"I gave you what you want now you give me what I want" Mira demanded. Lucas make a clicking noise with his tongue as if Mira were a naughty child. Mira was ready the strangle man and take her chances with a bomb technician than put up with Lucas's superiority complex. His moods over the past few months were giving her whiplash and right now he was back to feeling powerful and in control. Control that was entirely depndant on them all playing to his tune.

"Can't have you freeing your daughter then letting Shannon know what's going on until my father comes back" Lucas told her.

"That is hours away. You said-"

"I had to adapt the plans. Carter, is she properly restrained?" Lucas asked cutting Mira off and turning his attention to Carter.

"Do you want me to tighten the cuffs?" Carter asked incredulously as he played his part as calmly as he could. He just hoped Jeremy reached Taylor and passed on the message. He had gone behind Mira's back but he wasn't going to help Lucas, there had to be middle ground so Carter could look Kate in the eyes and not feel like he deserved more than just her boot up his ass. She was one of the few people in the colony she considered a friend as she didn't get on his nerves he'd hate to lose that because he allowed Lucas to murder Alicia and the twins.

"Please" Lucas drawled politely. Carter gave a nod and left the room.

Alicia watched as Carter came out the room. She gave him a dark look. "You-"

"Save your foul language, don't want to blister your kids ears right? " he told her as he moved behind her and the chair. "Looks like you're trying to escape already" he murmured as he pulled on the cuffs and she winced as the cuff on her wrists tightened to the point it felt like they were cutting off the circulation to her hands.

"They've heard worse. And if I don't get out of this, Taylor will kill you" Alicia told him. She moved her head to the side as Carter moved in close his breath tickled her ear.

"Well, here's hoping you'll get out this as I like being alive" Carter said in a low voice in her ear. He moved around to the front and knelt down in front of her. Alicia frowned as she felt the plasticuffs being removed from ankles. He looked over to Mira and Lucas seeing they had left the empty spare bedroom. He got to his feet and moved to her behind her again. "I want this back. Cleaned and oiled" he told her as he placed his small switchblade into the palm of her right hand before he stepped away.

"Is she secure?" Lucas asked as he came out the room with a disatisfied looking Mira.

"Yeah she's all yours" Carter said with a smile.

"Good, you both can leave us. It's time for my Stepmother and I to have a little heart to heart" Lucas told them.

Kate stirred awake and saw it was early morning as the sunlight was starting to stream through the partially closed blinds. She turned her head to see Malcolm was awake lying in bed with Caleb curled up on his bare chest with the blankets drawn up to keep himself and Caleb warm. It was incredibly endearing and made her heart melt.

"You're really getting into the Kangaroo Care business aren't you?" Kate teased in a low voice getting Malcolm's attention, he smile softly at her. He had taken to his role as father and carer like a fish to water.

He had lifted Caleb out of cot by his side of the bed and handed the squalling baby and watched mesmerised by watching Kate nurse his son before he took over and burped Caleb and changed his nappy. Malcolm would indulge in holding his son and rocking him gently in his arms for a length of time before putting Caleb into his cot.

The process repeated itself every couple of hours or so. Malcolm unlike Kate, he was too wired to sleep and so he spent majority of his time watching the rise and fall of his son's chest, each breath, frequently reaching out to touch his perfect little head. But after what had to be the fourth time Kate nursed his son he couldn't resist in just lying bed and holding son while watching Kate, he loved the feel of the small baby on his chest.

"I can't help myself, how are you? Do you need me to get you anything?" he asked as he reached a hand out and cupped her face. He was ready to get up if she needed him to but she just smiled serenely and turned her face to kiss his palm before looking back at him.

"Relax, I'm fine" She told him. She smiled "You know Caleb definitely has your hair style down pat" she mused in a low tone as she softly touched her baby's hair. Malcolm chuckled.

"Tell me about it. I'm a little jealous it comes naturally to him while I have to muck around in the mirror" he said. Kate chuckled enjoying the peacefulness that sunk into her bones, never in her life did she feel so settled in herself. Tears filled her eyes as her emotions overwhelmed her.

"Hey, why the tears?" Malcolm asked her.

"I don't know, I'm just so incredibly happy" she said, Caleb started snuffling and moving Malcolm's chest.

"Ah, looks like my time is up and it's your turn" he said as he gently lifted Caleb off his chest and handed him to Kate, who took her son with a smile.

Taylor stayed off the comms as he reached the colony. The main gates opened and Jim meet him in the Main square surprised to see him.

"Taylor, you're back" Jim said in greeting as Taylor slowed to a stop but kept the engine running. He had spent the last hour feeling a knot in his stomach as he just knew his family was in danger.

"Lucas is in the colony with Alicia and the Twins, in a house in the new development on the east side. I need a medical team on standby now and soldiers to set up a perimeter if he rabbits take him down with deadly force if necessary. All of this is to stay off the comm. channels" Taylor said not getting off his bike.

"Reilly!" Taylor shouted as he saw the woman on guard by the gates, he waved her over and she ran to join them.

"Commander" she said saluting him and falling into a relaxed military stance.

"I want you to go to Mira's house. There's a active pressure mine that needs to be deactivated. Take Reynolds as back up tell Mira I know everything. Oh and don't tell anyone where you are going or your orders. Understood?"

"Yes Sir"

"Dismissed" Taylor said he turned to Jim again. "Where's Guzman?" he asked.

"I sent him after you" Jim said. Taylor pursed his lips and shook his head as he hated when he handed the keys of the colony to someone else only to have them countermand his orders. He kicked up the stand and revved the engine and was about to go but Jim stood in his way.

"Woah where are you going? and you know Alicia is at your home. I checked in with soldiers a moment ago" he told him.

"The soldiers but you didn't talk to Alicia. Lucas has her and my girls I'm going to get them back" Taylor told him, he rolled the bike back and swerved around Jim and took off on the bike as he wasn't going to waste any more time than necessary.

"Aren't you going to beg or plead for your children's lives or ask me 'why' and 'what' my plans are?" Lucas asked as they had spent majority of the last half an hour in complete silence. Well that wasn't true, Lucas had spent the time talking but mostly out loud to himself about his 'plans' so Alicia didn't have to ask. The twins were also awake and incredibly fussy, from the odour that was wafting from them she knew exactly why they were only going to become intolerable as neither of them like sitting in a soiled diaper. But experience told her they would huff and snuffle for a while before they started screaming their displeasure. She had spent the time using Carter's knife to slowly saw through one side of the plasticuffs to free herself.

Lucas already showed disgust at the twins and their lack of control with their bodily functions. She tried to explain that they were babies and didn't really have any control at all in regards to their life. They were just babies but he didn't get it.

"No point, you spend your life recreating that day in Somalia over and over. I know you won't do anything until Taylor is here" Alicia said dully as she watched her children fussing through the see through mesh of the playpen. Her heart twisted as she wished she could just get up and change them and feed them so they would be quiet instead of garning Lucas's anger. She knew he would blow up eventually and would hurt them, it was the reason she now was starting to purposefully bait him. So he would take his anger out on her.

"How wrong you are" Lucas drawled as he paced the floor infront of her, it was hard not to be petulant and stick out her foot and trip him but if she did then he would probably shoot her and she needed her hands free to subdue him.

"Am I? Tell me how you are not playing the role of those Somalian rebels when you overpowered the colony and took us. Tell me how you didn't know Taylor was watching us when you were about to pull that trigger? You wanted him to come forward and save me. Make the ultimate choice between me and the colony. It must really get your goat that Kate stopped you from finding out-" Alicia was cut off as Lucas backhanded her across the face splitting her lip. She gave a sardonic chuckle as she licked the blood from her lip.

"I don't what you find hilarious as I have you and your precious girls." He said stalking to the playpen and pointing the sonic pistol at the twins "Babies, they are so fragile. I doubt they would survive the lowest setting on a sonic pistol" he mused.

"But you won't hurt them, they are your half sisters and you need them alive" She reminded him. He trully didn't see the correlation between his plan of having Taylor pick between her and the girls was just an exact recreation of Taylor choosing between Ayani and Lucas. Lucas of course was now playing the role of the Somalian rebels. He just didn't see it but he spent his whole life setting up the same ploy always making his father choose between his son and the military. Lucas or the Colony, it was when he realised that his father had chosen the colony over him he found that he just had to find two loves of Taylor's and put them in jeopardy. Thus making Taylor forever repeat history and watch someone or something he loved dearly be destroyed.

"They are stains upon my mother's memory. Filth but you're right I won't hurt them. Yet. But you're wrong I'm nothing like those rebels if I were we would not be talking" He told her there was a feral glint in his eyes that made Alicia's skin crawl. "Did my father tell you know what they did to my mother?" Lucas asked as he squatted down in front of her, he closed his eyes and pressed the barrel of the gun to his head as if he were contemplating suicide. Alicia remained silent as she watched him. She of course knew the details but knew better than to admit it.

"They did horrific things to her and while I loathe you I would never violate you or any woman in such a vile manner" Lucas told her, he shook his head as if it could shake off the memories.

"Yet you tie me to a chair and hold me and my girls hostage waiting for Taylor to return. What do you expect him to do?" Alicia asked, she wanted to keep him talking as she used the knife to cut through the plasti-cuffs.

"Well, originally my plan tonight was to kill you all and then him but it's just too quick. He's deserves to suffer and how is he supposed to suffer when he keeps finding ways to rise above it all and still be on top? I took his precious colony away from him and he got it back. I tried to kill you and that failed but this time I think I've managed it. I have destroyed a good portion of his colony, destroyed the terminus that would have saved you from my employers and now I have his 'new' family. He'll come back after a goose chase and Mira will bring him here where he has to choose between you or his new offspring." Lucas said pacing again.

"Not very original as you know he will not pick me" Alicia told him and she knew it was true.

"Already resigned to suffer your fate" Lucas drawled in an amused tone as he moved to her.

"It's a mother's sacrifice, something your mother would know about" Alicia told himin an honest tone.

"Always the martyr" he said in disgust ignoring her comment about his mother. He stroked her cheek with the barrel of the gun in a loving gesture. The plasti-cuffs Alicia had been sawing through finally gave and her wrists were free. She dropped the knife and parried the gun away from her face and twisted it out of his grip throwing it away as she threw a couple of jab punches to his face. She then stood up and right hooked him followed by a kick to his chest, she turned and round house kicked him that sent him skating across the floor hitting the wall. He tried to get up but slumped to the floor. She assumed he was unconscious and went for her daughters.

She quickly moved the play pen and dragged it quickly into the main bedroom, she planned to close the door and go back into the other room and secure Lucas before he came to. She leaned over the plan pen and touched her daughter's faces and hushed them with soothing tones for a moment. It more for her than them as they started crying loudly, she knew she should go back and deal with Lucas but she reached down into the playpen with the purpose of picking Ella up but stopped when she felt something cold lodge into right side of her back. She pulled herself up and shock settled into her body quickly paralysing her, her breath was came stilted and she felt Lucas's breath at her neck.

"Oh how you didn't see that coming. I don't know" Lucas drawled in her ear as he wrapped his handless arm around her neck and pulled her back. Alicia gasped as cold pain radiated through her nerve endings and her blood pumped faster as adrenalin kicked in.

"Mothers make weak soldiers" he said to her as he pulled her pulled her out the room and shoved her to the floor leaving the knife in her body. Alicia tried to stay focussed but the pain was great and she could feel the blood dampening the back of her shirt. She felt around and touched the butt end of the knife still in her back and groaned in pain. She knew it was bad but did her best chance at survival was to keep the knife blade in and to get the gun athat she spotted on the floor just a metre away. She rolled onot her stomach and started dragging herself across the floor.

"Why did you have to go and free yourself?" he asked her in a dark and angry tone as she pulled herself away from him. He marvelled at how easy it was to incapacitate her and he knew she was going for the gun. He could stop her but he wanted to see how it would play out. "There's nowhere to run or in this case drag yourself" Lucas drawled as he watched her.

Alicia didn't answer him as she pulled herself closer to the kitchen counter she could just see the gun. If she could just reach it before he paid closer attention to where she was going then she would get it and kill him before he killed her daughters just to punish his father. She wasn't going to have her girls be used by Lucas in his sick and twisted games.

"You know you remind me of Kate right now, even she couldn't just lie down and die. She would drag herself around, the flight instinct getting the better of her just like it's getting you. Tell me why do you bother?" Lucas asked her.

"For this" Alicia said she grasped the butt of the gun and pulled it into her hand and turned it aiming it at Lucas. He smiled not surprised in the least that she had a gun pointed at him.

"Oh, excellent move. I was wondering how long it would take and now we see to you have the guts to pull that trigger" Lucas said taunting her.

"Anything to save my children" She told him Lucas's eyes went wide as he saw the determination in her eyes as she ramped the setting up on the gun. He tried to grab the gun just as she pulled the trigger. The sonic blast hit him in the face and resounding crunch as his head snapped back. His body was pushed back and he slumped to the floor dead.

She dropped the gun to the floor, tears filling her eyes as she heard the twins crying loudly from the bedroom. She moved slowly due to the pain and made her way to the playpen. She barely made it to the edge of the playpen when the pain overwhelmed her completely and her world blacked out.

Taylor pulled the bike to a stop out the front of the house spraying gravel across the front of the house. He dropped the bike not caring about how much noise he made as Lucas was expecting him. "Lucas!" he shouted as he ran up the front porch and knocked on the door. He waited for an answer but was given nothing. He could hear the twins crying and his heart twisted as he couldn't wait for a response and turned the door handle the door swung open the twins crying became louder.

"Lucas" he called, he stepped into the room and saw a chair on it's side and then he saw Lucas lying on the floor. His eyes open and glassy, his head was lying in an unnatural angle. He knew his son was dead a cold emptiness seep into his body as he followed a blood trail to the main bedroom and saw Alicia lying on the floor. She was face down with a blade in her back, she had one hand outstretched towards the twins who were screaming.

"No, no, no" Taylor said as raced to her side and knelt down beside her. Her body was incredibly still, he brushed black strands of hair from her face and neck. He touched her jugular begging to a higher power that she wasn't dead. Tears burned the back of his eyes as he felt a pulse. He pulled out his comm. unit and called for a medical team to pick up their pace to his location before he reluctantly left his wife to check on the twins.

"Hey, hey" he said to them in a soft voice, "It's ok, you're safe" he told them as he touched their faces and gently grabbed the twins hand with his getting their attention. The twins' screaming died down into gasps as they could see his face but the tears didn't stop flowing. His heart twisted at how hot they felt to the touch and felt incredibly torn between the twins and Alicia as he wanted to hold them all close to him.

He didn't have time to make a choice when Shannon came into the room with his wife and a medical team behind them with supplies and a stretcher. It was all a blur as Elisabeth spoke at a rapid rate with her staff and in seconds Alicia was loaded up on the stretcher and taken out. Elisabeth moved to the other side of the playpen opposite Taylor and touched his arm getting his attention as he looked down at the pool of blood on the floor. Alicia's blood.

"Commander" Elisabeth said gently, he looked to her. "I need your help with the twins" she said. Taylor nodded and did as Elisabeth directed, she picked up Ava and he picked up Ella before he followed her out of the house leaving Shannon with the mess.

"Why hasn't Lucas called with the codes?" Mira asked impatiently as she held Sienna in her arms. Her daughter had passed out from too many hours sitting awake on the mine. Mira had just barely caught the little girl before her weight shifted. Now Sienna laid heavily in her arms out cold.

"I don't know, I told you we should have restrained him and tortured it out of him. It would have been far more satisfying" Carter said, as he leaned against the far wall looking at them.

"How much time do we have?" Mira asked.

"We got time" Carter told her. A knock sounded at the door and the two exchanged looks as they weren't expecting visitors. Another knock sounded and Mira inclined her head giving him permission to open it.

Carter pushed off the wall and moved to the front door and opened it just enough to see who was there.

"Hello" he said casually to Reilly and Reynolds. He put on his best smile for Reilly as they two had had a good drunken tumble in the sack a few days ago. Something he'd like to repeat as Reilly was into the 'no strings' kind of relationship and she was wild. "What can I do for you two?" he asked.

"Commander Taylor sent us. He says he knows everything and you have a situation that is time sensitive and in case you haven't heard Lucas is dead so waiting for the deactivation codes is not an option" Reilly said, she showed no outward signs of familiarity with him which surprised and pleased him as he didn't need Reynolds blabbing and ruining a good thing. Reynolds looked at him coldly.

"Right and you are here telling me this good news why?" Carter asked.

"It's my area of expertise. I'm here to disarm the mine and return it to the armoury. That's all" Reilly told him.

"And what's he doing here?" Carter asked tilting his head in Reynolds direction.

"He's my assistant. Now let us in" Reilly told him firmly. Carter looked over his shoulder at Mira.

"Let them in" she told them. Carter gave a shrug and opened the door wide and made a sweeping gesture welcolming them into the house. Reilly walked directly to Mira and Sienna with her tool bag and placed it on the floor by the chair.

"Hello, mini Malcolmus" Evan cooed at Caleb as lifted the boy from his cot that had been moved next to the lounge. He had been dismissed by the sixers over an hour ago so he went home and freshened up before making a pit stop to see Kate and Malcolm. He wanted to offer his congratulations without his brood running around. He was actually surprised at how relaxed the two looked as he spent his first 48 hours freaking out when Sean was a newborn. Lena his late wife had been emotional rollercoaster of smiles and tears. Amusing as she was usually very serene and level headed.

"Don't tease my baby" Kate told him as she was lying comfortably on the lounge with her legs over Malcolm's lap. She wondered where Taylor and Alicia were as she figured at least Alicia would be by late morning to see them. It worried her that there wasn't even a comm. message.

"It was a compliment. Look at his mop, it's very impressive" Evan said as he adjusted his hold on Caleb who's hair was fluffy and sticking out at odd angles. The baby boy frowned at being held up in the air than comforted next to the warmth of another human body. Evan of course well versed in baby expressions adjusted his hold on the baby so he was in his arms being safely held.

"How are your kids?" Kate asked.

"Still at the Shannon's. I just wanted to drop by and see what all the fuss was with you guys and thank you Kate for delivering this little bruiser when you did and making him just the perfect weight for me to win the betting pool." Evan said with a smile as he had enough terras to buy himself many luxuries but it would all be kept in savings and splurged when birthdays and christmases came around.

"If you weren't holding my son I'd throw my cup of tea at you" Kate told him. Evan laughed as he adjusted his hold so Caleb's face was next to his with them both looking at her. He made sure to support the baby's head. Kate smiled but rolled her eyes at him and his antics. Caleb definitely only had eyes for his mother as he stared at her for a few moments before closing his eyes and dozing off. Evan noticing this laid him back into his arms in a laying down position.

"I'll have to remember that if I have something bad to tell you" Evan said to her. A knock sounded at the door drawing their attention.

"I'll get it" Malcolm said, he carefully lifted Kate's legs up and got off the lounge to open the door.

"So how much did you win?" Kate asked Evan, she never ended up hearing what the exact amount was and was kind of curious how many family roast dinners she was going to make Evan pay for.

"Well-" Evan stopped as Jim cut him off.

"Evan" he said, Kate sat up slowly as she immediately could tell by Jim's demeanour that something was wrong. Her heart thudded in her chest and tears involuntarily welled in her eyes. Her emotions had been on a rollercoaster ride but Elisabeth had told her last night she would feel like a bit of basket case as her hormones settled down. All normal. Something Kate liked hearing even though she didn't enjoy the waterworks displayed.

"What's going on?" Kate asked hating the fact she sounded very emotional instead of strong and sure.

"It's ok Kate" Jim said he shot Malcolm an apologetic look. Malcolm remained placid as he had no idea what was going on and knew Kate would be fine and if she wasn't he'd support her through it. He had read a woman's hormones were all over the place for the first few days after giving birth.

"No it's not you're wearing your 'bad news' face" Kate told him.

"Jim, just tell us what is going on" Malcolm said as he preferred they be in the loop and hoping that the news would placate Kate and help her smooth out her emotions.

"Ok, long story cut short. Lucas and Alicia had a confrontation. Lucas is dead and Alicia is in surgery, I have no idea what her status is but I need Evan to help me with the twins as Taylor is- well" Jim tried to find the right words that could describe how Taylor was acting "He's not coping well and the twins needs some attention and stability which takes more than two hands" Jim explained lamely.

"I should go" Kate said as she slowly got off the couch but Malcolm shook his head and stood infront of her. He placed his hands on her upper arms and looked her in the eyes.

"Oh no, you're staying here" Malcolm told her.

"But-"

"No, you gave birth last night in the command centre and were up early. You need to rest" Malcolm told her firmly. Jim and Evan exchanged looks as they had never seen Malcolm be actively commanding and hold such a presence before. They also inwardly braced themselves for Kate to turn psychotically angry at being told what to do.

"You're right, I'm sorry" Kate said as she placed a hand on his chest and turned to sit back down on the lounge. Jim let out a slow breath of relief and pleasantly surprised.

"Don't worry, Kate. When I know something I'll message you" Evan said carefully as he rose from his chair holding Caleb. He moved round the coffee table "Ok, little man time for you to go back to your Mumma bear" Evan said as he handed a peacefully sleeping Caleb to Kate.

"Ok thank you." Kate said to him. Evan nodded and gave Malcolm a brief smile. "Cute kid, I'll get the door on the way out" Evan told him.

"Thanks" Malcolm said as he sat down next to Kate. Jim and Evan left the house and once the door was closed Malcolm waited for Kate to go ballistic but instead she looked rather sombre. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her close as she held Caleb. He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"It'll be ok" he told her. Kate nodded and leaned against him heavily. She gave a sigh as she tried hard not to cry. "I also apologise for being forceful, but I really want you to rest"

"I understand" Kate said with a slight smile playing on her lips feeling like a nutter as she was worried, happy, a little turned on and upset all in one go. "Anyway it was kind of a turn on" Kate admitted as she needed her mind taken off Alicia, Taylor and the twins. She knew she would only stress herself out and needed to save her strength for the worst than waste it on what was unknown.

Malcolm laughed as he rubbed a soothing hand up her back. "I'll keep that in mind for when we reach the six week mark. Perhaps we should go and lie down in bed now we aren't entertaining people" he told her.

"Sounds great" Kate said as she rose from the lounge and slowly made her way to the bedroom with Malcolm at her side.

TBC- Also a thanks and shout out to buckeyeirishmom for your review and suggestions. It really sparked the brain juices, I hope you and the other readers liked what I've done in this update :-D. Cya all soon!