A/N: Alright, it's taken a while but I hope y'all are still with me. This is a whole bunch of ficlets suggested by beloved reader Inkblood, who has quickly become a favorite of my dormouse. Mostly because she says hello to him a lot. He says hi back, of course, but since he's a dormouse it's more of a "squeak, squeak." Anyway, getting off topic. Inky dropped me a whole bunch of inspiring words: singing, dancing, French, movie-night (it counts as a word because I hyphenated it ;) and babies. So I'm writing a whole bunch of ficlets for it. Thanks to all the peeps who submitted prompts. I'm working on those too, I promise. Please keep 'em coming because I will try to publish every prompt I receive. I love you all. I'll love you more if you review!

PS—thinking of giving my dormouse a name…any suggestions? Leave 'em in the reviews OR check out my Twitter (at EbiPers) and weigh in over there!

PPS: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: Jason O'Mara announced via Twitter yesterday, and Jose Molina and Naomi Scott confirmed it-the deal with Netflix to renew Terra Nova has fallen through :( Netflix announced it could not reach an agreement with 20th Century Fox and the show may never see a second season. Jason O'Mara and Allison Miller have been signed to other film projects, as has Naomi Scott. Dean Geyer is making a bid to play Finnick Odair in the next Hunger Games movie, leaving the series cast broken up. There's still hope-other groups were also in talks to renew the series, but it's looking less and less likely. I'm very sad, but I promise I'll keep Terra Nova alive on this site with updates. Now, on to something less depressing: the actual stories!

Ficlet 1—

Prompt: Singing

Summary: What's more romantic than a moonlight serenade?

Five weeks. He had taken five weeks of guitar lessons from Josh all for this one moment. He tapped on the window of the room he knew she would be in—probably reading. She always read before going to sleep. She said it helped her relax. He paused briefly. What if she had gone out? What if she was at the lab? Or maybe she was out in the field? She went there sometimes if she was having trouble sleeping…

He didn't have to wait long to be put slightly at ease though, because he was soon greeted by flowing, dark locks hanging out of the window as she ducked her head to lean out. She peered at him for a moment, clearly surprised that he was there, and he faltered. He faltered for a brief moment and it was more than just a little awkward because it was just brown eyes meeting blue and neither one saying a word. So he did what he had been rehearsing over and over in his head. He pulled the guitar into a playing position, gently putting his fingers into the positions, and he began to strum a few, soft chords.

A smile—the most genuine smile he had ever seen on her—lit up her face as she gently rested her chin in her hand, listening to the soft melody. Nervously, afraid of screwing this whole thing up, he opened his mouth and he started to sing.

It's late in the evening. She's wondering what clothes to wear. She puts on her makeup and brushes her long, brown hair. And then she asks me 'do I look alright?' And I say yes, you look wonderful tonight…

When he finally stopped, cheeks heated, probably bright red, he set the guitar down.

"That was beautiful," she finally managed to pronounce. "That song…it was wonderful!"

He shrugged modestly. "Josh taught me to play it. Said it was a classic and that you'd like it."

"I do," she practically swooned. "Why didn't you tell me you could sing before?"

"Sorry," he apologized, approaching the window as she leaned out and then fell into his arms.

"I'll forgive you," she started, "on one condition."

"Anything," he replied quickly.

"You have to sing for me again!"

Ficlet 2—

Prompt: Dancing

Summary: Maddy wants to teach Mark how to dance…the waltz…

When she told him she wanted to teach him to dance, he didn't have this style of dancing in mind. He didn't expect her to know hip hop or anything, but this…this was a very old style of dance, a lost art. And he didn't feel terribly comfortable trying to dance it. He wasn't a good dancer, never was, never pretended to be. But she really wanted to show him, so he humored her. And silently prayed none of the guys from his unit would walk by at that exact moment.

"Just hold on to the back of my shoulder like this," she positioned his hand carefully. "And keep your back straight. Keep your feet a shoulder's width apart," she looked down to make sure he was following her instructions. "And then you're going to step out with the left and rotate to the right…"

He did his best to hold onto her, keep his back straight, and remember everything she was telling him. And after several hours worth of practicing he was pretty sure he got the hang of it. At least somewhat. They were moving with much more grace now, gliding across the floor of her family's porch. He lost track of where he was, just focusing on his footwork and on holding her closer to him. Her dark hair twirled with the wind.

"Look at Reynolds!" the amused cry sort of killed the moment. "He's…dancing!" Mark turned red as he faced Jenkins, who was jeering to Curran and Reilly. Curran tried to stifle a smirk and Reilly looked genuinely surprised.

"Hey!" Maddy suddenly raised her voice, a knowing smile crossing her lips. "Viennese Waltz is one of the most romantic styles of dance there is. Girls go crazy for a guy who can dance." She turned, placed a hand firmly on Mark's chest, and planted a heated kiss to his lips in front of all three soldiers to demonstrate what she meant.

He didn't look, but he was sure Jenkins' eyes were bulging from his head at this point. And just before the kiss took over all active parts of his brain, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could get used to this dancing thing more often.

Ficlet 3—

Prompt: French

Summary: French is the language of love. Of course Maddy would speak it. (I apologize to anyone who was expecting this to pertain to kissing…)

French is the language of love. Of course Maddy would speak it. She was fluent in Spanish, German, Italian and Mandarin Chinese, and she could hold a conversation in Arabic and Hindi too, but Mark didn't really care about those languages. French was the language of love. At least according to Skye. So he decided he should learn it. Maybe it would offer new ways for him to communicate his love for Maddy, and he knew that Commander Taylor was fluent. It took a lot of nerve to ask his CO to teach him French, but Taylor seemed pleasantly surprised by the request.

French was no easy language to master, especially not for Mark who had grown up speaking English and English alone. French words were hard to pronounce and more than once the Commander went into laughing fits at Mark's horrendous accent. But at the end of the day, he learned what he wanted to learn.

He waited until they were alone to try the well-rehearsed lines. It made him nervous as hell because he was pretty sure she would laugh hysterically at him, but he had to try. He was running out of ways to say 'I love you' in English.

"Maddy," he called her attention away from the blooms in the orchards. She looked at him with an inquisitive expression. "I…I wanted to say something to you…" he averted his eyes, fully aware of her curious, brown-eyed gaze. He scratched the back of his neck. "Je…je vous aimerai jusqu'a la fin des temps et au-dela…" he fumbled his way through the phrase. Commander Taylor had taught it to him, albeit with large amounts of snickering in between.

Maddy gasped. "I'll love you 'til the end of time and beyond," she translated. A dumbstruck grin spread over her face as she threw her arms around him. "Oh, Mark!"

Her reaction brought a smile to his face too, and he returned the embrace. Now, he needed to find a good Mandarin Chinese tutor...

Ficlet 4—

Prompt: Movie Night

Summary: Nothing beats a good ol'-fashioned film on a lazy Saturday evening.

Summertime is Maddy's favorite season. Summertime means warm weather, sunshine, and daylight until eight o'clock. Daylight at any time used to be a remarkable thing for Maddy, and coming to Terra Nova hadn't changed her sense of wonder for the little things. Most of all, summertime means more time with Mark because the soldiers work reduced shifts during the warm seasons to prevent too many cases of heatstroke and the like. Granted, Mark no longer got days off except for Sundays, but she'd take extended hours with him spread out across the week over seeing him every other day. She worked it out on a spreadsheet and she actually got more time with him under this arrangement.

Summer nights are Maddy's favorites. The crickets chirp loudly during the summer nights and the sky is crystal clear. Every star is visible and the air is warm, still, and humid so that her hair starts to curl. Mark says he prefers her hair like that, so she doesn't bother with straightening it.

This particular summer night, the two of them are on the back porch. Her mother replaced the windows with mesh screens at the beginning of May to keep insects (freakishly large ones, too!) out and let the enjoyable warmth in. She's clad in the pair of short shorts that make her dad cringe every time she goes out in them and she's leaning against Mark's side, a single Plex between them playing a movie.

Movie nights are an ancient tradition, or at least according to all of the books she's read. In 2149, cinemas are expensive, televisions more so. Aside from the public screens that constantly play the latest news, only the wealthy have these luxuries. But that didn't stop Maddy from downloading old films to her Plex. This particular one she had to coax Mark into watching, but the combination of a sinking ship, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and a tragic love story made Titanic absolutely irresistible for her hopelessly romantic heart.

They reach the climax of the film, with Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On softly playing and Maddy's bawling softly, turning her face into Mark's side, her tears flowing freely and darkening the material of his shirt. She's seen this movie three times before and this scene never fails to get to her. Even Mark looks affected by it. And Maddy knows, she just knows, that if they had been on board that fateful voyage, Mark would have done the exact same thing for her. She's grateful, though, that she doesn't have to worry about that. Because she's got him right beside her, and she's literally crying on his shoulder, and even though she's sad at what's happening in the film, she's just as glad that she's got the best film-companion ever, holding her gently in the summer night.

Ficlet 5—

Prompt: Babies (well this one ought to be fun…)

Summary: Mark and Maddy visit the Terra Nova daycare…

Maddy leaves home early that morning. She's always an early riser—she always had to be in order to beat Josh into the shower and have some hope of warm water—so it's no big deal for her to get up. But she never leaves home that early. Today is an exception. Mark has been posted at the daycare today. It's a really easy job compared to perimeter patrol but it can also be tiring, trying to keep track of the little ones. Taylor figured having a soldier nearby would give them a good example to follow, and now Mark's stuck trying to be a good example to these rowdy kids. Maddy promised to join him, so she heads there now to keep him company. She adores children anyway.

He greets her warmly, folds her into a tight hug, then escorts her into the nursery school with an arm around her shoulder. The children look up, initially paying the two no mind until a few of the boys spot Mark's sonic rifle. Then all bets are off and they're soon swarming him, peppering him with questions about life in the security forces. At the very least, Taylor will have two dozen willing candidates in another fifteen years…

Mark laughs, tries to answer the questions to the best of his abilities. Maddy spots a young girl struggling to balance several oddly-shaped blocks and construct a tower. She approaches, offers the child some advice, and soon the little girl has a massive and stable structure erected on the nursery school rug. After that, a good number of kids flock to her as well, and she does her best to help each of them build whatever their hearts desire.

When the teachers summon the young ones for snacks, they abandon their playthings and their guests and head for the tables, giving the two teenagers some time alone.

"You're great with kids," Mark notes, sitting in a comically undersized nursery school chair. Maddy sits in one beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"You aren't so bad yourself."

"What do you think our kids will look like?" he asks her after a reflective pause, observing the children. "I mean, you're the DNA expert here."

"Your eyes," she answers quickly, evidently having considered this question before herself. "Your eyes and my skin tone. At least one boy and one girl."

Mark smiles at how matter-of-factly she makes the statement. "Sounds like a plan."

A/N: Thanks, Inky! I hope you liked the ficlets, all of you! The song lyrics from the first ficlet are taken from Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton. I love Clapton. Anyway, Titanic was a suggestion of one of my friends as 'romantic, classic movie that everyone should see.' I confess I've never watched it myself but, having the mother that I have, I know the basics but I didn't touch on it too much, for fear I would get something wrong. The French used in ficlet three is straight off Google translate. I apologize if it is grammatically incorrect but Maddy's translation is essentially accurate. I hope. Anyway, please review. It'll make me, my dormouse (who still needs a name) and I'm sure Inky very happy. Thank you all and don't forget to prompt me! More updates will come soon, I promise :)

Also: Interesting tidbit about myself—the Mandarin Chinese thing is a hidden reference that some of you may get. I speak the language and would gladly tutor Mark in it if it meant more happy Maddy moments (and more fodder for writing). Just saying. Anyhow, that's not relevant. Just thought I'd share. Review. Prompt. Follow me on Twitter. That's all. Ebi has left the building.