Echo in the Memory: 3/3
Title: Echo in the Memory 3/3
Character/Pairing: Nathanial Taylor/Alicia Washington
Word Count: Total: 18,000. This part: 4,600
Genre: General, some Romance
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Foul language
Spoiler alert: More fix it for the season finale.
Summary: "Dissociative amnesia occurs when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving him or her unable to remember important personal information." After being shot, Alicia is in a coma for two weeks before waking up. When she finally does, she's forgotten the past twenty years.
Authors Note: This sat on my harddrive for a while, as I started it right after the season finale and then I just sort of poked at it. Took forever to finish it. Thanks to crystalkei for betaing and helping with some of the medical stuff. There is also an epilogue!
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
-T.S Eliot, "The Four Quartets"
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Alicia watched the sunrise through her small window. Despite her head being fuzzy from all the medication, she felt more like herself, including a bone deep sense of melancholy. Remembering all the people she'd lost for a second time had taken it's toll. Reliving Nathaniel breaking things off for the sake of work had hurt as much as she expected, and she hadn't talked to him yet since banning him from the room. There was potential for awkwardness, but feeling bitter she just assumed he'd bury it all and move on. The only thing she really didn't feel comfortable with after everything was freaking out in the marketplace. She only had bits and pieces of it, but it was enough to know she owed people apologies.
“Morning.” Taylor's voice was low, and Alicia wondered how long he'd been there. Looking back over the events of the past week, he was probably the reason she always felt like someone was watching her sleep.
“Morning.” She didn't bother rolling over to look at him. She figured he'd either be content to stare at her back, or he'd leave when it got uncomfortable.
“How you feeling?” There was more than a little concern in his voice and she shrugged.
“Like I've been run over twice.” Closing her eyes against the light she rolled onto her back. “Sorry for my behavior last night. I think I've got everything back now, though.”
“Don't think you need to apologize, it happens.” A hint of humor twinged his words, and she heard the chair creak. A few seconds later his fingers brushed along the back of her hand. “I'm sorry.”
“For what?” Finally opening her eyes, she fixed him with a confused look. “It's not like you're the one who shot me.”
“I could have let you handle the pilgrimage and stayed behind. I could have made it back faster. I should have -” He sounded almost as upset as she felt.
“Stop.” Grabbing his hand, she gave it a solid squeeze. He nodded and gave her a weak smile.
“You're the one in the hospital bed and I'm standing here feeling sorry for myself.” Shaking his head he pulled the chair closer and sat down, never letting go of her hand. “I had a lot of time to just think lately. Both when I was trying to retake the colony, and once we started clean up. I kept thinking up things I should have said, and was going to when I got the chance. But, just like the last 8 years, once I actually had the opportunity to say them, I turned back into a coward.”
“I don't think that's a word you should be using on yourself.” Offering a small smile of support, Alicia tried to keep a lid on the hope that was flipping around in her stomach.
“With you I am. Things were so strained before we got here, and it was my fault. And by the time we'd got the colony up and running, I had my friend back.” He looked up and smiled at her, but there was still sadness on his face. She felt her stomach lurch, and this time it wasn't from anything emotional. The smile she gave him was half grimace, but he didn't seem to register it as he kept talking. “I was scared that if I asked for a second chance, I'd lose your friendship again. And that thought terrified me.”
“I need a bucket.” Alicia watched humor light in his eyes for a moment until he noticed the complete lack of color in her face and serious expression.
It would figure that one of the few times Nathaniel actually opened up about his feelings, her stomach would decide that was the opportune moment to expel everything it contained. She clutched the trashcan he'd handed her between her legs and leaned over it. Just before the first wave hit, she felt him pulling her hair out of the way.
“Everything alright in here?” Elisabeth burst into the room after a particularly loud wretch. “Oh no, I was worried about a drug interaction. Are you itchy at all? Or just nauseous? Is your vision blurry?”
Alicia made a half-hearted thumbs up and pointed to the trashcan, hoping someone would decipher it as her stomach continued it's rebellion. Taylor rubbed at her neck gently while Elisabeth dug around for a washcloth. Trading out the trashcan for something more medical looking, Elisabeth scanned her and had a nurse draw blood. No one commented on Taylor practically petting her hair.
“I think the best thing right now is to just let everything run it's course out of your system. More sleep would be fantastic as well.” Elisabeth finished her prodding and Alicia nodded. The nurse and Elisabeth left the room before Alicia could grab their attention.
“I need my toothbrush first.” Her voice was practically a whine, and she glared when Taylor let out a low chuckle. Once she lay back down, he draped the cold washcloth across her forehead and smoothed her hair back.
“I'll let the doc know and let you get some rest.” He looked down at her and Alicia offered up a weak smile. He started to step away from the bed and Alicia grabbed his hand.
“We're still going to have that talk.” She stared intently at him and squeezed his fingers. He gave her a bright smile and lifted up the washcloth to kiss her forehead. Her eyes fluttered closed and she listened as he left the room.
After a nap, Alicia woke up to Elisabeth poking at the plex screen. Pulling the washcloth off her forehead, she moved cautiously in case her stomach acted up again. Elisabeth adjusted the bed and helped her into a sitting position. In addition to a plate of food, there was a mug with a toothbrush on the small table.
“Yay, my mouth feels like something died in it.” Ignoring the food Alicia grabbed the toothbrush. Elisabeth let out a small laugh and grabbed a glass of water for Alicia to rinse her mouth out with. Once she was done, she sat back and sighed. “Okay, I feel human again.”
“Well that's good news. All memories back in place?” Elisabeth scanned her quickly and Alicia blinked at the sudden bright light.
“It's 2149, I got shot in the face, and spent the last three weeks taking up space in your hospital.” Alicia pushed the scanner away.
“Technically it's 2150. You missed New Year's.” Elisabeth tucked the scanner into her pocket and let out a small sigh. “I should apologize, I couldn't keep Taylor out of here last night. He overruled me.”
“It's alright.” Laughing a bit, Alicia gave Elisabeth a small shrug. “Thank you for being here.”
“It's the least I could do.” Elisabeth looked like she was about to cry. Leaning up, Alicia pulled her into a hug. “I guess now that you're alright, the rest of us are going to break down.”
“That's generally how it works.” Alicia gave a tight squeeze then paused when her stomach rumbled. “Okay, that's just hunger. I think we're safe.”
“Good. Eat slowly, though, just in case.” Elisabeth smiled and wiped at her eyes.
“Did Jim get my message to Taylor?” Poking at the food on her plate, Alicia realized she had no idea how they'd retaken the colony. “How did you guys get back in? And where did all the Phoenix Group shitheads go?”
“I don't think you're quite ready for a full debriefing until you've eaten.” With a small smile Elisabeth pointed to the plate. “When you're done, Jim can tell you all about his adventure and we'll get someone to fill you in on everything else.”
Alicia nodded, and started eating. As she'd often told people, you couldn't go back to normal on an empty stomach. She wasn't entirely sure what would constitute 'normal' anymore, but she had a feeling full strength would be best before finding out.
- - - -
“So this smug bastard, he's still rambling on about how rich they're going to be when I woke up my traveling companion.” Jim was sitting next to the bed, waving his hands around as he explained how they'd put her idea into action. The majority of his good mood was just seeing Alicia up and moving again. “He was trying to sound all bad ass, like he hadn't been complaining and whiny the entire time he was in Terra Nova. But once that Carno started running around, all bets were off. I honestly think he tripped a few people up, trying to get them eaten instead.”
“Wouldn't put it past him,” Alicia smiled. She looked entirely too interested in the dino-eating-people part. “I hope it eventually got him?”
“Let me tell the damn story! So, I had to get the bomb in place. Did you know Reilly could diffuse bombs? Because I didn't.” With a smile, Jim waved it off. “So I finally set the damn thing up, and Hoover corners me. Just like in one of those old horror movies, this Carno shows up behind him and he of course doesn't want to believe me. Now, I've got two girls, and I can say I've never heard that pitch of a scream come from a human mouth before. It was fairly impressive.”
“Oh, I've heard it. He would make it at least once a day when a bug or a plant would look at him.” Shaking her head, Alicia let out another laugh. “So, I take it the dino provided you a good chance to make an escape?”
“Sort of, I think Carnos like their meals still moving, because once Hoover stopped screaming, it took off after me.” Smiling as the Commander came into the room, Jim went to vacate the chair. When Taylor waved him back down, Jim focused his attention back to Alicia. “I thought when I was running to catch up to my family the first time I went through the portal was the most stressful moment of my life. Well, it's been surpassed. Not only was Hope Plaza exploding all around me, a dozen people had been shooting at me, but this damn Carno is still trying to catch me. When I popped out back in the jungle, I nearly pissed myself I was so happy. I didn't admit this before to my wife, but I was so ecstatic and high on the stress that I ran face first into a tree when I heard that Carno come through behind me. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”
“So that's where that bruise on your face came from.” Taylor gave Jim a smirk. “And here I thought you got it in an epic fist fight.”
“Nothing so glamorous. Just don't tell anyone else, I'd like to hold on to my bad ass status for a while longer.” Jim watched Alicia tense up a bit as Taylor moved farther into the room. Along with everything else, he filed it away. “So, that's how we saved the colony and I became a bad ass.”
“And nearly pissed yourself before running into a tree.” Alicia nodded and looked like she was trying not to smile.
“I shouldn't have told you that part, should I?” Leaning back in his chair, Jim gave her a scolding look. “Just let me keep my image for a while, I'm sure I'll knock myself off the pedestal soon enough.”
“Fair enough.” With a smile, Alicia raised her hands in defeat. When she stopped laughing Taylor handed her a plex. “What's this?”
“All the reports you've been nagging me about, from the time the first pilgrim came through, up till they finished repairing the fence today.” Taylor shot Jim a dark look. “Do not tell your wife about this. She has an odd idea of what contraband is.”
“I'll keep your secrets if you keep mine.” Jim gave a conspiratory grin and went to stand up again, but Taylor waved him back.
“I'm not here. I'm just a little birdy dropping off contraband.” After a pause, Taylor turned to Wash and tucked some her hair behind her ear. “I've got to go OTG, I'll be back in a few days. Stay out of trouble.”
“Elisabeth isn't letting me out until I can do the full range of exercises to prove I'm recovered, so I'll probably still be here when you get back.” Alicia flushed a little and sent a nervous look to Jim. Offering up a warm smile, Jim watched as her nervous look faded a bit. She turned her attention back to Taylor. “Don't do anything stupid, I don't want company in here.”
“I'll behave.” Leaning in Taylor pressed his lips to Alicia's forehead. Straightening up, he turned to Jim. “Shannon, you're in charge. Don't let Wash tell you any different.”
“Copy that.” Jim gave Taylor a smug smile, which was met with a grunt of disapproval. Taylor shook his head and left the room. Swinging his attention back around, Jim focused his smile on Alicia.
“I will stab you with my fork.” Her face was a mixture of embarrassment and happiness and Jim just grinned wider at her flustered tone.
“Why? Nothing out of the ordinary happened all. This is me, not talking about strange occurrences.” Jim winked at her, and managed to dodge the biscuit she hurled at him. “Hey, bad asses don't throw food. That's just rude.”
- - - -
Elisabeth managed to keep the flow of visitors to a minimum, but it was hard when she knew how important it was for people to see Alicia. She felt bad when Maddy finally went in, and cried so hard Alicia couldn't understand a word the girl was saying at first. Alicia had taken it in stride and hugged Maddy until she finally stopped crying.
Next, it was a long discussion about bomb diffusing processes and dealing directly with the Commander with Reilly. Mark came in to continue his visit from beforehand, and to have a discussion about Alicia going easy on them in training. After lunch was a steady stream of soldiers who all mostly just wanted to check in and see for themselves she was alive. Elisabeth had to confiscate several plex pads and flash drives that she suspected had work related information on them. She had no doubt some got through, but at least she was trying.
“It's been a busy day.” Elisabeth leaned against the wall and watched as Alicia cleared her dinner plate with record speed. “How are you feeling?”
“Actually I feel pretty good. Not nearly as tired.” Alicia dropped her fork into the empty plate and leaned back on her bed. “I'm getting to the point I'm thinking about sneaking out of here.”
“Please don't, I don't think my nerves would handle it well.” Elisabeth tried to keep her tone light and Alicia offered up an apologetic smile. “Provided you can do the full round of physical therapy exercises tomorrow morning, I'm going to release you after lunch.”
“I'd rather get out of here early in the morning, avoid most of the crowd.” With a thoughtful expression, Alicia latched on to her own idea. “Yeah, that would best. I don't want to have to stop and talk to people every ten steps. I just want to go home.”
“We'll see how you feel.” Stepping forward, Elisabeth sat on the bed. “The Commander asked me to delay letting you out so he could be here for it.”
“I'm ready to go home. I'm sure it's a mess, but I promise to take it easy cleaning at first.” Wrapping the blanket around herself, Alicia shook her head. “I want to go back to normal. Things are weird in here.”
“Nothing is going to be normal for a long time.” Motioning to the things around her, Elisabeth frowned. “No more technology, no more pilgrimages. It changes so much.”
“We've got some of the brightest minds of our time here. We'll be fine.” Alicia reached out and rested her hand on Elisabeth's arm. “Just think, now you can have all the kids you want.”
“Oh no. I'm done.” Laughing, Elisabeth relaxed a little. “Three is more than enough. How about you? Going to add to the population?”
“Even if I could, I wouldn't.” Pulling a face, Alicia pulled out a toy dinosaur Zoe had left behind. “See, with other people's kids I get all the perks and none of the bad stuff. When they start acting up I can give them back. And since I never have to discipline them, I stay awesome forever.”
“Women talking about babies makes me nervous.” Taylor's voice made them both jump and Elisabeth glared at him. “Something I should know?”
“Just trying to talk Elisabeth into springing me early.” Alicia offered up a hopeful smile. “You're back early. Everything alright?”
“Malcolm said it was going to take two days to fix and we get there, and it took three hours.” Shrugging, Taylor came into the room and sank into the chair. “So you're setting your patient free?”
“Tomorrow.” Elisabeth knew it was a losing battle, and that she was probably still being overly cautious. “We haven't done much walking since you've been awake. And it's a ways back to your house.”
“Your house is on the way. You can keep an eye on her that far, and I'll make sure she gets the rest of the way.” Lifting a shoulder and looking to Alicia, Taylor nodded.
“Your shift is over at a good time, I can avoid the crowds like I wanted to.” Alicia gave her a pleading look and Elisabeth finally caved.
“Fine. We'll walk out after my shift.”
- - - -
Elisabeth followed Alicia and Taylor out into the night. Taylor had a small bag of the things Alicia had accumulated in her stay slung over his shoulder and had his hand at her back, despite her constant complaints that she didn't need help. Taylor smiled at her, but kept his hand there. Finally with a slight blush to her cheeks, Alicia gave up.
“Any dizziness, blurry vision, time loss, insomnia, or anything else out of the ordinary you need to call the hospital. Or me directly, I don't mind.” Smiling a little, Elisabeth tried to ignore the scene as Alicia started pushing Taylor's hand away from her, only to have his hand return a few seconds later.
“I promise that if anything weird happens I won't be stubborn.” Alicia was looking at Taylor when she said it and stopped on the path. “Stop it.”
“I'm being gentlemanly.” Taylor smirked at her and Alicia's glare deepened.
“Not until we talk.” Backing up a few steps to get away from him, Alicia started walking again.
“Try to have a good night.” With a smirk of her own, Elisabeth stepped onto her porch. “Get some rest.”
“I'll try.” Alicia rolled her eyes and turned to swat Taylor's hand away again. “I will dislocate your fingers if you put them on me again.”
“Just making sure you make it home okay.” Taylor's smirk turned into an evil grin and Alicia gave him a suspicious look. “Say, you're looking kind of tired, Wash. Doesn't she look a bit tired, Doc?”
“I'm officially out of this conversation.” With a laugh, Elisabeth waved as Alicia cast her a pleading look.
“I'm not tired. Whatever you're planning, you can just stop right now.” Alicia sidestepped Taylor's hand again and pointed a finger at him. She was clearly fighting a smile. “Stop.”
“I think you look tired.” Taylor kept his slow pace and Elisabeth lost the conversation as they made their way further down the path. “You've had a rough time, I'm just looking out for you, Wash.”
Watching Taylor shift the bag, Elisabeth shook her head as Alicia started walking backwards. Taylor quickened his pace and acted like he was going to grab Alicia, causing the other woman to dance out of his grasp. Their laughter filtered back down the path and Elisabeth noticed other people turning to see what the sound was.
Neither Alicia nor Taylor seemed to notice their small audience as he continued teasing her, and she continued to dance out of his reach. When Taylor finally did get a grip on Alicia, Elisabeth couldn't help the burst of laughter as Alicia repeatedly hit his shoulder as he swung her into his arms. As they passed under one of the lights, Elisabeth could just make out Alicia's pink stained cheeks and death glare.
She could only imagine what Alicia was saying. But judging from Taylor's laughter that was still floating back to her, it was probably pretty colorful. Elisabeth watched them until they turned the corner and let herself into her own house, still laughing.
“What's so funny?” Maddy asked, looking up from her homework.
“I'm not entirely sure.” With a shake of her head, Elisabeth kissed Maddy on the forehead and headed to find Jim.
- - - -
“You're making a scene.” Alicia growled into Taylor's ear as he adjusted his grip around her.
“You're the one making all the racket. I am not going to cover for you when Sam Marcos asks what a 'donkey fucking cockwad' is at school tomorrow.” He didn't even seem winded, and raised an eyebrow at her. “I don't even know what a 'cockwad' is. Where do you come up with this stuff?”
“I have a lot of practice yelling at stubborn men who only respond to threats of violence and insults to their character. Now put me down, I can walk.” Lowering her voice she poked him hard in the shoulder with the arm not gripping his neck.
“Nah, I've missed you nagging at me. I'm making up for lost time.” He grinned at her, and Alicia finally stopped struggling.
“You got stabbed recently, you stubborn -” Alicia cut herself off at Taylor's expectant expression. “If you hurt yourself pulling this stunt, I will not protect you from the hospital staff.”
“I'm fine. It was weeks ago.” Taylor finally put her on her feet at the door to her small house. “Besides, I have a perfectly good field medic, what do I need a hospital for?”
“Nathaniel,” Alicia sighed. She wanted to tell him she wouldn't always be there, but it was hanging unsaid between them anyway. “If I invite you in, are you going to behave?”
“Just talking.” Taylor raised his hand and smiled at her.
“I've heard that before.” Opening the door anyway, Alicia motioned for him to follow her in.
The house was indeed a mess. It looked like someone had started to clean up, and then stopped. It was mostly just dirt and clutter, the kitchen had clearly been emptied out and scrubbed. Pushing a pile of clothes and broken pottery off the couch to the floor, Alicia sat down and propped her feet up on the table.
“Before I talk myself out of it again, or you get nauseous, I want to say that I never intended things to be over.” Taylor sat on the low table next to her feet and fixed her with a serious expression. “I just assumed we'd carry on as we were, because the odds of Hope Plaza even finding out would be low. And it wasn't like they'd be able to do anything about it if they did find out. I didn't realize that I should have talked to you about it more until it was too late. Once we were here I realized that you probably wouldn't have gone for that idea anyway. You were always more of a stickler for the rules than I was.”
“And yet you continuously outranked me.” Alicia offered up a smile, nudging him with her foot.
“I also didn't realize how serious things were between us.” Taylor wrapped a hand around her calf and rubbed it idly. “We both acted like it was just this casual thing, didn't make a big deal out of it. When you stopped talking to me, I realized just how much I'd gotten used to you being around. It just got worse when I had 118 days to sit and stew on it. And then you showed up and it was all business. You didn't give any indication you even wanted to be friends again, so I just kept burying things and stamping them down. The first time you smiled at me and laughed like you used to, I nearly grabbed you and kissed you.”
“It's a good thing you didn't, you might have punctured a lung on those broken ribs you had.” Cringing at the memory of their first joint encounter with a Slasher, Alicia found herself finally laughing at the image. “You're such a bad patient.”
“I want to get back to where we were. I know that's selfish, and I know I probably don't deserve it.” Taylor squeezed her leg and gave her a serious look that made her smile fade. “I understand it's going to take work, but I want to try.”
“We'll never get back to that place.” Alicia pulled her legs off the table and leaned forward on her elbows. “There's too much stuff between us now. Too much pain. Too many years of friendship. It's complicated now.”
“I understand.” Taylor started to stand and gave a surprised look when Alicia tugged him back down.
“Let me finish.” Running a hand around the back of his neck to make him look at her, Alicia gave him a warm smile. “I want a mixture of what we have, and what we had. But right now I'm too tired to figure it all out.”
“This the part where you kick me out?” Smiling back at her, Taylor reached up and ran his fingers along her jawline.
“You can stay if you want, but I'm just going to shower and pass out.” Leaning forward, Alicia took the initiative and pressed her lips to his gently. He didn't push any further and just returned the kiss.
“Can I at least watch?” Breaking the kiss Taylor winked at her.
“Depends.” Pulling away and standing up, Alicia started towards the bathroom.
“On what?” Following behind her, Taylor gave her a suspicious look.
“When can I come back to work?” Pulling her top over her head, Alicia gave him an innocent look over her shoulder.
“This is going to set a bad precedent, isn't it?” With a sigh of defeat, Taylor followed her into the bathroom.
Epilogue
Character/Pairing: Nathanial Taylor/Alicia Washington
Word Count: Total: 18,000. This part: 4,600
Genre: General, some Romance
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Foul language
Spoiler alert: More fix it for the season finale.
Summary: "Dissociative amnesia occurs when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving him or her unable to remember important personal information." After being shot, Alicia is in a coma for two weeks before waking up. When she finally does, she's forgotten the past twenty years.
Authors Note: This sat on my harddrive for a while, as I started it right after the season finale and then I just sort of poked at it. Took forever to finish it. Thanks to crystalkei for betaing and helping with some of the medical stuff. There is also an epilogue!
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
-T.S Eliot, "The Four Quartets"
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Alicia watched the sunrise through her small window. Despite her head being fuzzy from all the medication, she felt more like herself, including a bone deep sense of melancholy. Remembering all the people she'd lost for a second time had taken it's toll. Reliving Nathaniel breaking things off for the sake of work had hurt as much as she expected, and she hadn't talked to him yet since banning him from the room. There was potential for awkwardness, but feeling bitter she just assumed he'd bury it all and move on. The only thing she really didn't feel comfortable with after everything was freaking out in the marketplace. She only had bits and pieces of it, but it was enough to know she owed people apologies.
“Morning.” Taylor's voice was low, and Alicia wondered how long he'd been there. Looking back over the events of the past week, he was probably the reason she always felt like someone was watching her sleep.
“Morning.” She didn't bother rolling over to look at him. She figured he'd either be content to stare at her back, or he'd leave when it got uncomfortable.
“How you feeling?” There was more than a little concern in his voice and she shrugged.
“Like I've been run over twice.” Closing her eyes against the light she rolled onto her back. “Sorry for my behavior last night. I think I've got everything back now, though.”
“Don't think you need to apologize, it happens.” A hint of humor twinged his words, and she heard the chair creak. A few seconds later his fingers brushed along the back of her hand. “I'm sorry.”
“For what?” Finally opening her eyes, she fixed him with a confused look. “It's not like you're the one who shot me.”
“I could have let you handle the pilgrimage and stayed behind. I could have made it back faster. I should have -” He sounded almost as upset as she felt.
“Stop.” Grabbing his hand, she gave it a solid squeeze. He nodded and gave her a weak smile.
“You're the one in the hospital bed and I'm standing here feeling sorry for myself.” Shaking his head he pulled the chair closer and sat down, never letting go of her hand. “I had a lot of time to just think lately. Both when I was trying to retake the colony, and once we started clean up. I kept thinking up things I should have said, and was going to when I got the chance. But, just like the last 8 years, once I actually had the opportunity to say them, I turned back into a coward.”
“I don't think that's a word you should be using on yourself.” Offering a small smile of support, Alicia tried to keep a lid on the hope that was flipping around in her stomach.
“With you I am. Things were so strained before we got here, and it was my fault. And by the time we'd got the colony up and running, I had my friend back.” He looked up and smiled at her, but there was still sadness on his face. She felt her stomach lurch, and this time it wasn't from anything emotional. The smile she gave him was half grimace, but he didn't seem to register it as he kept talking. “I was scared that if I asked for a second chance, I'd lose your friendship again. And that thought terrified me.”
“I need a bucket.” Alicia watched humor light in his eyes for a moment until he noticed the complete lack of color in her face and serious expression.
It would figure that one of the few times Nathaniel actually opened up about his feelings, her stomach would decide that was the opportune moment to expel everything it contained. She clutched the trashcan he'd handed her between her legs and leaned over it. Just before the first wave hit, she felt him pulling her hair out of the way.
“Everything alright in here?” Elisabeth burst into the room after a particularly loud wretch. “Oh no, I was worried about a drug interaction. Are you itchy at all? Or just nauseous? Is your vision blurry?”
Alicia made a half-hearted thumbs up and pointed to the trashcan, hoping someone would decipher it as her stomach continued it's rebellion. Taylor rubbed at her neck gently while Elisabeth dug around for a washcloth. Trading out the trashcan for something more medical looking, Elisabeth scanned her and had a nurse draw blood. No one commented on Taylor practically petting her hair.
“I think the best thing right now is to just let everything run it's course out of your system. More sleep would be fantastic as well.” Elisabeth finished her prodding and Alicia nodded. The nurse and Elisabeth left the room before Alicia could grab their attention.
“I need my toothbrush first.” Her voice was practically a whine, and she glared when Taylor let out a low chuckle. Once she lay back down, he draped the cold washcloth across her forehead and smoothed her hair back.
“I'll let the doc know and let you get some rest.” He looked down at her and Alicia offered up a weak smile. He started to step away from the bed and Alicia grabbed his hand.
“We're still going to have that talk.” She stared intently at him and squeezed his fingers. He gave her a bright smile and lifted up the washcloth to kiss her forehead. Her eyes fluttered closed and she listened as he left the room.
After a nap, Alicia woke up to Elisabeth poking at the plex screen. Pulling the washcloth off her forehead, she moved cautiously in case her stomach acted up again. Elisabeth adjusted the bed and helped her into a sitting position. In addition to a plate of food, there was a mug with a toothbrush on the small table.
“Yay, my mouth feels like something died in it.” Ignoring the food Alicia grabbed the toothbrush. Elisabeth let out a small laugh and grabbed a glass of water for Alicia to rinse her mouth out with. Once she was done, she sat back and sighed. “Okay, I feel human again.”
“Well that's good news. All memories back in place?” Elisabeth scanned her quickly and Alicia blinked at the sudden bright light.
“It's 2149, I got shot in the face, and spent the last three weeks taking up space in your hospital.” Alicia pushed the scanner away.
“Technically it's 2150. You missed New Year's.” Elisabeth tucked the scanner into her pocket and let out a small sigh. “I should apologize, I couldn't keep Taylor out of here last night. He overruled me.”
“It's alright.” Laughing a bit, Alicia gave Elisabeth a small shrug. “Thank you for being here.”
“It's the least I could do.” Elisabeth looked like she was about to cry. Leaning up, Alicia pulled her into a hug. “I guess now that you're alright, the rest of us are going to break down.”
“That's generally how it works.” Alicia gave a tight squeeze then paused when her stomach rumbled. “Okay, that's just hunger. I think we're safe.”
“Good. Eat slowly, though, just in case.” Elisabeth smiled and wiped at her eyes.
“Did Jim get my message to Taylor?” Poking at the food on her plate, Alicia realized she had no idea how they'd retaken the colony. “How did you guys get back in? And where did all the Phoenix Group shitheads go?”
“I don't think you're quite ready for a full debriefing until you've eaten.” With a small smile Elisabeth pointed to the plate. “When you're done, Jim can tell you all about his adventure and we'll get someone to fill you in on everything else.”
Alicia nodded, and started eating. As she'd often told people, you couldn't go back to normal on an empty stomach. She wasn't entirely sure what would constitute 'normal' anymore, but she had a feeling full strength would be best before finding out.
- - - -
“So this smug bastard, he's still rambling on about how rich they're going to be when I woke up my traveling companion.” Jim was sitting next to the bed, waving his hands around as he explained how they'd put her idea into action. The majority of his good mood was just seeing Alicia up and moving again. “He was trying to sound all bad ass, like he hadn't been complaining and whiny the entire time he was in Terra Nova. But once that Carno started running around, all bets were off. I honestly think he tripped a few people up, trying to get them eaten instead.”
“Wouldn't put it past him,” Alicia smiled. She looked entirely too interested in the dino-eating-people part. “I hope it eventually got him?”
“Let me tell the damn story! So, I had to get the bomb in place. Did you know Reilly could diffuse bombs? Because I didn't.” With a smile, Jim waved it off. “So I finally set the damn thing up, and Hoover corners me. Just like in one of those old horror movies, this Carno shows up behind him and he of course doesn't want to believe me. Now, I've got two girls, and I can say I've never heard that pitch of a scream come from a human mouth before. It was fairly impressive.”
“Oh, I've heard it. He would make it at least once a day when a bug or a plant would look at him.” Shaking her head, Alicia let out another laugh. “So, I take it the dino provided you a good chance to make an escape?”
“Sort of, I think Carnos like their meals still moving, because once Hoover stopped screaming, it took off after me.” Smiling as the Commander came into the room, Jim went to vacate the chair. When Taylor waved him back down, Jim focused his attention back to Alicia. “I thought when I was running to catch up to my family the first time I went through the portal was the most stressful moment of my life. Well, it's been surpassed. Not only was Hope Plaza exploding all around me, a dozen people had been shooting at me, but this damn Carno is still trying to catch me. When I popped out back in the jungle, I nearly pissed myself I was so happy. I didn't admit this before to my wife, but I was so ecstatic and high on the stress that I ran face first into a tree when I heard that Carno come through behind me. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”
“So that's where that bruise on your face came from.” Taylor gave Jim a smirk. “And here I thought you got it in an epic fist fight.”
“Nothing so glamorous. Just don't tell anyone else, I'd like to hold on to my bad ass status for a while longer.” Jim watched Alicia tense up a bit as Taylor moved farther into the room. Along with everything else, he filed it away. “So, that's how we saved the colony and I became a bad ass.”
“And nearly pissed yourself before running into a tree.” Alicia nodded and looked like she was trying not to smile.
“I shouldn't have told you that part, should I?” Leaning back in his chair, Jim gave her a scolding look. “Just let me keep my image for a while, I'm sure I'll knock myself off the pedestal soon enough.”
“Fair enough.” With a smile, Alicia raised her hands in defeat. When she stopped laughing Taylor handed her a plex. “What's this?”
“All the reports you've been nagging me about, from the time the first pilgrim came through, up till they finished repairing the fence today.” Taylor shot Jim a dark look. “Do not tell your wife about this. She has an odd idea of what contraband is.”
“I'll keep your secrets if you keep mine.” Jim gave a conspiratory grin and went to stand up again, but Taylor waved him back.
“I'm not here. I'm just a little birdy dropping off contraband.” After a pause, Taylor turned to Wash and tucked some her hair behind her ear. “I've got to go OTG, I'll be back in a few days. Stay out of trouble.”
“Elisabeth isn't letting me out until I can do the full range of exercises to prove I'm recovered, so I'll probably still be here when you get back.” Alicia flushed a little and sent a nervous look to Jim. Offering up a warm smile, Jim watched as her nervous look faded a bit. She turned her attention back to Taylor. “Don't do anything stupid, I don't want company in here.”
“I'll behave.” Leaning in Taylor pressed his lips to Alicia's forehead. Straightening up, he turned to Jim. “Shannon, you're in charge. Don't let Wash tell you any different.”
“Copy that.” Jim gave Taylor a smug smile, which was met with a grunt of disapproval. Taylor shook his head and left the room. Swinging his attention back around, Jim focused his smile on Alicia.
“I will stab you with my fork.” Her face was a mixture of embarrassment and happiness and Jim just grinned wider at her flustered tone.
“Why? Nothing out of the ordinary happened all. This is me, not talking about strange occurrences.” Jim winked at her, and managed to dodge the biscuit she hurled at him. “Hey, bad asses don't throw food. That's just rude.”
- - - -
Elisabeth managed to keep the flow of visitors to a minimum, but it was hard when she knew how important it was for people to see Alicia. She felt bad when Maddy finally went in, and cried so hard Alicia couldn't understand a word the girl was saying at first. Alicia had taken it in stride and hugged Maddy until she finally stopped crying.
Next, it was a long discussion about bomb diffusing processes and dealing directly with the Commander with Reilly. Mark came in to continue his visit from beforehand, and to have a discussion about Alicia going easy on them in training. After lunch was a steady stream of soldiers who all mostly just wanted to check in and see for themselves she was alive. Elisabeth had to confiscate several plex pads and flash drives that she suspected had work related information on them. She had no doubt some got through, but at least she was trying.
“It's been a busy day.” Elisabeth leaned against the wall and watched as Alicia cleared her dinner plate with record speed. “How are you feeling?”
“Actually I feel pretty good. Not nearly as tired.” Alicia dropped her fork into the empty plate and leaned back on her bed. “I'm getting to the point I'm thinking about sneaking out of here.”
“Please don't, I don't think my nerves would handle it well.” Elisabeth tried to keep her tone light and Alicia offered up an apologetic smile. “Provided you can do the full round of physical therapy exercises tomorrow morning, I'm going to release you after lunch.”
“I'd rather get out of here early in the morning, avoid most of the crowd.” With a thoughtful expression, Alicia latched on to her own idea. “Yeah, that would best. I don't want to have to stop and talk to people every ten steps. I just want to go home.”
“We'll see how you feel.” Stepping forward, Elisabeth sat on the bed. “The Commander asked me to delay letting you out so he could be here for it.”
“I'm ready to go home. I'm sure it's a mess, but I promise to take it easy cleaning at first.” Wrapping the blanket around herself, Alicia shook her head. “I want to go back to normal. Things are weird in here.”
“Nothing is going to be normal for a long time.” Motioning to the things around her, Elisabeth frowned. “No more technology, no more pilgrimages. It changes so much.”
“We've got some of the brightest minds of our time here. We'll be fine.” Alicia reached out and rested her hand on Elisabeth's arm. “Just think, now you can have all the kids you want.”
“Oh no. I'm done.” Laughing, Elisabeth relaxed a little. “Three is more than enough. How about you? Going to add to the population?”
“Even if I could, I wouldn't.” Pulling a face, Alicia pulled out a toy dinosaur Zoe had left behind. “See, with other people's kids I get all the perks and none of the bad stuff. When they start acting up I can give them back. And since I never have to discipline them, I stay awesome forever.”
“Women talking about babies makes me nervous.” Taylor's voice made them both jump and Elisabeth glared at him. “Something I should know?”
“Just trying to talk Elisabeth into springing me early.” Alicia offered up a hopeful smile. “You're back early. Everything alright?”
“Malcolm said it was going to take two days to fix and we get there, and it took three hours.” Shrugging, Taylor came into the room and sank into the chair. “So you're setting your patient free?”
“Tomorrow.” Elisabeth knew it was a losing battle, and that she was probably still being overly cautious. “We haven't done much walking since you've been awake. And it's a ways back to your house.”
“Your house is on the way. You can keep an eye on her that far, and I'll make sure she gets the rest of the way.” Lifting a shoulder and looking to Alicia, Taylor nodded.
“Your shift is over at a good time, I can avoid the crowds like I wanted to.” Alicia gave her a pleading look and Elisabeth finally caved.
“Fine. We'll walk out after my shift.”
- - - -
Elisabeth followed Alicia and Taylor out into the night. Taylor had a small bag of the things Alicia had accumulated in her stay slung over his shoulder and had his hand at her back, despite her constant complaints that she didn't need help. Taylor smiled at her, but kept his hand there. Finally with a slight blush to her cheeks, Alicia gave up.
“Any dizziness, blurry vision, time loss, insomnia, or anything else out of the ordinary you need to call the hospital. Or me directly, I don't mind.” Smiling a little, Elisabeth tried to ignore the scene as Alicia started pushing Taylor's hand away from her, only to have his hand return a few seconds later.
“I promise that if anything weird happens I won't be stubborn.” Alicia was looking at Taylor when she said it and stopped on the path. “Stop it.”
“I'm being gentlemanly.” Taylor smirked at her and Alicia's glare deepened.
“Not until we talk.” Backing up a few steps to get away from him, Alicia started walking again.
“Try to have a good night.” With a smirk of her own, Elisabeth stepped onto her porch. “Get some rest.”
“I'll try.” Alicia rolled her eyes and turned to swat Taylor's hand away again. “I will dislocate your fingers if you put them on me again.”
“Just making sure you make it home okay.” Taylor's smirk turned into an evil grin and Alicia gave him a suspicious look. “Say, you're looking kind of tired, Wash. Doesn't she look a bit tired, Doc?”
“I'm officially out of this conversation.” With a laugh, Elisabeth waved as Alicia cast her a pleading look.
“I'm not tired. Whatever you're planning, you can just stop right now.” Alicia sidestepped Taylor's hand again and pointed a finger at him. She was clearly fighting a smile. “Stop.”
“I think you look tired.” Taylor kept his slow pace and Elisabeth lost the conversation as they made their way further down the path. “You've had a rough time, I'm just looking out for you, Wash.”
Watching Taylor shift the bag, Elisabeth shook her head as Alicia started walking backwards. Taylor quickened his pace and acted like he was going to grab Alicia, causing the other woman to dance out of his grasp. Their laughter filtered back down the path and Elisabeth noticed other people turning to see what the sound was.
Neither Alicia nor Taylor seemed to notice their small audience as he continued teasing her, and she continued to dance out of his reach. When Taylor finally did get a grip on Alicia, Elisabeth couldn't help the burst of laughter as Alicia repeatedly hit his shoulder as he swung her into his arms. As they passed under one of the lights, Elisabeth could just make out Alicia's pink stained cheeks and death glare.
She could only imagine what Alicia was saying. But judging from Taylor's laughter that was still floating back to her, it was probably pretty colorful. Elisabeth watched them until they turned the corner and let herself into her own house, still laughing.
“What's so funny?” Maddy asked, looking up from her homework.
“I'm not entirely sure.” With a shake of her head, Elisabeth kissed Maddy on the forehead and headed to find Jim.
- - - -
“You're making a scene.” Alicia growled into Taylor's ear as he adjusted his grip around her.
“You're the one making all the racket. I am not going to cover for you when Sam Marcos asks what a 'donkey fucking cockwad' is at school tomorrow.” He didn't even seem winded, and raised an eyebrow at her. “I don't even know what a 'cockwad' is. Where do you come up with this stuff?”
“I have a lot of practice yelling at stubborn men who only respond to threats of violence and insults to their character. Now put me down, I can walk.” Lowering her voice she poked him hard in the shoulder with the arm not gripping his neck.
“Nah, I've missed you nagging at me. I'm making up for lost time.” He grinned at her, and Alicia finally stopped struggling.
“You got stabbed recently, you stubborn -” Alicia cut herself off at Taylor's expectant expression. “If you hurt yourself pulling this stunt, I will not protect you from the hospital staff.”
“I'm fine. It was weeks ago.” Taylor finally put her on her feet at the door to her small house. “Besides, I have a perfectly good field medic, what do I need a hospital for?”
“Nathaniel,” Alicia sighed. She wanted to tell him she wouldn't always be there, but it was hanging unsaid between them anyway. “If I invite you in, are you going to behave?”
“Just talking.” Taylor raised his hand and smiled at her.
“I've heard that before.” Opening the door anyway, Alicia motioned for him to follow her in.
The house was indeed a mess. It looked like someone had started to clean up, and then stopped. It was mostly just dirt and clutter, the kitchen had clearly been emptied out and scrubbed. Pushing a pile of clothes and broken pottery off the couch to the floor, Alicia sat down and propped her feet up on the table.
“Before I talk myself out of it again, or you get nauseous, I want to say that I never intended things to be over.” Taylor sat on the low table next to her feet and fixed her with a serious expression. “I just assumed we'd carry on as we were, because the odds of Hope Plaza even finding out would be low. And it wasn't like they'd be able to do anything about it if they did find out. I didn't realize that I should have talked to you about it more until it was too late. Once we were here I realized that you probably wouldn't have gone for that idea anyway. You were always more of a stickler for the rules than I was.”
“And yet you continuously outranked me.” Alicia offered up a smile, nudging him with her foot.
“I also didn't realize how serious things were between us.” Taylor wrapped a hand around her calf and rubbed it idly. “We both acted like it was just this casual thing, didn't make a big deal out of it. When you stopped talking to me, I realized just how much I'd gotten used to you being around. It just got worse when I had 118 days to sit and stew on it. And then you showed up and it was all business. You didn't give any indication you even wanted to be friends again, so I just kept burying things and stamping them down. The first time you smiled at me and laughed like you used to, I nearly grabbed you and kissed you.”
“It's a good thing you didn't, you might have punctured a lung on those broken ribs you had.” Cringing at the memory of their first joint encounter with a Slasher, Alicia found herself finally laughing at the image. “You're such a bad patient.”
“I want to get back to where we were. I know that's selfish, and I know I probably don't deserve it.” Taylor squeezed her leg and gave her a serious look that made her smile fade. “I understand it's going to take work, but I want to try.”
“We'll never get back to that place.” Alicia pulled her legs off the table and leaned forward on her elbows. “There's too much stuff between us now. Too much pain. Too many years of friendship. It's complicated now.”
“I understand.” Taylor started to stand and gave a surprised look when Alicia tugged him back down.
“Let me finish.” Running a hand around the back of his neck to make him look at her, Alicia gave him a warm smile. “I want a mixture of what we have, and what we had. But right now I'm too tired to figure it all out.”
“This the part where you kick me out?” Smiling back at her, Taylor reached up and ran his fingers along her jawline.
“You can stay if you want, but I'm just going to shower and pass out.” Leaning forward, Alicia took the initiative and pressed her lips to his gently. He didn't push any further and just returned the kiss.
“Can I at least watch?” Breaking the kiss Taylor winked at her.
“Depends.” Pulling away and standing up, Alicia started towards the bathroom.
“On what?” Following behind her, Taylor gave her a suspicious look.
“When can I come back to work?” Pulling her top over her head, Alicia gave him an innocent look over her shoulder.
“This is going to set a bad precedent, isn't it?” With a sigh of defeat, Taylor followed her into the bathroom.
Epilogue