Author's Note: Fill for Live Journal Week 35 Friday one word prompts "Run," "Waterfall," "Sonic" and "Bleeding" for Wash and Taylor.
Note, I just got distracted by the prompts. I am still writing part 3 of And Baby Makes… but, well, when a smutty idea comes along, what are you gonna do? Had to go with it.
This is set in the context of my other stories, post-series but before baby.
Disclaimer is the same as always – don't own them, just borrowing, no profit here.
"Shit! Go to the right!" Alicia hears Nathaniel's voice directing her path from somewhere behind her. She veers off, rifle at the ready, making sure she can still hear Nathaniel crashing through the underbrush, following her.
She hears him as well as the nyko chasing them, so she keeps running. Even as she's focused on the trees and terrain, watching for obstacles or for another damned nyko, she can't help but think that this is just typical. They try to have a nice, quiet day together, and they end up running for their lives.
Suddenly, she hears Nathaniel yell and his rifle discharge, so she stops and spins around. Nathaniel is down, caught up on a fallen log, and she sees him firing at the nyko as it closes on him. She immediately heads towards him, sighting in on the nyko. She gets a bead on it, and she fires, catching it in the chest. Nathaniel's gun goes off, hitting it in the head, and the creature drops to the ground, dead.
She gets to Nathaniel as he's standing back up. As she checks him for injuries, he growls, "You should have kept going. They travel in twos or threes at least."
She examines a cut on his arm. It's a little deep, but there isn't much she can do about it right now. "You're welcome."
"I could have taken it." She doesn't acknowledge, and he starts to sound put out. "I could have, and I told you to run."
"Hmm." She pulls a bandage from one of the pockets of her cargo pants and covers the cut. She looks up at him. "Where now, Commander Crankypants?"
He snorts. "Not back the way we came. They're hunting us, I'm sure of it. A water source might be good. Maybe at least cover our scents a little, especially now that I'm bleeding."
"I take it you have a place in mind?" At his nod, she grins at him. "Lead the way."
He motions towards their right again. "Back the way I told you to go before, Mrs. Crankypants."
She smirks. "Yes, dear."
As she passes him, he pops her on the rear with his hand. When she looks back at him, irritated, it's his turn to smirk, eliciting an eyeroll from her as she heads off to the right. She'd love to banter with him as they'd usually do, but the truth is that nykos really are likely tracking them, and she doesn't want to make any more sound than is necessary.
Neither of them has that much ammo left, and it's a concern. The sonic pistols they both carry are something of a deterrent, but they don't kill the nykos unless it's a point blank shot to the head. That thought makes her wince a little, reminding her of Lucas putting a sonic pistol to her own head and pulling the trigger.
She shakes her head, banishing the memory, pushing her focus back to the thick forest around them. He's close on her six, but not so close as to make them an easy target for a single attack. Suddenly, a movement in the underbrush makes her freeze. She holds her left hand up in a fist, signaling him to stop. Everything seems to settle, but she can't shake the feeling that they're being watched.
His voice is barely a whisper when he speaks. "Wash?"
If they had time for it, she'd take a moment to be amused that, in a situation like this, he slips into calling her by her nickname, given to her by him close to twenty years ago. Instead of speaking, she waves her fist and then points towards eleven o'clock.
They wait a few moments, perfectly still, before she releases a light breath, guessing that it must have been the wind. She starts to turn to beckon him to start moving again when a loud snap, like a branch breaking, comes from the brush. She spins towards it, rifle up, when another nyko bursts out of the trees.
She gets two shots off, the first nicking the nyko's shoulder. The second shot gets it square in the chest, and it shrieks as it goes down. Alicia must have hit something vital, as she gets hit with a splash of blood when the shot hits. The creature shrieks again as Nathaniel gets to her side. He pulls his sonic pistol and puts it down with one shot to the head. His eyes widen in alarm when he turns to look at her. "Are you all right?"
She nods, trying to wipe the blood from her face. "It's the nyko's blood, not mine."
"OK. Those cries were probably calls to his buddies. We've got to go."
"Copy that. Lead the way, Nathaniel, I'll take the six." Before he can argue, she goes on, "I think I know where you're headed, but I haven't been there in a long time. We'll get there faster with you on point."
Clearly knowing she's right, he just grunts and takes off. She's hot on his heels when she hears more shrieks from nykos, blessedly far away, though they're getting closer. Thinking about where she's pretty sure Nathaniel is leading them, she remembers that there's a small open space before the forest closes in again at the base of a mountain. An underground river actually flows out from the side of the mountain, creating a waterfall, pond, and the continuation of the river into the forest.
She also remembers that there's a cave behind the falls, only about fifteen feet up the rock face. It's an easy climb for both of them, but the question is whether they can get there or not. They keep running, and the shrieks and crashes behind them increase in volume as the nykos close on them. She yells, "I think we pissed them off."
He laughs and calls back, "Well, you'd be pissed if I shot one of your friends, wouldn't you?"
"Yes, but my brain is somewhat larger than a walnut." That just earns her a snort.
They keep running, and she sees the open area up ahead. She also can hear the nykos getting even closer behind them. She and Nathaniel burst into the clearing at full speed, and a moment later, she hears Nathaniel say, "Shit!" for the second time in fifteen minutes.
She's about to ask what's wrong when she sees the shadow and hears the roar. A carno steps into the clearing, heading right for them. Knowing the rifle isn't enough to take it down, she grabs her sonic pistol, letting her rifle hang by a strap over her shoulder.
They spin back towards the way they came, and she sees that Nathaniel has his sonic drawn too. Before they can head back, three shrieking nykos emerge from the woods. She looks at Nathaniel, and they both seem to have the same idea at once. Nathaniel murmurs, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
She nods and they both head straight for the carno, haphazardly firing the sonic pistols at it. The nykos close from behind them as the carno closes from the front. As they get close to the carno, they concentrate fire on the now very angry dino's head. It roars and swings its head to their right, so they veer hard to their left, still running.
A shriek announces that the nykos are caught up. The carno seems to realize that they might be slightly easier prey than the noisy humans, and it stomps towards the closing nykos. Once they've passed the carno, they keep going to the edge of the woods. Briefly, they turn back. They're greeted with the sight of the carno with a foot squashing one of the nykos and the other two nykos going after the carno as it swings its head back and forth.
Even though the predators all seem to be completely occupied with attacking each other, Alicia and Nathaniel aren't taking any chances. They take off again, resuming their run towards the base of the falls. They don't even pause at the edge of the pond. They just pull their packs off and hold them up above their heads as they wade in and eventually swim across as the water gets too deep to stand. Just as her pack is starting to feel a little too heavy for her, they get to the rock face.
The falls aren't big, only about twenty feet wide and falling from about one hundred feet up the mountainside. Even so, a fine mist is already covering them. Luckily, there is a small ledge just behind the falls. It's about twelve feet below the cave and three feet above the surface of the water. Ahead of her, Nathaniel tosses his pack up to the ledge and hauls himself out of the water.
When she gets there, he reaches down for her pack. After he takes it, she is able to scramble up to the ledge before he can turn back to try to help her. They both collapse on the small ledge, breathing heavily. She starts to catch her breath and says, "Next time you say 'let's go camping,' I'm saying not just no but hell no."
He huffs out a laugh. Turning, he pulls her close and kisses her hard. She just gives in and enjoys it for a moment, but then she pushes him away, knowing they'll continue once they're up to higher ground. "Nathaniel, while it seemed that the nykos were well occupied, I'd really like to get up to the cave just in case." He frowns but nods, getting back to his feet.
She stands next to him, her eyes already cataloguing the foot and hand holds she sees in the rock face. She crouches down and opens her slightly-damp pack, finding and pulling out the light climbing rope she always carries. He arches a brow. "You think we need to belay for this?"
She shakes her head. "No, it looks pretty easy, even for you." She smirks at him, and he rolls his eyes. "I'm just going to take the line up, and then I'll drop the line back down for the packs. Easier to haul them up than to carry them."
With that, she loops the line over her body, and she steps up to the rock face. "Watch where I put my hands and feet, Nathaniel, and then try to follow me."
He gives her a flippant, "Yes, ma'am," but she knows he'll watch her like a hawk. This is one thing he openly admits she's better at than he is. She scales the wall more slowly than she would if she wasn't trying to show him the best path.
Even so, she's up to the cave in well under a minute. She pulls her sonic from her thigh holster and shines the small (thankfully waterproof) flashlight she carries in her cargoes around the cave. Once she's sure it's free of critters, she turns and drops the end of the line down to Nathaniel.
One by one, she pulls their packs up to the cave. When she has the second one, he follows, taking more time than she did, but not by much. Suddenly, she feels the adrenaline finally ebb away, and she goes to one of the cave walls and slides down it, sinking to the cave floor with her back to the wall. She pulls her knees up and lets out a deep breath.
He drags their packs over and sits next to her. "We need to change. It's warm out, but I'm already getting cold from being wet."
She knows he's right, and they both start pulling their wet clothes off. As they do, she can't help but be reminded of another cave, also here in the past. "You're smiling. What are you thinking about?"
She looks up at him in surprise, her breath catching as it always does at the sight of his bare upper body. "I was just remembering another cave."
Judging by the almost sinful smile he gives her, she can guess that he knows exactly what she's talking about. She shifts under his gaze. They're both shirtless, they've both already removed their wet boots and socks, and she's still wearing her damp sports bra. At the look on his face, a shiver wholly unrelated to the cold goes through her. His eyes drop to her chest, and she feels her nipples harden in anticipation.
She makes a small sound of disappointment when he turns away from her, but she then smiles when he turns back to her, a soft, light blanket in his hands. He spreads it next to them on the cave floor. As he does, she reaches back and pulls the tie from her hair, letting it fall to her shoulders. She also peels off her bra, in part to give him access, but also because the damned thing was wet and making her feel even colder.
When he turns back to see her now naked breasts and loose hair, his pupils blow wide, and he is on her in an instant, mouth locked to hers, their tongues sliding against each other. His hands grip her shoulders, and he easily presses her back onto the blanket. He immediately begins to trail kisses down her neck and shoulder, and in no time at all, his lips find a nipple, drawing it into his mouth.
She arches into his touch, her hands coming up and her fingers threading into his hair. Scratching at his scalp, she gently nudges him, letting him know that she's more than ready for him to move south. He chuckles at her enthusiasm, and he lets her guide him to where she wants him.
His hands go down to her thigh, removing her gun and then her holster. Then, they come back up, unbuckling her belt and pushing her cargoes and panties down her legs in one swift, efficient movement. Before she can make a smart assed remark about his own enthusiasm, his head moves back up between her legs, his hands pushing her thighs apart.
When first his fingertips and then his tongue brush across her clit, her head drops back. His fingers slide into her, first one and then two, and he works her with his lips and tongue, leaving her gasping and moaning quietly. Her hands clutch at the blanket, her fingers clenching and unclenching as his own fingers find a steady rhythm plunging in and out of her body.
After a few more moments, she arches again, her whole body going tense. He continues with his fingers and mouth until she relaxes into the blanket again. As she lets out a soft sigh, he moves back up her body, hovering over her, braced on his forearms. He leans down and kisses her gently, and she can taste herself on his lips.
She reaches up and traces her fingertips along his jawline as they kiss, and when he pulls back, there's an amused look on his face. "I didn't have to work very hard to get that one out of you."
She huffs out a laugh. "That's because I'd pretty much been ready since you kissed me down on the ledge." He grins at that and leans down and kisses her again.
As he lowers himself slightly, she takes the opportunity. She slips her hands up to his shoulders and wraps her right leg around his left, and in one quick motion, she reverses their positions. He ends up on his back, her hovering over him, smirking.
The slight smile on his face tells her that she didn't surprise him at all, but she's all right with that. As he had to her, she kisses her way down his bare torso, and she can't resist using her hands and fingers to trace their way down the muscles of his arms. He flexes as she does, something she enjoys far more than she probably should, and she hums in approval.
When she gets to the waist of his fatigues, she makes quick work of them, again just as he had to hers. She crawls back up his body, taking him in her hand. She moves her hand up and down his already rock hard length, and as her eyes meet his, she can read that he doesn't want her to prolong the wait. She obliges him, coming up and straddling him. She uses her hand, still wrapped around him, to guide him to her entrance, and then she releases her hand and sinks down on him, taking him fully into her body at once.
She braces her hands on his chest, her fingers scratching lightly. She raises and lowers herself a few times, rocking her hips, but she knows the slow movements won't be enough for him. He proves that theory when he grips her hips in his hands, fingers digging in. His strong grip on her lets him take control, first encouraging her to increase the pace and then holding her still to pound up into her.
She's still sensitive from her first orgasm, so the increased speed and force make her emit small cries with every thrust from him. He surprises her after a while by holding her still and moving into a sitting position, changing the angle and making her cry out. He keeps one hand on her hip but his other arm snakes around her, pulling her tight to his chest.
Her arms go around him, and she gasps at the drag and press of her hyper-sensitive nipples against the rough skin of his chest. He pulls his legs up, his knees and powerful thighs supporting her from behind as she continues to rock her hips into him. His hand moves up, winding into her hair as they kiss hard and deep, all sloppy lips and teeth and tongues.
As their rhythm begins to break down, their movements becoming more erratic, she feels her body tightening up again. He uses the hand in her hair to tilt her head to the side, and as she shifts her hips to get the best angle when she rocks against him, he moves his mouth downward, sucking at her neck.
She gasps at the sensation, and it's all she needs to push her over the edge, this release even more intense than the first. As she goes over the edge, she lets out a scream, and a few rocks of her spasming body later, he lets loose his own shout of completion.
She collapses against his chest, and he leans back down on the blanket. She goes with him, their bodies still joined together. They both try to catch their breath, and after a few moments, she rolls off of him, making him slip out of her. He remains on his back, and she leans over to her own pack, pulling out a second blanket. She curls into his side, her head on his shoulder, and covers them with the blanket.
After a few more quiet moments, she growls, "That's going to leave a mark."
He chuckles under her. "Sorry about that. But it's not like our relationship is secret anymore." He alludes to the fact that the whole colony knows that they're married.
"I know Nathaniel, but really, a hickey?" She's not really mad at him, but his constant desire to mark her has been an ongoing topic, an irritating one to her, throughout their relationship.
Instead of a reply, she hears a soft snore in response, and she smiles and shakes her head. She knows he'll wake up eventually, ready for round two. She grins wickedly. That'll be her chance to mark him back. Until then, she nestles into his side even more, and she falls asleep herself, listening to the soft sound of the waterfall outside the cave.
The next morning, they're awakened by Guz's voice over their comms. He and a few soldiers are out looking for them. They'd stumbled across Alicia and Nathaniel's parked rover, but with no sign of them there, they'd started calling on the radios.
They tell Guz where they are and what to watch out for, and then they get their things packed back up. When Guz's voice in their ears tells them that they're at the edge of the pond with a rhino and their rover, they reply that they'll be right out.
They use the rope to lower their packs back to the ledge, and then they both climb down. Before they get in the water to swim back across, they take their boots and guns off, attaching them to the packs. He catches her arm before she can lower herself to the water. He pulls her to him, catching her lips with his. When they break apart, he smiles at her. "See, camping isn't so bad. We'll have to do this again soon."
She snorts and rolls her eyes. "Pass. At least on the camping. The other stuff? That I'll do again." She grins at him. "Maybe as soon as tonight."
With that, she pulls back and lowers herself down into the water. He hands her pack down to her, and then he follows her in. Guz is waiting for them, along with Reynolds, Reilly and Dunham. Guz steps forward and takes her pack, his eyes straying to the base of her neck. He grins knowingly, and she just shakes her head.
When he turns to take Nathaniel's pack too, Guz can't stop the laugh that erupts. In the exact same place as hers, Nathaniel has a matching hickey. She and Nathaniel head for their rover, knowing the soldiers will ride with Guz in the rhino. As they walk, Guz calls out, "So, I guess you two had a nice break?"
In unison, as they climb into their rover, they reply, "Shut up, Guz."
He just laughs. "Yes sir, ma'am. But try to keep your hands off of each other for the trip home. I don't want to have to tow a wrecked rover back."
Nathaniel chuckles and shakes his head, but Alicia shoots Guz an obscene gesture, making him and the soldiers laugh. Nathaniel snorts and leans over and kisses her one more time. "In case I forgot to mention it lately, I love you, Alicia."
She bumps his nose with hers. "I love you too, Nathaniel. Now home. I want a shower. And if you behave the whole way home, I'll let you join me for that."
He leans back into his seat and turns the ignition. The engine roars to life, and he gives her a leer and a salute. "Yes ma'am."