Chapter 11

Amelia woke up the next morning to the smell of eggs and bacon and fresh fruit in the air. She couldn't believe she had fallen asleep on the lounge but that was where she was cocooned under a throw blanket. Her stomach gurgled in hunger while her ribs and hand throbbed with pain. She opened her eyes and stifled a groan as her head and body complained from the movement it was like the list of aches and pains were increasing with every movement she made as she used her left hand and arm to pull herself to an upright position and looked toward the kitchen to find a stocky man about 5ft 10 with greying hair cooking at the stove top. He noticed her awake and gave an open and welcoming smile.

"Well G'day there, hope you like scrambled eggs" He said with a strong Australian accent as he plated said eggs onto a large serving plate. "I'm Tom Boylan, local bar owner, entrepreneur and your new landlord. But you can call me Boylan. Now come on don't be shy and get over here and eat some grub" he added as he moved two plates of food one with the eggs and the other with bacon to the table that was already set with a large bowl of fruit salad, plates and cutlery.

Amelia got to her feet and slowly made her way to the table and sat down opposite Boylan. She shifted uncomfortably as her muscles were aching and fatigued.

"I'm Amelia, umm where's Alicia?" Amelia asked as she ran a hand through her bird's nest hair. She really couldn't care about her appearance as she pressed her left hand to her head and leaned on on her elbow on the table. The bones in her face ached like someone had spent hours scraping at her bones.

"Shower, she'll be out in a minute. Now once you put some lining in your gut I'll give you some of your happy pills" he told her as he pulled out a pill container and placed it on the table as motivation to make her eat. She wasn't going to argue with him as she needed both food and pain meds.

Amelia nodded as she sat up straight and haphazardly tried to scoop up some fruit with her left hand but found it incredibly difficult before she could even make a real attempt of depositing the fruit onto her plate. Boylan took over and within seconds he wordlessly piled her plate with a healthy serving of all the foods on offer not even asking her what she wanted.

"Thanks" Amelia mumbled embarrassed that she couldn't even serve herself breakfast she was so weak.

"No worries and don't worry about table manners round here. If you need to use your fingers go ahead, the Queen is back in 2149 not here" he told her. Amelia nodded and awkwardly picked her fork with her left hand and started with the fruit as she could stab it. She watched him pile his own plate and begin to eat.

"Good Morning" Alicia said as she came into the room and moved to the seat next to Amelia and sat down. She piled up her plate of food and then poured herself and Amelia two glasses of fruit juice.

"Morning, how did you sleep last night?" Boylan asked her before he took another bite of his breakfast.

"Good as always. Yourself?" Alicia asked.

"Like a Rock" Boylan said with a smile.

"Good and Amelia, how did you sleep?" Alicia asked.

"Well, that lounge is really comfortable" Amelia said, Alicia picked up the container of pain killers and popped the top open and pulled out two small tablets and held out to Amelia who happily downed them with her juice before she continued eating. The food was delicious and incredibly fresh. It was heavenly even if she did have to pick up the bacon with her fingers she used her fork for the eggs and fruit.

"Yeah it's good for a kip. So what are your plans for the day?" Boylan asked making conversation.

"I have a report to write" Alicia said dryly as she did not look forward to hours she would spend with the plex.

"Sleep" Amelia said as it really was all she wanted to do as she knew the pain killers would knock her out. She was already feeling drowsy but it was from the food not the drugs as her hand was still aching.

"Is there anything you want us to do?" Alicia asked Boylan.

"No, just making conversation. Speaking of, I have to go soon and talk to a man about a dog" Boylan said noting the time on the wall. Amelia looked and was shocked to see it was nearly 10:30am.

"So should we expect you home for dinner or lunch?" Alicia asked as they continued to eat.

"Nah I'll eat at work but thanks for the thought" Boylan said, a knock sounded at the door. Alicia was about to get up when Boylan waved her back down. "Oh let me get it" he said with a smile. Amelia had to say she liked Boylan he seemed to be an easy going man quick with a smile.

Alicia smothered a smile as Boylan opened the door to find Commander Taylor and Jim Shannon at his doorstep. She kept her head down and continued to eat pretending to be oblivious to who was at the door step and also watching Amelia. She was glad the girl was eating and hoped she didn't upend the breakfast from eating too fast.

"Well, well what a lovely surprise" Boylan said in his usual jovial manner and he smiled over his shoulder at Alicia. Christmas had come early for him as Commander Taylor looked mighty angry. "I don't think you've ever darkened the doorstep of my homestead before Commander. Would you two like to come in I just made breakfast and a fresh pot of coffee" Boylan offered.

"No, I want to speak to Wash" Taylor said.

"Well you'd still have to come in and socialise. Perhaps a cup of coffee?" Boylan offered as he was trying to goad Taylor into stepping into his home.

"Just ask Wash to come to the door" Taylor said as he had no desire to stand in Boylan's home. Boylan stood at the doorway looking at Taylor expectantly like he was waiting for Taylor to finish his request with a 'please'. He was going to be waiting a long time before Taylor said 'Please' to him.

"Righto" Boylan said after a few very awkward seconds passed. "Oi Wash"

"Coming" Alicia said.

"That's what she said last night" Boylan joked which earned him a punch in the arm from Alicia. Boylan laughed as he left Alicia with Taylor and Jim. She rose her chin in a signal of defiance and power so Taylor would not mistake her for someone he could make cower under his fury.

"Commander, Sheriff" Alicia said as she leaned against the open door frame and folded her arms across her chest.

"Wash, you removed the girl from the infirmary without notifying me" Taylor remarked in a serious tone as he was annoyed to find an empty biobed and medical staff completely useless for information as the night staff had gone home taking the information of where Amelia was with them.

"Good morning to you too sir. I'm good, yourself?" Alicia asked casually pretending to have missed his tone

"Don't get cute with me. I just spent the last two hours trying to track you down" Taylor told her darkly.

"I wasn't aware I had to keep you notified of my movements" Alicia said mockingly innocent but she was ready to go toe to toe with Taylor as there were many things she could call him on for not doing.

"Ah can we all take a step back" Jim said as he could feel the air becoming incredibly tense by the second and really didn't want to get in the middle of Taylor and Alicia. "We were hoping to talk with Miss Jones this morning" Jim added.

"She isn't ready to be debriefed" Alicia said as she looked over her shoulder to see Boylan and Amelia chatting in low voices. Whatever Boylan was saying was making the girl smile as she politely tried to decline more food but Boylan still put the food on her plate.

"It's best for us to talk with her while the memories of what happened and her time in -"

"Imprisonment?" Alicia offered before Jim could say 'captivity' she hated the word as it made it sound like she and Amelia were dogs.

"are still fresh in her mind" Jim said, Alicia looked over her shoulder at Amelia again and noted she was no longer smiling but looking at the table frozen at what was being said but only for a moment before Boylan nudged her and silently directed her to eat. Alicia looked back at Taylor and Jim they were determined to get it over with. She squashed the bitterness at how she didn't rank as much of a priority for being debriefed.

"Well I've already given her the meds Doc Shannon prescribed. She's going to be out cold in 20 minutes if not sooner and won't wake until around lunch time or possibly later" Alicia said matter of factorily.

"Then we will do it this afternoon after lunch. Name the time and I'll make it happen at the Command Centre" Taylor said. Alicia took a deep breath to give herself a moment and to just make them wait.

"Play by ear but say 1400 hours and I will be present for the whole of the debrief" Alicia said firmly.

"It's unnecessary and you know we don't allow it" Taylor said. It was true for soldiers as they kept them separate so they if they lied the inconsistencies would show in separate testimonies than together where they could play off one another's visual cues of when to shut up or how much to give.

"She's a minor not one of your soldiers. Military protocol for P.O.W. recovery doesn't apply here and as her guardian I will be present for any and all questions you want to ask her" Alicia told him standing up straight and folding her arms across her chest making her stance be known. She was not backing down and if Taylor tried to circumnavigate her, hell would be paid.

"Bit protective aren't you?" Taylor asked eyeing Alicia's overprotective behaviour of the girl.

"I know how you are with anything related to your son. Now if you two aren't coming in for coffee I'll see you both at 1400 hours Command Centre." Alicia said she waited for a moment before the men declined the coffee saying something about work and leaving. She closed the door and went back to the dining table next to Amelia who finished her glass of juice.

"What do they want to talk to me about?" Amelia asked.

"What happened, how you got here, probably your plans for your future etc. I'll talk to the school next week and schedule an appointment for you to be tested" Alicia said adding it to the long list of things she had to do in regards to Amelia.

"Tested?" Amelia asked.

"Relax it won't be for at least a month and it's to see what level you are at scholastically speaking" Alicia said eyeing Amelia carefully.

"I was in my final year" Amelia said she really didn't want to start from scratch and she feared she'd rank down at the bottom of the scale. She rather live in the blissful ignorance than go from highly intelligent by 21st standards to lame brain by 22nd century standards.

"I know but if you want to continue into Tertiary education then you'll have to take the tests" Alicia told her. She obviously saw the concern. "You'll breeze through it. It's just a basic test nothing as complicated as what Lucas had you doing" Alicia assured her. They all lapsed into silence for a few minutes as they continued with breakfast for which Alicia was grateful as Boylan didn't ask questions Amelia any questions that were too personal or about Lucas.

"Well ladies, I'd hate to cut and run but I have to go see a man about a dog" Boylan said as he finished his breakfast with a satisfied sigh.

"You're getting a dog?" Amelia asked confused. Alicia and Boylan smothered their laughter. Boylan shook his head.

"No, it's a common phrase just means I'm heading out. " Boylan told her.

"Oh ok, I think I'm going to lie down" Amelia said as exhaustion washed over her from a full stomach and the pain killers that were starting to kick in.

"That's a good idea. I'll clean up here so go ahead to bed and I'll wake you up when it's time for lunch" Alicia told her. Amelia nodded and slowly rose from her chair and went to the bedroom and closed the door. She laid down on the bed and didn't even bother to get under the blankets before she passed out to the world.

"She going to be ok?" Boylan asked with genuine concern as he helped Alicia clean up the dining table from breakfast.

"You afraid she'll try and kill you in your sleep?" Alicia asked dryly as they packed the dirty dishes away into the dish washer. Boylan gave a chuckle before looking insulted.

"Hey, this is genuine concern about another human's well being not about my personal safety. "He said with a serious tone though it sounded slightly mocking. "Anyway I could snap her like a twig she's so tiny" he added with a smile as he took a washcloth and wiped down the dining table.

"She'll be fine once everything squared away and she can get on with living her life. Right now it's like we're in limbo" Alicia said with a sigh as she felt like she was in limbo. She packed the last dish in and closed the door on the diswasher and turned it on. It was truly the small things in life that made life really pleasurable like running water.

"I believe it's called an adjustment period" Boylan said in a tone only a psychologist would use to correct their patient. Alicia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I gotta get to work my report. I have over 8 months to recount" Alicia said.

"Well I'll see you two tomorrow for breakfast unless you feel like visiting the bar" Boylan said.

"We'll see" Alicia said as she picked up a plex from the kitchen island. Boylan gave a nod and left the house whistling to himself. She moved to the couch and sat down, she closed her eyes and took a moment before she opened the program she needed and started an audio log to transcribe her spoken words into text.

Amelia woke up a few hours later feeling rested but slightly doped out from the pain killers she enjoyed the euphoria of not feeling any pain even though she felt like she could float off the bed.

She used her left hand and slowly pushed off the bed and got to her feet, her head spun for a couple of seconds before righting itself. It was an odd sensation as she couldn't feel her feet on the ground, She hadn't felt like this since she had gotten shot and was on strong painkillers after surgery. She moved slowly to the door and heard Alicia talking she frowned as she couldn't hear the words and slowly slid the door opened only for Alicia to stop talking and looked over from her place on the lounge.

"Hey, did I wake you?" Alicia asked.

"No I just woke up. Who are you talking to?" Amelia asked curiously.

"I was doing my report, there is a program that transcribes what I say into text. It saves a lot of time." Alicia said as she placed the plex down on the coffee table as Amelia moved to sit down on the lounge next to her. Alicia looked at Amelia and noted the girl was high on the pain killers as her pupils were like saucer dishes.

"Makes sense" Amelia said with a nod.

"How you feeling?" Alciia asked her.

"Like I'm made of cotton candy" Amelia said with a giggle. She looked shocked as if surprised she had giggled. Then somehow it was incredibly funny and she started to laugh. Alicia looked at her with an odd smile as Amelia calmed down and pressed a hand to her chest as it felt tight. "Sorry, I don't know why I laughed" Amelia said.

"Cause you're high. I think you need a smaller dose of analgesics" Alicia said as Amelia seemed to be fascinated with the movements of her left hand fingers. "We have 3 hours until the meeting why don't we eat some lunch and you sleep the rest of the meds off" Alicia suggested, Amelia nodded she wasn't hungry but she did know she needed the food to keep her going.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Amelia asked looking up from her fingers that she had been flexing.

"No, you just relax. The more rest you get the faster you'll heal" Alicia said.

"Wash has been incredibly hostile" Jim said to Taylor as they were alone the soldiers had just taken yet another sixer was removed from the Command Centre. They had been debriefing the sixers all morning and for about two hours after lunch the clock read 5 minutes to 2pm.

"She's been a prisoner too long and lost her discipline. Once she gets it all out of her system she'll be back to the old Wash we all knew" Taylor said in a low voice.

"Can I suggest we tread carefully with Amelia Jones. I want to mend the bridges with Wash. So why don't I do all the questioning in regards to Amelia and what we know about her" Jim suggested he was referring to the information they had learned about their newest addition. Apparently she was just a girl who met unfortunate accident and wound up in the Badlands. Lucas had taken a fondness to her and kept her alive something he had never done before. It was incredibly out of character for his son who was hell bent on taking apart his father's legacy piece by piece.

"Agreed" Taylor said he knew it would safer if he kept his mouth shut. S knock sounded at the doorway and Taylor called out the doors opened and Alicia walked in first with Amelia just a step behind her. Alicia looked beautiful as she was dressed in a cargo pants, black t-shirt and her leather jacket her hair was loose around her shoulders. Taylor rarely saw her with her hair out. He turned his attention to the girl closely as she came into the room. She was dressed in cargo pants a white tank top with a fitted zipper front navy blue hoodie jumper with the sleeves covering her hand.

Her honey brown hair was clean and hung loose in natural waves that framed her face beautifully. She looked pale but better than she did the previous day. She didn't look directly at them but it wasn't meekness as her posture was one of a person with quiet confidence as her shoulders were square and her back straight her chin wasn't even lowered there was no sign she was submissive as they believed her to be. Her deferring to Alicia for advice wasn't that she was afraid of them but that she didn't want to put a foot out of place.

Alicia and Amelia sat down on the opposite side Jim and Taylor at the table. Amelia sat in the chair next to her still as high as kite. It was going to be an interesting conversation as they had stopped by the Infirmary to see if Elisabeth could sober the girl up but Elisabeth said it was best to let the drugs wash out of Amelia's system in case she was sensitive to anymore of their medicines. She had given Alicia a new container of analgesics that were supposed to be for toddlers. Amelia had giggled at the pain killers as they were in the shape of tiny dinosaurs.

" We haven't been formally introduced. I'm Commander Nathaniel Taylor. I'm the leader of this Colony and this is Jim Shannon he is the local Sherrif and my Second in command." Taylor said as he introduced himself and Jim.

"Amelia Jones. I'd shake your hand but yeah" Amelia said as she lifted her right hand that was in it's brace. The Gentlemen nodded.

"So how are you ladies? Would you like something to drink?" Taylor asked.

"Water please" Amelia said staring at Taylor as she tried to act naturally. She was still high from the pain killers even after a big lunch and a long nap. She woke up and she still couldn't feel her feet on the ground but she wasn't in any pain. Alicia had told her that they should cancel but Amelia wanted to get it over with and thought if she couldn't feel her pain or concentrate it might go easier. She also knew no matter how hard she tried they already had their opinion of her so there was no point in trying to impress them when she was just a random girl from 2012.

Taylor moved away and came back with a couple of glasses of water and placed them on the table in front of Alicia and Amelia.

"Thank you" Amelia said. Alicia murmured her thanks as she sat back in her chair comfortably as if she was going to just observe. Amelia hoped Alicia would stop her from making a fool of herself as right now she wasn't sure she could keep a straight face as Jim was eyeing her strangely.

"Are you high?" Jim asked her.

"No" Amelia said Jim quirked an eyebrow at her as if questioning the validity of her answer. "Yes but not on purpose" Amelia admitted feeling guilty, Jim looked slightly amused by her answer as he looked to Alicia who gave a shrug.

"She is sensitive to our meds. Doc Shannon said she has to digest them as any counteractives would do more harm than good. I wanted to cancel but Amelia didn't. So here we are" Alicia said casually. Taylor did look amused by the information but kept quiet.

"You sure you don't want to wait?" Jim asked Amelia.

"Yes, I want to get this over with. I have nothing to hide and I'm better than I was a couple of hours ago" Amelia said. She watched as Jim pressed a few buttons on a plex and informed her they were going to record the meeting before he pressed a button and announced the time, date and Amelia's name. They made her state her name again for the record and her personal details like her birthday, where she was born, what schools she attended, her family history etc.

"Thanks the records of you in our database are very light" Jim said after he finished asking her questions about her past.

"I'm 17 of course it's light. I've barely begun to make my impact on the world. If I was ever going to make one" Amelia said begrudgingly. Though inwardly she admitted she did have plans to be someone of stature and importance. She had been a Golden Key recipient the world would have been her oyster.

"Well you got a whole life ahead of you to make one here in Terra Nova. You are in your final year of high school. Must have been pretty stressful" Jim said making conversation.

"Yeah, I have… had assessments, major artwork to finish, exams not to mention Ballet, soccer. I was pretty busy all the time but not anymore" Amelia said.

"I saw the photos are they your major artwork? cause they are good" Jim said.

"Yeah I was going to do a 4D installation using photos. I prefer painting and sculpture work but Photography is more portable than and not as messy as transporting paints and clay" Amelia said as she looked down at the table and traced an imaginary pattern on the table.

"Well you can always pick up painting here in Terra Nova. We got a couple of artists in the colony, you should ask them on where they get their supplies or even apprentice with one of them if Art is your passion" Jim said.

"Maybe see how badly I do on the test" Amelia said. She'd love to be an artist but she felt it wouldn't be responsible to drop her studies after all the effort she had put into studying and she didn't feel she was even halfway talented to be come a full time artist.

"Test?" Jim asked.

"For going back to school" Alicia answered Jim nodded in comprehension.

"You think you'll do that badly?" Jim asked.

"Don't you all think I'll do poorly? My education is over 100 years old" Amelia said her eyes levelling with Taylor's and Jim's. She was watching their reaction Taylor remained neutral not giving anything away whereas Jim looked surprised at her acerbic comment.

"I don't think so you seem pretty bright for a girl high on pain meds" Jim told her with a smile. Amelia returned the smile before she picked up her glass of water and took a sip. His expression turned serious.

"Amelia, we need you to tell us in your own words what happened from the time you arrived in the Badlands to coming here." Jim told her.

"I thought you already know everything" Amelia said.

"We like to have the whole story just for our records" Jim told her.

"Ah a lot of it is really fuzzy" Amelia said.

"because you're high?" Taylor asked Amelia pursed her lips as now she knew Taylor probably thought she was some stupid drughead. He was going to have a shock when she proved him otherwise. She felt for Lucas as Taylor appeared to be a hard man.

"No because I was injured. I don't understand science of what happened but one minute I was driving home in the middle of a downpour and the next I was in the desert and crashed. I only remember coming to and just feeling incredibly hot and humid and in pain. I remember being jammed in my seat and having metal in my leg. I remember seeing Lucas and him pulling me out of the car but I was in and out of consciousness I don't know it was like a bad dream. The next time I was conscious I was lying in a cot up in the tree bungalow…" Amelia continued talking but didn't look at them as it was easier to pretend she was talking to herself than see their reactions.

She told them about meeting Lucas and everyone else she encountered her life in the camp. Living with Alicia and Carter and giggling about how loudly Carter snored. She stumbled through telling them about the first time Hooper had tortured her. She left out the specifics of everything Lucas said to her and his nightmares they weren't relevant.

They didn't ask questions or prompt her until an half an hour later she reached the final day. It was funny how she could wipe out the first attack from Hooper with memories of Lucas taking care of her. But the last encounter with Hooper was unlike anything she had experienced before and she hadn't truly decompressed from the event. She had sobbed in Lucas's arms like a 5 yr old but she had wished he had been there when she woke up. He had a way of putting things into a pragmatic perspective that made what she felt feel irrelevant and thus not necessary to feel.

"So you and Wash were in your bungalow. You weren't feeling well when Hooper appeared" Taylor prompted. He watched the girl swallow and stare at the table like she were 5000 miles from here. She had been cooperative so far and he had listened silently stunned and not sure whether to believe what she was telling him. His son who refused to speak about his mother for over a decade spoke about Ayani with her.

Lucas protected this girl, gave her food and took care of her. It was so contradictory of the man he believed his son to be and yet not once did she claim he was an innocent man or changed. In fact she said the opposite she kept saying things along the line of 'I understand he's done terrible things and I understand he has to serve some kind of contrition. But he treated me with the utmost respect and kindness when he could have left me for dead'. It was clear the girl was in love with his son and if it wasn't love it was definitely a deep infatuation. Some form of Stockholm Syndrome, she was going to have to be cured of in Taylor's opinion.

Amelia opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Tears filled her eyes as she remembered every kick and punch but mainly it was her hand. The fact that there was only a slim chance she would recover full use of it. She was a dedicated right handed person, she could write or draw let alone attempt any complex finer motor skills with her left hand.

It just added to the heartbreak of losing her family as her art was second most precious thing to her after her family. She hated Hooper as he was the monster who ruined her potential and put fear into her.

"Perhaps we should take a break" Alicia suggested sitting forward in her chair.

"No I want to finish this. I don't ever want to repeat this again" Amelia said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You only have to tell us once" Taylor said he saw no point in having Amelia repeat herself more than one as she had volunteered a lot of personal information freely and spoke with a clarity that everything she said was truthful. He knew the drugs in her system were helping the outpour of information.

"He came in and ordered two men to hold me…" Amelia recounted in detail about what happened with Hooper. Alicia being tortured, how she kicked one of the soldiers off the side and knocked the other unconscious. How she fought with Hooper and how he toyed with her. Tears slipped down her face as she spoke in an even tone about the fight.

"I was in so much pain from my hand I think I blacked out because the next thing I knew he was on top of me strangling me" Amelia stopped and took a moment "I assume that's when Alicia shot him. Lucas pulled him off me and the rest you know. Are we finished?" Amelia asked.

"Not yet we do have a few more questions" Jim said.

"She's told you everything you need to know" Alicia said as she wanted to take Amelia home and give the girl some more meds and make her lie down.

"Not everything. How far along is Lucas with his work?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know" Amelia said truthfully.

"You said he helped you so that you'd help him with his work" Taylor said.

"I never reached the part where I helped him. Physics isn't my strong suit. Is he ok? Where is he?" Amelia asked as if she had been waiting weeks to ask the questions. Taylor and Jim exchanged looks having the same thought as Taylor had earlier about Amelia having an unhealthy attachment to Lucas before Jim answered.

"He's in the brig and he's fine" Jim answered.

"Would I be able to see him?" Amelia asked.

"He was your captor" Taylor said which translated to 'No' in Amelia's mind.

"Have you not been listening? Hooper was my captor. Lucas took care of me, he's my friend" Amelia said though she wasn't sure friend was the right word but then she had no idea what she and Lucas were but she knew she cared about him.

"He doesn't have visitation privileges" Taylor said

"When will he?" Amelia asked.

"Not for a long time yet. He has to answer for crimes first" Taylor said.

"Right" Amelia said sitting back despondently which meant whenever Taylor was satisfied that Lucas was sorry for what he did which would never happen as Lucas wasn't the least bit contritious about his actions.

"So you never helped him with the equations?" Taylor asked.

"No" Amelia half lied, she did point out a few mistakes or what she felt were mistakes but she didn't fix them.

"Did he ever talk to you about them or his plans?" Taylor asked.

"Not really, he internalizes a lot" Amelia said.

"Internalizes?" Taylor asked.

"He goes off into his own world up here" Amelia pointed to her head "Does all the working and processing. I swear even when he was talking to me I could see he was having three other discussions in his head" Amelia explained.

"Ok and did he explain to you how you happened to end up here?" Taylor asked as she had mentioned not understanding the science but it wasn't a clear description of what she knew.

"Yes he told me. He told me the life I knew was over and that I'd never see my family again because even if he could reopen the portal and send me back he wouldn't as I could affect the future and the outcome of history which I think is giving me way too much credit" Amelia told them in an annoyed tone as tears welled her eyes again she didn't understand why they were asking her these questions. She told them everything bar a few irrelevant things. Well they were relevant to her but not for them to know.

"Ok, that's it" Taylor said, Jim looked a little surprised but didn't question Taylor's decision to bring to an end. "I want to tell you I am deeply sorry you've been dragged into our world and mess and that you have lost your family and future with them because of my son. I hope in time Terra Nova becomes home even if it's not the one you want" Taylor said with deep sincerity as Amelia stared at him with tears streaking down her face.

"We'll give you a moment alone with Wash to collect yourself" Taylor said as he looked to Jim and the two men left the room. Amelia ran her hand over her face and wiped the tears from her eyes before she looked at Alicia with a look a disbelief.

"They think I'm lying about helping Lucas don't they?" Amelia asked Alicia in a low voice.

"No, I don't think so. I think they are surprised the Lucas you describe is very different from the Lucas they know" Alicia replied in a love voice.

"They think he's a monster" Amelia said looking at her hands.

"Yes but like all of us there is more to him than that" Alicia said.

TBC~ Cya all in a few days with more :-)