Chapter 12
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He could still so easily hear the big blast over him and Frankie as the Russian helo exploded in the air. Thanks to Kara and Ravit they were still here. Alive.
He hadn't had much time to ask her if she was okay, only witnessing with his own eyes that she was moving normally. They were packed inside the helo and he glanced around as they sat inside. Seeing that everyone was rather shocked after the attack which was common. The attack had come as a surprise. They weren't prepared for it, nor they knew why the Russians had attacked them. They had to defend themselves. They had to do it. He kept going over the situation in his mind, remembering how he had been with Frankie, when they suddenly heard and saw the five helo's approaching. He just hoped that this wouldn't cause a war between the US and Russia.
Their helo landed on the James and he saw Kara help Rachel to get a checkup by Doc Rios in the hangar where they had set up a emergency care unit.
He lifted the prisoner with them on to the deck with Ravit and Frankie. And saw the Captain rush outside.
"Where's Rachel? Is she okay?" They heard the Captain's hurried voice and he thought he saw a worried look on the Captain's face.
"She's in hangar two, getting a checkup." Frankie replied and Danny followed the Captain with his eyes as he knelt down to interrogate the prisoner. Saying something in Russian.
"What'd he say?"
"He wants the cure." Was the Captain's words to his XO.
He couldn't help but overhear the conversation. A cure? What was going on? He suddenly had a bad feeling about this all, but he hoped that his gut feeling was nothing to worry about. Perhaps it was a cure for cancer the prisoner had meant, something he thought might be worth fighting for. But why would Russia send five helo's with machine guns to shoot at them, if they had a cure for cancer? As much as he tried to bury his bad feeling under a pile of different reasons and possible explanations, he had to admit to himself that nothing made sense right now. The bad feeling inside of him had to stay for the time being.
Tom was sitting beside Mike after their video call with whatever was left of the government of the United States. The President had died, and the Vice President too..
They were browsing through the news footage. There was only one word to describe it all. Chaos. Utter chaos all over the world. Chinese people bombing their own just to stop the virus from spreading. It was unbearable to see and hear. "The virus has no treatment, no vaccine.." He heard a voice say in the news clip they were watching.
"I knew she was hiding something, but this.." Mike shook his head and gave him a glance. He nodded silently. Mike had been right about her all along.
"And EMCON alpha.. Keep us in the dark about what was going on at home." Mike continued.
"What do we tell the crew?"
"Everything. We tell them everything." They all had been in the dark, the crew deserved to know the truth and after the attack they had faced just moments before, they couldn't keep this a secret. But his mind wasn't only on the crew, he found himself thinking how he hadn't known everything. It wasn't just the past four months that he had been kept in the dark, for 26 years he has been a father to someone. Even now he didn't even know if he had another son or a daughter. He never had a chance to get to know his child. Would there still be a chance for that? Was he or she alive?
Kara walked towards the armory as she still heard the Captain's harsh voice echo in her mind as he had ordered everyone out of the hangar where she had taken Rachel for a checkup. Looks like Commander Slattery's theory of polar bears was way off. They had now saved Dr. Scott from the Russians.
She stepped inside the armory half shocked still after the sudden attack, thinking how it had been a close call that Danny and Frankie had survived. She began taking off her gear and bulletproof vest, suddenly feeling like the vest was stuck on her, like she didn't get it off no matter how hard she tried, she felt she was panicking. Discomfort in her chest was getting bigger and she felt like she couldn't breath.
Luckily for her someone helped the vest off of her. She glanced quickly at her savior. It was Danny.
"Just breath. Focus on your breathing." She heard his calm voice, wondering how he could be so calm right now. He had been in danger, he could have died. But in her mind she knew he probably has been in much worse before.
"Breath." She heard his voice again as she closed her eyes for a brief moment. Steadying herself against the wall as she focused on listening to him and she noticed her heart beat slowing down, her chest wasn't aching anymore.
She opened her eyes and met his gaze.
"Thank you." She said and he gave her a smile.
"I should thank you. You and Ravit saved us." Danny replied and then she remembered the Russian helo above him and Frankie again, and felt like the panic was coming over her again.
Danny stepped forward and placed his hand on her chest, above her heart and locked his eyes with her. "Breath." He said one more time and she nodded silently. Listening to his voice as it seemed to calm her down. She slowly moved her hand on top of his as she felt the immediate panic go over. She then hugged him, wanting to feel his arms around her. Feeling tears pricking in her eyes as she leaned against him.
"Master Chief is gathering everyone on the deck." They heard Burk say from behind them and they quickly placed their equipment away and readied themselves to go up to the deck.
She stood beside Danny as they listened to the news the Captain was telling them. Informing them about the state of the world. Even their commanding officers hadn't known about the real mission. The real mission.. Bird studying.. She kept thinking in her mind, this explains Rachel's behavior the last few weeks. All this time she has been looking for a cure!
"Did you know?" She heard Danny ask her as they were dismissed. Hearing slight anger in his voice.
"No! I didn't know anything!" She replied quickly. She had been in the dark too. She rushed inside ignoring Danny, at the moment there was only one person she wanted to talk to.
She entered to the helo bay where she knew Rachel would be hiding.
"Is it true?" She walked to stand before Rachel noticing that she seemed to look rather worried about something.
"Yes." Rachel answered quietly.
"And you didn't say anything!" Kara raised her voice.
"I couldn't say anything! I had orders from the White House!" Rachel stated, hoping Kara would understood. She hadn't been secretive on purpose.
"You lied to me, even when I asked about your research." Kara said quietly, wondering how she had been able to lie to her of all people.
"Trust me when I say, this wasn't easy for me to keep from you." Rachel tried to say with a sincere voice as she held eye contact with Kara. She needed to believe her.
"Your promise.." Kara began thinking and gave her a speculative look. "Am I here because of you?"
Rachel hesitated a little in her reply before continuing "Yes. I got you assigned here."
She heard Rachel's words and shook her head in disbelief.
"You and Ravit. I wasn't sure if you would come without her. Last time we spoke, you mentioned her and it sounded you were tight.. So, I'm the reason that you're on this ship. On this mission." Rachel said without a regret. There would be more arguments about her selfish decision to have someone she knew on this ship, on this mission, when everyone else didn't even get to say goodbye to their families. But right now she didn't care. Kara was safe.
"You are safe here!" She heard Rachel's voice a little more desperate now. Safe? More like stuck at sea, how long would they survive?
"For how long? You don't have a vaccine for the virus. What if you never will?" She asked.
"You would rather have been out there? In the crazy and chaotic world?"
"I wasn't going to let you die! I kept my promise!" She registered Rachel's reasoning, stepping away from her as she looked at her in shock as she thought about what she had done.
She turned and left the helo bay. She was stuck on this ship because of her. And as she thought about it, she knew she probably should be thankful for her. If everything that the Captain had told them about what was going on back home was true.. How long would she have survived on land? But in the moment she felt betrayed, now more than ever.
Andrea was leaning against the wall on the P-Way. Thinking about Lily and her parents. Hoping they were surviving somehow. She had tried to call her parents, but all she got out of the phone call was the line "Due to widespread system failure, the number you are calling cannot be reached." That was as close she got of hearing something from outside of the ship.
Thinking back at her conversation with Rachel, all this time she has been aware of the situation in the world, and there she was listening to her telling about her daughter and how she missed her and what she had planned for them. And she knew even then about what was going on. God she felt angry right now. But it hadn't just been Rachel's fault, even their own government had gone along with this scam as they had manufactured this mission for them. To keep their minds busy while Dr. Scott looks for the cure.
The door in front of her was jerked open and Mike stepped slowly out of the comms room. She saw the devastated look on his face.
"Mike..?" She placed her hand on his chest and tried to seek eye contact but he was distraught about something.
"Mike? Did you reach Christine?"
"Are the kids okay?"
He finally locked eyes with her and she saw that he had gotten bad news.
"My boy is gone." Mike finally got around to say as he felt like he was crying right there and then.
Andrea hugged Mike and felt him crying against her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry." Andrea whispered quietly and felt her eyes tearing too. Lucas was gone. What where the odds that Lily and her parents had survived?
Kara was storming through the P-Ways as she rushed away from the helo bay. Wanting to get far away as possible, but how far could she get on a 509 ft ship?
She found herself standing in the doorway to the Crew Lounge, noticing almost everyone she had come to know the past few months sitting in the tight space.
She quietly walked to stand by the couch at the back where Carlton, Ravit and Danny were sitting. Frankie, Alisha and Javier sat beside the couch on chairs. Ravit was leaning against Carlton and at the moment she wasn't sure if Danny would be willing to comfort her. He had made the assumption that she had known about everything all along. But she hadn't known anything. So she felt like she didn't have a place to be right now. She felt like she was all alone.
She placed herself on the floor in front of Javier. Halsey got up from behind Frankie's chair and moved to lie half on her lap. She sighed as she caressed the dog. How easy was Halsey's life.. She had probably sensed something was off, but she was blissfully unaware of the gravity of the situation.
"You okay?" She heard Javier's voice and felt his hand slightly touching her shoulder. Noticing how her entire body was more relaxed as she felt someone holding her, even if it was just a simple touch on her shoulder.
She nodded. Feeling like there was no right answer to that question right now. No she wasn't okay, but then again she was still alive, so she was okay. Her mind was completely in chaos, like a hurricane had hit her brain and mixed everything up. She wasn't sure if she should tell her friends that Rachel had gotten her assigned to the ship for the mission. But she thought it was best to keep it a secret, it would be just another reason for everyone to hate Rachel.
Suddenly as they sat there everyone deep in their thoughts, she saw Danny get up and leave the room. She wondered what was going on with him?
"I'll take Halsey for a walk outside." She said to Frankie as she got up and ordered the dog to follow after her.
She didn't get far in the P-Way when she found him. Leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.
"What's wrong?" She asked as she sensed something was troubling him.
"It's nothing." He said indifferently but she knew from his behavior that something had gotten him all worked up.
"Fine." She said as she walked past him, thinking she would take Halsey up on the deck as she had promised.
"I'm sorry." She heard from behind her and turned around to face him.
"I'm sorry that I accused you of knowing about everything." He met her gaze and she sighed. She was glad he was on her side.
"I really didn't know. She lied to me too." She stated out loud. Feeling Rachel's betrayal wash over her again.
"And she arranged it so, that I was assigned here." She told him. Noticing that the heavy burden she was feeling pressing down on her chest had become a little lighter. She just hoped he wouldn't be mad at her about this.
"Well, that's one thing I'm glad she did." He said and she noticed the soft and caring look he had.
"I'm not so sure it was the right thing to do. Everyone else didn't get a chance to say their goodbyes, to have their family safe, and she does." She reasoned and noticed as Danny stepped closer to her.
"It might not have been the best decision she made, but she must have had her reasons."
"All I know is that I wouldn't have met you, if she hadn't gotten you here." Danny met her eyes and she felt like smiling even though it didn't feel right. Everyone she cared for were on this ship.. Carlton, Ravit, Danny, Javier, Frankie, Alisha and even Rachel. She didn't have any family back home, no one to worry about, no one to go back to.
"What were your last words to your parents?" She asked and got a surprised reaction out of him as he smiled a little at the memory.
"I told them I loved them and that I would be back in a few months."
"They knew there never was a guarantee I would come back alive, so it came a tradition sort of. I would say to them I would come back every time I got deployed." Danny told her and she pulled him in for a hug. Sensing he needed the comfort as much as she did.
Rachel was walking in the P-Way towards Tom's cabin. She hadn't heard from him since their talk in the hangar. First she needed to know what the plan was, and as for the other thing, she suspected he would have questions.
As she walked in the narrow P-Way she noticed the looks she got from the crew, the whispering going around her when she walked by. She had become the star of the gossip now, and quite frankly what had she expected that would happen? That the crew would be welcoming her with open arms? She might have the primordial strain of the virus now, but they were long from having a vaccine ready. Who knew how long that would take?
She gathered her posture and knocked on his door. Hearing a casual "Come in" from inside the cabin. It sounded so normal and she knew he wasn't expecting her right now.
She opened the door and stepped inside. He was sitting by his desk and she briefly met his gaze before closing the door.
"I need to know what the plan is." She turned to face him and tried to keep the tone of her voice as professional as she could.
Tom glanced at the picture of his family before replying to her.
"There's an unmanned refueling station off the coast of France. We should just make it."
She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest as she wondered what was the next step.
"How do you know there's enough fuel there?" She asked knowing it was just a way to keep the conversation on something else than the past.
"I don't." Tom shrugged his shoulders and looked at her, seeing that she felt uneasy in his presence. She knew he would want answers from her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked and she sank in one of the chairs as she held her hands together, rubbing them as if she was nervous.
"Which are you referring to? The pandemic or.. our child?" She asked naively.
"The latter.." Was his irritated reply.
"First I thought there was nothing to tell. I.." She began telling, feeling emotional all of a sudden.
"I wasn't going to keep the baby." She said with a husky voice as she still remembered the day like it was yesterday. She was sitting in the Clinic, waiting for her turn. Feeling as nervous as she was now.
"But?" He still held his eyes on her. Looking at her as she told him.
"I couldn't do it." She said.
"It was our baby, part of you and me." She met his eyes, seeing the sad face he held. She wasn't sure if it was because of his own worry over his present family or the fact that he never knew about his firstborn child.
"And where is he or she now?" He asked.
"She was adopted." She tried to wipe some of the tears running down on her face.
She. He thought about her words. He had another daughter. They had a daughter together. His mind briefly thought about how she looked like. Would she be like her mother in looks?
"You didn't keep her?" He stood up and pondered over everything he was hearing right now.
"I didn't have a choice. I was young." She stated.
"We were young." She added and got a angry look from him.
"You say we.. I was never informed about this. You decided it was best to keep this to yourself." He raised his voice a bit sounding bitter.
"I realize that. But I thought it was for the best at the time. You were in the Academy, despite the fact that you had only joined to annoy your father.. You had plans for the future. You knew what you wanted." She explained and got up herself.
"I had plans too." She met his eyes hoping he would understand.
"Nonetheless I had the right to know. Be part of the decision process." He said with a calmer voice. He still felt angry and betrayed that she hadn't told him, but her reasoning made sense too. He sighed as he thought about their situation right now, their mission. He would have to trust her, work with her, protect her.
Hope you have enjoyed this chapter! :)
