The next part will begin on the evening after the events of ´What remains´and is rated M.
As always, I don´t own anything... Enjoy :)
MissCallaLily, metube, Madi92, thanks very much for the reviews.
MissCallaLily: Thank you very much, I´ll try and keep doing just that :) I´m sorry it took so long but I have the next part almost finished as well, so it´ll be up quicker than this one.
metube: Well, it seemed to fit, might come back to that in future chapters- well, of course he´ll have to explain that to Wash at some point, will not be happening straight away though, I´ll keep it for some emotional turmoil, right now they´ll be a bit distracted from doing too much talking but I´ll get to it eventually.
As far as this storyline goes, Taylor has married a sweet, lovable woman who he has been very happy with but with whom he couldn´t share anything that happened to him at the front line.
He´s been coping with everything he´s seen and done by himself, thinking that it was the normal way to do things and then he´s met Alicia and realized that she´s just like him, understands him perfectly, that he can talk to her about everything and that she has the same burden.
So as a result he´s fallen in love with Wash, too, in a different way from his wife but not less intense, or maybe even more so because he thinks that she is his soulmate.
Well, part of the chapter was almost a bit too sweet to be in character for my taste but then they are human as well and I think that even someone as battle hardened (that was the nice description for plain evil ;) ) as Taylor needs someone he can voice his fears to and be weak with and for him that´s Wash, so if they seem to sweet it´s because we see a side of them we don´t get in the Show, the really intimate, really private one.
Madi92: Thanks so much, that means a lot, really does- I´m going to have to disappoint you anyway because they won´t talk much in this chapter, they´ll be too busy exploring their newly found intimate relationship.
I have a feeling the talking might happen after Mira kidnaps Wash because it will be really frustrating for both Taylor and Alicia and they´ll have to discuss where they stand with each other, what they are to each other afterwards to work it out.
I wasn´t really planning to write a long Wash/Mira scene but I´ll expand it for you since you´re obviously looking forward to it.
Wash was standing next to Taylor´s bed, watching him sleep.
No one in the infirmary was experiencing any symptoms, the team of doctors had come to the conclusion that the virus lost it´s contagiousness after being exposed to the air too long.
Elisabeth Shannon and Malcom had come back an hour ago, bringing with them the vaccine they had created at the outpost.
Taylor had been injected and now Wash was anxiously waiting for the commander to wake up, she couldn´t leave until she was sure he would be ok and she desperately wanted time alone to think.
The commander stirred and Wash stepped closer, putting a hand on her CO´s arm while calling for Dr. Shannon who started to question Taylor, then exchanged a glance with Wash, seeking for reassurance that it would be ok to loosen the ties holding him down and Alicia nodded, starting to loosen the band on her side.
He was still looking a little confused but when he looked up at Wash, seeking reassurance, she saw the usual unwavering trust in his eyes and the anxiety of the previous hours finally melted away, leaving only relief and when Elisabeth Shannon told Taylor they would let him rest now, Wash didn´t protest but turned to leave, only to be stopped by him.
"Lieutenant."
"Yes, Sir."
He was looking at her with a strange expression on his face, a combination of surprise and pride and she stood up straighter, feeling sure she knew what he was thinking about.
"You shot me."
She hesitated briefly.
"I did, Sir."
His eyes twinkled.
"Good job."
She gave him an exasperated look, ignoring Elisabeth Shannon´s amusement and finally left the infirmary, pausing briefly to take in the scenery before her.
Everything looked normal, peaceful, people going about their business as usual, it was only her world that had been turned upside down and she had no idea how to deal with it.
As a rule Taylor didn't talk about his wife, Wash was fine with it and now she didn´t know what to do, she needed to know if what he had told her was true but right now it wasn´t even certain that he would remember their earlier conversation.
"Hey, Wash."
She looked up to see Jim Shannon making his way towards her, he looked tired but otherwise unharmed and she nodded her head in greeting.
"Shannon."
"Walk with me a bit? I´d like to ask you something."
"Sure."
They fell into step next to each other, making their way towards the housing units.
"You were with Taylor at Somalia" Shannon began and Wash knew were this was leading instantly.
"He told you about Ayani?"
"Yeah- he kept asking were she was, I thought he was talking about you at first-"
"No, I should have been out of the picture at that time already."
"That´s what he said- he said he´d seen you being medevac´d out."
Wash sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she would have to tell him the story, at least part of it.
"Things got out of control, nowhere was safe, Taylor began keeping his family as close as possible, we thought we could protect them within the camp.
That night we were surprised, grenades exploding everywhere, gunfire, Taylor told me to stay by the tents, keep his wife and son safe while he went to fight them off.
It turned out it was a distraction, what they really wanted was to get to Ayani and Lucas, while Taylor and our unit were outside the camp, a dozen men came for them, I shot half of them, attacked another one before I took a knife to my stomach, the guy pulled it out, rammed it in again a little lower, another one put three bullets into my chest, when I came to, Ayani and Lucas were gone and Taylor was there with me, telling me to hold on, that the copter was on it´s way."
Wash broke off, thinking how Taylor had told her that he was sorry, that all he had wanted was to keep her safe, that he had told her to stay behind, being convinced that no one would come anywhere near the tents and instead he had condemned her to the worst fate possible, how he had caressed her face as she lay in his arms, rocking her gently, refusing to leave her to go after his family when she pleaded with him to do so.
Jim Shannon was silent, looking horrified but Wash was used to that look, people who hadn´t been to the front line could never really image what it was like.
"What happened when he got here?"
He asked finally, looking as though he wasn´t sure he wanted to know the answer and something in his tone made Wash suspicious.
"Have you said anything to him?"
"He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"
"I was quicker- why?"
"I`m sorry, Wash, like I said, I mentioned you and he said something like there was no way you were in on that- he came here and you were here and-"
"It´s ok, he didn´t hurt me."
Her tone made it clear the subject was closed and Shannon nodded, then made to walk towards his house but Wash stopped him.
"Not so quick, we got to talk about something else."
"Uhm- about what happened-"
"Shut it, Shannon, I talk, you listen. I know you think you´re above rules and orders and that it´s grand and noble to do what you think is right but that´s not how we deal with things here, we like rules, we like order and when I tell you not to do something, you listen, understood?"
He hesitated, then seemed to decide that there wasn´t much he could say to that.
"Yes, Ma´am."
His sheepish expression was lost on her when she noticed two of her soldiers standing outside the Shannon´s house and she marched over to them, looking grim as they stood to attention.
"Henderson, Smith, what are you doing here?"
"Guarding the house, Ma´am."
Henderson replied, sounding nervous.
"Who ordered that?"
"Reynold´s, Ma´am."
"I see- you´re dismissed, go and get some sleep, you´re both on watchtower duty later."
The men walked away and Wash hurried off towards the market, determined to have a word with Mark.
She found him with Maddy, sitting at at table having breakfast, his face nervous as she came towards him and he got up, standing to attention.
"Reynolds, who gave you permission to post someone outside the Shannon´s house?"
"No one, Ma´am."
"You´re on cleaning duty for the next week, my soldiers aren´t babysitters, keep that in mind."
"Yes, Ma´am, I´m sorry, Ma´am."
He looked at her sheepishly but for once the look didn´t sooth Alicia, it was one thing to have a soft spot for one of her recruits, it didn´t mean she wouldn´t discipline him in the same way she would have done with anyone else.
Finally reaching the gate, Wash leaned onto it, wondering if she should just go home, she was completely exhausted and she wanted to stop thinking and sleep for a while.
"Terra for your thoughts."
She turned her head, lifting an eyebrow at Guzman.
"Funny, aren´t you- shouldn´t you be sleeping?"
"I´m not tired and you look as though you need a drink."
"It´s not even dinner time, Guz."
"So what, I remember us drinking whole days away back in Somalia."
"Bad days, Guz, days were we wanted to forget."
"You don't want to forget today? Come on, Wash, humor me, it was one hell of a night, I really want a drink and a beautiful woman for company."
She snorted, shaking her head.
"And you´re asking me? You need your eyes checked, Guzman."
"Fishing for complements, Lieutenant?"
She crossed her arms over her chest, looking him upside down critically.
"You are serious, aren´t you."
"´Course I am- you are beautiful, don´t tell me you don´t know it,- come on, Boylan´s my treat."
"Oh well, one thing so, if you try any funny business, I´ll break something."
He laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders as he stirred her towards the barracks.
"I might just risk that, now relax, everyone is fine and things will be back to normal tomorrow-."
"Hopefully- where are we going, I believe Boylan´s is the other way."
"We´re going to change- you own a dress?"
"Is that a challenge, Guzman?"
He smiled charmingly at her, shrugging and Alicia squared her shoulders.
"All right, you´re on."
They met outside Guzman´s house half an hour later, he now in blue jeans and a black button down shirt, Alicia in a deep red summer dress with her hair curling loosely around her face.
"Wash, look at you, don´t you clean up nicely, I didn´t even know you can walk in heels."
Guzman winked at her, chuckling when her fist collected with his arm.
"Shut up, Guzman, or I´ll ram them into your foot."
"I´m wearing boots, you can´t do any damage- you´re not going all Martini on me though, are you?"
"No, don´t worry, in my opinion dresses and bourbon go very well together."
Heads turned when they entered the bar and Boylan waved at them from behind the bar, grinning at Wash as she glared back.
"Hey, Lieutenant, almost didn´t recognize you."
"Don´t get your hopes up, Boylan, I can still kick your ass in those."
"Might be worth it- what can I get you?"
Guzman ordered bourbon for them both and they remained standing at the bar, observing the people around them.
"Considering it´s not even dinnertime it´s rather packed, don´t you think."
Wash shrugged, finishing her drink.
"I suppose so- another one?"
"Sure, keep them coming."
They were joined by several members of their units as the evening progressed and despite her earlier protest Wash found herself enjoying the company and the music and when Guzman asked her to dance, she accepted and allowed him to pull her after him and onto the dance floor.
To her surprise he turned out to be quite talented, spinning and twirling her around expertly, making her feel carefree and happy until he suddenly stopped and stood up straight, looking over her shoulder.
She turned slowly, hopping against hope that her suspicions wouldn´t come true but of course she didn't get that lucky and when her eyes met the commander´s, the icy cold in his gaze made her wonder if she wouldn´t have been better off with going to bed after all.
"Damn" Guzman swore under his breath, "Alicia, I thought those rumors were just rumors, you told me-"
She ignored him and began walking towards Taylor who was leaning against a column near the stairs, clad in his usual black leather jacket, fury radiating off him in waves.
"Outside" he snarled, waiting for her to start climbing the stairs before following her and Wash hastened to obey, she didn't want to provoke him any further, even though he technically had no right to act this way, she knew better than to point it out to him.
Taylor led the way up to the command center without so much as looking at Alicia, the door fell shut behind them and she was pressed against the wall in an instant, his lips crushing down on her´s, his hands bunching the skirt of her dress up around her waist as he forced one of his legs between her´s.
She kissed him back with equal passion, it didn´t matter to her what exactly had caused him to change his mind as long as he didn´t stop.
Taylor broke the kiss long enough to pull Wash´s dress up and over her head, his eyes darkening at the sight of her in nothing but her panties and heels, then he reached around her, lifting her up and Wash wrapped her legs around his hips, moaning when she felt his erection press against her, her hands pushing his jacked off his shoulders.
She felt lightheaded already, her heart beating almost painfully fast, he had always had that effect on her, making her loose her head completely with one well placed look or touch.
He started kissing her again while carrying her over to the conference table, putting her down on the edge, stepping between her legs and pulling her to him once more.
"Nathaniel" she gasped, her head falling back when his lips pressed against her pulse point, his hands were driving her mad, fingers splayed on her lower back, pressing her lower body against his, his other hand running up her bare thigh.
"Tell me to stop" he rasped, his fingers digging into her thigh, bruising her flesh, her muscles flexing in response.
"God help me, Wash, tell me to stop, I´ll ruin you completely if you don't."
His voice sounded strained, lust and desperation battling as he pressed himself against her and all she could do was cling to him, her fingers lacing through his hair as she pulled his face up to look into his eyes.
"You won´t ruin me, you are a good man."
His laugh sounded hollow in her ears as he held her gaze without loosening his grip on her.
"Ah come on, Wash, you don´t have to lie to make me feel better, you know I´m not a good man, if I was, I´d keep my hands off you."
He tipped up her chin and kissed her again, pulling her impossibly closer, one hand still pressing her to him, the other sneaking between them, cupping her breast and squeezing firmly, rendering her completely helpless with need.
"Please" she gasped, the sensations almost too much, he was awakening a side of her she´d never known existed, manipulating her to surrender to him, do exactly what he wanted from her.
"If I was a good man I wouldn´t feel this way about you" he breathed against her skin, sending shivers down her spine.
"I wouldn´t feel this insane need to possess you in every way possible, to make you mine completely."
He bit down on her neck and Alicia whimpered softly, pain and pleasure combining to get her tangled even further in the web of seduction he was weaving around her, his words were becoming a blur, her senses overwrought as she helplessly cried out, a wave of pleasure rushing through her, brought on by nothing but the feeling of him touching her.
She needed more, needed to feel his skin against her´s and he chuckled when she impatiently ripped his shirt in the middle in her haste to get him out of it.
"Going back to being yourself again, I see, you had me worried for a moment back there."
"Never been one to go down easily, Sir" she joked, reaching for his belt and unbuckling it, feeling the atmosphere lighten up a little as he allowed her to push his pants and underwear down over his hips.
He groaned when she ran her fingernails over his abdomen, muscles contracting at her touch, she could tell that his patience was running thin, his need to conquer and dominate surfacing again as he ripped her panties off and pushed her down onto the table, pushing into her with with one hard thrust.
There was nothing gentle about their love making, they both weren´t cut out for languid kisses and whispered words of adoration, instead they played each other best the could, her nails cutting into his back, leaving scratches, making him groan with both pain and pleasure, his lips sucking on her soft skin, leavening marks, his hands closing so tightly around her hips, he left bruises, her teeth sinking into his lip, drawing blood, the taste of it arousing her even more.
She cried out when he pushed back into her, roughly pressing her into the unyielding wood of the table, her back arching, his hand twisting into her hair as he picked up his pace.
Alicia gave herself up completely, leaving him in control, it was liberating, just letting herself get swept away, the passion overwhelming her senses, all the time of waiting being made worth while in a single, glorious moment when he found just the right angle and drove her over the edge, following her moments later.
Taylor held her against him, one hand weaving into her hair once more, the other stroking her back, his caresses soothing her overheated skin.
Wash leaned into him to kiss him, still tasting a faint memory of blood on his lips, then she put her head back down onto his shoulder, sighing contentedly when he ran his fingers through her hair.
"You´re beautiful" he told her, his voice deep and calm, all tension from earlier gone, "and I can see why everyone is afraid of you."
She chuckled, putting her leg up over his hip to get even closer to him, she didn´t want this moment to end but she knew that they would have to leave before anyone walked in on them.
"And they don´t even know what your nails and teeth can do" Taylor added, now sounding amused, "perhaps I should let them see you like this, my one woman army."
"You sure know how to make a girl blush" Wash teased back, her fingertips tracing lazy patterns on his chest, "as long as you won´t let them see me now, all tame and sated and too tired to move."
"Don´t worry, I won´t tell anyone about that side of you, I´ll keep it all to myself."
"We should get out of here- we need to talk" she added, gently nudging him away from her so she could glide off the table.
He stepped back, starting to collect his own clothes as she picked up her dress and pulled it back over her head before combing her fingers through her hair, trying to entangle it as well as she could, grateful that was dark outside, everyone seeing her in this state would be able to tell what she had spend the last hour doing up there.
"Don´t forget these" Taylor held up her ripped panties and she gave him him a playful look, flipping her hair back over her shoulder.
"You can keep them" she told him, smirking when he put the ripped silk into his pocked.
"Ready?"
He asked and she shrugged.
"Ready as I´m likely to be, let´s go."
They walked back towards the barracks in silence, casually greeting the guards on night duty who were trying to hide their curiosity, apparently the story of the commander ordering his lieutenant out of the bar had travelled the ranks like wildfire.
"We have to be more careful" Alicia remarked, "I don´t want to be reduced to being the girl screwing the CO, I´ve seen that before, no fun at all."
"I don´t think you have anything to worry about there, Wash, they all know you´re my second because you´re the best damn soldier in this colony, nobody would say anything else."
"Not to my face, you mean- let´s just try and be a little less obvious, you know I want this, I just want to be discreet."
"We will be, hell, all I wanted was to talk to you, what on earth possessed you to wear a dress like that?"
Wash bit her lip, certain that mentioning the fact that Guzman had asked her to wouldn´t go down too well.
"Permission not to tell, Sir."
"Denied" he growled, looking at her darkly while entering the security code into the lock on his door, "tell me."
She stepped inside and he followed her, closing the door before crowding her once again against the wall, his jacket hitting the floor.
"So?
His hands were running up her sides, closing around her ribcage as he lifted her up against him, forcing her to wrap her legs around him to keep her balance.
"Fine" she breathed, bending her neck to give him better access to her shoulder, "Guzman asked me if I even had a dress."
"And what?"
He muttered, pulling her skin between his teeth, marking her but she found she didn´t mind and instead dug her fingernails into his upper arms, returning the favor.
"It was a challenge" she told him, not feeling the need to to explain herself further, he knew how competitive she was, it was a treat they shared.
"You´ve never worn a dress for me" he was nibbling on her throat now, making it harder and harder for her to concentrate on talking.
"You´ve never asked" she tightened her leg muscles around him, rubbing against him, she had never felt like this before, so needy and beyond caring about the consequences and to her intense relief he reached between them to work his belt and zipper open and then he was inside of her again and she screamed his name before she could stop herself but she was too far gone already to really care.
His lips covered her´s, tongue´s dueling as he brought her to the edge quickly, swallowing her cry of completion when she came hard.
Taylor buried his head against her shoulder as he followed her, then carefully let her back down onto the floor, making sure her legs were supporting her before letting go of her.
They smoothed out their clothes, eyes still burning into each other and when Taylor pulled her to him again Wash kissed him back with abandon, wondering if she would ever be able to see him again without feeling this intense need but then that was why a relationship like their´s was prohibited in the first place and he had warned her repeatedly.
They broke apart, breathless and Taylor leaned his forehead against Alicia´s, his arms loosely around her waist.
"You think we manage to talk tonight?"
She asked, amusement audible in her voice.
"Permission to speak freely?"
"Granted, Sir."
"No, we won´t manage but it´s ok, we´ll have time, there´s no way I´ll let you go again, not now."
She nodded, suddenly feeling completely exhausted and leaned against him, relying on him to keep her from simply collapsing to the floor.
"Ok."
Sensing how tired she was he picked her up and cradled her against his chest, smiling into her hair when she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Come on, Lieutenant, time to get you to bed."
"Yes, Sir" she muttered, already feeling herself drifting off to sleep.
"Morning, Ma´am."
Alicia nodded at Mark Reynolds, trying to stifle a yawn.
"Reynolds- come on, we´re already late."
He gave a look and she nodded, motioning for him to follow her.
"Fine, I´m already late, now come on, let´s move."
Wash set a fast pace, Mark struggling to keep up with her.
She was furious with herself for not being on time, aware that the rumor mill was most likely already up and running.
When they arrived back at the gate, Wash turned towards Reynolds who automatically took a step back.
"Combat training in fifteen- don´t look at me like that."
"Yes, Ma´am."
He walked off towards the barracks while Alicia made her way up to the commander center.
"Morning, Wash" Taylor winked at her and she smirked, standing to attention.
"Good morning, Sir- I´ll be meeting my unit for combat training in fifteen minutes, I´ll be back in time for your meeting with Dr. Shannon and Malcolm."
"Need any more workout, Lieutenant?"
He drawled, leaning back in his chair.
"Never can have enough workout, Sir" she shot back before turning on her heel and marching down the steps again, thinking that life was steadily improving.