A/N: I was watching season 2 while writing an update for my other works when I just felt the need to rewrite a scene. Please enjoy!
Tom walked to his hotel room door ready to take of his uniform and crawl into bed and sleep for a month. Sadly he'd get about 6 hours before he had to get up and go to a morning briefing but at least he had a comfortable bed and a shower he could use for more than 3 minutes.
"Beat me to it."
Tom stopped and turned to see Rachel walk towards him. She was a vision of beauty in a black gown that slinked softly over her curves. Her long hair loose around her shoulders, her make up was light handed to the point it just enhanced the natural beauty that was already there. He always liked that about her, she was never caught up in her appearance.
He felt that undeniable pull of attraction in his stomach as she stopped a few steps away from him. He always disliked how he was attracted to her, it had felt like a betrayal to Darien even though he never acted on it. Even now it still felt like a betrayal but that feeling was slowly fading as he felt the betrayal came from not grieving his loss properly than being tempted.
"I was going to leave this under your door. Flying out first thing in the morning. I wanted to make sure you got the epidemiological models for the president." Rachel informed him as she held an envelope in her hand. Tom frowned as he didn't realise she would be leaving so soon.
"Where you going?" Tom asked, he didn't like how her leaving. Somehow it just didn't feel right as much as he'd mistreated her the last few weeks; she had been a constant in his world. He'd wanted the chance to make things right with her and in the perfect world ask her out if she was still available in a few months or however long it took for him to be comfortable with moving on. But it looked like he wasn't going to get it.
"First Lincoln, Nebraska... a fresh outbreak's been reported there, most likely immune dead-enders... then Toledo, Sioux Falls, then on west." Rachel said with a sad smile. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay, she wanted a small reprieve from her work to recuperate after the months of non stop work.
She had provided a cure and there were people who could easily go out into the field and collect samples to send back to the labs they had in St Louis. But Michener wanted her in the field. She felt it was his way of telling her to get lost. Why he wanted her out of his sight was beyond her but she couldn't deny the man as he was the new leader of America.
"So, the President ordered this?" He asked, he wondered if she was running away from him by choice or not.
"He did. He also included me in his pardon. Hence, no more guards." Rachel said with an amused smile.
"Mm-hmm." Tom said, he assumed Michener would pardon her, he also hadn't missed the wry exprssion when she said the President had given her orders. For some reason it gave him a sense of hope that they could salvage their relationship.
"We're not on the ship, so it's not really up to you anymore." Rachel added in a slightly teasing manner as she closed the space between them.
"No. It isn't." He said he couldn't help but smile as he was amused at how bold she was informing him of what he could and couldn't do. Her strength was something he found to be an attractive quality of hers.
"Well, I have to say, I'm slightly disappointed. I was kind of looking forward to seeing you squirm on the witness stand." She said with a chuckle.
"I would have stood by my decision."He told her truthfully as he stood his ground. They could argue about what she did to Neils until they were both blue in the face and he'd still say she was guilty of murder. It was for the right reasons but he still felt that she should of found another way.
"I would have counted on that." Rachel replied.
"But I would have given you a sterling character reference. Of course, you wouldn't have needed mine. You would have gotten 204 of those." Tom told her. Rachel smiled mistily as she was glad he wouldn't have backed down on his decision but that he'd also still support her.
After the last few weeks she found it hard to decipher where they stood. It was why she had printed the reports. She knew she could have handed them to at least half a dozen other people to get them to the President but she wanted to see him before she left.
Rachel extended the letter to him and Tom reached out and grasped the letter. He looked to her and noted how reticent she was to let it go.
"I'm sorry, Rachel." Tom said in a low voice. He didn't want to her to leave without apologising and it looked like now was the only time.
"For what?" Rachel asked looking a little confused. She knew once she let go of the letter it would end her reason for being in his sphere.
She looked at him and felt her heart skip a beat as she felt the attraction she had been ignoring flare brightly within her. It had dimmed somewhat when he'd arrested her for murdering Neils especially when he'd looked at her with such hatred and disgust. It quelled all hope for her but now as she stood before him she felt like maybe there was a chance to build something with him. The fact that he was apologising to her said a lot.
"I was incredibly harsh on you after what happened with Neils. I blamed you for my actions and decisions that I felt forced to make in the moment. It was wrong." Tom told her.
"So you wouldn't have arrested me?" Rachel asked him, wondering how much his judgement of her had changed. He gave her a sardonic smile and shook his head which was a strangely a relief for her.
"No, I still would have done that. But you're not accountable for the choices I made nor was any of it your fault. I've just been angry about this whole mission from the start. I was also angry at myself for having to make hard choices that didn't have favourable outcomes which I unfairly took it out on you. For that I apologise." Tom said sincerely.
He felt a weight lift off of him for not just apologising to her but for acknowledging his actions. He liked to see himself as an honorable man and he had hated how he shouted at her that day in the wardroom. For saying what he had when he had made the decision to continue the mission not her. He could have easily dropped her off at Norfolk and gone for his family but he made the decision for all of them to continue on. He knew it was no excuse but his grief for Darien had made him want to lash out and Rachel had been an easy target because she had kept the true mission a secret. She didn't have to conform to the Navy and it's rules and regulations, she was possibly the only person on the ship he had no real jurisdiction or control over.
"Thank you." Rachel said acknowledging his apology as it meant a lot to know that he didn't truly see her as a horrible person who put 'blood' on his hands. She released the letter from her hold and immediately hated how it signalled the end as he would be here while she went on west.
Silence passed between them as they both had a lot on their minds. She watched as Tom turned the letter in his hand and drank in every detail so later she could remember this moment. She gave a closed lip and made moves to leave when Tom spoke.
"Great dress, by the way." Tom said changing the topic. He also wanted them to finish on a better note, a happier note. He watched as Rachel scrunched her nose in a cute way and laughed uncomfortably at the compliment.
"The judge's daughter loaned it to me. She insisted that I couldn't really go to an inaugural ball dressed in jeans." She said as she smoothed a hand down the dress. It was not really her style. While the length was good, the top half of the dress was not to her taste but she wore it because she hadn't wanted to embarrass anyone.
"Mm. You could have pulled it off." Tom assured her, he couldn't help but smile at how charming her self-effacement was. She smiled and knew they were dragging out the inevitable.
"Well, I'll see you when I see you." She said to him, she couldn't quiet muster the strength to say goodbye without becoming too emotional.
"Be safe." He told her, she gave a nod and turned on her feet and started to walk away. She made it about two steps when Tom spoke up.
"When you get back..." He started, Rachel turned and looked at him, he could see the tears in her eyes. It seemed like he wasn't the only one who was struggling with their soon to be separation. "Find me." He told her, he didn't want to lose the potential of what could be between them.
Rachel eye's grew wide for a moment as she understood what he was saying. She gave him a brilliant smile and continued on her way. He tapped the letter in his hand and smiled to himself as he watched her walk away because while she said nothing, her smile told him everything he needed to know.