Title: Present Delay

Category: Terra Nova

Ship: Maddy/Mark

Genre: Romance/Fluff

Rated: PG

Word: 2662

Summary: Maddy's about to give Mark the greatest Christmas present he will ever receive, that is, if he ever gets home from the routine patrol that should have ended four hours ago.

A/N Set a few years in the future, that's why Mark is a sergeant.

For the Terra Nova Fic Battle Challenge (link to the battle on my profile)

Thanks to Emma my awesome beta, feel better hon!

… … …

The worse time, Mark Reynolds decided, for a rover to breakdown was at night, five miles away from Terra Nova on the first Christmas Eve he was supposed to spend with his wife. He and Corporal Collins along with one of the electricians had gone out on a routine patrol of Outpost Five whose electrical wirings had been problematic. What should have taken the electrician an hour, two tops, had tripled; so, of course, because that wasn't bad enough, after running four hours behind, their rover died out on them with apparently no way to fix it.

"Phillip could you stop fiddling around in there and tell us if you're going to get this piece of crap up and running or do we have to start walking?" Mark asked with a sour look, annoyed with the old man who had his head deep in the engine for the last forty minutes and every once in a while, grumbled about keeping the flashlight steady or muttered an obscenity. "I actually have a life you know."

Corporal Jacob Collins let out a chuckle; he was tired and aggravated, too, but nowhere near what Mark was. While Collins probably had plans to go out drinking with some of the other soldiers in celebration of the day before heading back to the barracks, Mark had a warm home with a warm and lovely wife to get to.

"What the Sergeant means is he needs to get his ass home before his wife gets pissed because he would miss Christmas Eve," Collin continued, his words insubordinate but without any real disrespect, just amusement. Mark let it pass without comment mostly because he feared the soldier was right. Maddy had repeatedly asked if he would be home in time for them to have Christmas dinner and he had repeatedly promised her he would. They've been married ten months now and while it wasn't their first Christmas together, it was their first as husband and wife and their first one alone. His in-laws had invited them over for dinner earlier in the week only to be turned down quickly by Maddy, who with a mysterious smile, had told her parents that they would come over for breakfast but that her present for him involved them alone.

He remembered the embarrassing and uncomfortable conversation that had followed when his father-in-law, Jim Shannon, had mistakenly asked what the present was only to have his mother-in-law tease about what he thought he and Maddy did when they were alone that he would consider a gift. It had been amusing to watch Jim, the tough sheriff, turn pale and then green at the comment while their wives laughed at his reaction. Maddy turning slightly pink, much to his enjoyment. The situation had lost some of its humor, though, when the older man recovered and leveled him with a mean glare. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under and to think he'd been making headway over the years with the older man only to have the reminder of all the things he did to Maddy on a nightly basis to send him back to being called 'Reynolds' with nasty looks. If his father-in-law only knew how often he and Maddy made love, the man would probably unload his gun on him. While the notion made him want to let an unmanly shudder, the previous thought only urged him on. It was time to get home, now.

"Phillip, walk or not, time to decide man."

The man glared at the rover as if it had personally insulted him by not working before he slammed the hood, turning to him. He gave him the closest to an apologetic look as he was going to get. "Walk, Reynolds. We walk."

Mark rolled his eyes, pulling his pack and weapon out of the rover while telling Collins to inform Command of their latest situation. It was late but they were lucky that it was a clear night and the area they were in wasn't tense jungle. If they busted hump, they could make it to the gate in an hour and, hopefully, before midnight.

"Lt. Washington has marked our position and has told the gate to keep an eye out for us." Collins called out as they walked down the trail at the hard pace he set. "She would also like for me to inform you that your wife stopped by."

Mark sighed, walking even faster. Knowing Maddy, she was likely climbing the walls. She always worried when he was OTG but over the last couple of days, she had been anxious about him leaving, even before the routine check had turned into the trip from hell.

By the time they made it to the gate, they were all winded from the pace he had kept them at. The Corporal was respectfully quiet even while sweat run down his face, but Phillip was openly glaring at him, grumbling about not being young anymore and how he was trying to give him a heart attack. He dismissed the comments and the men as they made it into the colony and moved up the Command Center where he knew the Commander and Lt. Washington were waiting for him. The faster he reported to his CO's, the faster he could get home.

Like predicted, he found them in the Commander's office. There was a bottle of liquor and a set of glasses on the table that told him that they were celebrating the day in their own way. "Sirs."

Wash who had her back to the door turned to him. Mark, tired as he was, had smiles. He never saw his CO so relaxed, her cheeks flushed from the hard liquor she and the Commander were consuming. "Reynolds, welcome back."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

Commander Taylor looked at him; his own eyes a little glazed, leaving Mark to realize they had been at it for a while. "Report."

"We fixed the electrical problem at Outpost Five: some chewed wire and malfunctioning equipment. On the way back, our rover died, Phillip tried to fix it but nothing. He said he needs tools he has here, we stripped it from its power cells and marked where we left it, it's not going anywhere until tomorrow when we get out there, Sir."

"Good." Taylor nodded.

"If that's all, Sirs…."

Wash let out a chuckle, rolling her eyes at him. "Go, Maddy was by here earlier fretting about you being OTG after dark and not being home for Christmas. Seems your wife has plans for you tonight."

Mark blushed as the Commander snorted at the comment. "Thank you." He answered, not responding to the joke at his expense. "Merry Christmas… Lieutenant, Commander."

They returned the sentiment, going back to their drinking. As he closed the door, he watched as the Commander poured once again, smiling as the Lieutenant laughed loudly at something he whispered to her.

… … …

The lights of the kitchen and living area were on when he got home, but the house was completely silent. He sighed as he found two plates on the decorated table. She went all out; the house that he left in the morning was completely different now, decked out in red and white. Little paper snowflakes hang all over the house and he knew his sister-in-law helped in that art project. Putting away his gear, he opened the bedroom door quietly, unsurprised when he found Maddy curled on her side of the bed completely asleep. Between working under Dr. Wallace and volunteering at the school, his wife had been calling it early nights, more tired than usual, in fact, if it continued he was going to insist on having her mother check her out. Her fatigue was starting to worry him.

Closing the door again, he headed into the bathroom. No point in waking her up now when really he wanted nothing more than to take a shower before crawling into bed next to her. He managed not to let out a yelp when the cold water hit him. In the ten months of marriage, he learned to accept that he'll never have a warm shower if his wife takes one before him. Cleaning up quickly, he was in and out in less than fifteen minutes before the water got to be too much. Pulling on bottoms, he did not bother with a shirt. Back in their bedroom, he found that Maddy had rolled on to her back and kicked off the covers. For a girl who loved her water hot, she wasn't a fan of blankets.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, he looked down at his wife—her luscious black hair spread out on the pillow, her long lashes resting against her cheeks, her pink lips parted slightly as she breathes. He loved moments like this when he can just look at her, amazed that this beautiful perfect woman was actually his. His hand reached out, his fingertips running down her cheek.

"You're late, husband." She murmured, her eyes still closed but a small smile crossing her face as he leaned down and pressed a kiss where his fingers had just touch.

He grinned down at her as her brown eyes opened and she looked up at him with a pout. "I'm sorry, wife."

"Hmm," she hums as she sat up, her arms around his neck as she pressed herself close, her fingertips drawing circles on his bare back. "You better be… I had a great evening planned."

He pulled her even closer onto his lap, kissing her as he spoke. "I'm sorry, everything that could go wrong went wrong, work took longer, then rover broke down…"

"I know, Alicia told me." She answered, her lips trailing from the corner of his mouth down his neck slowly. "It's okay."

Mark closed his eyes as her tongue ran over his Adam's apple, his hands clenching the shirt she wore which was one of his. "So, I'm forgiven?" His voice hoarse.

She giggled in his ear as her teeth nibbled on his lobe. "No, but I could be convinced."

He grinned at her teasing words, laughing when she let out a shout as he palmed her bottom, pushing her off his lap to quickly cover her with his body as he laid them down. "I get you to forgive me, and then, you work on me forgiving you for using all the warm water, again."

The cheeky grin on her beautiful face, along with her hand heading south, caused his stomach to clench with want. "Do we need to warm you up, Mr. Reynolds?"

His mouth dried as her hand closed around him, her strokes teasingly slow. "Warming up doesn't seem to be the problem at this moment, Mrs. Reynolds."

"No?" She asked innocently. "Perhaps it's the opposite then… over-heating, might be a medical condition, tests might need to be involved."

He laughed at her smart-alecky answer. Rolling over, he pulled her on top, his hands getting rid of the shirt covering her body. He let out a sound of appreciation at her nakedness, enjoying the faint blush that spread over her body as he hungrily looked her over. He loved that he can still make her blush. "I ever tell you that that it gets me hot when you start with your science?"

She nodded, leaning down to lay kisses across his chest. "You have, it makes you a man of weird passions and luckily perfect for me."

He held her face in his palms, sharing a lingering kiss. "Agreed, now we were working on mutual forgiveness?"

He grinned against her lips as she let out an amused laugh of her own.

… … …

Light streamed into their bedroom, hitting him in the face. Covering his eyes with his forearm, he reached out across the bed only to find it empty.

"Hmm, Maddy?" He called out, quieting when he heard movement outside their bedroom. He didn't have to wait long before she walked back in, back in the shirt he had discarded the night before, carrying two mugs and a small package.

Smiling widely at him, she handed him a cup with coffee. "Merry Christmas, husband."

"Merry Christmas, wife." Accepting the coffee, he reached out carefully to not spill his cup or hers. He kissed her tenderly before bringing the cup to his lips. "Mmm, good coffee."

"Wouldn't know." Maddy shrugged her shoulder, taking a sip of her own cup. "I have tea."

Mark frowned with a confused smile on his face, Maddy loved coffee.

"Anyway," Maddy started with a bright smile on her face, "Presents… now."

Mark laughed at the excited childlike way his wife spoke. "You sound like Zo."

"You should have seen her yesterday!" Maddy laughed. "She asked me to help her wrap her presents, but made me close my eyes when it came to ours."

"That must have made it easy." He joked as he got up from the bed and went over to the closet pulling out a small package. Coming back to the bed, he shook his head, giving Maddy a loving look as she bounced on the bed. "You want to go first or should I."

Maddy extended her hand, wiggling her fingers playfully. "Give me presents."

Handing the package over, he chuckled as she ripped into it. He watched as she pulled out a delicate chain with a small square at the end, not so different from the one he wore around his neck at all times.

"My own tags?" Maddy asked, pressing a small button, letting out a sigh as the first picture appeared, one of their wedding day. "Mark..."

"I carry you with me." He spoke softly, caressing the side of her face as she gave him a teary smile as he pointed at his own tags. "I thought maybe you would want to also."

He smiled against her lips as she kissed him softly. "You are too romantic for your own good."

"Yeah." He smirked. "I hear woman complaining about that all the time, too romantic men."

Maddy huffed a small smile on her lips. "I just don't know how I'm going to handle this if every sweet thing you do is going to make me weepy."

Mark raised an eyebrow at the comment that seemed more directed at her than him. "Handle what?"

Maddy shook her head, handing over her present. "Here… open it, I knitted it myself."

Mark gave her one final look before opening her present. Pulling back, he found a snowy white knit sweater that probably couldn't fit both his hands. "Ah…it's really nice, but I think it's a little small." He said with a grin, but completely confused as he held it up.

"It will fit perfectly." Maddy said as she stood up and took the tiny sweater. Standing in front of him, she lifted her shirt to show her stomach and placed the sweater over it. "See, it will fit perfectly, in about eight months."

Mark stared at her in wonder, her actions and the worried look on her face excitedly told him what her words hadn't yet.

"Mark?" She questioned quietly.

"You're…" He swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his ears as he looked back at the sweater over her flat stomach. It wouldn't be flat for long. "You're…"

"I was feeling tired and queasy." Maddy rushed to explain, her words hurried. "So, I went to my mom and she ran tests, they came back positive, I'm…"

"Pregnant." He finished for her with awe in his voice, his hand touching her stomach.

Maddy shot him a worried look. "Merry Christmas?"

Mark laughed at the words, standing up quickly, his arms circling her waist as he laid kisses on any piece of skin he could find.

Maddy let out a breathless laugh, smiling brighter than he had ever seen. "You like your present?"

He pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms. "Best present ever!"