A/N: Many Thanks for the reviews! and apologies on a short update been a busy week! Anyways ENJOY! and please allow anything medical that isn't correct slide...
"Awwh I want to cuddle" Kate said pouting playfully, Alicia moved to Malcolm's side of the bed as he was looking in better shape than Kate even though he sustained more severe injuries than Kate. Kate however looked stoned as her movements were sluggish and her words slightly slurred.
"They put her on an automated medication drip for the pain" Malcolm told Alicia as he happily took Ava from Alicia to lighten the load and so as to stop Kate from trying to pick up the child in her state. He of course was blissfully pain free without feeling the effects Kate was enduring. He was still amazed how such a small amount of medication could affect her. He placed Ava on his right shoulder so Kate could feel some involvement in the visit as he knew she loved holding the twins but with her injury couldn't.
"I figured they wouldn't give her a choice" Alicia said as she pulled up a chair by the bed on Kate's side and sat down with Ella in her lap. She bounced the little girl to stop her from fussing as she had learned an appreciation for movement.
"I gave her no choice. She was in too much pain from just lying in bed." Malcolm said.
"Broken Shoulders are hard to sleep with" Alicia said sympathetically. "So how are you going?" she asked Malcolm making conversation as she watched Kate get Ava's little hand to grasp her finger and smile at the baby girl.
"Hello baby girl, you're going to grow up to be as pretty as your mummy. Yes you are" Kate cooed at Ava who was staring at Kate from Malcolm's shoulder with curious expression.
"How much did they give her?" Alicia asked Malcolm incredulously as Kate was telling Ava how she could cougar her and Malcolm's son after he turned 27 because by then he would be a very worldly and experienced man. Malcolm chuckled as he gently rubbed Ava's back in a soothing manner more for himself than the child as he really didn't want to think about how old he'd be when his son turned 27.
"Enough to make my morning interesting until she passed out" he told her with a smile. Alicia smiled and laughed because if the conversation Kate was having with Ava was anything to go by it would have definitely been entertaining.
"You know I'm right here and my ears are functioning" Kate said in a gooey voice as she continued to play and make face with Ava.
"Oh so you're done telling my baby girl that she's welcome to your son when they are older?" Alicia asked Kate. Alicia couldn't help but smile at her best friend's antics for matchmaking their kids. Kate sat back and looked at Alicia while she still had Ava's little hand grasping her left thumb jigging it.
"Well it has to be Ava as Ella has red hair. It'll be a little weird having a son going after women who look like his mum" Kate said making a face. Malcolm pursed his lips trying not to smile as he adjusted Ava on his shoulder.
"Kate, you have blue eyes and red hair. Ella has reddish brown hair which will darken when she's older and she has brown eyes" Alicia told Kate trying hard to be serious with such a shallow conversation.
"Still little weird. Hey do I look like your mother?" Kate asked Malcolm.
"No, my mother has my hair colour and hazel eyes. You've seen the photo of my parents" Malcolm told her, he nearly laughed out loud as Kate looked relieved at the knowledge before she remembered the photo with an 'ah ha' expression on her face. .
"Yes, that's right I remember in the living room. Did I ever show you?" Kate asked Alicia. Alicia shook her head "Oh you should see his father" Kate told her with a salacious smile.
"Really?" Alicia asked in amusement as Malcolm's neck was going slightly red from embarassment.
"Yeah he could give Taylor a run for his money" Kate said with an adamant nod.
"I highly doubt that" Alicia said smugly but her curiosity was piqued as she wondered how long they could carry on their guy talk until Malcolm grew uncomfortable and asked to change the topic which she knew wouldn't be long.
"Well, I'll admit Taylor is a good looking man-"
"I'm uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation going and I'd leave the room but I'm injured and don't have any pants on" Malcolm announced as he didn't like or want to hear Kate talking about being attracted to other men especially his father and Taylor. Ok, he could accept her being attracted to her father as she only saw him as what Malcolm would like in 20-30 years if he kept in shape. People in his social circles of 2149 were always commenting about how he was a carbon copy of his father in every respect except for vocation.
"It's ok Malcolm I've seen a few naked asses in my time" Alicia said before she and Kate laughed as Malcolm shook his head getting flustered.
"Anyway, I was going to say that Taylor reminds me of my grandfather. Not in looks but spirit, he's always keeping me in line and giving me a kick up the ass when I need it." Kate said with a smile.
"Taylor's good at giving people a kick up the backside when they need it" Alicia said as she got up from her chair and walked with Ella who was getting a little restless. Alicia was sure between the gym, breastfeeding and walking Ella and Ava around she was soon going to be in better shape than she was in before her pregnancy.
"So how was your night?" Kate asked Alicia wriggling her eyebrows suggestively as Kate already knew that Alicia was trying to have sex with Taylor as Kate had been there when Elisabeth told Alicia all about her birth control options since she couldn't have the shot until she stopped breastfeeding.
"Oh it was great up until the power outage and my best friend nearly getting herself killed when saving her husband" Alicia said tongue in cheek.
"It wasn't like that" Kate said.
"Yeah I saved her first" Malcolm griped earning him smiles from the women.
"Yes you did a very good job of protecting me and our baby after you gave away your position and were nearly killed" Kate said giving him a backhanded compliment.
"Please tell me it's drool this time" Malcolm said as he could feel his shoulder getting damp. She wore an amused smile as Ava was gnawing on the fabric of his hospital gown and drooling which acounted for the fabric being damp.
"Yes, it's soo cute" Kate told him.
"You want me to get a towel?" Alicia asked.
"No it's fine, I'll change later. Drool I can handle wearing, vomit no so much" Malcolm said.
"Think of it as something to look forward to" Alicia told him in a teasing manner.
"I have finished the Autopsy and here's my final report" Elisabeth said as she handed her plex over to Taylor. She stood next to Jim who had come in the same time as her into the Command Centre to where they stood in front of Taylor's desk.
"It's rather light" Taylor commented as he flicked through the report. He remember the autopsy on Philbrick being a larger file than the one he was currently looking at.
"COD was a broken neck consistent with a high energy sonic blast to the head. She was shot from front on and her head snapped back" Elisabeth demonstrated the direction angle of the blast from fractures to the face and neck using Jim who had been standing beside her as her victim. "She wouldn't have felt any pain. On an interesting note I did find a tumour and lesions in her brain" Elisabeth said.
"Which means?" Taylor asked.
"It means she was likely to suffer audio and visual hallucinations which could explain how Kate said the woman was talking to the room like there were other people there." Elisabeth said she skated a look to Jim who must have already grilled her on the way to the Command Centre about it.
"Well that explains why her diary said you visited her with four other people to form a jury of peers" Jim said, he didn't like writing Caetano off as a crazy woman as he just didn't get the vibe from her that she was unstable. But she kept a plex with extensive notes, plans and transcripts of what looked like mock trials and journal entries. The names of her 'peers' were people who had died when the Phoenix Army stormed the Colony.
It looked like Caetano had been keeping the company of ghosts and lived in a functional yet delusional state. It wasn't like she woke up one morning and thought it a great idea to kill people. She spent months planning and finding the reasons to kill the people she had so she could sleep with the guilt. She had a long list names to get through and all the people on the list convicted guilty were dead with exception of four people. Apparently Malcolm and Alicia along with a couple of other scientists had been given pardons due to their experience and expertise that would be required for the future of the colony. Alicia had been lucky on the grounds of her medical expertise something that the Colony required.
He should be grateful for small mercies that Alicia had been spared. At least it would put the whole case to rest. "But still why wasn't this picked up?" Taylor asked.
"Because not every colonist comes in for a yearly physical, if they did we might have been able to pick it up. Might being the operative word and even if we did pick it up it would have been too late as the tumour was inoperable. I'd say from the size and the condition of her brain it didn't appear in the last 6 months I'd say in the last two years." Elisabeth said, she continued to tell the men of her theories along with psychological and medical knowledge to back them up to explain how and why Caetano may not have sought out medical help. Taylor thanked her and then dismissed her, she gave a nod before leaving them to return to the infirmary.
"Well Shannon is everything to your satisfaction yet?" Taylor asked Jim when they were alone.
"It doesn't answer who killed Caetano and it wasn't Kate" Jim said. Taylor took a deep breath as Jim was quite obstinate on the finer details of the case and appointing blame to the appropriate people.
"It doesn't matter Shannon, I'm not charging them so I don't need to know" Taylor said, it wasn't true he did want to know but he had a feeling it was Mira as Carter kept pushing his lie about it being Kate. He knew if Carter had shot Caetano he would have just said so and rather smugly.
"So you are letting it slide" Jim said.
"Yes, I'm going to give them a 'blanket' pardon if they have something to confess about that night then they can because if it were anyone but a sixer we wouldn't be having this conversation. We'd be patting them on the back. Why does this put a burr in your pants?" Taylor asked.
"I want to go home" Kate whispered to Malcolm. Alicia and the twins had left them over an hour ago to go home to get ready for dinner. Malcolm had drifted off the sleep while Kate laid awake. She had disconnected the IV drip from the catheter in the back of her hand just needed a break and a clear mind. Apparently with a clear mind her senses were more hieghtened and every beep, scuffle of shoes and voice made her twitch with bad nerves.
"You need to rest and here is the best place for it" He murmured as he was slowly waking up. He felt the bed shift as Kate moved closer to him on the bed. He opened his eyes and looked to her as she was lying on her side looking at him.
"I can't rest here with people walking in and out of the room and the bed's uncomfortable" she grumbled to him.
"Are you feeling ok?" he asked her as he could see she in pain and her eyes weren't hazy with drugs.
"No, I'm uncomfortable. I want to go home and be alone with you" she told him, she just wanted the peace and quiet of their home, to lie down in their bed with Malcolm and sleep for a month.
"You sound clear headed. You should be asleep or still out of it with your meds" he said as he raised his hand to the side of her face getting a better look at her as he was still waking up himself. He didn't get the same buzz as her from the drugs as his body metabolised the medication differently to hers. He just didn't feel the pain and that was it.
"Oh you mean this?" She asked as she lifted up the end of her IV drip, his eyes went wide as she had disconnected the plug. "I pulled it after Alicia left with the twins" she informed him. He made a face of displeasure.
"Kate, that's supposed to be in your hand not waved around and where have the drugs and fluids been going?" he asked her.
"Onto the floor I guess?" Kate offered with a hint of humour and a half shrug that made her wince.
"Kate" he groaned not finding it funny in the least.
"Relax, I put it into a cup. I don't like being high 24/7, this bed is really uncomfortable" Kate murmured with a groan as her body complained in its current position but she didn't want to move as she wanted to be closer to Malcolm.
"you've barely been high for 24 hours and anyway it's your broken bones and sore body that are uncomfortable not the bed. You'll heal faster and be able to come home sooner if you take your meds." He told her.
"I don't want my meds I want you to kiss me" Kate said in a low voice.
"If you put the IV line in, I will kiss you" he told her as he rolled onto his side. It wasn't the most comfortable position with broken ribs but then he wanted to face her on in the bed.
"Fine but why do you want me all vulnerable and dopey?" she asked him as she was having difficulties connecting the IV drip to the catheter in the back of her hand before he looked back at her.
"Because I love you and I don't like seeing you in pain" he told her as he stroked his fingers across her forehead brushing loose hair strands out of her face and behind her ear.
"I can't put it back in" Kate mumbled as her left hand was shaking badly.
"Here allow me" he said he took the IV line from her and within seconds connected it back into the catheter in her hand. She mumbled a 'thanks' as he moved his other hand and cupped the sides of her face "You know it's over, the danger is gone right?" he asked her as he tried to make eye contact with her but she kept her eyes averted.
"I know" she said but he wasn't convinced.
"I don't think you do. Otherwise you'd keep your IV in and rest. Talk to me" he implored softly as he wanted to know what she was thinking.
"I thought you were going to kiss me" she said finally making eye contact and smiling. It was her typical behaviour to deflect than talk about something painful or her fears.
"Kate" he said in tone that said he wanted to be serious. She gave a sigh and he could see tears forming in her eyes. "hey, hey it's ok" he told her.
"How do you know? You and Taylor tell me I'm safe and everything will be fine and look at us. We're a mess, our home is a mess. I'm tired of being injured, resting and recovering to just go through it all again" Kate told him.
"I'm hoping it's the last time" he told her.
"But it never is" she said in a barely a whisper as the tears fell from her eyes. He cupped her face and wiped the tears away for her as he pressed his forehead to hers.
"It is" he told her.
"How? When do I stop having to pay for my past?" she asked him.
"Kate, I-" Malcolm stopped as he heard the door to the room opened, he looked up to see Taylor and Jim walked into the room. Kate groaned in pain as she genlty pushed him to lie on his back as she straddled his lap twisting the blankets and her IV. She didn't care about the IV or the blankets as she didn't want to cry infront of Taylor and Jim but she couldn't stop the tears. She kept her upper body off him as best she could and pressed her mouth onto the top of his shoulder. He was glad they were sitting upright with the back of the bed to support him otherwise he would have been in a world of hurt.
"Commander, Sheriff" Malcolm said to them politely but really he felt like being anything but polite. He felt his shoulder become warm and damp as Kate was still crying. He wished the men would leave the room as he wanted to finish his conversation with Kate as he pulled the blankets loose around Kate and adjusted them so they are least covered her backside from view as she was in an open hospital gown.
"Is this a bad time?" Jim asked awkwardly as it appeared like the two were having an intimate moment before he and Taylor came into the room. He really hoped they were just talking and nothing else as he didn't want to think of Malcolm and Kate having sex at all let alone with the mess of injuries they had between them.
"Yes" Kate muffled into Malcolm's neck. Malcolm gave a closed lip smile as he wasn't going to apologise for Kate and he had a feeling this wasn't going to be a short visit as it was clear from Taylor's expression that they had news that couldn't wait.
"We'll make it quick" Taylor said as he could see Kate was in tears and the fact she holding onto Malcolm instead of giving him the space he needed for his injuries meant she was in a bad way. It made him worry about her but it looked like Malcolm was at least trying to soothe her but it was hard to tell as he knew Kate didn't like to show weakness to an audience.
"It would be appreciated as Kate is flagging. It's been a tiring day" Malcolm said to them.
"We wanted you to know the inquest is finished" Jim said he winced as the open back of the gown showed the massive bruising on her arm, shoulder and back. It looked incredibly painful and he wondered how Kate could sit the way she was and actually be comfortable while he watched as Malcolm slowly rubbed the uninjured side of her body.
"It's not even 5 pm" Malcolm remarked as soft beep sounded indicating that Kate was recieving her next dose of medication. He inwardly gave a sigh of relief as she wouldn't be in any physical pain once the meds kicked in. The rest would have to be worked through later when they were alone.
"Well Caetano kept extensive logs of her activities. Couple that with Mira and Carter's statements it's clear to see Caetano was killed as a measure of containing the dangerous situation." Jim said using Taylor's words.
"I don't understand" Malcolm said.
"It was ruled as self defence" Taylor said.
"So our home is no longer a crime scene?" Malcolm asked them. Taylor gave a nod.
"That's right. Carter and a couple of volunteers are cleaning up as we speak by the time you'll be released it'll be good as new. I'll check on them this afternoon and let you know tomorrow" Taylor told Malcolm.
"I appreciate it, thank you" Malcolm replied.
"You're welcome now you two take care and I'll see you tomorrow afternoon with Alicia" he told them. He gave a nod to Jim and the two men left the room silently leaving Malcolm to tend with Kate.
Taylor had a heavy heart after leaving the infirmary. He hated seeing his people broken and beaten down and Kate was in that state but he was glad that Malcolm was stepping up and taking care of her. He dismissed Jim and went to Kate and Malcolm's house to find the place had been cleaned up and prepped for repairs. He decided to use the time to look around and found nothing out of the ordinary except for one wireless microphone and a few guns stashed around the house, he packed up the guns into a bag and took a seat in the nursery where he had found the mike hiding under the crib. He knew that someone would return for it and he hoped to catch them before he went home dinner and luck was on his side as the front door opened.
He waited and wasn't surprised when Carter walked into the room and stopped at Taylor's presence.
"Interesting tech. This how you kept ears on Kate?" Taylor mused as he tossed the microphone piece in his hand. Carter gave a shrug as he leaned against the door frame.
"Well I couldn't hide out in the bushes like some kind of peeping tom now could I?" Carter asked, Taylor tossed the mike to Carter who caught it with ease.
"I assume you'll also get your feelers out of my security systems" Taylor said assuming that the Sixers were more skilled than they let on.
"Already done" Carter said not realising he just tipped his hand but then Taylor knew the man didn't care. Neither did Taylor as Kate was saved due to the Sixers just running in blind.
"Who wrote the programs for it?" Taylor asked.
"You want a beer? I stashed a couple of bottles in the fridge" Carter asked.
"No, I'm good" Taylor said, he waited as he heard Carter moved to fridge and open it pulling out a bottle and popping the lid before returning to the door way.
"I'm not telling you who wrote the programs" Carter told him before taking a pull of the beer.
"Maybe I want them to help me update the systems around here" Taylor said sitting back in his chair.
"You trust one of us with your precious security systems?" Carter asked.
"At some point we have to learn to trust one another and this colony and it's people including the sixers is all we have to restart civilisation" Taylor said.
"Save the speech"
"Fine, you let whoever it was know if they want a job in tech development they come see me"
"Right I'll pass the word around" Carter said dryly before he took another sip.
"Tell me something Carter. Why were you and Mira looking out for Kate? She's not a sixer and if anything she's killed more of sixers than I have. Yet you still hate me" Taylor said as he figured that he would never get another opportunity to have a somewhat honest conversation with Carter.
"What can I say? I respect what I fear" Carter replied with a shrug.
"So you're not afraid of me?" Taylor asked.
"Not really, I used to pity you more than fear you" he said honestly.
"Pity me? I must be losing my touch" Taylor said with a hint of humour.
"You lose your wife and Lucas ends up screwed in the head because you didn't hug him enough in his teens. He comes here and turns what should have been a simple business transaction into some twisted vendetta where we lose all because you had Kate your trump card. She's something no one can prepare for. Anyway Lucas was too focussed on screwing your life up to remember the big picture" Carter said.
Carter spoke with cold and clinical detachment something he had seen Kate do whenever she spoke about her past or made an observation about something that others would have difficulty removing their emotions and personal bias from. Except Carter wasn't as good at it as his opinions tainted his observations as he rolled his eyes at the vendetta Lucas had. Lucas's life work being dismissed as childish by someone who worked for him.
"Which is?" Taylor asked
"In regards to you, he already won when he tried that coup d'état and you banished him the first time round" Carter said as if it were obvious.
"I'm lost" Taylor said wanting Carter to clarify.
"He wanted to ruin your life, make you miserable it's like he was blind to the fact that you were already miserable when you had it all and he was exiled in the jungle. Hell you were miserable before that trying to get him to like you. I never get that you got your hot little lieu-"
"Be careful with your words" Taylor warned him as he would not let anyone disrespect his wife.
"You had it all and you weren't happy it's like you didn't realise how good you had it until Lucas took it all away from you and propped your Lieutenant on display during the Occupation and god knows what he was doing with Kate. He made this huge production that it was his and you lost. As if he was rubbing salt into your wounds but he really only made you realise how set you got it and gave you the thirst you needed to get it back. Our task wasn't to help Lucas shove it to you. It was about getting our freedom and getting rich that was the big picture" Carter told Taylor with a smile as he took another pull of his beer.
"And what would you have done if Lucas asked you to take charge?" Taylor asked oddly amused at the man's insight.
"Dropped a pyrosonic on this colony and destroyed it all. I'd do days before you even scratched your head about going to check out the terminus. That way you and everyone here would be dead and there would be nothing to be worried about. Then the miners and soldiers could come through and the mining would begin and then I'd be all cosy and rich in a dome. That's if we had done it my way" Carter said rather proud of himself with his rather simple solution.
"Well I guess it's lucky you weren't in charge" Taylor said with the quirk of his lips. At least Carter was brutally honest, his method was efficient if not a little chilling.
"I'm amoral, one of the reasons I was so good at my old job in 2149. Just wasn't good enough to escape prison time." He said with a shrug before taking a pull of his beer.
"Now?" Taylor asked.
"Now, I don't care about anything. The future is 'rooted' as Kate would say and if I can't go home rich I'd rather die here in the land of milk and honey. Where one can breathe fresh air and have all the hot showers, cold beers a man can afford and enjoy the company of friends and the ladies. No fun being out in that jungle" Carter told him.
"Well I suggest you don't give me a reason to throw you back out there" Taylor told him with a closed smile.
"Don't worry about me, worry about those two girls you have they'll grow up quick and beautiful" Carter said wriggling his eyebrows suggestively. Taylor's smile dropped and his expression grew dark.
"Don't even think about it" he told Carter in a dark tone. Carter laughed.
"Relax old man, I'm just yanking your chain and anyway I'm more afraid of your wife kicking my ass if I tried because by the time they are 20 you'll be what? a 150 years old by then?" Carter asked him with a grin.
"You're pushing it" Taylor said with a smile as he could just imagine Alicia wiping the floor with Carter's face in twenty years time.
"Anyway, the windows will be finished in a week and I'm thinking you should have the floorboards replaced as the blood won't wash out. Considering how twitchy Kate is she won't need that reminder" Carter said turning the conversation to business.
"Ok I'll organise the contractors" Taylor said with a nod as he got up from his chair. He was ready to go home to his wife and kids.
"Good. Ah hey, I know this is out of line but could you not give her back the deputy position when she wants to return?" Carter asked him as he moved out of the door way so Taylor could pass him.
"Why?" Taylor asked as he moved to the front door.
"Don't you think she's done enough for all of us? I just want her to enjoy her life without all the bullshit we and when I say 'we' I mean the colonists and sixers deal with our issues of coexisting with one another and bad blood. It's not her mess and frankly the last time I saw her previous to that night she's burnt out. Her life was before she came here, the occupation and this killer is coming after her. It's compounding in her right now. If she doesn't get some sense of normalcy and peace in her life. I can promise you she'll blow her brains out" Carter said.
"You sound like you're speaking from experience" Taylor said his eyes narrowing as he wondered for the first time who Carter really was and not the crib note version.
"You ever read up on the history of her comrades? what happened to them? I'm talking about the ones who survived their contracts and went on to retire?" Carter asked him.
"No, I didn't" Taylor said.
"You should" Carter told him with a finality that told Taylor he would have to look it up for himself.
"I'll do that" he said he turned to the door and was about to open it but stopped and turned to Carter. "Oh and next time don't cover up for Mira. I would have listened to the truth and let you both go for what happened that night. You and Mira saved three lives that night. I'm not going to pin medals on you for it but I am grateful for what you two did" he told Carter and with that he left the house before Carter could make a smarmy remark.
TBC-Cya all soon!