III: Josh Shannon

A month and a half after the Shannon family's arrival in Terra Nova, Jim thought he'd finally finished adjusting to their changed circumstances. He still had the occasional nightmare about waking up alone in his cell, or about faceless men ripping Zoe from his arms, but he woke most mornings next to his gorgeous wife, ate at least one meal every day with his amazing children, and worked alongside a collection of brilliant, earnest people who- for the most part- completely believed in the new home they had signed up to build.

There'd been a few bad moments, of course. Making a deal with the saboteurs' leader, Mira, to rescue a child hostage; catching Taylor eying him with suspicion after he returned from the Sixer camp that night; and one of the colony's soldiers murdering a teammate over a gambling debt, to name a few. Being forced to stand on his role as head of the colony seemed to bring out Commander Taylor's sharpest edges, and it wasn't always easy to figure out what he expected of Jim. The Saturday when the sky quite literally fell in on them didn't help.

Jim might have thwarted Mira's first attempt to recover the box she'd left behind in the colony, but Nature had given her a fresh opportunity when the meteor shower knocked the electronics out, and she'd taken it. The incident had justified the time Jim had taken to familiarize himself with the more obsolete weapons in the colony's arsenal- but proved he still had work to do with his physical reconditioning. The two years he'd spent breathing unfiltered uptime atmosphere were a pretty poor excuse for losing that fist fight in the infirmary and his best chance to stop the Sixer thief with it.

After all of that, the fishing trip Taylor suggested came as something of a surprise. For all the times he'd been told 'You're with me, Shannon' since being added to the security forces, it was the first chance Jim had to spend time with Taylor in a purely- or at least mostly- social situation. He'd pretty much given up on any pretense that all he felt for the man was simple lust or admiration, but he'd kept a tight rein on it, enjoying the working synergy developing between them for what it was. Bowfishing for Xiphactinus finally gave them a chance to establish a baseline for a friendship outside of stressful situations.

Even if the only fish he actually hooked got away. Even if he kind of got the impression the next morning that the fishing trip was half cover for some other side venture of Taylor's. Jim still got the chance to breathe seaside air for the first time in his life, see the way Taylor's eyes crinkled when he was in a genuinely good mood, and watch the man wander around in a sleeveless shirt for hours before sleeping next to him in bedrolls under the stars. A better way to acclimate to the peaceful side of the Cretaceous era, Jim couldn't imagine.

It was a pity it couldn't have lasted longer, but crime waited on no man. He'd barely parked the rover back at the colony before Wash was on him wanting to know why the Commander was still OTG. And from there, she sent him straight to the infirmary to investigate a break-in that had occurred while he was gone. His professional familiarity with narcotics was one aspect of his police experience he'd hoped never to have to use in his new home, but he guessed people really were the same, no matter the place or time they lived in.

Josh was the only one home when he finally walked through the door several hours later. He dropped his bags on the floor, then turned to smile at his son- but his good mood faded quickly as Josh looked up, eyes flicking disdainfully in Jim's direction. The teenager's shoulders were set just as belligerently as they'd been those first few days after Jim had rejoined the family, when Josh had still been furious at his father for getting arrested and leaving them in the first place. What was causing it now?

"Hey, Josh," he said cautiously, testing the waters. Clearly, something new was bothering him; and Jim had no idea what it might be.

Josh snorted and turned back to his plex, firing barbed words from behind the shaggy curtain of his hair. "So, you're back. How'd your date with Commander Taylor go?"

"Excuse me?" Jim frowned. If Josh had said it in a teasing way that would be one thing; but there was definite venom in his son's tone.

"You went 'fishing' with him. Overnight," Josh replied dryly, making quote marks in the air with his fingers. "And Maddy says her boyfriend says Taylor never asks anyone to go out to the cliffs with him, not since Lucas disappeared."

If that was true, Jim would bet fifty Terras it was only because Wash wasn't a fan of the sport. And that if Taylor found out Reynolds was gossiping about him and his son, Jim wouldn't have to bother kicking the soldier's ass over Maddy- Taylor would take care of it for him.

Regardless, Jim didn't see what was so offensive about the observation. Was Josh upset that he hadn't taken him OTG to do some kind of father-son activity of their own yet? Jim and Elisabeth might not be the greatest role models in the world for not rewarding bad behavior, but Josh was still grounded for a very good reason. He was nearly an adult, old enough to be taking responsibility for his own mistakes.

"That hardly makes it a date, Josh. He's my boss. We were due some downtime, and we happened to take it in the same place. And as for 'fishing'," he repeated the quote mark gestures with a tolerant grin, "I actually did catch one- briefly. It was enormous; at least eight feet long. I'd show you, but I was too busy trying not to fly over the cliff to take a capture at the time."

"Is that what those bruises are from?" Josh continued tartly, pointedly eyeing Jim's arms.

"Bruises?" Jim had taken off his jacket when he'd dropped the pack, and he'd changed into a short-sleeved shirt when he'd taken advantage of the shower at the infirmary; it had been the only thing left unworn in his pack. "Oh; yeah. I didn't even notice," he said, eying the wide bruise on his left bicep and the clear finger marks visible on his other arm.

His heart had been pounding so fast from the close call with watery death that his memories of the moment were a little blurred, but he didn't think he'd ever forget the feeling of Taylor wrapped bodily around him, or the sound of waves crashing beneath his feet as the Commander laughed heartily in his ear. It was the closest he'd been to anyone but his family in years without some kind of negative intent involved. "I locked my fingers on the reel like an idiot, and it nearly pulled my chair right into the ocean," he chuckled, shaking his head. "I guess I'm lucky I wasn't out there by myself; Taylor caught me."

"Lucky. Nice choice of words, dad. I'm sure you're right; that's all it was," Josh replied sullenly, looking away again.

The conversation was getting ridiculous. And the insinuations were becoming too obnoxious to ignore. "Now hold on a second. I don't think I like your tone," he said sternly, his mood starting to sour.

Josh dropped his plex on the table with a clatter and shot to his feet with a hiss. "You don't like my tone? Because clearly, that's the important thing here, not the fact that you're screwing around on Mom," he spat in return.

Jim's eyebrows shot up. Where was all the anger coming from? Maybe they'd made a mistake not coming clean to the kids about their arrangement years back. But frankly, he'd have expected better from Josh, even if that particular accusation had actually been true. He and Elisabeth had both been very clear with all three children: they were expected to treat both parents with respect as long as they lived under the same roof, no matter how upset they were.

"I'm not screwing around on your mother, Josh. Because there's nothing going on between the Commander and I. And even if there was-"

Josh swept a hostile hand through the air between them. "I know there is, I'm not deaf, I heard Mom saying you had a crush on him weeks ago when I got up to use the fresher. And lately you've been spending more time with him than her!"

Jim made a tactical error, then; he knew it even as the words left his mouth. He should have shut the conversation down calmly, but he was too surprised to self-censor, and what came out instead was, "You heard that? Just how much of that conversation did you hear?"

Josh snorted, triumphant. "Like that isn't enough?"

"No, not if you're going to take it like that!" Jim growled in aggravation. "In the first place, if you'd listened a little longer you'd know that your mother was the one who made the suggestion, so it'd be kind of hard to do anything behind her back. And in the second, as I was trying to say before you so rudely interrupted, even if there was, it would be none of your damn business."

"It is my damn business if she's spending all her time in the lab because you're not here!" Josh fired back. Then he crossed his arms over his chest, deflating a little as if he finally realized just how far out of line he was. "I know I was pissed at you when we first got here, but I thought you and Mom were going to put things back together. What are you going to do, split custody of us after she decides Doc Wallace would make a better husband? I've seen the way he looks at her. And I've seen the way she looks at him. I can't believe you guys are being so selfish."

A rock sank in Jim's gut as Josh's voice wavered on the last sentence of his run-on explanation. So that was the problem: Josh was feeling abandoned again, and taking it out on Jim like he had before. Not that it gave him an excuse for the attitude, but it made it a little more understandable. And at least he'd blown up at Jim about it, not Elisabeth- and hopefully not to his sisters, either.

"We're not splitting up, Josh. I already know about Malcolm; like I said before, nothing's going on behind anyone's back. Just because your mother and I are both spending time with other people-"

"Could have fooled me," Josh replied under his breath.

Jim sighed, crossing the room to lay a hand on his son's shoulder. "I'm going to give you a pass just this once because you're worried. But I'm not going to tell you again, Josh: we're not going to get a divorce. When we said 'til death do us part, we meant it. Ask your mother if you doubt me."

Josh's gaze flicked briefly to his face at that, then away again, clouded with anger and fear and something that looked a lot like guilt. "Yeah, that's what Kara's parents said," he muttered.

"Is that what-" Jim softened further, tugging him closer for a half-hug. "Josh. Look, I'm sorry you had to leave Kara behind. But you can't dwell on it this way. It'll just get you into trouble. Maybe one of her parents will win the lottery. Or maybe, after the colony's well established and they open it up for wider settlement, you'll be able to pay her ticket through. But until then, you're just making yourself miserable to no purpose."

Josh hunched his shoulders under the touch, curling inward a little. "If you say so," he said, his voice oddly strained.

Jim froze, something niggling away in the back of his mind as that gesture clicked with a couple of other cues from earlier in the conversation. By itself, it was nothing, but...

"Josh, is there something else going on with you?"

His son stepped away from him, almost absently pressing one hand against his chest. "No. Why do you ask?" he said, almost stumbling over the words in his haste to reply.

Jim assessed him again, the way he was standing, the defensive mood he'd been in before Jim ever walked in the door; he couldn't believe what his cop instincts were suggesting, but he had to follow up. "Josh? Could you lift your shirt up for me?"

Josh took another step back, glaring defensively. "Why?"

And to think he'd been all sympathetic. He couldn't believe he'd fallen for the distraction tactics. "I'm your father, Josh. And I said, lift up your shirt."

"What the hell? You spend a day OTG with your boyfriend, and you think you get to come back here and accuse me of-? I don't think so," Josh erupted, shaking his head.

"Whether or not the Commander is anyone's boyfriend has nothing to do with the fact that someone fired a sonic pistol in the infirmary last night," he pointed out, noting grimly that Josh didn't even seem surprised by that statement. "I can't believe I even have to ask this, but this smokescreen you're throwing up? If you're innocent, show me. And if you're not, if you've been doing azimeth behind our backs..." Some father he was, if that turned out to be true.

"You'll what, Dad? God; I'm not doing azimeth," Josh retorted in disgust.

"Well thank God for small favors," Jim fired back. "You're still not leaving this room without taking off your shirt."

Josh stared at him a long moment, clenching his jaw, then sagged visibly. "You don't even know what's really going on around here, do you? Some cop you are." He stripped off the shirt in one quick movement, wincing in pain. "There. You're right. I fired the fucking pistol. Now what the hell are you going to do about it?"

"Why, Josh?" Jim asked, as aghast at the dark rings of bruising across his son's torso as he was at the proof of Josh's guilt. It looked like it really hurt, and he couldn't imagine what could have driven his son to do such a thing. "Has your mom looked at that?"

Josh snorted, eyes shimmering with angry tears as he threw his shirt to the floor. "What do you think? And I did for Kara. Maybe you can't do anything for her, but Mira said she could get her on the Eleventh if I got her the azimeth. And don't say she can't do it- she can talk to 2149 without waiting for the portal to open."

Idiot. Idiot. Jim was still furious at him for his terrible judgment, but a growing percentage of his turbulent emotions were blazing instead with the urge to track down whatever adult had preyed on Josh's teenage fears and sent him into Mira's clutches in the first place. Maybe she would have rewarded him with his girlfriend; or maybe not, but either way she'd have kept digging her claws deeper and deeper into him if Jim hadn't pressed for an answer. That was how it worked: once a blackmailer had something on you, you were less likely to ask for other help, and they had zero incentive to let go.

What would have been next? Enlisting Josh as their next spy? Jim had already known from the example of little Leah Marcos, sent into Terra Nova to steal for the mutineers under the threat of harm to her brother, that Mira wasn't above using children- but this was personal.

"You gave Mira the azimeth?" he said grimly, staring his son down. "I don't believe this, Josh. Didn't you learn anything from sneaking out and nearly ending up Slasher bait on your second day here? You still haven't worked off the consequences from that, and believe me, this will be much, much worse. It isn't just a teenage prank this time; you're working with a group of people who want to destroy the colony!"

"So Taylor says," Josh muttered, then sat down again, losing steam. "I should have kept my mouth shut. If I tell you anything else, then they'll know it was me, and then Kara..." He trailed off miserably.

"Did you even think about what you might be exposing her to before you brought her to their attention?" Jim replied. Was anything he'd said getting through to the kid? "Did you even get any useful information out of it? Like who Mira's spy is? Or where their camp is located?"

"Are you kidding?" Josh snorted, bitterly. "Like they'd give the cop's son any important information. The security around this place is a joke, anyway; it might keep strangers out, but it sure as hell doesn't keep anyone in. The spy could be anyone."

Jim took a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his chin as he thought carefully through what to say next. "Well, you better give me something. If you make me charge you officially, Josh, it'll go on your permanent record, and you'll be doing punishment detail for months, if not years. And you realize I have to tell Taylor what you did, regardless. And your mother."

"Nice priorities there, Dad." Josh crossed his arms over his bare chest as he picked up the earlier thread of accusations again, but his tone was much more subdued, confirming Jim's assumption that the azimeth issue was what had really been upsetting him. Small favors. "I do get that it's serious. But- I thought the reward would be worth it."

"Do you even know how many people that 'meth could have saved? Ask your mother; there's at least one patient that will die without that treatment. There's no way she can get any replacement chems until the Eleventh arrives, at a minimum. And what about the harm the Sixers will do with it? It's a Schedule II drug for a reason, Josh. Did you put any thought into the potential consequences?"

"But... it was just medicine. And it was for Kara. That's all I wanted: her safe in Terra Nova," Josh replied, plaintively.

Jim shook his head in frustration. So no, he hadn't thought about the consequences. Like father, like son, unfortunately- but just as Jim had paid the price for his impulsivity, Josh was going to have to make amends for his. At least he'd started using the past tense; he wasn't still deluding himself he could pull it off.

"But it isn't going to happen. And if you thought it really would have, you're dreaming. Last chance, son, before I go find your mother."

Josh stared down at the table for a long moment, thoughts churning in his head; Jim left him to it, well aware that an intimidating stare and a stretching silence would provide more incentive for his son to talk than any amount of filling the air further with angry words.

Finally, Josh looked up, tangling his hands together on the table. "It isn't- I mean, I don't think Mira actually has the drugs yet. Boylan's got an arrangement with the Sixers, or something. I put the drugs in the refrigerator at the bar. So. So it's not like- I mean, I haven't actually hurt anyone but me, yet."

Jim clenched a fist at his side, choking back blistering words. "Boylan? I might have known."

Of course the bartender was up to no good. And Boylan wouldn't be able to claim love-blind youth as an excuse; whether he was the actual spy or just the opportunistic black marketeer he'd always appeared to be before, Taylor was going to come down on him like a bag of bricks. Jim should have stuck to his guns when Josh first took the job at that bar; he'd known from day one that no good would come of it, but he'd been feeling guilty about his two years of absent fatherhood and hoped that allowing Josh a little independence would improve their relationship.

"That's it; no more job. And you're grounded until I say otherwise. No games on your plex, no meeting Skye or her friends, no leaving the house for anything but school unless your mother or I are with you."

"But, Dad..." Josh objected, perfunctorily.

"No; you know that's the least of what you deserve. And you better hope Taylor's in a good mood when he gets back, and that those drugs are still there, or we might be revisiting those consequences."

"Guess I better send you in to butter him up first, then," Josh muttered, scuffing his shoe under the table.

"This is not a joke, Josh," Jim replied, exasperated.

"I didn't think it was," Josh said wanly, then finally looked up at him. "Not any of it. I'm not a kid, all right? I knew what I was doing."

Jim shook his head. "I just wish you'd trusted me with any of this, before things got this far."

"Whatever," Josh sighed.

What a way to wrap up the day. And it was only going to get worse. Elisabeth, Boylan, Wash, Taylor, the other kids- Jim wasn't looking forward to any of those conversations.

"Come on," he said, dispiritedly. "Let's go talk to your mother."

-(3/6)-