The Great Escape

by Caden29

In response to Episode 10, 'Friendly Fire'. She had done it. The cure could now be spread as easily as the common cold. Now, she had the choice. Stay and face judegment, or run and help the world along the way. It was suprisingly easy to choose, despite the heartbreak it would bring.

10. I knew I loved You When

Hello luvs!

I keep forgetting to put this in, but the Last Ship and her characters do not belong to me. I only promise to return them in slightly used condition. Especially Tom. This chapter starts right after the last one. Thoughts after the jump!

LSLSLSLS

I knew I Loved You When

LSLSLSLS

"Do you have to put that on?"

Rachel hid a smile in the folds of her spaghetti strap tank top as she drew it over her head. "You did say jammies, luv."

"What if I didn't mean it?"

Chuckling, she leaned over to where he was sitting on the edge of the bed and pressed a kiss to his lips as she reached for the boy shorts she wore to bed.

"Do you have to put those on too?"

"Tom!" Laughing now as his hands shot out to make a grab for the shorts, she danced out of his reach and quickly pulled them on. Tom sighed and gave her a pouting frown as he leaned back on his elbows on the bed.

Rachel's eyes ran the length of him as he stretched out on the bed. Muscles bunched in tight lines along his chest and abdomen, and pointed down to the v of his lower abdomen. Low slung Navy issue sweatpants hugged his hips and thighs enticingly before flowing down.

She dragged her eyes back up only to be greeted with a knowing smirk as Tom stretched out further for her perusal. "See something you like, Dr. Scott?" He asked huskily as blue eyes darkened with interest.

"I see something I love."

The smirk fell into a smile as he held out a hand to her. Rachel moved to the bed and straddled his hips, holding on as he rotated until his form stretched out fully on the bed. Strong hands wrapped around her hip bones and she splayed her hands across his chest.

"I also see something I'm going to have to get used to." She added ruefully as he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Used to?" Tom asked, bringing his legs up so she could rest back against them. She ran her hands down his chest and then leaned back into them.

"Yes, used to. I didn't exactly see this flirty side to you before I left."

He raised his eyebrows again, but in seriousness this time. "Ah. So we've gotten to this talk now." Rachel tilted her head at him in confusion, so he elaborated, "The one where we talk about how we got to this point. From falling in love and trying desperately not to show it, to the last 18 months of hardship for the both of us."

Rachel felt her heart twist at the pained look on his face. "We have plenty of time, Tom. This is not a subject that has to be canvassed now. It can wait."

"No, it can't wait. Even with the blowout between us, I thought I had plenty of time to fix it. But the miscommunications and breakdown in trust cost us both. Dearly."

"There's been enough angst between the both of us today. It's only been a day and a half." She had to try one last time. "It can wait until tomorrow."

"I thought that about our fight. There would always be tomorrow so I could fix it. It took almost two years before I got to see your beautiful face again." Tom had to pause to swallow roughly. "Honey, please."

Sighing in defeat, Rachel eyed him in thought as she gathered her thoughts. It seemed he wanted to lay it all on the line at once. And she didn't blame him one bit for wanting to do so. He was right, they had lost too much time. In all the times they had talked before she left, it hadn't been about the things they should have discussed.

"I knew I loved you when we lost you to the Vyerni." Shock crossed his face at her words and his hands tightened on her hips. They hadn't been that close of friends at that point, but they had been getting there.

And the irony of it all wasn't lost on him.

"Why else do you think I would have so readily volunteered?" She asked softly. "At that point, I had completed what I had thought was the end of my mission. The vaccine was now ready with that last damn monkey. There were the human trials of course, but Quincy would have been able to handle it. I had to fight with Mike for almost an hour before he would let me go and not a crewmen in disguise."

Tom took a deep breath as he remembered the night he had made it back onboard his ship. Mike had been surprisingly tight lipped on just exactly why he had defied standing orders to not let Rachel off the ship. The events of the trials had swiftly grabbed his attention and it had been pushed to the side in their run for Baltimore.

"Why?" He asked it simply, but it was far from that.

"Why did I fall in love with you?" Tom just nodded his head at her clarification.

"I took a good, hard look at the Captain the men and women of this ship would willingly follow to the Gates of Hell. And they have followed you there, there is little doubt about that. It wasn't for love of country or some other nonsense you like to tell yourself." She gave him a glare that snapped his mouth closed on the protest he was about to voice. "They follow you because you are a man worth following. You could have ordered them to abandon ship. Drawn a lottery for the containment masks like Mike told me he wanted to do, and gone home to Darien and the children. But instead you stuck to the mission, and put your trust in a mad scientist who promised she wouldn't rest until she found a way to fix it. And in doing so, we saved the world. Without you and your crew, the creation of the cure would not have been possible. There are not many men who would have had the strength to do that."

Here she gestured helplessly.

"You are a man of integrity, loyalty, respect and steadfastness. You make the people around you want to be better. To do better. Just to see that look of approval in your eyes. How could I not love you?"

Tom blew out a breath that shook at her words. "It's one thing to know you love me, but a completely different other to know why."

Rachel leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss against his chest in comfort. "When?" She whispered into his skin.

"It slowly started from that first moment. The first time I saw you wasn't in the helo bay, it was on the pier. You and Quincy were arguing about something as you were checking your cargo against the final list. You were this tiny little thing going toe to toe with him ranting about something that was making him take a step back. I remember thinking with amusement at first that I wouldn't want to be in his shoes, or be the Captain of the ship you were going to be on."

His voice went a little distant even as a half grin tugged at his lips. "And then I got a better look at you as I passed by, and I couldn't help it. My breath caught in my chest at the fire crackling in your eyes. Everything from your expression to your hand movements screamed of such passion in you that I could barely take my eyes off you in fascination. When I entered the helo bay later and saw you standing there, my sense of curiosity only grew. You were respectful and contained, but had an edge of sass that made me want to poke you with a stick, just to see what would fall out."

Low laughter from the minx sitting on his hips interrupted him. "At that time you probably would have regretted it. Don't think I hadn't noticed later the times you enjoyed winding me up. The barely hidden smirk gave you away, luv, every time."

Tom grinned helplessly up at her as brown eyes sparkled at him with mirth. "I can't help it." He argued good naturedly. "Did you know that when you start to wind up, you talk with your hands and pace? It's fun to watch."

He laughed as wicked hands ran up his side to tickle him in retaliation. Grabbing her hands, he used them to pull her down into a kiss and then released her so he could continue.

"In the three months before we knew the truth of the mission, I watched you from afar. I wanted to know what made you tick, even as I tried to ignore and push away the curiosity. But you sure did make it both easy and hard for me. You made it easy in keeping away from us, but harder in the sense that rare sightings just inflamed my urge to seek you out. After you told us the truth, I was so angry with you, even as I understood the orders you were under." He grabbed her hands once more and squeezed as her face tightened at the remembrance.

"After Gitmo," he continued softly, "the curiosity came back in force, so I finally started to seek you out. I wanted to know more about the scientist who fought against everyone to get to the Arctic because she knew she was right. And the person I found under all that bluster and sass is one I couldn't help but admire. And respect. You help people without being asked, with no expectation of being thanked because that's not why you did it. The compassion you hold for humanity is beyond anything I've ever seen in another person. Once I wrangled you into those quiet nights, I came to crave them. When it could just be the two of us, picking a topic and either finding common ground or having to think of creative ways to defend my position. If this scientist thing doesn't work out, you have a bright future as a politician."

Rachel huffed a laugh and propped her chin on his chest, trying to blink back tears as he stopped.

"Tom?" She prompted gently after a moment.

Tom closed his eyes and gathered the rest of his thoughts in order. "I knew I loved you when I saw you on the Vyerni. I'd never felt such terror in my life than when I saw you standing there. The look on your face told me you were scared, while the fire in your eyes promised retribution for us. You are so strong. When anyone else would have given up, you grabbed us all by the ear and dragged us along with you."

Opening his eyes, Tom pulled her off his chest so that they were looking face on at each other. "You are a woman of strength, passion, honor and courage. How could I not love you?" Rachel felt tears gather in her eyes as her heart sang. He was right once again. She had known he loved her, but to know the reasons why was something altogether different.

Tom closed his eyes and tried to gather strength for the next bit as he prayed it wouldn't hurt her. Fingers laced his then, and opening his eyes, he drew strength from the love in hers.

"I tried so hard to fight it." He confessed quietly. "I felt like the worst heel in the world. Like if I had loved her enough, I wouldn't have fallen for you. The Navy taught us that dangerous situations can breed false emotions. So I would tell myself it was just an infatuation that would fade, and tried to suppress my emotions. And then I would feel guilty that I tried to fight my feelings for you in the first place, that I would lie to myself and deny you. It felt like I was being torn in two, and that I was betraying my wife."

Rachel scoffed at him gently as she tried to blink away her tears at his pain. "Don't be silly, Tom." She chided him firmly. "I know you loved and adored Darien, and that she loved and adored you as well. By all the accounts I've heard, you had a wonderful and happy marriage. You can't help what you feel, but you can control what you do. I had no idea you felt that way, and being the man of honor that you are, you never would have betrayed her. It's simply not the person you are."

Tom closed his eyes in slight relief as her conviction in his sense of honor rolled over him. He had been worried she would view him as less at this truth. Oh, he knew it was a silly fear, but it had still made him apprehensive.

Rachel bit her lip as she considered how to say this next part. "We can't live with what-ifs though, Tom. What is, is. Darien died, and there was nothing you could have done about it."

Tom had been so close that day, so bloody close. Darien had died only 2 hours before he'd gotten there, and that revelation had shook him to his very foundation. He had been barely coming to terms with it before she left.

"I know." He said quietly, while rubbing patterns into her hip bones. "I've had time to make my peace with that while you were gone. My grief at losing her in the killing fields overwhelmed everything else for a while. You know how I struggled in the aftermath. But that didn't change the guilt I had felt. I vowed to love, honor and cherish her to the day we died."

"And you did." She broke in gently. "You can't tell me you didn't love her, or honor her until she died. I have no doubts about that, Tom."

Sudden movement made Rachel clench her legs around him as he sat up to cup her face for a kiss. "I've made my peace with that too." He gave a huff of laughter at her skeptical look. "I really have. How did Sal put it? 'That I hadn't met my match yet.' And that 'I couldn't wallow in the could have beens'. The heart wants what the heart wants. I loved Darien deeply, and I had to learn it is possible to love another without dishonor. It has taken time, but I've come to accept that with help. You'll like Sal, he reminds me a lot of Daniel."

She raised an eyebrow in intrigue both at this 'Sal' she'd like, and at the fact he referred to Gunny as Daniel. Rachel pushed it aside though for later perusal. They had much more they needed to hash out if they wanted it all on the line tonight.

"I don't know what I would have done had Darien lived, but I do know this. She would have wanted me to follow my heart and be happy. So I am."

Rachel traced her hand along Tom's jawline in wonder. Sea blue eyes stared back into hers as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Will you tell me about her? She sounds like she was a wonderful person." Rachel asked softly.

"She was, and I will later. There will always be a part of my heart that loves and misses her." Understanding and love flowed into Rachel's eyes, and she raised up to place a kiss on his forehead.

Renewed love for his scientist swirled in his veins as Tom buried his face in her neck. Any woman less secure in themselves would have been hurt or threatened by that.

The couple was quiet for a while before Tom once again broke the silence. "So, now we know we owe Ruskov a little. We should send him a fruit basket in whatever afterlife he's landed in. I'm pretty sure it's hot there."

Rachel sputtered in laughter as she leaned back to look him. Unholy glee danced in his eyes as he twisted his face in mock thought.

"After all, he was responsible for our first kiss. Whose idea was that anyway?"

Rachel flushed but couldn't suppress the wicked look she was sure was on her face. "Mine." She said dryly. "You should have seen the sputters from Mike and Danny when I brought it up too."

Tom wiggled his eyebrows at her once more before becoming serious again. "All on the line, honey. Were you happy to see me in San Francisco?" Uncertainty touched his features as he waited for her answer.

"Yes, if only to be able to see you again. I expected much more of a harsher welcome." She smoothed a thumb over a frowning eyebrow. "When I jumped that wall and saw more military armor than I was expecting, I wished it was you but knew it wasn't. When the James came through the mist, she came through head first so I couldn't see if it was her or not. I thought I had finally lost my cookies when I heard Mike's voice."

Rachel bit her lip once more. He wanted it all on the line, but she wasn't sure how he'd take this. "There were so many times I'd hoped you find me. Not at first, not for the first 6 months, but any time after that I did. I had to make peace with myself too though. Through my own actions, I put you in a no win situation."

She had to slap a hand over his mouth to stop his interruption. "Sshh, let me finish. After spending so much time with Daniel, it finally got through to me what I had done to you. To the command team of this ship. The crew relies on the chain of command to enforce the rules and regulations. If those are bent or broken, it can lead to chaos and mutiny. You tried to tell me this before, but I was too defensive to listen. The reason why it clicked with Daniel is because I was expected to pull my own weight in the Circus."

She frowned fiercely as the mouth under her hand moved and he subsided with his own frown.

"I was treated here exactly like what I am. A scientist and doctor, a civilian outside the chain of command." Comprehension started to dawn on his face, so she dropped her hand.

"With the Circus, I was still treated like a doctor but one who was expected to fall in line with the rest of the troops. It caused all sorts of havoc between Daniel and I for the first month before I started to understand."

Reluctant humor lit up Tom's expression as he imagined it. If two immovable objects collide alone in the woods, does it still make a sound?

"My friendship with Daniel was hard won, and he certainly knocked me for a few loops in being absolutely blunt about the situation I had put you in." She gently caressed his face, and he leaned into it without taking his eyes off her face.

"I'm sorry, Tom. We've already talked about why and how I'm not regretful, but I am sorry I put you in that position."

"Forgiven. You were forgiven a long time ago. So, just to be sure, the reason why you didn't bolt at the first sight of us was because you were pretty sure of the pardon?" Tom leaned back on the bed tiredly and observed as she nodded her head and stretched to pop her back.

"Wait." Suspicious eyes suddenly slammed back into his. "Was that the reason for the caveman act?"

Tom froze beneath her briefly before forcing his body to relax. "No?" He tried.

Chocolate eyes narrowed playfully at his runaround and Tom grinned sheepishly. "Jeremy was about to drag you to the lab. Which means it could have been days of an awkward dance as I tried to corner you and you tried to avoid me."

"Uh huh. So was the Wall Incident always in the cards?" Rachel pressed her lips against the laughter bubbling up as his face got more sheepish.

"More like I just wanted to hold you for a few minutes. Then I was going to inform you of all the relevant information. And then there was going to be begging. A lot of begging."

Rachel's chest spasmed at that as she tried to keep her face straight. Just a little bit longer girl, she thought desperately.

"What kind of begging? Maybe I want to hear an example." Rachel raised an eyebrow imperiously as she straightened and crossed her arms over her chest.

A suspicious look then descended on his face before mirth lit it. Throwing a hand back to his forehead like he was about to faint, Tom moaned out, ""Rachel! Forgive me for the grievances I made against you! Please, come home, my darling!"

Tom was interrupted by the torrent of laughter that broke through from Rachel. "Stop! Please, I beg of you. If you had led with that I may have jumped overboard." She managed to gasp between laughs. The affronted look on his face only made her laugh harder.

Rachel leaned back into his knees and tried to regain her breath as he spoke again. "I really did just want to talk, and I panicked when Jeremy grabbed you to go to the lab. When you started to wiggle in my lap though, I lost the plot a bit."

Sea blue eyes suddenly sparked in interest and his head tilted on his pillow. "Wait." He said slowly. "What were you expecting then when I swiped you off the deck?"

"Anger." She said softly, leaning forward to run her hands down his chest in comfort as his face tightened. "I expected anger and fighting. You were obviously relieved to see me but we hadn't exactly parted on good terms. I was 'waiting for the other shoe to drop' so to speak."

A slightly mischievous look entered her eyes then, and Tom felt his mouth curl up in a smile as she added slyly, "And then next thing I knew I had my legs wrapped around your waist and was being snogged to within an inch of my life. It was definitely not the welcome I had expected."

"Better than fighting though?" Tom asked, amused as his hands slid back to her hips.

"Oh by far." She agreed as she arched an eyebrow. "It confused the dickens out of me but it did give me hope."

"All on the line, luv. You were looking for me?" She asked then softly. It was a statement and question all rolled into one. She knew what the answer was by now, but there had been too many misunderstandings before not to clarify it a bit.

"Like you wouldn't believe." He said fervently while hands clamped back down onto her hips. "We missed you by two days in Norfolk. Two days, Rachel. We spent the first days after you ran combing the area around the beach looking for you. If we had been even a little bit faster, we would have been able to find you once we reached the mainland with the battle group. Christine was able to point us in Jeremy's direction fairly quickly, but he only knew the direction you had gone in. By that time you could have been anywhere."

Rachel drew his hands off her hips as they started to tremble and grasped them tightly. This is what Jeremy had been getting at when he'd said she needed to know what the effects of leaving had left. The pain was written all over Tom's face of what losing her had done to him.

'Tom took your disappearance very hard. Just listen to what he has to say, yeah?' Mike's voice rang in her memory from yesterday morning and she swallowed heavily.

"When communications improved a few months after we first reached home base, we started hearing about a miracle doctor traveling with a group of soldiers. But those were incredibly rare, and I had only Christine and Jeremy's assurances that Daniel was a good man. That he would be able to keep you alive and safe. It wasn't until Mason intercepted that transmission we had any solid proof you were still alive." The look he then gave her was fierce enough she recoiled a bit at the intensity.

"Make no mistake about this, Rachel Scott. The other ships may have been looking for you because the world needs you. But Nathan James searched for you because we need you. I need you. Every time we ventured to the mainland to chase whispers of you, it was a blow to our collective heart when we came home empty."

'They adore and have missed you since you left. When they heard you were being hunted their rage could be felt in the very air. His rage could be felt.' This time it was Jeremy's voice who slipped through her mind. The extreme looks of relief and joy everyone had worn when she'd returned flashed through her mind in waves.

Rachel bent forward and rested her head against his chest as tears slipped out. Tom gently untangled his fingers from hers to run through her hair in soothing patterns.

She had grown up most of her life alone. Moving around from place to place and being home schooled until she was 15 had ill prepared her for making friends. And keeping them had been even harder. Only Jeremy had ever held on, determined to keep his place in her life. Even Quincy had given up on her at times. She whispered that truth into his skin and felt his hands tighten in her hair.

"You're stuck with us, Dr. Scott. No way can we ever let you go now." Far from sounding like a threat, it was exactly what she needed to hear. Tom gazed up at the ceiling, and smiled slightly even as his heart hurt for her as he felt the tension release along her spine.

"I was going to leave." She whispered sometime later. Tom stilled beneath her again and had to force his body to relax. "It wouldn't have been then but it was going to be soon. The James can only reach so far inland, and when the Immunes bombed the research hospitals here it crippled the ability for this continent to recover. The other hospitals around the world were working day and night to produce the cure. I had received reports that they had made significant breakthroughs in reaching survivors all around the world, so it was time to turn our attention here."

"I know." He gently interrupted her. "Tex said something to the same effect earlier. And to be honest, I knew it on some level. Once you had figured out the aerosol version, you would have had to leave. To join the scientists overseas to help produce the cure, or leave with a TAC team to spread it here it wouldn't have mattered. I would like to think I would have gone with you, but I'm not altogether sure I would have. With the danger from the Immunes, I don't know if I could have left the James under Mike's command."

Rachel bit her lip and hid her face in his chest as she tried to come to terms with that. What did she expect? She then chided herself angrily. That he would abandon his children and his duty? He wouldn't be the man she loved if he had done that.

"I would have let you leave without telling you how I felt." He whispered as he tightened his arms around her. "I knew I loved you, but I was still in mourning for my wife who I thought I had betrayed on the deepest levels. It took almost a year before I could move past it and not blame myself." Tom reached up to lace his hands around her back and then rolled, placing her on the bottom as he settled between her thighs.

"But I do know what I would have done after you left." He dropped his forehead to hers and looked into the eyes that had been so dearly missed. "I would have followed you. I wouldn't have been able to stand the thought of you out there without me. Even if we had been able to stay in contact it would have eaten at me. I lost one of the people I held most dear, and I came so damn close to losing the rest of my family to the same fate. If ever there was a lesson to be learned from losing Dairen, it would be to not waste what time we have. But it took you leaving for me to realize that."

Rachel wrapped an arm around his neck and tilted her head up to kiss him. "I love you. We have both suffered, but we've also grown stronger in our own ways since I ran. I regret the way I left, but I wouldn't change leaving."

She clutched him tightly to her as his eyes closed in pain and Tom buried his face in her neck.

"All on the line, Tom." She whispered in his ear. "Christine would be buried next to her girls in a military cemetery in Tennessee, Mike most likely never knowing their fate. There would have been no one to draw a lightning bolt on my bag because he knew I would cherish it. Daniel would have had to face this life without his family, when he's already given so much. So many people we've met and helped would likely be dead. You remember the family from yesterday?"

He nodded in her neck as the truth she was stating rang through him, and the stabbing pain from her flight retreated a little.

"That little girl would have been dead by tomorrow morning. It only takes 72 hours from the first sign of blisters for death to quickly follow. The very young and the physically weak usually only last 48, as you well know."

Reaching up to run her fingers through his hair, she tugged until he was looking at her again. Tom blew out a breath as the acute pain faded just a little more at the loving look on her face. She was completely right in this. No matter the pain it had caused, there had been so much good done between them both while she was away. It would just take a while for the pain to leave completely, but he was confident it eventually would.

"I'll never forget the look on Mike's face when he saw Tara and Jordan running to him on the pier. Just as I'll never forget the feeling of hearing Ashley calling for me in Olympia and knowing I could save her. There must be so many parents who will be able to hold their children safe tonight because of you and the Circus."

Tom buried his face in her hair again as fierce pride and love rolled through him. "Damn good job, Doc." He whispered fiercely in her ear as a tear dripped into her hair from up above.

"Just don't leave me behind next time?"

Rachel scoffed at him weakly as she brushed away a tear creeping from her eye. "Team Us, remember? Where I go, you go and vice versa. You're now stuck with me too, Chandler." She gripped him tightly and wrapped her legs around his. "I've seen what a life without you is like, and you will have to pry me off this ship now. And even then I'm climbing back onboard to give you a piece of my mind before dragging you back to our cabin."

Chuckling wetly, he rolled again until her back was to the door and settled her head against his arm. A brief flash of black fur out of the corner of his vision brought to mind the last question he wanted to ask her tonight.

"One last question, at least for now." Rachel braced herself as she waited to see what was next.

"Captain James, honey? I know you missed me, but that's just a little silly." Rachel's eyes went wide with surprise before laughter bubbled up out of her. Surging up, she grabbed his hands and pushed him back onto his back, pinning his hands to the bed while she straddled his hips once more.

"You know he came with that name! I saw Torres doing a reenactment for you last night about how he came to join the group." She accused as he playfully began to wrestle against her grip.

Ninety pounds of furry muscle suddenly jumped into the bed with them, a massive head sliding under Rachel's arms as they continued to struggle and licked a long stripe up his face. "James, no!" Tom protested even as he tried to turn his face away.

Rachel could barely control her laughter as she managed to get enough of an upper hand so James would have more access. Tom laughed breathlessly with her as he continued to struggle against Rachel and the big paws on his chest holding him down. Black fur obscured his vision as James leaned in once more and licked stripes up his face.

Wriggling desperately managed to dislodge Rachel enough he got a hand lose. Wrapping an arm around the dog's middle, Tom pulled James down and quickly slid a hand to his stomach and started scratching. James's eyes closed in bliss as his back paw started twitching rapidly. "Traitor! We're supposed to be comrades-in-arms. I thought we were in agreement when you let me into the head!" Tom accused with mirth.

"Ah ha! I knew it was him. Tell me how he did it." Looking up, Tom smirked at the demanding expression on Rachel's face as she perched above him. "Nope." He said, popping the p. "Officer's honor, Dr. Scott. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh, so I understand there's a halt to sex now?" She asked playfully, raising an eyebrow at the mirthful blanch he made.

Tom gave James a small shove and said in a sotto voice, "Sorry, old boy. I'm giving you a 5 second head start before I tell her."

Sputtering in laughter now at the unimpressed look James gave Tom as he slinked off the bed, she shook her head in amusement. "I'll let you keep your secrets for now, but be prepared for me to try for them later." The heated look she gave him as she slung her leg off him and stood left Tom in no doubt what she meant.

"Is that supposed to be a deterrent?" He asked incredulously as she made her way over to his overhead cabinet. He rattled off the code without her having to ask, and she shot him a mischievous look over her shoulder as she reached in.

"No, luv. Just what you have to look forward to later." The wink she threw at him was pure temptation as she withdrew the service weapon and placed it within reach on the nightstand and shut the cabinet. Crossing over to the door, she flicked off the lights and used the fixed night strip under his cabinet to slid back into bed.

"Nice choice, honey." Tom said quietly as he shifted to his side and drew her back against his chest, scooting close to the wall and facing the door. The mattress heaved for a moment before a dark shape dropped down in front of Rachel with a heavy sigh.

"We'll both sleep better with a weapon close." She muttered sleepily as he wrapped an arm over her hip. Snuggling his face into her hair, Tom smiled as he curled around Rachel and pulled her close. Closing his eyes, he quickly followed her into rest as the ship drifted in silence.

LSLSLSLS

It was the quiet rumble of thunder that woke them.

Tom's eyes flashed open as he felt James tense and then rise to stand in front of Rachel. Her body went stiff before he saw her hand shoot out in the dim light and tap James twice on the leg. The dog went silent but didn't look away from the door. Tom raised up and grabbed his service gun from the nightstand as Rachel rapidly slid to the floor with James silently hopping down behind her.

He tapped her on the shoulder and then pointed to the darkest corner next to the head. Grabbing James, she quickly moved as Tom smoothly slid off the bed to crouch beside his desk.

No sooner had they done that before the door flew open and the light from the p-way spilled in as three armed men rushed through the doorway.

"Fass."

Rachel released James and he snarled as he rushed the second man. Snapping his jaws around an arm, the dog shook his head violently as the man screamed and staggered but didn't fall. Brief flashes of light lit up the room as she crouched and BANGS rang in her ears as Tom took aim at the first man. Bloody hell, they were wearing body armor!

The first man took the first two shots to the chest and jolted back into the second man, both of them falling into the bulkhead across from Rachel's corner. The next shot hit him in the forehead as he tried to straighten up and the man slumped over dead. James had quickly jumped back as the second man was taken down and Tom stood to slam home a bullet into the second man's forehead.

Adrenaline screaming through his veins, Tom whipped his focus to the third man as James snarled out next to him. He felt bloodlust howl through his veins as Rachel cold-cocked the bastard as he reached for her. Swearing, the man swung out an arm at her as Tom moved, trying to get a better angle in the close quarters of his room.

She ducked and weaved under the arm, grabbing it as it swept past her and using it to propel the man headfirst into the bulkhead. The man staggered back dazedly and Rachel used the opportunity to kick out, making contact behind the intruder's knee and tripping him to the floor.

Hopping on his back and grabbing a flailing arm, she wrenched it back and rotated it until one hand gripped the upper part of his arm and the other was locked onto his elbow. James was finally able to get an angle in and darted over to Rachel as she knelt on the man, heavy snarls ripping out of him in force as he glared at the man on the ground.

Rachel dug her knee into the bastard's back and leaned into the arm she had bent backwards behind him as he struggled. "I put any more pressure in that and it breaks your shoulder joint." She said harshly. The man whimpered and struggled just the tiniest bit more before sagging. "You fucking bitch!" He breathed out, a foreign accent coloring his tone.

"You're bloody right I'm a bitch!" She snarled out as Tom moved to flip on the light and then sidled up beside her with the man in his sights. James rumbled out harsh breaths next to her as sounds of shouting started echoing from the p-way. Rachel tensed as the sounds got closer before a familiar voice brought relief.

"Sir." Danny's voice was grim behind them as he took in the sight of his Captain's Quarters. Tom didn't even glance at him as he kept his full attention on Rachel and the man she had subdued.

"Lt. Green, take this man down to the brig. Lt. Foster, set General Quarters and no one on this ship walks alone until we can be sure it's cleared. And get me the XO."

"Aye, sir. Alisha, with me." The sounds of them quickly retreating echoed down the p-way before the announcement for battle stations started blaring through the air. The slight jingle of dog tags heralded the big German Shepard slinking in to stand near the doorway. The dogs eyed each other for a moment and then turned to keep a careful watch on their handlers.

"Doc?" Keeping a careful lock on the man below her, she turned her attention to Danny and couldn't contain the small smile at the sight of him. His hair stuck up six ways to Sunday and pillow creases marred one side of his face.

"Nice pj's, Danny." He grinned a little then beneath the grim look he wore.

"Kara's mom thought so, too." Captain America saluted her from the side of Danny's leg while little circular shields peppered the front legs. The rest of the fabric was a bright, bold shade of red that shimmered a little as Danny pressed his knee to the man's back and grabbed his arm.

Tom didn't relax his stance until Danny had hefted the man up and turned him toward the door. Miller and Burk backed up from their guard positions at the door, and seeing them Tom called out, "Miller, go with Green down to the brig. Burk, find Ackles and Wolf down the p-way. Get suited up and start sweeping the decks with the other TAC teams, coordinate with the XO. Miller and Green, join them once he's locked up."

Nodding stiffly, the men filed out of the room as Admiral Halsey gave one last glance to James before following his handler out of the door.

Releasing a breath, Tom leaned back slightly as small hands gripped his waist while Rachel's head thumped into his back. "You ok?" He asked softly while lacing one hand with hers. He felt her nod tiredly into his shoulder blades.

Tom gently shifted them until they were both behind the door, pulling James with him and positioning the dog in front of them. Until he knew the ship was clear of intruders he would take no chances with her or his crew.

"Sir?" Mike's voice sounded out quietly behind them as the XO tapped quietly on the door.

"Clear."

His XO stepped into the room as they moved out from behind the door, keeping his service weapon pointed at the floor. "Play, sir?" He asked as he darkly glared at the two bodies on the floor.

"3 intruders, they used non-lethal. Green and Miller are escorting our other guest to the brig. Burk, Ackles and Wolf are suiting up to sweep the decks and getting the other teams. Green and Miller will join them once the task is complete. We're escorting Harry to the Circus and then grabbing some Marines and raising hell. I have no doubt our party guests came from that ship."

Tom turned his attention to Rachel as she swiftly moved around the bodies to grab a few items from her bag. "Turn around, Mike." She commanded as she grasped the straps of her tank top that she'd worn to bed.

Blushing a little, Mike whirled around and Tom stepped over to join him at the shoulder so the view of her putting her bra back on was blocked from the p-way. She threw the pair of jeans she was carrying over her shoulder and shoved her feet into her boots as Tom reached out to grab his own and handed them to her. He'd put them on once they reached the safety of Gunny's stateroom.

"James." The Malinois snapped to her side and she grabbed his harness as Tom moved to take point and Mike slid in behind her. Moving quickly out the door, they moved as a single unit for the stairs that would lead them down to the next level where the staterooms were. Coming down the last steps, Tom paused and made a quick look over his shoulder at Mike.

"The one on the left, sir." He'd known they had the room next to Rachel's old one but not which side. Sidling up along the wall, Tom reached out a fist to knock on the door but was stopped by Rachel before he made contact.

"Tom, wait." She slid out behind him and he moved back to keep his weapon pointed at the floor as she slip in front. Reaching out a hand, Rachel knocked twice before rapping her knuckles in a sliding pattern.

"What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?" A voice demanded from inside.

"African or European?" Tom had to resist the urge to slap a hand to his face in exasperation as he heard Mike choke back a laugh behind him at Rachel's answer. It just figured the Circus would use a Monty Python quote as a password. The door flew open and Rachel shot out a hand to grasp the one that stuck out, pulling her quickly inside as James bolted in after her.

"What the hell is going on, sir?" She heard Gunny demand as he released her hand. Rachel quickly slid out of the way so the Naval men could come in behind her.

Glancing around, Rachel took note of the grim expressions the Circus wore as they slipped on their armor. The stateroom Mike had given Gunny and Alyssa was larger than most, and held a twin size bottom bunk vs the singles in the other rooms. The extra room allowed everyone in but was incredibly cramped.

She noticed with approval Jeremy, Tony and Lily all perched in the top bunk for protection as the rest of the Circus got ready around them. The bulkhead extended out far enough that it would protect them from anything flying in, but it wouldn't help them hide from intruders.

Jeremy shot her a shaky wink as she bent to pull on the jeans she had brought over her shorts, and Rachel winked back at him in comfort as Alyssa handed her both her flak jacket and James's. Sabine quickly passed her the gun she used most, and Rachel clipped it to the back of hers jeans as she softly gave James the command to stand for his armor.

"Alright, here's the play." Rachel looked up at Tom's words from where she knelt next to James as she pulled his armor on. "Harry, James and River will stay behind to provide protection for Black and the children. Papa and Mama Bear will join Green and Miller and start a sweep from the labs and on up. Hawkeye and Coffee will go to the top upper most deck and pick off anyone coming aboard. Cowboy will join the XO in coordinating solid sweeps of the decks while I'm headed for the Bridge. Drive them back aft and yell out your call sign as you go around corners. My people know who you are but better to be safe than dead."

Rachel tightened the last strap on James and stood as Gunny handed over two of the extra flak jackets they carried to the Naval men. She darted over to Tom where he'd knelt to pull on his boots and grabbed the armor from the ground.

Standing, he quickly helped her strap him into the armor over his bare chest. "I don't want to see any holes in you, Big Papa." She whispered to him fiercely as she reached down to pull the drawstrings on his sweatpants tighter so they wouldn't fall if he needed to move quickly.

Tom cupped her face in his hands and drew her in for a lingering kiss and then rasped against her lips, "Stay safe." Releasing her, he gave a short nod to Gunny and Mike before slipping out the door. The rest of the group followed until it was just her and Sabine, crouched in opposite corners of the room.

LSLSLSLS

Tom rounded the last corner to the Bridge crouched low. He'd run into two more intruders on the deck below, and by the shots he had heard on the deck below that, there were more still aboard. He called out his call sign and heard an answering 'Clear!' from Lt. Granderson down the short p-way.

"Report."

Lt. Granderson glanced at him from her position near her station and the radio she was holding squawked once again before going silent. Tom had to suppress the brief flash of amusement at her appearance as she snapped to attention. Her short hair was tousled and sticking straight up in places while the shirt she was wearing over her tank top was backwards and inside out. He had passed many crew members dressed the same way, and a wave of fierce pride rolled through him. The strength of the crew of Nathan James never ceased to amaze him. Even in the toughest situations they let nothing stop them from getting the job done.

"Alpha and Bravo have reported intruders on decks 2, 3 and 5, and Seal reports Dr. Black's office in the lab has been ransacked. Integrity of the containment unit is intact. 6 confirmed hostiles dead with no casualties on our side. CIC said stealth ship is now 10 miles off our starboard bow, and noted that hostile ship is getting better at concealing themselves. Engineering just updated us on the state of the engines, and thinks that she'll be able to power them up in 10 mics."

Tom blew out a relieved breath at that last one.

With the hostile ship now confirmed they needed to move. Without propulsion to maneuver, they would only have limited targeting range with the Tomahawks and the long gun.

Tom had quickly strode to his chair during the Lt.'s report, and grabbed the handset once she was done. "Get me TAO."

"Sir." Lt. Foster's voice echoed the rage he felt boiling up in him. Nobody came into their house and messed with their people without serious repercussions.

"Sitrep on that ship, Lt."

"They got close enough for identification. La Fayette-class frigate, nationality unknown though only the French, Saudi, Chinese and Singapore governments have them. They must have employed their decoy as my relief reported no new movement and decoy is still pinging in last position. Can carry a Panther or NH90 long range helicopter with anti-ship AM39 or AS15 missiles."

FUCK.

If there was a helicopter on that ship carrying those missiles they could easily do serious damage to his ship in minutes.

"Acknowledged. Keep an eye on that ship and let the TAC teams know they used non-lethals and sacked the lab. Which means they're searching for our boy wonder." Tom smiled grimly at the ice that coated Kara's tone as she acknowledge him. The hostile ship had more than enough capabilities to sink them, so why sneak aboard? With the lab sack and the obvious trouble they had gone through to get aboard silently it only pointed to one thing. They were hunting for Rachel and information.

Tom reached forward and hit the second button on the keypad. "Eng. Tell me you can get us moving."

"Almost there, sir. Power up in 2." She replied before she muffled the speaker and started to yell at someone. "Hopefully we won't be blown to bits. We had to rush the last two checks." Her voice came back clear then and Tom felt a slight rush of sympathy for whoever had just been yelled at. Eng. could be terrifying when she got in your face.

"Acknowledged. Fire her up immediately, don't wait for me." It would take another 5 mics after that before the engines would be warmed enough to move. Which gave him enough time to put into action a plan.

Hopping up into his seat, Tom reached forward and hit the button to get him back to TAO. "TAO, get me a firing solution on that ship, we move in 7 mics." After her acknowledgement, Tom hung up the mic and turned his attention to Lt. Granderson.

"Send three armed sailors to locate night watch. They got on this ship without raising the alarm. Get their whiskey ASAP. And have them pull off the sniper and his guard upstairs as well."

Unsaid was the likely fact the night watch was dead. The look of grief that passed through Alisha's eyes was echoed in his as she nodded tightly.

LSLSLSLS

Rachel gave a startled glance down at the floor as it started to hum. The vibrations started to increase rapidly until it clicked within her what that familiar feeling was.

"Harry." Tense apprehension lined Sabine's tone as she followed Rachel's glance down to the floor in the low light. When everyone had left, by mutual agreement both women had turned off all the lights except a dim reading lamp under the bottom bunk. It was the thought that they would be able to see anyone bursting in before they could see the last members of the Circus that motivated that move.

"It's the engines. They got them back up. What you're feeling is the warm-up, it's always louder than when the ship is in motion."

Rachel's mind raced as Sabine relaxed slightly and turned her attention back to the door. "We're going to move." She said slowly. "Tom told me once that a destroyer is only as good as it can maneuver for battle." A swift thought raced across her mind before it fell into place.

Rachel shot up and frantically motioned to the three people still perched in the top bunk. "Come down. Quickly!"

Protests greeted her even as the three people slid down from the top bunk. "Rachel, what is it you know?" Jeremy asked her even as she shoved him into the bottom bunk. Sabine pushed both teens in beside him and then gave her a look that demanded answers.

"We can't possibly outrun them with only three engines and not four. Tony here, take James." She pushed the protesting dog into the bunk and Tony wrapped a hand in his harness as James tried to scramble off. "Which means Tom is going to try to disable that ship or sink it. When this ship tilts hard, unless you're expecting it or braced against something you can fly across the room. Here, put your feet against this." She patted the railing that kept the mattress in the bunk bed and three pairs of feet shot out to lodge against it.

Rachel grabbed Sabine's arm and drew her to the floor. The entryway of the stateroom was small enough that they could brace their feet against the opposite wall while sitting down, and Sabine copied her as she stretched her legs out. The humming got louder right before the ship gave a small lurch and then a bigger one as the propellers caught hold.

LSLSLSLS

"What's our speed Lt.?"

Lt. Grandson braced her feet on the floor as the ship lurched once last time before starting to smoothly glide through the ocean once more. "5 knots and climbing, sir!"

"When we get to 9, hard to starboard." Tom snapped a hand forward and hit the 2. "TAO, where's my firing solution?"

"Harpoons are ready at your command, it will hit the bow and middle decks." Tom acknowledge that before telling her, "Ready the long range for interception."

"Aye, sir."

Pressing the 5 button on the keypad, Tom braced his feet against the wall in front of his chair and readied himself for what was next. "All hands, brace yourself! I repeat, all hands brace yourself!"

LSLSLSLS

Oh my gosh. ::takes a deep breath:: I've so missed my cliffhangers! Pretty sure you guys hate them, but I haven't had one in so long, I've forgotten how much fun they could be. I totally meant to have this up before but I got hit with a brainwave on this fic and my fingers couldn't stop typing. In fact, by the time you've finished reading this Chapter 11 will be up. It's much shorter but it refused to start out any other way (you'll see what I mean soon). I'm already in deep to chapter 12, and it's just flowing right out.

So how did you like the fluff and angst? Don't worry, this is pretty much the end of the angst between them. There will be pop-ups, it wouldn't be Tom and Rachel if they didn't butt heads, but they've managed to lay the majority of the past where it belongs.

Also, if you've never seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail you really need to see it. If you enjoy my humor, which you must if you're still reading lol, then that movie will make you wet your pants in laughter.

I also have to admit I struggled with finding a place for Tom to have fallen in love with her, and after watching Two Sailors again I felt it was the best spot. Right after that we move into the trails and then the race for Baltimore. It just makes so much sense to me for it to have been that moment. The look on his face was more than an 'Oh SHIT' moment, at least to me.

THANK YOU! We've gotten past 100 reviews! ::dances like crazy:: Ya'll are my muse, and reviews are seriously like crack for authors.