Hey everyone! So unfortunately, this isn't a very exciting chapter. But it's building up to something preeetty exciting, so that's something to look forward to! Enjoy :)

Mira trudged through the forest, being as loud as she possibly could. She even coughed loudly a few times, stomping heavily over the fallen leaves. Mira shook her head slightly, smirking at how long it was taking Taylor to find her. She knew all along that something was up, from the moment she escaped Terra Nova. It had been easy – too easy. Mira knew that Taylor had planned her escape so he could follow her back to the Sixer camp, but she also knew how to throw him off. Even so, fifteen minutes was a bit of a delay for the great Nathanial Taylor. It looked like his age was finally catching up to him.

Suddenly, the whir of Sonics filled the air, and a smile spread across Mira's face. Taylor stepped out of the trees, his gun trained on Mira's head. Fifteen soldiers from the Terra Nova force, including Washington and Shannon, surrounded Mira from all sides. Taylor stepped into the circle, his icy blue eyes narrowing as he held the gun only inches away from Mira's head. "So you knew. About the plan."

"Of course I did," sneered Mira, folding her arms across her chest. She fought the urge to laugh out loud when she saw the slight disappointment in Taylor's eyes. "What's wrong? Is the great Nathanial Taylor losing his touch?"

"You wouldn't be here if he was," said Shannon, all eyes turning onto him. He looked down quickly, and Mira laughed aloud in spite of herself.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Mira retorted, turning her piercing eyes back to Taylor. "I've come to make a proposal."

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

Mira unfolded her arms and chewed on the inside of her mouth before speaking again. "I'm willing to give you the location of the Sixer camp – "

Taylor, Shannon and Wash looked at each other, eyes wide with anticipation and doubt at the same time. Mira looked at the three of them, eyebrows raised. "I didn't finish. I'll tell you where it is on the condition that you let the rest of the Sixers go."

"No," growled Taylor, clicking the trigger of his gun threateningly. Wash stepped out of the circle quickly, closing a hand around Taylor's wrist.

"Wait," whispered Wash, looking Taylor in the eyes. "We need the location of the camp, and the Sixers back at Terra Nova are a handful. This may be a win-win situation."

"She's right, Taylor," said Mira, folding her arms again. "The Sixers have all been trained. They won't tell you a word. I'm your last chance."

Taylor pressed his lips together, looking from Wash to Mira. His eyes travelled to meet Shannon's, who blinked back in agreement. With a defeated sigh, Taylor lowered his gun, bringing another smile to Mira's face.

"So you're telling me that Savannah managed to throw a tracker into the rover?" Skye tried to look up at Lucas from the bed as he checked the skin sealant on her head, and he pointed a finger threateningly at her to stop her. She heaved a sigh, resting her chin back onto the pillow.

"Yeah, she did," replied Lucas, running a gentle finger over the scar on Skye's head. "And she managed to secure the connection before I got back to the Sixer camp."

"Wow," Skye shook her head slightly, and Lucas growled disapprovingly as he applied a cream painkiller to Skye's scar. Rolling her eyes, Skye flipped over and wrapped her arms around her knees, earning a real glare from Lucas. She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to judge his expression. "Alright, what's wrong?"

Lucas looked up into her eyes, pressing his lips together. "What're you talking about?"

Skye raised an eyebrow doubtingly. "You've been depressed ever since we got back. Is this about Carter? Because I swear, nothing happened."

"No, that's not it," Lucas reached out and tucked Skye's hair behind her ear. "I…"

Skye waited for him to continue, but Lucas didn't finish his sentence. "Yeah?"

Lucas sighed, dropping his hand from Skye's face to hold her hand. "We can't keep doing this. Today was just an example. If you stay with me, you could get hurt, and I can't let that happen."

"What? You can't be serious?" Skye's mouth threatened to drop open at Lucas's nervous expression. "Lucas, today was just a kink. You can't expect every day I stay with you to be like that."

"But what if?" Lucas's voice was now exasperated, and Skye could see how much it was torturing him by his expression. "What if Mira comes back? What if she decides that she wants to kill you before I can get there?"

"I can take her," said Skye with a coy wink, earning a small smile from Lucas. "But seriously, Lucas. It's going to be okay. Stop worrying about it."

Skye reached out and took Lucas's face in her hands, kissing his lips lightly. He sighed and wrapped his arms around Skye's waist, giving up. Skye snuggled her head into his neck, playing with the buttons on his shirt as he stroked her hair. "I thought I lost you, Bucket."

Skye looked up to see the pure worry in Lucas's mesmerizing eyes, and she raised a hand to run her fingers through the hair at the back of his head. "You won't. I promise."

Lucas leaned down to kiss Skye, and she could feel the smile on his lips. Just as she shifted to sit on his lap, Skye felt pain pulse through her head. Swearing under her breath, Skye tried to keep her expression pain-free, but one look into her eyes told Lucas exactly what was going on.

"Migraine?" asked Lucas, reaching out to take Skye's face in his hands. She nodded mutely, letting Lucas pick her up and rest her down in a sleeping position on the bed. He bent over her, running his fingers lightly over her temples to reduce the pain.

"When are they going to stop?" muttered Skye, her eyes fluttering closed. They shot open again when she realized that what she said probably made Lucas feel ten times guiltier, and one look at his expression told her that she was right. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's okay," murmured Lucas, playing absentmindedly with Skye's hair. "I really am sorry about that."

"It's okay," replied Skye, attempting to sit up. Lucas placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back lightly. She wrinkled her nose, wanting to get up, but Lucas gave her a look that told her to stay put.

"Don't get up, it'll only be worse," said Lucas, biting at his lip. Skye patted the bed beside her, signaling for Lucas to lie down with her. When he didn't lie down right away, Skye grabbed his arm and pulled him down.

Lucas ended up only an inch away from Skye's face, and Skye reached up to press her lips against his. She grinned at how quickly Lucas responded, wrapping one hand around her neck and the other around her waist. Lucas finally rolled over to rest beside Skye, a lazy grin on his face. "You really have no idea what you do to me, Bucket."

Skye let her hands snake down Lucas's built torso, meeting his eyes to shoot him a coy wink. "Don't I?"

Skye laughed as Lucas's eyes fluttered closed, and she brought her hands back up to cup his face as she kissed him. Lucas propped himself up onto his arm, playing with Skye's hair with his other hand. Skye looked up at Lucas, her eyes narrowing slightly. "So, what were you doing today?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow, taking his hand out of Skye's hair. "Why so suspicious, Bucket?"

"Just asking," shrugged Skye, reaching out to fiddle with the buttons on Lucas's shirt. She looked up at him a few moments later, still waiting for an answer. He sighed, finally meeting Skye's eyes with his own.

"I was headed for Terra Nova," admitted Lucas, wincing slightly as Skye's eyes hardened. Skye sat up, ignoring Lucas's signals to lie back down.

"What?" Skye dropped her hand from the front of Lucas's shirt. "Why?"

She could see that Lucas was hesitating, and she folded her arms across her chest, raising her eyebrows to prod Lucas to continue. He exhaled heavily, reaching out to unfold Skye's arms. "We were just going to check things out."

"Check things out?" Skye raised an eyebrow skeptically, and Lucas raised his hands in defeat, telling her that he couldn't say any more. Skye exhaled heavily. "How did you get back to the Sixer camp that quickly? It can't be too close to Terra Nova."

"We caught the signal of Terra Nova rovers," replied Lucas, frowning. "We had to turn back. And I'm glad we did."

Skye looked up at Lucas, biting her lower lip. She wanted to hold his hand, to kiss him, but the idea that he might be trying to take Terra Nova was haunting her thoughts. After a few moments, Skye decided that there was only one way to solve the conflict. "Lucas? Can I ask you a question?"

Lucas nodded, a small smile on his lips at the formality of Skye's tone. Skye played with the hem of her shirt, biting at her lower lip. "Would you… consider forgiving your father? For me?"

When Lucas didn't respond, Skye looked up to see that his expression had gone hard. With a pang, Skye realized that it was the same expression that she had seen him wear for days before their trip to the meadow. He looked back at Skye, his eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted bitterly. "Apparently forgiveness is in his hands, not mine."

Skye bit back a retort, knowing that making Lucas angry wouldn't help. "But if it was? Would you?"

Lucas's expression softened, and his eyes revealed vulnerability that made Skye want to take back everything she had said. But Lucas reached out and took Skye's face in his hands, looking her in the eyes. "I love you, Skye Tate. And I will do anything for you."

Skye felt as though her heart had suddenly become a balloon, lifting her up. She wrapped her hands around Lucas's neck and took his lips between hers, kissing him passionately. Lucas didn't hesitate to snake his hands around Skye's waist, pulling her onto him. Skye pulled away from the kiss, fingering Lucas's shirt. "Can this come off, please?"

With a laugh, Lucas pulled his shirt off and reached out to tug Skye's. "As long as this does."

And before they knew it, they were repeating that morning all over again. Lucas clamped a hand over Skye's mouth as she climaxed, and she found herself laughing more than moaning at the ridiculousness of the situation. As they finished, lying in each other's arms, Skye sighed contently and rested her head on Lucas's shoulder. She was finally happy, and she was determined to hold on to that.

Ah, well happiness doesn't last, unfortunately ;) Till next time!