Title: Snowbound
Fandom: Terra Nova
Pairing: Lucas Taylor/Skye Tate
Characters: Lucas Taylor, Skye Tate, minor appearance of Alicia Washington
Rating: T
Chapters: One Shot
Setting: Alternate Universe
Additional Tags: snow and a little fluff
Note: Just a little Christmas story. I'm working on a second story though I'll probably turn it into a New Year story to buy me some more time to finish it... hopefully.
English is not my primary language, so I apologize for any mistakes in advance.
Feedback is always appreciated.
Thank you for reading and Happy Holidays :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Terra Nova or the characters, only my poor imagination.
Christmas was just around the corner. You could feel it in the frost bite in the air and the festive anticipation that had gripped the colonists. The night before it has been snowed for the first time and a delicate white fluff covered the jungle surrounding the colony.
Winter in Terra Nova always rushed in without warning, with temperatures dropping from the subtropical climate dominating most of the year to subzero over night, transforming the prehistoric landscape into a fleeting winter wonderland.
Skye only ever heard about snow in old stories before she came to Terra Nova, let alone seen it, and she could never get enough it. Just like every year she couldn't resist to take a closer look at the white splendor which she knew would melt away within a few days. She wanted to see if Snakehead Falls was frozen over and sneaked OTG early in the morning on Christmas Eve while the rest of the colony would be busy decorating the marketplace and housing units for the Christmas festivities. But much to her disappointment, the impressive waterfall was still flowing down smoothly to its basin when she arrived after the familiar hike deep into the frozen jungle while heavy clouds circled above the treetops, promising of more ice and snow to come.
Not wanting to get caught in the snowstorm that Malcolm Wallace had predicted for the colony to hit in the evening, Skye hurried to made her way back home before anybody would notice her prohibited absence when she ran into one of the colony's patrols. She cursed herself inwardly for not being more careful to avoid them and knew she was in trouble and wouldn't be able to talk her way out of this situation as she had done many times before the moment she noticed who was sitting on the passenger seat of the huge Rhino that stopped in front of her, blocking her way. A very pissed off looking Alicia Washington stepped out of the vehicle dressed in heavy armour, the black hair pulled back in the familiar ponytail. Skye grimaced apologetically, but that didn't soften the Lieutenant's sour mood. She studied Skye with a deep frown.
"Get in the car!" the soldier growled.
Skye lowered her head, avoiding her gaze as she climbed into the rear compartment of the Rhino, greeting Dunham and Foster with a nod as she sat down across from the two soldiers on the hard bench.
"I thought we've agreed that you wouldn't sneak out anymore?" Wash scolded her as the Rhino continued its path on the bumpy track through the jungle. "It's too dangerous."
"I know," Skye replied meekly, slumping back in her seat. "But I was doing ... important research."
"Important research?" Wash shook her head and glanced over her shoulder at Skye, her eyes narrowed. "You're a bad liar, Skye."
Skye didn't reply and turned her head to look out of the small barred window on the side of the Rhino to avoid Wash's reproachful gaze. Disappointing the Lieutenant was almost as bad as disappointing Commander Taylor. The snow covered trees rushed by the window and an odd feeling grasped inside her chest. She couldn't put her finger on it but something seemed off.
"This is not the way back to the colony," she pointed out.
"We were on our way to Outpost 6 when we spotted you," Wash replied. "We're closer to the outpost than the colony, so we're heading there first. Which means you still have a little time to think of a better excuse for your actions before you have to explain yourself to the Commander."
"The outpost closest to the Badlands?" Skye asked with rousing curiosity and pressed her face closer to the window to get a better look at the area they were crossing. She had never been this far north, this far away from the familiar terrain surrounding the colony. Even though the jungle hardly changed on the surface, it almost felt like entering a forbidden new world. "Isn't that the outpost where Taylor's son is stationed?"
"Yep, but we probably won't see him. We tried to call the outpost before we headed out but received no answer. Lucas is probably the only person who spends more time in the jungle without permission than you." Wash gave her a wink and turned back to the front.
Skye kept silent for the rest of the ride, her mind spinning at the unforeseen prospect of meeting the Commander's infamous son for the first time up close and personal.
They reached Outpost 6 after a drive shorter than expected. The facility was small, resembling the communication relay stations of the colony in size and design, basically nothing more than a secluded windowless bunker with a huge radar antenna on top. Upon first glance the place looked deserted and not the slightest inviting to stay for longer than necessary. How anyone would want to live out here all by themselves, so far away from the colony, Skye couldn't fathom, yet it was what Lucas Taylor has been doing for the past five years, longer than Skye has been living in Terra Nova. You could only spot him inside the colony to deliver his research results or stock up his supplies. He kept his distance from the rest of the colonists and he never stayed longer than necessary.
Despite her best efforts and her close relationship with the Commander, Skye had never been able to get close to Taylor's son, merely catching glimpses from too far away to get a good look at him. But she'd heard all the stories, about his brilliant mind and short temper. Some said the physicist exiled himself, others claimed he had been banished by his father. Maybe there was a bit of truth to both versions, but she would be damned if she let the opportunity slide to finally be able to form her own picture of the man that remained a faceless obscure phantom for most colonists.
Wash and the other soldiers got out of the Rhino and looked around with watchful eyes before they headed for the entrance of the outpost. Skye followed with heavy steps through the deep snow. The outpost was located on higher ground than the colony and it had snowed a lot more here than in the valley. Icy wind was blowing towards her and she pulled her jacket tighter around her shivering frame.
Inside, the facility looked even smaller, sparsely furnished, but crammed with tons of scientific equipment. The main room was separated by curtains into a living and a work area. There was a workstation, a small cooking station and an adjoining room that Skye assumed to be the bathroom. In one corner a simple cot was set up as a place to sleep. And everywhere she looked countless sheets of paper lay scattered around. Real paper!
Skye looked around in wonder, but didn't dare to touch anything.
However, Lucas Taylor was nowhere to be seen.
Wash ran a hand over her tired eyes and shook her head. "All right, let's load up the samples and head home. Can't wait all day for Taylor to show up. Weather doesn't look good and I want to be back at the colony before nightfall."
Curran and Dunham grabbed the containers Wash pointed at and started to carry them outside when Foster came rushing inside, his face flushed from the cold. He pulled Wash aside and whispered something into the Lieutenant's ear Skye couldn't understand, but judging from the look on Wash's face it didn't seem like good news. Wash's expression turned grave.
"We have to leave right now," she told the three soldiers with a sharp nod, then turned to Skye. "There's a situation at Relay Station 24 which we need to take care of."
"A situation? Like an attack?"
"We don't know yet but we have to check it out," Wash explained and headed towards the door with long stides. Skye was about to follow when the older woman held her back. "No, you stay here. We will pick you up on our way back to Terra Nova. You will stay inside and keep the door locked at all times, do you understand?"
"But-"
"Skye!" Wash's expression hardened, her dark eyes blazing, reminiscing of the cold steel of the Commander's eyes. "I'm being serious."
"Fine." Skye sighed, seeing no point in arguing with the Lieutenant. "I'll stay here."
"Good. We should be back in a few hours. Please don't do anything stupid. And if Doctor Taylor decides to show up let him know we still need his missing reports."
Wash patted her shoulder before leaving the outpost. The heavy metal door shut with a hard thud, trapping Skye inside the cramped space bathed in cold neonlight. The only window was the little porthole inside the door through which she could see the Rhino take off into the frozen jungle.
Skye hesitated by the door for a long time, uncertain what to do until Wash's return. Curiosity made her take a look around the small outpost, intrigued to find out more about Lucas's work. Everywhere she looked stacks of paperwork were scattered in a wild mess. If there was order in this chaos to be found, she couldn't see it. There was a small model of what looked like the portal at Hope Plaza made from wood and glass standing on a sturdy sampler and inbetween all the plexes and paper sheets she noticed little wooden figures. The delicate carvings reminded her of the chess pieces that the Commander had hand-carved with comparable care and attention to detail. Obviously, Lucas had inherited the same talent from his father. Some of the figures looked like dinosaurs, others like some sort of animals or mythical creatures that must have been extinct long before she's been born.
She moved further into the room towards the main workstation, drawn to a cylindrical shiny object throning on stacks of wrinkled papers scribbled with more diagrams and equations. Carefully she traced her fingers over the wavy smooth surface, wondering about its purpose and the mysteries it may hold inside. Failing to be able open it, she huffed in frustration and turned her attention to the notes laying beside the mysterious box. The equations scribbled on the paper looked like a foreign primal language, a secret code that only Lucas Taylor could decipher. There was no doubt that Lucas had to be a genius to understand any of this stuff ... a very lonely one though...
"Who are you?"
Skye jumped, accidentally sending some of the papers flying to the floor as she whirled around, startled, and found herself face to face with a young man she presumed to be Lucas Taylor.
She didn't have to be a genius to know it must be him despite his ruggish appearance which made him resemble more the renegade Sixers rather than the colonists. She stared at him wide-eyed with her heart pounding in her chest like rolling thunder. She hadn't even heard him enter the outpost, so absorbed she has been in unveiling his secrets.
"I'm Skye," she stammered. "I-"
"What are you doing here spying on my work?" he interrupted her harshly, gloaming down on her with such intensity in his prominent green eyes it made her shrink back against the desk.
"I'm not spying!" Skye rebutted defensively. A flare of irritation due to his unnecessarily hostile welcome sept into her voice. Did he forget his manners out in the jungle? She met his gaze with eyebrows drawing together. "You're Lucas? Commander Taylor's son?"
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards but he didn't reply and just stared at her unrepending, still waiting for her to answer his question. She cleared her throat. "I came with Lt. Washington's team to pick up the samples. But there is a problem at Relay Station 24. The others went there and I'm supposed to wait here. They'll pick me up on the way back to the colony. It should take just a couple of hours."
"I highly doubt that," the young man replied as he put down his sachet and peeled out of his jacket before brushing snowflakes out of his tousled hair. "Haven't you taken a look outside and noticed the snowstorm heading our way? The mountain pass has long been snowed in and will be impassable until the snowfalls subside. They will probably take the long way round over the western slopes back to the colony, which means you are stuck here for now, maybe even for a few days."
"Days?" Skye exclaimed, horrified at the prospect at spending more time at the remote outpost. She hurried to the door and peered through the porthole, only to find that Lucas has been telling the truth. A whirlwind of puffy white flakes swirled through the air before her eyes and she was hardly able to see the treelines among the blurred white mass decending from above. She shook her head slowly. "No, I can't stay here for days. I will miss Christmas!"
With a heavy sigh she turned around and slumped back against the door, the cold steel pressing against her backside as an unnecessary reminder of her unpleasant situation. Her gaze met Lucas's across the room. He gave her a blank look. His lips were pressed into a thin line and he seemed to be about as happy at the prospect of being snowed in together as she felt herself.
"Christmas is overrated," he said as he started to gather the notes from the floor and put them back on the desk in a reasonably neat pile. "Believe me, this isn't an ideal situation for me either. I have more important things to do than take care of a child who will just mess up my work."
"I'm not a child!" The words shot out of her mouth like the blast from a sonic gun, making Lucas pause to look at her with raised eyebrows. Skye felt her face flush both with irritation and embarrassment and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She didn't know why she felt the poignent need to set him straight, but having him dismiss her as nothing but a useless child rubbed her the wrong way. "I'm a fully fledged adult!"
"If you say so." He gave her a slow once-over which she felt crawling over her skin almost like tender caress even through the several layers of her clothing and it send an unexpected shiver down her spine. A smirk spread across his face. "I'm going to get myself cleaned up. Don't touch anything!" he tossed back at her over his shoulder before he disappeared behind the curtain into the adjoining room.
Skye rolled her eyes. "No, of course not, Doctor Taylor! We don't want to mess up your chaos, Doctor Taylor," she muttered in a mocking tone of voice, and ran a hand through her messy curls still damp from the melted snow.
She went to the comm station and tried to contact Terra Nova on the emergency channel a few times, but got no response. The snowstorm must be disrupting signal. She wouldn't be able to reach the colony and she wouldn't be able to reach Wash's team either until the storm had passed.
"Well, well, Skye Alexandria Tate, that's what you get for being a naughty girl on Christmas."
She dropped down into the chair next to the comm terminal and and put her face in her hands, realizing with exhausting frustration that she would have no choice but sit out the snowstorm, stuck in this puny outpost with Lucas Taylor...
Skye stared bored at the ceiling and rocked the chair back and forth, counting imaginary Howlers flying overhead for what felt like an eternity. Occasionally she would pick up some of Lucas's carved figures and twirled them between her fingers to study them more closely. She wished she'd brought her chess set to pass the time, wondering if Lucas was playing as well as his father. She could hear him in the bathroom nearby, could hear the water running, leaving her to ponder how a shower could fit in such a scanty outpost and whether or not Lucas would leave her any of the hot water. Not that she intended to take a shower in his presence though her body ached for a hot bath.
After a while, Lucas returned to the main room looking almost civilized and she couldn't deny that he cleaned up quite nicely. His face was clean, though still covered in stubbles, his short hair damp from the shower. He got rid of the dirty shirt he's been wearing, allowing her glimpse at his musular and lean form. Skye didn't want to stare at his chiseled bare chest, yet couldn't take her eyes off him as he crossed the room towards the cot. He didn't look like you would imagine the stereotypical scientist, more like a soldier. A survivor. Must be the Taylor genes.
She felt her cheeks heat up the longer she watched him and hastly averted her eyes before he could catch her staring. After putting on a clean shirt Lucas sat down at the workstation and started to look through some of his notes, lost in thought. He didn't spare her a glance, didn't say a word, ignored her like she wasn't there and she knew it would drive her crazy if she had to endure this kind of passive-aggressive behavior for the next couple of hours or maybe even days.
"What is all this anyway? What are you working on?" she asked when she was tired of the silence hanging between them. She jumped out of the chair and crossed the room. Bracing her hands on the tabletop of the workstation she leaned forward to peak over Lucas's shoulder to get a better look at what he was studying.
"My life's work," Lucas replied cryptically, absently, absorbed in a set of equations and diagramms swirling on the display of the plex. She waited for a more detailed explanation, but none came.
She sighed. "Since I can't leave, can I help you with your work?"
Her offer caught his attention. Turning his head slightly in her direction he glanced at her sideways, his face suddenly much closer than expected, catching her off guard. "Only if you have a degree in quantum mechanics, which I doubt you do. I'm the only one in Terra Nova familiar in this scientific field." Skye couldn't tell whether he was being arrogant or merely stating facts and assumed it was a bit of both. She became aware how close their bodies were aligned, with her almost hanging over his shoulder, far too close for two strangers who just met, and the intimate proximity made her stomach twist into knots.
Lucas didn't seem to notice or he didn't seem to care as he leaned in closer, his shoulder almost brushing against her arm. "But if you want to make yourself useful, there are dirty dishes in the sink that need to be washed." He nodded towards the cooking area.
Skye's mouth dropped and she jerked back, putting an appropriate amount of distance between them again. He couldn't be serious, could he? "Should I take care of your laundry as well, Doctor Taylor?" she asked, her voice thick dripping of sarcasm.
His lips parted in a sly grin, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "If you insist."
Skye wanted to protest but Lucas had already turned back to his work like there was nothing left to discuss. Fighting the urge to smack him over the head she turned her attention towards the makeshift kitchenette. Even though she had no desire to clean up after the infuriating genius, she knew she didn't have anything else to do to keep the boredom at bay.
While she started to clean the dishes her mind wandered to Terra Nova and she wondered how her family and friends were spending Christmas Eve. Most likely her mother was baking her favourite Christmas cookies and her friends were helping decorate the market square or drinking Ovosaurus eggnog at Boylen's bar, probably wondering where she was and it made her heart sink that she couldn't join them.
When she turned around, Lucas was standing behind her all of a sudden, startling her once again so much that she dropped the plate she's been holding, but Lucas caught it before it hit the floor with impressive reflex.
"Careful, I don't have many of these," he said as he put the plate back on the sink.
Her heart skipped a beat and she wondered whether he was sneaking up on her on purpose to mess with her or just not used to anything else for having lived so long in solitude. "Can you please stop doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Sneaking up like that?"
"In the jungle it can make the difference between life and death," he replied smiling, clearly amused by her annoyance. She tried to ignore him so he would leave her alone again, yet he didn't. She felt his gaze resting on her for several moments before he spoke.
"Hungry?" he asked.
"Not really."
Lucas shrugged. He reached up into the cupboard over the sink and pulled out a fruit the size of a papaya. Their arms brushed against each other in the tiny space of the cooking area and the contact sent a jolt up her spine. He leaned against sink and studied her thoughtfully while he savored the plump fruit.
"Why are you here?" he asked between the bites.
"Apparently to wash your dishes."
Lucas chuckled. "Why are you really here?"
"I already told you. I came with Lieutenant Washington."
"You are not a soldier. You're no scientist. Why would Washington bring you along? Why would my father allow it? Speaking of the devil, how is he old man? Has he walked on water yet? Raised a man from the-"
"You sound like you hate him," Skye pointed out while she washed the next plate. "Is that why you are out here all alone instead of being part of Terra Nova?" Lucas didn't answer. Skye watched him from the corner of her eye and noticed the tight set of his shoulders, his expression withdrawn, his jaw clenching at the mention of his father, making her wonder what happened between father and son that made Lucas despite Taylor so much. "You know, he's a very good commander," she added.
"But a lousy father."
"Maybe you're a lousy son," Skye shot back. She peeked at him and was surprised to see the smirk spreading across his face, like her accusation meant nothing to him and maybe it didn't. He finished the fruit and disposed the kernel in the garbage can. and went back to work.
"Careful," Lucas said, leaning forward, so close that his face was hovering merely inches above hers, his voice a little menacing. "I can still kick you out."
She gave him the sweetest fake smile she could muster as he passed her to head back to the workstation before she went back to clean the rest of the dishes, waiting for her thumping heartbeat to calm down again, waiting for the goosebumps covering her skin to wear off and the shudders of excitement running down her spine to subside.
To ignore the peculiar physicist and the unexpected affect he was having on her for the rest of the day Skye kept herself occupied by collecting all the little carved figures and assembling them on one of the shelves. It almost felt like treasure hunt to find them all half-hidden between papers and scientific devices. She build a makeshift fence from twigs and used some of the meteoritic ore samples as little houses. Her little diorama almost looked like a miniature version of the colony. She even managed to find some chemlights in different colours to create a garland of Christmas lights.
Of course, a new problem occurred come evening when it became clear that Skye would not be picked up today as Lucas had predicted. With a nervous flutter in her stomach her eyes dashed between Lucas who was in the middle of cataloging some samples and recording the results on his Plex and the sole sleeping place in the outpost.
"I don't suppose there's a second cot hidden somewhere?" she turned to Lucas awkwardly, shifting from one feet to the other.
"No, this outpost wasn't really intended for permanent staffing. There is only the bare minimum I brought from the colony."
Skye nodded as her gaze flickered back to the small cot. Her forehead furrowed. Would he be gentleman enough to let her have the cot? Did she even want to sleep in his bed, probably smelling of him? But with the alternative being having to sleep on the cold floor or in one of the hard chairs, did she have a choice?
"So... where will I sleep?"
He raised his head, staring at her with a slightly dumbfounded expression on his face that told her he had not thought about this for a second.
"Are you trying to steal my bed?" He shot her an amused look that made her blush in addition to her embarrassment over the topic of this awkward discussion.
"A decent man would offer it," Skye replied, raising her chin, trying to sound diplomatic.
He dropped his plex and strolled towards her with an amused glint in his eyes and a smile that was both disarming and unsettling at the same time. "Do I look like a decent man?" he asked, towering over her with his strangely alluring presence, looking her deep in the eye.
No, he did not. He didn't look like a decent man at all in this moment. He looked like a half-wild animal. Someone who left their manners in the jungle. Like a Nykoraptor on the prowl...
He raised an eyebrow in a lascivious way. "We can share it," he suggested. She couldn't tell if it was kidding or serious. She paled.
"Absolutely not!" Skye spat, cheeks turning crimson. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and tried to hold his gaze despite the growing urge to look away.
Lucas shrugged. His gaze settled on the little makeshift colony she had put up on the shelf and gave it a hard look. His hand reached out, hovered in mid-air, fingers twitching like they itched to put all the figures back in their original place. He shoved his hands inside the pockets of his pants.
"So far you haven't given me a good enough reason to give up my bed. On the contrary, you have distracted me all day, which is why I'm not inclined to let you have it."
"I distracted you?" She didn't know what he was talking about. After all, she avoided him in the small outpost as best she could and even washed his dishes. He, however, had irritated her at every opportunity and wanted to bargain over the only place to sleep.
She shook her head, swallowed her anger. Arguing with him wouldn't help, especially since they had to endure each other's company until tomorrow or maybe even longer. She really hoped Wash would pick her up first thing in the morning, but it was still snowing strongly and it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon. There was no telling how long she would have to stay at the outpost...
"Fine. How am I supposed to convince you to let me have the bed?" she asked through clenched teeth.
Lucas strolled back to his workstation. "You could start by telling me the truth. Why are you here?"
Skye sighed. "I snuck out, okay?" she admitted and slumbed into the chair by the comm terminal. "I went OTG to see if Snakehead Falls was frozen and I got caught on the way back."
"You do that often? Sneaking out on your own?" Lucas asked. He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest, providing her with his undivided attention which made her feel little like one of his science projects. Like he was studying her under a miscroscop to figure her out.
"Occasionally. Terra Nova is wonderful. I love the colony, but sometimes ... with the fence all around and all the rules... it feels like being trapped in a cage. Like living under one of those glass domes in the future," she admitted without having meant to spill her heart out like that, suprising herself with her openness. She hadn't even told her friends about this, but somehow she felt like she could tell about it to Lucas and he would understand her contradicting feelings in a way no one else seemed to be able to back at the colony. "I guess I just like the freedom and adrenalin rush. I like the adventure."
Lucas hummed in agreement. "What about the danger? You could run into predators."
Skye shrugged. "I haven't been eaten yet."
Lucas nodded approvingly and his face lit up in a grin. "A rebel. I like that. My father probably doesn't approve this kind of behaviour?"
"So far I've been able to avoid him too." So far. Skye cringed as she remembered what was in store for her once she returned to the colony. She studied Lucas curiously. "What about you? Why are you out here living by yourself? You could be working from the colony."
"And live under my father's thumb, have him breathe down my neck constantly?" Lucas huffed and rubbed his neck, over the thick scars that ran from the back of his head down his nape. "No thanks. I like my freedom too."
Skye chewed on her bottom lip. Something, a thought gnawed at her that she couldn't exactly put into words. "Yes but ... aren't you lonely? Don't you miss people? Not just your father, like, maybe someone else?"
"You only miss people when you want to them around in the first place. Which I don't." He must have noticed her doubtful look and added, "People are nothing but a distraction. Like you."
"You can't be serious. People are important. Especially on Christmas."
"I told you Christmas is overrated. I haven't celebrated it since my mother died years ago."
The pain in his voice, feeling strangely familiar, made her sit up straight and take notice. She wanted to find out about what happened, but she didn't want to violate his privacy like that, fearing he might actually kick her out if she did.
"I lost my dad three years ago," Skye said sympathetically. "Sincyllic Fever. My mom almost didn't make it, too. Now it's just the two of us. I miss him a lot. Especially on Christmas. He loved the holidays and the snow. You must miss your mother, too."
Lucas's eyes darkened, growing distant. "At least it wasn't your fault he died."
Skye frowned. "You think it's your fault that your mother died?"
"I know my father does."
She stared at him lost for words. So far she'd assumed Lucas lived out here because he was an arrogant genius who didn't like anyone. But maybe he just didn't like himself and gave into his self-loathing because he believed he deserved this exile as punishment. She didn't think Taylor blamed his son for whatever happened to Lucas's mother, but Lucas seemed convinced of it, and the thought of father and son not being able to overcome their issues saddened her.
"But-"
"We're getting off topic, Skye," he said, hastily changing the subject. "Back to you. Tell me more about you."
"I already told you everything there is to know."
"That would be disappointing. Do you want to win the bed or not?" He sauntered over to the cot, looking a lot more comfortable than it first appeared, and spread out on top of it with relish. "Do you have a boyfriend? Or girlfriend?" he asked then.
"That is a very personal question."
"It's also a very personal bed that you want me to give up," Lucas replied with a wink and a smug grin. She said nothing. His grin widened. "Is that a no?"
"It means it's none of your business. For someone who doesn't value human company you are very curious about other people's relationships."
"I have a theory and want to test it. I'm a scientist after all."
Skye rolled her eyes. Her mind thought of Josh Shannon who still mourned his ex-girlfriend stuck 85 million years in the future. She thought of Hunter whom she never saw as anything more than a brother. And she thought of the harmless flirtations with a bunch of young soldiers, none of them leading anywhere. Truth be told, there was no one in the colony that really piqued her interest ...
Her gaze met Lucas's across the room ... maybe there was someone though she surely wouldn't admit it to his face...
Skye cleared her throat and jumped out of the chair. "Okay, that's enough. Keep the bed. I find something else to sleep," she exclaimed. Turning her back on the young scientist she headed towards the door and glanced through the small porthole. It was still snowing outside, still no sign of the Rhino coming to take her home.
A long moment filled with leaden silence passed...
"You can have the cot. I'll sleep on the floor."
Lucas's voice caught her by surprise and made her turn back around to face him. He pulled a sleeping bag from beneath the bunk to spread out on the floor beside it. He paused. A flicker of unexpected uncertainty crossed his features as he shifted his weight on his feet. "I'm sorry about my lack of manners. I'm not used to having company." He sounded sincere and his eyes were apologetic.
Skye thanked him. For a moment it looked like he wanted to say more, like both of them wanted to say something that was weighing on their mind, but neither of them seemed to be able to find the right words and the moment passed like it never happened. Lucas turned back to his work and Skye turned back to look out of the window.
She woke up in the middle of the night, shivering with cold despite being wrapped in one of Lucas's scratchy blankets. She peeked over the edge of the bunk, expecting to catch a glimpse of Lucas's sleeping form, but found the sleeping bag empty. Sitting up straight, she wiped the sleep from her eyes and noticed Lucas standing in the middle of the room, opening a hatch in the ceiling and pulling down a ladder. Frosty night air filled the bunker and a few snowflakes drifted down from above.
"Lucas, what are you doing? Where are you going?"
He turned towards her with one foot porched on the ladder. "On the roof."
"But it's still snowing!"
"Exactly. If the radar catches too much snow, it could collapse under the weight and all of my studies would have been in vain. Come on, I want to show you something."
He held out his hand in invitation. Her gaze flickered to his waiting hand, then back to his face, weighing her options, then making a decision. Skye crawled out of bed and cautiously followed him, climbing up the narrow steps. Lucas led her over the roof to keep her from slipping on the frozen ground and pulled her into the shelter of the huge antenna. The snowstorm had subsided and the sky was lit up in unearthly, colourful patterns of brilliant lights covering the entire horizon among rows of twinkling stars.
"Wow. What is that?" Skye asked staring in wonder.
"Northern Lights. Well, technically not, since we are not at the correct latitude, but the principle is similar. The meteoric ore in the crates of the Badlandes creates disturbances in the electromagnetic field of the time fracture resulting in atmospheric constituents emitting light. You can't see this from the colony due to its location and the too great distance to the Badlands."
"It's so beautiful," she marveled at the sight before her. "Maybe I can see your point of staying out here. A little."
She had never seen anything like this before and she couldn't get enough of the curtains and swirls dancing across the firmament, coming alive with shimmering colours. She felt like a child again, filled with the wonders of this world. Like she had felt when she'd stepped through the portal and laid eyes on this untouched paradise for the first time. She barely noticed the chilly night air enveloping her, making her shiver until Lucas wrapped his arms around her to warm her. She leaned her head back on his shoulder and kept watching the sky spellbound.
"Still sad you missed Christmas?" Lucas whispered, his breath hot against her ear creating little clouds in the air.
"I-"
She turned her head in his direction, looked up at him and found his face incredibly close. He must have been watching her the whole time she'd been watching the sky and the thought stirred a fluttering sensation in chest. The unexpected glowing warmth that filled his eyes as as he gazed down at her, looking almost mesmerized by her sight, made her catch her breath and her heart started to beat a little faster. When he was looking at her like this, she no longer felt the cold, she no longer missed the colony. Standing on the roof of the little outpost, floating like an island above the waves of freshly fallen snow, in the stillness of the night with the swirling auroras shimmering over their heads, it almost felt like a dream.
Lucas tightened his embrace, holding her so close like she was an extended part of his body, like he never wanted to let go. His eyes darkened as he searched her face for something she couldn't put her finger on. She licked her lips and her eyes flickered down to his mouth looking soft and inviting, filling her mind with enticing thoughts, tempting her to do stupid things. She felt like standing on the edge of Snakehead Falls, ready to tumble into the abyss, consequences be damned, but something inside her held her back...
"Maybe we should go back inside before we catch a cold," Skye whispered as she stepped out of his embrace, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do.
His face fell but he didn't say anything. They went back inside and Skye lay awake for a long time, listening to Lucas's steady breathing. When she fell asleep again her dreams were filled with snow, equations and Lucas's face inches from hers, sombered by the knowledge that would all be over soon...
The next morning Skye was rudely awoken by loud voices and heavy footsteps filling the facility. Blinking against the artificial lights, she opened her eyes, still half asleep, mind fuzzy. "Good morning, Skye." She recognized Wash's much too vibrant voice and squeezed her eyes shut with a groan. The woman chuckled somewhere above her head. "Nice try. I know you're awake. Time to get up so we can drive back to the colony while the weather is holding up. Come on."
Reluctantly, Skye pulled herself upright, scanning the room in search of Lucas. He was lurking by the door, leaning against the doorframe and watching the soldiers load up the Rhino with another series of containers and samples. His hands were buried deep in the pockets of his pants. His expression was blank, showing nothing of the tenderness and vulnerability he had revealed to her last night on the rooftop. Looking at him made all the memories of last night come crashing down on her. How she'd felt being held in his arms. How close she'd been to kissing him only to realize the hopeless volatility of their situation, of them living in two different words despite sharing the jungle. She couldn't stay at the outpost and who knew when Lucas would decide to show up in the colony again. When she would see him again...
Skye slipped into her boots, put on her jacket and headed for the door. Lucas's green eyes fixated on her as she stepped closer, but his face remained closed off. For a moment she didn't know what to say and just stared at him.
"Well, time to go. You're getting rid of me and you can concentrate on your work again," Skye joked half-heartedly, trying to force a smile that didn't meet her eyes.
"Looks like it," he replied tight lipped.
Wash hurried past them to the Rhino and motioned towards Skye to hurry up with her goodbye. She hesitated, feeling a sharp tug in her chest, realizing that an accelerating part of her didn't want to leave the outpost yet. The same part that made her regret not having given into temptation last night, not having taken that risk, even if it would all end up amounting to nothing. Just a scientific experiment buried by the snow...
She noticed a flicker of curiosity cross his features at her reluctance, his head titling slightly to the side. Her eyes dropped to the floor. Her fingers were fidgeting with the buttons of her jacket as she fumbled for the right words to say. "You know you could still come with us. You don't have to spend the holidays alone. I think your father would love to see you."
"Christmas is overrated," Lucas replied hesitantly.
"You already said that twice."
"I still mean it."
Skye nodded with a sigh. Her shoulders slumped, feeling like there was nothing more to say. She turned to leave when Lucas's hand shot forward and caught her hand in his. She paused, squinting back at him in bewilderment. He gestured upwards. Her gaze followed his and she noticed there was a little twig hanging from the doorframe. She couldn't tell if the twig had been there when she arrived or if she just hadn't noticed it.
"That is mistletoe," Lucas said, drawing her attention back to his face. "Strictly speaking, it is the prehistoric ancestor which will eventually evolve into mistletoe."
"…Okay?"
He let out a soft chuckle. "You know the tradition regarding mistletoe?" His eyes sparkled with mischief as his grip tightened around her while rubbing his thumb gently over the back of her hand. The touch sent a pleasant shiver down her spine, made her heart flutter in her chest.
"Tradition?" Skye repeated, faking ignorance, playing coy. She pressed her lips together in attempt to hide the grin that threatened to spread all over her face. "Oh, you mean that tradition. Didn't you just say that you don't care about Christmas and its overrated traditions, Doctor Taylor?"
"I'll make an exeption for this one."
Skye felt her pulse accelerate with anticipation. A swift glance to the Rhino assured her no one was watching them with Wash and the other soldiers being busy securing the surrounding area in case of unexpected visitor. She turned back to Lucas, licked her lips, not pulling back this time.
"If that's the case, then who am I to argue with tradition?"
Rising on her tiptoes she leaned in and closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss she now knew she'd been anticipating since she first laid eyes on the man standing before her. He closed the rest of the distance to seal her mouth with his hungry lips. She might have missed out on a lot this Christmas while being snowed in with the whimsical physicist, but when their mouths touched in such a formidable way she knew it's been worth it.
It was a kiss like no other before.
A kiss she knew she would carry with her back to the colony and the days to come.
The End