Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long, it's the longest chapter I've ever written. Enjoy!
Skye had been sitting in the backseat of the rover for what felt like hours. Lucas had left a few Sixers behind in case Taylor decided to come back, leaving Skye with no way to warn Taylor seeing as the chip only worked one way. She was left with no choice but to stare at the roof of the rover, wondering if they had gotten away.
Rogers, the Sixer from the Brig, peered into the rover suspiciously every now and then, as if Skye was going to disappear at any second. Skye glared back, getting impatient. "So are we going back any time soon?"
Rogers looked back at Skye for a few moments before turning around and walking away from the rover. Skye groaned, hitting her head against the seat. Suddenly, the Sixers outside began to bristle. Skye looked up to see Lucas headed for his rover, looking a lot like a raging bull. Skye pressed her lips together, preparing for the worst.
"Where did they go?" growled Lucas, grabbing a fistful of Skye's shirt. She raised an eyebrow and looked down at his fist pointedly. Lucas tightened his grip, his knuckles dangerously close to Skye's jugular. "I said, where did they go?"
"For the last time," said Skye, attempting to loosen Lucas's grip. "I have no idea where they are."
"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Lucas punched the seat beside Skye, making her jump. He furrowed his brows at her fear, taking his hand off her shirt. "I'm not playing, Bucket. Where are they?"
"I. Don't. Know," enunciated Skye, narrowing her eyes. She felt the chip fizz slightly in her ear, as though it was laughing at her blatant lie. Lucas turned around again, slamming the rover door. She could hear his temper tantrum through the thick walls of the rover, and she almost snickered at how temperamental he was. Skye knew how easily he could get the answer out of her, but for some reason Lucas refused to resort to violence.
The rover door opened again, and Lucas got into the driver seat with the same Sixer that rode with him before. The rover whirred to life and took off into the darkness in silence. Skye watched the back of Lucas's head, trying to figure him out. It was going to be hard to pretend that she liked him when he made her feel so awkward. It wasn't that Lucas wasn't attractive; he had a rugged, Tarzan-like appeal to him that couldn't be looked over. But the fact that he hadn't interacted with humans for five years put him off completely. He didn't know how to deal with humanity, leaving him cruel and heartless. Well, almost heartless. Skye didn't know why Lucas had taken a liking to her; she wasn't the prettiest girl in Terra Nova, or the most intelligent. She was actually quite stubborn and hard to deal with, a lot like Lucas himself. But then again, wasn't it opposites that attracted?
The rover pulled into Terra Nova, grunting to a stop in front of Commander Taylor's old fort. Skye looked around, surprised that they were back so quickly. The Sixer jumped out of the rover, possibly to report to Mira, leaving Skye alone in the rover with Lucas. Lucas turned around to face her, his eyes travelling from her tied hands to her irritated expression. His mouth tilted into an arrogant smirk, earning a glare from Skye. He got out of his seat and into the back, leaning over Skye to untie her hands.
"Skye!"
Skye peered past Lucas to see Dr. Shannon running over to the rover. She cursed under her breath; Dr. Shannon didn't know that Lucas hadn't figured out that she lied about her injury. Lucas turned around, looking slightly amused. "So, you helped her on, Doc?"
Dr. Shannon looked slightly confused for a few seconds, but recovered rapidly. "Yes. Yes I did."
Lucas stepped out of the rover, leaving Skye to untie the rest of the ropes herself. He stopped a few inches in front of Dr. Shannon, glaring down at her. "And why would you do that?"
"B-because she's injured, and it's my job to help her get where she needs to get."
"Not if that place is dangerous," growled Lucas, his eyes narrowing. Dr. Shannon pursed her lips, staying right where she was. Lucas turned around to lift Skye off the seat, but Dr. Shannon intervened.
"I can take her inside," said Dr. Shannon, her eyes meeting Skye's. Lucas turned back around to shoot Dr. Shannon the dirtiest look he could muster.
"You can head back to your cabin, where you should be," retorted Lucas, pulling Skye up off the seat. "You wouldn't want to abandon your family, especially since your husband already did."
Skye dug into Lucas's side with her elbow, making him flinch. She looked up at him angelically. "Sorry."
Dr. Shannon watched Lucas warily for a moment before turning to Skye. "I'll meet you back at the center. We're going to have to get you checked again."
Dr. Shannon stalked off towards the medic center, leaving Skye with Lucas once again. Lucas began to follow Dr. Shannon, purposely walking slowly. "That Doc is really starting to get on my nerves."
"Funny, I know a lot of people who'd say the same about you," muttered Skye. Lucas looked down at Skye, raising an eyebrow.
"You're lucky that I care about you, sister. Or you would have been Sixer bait a long time ago."
Skye rolled her eyes, leaning her head back. She hadn't realized how tired she was until she was on her way to bed. Lucas pushed the door to the medic center open with his elbow, and Skye's eyes shot open.
"The door's fixed?" Skye looked back at the door, which had been replaced. Lucas nodded absentmindedly, putting her down when they reached her bed. Skye leaned back against the pillow as soon as she was comfortable, closing her eyes.
"Don't try anything funny, Bucket," warned Lucas, pulling the blanket around Skye's body. "Leroy here is going to be watching you very closely."
Skye's eyes shot open again. Sure enough, a Sixer was standing at the front of the medic center, watching Skye like a hawk. Lucas smirked and turned around to leave. As he exited the center, Dr. Shannon came out from the back room.
"Skye, are you alri – " Dr. Shannon paused when Skye looked pointedly behind her. She turned around to meet the Sixer's suspicious eyes, and she frowned. "Do you mind? I'm going to have to do a full check."
"I can't go anywhere," replied Leroy curtly, standing at attention. "Taylor's orders."
"Well I'm sure Lucas's orders don't involve invading personal space," snapped Dr. Shannon, gesturing towards the back room. Skye could hear the annoyance in her voice at Leroy calling Lucas 'Taylor'. "If you don't mind…"
The Sixer watched Skye and Dr. Shannon apprehensively for a few moments before retreating to the back room. Dr. Shannon leaned over Skye, Plex in hand. "How did it go?"
"I saw them," breathed Skye as quietly as she could. "And I think we have a plan."
Skye shot up in bed, adrenaline rushing through her veins. She cringed as daylight hit her face and brought her hands up to rub her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she found Lucas sitting on a stool beside her bed.
"Morning," said Lucas calmly, looking up to lock eyes with Skye. Skye furrowed her brows, confused.
"What're you doing here?" asked Skye, looking around for Dr. Shannon. To Skye's surprise, Dr. Shannon was standing behind Lucas looking unusually civil.
"Thought I'd see you before you get discharged," replied Lucas, leaning back slightly in his stool. Skye narrowed her eyes at his slight hostility. "Doctor Shannon let me in early today."
Skye raised an eyebrow and looked up at Dr. Shannon, who widened her eyes slightly to let Skye know that she was going along with the plan. The night before, Skye had managed to spit out her idea and the deal with the chip before falling asleep sitting up. Dr. Shannon's reaction had been similar to Josh's in the sense that she didn't think that it was safe, but she agreed that it was Skye's choice. Skye, however, didn't remember it being a part of the plan for Dr. Shannon to get all buddy-buddy with Lucas.
"Since we did the emergency surgery overnight, you're free to go in a few minutes," said Dr. Shannon. Skye looked from Lucas to Dr. Shannon for a moment before catching on.
"Oh, right. The surgery," said Skye lamely, looking down so that her eyes wouldn't give her away.
"Dr. Shannon? Can you have a look at this?"
Dr. Shannon jumped slightly and bustled off towards the back room in the direction of the voice. Skye pressed her lips together and looked up at Lucas, waiting for him to say something.
"So…" started Skye when Lucas stayed silent. "Did you have any luck with finding them?"
Lucas raised his eyebrows. "No. But Mira's going to scour the forest at noon today."
Skye tried to look indifferent, but it was hard not to scoff. There was no chance that Taylor had decided to stick around after the ambush the day before. 'At least they're safe', thought Skye.
"So who's going to take over until she comes back?" asked Skye, trying to prompt conversation. Lucas threw Skye a look as though accusing her of being stupid. Skye shook her head, turning slightly red. "That was a dumb question. You. Of course."
"Nervous, Bucket?" Lucas shot Skye a coy wink, sending tingles of embarrassment running through Skye's body.
"No," snapped Skye, sucking in her flaming cheeks. "Why would I be nervous?"
"You tell me, sister," Lucas moved closer to Skye, dabbing at his lower lip with his tongue. Skye tried not to look at Lucas's lips, but instead found herself lost in his hypnotic eyes. "I still don't believe that you would sneak into my rover while you were sick just to check up on me."
"Why is that so unbelievable?" asked Skye, crossing her legs under the covers. "I was just looking out for my dear brother."
Lucas shook his head, smiling slightly. "Well, I'm pretty sure we can leave now."
"We?"
"You didn't think you were walking home alone after being sick, did you, Bucket?" asked Lucas. Skye narrowed her eyes when she caught his tone. He was talking down to her, something she despised.
Dr. Shannon came out of the back room with her Plex. "Skye, you're free to go. Just… be careful."
Skye looked up to meet Dr. Shannon's eyes and saw the worry in them. Skye nodded reassuringly before letting Lucas usher her out of bed.
"Hey, Lucas?" started Skye meekly as she walked out of the medic center behind Lucas. She bit her lip at how foreign his name sounded coming out of her lips. Lucas looked over at her, intrigued. "I'm glad you dropped by. And… thanks for walking me home."
Lucas smirked, looking straight ahead again. "Very funny, Bucket."
Skye raised her eyebrows. "I wasn't… never mind."
They walked to Skye's cabin in silence, ignoring the looks they got from the other residents of Terra Nova. Skye looked down at the ground, wondering what they thought of the old Sixer spy walking around with Lucas Taylor himself.
"Here we are," muttered Lucas, halting to a stop in front of Skye's cabin. Skye opened her mouth to ask how Lucas knew where she lived, but closed it again as she thought of how he would respond.
Skye walked up the stairs of her porch, stopping before the front door. "Have fun being Commander."
Skye bit back a resentful 'for now', knowing that it wouldn't help her act much. Lucas shot Skye an arrogant smirk but didn't respond as he turned around to walk back. With a roll of her eyes, Skye pushed her front door open.
"Mom?" Skye shut the door behind her, peering into her house like a stranger. Deborah was nowhere to be seen, so Skye decided to go into the kitchen to grab something to eat. When she reached the counter, Skye found a note pinned down with a bright orange Terra Nova fruit.
Skye,
I'm so sorry that I'm not home right now. Elisabeth told me everything that has been going on, and I came to visit you this morning but you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you. I'll be back from work tonight, so we'll talk more then.
Love you lots,
Mom
Skye bit into the sweet fruit, setting the letter down on the counter. Her mother had been smart enough to not include any details on the note, in case the Sixers or Lucas decided to walk through. Skye set the fruit down and sighed. She didn't feel comfortable with Lucas being Commander. Imagining Lucas in Taylor's fort gave Skye an uneasy feeling, like putting pebbles in a golden chest.
Skye decided that showering was a good way to clear her head, so she pulled the chip out of her ear and stepped into the shower just like she had a day ago. As she washed the grime of the Brig and her brief trip to the forest out of her hair, Skye wondered what Lucas had done to the fort. Knowing him, he'd have a public burning of it like he wanted a public execution for Taylor, Shannon and Josh. A surge of curiosity ran through Skye's mind, prodding her to do some investigation. And as usual with Skye, the idea began to develop in her head.
By the time Skye had stepped out of the shower, she had already planned to go see if Lucas was at Taylor's fort. She quickly pulled on a lavender-colored t-shirt and a pair of cargo capris, half-dried her hair with a towel and sprinted out of her cabin.
Skye kept her head down as she wove between the cabins so that she wouldn't raise suspicion. When she arrived at the front of Terra Nova, Skye ducked behind one of the pillars of the fort. What was she going to say to him? He wouldn't believe that she was just visiting, seeing as she had seen him an hour ago.
"I guess I'll just wing it," muttered Skye, coming out from behind the pillar before she could change her mind. She strode around the fort, stepping onto the stairs that lead to it. There were about 5 Sixers lined up the stairs, and she was blocked before she could put another foot up.
"I'm going to see Lucas," informed Skye, crossing her arms and looking up confidently. The Sixer looked down at her, not amused.
"He's not in," replied the Sixer curtly, pushing Skye off the stairs. She stepped back up again, shooting the Sixer a look.
"Then I'll leave a note," Skye retorted, pushing past the Sixer and racing up the stairs. If Lucas wasn't in, that gave her the perfect chance to snoop around for Commander Taylor.
"Hey!" the Sixer grabbed the back of Skye's shirt and pulled her down again. The Sixer at the top of the stairs noticed, his eyes widening. Skye recognized him; it was Leroy, from the medic center.
"Wait," called Leroy, holding up a hand. He marched down the stairs, halting in front of Skye.
"I just wanted to leave a note," said Skye innocently. Leroy narrowed his eyes.
"You can leave the message with me," he responded, straightening slightly. Skye's mouth twisted into a smirk, identical to the ones she was so used to seeing on Lucas.
"It's not something I can… publicize," said Skye, stepping up again. She lowered her voice slightly until only Leroy could hear her. "If you know what I mean."
Leroy bristled slightly, and Skye bit back a laugh. "Fine. I'll escort you up."
Skye huffed. That wasn't part of her plan, but it was better than nothing. With a nod, Skye followed Leroy up the stairs to the fort she had been in so many times before. Leroy stood at the door, his arms crossed professionally.
Skye took her time walking towards the desk, wondering how she was going to look through Lucas's files without getting caught by Leroy. She walked behind the desk and saw Lucas's Plex lying on top of the chair. She picked it up abruptly, forgetting about Leroy for a second.
"Hey!" called Leroy, crossing the fort to the desk. Skye raised her hands, putting the Plex back down.
"Sorry, sorry," she muttered, her eyes searching the desk for anything important. "I couldn't find any paper."
Leroy sighed heavily. "Here, let me – "
Before Leroy could finish, a sound filled the fort, sending chills running down Skye's spine. It was a human cry, but it barely sounded like one. It sounded like a cross between a wounded animal and a drowning human, the kind of cry that pulled all the joy out of a person, a cry that would never leave Skye's ears.
"W-what the hell was that?" asked Skye, looking in the direction of the cry. It seemed to be coming from behind the door on the wall, echoing through the wood. Skye ran over to the door, trying to pull it open before Leroy caught up.
Before Skye could even touch the door, Leroy grabbed her and pulled her away from the back of the fort altogether. Skye fought back, scratching and growling at Leroy.
"Well, what do we have here?"
Both Skye and Leroy froze, looking towards the entrance. Lucas was leaning against the doorframe looking mildly amused. Skye's eyes narrowed at the same time that Leroy began to babble. "I tried to stop her, but she wanted to leave a note and then the – "
Lucas raised a hand, causing Leroy to stop mid-sentence. Lucas's eyes found Skye's, holding their gaze for what felt like decades. "You really want to know what's in there?"
Skye raised her eyebrows, questioning Lucas's sanity. "Yes!"
Lucas reached into the pocket of his army-green pants and pulled out a single key. He tossed it at Skye, who caught it mid-air. Lucas nodded towards the door, crossing his arms across his chest. "Then go."
Skye didn't hesitate before turning on her heel and marching towards the door. She shoved the key into the hole and thrust the door open, her eyes wide with anticipation.
What Skye found, however, was not what she expected. Her jaw dropped, along with the brass key she had been holding. "Holy sh…"
Author Again: Who - or what - do you guys think is behind that door? ;) Next chapter will be up on Saturday!