Taylor Style

It was a warm, beautiful morning, the day after returning to the colony. Jim Shannon wandered in the direction of the Command Center looking at the damage in the light of day. Spotting Guzman, Reilly and Wallace sitting together drinking coffee and eating a form of muffin, he veered in their direction. They looked tired, but happy with lots of laughing and good natured ribbing. He overheard Malcolm asking Reilly if the Commander would make five days without a heart attack.

"He thinks he can, that's all that matters," she laughed at her thoughts.

"What's up guys?" Starting another round of laughter as he sat.

"Hopefully Taylor," Guzman snorted and high fived Malcolm.

"What'd I miss?"

Malcolm slid a plexpad across the table at him.

Catching it before it hit his lap, Shannon keyed it on. The face of the Commander appeared, "Shannon, I got married last night, or rather this morning. I'm on my honeymoon for the next five days. Be back if I survive. You're in charge." The plexpad returned to its normal pink slate.

"Did he snap? Should we look for him?"

"He's taking the week off to rest and hopefully get laid," Reilly seemed certain the commander wasn't alone and unconcern was in her tone.

"Who'd he marry?" Shannon didn't know the Commander had a romantic interest. He seemed so upset that Wash got killed, naw, the Commander was covering up something else.

"He ordered us not to tell," Guzman offered.

"Malcolm, you're not military. What's going on?"

"Umm, I can't tell you."

"If I'm in charge, I'm ordering you to."

Malcolm stood. "I'm off to bed. It was a long night, bye all," he wandered off.

"Don't feel bad, Shannon. He treats Taylor the same way," Reilly stood as well.

"No he doesn't. He's never said NO to the Commander. So Taylor's taking some time off. Why didn't he just say so. It's not like he doesn't deserve it," Jim went to the Command Center with Guzman.

Jim Shannon wanted this so called wedding mystery solved by the time Taylor returned. He was certain it was code for something. Taylor probably went to the badlands or in search of his son, but why claim a marriage. 'Must be to throw me off the track.' Just to be safe, Shannon made the rounds of the colony checking age appropriate women's whereabouts. After three days, all were accounted for. Nobody knew anything about the whereabouts of the Commander, but everyone had a theory. Most involved the death of Washington. 'He is probably off grieving. He didn't have to make up a honeymoon story,' Shannon thought. Hopefully, in two days the Commander would be back like he said.

"Open the gate," Jim Shannon heard the call from his place behind the dinosaur head desk. At first he didn't respond thinking it a work detail, then remembered none had been sent out that morning. Getting up, he went to the balcony in time to see a rover shoot through the gate and slide to a stop near the bottom of the steps.

He watched Taylor get out and hurry to the passenger door.

"He's still alive," Reilly leaned over the rail next to him; a large smile adorned her face as she nudged his arm, "Look."

"Why's he being a gentleman, Holy Shit. Wash," Shannon called and ran at the same time. He didn't remember jumping down the steps, several at a time. "You're alive," he spun her around in his arms. Setting her down, he demanded, "Why aren't you dead?"

A crowd quickly gathered as Taylor pulled her against his side and let her explain. "I woke up in my quarters. Someone moved me after I got shot," the bruising still evident, but healing. Her skin was still yellowish around her left eye.

"Must have been the Phoenix soldiers. No one here knew she didn't die," Taylor added and shocked Shannon when he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Wait, you really got married?" Jim asked as his wife pushed in and gave Wash a hug.

Taylor took his wife's hand and led her up the steps and inside, followed by the Shannon's and officers.

"Reynolds," the Commander looked for him.

"Sir?" Mark stepped out from the pack.

"My advice, get married while you're still young enough for a honeymoon." He chuckled, "I almost didn't survive mine."

Mark grinned at the Shannon's, "Yes, sir."

"That's because you tried to act like you didn't have a knife wound," his bride pointed out one of his problems. "All you did for five days was lay on the bank of the river and fish." She looked around, "Marriage was a cover for a fishing trip," she drew laughs.

Jim Shannon shook his head, "Start from the beginning. We parted the night we got home, late. Got home in time to join the kids to watch the meteor shower. I come in the next morning, and you left me a message that you got married and went on a honeymoon? How'd you find Wash?"

"Instead of going home, I went to her place. Truthfully, I expected it to be empty. I was going to spend some time surrounded by her things. I heard water running and went to investigate. I found her in the shower, checked out the merchandise and bought it, on the spot," he nodded, satisfied he got it right.

"He scared me to death, throwing the shower door open, I didn't know you came back." Wash added.

"I convinced her she would be better off marrying me as soon as possible."

"We didn't waste any time, did we?" She smirked up at the Commander.

"Rounded up Malcolm to perform the wedding and got Guzman and Reilly for witnesses. You guys get Wash's things moved to my place?"

His officer's nodded affirmative and Guzman answered, "After you went OTG, Malcom, Reilly and I stayed up and got all her stuff in your living room. Left it for you guys to sort through."

"Got it done before anyone got up," Malcolm added as he entered carrying a box. "Taylor came banging on my door right after I got to sleep."

"Yeah, he did the same to me and told me to get Reilly," Guzman added.

Malcolm placed the box on the desk and opened the top. Reaching inside, he pulled out a display of a dozen wedding rings. Everyone gathered around with exclamations of surprise and awe. "Pick something for her, Commander."

Taylor pulled Wash to him from behind and with a comfortable motion wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, "See anything you like?"

"Are these standard rings, Malcolm?" She asked while picking each set up and examining them.

"These are the ones I made molds for. I can mass produce these."

Taylor reached around her and picked a set off the peg and Alicia did the same to another set, "Thinking what I am?"

"Ummm huh," she handed her set to Malcolm and the Commander did the same with his.

"Can you combine this style with that pattern?" Taylor spoke for them.

"I can," Malcolm agreed.

The Commander had chosen a thick yellow gold plain band with a raised, curved center, making it thicker than the other's, and his bride a flat beveled design of diamonds linked end to end, but on a band neither particularly cared for.

Taylor put all four rings on one peg so Malcolm wouldn't screw up. "Destroy the molds after ours."

"Will do."

"What happened while I was gone, Shannon?" Taylor motioned for his soldiers to leave.

"Lots of repairs, no sign of enemies."

"Wash, come with me, I want to hear more on your survival and wedding," Elizabeth tried guiding her from the room.

"No you don't, Doctor. I need her here," Taylor grabbed his wife's gloved hand.

"I need to examine her, Commander," a battle of wills was forming.

"I've checked her out, repeatedly, she's fine."

"She needs to be scanned. I can't believe you took off with her like that. She could have been seriously hurt, and you were in no shape to leave either," she didn't back down.

"I've seen her hurt a lot worse and she me. What you want has nothing to do with medicine."

"Anyone want to see the wedding vids?" Wash broke in holding her plexpad as the Shannon's crowded to her, Taylor forgotten. "I was pretty drugged. Let's see what I said 'I do' to," she unlocked her pad.

The screen came to life in Washington's quarters. It was aimed across her living room where Corporal's Reilly and Guzman both in camo fatigues were looking at Washington and Taylor dressed identically in black leather jackets with their armor and fingerless gloves in place, which in turn were looking at a disheveled Malcolm Wallace. Malcolm's back was to the pad's optic eye.

Malcolm: "You sure this is what you want, Wash? Tonight?"

Wash: "I've been waiting for him to marry me for ten years. I'm not giving him a chance to back out now."

Malcolm: "I'm not marrying you two until I know you're both in your right mind. Wash, you got shot in the head. You look like hell. What did you take for painkiller?"

Wash: "Codeine, straight up, and Nathaniel and I toasted our engagement with a shot of brandy. Satisfied?"

Malcolm: "Engagement? Taylor, when did you propose?"

Taylor: "What time is it?"

Malcolm: "O one hundred hours."

Taylor: "I asked her to marry me right before twenty four hundred hours, technically yesterday."

Malcolm: "You told me you showed up here at twenty two hundred. It took you two hours to propose? What took so long?"

Taylor: "Well, ummm, I, uhhhh."

Wash: "He was looking under the hood."

Reilly and Guzman: "Ha,ha,ha"

Malcolm: "Guess you have to marry her now."

Taylor: "Get on with it Malcolm."

Malcolm: "We are gathered here tonight, or this morning, or whenever, to join Nathaniel Taylor and Alicia Washington in matrimony. You sure this is how you want to get married, Wash?"

Wash: "Is this where I say I do?"

Taylor: "No, you haven't agreed to obey me yet."

Wash: "In your dreams, Taylor."

Malcolm: "Ummm, where's my place. Here it is. Nathaniel do you pledge to uphold the duties of a husband and head of the household, love Alicia unconditionally, keep her in sickness and health and…"

Taylor: "I think marrying someone who just got her brains scrambled is proof enough. I'll take her as she is. I DO."

Wash: "That was nice, Nathaniel."

Malcolm: "We're not to the kissing part yet, stop that."

Taylor: "Spoilsport."

Malcolm: "Alicia, do you promise to be a companion to Nathaniel Taylor, love him unconditionally, and support him in all he does, in sickness and health and in…"

Wash: "I DO. Unless he leaves me behind in a battle again, then his injuries will come directly from me."

Malcolm: "Looks like we have a couple I do's here, so with the powers you gave me Commander, I pronounce you husband and wife. And as we all can see and I don't have to tell you, you can keep kissing your bride and resume your honeymoon preferably OTG and away from young children. Come on you two, come up for air. You have to sign the register.

"Just like my drug induced mind remembered," Wash leaned against the Commander and both were beaming.

"All weddings should be like that, Jim," Taylor approved. "Wash, be sure and show this to Reynolds."

"Is that a legal wedding, Commander?" Jim wasn't so sure.

Taylor responded for them, "As long as we've agreed and were somewhat in our right minds. We've both seen soldiers drunk off their ass get hitched. We did better than that." Alicia nodded with her new husband.

"The signing is the sealer," she included. "And, we had witnesses."

"Doesn't change anything, I still want to check you both out, especially after seeing that," Elizabeth was firm.

"Let's get it over with Wash. We have to unpack you yet."

Reynolds came up as they were passing by the rover, "Sir, want me to take your bags home?"

Taylor stopped, "Bags?"

"You know, your clothes and such."

Taylor grinned at his wife, and she in turn at Mark, "What did I teach you about courting a woman, Soldier?" Taylor prompted him to repeat his instructions.

"To ask her father, to do something she wants, to be a gentleman, Umm," Reynolds tried to remember.

"Very good. That's the right way to court a woman. Now let's forward to the wedding. A young man like yourself should present himself clean, properly attired, be respectful to the parents and guest; show that you love your bride."

"Yes, Sir," Reynolds wasn't thrilled that the Shannon's were listening in and seemed to be enjoying themselves at his expense.

"And then, I usually give enough time off for my Soldiers to have a proper honeymoon," he watched Reynolds color up. "If one of my Soldiers ever comes back with more than a beach towel, I'm sending him right back on a honeymoon, with an instructor. Because if you have to take clothes, there's something else you didn't do right also." Laughing he reached into the back of the rover and pulled out a backpack. Opening it, he pulled a towel partly out. "We have towels, Wash's feminine things, toothbrushes, etcetera and the most important..." He pulled out two empty bottles and handed them to Reynolds, "Take these to Boylan for a refill. Tell him it's for me and put the good stuff in or I'll burn his bar down, got it?"

"Yes Sir," he hurried off, glad to be away from the snickering older people.

"I want a repeat of our honeymoon," Wash laid down on the bed for her head scan.

"I don't. Next time we honeymoon, I don't want us too battered to do more than take painkiller and sleep."

"That's what I meant. We can do better than we did."

"At least when you said not tonight, I have a headache, I believed you," he laughed.

"I cannot believe you two are in love with each other," Dr. Shannon had a sickening feeling that when Wash so quickly agreed to be a decoy for her family, they would have ruined something very special between these two. She wanted to ask Washington lots of questions and if Taylor didn't leave soon she was just going to ask.

"We are Doc. Have been for lots of years. I was going to ask Wash to marry me after the eleventh, and I did."

"I never saw you pursue her, Taylor."

"You never went OTG with us. Your husband did. He never mentioned what he saw?"

She whirled on her husband, "Jim?"

"I'm thinking. Um, I saw Wash with the Commander when we tried to trap Skye. Come to think of it, Wash, you weren't dressed for battle, why?"

"You had the Sixers outnumbered three to one. I was just keeping the Commander company. Remember we lagged behind while everyone returned to the colony?"

"I didn't think anything about it at the time. I don't want to know what you were doing do I?"

She smiled and shook her head, "We do things a little differently than most, but it works for us."

"When did you come to after being shot?" Jim asked that one.

"Not long before the Commander barged into my shower. My hands had been freed and I was laying on the floor just inside the front door. The soldiers were probably told to get me out of Lucas' sight after he screwed up his kill. My head was pounding so I took Codeine drank a ton of water and ate a little. I was going to hide out because I thought they were still here. I was a mess so went and took a shower. He," she pointed to her husband, "almost scared me to death." She looked at him, "You usually talk a lot more than me. Why so quiet?"

He took her hand, "I'm not trying to win you anymore. Rules have changed. Now I am free to show you how much I love you. One kiss in place of a thousand words. How's my wife's head?" He directed to Dr. Shannon.

"She's fine. Let me check you," she patted the bed after he helped his wife up. "Healing. You both must have taken it easy," she observed.

"Easy for us would kill a normal person. Mrs. Taylor, let's go home."

The End