In an unlikely location, a man tormented by guilt and consumed by pain, seeking redemption. What he finds is not what he expects…

Rachel has recovered from her injury and is making plans to fulfill the mission given to her by the President. Tom feels differently on the matter, and a heated argument ensues.

After 2x13. Rachel has a moment. Getting shot and nearly dying seems to bring about some self exploration more than living through a general apocalypse. She is independent and strong, and she doesn't need a pat on the back to keep being so, but.. Maybe it's time to stop looking at what she doesn't need, and take a look at what she does.

'It is an age-old practice, for better or worse, when war comes and the men are to leave…many women fast become wives, sometimes very prematurely...but all of them clinging to the hope that they will not fast become widows instead…' Tom/Rachel, slower paced and with a focus on the misunderstandings and insecurities bred from such a situation. Very much an introspection based story.

Takes place at the end of 2.13 between Tom and Rachel and then onward. Rachel returns to St. Louis two years after the shooting. Has anything changed between them? Or has everything changed?

"It began to get complicated the day Heero noticed he really didn't like oatmeal." PG-13 for language. Heero POV. Slightly AU but not really. Set during the Series.