EFBT: Thanks for reviewing and no worries! :) To be honest it feels kinda like getting inside a time-machine every time I post a chapter for this story seeing I finished writing it such a long time ago and I have moved on to other projects...and yet, TN's a fandom I'll be loathe to part with! Anyways, enough of my sentimental blabbering here's the next chapter, almost there, fingers crossed Lennox will be ok! ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Terra Nova, this is purely a non-profit fan-made story.

Chapter 25

LAYING abandoned on the briefing table as tangible and indifferent proof of their argument, Nathaniel absentmindedly picked up Hera's plexpad. Holding it in his hands, eyes waveringly taking in her proposal regarding the Sixers, he had to exert all his will power to repress the nagging doubt that all of it had been borrowed time. That those stolen moments they'd had were doomed to end. And to end too soon. It scared him how he seemed to be losing her, for he couldn't interpret the cold, hard stare and her stinging words she'd directed at him any other way, but it scared him even more that someone might take her away from him. The fact that Hera had lost patience with him in front of everyone, even though he could be charged on the same grounds, was all the more evidence that he needed to take care of her, protect her -from a distance if necessary- and trust that she would understand in time. And for her own good he couldn't give in to her yet, no matter how much he deep down wanted to obey her every command as long as it made her happy and him sure of her love for him for the rest of his life..

"You two OK?"

Startled out of his worries, Nathaniel looked up to see Jim hovering hesitantly on the threshold between the meeting room and his office. Behind him Elisabeth peeked over his shoulder, clearly having just nudged her husband to say something.

"Don't take this the wrong way but neither one of you was pulling any punches back there.. And you did seem a little, um.. Distracted earlier.." his sheriff probed cautiously, shifting uncomfortably and flicking an almost nervous look over his shoulder at Elisabeth in search of support from his partner in crime. Although picking up on the genuine concern the couple had for him and Hera, Nathaniel nonetheless glowered at the pair of them. A part of him was strangely grateful Jim hadn't gone for 'moody, old, frustrated and looking like hell' when that would've been a more accurate description, but most of all he felt angry at himself for having been this easy to read. For showing his emotions and let them interfere with performing his duties as the colony's leader. That meeting had been a disaster from finish to start, not least of all because it had ended with him bluntly silencing Hera who'd been deliberately overstepping the mark.

"We're fine." he eventually grumbled in their direction, grumpily putting the plexpad down on the wooden surface of the table, determined not to look at it anymore and have him remember the altercation a little too vividly.

"..Really?" Jim had blurted out in unmistakable incredulity. Nathaniel couldn't help but narrow his eyes and scowl at the man who visibly cowered now his non-verbal but no less stern rebuke had effectively reminded him of the fact that honesty wasn't always the best policy. Elisabeth bit her lip, shooting her husband a glare and pinching his arm as if in reproach for his lack of tact even though she had been the one pushing him to start the conversation in the first place.

"I-I mean, if there's anything we can do, just let us know.." Jim hastened to make up for his mistake, hands half raised as if in submissive surrender to both his wife and his Commander.

Nathaniel sighed somewhat remorsefully, his own stubborn inclination to say the wrong thing tempting him to forgive his sheriff. He briefly tapped his fingers on the edge of the table next to him, finally saying with a tired voice, "Just.. Just don't tell anyone about.. About Hera and me. Please. It might give some people an idea as to how to hurt me. I could never forgive myself if something happened to her."

Jim eyed him thoughtfully while Elisabeth stepped around him, brows furrowed, "But.. Who would want to hurt her?"

"These are troubled times, Doc."

"I know it's not been easy but surely the danger's passed now?" she asked in a clear, hopeful tone, looking at Jim too for confirmation.

"I want to make sure that it has.." Nathaniel growled back at her, a bitter taste in his mouth as he said it.

Jim stirred at this, taking a step towards him, "Taylor, we do have the mastermind who was behind all this locked up in our brig." he argued, not averting his eyes, "I think Elisabeth is right. The danger has passed.."

"Maybe.. But As long as there's even the smallest risk of her not being right.. Of me sitting on a ticking time bomb and not taking precautions.." he left the end of that sentence hanging, shaking his head in stubborn denial of their seemingly defeated enemy. As if right on cue there was a succession of sudden, loud and prolonged bursts, the mechanical version of a wolf howling, which seemed to come from everywhere at once. The haunting sound of the alarm instantly made his blood run cold. Without wasting another second, instinct spurred him into action. Nathaniel could already hear a few scared shouts and cries drifting into his office as he sped passed Jim and Elisabeth, both of whom remained standing looking at a complete loss before they caught up on what was going on. The Shannon couple hot on his heels the three of them dashed down the stairs and onto the square.

As he increased his pace, Nathaniel dealt out orders in clipped tones to the soldiers flocking to his side, sending some of them to check the brig though he didn't doubt the fact that they'd come too late. Continuing on, an ominous sense of foreboding settled in the region of his stomach as came near enough to recognize the escaped prisoner and the Sixer she held hostage; her fiery red hair a very different shade of red than the thick drops of blood running down her throat as Croft pressed a knife against it. The group of armed men and woman in his wake had swelled to over a dozen the moment they approached the gates. Nathaniel gestured for his soldiers to stay behind him, forming a protective cordon between Croft's dangerous insanity and the civilians.

And then their pleasant exchange of threats began. Nathaniel stood his ground, experience had taught him how to play the game. To play it with patience. Shutting down his emotions he squared his shoulders, using his body language as a weapon instead of reaching for the sonic pistol strapped around his chest. Eventually, when playing for time no longer seemed a viable option –the Sixer had let out a stifled cry in pain when Croft had her knife cut even deeper into her skin- Nathaniel grunted in disgust now he was left with no other option but to give in. The Major hissed and spat like a viper as she continued to barter her way out; to buy her freedom at the price of a spared, 'innocent' life.

"You're going to let me out.. Or she dies.." there was a finality to her threat this time, lip curling upwards in a snarl and a vicious glint gathering in her eyes. He clenched his jaw, filled with intense hatred though the hollow sensation did nothing to make him any less powerless right now.

"What are you doing? You can't just wait for her to get killed.. She's the one responsible for synthesizing the drug that cured you. She saved your life!"

The sudden, piercing whisper made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end in hurt pride. He didn't need to turn around to know it had been Hera who'd walked up to him. The accusatory edge to her voice alone telling him that she clearly doubted he was of a mind to save the woman from her precarious position.

Biting back on answering her, merely balling his fists in frustration instead, Nathaniel locked eyes with the guards on both towers, nodding almost imperceptibly to each in turn. It took all of his effort of will to stand by as the gate creaked and grunted as it was raised. Next moment he commanded the soldier to his right to get the Major the ride she'd requested, grinding his teeth as he consequently parked it just outside the gates and hastily backed away from it again as Croft and her hostage approached. Every step she took towards her undeserved freedom, the key to which he'd held and now felt unjustly cheated out of, Nathaniel stealthily took one of his own in her direction, hand resting on his gun, itching to unclip it and put it to good use. When he'd neared the edge of the square Croft shouted out a warning at him and demanded the guards to lower the gate. Another curt nod of him made them reluctantly obey her and Nathaniel was forced to stay put, anger boiling up inside of him as he slowly pulled out the gun so he could act should his former Major once again prove how treacherous she was and not hold to her word.

When there was no chance of him rolling under the gate to get to her now the wooden beams were rapidly nearing the ground again, Croft finally released her hostage by pushing her roughly to the ground and making her slam on the stone slabs of the square. The moment Nathaniel bellowed the order to fire, Croft had already swung her leg over the motorbike and switched on its engines. With an angry roar it tore off, the sonic cannons perched on the two watch-towers flanking the gate missing the fleeing prisoner by inches before she was swallowed by the lush and dense jungle. Cursing inwardly, Nathaniel rushed forward, unceremoniously dragging the Sixer out of the danger zone as she'd been uncomfortably close to being crushed under the heavy logs that now fell into place with a resounding and reverberating thud.

Turning around he couldn't stop himself from mumbling angrily in Hera's direction in belated retaliation as she joined him, his words immediately stopping her in her tracks, "That ought to repay the debt."

Before she could say anything, although from the corner of his eyes he could see she'd already opened her mouth to do exactly that, a soldier came up to him, reporting in a hurried but confident tone that they'd found the guards in the brig with multiple stab-wounds but that none of them was fatally wounded. Nodding in grim relief Nathaniel quickly dispatched the woman again, giving her a new set of orders to make sure those guards would be properly taken care of, then greedily accepted the blaster Jim handed to him, as he was already cradling his own.

"Reilly, Command Center is yours. I'll let you know if we need back-up." he instructed her, watching as she set off with firm strides, rounding up a handful of soldiers to accompany her. A flicker of movement caught his eye and Nathaniel turned to face it. "Weren't you charged to keep an eye on her?" he snapped at Dunham as the man had rushed passed him and was crouching down to pull the red-haired woman to her feet. The scowl he gave him almost reduced the young Corporal to tears as he stammered a heartfelt apology. The pained expression marring his looks quickly sobered Nathaniel of his annoyance at him, "Get me a rover."

A clear-cut and determined 'Sir!' passed his lips before he sprinted off, leaving Elisabeth to do her job, dabbing at the thin, crooked cut that ran like a strangely ragged fissure along the Sixer's throat. Not in the mood to care too much about the red-haired woman's fate, trusting in the doctor's excellent skills too, Nathaniel gave in to the restless feeling to finally act out his revenge on their escaped prisoner, pacing back and forth in front of the gates, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Open it up!" Realizing a split second later why he could barely hear the familiar rattling sound of the logs being lifted up, he swung around in frustration, "And will someone shut that damn thing off!" Nathaniel barked to no one in particular, referring to the incessant wailing of the alarm that was seriously starting to get on his nerves and causing more than one soldier to scramble around to get to the source of it back in the deep bowels of the Command Center.

"Permission to join you, sir." Hera had stepped up to him, the eerily calm voice in which she'd made her request indicative of how she hadn't really meant it to be a request.

"Denied." he refused her firmly, not looking at her directly, merely tilting his head to the side and in her direction.

"Sir-"

"You're staying here." Nathaniel attempted to cut her short but, as had been the case with their meeting not an hour ago, she refused to back down.

"With all due respect, sir, I feel I need to be a part of the team that will bring her down."

"You're not coming." About to protest again, he lowered his voice to a dangerous hiss, making it sound as final as he intended to, "It's not open for discussion."

He flicked an impatient look over his shoulder at Jim who stood a little to the side though he'd undoubtedly heard every word that had passed between them, "We need to leave. Now."

Jim nodded solemnly, at the same time the gate stopped moving as it had already opened half way, leaving enough room for a rover to pass under.

"I'm coming with you." In the moment he'd directed himself to his sheriff Hera had deftly walked around him. She now stood in front of him, blocking his way forward and forcing him to direct his eyes towards hers.

"If you could excuse us, seems I need to have a quick word with my Sergeant. Alone.." he let Jim know, not averting his gaze when he spoke.

"No need. His sergeant will be in the rover." Hera stopped him when Jim had made to take a respectful step back. Without waiting for an answer Hera had roughly pushed passed him, making Jim practically jump aside to let her through as she stalked off towards the rover that had appeared around the Command Center.

"Taylor? Wait..!" At first not understanding why he suddenly felt anchored to the ground, Nathaniel followed the hand on his upper right arm which was effectively holding him back, until his eyes met with Jim. "I know you want to keep her safe, but let's face it she's been through worse lately. Evans' death hit her hard, but.. It might actually be a good idea for her to face her demons out there. She might never get the chance later.."

"You're her psychologist now?" Nathaniel bristled at his trusted friend's suggestion.

Not giving up yet, Jim went on, wearing an increasingly earnest expression, "Look, all I'm saying is that if you want her to come to terms with what happened, you need to give her a chance to defeat Croft, for good this time.. The only way she can do that is if you take her with you."

Nathaniel impatiently wrenched his arm free and, even though he'd listened to every word Jim had said -the truth of them striking a chord somewhere-, he muttered back, "Revenge is hardly the mindset I need someone on my team to be in on this mission, Shannon."

"So, what, you're telling me you're going to hunt down the person responsible for almost destroying the colony, and nearly killing you in the process, without feeling the least bit resentful yourself?" Jim countered, arching a brow at him.

Nathaniel shot him a glare, not holding back on intensity as he leaned in closer, saying through gritted teeth, "I don't have time for this right now. I have a job to do. And so have you." he reminded him with acid emphasis, leaving him on his own before the gates as he stormed after Hera. He caught up with her further down the square, just as Dunham parked the rover on it. Grabbing her arm he forced her to fall into step next to him as he brought her around the back, blocking them momentarily from sight.

"I'm doing this to protect you.." he pleaded, not caring how desperate he had sounded.

"You can't!" Hera burst out, adding in a more careful, hurt voice, "And clipping my wings doesn't mean you're keeping me safe."

Just like he himself had done moments before she wrenched herself free from his grip, resolutely slinging the blaster on her back as she made to get into the back of the rover. With no time to lose, Nathaniel held onto the railing, whispering under his breath to her as he got in himself, "You better make damn sure to follow my every order.." The strangely empty and dazed look in her eyes, face drawn of all color too, told him he'd heard her. A second later Jim appeared and took the seat left in the back next to her, equally tensed up and silent as his neighbor.

Turning around in the shotgun seat to face the road and the hazardous chase it would lead them to, Nathaniel gave Dunham the order to move out. He kept his eyes fixed on the horizon, refusing to let the fear he was experiencing gripping at his throat. Last time he had taken the woman he'd loved -the mother of his only child- with him into danger, the devastating results had nearly destroyed him. The longing to protect Hera as he hadn't been able to protect Ayani burned so strong in him he hardly noticed his knuckles going white, his fingernails digging into his flesh as balled his fists.

The hydro cells revved as Dunham increased speed, making a beeline for the spot Croft had made her escape into the potentially perilous embrace of the Cretaceous' wilderness. To Nathaniel it almost seemed as if the deep, humming sound was dampened, maybe even completely drowned by the wild beating of his heart, violently thumping in his ears as his eyes searched for Hera's face reflected in the rear-view mirror; he couldn't believe he'd actually let her accompany him on an insanely risky OTG mission hunting down a murderous tyrant. It was the very last place he wanted her to be.. Not able to tear his eyes away from her, to not feel scared and angry at the same time as he saw the dark look with which she scanned the surrounding jungle, Nathaniel's resolve to get her back home safe only hardened. And in order to keep that promise, he was willing to do whatever it took..