EMP

"Are you sure you don't want me to come along?" Scott asks Maddy, who is getting in a jeep while helping a science team load everything they need up.

"Yes. If I want to know if this really is a job for me then I need to go out and experience it on my own. I won't have you as my personal bodyguard all my life." Maddy tells him, giving him a peck on his cheek while leaning out of the vehicle.

"You could if you asked." Scott mumbles, frowning concerned at Maddy leaving Terra Nova for 3 days to observe and evaluate results from one of the science outposts.

"It's only a couple of days. We'll be fine." Maddy insists.

"Alright. Just be careful." Scott says, patting the van which then takes off with her waving at him smiling.

"Hey! I wanted to wish her good luck." Jim complains, arriving with Zoey.

"Yeah well, you're late." Scott says teasingly and steps past him while ruffling the small girl's hair.

About an hour later Scott is lazing about in the command center, Jim is in a bunker holding their old world's database with Zoey and Elisabeth is treating one of Skye's friends for a parasitic worm living in his stomach when all of a sudden there is a loud bang, the earth shakes and everything electric has their electronic chips shot due to some kind of EMP.

"What was that?" Scott asks, seeing the screens around the base go black.

"We got hit by an shockwave and EMP." Taylor answers, heading out of the command center to check on Nova's citizens and their defenses.

"EMP? What does that do to an electronic door and a Jeep?" Scott asks unsettled, following after the man.

"The door will lock down and the jeep will break down." Taylor replies.

"Damn. You need to deal with this yourself this time." Scott says, hurrying over to his quad, thinking about grabbing his swords but decides against it and runs to the front gate without them.

"What's gotten into him? We need him if a dinosaur shows up." Taylor groans holding his forehead.

"Maddy Shannon accompanied a science team outside Nova an hour ago. They should still be in transit." Washington answers.

"Alright. I guess it's one less thing to worry about if he's got it handled." Taylor says, taking a deep breath and looks at the wooden gate.

"We need some kind of defences." He says and starts planning with Washington.

Meanwhile Maddy and the science team stop in the middle of the jungle about a third of the way to the outpost, but still 6 hours away from Nova by foot.

"What just happened?" Maddy asks, the group looking at their engine.

"There was some kind of Emp. Nothing is working." One of the scientists says.

"Great, so what now? How far is the outpost?" A female scientist asks.

"By foot? A day and a half out probably. There's some rough landscape ahead." The lead scientist says. They then hear rustling from a bush to their right.

"Do our guns still work?" The lone escort of the group asks, holding his rifle.

"No. They won't." The lead scientist answers.

"Alright, back in the truck again." The soldier tells them, looking at the bush unsettled.

"Yeah, good idea." the last of the four scientists agrees, the six of them getting back in the jeep and taking inventory.

"So, what do we do?" the female scientist asks unsettled, the group watching the bush to their right.

"I'd like to say I know what to do but that'd be a lie." the soldier says.

"Is there a way to send a signal back to Nova? They may not have been hit and won't know what happend." Maddy asks.

"Hmm, no I can't think of a way. We're too far out for a visual signal like a smoke sign or a flare." the lead scientist says.

"Great. So our chances are waiting here and risk getting attacked or never found or go back to Nova hoping we make it before nightfall." one of the two other scientists sighs.

"Looks that way." their boss agrees.

"How are we gonna do this? A vote or do we split up if we decide on different moves?" Maddy asks.

"Splitting up could increase our survivability." The soldier says.

"OK. Who wants to stay and wait?" The lead scientist asks, only Maddy raising her hand.

"Uhh, maybe we should stick together and you come with us?" the man suggests.

"I don't think it's a good idea to go out. Many of the dinosaurs here don't care about nightfall and hunt regardless of daytime." Maddy tells them.

"How do you know that?" The soldier asks.

"My boyfriend told me." Maddy replies.

"Right you're going out with the freak." The soldier says remembering their relationship.

"Don't call him that." Maddy says upset.

"OK listen everyone. I am still gonna take my chances and head back, anyone else of the same opinion feel free to join me." the lead scientist says, wanting to get a move on.

"Listen. We were supposed to be only gone for 3 days. If we wait it out people will come looking far sooner than we'd run out of water." Maddy tells them.

"Maybe, but we could get attacked before they come." The soldier says, hopping out of the car with the lead scientist and the three others follow them.

"I guess you won't change your mind?" The female scientist asks.

"No. Scott will come looking for us." Maddy says placing her trust in her boyfriend getting to them.

"Good luck to you then. If all goes well and we reach Nova we'll tell them to send a search party." the lead scientist tells Maddy and the five head out.

While the others are going back by foot Maddy locks the doors and uses whatever she can to strengthen them, only leaving the top hatch simply locked and not blocked by bars or tied closed with cables and zip ties.

"Now I just have to wait." Maddy says to herself nervously, sitting on the driver seat which she turned around facing the inside, having water and food reserves secured in a backpack next to her and a flashlight in her hand, fiddling around with it nervously.

|four hours later|

Maddy is still sitting in the car, only having slipped out to pee once and is now leaning back in the chair, holding the backpack with supplies close to herself while it's getting colder inside the car, the only reassuring fact being that it's quiet outside.

That changes however when she hears rustling of grass heading her way. Slipping down in her seat she tries to quietly escape detection if an animal were to look through the windows.

"Where is she? Please tell me she didn't go with those idiots and I missed her." Maddy hears Scott talk to himself, peering into the car with shining red eyes.

"Scott?!" Maddy shouts, shooting up and looking over to the window, seeing her boyfriend standing in front of the passenger side window, covered in dirt.

"Maddy. Thank god." Scott says relieved.

"The hatch." Maddy tells him pointing to the top of the car when Scott fails to be able to open the door.

Maddy opens the hatch and Scott drops into the car moments later, immediately getting hugged by a shaking Maddy.

"Relax Mads. I'm here now." Scott tells her soothingly, brushing through her hair.

"Thank you for proving me right." She says crying into his shirt.

"Thanks for being smart and giving me enough time to go find you." Scott replies.

"What about the others?" Maddy asks, breaking the hug and sitting down on her chair again, turning the passenger chair around as well so he can join her while Scott secures the top hatch again and removes her blockade on the back of the jeep.

"What are you doing?" She asks.

"We need an escape route if something happens and up is not reliable." Scott tells her before sitting down next to her on the other seat.

"the others?" She asks again.

"didn't make it far." Scott replies shaking his head.

"My god. I should've tried harder to stop them." Maddy says, pulling her knees to her chest.

"I'm sure you tried your best. And no one could know for certain which move was the right one." Scott says, kneeling down in front of her seat.

"Did you have to deal with situations like this a lot? Where you lost people?" Maddy asks crying a bit.

"Yeah." Scott answers honestly, pulling her off the chair and hugs her from behind, sitting with his legs spread and her sitting between them.

"Are we going to be OK?" Maddy asks worried, thinking about her family and how they would react if she died.

"Yes." Scott says, squeezing her arms while pulling her into his chest.

"What's the plan?" Maddy asks after a while of letting her boyfriend's presence calm her.

"For now we need to get warmer. Nights out here get cold around this time of year." Scott tells her, looking through the equipment they have in the car.

"How are we gonna do that? It's not like we can light a fire in here." Maddy asks.

"Actually we could but that's too risky. A lot of night predators have heat vision and would be attracted to us." Scott tells her.

"So what do we do?" Maddy asks.

"Take of your clothes." Scott tells her, pulling his shirt off his body.

"What?" She asks blushing embarrassed.

"Come on just trust me." Scott says, working on taking off his pants, while kicking off his shoes.

"Uh." She mumbles slowly working up her nerve to follow his lead while her eyes are roaming over his body, Scott now only wearing underpants.

"Maddy." Scott says gently, taking her shaking hands in his and rubs over them before unbuttoning her sleeveless jacket, pushing it off her shoulders once it's opened.

He then raises her hands up before pulling her shirt over her head while she's blushing up a storm, Scott staring at her half exposed body intensely before continuing, taking her shoes off and then steps close to her, breathing hotly in her ear while popping open her pants button and pulls down the zipper, pushing the pants off her legs slowly while staring into her eyes which look back at him in a mix of concern and passion.

"Sit down for a moment." Scott says, Maddy sitting down and Scott puts her shoes back on her feet before putting his on as well.

Once done with that Scott hops out of the back of the jeep only to return with a bunch of large leaves.

Lying a few on the floor in the jeep Scott puts the others onto the seating spot on the sides of the jeep.

Scott very loosely ties together their clothes and holds out his hand to her, Maddy accepting the hand shakily.

"Lie down." Scott says and Maddy nods, lying down on the leaves, Scott draping their clothes and a couple more leaves over her body, Maddy looking up at him gratefully.

Scott then joins her on the leaves, getting under the clothes blanket as well, scooting close to Maddy until they are directly pressed up against each other, Maddy instinctively reaching over his chest and lying her head on his arm and shoulder while he pulls their makeshift blanket closer to them.

"Sharing body heat?" Maddy asks relaxing against him.

"Yeah. I should be warm enough to keep you from getting cold." Scott tells her, wrapping one arm around the back of her shoulders, holding her close and making her feel secure.

"Thank you." Maddy thanks him placing butterfly kisses on his chest.

The two close their eyes and fall asleep in each other's arms soon after.