I don't own anything other than bits of the plot and Brianna

Chapter Ten

I didn't wake alone this time.

Alicia had stayed for a few good hours before turning herself in but not before reminding Taylor that another soldier was taking over morning patrols for him. It had been an amusing night; Alicia blurted out more than her fair share of humiliating stories about her Commanding officer than he clearly wanted but he didn't object, simply shot back just as humiliating stories about his Lieutenant. I'd sat there quietly, listening as they bickered to each other in between mouthfuls of the casserole, and doing my best not to burst out laughing at the two of them. For a moment they reminded me of what my brother and I had been like and it seemed to me that they acted more like siblings then co-workers.

When Alicia left I made sure that she remembered her babysitting duties for the next day and she'd given me a not-so-polite farewell in response. We'd fallen into bed after that, each having a turn in the bathroom and I half expected him to put the cuffs back on when we were both done. It was certainly easier to get into a comfortable position without them and I certainly wasn't going to remind him about them.

Back to the point, I woke up far from alone; it took me a few moments to realise what was wrapped around my waist. Taylor, at some point in the night, had thrown his arm over my waist and pulled me into his chest. It certainly explained why I barely had any of the covers around my torso; the man was a living, breathing and talking heater.

"Is it just you that's a living heater or is it everyone from the future?" I murmured knowing he was awake.

The man lived off military times; of course he would be awake before me.

I could feel his laughter rumble through him and it was definitely a welcome feeling just after waking, "I wouldn't know."

I snuggled closer, sighing content as his arm tightened slightly. I had just been dozing off when several thumps on the door stopped me from returning to sleep. I groaned when Taylor slipped out of bed to answer the door, although it wasn't a complete waste of a moment. He – like most men – slept with no shirt and I got a good eye full of his toned and muscled chest before he put on a chest. He smirked at me, well aware that I was looking but I simply smiled.

While he answered the door I looked over at the clock. It was almost ten so I had a good idea as to who it was at the door. I yawned and slowly got out of bed, stretching my arms above my head and not surprised when my bones crackled loudly. I had, for reasons I couldn't understand, packed my bathers when I had relocated to Taylor's and knowing that was the only reason I wasn't panicking about being late down to the pool. I dressed quickly, slipping the bikini top on after I had put the bottoms and some shorts on. Taylor came in muttering to himself but stopped when he saw me in only the bikini top. I blushed as his eyes strayed down to my chest before they snapped back up to my eyes. It was weird to feel flattered by his appreciative gaze as his eyes dropped quickly back down to my chest when he thought I wasn't watching. There was no doubt about it; the Commander was a boob man.

He looked more than disappointed as I put a shirt on and I grinned at him, "Why do I get the feeling you'll be paying us a visit down by the pool later?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said coolly. Even though I was now covered his eyes still strayed down to my chest as though he'd just realised I had breasts.

I waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. It was definitely the first time I had seen the man blush and I committed the image to my memory. "I'll see you later." I said sounding amused even to my own ears.

He nodded, his eyes locked with mine again. As I went walk past him and out the door he stopped me to plant a heated kiss on my lips before pulling away with a smirk. I walked out of the bedroom feeling more dazed then I'd liked to especially with Alicia waiting for me. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was scowling (not that that surprised me); it wasn't surprising to find her still dressed in her uniform, her black hair pulled back into her typical neat ponytail. She did, however, have a towel flung over her shoulder and I could see the strings of a bather top under her singlet.

"Let's get this over with." She muttered.

I tried to hide my amused smile but it was difficult. "What would you do if you actually had fun today?"

"That's never going to happen." She retorted immediately, scrunching her nose up at the thought.

I shook my head exasperated and waved good bye to Taylor who had emerged from the bedroom in his typical uniform. I rolled my eyes at the two and I wondered if either of them owned clothes that weren't black.

He followed us down the path and to the front of the gates where we parted. He said something quietly to Alicia and it mustn't have been particularly serious judging from the insubordinate roll of her eyes. We walked – well, I walked and Alicia trudged – down to the beach where the five women I had spoken with yesterday were waiting with a group of soldiers. I recognised one of the soldiers as Reynolds who nodded formally at Alicia when we arrived.

We got straight to work and since there were only five women I doubted that I'd need help from Alicia or the other soldiers. When I said this to Alicia she almost looked like she was sigh with relief but all I got was a short nod before she turned and sat down on a rock by the pool. I got the women in the shallow end and since I knew that this was the first time in a pool for all of them we spent the first few minutes walking up and down so they could get comfortable being in the strange environment.

"I could get used to this." One of the women – Nina – said happily.

The other women agreed; it was definitely a warm day and while the water had warmed slightly it was still nice to be in the water. I looked over at Alicia, smirking at the quiet lieutenant who I knew would be pretty warm in her dark clothes.

"Sure you don't want to come in?" I called out teasingly.

A few of the women looked at each other with wide eyes. Alicia narrowed her eyes at me, "If I wanted to be in the water, I would be."

"Sure, sure." I retorted easily.

I was sure I heard some of the soldiers nearby snickering. Apparently Alicia did too because she barked out some pretty unpleasant orders for them.

With the women relaxed and used to the water we began; I explained that levels were made up of students not necessarily because of their age. We started from the lowest level and worked our way up through the levels, giving them not only a chance to get used to the water but also get a feel for actually swimming.

I had to admit that I was impressed with all of them; for women that had never been in a pool before they all were fairly competent swimmers. None were afraid or worried as we progressed through drills to do the harder strokes and it only took them a few laps to get used to freestyle and backstroke. By the time we got to our lunch break they were all ready to begin learning how to teach each of the different drills that we had just gone through. At this rate, the pool could definitely be up and running sooner than I had even considered.

By lunch a few of the soldiers that had been assigned by Taylor to help out in the pool if needed made their way into the pool; the unlucky soldiers that were there on patrol looked on miserably. It had gotten warmer as the day went on and they were constantly on the move and watching the area for any signs of danger. Even Alicia looked like she was considering getting in, eyeing the water with a mixture of disgust and grudging desire. I hoped out of the pool, wringing out my hair before plonking down on the rock that Alicia had taken up residence since we had gotten down here.

"You look like a drowned rat." She said bluntly.

I shrugged, "It's a better look then your overheated one."

A soldier from the pool hopped out and came over to us, sitting down on the other side of Alicia. I recognised him as Reynolds, the soldier that had spoken with Taylor the other day. "Permission to speak freely, ma'am?" He said formally.

Alicia rolled her eyes, "You're not on duty Mark."

Mark grinned, "In that case why aren't you coming in?"

"Oh, I know the answer to this one!" I added with a grin, putting my hand up like I was in class, "Pools are filled with germs, vomit and crap."

Mark looked over at the pool, his eyes squinting as he studied the pool, "It looks rather clean to me." He looked over at me, amused, "None of the ladies seem to have vomited, crapped or have germs that you should be worried about."

"We could always go and ask them." I suggested helpfully when Alicia pointedly ignored us.

Mark nodded looking eager, "I'm sure they'd love to reassure Alicia that they haven't committed any atrocities whilst in the pool."

Alicia slapped Mark over the head, scowling at him, "You'll do no such thing unless you want to spend the rest of the month assigned to night duties."

I grinned at the soldier's pout, "You can't do that to me." I went to stand up but she clamped a hand over my arm. "You're not afraid of swimming, are you?"

She glared at me and before I could say anything else she had stood up, yanked her top over her head and taken her pants on until she was left in only her bathers. I snickered next to Mark as the angry lieutenant moved over to the deep end of the pool and promptly dived into the pool perfectly. A few of the women watched with wide eyes at Alicia when she came up for air, looking over at us with raised brows.

"Not bad." I called out, moving to where she had just been. I dived in, having done it million times before so I didn't doubt that I executed it perfectly. When I came above the water I grinned at Alicia, "Fancy seeing you in here."

She rolled her eyes and splashed me, "Stop being a brat or I'll get out."

"I didn't think I'd find you in there, Lieutenant." Taylor's voice rang out.

Alicia's head whipped around to face her Commander but she didn't look surprised to see him. "Someone had to show them how it was done, sir."

I snorted and I was pretty sure I heard Mark cough slightly, "I believe that someone was just me." I smiled innocently at Alicia's narrowed gaze. The women all looked fairly amused by the turn of events and didn't seem surprised by Taylor's presence. "What did we do to earn a visit from the almighty Commander?" I called out teasingly.

A few of the patrolling soldiers broke away from their scans of the surrounding area to look over at me in shock. They were quick to get back to their jobs, probably afraid of being caught out by Alicia or worse, Taylor.

Taylor smiled charmingly, "I wanted to see how everything was going with our future swim teachers."

There was no doubt that Taylor was here because he wanted to see the progress of the women learning. Even they could tell that this was just as important to him as it was to them although I suppose they knew how much he cared for the success of the colony and for the people in it. I smiled at him, realising not for the first time how lucky I was that I was with such a great guy. I frowned at that last thought; was I with him? Kissing was one thing but that didn't necessarily mean we were together. How the hell was I supposed to bring that up in conversation? Should I even bother or just see where things go?

I didn't want to think about these thoughts right now; if I started I knew I would be distracted for the rest of the day.

"Right now we're on lunch break." I told him just as some of the women stepped out of the pool and over to their towels were they had left their lunches. As Taylor sat down at the edge of the pool I swam over with Alicia to join him, "I thought you'd be too busy to come down."

He shrugged, "I really did want to see how things were progressing."

At his pointed look I rolled my eyes but gave him an update, "They can all swim the strokes fairly well so we're ready to start learning the teaching aspects this afternoon."

"Already?" Taylor asked surprised.

I nodded, smiling, "They were quite eager."

Taylor seemed pleased by this and looked over at Wash, "How'd they get you in?"

He knew her too well, "I don't know what you're talking about." She said through gritted teeth.

I snorted, "We gave her a challenge she couldn't refuse."

"We?"

"Mark and I." I clarified, nodding my head over to the quiet soldier that was still sitting over on the rock, "It didn't take us very long." I grinned.

"I don't doubt it did."

Taylor didn't stay long after that; the women were almost done eating their lunches when he left, saying he'd be back to see their progress later in the week. I gave them some time to relax before calling them back into the pool. Surprisingly Alicia stayed in and Mark jumped back in, giving the women a chance to practice teaching the lower level drills on more 'students'. Mark and Alicia were the only 'students' to actively disrupt the lesson, whether it was by ignoring whoever was teaching or not doing the drill properly. They acted like completely disobedient children and it was kind of hilarious to watch. Alicia completely ignored one woman and began splashing not only the teacher but also Mark next to her. Despite the woman's stern reprimanding Alicia continued to do as she wanted until the woman finally looked over at me desperately.

"You will get students that do that." I said, thinking back to the more difficult students I'd dealt with over the years, "It doesn't matter if they knew you or if their parents are watching; they will muck around if they realise you aren't going to follow through with whatever you said you would do."

All of the women listened intently as I told them not to be afraid to sit a kid out. The women then carried on with her class and it was Mark who began playing around. I watched as the woman did everything as I would have done; gave him two warnings before putting him up on the ledge.

When I could tell that the women were becoming tired and a bit waterlogged from the day I ended the session, telling them we'll start back up tomorrow for a day of theory. They agreed and Nina volunteered her house for the session.

Alicia helped me pack up the lane rope we had used before we headed back up to the colony. We walked in silence, both tired from the afternoon; okay, so I was tired and Alicia seemed to realise that I wasn't in a particularly chatty mood. We parted when we got to command central – me disappearing down the trail to Taylor's house and Alicia to her own. She hadn't been willing to let me go until I assured her I was going straight there to shower. She hadn't needed to worry about anything anyway; Taylor was seated at the bench sharpening one of his knives. I stared at the strange sight before shrugging and heading straight for the bathroom. His eyes locked with mine as I walked past before they dropped back down to his knife with a small smile.

I showered quickly, my stomach protesting from the minimal amount of food I'd had during the day. When I'd dressed, brushed my wet hair and decided I was presentable enough I headed back out to the kitchen. I was strangely amused to find Taylor still out sharpening his knives, taking care to ensure they were still sharp.

"Boys and their toys." I muttered to myself as I rummaged through the fridge for leftovers.

Taylor pointedly ignored me although the look I got was definitely a warning of sorts. Not that it held any real force behind it. I served us both a bowel of the casserole, heating it one at a time before I sat next to him. He only stopped when the smell of the casserole apparently reached him because the moment the bowl was in front of him he all but attacked it. It was amusing to say the least.

Unfortunately, neither of us got to enjoy dinner.

I jumped as some sort of alarm rang through the house; I had no idea what it meant but apparently Taylor did. Without a word he was on his feet, knife in his hand and had re-holstered several guns. I felt my stomach dropped as I came to the only threat that would get this reaction out of Taylor; the Sixers.

He seemed to notice my paling face and he was in front of me quickly, "You'll be fine." He said, uncharacteristically soft for him. "You're coming with me." He said, dragging me out before I could protest.

It was slightly terrifying to think that they would be here for me. It didn't seem like a real threat at the time, no matter how panicked it had made me after. Yet here I was allowing Taylor to drag me back to command central and instead of going up the stairs to his office, he took me to the ground floor, leading me down some steps to a basement type room.

"What's this?" I asked nervously as he pushed me inside.

He fiddled with some buttons on the wall, "It's the brig." He said roughly, pulling my arm over, "It's also used as a safe room. See that?" He pointed to a button. When I nodded he continued, "You press that when I leave – it'll lock the door so no one can come back inside. When I'm back, press it again and it'll open."

"You're leaving me down here?" I blurted out, my eyes wide.

He nodded and without a goodbye he walked out the door. He turned and gave me a levelled look; I pressed the button with shaky hands, watching as the door slid closed and locked me in. I was left in the brig alone and the silence was deafening. That was until the unmistakable sound of an explosion made the safe room shudder from the force of it. Fear clawed at my gut and I sank to the floor, my head in between my knees to try and calm myself.

I had never considered that the sixers would actually attack; it was absurd but I had never prepared myself mentally for the likelihood of that happening. A few soft pops could be heard from outside and I figured they were guns being fired but I had no way of knowing.

And then everything stopped.

I strained to hear anything but once again, all I could hear was silence. I dragged my hands through my hair, wanting to tug at the long strands in frustration. I jumped in shock at the sharp rapping on the door and I felt my body sink with relief when I saw Taylor. I scrambled over to the controls on the wall, pressing the same button as before to let him in. I all but launched myself at him, kind of surprised by my actions; I never figured myself to be one of those wimpy girls that clawed to their guys whenever they were scared. This wasn't exactly a normal situation and it was damn nerve wracking no knowing what was going on.

I pushed myself away, studying him to see if he had any injuries. When I was satisfied he was okay, I gave his chest a shove, "What the hell!"

He blinked at me in surprise, still tense from whatever had happened outside, "What?"

"Was it really necessary to lock me in here?" I screeched.

He raised a brow, "Technically you locked yourself in here."

I gaped at him, speechless for a moment before launching myself at him again. My arms wrapped around his neck and I buried my face in the crook of his neck.

"Don't you dare leave me in here again." I muttered against his neck, feeling his arms circle my waist.

"It's the safest place if I'm not with you." He sighed, holding me to him.

"Don't care." I retorted.

"I do."

I sighed and didn't argue, "We're talking about that later."

"Yes dear." He retorted.

I chuckled, unable to stop myself. "Can we go now?" I asked, exhaustion setting in once the adrenaline had worn off.

He nodded, setting me back on my feet gently, "Let's go. I'll tell you what happened."

"No one got hurt, did they?" I asked worried, my first thought going straight to Alicia.

He shook his head, "It was a small attack probably more to try and distract us. I'm thinking they were probably using it as a way to figure out where you were. I imagine the next one will be to see how long it takes for someone to get you there and how long it is before you're alone again."

I shuddered, not liking that thought, "They might not have been here because of me."

"It's true but I can't take that chance." He said quietly, letting me walk inside first.

"So you're expecting them to attack again?" I asked weakly, taking a seat at the bench again.

He nodded, "Most likely; so if I just so happen to drag you out of here in your pyjamas, you're not allowed to yell at me."

I knew he was trying to lighten the situation for me and all I could manage was a weak laugh, my stomach twisting uncomfortably at the thought. I didn't doubt for a second that he was mistaken; they would be back and all we – I – could do was hope that no one would get hurt.

A/N thanks for all the reviews. I have the next few chapters planned so hopefully that means I'll have the next chapter up in a couple of days. This is my longest yet so I hope you enjoy! Thank you to all reading this story!