Author's note: Well, back again! This was prompted by emtheunicorn, and was originally intended to be a one-shot, that turned into a three-shot, as per usual! This is definitely a little more random than I've written before, but the plot bunnies wouldn't disperse! If you're a fan of Lucket, which I'm guessing you are since you're reading this, head over to the LJ comm thankyou_bucket where the Valentine's challenge winners/posts are up! I'm sure we'll have a new challenge shortly! Enjoy :)!

Disclaimer:Well, Fox is deciding soon, so maybe I can buy the rights if they don't? hehehe.

Skye hacked at the branch angrily, huffing as she was barely making any indentations. It was her usual weekly volunteer duty on maintaining the vegetation around the fence, and as Jim Shannon had assumed the role of police officer in the colony, the job had fallen to volunteers. As it was much better than digging, she had eagerly volunteered. Thankfully, although she had never thought that she'd be saying that, especially when it came to including him, with the addition of Sixers to Terra Nova after the portal had been destroyed, it had been much lighter and easier work.

"Skye, you coming? We're done for the day!" Tasha called up to her, standing at the base of the ladder Skye was standing on, holding a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun.

"Be down in just a moment." Skye called, giving the branch another whack. Tasha huffed impatiently and walked away to talk with some of the other people helping. Skye finally made an indentation in the thick branch, and after a few more solid angry whacks, the branch cut through enough to break under its' own weight. She looked triumphantly at it lying in the ground, smiling happily, and started her descent down the ladder. She climbed down the first couple of rungs quickly, but faltered on the third, feeling it bend, and moving cautiously, the rung snapped with a sharp thwack, resulting in a quick panicked fall to the bottom.

"Skye!" Tasha yelled, running over to where Skye lay in a crumpled heap, hearing the noise. "Skye!" She said urgently, touching her shoulder gently, fearful of aggravating an injury caused by the fall. A couple of people ran over, including Roger, who was the leader of their little project.

"Skye, are you ok?" He said urgently.

They were both answered with a groan as Skye slowly sat up, clutching her head in her right hand, left hand lying loosely on her lap. "Fine." She answered groggily, hissing in pain as she sat fully upright. "Ok, maybe not fine," she grunted. "Walk me home?" Skye held out her right hand to Tasha, allowing her to pull her to her feet, keeping her left arm cradled against her chest.

Roger shook his head. "You should go to the infirmary." He said with a frown.

Skye held her right hand out in front of her. "No, but thank you." She said firmly. "I'm going home. Tasha?" She quickly turned away from him, ignoring him as he started speaking into his radio, looking at Tasha pointedly and holding out her right hand.

"Broken?" Tasha asked with a frown, looking at Skye's arm.

Skye shook her head slowly. "No, probably just strained."

"We should probably take you to the infirmary." Tasha said firmly.

Skye shook her head vigorously. "I'll be fine. I'll just bandage and ice it when I get home."

"Sure you will, Bucket." Came his slow, smooth voice, behind them.

Skye groaned internally, quickly turning around, gritting her teeth through the pain. "What do you want, Lucas?" She snapped.

Lucas took in her disheveled appearance, pale face, and gritted teeth. "I'm here to take you to the infirmary, Bucket." He smirked at her.

"I'm going home, but thank you for such a kind offer," she said sweetly. "Come on, Tasha." She mumbled, starting to walk away, only to stop quickly as Lucas' hand slid around her waist.

"I wasn't giving you an option, sweetheart." He drawled, spinning her carefully around, trying not to jostle her arm. "You're going to the infirmary to check that wrist out, whether you like it or not." He snapped his attention to Tasha, who had been watching the exchange in amusement. "Tasha, thank you for your help, but I'll take over from here."

Skye watched in abject horror as her so-called best friend gave her a small wink and thumbs-up and promptly began walking away. "Come on, Bucket," he murmured softly. "Lets go get that wrist of yours fixed up."

He tugged her right wrist gently, walking towards the clinic and she followed resentfully behind him. "Why are you taking me?" She snapped. "And where the hell did you appear from so quickly?"

He didn't bother looking at her, and didn't bother responding to her second question. "Someone has too." He answered with a shrug.

"Why you though?" She spat.

He grabbed a communicator out of his belt. All senior staff in the colony were given one, and as he was the co-head of the lab with Malcolm - after much negotiation - he had been given one. "Roger informed us that you fell and didn't intend to make sure you hadn't damaged anything. Since they didn't want to take the risk, and I was the closest to you, lucky me, here I am." He shot her a wry grin. "And here we are," he said in satisfaction, having reached the infirmary. He pushed open the door, leading her through, and over to a bio-bed. "Dr. Shannon will be here in a minute. Sit down." He gestured lazily towards the bed.

"No, thank you." She said through gritted teeth. He shrugged, and moving faster than she'd thought, he quickly picked her up by the waist and set her on the bed gently, ignoring her gasp of shock. She glared at him furiously, attempting to climb off, but was quickly stopped by Lucas' hands on her legs.

"Ah, ah." He said softly, shaking his head warningly.

"Skye!" Skye snapped her attention to Dr. Shannon who was striding over, looking rather harried. She instantly noticed when Lucas took his hands off her thighs, for some reason feeling strangely cold.

"Dr. Shannon," Skye greeted. "I'm fine, honestly." She flashed a quick smile at her, trying to hide the pain.

"Sure you are." Elizabeth said dryly. "Lets just find out, hmm? Just lie back for me Skye."

Skye slowly lay back on the bed, ignoring Lucas' grin. She smoothed down her T-shirt over her stomach where it had ridden up, feeling extremely self-conscious. She tried watching the screen as Dr. Shannon flicked a few screens by, trying to judge her facial expressions to see what the damage was. She had broken that wrist a few years ago, and knew by the pain that it wasn't broken, but she knew from the slight motion-sickness and headache that she was experiencing that she likely had a concussion.

"So, I hear you weren't planning on coming in to see us." Dr. Shannon said lightly, quickly glancing down at Skye.

"No," Skye said pointedly. "I've broken my wrist before and I know it's not broken."

"Good." Dr. Shannon nodded approvingly. "But as I'm sure you're already aware, you do have a concussion. I can wrap up your wrist for you, but in terms of your head, you have two options. One, you stay here overnight since we can monitor you. Option two, I release you into someone else's care for twenty four hours observation." She looked at Skye expectantly.

"Alright, not a problem. I'll go home with Tasha." Skye said confidently.

"No can do, Bucket, she's still working." Lucas said gently.

Skye shot him a quick glare. "Fine, I'll let Hunter know." She shot him a triumphant look.

He cocked his head to the side. "Agricultural detail." He smirked at her.

"Josh." She snarled through gritted teeth.

"He's working at the bar tonight." Dr. Shannon said sympathetically.

"I'll take her." Lucas offered, looking at Dr. Shannon.

"No, thank you." Skye smiled sarcastically at him.

"Skye, you know as well as anyone else that these beds soon fill up. Do you really want to be taking someone else's spot?" He raised his eyebrows at her, head tilted to the side. "And, there's always the chance that you could catch something by staying in here when you don't need too."

"We have space." Dr. Shannon said uncomfortably.

Lucas stared challengingly at Skye, arms crossed across his chest. "Your call, Bucket." He smirked at her.

"Fine." Skye snarled through gritted teeth. "I'll go with you now, and I'll ask Tasha to pick me up when she's done work." She shot him a triumphant glare.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you didn't like me, Bucket." He said in mock-hurt, hand clutching his chest dramatically.

"Sorry Skye, but you know the rules. If I release you into Lucas' care, you have to stay with him. Commander Taylors' rules." She smiled sympathetically at Skye.

Skye weighed her options. She could stay here, taking up a bed when she didn't need to, with everyone disturbing her the whole night. Or she could go with Lucas, spending twenty four hours with him, suffering his presence, dealing with his snark, but know that she wasn't taking someone else's spot who needed it. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. "Fine." Skye said through gritted teeth, trying not to be rude to Dr. Shannon, but hating the situation and the man currently sitting beside her.

"Great!" She said enthusiastically. "Let me just grab the papers and the bandages and you'll be good to go." With a quick nod, she left the two of them, and Skye immediately turned to Lucas.

"Why are you doing this?" She hissed angrily.

He looked innocently at her. "Doing what?" He raised his eyebrows at her again, pressing his lips together, hiding what no doubt would have been a smirk. Before she had chance to respond, Dr. Shannon was back.

"Everything ok?" She said worried, looking at the both of them, placing a plex at the bottom of the bed. Lucas looked at her innocently, and Skye shook her head, gritting her teeth as it increased her head ache. "Right." She drawled slowly. "Wrist." Skye held her wrist out silently, watching as it slowly disappeared beneath bandages. "Ok, Lucas, sign the plex and she's all yours for tonight."

Skye ground her teeth together angrily at Lucas' suggestive glance at Dr. Shannon's statement. She watched as he grabbed the plex, signing quickly. "Alright, all done." Dr. Shannon stepped back, and took the plex back from Lucas. "Any problems, feel free to call. Otherwise, make sure she doesn't fall asleep tonight, and give her one painkiller every three hours if she needs it." She handed him a pill bottle which he slipped in his pocket. "Any questions?"

"I think we'll be fine. Thanks, Dr. Shannon."

"Thanks." Skye smiled at her, not able to be rude even though she had stuck her with Lucas the rest of the night. She swung her legs off the bed, taking Lucas' offered hand, not wanting to appear rude to Dr. Shannon, and allowing him to lead her out of the room. She followed him silently, noting that he still hadn't let go of her hand. She allowed him to lead her out of the infirmary before firmly pulling her hand from his, causing him to stop and turn around, looking at her questioningly. "Thanks for everything, I'm going home." She gave him a small sarcastic wave, and took a small step before she was quickly stopped as he grabbed her right wrist with his hand, tugging gently.

"Ah, ah." He shook his finger at her sarcastically. "You heard Dr. Shannon. Tonight you're mine, Bucket."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her. And I'm not yours" She smiled sweetly at him, attempting to pull her wrist from his grasp.

"You're in my care, Bucket. I promised I'd look after you, and I don't break my promises." He said gently, eyes boring into hers.

"Why?" She hissed angrily.

He shrugged lazily at her. "Why not?" Skye started to speak again and he quickly cut her off. "Your choice, Bucket. Infirmary, or your house or mine."

Skye glared angrily at him, thinking of a way out of this, and coming up with nothing. Next decision, her house or his? Well, the house that she shared more accurately, and having to deal with questions of Lucas' presence would no doubt cause everyone to have a head ache. And she'd rather not disinfect from his presence after the next few hours of hell would be finished. "Yours." She muttered resentfully.

He smirked at her. "Don't worry, Bucket. I'm sure we can think of something to pass the time." He winked at her, gently pulling on her wrist again, this time with her following resentfully. She followed him through the colony, ignoring the stares, quickly coming to his house. He entered the code, stepping aside, and gesturing for her to enter first. She gave him a withering stare, ignoring his grin, and slowly stepped inside, hyper aware of his proximity to her as he stepped inside behind her.

She quickly stepped out of her shoes, noting him doing the same, and placed hers by his. "So." She said awkwardly, biting her lip.

"Do you want to use the shower?" He looked at her questioningly, eyebrows raised.

She grimaced, knowing that the dirt of the chopping she had been doing was sticking to her, and she knew she was grimy, and probably didn't smell too fresh either. "I don't have any clean clothes." She said flippantly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You can borrow mine." He offered after a few seconds of silence, and after her incredulous look, he sighed, crossing his arms across his chest. "Your house is on the other side of the colony, and I'm sure you probably don't want to walk all the way over, to have to come all the way back. You're going to be here for awhile, might as well be comfortable."

She studied him for a second, knowing the validity of his statement. "Thank you." She said begrudgingly. He smirked at her briefly, walking away and disappearing into what she assumed was his bedroom. He returned quickly, handing her a pair of sweats and a baggy t-shirt silently. "Thank you." She repeated. As much as she hated him, being rude was not something in her nature, even to people who clearly deserved it.

He shrugged, mouth twisted sarcastically. "Bathroom is that way." He pointed to the door next to his bedroom. "Fresh towel on the rail." She nodded at him, quickly walking to the room, entering, and closing and locking the door behind her.

Skye quickly glanced around the bathroom, noting primarily that it was tidy, not something she'd exactly expect. She knew Lucas lived alone, and it stood to reason that he would keep his house clean, but she hadn't thought of Lucas in a domestic sense in any capacity. Suddenly being in his home was unsettling to say the least, but it was better than the alternative of having him in her house.

She gave the door handle a tug to make sure it was thoroughly locked, and began stripping off her clothes. It was awkward with her wrist bandaged, but there was no chance that she was asking for his help. It was bad enough that she was in this situation to begin with. She placed her clothes in a neat pile on the floor, and stepped in the shower. This was a completely desperate situation, otherwise she wouldn't be doing this. She was grimy, disgusting, still sweaty, and if she was going to be stuck with him for a whole night, she'd make sure that she felt at least a little more clean and comfortable.

She turned the shower on carefully, and stood under the hot jets, feeling her muscles start to relax slightly. It had hurt falling off the ladder, and she knew that she'd be expecting some bruises from it, and the hot water definitely eased some of that tension. She reluctantly grabbed his shampoo bottle from the shower shelf, squeezing some into her palm, she noticed it smelled slightly of pine, not bad. She massaged it one-handedly through her hair, noting absently that the smell was quite pleasant. She rinsed her hair out quickly, squeezing out the excess water, and seeing that he didn't have any conditioner, not that she'd thought he would, she turned off the shower, stepping out, and drying herself off with the green towel she'd found on the railing. She picked up the sweats, pulling them up her legs and tying the drawstring tight around her stomach. She grabbed the t-shirt next, noticing that these smelled faintly of pine too, but had a more masculine scent to them as well. She inhaled lightly, and carefully put her right arm through the sleeve, and then carefully maneuvering her left arm through the sleeve, tugging it into place as she finished.

She looked at herself in the mirror. This felt completely surreal. Since Lucas and some of the other Sixers had returned to Terra Nova, she'd made a few additional friends from some of the younger one's, but for the most part, she had done her best to avoid Lucas. They'd talked briefly, occasionally, when necessary when she was working in the lab, or when she was talking with Commander Taylor and he sometimes popped up.

One night, he'd caught her unexpectedly sitting on the steps to her house star-gazing, and he'd sat beside her. She'd looked at him in shock, but he'd kept his gaze on the stars.

"I'm sorry, Bucket." He said lowly, keeping his gaze fixed on the stars.

She looked at him incredulously. "For what? Trying to destroy my home? Torturing the Commander into believing you'd killed Wash? Threatening my Mother? Letting soldiers through the portal? What exactly are you sorry for?"

He'd brought his gaze to hers, and she swallowed, caught in the jade-green of his eyes. "I'm sorry for all of it." He took a deep breath. "It was never my intention for any of this to happen."

"Then why?" She spat.

He gave her a sad smile. "Sometimes, Bucket, the world isn't in shades of black and white. I'm the gray in the middle. So was my Mother. She didn't have the chance to defend herself, so I took it for her." He took a deep breath. "But, I am sorry for what it's worth."

Before she'd had chance to response, he'd stood up and walked away as silently as he'd approached. She didn't know what to make of it. After she'd shot him, Commander Taylor had refused to go back to the colony until he was found. They found him quickly, less than a klick from where he'd collapsed, surrounded by a pool of blood. After seeing the terror in the Commander's eyes that his son appeared to be dead, she did what she never thought she would have done, and dropped to her knees, quickly began administering medical attention.

He was brought back to the clinic where she and Dr. Shannon had worked on him, slowly nurturing him back to health. As soon as he'd regained consciousness, Skye had refused to help him anymore, knowing that she couldn't stand to be around him. The decision to shoot him had been heart-breaking, but faced with what was occurring, that had been the only option available to her. She had felt her heart break as she'd shot the gun, seeing his expression, seeing him fall. When the Commander had given her the go ahead to look for him, she'd immediately taken it, and eagerly helped. But after he was awake, that was where she drew the line. He was dangerous to her. Not physically, emotionally. She was drawn to him like a moth to the flame, and she knew that he wasn't unaffected either.

Since he'd been back in Terra Nova, he had slowly integrated himself into the colonists' life, which she still found remarkable. The capacity of people to forgive, not necessarily to forget, but the ability of people to understand that people made mistakes, and that second chances could be given. After all, wasn't that what Terra Nova was about? He'd quickly taken a job in the science department under Malcolm, quickly working his way up to co-head of the lab. She'd heard all about his discoveries from various sources around the colony. Whenever she talked to Commander Taylor, he would always inform her of the new discoveries that Lucas had made. And she'd also been informed when Lucas had been in danger, which had been quite often, far too often for her liking. Both Malcolm and Lucas were heavily involved in OTG trips, and her heart had stopped every time she knew that they were leaving the gates, but she still refused to talk to him. She would watch from an unseen spot as they left, waiting until she knew they were back, desperately searching to see that he was unharmed. Too many times to count he'd come back with blood on some part of his body, and there had been a couple of times that he'd been unable to climb out of the rover, instead being taken away on a stretcher.

She broke herself out of the trail of thoughts. She knew that Lucas was a danger to her. He'd somehow wheedled himself into her emotions, as much as she'd tried to stop it, and now, she was in the most dangerous place that she could be in. She had used sarcasm and anger to keep him away, knowing each time that it hadn't worked, seeing the smirk on his face each time he talked to her, the lingering glances he gave her. She could resist for one more night.

Hope you enjoy, and as always, I love to hear your thoughts!