A/N: My original idea was Mark and Maddy in the junkyard finding the wheel like in the episode, but Bellakit wrote a story, Wheels and Dreamy Status, so I had to come up with something else. Then Superpower by harryandjamesluvr came along taking my second idea. They are awesome stories BTW, so check them out!

This is a 3rd change of plans for me so I hope you like it. No beta so mistakes are all mine.

Spoiler: Within

Mark let out a ragged breath. He was beat but had to check in on Maddy before he called it a night. His day had been busy enough before his girlfriend needed help finding a tire. She had been so frazzled and looked near manic so he helped her find it to trade for a core. It didn't matter that it made him late for a meeting with his CO.

By now she should be writing about me or studying calculus. He chuckled as he made his way to the Shannon's house.

A quick knock on the door revealed a disheveled Josh. "Maddy's not here."

"Didn't she get her Promethium core?" Mark asked.

"I don't know. I'm grounded again so I can't help you look for her." Josh shrugged and turned back inside.

We found the wheel hours ago; she should have taken it to the market by now. He moved toward the marketplace, which was about a quarter mile from the Shannon's house. Telling himself he was being ridiculous and that nothing could happen to her, a cold fear took root in his stomach. It wasn't long ago that he'd been OTG and someone tried to kill her.

His pace quickened and he nearly sprinted to the familiar tents and stalls of the Terra Nova market. Spying the man in need of a wheel he shouldered his way through the throngs getting their dinner supplies and shouted, "Durwin! Where's Maddy?" His observant gaze immediately took in the new wheel on the man's wheelchair.

When he didn't respond, Mark grabbed a handle on the chair and swung it around so he could look at him. "I said where's Maddy Shannon?"

Anger gripped Mark now. A rage that still burned inside whenever he thought about the time he wasn't here to help her drove his actions.

Casey was prepared to snap at the young soldier, but he swallowed his retort once he saw the blazing blue eyes. "I-I traded the core to Boylan. I told her…"

Mark didn't need to hear anymore and ran to the bar. She's still bartering with him. A smart girl like Maddy would love the challenge of debating with Tom Boylan.

He entered the crowded bar to find Boylan chatting with Jenkins and Dunham. They all looked up as a very agitated Reynolds came to their table.

"What can I get you, Corporal?" Boylan asked.

"Where is Maddy Shannon?" His eyes swept the bar, pausing for a moment when he saw Wash and Sergeant Carter talking about something in the corner. Mark's blue eyes returned to Boylan and bore into him.

"I gave the lovely young lady her core about two hours ago."

"What?" Mark snapped. He realized his friends were starting to look at him like he'd lost his mind. "D-did she say anything before she left?"

Boylan must have recognized Mark's anxiety because he didn't feed the young man the usual bullshit he was capable of. "She offered me a wheel but out of my natural kindness I just gave her the core without taking anything from her." He seemed proud of himself and smiled once again.

Mark's mind was racing. He heard someone call his name but only raced back up the stairs. Where could she be? His eyes darted around the exterior of Boylan's bar. He saw the market not too far off, the command tower standing sentinel over the settlement and tons of trees. Where could she be if she wasn't home? Maddy Shannon never wandered off by herself, especially after what happened with Horton's imposter.

"Reynolds?" Carter called from behind him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Wash's voice joined with the Sergeant.

"I…" He turned to see his CO and platoon Sergeant looking at him with concern in their brown eyes. "I can't find Maddy."

Will nodded and looked at Wash. They both seemed to be hiding a smile. "Do you want to head to the Command Center or wander aimlessly with Reynolds?"

"I'll do something constructive," Wash said. "I'll let you know if I see anything on the cameras. Don't worry, Reynolds, I'm sure Maddy's fine."

"With her plex fixed she should be home studying," Mark said, his voice more fearful than angry.

"And she wasn't?" Carter fell in step with Mark. His legs were longer than the younger man, but Mark walked fast so they managed to stay in step.

"No. She wasn't in the market either."

"Where does she like to study?"

"Her room usually," Mark said, his eyes darting around the darkening colony. The sun would set in less than an hour. "It just doesn't make any sense." Frustration and anger returned to his voice.

"Hey." Will's hand landed on Mark's shoulder. "It's a bit of a walk back to their house. Maybe she stopped somewhere and got wrapped up in her studying."

"I could see that happening. She was pretty frazzled that she couldn't study for twenty-four hours," Mark said with a chuckled as he remembered her restless energy while they wandered through the junkyard. "But she knows I worry about her if she's not home by dark."

"Independent women don't like us worrying. It makes them think we don't trust them or something like that."

Mark looked at his friend and wondered if he was speaking from experience.

"Didn't you see her earlier today?"

"Yes, in the junkyard."

"That's a dangerous place. Why would you bring your girlfriend there?" Carter asked, his eyes surveying the darkening corners of the colony.

Neat-as-a-pin Maddy probably brought the tire back since she had no use for it.
Mark's mind raced through scrap metal and defunct military equipment they'd seen earlier in the day. What if something fell on her?

Will Carter's legs might be longer than Mark's but the younger man's irrational fear sent him running so fast through the colony that the Sergeant didn't stand a chance of catching him.

Maddy Shannon was dreaming about swimming in a pool of water under a waterfall. She could almost feel the cool water on her skin and released a sigh as she imagined arms wrapping around her. Ever since her first kiss with Mark, she fell asleep and woke up to thoughts of him: in some dreams they walked hand-in-hand under flowering trees in others they kissed on in a field of roses and lately they swam, scantily clad, in a pool or river.

The bench of the rover she fell asleep on wasn't nearly as comfortable as her bed, but the weary girl could barely keep her eyes open after she returned the tire and loaded the core into her plex. The abandoned rover offered her a place to sit down and look over several chapters she couldn't review yesterday. When she leaned back, she expected to rest a few minutes, not two hours.

"Maddy! Oh sweetheart, are you okay?"

She felt a hand press against her throat and then felt arms slide under her shoulders and knees. As she regained consciousness, she was pulled off the bench and onto the floor of the rover. In her sleepy state, she thought something awful was happening and lashed out with her elbow as Mark had taught her.

"Ow! Maddy, it's me. It's Mark. I won't hurt you," his voice broke as his arms wrapped tightly around her. "I was so worried. Why did you come here alone?"

Maddy quickly woke up because her body naturally responded to Mark's closeness. Arms moved around his shoulders and her mouth sought his for a kiss before she opened her eyes.

The intensified and within seconds, it deepened into much more than a simple kiss. For Maddy it was the fulfillment of the dream she was just having. For Mark it was an acknowledgement that she was okay.

When they broke apart, Maddy laid her head on his shoulder as she shook of the last of her sleep. "Mark, what were you yelling about?"

"I thought something happened to you," he confessed as one hand stroked her hair and the other held her tightly on his lap. Mark pressed kisses to her hair and forehead.

"Why would you…"

"Maddy." Mark pushed her back so he could see her tawny eyes. His hand moved to push hair out of her face. "I almost lost you once. When I can't find you, I get worried. I always will."

She felt a warm glow fill her. "I worry about you too."

"Maddy, I will always come back to you…" Her fingers pressed against his lips.

"Mark, I know you have a dangerous job. I'm a cop's daughter. There were nights we never knew if Dad would come back or not. Don't make a promise you know you can't really keep." She swallowed hard at the memory of Mark being injured recently.

Apparently the same thought crossed his mind because he smirked. "I told you as long as you kissed me every time I returned, I wouldn't mind facing danger."

Her eyes narrowed. "If you deliberately put yourself in danger, I might withhold my kisses for days."

His face softened. "As long as you don't dump me, I can deal with that."

"I thought my kisses were an addiction or something like that." She laughed as she remembered his sappy comment from the other day.

"You're my addiction," he said as he leaned in and kissed her long and hard. Tiny sounds came from deep in her throat as the kiss heated up.

"Now I'm really going to throw up," Will Carter's voice came from outside the rover.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Mark growled as they pulled apart and looked at the Sergeant standing with his arms crossed through the missing window.

Maddy felt her face flush at being caught kissing Mark once again.

"You seriously have a death wish," he said to Mark. "And do you really want to endanger your boyfriend this much?"

"What?" Maddy shot back. I don't care if Miss Porter's crushing on him, sometimes he can be a total jerk.

"Carter!" Mark's voice dropped.

"You know it's a damn good thing you've got a chaperone like me around." Carter held out a hand to help Maddy get out of the rover. "Come on."

They both glared at the Sergeant as they left the rover.

"I expect you to name your firstborn after me because I'm just saved Daddy's ability to procreate. Shannon would castrate you if he saw her sitting on your lap."

TBC

A/N: Tried hard to keep potential foreshadowing out of the story, but it's not easy with the finale a few days away.