Author's note: So, this was mainly started because webbieafan on tumblr prompted me to write some missing scenes and/ or back story for pretty much all of Season 1. The main point of it was to see the build-up in the relationship/tension between Tom and Rachel; little snippets of conversations and scenes that we didn't see on screen and the like :) So this will be a set of one-shots that will obviously link together, but will be completed with each one. So it's a WIP but not a WIP if that makes sense :D
I've got a few scenes already written out, so I'll try and update as often as possible for you guys!
If you have any ideas for missing scenes you want to see, feel free to send them my way. Please bear in mind that I'm going to keep this canon-compliant as much as I can, so there'll be no major romance between the two of them at this moment in time ;)
Let me know what you think, I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter summary: "Rachel hates lying to the crew, to the Captain, sneaking around behind their backs, denying them the information that they would so desperately crave if they knew the truth."
Chapter timeline: Episode 1 - Phase Six (set between the departure from Norfolk and the attack by the Russians)
She doesn't really give a second thought to Captain Thomas Chandler and the crew of the Nathan James after they leave the harbor at Norfolk. Rachel's attention is focused solely on the cure, on finding a way to solve the puzzle of the virus and to hopefully saving humanity before it's completely eradicated.
She works every day with Quincy, desperately seeking the primordial strain, tracking the flight patterns of the Arctic Terns and constantly praying that luck will eventually turn in their favor. Rachel hates lying to the crew, to the Captain, sneaking around behind their backs, denying them the information that they would so desperately crave if they knew the truth. But she's knows she's right; what good will it do to tell these 217 men and women that the world is dying and there's probably very little that they can do about it…
The weather is bitterly cold, the freezing wind biting at her fingers as she works in the snow for hours on end but she tries not to notice it; the CDC had provided cold weather gear for her and Quincy as soon as word spread of their mission, so she takes solace in the fact that they were at least prepared to aid her in that respect, despite their continual protestations that they were both crazy. She can still hear the lingering laughter as she exited the final meeting with her boss all those weeks ago.
She briefly wonders how many of her colleagues remain alive and shoves the thought aside as quickly as it appears; there is no point in dwelling in the past, it will do her little good. She knows her mission; must focus purely on that or they are all doomed.
The fate of the world rests on her shoulders and it's a heavy burden, she knows and accepts this with a sorrowful heart. She tries talking to Quincy about it from time to time, but he has become standoffish in the last few weeks, almost withdrawn. He reveals no details of his troubles and she doesn't press him for information; she decides it is just his way of dealing with the immense pressure they are both under. Still, it would be nice to have someone to talk to, but there is no one, not any more. They are alone, she and Quincy; two scientists against the world.
Rachel feels the burden increase with every day that passes. How may millions have died in the months they've been out here? She dreads to think, and she feels a horrible and traitorous sense of relief when she can't raise the CDC one freezing Monday morning three months into their trip. If she doesn't hear about the destruction and the chaos that is spreading across the globe, maybe she can just ignore it, even if just for a little while.
It doesn't stop the nightmares though.
A week later she walks carefully through the corridors of the ship going over the details of another unsuccessful day out on the ice. The lack of progress is frustrating, but Rachel knows change will come; it has to, needs to.
She is still attempting to find her way around the large ship; there's so much grey and sameness that it's too easy to get turned around and disorientated. Rachel believes she's heading in the direction of the Mess Hall, but she isn't entirely sure. Still she carries on, sighing wearily and desperately craving a cup of tea. Nightmares have plagued her sleep again and it seems that the four hours she managed to get will have to suffice.
The corridors are eerily deserted as her footsteps echo around her, but then, it is late at night, and Rachel knows that crew numbers normally dwindle as the sun settles past the horizon. She finds a small amount of comfort in the quiet hum of the engine as she makes her way through yet another indiscriminate corridor.
Rachel rounds a corner and bumps into someone, and immediately steps back in order to apologize. She looks up, and meets the cool blue eyes of Captain Chandler himself.
"My apologies Captain," she says, glancing up at him and then averting her eyes, instead focusing her attention on a warning sign to her left. She's avoided the man for most of the last three months, feeling that if she got to know him, spend time with him, she'd feel obligated to reveal the truth about her mission and the fate of the outside world. She can't let that happen. She just can't - it's her burden to carry not his. She wonders, briefly, if he suffers from nightmares of his own.
"Doctor Scott," he replies simply, and he stares at her then, a determined look on his face and his arms folding across his chest. Rachel panics, wondering if he wants to strike up a conversation with her in the middle of the night in a deserted corridor.
Thankfully, he doesn't, and she breathes out a small sigh of relief when he just shakes his head and gestures for her to pass by him in the thin corridor. She offers the man a small and sincere smile, and receives one in return as she goes on her way. Rachel doesn't look back, afraid that she'll be overwhelmed again and spill her secrets to the quiet leader of the Nathan James.
Rachel stands resolutely by her decision to not give him another thought - the Nathan James is merely a convenient vessel for her task, it's Captain not the person who needs to deal with her issues, no matter how overwhelming and horrific they may be. Her mission is paramount, she tells herself; there is no point in getting attached to Captain Thomas Chandler.
