"You Mister Wallace are just as perfect today as you were yesterday" Elisabeth declared as she picked Caleb up into her arms and cooed at the little boy. She was definitely feeling broody with all the babies being born around her. She had dropped by right after the meeting at Taylor's house.
"Well he had extra time on the inside, learned a thing a two I guess" Kate said in a dramatic tone as she placed three tea cups on the coffee table next to a plate of biscuits.
"You make sound like he was in prison" Elisabeth drawled in a teasing manner. Kate's face lit up in a dramatic fashion as if she just came up with a great idea. Elisabeth prepared herself for Kate's outrageous ideas as she usually wore that face when she was going to be ridiculous at least it was going to be amusing.
"We could draw little baby tattoo on it make him look tough" Kate said excitedly as she sat down on the lounge next to Elisabeth.
"No" Malcolm said as he came over and placed a fresh teapot on the table. He took a seat opposite them, Elisabeth laughed as she held Caleb in her arms.
"Or we could get a family tattoo start our chapter as the first family gang on the east side of the Colony." Kate suggested.
"No" Malcolm said as he poured out the tea into the cups.
"You're no fun" Kate pouted as she picked up a biscuit and took a bite.
"I'm heaps of fun, I just don't like the idea of needles and ink near our son" Malcolm told her. Kate was mid chewing as she narrowed her eyes at Malcolm nodded as if she was giving it thought when Malcolm knew she had a comeback ready but her mouth was full. She swallowed her bite of the biscuit and gestured at him.
"Mmm yeah he might want to become a spy insteand and tattoos would be identifying marker it would be bad considering being a spy is all about being a chameleon" Kate said, Malcolm shook his head at his wife's quick mind and imagination.
"That wasn't my reasoning at all but if it works for you then sure. Our son wants to be Terra Nova's James Bond and tattoos are bad for his career" Malcolm said to her with a smile playing on his lips. He looked to Elisabeth who was chuckling at them.
"Moving on, I told Malcolm I want to see Alicia today. Do you think you could escort me? Malcolm thinks I'm incapable of surviving such a long and arduous journey to the Rec Centre" Kate said to Elisabeth who wore a smile as she felt like she was being put in the middle of something. She looked to Malcolm who opened his mouth to argue with Kate but stopped as his comm. unit beeped. He picked it up from the table and looked at the caller I.D.
"I have to take this" Malcolm said to them, he got up and moved out onto the back veranda to talk. Once the door was closed Elisabeth looked to Kate.
"I don't believe Malcolm thinks you're incapable. I think he's concerned that you're going to push yourself too hard too soon and crash out" Elisabeth told Kate being diplomatic but also honest as Kate needed to know they all knew her. They all knew she would drive herself into the ground to help them.
"I won't, it's a short walk" Kate told her, frankly as she picked up her cup of tea and took a small sip making a face as the tea was still scalding hot.
"I know but I still think a few days more of rest would be good for you. There's no rush and Alicia is going to be fine. She's stabilised, has colour in her skin and will wake up soon" Elisabeth said.
"I still want to see her" Kate stated.
"I know but I need you to rest for a few more days. Alicia will not think any less of you for not visiting her or running around the colony helping everyone. You're allowed to have this time to yourself and your new family" Elisabeth said.
"Ok, but I still want to see Alicia. She's family to me"
"Just a few more days"
"Two" Kate bartered.
"If you want an arbitrary number it'll be three days" Elisabeth told her. Kate looked her head on with an unwavering gaze.
"You and what army are going to stop me?" She asked.
"Just a tiny army of one" Elisabeth said smugly as she held Caleb out to her. Kate took her son into her arms and shook her head as Elisabeth chuckled.
"You're funny" Kate told her sarcastically as she held her son in her arms.
Taylor finished reading the report Dr Hastings' had sent him and the message attached saying that the body was prepped for transport and that all he had to do was send over a rover and soldiers to pick up the remains.
The remains of his first family, it was like the chapter of that life was finally over and there was no resounding relief from it. All he felt was the burn of failure and guilt at not being able to save Lucas from himself. Ayani had sacrificed herself for Lucas and Taylor had had one job to keep their son alive and make him into a man she would have been proud of but he had failed.
Not only had he failed but he had nearly lost his current family. They were brought into the mess of his previous family and who knew what was going to happen. The twins were fine, a little dehydrated and cranky but nothing some liquids and rest couldn't fix but Alicia was a gambit at the moment. He didn't know for sure how long she had been unconscious and whether she would suffer any brain damage due to the blood loss.
The thought that she would wake up and not be the woman he loved was too much to bear. He had already lost one partner and now it was happening again. He just couldn't sit by and watch as everything he loved fell to pieces. Recriminations came flittering through him of how he probably deserved what he was getting and that he should have never started a relationship with Alicia at all. If he hadn't she would be alive and well, Lucas would still be around and thus his chance of redeeming his son and mending him and their relationship would still exist.
A small snore broke his reverie. He looked up from his plex and over at his daughters whom he had not been paying attention to. Ava was bobbing her head as she was fighting the urge to sleep while Ella was out like a light making soft snores. He remembered Alicia remarking that the little girl was taking after him and his bad habits. Something that would have made him smile on any other day but not today.
Today he needed to find peace and solace, looking at his daughters all he felt was his insides being ripped to shreds with guilt as it was his fault their mother wouldn't be able to hold and comfort them anytime soon because of his son. Because of his failure to save them all from the events, it was the maudlin drama that was his life. He couldn't stand the emotions rolling inside of him and he picked up his comm. and messaged Guzman with orders to pick up his son's remains with a rhino and to have it in the main gate in 15 minutes.
"Where's Elisabeth?" Malcolm asked as he closed the back door. He had had a lengthy conversation with Evan and several other people in his department about the projects lost in the explosion and the redistribution of space. He wished that some scientists would just give up their project space and not complain. It wasn't like they were being punished and the space was going to be utilised for higher priority functions. He also wished it didn't require face to face communication but apparently it did as no one was recognising Evan's authority as Malcolm had made him temporary head of the science department.
"She went off to work. Everything ok?" Kate asked, as she looked up from the Caleb who was lying on the lounge wriggling his little arms and legs as he was alert and wanting attention. The biscuits were all eaten bar one and tea was consumed though when he took a sip of his, he realised he had been talking for a long time as the tea was stone cold.
"Evan needs my help" Malcolm said as made a face of displeasure at his cold tea, he placed the cup back on the table and moved to sit down on the lounge next to Caleb.
"You need to go" Kate stated as she played with Caleb's feet, moving his legs up and down in slow motions.
"Yes" Malcolm said to her, he was reticent to leave her alone as he felt it was too soon for him. He had planned to have 8 weeks off and spend it with Kate and Caleb but with everything that had happened and his staff not being able to act like adults. He would have to go out.
"Ok" Kate said in a calm manner.
"Do you want me to call and have someone come over?" Malcolm asked. Kate smiled at him.
"No, I'll be fine with our son. I promise we won't leave the house and frankly we both know you'll be back in 15 minutes" Kate said. It was Malcolm's turn to smile at her as she was right. He was planning on being as forceful and succinct as he possibly could be so he could run back home. But he knew it wasn't going to happen.
"Sadly not, I think I will be at least an hour" Malcolm bemoaned as he leaned over and kissed his son on the forehead before he cupped Kate's face and gave her brief kiss. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and then rose from the lounge.
"I understand and if I need you I'll call if there's an emergency like a nappy loaded with a number two" Kate teased him as she lifted Caleb up into her arms. Malcolm chuckled.
"Yes, please do" Malcolm said dryly but he couldn't wipe the smile from his lips. "I'll see you two later" he said.
"Bye, bye" Kate said as she waved Caleb's little hand at Malcolm, he gave a nod and reluctantly left the house. Kate hummed and walked around the room watching Caleb as he gave a hearty little yawn and slowly drifted off. She moved over to his cot and placed him inside drawing a light blanket over his legs to keep him warm when the door opened.
Kate smiled knowing it was Malcolm as she felt his reluctance in leaving and hell she was nervous about being left alone. But when she turned around to greet Malcolm she found Taylor instead, he was carrying the twins and their diaper bag.
"Taylor, are you here to see Cale-" Kate started but Taylor cut her off.
"Sorry, I'm not. I need you to look after the twins for me" Taylor said as he placed the twins on the play mat Kate had on the floor for when the twins visited before he turned to her. The twins were making huffing noises which led directly to crying as Taylor moved away. Kate felt her stress levels rapidly increase as Taylor was placing bottles of milk into her fridge from the diaper bag without even asking or explaining himself first.
"Taylo-"
"I've fed, and changed them. They should be good for a while and there's breast milk in the fridge" He told her as he handed her the diaper bag, Kate was in such a state of shock she took the bag.
"Taylor, I-" She started for the second time but he cut her off yet again.
"Thank you" Taylor said sincerely as he walked out of the house closing the door behind him. Kate's mouth was agape in shock as she stared at the closed door and heard the sound of a rover driving off. She turned around and looked to the twins who were both crying so loudly they set Caleb who started making tiny noises of displeasure.
"I've made arrangements for the twins and I'm going OTG and won't be back until this afternoon" Taylor told Jim as he tossed his duffel bag into the front passenger seat of the rhino.
"Taylor, now isn't the best time to go OTG" Jim said in a low voice. It wasn't even lunch yet and Taylor had decided he wanted to go OTG with Lucas's body. While he understood Taylor was grieving he felt now was not the time for Taylor to leave the colony.
"I'm burying my son tell me when there will ever be a more suitable time?" Taylor growled at Jim as he was not going to be told what he could and couldn't do. Not now, he knew if he buried his son it would hopefully bring some peace to him.
"A week from now when things have settled down. When the Colony have buried their loved ones" Jim reasoned as he followed Taylor to the driver's side. Jim placed a hand on the closed door in the hopes of stopping Taylor for just a moment so the man could think about what he was doing.
"I can't wait that long and I refuse to told what to do. I've taken a leave of absence from my duties and I'm going to use part of it to put my boy to rest in the ground" Taylor said before he turned and shouted for the main gates to be opened.
"What about Wash?"
"What about her?" Taylor asked Jim, Jim pulled back slightly shocked as the nonchalance Taylor was showing in regards to his wife.
"What am I supposed to tell her if she wakes up while you're gone?" Jim asked as if it wasn't obvious.
"The truth, she'll understand" Taylor said as he yanked the door open, he closed the door with a resounding slam and powered the engine. Jim quickly stepped back as the Rhino teared off out the main gate heading into the Jungle.
"Where's Taylor going?" Evan asked as he and Malcolm walked over Jim who looked gobsmacked. They hadn't even gotten to their meeting when they figured they'd stop to ask why Taylor had teared out of the colony. Jim turned to face them.
"To bury his son, he said he made arrangements for the twins. He call you?" Jim asked as he pulled out his comm. unit to message his wife. He had a feeling that they would be on twin duty tonight as Evan had two young kids and that was enough for one man to look after alone.
"No" Evan said looking confused as to why Jim would assume Taylor would let him look after the twins. Jim's comm. unit beeped with a call and he held up a finger as if to say 'one second' and he moved away to talk on his comm. unit.
Malcolm felt his comm. buzz in his hand, he lifted the screen and read Kate's name on the screen he smiled and answered.
"Caleb already has a present for me" he said in greeting, the smile slipped from his lips as he heard babies crying in the background. Multiple babies and knew exactly where Taylor had left the twins. He and Evan shared a look and Evan strode over to Jim to bring him in on the loop.
"No, but Taylor did. Please come home, now" She said, he could hear the strain the in her voice.
"On my way" Malcolm told her.
"Found the twins" Jim asked Malcolm.
"Yes, they are with Kate" Malcolm said before he turned on his feet and ran for home. Evan and Jim followed behind him.
When they got there, Malcolm opened the door to the racket of three babies crying. Kate kneeling on the floor with twins in front of her and Caleb in the cot nearby. Normally such a scene would be a little humorous but right now it downright distressing. As if to prove Malcolm's assessment, Kate looked up and they could see she was completely distressed. She was pale, her eyes were wide in slight panic as tears streamed down her face.
"Taylor, he told me to take them and left- I can't get them to stop crying. They aren't hungry and I can't play tag in holding them long enough to get one to stop crying. And I'm crying because of stupid hormones and everyone's crying. What am I supposed to do?" Kate asked, she was completely stressed out and a little disgusted from her lack of control on her emotions, She looked to Malcolm and the men for answers and he gave her a kind smile.
"It's ok, we're here now. You focus on Caleb and yourself. Jim and Evan will look after the twins" he told her, he handed Caleb into Kate's arms. He kissed her temple and then helped her to her feet. He moved her to their bedroom while Jim and Evan took over the care of the twins. He closed the door and Kate sat on the bed cradling Caleb who was slowly settling down in her arms. Malcolm felt a surge of anger at Taylor for having no consideration and he definitely was going to give the man a piece of mind when he returned to the colony.
"I'm sorry" Kate said, she had a dazed look on her face as she tried to make sense of her world.
"It's not your fault" Malcolm told her.
"I know but usually I'm a lot better but he just came in and put the twins on the ground and stocked our fridge with breast milk then walked out the door it was like-"
"Kate, Taylor shouldn't have put you into such a situation until you were ready which is not today but it's alright because Evan and Jim will take the twins" Malcolm said, Kate felt a twinge of annoyance at Malcolm telling her what she was and wasn't capable of. But it was overwhelmed with her gratitude that he had come home swiftly and taking control of the situation.
"But Taylor left them in my care and the milk stores-" Kate started.
"No, he's not abandoning them" Malcolm assured her while silently cursing Taylor for not thinking his plans through. He understood the man was clouded with grief but he could have called a number of people to help him. Obviously he just wanted the fastest route in getting out of the colony with minimal fuss of people trying to persuade him to stay.
"Then why didn't he give me a time frame. Usually he says 'I'll be back in an hour' he didn't say anything but 'take them and there's milk in the fridge'. Did he say something to you?" Kate asked, Malcolm rubbed her back in a soothing manner.
"No, he didn't" Malcolm said to her. He watched as Kate bit her bottom lip trying to work out the mess in her head and keep her emotions in check. He could see she was upset and he didn't blame her as she had just been thrown in the deep end with cement shoes. Caleb squawked and fussed in her arms, Kate gave a sigh as she looked down at her son she knew she was tense and needed to relax.
"Maybe you should take Caleb. I can't get him to settle down" Kate said, her ego had taken quite a blow from not being able to handle three kids at once. Malcolm now wanted to punch Taylor for stripping away Kate's confidence in her abilities with one unthoughtful move.
"No,you keep him. He'll settle down in a moment. Why don't you two lie down and relax? I'll go talk with Evan and Jim for a moment" Malcolm said, Kate closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. He helped her lie down and placed Caleb on his side of the bed. Caleb squirmed and fussed so he un-swaddled him from his cotton blanket. "I'll be back" he told her, she gave a nod before he kissed her for a brief but passionate kiss.
"I can't believe Taylor did this" Malcolm said in a low voice after he closed the door to the bedroom and moved to where Evan and Jim were.
"He's burying his son" Jim said as he held a now calm Ella, both girls looked calm and relaxed. It seemed all they needed was to be held.
"He couldn't wait? The Colony is still in crisis moment" Evan asked incredulously.
"He felt differently and he said he'd be back by this afternoon. So why don't we all just relax instead of jumping to conclusions" Jim told them as he felt like someone should be batting in Taylor's corner as Evan and Malcolm looked ready to crucify Taylor.
"You know he didn't tell Kate that he was burying Lucas or that he'd be back this afternoon. He said to her to 'take' the twins and stocked up our fridge which she's translated it into him abandoning the twins" Malcolm said, Jim frowned and moved to the fridge opening the door to see there was a good stock of Milk that looked to be thawing out. In fact it more than enough for a couple of days at least. Jim told himself that he was just speculating and they would worry when he wasn't back.
"Damn, no wonder Kate flipped out." Evan said, Malcolm shot him a look "No offence" he added quickly. Malcolm shook his head and looked to Jim.
"How do we want to play this?" Jim asked as he closed the fridge and faced Evan and Malcolm.
"We're all stretched a little thin at the moment. Take turns" Malcolm suggested.
"Ok, how about Evan and I take first shift. I'll see what Liz is up to and maybe she could wrangle a few free hours to help you out. Work for you Malcolm?" Jim suggested as he felt Kate would need a few hours to pull herself together and taking the twins out of the house would be helpful to all parties involved.
"Yes, thank you. Evan, we'll move the meeting back an hour and it'll be in my backyard so we can get it out the way and I'll be close to Kate if she needs me" Malcolm said as he pulled out his comm. and sent a message to his staff about the time and location change.
"That works for me" Evan said he looked to Jim. "We just need to find those baby bags so we can carry these two around with us with minimal fuss" Evan said to Jim.
"Agreed, I know the codes to Taylor's house and while we're over there we'll grab some gear for the twins" Jim said as the plan slowly came together.
"They can nap later in Caleb's crib until Taylor is back" Malcolm added.
"Good, let's go" Jim said to Evan so they could get moving. They both had a lot to do before the day was out.
Malcolm saw them out and closed the door returning to the bedroom to see Kate was laying on the bed where he left her, she was smiling softly as she traced Caleb's little feet with her index finger.
"Hey, feeling better?" he asked her. She looked over her shoulder at him for a moment and he saw she was relaxed but disappointed in herself.
"I feel like an awful God Mother but yeah I feel better" Kate said with a sigh. He moved to the bed and leaned over her with his lips near her ear.
"Shuffle over" he whispered in her ear. Kate shuffled closer to Caleb and Malcolm kicked off his boots and laid down on his side behind her. He wrapped an arm around her pulling her closer so her back was against his chest. He propped his head up on his elbow and looked at Kate and Caleb enjoying their presence in the moment.
"I am such a mess barely 48 hours into being a mother and I panic and have a major meltdown" Kate said not looking at him.
"I don't want you to beat yourself up about this. You did the right thing in calling me, we are a team and if you're worried about what Alicia will say she'll understand better than anyone else. You helped her out when she panicked with the twins and didn't want Taylor to know. You panicked with the twins, Caleb and the concerns that Taylor had abandoned them. If I were you I'd have called and been in tears as well but my crying would be very manly and reserved British manner" he told her, the joke earned him a smile and a chuckle. He placed a kiss on her neck.
"What's going to happen now?" Kate asked with a sigh as she shifted herself closer to Malcolm. She knew he wasn't angling for sex but just showering her with affection.
"Jim and Evan have the girls, they'll bring them back later for their afternoon nap where Elisabeth and I will be around to help. Taylor will be back in the afternoon, we'll have him stay for dinner and everything will be fine. You know the twins were fine they just needed some human contact, Jim and Evan have it covered. Anyway you only have two arms which are completely reserved for Caleb and yours truly" he said as he gently held her to him, Kate smiled at his possessiveness.
"Where did Taylor go again?" Kate asked.
"I don't know, he just went OTG to bury Lucas" Malcolm told her.
A few hours later, Taylor placed the last stone on Lucas's grave. It had taken him a while to dig a grave deep enough so no local fauna would dig him up. He then placed Lucas into his resting place covered him in dirt and then placed stones on top in a nice mountain.
He stood back and looked at his work, he was exhausted covered in sweat and dirt. He knew Lucas would have hated it that Taylor outlived him but then Taylor hated the fact he had outlived his first family. He sat down and sighed as he looked around the area taking in the site he had chosen.
He would have buried him on Memorial Field but he felt that people would object and try to destroy whatever headstone Taylor put on the burial. But out here by Snakehead Falls Lucas could rest peacefully without hearing one slur or curse about him.
It also seemed fitting as Snakehead Falls had been the one location where he and Lucas had been connected for years. The carvings on the rocks mocked him as Lucas had managed to do everything he set out except destroy Terra Nova even though the colony was scarred it did survive.
He couldn't say the same for his life. He exhaled slowly and released the emotions he had so vainly tried to control and let them roll out of him. He knew no one would come looking for at least a day so no one would witness the darkness or the pain he felt within.
"Where is he?" Kate asked exasperated as it was 5 minutes to 6pm and she was pacing the floorboards. There had been no contact from Taylor and she was convinced he had gone off the reservation and wasn't coming back. She had no idea what he was thinking and she needed him to come back.
"He didn't give a time on when he'd return" Malcolm said as he and Elisabeth were making dinner for themselves and the twins who were currently sitting in the high chairs Jim and Evan had brought over. They had had a long afternoon nap and woke up in a better mood.
"It's nearly 6pm in my books it's changed over to evening and it's nearly dark" Kate said to Malcolm.
"He'll come back" Elisabeth assured her.
"What if he doesn't? What if he's been eaten by a dinosaur or something?" Kate said.
"Now you're being a little melodramatic" Malcolm told her, he was pretty sure Kate was going to crash after dinner at the rate she was pacing and expending her energy on wondering where Taylor was and how it was going to affect Alicia and the twins. He felt a pang of annoyance because he wanted this time to be their family time. Their time to be bonding with Caleb instead their house was a thoroughfare for the twins, Evan and his kids, Elisabeth, Jim and Guzman. He wanted their sanctuary back where of soft conversations and laughs and the only loud noises were Caleb's cues when he was hungry or wet.
"Well let me tell you it doesn't take a whole day to bury a body" Kate told them, Malcolm and Elisabeth exchanged looks as they were unsure how to take Kate's comment. "Unless he's decided to did a hole to China" Kate said.
"China doesn't... nevermind" Malcolm said as Kate shot him a look that said she wasn't looking for a geography lesson and a reminder that they lived on a supercontinent and that it would be a couple milienia before the continents broke was significant to note a change in their maps.
"Jim assured me his tracker is still active and Jim said he hasn't moved from his current position. If they were in a dino's stomach then they'd be running around the jungle" Elisabeth offered.
"Ok, but what do we tell Alicia when she wakes up? and what about the twins? Are they staying here or are we moving into Taylor's house so they can have a sound sleep in their own beds?" Kate asked pacing the floor and feeling her stress levels rise. Elisabeth waved a hand catching her attention and Kate stopped to look at her.
"One. Jim and I will take the twins, and two if Alicia wakes up we'll work something out but right now Kate you have to relax" Elisabeth told her.
"I'm doing my best" Kate said with a sigh, she heard Caleb make adorable snuffling noises in his cot and knew if she didn't attend to him right away he'd just become more upset.
"I know, why don't go feed your son and lie down for bit. Dinner is still half an hour away" Elisabeth told her.
"Why do I feel like a child being told to do their homework?" Kate asked before she moved to the portable cot and lifted Caleb into her arms. A smile played on her lips as she held the boy close murmuring words of comfort to the baby assuring he had her attention. She walked into her and Malcolm's bedroom closing the door behind her.
"She has a point" Malcolm said in a low voice as he didn't want Kate overhearing him.
"I'm a parent I sometimes can't help my tone it's second nature" Elisabeth said with a shrug missing the point to which she was referring to. Malcolm smiled and shook his head.
"I meant about Alicia and if she wakes up tonight or in a few days and Taylor still isn't back" Malcolm said as he moved to stir one of the pots.
"We'll tell her he went to bury his son. It's the truth" Elisabeth told him.
"If you leave out the part where he said he'd be back by the afternoon and never returned" Malcolm said.
"He'll be back" Elisabeth assured him as she truly believed as much as Taylor was in grieving for Lucas he was not a man to shirk his responsibilities. Sure he had up and left but everyone was allowed to make mistakes and he would come back.