Chapter 14

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All she remembered was taking a one wrong step and she tripped down the stairs. The lights went out after that.

"This is all my fault."

"I'm not leaving her! She deserves better than to be left here to die."

"Are you going to risk the entire mission for one person?"

She winced as she began hearing voices spoken beside her. Feeling her head pounding, nausea coming over her as she tried to move herself. She tried to open her eyes, only seeing small blinks of light, she closed her eyes again and dozed off.

"Hey, sweet girl of mine."

"Mom?"

"Shh.. Here, drink some water."

She moved herself a little up in the bed as she swallowed the cold water given to her.

"Are you really here?"

"I'm here. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, mom."

"I miss you, mom."

In her daze she continued on resting as she felt someone stroking her hair, trying to be as gentle as possible. It reminded her of her mother watching over her as she was sick as a child. It was calming and she felt her heart aching to see her mother again.

"What promise did she give you?"

"You didn't let go of her!"

"You stayed in her life. You got to see her grow up."

She woke up to the sounds of her aunt Rachel and Captain Tom. She was still feeling pretty groggy, even a little dizzy as she tried to raise herself up on the bed. She noticed Rachel and Tom discussing, and decided to lay back down. Whatever it was, it seemed private. But she heard portions of the conversation.

"Trust me when I say, I've had moments of regret every single day for not keeping her!"

"But the moments went away when I knew how loved she was. How happy she was. And when Debbie found out she couldn't have a child of her own.."

The words from Rachel got to her. She felt her heart beating rapidly as she thought about the meaning of her words to Tom. It sounded like they were talking about her.

"And when Debbie died.. I.. felt lost. I didn't know what to do. She had been her mother all this time. I didn't know what I was to her now, if I should tell her the truth."

She had closed her eyes as she listened in on the conversation, thinking what it all meant. If Rachel was her biological mother, then the Captain was her father.. She wondered if this was happening for real, or if this was just a dream her concussion had brought on. It was strange that even though she had lost both of her parents, she still had parents in the world.

"Kara?"

She had slept through the night and felt slightly better, but her head was hurting still. She opened her eyes as she heard the rough sound calling for her name.

"Danny?"

She looked around and saw him inside the tent wearing a hazmat suit, holding her hand.

"What..? What are you doing here?"

"Dr. Scott.. Rachel.. She gave me permission to check up on you." She recognized a faint smile on his face even though the situation was serious. She was inside of a isolation tent, infected with the deadly virus that had rampaged on in the world killing almost everyone.

"How's your head?" He looked down on a piece of paper he probably had gotten from Rachel, stating what he needed to ask and do.

"I'm fine, hurts a little. Not as much as before." She watched as he noted it on the piece of paper. She glanced briefly around in the helo bay, they were alone.

"Danny.." She reached to touch his hand.

"I need to take your blood pressure." She heard him say and saw he was trying to focus on the task given to him. He placed the cuff of the blood pressure monitor on her overarm and she held her position as he took the measuring.

After she saw he was done with the task he was send there to do, she reached for his hand again. Raising herself to sit on the bed even though she felt dizzy, but she trusted him to keep her up. She stared at his rubber glove hand in the palm of hers, and leaned in to his shoulder. She felt his strong arms around her and the tears were escaping from her eyes as she held herself against his shoulder. She cried tears for her mother she had lost. She cried tears for the life she would never have.

She broke off just to lean her forehead on his mask and saw him looking at her. He was trying to hold a brave face. She sighed as she thought about not being able to kiss him for one more time. To hold him without the feel of extra clothing between them. She wasn't going to feel his warm touch ever again on her skin. Every moment they had shared together was a distant memory now. This was what she would have to settle for in her last days.

"You said you have what it takes to make the vaccine." Tom leaned against his desk as he was having a discussion with Rachel.

"The lab wasn't build for that. It's for collecting data!" She said in frustration. They didn't have the equipment they required to manufacture a vaccine. She was at a loss right now. Everyone she had cared about were lost or gone, and she would lose her too.

"Then why did the government send you to the Arctic if you don't have the equipment?" Tom asked irritated at the situation.

"We were suppose to return. You know the orders. We are heading to a bio lab back home as we speak!" She stated and met his gaze, realizing that he too was grasping at straws at the moment. They both wanted Kara to survive but she would soon start to show the symptoms. She was about to take his hand into hers, to comfort him, seeing that the situation was painful for him too. He might have had a chance to get to know her after all these years and that chance was now fading away.

A knock on the door startled them both and Mike entered to the room giving papers to the Captain.

"We received these orders from POTUS." Mike said not glancing at her way at all, she knew she wasn't his favorite person.

"This is five days old." Tom studied the paper and glanced at Mike.

"Apparently it was transmitted when the radios were down." Mike replied and he nodded.

"Have you confirmed these orders?" Tom looked at Mike.

"I've tried the Pentagon, the lab and the presidential bunker. No answer." Mike explained and they all understood the gravity of the situation. The virus was spreading.

"There's something else you need to see." Mike said and Tom left to follow him. Rachel walked slowly behind the two of them to the CIC wondering if she was allowed to accompany the two men.

"You might wanna wait here." Mike stopped her from entering to the CIC and she gave him a short annoyed look. But she stopped to wait. She saw a young Ensign show the Captain a file on a screen. She stepped slightly to the CIC just to see what it was and she saw a blond woman on the screen. She recognized her from the pictures in Tom's cabin. It was his wife. She was still alive. She retreated in her tracks as she knew that he would have a reason to return to home now. His wife was alive and so were probably his children. The familiar aching from the past years was suddenly weighing on her chest as she thought that she really had lost him that day when she said her goodbyes to him. This was her price to pay now, be close to him, work with him, knowing he would never be hers.

Later in the evening when the stars were lighting the night sky, Tom was standing on the small lookout deck beside the bridge, holding the bracelet Ashley had given to him. Thinking about his family back home. His eyes were tearing as he thought about the video he had gotten earlier.

"Tom. We're at your father's cabin. We're all healthy." It had been quite the shock to see with his own eyes that his family was still alive, healthy. Seeing his wife on the screen, gave him the strength to go on. But he couldn't help but feel that somehow he was torn between two very different women. Not that he would leave Darien, but Rachel's presence on the ship had stirred emotions from day one and it wasn't going to stop.

"Daddy, where are you?"

"We miss you."

"We love you, daddy."

He wiped some of the tears running down on his cheeks as he glanced at the stars, thinking how he had told his children that even though they were apart from each other, they would be watching the same stars during the night.

He heard the door open behind him and thought he recognized the footsteps of his XO.

"What's going through your mind?" Mike leaned on the railing and met his gaze. He glanced at the bracelet one last time before placing it on his chest pocket.

"Weighing our options." He said with a heavy sigh.

"Still no answer from POTUS and nothing from Mayport, or the lab." Mike said quietly.

"But we'll know more when we get boots on the ground." Mike was hopeful at the thought of reaching home soon.

"Do you trust me Mike?" Tom turned to face Mike and studied his expression as he locked eyes with him, noticing the slight hesitation in his body language as he probably knew what he had decided already.

"I trust you. But if you're thinking of not going back home.." Mike shook his head in disbelief, the Captain was actually thinking about not returning.

"Tom, people wanna get home." Mike said with honesty. Feeling jealous of Tom as he had just gotten proof that his family was still alive or at least had been a while back. He had already lost one child and Andrea hadn't even reached her folks.

"And who exactly gets to go home when we have 80 biohazard suits for 217 people?" Tom asked and Mike turned to look at the horizon before quietly saying "We draw lots."

"I can't think like that, Mike."

"At least give people a chance to get back to their families, to say goodbye." Mike pleaded.

"I'm not letting anybody on this ship give up."

"It's not your call, you don't get to play God!" Mike raised his voice in anger.

"I'm still the Captain of this ship." Tom reminded Mike of the chain of command with a steely voice.

"I know you have had your doubts about her from the start, and you were right, but she's the only hope we got." Tom stated and Mike met his gaze.

"She was talking to home every week and we didn't even get to warn our families.. We're just supposed to get over that?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, we are."

There was a moment of silence. He thought about if he should mention to Mike that Kara was his daughter. Mike had already lost his son, and here he was gaining a daughter and knowing his family back home was most likely in a secure place. Mike only knew that Christine had been in a safe zone with their daughters. But he wouldn't be without losses either..

"She was pregnant." Tom let out and Mike looked at him with wonder.

"Who?"

"Rachel. When we broke up all those years ago." Tom continued.

"You didn't know?"

"No. She gave the child up for a adoption, and it was Debbie who adopted her." Tom met Mike's gaze and saw that he realized what he meant.

"So.. Lieutenant Foster is..?" Mike began to say, but he nodded as a reply before Mike could continue on.

"And you're asking me to trust her?" Mike chuckled a bit.

"She's got a long way to go before she earns my trust. And I gather it's not a coincidence that Foster's on this mission." Mike gave him a look.

"I asked you. Do you trust me? There's no Navy, no infrastructure, no food or fuel supply. We don't know what we're gonna find, and we're gonna have to improvise every step of the way." Tom said with a serious tone.

"Are you with me?"

Mike felt tears pricking in his eyes as he thought about the situation, and finally he gave his short reply "I'm with you."

It was already late in the night, but Tom entered to the helo bay only to witness that a certain Lieutenant was inside the tent with Kara. At the moment they were laughing at something, he smiled briefly as he heard her laughter. It was the sweetest sound he could hear at the moment, but at the same time his heart felt heavy as he thought about her untimely death that was approaching. She wasn't showing any signs of the virus yet, only the usual symptoms after a head injury.

He cleared his throat a little and saw Rachel give him a look from her desk. She was still wearing the clothes from the day they got back, it appeared as she hadn't even bothered to take a shower and her face wore the signs of sleep deprivation. He too hadn't got any shut-eye since their return.

"A word?" He gestured to the P-Way and she got up from her desk and followed after him.

"Why is Lieutenant Green inside the tent with her?" He asked staring at Rachel.

"Because I said he could." She crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't sure how much she should tell Tom, but she felt for the two of them. They obviously liked each other and she wasn't going to stand in the way of love. Not when she had lost hers once.

"They're just friends." She added, hoping he would calm down.

Tom nodded giving a short glance through the open doorway to the tent were the two of them were chatting.

"So what happens now?" She asked. She didn't want to bring up the fact that she knew his family was still alive.

"Our orders are to head to Mayport. But as you know we haven't been able to contact anyone." He explained.

"And the lab is 200 miles inland." He stated.

"You don't think it's safe?" She asked and wondered what was he thinking.

"People on this ship depend on me. I'm in uncharted territory here." He met her gaze and she nodded briefly.

"We all are"

"Not you. You saw this coming." He felt the anger wash over him again as he thought about her knowing this all along. But it was behind them now, it had to be.

"As I already said, I never thought it would spread this fast. But now we know why." She reminded him that they had discovered that the virus was either weaponized or it had somehow escaped from a lab. But nevertheless it was now more stable to defeat with a vaccine.

"If you had to, could you create a vaccine here on the ship?" He asked meeting her eyes, seeing that she opened her mouth for a moment to reply, but there were no words. She silently nodded as she understood what he was suggesting.

"I would need supplies.." She was about to tell him the list of requirements needed in the making of a vaccine, but Quincy's voice interrupted them.

"Rachel?" She heard Quincy as he came to the P-Way from the helo bay.

"What is it Quincy?" She looked at him.

"This is the comprehensive blood work you requested." "Take a look." Quincy handed her the papers and she studied them. She felt relief come over her as she read the results and she began smiling, crying happy tears.

"What is it?" Tom asked wondering about this sudden behavior.

"She's immune." She managed to say as she glanced at the tent were Kara was talking to Danny.

"She's what?" Tom had to ask again as he almost didn't believe what she was telling him. She would survive through this after all.

"She's immune!" She looked at Tom and smiled. She would make it through and was even more valuable now. If she was immune, she could be useful in the process of creating a vaccine.

"What are the chances of that?" Tom thought to ask.

"Incredibly rare, but it's possible." Quincy answered. "I'm running a second test to be certain of the results." Quincy added and left their company.

Tom and Rachel shared a look of joy, and they were brought back to reality as Lieutenant Green was approaching them. He decided it was time he should have a talk with the young officer.

They walked all the way back to his cabin and he went to stand by his desk. He was assessing the young Lieutenant and wondered if there had been inappropriate behavior between him and Kara. He thought he would have a few years before he would have to keep an eye out for possible suitors for Ashley. Now he suddenly had a grown-up daughter who most likely had been intimate with someone. And he didn't know how she would feel him being too overprotective over her.

"Answer me honestly. Is there something between you and Lieutenant Foster?" Tom used his steely voice as he spoke as the Captain of the ship.

Danny was struck by the question, but then again he knew he hadn't been hiding his emotions pretty well lately, especially now when he knew Kara was dying.

He swallowed hard as he replied with honesty "Yes, sir." It didn't matter now what his punishment would be.

"I see." Tom glanced at the floor briefly. "And has something happened between the two of you?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer, knowing all too well what younger men were thinking in their minds. He didn't know Lieutenant Green all that well, he was assigned to the mission as a protective detail to Dr. Scott, so he wasn't sure if he was a good guy.

Danny cleared his throat a little, thinking briefly at the night he and Kara had spent together. Wishing that he could have one more night with her.

"We kissed, sir." Was the white lie to his commanding officer. He was telling the truth, but left out the important detail that they had done more than just kissed each other.

"That is in violation of the fraternization rules." Tom stated and gave the young man a iron look.

"I'm aware of it, sir. I'll except any punishment you see fit." Danny held his posture in front the Captain.

"Two weeks of double night watch should do it." Tom gave his answer and heard a firm "Yes, sir" from Danny.

Danny was about to leave as he heard the Captain continue. "Can I give you a piece of advice?"

Danny nodded, wondering where this was coming from.

"There's a difference between love and lust. Make sure you know how you feel about her." Tom looked at the young man in the eyes and thought he recognized the same look he himself had once held. Remembering what his own reflection in the mirror had told him: heartbroken. It might seem that this particular young Lieutenant was a good guy. He wanted to tell him that she was immune, and she wasn't going to die, but they were still waiting on the second test. They wanted to be sure about this, before getting everyone's hopes up.

She was standing outside the isolation tent, she had just gone through a decontamination process. Her aunt Rachel and Captain Tom were staring at her as they told her again that she was immune. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Immune. She was immune.

"And there's something else you should know." She heard Rachel say and saw the shared look she had with Tom. This was it, she wasn't sure what she should say. She didn't know how she felt about this. She still felt the sting of betrayal about everything her aunt Rachel had done, and now it turned out that she was her biological mother. All this time she has been acting the role of the 'fun aunt'.

"I know. I heard the conversation you two had in here." She let out, and both Rachel and Tom were rather shocked about her revelation.

"You did?" Rachel stepped a little closer to her and she felt like stepping away, but she didn't.

"And I knew I was adopted. My mom.." She started to tell, but hesitated as she said 'my mom' referring to Debbie. But Debbie was her mother.

"My mom told me. I overheard a conversation between my parents. They had just gotten the test results back." She revealed.

"Debbie never mentioned that you knew." Rachel felt utterly stunned.

"How do you feel about the news?" Tom decided to join in on the conversation.

"Honestly.. I don't know. I've never felt the need to discover my real roots. It hasn't bothered me. And now.. I've lost my parents, but yet I still have my parents." She tried to make sense in her meaning and Tom gave her a soft smile.

"Are you angry at me?" Rachel felt she needed to know and noticed her voice trembling a bit.

"I.. I was. But I was about to die. I've been going through everything in my mind as I laid inside the tent. It doesn't serve much to keep being angry, or to hold a grudge." She explained.

"And as you said to Tom.. I was happy, I was loved. I had great parents." She said and felt her eyes teary at the thought of her family. She noticed Rachel crying too and moved to hug her. Perhaps she was forgiving too easily, but the frightening thought of dying had changed her.

She broke off the hug and glanced at Tom. He was her commanding officer, but yet in the moment he was wearing the expression of a father. Her father.. She hesitated a little, but hugged him too. Feeling his arms around her made her feel safe. His head was leaning against her head and for some reason it felt right.

"I never got the chance to be your father. That chance was taken away from me, but I'm still here, if you want me to be." She heard his whisper like voice.

"I want to be here for you, if you let me." He added as he held her and felt her nodding against his chest. He smiled a little as he thought he would get a chance with her. Beside them he noticed Rachel smiling at them. He met her gaze and felt he was torn between two families.

Hope you have enjoyed this chapter! Love the reviews the story is getting, Thank you so much!

I've been watching the series from the start now and I wonder.. Tom's comment on the amount of hazmat suits to Mike.. (80 suits to 216 people). Rather strange that in Lockdown everyone is wearing one due to the Circle William protocol. Did they get more suits from Gitmo? And what if they had to issue the Circle William before reaching Gitmo? Just wondering about this, and thought to wonder here. :)