A/N: Sorry for the delay with the update! I've been sick for a week, even to the point that I practically didn't leave the house for two days, so that kind of messed with my schedule. I have mixed feelings about this chapter... but it is necessary, even if it makes my poor shipper heart ache.

18. Blind spot

Mira was slumped in a hammock, her gaze shielded by a pair of scratched sun glasses, her hands grasping a bottle of water. Her long hair rested on her shoulders like a lion's mane, coarse and dry. The sun teased her with slow narrow bursts of light and warmth over her toes. She liked the sensation of weightlessness, the comforting swing back and forth. She was free here, out of reach with her duties, with the people depending on her, with the task of keeping an eye on Morris.

She had peace until Carter was suddenly standing by her, blocking her sun. After that her peaceful moment died quickly, leaving nothing but anticipation in its wake.

Even with the sunglasses muddling the details, he could make out that she was looking right at him, and it didn't unnerve him one bit. He then threw a curious look at her bare feet that rested over the edge of the hammock. Mira reacted to this in an instant by tensing and pulling her feet inside the hammock almost protectively. His mischievous expression was followed by a smirk.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked with more bark than bite and removed her sunglasses, placing them and the bottle on the table beside her.

She'd stayed in the shade this morning, enjoying a little time off while it was Lucas' turn to entertain Morris, whereas Carter was covered in sweat, his body aching in exhaustion. He'd been visiting the watch detail by Terra Nova, listened to their reports and hurried back.

Carter pushed her hammock a bit to make the swing a bit faster. Noticing how this annoyed her, he gave it another push right away, laughter bubbling inside him. He was on a very good mood this morning, and for some reason he actually felt like sharing some of it.

"You asked for me, remember?" he said with friendly intent, but got his hand caught in her grip when he tried to push the hammock again. Suddenly their eyes were locked together, hers distrustful and irritated, whereas he was just feeling good, light even.

"Stop doing that," Mira advised with a serious tone, letting his hand go and watching Carter retreat, before she pushed herself off the hammock and onto the ground. The soil gathered at her bare feet, seeking to harm her, but her skin was too thick, too used to these rocky grounds.

"Nothing is happening back at Terra Nova," he informed her, whilst watching her stretch like a cat, all limber and relaxed. "The pilgrims still affect their ability to do anything, I suppose," he continued and took a gulp of her water, letting it refresh him.

Mira searched for her boots, her knives and her gun. She found all that waiting on the ground by her feet and grabbed her belt first where her holster and the weapons were attached. She fastened it with steady hands, listening to Carter while at it, and followed this action by pulling her boots back on. Then she grabbed a piece of string from her wrist, untangling it before she tied her hair with it, working it to a messy bundle on her neck.

"As much was to be expected," she commented. Taylor always had a few days of slumber when the new pilgrims arrived, and the first two weeks were generally good days to pilfer, confuse and trade. Before Josh Shannon they had had a sweet deal with Boylan all worked out, which was sadly done for now. Boylan had used their contacts to supply him with some rarer brands of alcohol, and Mira had been promised her share, which she would never see now. It was a real pity – especially with Morris around as she was hankering for a good stiff drink.

"Are we going to talk about it?" Carter then asked, skipping the formalities. His good mood was suddenly a thousand miles away, replaced by tension.

Mira didn't look at him, just fixed her belt and checked her knives as usual. She didn't want to answer him, because she knew very well what this was about. It was a subject she'd wanted to ignore for the past few days, ever since Morris had walked in on them, taking them by complete surprise. She knew Carter had ideas on how to deal with this, and in her experience they were all bad. But above all, this was about her placing her trust in Nathaniel Taylor and convincing them all to do so. It hadn't exactly panned out as expected, now had it?

Her reward had been watching three men growl and eye at each other like they were ready to tear each other's throats out, while trying to talk some sense into them. Lucas didn't listen, Morris listened all too eagerly, and Carter had gotten more and more vexed each passing day. He'd offered his hut to Morris, and god knows where he was sleeping at the moment, so it wasn't like Mira didn't understand his unease.

Of course Mira had had the utmost pleasure of sleeping with Skye Tate these past days, of listening to girl's nightmares, shaking her awake and then pretending she hadn't seen or heard anything. A part of her wanted to believe it was manipulation, a skillful plot, but another part of her knew all too well it was just a girl crying over her mother.

"No, we're not," Mira rejected his request, her foul mood all too clear in her response. Carter didn't let her go that easily though.

"So that plan failed," he mocked her a bit, trying to make it easier for her to admit it, admit that they were knee-deep in trouble and had no good solutions for it.

"It was a long shot at best," Mira then admitted, reclaiming her water from him and drinking it.

"And now?" Carter asked, raising a brow. "I'll happily arrange an accident," he hinted, speaking barely loud enough for her to hear him.

It felt wrong though, just hearing him suggest it. "He's not the type," she warned him. "He's dangerous, and we need to be careful." Because she could tell he had an ace up his sleeve, some kind of failsafe in case they tried just that. Morris was too smart to reveal anything yet; she needed to get a little closer to learn what it was before she could plan anything against him.

Mira tried to walk past Carter to reach the sunlight that was so inviting (her resting place was in the shade, wrapped in the protective shield of the trees), but Carter took hold of her shoulders, forcing her into unfamiliar closeness to observe her and pierce her façade. She tried to avert his eyes, to squirm, and yet he saw the truth.

"He has you scared?" Carter asked, amazed that anything could affect this fearless woman so.

"You should be too," she told him. Lucas was scared, Skye was scared, even Curran knew better than to start up any shit while Morris was watching, but Carter remained stubborn and blind to this. Quite frankly it was becoming a problem.

"But I'm not," he responded, slipping back into his good mood, confidence backing his words. She believed him. She just didn't think it was a smart approach in this situation by any stretch. Mira looked visibly worried, her forehead furrowed in response.

"You don't do anything foolish, Carter. You follow my orders," she asked instead of commanding, which was unheard of.

"If he comes at you, I'll end him. It's as simple as that," he told her, still holding his hands on her shoulders. His grip was so assuring; it aimed to lull her into trusting him with this.

"Don't," Mira said, shaking her head. "Don't be stupid," she then continued, pulling away from him. The worst reason to start a fire in this situation was because of her. Mira knew her worth all too well, and she was the least of their worries.

"We're going for a little trip, Lucas, him and me," she revealed next.

"Where?" Carter asked immediately, his voice sharp and a little too eager.

"The Badlands," Mira responded. She placed her hands on her hips, pressed her lip between her teeth in a moment's worth of contemplation. "I need you to keep things cool while we're away."

Cool as in no assassination plots, no rebellions, and no unsanctioned attacks against Terra Nova. Cool as in nothing out of the ordinary could go wrong this time, nothing bad could happen. And she trusted Carter, but she also trusted her gut that told her they were just a happy accident away from fucking up for good. The Company held all the cards for them, her daughter among others, and she couldn't afford to piss them off.

"How long?" he inquired. She noticed the warmth had gone from his voice. Now when he spoke it was polite, respectful and full of hidden aggression. She spotted it easily though, having been here before.

Her thoughts were laced with hope only because the last time they'd faced a problem like this things had turned around; Lucas was now someone they considered a close ally. Maybe she could make Morris into one too?

"One day there, one at location, one back. That's three total," she informed him almost gingerly, really hoping he wouldn't make this into a problem.

Carter raised a brow sarcastically, whistling low at the estimate. "Three more days off schedule? Must be important," he commented.

Mira hesitated only for a second before speaking her mind aloud. "I think he's ready. I think he's stalling," she said, letting her anguish over the realization show. Of course it hurt, knowing she could run through the gate today and finally see her daughter if Lucas wasn't contemplating his next action.

Carter took a step closer. "Does Morris suspect?" he asked next, alerted by Mira's words.

"What do you think?"´Mira shot back, feeling mean all of the sudden. "He's good at reading people, Carter. And Lucas isn't exactly subtle. Besides he had the calculations, he knows they're sound. It's just writing them on paper."

Carter saw it now, not having realized how much she had pent-up rage inside, how many things she kept even from him. And here he was proving her suspicions right once again.

He sighed, letting the anxiety slip out of his skin. "You do what you need to do. I'll make sure things are cool here," he told her, submitting to her will like he always did.

"Thanks," she said after a moment's pause, truly meaning her words.

"I just need some time to sort it out."

Three days of half-finished sentences, half-finished thoughts swimming in his brain, searching for a way out, that's all Lucas' days had consisted of. Their uninvited house-guest had remixed the deck to his own delight, and Lucas didn't like this marching order one bit. Mira had acted quickly, moving Skye from his hut and accommodating her in hers. Skye's scent still lingered on the pillow at night, haunting him, forcing him to suffer insomnia in dark.

He'd been so worried for her that he couldn't continue working at his safe house anymore. No, he'd stayed here to keep an eye on things and relieve Mira of her watch duty every now and then. For the most part the past three days had been wasted as his mind couldn't focus enough to work the equations, not when he had more immediate dangers to consider.

Lucas knew it wasn't a big task to finish it, that he was nearly done. Yet he hesitated to take that final step, knowing it would mark his future and truly be the point of no return. Lucas hesitated because he no longer knew for certain which step to take, which side of him to listen. No matter what he would betray his word to someone be it his sponsors in 2149, Mira, himself or Skye. But everyone was looking at him to end this stalemate, to be the savior in this situation. Lucas honestly didn't know if he was up for it.

So he sat at his desk in his hut, turned his papers in his hands and glanced at his console every now and then indecisively. Then he ended up taking a long walk at the camp, finding his way to Mira and Morris eventually, while subconsciously seeking for Skye, knowing that just a glimpse of her would help him calm his mind. Unfortunately the thing was, he'd seen her many times these past days, gazing from afar, reading into things, gestures and looks, between her and the people she was with – between her and Curran.

The question that plagued him wasn't if she was doing her job well, no, it was whether she was pretending to be friends with him or not. Lucas didn't know what to believe anymore; her behavior seemed so real. If she was acting how could she pretend so well? If she wasn't acting, how had her opinion of this man changed so? They seemed so friendly, like they had known one another for ages. It bothered him more than he liked.

"So this Curran… he's a former Terra Novan too?" Morris asked, sounding friendly. Lucas knew better though, this man didn't engage in useless chit chat with him. He reserved those moments for Mira, the only person he was somewhat warming up to. No, Morris always had a thorn in his comments to Lucas.

"My father cast him out for murder," Lucas explained, choosing his words carefully. He wanted to tear his eyes from Skye and Curran as they walked towards the woods together, apparently running some kind of an errant for Hicks, yet he couldn't.

"Who knows if he actually did any of it," Lucas then added, having had doubts of Curran's past before. It wouldn't have been the first time his father had exiled someone for having a differing opinion.

Morris leaned over the rope rail, standing at a small distance from Lucas. He seemed unusually interested in this, which spelled trouble. "I see. They have a lot in common, Curran and Skye," he noted with amusement.

"They're friends," Lucas said dryly, unwilling to explain the situation further to Morris. Admitting he had suspicions of Curran was something he didn't consider smart at this point.

"Of course," Morris said in his defense, sounding most understanding. "It is a tough thing leaving your home and shacking with the enemy. One should have friends to share the burden with at least."

At this point Lucas turned to Morris, taking notice of the smug way the bastard was smiling. Morris was enjoying the clean air and sunlight visibly. Sweat pearled on his hairline and his dark eyes were full of comfort, like he felt right at home here. He'd brought in his own change of clothes: simple shirts and cargo pants. Even now he wore a sleeveless shirt that revealed his muscular arms and the tattoo that covered one of them. Lucas didn't know its meaning, but it was vicious and sleek, kind of like its owner. Everything about this man spoke of someone who was a living weapon, whispered tales of prowess.

Morris' hints were certainly not necessary here; Lucas thought bitterly and decided to throw back a comment. "Yet you have none," he retorted with something akin to disgust.

Morris also turned his attention to Lucas, preparing to speak his mind. "They're a blind spot. A place you don't look at, because you're afraid to see. It has to end, Taylor; picking up these strays, your father's outcasts. You don't owe them anything!"

There was a gleam in Morris eyes, danger and truth combined. And the worst part was that his words made perfect sense to Lucas, despite his attempts to deny it. They traded vicious words, played a verbal of chess every chance they had, and every time Morris brought forth a new claim based on reality, backed his opinions with facts skillfully. He prayed on weakness, doubts, and he did it without flinching. It almost felt like a good idea to trust him, just because he had all the answers while Lucas had been rendered adrift.

"We blackmailed her into spying for us. The least we could do was to take her in," Lucas tried to explain. His reasoning sounded false even to his own ears. Of course they hadn't needed to do anything. The only reason Skye was here was because of him, because of that chance encounter six months ago.

"Into your bed nevertheless! Aren't you the good Samaritan?" Morris mocked him in return, laughing aloud. His laughter wasn't malicious though; he actually found this relationship curious. Having studied Lucas closely before coming here, he had trouble connecting the dots between the old Lucas who shunned human companionship and this new Lucas who was hungry for it.

"Can't say the girl doesn't have her charms," Lucas noted, passion creeping into his voice. He didn't need to lie, not when he'd been deprived of her alluring company these past days, and every cell in his body was screaming for her constantly.

Morris understood his infatuation clearly. He'd seen her more than once now, lighting up every conversation she attended with her smile. She was lovely up in person, even if he had to question her motives for being here. Skye apparently made a great effort for fitting in, doing her share of the work and getting acquainted with the Sixers.

If he was to believe that she had fallen in love with Lucas Taylor and followed him here like a tragic heroine, he just couldn't. And that was why Morris needed Lucas questioning this as well, because his vision was blurry with her around, and it would be their downfall.

"She spied for you for what? Three years?" Morris inquired softly, returning his eyes on the Sixers on the ground level. Skye and Curran had already walked away and were out of sight for now. It helped him paint this picture that Lucas needed to see.

"- And no one in Terra Nova knew because she was so likable and young," he then hinted without a trace of malice. He was simply wondering, entertaining the possibility that the cycle was waiting to be repeated.

Lucas took a heavy sigh, annoyance creeping back into his skin. "I would know," he said, sounding certain beyond any reasonable doubt. If nothing else, he was certain of her feelings for him.

"Are you sure?" Morris asked, crossing his arms across his chest. He appeared more like a concerned friend than a business associate at that moment. "She seems awfully close to her friend there," he pointed out before he saw Mira and Carter walking below them, immersed in conversation.

Morris took interest in it immediately and abandoned Lucas to his thoughts, having successfully planted another seed of doubt.

Skye let the water take her body, invade her skin, embrace her thoughts and wrap everything into a cool murky embrace. It was peaceful below the surface; noises didn't reach her here, people didn't shower her with suspicious looks and Lucas' absence didn't feel as bad. Eventually she needed to go back to gasp for air, but not yet, not this minute. Right now she could just enjoy it while it lasted: this calm.

She pierced the surface shortly after, swimming back into the light. Usually the waters were clear, but the natural pool of water she was in was deep enough to block some of the sunlight. Skye ran her hands across her skin, rubbing the dirt away from her. She didn't have soap or a swimsuit, but Shiva had agreed to keep watch while she took a swim to cleanse herself, so she didn't mind. This felt too good to worry about the details.

Of course once she noticed him sitting on the grass and watching her swim, she snapped right back into reality and turned to him without making the slightest attempt to cover her naked frame.

"Lucas," Skye called, not knowing what to make of this intrusion of privacy.

But Lucas just looked at her like nothing was wrong, like they were two strangers at the Falls with no worries. "Bucket," he said a moment later, acknowledging her presence whilst holding back a laugh.

He sat there, leaned against his knees, entire being focused on her alone, whilst Skye was standing in the water waist deep, hand frozen by her neck as she'd been pushing back her wet hair aside when he'd caught her like this. They hadn't talked for three days, but apparently Lucas had been the one to break the silence first. Skye admitted she'd been too afraid of the consequences to even attempt it; Mira had been most vocal about avoiding it for now, and she had been eager to test Morris' patience either.

Lucas then reached for a towel by him, stood up and spread it, signaling her to approach with his fingers while he held the towel for her. Skye took control of her body with a sour expression, and she started making her way to him, seeming more than comfortable with her nakedness.

"Where's Shiva?" she asked him when they were just a few steps away. Lucas rolled his eyes at her question and stepped forward to wrap the towel on her.

"You forget she takes her orders from me," he scoffed playfully and pressed against her whilst rubbing her skin dry with the towel. Everything about him was strangely light and calm. It contradicted the quite visible duress she'd seem him under these past few days. Skye wasn't stupid; she could tell he was putting on a lighter act for her.

"How's your work coming together?" she asked warily while allowing him to continue this task he seemed to take such pleasure from. Skye turned when he wanted her to, lifted her arms to give him access and allowed herself to sink deeper into his arms, that lovely place she'd missed so much.

Lucas placed his jaw on her shoulder while his hands worked to dry her with gentle round rubbing motion. He held her still from her waist with one hand and used the second to dry her. His hands lingered in the more sensitive parts of her body as he made sure she didn't stay wet long.

"Not at all, I'm afraid," he confessed, like it didn't mean anything. "The constant fear for your safety does strange things to my ability to concentrate," he explained a moment later, giving her some time to absorb this knowledge.

"Any…," she cleared her throat a bit as his hand cleaned the skin below her breasts, before moving over them one by one, "second thoughts on what we discussed the other day?"

He moved his head to kiss her neck. "I might have to renegotiate some of the terms for our arrangement," he told her with clear delight.

She liked hearing him like this, almost free. Her hopes weren't too high though. She knew all too well things wouldn't just slip into their right places like this. Lucas' willingness to bend the rules had more to do with her safety than seeking reconciliation with his father.

He moved the towel around her tightly when he had nothing left to dry and tied his arms around her. "We're going away for a few days. Morris, me and Mira," he then revealed, holding back his duress.

She wanted to ask him for the details, all the while she knew it was probably better the less she knew, so she just nodded weakly. "Well, at least I won't have to bunk with Mira," she quipped back, actually feeling small regret on that. Mira wasn't as bad when you gave her some time to mellow and respected her boundaries.

"Carter is staying behind," Lucas told her. His voice was rippling with concern now, the lightness had vanished. His fingers played her side, like strumming a guitar almost nervously.

"What's wrong Lucas?" she asked with a worried brow and turned to him finally. Skye raised her hand to his cheek, felt his unruly stubble with her fingertips. She absorbed his anxiety, felt it pave the way for another argument.

"I think you should stay away from Curran for now," Lucas then said, surprised when she pulled away almost instantly, her expression disturbed, shocked.

"I'm doing my job Lucas, getting close to him like you asked," she responded a tad tensely, narrowing her eyes as she wondered what he was talking about all of the sudden. She knew that this was a good chance for her to get his guard down. If Curran was indeed working for Taylor still, he'd jump at the chance of doing something now that Mira, Morris and Lucas were away.

He didn't reach for her, just observed her darkly, face unreadable. "Don't get too close," he warned her.

Skye actually let a burst of laughter escape her lips that moment, finding his sudden possessiveness to be simply too hilarious.

"Or what? You'll get jealous?" she asked teasingly. None of this was serious to her, he realized with annoyance. As usual, Skye only saw what was right in front of her and none of the deeper implications and consequences of her actions.

"He will get ideas," Lucas noted calmly, hoping she would treat this problem with the same focus as he did.

But Skye had been expecting this for awhile. Lucas hadn't been around until now, so it wasn't so surprising it took him time to recognize what she'd already seen.

"I think he already has ideas, which is good, because he'll be more inclined to trust me," she explained, having given it some serious thought. Even if she felt bad for misleading him and kind of liked being friends with him, she also recognized that harmless infatuation was one of the better things that could come out of this. It meant she was getting through, that he would drop his guard for her eventually.

Lucas reacted to his with surprise. He pushed one hand into his pocket and caressed the side of his mouth with the other, suddenly bothered by the calculating manner in which she was treating all of this.

"In retrospect that puts our relationship in bad light," he noted coldly, albeit she could tell he was mocking her. "Were you seducing me, Ms. Tate?"

Skye rolled her eyes at his bad attempt at humor and punched his arm playfully, while grasping the towel tightly with one hand to keep it in place. "If he gets too frisky, I'll just tell him that my dear brother won't like it," she announced cleverly, unprepared with how this revelation affected Lucas.

He grabbed her shoulders in an instant, face plagued by distress, his jade eyes flickering when he moved.

"You didn't tell him about us?" he questioned her angrily, feeling the rage push past his defenses. He felt the sting of betrayal again, no matter how ill-advised it had been. The mere fact that she could've lied about them to Curran felt incredibly cruel.

Skye just stared at him for a second, frozen still, eyes locked with his. "I said you were like a brother to me," she confessed in bewilderment, not knowing what she was supposed to say. Had Lucas honestly expected her to announce she was fucking the Sixer leader and then ask Curran to trust her? That would've been lunacy!

"Skye, this is serious!" he insisted. Lucas fought the urge to punch something inanimate, to let out these destructive impulses. He recognized jealousy and fear easily, but the third was something he had expected to feel: it was disappointment.

"He thinks you're fair game!" he then continued and released her from his grip, taking a deep breath between his teeth. He didn't know what to do, but now that the cat was out of the bag, he didn't want Curran anywhere near her.

Skye was beginning to get mad as well. Just like everyone around her, he also assumed she didn't know what it took to make her own decisions. Well she'd done this willingly. The conclusion had been reached after hours of contemplation. She'd needed a game plan, and this had worked so far!

"And that gives me an opening!" she claimed, fisting her hand in frustration. Everything about her was harsh now: cold and goal-orientated. Gone was the soft girl he loved, and in her stead stood a spy that did whatever it took to succeed, hurt whoever it took. Well she was hurting him!

"Lucas, if you want to know what's his deal, this is the best way in, trust me," she tried to explain as he turned from her, running his hand across his face, trying to feel anything but this hot mess he'd stumbled upon.

"Find another way!" Lucas then roared at her upon turning back.

He hadn't meant to yell, but his control had slipped just for a few minutes. Skye was staring at him, caught completely off-guard by his behavior. She was hurt; her face slowly peeled the remaining bits of vulnerability as she got mad as well. And she pushed him back with her hands, taking the room she needed to breathe.

"You mean like you should find another way to get back at your father!" she demanded, taking the low blow while she still could. Yeah, her trust in him had been miraculous, almost blind. She hadn't rushed him, hadn't really given him any ultimatums. So why couldn't he trust her back?

"You want to get in the middle of that again?" Lucas asked. Every pore in his body was seething anger, while his insides boiled with passion for her. It was her determination that set him on fire; it equaled his own, the one he'd lost when he'd let her spellbind him into confusion.

"I didn't choose to be in the middle of anything," she snapped at him. "It's where you put me."

Skye then pushed past him and towards her clothes. She began to dress herself, hoping he'd leave her alone for just two minutes, so she could gather herself and calm down. But Lucas's stare drilled into her naked back while she pulled her clothes back on. She heard him breathe, felt the way he struggled with this. Honestly it hadn't been her intention to hurt him, but somehow things kept spinning out of control all the time.

"Do you even realize why I'm mad?" he asked her, trying to contain this thunder cloud of emotions within. He'd never considered her too young to understand certain things, or too carefree, or too anything. She'd been perfect just the way she was, even when she'd argued against him, even when she'd announced she'd left the hard drive behind.

Skye swallowed, but the bitter aftertaste remained in her mouth. Everything felt heavy. "Because you can't trust me the way I trust you?" she mockingly guessed, only managing to further his fury. Well she didn't care if he was angry, because she was already hurt, already bleeding her guts out. The sun stabbed her eyes while she fought the tears, because she didn't want him to see any of it.

Lucas was about to open his mouth, make it all too clear for her, when he realized it was better he didn't say anything he'd regret. He figured she'd continue fighting as long as he enabled her to; it was just the way she was wired. The realization felt strange, like someone had pressed a rock over his heart. He didn't want to hear any more.

Lucas swallowed his disappointment and anger, settling to just announce, "See you in three days, Bucket."

His words hung in the air, the intended disdain clear to both parties, and with that Lucas walked away.

Her heart ached, the hurt neared some of the more painful moments of physical pain she'd experienced. Skye stayed behind to gather herself. She'd been so eager to prove herself, to show there was something she was good at. It wasn't like she liked any of this any better than he did, yet she'd needed to defend her own decisions, no matter how vehemently.

TBC