Sorry for the long wait. I had the idea for this chapter in my head but lacked the inspiration to actually sit down and write it. I think that's something we've all been suffering from, if the lack of Taylor/Wash fics is anything to go by I think all Terra Nova fans are stuck in limbo at the moment whilst we wait to find out what FOX has decided. If they renew it (fingers crossed) I think that will kick start us back into gear.

There she is. His father's favourite lapdog. His precious Wash.

Lucas Taylor can't help the sneering thoughts that enter his mind as soon as he walks into the tent and sees Alicia Washington.

She still has a slightly battered appearance even after months of recovery, and the chains that encircle her wrists and keep her anchored to the ground don't make her look any better. And yet she still has an aura of power and dignity that grates against his nerves.

Her deep brown orbs lock onto his ice blue ones and he can see clearly the mistrust and contempt in her eyes. It sends a frisson of pleasure through him. To be able to evoke such strong feelings in her is empowering, no matter what those feelings are.

He walks up to her casually and strokes his fingers across her left temple.

"How's the head, lieutenant?"

She jerks away from his touch and grimaces, ignoring his question. He chuckles.

"I'm just trying to be nice Wash. There's no need to be rude."

Inwardly, she flinches at the use of her nickname, but outwardly she acts as if he hasn't spoken and instead says, "Why didn't you kill me?"

He looks at her steadily for a moment and then replies, "I did consider it as the soldiers were bringing you to me. Killing you would deliver such a blow to dear old Dad. I had his precious Terra Nova. You would've been the icing on the cake.

But then I realised that there would be no fun in that. Once you were dead I could never use you against him again, and hurting him once just isn't enough. I want him to suffer for the rest of his life."

His voice is completely emotionless and she struggles to reconcile the young boy she remembers from so many years ago with the man before her who speaks of hurting his father so casually.

"If you had already decided not to kill me, why did you make everyone believe that you did? Why didn't you just imprison me?" She already knows the answer, but she wants to hear him say it.

He smiles and it makes her stomach roll. "Because I knew he was watching. I wanted him to believe you were dead, to believe that he had failed you just as he had failed my mother. Wanted him to see his oldest companion and dearest friend be executed by his own flesh and blood, and know that he was to blame.

I also knew that there was a chance, though very small, that he could regain control of the colony. If that were to happen, I would need an ace up my sleeve. And here you are."

He crouches until their eyes are level and once again lifts his hand, strokes her cheek.

"He believes you are dead, so he won't come looking for you. And that gives me time; time to figure out how to finish what I started. And more importantly, time to figure out what I'm going to do with you.

Maybe you can help me with that. Should I kill you now and leave your body at the gates? God that would gut him! To know that he had abandoned you once again, believing you dead whilst you had been alive and in my hands. To know that he could've saved you, but didn't.

Or maybe I'll torture you and deliver your broken body to him. So broken that you'll never recover. And every time he looks at you he'll remember how perfect you used to be and know that it was he who destroyed that perfection."

He doesn't smile at the horror that has crept into her gaze. Instead he runs his index finger across her lips and says almost absentmindedly, "No. No, that wouldn't do at all. It hurts so much more to have perfection right in front of you but out of your reach than to have it lost to you forever.

It would pain him to look at your beautiful face and know that the woman he knew, the woman he cared for, was gone. How would you feel about that Wash? You would be a vegetable. Your body unmarred but your mind completely gone.

I wonder; would he be compassionate enough to put you out of your misery? Or too selfish to let you go?"

Her brain screams in denial at the images that he paints with his poisonous words. She couldn't bear it if Nathaniel ever saw her like that. And Lucas knows it.

"Why, Lucas? Why are you so full of hate? Your father loves you so much." She has barely finished her sentence before he backhands her and she falls onto her side. Her head is ringing but she can still hear him.

"Love? Nathaniel Taylor doesn't understand love! He isn't capable of it! If he was he never would've let my mother die!"

He turns his back on her abruptly and storms out, leaving her lying on the ground, her entire body aching but her mind carrying only one thought.

Nathaniel.

I have to admit I have no idea where this fic is heading. I'm just going with the flow.

I would like to apologise for how short the chapters are. My writing stamina still needs to be built up. I would also like to thank everyone for their reviews. I may not reply to all of them, but I both read and appreciate every single one.