Bells (5/?)
Title: Bells
Character/Pairing: Wash/Taylor, Skye/Carter, Mira/Guzman
Word Count: ~3165 for this chapter
Genre: Romance, Humor, Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Alicia can’t help but wonder how she got herself into this situation, but in it she is, and she will execute her roles with military precision. Or at least with as much military precision as she can manage in a dress.
Author’s Note: And now, Wash is the colony’s very own Dear Abby…
Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, but definitely not necessary to read those for this to make sense - just be aware that in my context now, Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova.
Disclaimer is as usual - no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” -Maya Angelou
One Week to Wedding #1 -Cold Feet and Other Uncomfortable Conditions
It’s a Monday morning, and after dropping Gracie off at school, Alicia, pack on her shoulder and body armor in hand, is climbing the stairs of the command center. She’d been planning to go straight to the gate to leave on a re-supply run to one of the outposts when Nathaniel called her to meet him here instead.
As she walks into his office, she sees Nathaniel, Elisabeth and a rather sad looking Shannon at the conference table. Shannon is dressed casually, a t-shirt and sweats, which makes her brow furrow, given that he’s supposed to be going OTG with her. The mystery is solved a moment later when he lets loose a window-rattling sneeze, followed quickly by Elisabeth handing him a handkerchief as he has a short coughing fit.
Alicia smirks a little. “Gesundheit.” He shoots a glare and an obscene gesture at her, and they all, Elisabeth included, laugh. Shannon turns and gives her a betrayed look before rolling his eyes and drooping into a sulk. Alicia’s smirk grows. “Silent Shannon? Oh lord, you can’t talk, can you?”
If possible, Shannon’s glare is even darker than before, and he actually emits a low growl. Elisabeth laughs again as she pats her husband on the head placatingly. “He can’t. No voice whatsoever. I’m expecting him to explode at any moment.”
Shannon grabs a plex and angrily types something into it. He hands it to Elisabeth, who laughs again, kissing Shannon on the cheek. He crosses his arms across his chest and sinks further into a sulk. Alicia can’t fight her curiosity. “What does it say?”
Elisabeth grins. “It says ‘That’s not funny, Liz.’”
That sets them off again, and Shannon actually throws his arms out in what Alicia is sure is the universal gesture for “what the hell?” He then crosses his arms on the table in front of him, and he drops his head on them in a huff. Elisabeth goes back to patting his head, chuckling lightly when he blindly bats her hand away.
Alicia tries to get serious, turning to Nathaniel. He’s still grinning at the sulking cop, so Alicia clears her throat, getting his attention. “I take it this is why you asked me to come here instead of going to the gate, Nathaniel?”
He nods, also trying to get serious, though Alicia can see from the barely swallowed smirk and the glint in his eye that he’s having to work very hard at it. “It is. I was going to ask Mira to go with you, but I decided that since she’s getting married on Saturday, maybe I should give her a break. Carter’s going to go - he’s on his way here now.”
“You told him it’s an overnight?”
“I did. He said he just needed a few minutes to throw his gear in a pack.”
“OK.” She puts her own pack and armor down and drops into the chair next to Nathaniel’s. She turns to Elisabeth and gestures at Shannon. “So, in all seriousness, is this just a cold? I’m assuming it’s nothing more sinister than that, given the fact that you’re letting him wander the colony.”
She, Nathaniel and Elisabeth all look at Shannon, expecting another annoyed reaction. Instead, they just hear a snuffly snore come from him, head still pillowed on his arms. They all smile at that, and Alicia actually feels a little sorry for him. In a soft voice, Elisabeth replies, “It was just a cold. I wanted him to take it easy this weekend, but he insisted on helping Mark do some work around Mark and Maddy’s house. He overdid it and wore himself out. Now, it’s acute bronchitis and laryngitis.”
Carter walks in as Elisabeth is speaking, glancing at Shannon. “Ouch. Guess that means I have to be at least kind of nice to him?” He directs his question to Alicia.
She snorts. “He’s asleep, so not really.”
“Great. Because I’d hate to lose my rep just because I felt sorry for Shannon.” He gives her a shit-eating grin, which makes her and Elisabeth roll their eyes and Nathaniel chuckle.
Nathaniel turns to Elisabeth. “Doc, we’re heading to the gate. Take him home and lock him up until he’s at least semi-conscious. But don’t wake him up until we’re gone. Would hate to tempt my wife and her adopted brother with the opportunity to give the poor bastard a hard time.”
Alicia and Carter snicker like children as Elisabeth swallows a grin and gives him a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”
Then, it’s Nathaniel’s turn to roll his eyes. “Smart ass.”
Elisabeth cocks an eyebrow at him. “Was that ever in question, Nathaniel?” She’s been calling him by his first name since the quarantine that trapped several of them in the infirmary several weeks ago.
He shakes his head, laughing. “Touché, Elisabeth.” He grabs Alicia’s pack and armor for her and motions towards the door. Alicia and Carter both wave to Elisabeth as they leave, and he follows them out.
Fifteen minutes later, after a good-bye that earned her and Nathaniel catcalls from Carter and from the soldiers on duty at the gate, the latter now having extra late-night perimeter duty this week, Alicia and Carter are in a rhino. Nathaniel usually sends her in rhinos now, as opposed to the rovers. She knows it’s because he thinks they’re a little safer, and after an experience she and Elisabeth had several months ago, one where a carno destroyed their rover, stranding them in the woods, she can’t really blame him too much. She knows he worries, so even though she doesn’t think, from a safety standpoint, that there’s much difference between the two types of vehicles, she just lets him have his way.
They tear out of the gate with Alicia behind the wheel, driving in her usual slightly reckless fashion. They’re heading for one of the more remote northern outposts to deliver some supplies and pick up some samples for Malcolm. It’s several hours to the outpost, so they won’t be back until late Tuesday afternoon.
Alicia notices that Carter is being uncharacteristically quiet, and, maybe even more uncharacteristic, he seems introspective. After a while, over the sound of the engine and wind noise from their speed, Alicia breaks the silence. “I’m surprised Skye wasn’t there to say good-bye.”
She glances over in time to see him shift uncomfortably. “She was busy at the infirmary.”
“Bullshit. Try again.”
“What? Why is that bullshit?” He sounds defensive.
Alicia isn’t impressed. “Carter, there have been trips OTG when you’re going to be gone for an hour, and she’s there to say good-bye. You’re going to be gone a full day, and she wasn’t there because ‘she was busy?’ Like I said, try again. What’s going on?”
He goes silent for a bit, looking nearly mulish. She’s about to prompt him when he sighs and mumbles something she can’t hear.
“What was that, Carter?”
He throws his hands up. “We had a fight, OK? A really stupid fight, and now she’s mad at me. And I’m a little mad at her. But it was stupid. A really stupid fight. And yes, I’ll eventually tell you what it was about, because I know if I don’t, you’ll bug me about it until I either want to kill you or kill myself. Both of those, of course, are undesirable options, because both ultimately result in my death. And I’m really not ready to die yet.”
Though she keeps her eyes on the terrain in front of the rhino, Alicia still blinks a few times at Carter’s outburst. “Wait, how does killing me result in your death?”
“Are you kidding, Wash? As if Taylor wouldn’t beat me to death if something happened to you when you were with me, whether it was my fault or not.”
She thinks about that for a moment. “Fair enough.” He snorts at that, and she goes on, “And you’re also right about the other part - I will definitely bug you. I mean, it’s seven hours out there and seven hours back, plus just hanging around the outpost tonight. That’s a lot of time to kill. So go ahead and spill it, Carter.”
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear that she could hear him roll his eyes at her. “Fine, Wash. Look, it was my fault. I was a smart ass about something Skye asked me about for the wedding, something about the food or something. She got mad, I got mad, then I got the call from Taylor, so I threw my stuff in my pack and left.”
“OK, Carter, back up. What exactly did you say to her? ‘Being a smart ass’ could mean a lot of different things.”
“I said I didn’t know why she was asking me, because it’s not like they would listen to what I wanted anyway.” Alicia gives him an incredulous look, and he cringes. “I know. It was a stupid thing to say.”
“Did you mean it?”
He blinks that time. “What do you mean?”
Alicia huffs out a breath. “What do you mean, what did I mean? Carter, do you really feel that way, or were you just being a jerk?” Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him hesitate. “Tell the truth, Carter.”
He sighs again. “Fine. Yes. I meant it. It’s out of control, Alicia. I really would’ve preferred something smaller like Guz and Mira are doing, or hell, something even smaller than that, something like you and Taylor did. But this is turning into a circus. It feels like half the damned colony will be there, it’s going to be all formal, and all of that. I hate to say this, because it’s going to make me sound all deep and shit, but it feels like the fact that we’re getting married is getting lost in all the crap about the wedding.”
“Carter, have you told Skye that? Or have you just been sullen and grouchy?” She looks at him briefly, lifting an eyebrow at him.
He looks sheepish at that. “The second one.” Alicia starts to say something, and he says, “I know, Wash, I should’ve said something, but she’s so damned excited about it all. I didn’t want to ruin her fun, and I’ve been afraid to upset her. But as much as I want to be married to her, I’m starting to suffocate under all of this wedding crap.”
“Carter, if you’re that miserable with all of it, you have to man up tell her. Otherwise, she’s going to think you’re getting cold feet.”
“What?” He sits up a little straighter in his seat. “No, Wash, come on, she won’t think that.” He pauses, and Alicia just gives him a moment to think about it. A second later, the realization clearly hits home, and he slumps low, dropping his face into his palm. “Shit. She’s going to think I’m upset because we’re getting married, not because of the out of control wedding plans, isn’t she? Shit, shit, shit.”
“Bingo, Big Brother. We’re already too far out now, but you’re calling her from the communications set up when we get to the outpost. And you have from here to there to formulate an apology and to figure out how to tell her how you feel about this.”
“What? Wash, I suck at apologies, and I’m not much better at personal expression. You pretty much know that. You have to help me!”
She shakes her head. “No, Carter. This has to be all you. You have seven hours. Even you can figure out what to say in seven hours.”
“Seven? Isn’t it more like six and a half?” He sounds puzzled.
“Yes. But you get seven, because for the first thirty minutes after I get there, I’m using the communications equipment to read Gracie some bedtime stories.” She hears a grumble. “You have a problem with that, Carter? It’s the only thing we’ve been able to work out that helps her not be scared when one of us is OTG. Should I skip it? Then you can apologize to an upset toddler and your fiancée. I wonder which one will cry more?”
“OK, OK. Sorry. You get dibs on the radio.”
“Thank you.” He grumbles something she can’t make out. “What was that?”
“I said, it’s not like I had a choice.”
“No, but I like to make you feel like you do, at least every once in a while.” She smirks at him. “Now, apology. Start thinking about it, Carter.”
He huffs out a resigned breath. “Yes, ma’am.”
*****
“Oh my God, how long was he on the radio?” Mira asks, she and Elisabeth gasping with laughter along with Alicia as they sit in the chairs out on Alicia and Nathaniel’s deck. They were waiting for Alicia to get Gracie down to sleep, having heard about Carter and Skye’s little dust up.
“Over two hours. When he came out, I swear, he looked worse than he did when I kicked his ass in the sparring ring.” Alicia grins. “But he did tell Skye the truth about how out of control he thought everything was getting. I think the last straw for him was them wanting to make it a sit-down dinner with assigned seating for three hundred.”
Elisabeth snorts. “That’s basically a third of the colony!”
Alicia nods. “Yep. She has backed off of that. The guest list isn’t growing - it’s staying put at just over one hundred, where it has been for a while. Still big, but back to a buffet and open seating. To her credit, she was waiting for him when we got back this afternoon, and she apologized to him, too, for letting it get so out of control.”
Elisabeth looks at her watch and gets to her feet. “I need to be off. I owe Zoe some help with her science project.”
Elisabeth pats Mira gently on the shoulder and then gives them both a wave as Mira and Alicia wish her a good night. Mira goes quiet after Elisabeth leaves, appearing to be lost in thought. Leaning back to look up at the stars, Alicia says, “OK, what’s up, Mira?”
Mira looks at her, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“The pat on the shoulder from Elisabeth, and now you’re all pensive? Something’s going on.” Alicia gives her a pointed look.
“You’re pretty sure of yourself. When did you turn into a mind reader?”
“When did you and Carter both get so damned easy to read?” Alicia lifts an eyebrow at her. “And seriously, am I wrong?”
Mira lets out a deep breath. “No.”
“So, then what’s going on?”
“I haven’t told Isaac yet.” Mira sounds nervous.
“What haven’t you told him?” Alicia is getting a little confused and more than a little concerned.
“I’m, well, damn it. I’m pregnant, Wash.” Mira looks down at her hands.
Alicia nearly spits out the mouthful of the drink she just took. “What?”
Alicia’s near spit-take seems to lighten Mira’s mood a bit, because she smiles. “I’m pregnant, Wash.”
“Are you serious? How far along?” Alicia can’t help but return Mira’s smile.
Mira nods. “Yes, I’m serious, and I’m nine weeks along. I suspected, but I just went into denial.”
Alicia thinks about how far along that is, and suddenly, she frowns. “Wait, so that means you were already pregnant during…”
“During the quarantine. Yes. Elisabeth thinks it’ll be fine.” Mira’s hands wind together in her lap. “She doesn’t think the treatment or the illness will have negatively impacted the baby.”
Alicia reaches over and covers Mira’s hands with one of her own. “Trust Elisabeth, Mira. The docs in the future told me, after Somalia, that my chances of getting pregnant and carrying the baby to term were between three and four percent. And yet, we have Gracie. Just trust Elisabeth.”
Mira nods again. “Do you think Isaac will be upset?” Her voice is barely louder than a whisper.
At Mira’s concern, Alicia breaks one of her own rules of casual contact. She leans forward and wraps Mira up in a gentle hug. “No. He’ll only be upset if you keep it from him. He loves you, Mira, and he’ll love the baby too.”
Mira pulls back. “I want to keep it mostly quiet, but you can tell the Old Bastard.”
Alicia chuckles at what can only be described as Mira’s usual pet name for Nathaniel. “He’ll be so excited for you two, Mira.”
Mira smiles and then looks thoughtful. “Why don’t you two try to have another?”
Shaking her head, Alicia gives Mira a sad smile. “We thought about it briefly, but the truth is, Mira, Gracie really is a miracle baby. After the placental abruption with her, and with my age, we just decided that the risks were too high. I had a ligation of my one functional tube last year. No more accidental pregnancies for us. We’re happy as a party of three anyway.” Alicia goes quiet before looking up and smiling again. “Now no stalling. Go home. Tell Isaac. Have some really good celebratory sex.”
With a light, nervous laugh, Mira stands. “You really don’t think he’ll be pissed?”
Alicia stands too, and she quickly hugs Mira again. “I really don’t think he’ll be pissed.”
Mira pulls away. “Good night, Alicia.” She steps off of the deck, heading home.
A moment later, Alicia is startled when the door behind her opens and closes. Within seconds, a pair of strong arms encircle her waist and a gruff voice sounds in her ear. “You done solving the world’s problems?”
She laughs, leaning back into his chest. “Don’t know about solving them, but at least I’m getting people to talk to each other.”
He tightens his arms around her. “About what?”
She laughs. “Well, Carter had to convince Skye that he wasn’t getting cold feet, and he had to explain that his crappy attitude of late was mostly owed to the fact that he thought the wedding was getting way too big and over the top.”
He chuckles. “And Mira?”
She turns in his arms to look up at him. “And Mira is pregnant, and she was afraid to tell Guz.”
He gives her a surprised smile at that. “Really?”
“Yes, really. You get to be an uncle again, Nathaniel.” She grins up at him and then releases him. “I’m tired. Can we call it a night?”
He releases her and helps her straighten the deck chairs. “Yes, ma’am.” He swats her on the butt as they go in the house. “And unless you really want to, we don’t have to talk at all.”
She laughs and favors him with a wicked grin. “Works for me, Nathaniel.” Leaning up, she presses her mouth to his and pushes him towards their bedroom.
Character/Pairing: Wash/Taylor, Skye/Carter, Mira/Guzman
Word Count: ~3165 for this chapter
Genre: Romance, Humor, Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Alicia can’t help but wonder how she got herself into this situation, but in it she is, and she will execute her roles with military precision. Or at least with as much military precision as she can manage in a dress.
Author’s Note: And now, Wash is the colony’s very own Dear Abby…
Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, but definitely not necessary to read those for this to make sense - just be aware that in my context now, Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova.
Disclaimer is as usual - no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” -Maya Angelou
One Week to Wedding #1 -Cold Feet and Other Uncomfortable Conditions
It’s a Monday morning, and after dropping Gracie off at school, Alicia, pack on her shoulder and body armor in hand, is climbing the stairs of the command center. She’d been planning to go straight to the gate to leave on a re-supply run to one of the outposts when Nathaniel called her to meet him here instead.
As she walks into his office, she sees Nathaniel, Elisabeth and a rather sad looking Shannon at the conference table. Shannon is dressed casually, a t-shirt and sweats, which makes her brow furrow, given that he’s supposed to be going OTG with her. The mystery is solved a moment later when he lets loose a window-rattling sneeze, followed quickly by Elisabeth handing him a handkerchief as he has a short coughing fit.
Alicia smirks a little. “Gesundheit.” He shoots a glare and an obscene gesture at her, and they all, Elisabeth included, laugh. Shannon turns and gives her a betrayed look before rolling his eyes and drooping into a sulk. Alicia’s smirk grows. “Silent Shannon? Oh lord, you can’t talk, can you?”
If possible, Shannon’s glare is even darker than before, and he actually emits a low growl. Elisabeth laughs again as she pats her husband on the head placatingly. “He can’t. No voice whatsoever. I’m expecting him to explode at any moment.”
Shannon grabs a plex and angrily types something into it. He hands it to Elisabeth, who laughs again, kissing Shannon on the cheek. He crosses his arms across his chest and sinks further into a sulk. Alicia can’t fight her curiosity. “What does it say?”
Elisabeth grins. “It says ‘That’s not funny, Liz.’”
That sets them off again, and Shannon actually throws his arms out in what Alicia is sure is the universal gesture for “what the hell?” He then crosses his arms on the table in front of him, and he drops his head on them in a huff. Elisabeth goes back to patting his head, chuckling lightly when he blindly bats her hand away.
Alicia tries to get serious, turning to Nathaniel. He’s still grinning at the sulking cop, so Alicia clears her throat, getting his attention. “I take it this is why you asked me to come here instead of going to the gate, Nathaniel?”
He nods, also trying to get serious, though Alicia can see from the barely swallowed smirk and the glint in his eye that he’s having to work very hard at it. “It is. I was going to ask Mira to go with you, but I decided that since she’s getting married on Saturday, maybe I should give her a break. Carter’s going to go - he’s on his way here now.”
“You told him it’s an overnight?”
“I did. He said he just needed a few minutes to throw his gear in a pack.”
“OK.” She puts her own pack and armor down and drops into the chair next to Nathaniel’s. She turns to Elisabeth and gestures at Shannon. “So, in all seriousness, is this just a cold? I’m assuming it’s nothing more sinister than that, given the fact that you’re letting him wander the colony.”
She, Nathaniel and Elisabeth all look at Shannon, expecting another annoyed reaction. Instead, they just hear a snuffly snore come from him, head still pillowed on his arms. They all smile at that, and Alicia actually feels a little sorry for him. In a soft voice, Elisabeth replies, “It was just a cold. I wanted him to take it easy this weekend, but he insisted on helping Mark do some work around Mark and Maddy’s house. He overdid it and wore himself out. Now, it’s acute bronchitis and laryngitis.”
Carter walks in as Elisabeth is speaking, glancing at Shannon. “Ouch. Guess that means I have to be at least kind of nice to him?” He directs his question to Alicia.
She snorts. “He’s asleep, so not really.”
“Great. Because I’d hate to lose my rep just because I felt sorry for Shannon.” He gives her a shit-eating grin, which makes her and Elisabeth roll their eyes and Nathaniel chuckle.
Nathaniel turns to Elisabeth. “Doc, we’re heading to the gate. Take him home and lock him up until he’s at least semi-conscious. But don’t wake him up until we’re gone. Would hate to tempt my wife and her adopted brother with the opportunity to give the poor bastard a hard time.”
Alicia and Carter snicker like children as Elisabeth swallows a grin and gives him a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”
Then, it’s Nathaniel’s turn to roll his eyes. “Smart ass.”
Elisabeth cocks an eyebrow at him. “Was that ever in question, Nathaniel?” She’s been calling him by his first name since the quarantine that trapped several of them in the infirmary several weeks ago.
He shakes his head, laughing. “Touché, Elisabeth.” He grabs Alicia’s pack and armor for her and motions towards the door. Alicia and Carter both wave to Elisabeth as they leave, and he follows them out.
Fifteen minutes later, after a good-bye that earned her and Nathaniel catcalls from Carter and from the soldiers on duty at the gate, the latter now having extra late-night perimeter duty this week, Alicia and Carter are in a rhino. Nathaniel usually sends her in rhinos now, as opposed to the rovers. She knows it’s because he thinks they’re a little safer, and after an experience she and Elisabeth had several months ago, one where a carno destroyed their rover, stranding them in the woods, she can’t really blame him too much. She knows he worries, so even though she doesn’t think, from a safety standpoint, that there’s much difference between the two types of vehicles, she just lets him have his way.
They tear out of the gate with Alicia behind the wheel, driving in her usual slightly reckless fashion. They’re heading for one of the more remote northern outposts to deliver some supplies and pick up some samples for Malcolm. It’s several hours to the outpost, so they won’t be back until late Tuesday afternoon.
Alicia notices that Carter is being uncharacteristically quiet, and, maybe even more uncharacteristic, he seems introspective. After a while, over the sound of the engine and wind noise from their speed, Alicia breaks the silence. “I’m surprised Skye wasn’t there to say good-bye.”
She glances over in time to see him shift uncomfortably. “She was busy at the infirmary.”
“Bullshit. Try again.”
“What? Why is that bullshit?” He sounds defensive.
Alicia isn’t impressed. “Carter, there have been trips OTG when you’re going to be gone for an hour, and she’s there to say good-bye. You’re going to be gone a full day, and she wasn’t there because ‘she was busy?’ Like I said, try again. What’s going on?”
He goes silent for a bit, looking nearly mulish. She’s about to prompt him when he sighs and mumbles something she can’t hear.
“What was that, Carter?”
He throws his hands up. “We had a fight, OK? A really stupid fight, and now she’s mad at me. And I’m a little mad at her. But it was stupid. A really stupid fight. And yes, I’ll eventually tell you what it was about, because I know if I don’t, you’ll bug me about it until I either want to kill you or kill myself. Both of those, of course, are undesirable options, because both ultimately result in my death. And I’m really not ready to die yet.”
Though she keeps her eyes on the terrain in front of the rhino, Alicia still blinks a few times at Carter’s outburst. “Wait, how does killing me result in your death?”
“Are you kidding, Wash? As if Taylor wouldn’t beat me to death if something happened to you when you were with me, whether it was my fault or not.”
She thinks about that for a moment. “Fair enough.” He snorts at that, and she goes on, “And you’re also right about the other part - I will definitely bug you. I mean, it’s seven hours out there and seven hours back, plus just hanging around the outpost tonight. That’s a lot of time to kill. So go ahead and spill it, Carter.”
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear that she could hear him roll his eyes at her. “Fine, Wash. Look, it was my fault. I was a smart ass about something Skye asked me about for the wedding, something about the food or something. She got mad, I got mad, then I got the call from Taylor, so I threw my stuff in my pack and left.”
“OK, Carter, back up. What exactly did you say to her? ‘Being a smart ass’ could mean a lot of different things.”
“I said I didn’t know why she was asking me, because it’s not like they would listen to what I wanted anyway.” Alicia gives him an incredulous look, and he cringes. “I know. It was a stupid thing to say.”
“Did you mean it?”
He blinks that time. “What do you mean?”
Alicia huffs out a breath. “What do you mean, what did I mean? Carter, do you really feel that way, or were you just being a jerk?” Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him hesitate. “Tell the truth, Carter.”
He sighs again. “Fine. Yes. I meant it. It’s out of control, Alicia. I really would’ve preferred something smaller like Guz and Mira are doing, or hell, something even smaller than that, something like you and Taylor did. But this is turning into a circus. It feels like half the damned colony will be there, it’s going to be all formal, and all of that. I hate to say this, because it’s going to make me sound all deep and shit, but it feels like the fact that we’re getting married is getting lost in all the crap about the wedding.”
“Carter, have you told Skye that? Or have you just been sullen and grouchy?” She looks at him briefly, lifting an eyebrow at him.
He looks sheepish at that. “The second one.” Alicia starts to say something, and he says, “I know, Wash, I should’ve said something, but she’s so damned excited about it all. I didn’t want to ruin her fun, and I’ve been afraid to upset her. But as much as I want to be married to her, I’m starting to suffocate under all of this wedding crap.”
“Carter, if you’re that miserable with all of it, you have to man up tell her. Otherwise, she’s going to think you’re getting cold feet.”
“What?” He sits up a little straighter in his seat. “No, Wash, come on, she won’t think that.” He pauses, and Alicia just gives him a moment to think about it. A second later, the realization clearly hits home, and he slumps low, dropping his face into his palm. “Shit. She’s going to think I’m upset because we’re getting married, not because of the out of control wedding plans, isn’t she? Shit, shit, shit.”
“Bingo, Big Brother. We’re already too far out now, but you’re calling her from the communications set up when we get to the outpost. And you have from here to there to formulate an apology and to figure out how to tell her how you feel about this.”
“What? Wash, I suck at apologies, and I’m not much better at personal expression. You pretty much know that. You have to help me!”
She shakes her head. “No, Carter. This has to be all you. You have seven hours. Even you can figure out what to say in seven hours.”
“Seven? Isn’t it more like six and a half?” He sounds puzzled.
“Yes. But you get seven, because for the first thirty minutes after I get there, I’m using the communications equipment to read Gracie some bedtime stories.” She hears a grumble. “You have a problem with that, Carter? It’s the only thing we’ve been able to work out that helps her not be scared when one of us is OTG. Should I skip it? Then you can apologize to an upset toddler and your fiancée. I wonder which one will cry more?”
“OK, OK. Sorry. You get dibs on the radio.”
“Thank you.” He grumbles something she can’t make out. “What was that?”
“I said, it’s not like I had a choice.”
“No, but I like to make you feel like you do, at least every once in a while.” She smirks at him. “Now, apology. Start thinking about it, Carter.”
He huffs out a resigned breath. “Yes, ma’am.”
*****
“Oh my God, how long was he on the radio?” Mira asks, she and Elisabeth gasping with laughter along with Alicia as they sit in the chairs out on Alicia and Nathaniel’s deck. They were waiting for Alicia to get Gracie down to sleep, having heard about Carter and Skye’s little dust up.
“Over two hours. When he came out, I swear, he looked worse than he did when I kicked his ass in the sparring ring.” Alicia grins. “But he did tell Skye the truth about how out of control he thought everything was getting. I think the last straw for him was them wanting to make it a sit-down dinner with assigned seating for three hundred.”
Elisabeth snorts. “That’s basically a third of the colony!”
Alicia nods. “Yep. She has backed off of that. The guest list isn’t growing - it’s staying put at just over one hundred, where it has been for a while. Still big, but back to a buffet and open seating. To her credit, she was waiting for him when we got back this afternoon, and she apologized to him, too, for letting it get so out of control.”
Elisabeth looks at her watch and gets to her feet. “I need to be off. I owe Zoe some help with her science project.”
Elisabeth pats Mira gently on the shoulder and then gives them both a wave as Mira and Alicia wish her a good night. Mira goes quiet after Elisabeth leaves, appearing to be lost in thought. Leaning back to look up at the stars, Alicia says, “OK, what’s up, Mira?”
Mira looks at her, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“The pat on the shoulder from Elisabeth, and now you’re all pensive? Something’s going on.” Alicia gives her a pointed look.
“You’re pretty sure of yourself. When did you turn into a mind reader?”
“When did you and Carter both get so damned easy to read?” Alicia lifts an eyebrow at her. “And seriously, am I wrong?”
Mira lets out a deep breath. “No.”
“So, then what’s going on?”
“I haven’t told Isaac yet.” Mira sounds nervous.
“What haven’t you told him?” Alicia is getting a little confused and more than a little concerned.
“I’m, well, damn it. I’m pregnant, Wash.” Mira looks down at her hands.
Alicia nearly spits out the mouthful of the drink she just took. “What?”
Alicia’s near spit-take seems to lighten Mira’s mood a bit, because she smiles. “I’m pregnant, Wash.”
“Are you serious? How far along?” Alicia can’t help but return Mira’s smile.
Mira nods. “Yes, I’m serious, and I’m nine weeks along. I suspected, but I just went into denial.”
Alicia thinks about how far along that is, and suddenly, she frowns. “Wait, so that means you were already pregnant during…”
“During the quarantine. Yes. Elisabeth thinks it’ll be fine.” Mira’s hands wind together in her lap. “She doesn’t think the treatment or the illness will have negatively impacted the baby.”
Alicia reaches over and covers Mira’s hands with one of her own. “Trust Elisabeth, Mira. The docs in the future told me, after Somalia, that my chances of getting pregnant and carrying the baby to term were between three and four percent. And yet, we have Gracie. Just trust Elisabeth.”
Mira nods again. “Do you think Isaac will be upset?” Her voice is barely louder than a whisper.
At Mira’s concern, Alicia breaks one of her own rules of casual contact. She leans forward and wraps Mira up in a gentle hug. “No. He’ll only be upset if you keep it from him. He loves you, Mira, and he’ll love the baby too.”
Mira pulls back. “I want to keep it mostly quiet, but you can tell the Old Bastard.”
Alicia chuckles at what can only be described as Mira’s usual pet name for Nathaniel. “He’ll be so excited for you two, Mira.”
Mira smiles and then looks thoughtful. “Why don’t you two try to have another?”
Shaking her head, Alicia gives Mira a sad smile. “We thought about it briefly, but the truth is, Mira, Gracie really is a miracle baby. After the placental abruption with her, and with my age, we just decided that the risks were too high. I had a ligation of my one functional tube last year. No more accidental pregnancies for us. We’re happy as a party of three anyway.” Alicia goes quiet before looking up and smiling again. “Now no stalling. Go home. Tell Isaac. Have some really good celebratory sex.”
With a light, nervous laugh, Mira stands. “You really don’t think he’ll be pissed?”
Alicia stands too, and she quickly hugs Mira again. “I really don’t think he’ll be pissed.”
Mira pulls away. “Good night, Alicia.” She steps off of the deck, heading home.
A moment later, Alicia is startled when the door behind her opens and closes. Within seconds, a pair of strong arms encircle her waist and a gruff voice sounds in her ear. “You done solving the world’s problems?”
She laughs, leaning back into his chest. “Don’t know about solving them, but at least I’m getting people to talk to each other.”
He tightens his arms around her. “About what?”
She laughs. “Well, Carter had to convince Skye that he wasn’t getting cold feet, and he had to explain that his crappy attitude of late was mostly owed to the fact that he thought the wedding was getting way too big and over the top.”
He chuckles. “And Mira?”
She turns in his arms to look up at him. “And Mira is pregnant, and she was afraid to tell Guz.”
He gives her a surprised smile at that. “Really?”
“Yes, really. You get to be an uncle again, Nathaniel.” She grins up at him and then releases him. “I’m tired. Can we call it a night?”
He releases her and helps her straighten the deck chairs. “Yes, ma’am.” He swats her on the butt as they go in the house. “And unless you really want to, we don’t have to talk at all.”
She laughs and favors him with a wicked grin. “Works for me, Nathaniel.” Leaning up, she presses her mouth to his and pushes him towards their bedroom.