Disclaimer: I do not own Terra Nova or it's characters...

Okay here's a little sidenote for this one,

There has been sort of a confusion with the ring and I hope this chapter clears it up.

Yep, I said chapter... I think this might evolve into a multi-chapter story :)

.xoxo


Maddy smiled all throughout breakfast, sneaking glances at her new ring. She loved the way the emerald glinted in the sunlight, and though she wanted to wait for an opportune moment to show her parents, she could not contain the giggles that erupted from her sporadically. Josh looked at her as if she was crazy, shook his head, and then continued to eat his breakfast. Elizabeth Shannon raised an eyebrow, but said nothing and her husband was to wrapped up in his own head to realize the glow that was emanating from his seventeen year old daughter.

"Maddy, you haven't touched your breakfast" Her mom reprimanded lightly.

Maddy laughed loudly, and now she had everyone's attention, including her father's.

She realized what she had done, and stupidly put both of her hands to her mouth, her left hand overlapping the right.

She heard her dad sputter, choking on his orange juice, her mother gasp, and her brother laugh under his breath.

"MADDY! What is the meaning of that!" Jim Shannon lost his composure, standing up and banging his fists on the table. "That better not be what I think it is, or I swear to God that I will shoot Reynolds point-blank"

"Jim!" Her mother scolded.

"No Elizabeth, she is too young to think about marriage! She's only seventeen for heaven's sake! Reynolds promised me he would wait, I should've known he was a -"Jim Shannon's rant was interrupted by his daughter's laughter.

"What's so funny Maddy?" Her mother questioned, an incredulous look upon her face.

"Damn it, Maddy this is not funny" Jim fumed.

Maddy just laughed harder, and Josh held her up before she slipped from the stool.

"Maddy are you high? Do you want to die?" Josh whispered harshly to her.

All the while this went on, Zoe watched from her spot on the kitchen table, and said the worst thing she could have.

"Is that why you left last night? When I woke up Mark was tucking you in" her innocent voice resonated through the deathly silence that ensured.

Maddy had enough reason to stop laughing. Now this, was something she wasn't planning to ever tell. Damn

Jim raised up his hands, as in mock surrender.

"That's it, forget me shooting him point-blank. I am going to shoot him in his stomach and place him in a carno nest. Now you tell me Maddy, exactly what went on last night, and if I should castrate him before I kick him into the carno nest."

"Thanks Zoe" Maddy muttered. She glanced around at her parents, her brother actually for once looking sorry for her, the little braniac who never did anything wrong. Her mom was calm and controlled, but under that façade she could see her disappointment leaking through. Her dad was the complete opposite. He was completely red in the face, shaking in anger, with his fists balled up on the table and his eyes boring into hers harshly, so much that she had to look away.

"Maddy" Her mother warned.

Maddy bit her lip, the situation having gone way out of control. She closed her eyes, and sighed before beginning her explanation.

"Look, Mark slipped me a note yesterday afternoon telling me to wait for him by my bedroom window at midnight. He didn't explain what for, he just asked me to trust him."

"And you did?" Her dad questioned.

"Of course I did, Dad. Last night he met me, I snuck out of my window and he walked me to this garden at the back of Terra Nova. I don't know if you guys knew, but there was a lunar eclipse last night. He just took me to get a better view of it and we watched it together."

"And what happened when it got completely dark?" Jim's accusing tone made her cringe.

"Nothing, we talked, I fell asleep and then he took me home. I woke up and there was he ring with a note. That's all that happened"

"Can we see the note?" Her mom asked lightly.

"No.. It's… Private" Maddy murmured.

"And I'm guessing the fact that you're wearing the ring this morning means you accept his proposal?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips.

Maddy smiled.

"That's where you're wrong. It's not an engagement ring. It's a promise ring"

Realization dawned on her mother, and she smiled.

"Now that, makes sense"

"Promise for what exactly?" Jim sputtered.

"For our future. He wasn't lying when he told you he would wait, and by giving me this ring" she held up her left hand "he's really just showing you he's serious"

"So does that mean I can't shoot him?"

Maddy laughed."No, Dad… Not today"

Josh shook his head, disbelieving the way things turned out. Could miss-perfect ever get in trouble?As he saw his mother fawning over the ring and his dad's head set in resignation, he received an answer.

No, she couldn't.

He walked out of the house for some air, and no one but Maddy noticed his absence.

Back inside, Maddy was happy, but she when she felt her brother leave, she excused herself with a smile, and followed him out.

"Josh!" she walked fast to catch up with him.

"What do you want Maddy?"

"Why are you acting like this?" She grabbed his arm and turned him around.

"Acting like what?"

"Like that!"

"Look Maddy, I love you. But I can't really be part of your happily-ever-after" he turned and kept on walking and Maddy knew her brother enough to know not to follow him.

Even though she knew that her brother was still grieving after Kara's death, she shook her head at him, mad because he was acting like a baby. She knew he loved Kara, but obviously he loved Skye just as much. She couldn't understand because she'd never been in his shoes. But Maddy had enough common sense to know that Josh needed to grow up. When he got involved with the sixers, she never judged him. He did it for Kara. When they found out of Kara's death, she was there stroking his back as he cried. When she walked in on him and Skye making out a week later, she left before they noticed her presence. Josh didn't know what he wanted, and in the end of the day, it was him who acted as the victim of this "cruel world". Josh needed to get rid of his blinders. Yeah, she did expect him to be happy for her, not to make it about him. Maybe she expected to much… Or maybe she was just making excuses up for Josh. At least he had a backup plan. If something ever happened to Mark, she would have absolutely nothing...


Okay, so what do you think? No Mark in this one :( But he'll be in the next one I promise! Its a little short, but I wanted to update something for you guys so... Drop a review on your way out :3

.xoxo