Author's Note: Set in the context of my other stories. The relationships are all established, the Sixers are re-integrated into the colony, and the Phoenix Group and Lucas are long gone. This is just a bit more with my OC from the past, Caroline.
This one got away from me, so a nice long chapter. Just a tiny (non-smutty) bit of sexytime at the end. There will be a short epilogue in the next few days. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine, just borrowing.
In the Cave
"Damn it, Alicia!" Carter yells. He's frustrated, but deep down he knows she did the right thing. Another huge piece of the ceiling falls near him, and he turns to look at Dunham and the doc, who both are in shock at what Alicia just did. "Move, you two, out the tunnel, double time." He hands Dunham a flashlight.
"But Carter," Elisabeth's shaky voice pipes up, "We can't just…" She stops talking and looks back towards the river.
Carter motions to Dunham to head out. The younger man does, scooting out through the tunnel as Carter gently takes Elisabeth's good arm and propels her out. He says quietly, "Doc, we have to go. We can't help them if we end up trapped in here. And if you have pain from your ribs, you and I both know we need to keep you as still as possible to avoid making it worse."
They emerge from the small tunnel and keep going, Elisabeth nodding and frowning in agreement. Carter looks back at the degrading tunnel, thinking, "If you die on us, Alicia, I'm going to kick your ass."
In the River
Alicia takes a deep breath as the current sweeps her under the cave wall, knowing she'll likely submerge a little when she goes through. She does, but the water itself doesn't touch the top of the cave, explaining why she could hear Nathaniel when she called out to him.
She surfaces moments later, coughing a little before she calls out to Nathaniel. She thinks she hears a response, but it's hard to tell over the echoes in the cave and the rushing water. She reaches out and puts her hand on the line connecting them, and she realizes that it's tight. Since he's downstream from her, it's easy enough to go with the current and pull herself along the rope, calling out to him as she goes. She still can't quite hear him, but she feels a pull on the rope, making her think he's pulling her to him.
After she gets through about ten feet of rope, she finally hears him responding clearly. "Alicia, keep coming, I can see you."
She realizes that she still has her helmet on and the light lit, and she's just grateful that the thing is water resistant. She tries to see ahead of her, and while she can't see him clearly, she can see a light. She remembers that he has a flashlight. He must have turned it on, telling her that he's managed to stop moving away from her.
With his help, she drags herself another twenty feet or so, but her energy is flagging under the current and the weight of her pack. Just when she starts thinking she may need to call to him to assist her with the pack, she feels a strong hand around her upper arm. Before she can say anything, she's lifted from the water, and she immediately helps him by scrambling up the rocks that her feet and fingers find.
He pulls her up next to him, perched on a relatively small ledge over the water. He silently helps her shrug out of her soaked pack and pull off her helmet and gloves, and then he drags her tight to him in a hug. "Damn it, Alicia, you should have gone with the others. Carter might've been able to…"
She shakes her head even as she presses her face into his neck. "The cave was collapsing. They would've wasted too much time trying to pull me up, and then maybe all five of us would be down here instead of just you and me," she pulls back and presses a quick, gentle kiss to his mouth, "And you know Carter would have kept trying, even if he got himself killed in the process."
Nathaniel presses his forehead to hers, holding her tight to him. "Touché."
She pulls back, and she gets a good look at his face in the soft light from his flashlight and the light of her helmet, which sits on the ledge next to them. Her fingers quickly ghost over the cuts and scrapes on his skin, her brow furrowing. He reaches up and takes her hands in his. "I'm OK. Elisabeth checked them all over. She was far and away the worst off of the three of us." She nods and links their fingers together. "Is the Bug…"
"She and Caroline are staying with Shannon and Zoe." She gives him a game smile. "Gracie was scared, but having Caroline helps."
"OK," he takes a deep breath and scans around the cave, "What do we do now?"
Alicia takes a look at the ledge, grabs her helmet and stands up carefully. Nathaniel rises next to her, and she feels his hand at her back. Using the light, she tries to find a path for them. Looking up and just slightly to their right, she can see a ledge running along the edge of the cave. She points. "Can you make that climb, Nathaniel?" It's only about ten or twelve feet up the wall.
He peers at it for a moment before nodding. "If you go first, and I can watch where you place your hands and feet."
"OK. It may not take us too far, but the longer we can stay out of the damned water, the happier I'll be." He gives her a funny look, and she shrugs. "That pack was damned heavy in the water, and I don't really care for being soggy."
With that, she leans down and opens the soaked bag. It's fairly waterproof, but the items on the outside edge are damp. When she burrows a little further, she finds a dry sports bra and a couple of dry t-shirts including one of his. She passes his shirt to him, and he grunts a thank you. They both change quickly, and she has to roll her eyes at the fact that he stops and watches when she swaps her wet bra for the dry one. "Really, Nathaniel?"
"Still a guy, Lieutenant." He gives her a leer as she laughs and shakes her head.
After pulling the stretched and slightly damaged lines from both of their harnesses, she runs a new one to connect them. She then ties a second line to her belt. At his raised eyebrow, she says, "I can climb better without the pack – when I get up there, I'll drop the end of this one back to you, and you can tie it to the packs so I can haul them up. I'm also going to send you my helmet for the climb."
"Good idea," he nods.
She pulls her gloves back on and straps on her helmet. She studies the rock face for a few moments, and then she reaches out for the easiest handhold she can see. She moves up the wall slowly and methodically, making sure to give Nathaniel, who is shining his light up on her from below, can track her moves.
Even going slow, it's a short climb. When she's safely on the new ledge, she uses her light to peer along the ledge. It's several feet wide, and it runs well into the darkness parallel with the flowing water. Satisfied that this is worth the effort, she unclips the second rope and the helmet. She ties the helmet to the end and threads the rest through her harness. Lowering it to Nathaniel, he removes the helmet and ties on the packs, adding the flashlight to the outside pocket of his.
"Good to go, Alicia!"
She nods and grunts a little as she hauls up the water-weighted packs. In moments, she has them on the ledge next to her. She scoots back from the edge and plants herself low on her knees, and she calls down to him. "OK, Nathaniel, come up. The rock is kind of soft and slippery. Just be careful."
"Yes ma'am." He calls back.
She feels movement on the rope, and though it takes him longer than it took her – and though it involves a little more scrambling and swearing – he joins her on the ledge. After giving him a moment to catch his breath, Alicia reaches for her pack.
He beats her to it – before she can get it, he gets it and swings it onto his own shoulders, handing her his smaller day pack instead along with her helmet. She starts to protest, but he holds up a hand to stop her. "Alicia, if we end up in the river again, you know I can manage the bigger pack more easily."
She scowls at him briefly before nodding begrudgingly and shrugs into his smaller pack. He reaches into it before she sets off, pulling out a canteen of water and offering it to her. She eyes it suspiciously, and he laughs. "It's filtered, from the outpost. Even I know to avoid dysentery, Alicia."
Taking a swallow from the canteen and then passing it back to him, she smirks. "I seem to recall an incident in Brazil that wouldn't bear that out."
He cringes. "Don't remind me. And how do you think I learned my lesson?"
She chuckles as he takes a drink and puts the water back in the pack she carries. Once she feels him zip it up, she tests the line between them and heads off, following the ledge in the direction of the flowing water. She can feel motion on the line behind her, and she knows Nathaniel is close but not so close that a slip would send them both tumbling.
She's happy when the ledge extends out longer than even she had hoped, continuing for at least a quarter of a mile. As they progress, she starts to hear static on her comm, and she reaches up to tap it on. "Carter? Come in?" It amazes her that the little comms continue to work after being dunked.
More static comes, but Alicia thinks she can hear a voice. She's hopeful that as they get closer to the surface that it might clear up. A moment later, Nathaniel asks, "Is yours still working? I lost mine when I fell."
She pauses, turning back to him. "Yes, and Carter got Malcolm to tinker with the signal to deal with the mineral deposits down here. That may be why you could hear me earlier but I couldn't hear you."
"I was wondering." He nods and then looks beyond her, shining the light. "Looks like we might be running out of ledge soon."
She turns towards the end, sighing. It's pretty distant, but she can see it too. "I know. But maybe we're closing in on a way out, even if we have to get wet again." She shifts in her still-squishy shoes and damp pants.
"Works for me. I'm ready to see the damned sun again." He scowls at the darkness surrounding them.
She reaches up and cups his cheek with her palm. "Not into spelunking, Commander?"
He rolls his eyes but turns his head to press a kiss to her hand. "Not really, Lieutenant. Enjoying the company, though. We don't get to be OTG together very much anymore. I kind of miss it."
That brings a soft smile to her face. "Me too. And of course it only happens when one of us is in trouble."
He laughs. "Yep." He brushes a piece of hair out of her eyes, tangled from its time in the water. "If we have to stay out Outpost Three tonight, maybe I can brush your hair for you."
Her smile widens at the memory that invokes, a day not long after she arrived and they got stuck in a cave during a torrential rain storm. "I'd like that. Now let's go. Hopefully Carter is tracking the river to the source from underground, and we can meet there."
She heads towards the end of the ledge, and he follows. "Six years ago, who would have believed that we'd be relying on Carter of all people to save us?"
She snorts. "Not me."
Just a few minutes later, they're to the end of their ledge. Alicia starts to speak, but then she notices something. She touches Nathaniel's arm. "Do you feel that?"
He looks puzzled for a moment before nodding. "A breeze."
She inhales deeply. "And the air smells a little fresher – not so damp."
Together, they move towards the edge, Nathaniel sweeping the light around. An idea hits Alicia. She reaches up and switches off her light. "Nathaniel, turn off the flashlight." Before he can ask why, she adds, "If there's light from outside, we may be missing it because of our lights."
"Good idea," he agrees, turning off his light.
They both blink a little in the inky darkness, but as Alicia's eyes adjust, she can see that where the river disappears under a low wall, the darkness is dissipated by a glow. "There!" she points towards the wall, "Under the wall to the right."
His head turns in that direction, and his hand grips her arm. "Good eye, Alicia." Now able to see a little in the darkness, she can see his face as he looks down at her. "Looks like we're getting wet again."
"I know. Crap." She sighs and taps her comm again, seeing if the proximity to the opening helps the signal at all. "Carter? You there?" Nathaniel turns his flashlight back on, pointing it at the ground to not blind them.
At first, Alicia just hears static, but then she hears Carter's voice somewhat clearly through the interference. "Wash? Wash, is that you?"
"In the flesh Carter. Are you near the source of the surface part of the river?" She grabs Nathaniel's free hand, smiling. "We'd really like to get the hell out of here, but I'd prefer to not get back in the water until we know someone is there to fish us out, someone other than a damned carno."
"We? Wash, is Taylor with you and OK?"
"He is. We're soggy and cranky, but otherwise fine." She hears chatter in the background, she assumes him confirming to others that they're all right. "Carter, what's your location?"
"Sorry, Wash; we just got to the river bank at the source. I can see where the water's coming out. If you are where I think you are, it's a small waterfall where the river comes out. Maybe ten feet across and a fifteen foot drop. From what we can see, the water looks deep and no obstacles. May be a bumpy ride, though."
"Oh yippee," she deadpans. "We'll probably send a pack down first to see if we're in the right place, Carter. Stand by."
"Standing by."
She looks up at Nathaniel, and he nods. They're going to send his smaller pack down. They leave a few heavy items in the bottom, but they transfer his water, food, and space blanket to her pack. He puts it on a line to try to guide it towards the light they saw, lowers it into the rushing water, and lets it go. She taps her comm again. "Coming to you Carter. Let me know when you see it."
They want to know how far it is to the surface. Luckily, it's only about fifteen seconds later when she hears Carter whoop over the comm. "We see it, Wash!"
She breathes a sigh of relief and looks up at Nathaniel again. "It's through."
He grins, and he holds out his hand for her comm. "You first, Alicia." She frowns and starts to argue, but he just holds up his hand. "You first. I'll make it an order if I have to, Lieutenant."
Huffing out a breath in frustration, she nods and passes him the comm. She also hands him her helmet to either wear or attach to her pack, which she knows he'll bring down with him. She pulls the line between them, hating that she has to completely disconnect from him but knowing that they don't have a line long enough to stay connected safely. Loose lines could also tangle in the water and drag one or both of them under.
She leans up and presses a firm kiss to his lips. "Meet you at the bottom. You owe me a hair-brushing, Commander."
He hugs her close. "I intend to make good on that, Lieutenant," he pauses, his voice dropping and slightly vulnerable, "And I'm glad you stayed with me, Alicia."
She blinks, suddenly slightly emotional. He still has the ability to surprise her. She cups his cheek with her palm. "Always, Nathaniel." To lighten the moment, she smirks a little. "Except right now. Because, you know, you're making me go first."
He chuckles and puts her comm in his ear as she steps towards the edge. "Be careful, Alicia." He taps the comm. "Carter, Alicia is on her way to you."
At Carter's affirmative, he nods to Alicia, and she lowers herself into the river, much higher and closer to their ledge here. The cold water makes her gasp, and she's quickly caught in the current. She swims with the current towards the light and turns herself to go down feet first. Seconds later, she takes a deep breath as she goes under the wall.
She emerges from under the wall and surfaces, and the water moves even faster. She keeps her arms tight to her body, and after a few seconds, she feels herself dropping. She tries to stay feet first and relaxed as she plunges downward and lands in the cold, deep river below with a splash. She kicks hard to propel herself up to the surface, coming up this time in the fading light of day. She coughs a few times and swims towards her people standing on the shore as she hears Carter call to Nathaniel that she's through.
Carter helps her from the water, and she turns to watch the falls. A moment later, she seems him drop into the river as she had, surfacing quickly and swimming to them. She's actually surprised to see him still moving so well. He may try to hide it from the others, but she's sure that he's exhausted and sore. It's been a long day, and his started pretty rough.
But he's grinning when she and Carter meet him at the shore. Carter takes the pack from him, and Nathaniel wraps Alicia up in a hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She shivers a little when he leans down and tells her to get her hairbrush ready. She can't help but wonder how such an innocent statement can sound so decidedly less-than-innocent.
She pushes him away with a laugh, and he grins again, squeezing water from his t-shirt and flicking it at her. Alicia whips her ponytail in his direction, flinging water back. Carter just walks towards the rover with the packs, shaking his head. Alicia chuckles when she notices the two newer members of security Carter has with him, watching her and Nathaniel with a mix of awe and confusion (apparently seeing their two commanding officers soaking wet and teasing each other has blown their minds, at least judging by the looks on their faces).
She sees a rover and a rhino sitting nearby, and a couple more soldiers are standing guard, watching for predators. She's sure they have the rhino with them in case she and Nathaniel were injured, but they're not, so she heads for the rover and climbs in the back. Nathaniel follows her, barking at Carter that he can drive them to the outpost, and then he climbs into the back of the rover with Alicia. She immediately curls into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He wraps an arm around her as they listen to Carter tell the soldiers what to do.
She feels his body grow still and heavy, and she realizes that he fell asleep almost instantly upon relaxing. When Carter tosses their packs in the front passenger seat and then climbs into the driver's seat, he turns to look at them. His eyes widen when they land on Nathaniel. She holds up and indicates not to say anything. She whispers, "Long day." Carter nods and smiles before turning and powering up the rover.
Darkness falls as they pull up to Outpost 3. Alicia sighs. They'd lost track of time in the cave, but she's still disappointed that they won't head back to the colony until the morning. Carter gets out and stretches, grabbing the packs. "Wash," he offers quietly, "I'll have Reilly pull some of your clothes out of this and get them dried."
She thanks him with a weary nod and a smile, and then she moves her hand to Nathaniel's chest. "Nathaniel?" She nudges him. "Nathaniel? Wake up, we're to the outpost."
He starts, jumping slightly and blinking his eyes. "What, we're already back?"
She smiles, pulling back from him. "Yes. You pretty much fell asleep the moment you sat down. Come on. Let's go call Gracie and Caroline to say goodnight, grab a hot shower, and go to bed."
She climbs out, and he follows her, grabbing her hand as they walk inside. Carter is waiting for them. "I kicked myself and Malcolm out of the room we bunked in with you last night, Taylor. I also put your pack in there, Wash, and Reilly has some of your clothes drying out for tomorrow – she left you some sweatpants for tonight. Communications is set up for you two to call the girls, and Reilly and Dunham almost have dinner ready for everyone. I told everyone to keep the one private bathroom clear for the next hour, figuring you both probably want to get cleaned up."
They both smile their thanks. Alicia says, "Thanks, Carter, for everything."
Nathaniel nods. "It's much appreciated, Carter. Can you ask Reilly to just dump some water and a plate for each of us in our room. We're probably not going to be up for company later. I'm dead on my feet, and I think this one," he indicates Alicia, "Is too."
"Will do." He grins at them both and heads to the kitchen.
They turn and go to communications, where they call the colony. Shannon must have kicked out the soldier on duty there, as he answers their call, flipping on the video feed. "Man, you two both look like something the cat dragged in." He grins, but Alicia can see the gratitude in his eyes. He turns them towards Nathaniel. "Elisabeth said you and Dunham kept her from ending up in the river. Thank you, Taylor."
Alicia looks at Nathaniel. They haven't talked at all about what actually happened this morning. "It was nothing, Shannon. Where are Caroline and the Bug?"
"I just comm'ed Maddy. She's walking them over. Liz didn't tell me everything – what happened, Taylor?"
Alicia hasn't heard this either, so she's glad when Nathaniel brushes a hand through his hair and begins, "Malcolm insisted the ground was safe, and honestly, I think he thought it was. We'd hit some sinkholes last night, but they weren't significant. I should've asked someone to bring out the deep scanner last night, and I didn't. It's more my fault than his."
He looks hard at them both to underscore that point. "The ground felt soft but OK, but as the doc spotted some of her plants, the ground just sort of fell away under us." He takes a deep breath. "I heard Dunham and the doc yell, and as I turned back to look, the ground just dropped. I started sliding. Luckily, I landed near them on that ledge where you found us, Alicia."
"How did Elisabeth get injured, Nathaniel? In the initial fall?" Alicia looks at him.
He nods. "Yes. When I landed, Dunham was stretched out flat, leaning over the ledge. Elisabeth landed right at the edge of the ledge, her left side taking the brunt. According to Dunham, she was heading head first for the river when he grabbed a foot. He was literally clinging to her ankle and about to lose her when I got to them. I helped him pull her up."
"Shit." That's all Jim can say. He's gone pale.
Alicia tries to lighten things a little. "Well, looks like you two are even." When they both look at her in confusion, she smiles. "Shannon saved me on a mountain last year, you saved Liz today. All square again on the wife-saving front."
They both laugh at that, and then Gracie and Caroline arrive. Before Caroline or Shannon can say anything, Gracie looks at the video screen and, clearly noting their wet, bedraggled appearances, protests, "Mama, Daddy, you went swimmin' without Gracie? You pwomised we could go together soon!"
They all laugh at that, and the conversation is fairly uphill from there. Twenty minutes later, they're both drying out, but Alicia is suddenly feeling more than a little chilled. They emerge after saying their goodnights to Shannon and the girls, and they head to their room to collect dry clothes. After that, they head to the bathroom, and they both strip down, stepping under the hot water in the shower together.
He grabs the shampoo from her and works it into her hair for her, gently washing away the dirt and grime from the cave and the river. She does the same for him, and before she knows it, he has her back pressed against the wall of the shower, kissing her hard and deep. She's surprised that he has the energy for it, but she's more than willing when his hands trail down her body to lift her up and make love to her against the wall of the small shower stall.
When they finish and he lowers her back to the ground, her knees are weak. She can see that his burst of energy is fading, so they both rinse off again quickly. Once they get dried off, with hair still damp they head to their room. As promised, Nathaniel pulls her brush from her pack and tends to her hair for her, removing any remaining tangles and gently brushing it out.
After a quick dinner of the sandwiches and soup Reilly left for them, Alicia also makes Nathaniel down one of the anti-inflammatory pain pills she keeps in her med kit. They then douse the lights and curl up on one of the small beds in the room. He presses a kiss to her head, murmuring a "Love you, Alicia," before he is out.
She clings to him and whispers, "I love you too, Nathaniel," even though he's already asleep. As much as this day scared her, it ended well, and she doesn't generally ask for much more than that. She drifts off to sleep herself, relaxed and happy in the knowledge that all of her loved ones are safe and sound again.