Both were stunned and Ayani's hands were shaking uncontrollably at actually seeing him after four long days of waiting. She would have blown it off as an evil prank except Elliot Simmonds, a very good and loyal friend informed her. He came to her place in person and seemed just as upset and said he couldn't explain it until tests were ran, but when Nathaniel regained consciousness, they could visit him at the hospital. Elliot came to get her and told her they were bringing him out of the coma they placed him in to heal his heart.
Nathaniel wasn't sure what was going on or where he was when he felt himself waking from a deep sleep. After months in the field, he expected to see the walls of his tent, not his dead wife. He blinked expecting her to vanish, but she was still by his bed and now holding his hand and she felt very real. The man he caught in his peripheral vision entering with Ayani stepped forward and Nathaniel instantly recognized him, "Elliot."
"Nathaniel, good to see you again," the man was Nathaniel's age and his temples graying, replacing his natural brown hair.
"What happened?" Nathaniel tried to remember what the doctor told him, something about a football field.
"We're not sure, but let me ask you a few questions. What year is it?"
Nathaniel thought, "2150."
"You got that one correct," Simmonds looked at Ayani. "Do you have any questions for Nathaniel?"
Nathaniel met her eyes again and she spoke for the first time with his Ayani's voice, "You were reported killed and I saw your dead body in Somalia and again when I said goodbye to you at the funeral and buried you twelve years ago. How can you be here?" Her hands were holding one of his and they tightened to a painful vice grip, that he ignored.
"I don't know," Nathaniel found his voice was hoarse. "With you at my bedside, I feel my last years have been a hallucination." He eyes drank in the sight of her, "You died in Somalia."
Her eyes widened and she shook her head, tears coming into her green eyes, "No, you and Lucas died in Somalia and I've been alone since then."
Nathaniel digested her news and looked back to Simmonds, "I shouldn't be here, should I?"
"That's right. I didn't tell Ayani what we found out because its top secret, but I did get clearance a few hours ago to fill her in." Elliot gave Ayani's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and continued, "We did a molecular check on you and you are from a parallel Earth. It was theorized such a phenomenon might be possible when we found the time-space continuum to the past back in 2127. You proved the theory does exist. Needless to say a ton of scientists want to study you and everyone wants to talk to you. You came in without any identification on you so we took DNA and you were a match for a dead man, and not just any dead man, one of my best friends."
Nathaniel absorbed Elliot's version, but his eyes couldn't stay off Ayani, "I'm glad you're alive."
"Same here," her voice was soft and full of disbelief. "You'll have to tell me how your Ayani died."
He nodded and absorbed her changed face. Ageing was kind to her he decided. He had so much to ask her, but one thought was persistent, "You said Lucas was killed?"
"In Somalia, with you."
"In my dimension, Lucas lived." He watched her smile broadly.
"Oh, Nathaniel, I'm so happy and relieved. Is he a good man?"
Nathaniel never doubted how he'd answer, "He's a doctor of physics, a genius. He worked on the portal to the past." He frowned, "If I died, did you build Hope Plaza and send someone to the past?"
Simmonds answered, "General Philbrick led the expedition to the past. He's there now with his military."
Nathaniel got upset and the doctor, who'd been listening quietly and monitoring his vitals stepped in. "My patient just woke up when you entered. I have to do an exam so need you to leave."
Ayani gazed down at him, "I'm afraid this is a nightmare and if I walk out of this room, I'll wake up and you'll be dead again."
Nathaniel smiled and brought her hands to his lips, "I'll still be here, I promise." He watched Elliot take her arm and guide her from the room and didn't look at the doctor until she was out of sight.
The doctor flipped the bioscreen on, "Your heart is fine now. You did have a bruise on your heart and one over an intercostal space which we healed. We kept you in a coma for four days and you made a full recovery. Other than being stiff and sore for a few days, I don't see why you can't be released."
"Where will I go?"
"You will be sequestered by the military for an indefinite period of time, I'm afraid. They made it clear to me, you were in their custody. On the plus side, the old Nathaniel Taylor's health was nearly as good as yours. You said you led the mission to Terra Nova. What year?"
"2142."
"That was the year General Philbrick went."
"Our timelines diverged when I died," Nathaniel reflected on what changes must have happened to their worlds. "History will not be the same after that. Something went wrong either in your universe or mine."
"I agree. We may never know which lineage is off though. Your clothes are clean and in that closet," the doctor pointed to a white door flush with the wall. Left alone, Nathaniel rose and stood, looking around. He placed a hand over his heart and still felt a slight tenderness. Slowly, he got dressed.
"The only thing I'm sure of, is Dad didn't go to our future. He went someplace else," Lucas was adamant as he stared at Jim Shannon. "I wouldn't lie to you. If it was the same, I'd have found a way to leave by now, even wearing these," he held his bound hands up to emphasize his point. "We've been here seven days and I've checked this time continuum fissure every way I know and even Malcolm has double checked my calculations and has come to the same conclusion."
Jim looked to Malcolm who was standing in the group.
"He's right, Jim. We can send a person to the future the Commander and Mira apparently disappeared, but they may never find their way back and I don't see volunteers wanting to risk their futures here to search for them," Malcolm added his agreement with Lucas.
"Malcolm, any suggestions on what we should do with this site?" Jim knew they couldn't stay here indefinitely and with the enemy destroyed, they needed to go home. Guzman told the soldiers the sheriff was in charge as third ranked in the colony and they were to follow his orders. Jim tried to leave the soldiers to Guzman and if he saw something mentioned it to the Lieutenant to handle. He and Guz worked well together and he hoped their cordial relationship remained after they returned to the colony.
Malcolm thought a minute then issued his instructions, "Mark it on the records. If for some chance, they do return through this site, we need to set up a radio and relays back to the colony. We can leave a radio with instructions in a sealed container in the open where they can't miss it, telling them we are setting relays every few hundred klicks in the direction of Terra Nova. The problem is, we don't have the relays and will need to send a team of engineers to build the towers and make sure the signals are strong and work and then we'll have to maintain them from here to home."
"Anyone have anything else?" Jim knew they had to leave as the people were getting antsy staying in one place for so long especially with the war over.
Guzman had another suggestion, "I think this is a good idea, but how about fixing the portal, per chance they are in a place they can tap into it."
Malcolm nodded, "I can fix it and set it so any lock will work."
Jim heard enough, "We'll do that also. I think we've done all we can here. Look around for anything we've missed. I sure am happy to have all the armaments the Phoenix donated to our colony, not to mention what the Sixers stole, back in our hands. Spread out and do a walk over where we were located, and the Phoenix area also."
Camp was disassembled and packed onto the trucks. The Sixers and Lucas were bound and placed six per troop transport for the trip back to the colony. Jim and Guzman were taking no chances they could escape and return to harassing them.
"Sir," a private rushed up and handed tags to Jim.
He read the name aloud, "Commander Nathaniel Taylor." He looked at the soldier, "Thank you." When the young man left, he pocketed the item to give to Wash. With a heavy heart, he ordered the convoy to move out and drove the same rover he and Taylor shared for the majority of the trip to this spot. He had about three weeks to tell Wash what happened and he wasn't looking forward to being the bearer of that news.
Six days into their journey, which was deliberately slow as they surveyed out the best relay route so when the engineers returned, that part of the project would be over. They were building a mound with rocks for a landmark when a returning Dunham saw what looked like a massive army in the distance. He stopped and stiffly got off the bike. He dug through his saddlebags and found his binoculars. Scanning the vehicles, he spotted friendlies and enemies together so switched to the people. He smiled and rapidly shoved the binoculars into his bag and jumped on his bike, fatigue vanishing as he rushed towards his friends.
"We have company, Lieutenant," Benson pointed to a cloud of dust.
Guzman watched the motorcycle approach and stop at his location. Soldiers gathered in a circle.
"Looks like I missed all the fun," Dunham exclaimed as he pulled his plexpad and handed it to Guzman. "Mail from home, Sir."
"This will be most welcome, private. I didn't expect to see you again."
"Lieutenant Taylor only gave me a week off and said you all needed messages as much as they did." Guzman's face became stone and Dunham picked up on the nuance, "Something wrong, Sir?"
"We misplaced the Commander." Guzman didn't meet his eyes, but looked around, "We'll camp here and listen to our messages." The people cheered and rushed to set the camp up in record time.
Jim saw Dunham in the distance where he was overseeing the placing of rocks. He guessed news from home caused the cheering he heard, and noted Guzman made the right call not pressing on with the soldiers needing news from the home front. That night in the Commander's tent, he accessed his messages. He kicked his boots off and lay on the cot and started playing messages in order of their recording. He paused on one from Elizabeth, let the information sink in slowly, and with a sigh hit replay.
"You wouldn't believe the day I had. It started with Erick McKormick being helped into the clinic with a sliver clear through his hand, and the piece of wood was two feet long and half was on each side and it was at least an inch in diameter. Then Wash came in not feeling well. Turns out her problem is…. she's pregnant. I should have guessed with her sleeping so much. She isn't having morning sickness. I totally hate her…."
Jim hit pause on the rest of the message and looked at the date it was recorded. 'If she was a month along and Elizabeth hadn't said, she's now…' he mentally counted months, 'due any day. I doubt we'll make it back before the baby is born.' The sorrow of his news, that he personally told Guzman, he'd deliver as soon as they cleared the gate, made him put his pad down and close his eyes. He felt sorrow like his time in Golad, away from the family and friends. He made a vow that the baby would have a father figure in him if Taylor never returned.
Alicia held her newborn daughter. She wanted to cry for the baby who would never know her father. She was certain the shock of losing her husband triggered her contractions as the baby was born the night the army returned. She was alone in the Infirmary and supposed to be resting from her cesarean a few hours before. She finally ordered Elizabeth to go home to her husband by assuring her the baby was in good hands and she wanted to be alone. The thought that Elizabeth had a husband to sleep with that night brought a new round of tears. This time she didn't try to hold them back and her sobs filled the area. It was approaching midnight and soon her worse and best day would be over. Her tears trailed off and she reached for a handkerchief, blew her nose with one hand, and wiped her eyes.
"I look a sight, don't I?" she spoke to her daughter who opened unfocused eyes at her mother's voice. "We need to keep this evened up," she switched her to the other side and stroked her soft dark down that was completely straight. "You have my looks and hair and I wanted you to have your father's beautiful eyes, but even those are mine. I just don't see any of your daddy in you. You know what that mean, little one. You're going to act just like him. I had three names picked out for you, but wanted to see which one fit you the best." Her daughter closed her eyes, uninterested in knowing the name her mother chose. She fell asleep immediately, her mouth ceasing its sucking motion. Alicia carefully laid her in the incubator beside her bed and turned the light down. She hoped for sleep to make the pain in her heart go away, but her mind immediately started replaying the worse moment of her life.
She was home, resting and off active duty per the doctor's orders, with her feet on the ottoman and a glass of water nearby. Once again, she was talking to Nathaniel on her plexpad, reminiscing of her day that he seemed to thrive on when he was home. She felt like she was carrying a melon under her maternity shirt and told her husband in vivid detail. Every facet of her pregnancy was documented for Nathaniel, including shopping for clothes, both for her and the baby. Her radio squawked and she struggled to snag it off the table at the end of the couch.
"Taylor," she took to using her married name off duty.
"Lieutenant," the cheerful voice of Boylan cut into the room, "you'll never guess what is approaching the gate."
"A friendly army I hope," her heart leapt. He was home for the birth of his daughter.
"That's right."
"I'm on my way," she killed the radio and struggled to her feet. She started to rush to the door and abruptly switched directions to the bathroom, first to empty her bladder then check her makeup.
There was no place to park with all the extra vehicles so Alicia pulled close to the Command Center in front of the steps. It looked like the entire colony was in the restricted parking area. Impatiently, she waited for him to appear. She saw his rover parked nearby and Jim Shannon in a tight embrace with his wife. A pang went through her at the sight. She wanted to be likewise enfolded in her husband's arms. She saw Guzman hugging Tasha and went to him.
"Guz, I hate to interrupt your reunion, but have you seen Nathaniel?"
The guilty look on Guz's face told her the answer before he broke off from his daughter and grabbed her arms. She must have turned pale because he cursed and yelled for Shannon. In a flash, Jim was beside her, along with his wife.
"Is it the baby, Wash?" Elizabeth asked.
"No, tell her, Shannon," Guzman ordered.
Jim turned her to him and kept his hands on her shoulders, "The Commander and Mira disappeared in a time fracture. We stayed a week at that location. Lucas and Malcolm did all the tests and it went to 2150, but not our future."
Alicia heard a gasp from Elizabeth and the faint voice of Zoe asking if the Commander was ever coming back. A roaring was in her ears and she was sure she was going to faint.
"I need to sit down." She didn't make a step before blackness enveloped her. Vaguely she felt herself falling and arms grabbing her before oblivion reigned.
As she dropped off to sleep and upon coming too, she had the fleeting thought that someone was ordering her not to move because the baby was coming.
Mira paced her cell. Her arm was sore where Taylor broke her humorous on the left side. She remembered falling forever it seemed and landing on imitation turf of some sort, then the sound of bone snapping, accompanied by a sharp pain and a heavy body pinning her down. Before she could push him off, hands pulled her to her feet and she found herself surrounded by security. She looked at the man who broke her arm. He was lying at her feet, unconscious and turning blue. It was Taylor and she remembered he tackled her and they fell into the rift together, but where? Her door opened and she whirled to face whoever it was now. To her surprise, it was Nathaniel Taylor.
"Taylor," she waited for him to talk and noticed a woman standing inside the door behind him.
"Mira, how's your arm?" They informed him in his debriefing about Mira being in detention, and he filled them in on who she was and what she did to Terra Nova in his timeline.
"I'll live."
"You got your wish of getting to the future, only it's the wrong one," he saw her eyes widen.
"My daughter?"
"There was a Sienna Balewa, age six who died of patch lung. Your counterpart was unable to get her treatment. She was living on the streets and didn't have the money. After Sienna died, this world's Mira disappeared and hasn't been seen in over a year."
"Do you think she found a way to Terra Nova? Is there even a Terra Nova in this timeline?" Mira was full of questions and her captors so far asked questions, but didn't offer explanations or answer hers.
"There is, but quite different. Seems like this place might actually succeed where you failed in destroying the past."
"Are you going to try and get back to our past?"
Nathaniel looked at her carefully trying to gauge her reason for that question. "I don't know if it's possible, but I'll try and hopefully find a way back."
"What's going to happen to me?"
"You deserve to be left here for your crimes and serve the rest of your life in prison," he didn't mean to reply so sharply, but the flash of fear in her eyes gave him a small measure of satisfaction for the trouble she caused. "If you don't give anyone any trouble, I'll see about bringing you with me. I don't think any world can handle two Mira's."
Mira shifted her attention to the woman watching quietly, "Who's the woman?"
"In this time, she was my counterpart's wife, Ayani Taylor."
"Won't your counterpart resist you taking his woman?"
"He, like Sienna is dead. This world has had a shift in events starting in the late 30's and maybe before. I don't know if our time is off or theirs. You won't be forgotten, Mira, but we can't let you out. I'll be in contact." Mira watched him escort Ayani out and went back to pacing, this time wondering about this world and the other Mira's dead daughter. She refused to believe hers might also be dead.
In quiet corner with a candle burning in the center of the table, Nathaniel and Ayani were alone at last. After two days of interrogation, he asked if it were possible for him to meet with her. To his surprise, military intelligence told him he was free to move about and gave him a phone.
"You don't know what I would have given for a moment like this in the years that followed Ayani's death," Nathaniel couldn't take his eyes off his wife. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he corrected himself, 'The other Nathaniel's wife.'
Ayani nodded, "A major part of my life ended in Somalia. Axis Psych-Ops took so many of our soldiers and did those awful mind altering tests. Then they broke into the area where the families lived and grabbed Lucas. I let them take me to be with him and after several hours, we heard our army penetrating their compound. They lined us up and waited with a gun to each head. When my Nathaniel's army burst into the area, they stopped and waited to see what the Psych-Ops security force wanted. Psych-Ops told each soldier to pick a person to survive. When Elliot picked me, I screamed at him that I'd hate him forever if he didn't choose Lucas and asked where you were. When he told me you'd been killed. I wanted to die and be with you," in her telling, she forgot the Nathanial sitting across from her wasn't the same man. He didn't correct her, just listened to her version and how it differed from his. "I pushed Lucas in Elliot's direction and told him to run for it. Elliot asked me if I was sure and I told him yes. Elliot then changed to Lucas and the man in charge said the choice couldn't be changed and in front of my eyes they shot and killed our son."
Nathaniel reached out and took her hand, "I'm sorry."
She squeezed back and let hers stay put. It was good to touch him again, even if he was another Nathaniel. She tried to smile, "Tell me your version."
"I will, but first, how did I die?" he was curious.
"After it was over and we were allowed to leave with our rescuers, we went outside to carnage and bodies everywhere. I started looking for you. Then I saw where you were fallen or rather slumped over. You had someone in your arms, a female soldier. Both of you were dead. Elliot filled in the details. He said she, oh what's her name. She was under you, in your unit," Ayani paused. "It's been so many years and I've forgotten so many of the names of the people who died that night. She was a pretty young thing, big dark eyes and long black hair."
Nathaniel felt sick and his hand shook in hers, "Wash," he rasped.
"That's it. Your nickname for her….Washington, I don't remember her first name. You guys always used last names anyway. Elliot said you and he saw her shot many times and fall to the ground. You! I'm sorry, I keep referring to my Nathaniel as you."
"I understand who you're talking about and if you want to use YOU, be my guest," he gently squeezed her hand in encouragement for her to continue.
Before she could, their food arrived along with a bottle of wine Nathaniel ordered. He ordered a difficult to find, beefsteak, and salad with a large baked potato and she farmed shrimp with the same trimmings as him. The wine was one of her favorites.
"I take it this wine was my counterpart's favorite also," she commented as she picked up her glass.
Nathaniel grinned and raised his in a toast, "To getting to know each other again." They clinked glasses and drank. Nathaniel had to admit this wine was every bit as good as what Boylan produced. He wanted to hear the rest of her story, "Now, I want to hear the ending."
"Elliot said you rushed to Wash, as you called her, and was yelling her name and screaming in your radio for an evac chopper to lift her to safety. He said you picked her up and that's when the bullets cut you down. You were concentrating on her and not the enemy. One bullet got in under your helmet and you took a face shot, right here," she reached out and put a finger to his right cheekbone. "That's the one that killed you. You took a few more to non-vital areas. Elliot couldn't get to either of you so he retreated to safety until the heavy armor could neutralize the area. You were still in that same position you slumped to when we arrived."
Nathaniel was quiet as he absorbed the news. Inside he was grieving for this world's Wash. He wanted to ask after her and find out what she was doing, but the conversations with Intelligence always took a different turn. Now it was a moot point. He heard Ayani saying something and refocused on her. "What was that?" he took a bite of salad.
"You seem upset at the news that Washington died," Ayani observed. "You had feelings for her, didn't you?"
"Never acted on. I was never unfaithful to you, but at that time, Wash was the most amazing soldier I'd ever seen. She could do anything and after we got ripped up in that blast in Siam, the old Thailand, and she put sixty seven stitches in me, I was one of her biggest fans."
"I remember that. It was in '35 and you had been sent to Siam to counter a Burmese incursion and got trapped between a river and cliffs. According to my Nathaniel's version, a blast to the rocks ripped your hide and muscle loose down your hip and thigh. Your medic, Washington, stitched you up on the spot with mortar rounds and bullets flying overhead. He had quite glowing praises for her and I always wondered if he didn't feel a bit more," she paused then added, "He was holding her in death like a lover and not someone trying to rescue a comrade." She raised her eyes to him, "He had his arms around her, holding her close and his head was in her neck. Her arms were around him. It was a sight I could never get out of my mind. So tell me, did your Washington die in Somalia?"
Nathaniel felt badly for her and a little guilty, because he too was injured in Siam in the exact way she described it made him remember keeping his eyes on the beautiful medic as she worked down his leg concentrating on fixing him. He could still see her damp hair where the humid jungle heat left beads of sweat on her neck and strands of her ponytail stuck to her skin and wanted to brush them free. He was happily married, but for the first time he wanted to touch another woman. Of course, he restrained himself, but like Ayani not being able to erase an unwanted memory, he too would carry that moment to his grave. He was slow to answer, "No, she went with me to Terra Nova." He hesitated. Now was the best time to tell her, "We got married."
Surprise showed in Ayani's face and she recovered, "I see."
"You were dead for over a decade before I remarried, but living in the past with its fresh, clean environment makes a person want to live life to the fullest."
"You don't owe me an explanation, Nathaniel." Her hopes of rekindling the flame were snuffed out at his confession though. "Tell me how I died."
Glad for the change in subjects, he began his version of events, "It happened pretty much the same as your timeline with a few alterations. When we broke into the compound and were ambushed, Wash was shot just as your Elliot saw and I rushed to aid her. Our grenade launchers hit their targets a second before yours did and that changed the course of events that led to drastic consequences for your world. I lifted Wash in my arms just as the evac chopper landed and she lifted off and lived. I was with the unit when we burst into the hangar and they had you all lined up." Like her he took to using her in the first person and wasn't even aware he was doing so. "I had to make the toughest choice of my life, you or Lucas. You looked me in the eye and told me you loved me. I knew the choice I had to make."
"You made the correct choice, Nathaniel," she reached over and squeezed his hand again. She knew they needed to come clean about what happened for both their sakes and now was his turn to relive his nightmare.
"Lucas didn't think so," he responded so quietly she had to strain to hear his words. Then louder he told her what they did to her counterpart and how they killed her slowly and wouldn't let the children leave until the killings were completed.
"In a way, you had it worse than us," she commented. "They killed us fast and clean no torture or rape."
"We have to find something better to talk about," he pressed for another topic. "What did you do after Somalia?"
"I drifted for a few years, trying to convince myself to keep living. Elliot was a big help. His wife got cancer and I helped take care of her until she died five years ago. Their daughter, Ellie, is a doctor now."
"Elliot told me that. What are you doing?" he drew her back on topic.
"I came to Chicago when your unit under Philbrick was stationed here. They were selected to travel to the past. Most of my friend's wives were in that unit and I was so alone being left in Ft. Benning, so I got a job teaching at the military school and have been doing that for years now. What about you? I want to know how you and Washington ended up married."
"Well, she got shot again," he left out who the shooter was. "There was an army that came through the portal and attacked us. They managed to split my army and she was left behind in the colony in charge. I saw the shooting and thought she was dead. After you died and then her, I never felt so alone in my life. Even though we didn't have a physical relationship, we were close for years. I made her my second in command…" he trailed off, trying to find the next words. "When we returned to the colony, someone, a soldier came up to me and said he heard rumors that she was alive. I went to her quarters to see for myself and sure enough, she had a graze along her skull, but was very much alive. That's when I started courting her."
"Oh God, I hope you were better the second time around."
That drew a laugh from him and she joined in, "I wasn't. I pontificate all day to my young soldiers on how to court a woman and can't seem to take my own advice." A thought came to mind, "You said my unit went to the past. The spouses and children were left behind weren't they?"
Ayani was surprised at his switching gears, but figured he must be embarrassed at discussing his new love with what amounts to a wife. "They were supposed to go, but General Philbrick who was already on the other side changed orders and said it was too dangerous for families and this wasn't the place for a new start. He did ask for certain scientists to work on making the portal go both ways to bring his army home. If they did, that information is top secret, why?"
Nathaniel grew grave when he answered, "If your Philbrick was anything like mine, you're in deep trouble. We had a scientist make our portal go both ways," again, he neglected to mention whom. "I shot and killed my old friend and mentor Richard Philbrick when he came to Terra Nova to take over my command."
"You think our Philbrick is up to the same tricks, but he's already in command, what would he have to gain?"
"My Philbrick was working for some very rich, powerful people who took over Hope Plaza and used it to transport minerals from the past to now." Nathaniel felt he could confide in this Ayani, just as he would have his.
"Are you going to tell anyone?" she pressed.
"I don't know who to trust in this future. I would never have dreamed my own boss and mentor would do to me what he did. I don't know who all his accomplices are in your timeline."
"What about Elliot?"
"In my time, Elliot was promoted after Somalia and made General and put in charge of the Eastern Command. Your Elliot was made a General, but is still in charge of the Mid-West Division, why?"
She shook her head that she didn't know.
He continued, "Another deviation that we don't know the consequences to. Right now, I'd trust my Mira over about anyone here. She has motives to get back with me. She can't go and steal her daughter here and pretend it's hers." The maître d was hovering so Nathaniel let Ayani pay and escorted her out. "I don't usually let women buy me dinner, but thank you. I seem to be short on funds since I've been dead so long."
"You paid. I get your widow's pension," she smiled up at him.
He grinned back, "I'm glad you got something out of putting up with me for over fifteen years."
"If we were still together, we'd be working towards thirty," she reminded him.
"I know." He escorted her to her apartment and thanked her for the company. "I know they are contacting the Hope Plaza scientists in the morning and seeing if they can configure the portal to my signature so I can return home. It may take some time and I might be here for quite a while. I hope we can be friends and see each other occasionally."
"Try and keep me away, Nathaniel. It seems funny, you not following me inside."
"That wouldn't be wise."
"Goodnight," she smiled up to him and he waited until she shut the door before leaving. He decided to walk in the dark along the main sidewalk strewn with people hunkered against buildings, living on the streets. The military gave him the hated rebreather and he was glad for it and hoped someone didn't try and mug him. He still had his service revolver in a shoulder holster under his leather jacket. One of his recurring thoughts was it would be so easy to stay here with Ayani. Wash would do okay in the past and find someone else. Then another tug would send him to the opposite side, wanting to get out of this sewer called 2150 and back to the pristine air and water and his friends and Wash.
Alicia was still sleeping when Elizabeth and Jim stealthily entered behind her curtained area. Elizabeth put the tray on a side table and looked at the baby who was also sleeping. Jim couldn't stand it any longer; he reached down and picked the baby up. She opened her large almond shaped eyes and he was lost. "Why don't I just take you home with me," he whispered and watched as her tiny hand wrapped around his finger.
"In thirteen years you can have her." Jim looked over to Alicia who was awake and observing him.
"She is a beauty, Wash," Jim awkwardly let the conversation die. He wanted to mention Taylor, but didn't want to upset her.
"Alicia took the dilemma away, "Nathaniel would love to see her. I hope he makes it home soon," she watched Elizabeth run an iso-scanner over the baby that was still in Jim's arms.
"If there's a way, he'll find it," Jim was glad the topic of the father wasn't off limits.
Elizabeth looked at Jim, "I need to examine the mother and you have to leave."
"Can I show the baby to the group at the front door?" He asked Alicia.
She frowned, "Why would anyone be loitering in front of the clinic on a beautiful summer day?"
"Guz and several people are concerned about you after you fainted yesterday and news that you had the baby is all over the colony, but Elizabeth wouldn't confirm that it's a girl, but with you buying little dresses, they all pretty much have guessed it."
"And you want to be the one to show her off and tell them so Boylan can pay the winners off," Alicia smiled at him, "Just don't let anyone handle her. I don't want her passed around."
Jim grinned like a kid with a new toy, "She's not leaving my hands."
As soon as he was on the other side of the curtain, Elizabeth smiled and shook her head. "I'm afraid that baby is going to give him ideas." She flipped the bio-screen on. "Your daughter is perfect by the way. I see she ate during the night." Elizabeth made conversation as she checked the mother out.
"She woke me up three times for a snack," Alicia was feeling better physically than she had in months.
"I brought you breakfast. After you eat, I want you to go home and rest for at least a week. That means I don't want to see or hear of you being in the Command Center, got it?"
"I'll try. Today you'll get no argument from me."
Elizabeth turned the screen off and moved the table over her patient, who raised her own head with the controls until she was comfortable and could eat. "I'm going to see what's happening outside," Elizabeth left her alone.
Jim carefully carried his small bundle outside. He told Zoe and Maddy to wait and he'd see about letting them in see the baby. They crowded in when he appeared holding Wash's child. They were told the night before it was a girl, but instructed not to say anything.
"Everyone knows it's a girl, Mom," Maddy had countered the night before.
"Not officially until we see living proof. One in a million scans is wrong."
"It's a girl," Jim called out to the growing crowd who clapped at the news. He showed her to his daughters first then moved on to Casey who was front and center.
"Let me hold her," Casey reached for the baby.
Jim almost refused, but knew Casey would be careful, "Just you, Casey. Anyone else wants to hold her, get permission from the mother." He looked around and saw Mark with an arm around Maddy and they were beaming at the baby. He scowled and took the baby back.
"What's her name?" Boylan called out as Jim circulated through the crowd.
"I don't know."
"I have bets riding on names, Shannon," Boylan responded good-naturedly.
"We'll all have to wait for that one," Jim headed back to the Infirmary and saw his wife in the doorway. "Do we have a name yet?" The crowd went quiet in anticipation.
"I'll find out and she needs to be back with mother," Elizabeth took the baby and disappeared.
Jim turned to the crowd, "She'll find out."
Elizabeth put the baby back in her incubator, "There is a large crowd who wanted to see the baby and they all want her name. Can I tell them what her name is? I can't release her until I record her name to go with her vital statistics."
Alicia thought for a moment and ran the various names through her head and hoped Nathaniel liked the one she chose.
Elizabeth stepped out on the step in front of the crowd that was noticeably larger. She raised her voice, "Her name is Jade Avery Taylor."