decision. If there was even the slightest chance that Mira could - and would - save her mother, Skye knew she had to take it!
TNTNTNTN
As Jim made his way through the market, his mind raced through all the possibilities. He prayed that it was just that Mira didn't keep her promise and bring Kara through the portal because that was at least something that he might be able to fix, pull some strings with Malcolm to have Kara selected to work at the clinic, or something.
Before he could focus on the worst case scenario, he arrived home and went inside with the hopes that Josh would be there. Sure enough, he was greeted with the sight of his son pacing back and forth across the living room, hands fisted in his hair as if he was trying his best to keep his emotions in check - and failing miserably.
"Josh?" Jim asked hesitantly, his concern rising exponentially when the kid didn't even register his presence. It didn't seem like he was ignoring him. More like he hadn't even heard him. "Josh," he repeated a little louder.
Josh's head snapped up in realization that he was no longer alone. "How long have you been standing there?"
"I just got here," Jim replied, taking a step closer to his clearly distraught son. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm - I'm fine," the teen stammered, giving away the fact that he was anything but 'fine'. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"What did Boylan say to you, Josh?"
Surprised registered on Josh's face. "How did you -?"
"Well, your argument with the man wasn't exactly low-key. You basically put on a show for the entire lunch crowd." When shame and embarrassment crossed his son's features, Jim back pedalled a bit. "Everyone is just concerned about you, Josh. Now, what did Boylan say about Kara? Did the Sixers go back on their word?"
"Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you," Josh snapped. "A big 'I told you so' moment. You didn't even know Kara! You were too busy rotting away in prison, remember?"
"That's not fair. Do you think I enjoyed being away from you and your sisters? From your mother? If I could change the past, I would, Josh. Please tell me you know that."
"No, you wouldn't! You'd do everything the exact same way if you had the chance!"
"I thought we got past this."
Josh continued to rant as if Jim hadn't even spoken, which, given his current state of mind, he probably hadn't. "You've never once even asked me about her, you know that? Not once!"
"So, tell me about her," Jim stated quietly, hoping his son would follow suit and lose some of the rage that was building up inside him before the kid popped a blood vessel, or something. The older Shannon knew from experience that this anger was misplaced. The true targets of Josh's fury were Boylan and Mira. But if he had to bear the brunt of it to get to the truth, so be it.
"It's too late," Josh whispered softly.
And there it was. Worse case scenario staring Jim right in the face. Still, he continued to hope against hope that he was wrong, that there was some other explanation for this undeniably raw despair. He took another step further into the room and reached out for his son. "Why, Josh? Why is it too late?"
Josh nearly broke at the sympathy in his father's voice. Part of him wanted to give in. To allow his father to hold like he used to do when he was little. But the anger still coursing through his veins wouldn't allow it. He jerked away and moved to the other side of the room, putting a safe distance between himself and his father. "No! This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you! If you hadn't gotten arrested and thrown in jail, we never would've had to come here in the first place, and maybe I could've stopped it from happening! It's all your fault! I hate you!"
Jim's heart stuttered at the venomous words his own son had just thrown at him. He tried to remind himself that Josh was just misdirecting his anger, that he didn't mean what he was saying. The fire in the boy's eyes made that a difficult task, however. "Josh - "
At that moment, Jim's radio squawked. "Shannon!"
He almost considered not answering, but something in the tone of Taylor's voice changed his mind. Keeping his eyes on his still seething son, he unclipped the radio from his belt. "Go ahead."
"We need you at the command centre, asap!"
"I'm kind of in the middle of something, Taylor. Can it wait?"
"Terra Nova is facing it's very own apocalypse, Shannon. So, no, it definitely cannot wait."
"Josh, I need to go. I'm sorry. We'll talk more later, okay?"
The teens anger seemed to deflate instantaneously. With his gaze lowered to the floor, refusing to make eye contact, he mumbled, "Just go," then retreated into his bedroom, his shoulder brushing against his father's as passed.
Jim felt the undeniable urge to grab his son by the shoulders and wrap his arms around him but something held him back. Perhaps the clipped urgency in Taylor's words... or maybe it was a fear of the door he would be opening with that one simple action. He wasn't sure he was what Josh needed right now. His mother might be better suited for this particular crisis. But she was at the clinic and, if Taylor's reference to the apocalypse was anything to go by, Jim didn't have time to stop by there and explain.
Taking one final look at Josh's closed bedroom door, saying a silent prayer that this situation wouldn't escalate any further than it already had, convincing himself that Josh just needed a little bit of space - Jim grabbed his gear and left the house.
TNTNTNTN
A few hours later, Jim, Taylor and Washington split up, each with their own small team of highly trained soldiers to find the bomb rumoured to be set to go off in one of the ridges. Part of Jim's team was Lt. Reynolds. The kid may not have completely won him over as the best guy to be dating his daughter, but he had long ago convinced him that he was an able and dedicated Marine, and Jim was happy to have the young man on his team.
Taylor hadn't revealed how he had come across this information, just that he had and that the source was a reliable one. Jim couldn't help but play with the idea that maybe Taylor had managed to get his own spy into the Sixers camp. Either way, if Taylor said it was good intel, that was good enough for Jim.
As they approached the ridge they were supposed to recon, Lt. Reynolds, who was on point, raised his fist in the air as signal for everyone to stop. Like a well oiled machine, every man and woman on the team went down to one knee and awaited further instruction. Keeping low, Jim made his way to the head of the line to confer with Reynolds.
"What is it, Lieutenant?"
"There's movement at the opening to one of the caves," Reynolds informed him in a sotto voice. "Right over there," he added, keeping one hand on his gun and raising the other to point out the area he was referring to.
"Okay," Jim said. standing up to do some up close recon of his own. "I'll be right back."
But Reynolds grabbed the detective by the arm and hauled him back down. "Are you crazy?" Then, realizing his error as soon as the words left his mouth, he tacked on the missing phrase, "Uh... sir."
"You have something to say, Lieutenant?" Jim asked in an ominous whisper. He had to admit, though, he was somewhat impressed that, despite the tiny cringe of fear, the younger man didn't back down from his position.
"You can't go in without backup, sir. We have no idea how many Sixers are in there. They rarely work without a team. It'd be suicide for you to do it."
"I believe that's my decision to make, Lieutenant."
"No, sir, it isn't. Maddy would never forgive me if I let you get yourself killed... sir. Let me go in with you. Two of us won't draw much attention, and you'll have someone to watch your six. Sir."
Jim's responding sigh was a mix of frustration and resignation. "Fine. Come on." He signalled the rest of the patrol to stay where they were until further notice, then he and Reynolds made their way to the cave opening.
TNTNTNTN
Skye had met Lucas Taylor for the first time tonight and he had given her his own solemn vow that she and her mother would be released with all the medicine they could possibly need, if she just completed this one final mission. And, if Skye didn't survive this particular outing, he promised that her mother would continue to be taken care of in the Sixer camp. She had to believe he was telling the truth. That he had inherited even just a shred of the dignity that his father possessed.
It was a risky mission, yes. Probably the riskiest she'd had to do yet. But if it meant not losing her mother and being left completely and utterly alone on this prehistoric planet, then it was worth all the risk and more.
She was well into the cavern in search of the perfect spot to place the detonation device before she heard the approaching steps echoing off the walls. Finding a dark corner to fold herself into, she held her breath and waited for the inevitable. And her expectations were not unfounded. Jim Shannon rounded the corner, weapon in hand. He was blocking her only exit. Her heart hammered in her chest. Not only in fear for her own life but for her mother's, as well.
"Come on out," the detective called out. "I know you're in here. There's only one way out of here and it's completely surrounded. So, it would be in your best interest to surrender, don't you think?"
Skye took a deep, fortifying breath as she reached into her satchel and flipped the first switch necessary to set the device. Then, saying a silent prayer that she was right about being able to take Lucas at his word, she pulled herself out of her hidey-hole and stood face to face with Jim Shannon.
"Skye?" the detective asked, unable to mask his surprise. "What are you doing here?" He lowered his gun a little bit but something about her stance and the panicked look in her eyes told him to prepare himself to take fast aim once again.
"Do you really have to ask?" Her words weren't said with sarcasm. Instead, they held a certain sense of recrimination and defeat.
"Why did you do it, Skye? Commander Taylor trusted you. My son trusted you."
"I'm sorry," she whispered, the tears coming back full force now. "I had no choice."
"You always have a choice, Skye. Always. You either do what's right or you do what's wrong. Plain and simple."
"You really believe it's that black and white?" she demanded, a bit of defiance bleeding into her tone now.
"Honestly? Yeah. I do."
"I have to say, that's kinda funny coming from the man who went to jail to protect his daughter from an overzealous police officer! Wasn't so black and white then, was it!"
"You want me to admit there are exceptions? Fine. Yes, there are exceptions. Grey areas. I was protecting my family. That comes before everything. But, you may have forgotten, I've read the file on every person living in Terra Nova and I know for a fact that you are an orphan. The only person you have that's even close to family is Taylor. And you've just betrayed him. How do you think that's going to make him feel? He doesn't deserve that, Skye. And you know it."
"My dad died, yes," Skye told him. "He suffered a long and painful illness and Terra Nova didn't have the means to cure him. Then my mom contracted the same disease. And that's when - " she allowed her voice to trail off. What was the use in telling him the truth? It was all over anyway. But she wanted Josh to know the truth. She needed him to know so badly!
"That's when what?" Jim asked slowly, not sure he even wanted to know the answer. "What happened after your mom got sick?"
"Mira got a message to me through Boylan. I wouldn't have even gone to meet her if he hadn't told me that it had to do with my mother. I swear I wouldn't have. I hate the Sixers! But I had to take the chance. My mom was dying! I had to go."
As she wiped the tears from her eyes, Jim took the opportunity to inch his way closer to the young girl. He was pretty near positive that the explosive device was in her satchel. If he could just get close enough, he could overpower her and, hopefully, disarm the device. "What did Mira tell you?" he asked, more as distraction than anything else. The most important thing right now was getting to that device. He could deal with the how's and why's of her poor decision making skills at a later date.
"She said she could get medicine through the portal that would help cure my mother, keep her from dying! All I had to do was get information to her once in a while."
"Mira lies to get what she wants, Skye. She lied to Josh and she lied to you. It's just what she does."
"No. You don't understand. The medication worked. My mother is alive!"
This piece of information did give Jim pause. So, Mira was holding the life of the kid's mother over her head. Couldn't really blame her for doing what was asked of her. And, yet... "But she did lie about just bringing her information, didn't she. It's escalated into more than that."
Skye broke eye contact, averting her eyes to focus on the ground instead. "It wasn't supposed to go this far. But I can't just let my mother die. She's all I have left!"
Jim continued to inch closer to her. "No, she's not, Skye. You have Commander Taylor. You have Josh."
"Right," she laughed bitterly. "Commander Taylor will never forgive me. Neither will Josh. But once Kara gets here, I'll just be a faded memory, anyway."
"Kara isn't coming to Terra Nova," he told her simply, refusing to elaborate just yet, even with the question clear in her eyes. "And I'll talk to Taylor. I'm sure he'll understand." When Skye's silent question turned into a look of disbelief, Jim amended his statement. "Granted, it may take some time, but he will understand. You're not the only one who's grieving over the loss of a loved one, Skye. And you're certainly not the only one who's willing to do anything to keep one around. But this isn't the way." He took another step closer, arm outstretched. "Just give me the satchel, sweetheart."
At this point, Skye noticed Reynolds coming around the corner behind Jim. He had his gun trained on her but his eyes held the same sympathy that she was now able to see in Mr. Shannon's. Still, she hesitated, "But... my mom..."
"We'll find a way to get her back to Terra Nova. Maybe Elisabeth and Malcolm can conjure up a medicine that will work without the Sixers involvement. But, either way, I don't think this is the way your mother would want it. I know, I wouldn't want Josh or Maddy or Zoe to be forced to do these things just to save my life. I'd rather they let me die than put themselves into dangerous situations for my sake."
Close enough now, Jim grabbed the satchel and Skye put up on resistance as he removed it from across her shoulders, careful not to trigger any possible booby traps, sensitive chemicals or touchy mechanical charges. "Go over and stand with Lieutenant Reynolds," he told her not unkindly, as he slowly removed the explosive device from the bag.
"It's okay," Skye told him. "I only flipped the one switch. Both have to be flipped to arm it."
Reynolds took Skye by the arm, taking her into custody but remaining sensitive to all the revelations she had just made to Mr. Shannon.
"Skye," Jim asked, "are both of these lights supposed to be flashing?"
"Oh no," Skye said, her voice going up an octave or two. "I must have flipped the wrong switch. Lucas told me it overrides the first one."
Jim's eyebrows raised at the mention of Lucas but he held his tongue for the time being.
"Can you diffuse it?" Reynolds asked tentatively.
"I'm not sure," Jim admitted. "You two had better get out of here."
Reynolds led Skye in the direction of the exit but once she was well on her way down the narrow tunnel, he returned to the cavern.
"What part of get out of here did you not understand the first time, Reynolds?" Jim growled as he examined the device more closely.
"With all due respect, sir," the lieutenant declared, "I am not leaving you alone."
"Commander Taylor put me in charge of this team and I am giving you a direct order, soldier. Get your ass out of here! NOW!"
Reynolds stood more at attention in testament to his defiance. "No, sir."
Trying a different tack, Jim softened his voice. "Mark," he started, garnering a look of surprise from the lieutenant for having used his first name. "If something happens to me, Maddy is going to need your support. Heck, with the cannon balls currently hitting my son head on, he'll probably need you, too. We can't both die tonight. And, since I'm the one who has a little bit of experience with diffusing bombs from my time on the force, I need to be the one to stay behind this time." He fought back the tears that seemed determined to fill his eyes at the thought of never seeing Elisabeth or the kids again. "So, please, go. Now."
With a curt nod, and eyes a little more wet than usual, Reynolds gave Jim a proper salute and made a move to exit the cavern. At the last second, however, Jim grasped the younger man's hand in a firm hand shake. "It's been a pleasure serving with you, son. And, for the record, your actions tonight have proven to me that you are worthy of my daughter's affections. Now, go," he ordered one final time.
As soon as Reynolds was gone from sight, Jim turned his attention back to the bomb. There was no timer, just the two flashing red lights. He peered at each wire, its individual connection, turned the device over in his hands. He knew it was both crazy and futile but part of him was actually looking for an 'OFF' switch. Finding none, he placed the small death box back on the ledge in front of him to take another look at the wires. That's when he noticed the lights were flashing faster than they were a few seconds ago. And their speed was increasing exponentially.
"Okay, that can't be good," he intoned dryly to himself.
Knowing there was no way he'd be able to diffuse the bomb, his fight or flight instinct took over... and flight won!
TNTNTNTN
Outside, Skye was now in handcuffs as she and Reynolds, along with the rest of the team, waited expectantly for Jim Shannon to come out of the cavern, smug smile of success firmly planted on his face. With each passing moment, their hope faded.
Just when they thought Jim would be lost to them forever, he came barrelling through the exit with a holler of "GET DOWN!" as he threw himself to the ground several feet away from the opening. The entire team followed suit, Reynolds protecting the handcuffed Skye with his own body.
The explosion ripped through the air, pelting the team with rocks and debris! Then everything was quiet. Too quiet. Reynolds immediately rose to his knees and scanned the area. "Is everyone okay?" he yelled. His ears were ringing but he was pretty sure everyone from the team confirmed they were relatively unharmed. Then Skye sat up. Her eyes caught on something behind Reynolds and widened in horror.
The lieutenant turned and, there, on his back, covered in dirt and debris, was Jim Shannon. His eyes locked with Mark's before he abruptly lost consciousness.
TNTNTNTN
10 HOURS LATER:
Josh was sitting next to his father's hospital bed. Maddy and his mom had claimed the two seats on the opposite side of the bed, with Zoe asleep on his mom's lap.
Jim hadn't woken up once since Lieutenant Reynolds had entered the clinic with the detective draped over his shoulders. Elisabeth had examined him, then she put him into a medically induced coma. She said it was the best way to allow the brain swelling to go down.
Josh believed his mother, of course, but he just wanted his dad to open his eyes so that he could apologize. He wanted nothing more than to tell him that he didn't hate him. At all. To tell him that he loved him and to beg him to please, please not die!
1 DAY LATER:
Elisabeth watched her son sadly from just beyond the curtain. Maddy and Zoe had finally acquiesced, with help from Mark Reynolds, and agreed to go home for a few hours. But Josh had insisted on staying right where he was, keeping his father's hand clasped tightly in his own, watching for any sign of his father waking up.
2 DAYS LATER:
Josh finally succumbed to sleep, his forehead resting on his father's arm. Still, he continued to keep a firm hold of the older man's hand, which was why he was the first to notice movement. He woke instantly from his light doze and called out, "Mom! Mom, I think he's waking up!"
Elisabeth came running over, checking her husband's vitals, even as she eyed the dark circles under her son's eyes. His frantic gaze moved from Jim's face to hers and back again, anxiously awaiting her prognosis.
Unable to tolerate the lack of contact, Josh reached out and placed a hand on his father's arm, hoping to offer some kind of comfort. A selfish part of him wanted to be the first thing his dad saw when he opened his eyes.
TNTNTNTN
He was immersed in an oily darkness. Pitch black. Thick with tension and fear. But he couldn't remember what he was supposed to be afraid of. All he knew was...
He had to get out. He had to get back to his family. He couldn't leave them, not like this. Especially, not the way he had left things with Josh. His son was hurting and he hadn't tried to comfort him. Not really. Not the way a father should. His years in prison had left him out of practice with the whole parenting thing. It was easy with Zoe and Maddy. But so difficult with Josh. Such a fine line between sentimental affection and ensuring his son grew to be strong and independent. But, if he were to be honest, he had avoided what had really happened to Kara for selfish reasons. Displaying affection for his teenage son would take him out of his comfort zone. His own father's way of offering comfort was a punch to the shoulder, maybe a squeeze on the back of the neck in desperate times, but never anything more than that. If Kara truly was dead, that kind of comfort was way out of his league. It definitely fell under Elisabeth's department. But Josh was too much like his dad. He would most likely refuse any comfort offered, preferring to carry the guilt around because, at least in his eyes, that's what he deserved.
The two red lights blinked incessantly, the only relief in the utter darkness. Oddly, however, as the speed at which they blinked increased, he felt terror instead of relief. RUN!
Running. Running. Running...
BOOM!
TNTNTNTN
Jim's eyes flew open! Josh inserted himself directly into his line of sight, wanting to reassure him. "It's okay, dad. You're safe now!" Unfortunately, his words seemed to have the exact opposite effect.
"No!" Jim yelled out, causing Josh to stumble back a few steps.
Elisabeth and one of the nurses grasped Jim by the shoulders and tried to force him back down to the pillows. "Jim? It's Elisabeth. Can you hear me, sweetheart? You're in the hospital." His eyes finally focussed on her and he calmed somewhat."I'm going to give you a sedative to calm you down a bit, okay?" Without waiting for a response, she injected the fluid into his IV and watched as his eyelids got heavier and heavier until they closed completely and he fell into a deep sleep.
Her eyes then moved to Josh, who had backed himself almost past the curtain. "He wasn't yelling because of you," she told him. "You know that right?"
Before she could say anymore, her son walked away from the makeshift room and left the clinic.
TNTNTNTN
7 DAYS LATER:
No matter how much Elisabeth tried to convince him, Josh refused to return to the clinic. He insisted that he was fine, just too busy. Her instincts told her there was more going on here than met the eye. Something else had happened that she didn't know about and it was quite literally driving her crazy.
For some reason, Josh had stopped working for Boylan and was now busying himself with odd tasks around the house, things Jim would usually take care of - fixing the sink, repairing a hole in one of the screens. When her teenage son tackled the problem of the clogged toilet without so much as an argument, Elisabeth knew something was seriously wrong.
She grilled Reynolds about it but all he was able to tell her was that it had something to do with Kara. Did Mira break her promise and not bring the girl through the portal? No. That would certainly upset Josh but not to this level. He was downright despondent! It had to be something more than that.
One evening, when she finally asked Josh what was bothering him, he said he wasn't feeling well, locked himself in his room for the rest of the night and was gone before she woke up the next morning.
It was that day that she returned to the clinic to find an almost completely healed husband waiting not-so-patiently for her return. "Have you talked to Josh?" he asked, a question that had become a tradition of sorts ever since Jim had been coherent enough to recognize the fact that their son hadn't been visiting. She'd been reluctant to tell him about the affect his outburst had seemed to have on Josh but decided he had a right to know. The concern in his voice each time he inquired about the teen was just another thing that alerted her to the fact that she wasn't privy to everything going on in Josh's life right now.
"He still refuses to come by the clinic," she advised, while shining a light into his eyes and peering closely at the dilation of his pupils. When she finally finished her cursory exam to confirm that her patient was in fact ready to go home, Elisabeth shared her concern with him. "What happened to Josh? I tried to ask him last night and he completely shut down on me."
"I'm not sure," he told her honestly.
"Care to hazard a guess, then?" she asked, arms crossed in front of her and one eyebrow raised in a 'don't you dare sideline me' expression.
"Honey, I really don't know. All I do know is that it has something to do with his girlfriend in 2149."
"Well, even I know that," Elisabeth chastised lightly. "What kind of detective are you anyway?" she added with a teasing smirk.
Giving his wife a heatless glare, Jim admitted, "Based on the evidence I've managed to collect so far - which is slim, at best - I think Kara might be..." He couldn't bring himself to say the word for fear of it being true, and what that truth might mean for his young son's heart, not to mention his state of mind.
Nevertheless, Elisabeth, being the smart and intuitive woman that she is, caught the implication of his words almost instantly. Her hand flew to her mouth in shock, her eyes filled with tears of sympathy and, probably, sadness. There was never any doubt in Jim's mind that Josh had inherited his big heart from his mom. Jim may have never met the girl but Elisabeth had and it never took her long to become attached to one of the kids' young friends. Determination soon joined the emotions in her expressive eyes. "I have to go see Josh. I have to be with him. I have to..." Without finishing her statement, she turned to leave, only to have Jim take her gently by the arm.
"Let me," he said simply, both request and statement.
"You? Jim, no offence, but are you completely off your trolley? TLC is not exactly your area of expertise. You usually shy away from these types of situations like there's no tomorrow." She eyed him critically. Then: "I can't believe you actually want to do this."
Jim shrugged, his face a mixture of embarrassment and shame. "Let's just say, I had an epiphany during my time away from the waking world."
TNTNTNTN
Elisabeth had agreed to keep the girls busy in the market for the next hour or so, giving Jim some much needed time alone with their son. She still wasn't entirely comfortable relinquishing her usual role of comforter to her husband but she understood it was something he needed to do. And, she had to admit, it was probably something Josh needed, as well. He had a lot of pain and anger locked away inside, starting with Jim's incarceration. And with what they believe may have happened to Kara, he needed his dad more than ever right now - whether he was willing to admit it or not.
TNTNTNTN
Josh was in his room when Jim arrived home for the first time in a week. Figuring an element of surprise would give him the best advantage, he and Elisabeth hadn't told Josh of his impending return. When he knocked on his son's door, he was greeted with a curt "Mom, I'm busy!"
With a tiny shake of the head, Jim opened the door. What he saw was his son laying on the bed studying - or pretending to, anyway. "It's not mom," he said quietly.
Josh's head jerked up in shock. "Dad? What - what are you - ?"
"Your mom gave me a clean bill of health."
"Oh, um, that's great. I'm glad you're okay," he said sincerely.
Jim started making his way around the room, picking up books and mementos from 2149 as he went, doing his best to appear casual. "Wanna tell me why you never came to visit me?"
"I was, uh... I was busy. Got a lot of reading to do," Josh told him, avoiding eye contact by returning his focus to the book in his hand, knowing that his father would see right through his lie. He always did.
"You have a lot of reading to do?" Jim asked incredulously.
"Maddy isn't the only smart one in the family, you know!"
"No, she isn't," Jim agreed. "All you kids take after your mom in the brains department. You just don't usually admit to it, is all."
This seemed to surprise Josh a little bit. Thankfully, it also made him forget his anger for a moment.
Jim finally arrived at an old fashioned snow globe perched on the windowsill. An item Elisabeth had once told him was a gift Kara had given Josh for their one year anniversary. "Josh." He waited until Josh finally looked up and made reluctant eye contact with him. "What happened to Kara?"
For a moment, Josh was silent, then he stood and gently took the snow globe out of Jim's hands. "It doesn't matter. Nothing can change it. No point in talking about it."
"Humour me."
Holding the snow globe like the cherished item it was, Josh started pacing back and forth across the room, much like he had been doing the last time Jim had tried to approach this topic. But instead of talking about Kara, he kept his back to his father and said, "I don't hate you."
Unable to miss the catch in his son's voice, Jim said softly, "I know that, Josh. You were angry and looking for somebody to blame. I was the closest target."
"When Reynolds carried you into the clinic, I thought you were dead."
"I'm so sorry you had to see that. But I wasn't dead. And I'm still not. Josh... you need to tell me about Kara, son. What happened?"
Still refusing to turn around, Josh spoke in an eerily toneless voice. "A fire broke out in her building. Everyone made it out safely. But Kara ran back inside for..."
A few agonizing moments passed.
"What did she run back for, Josh?" Jim asked, slowly making his way over to his son.
The shoulders hitched as the pent up emotion started to bleed through Josh's barriers. "You know, she told me once that she kept every single love letter I had ever written to her. They were so corny but she kept them anyway. In a box under her bed so that she could read them when she woke up scared in the middle of the night."
"Josh - "
Whatever Jim was about to say was drown out by a hoarse cry, as Josh threw the snow globe against a nearby wall. The glass shattered. Water and fake snow splashed everywhere. All that remained were the figurines that had been encased in the globe, a young man and woman, skating arm in arm across a frozen lake.
"Josh!" Jim grabbed his son by the shoulders and spun him around to face him. His heart broke at the sight of the tear streaked face, the eyes filled with agony and guilt and anger. He instantly pulled him into his arms.
"It was so stupid! She ran back inside for those stupid letters! She should've just left them. I would've written her more letters once she got here! Now she's gone and she's never coming back!"
After a moment, Josh seemed to realize what was happening and he struggled to free himself. "Lemme go!"
But Jim just held on that much tighter, reaching up and cupping the back of his son's head with one hand. Then he waited. He endured the pushing and pulling and squirming. He even endured the occasional cuss word because he knew it wouldn't last long. And it didn't. Within a few moments, the first sob broke free. Then another. And another. Soon, Josh was clinging to his father, fists clenched in the back of his shirt, tears soaking the fabric.
When exhaustion set in and Josh's legs gave out on him, Jim lowered them both to the floor and continued to hold and rock his heartbroken, grieving son.
THE END
A/N3 I had actually written more at the end of this, happy ending 'n all. But it just seemed too 'out of left field' to tie everything up in a nice little bow so quickly. So, what happens with Skye and how Josh copes, etc. will be saved for another story. :o) All reviews are not only welcome but treasured! ~Kelcor