Asdfghjk I can't believe this story's done! Well, not completely, I still have the epilogue to write and I'm considering that to be the last chapter, but you know what I mean! This has definitely been a journey for me! Deception is my very first Fanfiction, and it was pretty long!

I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited and alerted. You guys kept me going, even on those days when I just felt like giving up on this story because it was so damn long! I love you guys so much :')

Well, here it is! The chapter before the epilogue, so aka the last chapter. Enjoy! :)

Skye looked around at what looked like the majority of Terra Nova as they basked in the sunlight outside the fort. It looked like there had been no Terra Nova deaths, but there had been quite a few Sixer deaths, including Mira. Skye was now biting her lower lip nervously as she listened to Mark fill Maddy and Josh in about what had happened.

"And Mira's dead now," finished Mark, taking a deep breath after the sentence. His hand was clasped around Maddy's, who was clutching at him as though he would disappear if she looked away for a single second. Meanwhile, Josh's eyes were flitting from Skye to Lucas, daring Skye to try and explain. She pressed her lips together, looking down at the ground.

"Are you two alright?" asked Maddy, looking from Mark to Skye. Mark rolled his eyes and nodded, pulling Maddy closer to him. Skye nodded too, shooting Maddy a reassuring smile.

"I'm glad it's all over," said Skye quietly, looking up at the fort. Taylor was still inside with Shannon and Wash, having shooed Skye, Lucas and Rebecca moments after they cleared the bodies out. Skye's eyes travelled to the base of the fort, where Lucas was talking to Rebecca and Ethan, who Skye had met earlier.

Skye bit back a smile, thinking about Rebecca and Ethan's reunion. When Ethan first broke through the crowd to approach Rebecca, Skye was sure that Rebecca was going to burst into tears. Instead, Rebecca had attacked Ethan with her bare hands. It took Ethan, Lucas and Skye to calm her down before she finally let Ethan pull her into an embrace, burying his face into her hair.

When Ethan finally pulled away, the first thing Skye noticed was that slightly crazed look in his eyes. He reminded Skye of Lucas, except his eyes were a light brown instead of bright jade. Ethan was polite enough when being introduced to Skye by Lucas, but she could see in his eyes that all he wanted was to be with Rebecca. Skye could understand his feelings; if she had it her way, she would have pulled Lucas away right then and there.

Lucas looked up to meet Skye's gaze, and she felt her heart flutter as his eyes crinkled into a smile. Skye returned the smile, feeling her cheeks gradually getting used to happiness. She wanted to walk over to him, but she didn't have it in her to see Josh's reaction. Skye's eyes widened as Lucas gestured for her to come over, and she shook her head as discreetly as she could. Lucas's eyes narrowed playfully and he crooked his finger in Skye's direction, laughing at her flustered reaction.

"So."

Skye whirled around to find that Mark and Maddy had disappeared, leaving her alone with Josh. He was now glaring in Lucas's direction, his arms folded across his chest. His eyes travelled to meet Skye's. "Since when has that been going on?"

"Josh…" Skye's voice faltered at the glare Josh gave her. She could see him trying to find somewhere else to look, his eyes flashing with rage, but they narrowed slightly as they fell on her left hand. Skye looked down at her hand to see the green diamond ring on her ring finger, glinting in the sunlight. She tried to hide it in her pocket, but Josh reached out and snatched her hand, bringing it up to his eyes.

"Is that…" Josh's mouth dropped open as Skye pulled her hand away, her cheeks bright red. "You're engaged?"

"I was going to tell you – " started Skye, but she stopped when Josh grabbed her hand again, staring at the ring on her hand. He looked back up at her, speechless, but his eyes were asking a million questions.

"Skye," Lucas was suddenly behind Skye, his hands resting lightly on her waist. Josh dropped Skye's hand, his eyes narrowing as they fell on Lucas's face. Lucas, ignoring Josh's scandalized expression, leaned down to whisper in Skye's ear. "You're being called up to the fort."

Skye whirled around, her eyes wide. Lucas didn't look nervous, but he reached up to stroke Skye's cheek, sensing her anxiety. "Hey. It's going to be okay."

Skye heard Josh leave, but she was too nervous to call after him. Tightening her grip around Lucas's hand, she let him lead her up the stairs of the fort, her teeth chattering together. Lucas leaned down before she pushed the doors open, placing a light kiss on her lips. "Don't worry, Bucket. You look like you just saw a Carno."

"I'd much rather deal with a Carno at this point," muttered Skye as she entered the fort, her knuckles turning white from her iron grip on the handle. Skye peered into the fort and her eyes narrowed when she saw Taylor sitting at his desk, his hands clasped around his arms. It didn't matter that he had saved their lives; she was still angry at him for lying to her. Skye felt her heartbeat quicken as her eyes fell on Deborah, who was sitting beside Taylor with a confused expression on her face. Skye hadn't seen Deborah enter the fort, and she definitely wouldn't have agreed to talk if she knew her mother was going to be there.

Shannon and Wash left the fort as Skye entered, and Wash reached out to squeeze Skye's arm as she left, shooting her a reassuring smile. Skye tried to return it but found herself grimacing out of nervousness. She ducked as she approached the desk, not wanting to see the expression on her mother's face.

Taylor gestured for her to sit down in front of his desk. Skye felt her hands shake as she lowered herself into a chair, her eyes never leaving the floor. Taylor cleared his throat, demanding Skye's attention, and anger flashed in her eyes as she looked up at him, still avoiding her mother's.

"So," said Taylor, unclasping his hands to set them down on the table. He looked straight at Skye, his eyebrows raised slightly. "Would you like to explain how you found Lucas?"

Skye's eyes narrowed slightly and she felt her teeth gritting together. "I'm sorry, Commander, but I believe that it's you who has explaining to do."

Deborah made an outraged noise, her eyes widening. "Skye!"

Skye turned to her mother, her eyebrows furrowed together. "Mom, he lied to me. Twice. About things that you should not lie about."

"Skye, I did it to –"

"Protect me?" Skye cut Taylor off, ignoring her mother's gaping expression. "I'm sorry, Commander, but it doesn't look like that's worked out much."

"I'm trying to make it work," hissed Taylor, leaning forward in his chair. "You have to give this a chance, Skye. Lucas is no good for you."

"Give what a chance?" asked Skye, ignoring Taylor's last statement. "Pretending that the man I'm in love with – the man I'm engaged to – is dead?"

"Engaged?" Deborah's eyes widened, and she reached out to grab at Taylor's arm, her eyes still on Skye. "Commander, what's she talking about?"

Skye kept a nonchalant expression as her mother's eyes fell on the ring, knowing that she was bound to find out sooner or later. Deborah's gaze flashed back up to Skye, tears filling her eyes. Skye felt her heart sink slightly, but she forced herself to keep a neutral expression as Deborah opened her mouth to speak. "Engaged, Skye? And you didn't even tell me?"

"Because I knew this is how you would react," replied Skye, looking from Deborah to Taylor with a disappointed expression on her face. "I knew you wouldn't even give it a chance. And you proved me right today."

"You do realize that he can't stay here, right?" said Taylor, his eyebrows furrowing together. Skye's mouth dropped open, and she felt her grip tighten on the arms of the chair.

"You mean to say that everything he did today, saving Terra Nova, isn't going to be taken into account?" asked Skye, outraged. She could feel the adrenaline pumping in her veins, anger pulsing through her body. "If it wasn't for Lucas, we'd all be dead by now. He was the one who put this whole plan together and stopped Mira."

"That doesn't erase what he's done before," said Taylor, though Skye could see the doubt in his eyes. "He's hurt people, Skye. Murdered with his bare hands."

"So have you," muttered Skye, looking away. Taylor sighed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Never for the wrong reasons," defended Taylor. "The best interests of Terra Nova are always on my mind."

"Well, they were on Lucas's mind today too," snapped Skye, turning her gaze back to Taylor. She looked briefly at her mother, who was still staring wide eyed at the ring on Skye's hand. Taking a deep breath, Skye knew what she had to say. "If he goes, then so do I."

Both Deborah and Taylor's eyes snapped up to meet Skye's, emotions ranging from anger to despair on their faces. The tears had begun to flow down Deborah's face, and she reached up to swipe them away. "You would leave us all?"

Skye nodded slowly, trying not to let her pain show on her face. "Without even blinking."

Deborah let out a noise, a cross between a hurt animal and sob, and Taylor reached out to comfort her. Skye could feel the tears coming, but she knew that crying in front of her mother and Taylor would only let them comfort her, and eventually talk her out of her decision. With a final nod, Skye jumped out of the chair and headed for the door, the tears beginning to fall. She could hear Taylor calling her, but his voice sounded faint compared to the silent screams of her emotions. Skye pushed the fort doors open and walked right out, letting them swing shut behind herself.

Lucas, who had been waiting outside on the balcony, ran forward to stop her, pulling her into his arms. "Hey, what's wrong? What happened?"

Skye buried her face into Lucas's chest, his cotton shirt soaking up her tears. Lucas wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair comfortingly. Skye finally looked up at him, her eyes still glassy from her tears. "I'll pack. We're leaving this place."

Lucas's eyes widened slightly. "What?"

Skye shook her head, resting it against Lucas's chest again. "We aren't staying here. It's not worth it."

"Hey," Lucas took Skye's face in his hands, forcing her to look up. "You can't leave here, Skye. Everyone you love is here. It'll tear you apart."

"If you can't be here, then neither can I," said Skye, her tone final. She reached up to swipe away a stray tear, but Lucas thumbed it away before she could. Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, one of the soldiers came up to them.

"Commander Taylor would like to speak with you," said the soldier, looking directly at Lucas. Lucas nodded, pressing his lips together slightly.

"Wait here, okay?" Lucas kissed the top of Skye's head lightly, pulling her back to look into her eyes. "Don't do anything rash, Bucket. I'll be back."

Skye watched Lucas slip into the fort, looking a lot more confident than she had when she entered the fort. She walked around the balcony and sat down on the top stair, leaning her head against the railings. Most of the Terra Novians had cleared out of the entrance, probably gone home for dinner or back to their daily lives. The sun was beginning to set, casting a pretty glow over Terra Nova that definitely didn't reflect Skye's feelings.

Skye looked out into the horizon at the forest, narrowing her eyes to shield them from the sun. So this was it. Her last moments in Terra Nova. She highly doubted that she was going to return, seeing as Taylor obviously wasn't one for second chances. Thinking about it, it didn't sound half bad. The Sixer camp hadn't been horrible, except for the food they had to offer. Skye was sure that Lucas would do something to find better food; after all, he was a genius. And Skye had to admit, tree house sex was pretty adventurous. At least their love life wouldn't be boring.

Rolling her eyes, Skye reached up to wipe her face as another tear rolled down her cheek. Taylor couldn't hear her thoughts; she was allowed to think what she wanted to. Skye didn't want to leave Terra Nova. She wanted to stay and be with her family and with Lucas. She didn't want to leave her job at the medic center, even if she hated inventory. She didn't want to leave Josh, Mark or Maddy, even if they never forgave her for falling in love with Lucas. And she didn't want to have to go into the meadow on the day her father died without Taylor, no matter how much he had lied to her. Skye let her face drop into her hands and she sat there for what felt like hours, trying to clear her mind.

Skye opened her eyes when she felt someone else's presence, and she turned around to find Lucas sitting beside her, his arms folded over his knees. He turned to look at Skye, his jade-green eyes piercing hers like they always did. "So."

"So…" Skye turned her body so that she was facing Lucas, bracing herself for what he was going to say. She raised her eyebrows slightly, prompting him to continue. Lucas looked out into the horizon as Skye had done earlier, his lips twitching slightly.

"I start my job at the medic center tomorrow," said Lucas, turning to meet Skye's gaze with a smirk on his face. Skye blinked, trying to take in what he was saying. "I'm interning for Malcolm. I'm sure he's going to be thrilled, but – "

"Wait… what?" Skye grabbed Lucas by the shoulders, shaking him as she spoke. "Taylor's letting you stay?"

Lucas wrapped his hands around Skye's waist, pulling her closer as the smirk on his face widened into a smile. Skye let out a little shriek and flung her arms around Lucas, pulling him into a hug. "Holy crap! He's letting you stay!"

"Yes, that's the general gist, Bucket," teased Lucas, pulling away to look into Skye's eyes. She felt every last bit of worry drain from her body as she looked back into his mesmerizing jade eyes, knowing that everything was going to be okay.

Lucas leaned down and pressed his lips against Skye's, not lightly like he had before, but passionately, as though he had decided what he wanted and wasn't going to let go. Skye wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with equal passion, sighing slightly as his mouth moved irresistibly against hers. She finally pulled away for air after what felt like hours, feeling slightly dizzy. Lucas shot her a grin and she felt her mouth curve to mirror it, feeling somewhat goofy. Lucas wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his body.

Skye's gaze fell back on the sunset and the glow it cast over Terra Nova, and suddenly it looked a million times prettier. She rested her head against Lucas's chest, listening to the familiar beat of his heart contently. This was it. Everything was finally over, and miraculously, it had all ended well.

Sob :'( I still can't believe this story is done! In case you guys were wondering, this was how it was going to end up because I couldn't stand the idea of Skye having to choose between her friends and family and Lucas. That's just cruel :( I bet some of you guys thought she was going to have to leave, though, didn't you? ;)

So, the epilogue should be up in two or three days, depending on how much I edit. Till next time!