Rachel rode the elevator to her floor, simultaneously tired yet restless. The day had been frustrating, and she felt like she'd spent all day working hard yet accomplishing nothing. They hadn't been able to find a lab with everything she needed, so they had taken the largest lab they could find and were attempting to gather the equipment to install in it. The day had been spent examining what lab equipment should stay, what needed to be removed or replaced, and waiting for movers, which had eventually showed up in the form of a dozen marines. They had been efficient at removing the equipment, but the place was a mess and looked worse than it had before. Tomorrow looked to be a day of cleaning and scrubbing, and she was not looking forward to it.

But today wasn't all bad, she thought with a smile. The lab she'd been given was on the same campus as the dorms where the kids from the Nathan James had been assigned, and she'd been able to stop by and visit with Mark. He seemed a little nervous, and unsure about inserting himself into the tightly-knit group of teenagers with which he'd been placed. But it seemed that having her make the introductions had greased the wheels. Wolf's jokes had also conveyed his stamp of approval, and by the time they left, the group was gathered around Mark, checking out his scars. I wonder how long before he gets a girl to kiss it better? She thought, smirking slightly.

Ding!

The elevator announced her arrival and she stepped off, nodding at the guard standing by it. She paused for a moment, debating which direction to go. Her apartment was to the right, but it seemed so empty and unattractive at the moment. All that waited for her there was a duffel bag of clothes and her computer. All that she could really do there was sleep, and she wasn't ready for that. She turned left instead, offering only a brief wave to the marine by her door.

She heard Sam before she got to the door, knocking with a smile on her face. The door opened to a chaotic scene of boxes and Sam's legs sticking out of a particularly large one.

"Hello, Rachel. Welcome to Pandemonia."

"Hi, Jed. Is Tom in?"

"Not quite yet. You can wait for him if you like, or, if you prefer quiet, I can send him your way when he arrives."

"I was actually thinking my apartment was too quiet just now."

"Well, in that case… welcome! Would you like something to drink?"

"Hey Dr. Rachel!" Sam came at her with a bucket of legos. "Wanna play?"

"Sam, no. We have to unpack everything, then you can play with it, remember?" Jed said, exasperated.

"Maybe later, Sam." Rachel said, giving him a gentle smile.

"Sorry. He's been bouncing off the walls all day."

"Not a problem. It's exciting, I'm sure." She watched as he ran off to his room with his treasure. "Where's Ashley?"

"She's the opposite of Sam. Been super quiet ever since she started unpacking." He sighed. "She opened a box of her mother's things by mistake."

"That would put a damper on things. How is she doing, Jed?"

"I don't know. I don't know what to say to her." He paused. "And lord knows living with a bunch of guys doesn't help." He tilted his head as an idea struck him. "Rachel, forgive me, but Tom told me about your mother. Would you be comfortable talking to Ashley?"

"I'm not sure that I'm really qualified to help her as much as you think." She replied hesitantly.

"I was just thinking if, maybe she had someone to talk to, someone who understood what it was like - " he broke off suddenly. "I'm sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut."

"Jed, it's okay. I get it. You're not wrong. It's just that I didn't have anyone to talk to about it for years, and I'm not sure I dealt with it all that well myself. But I'd be glad to try and talk to her."

"Thank you."

"Which room is hers?"

. . . . .

Tom walked to Ashley's room to find Rachel and Ashley among the half-unpacked boxes, looking at a photo album. He noticed the tissues on the bed, and that Ashley was wearing his wife's sweater. Instead of interrupting, he stood in the doorway and watched for a moment.

"And that's when Sam came home from the hospital. He was noisy."

"Babies tend to be."

"Smelly, too." She said as she wrinkled her nose. Tom chuckled, causing her to look up. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, Ash. Grandpa wanted to see you. He found something and he's not sure if it's yours or Sam's." He told her, tilting his head towards the living room. Then he walked over to look at the album himself. A wrinkled, red-faced bundle looked up from the page as Rachel traced its cheek. "Sam was a noisy baby – he had colic. We spent many sleepless nights with him."

"Poor thing."

"Eh, he came out all right." He said. "How is Ashley doing?"

"She misses her mother, and moving has dredged up a lot of memories. But I suspect you knew that."

"I do. I just don't know how…hell, I miss her too."

"Maybe tell her that from time to time. Let her know she's not alone."

"I will." He agreed, sitting next to her.

He looked on as she flipped to the next page and traced the images with her fingers. "You want one, don't you?"

"What?"

"A baby."

She looked at him, surprised, but then her expression softened.

"I did, once. But I gave up on it after a while."

"Any particular reason?"

"Not really, it just didn't seem to be in the cards after a while. And then I stopped thinking about it. It no longer seemed realistically possible."

"Well, that's a first."

"What?"

"You saying something isn't possible."

"Yes, well – I'm not that young anymore."

"You're not that old, either."

She looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

"What exactly are you proposing?"

"Funny you should use that term." He said, reaching into his pocket. He'd planned to ask her over a nice dinner, but that comment was too perfect to pass up. "I just got this from Dad. I was hoping you'd take it." He held out a ring. It was simple, but he knew a large, fancy ring wasn't important to Rachel. Might even annoy her if it impeded her ability to work in the lab. "It was my mother's."

"Tom…" she looked at him, speechless, not moving toward him, but not moving away either. The moment dragged out until he cleared his throat.

"Uh, Rachel?"

She shook herself.

"Sorry. It's just a little surreal to me."

"Surreal?" he echoed.

"Sitting here, discussing children…the ring. Very…domestic. I feel like I'm missing an apron."

He snorted, trying not to laugh at the image that conjured up.

"You are not a housewife. I know better than that."

"Good." She said, letting out a giggle, giving Tom permission to laugh. Once the laughter tapered off, he looked down at his hand once more.

"So…is that a yes?"

"Yes, you big goof. It's a yes." She said, putting the ring on her finger and taking a few seconds to look at the sight before kissing him. He returned it enthusiastically, hands exploring, before she suddenly broke it off. "Tom, wait."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just was thinking we might want to change venues."

He looked around, noticing his daughter's bedspread.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't think I could ever look Mr. Fluffkins in the eyes again."

"Me either."