Chapter 10

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Kara was in the wardroom getting her morning coffee, it was early, but she knew that the minute the daylight would come up Rachel would be nagging at their heels to get her to the ice as quickly as possible. She had been uptight lately, getting more worse every passing day. She hadn't asked her since she knew it would probably end up in a volcano eruption, so she went along with her bossing. It was getting even harder to get her back to the ship. If she had her way she would probably freeze her ass off looking for her samples. She chuckled a little as she thought about Commander Slattery's line about the Navy's best protecting Dr. Scott from freezing her ass off, which she thought was quite true right now.

As she placed the coffee pot back, she sensed someone standing behind her, reaching for something. Feeling his arm grazing her uniform's sleeve slightly as he reached for the coffee pot. Noticing how her body was rocked against the counter as he had to lean against her. The familiar arm poured the coffee on a cup beside hers on the table and placed the pot back, and as she followed the movement of the arm, she saw and felt the arm go to her side and trace her curvy hips as she leaned against him only to feel his lips burning on her neck. Her entire body was rejoicing the feel of his touch, she had been missing this every day since..

"Kara?"

She woke up from her trance as she heard the snapping of fingers somewhere around her ear. Feeling her entire face glowing of warmth as she turned around and was greeted by who else than the one she had just been daydreaming about.

"What were you thinking?" Danny raised his eyebrow a little and gave her that smile that made her feel like she didn't have any self control. All she wanted was to pull him closer and kiss him senseless.

She cleared her throat a little as she tried to come up with an answer to his question.

"You guys ready? You know who is getting anxious to get out there." They heard Frankie's voice from the door and they gave him a sign that they were coming.

Luckily Frankie had saved her from answering to Danny's question. She knew he would probably have heard the lie through the lines, whatever she would have come up with.

"Captain's orders." She kept playing in her mind as she sat inside the helo on her way back to the ship. They might finally be close to a breakthrough and Tom had ordered her back to the ship. She felt she could wring his neck right now. It had already been four long and agonizing months. And during those four months the virus back home had kept spreading, killing everyone it infected.

She was escorted inside the helo bay and they were met by Lieutenant Burk who walked up to them looking rather happy.

"We're going home!" Burk said and Kara saw that Ravit was smiling at the news, seeming rather happy about this turn of events. She would have to get the scoop from her later.

"We are?" Danny looked surprised and shyly glanced towards her. She met his gaze. He has been waiting for her to come to him all this time. And now he was hoping the opportunity would come as they were heading back home.

"The final weapons test was a success." Burk explained and Kara couldn't help but notice the rather cold and displeased look her aunt held.

Rachel shared a look with Quincy, she needed to contact the National Security Adviser at once. They weren't done with their mission just yet. But they were finally getting closer and now the make-believe mission the government had send the warship on, was completed. Inside of her she chuckled ironically at this situation, the real mission, her mission, wasn't completed.

Danny was walking behind Kara from the armory where they had just left all their gear after the field trip. News about them going home made him feel rather hopeful that she would finally come to him, but he thought that he could try and help her a bit.

"Lieutenant." He said softly and she stopped walking in front of him.

"Lieutenant." He then saw her turn around and smile at him. As he had calculated it, they had stopped in front of a small space which you could easily enter from the P-Way. It was just enough to house two people, he thought. So he nodded towards the space and hoped she would go along with it.

She gave him a teasing head shook and a smile, but she stepped inside. After checking that no one wasn't around in the P-Way, he followed her and embraced her as he kissed her, before she would change her mind.

"Danny whoa." She broke off from their kissing and gave him a look, but he ignored it and leaned to kiss her again. It had been too long since he had felt her soft lips against his.

"Don't do that." She departed from him again and he smiled at her. A smile he knew would cause her mind go crazy. Like it had probably done earlier in the wardroom. Feeling the familiar turmoil inside of him again as he looked down at her, her entire presence was enough to make him feel like he had butterflies in his stomach.

"Do what?" He asked smiling at her, knowing exactly what she meant.

"You know what that smile does to me." She met his gaze and all he could say was "All's fair in love and war" as he leaned in to kiss her again, hearing her whisper like voice agreeing with "Yeah". So she was already pudding in his hands, but she broke the kiss off again and all he wanted was to kiss her the entire day.

"Kara.." He tried to plead to her.

"We'll be home soon enough." She said as she placed her hand on his chest as if to hold him at a distance.

"What exactly are you two doing?" They heard a voice of authority say from the P-Way and looked at each other with the same scared look. They had been caught. Although they didn't recognize the voice. He saw her cheeks all red as she swallowed hard. Noticing the look of shame on her face. And this was all his fault. He was the one who had lured her in here. But as he was readying himself to enter to the P-Way and take the heat, he heard the sudden laugh of a woman and a man.

"Are you guys trying to be funny?" Kara stepped to the P-Way and saw Ravit and Burk hanging out like they were in line to use the space themselves.

"Oh Lieutenant!" Ravit leaned herself against the wall like she was fainting and had her hand on her forehead.

"Very mature." Danny stepped to the P-Way and stood behind Kara.

"All's fair in love and.. war." Burk said as he tried to hold back his laughter, but he failed and then Ravit began laughing again.

Danny felt like he was suddenly blushing too. So they had heard everything. Luckily it was them and not Commander Slattery or Captain Chandler.

"Come on Danny. Game of cards is starting in fifteen." Burk pointed with his thumb over his shoulder and he left to follow Burk and the girls were left alone.

"That wasn't funny." He could hear Kara's serious tone behind them.

"Oh come on. Laugh a little!" Ravit bumped Kara's shoulder and she gave a mean look at her friend.

She knew she shouldn't have allowed that moment with Danny to happen but who was she kidding? She had been counting the days when they would get back and she could freely just kiss him wherever she wanted to, whenever.

"You're rather cheerful today." She made the notion and Ravit nodded.

"When we get back, Carlton is taking me out on a date." Ravit said with a smile which got a faint smile out of her.

They began walking the same direction as the guys.

"You see, some people go on a date first. Before.." Ravit was telling Kara as they walked around the corner and were met with Commander Slattery staring right at them.

"Good evening Lieutenants." Slattery smiled and walked past them and Kara felt like it had been a close call. But as they thought they were out of the woods..

"What were you going to say Lieutenant Bivas? Before..?" Slattery gave a look at the two women and Ravit said completely holding her posture and the calmness in her voice "Before driving through the tunnel."

"It's scary you know, driving with a strange man through a tunnel, it's best to get to know them first." Ravit explained and Kara had a hard time keeping her face from not dying due to mortification. Had Ravit actually said that to their commanding officer?

"Aha.." Slattery glanced around awkwardly and walked away from them.

"That's a negative, Commander. The mission has been extended. Over." He was thinking the orders given to him by the Pentagon. What was going on? He was baffled. What was he to do in the Arctic with 217 sailors and a warship when their mission was over?

He found himself walking towards the helo bay, maneuvering through the P-Ways on the ship. Remembering how Mike had been suspicious from the minute he read the memo they got.

"You buying this?" Mike dropped the papers on his desk at the James. They were preparing for their mission up in the Arctic and had just gotten a memo that they would be housing two scientists.

"We've seen crazier than this." Tom gave him a look and added "If the CDC wishes to use us a taxi then why not, and it doesn't look like they are in a hurry to get up there since they are traveling with us." Tom added as he continued on with the paperwork.

"And suddenly we're getting a SEAL team onboard? Don't you think that is rather strange?" Mike sat down and gave him a look.

Tom thought about Mike's words as he was getting closer to the helo bay. With additional orders to assign a SEAL team as a protective guard for the scientists, he had to admit it had sounded strange, but who was he to doubt the orders he had gotten. But right now, after his short conversation with the Pentagon, he too had his suspicions.

He reached to the helo bay door and opened it to go inside. He hadn't been there during this entire cruise. It was the only place he knew she would be and he had avoided this place. He looked around and saw the isolation tent, the working area Mike had described to him.

The 'lab' as the virologists called it, was empty and he walked by a desk he assumed belonged to Rachel. He somehow imagined her to be a woman of order, but the desk was filled with maps laid out, markings where to look for her ducks.

"You lost?" He heard her voice from behind him and turned around.

"This is the first time I'm seeing you here." Rachel walked past him to her desk and began gathering the papers to a pile. He followed her and wondered what was it that she was hiding?

"I thought I should pay you a visit." Tom glanced around and casually continued "Did you hear that our mission has been extended? You wouldn't happen to know anything about that?" He held his eyes on her, studying her reaction, noticing the slight change in her posture as he mentioned the mission extension.

"Why would I know anything about that?" Rachel hoped she used a convincing voice as she felt like her entire body was about to start to tremble. Her hands were holding on to the pile of papers as she focused her gaze on her desk. Fearing that if she met his gaze right now, she would give away the hesitation in her.

Tom remained silent as he walked a few steps from her.

"Sorry to hear that, but I won't hide the fact that it will give me more time to collect my samples." She added quickly and let go of the pile of papers and turned around to face him.

"Yeah, your duck research." Tom stated.

"Arctic terns." She corrected him and felt that the worst part of the conversation was over. Feeling she just might have room to breath a little.

"I hope for your sake that you're telling me the truth this time." Tom met her gaze and turned to walk away.

She leaned back to her desk and felt like her entire body was starting to tremble again, sensing that all the stress she's been enduring and the heavy load of hiding her secret was unleashing this reaction out of her. Like it needed to come out and this was the only way.

As she took a few deep breaths and tried to gather her posture, her mind was thinking.. How long could they stay here? How long before the Captain finds out the truth? She felt the clock ticking literally inside of her mind. She didn't have much time left.

As she turned around to go over the results from today's sample gathering, she heard the door open again and turned to see who it was. It was Kara, holding two cups of something with her.

"I thought you needed this." She handed one of the cups to her and she looked at the drink in front of her.

"It's chamomile tea. You've been pretty stressed lately." Kara said as she took a sip of her tea.

She smelled the tea and took a sip as she pondered what to say. She knew she had been hard with Kara and the rest of the SEAL's for a while now. But the world around them was most likely gone already, what would be left of it when they would head back? And now as Tom was raising questions about her mission, she felt like her safety net had been taken off and she was trying to keep her balance as she was walking on a figurative tight rope several feet up in the air.

"Sometimes my work is rather stressful." She hoped it was enough to calm her down.

"I get that, but aren't you just trying to prove if a theoretical study is true or false?" Kara continued and Rachel took another sip of her tea.

Oh bloody hell! She thought in the back of her mind. Even Kara was noticing her irrational behavior that was rather extreme given the fact that she was supposedly here to just prove if a certain theoretical study was proven or not. Thanks to Quincy. And where was he now when needed. Off sleeping! At least someone was. Although she wasn't entirely sure whether Quincy was able to sleep.

"You know.. I get sometimes a little carried away.." She tried to half joke about her commitment to her work, hoping it was enough to get Kara off her back. But somehow she knew she was smarter than that.

She watched as Kara sat down on a chair and took a sip of her tea. Looking a little puzzled.

"Why didn't you come?" Kara stared right at her and she sighed. She was surprised she hadn't asked the obvious question before. What could she say?

"I.. I'm sorry for not being there. I was in Asia at the time, not that it is an excuse." "I truly am sorry for not coming." Rachel gave her a soft look and moved to place her hand on hers.

Kara squeezed her hand tightly and moved close enough to hug Rachel. At the moment Rachel apologizing for not being there was enough, what she needed now was exactly this. Feeling that someone was holding her. Feeling like someone cared for her as she longed for the time when her own mother had held her in her arms.

Tom hopped on the CO's chair on the bridge. Feeling restless, it was day two of their mission extension and he still didn't get what was going on. He glanced at the screen where the small dots were showing the location of Rachel and her colleague. She has been at that same site for the last four days now.

"What the hell is she doing?" He asked out loud and looked at the horizon.