**Author's Note: I just tested positive for COVID and am MISERABLE. Updates may slow over the coming week. I have 2-3 chapters already written and can probably manage to edit, but sitting up to type entire new chapters hurts.

Chapter 25: I Am The Fire

February 9th, 2014 - 1300 (1:00 pm)

The next two months saw them through to the other side of the United States, through stops in California, Alaska, and up the top of Russia through the East Siberian Sea. They had just finished in Sweden and Norway, and were headed to their single stop in Iceland. Höfn was the largest coastal city that the small country had to offer, so they had plotted a course and were expecting to make landfall within the next 24 hours.

Tom walked into Rachel's lab that afternoon to find her hard at work, a small smile on her lips and a hand pressed gently to her abdomen. She had just barely started to show at 11 weeks, and both she and Tom were having a hard time keeping their hands off of her tiny baby belly. He loved feeling her taut skin, normally so soft but hardening as their baby grew. He couldn't wait to be able to feel the baby kick, or to caress her growing belly while they made love or rested together. She was beautiful, glowing, and his love for her had only grown over the last weeks.

"Hello, love," she greeted him, and he smiled, walking over to her and reaching for her hand. She let him take her hand in his and kiss her fingers, his thumb rubbing gently over the ring he'd given her at Christmas.

"Hey," he said, and then perched on the edge of her desk. "Want to get lunch with me?"

Rachel grimaced but didn't refuse. She had been struggling pretty badly with morning sickness, though she had thrown up surprisingly few times. She was just constantly nauseated, not wanting to eat despite knowing that she needed to for the baby's sake. She knew it would taper off in the next week or so as she entered the second trimester of her pregnancy, but for right now it was a constant annoyance.

"Just something light," she compromised. Tom nodded, accepting this, and took her hand, helping her out of her office chair. She rolled her eyes lovingly at the gesture - she wasn't helpless yet, though she expected she'd need him more and more when her stomach began to get in the way.

On their way to the mess, she talked in a soft, quiet voice about the thoughts that had been running through her head that morning.

"Tom, I think we need to tell Doc Rios about the pregnancy," she said, and he looked at her quickly, alarmed.

"Why? Does something feel off? Are you and the baby OK?"

She chuckled, nodding to reassure him. "We're fine, but 12 weeks is normally when the first ultrasound is done. And I'm good, but I don't think I'm good enough to run a transvaginal ultrasound on myself."

Tom frowned, grimacing. "That ... sounds unpleasant."

Rachel shook her head. "Not at all. It's a small wand, and doing the ultrasound vaginally will let us get a better look at the baby at this point in the pregnancy. We should be able to hear the heartbeat."

Tom grinned then, remembering when he had heard Sam's heartbeat on the ultrasound for the first time. He had missed it with Ashley, having been deployed for all of Darien's pregnancy and the birth, but hearing Sam's heart on the monitor that day had been the single greatest moment of his life. He was excited to be doing this again, with Rachel, and couldn't wait to see their child.

"OK," he agreed easily. "When do you want to talk to him?"

"Well," Rachel said, opening the door to the mess and walking in ahead of Tom. "Today, maybe? We're making landfall in Iceland tomorrow morning, and we'll be there for several days. I don't want to wait much longer, the 12 week scan is an important one to check on the baby's growth and development."

"I'm finished on the bridge at 1600," Tom said. "We can go then."

Rachel nodded, smiling as she grabbed a tray.

By some small miracle, she and Tom had managed to keep the pregnancy just between them for the past 11 weeks. There had been moments where she was worried that others suspected something, that she'd given it away when she'd been unable to keep her hands off of her abdomen or when she'd been too sick to work. But her occasional bouts of nausea had been chalked up to the fact that she was exposed to small children now, and everyone knew that children were germ factories. She had simply blamed her upset stomach on the stomach bug that Lucy had shared with the rest of her class. It had hit Ashley pretty hard, so no one had questioned it.

"We'll also probably need to start telling people soon, starting with Jed and the kids," she continued. "They're going to notice soon, anyway. My jeans barely fit anymore."

Tom smiled at the reminder; just this morning, she had flopped dramatically back on the bed, complaining loudly that she couldn't button her pants and that there was nowhere to just go buy maternity clothes. In the end, she had tied a hair tie through the button hole of her jeans to loop around the button, serving as a makeshift extender for her pants. It would work for a few more weeks, but then they were going to have to talk to Kara about what she'd done (which, honestly, was simply wear a lot of sweatpants).

At 24 weeks, Kara was considerably ahead of Rachel in her pregnancy, and had already faced some of the challenges that Rachel knew lay ahead for her, too.

The idea of telling the crew and putting up with the jabs and comments was the worst. Although, Rachel pondered, she would probably have to deal with less, being a civilian and partner to the Captain. No one wanted to get on Tom's bad side, and needling his pregnant partner would be a pretty surefire way to land permanently on his shit list.

"We can tell them tonight," Tom said, adding yogurt to her tray when she seemed content to just have a salad and an apple. She needed to eat more, she knew, and she would try if Tom asked her to, so she didn't complain about the yogurt.

"Do you think they'll be excited?" Rachel asked, taking her tray and sitting it down at a small table in the corner.

"I do," Tom admitted. "Sam especially. He's mentioned having a baby brother at least five times since Christmas."

Rachel smiled, remembering the night Tom had given her the promise ring. It was a sweet memory, one she liked to think about whenever she saw the thin, rose gold band on her finger.

"Hey, when will be able to figure out if it's a boy or a girl?" Tom asked quietly, aware that there were others around who might overhear.

"Twenty weeks is typically when you can see gender. Do you have a preference?"

Tom shook his head. "No, not at all. Just a healthy mom and baby. What about you?"

Rachel thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "I always imagined having a baby girl. But a little boy with your eyes would be great, too. Honestly I don't mind either way. I'm just so excited to see them on the ultrasound today."

Tom grinned and squeezed her hand before letting it drop, and then dug into his meal. He was pleased to see that Rachel made an attempt to eat everything on her plate. He felt like she should have gained more weight, but she kept assuring him that it was OK and even healthy to not gain very much during the first trimester.

When they were done eating, Tom walked Rachel back to the lab and, after making sure no one was inside, he gently caressed her cheek and leaned down to kiss her softly.

"I love you," he said, reaching down to dance his fingers across her abdomen. She wasn't showing enough to be noticeable when she was dressed, but he knew that tonight when they went to bed she would let him hike her shirt up and press kisses to her tiny baby bump. If she was in the mood, which she very often was these days because of the increase in hormones, he would worship every inch of her body before making love to her slowly and softly. "I love you too," he told the baby, before letting his hand drop and stepping back.

"See you later," Rachel said, and Tom nodded, stepping out of the door to the lab. He paused right outside.

"I'll pick you up from the lab after I'm done on the bridge," he said. "We can walk to the med bay together."

Rachel smiled and nodded, knowing that the next three hours would pass very slowly while she waited in anticipation to see her baby for the first time.

February 9th, 2014 - 1610 (4:10 pm)

"Ready?"

Rachel jumped in surprise when she heard Tom's voice behind her what seemed like less than an hour later. A glance at the clock revealed that it was, in fact, after four in the afternoon, much to her shock. She had been working on easier storage and dispersal of the vaccine, so that they didn't have to use so many single use glass vials. She wanted to make the vaccine injector use a larger vial with multiple doses of the cure, dispensing the necessary amount for each person before being sanitized and used again. It would be faster, too, without having to pause between each dose to reload.

"Sorry," she said. "I lost track of time."

"Somehow that doesn't shock me in the slightest," Tom commented, and Rachel chuckled before saving her work and turning her computer off.

Tom had dressed down and, no longer in uniform, felt comfortable taking her hand and holding onto it as they walked through the p-ways. They had never really told anyone they were together, other than Jed and the children, but most had guessed it anyway, so he wasn't worried about any of the crew seeing them. Besides, in a few weeks, everyone would know anyway, when her bump got too big to hide.

They walked into the med bay together, and Doc Rios noticed them immediately. He smiled in greeting as they walked up to him.

"Are you busy, doctor?" Rachel asked, aware that they hadn't made an appointment.

"Not at all. It's a nice change after that stomach bug made it's way through most of the crew last week. I'm glad that's over."

Rachel chuckled, and squeezed Tom's hand as her heart began to race.

"I have a favor to ask if you," she said, and Rios nodded.

"Of course. Anything you need, Dr. Scott."

Rachel motioned for him to move behind the curtained off area in the corner of the bay for privacy, and then pulled the curtain closed behind them.

"I'm pregnant," she said simply, and while Rios's eyes widened, he nodded, recovering from his shock quickly. "11 weeks. I know that I've done a lot of Kara's prenatal care myself, but I obviously can't do my own prenatal care. Would you be willing?"

Rios nodded, and smiled at her and the Captain.

"Of course! I would be honored. Congratulations, Dr. Scott, Captain."

"Thank you," Tom said, as Rios motioned for Rachel to hop up onto the bed.

"I'd like to do a general exam today, as well as a transvaginal ultrasound," Rachel said, laying back on the bed. Rios looked to her for permission to lift her shirt and she nodded.

"Of course," he said. "I assume you've already run blood work on yourself?"

Rachel nodded. She had repeated the blood work weekly, making sure to keep a close eye on her levels. "Everything's fine. hGC is right where it should be, as well as vitamin levels, lipids, and hematocrit."

"Perfect. So, at 11 weeks, you know that you're almost out of the first trimester. I assume you waited to tell me until this time due to the chance of miscarrying early in pregnancy?"

"Yes," Rachel said, and Tom felt his heart race like it did every time he heard her talk about miscarriage so casually. "But the baby and I both seem to be very healthy, so I think it's time."

Rios nodded as he continued his exam. Eventually he declared that everything seemed normal and fine, and then left briefly to grab the ultrasound machine.

Rachel looked up at Tom and held out her hand. He instantly grabbed it, holding on tightly.

"You gonna be all right with the ultrasound?" he asked, and he realized he had correctly guessed what she was worried about when she grimaced and looked down toward the sheet she was sitting on. He didn't know much about transvaginal ultrasounds, but he knew that it would require her to be more vulnerable than she was probably comfortable with. She'd had very few nightmares for the past several weeks, but he knew that, even if it was both medical and necessary, she would hate the idea of being that naked in front of anyone but him.

"It'll be fine," she said, and stood up shakily to remove her jeans and panties while Rios was gone. She settled back on the bed, using the sheet to cover herself, her thighs clenched tightly together. "A regular ultrasound won't show as much detail at this point. This is the best option."

Tom nodded and took her hand again. He knew that she would be fine; she was one of the strongest people he knew.

"Everyone decent in there?" Rios called from the other side of the partition, and Rachel smiled nervously up at Tom.

"We're ready," Tom confirmed, and Rios opened the curtain, entering with an ultrasound cart.

"Dr. Scott if you're uncomfortable at any time, please let me know and we can stop the test," he said, readying the wand with a cover and some medical lube. "This will be a little cold. Open your legs a bit for me," he said, and Rachel took a deep breath before setting her feet flat on the bed and letting her thighs open.

She winced at the cold and the intrusion, but much to her relief, it felt very medical and not at all like she had been worried about. This wasn't a wrong touch, it was a necessary one, a necessary medical test to see how her baby was doing, to hear their heartbeat and see them for the first time.

"OK?" Tom asked, and she nodded, smiling at him briefly before turning to the screen. She couldn't see much yet as Rios did a general exam of her womb and cervix. But then he focused the wand, and she heard a fast thump-thump-thump fill the rooms

"Is that...?" She asked, and Rios nodded.

"The heartbeat. 140 beats per minute, very healthy. And there, see that? That's the heart. You can see it fluttering. There's the head and ..."

Rachel couldn't focus on his words as she stared at her baby on the screen. The baby was tiny, but looked perfect. Little arms and legs and a clearly defined head.

"So little," she said, and looked up to find Tom staring at the screen with tears in his eyes.

"Beautiful," he whispered, and squeezed Rachel's hand tighter as they watched their baby.

"Very active little one you have here," Rios commented as the baby moved around on the screen.

"Should I be able to feel the baby move yet?" She asked, concerned but unable to make herself look away from the screen.

"Not yet," he said, "but soon. Within the next several weeks, normally around 16 or 17 weeks for a first time mother. You'll be able to feel them far before anyone else will. The first kicks will feel like a fluttering, not very strong at first. I think I'm done taking measurements. Would you guys like a picture printed to keep?"

Rachel nodded enthusiastically, tears in her eyes and unable to speak. She had known she was pregnant, obviously; she'd watched her hGC levels increase every week and had felt her belly harden as she began to show. But seeing the baby on screen made it very real. There they were, tiny but perfect, fingers and toes and tiny, little, fluttering heart.

Rachel looked up at Tom again to see that he was still in the same position he'd been in before. He was holding her hand tightly, eyes glued to the screen. He was crying silently, unable to believe that that was their baby in there, wiggling around.

"I love you," he whispered suddenly, unable to help himself.

Rachel offered him a watery smile, sniffling as Rios printed the ultrasound picture and handed it to them. He removed the ultrasound wand and handed her a wipe to clean up before taking the ultrasound machine out of the curtained partition and offering them some privacy.

"That's our baby," Rachel said quietly, handing Tom the wipe to help clean the lube off of her while she stared at the picture. She ran her pointer finger over their baby's features, touching the nose and wondering if the baby would have her nose, or Tom's.

"Sure is," he answered, gently cleaning her up before helping her step back into her panties. She wasn't much use with her jeans, too busy staring at the picture to do more than stand when he told her to. Tom smiled, buttoning her pants for her and running his fingers along her belly before dropping her shirt. When he placed a hand on her cheek and one on her hip, she finally looked up, smiling brilliantly. Tom couldn't help himself; he pulled her into his arms, dropping his head to her shoulder.

"I love you so much," he whispered, and kissed her neck softly as she wrapped her slim arms around his back, clutching tightly onto his shirt.

"I love you, too. I'm so... I'm so happy."

She was happy because of more than just the baby, though that was a large part of it.

She was happy because she had Tom, and Sam, and Ashley.

She was happy because they had visited 11 cities so far, 9 of which they had been able to establish a working lab in. They'd been able to leave a comprehensive copy of Rachel's research at each one, as well as instructions to create an ongoing radio signal letting the public know where to go to receive the cure, much like the one that had drawn so many hundreds of thousands of people toward Olympia. Except, this time, they would be heading to a cure as opposed to certain death.

She was happy because she had a ring and a promise and a future and a family.

"Me, too," Tom said, and held her tighter. "Me, too."