Maddy awoke early that morning. She knew her parents would be going OTG today to help with the eleventh pilgrimage. She had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. What made it even worse was that Mark was going to be OTG too. Mark, the shy soldier who had courted her, and cared for her. His smile etched into her brain; it made her smile every time.

"Let's get ready to move out!" She could hear Commander Taylor yell out across a speaker. Maddy rolled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. Splashing water on her face, as she had showered the night before. Putting a brush through her hair and pulling part of it back and clipping it in place. She grabs a pair of jeans, a pink shirt and a gray vest. Mark told her once before that she looked good in pink, though it was never her first choice of color.

"Mommy don't go." Maddy could hear Zoe in the living room.

"I'm sorry darling, but I have to go help the new arrivals. I'll be back before you know it."

"Yea, don't worry Zoe. You'll have Maddy and Josh to hang out with."

Maddy could hear Zoe sigh. "Okay."

"We gotta go." Her dad yelled through the house. Maddy walked out into the living room where everyone else was. They all hugged and said their goodbyes.

"I'm gonna go find Mark." Maddy said as she suddenly rushed out before her parents. There was no way he was leaving without saying goodbye. And maybe a kiss or two. Plus she needed to tell him something before he left. It was very important.

Mark was helping load the rovers when Reilly called out to him. "Reynolds."

"Reilly." He said politely.

"You get a chance to say goodbye to Maddy yet?" Reilly whispered to him.

"No. Not yet." He said sadly. There was no way he could break away from the group now. They were getting ready to leave. Reilly nodded, but then smiled. "What?" He asked.

"Be careful out there." A soft voice said from behind him. He turned, and smiled when he saw Maddy before him. She looked upset. He walked over to her, reached out and caressed the side of her head.

"I will." He told her. He looked into her puppy dog brown eyes and leaned in to kiss her, when he was knocked back slightly as Dunham and Reilly walked by him bumping his shoulders.

"We're moving out." Reilly says as she playfully eyes Mark, but only for him to see. A way of telling him to hurry up with his girl.

"I gotta go." Mark says sadly as he turns to leave.

Maddy takes a deep sad breath, she should tell him, but she can't find her words right now. When Mark, who heard his girlfriend struggling, turned around. He walks straight up to her, cups her face gently and presses his lips to hers. A short yet passionate kiss.

Mark pulls back, "I love you."

He said it! Maddy excitedly thinks to herself. She lets out a small sad smile nodding and looks into his eyes. "I love you too." Mark smiles. Then he turns and climbs into one of the rovers.

Maddy turns around and walks back to her brother and sister who are talking to her parents. Dad was saying something about hiding if things went wrong, but she wasn't really paying attention. All she could think about was her blue eyed suitor who just told her he loved her. And her him. She prayed he would come back to her. She wasn't brought up in any real religion, her parents wanted her to choose for herself. But she knew her mother's family had a Catholic side and they would pray whenever they felt alone or sad wishing for things to get better. She wasn't quite sure how it worked. Her version of praying was just talking to herself, and the stars.

When the last of the troops had rolled out, she, Josh, and Zoe walked back to their house.

"Hey Zoe, why don't you go get your dinosaur's and we'll head over to Leah and Sam's house?" Josh told his youngest sister.

"Okay." She smiles.

Josh then turns to Maddy. "Please tell me I'm not the only one who has a bad feeling about the pilgrimage."

Maddy shakes her head. "I've been feeling it too." Josh almost gives off a sad look. Maddy hardly ever sees her brother sad. Mostly neutral, angry, happy, or calm. "How's everything with Skye?"

Josh shakes his head. "I haven't talked to her yet. She's a mole Maddy."

"But she's still Skye."

"Yea, I know. I just don't know which Skye she really is. The Skye that I came to know, or the Skye loyal to the Sixers."

"They had her mom Josh. Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing if it was mom. Or me. Or Zoe. What if it was Kara, Josh?"

Josh fell silent. He shook his head and said, "I don't know what I'd do Maddy. I just need some time to think."

"Ready!" Zoe emerged from her room.

"I'll take her." Josh said. He then grabbed Zoe's hand and together they walked out the door.

Maddy went to her room. She laid down on her bed, and thought of last night. After her parents went to bed, she made sure Zoe was asleep, before crawling out the window and running across the compound. When she reached his barracks she knocked on the door. Mark opened it for her and smiled. They had sat on his bed and talked for hours. She admitted that she was scared for him and everyone else about what would happen tomorrow. He just held her close and rubbed her back, which was something her dad used to do when she was young. She calmed down instantly, and kissed him. But this was more than just a kiss. It was deeper, more passionate than any of their past kisses. His hands on her waist and her hands in his hair. He picked her up with ease, and set her in his lap. She wrapped her legs around his torso and could feel the heat building between them.

"Maddy." Mark broke the kiss, and they both gasped for air.

"What?" She asked between peppering his face with kisses. Until he pushed her back. A look of fear struck her face. Did he not want her?

"Maddy stop." He closed his eyes and took a breath. "Maddy, I want you. I really want you. But this isn't right."

"But-"

"No. This isn't how me courting you is supposed to go. I can't take advantage of you in a situation like this. It's not right. Plus we're technically only supposed to make love on our wedding night."

"You're not taking advantage of me. I want this. And besides, nobody follows those rules anymore."

"I do. I was brought up by my mom and my grandpa, my dad left when I was young. My mom taught me to respect a woman in the way that I would want my own daughter to be treated. If I had one that is."

"Your mom was very smart. If you weren't as nice and old fashioned as you are, I don't think my dad would have let you live when he caught us kissing when you dropped me off a few weeks ago." Maddy sighed. "Do you want a daughter Mark?"

"Yes. A son too. You know what else?"

Maddy looked confused. "What?"

Mark smiled. "I hope they have your eyes." This brought a huge smile to Maddy's mouth. "I love it when you smile." Mark kissed her gently once more. "Let me walk you home. It's late."

"Alright." Maddy got off of Mark, but Mark stopped before getting out of bed. "What's wrong?"

"Give me a second, I'll be right behind you." He said.

"Mark are you okay?" Maddy walked closer to him and found the problem. She gasped a little then giggled. Mark's cheeks flushed. She suddenly wondered why she hadn't noticed it when she was sitting on him. A little tent had been pitched in his sweat pants. But it was slowly going down. "I'll be outside then." She said, and turned to leave smiling to herself.

Once she was out of the room, Mark fell back on his bed and groaned. So much for self-control. Once he got himself adjusted, he grabbed his coat, slipped on his boots and went out to meet Maddy. She was shivering when he came up behind her. "Here." He said slipping off his coat.

"Oh no I can't take your coat." Maddy protested. But Mark had already wrapped it around her. It was much too big for her though. She didn't have nearly the same body mass as he did. Compared to him, she was tiny.

"I have a way you can keep me warm." Mark said. Then suddenly picked her up and slung her on his back. She wrapped her legs around him.

"I haven't had a piggy back ride in forever." Maddy said gleefully. Mark smiled, and began to run. Maddy's giggles turned into full out laughter, but when they reached the homes of the colonists, she put a hand over her mouth to shut herself up.

Mark set her down outside her window once they reached her house. "Goodnight beautiful." He said and kissed her.

"Goodnight." She said back. Then reached up to kiss him one last time. Mark then turned to leave. "Wait!" She called after him, in an urgent whisper. "Your coat." She began to take it off.

"Keep it." He said. "I'll just need it back by the time I get back tomorrow night." He said smiling and walked off into the night. Maddy sniffed the coat. It smelled exactly like Mark. An unexplainably delicious smell that was a mix of whatever shampoo he used along with almost the smell of pine, maybe even some vanilla, what a manly smell for Mark, but also smelled a bit of Mark's sweat. But she didn't care. It smelled like Mark. She was happy.

Maddy reached under her bed for that coat and took a long drag. It would be awful waiting for his return tonight along with her parents. Josh opened the front door just then, and she shoved the coat back under.

"Lt. Washington just got word that the portal is being opened." He called to Maddy.

"Okay, everything sound good so far?" She asked.

"As far as we can tell, yeah." He said. "So, Zoe's at Leah and Sam's for the day."

"Okay."

"I've been thinking about what you said, and I think I'm gonna go talk to Skye." Maddy smiled at her brother.

"Alright. Well I have nothing to do so I think I'm just going to stay here today." Josh nodded and was gone again.

Maddy took out her plex when an explosion rang through her ears. She ran to the back door and climbed on top of a barrel of fresh soil they planned to plant in their back yard. She reached for the roof of their house and looked in horror as about 6 clicks away, a cloud of smoke was rising from the jungle. Her heart sank. Mark! But she didn't have time to react. Another smaller explosion sounded just outside the tree line, and there, she saw, with Lucas Taylor leading, the Phoenix Group walking with big guns toward the front gates.