I own nothing other than bits of the plot and Brianna

Epilogue

I had been right in saying that Taylor – Nathaniel hadn't been able to sit around and relax for very long. He managed to last until the day after we were married, just after lunch; I had fallen asleep on the couch and when I woke, he was gone. I remembered the fleeting panic until I found a note lying on the kitchen bench and involuntarily a smile crept onto my face as I read it:

Wife,

I heard somewhere that it was custom for the men to do the hunting. If not, too bad; I got bored.

Your ever loving husband,

Nathaniel

It was definitely something he would write and instead of being annoyed I felt amused. I had expected his disappearance and I had even reserved a rover for him for when he would undoubtedly escape the colony and most likely go fishing. It was his 'honeymoon' after all.

He'd come home smelling distinctly like fish and I screwed up my face at the horrible stench. I refused to touch him until he'd showered, not giving in even as he pouted at me. Unsurprisingly, we'd had fish for dinner that night.

"How long are honeymoon's supposed to go for?" Taylor asked me later in bed.

We were both still panting and covered in sweat, "I don't know. Why?" I murmured, rolling so I was curled into his side.

His arm immediately wrapped around me out of habit, "Just wondering."

"Alicia is handling the colony for at least three days." I said firmly, opening one eye to look up at him, "You can spend three days doing nothing."

"I doubt we'll be doing nothing." Taylor smirked, nudging me gently.

While we had been pretty good with refraining from sex before we were married, it definitely wasn't the case now. Taylor found any chance he could to jump me whether it was in the kitchen while I was trying to cook dinner or in the shower. He'd been unable to resist going for his morning jog and when he returned he dived back into bed with me, ignoring my sleepy protests at his smell and icy skin.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Taylor and Alicia froze and turned to face me with guilty expressions; my hands were on my hips and I was glaring at them.

"How old are you two? Seriously!" I shouted beyond frustrated.

While it was our last day for our honeymoon Taylor had managed to disappear, leaving no note or explanation as to where he was. I'd had my suspicions about where he could have disappeared too but seeing him and Alicia hop out of the rover that just pulled back inside the gates was pushing my restraint. I'd had promises from both of them that they wouldn't disappear OTG without at least letting me know beforehand.

"I thought you said she wouldn't find out?" Alicia muttered to Taylor, neither moving a muscle as they watched me curiously.

"I can hear you." I snarled. "Get home now; both of you!" I ordered, pointing in the direction of our home.

I watched, inwardly pleased as they skulked down the path guiltily. There were a few chuckles from the soldiers around and I smirked at them. I turned on my heel and followed the two down the path and into the house. They plopped down on the couch and the matching expressions of innocence had me narrowing my eyes.

"Alicia," I began looking at her, "Why don't you tell me the promise both you and Taylor made before the wedding?" My voice was deceptively calm.

She winced, breaking her innocent expression, "Not to go OTG until Taylor was back on duty."

"Taylor," I addressed my still wide-eyed and innocent husband, "Want to tell me why that promise was broken?"

"I had my fingers crossed behind my bag?" He suggested hopefully.

"Try again." I growled.

His facade dropped and he pouted at me, "We weren't gone that long!"

Alicia snickered as I lunged at him, smacking him while he tried to defend himself, "Don't be a smart ass with me!"

"Alright woman!" He rubbed his arm where I slapped him repeatedly, "We're sorry."

"Oh you will be." I promised. I looked at Alicia, "You are on pool duty for the next two weeks." She grumbled but didn't argue, "And you," I looked back to Taylor, "Are now on dinner duty and dish duty until I say otherwise."

"That's hardly fair." He protested.

I gave him a look, "Stiff shit."

A/N here's a look at the next story.

Taylor didn't ask when he was off dinner or dish duty but as the date for the next pilgrimage came closer and closer I let him off the hook. It was only fair since Alicia had finished her punishment a week ago.

He was surprised to find me cooking hwen he came home from a long shift; the pilgrimage was arriving tomorrow and he'd spent the day trying to inspect all the new accommodation for the new arrivals as well as ensure the security team was prepared.

He kissed the back of my neck, wrapping his arms around my waist, "Hello wife."

I smiled; we'd been married for just over a month now and he still liked calling me that. "How was work?" I asked.

"The new houses are ready and Wash and Guzman are taking out the welcoming party for the pilgrimage."

I only hummed in response; I was exhausted for some reason. It wasn't that I was necessarily doing more work; I still did the same shifts by the pool but I had been required to make up mandatory classes for the newcomers, especially those that had children coming with them. I didn't know what was making me so tired and nearly every morning I'd woken feeling nauseated. Taylor knew nothing about that of course; he knew I was tired but not that I'd been throwing up. The man had no boundaries when it came to worrying about me and if I wasn't careful I'd be stuck in bed for the next month because of some unreasonable worry he had.

As Taylor moved away to get himself cleaned up before dinner I started thinking of what it could be that had me so unwell. I wasn't coming down with a cold; I didn't have food poisoning because everything that I'd eaten so had Taylor. I remembered my sister-in-law describing her first few months of pregnancy...

Oh shit.

A/N sorry this chapter was a little bit everywhere. I didn't know quite how to end it seeing as I'm starting the sequel. Hopefully it should be up either tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for everyone following this story and reviewing! Hope you've liked it!