TN Wash's Return
Chapter 10: Home

Pairing: Wash/Taylor

Characters: Ensemble

Genre: Ship, Angst, Adventure
Rating: R
Warning: Language, Angsty fun, but no death of main characters
Spoiler Alert: All of Season 1

Summary: Post finale - As the colony gets restored, Taylor finds Wash is alive. Taylor tries to understand what is happening.

AN: This is my happy ending. It's the only way I can make sense of what happened because the ship must continue.

Wash tipped her head to the side and caught herself from shaking her head no again. "I just don't believe all of that. You're making this up for some reason. What really went on?"

Taylor sat back in a very familiar chair in the infirmary and waved over Elisabeth. "It's true. Why would I make this up?"

Elisabeth strode into the room beaming till she saw Wash's troubled expression and folded arms. "What's wrong?" She quickly glanced at the holopanel. "Everything appears to be alright considering."

Wash tipped her head at Taylor. "I think someone slipped him something."

Elisabeth folded her hands. "Actually, you were the one that was slipped something. I gave you some pain meds before you woke up. Don't be upset at me. We are all just so glad you're not dead again. No that didn't come out right. We are all glad you are alright."

Wash sat up feeling dizzy from the meds. She had to smack Taylor's hand away. "Stop that."

She looked up to see Elisabeth beaming again. "See it's some kind of sick joke. What really happened?"

"Everything he told you and probably more." Elisabeth bounced then rubbed her hands.

Wash slung her legs over the side of the bed and braced herself with her hands.

Taylor reached out toward her.

"Do it and lose an arm."

"You need to let him fuss a little. Its good for them." Elisabeth sobered remembering what a state Taylor was in when she was brought to Wash's housing unit to find him holding what he thought was her dead body in his arms. "After you acted as a distraction to save us, Taylor and Jim watched as you were shot in the head and fell dead to the ground. Everyone thought you were dread, and Lucas practically gutted Taylor like a fish. We patched him up then it became a matter of finding your body. Then they thought that he set it up to make it look like you were dead, so he could keep you."

Wash turned to Taylor watching him as he leaned back in the chair staring at the floor.

Elisabeth continued. "Taylor found you, but you didn't have a pulse. So once again he…we believed you were dead. We thought we just didn't find you in time."

Wash leaned forward trying to stay steady and rested her hand on Taylor's forearm, but he still would not look up.

Elisabeth clasped her hands squeezing. "I noticed you weren't decomposing then found a faint pulse. We tried to bring you back but you had nanites inside you. We had to keep you under or they were going to kill you. We devised a way to use the equipment and parasites from the death pear to attack the nanites. Taylor made the decision to continue with the plan because otherwise it would have probably mean a long death hooked up to machines as they tore you apart from the inside."

Wash glanced at her hand on Taylor's arm for a few moments before she spoke. "You told me…you said not to give up and to fight. I remember something like that. I remember your voice. And, you read to me."

Wash felt his gaze and returned it. "So it was all true. Nanites, parasites, the procedure almost killed me, then someone tried to kill me, we were kidnapped, an alternate me who took over my body almost kill Guzman and space ships."

Elisabeth couldn't stand to see the expression on Taylor's face any longer. "And Taylor hunted down a Carno with a pocket knife as Slashers tried to kill them both."

Taylor's head snapped up. "It wasn't a pocket knife." He turned to Wash. "It was my tactical."

"Well, all I know is you were hanging from its head with a knife. The bloody thing was running in the trees." Elisabeth held her hand out palm down and moved two fingers like they were running. "The slashers were following. Then we all thought he was dead. Then he took his time to radio in saying he was alive, but it sounded like he was playing chess. G3 or H2 something like that."

Taylor interjected. "It was map coordinates set up like a chess game."

"Fine. Then he found me and started shooting people in the leg to find out where you were."

Taylor cut in again. "It was one guy. One guy."

"You kept shooting him till he answered. Then when I tried to save Mr. Bullet Holes he killed him. And he still hasn't apologized for throwing me in the vehicle like a sack of umm apples no…potatoes."

"He would have gotten better only to kill you." Taylor shook his head.

"Then Taylor tackled you after he decided in their expert opinion you had brain damage." Elisabeth tried not to grin because Taylor was scowling and Wash started grinning at his frustration.

"She was talking gibberish."

"So you tackled a person you thought had brain damage?" Elisabeth folded her arms and tipped her head.

"I had to stop her. The Carnos would have found us and she kept running." Taylor stood up and started pacing.

"Fine. Just be sure you don't start shooting people again who don't answer your questions and tackling people with head injuries in my infirmary." Elisabeth strode out fighting not to laugh.

"It wasn't like that." Taylor stopped and turned to see Wash smiling at him. "She did that on purpose didn't she?"

"I think so." Wash grinned and slumped to the side. "When you got me back this time, how long was I out?"

"This time? Two days."

"Have you slept?" Wash inquired trying to sit up straight again.

"No. And now that you're back for real, I'm taking a week off. I just let Ogawa work on my wounds and she slipped me something for the pain too. That woman is relentless." He turned to leave knowing that if he stayed that he would fuss over her and make her agitated again. He told himself he had waited this long that he could wait a little longer to tell her how he felt.

"You love me." Wash stated.

Taylor froze in the doorframe and didn't move.

"I have these dreamlike memories of you reading to me. I can't see you, but I hear your voice. Every time you stop reading for the day you would say you loved me." Wash tried to stand up and slid.

Taylor lunged and caught her. "Stay in the damn bed."

"No, take me home." Wash stared into his electric blue eyes that were only inches away. If he was going to ignore what she said, then she determined she would too…for now.

Taylor stood her up straighter and stared off blankly as he remembered how he found her in her housing unit. He stopped masking his expression and let her see how he felt. "I'm not taking you back there while you're wounded. I'm not."

She reached up and gripped his beard giving a tug before letting go. It had grown out longer than usual. "Not there."

He squinted at her feeling that she now let him take on more of her weight so she practically clung to him while he held her up.

Wash glanced down at his arms then back up into his eyes. "Did you have them build a large housing unit for us or not?"

His eyes went wide for a second. He nodded.

"Then take me home and trim that think on your face so I can kiss you." She felt her strength giving out and decided to go with it for once. She thought it was only fair to let him fuss a little after all he had been through to get her back. Wash pressed her face to his shoulder and touched a light kiss on his neck. "I love you too."

He remembered how it felt to holding her thinking she was gone and he tightened his grip around her. He vowed to himself he would never let her go. "Let's get you home then. Do you want me to carry you?"

Wash stabbed a finger to his chest. "Don't push it."

A/N: All done. Wash is home, in Taylor's strong arms safe and sound. I feel so much better and thank you to everyone who left reviews and sent me messages about this fic. It does truly help me write. You are appreciated. *hugs*