So this is it. Final chapter! How weird that it turned out to be exactly 40 chapters.

It has been a great journey, lots of ups and down. I hope you have enjoyed it as well.

Lucas Taylor, what a character (I don't own him or any of the other characters). I am going to miss writing about him and taking on his captivating persona

Keep an eye out for other stories from me.

It's been fun.

Much love, Birgitta

PS: this chapter is dedicated to underdogwriter2410. I hope it is the final you have been wishing for.

Final chapter; Lucas

- Skye and I, thru all times.

We exit the tent, Skye and I, hand in hand. Mira stands arrogant and assured by her rover. Looking at her, seeing that smug grin of hers, I can't wait to beat her once again. How I am going to do this is still a puzzle. I would have preferred facing the enemy with a solid plan figured out instead of winging it. Yet, winging it has worked for me before.

"Looks like the two of you have made up. How sweet."

I glare back at her and spew out my contempt. "That's none of your damn business, Mira."

She grins but her eyes turn blacker. "Fair enough. I could care less as long as you do what you are told. No tricks this time, Lucas," she warns and grabs a hold of Skye. Roughly, she shoves her into a rover. "Stay!"

The door is slammed in Skye's face, nearly clipping her nose. "If you want me to cooperate, you'd best not harm her."

Arms crossed, Mira's tiny biceps popped, she appraises me. "Oh, you will cooperate, Lucas. And to make sure you do… I'm going to hold on to your little spy… hold her real close. Are you getting me?"

Oh, I get her, alright, all too well. "Just tell me what you want me to do. There is no need for threats."

"I want you to make yourself available to our employers, operate the device, and manipulate the fracture. Do what you were supposed to do. What you promised us you could do. That is, before you fell in love."

The sarcasm is plenty detectable. She is mocking me. After how I've behaved, towards her and the other Sixers, it's no wonder she doesn't believe that I could feel true love. I even turned my back on my father, did my outmost to completely destroy him, so no wonder. Someone like me, someone who has had such hate inside of him and gone down such a path of destructive behavior, should not be where I am today. I know this and I know who I owe thanks. For the rest of my life, I will be thanking her.

Testing my boundaries, the limits of my power, I ask for I must regain an upper hand. "And then what?"

She signals her confusion and then voices it. "What do you mean?"

"If I do it all, what will I get? What's in it for me… for us... Skye and I?"

She huffs, moving closer to me, her muscular arms still folded. "You get to live, you and your equally untrustworthy girlfriend. That is what you get. Be glad that you…"

"What do you want, Lucas?"

The familiar voice comes from behind. It's a voice I have not heard in a long time. It belongs to a person who should be dead. Once in another time, he was killed when Josh's father executed Terra Nova's plan to blow up Hope Plaza. But now he's back, now he's here, and once again he is very much alive and a part of my life.

Weaver.

I turn and face him, not sure how to find him. After what I have done, after all that I have promised, I expect a raised gun pointed at my head. I certainly did not expect a wide smile and arms raised for an embrace.

Laughing, Weaver crushes me to his chest. "Lucas, I am so pleased to see you."

My arms hang at my side, startled and unsure of how to take his excitement. I betrayed him. I risked his chance of profit and glory. Why is he not angry? Why is he not resentful?

He extends me to arm length, appraising me, evaluating me. "So, what is this about falling in love? Eh?" He gives me a playful shake, similar to what you give an old dear friend who you have not seen for a long time. "In love! Who would have thought? Mira?"

He looks over my shoulder, which is still held captive by Weaver's claw like hand, at Mira who I am certain is answering with a scowling shake of her head. Amused, in a church Sunday pleasant kind of mood, Weaver chuckles and pulls me to his side while wrapping an arm around me. We begin to move towards another rover, his presumably.

"So, tell me, what do you want?"

I see no reason to not speak fully from my heart and brain. "I want full compensation and freedom for me… and for Skye. She is the reason behind all my reasoning; past, present, and future. Guarantee me a carefree life with her and I'll give you all my knowledge."

"Done!" Weaver seals and gives me a chummy squeeze at the shoulder. "There was never any need for all this theatrics, Lucas. You should have just asked to begin with. No need to run off to daddy and pretend to be someone you are not. You are not a settler or a pilgrim. You are a taker and a destroyer. Embrace that, Lucas. No shame in being a survivor and opportunist."

I force a smile, even though I'd rather punch him. Lucky for me, Skye is in a rover. If she would have heard, I would have to yet again explain and ensure. Or perhaps, I wouldn't have to but I would have wanted to. Just the mere thought of Skye doubting my change in persona makes me ill. I've almost lost her so many times. I refuse for there to be the slightest bit of chance ever again.

"When do we get started?"

"Such hurry," Weaver chuckles and a sensation of hate for him bubbles.

"Yeah well… Mira has locked my reason in a steaming hot rover so either we do this and get moving or… Mira needs to let her out."

My teeth are clenched as I am talking. Weaver has been nothing but accommodating yet I cannot act civilized. Skye is not by my side and whenever that happens, my temper seems to more easily spike. Skye has a calming effect on me. She controls and steadies me.

Weaver snaps a finger and Skye is soon at my side. Her shirt is soaked through with sweat and I glare at Mira, promising her a slow death with my eyes. Mira, cocky as ever, taps a middle finger on the revolver at her hip showcasing her current upper hand.

Current… much can change.

The next day, the harvesting begins and continues over the following. Skye and I accompany Weaver on all the excursions. Weaver is weak and scared, has been ever since I've known him. He is nothing like myself or my father. The simplest of bug puts him in a winy frenzy. How could I have stood by him, aided him willingly? How could I have ever handled being around him? He is so pathetic and unworthy of this place's riches.

"You're showing your anger," Skye tells me, the fear for my safety radiating through her eyes and trembling in her voice. Her fingers come around my neck, fingers lingering on my scars like they always do, and she leans in to whisper. "Don't let them see your anger. Hide it. Disguise it. Keep them believing."

I might be smarter but she is wiser.

"Yes, ma'am."

I enclose my lips on hers and with our kiss, open and untamed despite all our enemies looking on, I know for certainty that all will work out. How is still the throbbing question, the question that keeps me up at night as a naked Skye lays entwined by my side. Where my father is and what he is planning I do not know. There is no doubt in my mind that he is alive. No one will ever be able to kill off that old war bull. I have not dared to ask why Terra Nova has been left alone for the curiosity would not be viewed well. Wishful thinking has led me to the idea of defeat. Weaver and his mercenaries attacked Terra Nova and were defeated. If so, how strong is still my father's defense? Are they strong enough to come here, attack, and rescue us? If so, I will be ready.

A few more days pass and the first shipment is upon us. In the morning, the first riches will be shipped across and with my help. Once 2149 has gotten a taste of what this time line has to offer, the thirst will become unquenchable. They will go to any means to rip this land of all that it has. All will be destroyed, including the people that wish to make this land their home. I can't let that happen. I can't assist in the destruction of my new future.

"What can I do? How can I change things?" I mumble into Skye's soft hair.

An unconscious and imcomprehendable answer is all that I receive from my very own sleeping beauty. I sigh and pull her to me, hoping her closeness will at least bring me peace so that I can fall asleep. Nothing good has ever come of apnea. For tomorrow to turn in my favor, I need to be…

"Lucas. Lucas. Are you in there?"

Knowing who it is instantly, I quickly release myself from Skye's limbs and slide to the northeast corner of the tent. "Reynolds, what the hell? What are you doing here? Do you want to get killed?"

"Your father sent me," he whispers through the thin fabric of the tent, leaning so close that the lining moves.

"Well, of course he did. I didn't think you've come on a suicide mission on your own accord," I growl, quietly yet perfectly clearly. Nice kid this Reynolds, but not too bright. "Fuck," I curse, showcasing how I feel about my father's lack of care. If it wasn't for the risk of exposure, I would have been ecstatic about his sudden appearance. The problem is, if Reynolds is detected, we are all screwed, including Skye. "Well you're here so get on with it."

Following orders, not taking notice or not paying heed to my irritation, Reynolds leans in even further and begins to spell out my father's plan. By the time we have all the details worked out, which aren't many, camp is beginning to stir and so is Reynolds.

"No worries, I'm disguised to fit in," Reynolds ensures, just before he rises and the sound of his footsteps indicate his leaving.

Not convinced of his deceptive ninja skills, I remain still while listening for commotion. When the screams of awareness fail to echo through camp, I allow myself to sneak back into bed. Unable to fall asleep, my mind racing with the plan for tomorrow, I lay awake staring into the tent ceiling. The stars can just barely be seen still I can see their beauty. If tomorrow does not go as my father plans, today's beauty is bound to fade. It won't be long until here and now will be as ruined as 2149.

No way. I won't let this present become like that present. I've done too much, gone through too many obstacles to let that happen. I like my life now, the way it is, and no one is going to take that away from me. I'm Lucas Taylor; I make my own future and I get what I want. The best proof of this is Skye laying naked next to me. She used to despise me, several times, and yet she is mine!

I continue to go over the plan until my heart has almost convinced my mind that it is going to work. When Skye finally wakes up, I debate on telling her. I should tell her. It is only right that she should know yet I hesitate. I have learned to listen to my inner voice. It rarely tells lies and steer me wrongly.

The portal stands lonely and bare when we arrive. Its silver metal shines in the light of the sun. The portal used to be an obsession, an object I wished to possess and master. I believed it to be linked to my victory. Ultimately, by wielding its power, I would bring forth my father's destruction.

I was a fool, a clueless blind heartless fool who was unable to see past the one meaningless obsession to realization the one true obsession; Skye. I've never deemed obsession as a bad thing, as long as the object of your obsession is the right one. I will thank God till the day I die for all the events that made me see: meeting Skye, getting shot, the raptor attack on Skye, and us falling in love.

"Lucas! Stop daydreaming and open the damn portal!"

Charming as always, Mira yells out an order she has no authority to bark. I let it slide. Let's get on with it. There is no time like the present.

After ensuring myself one last time that Skye is close enough to me to be out of harm's way, I position myself behind the portal with device in hand. Rovers are lined up to enter through the portal and into 2149. On each side of the rovers, mercenaries and Sixers' stomp impatiently. They are itching to get paid. The rovers are all filled from top to bottom with profitable minerals. Little do they know, they are not getting paid today… or any other day.

I slide my fingers over the device and the portal awakens with an outward bulging shock wave. It is larger and more destructive then the one I brought forth on the Terra Novans. People and machines are tossed back, to the sides, and into each other. Smoke, cries, and terror mingle until there is only madness. Just then, to add to it, firing erupts all around us. Grabbing a hold of Skye, we duck into safety and watch as Terra Novans emerge out from the trees. One by one, the enemy falls dead, Mira being one of the first. Running towards me with arms stretched out pleading for my help, Weaver is brought down with two gun shots to his back. Skye never looks away. She never cowers. Instead, she pries the gun out of Weaver's frozen grip and takes aim. But there is no need. The battle is over.

Through the gun smoke, I see my father move towards us and we rise off the ground to meet him. "Dad," I nod, greeting him. "Quite the cluster fuck plan you've demised. Blow shit up and shoot everything that moves. Brilliant."

My old man yanks at the corner of his left lip. "A simple thank you will suffice, Lucas." He snatches Skye from me and gives her a bear hug, a father to daughter embrace. Skye returns his love with equal genuineness. "No need to admit I'm the master mind and not you."

I shake my head at him, grinning like I only do towards those I care about. "I was working on a plan, a plan better than this."

"Sure you were, son," my father mocks, laughing and the rest of Terra Nova joins in, including the love of my life.

I'm being laughed at, being made fun of, and oddly… I'm ok with it. "Dad…" I say and he observes me, expecting another sly comment. He is as unprepared as I am amazed. "Thanks, dad, for rescuing us. I owe you one."

He lets go off Skye and replaces her petite figure with mine. "Hell, son, anytime. Whenever you need a cluster fuck plan I'll be there for you! That's a promise!"

That hug, pledge, and giant leap for us Taylor men was the finale and over the next months we continue to grow closer. Hope Plaza has been shut down, blown up till nothing remains. It is safer that way. We can still control the fractures from both sides with the devices. All the power rests with us now so there will be no more surprises. At least until an equally brilliant person figures out how to engineer a device… which seems highly unlikely.

Little by little, my father learns of the Badlands and its secret fracture. When asking about the second device, Skye covers for me by exclaiming that I am a mad genius who can practically design anything with a roll of toilet paper and a paper clip.

God, I love that woman!

It makes sense what we have done. Terra Nova has been split in half with the Shannons' remaining and us starting a new colony in the Badlands. Washington has come with my father and a wedding is in the works. I think they're waiting… for us… for me. But before we can get married, before she can say yes, I have to propose. She wants her proposal to be unique, special, and that's what she'll get. She wants it done the Lucas Taylor way and I aim to please her, in every little way, now and forever.

"Where are we going?" She smiles as I lead her through the Badland portal. "Or, should I say when?"

"You'll see," I answer not willing to reveal anything. I want her to see, feel, and be overwhelmed with emotions. Just like I was when I saw for the first time.

We walk through the portal out to the other side, into the future of our time line. I lift a finger to my lips, urging her to stay quiet. Together, hand in hand as it should be, we walk through the greenery until the colony is visible. From a far, behind some sheltering trees, we stop and I pull out two binoculars from my backpack.

Excited, wide eyed and wide minded, Skye takes hers and brings it up to her face. "What am I looking for?" She giggles and peers down at the pilgrims below.

I bring my binoculars to my eyes and set my sights on a family of three. "Us," I tell her. "You are looking for us, the future us, the way we will soon be."

She sees and she freezes, her fingers locking the binocular into place like paralyzed. "Lucas… it's… it's us. And the child… the boy… is it..?"

Lowering the binocular, I laugh and cry, tears beginning to fall as I watch her face. "Yes, it's our son, our future son." I swallow, clearing my throat and preparing my voice. She lowers hers and her tear-filled eyes meet mine. "Skye, I want you in my life now and forever. You are my future… as you have just seen. I love you. Marry me."

She nods, frantically, her locks bouncing and her tears falling erratically around her. "Yes… yes… yes… forever yes. My future belongs to you. It has always belonged to you… Lucas Taylor."