A/N We wanted to thank everyone for the reviews, follows and favs. The support means a lot.

The Right Decision

As a soldier, he learned to sleep anywhere and wake up fast and alert. In the field, this makes the difference between life and death. Although he wore no uniform, deep-rooted habits were difficult to abandon.

When he opened his eyes and looked at his watch, he realized with surprise that he had slept for almost an hour. Full of caffeine, anxious, still digesting what Rachel had written to him, he thought he would not be able to sleep.

Sitting in the chair next him on the private jet, Mike asks, "We're almost there. Are you prepared for this?"

Taking a deep breath, he responds honestly. "No, I know that coming back will reopen old wounds." The familiar pain stabbed Tom's heart to think about what he had lost. Normally he was a master at hiding his feelings, but today they are closer to the surface. Some of his pain must have shown, because Mike looked at him with concern engraved on his features.

"You're not alone. You can always count on me."

"I know. I will always be grateful to you for the help during the most painful period of my life. But unfortunately there are certain things I will have to deal with alone. In fact, there's something bothering me. Why did she decide to tell me about my daughter now? What if something is wrong? What if my daughter is sick? "

"If Theresa were ill, Rachel would have told me, it would be another argument to convince you to come back."

"You're right. I'm looking for problems that do not exist. I wonder what my daughter will look like? Rachel could have sent a picture."

"Rachel wants to keep her daughter's identity a secret. Think about it, if the letter had fallen into the wrong hands, they will only have vague information and a name. Many children were named Scott after the pandemic. What better way to hide Theresa's identity?"

"Theresa Scott. It is likely that my daughter does not have my last name. You're right again. When I hear her name, I see red. I can't think objectively and I end up acting like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," Mike said gently, "You're just anxious and worried about finding your daughter for the first time. Don't you worry, children are naturally open, and have no difficulty in giving and receiving affection."

"The problem is not whether she will love me. The question is whether I still have the ability to love. I changed, something broke here inside my chest, and maybe I cannot fix the broken parts."

Mike looked at his friend with concern. Some memories could haunt a man all his life and Tom's past was full of them.

"Tom, you have to stop torturing yourself! You are not responsible for what has happened. It was not your fault. It's time to move on."

"We both know that's not true." His family became the target because his enemy wanted to hurt, manipulate and destroy him. Then Tom closed his eyes, effectively ending the conversation.

Tom thought he deserved to suffer for failing to protect what was most precious to him. No one had been able to dissuade him from this idea. Mike hoped that Theresa could do that. If the little one had inherited half the stubbornness of her parents, his friend stood no chance. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes too. It was going to be a long trip and it was just beginning.

Tom could almost hear his friend's thoughts. He was worried. To be honest with himself, so was he. Mike was a good friend, always been around, even tried to warn him about his mistakes, but he was blind trying to do the right thing.

Flashback

Tom really needed to talk to someone about what was tormenting him. He knew that his friend was home alone, because Mike's wife, Christina, and their two daughters were in Tom's house. A kind of celebration for the pregnancy of his wife, few guests, minimal decorations. It's a good thing it was a women-only gathering so he had left home without having to give explanations.

The door opened as soon as he reached the doorstep and the owner of the house beckoned for him to enter. He came in and threw himself into a chair.

"Are you okay?"

"I wish that I could turn back time and change everything. I wish I could just disappear, and never come back. No, I'm not fine." Tom replied in anguish.

Mike looked at his friend, uncertain what to say. He had never seen Tom this way, so lost, so full of pain and despair. Sometimes he feared that the worst would happen. A lot had happened in the last few months in Tom's life. He had lost his father and his children and miraculously a woman had returned to his life. The loss of his children would always be a source of pain. But right now, something told him that the source of his friend's anguish was Rachel Scott.

"Do you want coffee or something stronger?"

"Surprise me," Tom replied.

Mike went into the kitchen and came back with two bottles of beer. He handed one to his friend and sat on a chair in front of him. Mike watched Tom take several gulps of his beer while he does the same.

"Why don't you tell me what the problem is? I'm sure you'll feel really better after you get it off your chest."

"I should be happy. I have a beautiful wife, we're going to have a baby, but the only thing I feel is anguish. I'm married, but I wish I was not."

"Height of 1.68m, with brown hair and eyes. Your anguish has a name. The world knows her as Dr. Scott. The scientist who saved millions of lives, for you she's just Rachel. You two had a very strong connection even from the beginning. This connection did not disappear even when you thought she was dead."

"I was attracted to her, but there was nothing between us at that time. Although my marriage to Darien was already in crisis, as you know, she wanted a divorce; I loved her and never betrayed her."

Tom hoped Darien would change her mind, but her death ended the hopes of a reconciliation.

"I know, Tom. What has changed?"

"My feelings changed. I thought that the distance, my second marriage would lessen the attraction I feel for her, but when I saw her again, that spark between us was there, the attraction between us was as strong as ever. I needed to feel alive again."

"You slept with Rachel?"

"Yeah…"

"I am not surprised that you two slept together. What surprises me is that it took so long. It's called sexual tension for a reason and you were an easy prey."

"She did not take advantage of me," he said indignantly, "It was exactly the opposite."

"I'm not criticizing either of you. I meant that you were an easy prey of your desires, desires that you repressed for so long. In normal circumstances, you would have thought before acting. As for Rachel, as far as I know her, she would not do anything she did not want, not even for you."

"I know, but I cannot get rid of the feeling that I used her to feel better. I just thought of myself, I was selfish, irresponsible."

"Why did you sleep with her? This is the question you should ask yourself." Mike snapped.

"Because I…I…having Rachel naked in my arms was better than any fantasy, I admit. But it was not just sex. What I feel for her, I only felt once before in my life."

"I don't think I need to tell you what it means." Mike said softly.

"No. I know I love Rachel, but I can't give her what she needs, what she deserves. We talked and she understood that I needed to get back to my wife. I felt like a bastard."

"Rachel just said what you wanted to hear. Although she loves you, she is a strong, proud, and independent woman. She would never beg for crumbs of your affection."

"Why do you think she loves me?" Tom asked Mike.

"For an intelligent man, you can be rather obtuse when it comes to Rachel. It's obvious that you two love each other. The way you two look at each other it was as if nobody was around."

"I need to be extra careful when I'm near her."

Mike gave his friend an exasperated look. "Since your wife has returned, you are feeling guilty. Tell me something. Do you intend to divorce her?"

"I can't, my wife is carrying my child. I cannot leave her now when she needs me most. My child needs me, too."

"You would still be a father, even divorced."

"No, I will not be a weekend father. My marriage may been for the wrong reasons. I did not get married for love and I never hid it from my wife. But I like her." Tom said.

"A woman hopes to be loved. Although she seems to accept this arrangement from you. She married expecting your feelings for her to change. Now that you've had a taste of what it could be, it will be very difficult to settle for the harsh reality."

"A relationship need not always be intense and ravishing. I'm not a boy in love with my first girlfriend. I'm resolved not to let myself get carried away by my emotions. My wife and I can build a relationship based on respect and friendship. Love can take other forms. "

"If you want to keep your marriage, do not tell your wife that you went to bed with Rachel."

"I'm just waiting for the right moment. I cannot lie to her about it."

"Why not? You'll lie about something infinitely more important." Mike said sarcastically.

"Mike..." Tom says, and the exasperation is his voice is clear.

"Are you sure this is what you want? Think carefully. Do not do something you will regret later."

"It's not what I want, it's what I need to do. I love Rachel, but distancing myself from her is the right decision."

"Tom, sometimes I wish you were less honorable. You would suffer less."

"Mike, you're quoting from the movies."

"It does not change the fact that I'm right.Do you want another beer?"

Tom was brought to the present when he heard the pilot advise them to fasten their seat belts because they would soon be landing.

He thanked the pilots and asked them to convey their thanks to the owner of private jet, Jeffrey Michener. When he stepped off, he was relieved to see that they had landed at a private hangar and a car was waiting for them already.

Suddenly, he felt as if he were being watched. His stance became rigid and he let his eyes scan the area around them. Nothing out of the ordinary jumped at him. Only a cat lying lazily on top of a pile of boxes that were stacked a few steps away.

"Something wrong?" Mike asked.

"No. Let's get out of here," he replied.

He opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat. While he buckled his seat belt, Mike sat in the driver's seat and did the same.

"Ready?" Mike asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He said, unable to shake the feeling of being watched.

The two men hiding behind the boxes breathed a sigh of relief when the car pulled away.

"You saw his look if he found out that we were here. We would be dead. Man, I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley."

"But he did not find out. What matters is that my source was right. This photo can make my career take off and if I find out why he came back, the sky's the limit for me."

"Have you ever heard that when you pursue the devil, you can get lost in hell?" the other man asked.

The man that he was able to photograph was dressed in dark clothes, with a cold and hard look on him. But beyond the initial appearance, there was an air of underlying loneliness around him.