A/N: Another short one-shot. I wanted to write a little bonding story between Mark and Alicia, since I like the idea of those two being really good friends. There's a little twist towards the end.

Warning: Mentions of abuse, nothing graphic. Somewhat angsty.

Disclaimer: I do not own Terra Nova or the characters therein. I make no profit from this story and no copyright infringement is intended.

Please enjoy.

Dark Secrets

Lieutenant Alicia Washington and Corporal Mark Reynolds were OTG headed towards outpost Alpha for a routine station check. The drive would take them a couple hours but they were okay with that. Alicia and Mark were relatively close for coworkers. She had been Mark's first friend when he arrived and the friendship had only gotten stronger since.

They considered each other family since neither of them had any actual family members here in Terra Nova. Alicia was driving the rover through the jungle while Mark kept a lookout in the front seat. Alicia adjusted the tags around her neck, the metal sticking to her skin in the jungle heat. She set them over her shirt. Clearing her throat she started a conversation.

"How are things going with you and Maddy Shannon?"

"Great. Wish we could spend more time together, but I'll take what I can get."

"Time had better be the only thing you're taking Reynolds." Alicia said half warning, half joking. Mark couldn't help but answer seriously.

"Of course. As much as I would like to take things further, I know neither of us is really ready for that. Maddy's too important to me to jump into the physical side of things without any real consideration for the consequences. We deserve better than that."

"That's an interesting answer Reynolds. Your grandfather teach you that?"

"Yes. If there's one thing he wanted me to learn, it was how to treat a lady right." He laughed a little; thinking of his grandfather always brought back fond memories. Alicia nodded her head and began to wonder how one person managed to raise Mark into such an excellent young man.

"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer it if you don't want to."

"Sure, go ahead."

"What happened to your parents?"

Mark didn't answer, looking outside the rover at the passing jungle. It wasn't really something he liked to talk about but Alicia was a good friend to him, she had taken him under her wing when he arrived to Terra Nova. She knew he had grown up with his grandfather since he was nine, but Mark had never said why. He decided to reveal the dark secret that had so influenced who he became as an adult.

"My father was an abusive deadbeat. My mother worked her ass off to provide for us and he treated her like crap – always drunk, telling her she was no good. They would end up fighting the moment she got home and most of the time it would get physical." Mark's hands were clenched into fists on his lap and anger was written all over his face. Alicia stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

"One day, when I was about nine years old, Mom decided she'd had enough, Dad had gone too far. They got into a fight and he started hitting her. I couldn't take it anymore and tried to get him to stop . . . He hit me, knocking me out . . ." Alicia drew in a sharp breath, hands clenching the steering wheel.

"When I came to, my dad was dead on the floor. Mom shot him. I think when he hit me, something in her snapped. Like she could deal with his bullshit towards her but the moment he laid a hand on me she couldn't take it anymore."

"What happened to her?" Alicia glanced at Mark. His fists were still clenched, but the anger was ebbing away, replaced with sorrow.

"She got taken away for manslaughter. Didn't matter that he was an abusive bastard that took advantage of my mother; it didn't matter that she shot him in self defense. All that mattered was that she murdered someone and apparently didn't belong in society . . . She died in prison a few years later. Prisoners aren't given rebreathers, so she got sick from the toxic air and it killed her."

"After she got taken away, her father took me in, raised me. He was so heartbroken; hell, we both were. But he did the best he could for me and I'll always be thankful for that. I just don't understand why Mom stayed with my dad, she deserved so much better than that."

"She loved him, Mark. That's why." Alicia said. He gave her a confused look.

"It's hard to see the signs of a monster until it's too late; until you've fallen in love with one. It's hard to walk away from someone you care so much about, someone you want to help. I imagine it's even more complicated once a child is brought into things." Mark let these thoughts sink in. While it was still hard to accept, he could see where his mother may have been coming from. They don't say love is blind for no reason.

"Sorry if this is too personal but are you telling me this from personal experience?"

Alicia smiled sadly, deciding to share her own dark secret since Mark had shared his, "When I was in my twenties I got involved with a guy who seemed perfect, at first. He was also in the military. He was charming, funny, and handsome. I fell in love with him. I didn't notice the bad things until it was too late. He was a lot like your dad – couldn't stay sober, no job. I let those things slide until it got worse. He came home drunk one evening, we fought and he hit me. I left the next day. He came around a few days later, begging me to take him back, saying he'd get better and never do that again. I loved him so much Mark, I couldn't say no."

"And for a little while, things got better. Then the cycle repeated itself – the alcohol, losing his job and the fighting. This time was different though, he nearly beat me to death and if he hadn't passed out drunk he probably would have. When I got out of the hospital I left and never looked back. It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I still loved him, but I knew I couldn't help him."

They were both silent then, neither really knowing what to say. The silence lasted for a few minutes until Alicia asked Mark another question.

"Is your father the reason you're taking things so slow with Shannon's daughter?"

Mark laughed, "Well, there's a few reasons but yeah. I realized really young I wanted to be nothing like him. I want to respect the woman I fell in love with, treat her the way she deserves. Make her as happy as she makes me," a small smile graced his lips and he looked at Alicia, "That sounds sappy doesn't it?"

"Yes, it did. It's okay though, I won't tell anyone," Alicia smiled back at him, "Seriously though, don't ever lose that quality Mark. You're a true gentleman," she paused a few moments, "Dammit, now you've got me being sappy!"

"Sorry Lieutenant. I won't tell anyone."

"Better not Corporal." Alicia warned, fiddling with her tags again.

-Commander Taylor's Office-

Jim Shannon had been summoned to Taylor's office for reasons unknown to him. Taylor probably wanted to know about the progress he'd made with finding the Sixer spy.

"Afternoon Jim. There's something I wanted to show you. I think you'll find it very interesting." Commander Taylor's eyes were gleaming and he had a smirk on his face.

"What is it Commander?"

"I believe you're aware that a soldier's tags can do more than hold medical info. In fact, they can do even more than track where they are and hold photos." Taylor's smile was widening.

"And what's that Commander?" Jim was getting impatient with this game, but held his tongue.

"What the soldiers don't know, other than Lieutenant Wash, is that they're capable of recording audio that is sent directly to me."

"Ooookay." Jim said, still not getting where this was going.

"It's no secret you dislike Corporal Reynolds, Jim. So I decided to do you, and him, a favor. Today I sent Reynolds and Wash on a routine station check. I also gave Lieutenant Wash a secret mission; thought I'd ask her to talk about the relationship between your daughter and Reynolds, see what he said. Mark trusts her, he's been under her wing since he got here, so getting honest information out of him would be no problem. Wash was to record that conversation with her tags and send it to me, which she has. I haven't listened to it yet, thought you might want to listen in too."

Jim's curiosity got the better of him so he approached Taylor's desk and decided to listen in. Taylor started the recording. There was the sound of someone clearing their throat and then . . .

"How are things going with you and Maddy Shannon?"

Jim and Taylor listened to the recording all the way through. They were definitely shocked at what they heard. Jim was relieved to hear that his little girl wasn't having sex yet and he was even impressed with Mark, albeit begrudgingly. If Jim could have, he would have found Mark's grandfather and shaken his hand and congratulated him for raising a fine young man. He knew now that there wasn't any reason not to trust Mark with his daughter. After what the guy had gone through, he deserved to be happy.

Taylor had known about Mark's parents, he makes it his business to know his soldiers. However, he had read about it in the kid's file, he hadn't heard it straight from Mark's mouth. Hearing the kid talk about it made it a lot more personal.

He hadn't known about Alicia though, she had been his comrade before he had become her commanding officer so he had stayed out of her business because even though he was her boss, he considered her a friend first.

Both Taylor and Jim felt somewhat ashamed of eavesdropping on what was obviously a very personal conversation, but they also felt different about the people they had listened to. Jim saw Mark in a different way now; he knew that Mark's actions towards his daughter weren't fake just to gain Jim's trust. The way Mark treated his daughter was due to his own life experience and wanting better for himself and the person he chose to share his life with.

And Taylor saw Alicia in a different light as well. He now understood why she worked hard every day to be physically strong. Now he knew the reason every man but Mark hadn't been able to beat her at hand-to-hand combat – she didn't ever want to be that vulnerable again. That relationship was probably also why Alicia didn't bother with dating.

The two men sat in silence, deep in their own thoughts. Obviously they knew Alicia would be aware of what they heard but decided to act normal, professional. If she wanted to talk about it with either of them she could bring it up. Jim was sure he'd reveal to Mark at some point what he knew, but for now decided to leave him in the dark. He was also sure Mark would wonder what had gotten into Jim when he started treating him differently. Jim would have to think of a cover story.

"Thanks for sharing that with me Commander. Guess you did do us a favor."

"Anytime Shannon. Have a good evening, I have to go to the gate and greet my returning soldiers."

-End-

A/N: Alicia's story was based on personal experience. My mother stayed with my dad for ten years despite the things he did. I asked her why and she basically said what Alicia said. I know it's hard for people who have never been in an abusive situation to understand but it really isn't easy to leave someone that treats you like crap. You still love them, hope they'll change, want to help them change.

Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Review? *puppy eyes*

-Silver