Keep Moving On
Title: Keep Moving On
Character/pairing: Alicia Washington/ Nathaniel Taylor
Word Count: 2,723
Genre:
Rating: PG-13/R (nothing to graphic but there is some language and a little bit of sex)
Summary: 14 glimpses into the lives of Commander Taylor and Lt. Washington
Author’s Note: I’ve always wanted to do one of these so here I go. I’m using the chorus from Good Charlotte’s song Moving On for the prompts. They all center around Taylor and Washington but not always together and range from their time in the army to Terra Nova.
1. Life
The Clinic had seen a steady stream of visitors since word got out that Sarah had given birth to her baby. When Taylor arrived he took one look at the overcrowded building and decided his people had been bothering the medical personnel long enough.
“Alright people back to work.”
His tone left no room for argument and it didn’t take long for the Clinic to empty except for the medical staff, actual patients and one very tired new mother.
“Thank you Sir, I was getting a little overwhelmed.”
Taylor went over to her bedside and peered down into the bundle of blankets held in her arms.
“Have you thought of a name yet?”
He wiggled his index finger over the baby, smiling when her little hand caught his in a tight grip.
“Ashia.”
It meant Life and Hope, Taylor couldn’t think of a better name for the first child born in Terra Nova.
2. Hope
When she first joined the army Washington hoped she could serve her country with honor and pride. When she became a medic she hoped the men under her hands wouldn’t die as she stitched them back together. When she was home on leave between tours she hoped her neighbors wouldn’t hear her crying out as she dreamed of battlefields, blood and death. When she was lying on a hospital bed in Phoenix after being medevaced out of Somalia she hoped the doctors would declare her unfit to return to duty. When they didn’t she hoped Taylor never found out about her moment of weakness. When she first crossed over into Terra Nova she felt hope for the future and nearly wept for joy.
3. Truth
“How does it taste?”
If he told her the truth about her dinner there was a good chance she would knock him flat. Luckily he was saved from answering when Reynolds spit a piece of undercooked meat back on his plate.
“Maybe you should stick to hunting and let someone else do the cooking ma’am”
Part of him felt bad for the kid as she pounded him into the ground, a larger part was just glad he had been stupid enough to say what they were all thinking.
4. Trust
When it came down to it Taylor led and Washington followed. It was a relationship that many saw as one-sided but after nearly two decades of working, fighting and surviving together they recognized it as what it was, complete and utter trust. Taylor trusted she would have his back, that no matter how desperate the situation she would stay by his side. Washington trusted he would never ask more than he was willing to give and that as long as he was leading everything would turn out alright in the end.
5. Faith
Neither of them believed in God. He never saw the point in praying to an unknown entity that answered with death and she lost her faith when a young soldier begging for his life died as she pulled shrapnel out of his chest. But as they watched the people of Terra Nova in the market laughing, eating real food and breathing without air filters they couldn’t help but think someone was watching over them.
6. Pride
Washington’s twenty-first birthday was celebrated by the whole squad in a city whose name none of them could really pronounce. How exactly Taylor managed to secure so many forty-eight hour passes no one was sure but more than one toast had been raised to his health that night in thanks. While the younger soldiers danced and did their best to damage their livers Taylor entertained himself with a game of pool and a beer. Just as he was about to sink the solid three ball a loud crash came from the left along with an impressive string of profanity.
“I swear I’ll knock your teeth out if you so much as look at my ass again you shit eating cow fucking sonovabitch!”
Despite the slight slur of her words Washington appeared fully capable of carrying out her threat. A young sniper was doing his best to keep the intoxicated medic from pouncing on the civilian as he stumbled to his feet. Not wanting one of his soldiers to cause an incident Taylor called out her name.
“Washington!”
His voice took her focus away from the poor man, allowing him to make a run for it.
“Sir.”
It was rather funny how she tried to straighten in attention despite being held a good foot off the ground.
“Where did you learn to speak like that?”
Her grin was nothing short of cheeky.
“From you Sir.”
In response he bought her another drink.
7. Love
He loved the way she balanced heavy boxes against her hip. She loved how he scratched his beard when concentrating. He loved it when she fussed over him even if he pretended it was an annoyance. She loved that he never asked her to stop fussing. He loved the way her eyes lit up during a sparring match when she managed to land a blow. She loved watching him drink coffee, two sips to test the temperature followed by a long slow pull and a content smile. He loved how her ponytail would swing back and forth as she ran, especially when she was running to meet him at the gate. She loved the look on his face when Reynolds put in a request for a house so he would have something to offer Maddy Shannon when he asked her to marry him. He really loved it when she hooked her fingers around his gun holster to pull him down for a kiss. She absolutely loved his strong hands gripping her hips as he sat her on the nearest available flat surface.
Just because they never said “I Love You” didn’t mean they didn’t feel it.
8. Lust
He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about his lieutenant in such a manner but contrary to popular belief he was in fact human and male, a very healthy male who hadn’t been with a woman since his wife died. It wasn’t his fault a heat wave had swept through Terra Nova a month after the rest of his team finally arrived and it defiantly wasn’t his fault Washington had forgotten to lock the door on the bath house when she went to shower before bed. It was however entirely his fault that he just stood there in the doorway staring at her wet naked body like a teenager who had never seen a pair of breasts before. He managed to gather his wits about him and leave before she noticed his presence but he never did forget how perfect her figure was.
9. Pain
It was easy to ignore the pain when she was using his wound to race against another medic. Pure chance had put Taylor on her table with a seven inch cut across his chest at the same time as another soldier with a seven inch laceration across his back was carried to the neighboring bed. When it was noticed that both wounds were about the same size the other medic bragged he could finish suturing before she had finished cleaning Taylor’s wound. The young woman’s eyes had narrowed at the challenge and terms were set; the looser had to clean both stations after their shift ended. If he hadn’t been on the edge of unconsciousness from loss of blood Taylor might have taken offence to being reduced game piece in a competition between two medics who he highly doubted were even out of their teens. Through half closed eyes he watched her clean and stitch his skin back together with the efficient speed of an expert. No movement was wasted, no pull to tight and when she finished with a proud “Done” the medic next to them cursed as he still had another inche to go.
Before he passed out he managed to ask,
“What’s your name soldier?”
“Private Washington Sir.”
The next day he had her transferred to his special ops team.
10. Hate
Despite his long and rather violent military career Taylor had never hated the enemy. He had always understood they were soldiers, like him, fighting because their countries had called them to. He taught his men to feel the same way and out of all the soldiers under his command Washington had taken the lesson to heart the most. So when she was captured and tortured for information she didn’t feel hate towards the men because they were soldiers like her. That isn’t to say she didn’t feel immense satisfaction when Taylor found her and killed them all. They may not believe in hate but retribution was an entirely different matter.
11. Lies
She had never lied to him before and wasn’t about to start now.
“Sir I think you are losing perspective.”
Taylor looked up from his desk with a raised eyebrow. Steeling her nerves Washington knew she was dangerously close to insubordination but continued on.
“I understand your anger and I want to take the fight to them just a much but to declare war on the Sixers would be risking everything we have worked so hard to build here. This place is supposed to be about second chances and new beginnings and for it to survive we have to look to peace. If it must happen let them be the aggressors so our actions will be in defense of the Colony and not out of revenge for a bruised pride.”
Straightening her back she waited for the dressing down she deserved for speaking to her commanding officer in such a way. Taylor studied her for a moment before leaning back in his chair with a serious look on his face.
“Do you think waiting for them to make the first move is in the best interest of the Colony?”
“Yes Sir.”
“I’ll take your advice into consideration.”
And he would because he had never lied to her either.
12. Guilt
It was eating away at him, slowly driving him crazy and distracting him to the point of injury (maybe he was being a little dramatic but a stubbed toe could still hurt like hell). He had given a very convincing argument in his head that he had done absolutely nothing to feel guilty about but that didn’t change the fact that every time she looked at him Taylor wanted to fall to his knees and beg forgiveness. If Washington knew about the internal battle he was waging (and sadly loosing) there was a good chance she would tell him he was being unreasonable and demand he forget about it. When it was her voice in his head rather than his own Taylor almost made peace with himself, but then she walked by with a black eye that he had personally given her during a sparring session and the crushing guilt returned. It was an accident and she had bounced back like the seasoned fighter she was but that didn’t change the fact that he had hit her. It wasn’t the first time and probably wouldn’t be the last since they were regular training partners but he had never left a mark on her before. That bothered him. He knew by weeks end it would fade back to her natural skin tones but until then he couldn’t stop looking at it and feeling guilty.
13. Laugh
It started small; a few chuckles, some snickering, a poorly hidden snort. Then the quiet giggles that had been kept muted behind closed lips erupted into a howling laughter that shook the pterosaurs from the trees. The soldiers standing watch on the gate were startled by the sound and searched the dark tree line for a source only to find it in their Commander and his Lieutenant. They were sitting on the steps of the Command Base laughing so hard Taylor was doubled over and Wash was nearly falling off the step. The laughter died down to a lower volume but if the shaking in their shoulders and the way Taylor kept slapping his knee were any indication the two were far from finished. It was a mutual agreement between the night watch to keep the event secret. Partially because they didn’t think anyone would believe them and mostly because they were afraid of being stuck on night duty permanently.
14. Cry
Maddy Shannon was crying on Lt. Washington’s shoulder. If Commander Taylor hadn’t walked into his office and seen the two women himself he never would have believed it. The slightly panicked look on his seconds face was almost comical as she awkwardly rubbed the younger woman’s back in a soothing motion. The contact calmed Miss. Shannon down enough that her sobs turned into hiccups and she dried her tears on a shirt sleeve as she took a step back.
“Thanks for listening.”
He wasn’t sure how to describe the smile on Washington’s face; the only word that came to mind was Soft. With a quick hug that seemed to startle his lieutenant the young woman left, throwing him a ‘Good Afternoon’ as she rushed by.
“What was that about?”
“I’m not entirely sure Sir. I think it had something to do with Reynolds.”
That was odd, the entire colony knew how head over heels in love Mark was for the oldest Shannon daughter.
“Are they hahaving problems?”
It really wasn’t any of his business but that didn’t stop him from asking.
“No, I think he finally asked her to marry him.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because she was smiling.”
“But she was crying.”
She gave him a look that made him think he had just said something stupid.
“It’s a girl thing Sir, you don’t want to understand.”
She was probably right so he didn’t ask any more questions about the emotional stability of Terra Novian women.
15. Live
During the day he was the Commander and she was the Lieutenant, they conducted themselves in a professional manner befitting their rank and the unspoken line was never crossed. But when the sun went down and no one was around they were just a man and a woman, just Nathaniel and Alicia.
The way she gasped his name when she could spare the breath drove him to the edge and her nails digging into his back pushed him over it. Burying his face in the crook of her neck he pushed all worries about the Colony to the back of his mind and focused his attention on her lips against his temple and the way her breathing was becoming more sporadic. He felt her body shutter around his, the sensation drawing a half choked moan from his throat and making coherent thought impossible. As the stars faded from his eyes a very satisfying exhaustion settled over him. Shifting his weight so not to crush her Taylor collapsed with his arm thrown across her chest and his face pressed against her beautifully tangled hair.
It was quiet moments like this that he lived for.
16. Die
He always figured he would die first and oddly enough Taylor found peace in that. If he was lucky it would happen quietly in his sleep far in the unforeseeable future but with the way things were going with the local wildlife, Sixers and his son Taylor knew better. Chances were good that his death was going to be slow and painful while he was very much awake and he felt bad for whoever found his body, assuming it was found at all.
The only silver lining was the knowledge that Washington would still be alive.
She would be furious at him for leaving but that anger would keep her going. No matter what Washington said his shoes weren’t too big to fill and he knew that in her callused hands the Colony would prosper in ways he had only dreamed about. Eventually she would forgive him and move on but the important thing was Terra Nova and the continued success of the home they had built together.
If Taylor was an honest man he would admit the truth; he hoped he would die first because he didn’t think he was strong enough to survive the death of the woman he loved, not for a second time.
Character/pairing: Alicia Washington/ Nathaniel Taylor
Word Count: 2,723
Genre:
Rating: PG-13/R (nothing to graphic but there is some language and a little bit of sex)
Summary: 14 glimpses into the lives of Commander Taylor and Lt. Washington
Author’s Note: I’ve always wanted to do one of these so here I go. I’m using the chorus from Good Charlotte’s song Moving On for the prompts. They all center around Taylor and Washington but not always together and range from their time in the army to Terra Nova.
1. Life
The Clinic had seen a steady stream of visitors since word got out that Sarah had given birth to her baby. When Taylor arrived he took one look at the overcrowded building and decided his people had been bothering the medical personnel long enough.
“Alright people back to work.”
His tone left no room for argument and it didn’t take long for the Clinic to empty except for the medical staff, actual patients and one very tired new mother.
“Thank you Sir, I was getting a little overwhelmed.”
Taylor went over to her bedside and peered down into the bundle of blankets held in her arms.
“Have you thought of a name yet?”
He wiggled his index finger over the baby, smiling when her little hand caught his in a tight grip.
“Ashia.”
It meant Life and Hope, Taylor couldn’t think of a better name for the first child born in Terra Nova.
2. Hope
When she first joined the army Washington hoped she could serve her country with honor and pride. When she became a medic she hoped the men under her hands wouldn’t die as she stitched them back together. When she was home on leave between tours she hoped her neighbors wouldn’t hear her crying out as she dreamed of battlefields, blood and death. When she was lying on a hospital bed in Phoenix after being medevaced out of Somalia she hoped the doctors would declare her unfit to return to duty. When they didn’t she hoped Taylor never found out about her moment of weakness. When she first crossed over into Terra Nova she felt hope for the future and nearly wept for joy.
3. Truth
“How does it taste?”
If he told her the truth about her dinner there was a good chance she would knock him flat. Luckily he was saved from answering when Reynolds spit a piece of undercooked meat back on his plate.
“Maybe you should stick to hunting and let someone else do the cooking ma’am”
Part of him felt bad for the kid as she pounded him into the ground, a larger part was just glad he had been stupid enough to say what they were all thinking.
4. Trust
When it came down to it Taylor led and Washington followed. It was a relationship that many saw as one-sided but after nearly two decades of working, fighting and surviving together they recognized it as what it was, complete and utter trust. Taylor trusted she would have his back, that no matter how desperate the situation she would stay by his side. Washington trusted he would never ask more than he was willing to give and that as long as he was leading everything would turn out alright in the end.
5. Faith
Neither of them believed in God. He never saw the point in praying to an unknown entity that answered with death and she lost her faith when a young soldier begging for his life died as she pulled shrapnel out of his chest. But as they watched the people of Terra Nova in the market laughing, eating real food and breathing without air filters they couldn’t help but think someone was watching over them.
6. Pride
Washington’s twenty-first birthday was celebrated by the whole squad in a city whose name none of them could really pronounce. How exactly Taylor managed to secure so many forty-eight hour passes no one was sure but more than one toast had been raised to his health that night in thanks. While the younger soldiers danced and did their best to damage their livers Taylor entertained himself with a game of pool and a beer. Just as he was about to sink the solid three ball a loud crash came from the left along with an impressive string of profanity.
“I swear I’ll knock your teeth out if you so much as look at my ass again you shit eating cow fucking sonovabitch!”
Despite the slight slur of her words Washington appeared fully capable of carrying out her threat. A young sniper was doing his best to keep the intoxicated medic from pouncing on the civilian as he stumbled to his feet. Not wanting one of his soldiers to cause an incident Taylor called out her name.
“Washington!”
His voice took her focus away from the poor man, allowing him to make a run for it.
“Sir.”
It was rather funny how she tried to straighten in attention despite being held a good foot off the ground.
“Where did you learn to speak like that?”
Her grin was nothing short of cheeky.
“From you Sir.”
In response he bought her another drink.
7. Love
He loved the way she balanced heavy boxes against her hip. She loved how he scratched his beard when concentrating. He loved it when she fussed over him even if he pretended it was an annoyance. She loved that he never asked her to stop fussing. He loved the way her eyes lit up during a sparring match when she managed to land a blow. She loved watching him drink coffee, two sips to test the temperature followed by a long slow pull and a content smile. He loved how her ponytail would swing back and forth as she ran, especially when she was running to meet him at the gate. She loved the look on his face when Reynolds put in a request for a house so he would have something to offer Maddy Shannon when he asked her to marry him. He really loved it when she hooked her fingers around his gun holster to pull him down for a kiss. She absolutely loved his strong hands gripping her hips as he sat her on the nearest available flat surface.
Just because they never said “I Love You” didn’t mean they didn’t feel it.
8. Lust
He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about his lieutenant in such a manner but contrary to popular belief he was in fact human and male, a very healthy male who hadn’t been with a woman since his wife died. It wasn’t his fault a heat wave had swept through Terra Nova a month after the rest of his team finally arrived and it defiantly wasn’t his fault Washington had forgotten to lock the door on the bath house when she went to shower before bed. It was however entirely his fault that he just stood there in the doorway staring at her wet naked body like a teenager who had never seen a pair of breasts before. He managed to gather his wits about him and leave before she noticed his presence but he never did forget how perfect her figure was.
9. Pain
It was easy to ignore the pain when she was using his wound to race against another medic. Pure chance had put Taylor on her table with a seven inch cut across his chest at the same time as another soldier with a seven inch laceration across his back was carried to the neighboring bed. When it was noticed that both wounds were about the same size the other medic bragged he could finish suturing before she had finished cleaning Taylor’s wound. The young woman’s eyes had narrowed at the challenge and terms were set; the looser had to clean both stations after their shift ended. If he hadn’t been on the edge of unconsciousness from loss of blood Taylor might have taken offence to being reduced game piece in a competition between two medics who he highly doubted were even out of their teens. Through half closed eyes he watched her clean and stitch his skin back together with the efficient speed of an expert. No movement was wasted, no pull to tight and when she finished with a proud “Done” the medic next to them cursed as he still had another inche to go.
Before he passed out he managed to ask,
“What’s your name soldier?”
“Private Washington Sir.”
The next day he had her transferred to his special ops team.
10. Hate
Despite his long and rather violent military career Taylor had never hated the enemy. He had always understood they were soldiers, like him, fighting because their countries had called them to. He taught his men to feel the same way and out of all the soldiers under his command Washington had taken the lesson to heart the most. So when she was captured and tortured for information she didn’t feel hate towards the men because they were soldiers like her. That isn’t to say she didn’t feel immense satisfaction when Taylor found her and killed them all. They may not believe in hate but retribution was an entirely different matter.
11. Lies
She had never lied to him before and wasn’t about to start now.
“Sir I think you are losing perspective.”
Taylor looked up from his desk with a raised eyebrow. Steeling her nerves Washington knew she was dangerously close to insubordination but continued on.
“I understand your anger and I want to take the fight to them just a much but to declare war on the Sixers would be risking everything we have worked so hard to build here. This place is supposed to be about second chances and new beginnings and for it to survive we have to look to peace. If it must happen let them be the aggressors so our actions will be in defense of the Colony and not out of revenge for a bruised pride.”
Straightening her back she waited for the dressing down she deserved for speaking to her commanding officer in such a way. Taylor studied her for a moment before leaning back in his chair with a serious look on his face.
“Do you think waiting for them to make the first move is in the best interest of the Colony?”
“Yes Sir.”
“I’ll take your advice into consideration.”
And he would because he had never lied to her either.
12. Guilt
It was eating away at him, slowly driving him crazy and distracting him to the point of injury (maybe he was being a little dramatic but a stubbed toe could still hurt like hell). He had given a very convincing argument in his head that he had done absolutely nothing to feel guilty about but that didn’t change the fact that every time she looked at him Taylor wanted to fall to his knees and beg forgiveness. If Washington knew about the internal battle he was waging (and sadly loosing) there was a good chance she would tell him he was being unreasonable and demand he forget about it. When it was her voice in his head rather than his own Taylor almost made peace with himself, but then she walked by with a black eye that he had personally given her during a sparring session and the crushing guilt returned. It was an accident and she had bounced back like the seasoned fighter she was but that didn’t change the fact that he had hit her. It wasn’t the first time and probably wouldn’t be the last since they were regular training partners but he had never left a mark on her before. That bothered him. He knew by weeks end it would fade back to her natural skin tones but until then he couldn’t stop looking at it and feeling guilty.
13. Laugh
It started small; a few chuckles, some snickering, a poorly hidden snort. Then the quiet giggles that had been kept muted behind closed lips erupted into a howling laughter that shook the pterosaurs from the trees. The soldiers standing watch on the gate were startled by the sound and searched the dark tree line for a source only to find it in their Commander and his Lieutenant. They were sitting on the steps of the Command Base laughing so hard Taylor was doubled over and Wash was nearly falling off the step. The laughter died down to a lower volume but if the shaking in their shoulders and the way Taylor kept slapping his knee were any indication the two were far from finished. It was a mutual agreement between the night watch to keep the event secret. Partially because they didn’t think anyone would believe them and mostly because they were afraid of being stuck on night duty permanently.
14. Cry
Maddy Shannon was crying on Lt. Washington’s shoulder. If Commander Taylor hadn’t walked into his office and seen the two women himself he never would have believed it. The slightly panicked look on his seconds face was almost comical as she awkwardly rubbed the younger woman’s back in a soothing motion. The contact calmed Miss. Shannon down enough that her sobs turned into hiccups and she dried her tears on a shirt sleeve as she took a step back.
“Thanks for listening.”
He wasn’t sure how to describe the smile on Washington’s face; the only word that came to mind was Soft. With a quick hug that seemed to startle his lieutenant the young woman left, throwing him a ‘Good Afternoon’ as she rushed by.
“What was that about?”
“I’m not entirely sure Sir. I think it had something to do with Reynolds.”
That was odd, the entire colony knew how head over heels in love Mark was for the oldest Shannon daughter.
“Are they hahaving problems?”
It really wasn’t any of his business but that didn’t stop him from asking.
“No, I think he finally asked her to marry him.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because she was smiling.”
“But she was crying.”
She gave him a look that made him think he had just said something stupid.
“It’s a girl thing Sir, you don’t want to understand.”
She was probably right so he didn’t ask any more questions about the emotional stability of Terra Novian women.
15. Live
During the day he was the Commander and she was the Lieutenant, they conducted themselves in a professional manner befitting their rank and the unspoken line was never crossed. But when the sun went down and no one was around they were just a man and a woman, just Nathaniel and Alicia.
The way she gasped his name when she could spare the breath drove him to the edge and her nails digging into his back pushed him over it. Burying his face in the crook of her neck he pushed all worries about the Colony to the back of his mind and focused his attention on her lips against his temple and the way her breathing was becoming more sporadic. He felt her body shutter around his, the sensation drawing a half choked moan from his throat and making coherent thought impossible. As the stars faded from his eyes a very satisfying exhaustion settled over him. Shifting his weight so not to crush her Taylor collapsed with his arm thrown across her chest and his face pressed against her beautifully tangled hair.
It was quiet moments like this that he lived for.
16. Die
He always figured he would die first and oddly enough Taylor found peace in that. If he was lucky it would happen quietly in his sleep far in the unforeseeable future but with the way things were going with the local wildlife, Sixers and his son Taylor knew better. Chances were good that his death was going to be slow and painful while he was very much awake and he felt bad for whoever found his body, assuming it was found at all.
The only silver lining was the knowledge that Washington would still be alive.
She would be furious at him for leaving but that anger would keep her going. No matter what Washington said his shoes weren’t too big to fill and he knew that in her callused hands the Colony would prosper in ways he had only dreamed about. Eventually she would forgive him and move on but the important thing was Terra Nova and the continued success of the home they had built together.
If Taylor was an honest man he would admit the truth; he hoped he would die first because he didn’t think he was strong enough to survive the death of the woman he loved, not for a second time.