"Good morning." President Michener said, gesturing towards his office couch. "I see you're both feeling better."
"Much better, sir." The captain replied politely as they all sat. The pointed glare he got from Dr. Scott was more honest - and a little disconcerting.
"So why don't you give me a quick rundown of your adventures yesterday?"
The pair exchanged a glance, eyes meeting in a decision to let Tom speak.
"I was on the sat phone with Dr. Scott when it became clear something had happened – I heard loud noises, and she suddenly told me she had to go – but said things that didn't make sense." Seeing the question on his face, he elaborated. "She purposely mis-stated her return date, and the ages of my children. Things that wouldn't sound wrong to a stranger, but they told me that something was very wrong."
"Then I went to Kara's desk, met up with Lt. Green, and from there we mobilized a rescue mission. We grabbed the plane that was already prepped for takeoff, and…from there it was a pretty standard rescue op, sir. Met up with Wolf, took out the hostiles, re-took the clinic. Then we came home. I strongly recommend that she not be sent out on similar missions to unsecured territory."
"Then who should I send?"
"Milowski."
"Already sent to Georgia."
"She can train other people to spread the cure. They can go."
"Somehow I doubt this is an afternoon seminar type subject." Michener said dryly, looking to the Doctor.
"Not an afternoon. But if you can get me people who are already medically trained, a few days ought to suffice."
"That could work. We do have a few colleges in town we could use for that purpose."
"Do any of them have medical research labs?" Dr. Scott said, perking up at the thought of a proper lab to work in.
"We can check." He said, mildly amused at the instant change in her demeanor. "In the meantime, I'll arrange for a larger security escort for you, as well as a place to stay. I think there's few more empty units in our building. Why don't you go talk to my secretary and tell him what you're looking for, both in a research facility and in an apartment."
"Thank you." She said, standing up to exit. Tom stood with her.
"Captain, a moment?"
"Go on, I'll catch up." He said quietly.
Both men eyed each other until the door shut and her footsteps receded down the hall.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Michener asked.
"Sir?" He had a guess about what this was about, but he wanted to make the president say it.
"Are you going to go rushing off every time she's in trouble?"
"Are you suggesting that I fail to protect the single most important civilian we have?"
"…I'm a civilian."
"That's true, sir. But with all due respect, sir, you have an entire chain of command – people both willing and able to take your place. Can you name someone else who can replace Dr. Scott?"
"Dr. Milowski."
He nodded, acknowledging the nomination.
"That's one. Can you name another?" he watched Michener think for a good thirty seconds before conceding defeat.
"Okay, fine, you have a point. But did it occur to you that if you'd told anyone outside of the Nathan James where you were going, we might have been able to handle it differently?"
"What, without stealing your plane?" he said, throwing the president's words back at him in the politest tone he could manage.
"I was thinking more about the fact that there was an ops team en route to St. louis from Cheyenne, which we could have diverted to get there sooner than you could. Or sent a helo from Offutt. A single phone call to someone other than a docked ship…we had to guess at what you were doing based on Lt. Foster's vague understanding of the situation…half an hour after you had left."
Michener watched as his words sunk in, then continued in a softer tone.
"I realize that, for a long time, there literally hasn't been anyone else to call, and that one of your primary responsibilities is the safety of your crew. But now, there are other responsibilities – and other people to help meet them."
"Point made, sir." Came the respectful (and somewhat chagrined) reply.
"Now, is there anything else I should know?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure you've guessed how I feel about her."
"And there's nothing against that sort of thing. Just…try to realize your bias. Preferably before making hasty decisions."
"Yes, sir."
"Now go on, I have other things to do." Michener said, moving back to his desk.
"Yes, sir." Tom replied, rising to leave, but was stopped by an overly-offhanded remark.
"Oh, your floor is still pretty empty, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir." He said, smiling at the implied endorsement. "Thank you, sir."
"No problem. Now shoo."
"Ah, yes sir!" he said, exiting the office.
He found Rachel talking to a young man at a desk with far too much paper on it, describing things she wanted for her lab in terms that clearly bewildered the kid, who sat there trying to take notes verbatim and struggling to keep up with her gushing enthusiasm.
"Uh, Rachel?"
"Hey, Tom. Everything okay?"
"Maybe try layman's terms?" he suggested, pointing at the confused secretary and his hastily scrawled notes.
"Oh." She thought about it for a moment, trying to paraphrase and failing. "Some of these are specific technical requirements." She paused once more. "How about I write them down for you, and you can go look them up?"
She found a pen and pad of paper shoved into her hands almost instantly by the relieved secretary.
"Have you picked out an apartment yet? My floor is 2/1s, there's several that are unoccupied. You could use the second bedroom as an office."
"A 2/1 what?"
"Two beds, one bath."
"No kitchen?"
"Kitchen and living room are included." He said, amused.
"Wait, your floor is all two bedroom units? Your flat is bigger than that."
"They connected two units for me. Part of the reason there's so many empty units on my floor was the construction noise. You didn't notice the second kitchen sink?"
"I did think it was a little odd to have a sink in your office." She said distractedly as she scribbled down another item on her list.
"You'll also need an adjacent unit for your security team." He continued, thinking out loud as he glanced at the nameplate on the secretary's desk. "And while I'm here, Steven, can you make sure Mark gets set up with a dorm room and a job when he gets better?"
"Mark? Mark who?"
"You know, I didn't actually get his last name. He came back from Nebraska with us. He's still recovering in the hospital, but he'll be out in a couple of days."
"The immune kid?" he raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"He's a good kid." Rachel said. "He just didn't have a lot of options out there, so he stuck with his older brother. He's the same age as the campers, he ought to fit right in."
"If you say so." He said, writing down the information.
"Here." She said, handing Steven a list. "This should be enough to start with."
"Start with?" he said dubiously, lifting the paper to the second page, and then the third. "Okay…I'll start making some phone calls."
"Thank you."
"And the apartment will be simple enough, it should be ready by the end of the day."
"Brilliant. Thanks again." She said, leaving the office with a huge grin on her face as she contemplated her new lab. Tom followed her out, allowing himself a small smile at her obvious delight.