Chapter 5: Carpe Diem
As the bus arrived at the Embassy, Rachel could see Mike and Tex's prediction regarding the crowds of reporters had been spot on – it was like a wave of Lemmings that flocked towards them as they realised who the latest arrivals were.
"Nathan James – flank out," Mike Slattery called out, catching Tom's eye as the James's crew spread out in what Rachel realised was clearly a pre-arranged pattern.
The smaller members of the party, like herself, were kept to the middle of the group whilst the likes of the brothers Burk, Tex, Mike, Danny, Bacon, and Tom stayed on the outside. Despite the frenzied efforts of the press, the James's crew pushed their way through the crowd and before she realised it, they stood at the top of the stairway Rachel remembered led to the Embassy's Grand Ballroom.
"Ladies and Gentlemen – Admirals Chandler, Slattery, the crew of USS Nathan James, and Dr Rachel Scott," the MC announced as they entered the ballroom.
As they made their way across the large ballroom, they could hear the MC continuing to announce each crewmember by name and rank, much to the delight of the more junior crew members. Rachel smiled at their happiness, glad to see every one of her Nathan James family being given the kudos they deserved – in her eyes, they were every bit deserving of such respect as she was.
"You look happy, it's good to see you smile," Tom commented, enjoying the way her smile lit up Rachel's face, making her more beautiful to him.
"I realised how much I missed this… you, Mike, Tex, the James crew…it's the closest thing I've ever had to a family," Rachel replied, squeezing his hand gently as she looked up at him, delighting in the way he was looking back at her.
"I know what you mean, we've all been through so much together …. we are family," Tom replied as he gestured towards the dance floor that was filling rapidly. "Care to dance milady?"
"I'd love to, Tom," Rachel said softly, taking Tom's proffered hand and allowing herself to be drawn into his arms as they whirled around the dance floor.
The evening passed in a blur of dancing and conversation, as Rachel reconnected with her Nathan James family, updating herself on their lives and reacquainting them with hers. As the evening wore on, she and Tom found themselves sitting on a balcony overlooking the embassy gardens. It was a welcome chance to be alone, to talk and just savor each other's company without the pressures of real life getting in the way as it had over the last year.
"I know you said to find you, Tom, but it appears you took matters into your own hands," Rachel chuckled as Tom slid his jacket over her shoulders, something she was profoundly glad of as it was a chilly New Year's Eve.
"Yeah, I did but my dad always said if you want something don't wait for fate to intervene, and I think my family has gotten to know you almost as well as I do over the last year," Tom replied, thinking of the dozens of occasions they'd managed to miss one another since Rachel had left on her travels and he had taken up his post of CNO.
"Tom…we need to talk," Rachel began nervously, determined to say what was on her mind now she had Tom alone and had his undivided attention.
"Funny, I thought that's what we were doing," Tom replied soothingly, not quite sure what had suddenly made Rachel so nervous.
"I mean about the gorilla in the middle of the room…. Niels," Rachel returned, unable to suppress the shudder that still went through her at the mere mention of Niels.
Before Tom could say anything, Rachel began to talk – explaining everything she'd felt about Niels and those last few weeks aboard the James that had culminated in her killing Sorensen in her lab. If she closed her eyes, she could see the way his fishy eyes would follow her about the lab, hear his whiny, self-aggrandising tone, and feel the fury she'd felt at his total lack of remorse for his actions. He hadn't seen anything wrong in what he'd done, nor that his efforts had sparked a global pandemic that had cost millions their lives. Rachel had always prided herself on her rational nature and her ability to remain calm in the face of provocation, a must when you were a pretty woman in a largely male dominated world.
But all that had changed when Tex had handed her the weaponised teddy bear back in Florida. She had despised Niels following their meeting aboard the Vyerni, but had dismissed him as a pompous fool unable to admit his mistake over his research into the Red Flu. Looking at the toy, Rachel realised belatedly how badly she and everyone else had underestimated Neil's psychopathic nature and his utter disregard for any life other than his own. For the first time in her life, she'd felt the burning desire to harm another person and helpless to stop herself from turning thought into action until Niels had lain on the floor at her feet, bleeding to death from every orifice as his victims had.
Tom sat silently listening to Rachel pour out her every thought and emotion, stroking her hand as he did so. Prior to Allison Shaw and those terrible moments aboard her jet that had nearly cost Tex and Jed their lives, Tom hadn't been able to understand what had driven Rachel to act as she had – to take a life in cold blood. He was a Sailor in the US Navy, he'd killed in battle but always against an enemy who knew the rules of engagement. Facing Michener's former aide, Tom realised he'd felt the same rage Rachel was describing and the same helpless rush towards a course of action that, in his saner moments, he would never consider.
"Rachel…it's okay," Tom said gently. "I understand, I really do."
"You do? You don't hate me for what I did?" Rachel looked up at him, praying he really meant what he was saying. She couldn't cope with the disappointment of facing more of the cold treatment that Tom had meted out to her in the wake of Niels's murder.
"When I shot Allison Shaw, I realised how you must've felt…I couldn't stop myself either," Tom replied. "I tried to find you to talk then, but with everything that was going on at the time, you were gone on another fact-finding mission and I'd lost yet another opportunity."
Rachel reached up a hand to touch his face but as she did so, Tom caught her hand and placed a kiss in her palm before drawing her into his arms for a slow, passionate kiss. When they came up for air, what Tom said stopped Rachel's thoughts in their tracks.
"Marry me Rachel," Tom said, his face the picture of sincerity, watching Rachel's face as she stared back at him.
"You're serious," she replied, praying that she wasn't hallucinating.
"As a heart attack," Tom returned. "Look, we've been dancing around how we feel for a while now, I know what I want and I think you do too."
'"They'll think we're crazy," Rachel said, unable to stop the smile spreading across her face.
"As crazy as persuading Congress to allow two scientists to join a DDG on its way to the Arctic in the hopes of finding a cure for a Global Pandemic?" Tom replied, laughing – it was crazy but their whole relationship had been one crazy journey from beginning to end. "Is that a yes then, Doc?"
"Yes!" Rachel burst out laughing as she threw herself into Tom's arms again. Kissing him soundly until the sound of applause caught their attention.
Tom looked up to glare at whoever had disturbed them, ruining the romantic moment. He saw Tex, Mike, and the rest of their Nathan James family grinning like a pack of loons.
"So, when's the big day then Commodore? Can I give the bride away?" Tex asked, delighted that his friends had finally got a clue and acted on feelings that had been blindingly obvious to everyone else around them.
"We were about to get to that part before we were rudely interrupted," Rachel said, attempting to glare at Tex but unable to be truly angry with her friend, and hugging him instead.
The rest of the crew poured onto the balcony in groups to offer their congratulations and welcome Rachel back into the family again. When the last crew member had left, Tom got down on one knee and repeated his proposal, sliding the ring he'd had burning a hole in his pocket since he'd known Rachel would be here. Tom knew there would be many who would question their apparently sudden desire to marry, but Chandler knew this was the right course for them and he trusted the instincts that had led him to this point.
It was those same instincts that saw them stand on the bow of the Nathan James the following New Year's Eve, exchanging vows aboard the same ship where they'd begun their journey, surrounded by the friends and family that meant the world to them.
"Happy New Year, Mrs. Chandler," Tom said softly, kissing his wife soundly.
"Happy New Year to you too, husband." Loving the way that sounded, Rachel snuggled into Tom's embrace, watching their friends party the night away. Rachel loved that this part of their journey together had ended here, and where the next chapter would start, not caring what it would look like as long as Tom were with her.