(I still can´t figure out how a Spinosaurus managed to walk all the way from Africa to Argentina to meet up with Carnotaurus but then we´ve learned in Genesis that there are Allosaurus as well and they lived in the Jurassic period while Terra Nova is set in the Cretaceuous, so I´ll just put it down to creative writing and ignore it...)
The following chapter contains spoilers for Bylaw and Nightfall and as usual, I don´t own anything…
Thank you for reading and reviewing :D
metube: Thank you so very much for taking so much time to comment- I know, it´s a bit sad but then of course that´s what their relationship is about, they are both willing to make sacrifices to protect the people they are responsible for though I still hate it that Wash technically has to let herself get caught because stupid Josh couldn't keep his temper under control and had to punch Lucas, makes me want to plug Josh into a million tiny pieces… Then of course I´d have to do the same to Jim for holding Taylor back from saving her, so I´ll just have to let it go and accept it- ok, I´ll come up with something to explain Jim´s reaction because I still can´t believe it… So here´s the next part now, hope you´ll enjoy it as well :)
MissCallaLily: Oh, thank you, glad you see it that way, I´ll do my best to keep up with your expectations in the next chapter as well then :D
Taylor climbed out of the rhino, his expression unreadable and beckoned Wash over to him.
"Wait for me at home, I need to talk to Shannon for a moment, I´ll be quick."
She nodded briskly, turning on her heel and marching away in direction of the barracks, making sure no one was watching as she slipped into Taylor´s house.
Wash was cooking when the front door opened and her CO stepped inside, slipping off his boots and putting his weapons away before joining her in the kitchen, his arms wrapping around her waist as he rested his head on her shoulder.
"Glad this day´s finally over" he confessed, "thanks for playing along, I´m sure you didn't have much fun."
She shrugged lightly.
"You know Boylan, he´s a pain in the ass but he´s not a bad guy."
"No, annoying as hell, though."
"I absolutely agree- if you let go of me, we can eat."
"In a moment" he muttered, his nose nuzzling her neck and Wash chuckled, trying to pull his arms away from her waist.
"Nathaniel, let go."
"I will if you kiss me."
She turned around, smiling when he gently pressed her against the counter.
"Why didn't you say so, Sir."
She kissed him back deeply, then shooed him out of the kitchen and finally finished preparing their meal before carrying the plates over into the living room.
It wasn't till after they had finished their dinner and Wash was lying on the couch with her head in Taylor´s lap, that they finally talked about what was really bothering them.
"He tried to deny it at first" Taylor told Wash, his fingers tangling in her hair, "when he realized I didn´t believe him, he tried to shoot me."
She tensed, instinctively shifting to get closer to him and he pulled her up and fully into his arms.
"I´m fine, Wash, you know that, you personally swapped his gun after all."
"It´s not that, I know I did, I just can´t believe- where did I go so wrong with him?"
She leaned her head against his shoulder, suddenly feeling completely exhausted and she readily accepted the warmth and comfort Nathaniel´s embrace was offering.
"You didn´t, you can´t guarantee they all turn out right, look at Tom" Taylor joked halfheartedly but Wash had to smile all the same.
"Right, I forgot about Boylan, he´s a serious screw up if ever I saw one."
Some days later things had gone back to normal and Taylor was determined to find out more about the strange box that had been buried under the floor in Mira´s old house.
Wash met him outside Malcolm´s lab after her morning patrol, frowning when she saw the expression on his face.
"What´s wrong, still nothing new?"
"Malcolm examined it further, found out that there´s a DNA response system inside, seems it can only be opened by one person."
"That doesn't sound like Mira" Wash told him quietly, feeling uneasy when he nodded darkly.
"No, that has Lucas written all over it- damn, that means he´s working with Mira, I don´t like this, Wash, we need to find out what they are planning."
They made their way over to the command center and up into the office, Taylor closing the door behind them.
"So what are we going to do?"
Wash asked, leaning against the conference table with her arms crossed.
"No idea, we really need to figure out who´s feeding information to Mira, as much as Boylan annoys me, I simply can´t believe he´d do something to really harm the colony, a few side dealings, hell, yes but inside information?"
"I can´t see him doing that, either, he´s got friends here, he likes this place, he likes his comforts and the Sixers have nothing they could tempt him with."
"Yeah, well, can´t rule it out completely, though."
"I´ll keep an eye on him- now what about the box?"
Taylor shrugged.
"We can't open it, so we can´t find out what it is for but if we´re right and it is Lucas´s we have to be even more careful, it might hold some information he needs to complete his calculations."
Before Wash could reply they heard a commotion outside and hurried onto the balcony, instantly spotting the meteor burning out in the atmosphere as it approached the planet.
It was followed by a massive sonic wave and both the Commander and his second began shouting orders at civilians and soldiers alike before Taylor told Wash to get inside, following her seconds later and landing on the floor next to her.
They looked at each other for a moment, stunned, then carefully straightened up and brushed dust and bits of glass from their clothes.
"Are you all right?"
Taylor asked, sounding worried and she nodded.
"I´m fine- let´s go and see how bad it is."
They made their way over to the mostly destroyed market, Wash starting to tend to some wounded civilians while Taylor told Sargent Reilley to round up as many of her comrades as she could in half an hour and meet him back at command.
"Reminds me of ´37" he told Wash as she bandaged a man´s arm before sending him off to the infirmary.
"Yeah, hope it won´t be that bad, at least no one is waiting to take us out, unless-" Her voice trailed away, it wasn´t necessary to tell her CO what she was thinking, he understood as well as she did that they could only hope the power would be back up before Mira or Lucas found out that Terra Nova was more or less defenseless.
Wash thought about Somalia and the EMP their enemies had set off, she and Taylor had been cut off from the rest of their unit and had been forced to make their way back to base on foot, right through enemy territory armed with nothing but their knives.
The only good thing about it had been that the couple of soldiers they had come across had been less skilled than Wash and her CO and in the end they had managed to get back to safety with only a few scratches.
"Let´s get that meeting over with, then we go and see Malcolm, see if he has more chips."
"Will so, Sir."
When she was satisfied that no one needed her immediate medical attention anymore, Wash followed Taylor to the designed meeting place where they found a large group of security detail already assembled.
They informed them about the EMP and told them what to do, then Taylor send everybody off and Wash jogged back towards the infirmary, quickly checking in with Elisabeth Shannon before catching up with her CO on his way to Malcolm.
The expression on Taylor´s face when she suggested they´d go to Boylan was so adorable, all Wash could do was to keep herself from laughing, she could understand where he was coming from of course, asking Boylan for a favor was about the last thing she wanted to do, too.
Taylor followed her outside reluctantly, grabbing her wrist when she started to walk towards the bar.
"Is this really the only way?"
He asked, almost pleadingly and Wash shrugged.
"Tell me an alternative and I´m happy to go there, I like this about as much as you do."
Wash followed Taylor out of the bar, still smiling slightly.
"What´s so funny, Wash?"
"Just the expression on his face, Sir- as much as I hate to say this, he´s right, though, we really need more people who know how to repair mechanical equipment."
"I hate it when he´s right."
"Yeah, me too but that´s one more reason to make him replaceable."
"Good point- I´ll go walk the perimeter, check on the towers, you go and see how everybody´s holding up, meet me at the gate again at 1100."
"Yes, Sir."
"Wash?"
She turned back to him.
"Be safe."
"You too, Sir."
As Wash made her way through the colony it occurred to her that she hadn´t seen Mark Reynolds all morning, true, it was his day off but her whole unit wasn´t technically on duty and yet they all were around somewhere, helping out.
"Reilley."
"Yes, Ma´am?"
"Have you seen Reynolds around somewhere?"
"No, Ma´am, I haven´t seen him since yesterday."
Frowning slightly, Alicia dismissed the other woman and continued on her way, asking a few more people if they had seen Mark and finally it dawned on her that he must have gone OTG without telling anybody but she couldn´t dwell onto that idea now, she had to meet Taylor at the gate.
While he updated her on the chip situation, Wash couldn´t help but wonder if she had ever appreciated her radio set the way it deserved.
"We need another line of defense."
Wash stepped closer to her CO, her gaze following his.
"The only thing that´ll work against the wildlife is fire" she mused, judging the distance from the gate to the treeline.
"We need to get a ring of something that burns around the fence, at shooting range, say seventy yards."
"Excellent plan, Lieutenant" Taylor slapped her back, almost making her loose her balance and smiled.
"You could do with some more combat weight, Wash" he teased her and she looked up at him, eyebrows raised.
"I doubt you´d appreciate that, Sir- would make me look less good in lingerie."
She watched his eyes darken and bit her lip to keep herself from smiling, it amused her how easily she could manipulate him, no matter how serious the situation was.
"On second thought, keep it the way it is" he told her, then added "I´ll get people on that defense line, see if you can help in the infirmary."
"Unfermented Taroca root?"
Wash glanced over to where Skye was in the process of extracting a massive worm from Hunter´s stomach.
Elisabeth Shannon nodded, shaking her head.
"I know, for some reason teenagers seem to be the same no matter what."
Wash made a mental note to speak to both Taylor and Guzman about the company Tasha and Skye were keeping, Guzman kept encouraging his friends to tell him if they found out anything about his daughter he ought to know about and Taylor felt responsible for Skye.
Truth be told Wash was certain that Skye wasn´t as innocent as Taylor liked to think but she kept those thoughts to herself, Tasha on the other hand was a sweet girl desperate for attention and guys like Hunter were more trouble than they were worth.
"You think he´ll make it?"
She asked aloud while straitening her patient´s broken arm, ignoring the man´s yelp of pain.
Dr. Shannon sighed, her face worried.
"I hope so, I´m not entirely sure but- we´ll just have to hope for the best, it´s an inconvenient time for the power system to shut down."
"It´s always an inconvenient time for that, trust me- there, all set" she told the patient who thanked her, sounding grateful despite the pain she had just afflicted on him.
"I´m glad you are here, Lieutenant" Dr. Shannon told Alicia, "we´re all so used to having bio beds, our manual skills have gotten a bit rusty, you´re heaven sent."
Wash shrugged off the complement.
"Don´t mention it."
"Jim mentioned you put sixty seven stitches into the commander once, is that true?"
"Yeah, Commander Taylor has a thing for getting crazy injuries."
"But sixty seven? That´s insane, how did he live though that?"
"I can be very convincing if I want to, I told him if he´d die on me, I´d kill him."
Elisabeth smiled.
"I can just see you doing that- weren´t you terrified?"
"I suppose so, if I was I didn´t notice it at the time, I had to concentrate to be quick enough and keep him conscious at the same time."
They were interrupted by Reilley who walked up to Alicia and stood at attention in front of her CO.
"The Commander wants you at the gate, Ma´am, it´s getting dark and he´s expecting trouble."
The two women left the infirmary and Wash dismissed Reilley before making her way over to Taylor who was looking worried.
"Something is moving in the tree line, something big- we´ll have to rely on one crossbow, I´m afraid, you and I are the only ones who know how to use them and I don´t want to trust anyone but you with lightening the bolt."
Shannon appeared at that moment and announced that he had been stuck in the eye, then they all watched as a gigantic spinosaurus broke through the tree line and advanced on the gate.
Taylor handed the second crossbow to Shannon and told Wash to set the arrows aflame.
The gigantic animal roared as it stomped up and down in front of the line of fire and it was then that Taylor spotted the arrow sticking out of the animal´s hide.
Furious with himself for not having seen through the obvious diversion, Taylor ordered his second to stay by the gate while he hurried off with Shannon to keep the Sixers from getting to the mysterious box.
Wash waited anxiously, with the power still down she had no communication devices and when it was Tom Boylan instead of Shannon or Taylor who walked towards her, her heart began to pound at a sickening pace.
"What happened?"
She asked, for once not caring that her voice gave away her emotions.
"Calm down, Wash, he´s alive, took a bolt to the shoulder, though, you might want to get it out yourself, would cause too much attention if he went to the infirmary."
"Does he know?"
She asked, automatically seeking reassurance that it would be ok for her to leave the gate when her CO had ordered her to stay there.
"He asked me to get you, go on, the power´s back up and that fire outside will burn for a while, anyway, fence is perfectly safe."
He handed her a handful of micro chips and told her they were for their radios, then waited while she instructed one of Guzman´s man to inform her instantly if there was any more trouble before leading the way towards the barracks.
"Do I get details now?"
"Taylor and Shannon surprised the Sixers in the lab, Carter got the box, Shannon went after him.
I shot the other guy, even got thanks for it, after Taylor´d told me that he´d been fine on his own."
Wash sighed, shaking her head.
"Sounds like him- Carter got away?"
"Yeah- before you ask, I have no idea what´s in there."
"Thank you" Wash said sincerely and Boylan chuckled, his hand briefly finding her arm.
"You´re welcome, I feel bad enough for you as it is, least I can do is keeping him alive for you."
Wash rolled her eyes, sighing in exasperation as she stopped in front of her CO´s front door.
"And there I was, thinking for a moment I might actually start to like you just a little bit."
"Can´t have that, can we, would take all the fun out of life- now get in there."
Alicia entered the house and closed the door behind herself, looking around for Taylor and feeling worried again when she didn´t spot him anywhere in the living area.
She made her way over to the bedroom where she found him sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard, his face ashen.
"You look like hell" she observed, stripping off her armor and jacket and sitting down next to him, he was still fully dressed and Wash assumed that he couldn't move his shoulder well enough to get rid of his own armor and clothes.
"I feel like it, too, I had forgotten how much arrows hurt, thank God for sonic guns."
"Incorrigible" Wash muttered while carefully unstrapping his body armor and pulling it off as gently as she could, but when she saw the nasty gash she knew there was no way of getting his shirt off the same way.
"I´m sorry, that´ll have to come off another way" she told him, reaching for her knife.
"That´s not an attempt of mutiny, is it, Lieutenant?"
Taylor joked, sounding much more relaxed now that the pressure of his armor had been removed from the wound.
"Tempting" Wash mused, the tip of her blade briefly touching against his neck, his sharp intake of breath and her to smile, "but no, not right now, I wouldn´t kill a defenseless man."
"I´m not defenseless" he protested but she silenced him with a well placed glare before bringing the knife to the hem of his shirt and starting to cut the fabric in half.
She had cut the sleeve open as well before she could pull it off, then she gently proved the wound with her fingertips, tensing when Taylor flinched.
"I´ll have to sedate you for this, it´ll hurt like hell otherwise."
It was a sign just in how much pain Taylor actually was that he didn´t even attempt to fight her on this and Wash helped him to lie down fully on the bed before injecting him, then she watched as he relaxed, his breathing evening out as the pain decreased.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah- don´t tell anyone though, I have a reputation to loose."
"Don´t worry, I won´t tell anyone."
Wash cut the rest of the arrow out of the flesh, then cleaned the wound and stitched it up neatly, finally applying a generous amount of antiseptic.
"All done" she announced, using her hand on Taylor´s shoulder to hold him down when he attempted to sit up.
"Just stay down, Nathaniel, you need to rest, you lost a lot of blood and I´ve sedated you, you will not go running around outside."
"Wash, I need to-"
"You need to sleep- tell me what you want and I´ll go and take care of it."
He hesitated, then nodded and relaxed back against the pillows again.
"The gap in the fence needs to be repaired and there´s a body in Malcolm´s lab, Boylan can contact Mira and tell her she can have him back if she wants him."
"Will do- do I have to up the dose or do you promise to stay here and go to sleep?"
"No kidding, Wash, I could´t get up if I wanted to, how much of that stuff did you put into me?"
His voice was beginning to sound slurred and he was fighting to keep his eyes open.
"I´m sorry, I know you too well" Wash whispered and when she bent over him to press a gentle kiss to his lips, the commander had already fallen asleep.
Wash pulled her radio out of her pocket and inserted the new microchip and to her relief she found that it was working properly again, she activated it and contacted Guzman on her way outside.
"What do you need, Wash?"
"Are you anywhere near the barracks?"
"Just starting my official shift."
"I need you to come over to the commander´s house, bring two of your men and stand guard, he´s been shot and I´ve sedated him."
"Is he ok?"
"He´ll be fine, he´s out cold, though and I don´t want any risks."
"I´ll be there in five."
Wash waited until Guzman and two members of his unit had arrived at the house, then she tried once more to reach Mark but to no success.
She contacted Reilley instead, telling her to take a few others and guard the gap in the fence until she could send Guzman over to oversee the repairs.
Despite the late hour the bar was packed, people celebrating the crisis being over and Boylan didn´t look happy when Wash motioned for him to follow her upstairs to his office.
"Wash, I´m busy."
"I´m sorry, I need you to contact Mira, tell her to pick up the body of her man before sunrise."
Boylan activated his comm unit and Wash waited until the Sixer leader had been informed about the meeting and agreed, then left Boylan´s again and walked over to the Shannon´s house, knocking at the door and waiting until Jim opened it.
"Hey, Wash- is Taylor ok?"
"The Commander is asleep, how are you?"
"Bruised ego but apart from that, I´m fine."
"We´ll be meeting Mira OTG at 0600, if you want to come, be on time."
"Sure, I´ll be there."
"Good, I´ll go and relieve Guzman, I placed him outside Taylor´s house."
She bid Shannon goodnight and made her way back over to the barracks, meeting Guzman on Taylor´s front porch.
"There´s a gap in the fence, I put Reilley in charge, it needs to be repaired, I´ll wait until Taylor wakes up now, Mira will be near the gate at sunrise."
Guzman didn't ask any unnecessary questions but beckoned to his men to follow him while Wash slipped back into the house.
She settled down next to her CO on the bed and closed her eyes, feeling exhausted, she wasn´t worried that she might miss her meeting, Taylor would certainly wake her as soon as he woke up himself.
Wash woke up to Taylor´s hand playing with her hair and slowly opened her eyes, not at all sure in what mood she would find Nathaniel after knocking him out for the night against his will.
"Good morning, Lieutenant" he whispered, his eyes twinkling with mirth, "slept all right?"
She hesitated.
"Well enough- you?"
"Stop looking so scared, Wash, I won´t bite your head off- have you talked to Boylan?"
"Mira will be at the gate in an hour."
"I´m coming with you."
She hesitated, then decided she´d better not push him any further and nodded resignedly.
"Fine, I´ll go take a shower and get dressed now, meet you at 0545."
In her own house, Wash showered and got dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white top, adding her favorite leather jacked on the way out.
Taylor was already waiting for her and she looked him upside down critically but he was standing up straight and didn´t appear to be in any pain.
"Stop fussing, Wash, I´m all right, I had worse."
"It was bad enough, we have to watch out, they seem to be out of ammo again and crossbows and bullets are much more deadly than sonic waves."
They made their way over to the gate in silence and met up with Jim Shannon before Taylor gave order to raise the gate and the three of them walked through it and towards the tree line, a dozen soldiers of Wash´s unit behind them, two of them carrying a stretcher with the dead Sixer´s body on it.
Mira stepped out of the trees, accompanied by Carter who threw Shannon a triumphant glance before his eyes fixed on Wash, a hateful glittering in the dark orbs.
Wash ignored the man and instead looked at Mira who was seizing her up, her expression unreadable.
"You think it´s wise to bring her out here?"
Mira addressed Taylor, her eyes still on Wash.
"Take your man, Mira, we can talk afterwards."
Mira shrugged, motioning towards the trees and two more Sixers stepped out and took the stretcher from the soldiers, carrying it back into the jungle.
Taylor motioned for the soldiers and Shannon to step out of listening range before turning back to Mira.
"What do you mean, why shouldn´t I bring her out here?"
Taylor asked testily and Wash briefly considered telling them off for talking about her as though she wasn´t there but she wanted to hear what Mira had to say, so she would have to keep her temper in check.
"I had a little talk with Lucas, he told me about Somalia, trust me, he´d love to kill her just as much as he´d like to kill you."
Wash crossed her arms over her chest, glancing at her CO who was looking at Mira, his jaw set.
"Tell Lucas if he hurts her I´ll forget myself."
Mira smirked, shrugging.
"I´ll do that- thanks for letting us take the body, that was decent of you."
"I´d say anytime but I can´t guarantee that- next time we´ll be enemies again, Mira."
"We most certainly will be- take good care of your pretty little pet, Taylor."
Wash took a step towards Mira but Taylor´s hand on her arm held her back as the other woman disappeared back into the tree line.
"You should have let me kill her" Wash hissed, furious, her fingers still itching to close around Mira´s neck but Taylor firmly pulled her away and back towards the gates, only letting go when they reached the rest of her unit.
"What was that about?"
Shannon asked instantly but Taylor shook his head and the other man looked at Wash who shrugged, falling back to walk beside Shannon while the commander walked faster to catch up with Dunham in front.
"Mira wanted to give us a warning about Lucas."
"Sounded more like a warning for you."
"Lucas and I didn´t exactly part on good terms, if he´d get his hands on me it wouldn't end too pleasantly for me."
Shannon seemed to accept her explanation, leaving Wash to ponder on their meeting with Mira.
She hadn´t been honest with Shannon, in fact she didn´t have the slightest idea what the other woman had been talking about, true, Lucas didn´t particularly like her, he had told her that he didn´t think she had fought hard enough to save him and his mother and then of course she was his father´s lieutenant, his creation and to Lucas that would be reason enough to kill her.
But she had had the feeling that Mira and Nathaniel had been talking about something else entirely and she wanted to know what it was.