"I'm sorry." They were the words she never wanted to hear. The two words that broke her heart into a million pieces. "Maddy-" She turned and ran from the soldier who had given her the painful news. She wasn't entirely sure where she was running; only that she was running away from the one thing she had hoped never to have to run from.
"Maddy?" she heard her Dad yell after her as she ran past him. She didn't stop. She couldn't stop. What would she say to him if she had?
Through her tears she could see that she was approaching her house. She burst through the front door and headed straight for her room, ignoring the confused calls that followed her. She collapsed onto her bed and allowed herself to cry. She cried until she felt as though she had nothing left, yet the tears continued to fall.
"Maddy? What happened?" Maddy lifted her head slightly and saw her parents standing in the doorway.
"H-he," she gasped as she struggled to stop the constant flow of tears that prevented her from speaking. "Gone! H-he's gone!" From the corner of her eye she saw her parents exchange a glance. They didn't need to ask her who it was that was gone, her reaction told them enough.
"Maddy, sweetie-" began Elisabeth quietly. Her words were cut out by a frustrated scream from Maddy.
"DON'T! Mum please just don't! It's no use he's gone! He won't come back! He-" the rest of her words were drowned out by her sobs.
"Maddy-" Maddy dropped her head back onto her bed and allowed herself to continue to cry. She felt the bed dip under the added weight of her parents as they sat next to her in an attempt to calm her down.
"Mummy?" came a small voice from the door. Maddy turned her head and looked through her arms to see her younger sister standing at the door, staring at her intently.
"Not now Zoe," replied Elisabeth. "Daddy and I have to help Maddy with something right now okay?" Zoe nodded and left the room with a last glance at Maddy. "Maddy I need you to do something for me," said Elisabeth as soon as Zoe had left.
"What?" groaned Maddy.
"I need you to sit up."
"Why? He's not coming back."
"Who told you?" asked Jim. Maddy sat up and looked her Father in the face.
"Reilly. She told me that he was gone."
"Yes but did she say he was dead? Or did she say he was missing?"
"What does it matter? He's gone and he's not coming back!" cried Maddy.
"Maddy sweetie, if he's only missing then there is a chance he will come back," said Elisabeth gently.
"It's almost impossible to survive out there," replied Maddy. She was a smart kid, but the devastation of losing her boyfriend meant she wasn't thinking straight.
"Commander Taylor survived. For 118 days remember," stated Jim. Maddy said nothing but stared at her Father in earnest, her eyes pleading with him, silently asking him to tell her that everything would be okay. "Reynolds is a smart guy. He'll come back."
"But what if he doesn't? What am I going to do if he doesn't come back?" she asked. Jim and Elisabeth exchanged a glance over Maddy's head. They had never had to deal with something like this before and weren't sure how to handle it.
"Sweetie, it's late. Why don't you get some rest? We can talk about this more in the morning." Maddy shook her head as the tears threatened to fall once again.
"No. No I don't want to talk about it anymore. I just want him back."
"I know sweetie, I know." Both Elisabeth and Jim stood up from the bed and allowed Maddy to crawl under the covers.
"Maddy, listen to me. I'll go to Taylor tomorrow. If I know him he won't just leave Reynolds out there alone. He'll send someone out there looking for him," said Jim.
"I know. I just-" Maddy stopped. She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. She was afraid of what might happen if Commander Taylor couldn't find him.
"Get some sleep. We'll talk more in the morning." Jim kissed his eldest daughter's forehead before leaving the room with Elisabeth.
Maddy heard rather than saw her parents leave the room. She turned her head and made her thoughts centre on him. About the last moments they had spent together before he had left to go on patrol.
They had met up early that morning for a breakfast date. Maddy had cooked and had made sure that everyone else was out of the house by the time he had gotten there. When she opened the door for him he had produced a bunch of wildflowers for her and had kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey beautiful."
"Hey. I made us some breakfast."
"Smells good." Maddy stood back and allowed him to walk through the door. She closed it behind him and led the way to the kitchen. "So where's the family?" he asked.
"Mum's at work. Dad's with Commander Taylor and Josh took Zoe to school early. We've got the house to ourselves."
They had made small talk then, making plans about a date they were planning on having on the weekend. It was only when their plates were clean did she bring up the topic of his patrol.
"Do you have to go out there?" she had asked quietly. She remembered how he had sighed.
"Maddy Shannon," he began as he reached across the table to take her hand. "You are the smartest girl I have ever met. Why are you so afraid every time I got OTG?"
"You might not come back. You have to promise me that you'll always come back."
"I promise."
Thinking back on that morning Maddy realised that this was the only time that Mark had ever lied to her. He had promised that he would come back. He lied.
"Reynolds. Reynolds! Wake up!" Mark groaned and slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and he could barely make out the person above him. "Come on, there you go." A pair of hands found their way beneath him and helped him up so he was sitting. "Here drink this." A canteen was brought to his lips and he drank heavily, the cool water wetting his dry lips and sliding down his cracked throat. "Better?"
As his vision became clearer he became aware of who was holding him upright. Wash was standing above him making sure he wasn't hurt. He was.
"You are a complete mess," she said as she inspected one particular wound on the side of his head. "What happened?"
"Sixers," he croaked. "Ambushed us. Killed everyone. Took the supplies and the rovers." His sentences were short; he was having trouble finding words.
"It's all right. We've got you; we'll take you back to the colony." His eyes began to slide shut but Wash shook him a little. "You've got to stay with me Reynolds. You've got to keep your eyes open okay?"
"Can't-"
"Come on, you can do it. Think of – I don't know – think of Shannon. Maddy Shannon," said Wash as she tried to get him to stand. A small smile crept onto his face. The thought of seeing Maddy again was enough to get his feet to move. "That's it. Come on. We'll get you back to Terra Nova. Doctor Shannon can fix you up."
As they approached the colony the smile on Reynolds's face grew larger. Maddy was in there, waiting for him. He had been lost. But now he was found, and he intended to never get lost again.