whats about to happen to Skye happened to me yesterday morning, so I'm writing from personal experience. Kind of strange, since I had this chapter planned before it happened!

After their confrontation, Skye decided it was her turn for the silent treatment. It seemed like every time she opened her mouth it either provoked him or made him feel the urge to invade her personal space. The back and forth battle for dominance was wearing her thin, just looking at him made her nerves fray. If he were weaker, she would just leave him there for a few hours to go refresh herself; but now she was afraid if she left him alone for more than twenty minutes he'd have found a way to build a gun out of sticks by the time she returned.

For now, she'd have to settle with being distracted with hiking. It was helpful that she was leading the way because that way she could only hear him crunching along behind her, and didn't have to look at that irritating smirk of his. The worst part was that he seemed completely content with her not saying anything, and even laughed when she sharply changed directions without warning him.

The more she walked, the more her stomach made it clear that she needed to eat. She ignored it, getting to the treeline before nightfall was more important than some scrappy meal. The terrain was roughing up the higher they went, but she wasn't about to linger and let Lucas think she'd let hunger get in the way of her mission. He didn't even seem winded for a guy who couldn't even stand up a few days ago. He just chugged along behind, further infuriating her.

As the rocky outcroppings began to spring up Skye began feeling a little dizzy. Her legs began to wobble, but she flatly refused to let her physical problems become her mental problems. The treeline couldn't be that far off, could it? She raked through her brain, trying to estimate how far they're hiked since that morning. But her thoughts began to blur, along with her vision. She looked up to the sky, and the sun seemed to indicate it was still early in the afternoon. Though she hated to say it, they were probably only hallway there. The thought made her heart sink, and she automatically slowed. Her breaths were shallow as she stopped, bending over slightly to catch her breaths.

Lucas laughed as he came up behind her. "Terra Nova may have more oxygen than 2149, but elevation still causes oxygen asphyxiation. But you're okay, aren't you, Bucket?" He sneered lightly, slapping her on the shoulder. She shot him a glare, trying to catch her breath before starting again. She felt the blood rush to her head and shut her eyes, trying to drive it away.

"Dammit Skye, get up." She opened her eyes drowsily. She felt like she'd just woken up from a long nap, but how had she fallen asleep? She was flat on her back, staring into the pale blue sky above. Lucas was suddenly looming over her, and she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Why did you let me fall asleep?" She snapped venomously. Lucas cocked an eyebrow.

"You just fell down," His eyes flashed, mirroring her confusion, "Did you just faint?"

"What are you talking about?" She snarled, struggling to stand up again. The world started to spin again, and she felt Lucas ease her back onto the ground.

"When's the last time you drank anything?" He asked, and Skye just scowled back at him, remembering that she was supposed to be avoiding conversation. But as she thought over his question, the pieces began to fall into place. One minute she just had that feeling she sometimes got when she stood up too fast, then next she was on the floor. No memory of falling, or even swaying for that matter. All she knew was that it had happened fast, and that scared her.

"So not recently then. Fantastic." Lucas growled, scanning the woods around them. She realized that he looked on edge, like something was chasing them.

"What is it?" She permitted herself to ask.

"While you were busy pretending to be focused, I was looking for territory markers. Looks like the hills aren't completely barren after all." He shot her a disapproving glance, and her scowl returned. "I figured we'd be out of here before it noticed, but it looks like that isn't going to be the case."

"Before what noticed?"

Lucas shut his eyes, sighing deeply. "A Rajasaurus. I doubt Terra Nova has come in contact with one before."

"Try me, I've been OTG dozens of times."

"Don't." Lucas snapped, "Don't act like you know everything that lives out here. " He was getting angry again, and Skye decided she wasn't in much of a state to take him on.

"Can we move now?" She asked, interrupting the prickling silence. Lucas's eyes narrowed. Suddenly he hoisted her up, and she nearly threw up as he slung her over his good shoulder. She gave him a good whack, her sense spinning. He didn't seem to have noticed the extra weight; he just walked on as though he didn't realize he was carrying her.

They made it about a hundred feet before Skye started feeling breakfast creeping up her throat.

"Put me down, I'm gonna throw up." She groaned. He gingerly placed her in some reeds, and she squeezed her eyes shut, fighting off the nausea. It was working, but slowly.

"Look, I'm going to get something for you to eat." Lucas announced, though her stomach flipped at the thought of food. "Stay hidden. Don't move, don't speak, don't even think. If anything comes, play dead, got it?" She didn't respond, still trying to keep breakfast down. "Got it?" He demanded. She nodded briskly and soon only the sounds of the forest surrounded her.

Her brain finally shut down, unable to cope with the altitude and the nausea at the same time. It felt like she'd only blinked, but when she opened her eyes again the sun was setting, and she was surrounded by boulders.

"No fire tonight." Lucas announced, catching that she was awake. She rubbed her eyes, her stomach still feeling queasy. A tiny pile of food was sitting next to her, and she dug in without another word. Lucas leaned against one of the boulders on the other side of her, leaning his head back to try and get some sleep.

Skye finished her dinner in a matter of minutes, and even sucked her fingers to get any remaining juice. Her stomach still wanted more, but she knew it must've taken Lucas a long time to find that much food up in the altitude. She looked up, a thought running through her head.

"Hey." She whispered forcefully. He blinked an eye open, looking at her. "Did you eat anything?" She asked. He smiled, and then shut his eyes again. A wave of guilt washed over her. Why hadn't she thought to ask that before she ate everything in sight? Because you don't owe him anything, her brain hissed back. "Sorry," She apologized, looking at the ground. He just chuckled.

"You could always repay me." He finally murmured. She looked up, his eyes now locked with hers. It sent a shiver down her spine, and she fought the overwhelming urge to look away. "By showing me you have backing." He smirked, and then leaned back again. She scowled as she realized what he meant.

"You know, you might be tolerable if you would stop trying to get me to kiss you." She growled.

"Is that so?" He chuckled.

"Yeah. You made sure I was okay, and I have to thank you for that." She tried to sound as nonchalant about it as she could, but she knew she was failing miserably. Her heart was pounding again; it was one of those rare moments where she actually felt comfortable around him. Like they could have been friends outside of all of this.

"So why don't you just do it?" He asked suddenly, his eyes snapping open again. She shrugged, laughing lightly.

"That's not how I repay a favor."

"Really. How does the wise and powerful Bucket repay a favor?"

"Well, I sometimes take bullets out of people."

Lucas snorted. "That seemed more about leverage to me."

She faltered for a moment, but quickly recovered. "Okay, how does curing a fever sound?"

"Fine, except that I saved you from a flood so you can't use that one now. " His voice twinged with amusement. Skye found herself genuinely smiling, slightly taken aback by his normalcy. She couldn't help but think that this was the real Lucas, the one that barely ever glanced the surface.

"I still think you're the one who owes me. " She laughed, getting comfortable for the long night ahead. She wasn't tired at all, but she could tell Lucas was completely drained.

"Everyone seems to think that." He murmured. He was trying to stay awake, but kept nodding off.

She felt a prick of pity for him, sensing that he thought that his statement was true. She rolled onto her back, watching as the stars began to speckle the sky.

Lucas shifted, turning towards her. "Night Bucket." He muttered drowsily.

She chuckled. "Goodnight Lucas." She watched as he surrendered to sleep, and found herself feeling bubbly for the first time since she left the colony. She actually felt happy, and Lucas hadn't done anything to ruin it. She could only hope it was something she could feel again, but she wasn't sure if that meant getting back home or not.

I was seriously about to ruin this chapter, that's why it took so long and ended up being so short…..you don't even want to know what I was about to do. X.x thank god for editing!