Title: Schrödinger's Claus and the Mistletoe Varible
Fandom/Pairing: Terra Nova; Lucas/Skye
Setting: Modern Christmas AU
Note: I have rewatched Terra Nova recently and fell back in love with the show and the Lucas/Skye pairing so much that I actually got inspired to start writing again. I have not written anything in over 4 years so this makes me so happy. I think reading so many amazing Lucket stories by incredibly talented writers over the last couple of weeks (and still a bunch yet to read) helped a lot as well.
I'm not sure if there are other people out there beside me still reading Lucket/Terra Nova fanficion, but if there are I hope you enjoy this little contribution. Since it's a modern Christmas AU I guess it's okay if the characters are a little OOC.
English is not my primary language, so I apologize for any mistakes in advance.
Thank You and Happy Holidays :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Terra Nova or the characters, only my imagination.
When he heard about the heart attack of his father, Lucas didn't expect his reaction to be like this and he couldn't explain it either. He couldn't remember having seen the old man sick ever before. The grand Commander who always seemed invinsible and made him feel inferior by not meeting his expectations. The stoic father he had never been able to make proud despite his genius mind and academic accomplishments.
He didn't deny playing his part in destroying their relationship that went south ever since his mother's tragic death, with his habit of pushing people away and repeling them with his sharp intellect and short temper.
For years there was no contact with his father. Nevertheless when he heard the news he didn't hesitate. Without a second thought he jumped in his car and drove all the way south to Terra Nova, the small town he'd sworn to never return to since leaving for college.
Now he was back, standing in front of his father's hospital room and trying to make himself step inside with a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts and emotions running through his head.
Why did his father's medical condition affect him so much after all this time? Didn't he swear he was finished with the old man years ago, built his own life out of reach of his judging grip?
It was a weird feeling having to see his father lying in the hospital bed weakened from the surgery with long tubes coming out of his body. Kept alive by the bypass inserted in his chest covered by thick bandages.
Didn't he long for this exact moment during all of his anger? To see his father battered and broken before him? Strangely enough, the sight didn't bring Lucas the satisfaction he'd expected. He wondered if in a twisted way this was fate trying to get him to make the first step, to give in first – he didn't believe in fate. Even more he wondered why he was still his one of his father's emergency contacts after not having talked to each other for five years...
„Lucas." His father's rough voice greeted him as he finally stepped inside the small sickroom. Tired looking pale blue eyes seized him up and down, taking in his appearance, his ruffeled clothes, unshaven face and messy hair. „I didn't expect to see you here."
„I wasn't planning on coming but here I am," Lucas replied coldy as he remained standing by the door awkwardly.
„I see." His father nodded, his facial expression grave. „Well, if you came here hoping to see me dead I hate to disappoint you."
„I'm starting to regret it," Lucas sneered, wondering once again why he even bothered coming in the first place. His father was still the same unyielding jackass who practically kicked him out of his house and his town. Too stubborn and self righteous even for death. He probably would have outlived the dinosaurs if they coexisted at the same time.
Both men stared at each other like two gunslingers before the duel, exchanging one verbal assault after the other. They couldn't even be in the same room for more than five minutes before attacking each other.
"You always assume the worst of me!" Lucas accused his father, feeling his blood pressure rise in his ears and his face heating.
"Maybe that's because you wish the plague on me every chance you get. That is, if you even speak to me at all!" his father shouted back.
"Maybe there's a reason for it, old man."
His father's face twisted in resentment, his eyes narrowing. He never liked being called "old man" by Lucas which is the reason he kept doing it. He could see the anger reflected in his pupils. The cardiac monitor attached to his father's chest started to beep a little faster. "Maybe it's just your own arrogance, son."
"My arrogance?" Lucas threw his hands in the air, a empty chuckle escaping his lips as he started to pace up and down by the end of the bed like a feral animal trapped in its cage while gesturing wildly at his father. "Why yes of course! It's all my fault because the great Commander Nathaniel Taylor makes no mistakes!"
„I do make mistakes, but the difference is I face them and don't run away blaming everyone else like a petulant child!"
„You got to be kidding me!" Lucas spat back. His voice grew louder with every word, ringing in his ears and making him wonder why no nurse showed up yet to throw him out of the room.
"If you're just here to fight, you may as well leave. I don't need you to give me a second heart attack," his father snarled, having lost his patience as well.
Lucas stared unblinking at the other Taylor as he felt a piercing jab, almost like being slapped in the face. His father blamed him for his mother's death, no surprise he would also expect Lucas's to be responsible for his own death.
He gritted his teeth and shook his head. "I really have no idea why I'm here." Still fuming with anger, he stomped out of the room.
Lucas stormed out of the hospital onto the parking lot, pulling his hair in frustration and cursing under his breath. His eyes roamed over the asphalt, landed on his car, then fell on a cigarette machine on the street corner. Right next to a hospital, the irony wasn't lost on him. With long strides he headed for the machine to buy a package and lit the first cigarette in rousing agitation. He quit smoking years ago but leave it to his father to make him return to old habits in a flash.
Leaning his back against the wall nearby and closing his eyes, he let the steady repetitive motion of inhaling and exhaling of the nicotine calm him down again, easing the pressure of his chest. He smoked slowly because he didn't want to go back inside yet.
He could just walk away, could just jump into his car and leave this godforsaken town all over again. But he had no illusions his father wouldn't consider it a victory in making him run, and Lucas didn't want to let him have it by no means!
Some time after the third or fourth cigarette Lucas was calm enough to go back inside, only to find his father wasn't alone anymore and the room was now littered with cheesy Christmas decoration. A woman, a girl, kept him company, sitting in the chair next to the hospital bed. Pretty. And young, Lucas thought as he eyed her carefully, probably college freshman.
His eyes swirftly passed over the decoration. He didn't care about Christmas. When he was young he loved it of course, but all his Christmas spirit left him the moment his mother died and his father turned to stone towards his own flesh. Now he knew it was nothing but the overhyped remains of a former world religion sold out to commerce by bribing children with overcharged gifts. People called him a cynic, but as a physicist he just knew how to see the structures and patterns behind the curtains most people chose to ignore.
He watched the nameless girl and his father play chess and she smiled up at his father as warm-heartly and familiarly as if they have known each other for ages. They looked closer than Lucas and his father had in years. The sight made his irritation flare up again.
He cleared his throat to make himself known. Both looked at him in surprise and it felt like he was intruding on something he wasn't supposed to be part of. It made him almost feel lonely and he didn't like it one bit.
„You're back," his father noted. His expression petrified as his attention turned from the girl to his son.
Lucas pressed his lips into a thin line, pushing down the unwanted emotions welling up inside him and stared back at him with a blank look. „Didn't expect me to, I can clearly see that," he replied flatly as his eyes settled once more on the young woman. She returned his gaze curiously.
„So you're Lucas. It's nice to finally meet the phantom your father told me so much about. I'm Skye." She rose from the chair and held out her hand in greeting, smiling politely at him.
„Who?" He gave her a deadpan look while pointedly shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants in order to not shake her hand. Frowning she pulled her hand back. The smile dimmed on her lips but didn't slip off completely.
"Skye is my protege," his father said.
„I'm sorry what now? You adopted her?"
"No, but he has been my legal guardian since my parents passed away three years ago," Skye explained. "Well, he was until a few months ago when I turned 18."
"How touching." He rolled his eyes.
There was an awkward pause in which none of them spoke. The only sound in the room came from the cardiac monitor still monitoring his father's heartbeat which didn't change its rhythm.
„Well, I have to go," Skye spoke first as she started to collect the chess pieces and put the set on the nightstand beside the bed. „I still have to drop off the boxes with the Christmas decoration at the school."
"You can't carry those heavy things by yourself. I hate that I can't help you like I promised," the old man said with a heavy sigh.
„It's okay." She reached out to pat his shoulder. "But you just had a heart attack and surgery. You need to take it easy at least for a few days. Please? For me?"
Lucas snorted as he watched the exchange with growing disgust. Why was she caring so much? The old man wasn't her father.
His father gave him a nasty look, signaling his disproval of Lucas's attidude which he really couldn't care less about. He stared back with a smug expression, challening the Commander. He had no problem fighting in front of the girl he knew nothing about while his father seemed reluctant to do so, probably didn't want to show his bad form in front of his starry-eyed little protege. He could see his father's jaw grinding.
"Lucas can help you."
Lucas listened up, the smugness dropped from his face and was replaced by sprouting annoyance that his father wanted to make this decision over his head, ordering him around like a stupid child. He wasn't 14 years old anymore with him doing his father's every bidding! "Excuse me?"
His father's eyes narrowed at his son. „Do you have anything better to do, boy? Be a gentleman for once and don't just think about yourself. Skye needs help so you will help her. Or do you rather want to keep me company for a nice game of chess?"
Lucas pulled a face. He hated chess almost as much as Christmas just because it was his father's favorite game and the thought of having to suffer through another game made his stomach twist in agony. Again, he nagged at the question why he didn't just walk away...
He swallowed his anger, seeing no point in arguing beyond getting ridiculed by his father even more. Begrudgingly he nodded towards Skye who seemed just as thrilled at the prospect of his help as he felt himself.
„Let's get it over with."
They drove to the elementary school in Skye's poor excuse of a car, which was so crammed with boxes that Lucas barely fit inside. He made some room by pushing the boxes together, wondering if they contained anything breakable but deciding that he didn't care, and then squeezed into the passenger seat. His arm brushed against Skye's, sending an electric current up his spine and making him jump in his seat.
„Sorry, I tend to be a little charged. Must be from all the tinsel," she joked halfheartly while she flickered her ponytail over her shoulder and started the sputtering engine.
The ride lasted only a few minutes, yet Lucas couldn't wait to get out of the tiny car again, with the boxes poking him in the sides and Skye sitting so close she was almost drapped across his lap. Loose strands of hair smelling of sunny afternoons in a meadow in full bloom made his nose tickle, but not unpleasantly.
They unloaded the boxes from the back of the car which turned out much heavier than expected. He had no idea how Christmas decoration could be this heavy – or why anyone needed so much of it.
„So are you going to stay for the holidays?" Skye asked as she took the lead towards the school building. Lucas trailed after her while balancing three boxes in his arms.
„No chance."
„But there will be cookies," she added with a teasing smile in his direction that both annoyed and captivated him for a fleeting moment before he blinked back to reality. She couldn't be that naive to think the prospect of sugar pastry would get him to fix his broken relationship with his father, could she?
"I hate cookies," Lucas replied. He shifted the boxes in his arms to get a better hold on them. Skye narrowed her eyes at him, almost like she knew he was lying – which he was, not that it was any of her business – but kept her mouth shut.
They entered the gym of the school which got turned into a stage for the Nativity play the kids would perform on Christmas as stated on the huge glittery poster by the entrance door, and decorated with various cutouts of Christmas trees, snowmen and…
"Dinosaurs," Lucas noticed with great disturbance as he walked past a cutout that was supposed to look like a T-Rex. "Who's doing the Nativity with dinosaurs?"
Skye shrugged as she dropped the smaller boxes she'd been carrying on one of the tables lining the farside of the gym. „It's a bold reimagining of a classic that will be a huge hit on Broadway."
„Or a complete disaster."
Skye sighed beside him, shaking her head. „Are you always this negative?" She didn't wait for his reply as she moved towards the stage. He dropped his boxes as well and followed after her, frowning at her sudden mood swing.
On stage, a group of screaming children whirled around like someone poked a bee nest with a very exhausted looking teacher trying to get them under control again. One of the girls with short dark pigtails and burning red cheeks rushed towards them.
„SKYE!" The little girl flung herself at Skye who hugged her tightly.
„Hey Zoe."
"Who is that?" the girl asked pointing at Lucas. Her eyes grew wide with curiosity.
"That is Lucas. He's Commander Taylor's son."
"Commander Taylor has a son?" Zoe examined him from head to toe with a critical frown. Then she shrugged like she just determined him as acceptable. "Do you want to know a secret?" she asked him in a whisper with a hint of mischief lighting up her face.
"Not really." He really did not, but somehow he suspected he wouldn't be spared. Because that's what children did – they never listened and they always bugged you.
"I think your dad is Santa Claus. He has white hair. He has a beard and a twinkle in his eyes. Santa's eyes always twinkle."
"That's not a twinkle. That's the sharp reflection of disappointement and resentment staring back at you," Lucas replied.
Skye scolded at him, nudging her pointy elbow into his side, making him wince. "Is that why you're here? To suck the Christmas joy out of everyone?"
He smirked down at her. "I only suck yours," he replied, then realized the inuenedo in his words when he saw Skye's eyes widening and cheeks blushing. He clarified: "The Christmas joy, I mean."
The little girl seemed blissfully ignorant to their little exchange. "Don't you believe in Santa Clause?" she asked all childlike innocence.
Lucas gave her a blank stare, tempted to give her a taste of reality by telling her that the modern image of Santa Clause was nothing more than an advertising figure, but he doubted Skye and the overworked-looking teacher hovering nearby would take kindly to him shattering childhood beliefs on a Monday morning.
"I'm a physics genius. I believe in science."
"Oh I know what that is from my sister Maddy," the girl beamed and clapped her hands together. "You know all this stuff about flying really fast through time and space."
"That's not what a physicist-"
"Do you make your dad's sleigh time travel so that he can visit all the children in one night and bring them presents?" Zoe asked, jumping up and down in front of him with a frightening level of excitement.
Lucas felt his eye twitch. He pressed his lips together while resisting the rising urge to storm out of the gym to get away from all this Christmas nonsense.
"Of course he does!" Skye chimed in, her voice all sweetly. Much too sweetly. "He is Santa's most valuable helper and has written a whole book about his time traveling sleigh. That's why he's barely home because of all of his important research for Christmas."
He stared at her, barely able to contain his irritation which seemed to please her even more. Oh, he could tell she was teasing him on purpose, probably to get back at him for his rudeness and judging from the smirk spreading on her face she loved every second of it!
"Can we please go now?" he asked, sounding much to whiny for his liking. He felt a headache approaching fast and rubbed his temple.
"Yeah, sure, we're done here." Skye waved goodbye to the kids and they headed towards the exist.
"Wait!" Zoe called after them when they reached the door. "You're standing under the mistletoe." Their eyes followed her pointing finger upwards.
A very fake and very ugly looking mistletoe made from crafting paper in all the wrong colours hung from the doorframe above their heads. „You have to kiss!"
„That's why I hate children," Lucas groaned under his breath, too low for Skye to catch it, and rolled his eyes.
"Don't you want to kiss Skye?" Zoe kept pushing, smiling with glee. "Don't you think she's pretty?"
„That's not even a real mistletoe," Lucas pointed out to avoid the topic. Of course he noticed Skye's beauty, he wasn't blind. There was a fluttering sensation igniting in his chest just thinking about kissing her which he tried to ignore as best as possible. He glanced at Skye for help but the young woman avoided his gaze. A few curls of hair had fallen out of the messy ponytail, shielding her eyes from his view. He felt a new twitch of irritation that he couldn't see them, couldn't read her expression the way he wanted to.
"I think you don't know how to kiss," Zoe teased.
"I know how to kiss," Lucas shot back, growing defensive. Why the hell was he arguing with an 6 year old?
"It goes like this." Zoe started to make fake kissing noises and a few of her friends came rushing over to join in. Lucas growned inwardly. If hell existed, being surrounded by pre-schoolers making fake kissing noises definitely came close, he imagined.
"I'm not kissing anybody under a fake mistletoe. Least of all her!"
He thought he saw a flicker of hurt crossing Skye's face as she looked at him in surprise, her mouth dropping slightly open, which she quickly covered up with another smile.
"He's right. It would have to be a real one to count. But we have to go now. I'll see you at the show."
„Will Lucas come too? There'll be cookies."
„No," Skye answered before he could open his mouth, her voice harsher than before. "He hates cookies."
She shooed him outside before the kids could come up with more ideas to torment him.
They left the school in tense silence and Lucas couldn't shake the feeling he did something to offend Skye though he couldn't comprehend what. Sure, he could have been nicer – he could be charming as hell if he wanted to though with most people he didn't bother unless for his own benefit and he didn't see the point in trying to get his father's little prodigy to like him. It's not like they were going to see other again after today...
Lucas followed Skye to her even though he already completed his job with the boxes. There was only one light box left in the car which Skye would be able to handle herself, yet he accompanied her to drop it off at the charity booth on the Christmas market a few blocks from the school on their way back to the hospital. The girl was like Mother Theresa and Santa Clause wrapped into one adorable cinnamon roll.
She bought them two cups of eggnog from one of the stalls and handed him one. Her mood seemed to have improved again. "A thank you for helping me out today. You didn't have to just because Taylor told you to. You could have said no."
He shrugged while he eyed the eggnog with suspicion like he expected the viscous beverage to crawl out of the mug and attack him any second. "Don't mention it."
Skye gave him another of those smiles over the rim of her cup that seemed honest and endearing and it made him feel all funny inside, making his alarm bells ring. Despite his genius level of intellect women have always been the one subject he could never master beyond the physical act and the girl in front him seemed to be a special kind of riddle he couldn't seem to figure out, though he couldn't deny that she arouse his curiosity.
Was she just being nice to him because of his father or...?
Lucas frowned at his own trail of thoughts. No, not going there!
He took a careful sip from the eggnog, immediately regretting it as the chunky liquor filled his throat, when they heard someone shouting across the marketplace. They both turned in the direction of the voice and noticed a young man – no, more like a boy – wave at Skye, beckoning her to come over with a huge grin plastered on his face. She excused herself and went to greet the boy while Lucas stayed behind to watch them from the distance.
The greeting seemed very ... friendly and cozy, making him wonder about the nature of their relationship, whether he was Skye's boyfriend or if she hoped he would become one day. Judging from the smile on her face and the blush creeping into her cheeks that he could see even from a afar, the answer would be yes. The thought made him frown and left a ugly taste in his mouth – which could have been the eggnog though.
He emptied the cup absendly and got a second one, downing the drink in one long slug while his eyes stayed glued on Skye and the boy. He watched their playful interaction with growing disdain and impatience. The laughter and little intimate touches. The conversation seemed to last forever though he doubted there were that many topics to talk about, the boy looked like he barely owned more than two functioning braincells.
He bought a third cup of the gross, yet strangely tasty eggnog, and then stopped counting how many more. He just kept drinking until he started to feel lightheaded and Skye finally returned. She looked apologetic for leaving him alone. "Sorry it took so long."
He felt the alcohol kick in and the first question that came to his mind just tumbled out of his mouth. "Boyfriend?"
"No, just ... catching up with an old friend." Her fingers fidgeted with the seam of her jacket, making him suspect there was more to the story than she was willing to share. Friend...
His vision became double and he started to loose balance, swaying slightly on his feet. He felt warm and his head was spinning. Skye watched him with concern written on her face.
"Are you okay? How many eggnog did you drink?"
"Four… five? I dunno," he slurted.
"Oh dear. I should have warned you. It's Boylan's special recipe. Really packs a punch.
Maybe you should sit down for a minute."
She led him to a park bench offside the marketplace. From here you had a good view of the Christmas market, the flickering lights, twisting carousels and the crowd full of happy families celebrating together. The sight made him sick. Skye helped him sit down before sitting down beside him. He caught a whiff of Skye's floral scent again and inhaled deeply, briefly closing his eyes.
They sat on the bench in mutual silence for some time while Lucas tried to fight off the eggnog induced nausea. He slogged deeper and deeper in his seat until the back of his head came to rest on the backrest of the bench. His tongue loosened by the alcohol started to ramble about physics and flying reindeers.
"And that's why there's absolutely no possible way of Santa using a wormhole to time travel across the globe on Chrsitmas Eve," he concluded his rant with a triumphant grin, having left no loophole in the logic of his arguments – or at least he thought so, but in his tipsy state of mind he couldn't be sure. Skye's laughter filled his ears like the sweetest chimes – or maybe that was the real ones echoing across the market place. He didn't care, it made him feel warm and cozy inside like being wrapped up in your favorite blanket.
„You're really drunk." She turned so that she was sitting sideways on the bench facing him, one arm propped up on the backrest, her hand resting against her cheek.
"'was I supposed to do? You talked so long with your boyfriend. I was bored."
„Again, not my boyfriend. Also the hospital is nearby. You could have walked and didn't have to wait for me."
He nodded, rolling his head to the side. "But I did."
He looked up at Skye. Despite the early hour twilight was settling, the sky was darkening and in the soft glow of the Christmas lights she looked breathtaking. She'd pulled her hair out of the messy pontail some time ago and her face was framed by lush curls his fingers itched to touch, to feel their soft texture swirl around his fingertips. He wetted his dry lips. "You're beautiful," he blurted out.
"And you're drunk." She looked away and turned her attention towards the hustle and bustle on the Christmas market.
Lucas frowned as he studied her profile. "Am I not allowed to give compliments? I can be nice, despite what my father says about me."
"Your father doesn't talk bad about you. He talks a lot about you in fact. He still hopes you can work things out. You just need to give him a chance."
"Can't give him a chance if he doesn't give me one," he mumbled and shook his head, rubbed his temple. He didn't want to ruin the moment by having to think about his old man. Instead he focused his attention back on Skye, studied her profile with intense admiration, her soft features, sparkling eyes, rosy cheeks, inviting lips...
"You're so beautiful," he repeated, making her turn to him again, She arched a brow as she eyed him warily.
"You won't remember any of this tomorrow, will you?"
"You can help me remember."
He leaned closer and took it as a good sign that she didn't pull away. The sober part of his brain knew he should keep his distance. He had reasons, good ones, but being alone with her in such close proximity with the Christmas lights casting a warm glow on her hair and illuminating her skin, it was getting difficult to remember them.
He titled his head to the side, his sight becoming slightly blurry again as he looked at her full of hope and expectations. For what he wasn't sure, but he couldn't deny there was something, has been building throughout the day in her company and now tried to break to the surface.
"I want to kiss you. I did want to kiss you at the school." His hand reached out to trace her delicate jawline, cherishing the soft feel of her smooth skin against his fingertips.
She bit her lower lip which made her look even more desirable. But he could see the doubts running through her mind, clearly reflected in her hesitation and nervous expression.
"There's no mistletoe," she pointed out, her head titling towards his slightly, most likely involuntarily.
Lucas pulled a face, his mind kicking into gear as his eyes gazed off into the distance. His hand fell from her cheek. "I need crafting paper..."
Skye chuckled. "Okay, that's it, time to go back."
She moved to stand but then hesitated and turned back towards him. Her eyebrows drew together in deep concentration as if she was considering her next move very carefully like he imagined she did in the chess games with his father.
"Since you won't remember this tomorrow thanks to Boylan's high-percentage eggnog and because you gave me a compliment, I guess the polite thing is to give you one in return." She reached out cautiously to let her fingers run through his messy hair and then cupped his stubbled cheek. He leaned into the soft caress, not wanting it to end. She held his gaze. "You have very beautiful eyes."
"I know. I get that a lot."
She rolled her eyes, huffed a breath but didn't seem angry and didn't pull her hand away either. Her thrumb brushed his cheekbone in circling motions, raising goosebumps on his skin.
"People say I have my father's eyes," Lucas added in order to make the moment last longer. Maybe if they kept talking she wouldn't remember they were about to leave. Maybe he could still get that kiss he desired. Her lips were so close, merely a breath away.
"No, yours look more crazy." He stared blankly at her unblinking. "I mean not like crazy crazy, but you have this really intense look like you want to know how things work, pick them apart until you know every single detail. Yes, exactly, that look."
They both fell silent and once more looked deep in each other's eyes waiting for the other's next move. Lucas craned his neck towards her... Without warning she removed her hand from his face, breaking the spell quite abruptly and flipped a finger against his forehead with a smirk. "Okay, time to go, genius. It's getting late and I'm freezing."
She helped him get up and steadied his feet by putting one arm around his waist as they walked to her car. She drove him back to the hospital. Since Lucas never intented to stay overnight he never bothered to get a hotel room. When Skye suggested to take him to Taylor's house for the night he kept complaining until she reconsidered and took him to the hospital instead. Despite visiting hours being over he was allowed to stay at his father's room as long as he didn't bother the patient. He was much too tired and his mind much too foggy from the alcohol to fight anyway.
He dropped into the chair next to the bed, making himself more or less comfortable, eyelids half-closed. He was on the verge of falling alseep. Vagually he heard voices which he recognized as Skye's and his father's as they exchanged soft words too low for him to catch. Sleep took over quickly, filling his head with dreams of Skye and fake mistletoes, of his father and time traveling reindeers and half-buried memories of the joyful Christmas festivities of his childhood when he still able to belief...
When he woke up in the morning it was still early, the sky pitchblack against the window glass, much darker than what he'd grown used to in Chicago. The deep rumbling sound of his father's snoring caught him off guard. He never knew for the old man to sleep past 5 o'clock, but the heart attack and surgery must be taking a bigger toll on him than the Commander let on. Lucas stared at the sleeping figure, marveling at the peaceful look on his father's face. Like this, he didn't look like the highly decorated but emotionally distant war hero he grew up with, he just looked human. For a fleeting moment he wondered...
No, he shook his head to get rid of the thoughts that tried to sneak into his head, trying to send a message of false hope. Even if both of them changed, even if they tried, their relationship could never be like it used to be before his mother's death and the next fallout would be inevitable. Must be just the season making him nostalgic.
Lucas used the opportunity to slip out of the room without having to face his father awake. There was no reason to stay or say goodbye. He didn't die. He would recover. They both could go back to living separate lives.
He considered to go say goodbye to Skye as he crossed the parking lot towards his car, his restless fingers fidgeting with his car keys, puffs of breath visible in the frosty morning air, but there was no point in facing her either, was there? Yesterday was a blurry mess in his head and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember anything after getting drunk on that godawful eggnog beyond disjointed vague images that all seemed to revolve around her, the overhwelming sensation to wanting to kiss her and for some reason he really couldn't explain... a time traveling sleigh. Yet, he was sure she would probably be just as happy as his father to see him gone.
On the long lonely drive back to Chicago his mind was even more in turmoil and wouldn't shut up. When he arrived at his apparment complex he couldn't get the resistant thoughts out of his head. About his dad, about Santa Clause, but most of all about Skye.
It was her fault! She placed the idea there!
He never knew someone who could get under his skin so easily, worming their way into his every thought the way she had in such a short amount of time, making him angry and annoyed and laughing at the same time, and making him experience all those warm fuzzy feelings he spend years detaching himself from.
He wanted to scream and punch something to vent his frustration, to make his mind stop obsessing over something he shouldn't, couldn't have. Instead he sat down and started to type furious on the keyboard of his computer. He typed and typed like his life depened on it – or at the very least his sanity, with a burning fervor matching the one he felt when completing his doctor's degree.
The next day, after a really long sleepless night, he found himself on his way back to Terra Nova. And once again he found himself standing in his father's awfully jolly hospital room. His thick white eyebrows shot up as Lucas entered and for one second he thought to see a glimmer of mirth cross his features. Like he was happy to see him again...
„I thought you left."
„I did."
"I didn't think you would come back."
"It wasn't my plan."
Lucas shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. His eyes darted across the room, not focusing on anything in particular before settling on his father's face. He took a deep breath. "But I need to do someting here and..." He searched for the right words under his father's penetrating stare. "Why am I still on your list as emergency contact?" Lucas asked.
"You're my son. No matter what's happening between us. No matter how much you want to fight and deny it. You will always be my son."
Lucas let the words sink in, turning them over in his head, then he sighed and rubbed the tiredness from his face. He started to talk before he could change his mind again. "Look, this is not magically fixing everything. It not going to change everything that happened and it's not suddenly going to be fine just because you had a heart attack and because it's Christmas and I met a girl, but for what it's worth ... I didn't wish you dead when I came here and I'm glad you're going to be fine."
It wasn't much but it was more than he had been willing to admit before returning to Terra Nova. It was a start…
His father stared at him, his dilated pupils gleaming with moisture under the artifical hospital light and Lucas couldn't help but note that maybe he did have a twinkle in his eyes…
"Thank you, son. Maybe this should be our New Year's resolution. To work on both our emotional shortcomings." For once his father smiled which turned into a new frown. "Wait, you met a girl? When did that happen? Did you ditch Skye for another woman when you were supposed to help her?"
Lucas rolled his eyes, feeling slightly annoyed at his father's patronizing attitude, but not as much as he would have thought. Not enough to make him want to run back to Chicago.
"I didn't. She's the girl, dad."
Dad...
The word just slipped from his tongue and they both looked straddled for a moment.
His father stared at him, lost for words, but the slight increase in the beeping of the heart monitor elucidated the feelings his father couldn't express with words. There was a faint smile tugging at his lips and Lucas's shoulders relaxed and for a moment the world seemed peaceful and it was just a father and his son understanding each other for the first time in a really long while... And then his father seemed to remember what Lucas just admitted.
"Skye?" he growled, his eyes narrowing threateningly. "No way!"
Lucas igrnored his protest, a sly grin slowly spreading on his face. "I have to go now."
„Lucas, I'm warning you!"
"I'll be back later."
"You stay away from her, boy!"
"Maybe we can even play some chess."
"Skye's too young and a good person and you're not going to corrupt her with your aloofness!"
Lucas just kept grinning, exhilarated by his father's growing annoyance. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't mention Skye, you must be hearing things. I better tell Doctor Shannon to check on you." He retreated backwards towards the door.
His father bellowed after him and he looked like he was about to jump out of the hospital bed if it wasn't for his still weakened physical condition and all the tubes attached to his body.
"LUCAS!"
"I can't hear you."
He grinned even wider as he exited the room. Hearing his father shouting after him put a new swagger in his steps as he left the hospital and headed towards his old home. Even if they were going to be on better terms from now on he would never not get a kick out of pushing his father's buttons.
His father's house was just as overdone with Christmas decoration as his hospital room, making it look like it was dropped right out of one of those Hallmark movies, which surely was Skye's doing. Where did she get all these decorations from? Did she rob the North Pole?
Seeing his old childhood home rise before him brought back a bunch of memories - memories of old Christmas traditions, a splendidly decorated tree, his mother at the piano singing carols. His chest contracted painfully, but he hastily shook off the crippling remorse for his lost youth.
Other than that the exterior of the house had not changed much from the one he remembered. The same driveway, the same porch, new shutters...
Expecting to find Skye here, he stepped up the driveway, careful not to slip on the muddy remains of what used to be snow and knocked at the front door, shifting the stack of loose papers in his hands, wondering why he didn't bother to bind them together to make them look more presentable. The door was openend a moment later with Skye looking at him in obvious surprise. Immediately he was struck by her captivating beauty again. She looked just as lovely as the previous day despite the ridiculous Christmas sweater she was wearing under a matching cardigan and he couldn't help staring.
„Lucas? What are you doing here? I thought you left." She folded her arms in front of her chest. Her eyes fleetingly scanned the driveway almost like she was expecting someone else. Maybe the boy from the market. Maybe he'd read all the signs wrong and was about to make the biggest fool out of himself. He felt like kicking himself.
"Is something wrong with your dad?" The concern in her voice drew him back from his thoughts.
"No, it's fine. He's fine," he assured her, Skye shivered and she pulled the cardigan tighter around her body as she waited for him to continue. He took a breath. The air tasted of snow, a vague promise of a white Christmas. "I have something for you."
„You have something for me?"
He nodded and handed her the stack of papers he was carrying. Hesitantly she accepted the pages. Her eyes cast downward, long lashes grazing her cheeks as she read the title on the cover. Lucas stiffened as he watched her flipping through the pages.
„That is over 100 pages..."
He nodded in agreement. He felt his neck heat up and rubbed it awkwardly before shoving his hands into the pocket of his pants because he didn't know what else to do with them.
„You wrote a dissertation of 100 pages regarding the quantum physically correlation of Santa Claus and time travel in one night?" Her eyes snapped up to his, confusion growing on her face. She looked at him like he'd lost his mind and maybe he had. He'd just started to reconcile with his father and now he was standing in front of a girl he barely knew trying to impress her with the most ridiculous treatise in the history of science!
He was definitely losing his mind!
„Well, you put this idea in my head. You called me Santa's most important helper and all that talk about time travel. Is that what you do? Worm your way into people's heads like a parasite until they can't get you out again?"
„Excuse me, like what?" Her eyebrows drew together and her hands clutched the pages tightly, wrinkling the paper at their edges.
He shook his head in frustration at the shortcoming of his own words, his unsteady hands buried deep in the pockets of his pants. If only there was an equation to describe his feelings, then this wouldn't be so hard. "No, that's not what I mean. I just had to write it down because you said it."
„That was Zoe."
„But she is not the one I can't stop thinking about kissing," he said, venting his frustration with an excessive sigh, flapping his useless hands around. "I can't explain it without you thinking I'm crazy. And maybe I am because I just talked with my dad almost like normal human beings which we haven't done in years and I'm trying to make sense of what happened the last two days. I can't remember what happened at the market but I know something happened. Or almost happened. And I-" He trailed off. A chuckle escaped his lips and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what I'm talking about. Maybe it's still the eggnog messing up my system."
Skye looked down at the stack of paper in her hands, slowly flipping through the pages once more. "I don't think I understand any of this, but it looks like you've given this a lot of thought."
"I have given you a lot of thought," he emphasized because there was no use in hiding the truth which he started to realize while writing everything down like an obsessed maniac – in the short span of their meeting she got under his skin without even trying. Dangerously close to that part of his heart he usually kept locked away. He refused to call it love at first sight though because he was far too intelligent to believe in such thing.
She looked up to study his face, said nothing for a long tension filled minute as he studied hers in return, looking for clues of what she was thinking, leaving him wondering if she would send him away believing him to be crazy,
"Mistletoe", she said then. Just one simple word. He frowned in confusion. Her eyes turned upwards. He followed her gaze and noticed the small branch hanging from the doorframe above their heads. A real one this time.
She leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, tilting her head in a way it seemed familiar to Lucas, like she did it before but he couldn't put his finger on where or when.
"Like I said at the school," Skye said, her voice very soft and her gaze lingering on his lips before casting her eyes down to her shoes shyly, "it would have to be a real one to count."
She looked up again. Their eyes met. A heartbeat passed.
That was all the invitation he needed.
He stepped closer and then, in an instant Lucas leaned down to capture her lips. It wasn't a chaste peck on the lips but a real, deeply craving kiss tasting of a longing for something he'd been missing out on for far too long. Letting his tongue slip past her lips. Deep. Hungry. Lavishly. Starving for more. With soft moans and dancing tongues, he pulled her closer and wrapped her in his embrace with no intention of letting go anytime soon, vaguely noticing the papers slipping from Skye's hands floating off in the wind as she hooked her arms around his neck, holding on to him.
Maybe this Christmas wasn't going to be so bad after all if he kept finding himself under mistletoes with the girl in his arms.
The end
Note: I took some inspiration for the title and Lucas's thesis from a little presentation I found on the internet: The Physics of Santa - by Susan Cartwright. But I'm not a physicist so I didn't go into details.