"Maddy," Mark whined, "I feel like an old man."

Three months of physical therapy had him walking, well hobbling, with a cane. She shook her head, "And I'll be your trophy wife." That made him and her mother laugh as she filled out his release form for him.

"What can I be, Daddy?" Licia asked from the small table, where she was drawing. Maddy walked over to her daughter and cupped her chin.

"The gardener," Maddy leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Because I play in the flower box with Aunt Zo's Dinosaurs?" The little girl asked as she wrinkle her nose. Dr. Shannon smiled widely and helped the seven months pregnant woman stand.

Hugging and waving goodbye, Maddy collected her husband and child, "Let's go home Mads." Mark limped next to his family on the path to their home.

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Lucas picked another bright bloom. It was pink with golden yellow flecks at the tips of the delicate petals. Perfect. He placed it carefully with the rest of the flowers he held. She would love theses he was sure of that.

"Sir, are you done picking flowers?" Rorac sighed, boredom clear in his voice. He had already thought of every excuse to get out of picking flowers for Maddy with Lucas. Of course, Lucas threatened to demote him several ranks.

"Yes actually, now we just have to wait a few hours for It to get dark and YOU can drive me to Terra Nova." Lucas snarled, but his grip on the flowers stayed gentle.

Climbing into the rover he smiled, "She loves flowers you know, and so does Licia." Rorac nodded and started up the vehicle, driving them towards the colony.

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Maddy stretched slowly, arms above her head, and back arching as much as it could with a child constricting her midsection. "Good morning, Beautiful." A soft, deep voice greeted from beside her.

She smiled and turned on her side to look at her husband, his eyes on her. "How are you?" She asked, reaching out and brushing her fingers around the stitches of his recent lung surgery.

He sighed and closed her eyes again as he turned his head to look at her. Half his face, half his body, was covered in purple burn scars, and he could barely open his right eye. Mark was still on bed rest, something he hated, and they often just laid in the bed together.

"Mark, you didn't answer my question," Moving her fingers to brush over the now un-bandaged burns. A visible shiver ran through him as his breath caught. "How are you today?"

"Hot and bothered, thank you Dear," he groaned while she began to rub gentle circles on his pectoral muscle.

"Well, I'm sorry, but those need to completely heal before we can try for another baby. Besides I still have to have this one." She grabbed his undamaged hand and pressed the palm to her large stomach.

"Damn it," A soft huff blew from his lips, "fine, then you can stop touching my burns, their too sensitive." Maddy sat up and pressed her lips to his, careful of his wounds.

"Knock, knock." Both Nathaniel and Nathaniel Jr. stood at the door, the smaller of the two was half asleep leaning heavily on his father's legs to keep from falling over.

"Commander, sir come in," Mark sat up with the help of his wife.

"Do you ever knock anymore?," Maddy rolled her eyes at the intruder's smirk.

"Just Nathaniel. I wanted to see how Mark's recovery is going." Lifting his son and striding in, he stopped at the edge of the bed.

"On the mend, Sir." Mark grimaced, knowing his disfigurement, and a little embarrassed since all that covered him were boxers and the sheets of his bed, clothes to painful to wear. The little boy suddenly sat straight up in his father's arms and looked at Mark.

"Are you a super hero?" He asked excitedly, wiggling to be placed on the floor.

"Uh…What?" Maddy was smiling, as Mark's brows rose. He winced when Nathaniel Jr. poked his burned shoulder.

"Mom said that lots of superheroes have scars and really cool fighting moves, and go around saving people." He said so quickly that it took a moment for them to register before he poked Mark again, his father's hand snapped out and gently enclosed the tiny palm.

The little blond head looked up at his father and asked what he did wrong. A silent exchange went on, that had the young couple smiling widely. For a moment everything was quiet. For a moment.

"PAPPY!" Alicia slammed into her grandfather's legs, almost throwing him off balance. "Are we going to the Orchards today?"

He laughed and petted her head, "A promise is a promise, Let's go, Grandma wants planty of apples for an apple pie."

"Wash actually lets you call her that?" Mark laughed as Alicia climbed into her parent's bed. She sat up and wrapped her small arms around her father's neck and kissed his cheek.

"Get better soon, Daddy. I will bring you back an apple."

"that's wonderful of you, sweetie," Maddy also took the offered hug for her, before letting Nathaniel take the child and his son out of the house.

Mark watched the door a little longer, before turning to Maddy as she folded baby clothes. Their eyes met, and he wiggled his eye brows.

Maddy covered her face as she laughed hard at the face he was giving her. "This is the real reason I married you."

He looked taken aback and she stopped laughing before starting again when he said loudly, "I thought it was because we have great sex."

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Alicia walked around the orchard, trying to find the perfect apple for her father.

"Licia," She looked around for the caller, hugging her pink coat to her tighter, "Licia, over here." Finding the direction of the voice, she ran to the fence, when she saw her Daddy.

"Daddy, I missed you." She slid through the bars and hugged Lucas. "Why do you have flowers?"

"For Mommy, will you give them to her for me?" She nodded and took the bouquet in her arms. "And a ribbon for my little girl." He tied the bright purple fabric around her pony tail, "And one last thing." He pressed a little box into the child's hands and helped her through the bars again.

Alicia turned back and smiled, "Bye, Daddy," running off to her mother, who came into view with a basket in her arms.

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Alicia Washington watched all the children in Miss Lizzie's Class, agreeing after seeing the poor girl sniffling and sneezing with twenty children running around her. At the moment they were in the orchard, picking out apples to take home. Other than the children she was surrounded by Orchard pickers.

"Hey Wash got room for two more." She recognized her boyfriends voice. Though she wouldn't openly call him that, there was no other title for him. Little Alicia and Nathaniel Jr hugged her legs.

"Hello, Grandma," Alicia said simply to the older woman and watched the older woman gawk.

"Why don't you go find that apple for your Dad?" Nathaniel said after he knelt down next to her. She nodded and ran off. When she did, Nathaniel peeked up at Wash, still gawking.

"Should I ask?"

"I'm supposed to do that." He grabbed her hand, pulled out a small box and readjusted his position so he was properly kneeling. "Alicia Washington will you-," interrupted by her lips working over his, he gladly gave into her.

"If you get anymore gooey and romantic, I might get sick." Pulling him to his feet and wrapping her arms tighter around him.

Nathaniel stood a few yards away watching his parents and the way his mother smiled when his father held up that gift for her.

He looked at the big red apple in his hands then up at Leah Marcos who talked with Zoe while she stood on her tip toes, trying to get an apple just feet above her.

Nathaniel jogged to her and wordlessly mimicked his father's movements. He was kneeling behind her and saw Zoe clap a hand over her mouth and point at him.

Leah whirled around and stared at him, a slow smile crossing her face, she took the offered apple and bit into it. Humming she grabbed his hand and grabbed him along with her as they walked through the trees.

A bone chilling scream rang out and Nathaniel Jr. watched his parents run towards the fence as orchard pickers made a circle around the kids and led them inside.

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"Mommy, Mommy," Alicia called out, dashing to her mother and handing her the flowers.

"These are gorgeous sweetie, where did you get them?" Maddy slowly squatted down to look her daughter in the eye.

"Daddy," She pulled the ribbon from her hair, "And he gave me this." Alicia showed Maddy the bright purple ribbon in her pony tail.

"Well I'll have to reward Daddy later today." She started to stand up when Alicia pressed a little box into her hand.

"Well Daddy always likes to surprise us, doesn't he? Where is he, by the way?"

"Mommy, he's over there." Her daughter pointed back at fence as Maddy followed the line of sight.

Lucas stood leaning against the fence bars and smiling at her, waving when he face twisted in horror.

Maddy stood up quickly and let out a scream, more out of pain. Muscles tightened before she felt a warm wetness between her legs.

"Oh, No,no,no,no,no," She chanted as she sank back down to the ground, "Oh, noooOOOOO!" Another shock hit her. She didn't know what was happening, since her contractions from Alicia's birth was nowhere near as painful as this.

Alicia started crying and backed up from her mother as the Commander and Wash reached them at full sprints.

"Maddy?" Wash grabbed her hand and paled as her own was crushed. Maddy just pointed towards the fence where Lucas had been, unable to talk without screaming in pain. The Commander grabbed his granddaughter and placed her on his hip.

"Nathaniel, she's bleeding." Wash stood and slowly pulled the distressed young mother to her feet.

"Take her to the infirmary. I'll inform Mark and drop off Licia." He said as Wash nodded and did what he said.

And there was a lot of blood.