Disclaimer: I do not own Terra Nova or its characters...

Hope you like this chapter! There's actually more Mark than Maddy in this one, so idk if that's a good or bad thing :P

Enjoy!

.xoxo


Hours later, the darkness enveloped them as they arrived at the breeding grounds. Maddy's heart beat rapidly, loud in her ears as she listened for any sign of nearby carno. She felt Mark secure the rover, and walk around to her, his gun aimed at the wilderness that surrounded them. Maddy was a little nervous to say the least, but she had expected to get here by nighttime and the fact that Mark seemed poised to shoot at whatever came their way lessened her nerves.

"Be ready. Anything could be hiding in the dark." Taylor commanded his men, nodding at Dunham when he approached him.

"Infrareds show that the ground is clear. Seems we've beaten the carno's here." Dunham informed him, eying the jungle warily.

The breeding grounds looked exactly like how Maddy had pictured them. It was a large, flat clearing, maybe a four hundred feet wide and six hundred feet long, with large trees and brush around the border. Maddy looked at the large hollows on the ground, long since dried and everything that they held long since gone and grown. She knelt down to examine one of the old nests, marveling at the craftsmanship. These nests resembled large bird nests, except on the ground, but the overlying concept was the same. There was so much to learn about these creatures that for one moment, she almost forgot that they weren't small gentle birds, but huge, carnivorous dinosaurs. Maddy stood up slowly, her guard coming up and her senses on point.

"Everything is going as planned. The Carnotaurs are maybe eight or nine clicks away, which gives us only about an hour to set up camp safely." Malcolm glanced up at the trees, and nodded at them " Just like I thought, the trees over here" he signaled to some large banyans towards the center of the breeding ground "would make an excellent observation point and the trees are large and sturdy enough to keep us safe in case anything goes wrong"

"Which it won't" Taylor snapped " because this has all been carefully planned right?"

"Of course, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared just in case" Malcolm motioned for a couple of Taylor's men to follow him, and she noticed them carrying large planks of wood and equipment.

"What are they going to do?" Maddy whispered to Mark, her hand holding on to his bicep.

He flashed her a small smile before replying.

"We're going to camp out sixer style."

Maddy cocked her head to the side, and then went to her mother.

"Mom, are we going to be done in time?"

Elizabeth Shannon looked up from her position on the ground, where she was taking inventory of the medical supplies they had brought along.

"Yes, sweetheat, they're just building simple platforms on the trees. There's nothing to be worried about"

She felt someone walking up to her from behind, and turned around, her eyes landing on Mark, who was holding two fire lanterns.

"For you two" He handed her the heavy lanterns, smiling a little when he saw Maddy's surprise at their weight.

"The fire will keep away any unwanted species" he then proceeded to show both Maddy and her mom what to do in case of a dino emergency.

"Just open the latch here" his fingers grazed a small brass latch " and it will open. Then just tilt it towards the floor so that some of the flames leave with the running oil and try to get the ground in front on you on fire. Just extremely careful about dripping it on yourself. You don't want to catch on fire" his eyes glanced meaningfully at Maddy.

"I get it Mark, I'll be the most careful scientist here" she held the lantern away from her dramatically, and Mark laughed a bit.

"Interns" he muttered under his breath teasingly, and walked away from an amused doctor and his annoyed girlfriend, or fiancé-to be, as he reffered to her in his mind. He would never utter that aloud, unless he wanted to be taunted mercilessly by his fellow soldiers.

"Reynolds, Reilly, come over here for a sec" Commander Taylor ordered, and Mark walked towards him, accompanied by Reilly, both of their expressions a little confused at being wanted by their CO.

"Reynolds, Reilly, as you both know, I am without a lieutenant" Taylor's voice deepened slightly, his hand absentmindedly going to his tags " and I have dragged out the task of finding a new one for a long time. Its been too long, and my security team needs someone to be there when I cannot, or someday, will not."

He circled them, his voice becoming graver with each word " Both of you are good soldiers, very good. But that is not all that it takes to be second-in-command. To be a lieutenant, one must have discipline, smarts, survival skills, and devotion towards what they serve for. Reynolds, Reilly, both of you have these traits, which makes this difficult task even harder for me."Taylor glanced at his soldiers, both staring at him expectantly, fear and anticipation easily seen behind their postures.

"With that being said, I am still deliberating on which of the two of you I would rather have at my side. The answer of course is impossible. As much as I appreciate both of you, neither of you could ever replace Lt. Washington. But I do have to make a decision sometime. I'm just letting you know that I will be watching the two of you very carefully." At this, Taylor dismissed them with a heavy heart at the remembrance of losing Alicia.

Mark and Reilly looked at each other, and exchanged a look between them that wasn't competitive as others would expect, instead it was a sad glance. Neither of them ever had desired to replace Wash. The thought was bittersweet and unbearable. To think that one of them would be second-in-command because of their late lieutenant's death scared them. Both Reilly and Reynolds shook their heads in disbelief. Never in a million years would they have thought that they could hold thee position of the woman who had taught them everything they knew.


They did finish building the platforms in time, and later that night Maddy lay in her sleeping bag on one of them. She had almost drifted of to sleep, when she was startled by the rumble atop the trees, including the one she slept on with the rest of the female volunteers and her mother.

Maddy sat up, and picked up the fire lantern that lay next to her, and rose it up in front of her so that she could see the breeding grounds.

She saw nothing, and disappointed, lay back down.

But then she heard them.

Their call was as distinctive as a population police alarm, something to fear, something that raised the hair on her arms, something dangerous, and at the same time, something that was considered normal in her surroundings.

For once, they weren't the intruders. She was.


How was it? Hopefully it was good, portraying Taylor was actually a lot harder than I thought...

anyways, drop a review on your way out :)

.xoxo