Chapter 27

Dr. Kensinge's crew, being camped atop a rocky embankment quite a distance to the north, had come through the other side of the floods relatively unscathed. Sure, one of the huts they used as a barracks had collapsed during the night a few days ago, but the shack had been a disaster waiting to happen anyway and only minor injuries had resulted. Maybe it would teach them a lesson. What was that story about building a house on the sand?

Kensinge shifted where she crouched. Her knees were killing her. How much longer did they have to wait before making their move? She was getting tired of studying this portion of the dark fence nearby. Surely it had to be close to 11:00.

She had deferred to her right-hand man to lead this operation. Esteban might have been a little soft at times for a Phoenix soldier, but he had a better head for battle strategy than most. Her mind wandered back to the hushed briefing they had conducted earlier with a select few men - men that had been hand-picked for this operation.

"According to our sources, the Terra Nova security systems go back on tomorrow. We need to move now. Captain Esteban will run point on this one. Do whatever he tells you to do." Kensinge stepped back and gestured for the man beside her to take the lead. "Captain."

Esteban had nodded and folded his arms. He never seemed to have to try hard to capture his men's attention. From the minute he began to speak, every eye in the room was on him. It was a quality Kensinge would never admit she envied .. but given the fact that she struggled to command attention in any given situation, it was a quality she envied nonetheless. She hated raising her voice above people, preferring to spend most of her time in silence with only the low humming of her equipment for company. She could be dangerous enough when she had to be, but appearing dangerous was another problem entirely, she mused. Sometimes she wondered why anyone bothered to take her seriously at all. Watching Esteban confidently handing orders out beside her, however, she realised she had her answer. They followed her because he did .. which could pose a problem in the future should he start making up his own mind about things. She'd have to be careful. Retention of her future authority may require keeping him on a shorter leash.

"The shift swaps over at 11:00pm." The captain was saying. "We'll have a few minutes during the changing of the guard and that's it."

He caught a few hidden smiles around the group and nodded his acknowledgment of the stereotype.

"Yes, I know it's cliche, but it works. Our mission is to protect Dr. Kensinge while she does what she has to do and that is it. No variations. We go in and come out clean. Understood?"

The other soldiers nodded their comprehension. It wasn't anything they hadn't done a hundred times before. The blonde woman struggled to maintain a semblance of calm. She was probably the most uneasy of all of them.

"It's time. Let's go." She suddenly heard Esteban's low voice carry across to her through the darkness. The soldier beside her stood, remaining low, and began to move off toward the fence. Kensinge followed. The plan was to keep her in the back until they were sure of their safety and then open the way for her to move forward unhindered. She stared up at the fence as they passed under it. It was taller than it had looked, looming up high above them like a shadowy beacon. She could almost feel its inanimate disapproval of what they were about to do. She suppressed a shiver as Esteban appeared beside her.

"You're up, Doctor."

She nodded her recognition and moved forward slowly, her nerves sharpened to pinpoints under her skin. She could feel every faint movement of the night air around her, every time her clothes brushed against her, every pebble that threatened to crunch under her feet. She crept across the wide stretch of mud which had not too long ago been a grassy patch of lawn bordering the fence. She moved carefully, all too aware that any particularly loud squelch could give them all away. Esteban moved silently beside her, stealth coming as naturally to him as breathing. She only had a split second to feel annoyed before she reached the Probe and all other thoughts faded away. There was no more nervousness, no more irritation. She didn't even notice when the rest of the company fell back to take cover against the Infirmary while she ducked down behind her target, the sheer size of the monument obscuring her from the guard tower's view. She was here for one reason and one reason only. She had a job to do.

She ran her hands over the legendary device in awe. How long had she waited for this moment? How many times had she dreamed of being close enough to touch it? Now it sat in front of her as though it had been waiting patiently for her this entire time. She pulled her tools out of her inner coat pocket and set to work removing the cover plate, taking it off and setting it down beside her as she knelt in the mud. Now she could see what she was doing. She held a small dim torch in her mouth and examined the now-exposed internals of the Probe, resisting the urge to shake her head and throw beams of light around when she saw what she was dealing with. The inside of the Probe was slightly muddy and a little battered. Certain components looked as though they'd been blown apart by force.

"Piece of junk." She muttered under her breath as she disconnected the worst-looking pieces. "Must've damaged it during the battle. Philistines."

She pulled a new component out of her other pocket and replaced the transmission element inside the Probe. This kind of work she was better suited for, the kind of work Esteban knew absolutely nothing about. This was her area of expertise, and she worked quickly and quietly, finishing sooner than even she had expected to.

Once the casing was replaced, she gave the Probe a silent pat of farewell, glanced cautiously around, and darted back to where her men were waiting behind the Infirmary. Esteban stepped out of the shadows to greet her.

"It's done?"

She nodded.

"It's done."

"All this effort for an overpowered beacon?"

She turned to the soldier who had made the low comment with a scornful glint in her eye.

"You really don't have a clue what this thing can do, do you?"

Before he could answer, however, another quiet voice interjected from the other side of Kensinge.

"Well, what do we have here."

She turned sharply to see a figure leaning on the wall behind her, her view obscured shortly thereafter as Esteban quickly stepped forward and placed himself between the doctor and the intruder. Harlon stood calmly.

"I wouldn't try anything too clever." He kept his voice soft, but there was an unmistakeable note of warning in it. "My men have you surrounded, but luckily for you, the guards don't know you're here .. yet."

Kensinge stepped forward again, to her captain's great displeasure.

"You're a Sixer, aren't you?"

Harlon nodded sagely.

"That's right. And shall I ask who you are and what you're doing here, or are you going to be difficult?"

She felt Esteban begin to move beside her, but Kensinge held a hand up to halt him, tilting her head at the Sixer curiously.

"A better question might be what we can do for you." As Harlon's eyebrows rose a little, she was encouraged to continue. "Things are going to get interesting around here real soon. You might want to consider your options."

Harlon folded his arms, his racing mind providing an unpleasant slideshow of his recent failures. This development was unexpected, but not necessarily unwelcome. He pursed his lips for a moment and then nodded slightly.

"I'm listening."

"Not here." Kensinge flicked her head back the way they had come. "Follow me."

"No! They have no right to keep me out here! THIS IS A MUTINY!"

The entity on the receiving end of this loud lecture didn't seem to be enjoying it half as much as the person giving it, but Taylor was too wound up to notice. It had been a horrible day of failed hunting, he was starving and miserable and the sight of the snug colony at the bottom of the hill with all its little citizens tucked up in their warm, comfortable beds didn't make him feel any better. That should be HIM down there, eating until he was satisfied and sleeping without fear of man or beast. Instead, he was stuck out HERE.

"How DARE they?!" He screamed to the starry sky as he stormed around his weak campfire. "This is my colony. I built it!"

He paused in front of the large crocodilian that was intently studying his movements, every powerful muscle tensed to charge should the need arise. Taylor didn't notice this either. He waved the large stick he was carrying around and threw it violently.

"I AM the colony!"

He realised his mistake half a second later as a collection of sharp teeth sent a searing pain down his right arm. The creature had finally had enough of the yelling and decided to do his part to put a stop to the temper tantrum. Taylor screamed louder and kicked the dinosaur in the throat until it released him, then when the Kap lunged again, the former commander drew his left arm up and smacked him so hard that the beast stumbled backward. The dinosaur was easily bigger than he was when standing on its hind legs, and could have bitten his entire arm off without a second thought if he'd wanted to, but at this moment, logic was the last thing on Taylor's mind. He massaged his aching arm and stared coldly at the cowering animal. The Kaprosuchus stared back at him just as unpleasantly. Taylor raised an arm to swipe at the reopened cut on his lip - the product of another adventure throughout the day. He glanced disgustedly at the bright red blood on his arm and then back to the sulking dinosaur.

"Serves you right, you little menace."

If a dinosaur could roll his eyes, the Kaprosuchus would have done so in a heartbeat. The puny man in front of him couldn't have hurt him if he'd wanted to, but the fact that he was even crazy enough to attempt it afforded him a certain amount of respect, not that the dinosaur would have put it into as many words. As Taylor slumped back down by the fire to nurse his war wounds, his nemesis followed and, after waiting a few moments for a reaction and receiving none, dropped down near the man. Taylor didn't push him away.

Two days after the less-than-triumphant return of the last prodigal company, Jim found himself venturing into the ruined Bar, followed by six soldiers. The water was completely gone now, but it had left behind a horrendous mess .. along with a stench powerful enough to knock the glasses off a 90-year-old yak. Boylan, predictably, was inside, bent over the bar and scrubbing as though his life depended on it. He had spent nearly every moment alone in the ruined building since he'd gotten back, leaving only to visit Vaughn a couple of times. Even so, these visits were brief. The boy was doing well without him and so Boylan made the excuse of not wanting to confuse him by turning up at odd times and leaving again. Truth be told, he missed the boy's company so much when he was alone, he thought it best to cut ties altogether and move on, but he couldn't tell Elisabeth that. Better to pretend it was because he had far too much work to do to get this place back on its feet. It was, after all, the truth, and if every section of the clean-up was as stubborn and time-consuming as this bar was turning out to be, his days would be spent right here for the foreseeable future. In fact, he was beginning to wonder if destiny hadn't just handed him a life sentence. As Jim approached, he looked up, red-faced, sweat-laden, and very nearly out of breath.

"What can I do for you today, Shannon?"

Jim gestured to the soldiers behind him calmly.

"Here are the men I promised you."

Boylan forgot what he was doing and looked up quickly.

"You're really helping me after .." The barkeeper was suspicious by nature. He narrowed his eyes and studied the face of the man opposite him.

"I walked out on you."

"Yes. You did. But a deal is a deal."

Boylan hesitated for a moment longer and then slapped the mouldy bar happily.

"Alright. You're a good man, Commander."

"You just remember that next time I book you for your illegal activities." The corner of Jim's mouth twitched as the barkeeper beamed at him. "I'll be back later to check in with you. There's a lot more places that need cleaning up besides this one."

"We'll endeavour to be done as quickly as possible!"

"Good."

Jim smiled to himself as he exited the Bar, the sound of Boylan's enthusiastic voice following him out. The barkeeper was already beginning to bark orders to his new subordinates. The soldiers were in for a fun few hours. The accompanying chuckle died on Jim's lips, however, as a cold voice cut across his path.

"You were lucky this time."

He looked to his right to see Harlon sauntering over. Jim paused to wait for him.

"So the rumours are true. You made it back."

"Yeah, I made it back. No thanks to you."

Jim shook his head mildly, as though he was discussing a point of debate with a very young member of the population.

"I didn't force you to leave. I didn't even encourage it. We all have to take responsibility for our own decisions."

Harlon scoffed and began to pick at a bit of caked mud on the wall of a nearby house.

"Don't let this go to your head, Commander. You got lucky."

"You said that."

"And don't you forget it."

The Sixer glared at him hatefully. His ego had been awfully bruised by this whole event, and here this man was giving him lectures like some sort of fatherly saint. Jim watched him, any former trace of familiarity falling from his serious features.

"I don't intend to forget it. We were lucky." Harlon smirked a little as his point hit home, but Jim wasn't finished. "We also improved our odds by making calculated decisions. Luck is subjective."

Harlon curled his lip up into a sneer and shook his head, wandering away carelessly.

"One day your luck's gonna run out, Shannon."

"Is that a threat, or a warning?"

"Mm, neither." Harlon shrugged, turning to address Jim once more. "Just a reminder. Everyone's luck runs out eventually. It's only a matter of time."

"Good to know."

"I'll be seeing you around."

Jim watched the cocky Sixer stroll off with an uneasy feeling in his chest.

"Yes, you will."

"How are you doin', little guy? You like that fish? Yeah, you like that fish."

The little Ovosaur bounced his head and stretched his neck out, opening his mouth to snap up another slice of raw xiphactinus. Josh clapped with excitement and looked over at his sister's desk.

"Did you see that, Maddy?! I think he likes it almost as much as the nickel!"

Maddy groaned and looked over her shoulder at him dramatically.

"Don't you have somewhere to be? Some of us are trying to work."

"Maddy, look!" Josh was already attempting to coerce the dinosaur to new heights with another piece of fish. "Inky, stay .. stay."

He held up a hand for a few seconds. The little black creature waited tensely. When Josh lowered his hand and gave him a shout of encouragement, Inky burst into a frantic hopping run and cleared the Lab rapidly, reaching Josh within the space of 2 seconds. Josh laughed in delight and scooped him up as he fed him his next piece of fish. Maddy raised her eyebrows.

"Wow. He learns quick .." Something in her voice caused her brother to turn his full attention on her. Maddy continued gently. ".. but Josh, you know you're going to have to let him go eventually, right? I mean, he belongs in the wild."

"He can't survive out there, Maddy. His leg may never be completely healed. He wouldn't stand a chance."

Maddy watched as Josh scratched the little dinosaur's head affectionately. Inky lapped up the attention. She frowned. How could she make it easier for him?

Her task was delayed by the sound of the door as Tasha entered the Lab. Maddy groaned loudly and placed her Plex down on the desk.

"I'm never going to get any work done today, am I?" She muttered.

Tasha gave her a wave as she approached, then turned her attention to Josh. He had his back to her, but looked over his shoulder as she came near, his face instantly lighting up.

"Tasha! Hi!"

She smiled back at him.

"Not much going on over at the greenhouse. What are you up to?"

Josh grinned.

"Funny .. you should ask .."

He wiped his fishy hand on his lab coat and turned to face her, his attention so focused on the little ovosaur that he didn't notice her immediate two steps back or the fact that she was growing paler by the second. Maddy, however, saw everything.

"Josh .."

"This .. is Inky!" Josh exclaimed proudly, rubbing the underside of the creature's long neck. "It's about time you met each other."

"Josh .." Maddy repeated, but Inky got in first. He studied Tasha with his beady eyes for a moment and then screeched so loudly he made even Josh jump, the spines on his head standing up simultaneously.

Tasha screamed and stumbled backward, almost knocking over a tray table in the process. Josh laughed in surprise.

"Woah, are you alright? Come on over and say hello to him. He won't bite."

Tasha gathered herself and shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No, I can't."

Josh grinned and rolled his eyes a little.

"Come on, Tasha. He's just a baby. What's he gonna do?"

Tasha stared at Inky silently, but took another hurried step back as Josh attempted to walk towards her.

"Keep it away! I can't!" She took a shaky breath as tears began to flood her eyes. "I never want to see that thing again, you hear me? I mean it, Josh. Never!"

Josh stared in astonishment as she fled from the room, the door slamming shut behind her. He turned to put Inky back into his cage miserably as Maddy shook her head.

"Wow, brother. I think she likes you."

Josh shut the cage firmly and slid the bolt home more loudly than was necessary.

"Shut up, Maddy."

Jim wasn't the only visitor the Bar would receive that morning. Just over an hour later, a small group of young girls wandered in. Boylan turned to see the three staring around with wide eyes. Sienna's mouth gaped open.

"What a mess."

"You can say that again." He threw his filthy rag across his shoulder and leaned on the bar, beckoning them over to him. "How may I help you girls?"

Zoe smiled as they approached.

"We're writing an article for the school paper about the clean-up effort .."

Boylan raised an eyebrow as she hesitated. There was obviously more to this story.

".. and?"

Zoe glanced at Leah and then back to the barkeeper sheepishly.

".. and we're normally not allowed in here."

"Ahh, win-win then." Boylan winked at them, smiling as they visibly relaxed. It must've taken some guts even to venture in here. He clasped his hand together in front of him. "Well, then, you better go make sure my cleaners are doing their jobs. Keep them on the straight and narrow .. as much as possible."

Sienna laughed as Zoe grinned back at him.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Just .." Boylan paused as though a thought had just occurred to him. "Try not to get too dirty, or your dad'll have my head."

Zoe snorted and pointed to herself innocently.

"Dirty? Me?"

Boylan shook his head in mock disapproval.

"Yeah, yeah, get on then."

The girls grinned and proceeded with their interviews. The soldiers were all working hard, if not cheerfully. It seemed a few of them resented the fact that they had been forced to submit to Boylan's authority. Some of them explained that they were simply happy to get the Bar back up and running as soon as possible. Life was boring without it.

A few minutes after they had begun their inspection, another girl of about the same age group charged into the Bar, paying little heed to anyone or anything. She was obviously on a mission. Spying her classmates on the other side of the establishment, she made a curious noise in her throat and set off confidently across the muddy room directly towards them. Boylan, watching from the bench, found himself thanking his lucky stars she hadn't set her sights on him. He threw an exasperated look at Rooney, his assistant bartender.

"Are we to be invaded by every little girl in the colony before the day's out?!"

The young man threw a laughing look back, but said nothing. Zoe, Leah, and Sienna turned to meet the new girl as she approached.

"Oh, hey-"

"Oh, there you are." The tall Asian girl folded her arms and pursed her lips. "I should've known. Miss Alice is looking for you. You were supposed to report in half an hour ago."

"Oh." Zoe grimaced. "I forgot. Thanks, Hannah."

The other girl glanced around in displeasure at the dirty building and then settled a cold stare on Sienna.

"You better make sure you do your share of the work too, deserter."

Zoe and Leah immediately frowned, but Sienna responded in a calm, dignified manner reminiscent of her mother.

"I always do."

Hannah curled her lip.

"I'm honestly astonished you had the audacity to show your face back here at all." She glanced around again at the putrid-smelling tables, half of which were already rotting, and smiled suddenly. "Then again, you did return to this trash heap, so maybe you do know your place after all."

Sienna could feel Leah bristling on her right. If she didn't manage to diffuse this situation soon, it would explode, and Leah with it. Sienna took a deep breath. Carter had once called her the princess of the Sixers. Now was the time to prove it. She shrugged a little, meeting the other girl's eyes quietly.

"Looks aren't everything."

"Well, you would say that." Hannah sneered. "Everyone knows Sixers are born ugly."

Sienna raised her chin a little.

"My mom says you don't have to be pretty to be dangerous."

The other girl snorted and folded her arms. It was clear by the victorious smile on her face that she believed she'd already won the verbal battle.

"Your mom? You mean the Sixer overlord? .. yeah."

Zoe stepped forward to try and smooth the rapidly-escalating situation over. Sienna generally liked to fight her own battles, but enough was enough.

"Hannah, there's no need to be rude."

Hannah turned to her slowly, not in the least discouraged by the odds against her.

"You really think I'd listen to you? You're no better than them. Your family has been on the Sixers' side from the moment you got here."

Zoe's forehead creased worriedly. This little spat was ridiculous, but she was old enough to realise it was simply a symptom of a bigger problem. She sighed.

"Why do there have to be sides? We're all out here in this huge, dangerous place trying to survive together. We're all on the same side!"

"No, we're not." Hannah was hardly moved by the sentiment. "There's us. And there's the Sixers. There's us .." she reiterated ".. and our enemies. Honestly, Zoe, I don't know why you insist on standing up for them. They're dirty, smelly traitors who won't hesitate to stab you in the back at a moment's notice. They're no good, and they can't be trusted."

This was as much as Leah's fuse would allow her to tolerate. With a wild yell, she flew at the girl, knocking her over into the mud with surprising force. Zoe and Sienna blinked in shock. It had happened so rapidly, no one had had a chance to restrain her.

"Don't you EVER talk about the Sixers like that AGAIN." Leah was shaking Hannah's now-filthy shoulders roughly. "Do you hear me? NEVER."

The other girl stared up at her defiantly, not wanting to admit defeat, but also wary of angering the blonde firecracker further. Leah narrowed her eyes.

"Something tells me you aren't gonna remember so easy. I think you need an object lesson."

Hannah's eyes widened and she struggled to sit up, but Leah was the stronger of the two and squashed her back down into the mud again with a splat. The impact sent wet brown globules flying all around. Zoe and Sienna stared at each other's grime-splashed faces reluctantly, then turned back to the duo on the ground.

"Leah, come on-"

"Now .." Leah ignored them and remained in position, sitting firmly upon the other girl's stomach. Hannah had ceased her struggling and was beginning to look worried. Her concern increased tenfold as Leah raised her fist in preparation to attack. "Do you want to see out of your left eye or your right?"

"No! Please .."

Hannah's chin was trembling now and her eyes brimmed with tears. Zoe shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose like she'd seen her father do many times. Sienna reached a hand out to try and calm her friend.

"Leah-"

But Leah was enjoying this situation far more than she should have been. She considered her upraised fist thoughtfully.

"Or shall we go for the nose? Don't worry, it'll heal eventually, though the scars might be permanent."

"What is going on here?"

All of the girls except Hannah jumped guiltily as Boylan's voice boomed out from nearby. He had reached them a second later, with Dunham close behind. Leah glared up at him.

"SHE said-"

"I don't care what she said." Boylan folded his arms sternly. "I have a rule against bar fights."

At a nod from the barkeeper, Dunham dragged Leah off Hannah and hauled her up. Boylan stooped to help the other girl to her feet.

"You alright?" He questioned.

She nodded hesitantly.

"Yes."

"Good."

Leah pulled against Dunham's hands angrily, but his firm grip held her back.

"You don't understand! She-"

"Enough." Boylan snapped. "I don't wanna hear any more about it."

"But .." Leah trailed off as she caught sight of another person approaching. Reilly had entered the Bar moments earlier to check on her team and had immediately noticed the commotion in the far corner. The little group remained silent as she strode up. All of the younger girls adored Reilly. The Sergeant glanced at each participant one by one before turning her attention to Boylan.

"What's going on?"

Boylan eyed the dirty children severely.

"These little hooligans are having a throwdown in my Bar."

"I see." Reilly scanned the awestruck faces seriously. "Girls, apologise to Mr. Boylan."

The other three girls apologised immediately, looking embarrassed and humiliated regardless of their particular roles in the event, but Leah stared back stubbornly.

"You don't understand. She-"

"I don't care why it happened, Leah." Reilly studied the girl firmly. "Your behaviour was unacceptable. Apologise. Now."

Leah scowled darkly at her, much to the horror of her politer comrades.

"Why do we need to apologise to him? I didn't hit him, or he'd be on the floor with mudskipper over here."

An odd noise came from Dunham and he nudged the girl roughly. Leah finally had the grace to smile a little.

"Sorry."

"I should think so." Boylan smiled at Reilly. "Many thanks, Sergeant. I think this has worked for the good after all. I could use a bit of extra help getting this place back in order."

Reilly returned the smile and nodded approvingly, casting a warning glance at a couple of the girls as they began to protest.

"That's a great idea. Nothing like a bit of solid labour for teaching us to work together, isn't that right, Corporal?"

Dunham, having been unexpectedly addressed, had little time to formulate any response but "Yes, that's right, Ma'am."

The corner of Reilly's mouth twitched upwards, but she retained her solemn demeanour.

"Well, I can see you have it handled, Mr. Boylan, and Corporal Dunham, you're doing such good work here, I think I'll let you stay for a little while longer."

Dunham had little choice but to agree meekly.

"Yes, Ma'am."

That being said, Reilly deferred to Boylan for the next set of instructions - the giving of which he carried out promptly, pointing to each member of the group in turn.

"Right, you and you, start wiping those tables. You two come with me. I have several cabinets full of mud for you to play in, since you're so fond of it."

When Jim returned later to gather the soldiers, he was greeted instead with the sight of his daughter half-hidden within one of the cupboards beneath the bar, a messy sponge in one hand. She tumbled out a few seconds later and sat in the mud looking up at her father, her face mirroring his own surprise.

"Dad!"

"Zoe."

He glanced over at Sienna nearby, a similar sponge in her hand. She looked as though she'd had an equally rough morning. He suppressed a smile and raised an eyebrow.

"Well .. what happened here?"

"Just helping clean up." Zoe responded, a little guiltily.

"And doing a marvellous job." Boylan's voice came from behind them. "Isn't that right, girls?"

He exchanged a knowing look with the two, who nodded innocently at Jim.

"Is that right?" Jim smiled affectionately at his mud-covered daughter. "Well, I'm proud of you for helping out, and I'm sure Boylan is grateful, but by the looks of things, you've done about enough for today."

Both Shannons looked to Boylan, who nodded amiably.

"You're free to go. Thanks for the help."

Jim put an arm around Zoe as she threw her sponge into a nearby bucket.

"Come on." He looked down at her brown-smeared face and laughed. "Let's get you cleaned up before your mother sees you."

Josh entered the greenhouse quietly. It didn't take long to spy Tasha, exactly where Robert Stanley, her boss, had said she would be. He drew closer hesitantly. She didn't look mad, standing beneath a large hybrid tree and tending gently to the leaves. He looked around him. He hadn't been inside the greenhouse before, but it was bigger than it appeared on the outside. The plexiglass ceiling reached up so high, he wondered if it would be possible to survive if one fell from it. Tasha turned as he neared, offering a small smile to him.

"Hi."

"Hi .."

He leaned against the bamboo railing beside her and stared at the surrounding plants. She continued tending to her tree. Finally, he gathered up enough resolve to speak.

"I'm sorry."

Tasha smiled a little - a sad, lonely sort of smile that wrenched a part of Josh's heart out. She took off her gardening gloves slowly and turned to lean against the fence as well.

"It's alright, it's not your fault. You didn't know."

"I should have."

They were quiet for a moment before Tasha sighed in frustration and then spoke, in a more forceful tone of voice than he'd ever heard her use before.

"I'm not like Skye, Josh. I'm not brave and .. athletic and good at just about everything. I'm just .. well, me." She looked up into the branches of the tree above and shook her head, whether expressing disapproval of herself or Josh, he couldn't decide. "And I know she's got this sort of wild streak that you're fascinated by, and I get it."

Josh raised an eyebrow, but couldn't find the words to contradict her as Tasha continued.

"I've known her for a long time, and I love her. I do .. but she's hard to live up to. We basically grew up together, and she's always been that way. Kind of mysterious and plays by her own rules, and you want to follow her because it's exciting, but at the same time, you can't bear the thought of being perpetually terrified cause you never know whether her next impulse will be her last. And you know her restlessness might lead you into trouble one day, but you follow her anyway. Because despite everything .. you just can't help yourself."

Tasha sighed wearily and looked up to see Josh watching her with an uneasy frown.

"It's actually really disconcerting when you get in my head like that."

This drew a soft laugh from her.

"Well, my Dad always said I was perceptive."

"Oh, your Dad? You mean the big serious army guy that could probably snap my neck six different ways in three seconds? That guy?"

"Yeah, that's the one!"

"Oh, great. Glad we're on the same page."

Tasha laughed.

"He's not that bad once you get to know him."

Josh shuddered.

"If I live that long."

"You do realise you're starting to sound like Mark .."

Josh groaned.

"Does that mean I have to go easy on him now?" He glanced sideways at Tasha for a second, then shook his head. "Nah. Let's just keep this between us."

She laughed again, a happy, musical sound that filled the conservatory and made him want to smile like an idiot at the same time.

"Hey." He elbowed her gently. "No one expects you to be Skye. If I wanted to be with Skye, I'd be with her."

The patchy light trickling in from the window played on her face and hair as she smiled up at him. For a moment, Josh felt his heart stop. She might not be as exciting and chaotic as Skye, but she was something else. She was gentle and kind and she seemed to understand things that no one else could see. She was beautiful and .. angelic. Josh suddenly laughed at himself, causing Tasha to stare at him curiously, unconsciously mirroring his expression.

"What is it?"

".. nothing." He stared around at the plants, still grinning. "But for what it's worth, I think you're pretty awesome."

Tasha smiled up at him.

"I think you're pretty great too."

Josh nodded in satisfaction and put an arm around her.

"Good. Now how about you introduce me to some of your extended family members?"

It took a few seconds before a look of comprehension replaced the confusion on Tasha's face, but finally she laughed again as realisation dawned.

"Very well. Where shall we begin?"

Josh shrugged happily.

"Anywhere."

"Alright." Tasha assumed a more serious tone of voice as she began the tour, gesturing to each plant in turn as she passed it. "This is Larry .."