Not mine, as usual…
Thanks for the reviews, guys :D
metube: Nice pic ;) So like I already said, I´ll come up with something to alter the finale- I didn´t do that on purpose, actually but you´re right, it does remind me of that as well, apparently it simply fits them.
CapeCodMakai: Cheers- don´t worry, won´t do, sex is boring to write but it goes with the story, so I had to include some M rated scene- back to basics in the next parts, there´ll be less cuddling and much more angst as the season progresses.
Wash woke in the middle of the night to find Taylor sitting up against the headboard, her head in his lap while he was stroking her hair.
"Why aren´t you sleeping?"
She asked, turning onto her back to look up at him, a soft sigh escaping her lips when his fingertips fluttered against her bruised cheek, the touch featherlight, far too gentle for him.
"I love you" he told her, still caressing her face, "it scares me how much."
"I love you, too" Wash recognized the look in his eyes, the deep sorrow tinged with desperation, she had seen it before, when she had been lying in his arms, dying.
She sat up and straddled his lap, his arms closing around her waist, pulling her tightly against his chest as she cupped his face in her hands.
"Do you remember what you told me that night you thought you were back there?"
She didn't need to tell him what she was talking about, he knew her well enough.
"I do- I felt so confused, nothing made sense, you had bled out in my arms, I had lost you and there you were, perfectly fine and all I could think of was that you had betrayed me."
He tried to turn his gaze away from her but she wouldn´t let him.
"You did listen to me, you remembered to trust me in the end."
"I tried to kill myself, over Ayani, when you were standing right in front of me, I can´t even begin to imagine how much I hurt you."
She put her forehead against his and wrapped her arms around his neck, needing to feel as close as possible to him, searching for the right words to reassure him.
"You loved her, you spend that whole day searching for her and I told you she was already dead and you couldn´t understand why I was there instead, it was too much to deal with, you´re only human, Nathaniel."
"Back there, when you got shot, there was so much blood, it seemed impossible for you to survive and I didn´t want to leave you, I almost gave up on them right there to go with you, if you hadn´t told me to go, I don't think I would have."
Wash pulled back a little to look at him, it was unusual for them to talk so much but they both needed it and now was as good a time as any.
"I never knew you realized how I felt about you, I would have been horrified if I´d thought she knew."
"She didn´t blame you, she told me I was corrupting a young, innocent girl and that I should be ashamed of myself and she was right, I took you and trained you and moulded me into my personal idea of a perfect soldier and I nearly lost you for the second time today because I gave you an order and sent you right into a death trap."
"I´m not going anywhere, I´m right here, stop beating yourself up."
She knew what he was feeling, survivor´s guilt was familiar to all soldiers and right now it didn´t matter that she wasn´t actually dead, he was blaming himself for having sent her out into danger.
"I wanted to go, we couldn´t have foreseen Mira acting this way, from what the girl told us she didn´t care much about her in the first place."
"I should have stuck with my decision to keep you inside the gate."
He kissed her gently, careful not to split her lip open again.
"Nathaniel, we´ve talked about this, you can´t keep me here to protect me and I don´t want you to, I love my job, you love it, too, we both were unhappy after Somalia when we were doing desk work."
"I liked the desk work, desk work doesn´t get people killed, if it had been up to me, you would have stayed at a desk for the rest of your life.
Besides, what are you complaining about, you got to train recruits at the academy, I was the one planning campaigns and approving of protocols and being bored out of my mind."
"You´re right, I had some good times with the kids, glad you asked me to come here with you, though, I don't think I could live without you and I don´t want to find out."
Taylor eased Wash back down onto the mattress and stretched out next to her before pulling her head onto is chest.
"Let´s hope you won´t have to- now go back to sleep, this whole talking concept is downright exhausting."
Wash looked herself upside down critically in the mirror, her cheek was still bruised and her lip was stinging uncomfortably but it would have to do.
After she had pulled her hair up into it´s usual ponytail, Wash walked over into the kitchen where she found the commander pouring coffee into two mugs.
"Morning, Lieutenant" he smiled at her, handing her a mug and she smirked back at him.
"Sir."
He leaned back against the counter, observing her intensely, his smile making way for a slight frown.
"Are you sure you should work? You can take the day off, rest up a little."
"I have a survival class to teach, what´s on your agenda for today?"
"I´m meeting Shannon at command in an hour, we need to find out who tipped Mira off."
"Any idea how to do that?"
"We´ll start with checking the people who came through with the sixth again, see if we have missed anything."
Wash had just dismissed her class when her CO made his way towards her, his face grim.
"What´s wrong?"
"One of Malcolm´s men came through with the sixth, Shannon and me went out to him, asked a few questions, then Malcolm turned up, told us off for assuming guilt by association, I´m telling you, the guy´s getting on my nerves."
She fell into step next to him, waiting for him to stop ranting as they walked towards the command center.
"And do you think the guy is in contact with the Sixers?"
"No, I don´t think so but that´s not for Malcolm to decide."
They had reached the office and Wash closed the door, not wanting to be overheard by anyone.
"Any other leads?"
"Not yet but I will find out."
Taylor growled, his eyes flashing angrily.
"This isn´t still about me, is it" Wash asked and could instantly tell by the way his jaw clenched that she was right.
"Look, if you want to find the spy, fine.
If this is still about someone having the audacity to mess with your woman, then please let it go."
"Damn it, Wash, this is serious, I know you´re willing to die for me, what I want to know is if you´re wiling to put some effort into living for me and right now it seems the first option is more desirable to you than the second."
She didn't know how to reply to that accusation, usually it was him who threw himself into danger and she who had to tolerate it and it was simply absurd that he would get so worked up the one time their positions were reversed.
He stepped closer to her, his fingers closing around her chin, gently but firmly forcing her to look up into his eyes.
"I don´t think you actually understand what you mean to me, do you."
As much as his words moved her, Wash felt it was time to establish a line in their relationship, or rather reestablish it for she believed they had had that particular talk before.
"With all due respect, Sir but I believe we decided to talk about personal matters after our shifts are over."
She told him, not missing the hint of displeasure in his blue eyes but he released her all the same and rounded his desk, sitting down in his office chair.
Wash´s radio crackled and she answered it, listening to Guzman as he told her about a break in at Mira´s old house.
After exchanging an alarmed look with her CO, Wash hurried out of the command center, looking for Jim Shannon and finally she found him near the fence, talking to Mark Reynolds who looked slightly crestfallen.
She interrupted the conversation by telling Shannon about the break in, then briskly walked away in direction of the housing units with detective following her and it was only minutes later that they realized that Mira had once again gotten the better of them.
They caught the girl just in time and Wash couldn´t help but be impressed by the kid, shame she was a Sixer or they could have used her in their security detail once she´d have grown up a little.
Leaving Leah with Reilly on the balcony outside Taylor´s office Wash followed Shannon inside, leaving it to Jim to explain about the girl´s real intentions.
Taylor didn´t look happy and Wash could sympathize with him, her CO liked to believe in his ability to judge people and being proved wrong by a nine year old wasn´t exactly his idea of a perfect morning.
Wash watched the two men examining the box Shannon had taken out of the girl´s bag but neither could figure out what the strange container was, Leah didn´t seem to know either when they questioned her about it and Alicia felt sorry for the girl who was struggling against her iron grip when she dragged her out of the office again.
"I´m telling the truth" Leah told her as she followed her over to the barracks, "really, Mira has Sam, I need to take the box back to her."
The kid was actually crying now as Wash lead her to a small room next to the women´s changing room.
"Look, what you did was wrong, you get that?"
The girl nodded, her cheeks flushed, tears still running down her face.
Wash sat down next to her on the bed, for some reason she felt the need to explain to the child that Mira´s way to do things wasn´t the only one, even though the lesson would probably be lost on the little Sixer.
"You could have told us, we would have tried to come up with a plan, sometimes talking is much better than doing something rash."
Leah looked up at her, her big blue eyes pleading with Wash to help her but Alicia wasn´t sure how to do it.
Acting on a sudden impulse she pulled the child into her lap, surprised when Lean snuggled close to her and wrapped her arms around her neck, her face buried in Wash´s neck.
"I´m sorry" the little girl sobbed, arms tightening around Wash´s neck, "you´ve been so nice to me and I lied to you."
Not really sure what she had done to gain so much affection, Wash held the child to her, soothingly stroking the blond curls until she felt Leah relax against her and finally she realized the girl had fallen asleep.
Brilliant, now she´d either have to sit here until the kid woke up again or she´d have to move her and probably would wake her up in the process.
Deciding that she might just let her sleep for a while, Wash settled back against the wall, thinking that the warm weight in her arms was strangely comforting, not at all uncomfortable and a small smile formed on her face as she realized that she enjoyed holding the little girl.
"Hey, Wash."
She looked up at her CO´s quiet words, she hadn´t heard him coming, immersed in playing with Leah´s blonde hair.
Taylor smiled down at her and the girl, shaking his head in amusement.
"I never took you for the maternal type, you know" he chuckled softly, then added "I don't know if you realized it but she likes you, she´ll want to be just like you when she gets older."
"Hopefully not on Mira´s side" Wash mused, her voice quiet, trying not to wake the sleeping child.
"What are we going to do about her brother?"
She asked, looking up at Taylor.
"Don´t worry about that, Shannon stole a rover and knowing Mira she´ll give up the boy, two orphaned kids are no use to her."
"You think Shannon will be ok?"
Taylor shrugged.
"He thinks he´s tough enough to go out there alone, he´s touch enough to deal with Mira on his own, too- if he´s not back tonight, I´ll go out and get him back."
"Good- was there anything you wanted?"
"Actually yes, until Shannon gets back there´s nothing much to do so I thought we could go home for a while, have that talk- unless you want to continue playing house, of course."
"You want to play, too?"
She smirked while carefully shifting the child to lie next to her, trying not to wake her.
"I think I pass- I´ll get Reilly to stay with her."
They waited for the younger woman to arrive, then instructed her to let Leah sleep and keep her in the room when she woke up until they could figure out what to do with the girl.
"Look, I get that you can look after yourself."
"Do you?"
Wash looked up at him, feeling doubtful, up to now his behavior hadn´t exactly boosted her confidence in his sentiment.
"Sure, you´re not my lieutenant for nothing."
"Good to know, in that case, could you stop babying me? I really don´t need it from you."
Taylor didn't look happy but nodded all the same.
"Fine, I´ll do my best- you have anything to eat?"
"In the fridge, help yourself- how long has Shannon´s been gone?"
The commander smirked while opening her fridge.
"Don´t tell me you´re worried about him."
"Of course not, I´m worried about the rover, we don't have many left" Wash replied smoothly, then added "I really hope he´ll find the boy."
"So you believe the girl, don´t you."
"Yeah, I suppose I do- damn, I´m going soft."
Taylor chuckled.
"Looks like you are."
Wash´s radio interrupted them and she took it out of her pocket, pressing the reply button.
"Washington."
"Hey Wash, it´s Guz, is the commander there with you?"
"Depends on what you want" she said lightly, glancing at Taylor who shrugged.
"Fine, he´s here."
"Good- Shannon just checked in, he´s on his way and he has the boy."
"Copy that- thanks, Guz."
"Welcome, Wash."
Wash turned the radio off, then turned back to her CO.
"Shannon´s on the way back in, he has the boy."
"Not as hopeless as you think" he joked while handing her a few pieces of cut fruit.
"I´ll go and meet him, wanna come?"
"No, I don´t think so, I´ve had my dose of annoying cop for today, I´ll go and check on Leah and her brother later."
Wash was leaning in the doorframe, watching the two siblings hug with a smile on her face.
"Cute, isn´t it" Reilly asked and Alicia nodded.
"Yeah, it is- you have any siblings?"
"A sister, she´s older than me, we weren´t close."
Leah looked up and at the sight of Alicia she let go of her brother and ran over to hug the lieutenant instead.
"Hey, kid, don´t get all teary on me again" Wash warned her teasingly, then walked over to the bed with the girl and sat down, looking at the little boy.
"So you must be Sam, I´m Lieutenant Washington."
"Hi" the boy whispered, smiling shyly while Leah pulled at Wash´s sleeve.
"Can you take me to say thank you to Mr. Shannon, please?"
"Ok, sure- Reilly, can you take Sam to the shower room and organize some clothes for him, they can both sleep here tonight."
"Yes, Ma´am."
Reilly took the little boy away and Alicia got up from the bed, looking at Leah.
"You coming?"
"Can you braid my hair?"
The question took Wash by surprise.
"What?"
"Please, I want to look nice and I can´t do it myself- yet" Leah added, sounding a bit reluctant.
Amused, Wash sat back down again and pulled the girl onto her lap.
"Don´t move" she advised her, then began to part the soft blonde hair before braiding it neatly, finally nudging Leah off her lab to get up again.
"There, all done."
"Thanks" The girl beamed up at her, reaching for her jacket and pulling it on before taking Wash´s hand.
After taking Leah back to her brother, Wash checked on the watchtowers where she met Guzman who was once again in charge of securing the main gate.
"Hey."
She stepped up to him, smiling lightly, testing the waters.
"Wash- what are you doing out here, you´re off duty, aren´t you."
"Just wanted to see if everything´s all right."
The double meaning in her words wasn´t lost on her comrade and for a moment he just looked at her, then he nodded.
"I guess so- you look nice with your hair down, it suits you."
"Well, can´t wear it down on duty."
There was a pause, then Guzman asked "So you and Taylor, uh?"
"Yeah, me and Taylor- are you really surprised?"
He shook his head.
"No, not really, I was there when you were wounded, remember?"
"Not exactly, no- sorry."
"That´s ok, I saw him, though, he was so devastated I though that we´d loose him, too, if you didn´t make it, took him a rather long time, actually."
"It´s complicated."
"It sure is- does anyone know, except for me?"
"Not officially and I´d like to keep it that way."
"Don´t worry, I won´t tell anyone, I´m glad you´re happy, you deserve it."
They looked up at the sound of familiar footsteps, Guzman standing to attention, Wash smiling as Taylor joined them.
"Hey Guz" Taylor greeted, then turned towards Alicia.
"You´re ready to go?"
He asked and she nodded, her hand briefly brushing his as she followed him towards the housing units.
"I was at the lab, Malcolm still has no idea about the box, it´s making me nervous."
"Are you sure it´s Mira´s?"
He bit his lip.
"I know what you are thinking, I´m thinking the same so let´s pray it really is Mira´s."
