Thanks Vicky for betaing again!

Whatever is broken we can fix it, her own words still echoed through her head as she randomly flipped through the pages of Vellek's notebook, trying to make sense of the doctor's recordings. Even though she was determined to stay focused on the mission at hands her mind kept on drifting back to the moment Tom had taken her hand in the mess.

Before I left, you told me that whatever is broken, we can fix it and you were right. You were right then and you're right now, she heard his voice echoing through her head.

But what if I wasn't right?

What if we can't fix it in time?

What if we can't find Vellek and his lab?

What if we find him when it's already too late to make the crops we need?

What if he doesn't want to cooperate and we can't make the crops?

She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if their mission would fail while she stared at a page full of chemical and biological formulas.

If James were here … maybe he would be able to…, she thought to herself but quickly dismissed the thought as she realized where it would lead her if she would allow herself to wallow in her emotions.

"Don't, Cooper!" Sasha hissed at herself, pressing her hands into her face while she took a deep breath in order to stop herself from thinking about James Fletcher and and his betrayal, of both her and the crew

You don't want to go there, you're not going to let your emotions take over, she took a shaky reath, trying to block out the memories of her time with Fletcher.

"Get back to work." She ordered herself as she reached for the notebook when she suddenly heard a soft knock on her cabin door. Glancing at her watch Sasha realized that it was almost midnight, so she figured that the only reason that someone would bother her so late would be to tell her they'd finally managed to crack the encryption of Vellek's data

"Come in!" Sasha called, turning her head towards the door just in time Tom Chandler step into the room

"Tom?" She asked a little surprised to see him this late.

"I happened to stop by the wardroom and saw something that apparently belongs to you." He explained quickly while he shot the door with hand while he perfectly balanced the tray with his other hand. "You should eat." He added firmly while he walked over to her desk, ignoring the various notebooks and notes as he placed the tray right in front of her.

"You can have it" Sasha quickly dismissed his offer, while she took the tray and placed it on to the other side of her desk. "Or ask someone from the crew or the refugees. Lord knows they deserve it more than I do." She replied while Tom walked around her to other side of her desk, leaning against it as she turned around to face him.

"Sasha…" he sighed, realizing that this wouldn't go as easily as he had imagined it would be, even though he knew how stubborn she could be.

"What, Tom?" she asked, her tone a little harsher than she had intended to as she glared at him.

"STOP punishing yourself for Fletcher's actions." Tom simply told her as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"This isn't punishment for anything, Tom. I just don't see why I should allow myself to take a few minutes and eat while the rest of the world is starving…" she trailed off while, lowing her head as her eyes scanned over the notebooks again. "…. because I let Fletcher jump off the ship with the seeds."

She whispered, hoping that Tom hadn't heard her as her mind once again decided to torture her with the memory of her failure.

"It's not your fault and you know it. We trusted him, the crew trusted him. So stop punishing yourself for god's sake. We need you to finish this mission and what good are you going to be if you starve yourself, because of a single mistake the whole crew made?" Tom shot back.

"One mistake I made, that had ultimately cost us the seeds and the end of this god damn mission." She corrected him stubbornly, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she looked up at him again.

"Fine, but still it doesn't change a thing. It isn't your fault. Do you want to help the people, those refugees out there?" Tom asked pointing at the door. "You want to get those seeds back and kick Fletcher's ass for what he had done? Then start to save yourself and eat for god's sake, Sasha! I need you to be at your best to finish this mission." Tom told her, pushing himself away from her desk as pulled the tray back to stand right in front of her.

"By the way, I know that you will love the little extra I got for you once you have finished your meal." Tom added before he leaned down and placed a soft kiss onto her cheek, inhaling her sweet scent of vanilla as he allowed himself to pause for a moment. "Enjoy your dinner. You deserve it." He murmured against her skin, causing her to shiver slightly as she couldn't help but enjoy the moment, before Tom got up and wordlessly left her alone with her thoughts.

For a moment Sasha simply stared at the tray in front of her as if she was trying to figure out what his little extra would be. Probably nothing because he wants you to eat, Sasha thought as she took a deep breath in order to get rid of the warm feeling that Tom had caused and somehow was still coursing through her body as she removed the lid.

See, nothing special, Sasha told herself feeling a little disappointed when she noticed that it was exactly the same menu she had seen before in the mess, but then she noticed a tiny piece of neatly folded paper sticking between her apple and the plate. For a few seconds Sasha eyed it suspiciously, before her curiosity took over and she picked it up. Noticing that something was wrapped inside the paper, she carefully unfolded it before she gasped in surprise.

What the… How did he… Where did he find that? She wondered when she spotted a small piece of chocolate.

Tom Chandler, shaking her head with a soft smile on her lips as she noticed that there was although a note on the paper. Carefully Sasha picked up her piece of pure tasty heaven and placed it on the tray before she unfolded the rest of the paper.

It's not much, but I know that it will make you smile.

Never give up hope, because we will fix this together!

- Tom

"We will, Tom." Sasha whispered with a smile on her lips. "Thank you." She added and then she picked up her fork and finally allowed herself to eat again.

Minutes later, Sasha had finished her meal and was savouring the chocolate Tom had brought her. She suddenly started to wonder where he got it from, because she knew that there wasn't any chocolate left on the ship. She knew that she shouldn't ask where he got it from, that she should simply appreciate his gesture, thank him and move on, but somehow, she couldn't stop herself from wondering.

So, without thinking about her actions and what kind of trouble they could bring Sasha got up from her chair and headed out of her cabin. Luckily the p-ways were empty around midnight as she walked towards Tom's cabin. She just reached the bottom when her common sense suddenly kicked in and she realized that this was wrong.

What the hell am I even doing here? She asked herself, when she had reached his door. You can thank him tomorrow when you see him again, not in the middle of the night. He will think…, Sasha didn't manage to finish her thoughts because the next thing she knew she was knocking on his door.

"Come in." She heard his muffled voice through the door, knowing that it was too late to leave Sasha pushed the door open.

"Sasha, is everything ok?" Tom asked, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was shirtless, wearing just a pair of black sweatpants as he was about to get to bed

"Yeah, uhm…. great! Actually, I was… uhm…" Sasha stumbled over her words as she had to force herself to meet his gaze, because her eyes kept on zeroing on his bare chest.

How the hell was I able to forget how ripped he is, she wondered as she couldn't stop herself from gazing up and down his firm chest, gorgeously defined abs . Delicious, Sasha thought to herself.

"Uhm, I was just stopping by to… uhm, thank you for the chocolate." She added, once again forcing her eyes to meet his. "Your welcome." He shrugged with a grin on his lips, noticing that Sasha was obviously struggling to hold his gaze. "Do you want me to put my shirt back on or…?"

"No" she shook her head, blushing a little as she realized that he had caught her checking him out. "I've seen worse and by the way it's nothing that I haven't seen before." She told him while she leant back against the sink, crossing her arms over her chest in an effort to regain control. Her hands itched to reach out and touch him, run her fingers through his silver locks, even though she knew it was all kinds of stupid right now.

"True." Tom shrugged as he ran his hand through his hair. "So, is there anything else you wanted to say?" He asked after a few minutes of silence had passed.

"Actually, I wanted to apologize again for what I'd said earlier. You didn't deserve it and I certainly shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Sasha, I deserved..." Tom tried to tell her again that he in fact deserved her little outburst earlier.

"No, Tom. You didn't. But I was angry with myself for losing control. If it wouldn't have been for you I probably would've pulled the trigger. And then the way James betrayed me it reminded me…" Sasha trailed off as she lowered her head, leaving his gaze as she took a deep breath. "It reminded me of when you walked off the ship and…" She took another deep breath before she finally looked up to meet his gaze again. "…and left me."

"Sasha" He exhaled as he took a step towards her. "I know how feel and I know how you would've felt if you would've pulled that trigger. And honestly as much as I want revenge and justice for him killing a friend of mine I don't want you to go through the things I've been through for what I did on the plane 16 months ago." He told her while he took another step towards her. "I'm sorry that I left and that I never contact you. But I needed that time off, the kids needed me and I was in no state to lead after what happened." Tom explained as he held her gaze, hoping that she would understand where he was coming from, but again she remained silent as stared into his eyes.

"You know, when you kissed me goodbye I was hoping that our kiss would change your mind and you would stay, because… I don't know…" she shrugged. "It didn't feel like a goodbye to me" Sasha pressed her lips into a thin line as her mind took her back to that damn moment 16 months ago. "And when you left it felt like you'd died and had taken a part of me with you… it broke my heart." She admitted, unfolding her arms while Tom took another step towards her.

"I never meant to hurt you I'm sorry, Sasha." Tom replied, holding her gaze while Sasha made the last step and closed the gap between them as she reached up and simply wrapped her arms around his neck.

Instinctively Tom wrapped his arms around her waist, placing his hand on the low of her back as he pulled her against his body. Not leaving her gaze he watched her biting her bottom lip before he finally leant down and softy brushed his lips over hers before he gently nipped at her bottom lip, asking for her permission to go further.

cliffhanger ;) As always reviews, likes and follows are always appreciated!