This chapter begins some days before ´The Runaway´and continues to the midst of the episode.
I don´t own anything, it all belongs to Fox.
Madi92, CapeCodMakai, metube, MissCallaLily, thank you very much for taking the time to review :)
Madi92: Lol, yeah, poor Guz- couldn´t have him killed, I like the guy, so he´ll just have to look for another pretty (ok almost as pretty) girl. Definitely talking in this chapter, though rather about Taylor being a bit of a pushover than anything else ;)
CapeCodMakai: Thank you, that´s a very nice thing to say :D Well, there´s nothing like a jealous guy, is there- and Taylor is the perfect man to write jealousy, competitive, stubborn, self righteous, the whole package… Yeah, well, actually the whole possessiveness plot will thicken once I get to Bylaw and Vs and have to deal with all of Taylor´s little plots and secrets and work Wash in there.
metube: Yeah, well, it´s been a long time since I´ve written NC-17, ok, tame NC-17 but I rather rate things higher than too low, so yeah- I think it went ok, though, there´ll be a bit more hotness in the next part, it´s part of the storyline now of course but it´s still mainly about the plot about other things.
MissCallaLily: Thank you and here you go. ;)
Wash stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself and was reaching for a second one to wrap around her head when a knock on the door stopped her movements.
"Wash, you in there?"
Pulling the door open Wash leaned against the frame, looking up at her CO.
"I´m indisposed at the moment, Sir" she smirked up at him as she, too, followed the pattern of the last conversation they had had in the barracks.
"You don´t look indisposed to me, Lieutenant" he replied, pushing her back into the room before closing and locking the door.
"Taylor, we shouldn´t-"
He pulled the towel off her body, letting it fall to the floor before backing her back up towards the shower, his hands fisting into her wet hair as he covered her lips with his, kissing her hungrily until Alicia pulled away long enough to rip his shirt off, moaning at the skin to skin contact.
"Turn the water back on" he undressed while Wash stepped back inside the shower cabin, the hot water combining with Taylor´s arms wrapping around her making her whole body tingling with excitement.
She arched back into his chest, turning her head, her arm wrapping around his neck, pulling his lips back down to her´s, moaning into his mouth when his hands began to roam over her body.
"I can´t stop thinking about you" he whispered to her, his breath hot in her ear.
"I knew this would happen, damn it."
He pulled her back against him, one arm around her hips, the other reaching for her´s, lacing their fingers together and bracing them against the wall.
"You don´t seem too upset about it" she gasped when he pushed himself into her, her fingers tightening around his as she pushed back against him and then he sank his teeth into her neck and she shattered, biting her lip to keep herself from screaming.
When she came back down from her high she was cradled in Taylor´s arms, the water beating down on them as he peppered her shoulder with soothing kisses.
"We´re due at a meeting in ten, Sir."
Wash told him, her voice almost as firm as she had hoped.
"Back to lieutenant mood now?"
Taylor chuckled but let her go all the same, stepping out of the shower and reaching for a towel.
"This is Reilly on watchtower four, Lieutenant Washington, are you copying?"
Taylor groaned, his head falling onto Wash´s shoulder.
"Tell me that´s not happening."
"Lieutenant, are you copying?"
Wash pushed Taylor aside and reached for her radio, taking a deep, steadying breath.
"Washington copying, what do you need, Sergeant?"
"We have something out here, it seems to be human and we-"
"I´m on my way, Washington out."
She got up, reaching for her clothes while Taylor sat up, watching her in silence.
Wash pulled her tank over her head and reached for her body armor before turning around to him.
"What?"
She asked, holding eye contact while strapping her gun to her thigh.
"I have to go, technically I´m on duty and even if I weren´t, I would have to go, I´m their CO and they don´t know what to do, so I have to go and do it for them."
Taylor stared at her for a moment, then he started to laugh, shaking his head.
"You´re really mad at them, aren´t you- look, I´m aware that you have to go, I´m not happy about it but we´ll pick up where we left off later- now don´t bite their heads off, they don´t know you were getting laid when they interrupted you."
"You´re so glad that I´m in a hurry" Wash hissed, throwing on her jacket and storming out on the room, promising herself that she would wipe that smug smile of his face later.
She arrived at the watchtower five minutes later, still wound up and sincerely hoping that whatever her unit had spotted outside would turn out to be someone she could beat up to let off some steam.
"Reilly" she barked up the tower, impatiently waiting until the younger woman had scrambled down the ladder and was standing to attention in front of her.
"I want two motorcycles and three more people on foot, make it quick."
"Yes, Ma´am."
Reilly saluted, then ran off towards the barracks, talking hurriedly into her radio as she went while Wash yelled for the gate to be raised.
She was starting to feel better as she tore through the trees, yelling orders but it all was over again the moment they found a little scared girl in an oversized parka staring up at them.
Rolling her eyes, Wash told Reilly to pick up the kid and carry her to the infirmary, ignoring the other woman´s shocked expression as she stomped off back towards the gate.
After the child had destroyed half the equipment in the infirmary, Wash was more than ready to just crawl into a dark corner and hide until everything had sorted itself out.
"Wash? Where is she?"
For some reason Taylor looked perfectly put together while all Wash wanted to do was strangling the stubborn little girl and when her CO told Dr. Shannon that she could have some time but that he wanted to talk to the kid afterwards, Alicia resigned herself to the fact that love life had once again come to a halt for the rest of the night.
She leaned back against the counter, looking up when Taylor stepped over to her, putting one hand against the counter next to her, leaning down to whisper into her ear like he often did in public, usually to give her orders no one was to overhear.
"I could kill that kid" he told her quietly and she lowered her head to hide her smirk, amused how his words were mirroring her own thoughts.
"Just cut it short and we can go back to bed" she whispered back, enjoying the way he tensed when her lips brushed against his neck.
"I can´t, Wash, I need to question the kid."
"I know but I don't have to like it, do I."
She stepped away from him and began pacing, only looking up again when Dr. Shannon had managed to prey the girl out of their hiding place and Taylor put a tray with food down onto the table.
She hung back, watching the scene unfold and wondering how anyone could be so patient with a willful child but then the Shannons had three of those themselves, perhaps it was simply something one grew into once it was necessary.
Taylor was acting differently towards the girl, more businesslike, less like a parent and Wash couldn´t help but feel reminded of the way he had acted around his son when Lucas had been little, her CO had never been comfortable around children, always treated them like adults but with Leah it seemed to work, at least she was talking now.
She helped Jim stop the girl from running away again, hoping that this whole babysitting session would be over soon, she had never even thought about having children herself and she didn't particularly like them, either.
Elisabeth took the girl into the next room to run some more tests, the commander motioning for Shannon to follow her before he reached for Alicia´s arm, pulling her to him and bringing his lips to her ear.
"I´ll persuade the Shannon´s to take her in for the night, you go home and get out of these clothes."
"Yes, Sir" she chuckled softly, only loud enough for him to hear and felt his hand tighten around her arm before he had himself back under control and was walking over to where the Shannon´s were while Wash made her way out of the infirmary.
Reilly was still waiting outside and she dismissed the young woman with a nod, then pulled her hair tie out of her ponytail, letting the dark mass fall over her back, the night´s tension giving way for the familiar feeling of anticipation pooling low in her belly.
"Did the Shannons take her home with them?"
Wash asked when Taylor entered the bedroom and the commander nodded while starting to undress.
"Didn´t take much convincing on my part, pushovers."
He pulled the covers from Wash´s body and pulled her to him, smiling when she wrapped her legs around his waist.
"What?" She pressed up against him, "you promised we´d continue exactly where we stopped earlier."
"I´m not arguing."
Alicia´s head fell back against the pillows when he entered her with a quick thrust and their lips met in a deep kiss as they pushed each other towards their release.
Finally she was lying on his chest, her eyes closed, her body quivering with tiny aftershocks.
"This is like doing drugs, once you´ve started, you can´t stop again."
He chuckled.
"Didn´t know you´d done drugs, Wash."
"It was just a figure of speech."
She snuggled against him while he played with her hair, running his fingers through the long tresses and smoothing them out, making them fawn across his shoulder.
"You cuddle" he told her, sounding amused and she dug his fingernails into his chest, making him wince.
"Shut up, Sir" she yawned, relaxing into his embrace, the steady sound of his heartbeat lulling her to sleep.
"I missed you when I woke up."
Taylor leaned against the kitchen counter, looking amused as he watched his lieutenant pour coffee into a cup.
"I have to go and find a dirty pack" Wash shrugged, glancing at her watch.
"Who you´re taking?
"Dunham."
"You´re sure? Kid might get scared."
"We´ll practically be in sight of the gate, there´s not much that can happen to us, besides he´s a good man, he just needs more experience."
She put her mug down and reached for her body armor and rifle, then looked back up at her CO.
"You should try and talk to the girl, find out if she knows something about Mira´s hiding place."
"Don´t sound so eager, Wash, I doubt you´ll have to go looking for Mira, she´ll be back here."
"Undoubtedly- I´ll go now, see you later."
"Take care, Wash."
"Will do."
She brushed past him, sighing in exasperation when his hand closed around her wrist.
"Taylor, I have to-" His lips on her´s shut her off effectively and she couldn´t resist kissing him back despite really wanting to be on time for her meeting with Dunham.
"Wouldn´t leave without saying goodbye properly."
He let go of her and Wash straightened her armor before looking back up at him.
"Never took you for a romantic, Sir."
"You´re bringing out the very best in me, Wash- now get out of here and come back in one piece."
"Yes, Sir."
The pain in her head was almost unbearable and Wash had to force herself to remain quiet as she tried to remember what had happened to her.
Finally realizing that she had been kidnapped by the Sixers, Alicia remained perfectly still, not wanting to alert anyone to her being conscious, following Taylor´s usual protocol.
"Stop faking, Washington, I know you´re awake, I didn´t hit you that hard."
Wash opened her eyes, looking up at Mira who was standing over her, gun in hand.
"Now that´s better- Taylor´s nice little tricks won´t do you any good here, I know all about them."
Wash sat up slowly, wincing.
"I highly doubt that- what do you want, Mira and where´s my soldier?"
"Alive, probably even conscious by now- I want the girl and you´re going to help me getting her back."
"I am?"
Mira slapped her across the face and Alicia felt her lip split open, her head throbbing.
"Why don´t you untie my hands and try that again" Wash hissed but Mira just shrugged.
"You should be grateful I didn´t leave Carter up here with you, wouldn´t have been much left of you to take back to Taylor afterwards."
"Cut the crap, Mira, you don´t scare me."
She knew provoking Mira wasn´t the smartest thing to do but Wash had never been good in keeping her temper under control, it was one of her few flaws and right now she didn´t particularly care, all she wanted was to get her hands free and strangle the other woman.
"Fine, let´s get down to business then- I want Leah back, I know you captured her in the woods yesterday."
"Of course you do, you know a lot of things you´re not supposed to know."
"Yeah, well, that´s your problem, isn´t it- it´s funny, really, the infamous Lieutenant Washington can´t figure out where we get our information."
Wash rolled her eyes.
"You´re such a drama queen, Mira, just take us back to the colony and see what happens."
Alicia wasn´t really concerned about her situation, she was sure that Mira wouldn´t kill her, she needed her to exchange her for the girl after all.
"Not so fast, I want to know a few things first."
Wash almost laughed and some of her amusement must have shown on her face because Mira´s eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What´s funny about that, you think I couldn't get you to talk?"
"Yes, I think that- do your worst, Mira."
"Perhaps I´ll get Carter up to help me, he´d love that."
"Yeah, well, he already tried a few times, up to now it didn´t work too well- can the chatter, Mira, I don't have all day."
"One of these days that big mouth of your´s will get you into serious trouble, Washington."
Mira sounded impressed and Wash understood where the other woman was coming from, she had always been foolishly brave in situations like that, almost to a fault, provoking her opponents into hurting her more than they might have intended but then she had been trained by a man who didn´t believe in giving in whatever the circumstances and she had taken the lesson to heart.
"Bring it on or take me back, your choice."
"Fine, I`ll take you back- for now."
Wash´s eyes met her CO´s and she saw his jaw tightening as he observed her bruised cheek and split lip and she gave him an impatient glare, telling him silently to stop worrying about her and concentrate on the matter at hand.
She felt almost sorry for Mark Reynolds who was watching her as though expecting her to drop dead to the ground at any moment, she briefly glanced at him warningly and the concern on his face melted into a blank expression as he focussed on the Sixers instead.
Just like Wash had expected, Taylor refused to give in first and Mira didn´t argue but gave them free, stilling Carter´s protest with a well placed look towards her second.
Thinking that it was rather interesting that Mira still trusted Taylor´s word enough to believe he´d keep his end of the bargain she impatiently walked right past Mira and the commander and past Terra Nova´s first line of defense, exchanging a glance with her CO as he instructed Jim Shannon to get the girl, brushing away the concern of her comrades.
If there was anything Alicia Washington despised, apart from Mira and her group of terrorists, it was pity, she´d need to push the units even harder in the next few weeks to win back the respect she´d held before the Sixers had captured her, no matter how long she had held her own, her reputation would suffer and especially after she had started sleeping with her CO and couldn´t be sure how many people knew about that, it was the last things she needed.
Taylor glanced in the direction of the infirmary and Alicia merely shook her head, she would stand her ground until Mira had left and she was glad that Taylor accepted her decision without comment.
Shannon brought the girl outside and while Wash watched the scene unfold, she had the feeling that something was off, Mira seemed to give in too quickly today, both now and earlier when she had just released the second of command of her enemy´s forces without even trying to access any information Wash could have given her.
She listened with grim satisfaction when Taylor threatened Mira with war, then waited for him as the other soldiers filed back inside the gate.
"Reynolds, take Dunham to the infirmary" she called after Mark who smiled back at her before accompanying his younger comrade inside and Wash turned to Taylor.
"Do you want my report now or shall I hand it in later, Sir."
"You can tell me about it later, Lieutenant, right now you will go to the infirmary as well."
His tone didn´t leave any room for discussions and to be honest, Wash didn´t have much fight left in her, she was tired an frustrated and her split lip was stinging, the dried blood uncomfortable sticky against her skin.
"Yes, Sir."
She began walking towards the infirmary with the commander next to her, Shannon following with Leah.
"I need to talk to Shannon, I´ll meet you at command in thirty."
"Sir."
She nodded at him, then entered the infirmary and walked up to the bed Dunham was currently sitting on.
"Is he all right?"
She asked, watching Elisabeth Shannon run a scanner over the young man´s chest.
"He´s fine, just a bit bruised."
"Holding up ok, Dunham?"
"Yes, Ma´am" he told her but she could tell that the incident had shocked him.
"When the doctor released you, you´ll go straight to bed and rest, you hear me?"
"Yes, Ma´am."
He looked relieved while Dr. Shannon frowned at Alicia.
"You look much worse than he does, what did they to do you?"
"Nothing much, I´ve had far worse, I can clean the lip up myself if you´re busy."
"That´s not necessary, I hear you´re a brilliant medic but in here we have people to do it for you, just go and sit down, I´ll be with you in just a moment."
After she had been pronounced well enough to return to work by Elisabeth Shannon, Wash took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes before making her way over to the command center.
She found her CO with Guzman and Mark Reynolds, the former avoiding her eyes, things had been strained between them ever since their night at Boylan´s.
Mark on the other hand was still looking concerned but relaxed when he had looked her upside down and noticed nothing worse than the half healed cut on her lip.
"Lieutenant, have a seat."
Taylor motioned her over to the conference table and Wash sat down, facing the commander who was already seated.
"Are you feeling all right?"
"I´m fine, Sir, checked declared me fit for duty, I sent Dunham home to sleep."
"In that case I´d like to hear what happened."
"Not much to tell, Sir, we were ambushed, Dunham got tripped and knocked out, I was attacked, fought a few of them off before Mira hit me over the head with her gun.
When I came to she told me she´d exchange us for the girl, we were blindfolded and taken back here and the rest you know."
"Hm- didn´t she say anything else?"
"The usual crap, she threatened to keep me for interrogation but gave up when I didn´t look impressed."
"Right then- Reynolds, you check on your comrade, make sure he´s ok."
The young man left with a last smile to Alicia and the commander turned to Guzman.
Guz, I want more people on the towers in case Mira´s planning something else- Wash, you go home, too, get some rest, I´ll check in on you later.
"Yes, Sir."
Guzman looked from Taylor to Wash and back again, then seemed to decide that they were acting perfectly normal and left as well, Alicia following at a slower pace.
"I´m going to kill her" Taylor spat, his fist connecting with the kitchen counter, making Alicia flinch.
"Calm down, I´m fine."
"You are not fine, you are beaten up, your lip is split and she knocked you out, you are not fine."
Wash got up from the sofa and stepped up behind him, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist and kissed his shoulder, feeling the tension leave him at the contact.
"Nathaniel, I´ve been stabbed, shot and burned before and this is nothing in compare so calm down."
He turned around in her embrace and closed his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest, burying his face in her hair.
"She took my girl."
His lips brushed against her temple, his hands slipping underneath her top, caressing the skin on the small of her back.
"She took my girl and she gave her back to me all battered and bruised, so don´t expect me to be ok with that."
Wash sighed, entangling herself from his arms and stepping away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"She didn't took your girl, Taylor, she took your Lieutenant."
He looked up, his eyes narrowing as he observed her, his arms coming up to cross over his chest as well, mimicking her stance.
"And what the hell is the difference in that?"
"The difference is that you don´t get to be upset about her taking your Lieutenant because she´s at war."
Taylor´s jaw clenched but Alicia wasn´t going to back down, she needed to get her point across now if she wanted them to have a future together.
"What she did was the same thing we used to do when we had the opportunity because exchanging hostages is much less messy than going in and trying to take what you want by force.
You used to tell me not to take these things personally, you always said that both sides had their reasons and that we had to accept that."
"Damn it, Wash, I don´t care what her reasons were, I could have lost you out there, I told you to go and-"
Wash held up her hand, silencing him.
"Ok, listen to me. You can´t protect me, I´m a soldier, we both knew there would be risks when we signed up for this."
He just looked at her for a moment, then he leaned back against the counter, relaxing as he nodded.
"I was the one to recommend you for promotions and it was me who asked you to come here with me and I´ll be responsible if something happens to you."
Wash stepped back over to him, leaning against the counter next to Taylor.
"I hate that I can´t protect you, too- when you were standing there earlier they all had their weapons trained on you and you hadn´t even drawn your´s and there was nothing I could do."
"I had twenty men behind me, Alicia, you were the one standing right next to Mira, tied up with Carter pointing his rifle at your head."
"Ok, I admit Carter might have been personal but other than that it was nothing but a perfectly normal hostage situation."
"Which, unfortunately, included the woman I love."
Alicia closed her eyes, his stubbornness was driving her insane.
"Out there I am the second in command of Terra Nova´s military force, I can take it, Taylor, I´m not a goddamn damsel in distress."
He looked at her.
"That is what this is about? You think I´m not taking you seriously?"
"No" she screamed at him, her frustration getting the better of her.
"It´s you being completely irrational and it´s stupid and dangerous and I don´t want you risking your life for me where you wouldn´t risk it for anyone else! It´s my job to risk my life for you, not the other way around, if there was a situation where you would have to abandon me to save yourself, would you do it?"
"No."
His voice was calm, controlled and Wash didn´t doubt the sincerity of his answer.
"But you have to- you have to leave me behind, just as I have to sacrifice myself to save you, when we´re out there, there´s no room for you being protective of me because you love me, when we´re out there, it´s me who´s going to take a bullet for you and you who is going to hide behind me, understood?"
She didn't fight him when he pulled her back into his arms, she was tired and aching all over and all she wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep.
"I understand what my lieutenant is telling me and she´s right."
"I hear a big ´but coming."
"But it might be a problem to remember that next time I see you in danger."
Wash leaned her head against Taylor´s shoulder, too tired to fight any more.
"Fine, whatever, let´s talk about it some other time, I really want to sleep."