Chapter 40: I Am The Fire

June 20th, 2014 - 1330 (1:30 pm)

After a trip to the supply warehouse to find household essentials like bedding, towels and wash cloths, curtains for the bedroom windows, laundry, dish soap, toothpaste and shampoo, Tom could tell that the kids were drooping and likely wouldn't make it through much more of the day without a nap. While neither Sam or Ashley habitually napped, today had been a lot for them, and he knew they could all use a rest.

Actually, he reflected as he tired to hold back a yawn, they could all use a nap.

As if reading his thoughts, Rachel asked from the passenger seat of the SUV they'd borrowed, "What else do we need to accomplish before dinner?"

Which, as they had discovered from Thorwald, they would be having with the President of the United States.

Tom hummed, thinking.

"We need to head back to the ship and get all of our belongings off. The entire crew was given until tonight to remove their things; the Nathan James is going to be dry-docked for at least a month for repairs. We've been running long past the recommended time without stopping for maintenance. Other than that, I'd like to check in with Mike and his family, see if they're getting settled OK. Thorwald's men headed the task of getting everyone settled, and I know that we'll see them all at the ball the President is planning on holding, but I'd like to check in."

Rachel nodded, smiling. "Yes. I would like to check in with Danny and Kara, as well. Do you know if they were given a house, or an apartment?"

Tom shook his head, turning on the blinker to signal that they were turning onto their new street.

1372 Lake Falls Road, their new home.

"I'm not sure, but Thorwald has a list of the crew and where they're at. I'll ask him for a copy so we can make sure everyone is settling in all right."

"Sounds great," Rachel said, and smothered a yawn as Tom pulled into their driveway. He turned off the engine and just stared at the house. They had a home now. A place to come at the end of the day, to sleep and eat, a place to raise Sam and Ashley and Noah. It was amazing, to think that they were finally here, after so long of uncertainty. He had been certain, over the past 8 months, that they'd never make it back to this kind of normal.

"We did it," he said in wonder, and then smiled when Rachel leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"We did it," she agreed, and then opened her door to exit the car. She opened Sam's door and chuckled quietly when she found the child fast asleep, his head back against the headrest, his mouth wide open and drooling. Ashley, next to him, was hanging on by a thread, blinking sleepily as Rachel unbuckled her brother.

"Tom," she whispered. "You're going to have to carry him."

Tom nodded and rounded the car, gently picking Sam up, trying not to wake him while Rachel grabbed the bags with their new bedding.

"I'll go ahead and make his bed up so you can just put him down," she said, and brushed her fingers over Sam's forehead as she walked into the house and up the stairs. She was only a few paces ahead of Tom and the children, but took the time she had to carefully smooth Sam's new sheets - batman themed - over his twin size bed. She added the matching pillowcase and then, when Tom gently laid Sam down, she spread the plain black quilt the boy had chosen over his body. She tucked it in around him, making sure he was sleeping comfortably, before pulling back and smiling when Tom wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Let's get Ashley settled," he said, kissing her temple. "Then we can make up our bed."

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, a huge grin on his lips, and Rachel couldn't help but laugh. She swatted him on the chest gently, taking the bag with Ashley's bedding before walking out of Sam's room.

"If you think we're doing anything other than taking a much deserved nap on that bed, mister, you're going to be in for a shock."

Tom just continued grinning, knowing that she was right but not caring. He was too happy about everything for it to bother him. Happy that they had a bed, and that their bed was in their home.

"I'm tired, mommy," Ashley said when they entered her room. As if to punctuate her point, she yawned loudly.

Rachel shooed her off of the bed so she could make it up with the simple, purple sheets Ashley had chosen. She finished it off by spreading the fluffy, white blanket over the top, and helped Ashley crawl in before tucking her in. She kissed the little girl on the forehead, and walked back to the doorway where Tom had been waiting, watching them.

"Sleep tight, love," she whispered, and Ashley grunted in response before burrowing further into her blanket.

Tom took Rachel's hand and led her back down the stairs.

"Let's get the rest of our things inside," he suggested. "So we can relax for a while before dinner."

Rachel nodded and helped Tom bring in the rest of the bags. Most of them were left on the counter to deal with later, but they took the bags containing their sheets and blankets into the bedroom. They had compromised on a bedding set that was fairly plain, but cozy. The sheets were white, crisp and fairly new looking. They'd decided on a down comforter, light blue, and matching pillows. Once the bed was made, Rachel had to agree that the blue matched well with the rest of the room. They already had light gray curtains, and the walls were white, and it all worked together to create a calming, cozy atmosphere.

Once they were done, Rachel stepped back, leaning into Tom's side as they surveyed their new room.

"I know I keep saying it," she said quietly. "But this hardly seems real. That we have a home, and a bed, and that we can look outside and see trees and other people just going about their lives. It seemed, while we were in the middle of this, that the ship would be our lives forever, that we'd never get to have this again. But... we do. We get to raise the kids here, and yes, it's a little morbid that we're taking over the home and the bed of a family that was most likely killed by the virus, but ... I keep thinking that I'm going to wake up and this will all have been a dream."

Tom kissed her forehead and then took her hand, leading her to the bed and prompting her to sit on what had become her side over the past few months. As she sat, he leaned down and helped her take her shoes off, and then his, before climbing into bed beside her.

"Let's get some rest," he said, pulling their new blanket to cover both of them. "So we can sleep and wake up here and realize that it's not a dream, that this really is real."

Rachel nodded, snuggling into his warmth, and closed her eyes with the knowledge that Tom, and the kids, and everything would still be there when she woke up.

June 20th, 2014 - 1650 (4:50 pm)

After sleeping for almost two hours, Rachel woke, refreshed, to find more than just Tom in her bed.

She sighed, reaching out to wrap her arm around Ashley, who had curled into her side at some point.

"Hey, love," she whispered, and the little girl smiled sheepishly up at her.

"Hey, mommy," she whispered, and Rachel grinned, her breath still catching and her heartbeat spiking like it did every time she heard either of the children call her mommy. She wondered if it would ever stop, if it would ever become normal, and hoped that it didn't. "I couldn't sleep alone in my room. I woke up, and no one else was there, so I came down here to sleep with you and Daddy. Is that OK?"

Rachel nodded and kissed Ashley's forehead, relaxing back into the bed. "Of course, love. Your father and I will talk to you and Sam about it later, but as long as the door is cracked open you can come in without asking. If it's closed, please knock," she said, and Ashley agreed easily. Rachel knew that it would likely take the children a while to get used to sleeping in their own rooms, and she and Tom would have to be careful for these first few weeks to make sure they weren't walked in.

"Daddy? Momma?" came a quiet voice from the doorway, and Rachel's smile grew.

"Hey, Sam," she said quietly, trying not to wake Tom. "Come here," she said, and motioned Sam to her side of the bed. Sam climbed up clumsily before collapsing between her and Tom. He wiggled around for a moment, getting comfortable, and kicked Tom in the back. Rachel giggled quietly as he snorted in surprise before turning over to survey their bed full of people.

"The kids felt lonely," she explained, and Tom gave them a sleepy, amused look before collapsing back onto his pillow.

"Gonna have to put a sock on the door," he grumbled, and Rachel laughed while Sam looked up in confusion.

"Why do you need to put a sock on the door, Daddy? That's silly."

Tom chuckled before reaching down and grabbing Sam around the waist, hauling the boy up to lay on his chest.

"To keep cuddly little monsters out while mommy and daddy are having grown up time," he said, tickling Sam as he spoke. The little boy howled with laughter while Rachel rolled her eyes at both of them.

"What's grown up time?" Ashley asked, and Rachel closed her eyes briefly before shooting Tom a glare. While she was trying to communicate with her eyebrows that she would not be the one explaining, she caught sight of the clock on their bedside table and realized that they'd slept much later than she thought they would.

"Something your daddy will explain to you many many years in the future, love. For now, we need to get up and get ready to go to Grandpa's!"

"Woo! Grandpa!" Sam said excitedly, as if he hadn't just spent six months in close personal contact with his grandfather. "Did grandpa get a new house? Will we have rooms at his house for when we stay over? Where does grandpa live now?"

His endless list of questions continued as Rachel shooed him out of the room and up the stairs to run a brush through his hair and clean his teeth.

"Yes, he got a house, too, though it's much smaller. It's called an apartment, and it only has a few rooms. But that's fine with Grandpa, because he lives by himself. He doesn't need much room. No, he doesn't have rooms for you and Ashley. If you spend the night, you'll sleep on the couch or camp out on the floor. He lives a few miles away, you'll get to see when we drive there."

"OK!" Sam said easily, and trooped off to the bathroom. Ashley, who was following them at a much slower pace, looked up at Rachel with pleading eyes.

"Can Sammy and I come to dinner with you and daddy?" she asked, and Rachel shook her head.

"No, love, I'm afraid not. It's a grown up dinner meeting. We're going to have dinner with the people who helped set this town up, see what kind of jobs they'll need your Daddy and I to do while we're here."

Ashley nodded glumly but didn't complain. Rachel knew that the children would be clingy for the first few weeks they were on land, and hoped that it would fade once they began school and started making friends again.

Speaking of which...

"We need to go to the school and get the kids enrolled tomorrow," she told Tom as she walked back down the stairs. Tom had changed while she was with the kids, and was now in his Navy dress blues uniform, one she'd never seen him wear before. This uniform was black, fitted like a suit, and he wore it very well.

She might have to revisit the 'sock on the door' idea tonight, it seemed.

"Are we dressing up for dinner?" she asked, and Tom nodded, smiling as he ushered her back into the bedroom.

"Yes. Thorwald had something sent over for you, don't worry. I knew that anything you'd brought on the Nathan James would likely not fit anymore," he said fondly, wrapping his arms around her from behind to caress her bump. "So I asked him to find you something appropriate."

Rachel gasped in surprise when he opened the closet. Inside was a black dress, knee length, with delicate lace trim around the neck and arms. She reached out to touch it, and the material was soft and silky under her fingertips.

"It's beautiful," she said, taking it off the hanger and holding it in her hands. "Thank you for thinking of this," she added, smiling in thanks when Tom went to close the door so she could change. He helped her take of the t-shirt and leggings she had been wearing for most of the day, and unzipped the dress so she could step into it. It was clearly a maternity dress, because it hugged her bump perfectly while still fitting her thighs, hips, and breasts. It wasn't a very roomy dress; it clung to her like a second skin, but it was comfortable. It didn't hug or pinch her awkwardly, and as she spun around in front of the mirror, she could admit that it looked very flattering on her.

When she turned to face Tom, she grinned. It seemed she wasn't the only one appreciating how her partner looked tonight.

Tom's eyes were roaming over her body hungrily, and she felt herself flush, loving the attention.

"Tonight," she promised, and Tom hummed, licking his lips.

"Can I return that favor, and tie you up?"

Rachel groaned, feeling herself growing wet in her panties as he continued to rake his eyes over her body.

"Tom," she pleaded. "Not now. I have... very little self control, recently. We really cannot stand up the President of the United States, and also the children are still in the house."

Tom chuckled, realizing the wisdom in her words when, ten seconds later, Sam burst through the door, not caring that it had been closed in the first place.

"Can we go to grandpa's now?" he asked excitedly, completely unaware of what he had just interrupted.

Tom groaned, pinching his nose and willing his body to calm the fuck down before turning to face his son.

"Yeah, buddy, it's almost time. Go put your shoes on and grab your sister. Wait by the door. We'll be right there."

Sam nodded and bounced out of the room. When Tom turned back to face Rachel, she was grinning at him.

"We're going to need to set some ground rules about doors, apparently," Tom mused, and Rachel nodded in agreement.

"Definitely."

June 20th, 2014 - 1800 (6:00 pm)

The beginning of dinner with the President was, in a word, awkward.

Tom was used to being the most commanding presence in a room, to being the one in charge. He had been, for so long, the only one making decisions, that it felt weird to be deferring to someone else now. But Jeffery Michener was a very likable person, and the stilted, quiet beginning of dinner soon gave way to animated conversation. All he had to say was, "Tell me the whole story," for Tom and Rachel to both start talking, tripping over each other to tell parts of the story that they didn't think the other did justice.

"At first," Rachel began, "Only Dr. Tophet and I knew the truth about the state of the world. We had been ordered to keep our mission a secret, and everyone aboard the Nathan James believed that they were on a top secret weapons test. It wasn't until we were attacked by the Russians, literally right after I found the primordial strain of the virus, that anyone else began to suspect."

"It was a bit of a sore spot for a while," Tom admitted.

"Well, you seem to have gotten over whatever animosity was between the two of ya!" Jeffery commented, motioning between them, and Rachel realized with amusement that he would likely get along very well with Tex.

"Yes, well," Rachel said, blushing. "That comes later in the story."

"After she told us what was happening in the world, it was pretty much chaos," Tom continued. "At that time, there were still some members of the government remaining, and we were ordered home. However, when we headed to France and were attacked by the Russians again, and then lost contact with anyone from home, I decided that the best place for Rachel to develop the cure would be aboard the Nathan James."

"We stopped in Guantanamo Bay for fuel and food and were attacked again," Rachel continued. "Before we could leave the Bay, the Russians found us again. We didn't know at this point how they kept finding us, but they had us trapped in the Bay and were asking for me in return for letting the Nathan James leave."

"She was then kidnapped by her fellow scientist, Dr. Tophet. He attempted to take her and the virus samples to the Vyerni, but Rachel was able to get away from him and make some noise so others realized what was happening. This gave us an opening to send two of our own people in their place, tricking the Russians and disabling their ship while we made our escape. After we got out of the Bay, we knew that Dr. Tophet was in contact with the Russians because they had kidnapped and were threatening the lives of his family. We were able to cut off his contact with them, and they didn't find us again for a long time."

"From there," Rachel cut in. "We encountered problem after problem; running out of water, a loss of power that almost destroyed my only samples of the primordial strain of the virus, and hostiles when we went ashore to find monkeys for me to test my vaccine on. When we finally got the monkeys and were back on board, I realized that my vaccine was missing an essential component and that I wasn't nearly as close as I thought I was. While at the same time, one of our crew came down with Dengue Fever, which some worried was the Red Flu."

"It sounds like a soap opera," Tom grunted, realizing as they recalled the chain of events exactly how many things had gone wrong, and how lucky they were to still be here.

"It sounds like you and your crew are true heroes," Jeffery said, leaning back in his chair and resting his hands in his lap.

"It doesn't stop there," Tom said, taking a bite of his dinner as Rachel took the story over again.

"After that, when I was at my most frustrated with the vaccine, we received a distress call from a fishing boat. A young woman, Bertrise, was onboard, and was seemingly immune to the virus. We led a rescue mission to save her, and during that, Tom and Tex were separated from us and left drifting in the water with no locators and little contact. We had what we needed to make the cure, but of course it couldn't be that easy."

"Never is," the President said, shaking his head in wonder.

"They were eventually taken by the Russians," Rachel said, and stopped here, not wanting to tell the next part of the story.

Tom smiled softly at her, and took over so she wouldn't have to recall this portion of their story.

"We were taken aboard the Russian ship, Tex and I. Rachel and Mike, against my direct orders, sent a rescue mission to come save us, instead of getting as far away from the Russians as they could."

"Well, we weren't going to leave you to die!" Rachel snapped, and apparently that was still a little bit of a sore area (though likely her irritation had more to do with remembering what had happened next than true irritation with him). Tom squeezed her hand under the table, and glossed quickly over the next set of events.

"Rachel managed to rescue us by passing me a note with plans for the escape. Tex and I were able to escape, and then collect her from the lab they were holding her in before being rescued by the ex-filtration team. Rachel took a few bumps aboard the Vyerni, but as soon as we got back aboard the Nathan James, she was hard at work on the cure. We started trials within two days."

Rachel nodded somberly. It had been an exhausting, horrible time, and she was so glad that they were past it now.

"We lost someone, Maya, during testing, but we were able to create the cure. From there, we came here, and I'm sure Thorwald has already told you that story."

"He has," Jeffery agreed. "And then you went on your trip around the world. Wow. What an amazing year you have had. Horrifying, stressful, and terrible - yes, but also wonderful. You had no idea, a year ago when you left, that you'd be saving the world, did you?"

Tom shook his head. "No, sir, we did not. It all seems... unreal, now that we're here. Like one unending nightmare."

"There was good in it, too," Rachel argued, smiling as she settled a hand over her bump.

"There was," Tom allowed. "Among the bad, there was good. We've all lost people, but we've gained new friends and new family."

"And now we're here," Jeffery said, gesturing to the room around them. "Slowly but surely rebuilding our wonderful country. Tomorrow, during our address to the Nation, I would like you to introduce yourselves to the citizens of this great country. And then tomorrow night, at the ball, I am going to honor the entire crew of the Nathan James. I am very much looking forward to recognizing you, Dr. Scott, for your accomplishments."

He winked at the scientist, and Rachel felt herself blush.

"Please, Mr. President, I didn't do anything that anyone else in my shoes wouldn't have done. I don't need recognition." She shook her head, staring at her plate and not meeting the President's eyes. "I didn't do what I did for recognition. I did it because it was the right thing to do."

"And that, right there," Jeffery said, smiling softly at her. "Is exactly why we will be recognizing you with the Nobel Peace Prize."