A/N: Thank you to those who have read and/or reviewed chapter one! You guys help to keep the story going!

Is it awful that when an advertisement for Terra Nova comes on tv, my mom and I squeal like little girls and get ridiculously excited?

Anywho, enjoy chapter two from Taylor's point of view!

Taylor watched carefully from the corner of his eye as Wash walked into headquarters to her sign herself in for duty. The night previous she saved a baby dinosaur and he found himself impressed with her. The opportunity had never presented itself to her before and somehow, he was surprised- delighted even- that she had showed compassion to the animal.

"What happened to your arm Lieutenant?" the voice belonged to one Mark Reynolds. He kept his expression blank, but the tone in his voice betrayed the professional façade he attempted to give.

"Let's just say touching a panicking baby dinosaur isn't the smartest idea in the world." She replied, keeping her own voice professional- but to show her appreciation for the concern, she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, nothing more than a scratch."

"You took care of it yourself, didn't you?" he said, his features breaking into a pointed look. Since she didn't offer an explanation about the baby dinosaur, he didn't ask because chances were, she wasn't going to tell him.

"And if I did?"

"What if it gets infected? You might want to have Dr. Shannon have a look at it just in case."

At this, Alicia smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Dr. Shannon, huh? This recommendation wouldn't have anything to do with Miss Maddy Shannon would it?" his face lit up like a tomato, making the smirk on Wash's face upgrade to an all out chuckle.

"Leave the poor boy alone, Wash. He's already got the rest of the force on his case." Commander Taylor's tone- however- was anything but serious and his amused grin betrayed his words just the same.

"So, have you began the initial stages of courting her yet?" asked Wash, her tone becoming serious.

"Yes, I was over at her place for dinner the other night." He replied, his tone becoming sheepish.

"And?" asked Taylor. Reynolds stared back blankly.

"He doesn't know about the 'way of the soldier', sir." Said Wash, her tone conveying nothing but the utmost seriousness for the topic.

"The way? What way?" the younger man asked. A passing soldier made eye contact with Taylor, both their looks filled with humour.

Clearing his throat, Taylor looked nothing but serious for what he was going to say next.

"To properly court a woman, you must first clear your intentions for her. You must always address her in the most respectable manner, and then speak with her father about your intentions so he doesn't blast your balls off. Then you must make a call to her house and escort her to a planned activity outside of her home that she would like." Mark took all this in with a small crease on his forehead to show he was really concentrating on what he was telling him to do. "Think you can handle that, son?"

"Yes, sir. I could handle anything for her." The sincerity in his tone surprised even Alicia.

"Then go get her, Reynolds. What are you standing around here for? Take the day off to please your lady, kid."

"Now, sir? I just started my shift…"

"Now, son, before I change my mind."

"Thank you, sir." Leaving his gun and signing himself out, Mark landed a playful jab into Alicia's shoulder.

Taylor watched the exchange and leaned on the desk with his arms crossed over his chest, mimicking Wash's pose. He watched as she rolled her eyes at Reynolds' antics, and looked around the room as if she were searching for something. "What are you looking for?" he asked.

Her gaze landed on him and in that moment something snapped in him. His chest constricted and his breath came out in a rush. It was like for the first time, he was really, truly seeing her. He had always known she was attractive but right here, with the sun coming in through the window and hitting the side of her profile, her dark eyes seemed that much more intense. For a moment, his cobalt blue eyes just stared at her dark depths. It was fascinating how it looked like there were two different shades of brown swimming within her iris'.

"Sir?" he snapped out of it in a jolt and stood upright instantaneously.

"Yes?" he asked, clearing his throat to get his head back in the game and clenched his jaw.

"I'm looking for my review papers…" she said again with an edge of uncertainty. "Are you okay, Nathaniel?" she asked quietly, real concern clear in her expression and tone. "You zoned out for a few moments there."

"I'm fine." He said curtly and looked down at the desk he was previously leaning against. Spotting what his Lieutenant was looking for, he held it up and gave her a small smirk. "Found it."

Taking a large step towards him, she smiled her thanks and grabbed the sheet on the side he wasn't holding and frowned a second later when she couldn't pull it away. Looking at him with curiosity written on her face, she opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it.

"You're right. I'm not feeling very well today." He said, covering up for his momentary lapse of insanity, where he was actually thinking about telling Wash how nice her eyes looked in that light.

"Perhaps if you saw Dr. Shannon…?" she offered the suggestion but the stubborn look on his face was enough the tell her he wouldn't see her unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Don't worry about me," he said and smiled reassuringly at her. Well, he hoped it was a reassuring smile. "Go see to your survival class. It's their last day with you and I'm sure they'll miss your guidance." She nodded and left for her class at the gate entrance.

When she was gone, Taylor inhaled and closed his eyes. He could smell her scent. He didn't know what the scent was for sure, but he knew it was flowery and sharp. Feminine. And damn him if he didn't like it. He had been suspicious of her feelings for him for a few years now and admittedly, he did and said things in certain ways to see if he could find a tell. So far she was a brick wall that never cracked unless he went on a mission outside the gates. But that wasn't enough to go on. Outside of being in the military, they were friends. It was natural to be concerned for a friend.

He wasn't sure, but as of right this instant he might have possibly, hypothetically, theoretically have felt… attraction for his Lieutenant. Taylor swore under his breath; if he was starting to feel something, even a semblance of attraction or affection, it would have to be eliminated. Ever since loosing Ayani, he could never bring himself to move on with another love. If his feelings were somehow trying to move without his say so, there would be problems. Especially if that woman was Wash. She served under him so not only would that be completely against the rules, but he would be constantly worrying for her safety. A lot more than he did already.

"Don't you dare intensify." He said to himself, looking down at his chest.

"Sir?" asked a passing soldier, his brow quirked.

Do not blush. You are not a dirty old man, no reason to be embarrassed. He coached himself and stood straighter, giving the young man a cold glare. "Get to work, soldier. The gate isn't going to patrol itself."

That night Taylor was deterred from his path home to the infirmary. A little girl no older than eleven had made it to the gate, which meant she was undoubtedly a Sixer. "Where is she?" he asked when he arrived at the infirmary. The place was a wreck, momentarily alarming Taylor to the child's well being.

"Right over there." the exasperation in Wash's voice was very evident as she pointed to under a medical table. He hadn't seen much of his Lieutenant since the morning, so to see her again with his less than honourable thoughts from earlier made him uneasy. He squared his shoulders and set to the task at hand to keep his mind away from the woman standing a few feet behind him.

Elisabeth Shannon was already there, bending down to the girl's level so she didn't seem so intimidating. "I'm going to need a few moments alone with her." she said softly.

"I want to talk to her." he replied.

"I know but right now she needs space. She just needs to calm down."

Sighing with impatience he relented. "Alright."

They all filed out with Alicia waiting for her Commander by the door before she stepped through.

"Wash."

"Sir."

"Jim." Both Alicia and Taylor looked at the one and only Police Officer in Terra Nova. Alicia gave him a look and the man put his head down, eliminating all efforts to start a conversation. "Sorry, just thought I'd contribute…never mind."

Hands on her hips, Wash paced a few steps before turning and pacing a few more before retracing her path. Her fingers drummed against her hips impatiently and if she were to look up from the floor on her trek back towards Taylor, she would have seen him staring at her. Looking over at Jim, the older man was pleased to find he was watching his wife through the glass of the door.

"I'm going to get the kid something to eat." said the Commander and with a deep breath, stood straight and left for the food bar on the other side of the infirmary. He refused to even glance in Wash's direction as he passed her, lest she see something in his gaze that he had no intention of her seeing. Ever.

Not five minutes later, Taylor showed up with food for the girl at the same time Elisabeth allowed them back in.

The girl, he learned, was named Leah Marcos. He remembered her parents and how small she was when they first arrived and remembered she was but the size of a peanut. Later, when Leah had her fill of food, he made arrangements with the Shannon's for her to stay with them until they found a family willing to take her in long term.

Taylor and Wash left the infirmary at the same time and before they departed, Taylor turned to his second in command. "How's your arm, Wash?"

"It's fine, sir. Just a scratch. I'll probably be able to take the bandage off tomorrow morning."

"Glad to hear. Listen, not tonight because it's too dangerous to go out, but tomorrow I want you and one other to look for Leah's bag, doesn't matter who. It should be close to where you found her." she nodded in agreement before turning left to make for her home, while Taylor continued straight on. With a final glance in her direction, he straightened his shoulders and pocketed his hands.

The next day had started like any other day; busy and uneventful. Wash had gone to retrieve Leah's bag and he was meeting with Jim Shannon to talk about the girl and what it would mean if they could extract certain information from her about the Sixers.

It threw him off guard to hear his soldiers yelling warnings about Sixers' arrivals this early in the morning. He expected it, of course, just not this soon.

Back straight and eyes set, he went to the gate and waited with his men behind him, ready to fire on command. The Sixers stopped a good distance away from the gate, knowing what it would mean if they got too close. What he wasn't expecting was his Lieutenant and Sergeant Smith be tied to a pole of wood, helpless and bloodied. His eyes landed on Wash's. Her hair was down. She never had it down on duty.

His jaw ticked and he clenched his teeth. They kidnapped his Lieutenant. This did not bode well for Mira.

"Raise the gate!" he called, making sure his voice didn't betray him. His stride was paced, even as he approached Mira. Taylor made it very clear throughout their conversation that there was no room for negotiation. Not when she ambushed his people. Not when Wash was standing there, beating herself up for getting caught by them. She was one hell of a fighter, which meant there most certainly had to have been more than one opponent after her.

Finally relenting, Mira let Alicia and Smith go and only when they were back behind him, did he allow Shannon to bring out Leah. Throughout the whole time Mira was there all he wanted to do was open fire and eliminate each and every one of them, but that would put his people beyond the gate in danger. That was something he couldn't risk.

"I ran away. I'm not going back with you, I want to stay here." said Leah's small voice after Mira hissed at her to speak. The anger in Mira's eyes was enough to satisfy Taylor's want for revenge. He wanted her to be humiliated on behalf of Wash and Smith.

"Fine. Keep her. She's nothing to me anymore."

"You have your answer, now leave." they both turned their backs on each other to leave for their colonies, but Taylor turned back around. "This is the second time you've come to my gate, threatening the colony. Next time will be the last. Next time, we go to war." it felt good saying that. It felt good, releasing a threat he knew he would keep. Especially since he was furious. Mira said nothing as she walked away, knowing that next time she charged his gates, it would be to take down Terra Nova.

Walking behind his men, he spotted Wash heading up the steps into headquarters, ignoring the concerned questions and stares of soldier and civilian alike. Smith was not so distant and welcomed the concern and questions of his peers. "Smith," Commander Taylor came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, hearing the door to his office open and close. "get yourself to the infirmary. Report back to me when they let you out." when Smith complied with his order, he turned back to his office to find Reynolds outside the door, looking down at the knob. It was clear he was torn on what to do.

Walking up the steps, Taylor patted Mark's back. "Don't worry, boy. She's alright. You saw how much she wanted to kick their ass even when she was tied up."

Turning to face his Commander, Mark nodded, his eyes an open book to Nathaniel. "I know, sir. It's just… it's Alicia…" that statement alone said a great deal of things. It said the woman was strong, really damn strong and could hold her own, clearly, even when ambushed. It also said she was a woman. A woman with great pride and it was humiliated in front of the entire colony today. The woman was no doubt going over and over, in her mind, how she could have done better or seen it coming. Reynolds and Taylor knew that, because they would be doing the same and when it came to their duties as soldiers, the three of them weren't very different people at all.

"Will you… will you ask her stop by my post before going home? If she doesn't want to it's fine but…" She's like a sister to you, is what Taylor finished for him in his head.

"I understand. I'll be sure to pass on the message." he said waited for Reynolds to walk down the stairs to head to his post before going into his office.

The sight he saw didn't really surprise him. It was her trademark poise when she was stressing. Her hands planted on her hips and her strides were long, purposeful. She got to one side of the office before making her way back, only to start the same path over again. Nathaniel Taylor leaned against his closed door for a few moments, watching her. Assessing her.

She failed to notice him and it was at this point, he knew she was bothered. "You plannin' on runnin' a hole in my floor, Wash?" at his voice she snapped to attention.

"Sorry, sir."

He came closer to her, his eyes roaming the bruises on her face and then finally settling on the cut on her lip. "I always said you were too mouthy." he said, trying to make light of the tension.

The small smile that was brought to her mouth split the cut on her lip open again, causing her to flinch and wipe the blood away. "Yeah well, I was never good at holding my tongue in enemy territory."

The humour in Taylor's eyes evaporated. "What happened out there?"

"Smith and I found Leah's bag and that's about the same time they took us by surprise. They got hold of Smith and then came after me. I took down as many as I could but there were too many. By the time I knew it, I was reaching for a fallen knife and Mira was knocking me out with the butt of her damn gun." she said, pressing a soft hand to the side of her head.

"What happened here?" he asked, bringing a gentle hand to her cheek. The action made her shiver. Taylor caught it, but said nothing. Not now.

"Let's just say Mira doesn't like me very much."

"Fair enough." his blue eyes held what he was feeling. "I should have sent you out there with more than one other soldier. I'm sorry." he said, the sincerity in his voice was enough to have Alicia's full attention if he didn't have it before.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, sir. I should have been able to handle them. I'm just weaker than I thought I was-"

"Don't. Don't you dare, Alicia Washington. Don't you dare think that bullshit for a minute." his tone silenced her, tensed her even. "You single-handedly took out more of Mira's men than most of these soldiers could even dream of taking on. You look hurt but I can guarantee you the ones you took care of look like hell. You wouldn't be here where you are if you weren't strong. Incredibly strong. You've been through hell and back, believe me I know. I've been there too. But you," he paused and put both hands on her shoulders. "you're one of the strongest I've even had the honour of knowing."

She didn't know what to say to him. She didn't know if she believed it but he did and she guessed that was enough. For now. "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. Now go to the infirmary before I kick your ass there. Reynolds wants to see you before you get home, too."

Nodding, she made to leave but Taylor caught her arm. Turning back around to face him, he watched as the broken emotions she tried to hide, flittered across her face before she got it under control and hid it behind an emotionless mask. "Sir?"

"When will you let someone be there for you, Alicia?" he asked, his eyes searching hers but it was impossible now that she had her wall up. His hold was unrelenting as she tried to test his grip to pull away.

"There is no one, sir."

"Bullshit."

"I wouldn't lie-" she was cut off by the sudden pull of his arm. He wrapped both muscled limbs around her back firmly, knowing he was probably putting too much pressure on her injured body but he couldn't help it. She was one of the few people still alive from the war in Somalia, and perhaps the only one that would have such an impact on him if anything were to happen to her. They were lucky that was all the Sixers did to her. So lucky.

"You always have someone to turn to, Wash." he said in a low tone and let her go. She hadn't shed a tear, the pride in her wouldn't allow it, but there was emotion in the depths of her eyes again. "Now git, or I really will kick your ass." he prided himself on being able to bring a smile out of her even on her worst days.

"Yes, sir."

He walked her out and watched her make her way over to Reynolds' post. They were too far away for him to hear what they were saying but Nathaniel was able to see the bear hug Reynolds gave her. It looked as if she wasn't expecting it because for a moment, she didn't know what to do with her hands. Alicia eventually settled one at the back of his head and the other around his waist. The pang of jealousy that went through Nathaniel's core made his eyes narrow. He wanted to be in her arms and that realisation unsettled the life out of him. "This is ridiculous." he muttered to himself and went into his office, slamming the door behind him.

A few hours later a knock sounded at his office door. "Come in." he said distractedly. He looked up from the papers he was reading to find Skye walking in with a small smile. "Well hello there, Miss Skye." he gave her his full attention. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I know that these past recent events have taken a toll out of quite a few people so Tasha and I were talking and we came up with a way for everyone to kind of relax. At least for a little while."

Taylor raised a brow but seemed genuinely interested. "Go on."

"We were thinking of calling it 'Terra Day'. To celebrate being here. We were hoping even the soldiers could take a load off but I know how important it is to keep watch, which is why for this one day and night only, the whole colony could pitch in and help take shifts."

"And say the Sixers came to our gates. What would we do then if we were all piss ass drunk and couldn't see straight?"

Skye never missed a beat. "I thought you might say that. Which is why if we make this a yearly celebration, the soldiers can rotate each year on who drinks and who doesn't. I'm sure they could all have one drink, but half of them could still relax a little bit while the others had fun…"

"Well I definitely like the idea. There's a few flaws but leave it with me and I'll get back to you on it as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Commander." he nodded and watched her leave before leaning back in his chair.

He barely got enough time to think 'that'd be a good idea', before he heard, "Carnotaurus!" outside headquarters. Getting to his feet, he grabbed his machine gun and walked outside to see the civilians take cover in their homes. The sun, he noticed, was setting nicely as he slung his gun over his shoulder.

"Sonic Cannons at the ready!" he shouted and came close enough to the gates to touch them. Two more huge dinosaurs of the exact same species emerged from the jungle. "Steady!"

The three creatures moved in unison, approaching the gate with curious aggressiveness. When the Carnotaurus were within range, Taylor yelled, "Fire!" and all at once sonic cannons were fired. It took the damn creatures five minutes to realise they weren't worth the trouble and left the gates. His eyes narrowed on the backs of the Carnotaurus, his chest swelling with pride at once again being able to fend off the giant dinosaurs.

Looking back at the colony, his ice blue eyes found chestnut brown through the crowd of relieved civilians. Even in the damned sunset with bruises marring her skin, she looked like a vision of loveliness. At this time of day, the setting light hit her eyes full on, creating a shade he was too far away to recognise.

Before he could read her expression, he made himself turn away. Some things just couldn't be delved into.

A/N: I'm going to do my absolute best to update weekly!

I also have no idea why, in the first chapter, in the a/n at the top, there's a 'J'. I swear it wasn't there when I uploaded it.

Oh well! Hope you enjoyed chapter two!