Chapter 14

The Hands of Time

The morning fog hung suspended in the air, like a sheet of wispy cotton that had been carefully teased apart by God's fingertips. It overshadowed the mountain like an ancient blanket, creating a surreal atmosphere of mottled light and shade, of deep greens and pale greys, held together by the biting chill that seemed to inject everything it touched. Skye and Josh could almost feel the feathery clouds brush against them as they passed, making their way back through the jungle in silence as the cold damp of the day soaked into their clothes and melted into their hair. The forest seemed unusually hushed; a single bird song echoed mournfully through the primeval trees as though it was grieving a recent tragedy .. or anticipating a new one, Skye thought with a shudder. As they continued their strange, quiet journey, hidden away deep in the midst of the jungle and traversing a world seemingly untouched by reality itself, it was impossible to decide which version of the song would have been more appropriate. At length, however, a tall shadow materialized out of the ground before them .. and she knew.

The two watched in alarm as it took on a more solid form, pausing to stare up at the shape as it distinguished itself from the surrounding mist. The gate. At least, they had to assume it was the gate. The huge logs that formed their first line of defense were splintered and broken, the top three rungs were completely gone, though one lay nearby on the ground, bent at a sickening angle. One of the vertical columns of blue metal that held up the wooden beams was leaning worryingly to one side. Another lay cushioned in the boughs of a nearby tree, as though it had grown tired and decided to rest its weary head upon its friend's breast. The scene was almost unrecognizable.

Gingerly, the pair picked their way over and under the ruins that used to be the pride and protection of Terra Nova. The familiar, friendly face that used to greet new and returning colonists was now broken and unsmiling. Staring around in grief-stricken silence, Skye's eyes caught on a newly-painted flag hanging from the replaced railing of the Command Centre. That hadn't been there before, had it? The Terra Nova logo - a chaotic mix of fractured shapes gathered roughly into an imperfect circle - stared out defiantly at anyone who dared set foot over the threshold. It was an unsettling choice. The colonists weren't in the habit of printing it on their things, and though the design had formerly been used in briefings and pilgrimages, it had fallen into disuse with the degradation of their society following the severance from the future. It had been some time since Skye had even seen it.

She pulled her weary legs over another random chunk of debris and stopped to stare around at the empty marketplace. The whole area smelled faintly of smoke and tar. Pieces of smoldering rubbish could still be seen scattered around, the pale rivulets of smoke dissipating into the air and mixing with the morning fog. The atmosphere inside the colony felt just the same as it had outside. What had once been a reassuring bubble of safety had now been burst. There was no difference between here and there. The term OTG had instantly become irrelevant. Glancing around with a sinking feeling, Skye recognized it. The outcome she'd feared from the beginning had come to pass, the thing she had sensed instinctively from the moment she stepped over the threshold. She'd returned to a different place than the one she'd said goodbye to yesterday. In less than 24 hours, the whole community had changed. The gates were down. The shield was shattered. And the spirit of the colony had been broken with it.

Regardless of the state of things, however, they were home. They'd made it. She cast a sideways glance at Josh, who returned it, giving her a strained smile, as though he couldn't quite believe the fact that they'd survived the night. They had managed to scramble out of the hole, finally, but even that hadn't been without its challenges .. Together, they had slidden backward three times, including one instance during which Skye had landed directly (and rather apologetically) on his head. Josh had also indeed gotten stuck. Not once, but twice, though thankfully, he had managed to avert the rising panic attacks and de-wedge himself before things truly got out of hand. Finally, they had belly-crawled their way, extremely ungracefully, out of the hole, splayed out on the grass like two very dirty and embarrassed starfish, and consequently made a pact never to speak of the ordeal again.

As the prodigal children wandered deeper into the colony, they peered about them with a growing sense of apprehension. There didn't appear to be anyone around. Why was no one coming to greet them? Where was everyone?

Skye's heart sank again as they rounded the Command Centre. Though not visible from the front, from this side, the extent of the destruction quickly became obvious. The circular building was putting on a characteristically brave face, but the back half was bent at an odd angle, compressed like the bellows of an accordion. With bits of bamboo and wood sticking out at weird angles, it contrasted sharply with the measured order of the front. Skye couldn't see it from the top - and it didn't look like anyone else would be able to either, as the crow's nest was now missing entirely - but looking down from that vantage point, it had once appeared to be a perfect wheel with bamboo spokes laid down at precise intervals. Now, it must resemble something more akin to a broken umbrella. The place had been Taylor's pride and joy. For the first time since he had left, she was glad he was gone.

The sound of running footsteps on the gravel drew her attention away. She turned just in time to feel the swift rush of air as a Tasha-shaped blur flew past her and into Josh's outstretched arms. Evidently he had seen her approaching long before Skye had. Perhaps he had somehow sensed her presence before she'd even come into view, if that sort of connection between people actually existed in real life. But then, if it didn't .. would it even make a difference?

The impact had caused Josh to stumble backwards a couple of steps. He laughed as Tasha clung tightly to him, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"What, did you miss me?"

"Inky came home last night without you." The muffled voice quivered into his chest. "We didn't know-"

She was interrupted by a triumphant scree and another series of rapid footsteps. Josh, looking up, managed to move her to the side just in time. A large object hit his chest with a thump half a second later as he was tackled by his delighted Ovosaur, claws first. Tasha pulled back hurriedly. She was dirt-smudged and her eyes still carried a trace of tears in them, Skye noted, but she was laughing. There had been a time, not so long ago, when she'd been absolutely terrified of every kind of dinosaur, including Inky. Evidently the "bonding therapy" sessions Josh had been holding were a roaring success.

"And he didn't sleep a wink last night." Tasha was saying, eyeing the animal and shaking her head good-naturedly. "I think we were about as worried as each other! I'm so glad you're safe .. both of you." She added, including Skye in her smile.

Josh knelt to embrace Inky, rubbing his mop of hair into the squirming animal's fluffy neck.

"What, were you worried, buddy? Were you worried?!"

Skye watched them for a moment, then turned her attention back to the Command Centre, scanning the parts she could see through the windows for any sign of life. She found none.

"Why is the colony so deserted?"

Tasha, still laughing at the pair on the ground, looked up to answer her.

"Most people are at the Hall for the meeting. It's almost finished. We'll catch you up later."

"Shouldn't there be someone guarding the gates?" Skye turned to her with a frown. "What if they decide to invade today?"

"What if they do?" A touch of sadness entered Tasha's smile. "Look, I understand where you're coming from, and you're right of course. We do have people stationed around the perimeter to keep watch, but they're hidden as much as possible. That's how I knew you two were back. There wasn't much point keeping anyone else out here. We needed everyone who could come at the meeting."

"But that's .. it's .. insanity!" Skye protested, her eyes flashing. "That's leaving us wide open! What is Reilly thinking?! Things look hard, sure, but they can't just give up!"

"They're not." Tasha explained patiently. "Think of it more as regrouping. What we're currently doing obviously isn't working, so they're discussing alternate strategies. That's all."

"Doesn't look like it to me."

Tasha ignored this, smiling to herself as she turned back to Josh and Inky. She'd seen this side of Skye before. There was no arguing with her in this state. If you weren't in the mood for a death match, it was best to let her cool down on her own.

Skye, finding herself abruptly deserted, returned to her own thoughts. After watching Josh, Inky, and Tasha for a few seconds, she began to wander away. She had only gotten a few steps before she paused, something drawing her eyes back to the gate. Or more specifically, what was left of it. The smoldering smudge of burning heat in her chest suddenly transformed into a flame of fierce anger, ignited by the grief she felt at the sight in front of her. An image flew into her memory - a picture of the gate, the way it used to be, the way it had been for as long as she could remember it. The motherly blue giant reaching its arms of safety out, as far as the eye could see. Even the occupation hadn't been enough to bring it down. But now .. even if it still had the capacity to open and close on its own, it wouldn't be able to protect anyone or anything. Not anymore. Who did Kensinge's army think they were to destroy it? What gave them the right-

She turned quickly at the sound of more footsteps behind her - evidently the meeting was out - but she didn't even have a chance to register who it was before she found herself captured by a tight hug.

"Bucket!"

By the time she had gathered her startled wits enough to even think of moving her arms in order to return the gesture, Lucas had pulled away. She threw an uneasy glance in Josh's direction, half expecting him to be standing nearby, watching the scene with a mixture of disapproval and disgust .. but he was too preoccupied with his own little part of the world to care about what she was doing in that instant. Maybe that was a good thing.

She turned back to speak to Lucas, but hesitated in confusion as the hair near her forehead was brushed aside.

"Are you alright?" His familiar voice sounded weird to her ears. Surely she hadn't been away thatlong. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not hurt." She responded, standing dutifully still as his fingers searched her face for injuries. Her patience lasted about four seconds.

"When you didn't come back, they said-"

"I'm fine." She pushed his hands away and squinted up at his outline. The afternoon sun was directly behind him. She grinned, more for his sake than any other reason. Neither one of them felt particularly cheerful. "What, don't tell me you were worried."

Lucas smiled a little and shook his head, folding his arms stiffly. Skye reached up to pat his shoulder and was surprised to discover that he was shaking. She paused, her hand still frozen in place.

"I'm fine." She repeated. "Are you okay?"

"Me? Of course." He laughed, though the action seemed to take more effort than it should have. "Wow, you are .. filthy."

"Well, so are you now." Skye retorted, attempting to brush some of the dirt residue off his shirt. He waved her hand away dismissively.

"Doesn't matter as long as you're alright." He tilted his head and looked closely at her. "You're .. sure you're alright?"

She shot him a bemused look.

"Yes, we're great. Never better!"

"Good .. I'm glad."

"Me too. But .. thanks. For .. you know."

He nodded in response before turning his attention to Josh, who was observing the short conversation from a few metres away. Skye turned too, raising an eyebrow at the other pair. Tasha now appeared to be attached to his arm .. permanently. As she studied them, Tasha shifted her gaze from Josh's face to rest on Lucas, watching him with a thoughtful expression. She didn't know the physicist well - he tended to keep to himself where possible, and only interacted with a small circle of others. Perhaps it was this habit of his that stoked peoples' curiosity, even more so than his infamous reputation and checkered history with the colony. She'd heard more strange rumors with him at their centre than she'd seen strange plants in her own line of work. He didn't seem to be capable of trusting people easily, she considered, following his suspicious gaze back up to Josh. She almost laughed when she discovered that the young doctor was returning the look in sullen silence.

Appearing to suddenly feel the weight of Skye's scrutiny, Tasha turned to meet the other girl's gaze, her dark eyes twinkling in amusement. After casting a brief glance at the other half of the party, Skye couldn't help smiling in response. Lucas and Josh were engaged in some type of silent duel, their attention locked firmly on one another. In the next moment, seeming to unexpectedly tire of the effort, the former party broke the stalemate, addressing the next question to Josh himself.

"Shannon. So what happened out there?"

"What happened in here?!" Josh shot back immediately.

Lucas put his hands in his pockets, concealing his annoyance with indifference.

"They came at us late yesterday. No direct assault, just a hailstorm of exploding boulders. Seems like they're perfecting their aim and their use of gunpowder. Dangerous combination for us. No one was hurt though. Well, not seriously. Your turn. What happened to you two?"

Josh nodded for a moment, then shrugged.

"I dunno, we got lost." He responded with a sheepish grin. "Guess we left our senses of direction at home yesterday."

Nobody laughed .. except Josh, who quickly ceased the attempt. He tried again, already sounding sick of having to explain himself.

"We .. uh, ran into a couple of Carnos. Well, that and we had a bit of trouble with the Phoenix guys. Ended up on the other side of the mountain. They have squadrons we don't know about all over the place. They're up to something near Snakehead. Looks like they think it's pretty important."

Lucas eyed him calculatingly. The limited information only barely answered the question. Worse, Josh seemed to have modeled his reply after the one he had recently received, meaning that any further interrogation would admit a deficiency his own method of response. As Lucas digested this in silence, Tasha unknowingly came to his rescue, turning to Josh with a mixture of worry and confusion in her eyes.

"Wait .. are you saying you broke through their front lines?"

Skye laughed flatly, an action which drew the other girl's attention back to her.

"Actually, I would say it was more like their front lines broke .. temporarily. Both of ours did. For a while there, we were all running in the same direction."

"The others came back last night." Tasha responded, this time directing the words straight to Skye herself. "They told us about the attack. They said Josh helped them get away, but they lost sight of you two after that. We didn't know what had happened to you."

"Yeah .." Skye muttered, suddenly feeling strangely disinclined to share the happenings of the past 24 hours. She looked up to meet Josh's eyes, smiling dryly. "There's kind of a lot to tell. We'll give an official report tomorrow."

"For now, let's just say we ran into a hole lot of trouble." Josh grinned, causing Skye to roll her eyes. This time, however, she joined in the laugh. Tasha smiled as well, nodding slowly. She looked up to meet Lucas' gaze for a brief moment and then turned back to Josh, but not before a strange expression had flittered across her face. The second she looked away, she instantly appeared as cheerful and composed as she always did - only Lucas had seen the momentary slip in her armour, though his own expression hadn't so much as wavered. He was as impassive as ever. Maybe he really hadn't noticed.

"Well, you two are tired." The statement was almost informative in nature, as though no one in the small group was actually aware of the fact. Lucas smiled congenially, taking on a disturbingly butler-like air. "Ever since the weather's turned, it's been getting dark pretty early. We can discuss the details later. No need to interrogate you now. Why don't you go home and rest?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Tasha nodded decisively, putting an arm around Josh's waist. "Why don't we get you cleaned up so you don't give your family a heart attack? I know they're all worried about you, but you don't want them to see you .. like that. Trust me."

Josh gasped, appearing to be outraged at the suggestion, but as Skye watched, his own arm slipped around Tasha's shoulders and gave them an affectionate squeeze. He wasn't offended at all. Far from it. She stared, mesmerized, as Tasha laughed in delight, her whole face lighting up. By the way she smiled up at him, it was obvious to everyone how relieved she was to have him home. Her happiness even overflowed to include Inky. Josh grinned down as he watched her fondle the animal's feathery head.

"Well, when she's right, she's right. Come on, then, you guys. Take me away. I'm in serious need of some tlcdjdkdndj .."

"Hey. Can I talk to you? .. Hey."

It was as though a large bubble had popped in Skye's head. She reeled unsteadily, the ground seeming to ripple under her feet as reality swam back to greet her. The whole scene had appeared to be playing itself out in slow motion. Attempting to blink back the dizziness, she realized that Josh and Tasha were already several metres away. They continued on, talking quietly amongst themselves as they went, the little black Ovosaur trotting along happily beside them. No one looked back.

"Hey. Are you sure you're okay?"

Skye blinked up at him, the pressure of his hand gripping her upper arm gradually registering in some far corner of her mind.

"Yeah." She frowned for a moment, then shook her head, ridding herself of the last of the cobwebs with a short laugh. "Yeah, I'm fine. Really. What's up?"

Lucas kept the hand on her arm as they began to walk away, whether to steady her or to reassure himself, he didn't know.

"I need to talk to you. Do you .. have a minute?"

".. sure."

There was something in his voice she didn't like. Skye looked up at him, a thrill of apprehension running through her. Now that she could see him clearly, he looked exhausted. Even more so than she felt. Did he get any sleep last night?

"Your mother collapsed in the markets yesterday." Lucas began, getting straight to the point. "She was brought to the Infirmary. She's still there."

The ground had started to slip again. Skye stared at him fearfully.

"Is she alright?"

"Elisabeth's looking after her. The last time I checked on her, she was fine. Eating a slice of ziph pie and giving Elisabeth recommendations on how to cook it next time." He laughed, causing Skye to relax a little as the heaviness around him retreated. He reached up and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "Really, I think she's fine. It's just the stress of the last few months getting to her."

Somewhere along the line, she had located his shirt sleeve near the end of her restrained arm and had gripped onto the material, pinching it between her fingers. Now she twisted it thoughtfully as she studied him, as though her small piece of fabric had become the dial on a miniature lie detector.

"You're telling me the truth?"

Lucas nodded solemnly.

"Give you my word. You can go see for yourself." He looked her up and down with a critical eye. "But .. if I were you, I'd go and have a shower first. The situation isn't urgent. I'll go tell her you've come home safe. She'll understand."

"Thanks." Skye smiled as he released her. "Tell her I'll be over to see her soon."

"Sure." He watched her start away and then hurriedly stepped forward again. "Oh, Skye, wait."

As she turned back, he reached into his pocket, extracting a seed bar and dropping it into her hand.

"You should eat something. I haven't touched it, I swear. I mean, I have touched it, but just with my fingers, not with my .. mouth."

She eyed him for a moment as he blundered, the seed bar still held aloft in her hand. Was it her imagination, or were his neck and cheeks beginning to take on a different shade of colour .. ? She threw a laughing look at him as she bit into the bar, realizing with immediate regret that she was now left with the task of offering her statement of appreciation around the dry mix of nuts and seeds in her mouth. She did her best to accomplish this with reasonably good manners, assisted by a combination of bewildering hand signals that left both of them equally confused. Finally, Lucas put a hand over his face, laughed helplessly, and sent her away, returning to the Infirmary with a hopeless shake of his head. Skye, for her part, turned and bolted home, trying to ignore the nagging doubts mixing with the hunger pangs now gnawing at her stomach.

The minute Josh walked in the door, he immediately found his waist held hostage by two skinny arms.

"Josh! You're alive!"

"I'm alive!" He stumbled sideways, catching himself on the kitchen counter. Upon regaining his balance, he looked up to find a grinning Sienna nearby, a small boy clinging tightly to her pant leg. Under ordinary circumstances, this is the stage at which Josh would have knelt and bear-hugged his little brother, but finding himself currently incapable of doing either, he tried to catch the child's eye from above. The attempt was doomed to failure from the start.

"Hey, Vaughn! Hey, buddy! I'm back-"

"Inky!" As Vaughn caught sight of the animal behind Josh, he suddenly launched himself from Sienna's side, his face lighting up brightly as he aimed for Inky. The black Ovosaur darted out of his reach with the grace of one who's had more than a little practice.

Josh stared into the abyss, his eyelids lowered as an unimpressed expression took hold of his features.

"I see how it is."

"Don't worry, he did miss you. Really." Sienna offered with a laugh. "He spent half the night sitting up in bed and asking where you were."

"Eegh." Josh winced at her. "Bet you didn't get much sleep."

"Tell me about it." Sienna responded, her eyes suddenly looking as though they were heavy enough to fall out of her sockets. "It was lie down, sit up, lie down, no, we're sitting up, go back to sleep! Pleeasssse!"

Josh shouted with laughter as she wearily shook her head.

"There are many reasons I'm glad you're not dead, but the prospect of avoiding further episodes like that one does feature quite highly on the list."

He grinned at the droll tone of voice. Sienna didn't often express her sense of humour in any obvious manner, but he was discovering to his great delight that she possessed a particularly dark streak in the area of dry wit.

"Come on, you guys really thought one night in the jungle could kill someone with my robust constitution?"

At this, the bedraggled blonde head at his stomach finally looked up, and Josh found himself staring down into a pair of tearful blue eyes. Leah's lower lip trembled as she attempted to reply.

"No one heard from you, and then the colony was bombed last night and we heard the enemy was advancing, and we thought .. we thought .. we .."

"We thought maybe you got caught up in it." Sienna helpfully supplied.

Josh patted Leah's head comfortingly as the child attempted to regain control.

"Wait." He shot a quick look up at Sienna. "Is that why the Lab looks like a crushed frut?"

"Yeah. It fell on Dr. Wallace." The muffled voice came from his stomach.

"It broke his arm." Sienna supplied again. "He was told not to come into work for a few weeks. Apparently he's going crazy already."

"I can believe it. Poor Malcolm." Josh grinned as he bent sideways, attempting to negotiate his boots off of his feet around Leah. "Anywhere else get hit?"

"Sure." His accessory suddenly pulled away, her face lighting up eagerly. "Half the Command Centre is trashed-"

"Yeah, I saw that."

"Commander Reilly barely made it out alive! She's fine though."

"But the rest of the orchard is gone." Sienna put in.

"And it took out the Pearson home!" Leah hurriedly finished, before anyone else could break the rest of the bad news. Josh stared at her in dismay, providing the exact reaction she had been hoping for.

"Are they alright? Was anyone hurt?!"

"Minor cuts and abrasions." She informed him casually. "Had to be dragged from the wreckage though. They were still hiding under the counters."

"Thank goodness the counters didn't collapse." Josh muttered. Both girls nodded soberly.

"Apart from that, most of the colony made it out okay." Sienna summarized, leaving the small circle to go and retrieve Vaughn. "A couple of comms towers, the front gate, and they're putting a new door on the Tate's house, cause the back deck was completely obliterated. They say the house is still alright though. And no one was there at the time, cause Mrs. Tate's in hospital."

"She collapsed in the markets!" Leah added.

Josh looked from one to the other, feeling mildly disturbed.

"Do you guys know everything?"

"No." Leah replied innocently. "We don't know why Mr. Wendell's night shorts were found on the Probe yesterday."

Josh narrowed his eyes.

"Don't you?"

"Hey, did you really spend the night in the jungle?" Sienna asked, neatly diverting the topic.

Josh eyed her suspiciously, wondering if he should continue to pursue the previous subject. He decided to return to it later when his mother could be present for it.

"Sure did. Why?"

"You're pretty clean is all." She commented, analyzing his clothing with a critical eye. As she took off across the room in an attempt to save his younger brother from himself, Josh grinned.

"Mom made me take a shower at the Infirmary. Guess she didn't want to dirty up the house. I looked like I'd been rolling around in mud all night."

In reality, it had been a combined effort. Upon Tasha delivering him promptly to the Infirmary to get checked out, Elisabeth had taken one look at her filthy, blood-streaked eldest son and almost had a heart attack on the spot. She had decided to spare the girls the same experience and so had commanded him to strip off in the middle of the waiting area, much to the amusement of Tasha, as well as several of the young doctor's patients that had happened to be there at the time. Josh had managed to negotiate his way into one of the two back bathrooms instead.

"And were you, rolling around in the mud?" Leah grinned.

".. yeah, pretty much."

He suddenly lowered his eyebrows at the girls.

"Hey, why aren't you guys in school anyway?"

Sienna returned, the boy now on her hip and Inky at her heels.

"I stayed to take care of Junior here. Besides, I'm ahead in my work anyway." She tossed a look at her blonde counterpart. "Leah says she was sick, so she took the day off."

"What, you never heard of being sick with worry?" The accused returned indignantly, refusing to display any sort of guilt for her crimes. Josh's mouth twitched as Sienna scoffed unsympathetically.

"I see." He turned to the other girl with a raised eyebrow. "And you know the kid's name is Vaughn, right? Not Junior."

"Guess I forgot. I do that so often." Sienna responded gravely. "I'll try harder to remember .."

"Good for you."

".. Captain Obvious."

Josh began to laugh again, then hurriedly stifled it, shaking his head disapprovingly. Evidently Leah was a good influence. Or a bad one, depending on how one viewed the situation.

"I always knew you two were delinquents at heart."

"I resent that."

"Resent it all you want, princess. I'm not the one skipping school."

Sienna snorted as Leah cut in, hesitating.

"While we're on the subject of school .."

Sienna took a single look at the other girl and groaned loudly.

"Ohh, for the love of .."

Thoroughly in the dark, Josh glanced warily from one to the other.

"What? What is it?"

Leah fell on him with such desperate force that a cold sweat of fear almost broke out on his neck.

"Please, Josh, I need help!" She begged, clinging hopelessly to his shirt with two small fists. "It's my math homework! It's all Russian, I just can't understand it! I'll fail!"

"Get Sienna to help you!" Josh protested, turning to Sienna for assistance, but she met his pleading gaze with a cold-hearted shrug.

"I've already explained it four times, but she still doesn't get it."

"I'm not a rocket scientist." Leah fired back at her vehemently. "You use such big words."

Sienna ignored this, turning instead to listen to Vaughn babble something or other to her. No one understood what he was attempting to convey, but they listened seriously regardless. It seemed important to him anyway.

".. alright, fine, fine!" Josh released a huge sigh and collapsed at the kitchen table. "Just .. someone get me something to eat or I'll waste away. Where's your homework?"

This last part was directed at Leah, who sped away instantly as her benefactor slouched on the table, pillowing his head on his left arm.

"I'm only staying until I finish eating. Then I'm going to bed."

"It's 3:00 in the afternoon!" Leah's disembodied voice came from behind the couch.

"I'm tired!" Josh shot back, not bothering to raise his head and look at her. "I was up all night!"

"Yeah, we know." Leah returned, throwing her book on the table carelessly and grinning as the loud noise made Josh jump. "You were real busy .. snuffling around in the mud."

Josh sat up and glared at her for a moment, then fell to studying his fingernails nonchalantly as she located the correct page.

"Only when I wasn't exploring the secret tunnel in the ruins."

The two girls' eyes flew to him immediately. Sienna left Vaughn on the floor and stood up to face him while Leah sat staring at him with intense interest, book once again forgotten.

"Tunnel?!"

"Ruins?!"

"Oops, maybe I shouldn't have said anything." Josh put his hands in his pockets lazily as he stood. "You guys have school work and I don't want to distract you .."

Leah almost knocked her chair over in her effort to circumvent the table and block his retreat.

"Sit." She commanded, reaching up and taking hold of his shoulders firmly. Without a word, Sienna raced into the kitchen and threw together an alarming assortment of snacks, pausing to scoop up Vaughn from the floor with the other arm on the way back. Less than a minute later, Josh was seated at the table again, this time with a full plate of mismatched food groups and three anxious children in front of him. Setting his face like stone, he looked around at them slowly. When he met Vaughn's eyes, the child on Sienna's lap stared back, looking just as solemn. Then he suddenly laughed and beat the table with his hands, reaching out for Josh. Sienna handed the squirming boy over thankfully while Inky curled up underneath the table. Everyone promptly put their cold feet on him, scrunching their toes into his fuzzy hide. Occasionally, Inky had been known to nip if a particularly cold toe penetrated his outer layer, but for the most part, he simply lay, enjoying the impromptu massage. Josh grinned, then tossed a few toasted grains into his mouth, neatly evading Vaughn's hands.

"It's a pretty boring story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

He laughed as he was greeted with two frantic nods.

"Alright then." He chewed, swallowed, then leaned forward slightly, bouncing Vaughn on his knee and staring into the girls' shining eyes as he began.

"It was nearing twilight, and the sun had just started to drop below the horizon .."

"I don't know why yet, but she's just .. stopped responding to her medication. I'm working on it with everything I can get my hands on. I'm going to take a trip to the Eye later and see if that turns up something. Don't give up just yet, sweetie, not while there's still hope .. okay?"

Skye knocked on Lucas' door gently, then waited. No answer.

She tried again, a little louder. Still nothing.

She frowned to herself. Elisabeth had assured her he had gone home. Her eyes dropped to the door handle. He never locked it, he wasn't allowed to - one of the perks of being the local reformed criminal. With a quick glance around the street, she let herself inside.

The room was dim, even with the window open. A half-filled bowl sat abandoned on the kitchen counter, a few nondescript ingredients scattered around it. The door of one of the upper cupboards still hung ajar. Whatever he was in the process of concocting must have been suddenly interrupted.

Skye ventured warily further into the room, then paused, looking quickly down at a dark shadow to her right. Sitting on the floor parallel with her, his back against the lower half of the kitchen counter, was Lucas. He had his head in his hands. Evidently he'd been ignoring the racket coming from his front door, but surely he must have heard her tiptoeing around his establishment like she'd come to burgle the place.

She took a few steps closer, standing above him awkwardly.

"You okay?"

He raised his head then, leaning it back lifelessly against the bench. Her heart dropped as he turned to stare up at her. His eyes were red and swollen. He sniffed, swiping an arm across his face in a way that reminded her of a small child.

"Sure, Bucket, just let yourself in."

She watched him quietly for a few moments, then ventured a question.

"Are you upset because you can't cook?"

He made no reply, but she did think she heard a soft chuckle coming from the shadows of the countertop. She smiled to herself. At least that was a good sign.

"So what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He returned in annoyance, staring at the opposite wall. "I'm .. just .."

If the intention had been to counter with a snarky comment, he had failed miserably. His mind was a complete blank. Skye leaned on the counter above him, seeming not to notice his sudden apparent lack of vocabulary.

"She'll be okay, you know." She murmured, partially to herself. "Elisabeth says she's stable."

Her eyes flicked back down as he shook his head and dropped it back to his knees, seeming not to care anymore that she was watching him. Skye turned to look at the deserted bowl, studying it in silence as she cupped her chin in her hand. This was usually where she would bring her mother in to sort him out .. but Deborah wasn't permitted to leave her bed until further notice. She tilted her head and peered down at him again. He hadn't moved at all, still in the same defeated posture as when she'd first found him. With a small sigh of resignation, she sank to her knees beside him, reaching out and putting her arms around him as his shoulders began to shake again.

With a jolt, she realized she had nearly fallen asleep. Great friend, she snorted internally. He was sitting here distraught and she had almost - what if she'd started drooling on his shoulder? The thought brought such horror with it that any further temptation to sleep was driven away instantly.

Lucas seemed to sense her movement and looked up, gently pushing her away as he cleared his throat.

".. sorry."

Skye shrugged and moved to slump down beside him against the base. They both remained silent for a moment until he shook his head.

"I don't know why I'm so upset. She's not even my mother."

"True."

Skye smiled a little.

"Be that as it may .. thank you."

"For what?"

"For caring. For crying for her. I'm glad really." She locked her fingers together, then unlocked them again. "I don't want to be the only one who misses her .. when .."

She let the sentence fall away, glancing up at Lucas after another few beats of silence.

"They told me you never left her side last night."

"For all the good it did. She was unconscious for the most part. Only woke up this morning, not long before you came back actually." He shook his head, growing agitated again. "I just .. I didn't know what to do. I thought that was it. She was so .. I thought she was .."

He stopped himself, suddenly realizing that none of the information he had been about to reveal would comfort Skye in the least.

"I couldn't help her."

Skye nodded, but said nothing. They sat, side by side, staring out into the living room until Lucas finally looked back at her.

"What about you, did they tell you anything?"

Skye shrugged a little and shook her head.

"Probably no more than they could tell you. She's no better, but she's no worse. She's just .. gone down again. It's the same old story. They're trying different things, but nothing's working."

"Surely there's something .."

Lucas stared up at the roof, blinking back a new onslaught of tears. When he had regathered his composure once again, he turned his head to study Skye's pale face. There wasn't a trace of emotion to be seen.

"Why am I more upset than you are?"

"I've been here before." Skye smiled weakly, staring vaguely at the woven pattern of reeds that made up the side of the living room couch. "Somehow I just keep finding myself back here, reliving the same nightmare over and over."

"It's not forever."

She gave a short, humorless laugh.

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better."

"Sorry." He fell silent again, then piped up unexpectedly. "You know, this whole situation is really our parents' fault."

Skye stared at him.

".. how?"

"Come on, think about it. There's only one of you, and one of me. But take the Shannons, there's practically a whole army of them. They'll always have somebody, no matter what happens."

Skye blinked at him in bewilderment.

".. what's your point?"

"Just that-"

"Wait .." She turned to observe him closely, a disbelieving laugh playing on her features. ".. are you really trying to blame the existence of the entire Shannon family on your dad now? You are!"

"Well, it was his fault." Lucas argued, causing Skye to snort in derision. "Mom would have had another kid. It was him that didn't want one. Maybe .. things would've turned out differently .."

"You've been thinking about this a lot lately, huh?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I dunno, it's usually pretty obvious when you've been obsessing over something."

"It was important to me, that's all." He responded, sounding just a smidge defensive. "I used to beg them for a sibling. I wanted one more than anything in the world."

"I know." Skye remarked dryly. He glanced hurriedly at her, then turned back to his hands.

".. yeah." He shrugged, avoiding her questioning stare as he mumbled his closing sentence. "I'm just .. saying, it might've helped."

She watched for a few moments as a wave of heat crept into his face, then, grinning to herself, decided it was probably time to end his suffering. She rested her arms on her knees, picking at the frayed edges of the leather cuff around her wrist.

"Yeah, I had an older brother once."

The light, casual tone seemed to contrast starkly with the gravity of the admission, let alone the implications it carried. Lucas looked at her quickly, a frown creeping into his expression.

"I didn't know that."

"No one does." She shrugged a little. "Mom doesn't talk about him. I think it's because she thinks I don't remember him. I was pretty young when he died."

The conversation seemed destined to end there, but Lucas' curiosity was ignited. He watched her closely, trying to prompt her to continue.

"But you do remember."

"Faintly." She nodded, studying the ceiling with furrowed brow, as though she was trying to see back in time. "I remember laughing at each other, snatches of games we used to play, that sort of thing. It's almost like remembering a different life now."

She shook her head slightly, seeming to shut off the stream of video footage in her mind.

"It was pretty common, I guess. From what I overheard, there was barely a family around that hadn't lost a kid."

Lucas folded his arms on his knees, staring at them soberly.

"I didn't know. I thought things must've been different where I grew up."

She shrugged again, continuing in the same easy manner. The dredging up of old memories didn't seem to be causing her any grief. Maybe, in her own way, she had accepted it.

"Like I said, I was almost too young to remember much. I think it was hardest on my Dad in the end. He loved me, of course .. but I think deep down I knew the truth. He needed a son more than he needed a daughter." She spread her hands matter-of-factly. "So I always tried to fill the gap."

Her listener grinned a little, raising his eyebrows as he nodded his understanding.

"You became a tomboy."

"The transition wasn't as difficult as one might think."

"I can believe it."

The conversation faltered then, but Lucas, evidently not willing to allow the subject to drop, turned back to her.

"So how did you end up here?"

"Dad got a job with Taylor's security team. He was pretty good at what he did .. actually, he could do just about anything he set his hand to. He was pretty cool like that .." She grinned, but her smile faded slowly as she considered her next words. "Looking back now, I wonder if he requested the transfer here for Mom's sake. She'd struggled for as long as I could remember, but she'd been getting worse. Even small things were hard. Sometimes Dad would come rushing home from work in the middle of the day to check up on us and I'd never know why. We were lucky." She explained. "We lived on the military base where he worked, so he was never far away."

As Lucas watched, she closed her eyes, as though the next part of the story was particularly difficult to tell and required greater concentration. She continued unprompted, however.

"He came home one day and told us we were leaving. Mom cried for hours. I remember him sitting there, just .. sitting with his head in his hands while I tried hopelessly to comfort Mom on the couch. Nothing was working. Then Taylor arrived." She added unexpectedly. Lucas' gaze quickly returned to her.

"Taylor?"

"Yeah, big tough guy, likes black, was probably born with grey hair, you know him?" Skye grinned as Lucas rolled his eyes. "Anyway, he sat down with us and explained where we were going and why he couldn't do it without us. I don't remember much of what he said, just that by the end, my mom had stopped crying. She was actually smiling."

She hugged her knees reminiscently.

"So we left. I was 13 the last time I saw Chicago .. but I don't miss it." She added, just as he opened his mouth to ask the same question. "I hated being forced to wear a rebreather, barely a month went by that I wasn't sick from something. And in time, after we'd lived here a while, Mom seemed to improve as well. Dad worried less. For a few years, everything was perfect."

She smiled a little, her expression tinged with sadness.

"It was the right call. I don't know how much longer any of us would've survived in the future. We might've only had a few short years together, but I wouldn't change them for the world."

Lucas stared at the nearby coffee table.

"What was he like? Your brother?"

"I wish I knew." Skye looked up at him thoughtfully, her eyes trailing slowly over his features as though searching for hints of her brother in the side profile of his face. "He was almost 8 when he died. I remember Mom saying once that he could've been anything he wanted to be. He was smart, smarter than I was by a long shot, but his temper sometimes got him into trouble."

"I know the feeling."

Skye tried to smile, but her resolve was suddenly fading. She continued shakily, her voice growing more wobbly with each sentence fragment.

"It was always my job to look after her. Dad trusted me. He left it to me. And now .." Tears came into her eyes then, and she shook her head in despair. "It's happening all over again. It's not looking good, and there's nothing I can do."

After a moment's hesitation, he put his arm around her. Instead of shrugging it off and leaving, which was the response he was half expecting, she sighed and shook her head, swiping a hand across her eyes and leaning wearily against his shoulder.

"I don't know what I'll do if .."

"Don't talk like that. She'll be fine. She has to be."

"I know." Skye stared down at one of the threads of her jacket, twirling it around her finger in a gesture of lifeless repetition. Her response was a lie. A brave one, maybe, but untruthful nonetheless. She knew nothing of the sort. Lucas listened in silence as she continued.

"You know, people always say the pain lessens over time, but it never goes away completely. It's not that helpful when you think about it." She lifted her head to look up at him. "Don't say that to me, okay? When .. the time comes."

"I promise."

"Good." She dropped her head again in relief, the weight against his shoulder reminding Lucas just how tired she was. Even her voice had begun to sound a little more hoarse than usual.

"I don't know why they bother anyway. I know they have to say something or they feel weird about it." She answered herself impatiently. "But what they should say is that .. happiness and sadness don't necessarily cancel each other out. Being in pain doesn't mean you can't be happy .."

She leaned her head back against the counter and closed her eyes, letting the tears trickle down her cheeks. Lucas watched with a growing lump in his throat as she continued.

"And sometimes, you even get so happy you forget to be sad for a little while. You learn eventually that though the sadness is always with you, you can still be happy at the same time. That .. the pain of losing someone runs so deep, it becomes a part of who you are .. it's always with you, but in a way, you get used to it." She frowned, opening her eyes to stare across the room again, as though she was solving some puzzle of her own making. "You come to accept it, I guess, to live alongside it. Joy and grief can exist simultaneously. It's just .. how life is."

She looked up at Lucas in surprise to find him with new lines adorning his own cheeks. He choked a little as he tried to laugh.

"So much wisdom in such a small person."

"Keep talking, 'Peanut'." Skye retorted. Lucas rolled his eyes, grimacing dramatically.

"Please .. don't .. please .. forget you ever heard it."

"Can't." She returned, her face twisting apologetically. "Suits you too well. Sorry."

"I'm sure you are!"

"Hey .." He murmured thoughtfully after a moment's silence. "You know what else is weird .. after everything, I almost miss the old man's nagging. Guess somewhere along the line, I kind of got used to having him around."

"That is weird." Skye responded with a grin, but it fell from her face as Lucas looked at her quickly.

"Is it really?"

She studied the trace of worry in his expression solemnly for a few seconds before shaking her head, chuckling as he relaxed again.

"No, of course not. I miss him too."

"Yeah, well, don't ever let him catch on, or we'll never hear the end of it."

"That is a deal."

As quiet descended upon the room once more, Skye turned to stare out the window. Lucas didn't have a particularly interesting view of the rest of the colony - given that his house was largely situated in the middle of an abandoned building project, the fact probably wasn't all that surprising - but from this angle on the floor, they had an unusually good view of the sky. The sun had started to drop yet again. Where on earth had the day gone? She looked up at Lucas. He had followed her gaze and was now looking out the window as well, the orange light outside picking out the highlights in his hair. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking. Was he still sad? Had he moved on already? Even as she watched, the wet tear streaks were drying on the side of his face. She suddenly felt an unexpected surge of affection for him. This crazy, overly emotional scientist that took odd things to heart and cried more often than she did, the idiot who made a habit of saying nothing when he beat her at chess, but simply allowed her to crumble under the weight of her own defeat. He was horribly arrogant, though he tried valiantly to hide it, but beneath it all was a kindness one would never have imagined he was capable of. He kept so many layers of himself hidden away beneath the surface that she doubted she'd ever truly know him completely, but he was loyal and trustworthy despite his faults. Granted, he had many of those .. but then, so did she. With a sudden thrill of horror, she realized how long she'd been staring and hurriedly looked away again, forcing her eyes to study the furniture on the other side of the room in annoyance as the heat in her cheeks faded. Eventually, she decided the coast was clear and turned back to the window.

"You know, I think I've been taking you for granted." She muttered. Even as she said it, she felt a fleeting wild hope that he hadn't heard her, but as his attention returned to focus in on her, she gave up on that prospect. What was worse was that the longer he watched her, waiting for her to continue, the less her tongue seemed to want to do what it was told. She glanced up at him briefly, forcing herself to say something, anything.

"I'm sorry."

Lucas' eyes dropped to the floor as he tried not to smile. For some reason, under the circumstances, the expression seemed inappropriate.

"It's alright."

Strangely, the response bothered her more than she'd expected. He was choosing to be understanding and kind when he didn't have to be. That should've been a good thing .. right?

"No .." His smile faded as her forehead creased in distress. "It's not .."

Lucas eyed her pale face for a moment, a twinge of guilt creeping up on him.

"Actually, I'm sorry. Here I am keeping you here, worried about myself when you've been out running in the jungle all night."

"We weren't running all night." Skye began in a weak voice, then stopped as Lucas looked at her quickly. "It's .. kind of a long story. I'll tell you later."

He shrugged and looked away, seeming to take her at her word.

"Well, the couch is yours if you want it." He offered indifferently. "I can go back and sit with your mom while you get some rest."

"Thanks, but .." Skye hesitated, her heart sinking at the thought of returning to the Infirmary. It was time to go back. She had to go back. She'd been away too long already, she knew. But all she wanted was to stay here, where it was peaceful and safe and it felt like home. Having said that, at this stage, she would have even gladly returned to the darned tunnel. At least there, the only person she had to try and keep alive was herself. Somehow, the thought of setting foot inside the Infirmary once again, of returning to the reality of her mother's bedside, filled her with a dread she couldn't quite put into words. But then .. that's what Lucas had been doing in her absence all night. It wasn't fair to make him do what she was too afraid to go back to.

Lucas frowned as she shook her head. Surely he hadn't imagined the shiver that had gone through her a moment ago. He couldn't have. But the girl beside him now was so void of emotion that it seemed to clash with his own sense of reason.

"It's okay." Skye was saying, her voice suddenly sounding as lifeless as the bench behind them. "You've done more than enough for today. You get some rest. They said they'd make up a cot for me beside her."

"If you're sure .."

"Sure. I better go."

He studied her solemn face. The colour had mostly drained from it. In this condition, it'd be a miracle if she even made it to the Infirmary.

"Wait a minute." His words, if they were meant to restrain her, had little effect. She didn't appear to be in a hurry to go anywhere. "What is it, what's wrong?"

She tilted her head back slightly, trying to swallow the growing boulder in her throat.

"Nothing really."

"It's not nothing, I'd know if it was nothing." Lucas said, with more confidence than he felt. "What is it?"

Skye sounded as though she was trying to laugh, but halfway through, something had begun repeatedly stabbing her windpipe. She sucked in a shaky breath.

"It really is nothing, it's just .. I don't want to .. go back. I don't want to see her like that anymore." Her voice caught and she slammed a fist over her mouth as a half sob escaped. "I can't."

His arm, half numb but still somewhat functional, tightened around her.

"Yes, you can."

"I'll be alone again." The ragged words sounded as though they were causing her physical pain just to say them. She pressed her hand against her face as a new onslaught of tears overflowed from her eyes. "Only this time, it'll be permanent."

Lucas watched her in fright for a moment, then, advising himself to get ahold of himself, he turned back to her.

"Hey." He touched her hand, shocking himself slightly with the volume of his voice. He mentally adjusted it and continued at a lower volume. "You'll never be alone. You've got .. people, you know .. you've got me."

"You." Skye smiled a little. "You risk your life every day. How long until you don't come home either?"

She had murmured the last part so quietly that it would have been quite easy to pretend he hadn't heard her. But his heart sank into the floor as he considered the question. For most of his existence, he'd never cared much whether he came home at the end of the day or not. Now that he found he did care, the realization was mildly upsetting. After a moment of depressed silence for both of them, Lucas shuffled around so that he could sit facing her.

"Okay, then look at me. Hey, Skye, look at me, okay?"

She looked up, wondering vaguely at how much he'd managed to sound like her own mother. The thought made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. Lucas picked up her hand and put it on his own shoulder, holding his hand on top of it firmly.

"Feel that? That's me."

Skye couldn't stop herself from smiling a little at the oddity of the gesture. Somehow it was exactly like him.

".. okay .."

"I'm not going anywhere." He studied her seriously. "As long as I live, as long as you need me, you'll always have someone. I promise."

Skye's smile faded. She shook her head as though she wanted to argue, but in the end, she said nothing and he released her hand. She let it drop carelessly into her lap. They were both silent for a little while longer as the sun dropped below the eaves and started shining brightly into the room. Finally, Skye wiped her face with her sleeve and laughed damply.

"Thanks." She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. "Wow, I really have been taking you for granted, huh?"

"Good." Lucas stared out the window thoughtfully for a moment before turning back to her. ".. I hope you always do."

They smiled at each other for a few seconds before the previous expression returned to his face. He looked into her eyes seriously, holding her gaze with his own. Her heartbeat quickened as he slowly leaned forward, whispering conspiratorially.

"He wasn't, you know."

She stared back at him blankly, not noticing that she herself had crept closer as well.

"What, who?"

"Dad. He .." The stone exterior cracked. Try as Lucas might, he couldn't shove down the grin that threatened to break across his face. He continued with a suspicious hitch in his voice.

"He wasn't born grey. He had dark hair once."

Skye stared wonderingly at him, more intrigued by the transformation in the physicist than the one that had apparently overtaken his father's hair.

"No way."

"Yes way." Lucas sat back, his chin raised triumphantly. "I saw it. I was there."

"You were not!" Skye objected. "He was almost completely grey already when I first met him. I bet it happened way before even you were born!"

"Actually .. it happened because I was born."

The light fell from his face. Skye's stomach dropped. They both froze for a moment, watching each other and waiting for the unleashing of some inexplicable disaster. None came. After a few seconds, the mischievious streak sparkled back into Lucas' eyes. Skye, with the sense that she had narrowly escaped the lions' den, listened as he continued on in a tone of deadly seriousness.

"My earliest memory is of him staring down at me, always with the same expression, like a jungle predator. That gaze has followed me from the very first moment of my life. As a newborn, I looked straight up at him for the very first time, and I was afraid, afraid that those cold, merciless eyes might one day just .. swallow me whole. And so I cried and I screamed - he has that effect on people - and I watched. And when those first sound waves hit his ears .."

He made a whooshing noise, simultaneously throwing his hands up and over his head as though he was tearing off some invisible hat.

".. winter wonderland."

A stunned silence fell over them. Then, as a horrified laugh burst from Skye, the intense expression on Lucas' face dissolved into a rare impish grin. His listener cleared her throat and blinked a couple of times, as though she was still digesting the events of the story.

"How .. traumatic."

"For who? Him or me?"

"I meant for me!"

"Oh." He shrugged carelessly. "I know it must come as a bit of a shock. But then, no one said living in this family was easy."

"True enough." Skye groaned in resignation. "You Taylors. I guess I'll just have to get used to it."

She eyed him.

"On one condition."

"What's that?"

"Don't turn my hair white like your dad's."

"Don't worry, that's just my defense mechanism." He explained gravely. "It only activates with people I don't trust."

Skye met his unblinking gaze for a moment, then dusted herself off and stood, reaching a hand out to him. She sighed and shook her head wearily as he accepted it, turning to face him as she pulled him up.

"That's it. I'm never taking you out in public again."

Lucas gave a short laugh.

"Really?"

He looked into the distance with eyebrows raised, as though considering this, then turned back, shrugging a little as he smiled down at her.

"I can live with that."