This chapter is going to be a collection of bits and pieces, there are about forty seconds screen time for Wash in this ep, so I tried to fill in conversations she might have had with people in the meantime.
Next chapter will get the drama rolling and I´m already scared to write it, especially the attack on the colony, it´ll be horrible and emotional and since I want to include more Wash/Taylor moments, I´ll have her talk to Taylor via comm unit while the attack is happening, while he´s trying to get back in time and while she surrenders, so yeah, like I said, drama… But that´s next chapter, right now it´s just talking, most of the time.
MissCallaLily: Thank you- glad you liked that part, I wanted to get some emotional conflicts in, I needed some human side of Wash ;) Yeah, well, can´t help but love Shannon, even though I really, really need to give him a reason for keeping Taylor from saving Wash because if I don´t, I´ll start hating him at some point… Yeah, Taylor, can´t help but adore him even though he´s a bit- eccentric… So here´s the next part.
Madi92: Lol, please tell me if whatever you think occurs or not occurs because I`m really curious and it would be great if you´d be right since that would mean I managed to get some direction into my story ;)
Yeah, well, I suppose I put a lot of my own thoughts when it comes to having children in her mind but you´re right, she lives in a world where it technically might be a great thing to have kids, she´s just terrified right now, she´ll come around later, promised- Lol, yeah, they would- though since every kids written so far has Wash´s hair and Taylor´s eyes ´my´ kid will be blonde and have Wash´s eyes but that´s for later- a lot later, plenty of other problems to work through for them first.
metube: Lol, that´s understandable- oh well, he´s not bad in every sense, he´s also very loyal and very loving and protective, the way he stands by his son is proof of that. No, I made up that Mira/Taylor part and I don´t actually had in mind that he tells her, just that she figures it out by herself from the conversation they had- ok, that´s confusing, I`m rambling, you´ll find out in whatever chapter I´ll deal with the aftermath of the whole Lucas/Taylor stabbing fiasco.
Yeah, the baby thing is growing on me, I think I´ll eventually end the story that way and it´ll definitely be a girl, a lovely (unless her mother´s temper comes through) blonde, dark eyed girl- but yeah, later- I actually sort of have a plan to do a sequel about what might have happened in season two, not really sure yet.
"Are you going to tell me?"
Taylor looked up from his plex pad.
"Tell you what, Wash?"
Alicia sat up from where she had been lying on the sofa, watching Taylor as he pretended to work.
"I think you know."
After a moment´s hesitation, Tayler put the plex down onto the table and held his arms out and when Wash moved over to him, he pulled her onto his lap.
"I saw Lucas´ calculations, he´s almost there, Wash, it might be a matter of days now."
Wash felt her breath catch as the impact of his words hit her.
"He´ll get more people through with the eleventh."
Taylor sighed heavily, his lips brushing against her temple before he pulled her closer to him and buried his face in her unbound hair.
"I´m afraid he will, I´ll do anything I can to stop him in time."
"Don´t do anything too risky, Nathaniel, we need you."
"I promise you I´ll be careful, I still want to be here with you when this is all over. I´ll go out to the portal with Shannon tomorrow, post some people there, just in case, we need to be prepared."
"Let me go."
"Absolutely not, you´re going to stay here."
For a moment Wash considered protesting but decided that it wouldn´t do her any good, he was determined to keep her safe, just like she was determined to do the same for him and unfortunately for her, he was higher up in the command chain and therefore would get his way.
"We need to find out who the spy is, it would be really unfortunate if she´d tell Mira about our preparations."
"You´re right, I told Shannon to get a move on, you´re going to tighten security, double patrols, make sure there aren´t weak spots in the fence, we should be back around noon."
"Command, you copy."
"Copy, Sir."
"We´re ten minutes out, meet you by the gate."
"Meet you there, Command out."
Wash hurried down the steps and alerted the towers, the rhino was already visible, quickly making it´s way towards the colony.
Guzman stepped up next to Alicia, leaning over to whisper into her ear.
"Stop looking so eager, Wash, might be a give away."
"Shut up, Guz."
He chuckled, shaking his head but Wash wasn´t paying attention to him anymore, the rhino had just stopped and she was hurrying towards the driver´s side.
Taylor got out and Wash automatically checked him over for injuries, feeling relieved when she came up empty.
"Any problems, Sir?"
"Not at all, Lieutenant, looks perfectly normal out there."
"That a good or a bad thing?"
"Remains to be seen- come on, let´s take a break, Shannon´s continuing with his interviews now."
Feeling puzzled, Wash followed her CO towards the barracks, it wasn´t like Taylor to take a lunch break, usually he got something from the market and ate up at his office and the fact that he was letting Shannon use the office for his investigation and didn´t insist on being present for it was only adding to her uneasiness.
Taylor walked right past the entrance to the mess hall and towards the officer´s houses instead, unlocked Wash´s front door and held it open for her before following her inside.
"You´re worrying me, why are we here?"
She demanded, watching as he opened her refrigerator and began looking for food.
"Give me a moment, Wash, this isn´t going to be an easy conversation."
He straightened up, observing her for a moment, then shook his head.
"Damn it to hell- pour us a drink, I´m gonna need it."
She did as she was told, handing him the tumbler, then watched in alarm as he threw it back and held the glass out for a refill.
"Nathaniel-"
"I´ll be going out with Shannon to pick up the pilgrimage this time, you´re going to stay here."
She just stared at him for a moment, incredulously, then put her glass down onto the counter, preparing herself for the fight they undoubtedly were about to have.
"No way, it´s my job to go out to the portal."
"You are staying behind, Lieutenant, that´s my last word."
Taylor´s voice was cold, his face wearing the closed expression that told her that she had already lost their argument and yet she was determined to push, staying behind while he went out there, not knowing what would happen out at the portal would be unbearable.
"Then let me go with you, we´re no good apart, you know what happened the last time-"
"Stop right there, I´m not going to argue with you about this, you are my second in command and you are going to do your job and stand in for me while I´m gone."
"Nathaniel" Wash whispered, "please, don´t do this, I can´t let you go out there alone."
His expression softened but he kept the distance between them and Wash bit her lip, she didn´t want to cry in front of him, she was stronger than that.
"You won´t change your mind, will you."
Her voice betrayed her emotions, she was sounding defeated and she didn't like the fact that he could reduce her to this so easily but then what could she do when it hurt so damn much.
"I can´t- if anything happened to you, I´d never forgive myself."
His open admittance caught her off guard and she had to turn away from him, she couldn´t bear seeing him so vulnerable and knowing that she was responsible for it, that once again he was going to put himself on the line to protect her.
His arms closed around her moments later, his lips brushing against her neck and she took a shuddering breath, tears threatening to fall at any moment as she let the comforting warmth of his body wrap around her.
"Whatever happens, I can bear it as long as you are safe."
Wash turned around in his arms and the look in his eyes broke her heart, there was so much sadness, so much love and protectiveness, so much need and she couldn´t hold his gaze and instead hid her face against his neck, her arms wrapping around his neck as she pulled herself closer to him.
"What good would that be if I lost you?"
"You won´t loose me, Alicia, there´s nothing that can keep me from your side, I´ll always come back to you, I promise."
This wasn´t them at all, it was far too tender, too emotional, promising things they knew they couldn´t control and that they were in a situation where they both would act on fear and apprehension rather than on courage and strength scared Wash more than anything that might be happening in the near future.
"You think you could fit in there?"
Guzman sounded doubtful and Wash threw him a glance before climbing down into the drainage ditch and brushing a few plants aside, cursing under hear breath when some thorns dug into her skin.
"You´re ok down there?"
Guzman sounded amused and Wash turned her head, glaring at him.
"You better hope we don't find another one of those."
She held out her hand and her comrade pulled her back up next to him, looking suitable apologetic.
"So what do you think?"
"It´s possible to get outside that way, I´ll tell Shannon about it- I need more men, Taylor left half my unit out at the portal."
"That´s not a problem, my unit is building houses for the eleventh, it´s not a pressing matter, I´ll get have them report to you in an hour."
"Thanks, that´ll work."
They made their way back to the gate without finding anymore weak spots in the perimeter where they parted, Guzman walking towards the new housing unit to talk to his soldiers, Wash climbing the steps to command.
The commander was pacing his office, looking tense but his face lightened up at the sight of Wash.
"Lieutenant- how is the fence?"
"I found one spot that might be a way out, a drainage ditch, Guz is sending men over here now, I´ll post a few there until I´ve talked to Shannon."
"Let´s hope it helps, I want whoever it is cut off from Mira as soon as possible."
"How are the interviews going?"
"So far Shannon came up empty."
They were both avoiding mentioning their former conversation, Wash was still determined to make him change his mind and she knew that he was still convinced he was acting for the best and it certainly would come up again before he left but for now they would both concentrate on the matter at hand.
After installing the security camera Jim Shannon had asked her for, Wash instructed the members of her unit still at Terra Nova to double the west perimeter patrol, then walked back towards command, more than ready to finally go home after her twenty four hour shift.
The commander was seated at his desk, looking intently on a plex pad and only looked up when Wash rounded the desk and leaned against it, arms crossed as she waited for him to acknowledge her.
"Hey, Wash- finished with patrol?"
"Yes, Sir- what are you looking at?"
"List of suspects- I realized something. Did you know that Skye´s on that list?"
Wash shook her head.
"Well, me neither and when I read her name, I actually felt insulted for a moment, then I realized I trust the girl because I like her, I´m biased."
Taylor shook his head, apparently amused at him himself and put the plex down onto the table before adding "I shouldn´t be biased, I should consider every option and draw conclusions without taking in account wether or not I like someone or not."
Wash shrugged.
"That´s your only weakness, you believe in people too much, you don´t see when it´s time to regard them neutrally, Shannon´s the same, by the way."
"How´s that?"
"I´m not on the list, I´ve been in the infirmary that day."
Taylor shook his head, getting up and reaching around Wash to release her hair from it´s knot, then smoothed the long locks out on her shoulders.
"Not funny, Wash, I believe I´ve accused you of treachery only a few month ago."
"You were´t in your right state of mind, you can´t still be blaming yourself for that."
Taylor didn´t look convinced but seemed to decide not to argue further, instead he took the plex from the table and glanced at his watch.
"It´s almost midnight, you´ve bee working round the clock, you should go to bed."
"What about you?"
"I think I´ll look through some of Shannon´s interviews-"
"No."
He looked at her, eyebrows raised but Wash wasn´t about to give up so quickly.
"Look, I know you don´t want to talk about the trip to the portal but it´s only a few more nights and I don´t want to spend them apart from you, if I promise not to mention it, will you come home with me?"
He regarded her silently for a moment, then nodded, leaning over to dim the lights.
"Go ahead, I´ll be there in a few- Wash?"
She turned around, already at the door.
"Yes?"
"We can talk about it if you want to but it won´t make me change my mind, I´ll be going and you´re staying here, if you can´t accept it, it might be better if
I continued working, I don´t want to fight."
Him staying there was the last thing Alicia wanted and if it meant that she would have to avoid the topic, she would.
"Just come home, Nathaniel."
The next day was spent patrolling the perimeter and screening footage from the newly installed security cams and by nightfall Wash finally found what she had been looking for and other than she had expected, it wasn´t very satisfying.
Of all the people who could have fed information to Mira it had to be Skye, the one person beside herself Nathaniel had any real affection for inside the colony, how was that fair?
What had the girl been thinking, what had they done to her to repay the commander´s kindness in such a way?
Jim Shannon chose that moment to enter the office and Wash showed him the footage, then announced that she would notify Taylor but Shannon stopped her, saying that he had to double check something first.
Frowning, Wash turned off the screen and decided that she might as well do evening patrol herself, she wasn´t exactly looking forward to telling her CO about the identity of their spy and if Shannon was so involved, he could as well do it for her.
"Washington to Reynolds."
"Copy, Ma´am."
"Meet me by the gate ASAP, you´re doing patrol with me."
The young man was already waiting for her and Wash noticed that he looked just as tired and stressed out as everybody else on the security detail.
"You look like crap, Reynolds, when was the last time you slept?"
"I´m fine- it´s Maddy, she´s- she´s worried."
"Of course she´s worried, we are all worried and having to stay behind is always worse than leaving, trust me."
Mark just looked at her for a moment, then asked "so which one is it going to be for you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Waiting or leaving, somehow I can´t see the commander letting you go this time."
"You´ve given this a lot of thought."
"Not more than usual, he loves you and the colony will be the safest place if we were to come under attack."
Wash nodded, not at all surprised that Mark was taking Taylor´s side.
"And you agree with him."
"With wanting to keep you safe? Yeah, I agree, I want to keep you safe, too."
She smiled warmly at him, wishing she could protect him and the rest of her unit from what was about to come but they all were soldiers, they had signed up for this, had know the risks.
When Wash entered her CO´s house she found him already in bed, sitting up against the headboard and staring gloomily agains the wall.
Wash undressed quickly and snuggled up against his side, her head tugged beneath his chin and she felt relieved when his arms wrapped around her, she hadn´t been sure if he would allow himself to accept the comfort she was offering him.
"I´m sorry" she whispered, her fingertips tracing over his collarbone and down his arm, finally lacing her fingers with his.
"Me, too- I really can´t believe this, what on earth possessed her to do this, I thought she saw me as some sort of substitute father- you are right not wanting to have children with me, I´m the worst parent imaginable."
Wash couldn´t help but roll her eyes, even though he couldn´t see it.
She straightened up and straddled his lap, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders.
"You aren´t a bad parent and I never said you were- stop blaming yourself, we´ll find out why she did it, there must be a reason, she´s not a bad kid."
"And you tell me I have too much faith in people."
He sounded amused now, his hands coming to rest on her hips as he pulled her closer against him and Wash chuckled when his lips brushed against her throat.
"This conversation is over, isn´t it?"
"Not at all, I can talk and kiss you at the same time."
His breath against her skin made her shiver and she let her head fall back, giving him better access.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
She asked, congratulating herself for being focussed enough to form a correct sentence.
"I´ll set a trap for her, feed her some information, see if she takes the bait."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Yeah and I didn´t even have to ask you to come up with it" he joked and before Wash could reply he had covered her lips his his and Wash forgot what she had been about to say in favor of kissing him back passionately.
Much Wash was lying in Nathaniel´s arms, still searching for anything to say that would console him, he was lying on his back, his arms around her but she knew he wasn´t sleeping but staring into the darkness, still thinking about Skye.
"Talk to me" she said simply without moving from her position.
"Just wondering how to do this, I´ll tell her that we´re getting a supply convoy out, see if Mira turns up but I can´t think of a suitable way to arrange a relaxed conversation."
"That´s easy, you invite her up to command for a game of chess, tell Reynolds to update you on the convoy in the middle of it, she´ll probably excuse herself and you can watch her sneak outside on the cam."
"Planned out perfectly, just as usual, Lieutenant."
"If you say so, Sir."
He laughed quietly, pressing a quick kiss into her hair.
"Go to sleep, Wash, busy day ahead tomorrow."
They plan didn´t work the way they had hoped, Skye apparently hadn´t told Mira about the convoy and Taylor filled Wash in on Shannon´s theory over dinner at his house.
"He´s got a point" Wash mused, "we never actually did loose anything important, just things that could easily be replaced."
"That´s not an excuse, though, she´s still been giving the Sixers information, inside information and I want to know why."
"There aren´t many options, you either have to wait until you catch her or you have to bring her in and let Shannon question her, she´s not that tough, she´ll break."
"Probably- for now I´ll run with the first option, she´s been lying until now, we might be completely wrong about her and then she might lie to us again, stir us off track and we don´t have time for that."
He was looking gloomy, the day´s disappointment had left him in a bad mood and Wash couldn´t think of anything that might cheer him up right now, it might actually be best to leave him to his own devices for a while.
"I´ll go and do evening patrol."
"Shannon´s on that."
"Yeah, I know, I need to talk to him."
"What about?"
"Nothing special, just some minor issue about doubling patrols, I´ll see you later."
She brushed past him, ignoring his confusion, there was something that had been on her mind even since Nathaniel had informed her about his plans to go to the portal and leave her behind at the colony and she wanted the issue resolved as quickly as possible.
She waited for Jim Shannon by the gate, relieved when he turned up alone."
"Hey, Wash- what are you doing out here, I thought you were off duty for today."
"Technically I am, I want to talk to you."
They fell into step next to each other, walking along the perimeter.
"So what do you want to talk about then?"
Alicia bit her lip, this was going to be hard but it had to be done.
"The Commander is planning to pick up the pilgrimage himself this time, leaving me in charge of the colony."
Shannon nodded, obviously aware of those plans and agreeing with them.
"I will do anything I can think of to change his mind but in case I won´t succeed, which, admittedly, is likely, I need you to promise me something."
Jim´s face was serious now and he looked at her expectantly but didn´t interrupt her.
"I know you have it all planned out, go to the portal and if anyone comes through who shouldn´t, take them out one at a time, it sounds like a flawless plan but we´re dealing with Lucas here and there´s still a chance it might now work the way we expect it to.
If that´s the case and they attack the colony, I´ll do whatever I can to hold them off until you are back."
Shannon nodded, still looking uncharacteristically solemn.
"You want me to promise you to protect him?"
Wash couldn´t help but smile lightly, it sounded so cheesy, so chivalrous, so much like Shannon.
"That would be good, yeah- I´m not talking about throwing yourself in front of him if he´s shot at or pushing him out of the way, I know you´ll do that if you have to, there are other things he´s bound to do if things go wrong, he has a tendency to be brave and noble to a fault, he believes in sacrificing himself for others, no matter what is at stake, make sure he´ll stay safe."
"Wash-"
"The colony needs him, without him it´ll all go to hell, anyone else is replaceable, he is not."
She felt Jim´s hand on her arm and halted, turning to face the man next to her.
"I´m serious, Shannon, I´ve done whatever I could to protect him for eighteen years, if I can´t be there to do it now, you have to do it for me, whatever happens, don´t let him rush into a situation he might not get out of alive, promise me that."
"How can I, Wash, I wouldn´t stand back if it was Elisabeth or the kids who were in danger- or you or Reynolds or Taylor himself, how could I keep him from doing something he believes is worth the risk? Why are you even saying this, are you having some sort of premonition or anything?"
Wash looked back at him imploringly.
"Just promise me, Jim, please."
She held his gaze until he finally looked down, sighing heavily as he nodded.
"All right, I promise."
Feeling relieved, Wash briefly touched his arm, then continued walking and for the reminder of their patrol they continued on in silence, both lost in thought.
Wash stopped the rhino and jumped out, yelling at her soldier´s to move quickly and secure the area.
To her intense disappointment the camp was already deserted, the Sixers had left as soon as they had realized that Curran was gone and had taken Deborah Tate with him.
Cursing under her breath, Wash pulled out her comm unit and contacted her CO.
"They are gone, Sir."
"Damn- search the camp, bring back whatever they left, weapons, medicine, anything of value you can find."
"Will do, Sir."
"Good- Deborah is stable for now, it´s not looking too bad, the Doc thinks she can reproduce the meds."
"How´s Skye?"
There was silence on the other end and Wash decided to not press the matter, Syke seemed to be a rather bad subject at the moment.
"I´ll be back as soon as I can, keep an eye on Curran, I don't want him assaulted straight away."
"Yes, Ma´am."
Taylor sounded amused and Wash rolled her eyes, even though he couldn´t see her.
"Funny, Sir- I´ll see you when I get back."
"Be safe, Lieutenant."
"Ma´am?"
Wash turned around slowly, she had been waiting for this moment and now it was here, she didn´t know how to react at all.
Curran looked older than when she had last seen him, gone was the reckless, charming boy who had made his comrades laugh and flirted outrageously with every girl looking his way, instead she found herself face to face with a man who had seen things he shouldn´t have and it had changed him, he now reminded Wash of herself and other soldiers she had fought with in the wars of the future.
He had killed for money, he had deserved his fate and yet seeing him like this, knowing he had endured what she had endured, was almost too much to bear, one more lost opportunity, one more future destroyed.
"Curran."
She didn´t smile but her voice was neutral, almost friendly, the boy had risked his own life to save Deborah Tate and if it was good enough for Taylor, it would be good enough for her, Curran didn´t need her to make things complicated for him, everyone else would jump at the opportunity, especially his former unit.
He looked embarrassed but didn´t avoid her gaze.
"I´d like to apologize to you, Ma´am- I put shame on my unit and on you and I´m sorry, I was greedy and stupid and I wish I could undo it."
He looked sincere and Wash felt herself relax, the boy would have to prove himself soon enough, perhaps it really was time to take a leaf out of Taylor´s book and give him a second chance.
"Apology accepted, Soldier, your unit won´t be so forgiving, prepare yourself for one hell of a hard time."
"Yes, Ma´am."
"I want to know if people are giving you any trouble, come and talk to me, don´t take it because you think you deserve it."
"I- yes, Ma´am."
He wouldn´t come to her, Wash was convinced he wouldn´t, he would stand up for himself, fight his own battles and it wouldn´t be few.
"Dismissed."
Curran saluted sharply, then walked away in direction of the barracks while Wash continued towards the infirmary and entered it, looking around for Elisabeth Shannon and finally spotted her at the other side of the room.
"Dr. Shannon, I have brought back a lot of medicine from the Sixer´s camp, you might want to go through it."
"Thank you, Lieutenant."
The other woman smiled warmly and Alicia once again wondered how anyone could possess such a gentle and forgiving nature, Elisabeth Shannon had obviously forgiven her for playing a part in Jim´s arrest without questioning her any further.
Wash excused herself and left the infirmary again, then decided that she would talk to Nathaniel after their shift, right now she needed to oversee the unloading of the rovers, they had brought back plenty of useful items from raiding the camp and she wanted it all stored away before nightfall.
Outside she noticed Syke who was sitting on a bench near the market place, looking as though all the weight of the world was on her shoulders.
"Hey."
Wash sat down next to the girl who smiled sadly up at her, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Is anything wrong with your mother?"
Skye shook her head.
"No, she´s fine, Dr. Shannon says she can reproduce the medicine synthetically."
"That´s good then, so why are you looking so upset?"
"It´s the Commander, he´s not talking to me anymore and-"
The girl bit her lip and Wash put a comforting hand on the young woman´s shoulder.
"Give him some time, he´ll come around, you´ll see."
"I hope so, I didn´t want to disappoint him, I´m so sorry."
The girl was crying now and Wash felt compelled to comfort her but she didn´t really know how, she was certain that Nathaniel would in time act normal towards Skye again, he was still hoping that Lucas would see the error of his ways, if he was faithful enough for that, it would be enough for Skye, too.
"Just be patient, all right? I have to go, speak to my team- if you want to talk, you know where to find me."
The girl nodded gratefully.
"Thank you."
"You´re welcome."
Wash left the girl and finally made her way back to the gate, smiling when she found that Taylor had taken it upon himself to oversee the unloading process and there wasn´t anything left to do for her.
She stepped up next to her CO who was turning a gun over in his hand.
"Found something to play with?"
He looked up, amused.
"I suppose I have, nice weapon, are there more?"
"Yeah, plenty- they must have been in a real hurry, they hardly took anything with them. It´s a shame they are on the wrong side, actually, they seem to have a few talented carpenters."
"According to Mira it´s not been that comfortable, where were you?"
"In the infirmary- and then I talked to Syke, she´s upset."
Taylor´s expression hardened.
"I hope so, she put the whole colony in danger, thanks to her, Lucas is going to finish within days now."
"Don´t be so hard on her, she only wanted to protect her mother."
"I know that, Wash and I´ll see it that way in time, right now I want to slap her every time I see her."
He looked tense and Alicia decided to drop the subject, there would come a time when Skye would get her chance to prove her loyalty to the colony and regain Taylor´s trust, everyone within Terra Nova would have to make a choice rather sooner than later.