Chapter 34

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"Gentlemen." Danny entered the mess where Carlton, Cruz, Tex and Miller were hanging out.

"Now, I know how much all of you like carrying the load, but the truth is, we could use a little help." He tapped Cruz's shoulder lightly as he walked to stand beside him, motioning to the big guy walking behind him.

"Which is why we are getting a new team member." Danny continued, giving a glance at his team as they eyed the new guy intensely.

"Taylor here was part of the Navy's Special Warfare joint operation training program branch in Norfolk when shit hit the rotors about three months ago."

"He has volunteered to join us on our mission south. Senior Chief Taylor, Royal Australian Navy." Danny made the introduction.

"You can call me Wolf." Taylor said, holding his facial expression mostly neutral as he glanced around him.

"He is the real deal. A diver, EOD expert and all-around operator." Danny added, hoping Wolf's achievements would speak for himself.

"Proud to join the team." Wolf added and Danny watched as Miller welcomed the new guy into their little group, looking like he was shaking hands with the Iron Man himself.

Behind him, he heard the footsteps of Ravit and Kara as they entered the mess. Little late to the party. He glanced over his shoulder and held his mouth shut, after all he didn't want to give the impression that he's "a stick up his ass" -guy to the newest member on their team.

But before he managed to open his mouth and introduce Wolf to Kara and Ravit, the stillness in the room was broken by a joyous scream and he saw Ravit openly hugging Wolf, and from where he was standing it looked to be quite the warm reunion. Raising an eyebrow he quickly glanced at Kara again who seemed to be rather calm over the situation. Do they know each other?

"So you're the new member to the team." Kara stepped up after Ravit had gotten her feet back to the floor and was standing beside Wolf.

"Lieutenant." Wolf offered his hand for a handshake and Kara took it "Chief."

To Danny's surprise the room was filled with sudden laughter as both Wolf and Kara were laughing like someone had just told them an inside joke. Around him the rest of his team was as baffled as he was.

"Come here, you." Wolf pulled Kara into a tight hug, lifting her feet off the floor, spinning her around.

Beside him he sensed Carlton lean toward him as he whispered "You worried?"

Danny shrugged and met Carlton's gaze briefly. Should he be?

"We should probably explain." Wolf shared a secretive smile with the two women. There's definitely more to the story, Danny thought.

"He spend six months with us in Tel Aviv, before he got transferred to the States." Kara said and somehow Danny felt relieved, not that he would be the jealous type, but it certainly seemed like the three of them were a tight unit and six months was a long time.

"Okay. I'm worried." Carlton's voice hovered in the vicinity of his ear again and he smiled faintly.

"I'm not. At least I put a ring on her." Danny grinned and patted Carlton's shoulder lightly. Remembering the night he had proposed to Kara, as crazy as it might have been, it had felt right.

Carlton glanced towards Ravit and cleared his throat, trying to come up with something to say, but instead his mind was blank.

"Trouble in paradise?" Tex moved beside him and he scoffed. Sure, more the merrier. Not only was Danny teasing him, now Tex was here to bring his words of wisdom on the table.

"They sure seem all lovey-dovey, don't they?" Tex smirked as he watched Ravit and Kara catch up with Wolf the new guy.

Carlton crossed his arms over his chest, trying his best to ignore Tex.

"Makes you wonder what did go on when they weren't on duty. I'm definitely gonna get the scoop about their wild nights of partying." Tex leaned subtly towards Carlton and he fought back to say something. Beside him even Danny stiffened when he heard Tex's words. Got you!

"Welcome to the club, man." Carlton patted Danny's shoulder with a grin before taking his leave from the mess.

Danny shared a look with Tex, who seemed to have his widest smile on. This was certainly going to get a troublesome cruise with Tex on board again.

Tom stood on the bridge, holding his son's baseball in his hand. Looking around him, the bridge was crowded as everyone seemed to be hard at work. To an outsider it might have seemed just like any other mission back in the day, but it wasn't just any kind of mission that was lying ahead of them. This was about saving the world.

Gazing at the blue seas in front of them, his thoughts wandered. Thinking back to the day he first saw her in Norfolk. Staring at him, like a bolt of lightning she came back into his life. Their conversation fresh on his mind. I'll never leave you again. Her words made him smile as he stared down at the baseball.

"Captain..?" Tom heard and turned to see Gator standing beside him with Rachel. Looking straight at her beautiful eyes, he saw her eyes light up and a girlish smile almost appeared on her lips, but remembering that they were indeed standing on the crowded bridge, she managed to held her demeanor rather calm.

"What is it Gator?" Tom moved to address the man standing beside her.

"According to the harbor master log. Hospital Ship USNS Solace departed Naval Station Norfolk two weeks ago bearing south-southeast." Gator informed.

"Destination?" Tom held his gaze on Gator.

"That's just it, sir. The harbor master log doesn't show one." Gator explained and Mike walked over to them as he overheard the conversation.

"So it headed out to sea to avoid the pandemic, maybe create a safe hospital offshore." Mike made the conclusion.

"That's what I thought, sir, but then I checked the ship's manifest and aside from a skeleton crew from the military sealift command to run the ship, there were only 15 doctors on board." Gator explained.

"I mean, that's well below reduced operating status." Gator added.

"With the plague, maybe that's all that's left." Jeter concluded.

"Even so, Master Chief, the Solace was specially retrofitted before going underway. Negative pressure equipment, incubators, thermocyclers.." Gator said as he looked over the log again.

"Precisely the tools one needs to make a bio lab." Rachel spoke, a shadow of excitement in her voice.

"Fifteen doctors, all that equipment, you think that's the missing lab from Norfolk?" Tom looked at her.

"It has to be. Put on a ship and moved offshore." Rachel replied.

Pausing for a moment, still holding the baseball in his hand, he nodded towards Gator "Let's call 'em."

Letting his eyes wander back to hers, he noticed excitement in her eyes. They both knew how important it was to find this ship, to start manufacturing the cure, and with the help of Solace they were one step closer to saving the world.

Later as the day was coming to a close, Danny walked towards his cabin with Kara on his heels. Smiling to himself as he opened the door to his cabin and gestured for Kara to enter.

"So what was it that you wanted to talk about?" Kara asked, completely unaware about the true purpose of Danny's mission.

"This." Danny quickly turned Kara towards him, pulling her against him as he tasted her hot lips.

Giving in for a moment, Kara answered his kiss, feeling the heat in the moment. Almost letting out a soft groan as she kissed him. This she had missed!

"Danny.." She tried to break off the kiss, but he flashed that smile of his and he leaned in for more. She giggled against his lips and allowed him to kiss her. She was strong enough to resist him in the end, she thought.

"We can't." Kara tried to plead, not sure whether she was trying to convince him or herself.

"Hasn't stopped us before.." Danny smiled at her with a spark in his eyes. Damn it! He was too charming.

"Why the sudden need?" Kara searched his eyes for an answer, wondering if there was a reason for his sudden behavior, not that she didn't mind.

Noticing a small flicker of something in his demeanor, she wondered..

"Is this.. about Wolf?" Kara slackened her arms around his neck as she looked at him. Noticing that the Navy SEAL couldn't hold his cool about this. This was about Wolf, was he threatened by him?

"You know, you said it yourself. Jealousy is a useless emotion." Kara lowered her arms around Danny's waist and noticed him glance downwards, avoiding her gaze for a moment.

"It's just that.. Well, he got to know you before and I.." Danny struggled to get the right words out and Kara saw right through him, feeling a small flutter in her chest which wasn't caused by love, but worry that he could ever doubt her. To think that he wasn't enough.

"Hey.. I married you, didn't I?" Kara leaned in to gently kiss his lips.

"I'll tell you all the glory details one day." She added with a tease. Stirring a reaction in Danny as he made her step backwards towards the bunk.

"I love you Kara." Danny said as he held her in his arms.

"I love you too." Kara smiled softly.

"And Wolf's just a friend." Kara added as she kissed Danny.

"Although there might have been some benefits.." She teased him for the last time and to her surprise Danny quickly lifted her up on his waist as his lips found hers, seeking for more than just a kiss.

"That's nice. Keep that left hand up." Wolf held the punching bag firmly in place for Ravit as she practiced her punches.

"I know." Ravit said irritated.

"Yeah, yeah, you know." Wolf continued, knowing that he was pissing her off.

"Come on! You still punch like a girl." Wolf teased.

Ravit's gaze shifted into an icy glare as she threw a few hard punches at the bag Wolf was holding and aimed one just past his cheek to the air. Just to make a point.

"Still punch like a girl?" Ravit smirked and Wolf let out a chuckle.

"That's the spirit."

"Caught you slipping, buddy." Tex threw the ball right at Carlton's face as his gaze was occupied on the friendly conversation going on with Wolf and Ravit.

"Come on, Tex." Carlton snapped and threw the ball back at him, hitting his gut a little harder than was necessary. But Tex was getting on his nerves.

"Are you seriously worried over your girl?" Tex threw the ball back at him. This time Carlton catched it in time, trying his best to ignore Tex and not to look at Ravit and Wolf.

"She's not my girl." Carlton denied, although they hadn't really talked about their situation and where exactly they stood, but he considered her to be his girl already. No words needed.

"Oh well, then you're not interested to know what I know." Tex turned away to take a sip from his water bottle.

"Whoa, what do you know?" Carlton let the ball land on the floor beside him as he walked over to where Tex was standing. Recognizing the overly smug smile on Tex's face, Tex had him right under his thumb.

"Well, I had a little convo with Wolf. He says she's like a sister to him." Tex said.

"Both she and Kara, but don't tell Danny just yet." Tex gave a wink at Burk.

"So I hope you know what you're doing, 'cause big brother's in town." Tex grinned and left Carlton standing by himself.

"Still not picking up a signal?" Rachel stood in the conference room, waiting for Mike to join her and Tom.

"Not yet, but they couldn't have gone too far." Tom replied and she nodded briefly. Suddenly feeling unsure what to say in his presence. It seemed a lot easier before, now it was harder after their talk. I still love you, Rachel. I love you from the bottom of my heart. Thinking about his words made her cheeks burn slightly, but she came crashing down to the present as she heard the door open and close as Mike entered the room with blueprints in hand. Before resting her gaze on Mike, she noticed a small smile Tom gave her. Feeling like a school girl suddenly, she hoped he didn't know what she had been thinking about.

"It's a diagram of the Grace, sister ship of Solace." Mike said as he spread the blueprints on the table.

"From what I understand, they're practically identical."

"They most likely constructed their labs here, two levels below the O2 machine." Rachel said after a moment of studying the blueprints.

"Best place for negative pressure and ventilation." She added and was about to continue on but Jeter entered the room.

"Any news Master Chief?" Mike was quick to ask.

"Sir. OOD reports they are in range of bridge-to-bridge, but they're not answering our hails on any channel." Jeter said with a calm voice, his eyes briefly meeting Rachel's.

"They still moving?" Tom asked, but everyone in the room knew the answer to that. Not again..

"It appears not, sir." Jeter added heavily.

"Why does this story sound familiar?" Tom voiced the thought on their minds. The cruise ship. Feeling a shiver go through her spine as she thought about the people on those beds again, covered with blood, all dead, except for one.

"This bloody virus.." Rachel shook her head in disbelief. It seemed that they were destined to fight this pandemic on their own.

"Well, at the very least, we'll be able to salvage their lab, right?" Rachel gazed at the three men in the room.

"That'll be our mission." Tom agreed, nodding at Mike.

"Once we get the ship secured, you can jump on board and take stock. Then off to Florida and Georgia. The labs are waiting for us." Tom continued.

"I'll alert the team, bring you right up alongside." Mike said as he left the room with the Master Chief.

"They put themselves out to sea, waiting for us." Tom leaned against the table with his hands, looking over the blueprints in front of them.

"And we were late." The tightness in his voice was enough to remind her what was at stake. She met his gaze, speechless as she thought over the situation, knowing that he would carry the burden on his shoulders again. But it wasn't just on him.

"So, Wolf. A badass name. Who gave you that?" Kara heard Miller ask Wolf as the team was going over their gear before the mission.

"His mother." Kara answered as she stepped in. She and Wolf shared a smile as they both heard Miller's rather disappointed reply to the origin of Wolf's name. He was obviously hoping there was a cool story behind it.

She listened as Wolf began to tell them about how the virus started to spread. First a few rapports here and there, then a full on outbreak. People must've been so scared. Thinking back how they had been in the Arctic, completely unaware of what was happening around them. Well except for two people.

"I always wondered, how it all went down here." Kara heard Miller say and looked at him. He still didn't know if his mother had survived. Turning her gaze toward Burk, she saw he was listening to Wolf too. Probably wondering about his brother, Cameron.

"Yeah, most of the big cities in Australia were hit pretty hard, too." Wolf said with a sadness in his voice.

"Never managed to call home. My brothers, my sister.."

Call home. The turmoil after the attack had been chaotic for a moment. Everyone thinking about their loved ones. Trying desperately to call home, but no reply on the receiving end had left many heartbroken. Majority of the crew still didn't know the fate of their loved ones, they can only hope for the best. Coming back from her thoughts she heard Miller add "This place isn't exactly home, but you've got a family here." Kara smiled as she thought over Miller's words. That was true.

"Appreciate that, Miller, really." Wolf smiled at the young man's comment and continued to look directly at Kara.

"What?" Kara wondered.

"So Kansas girl, aren't you gonna join in on the action? Never thought you'd be slacking." Wolf surprised her with his question and Kara shifted her gaze to Danny. Thinking how should she tell her friend about her condition.

"Oh, she's got a bun in the oven." Tex's voice came in the air and Kara turned to look at her wayward friend. Leave it up to Tex to just blurt out the truth.

"That's oddly shocking, since the last time I saw you, you had no intentions of settling down." Wolf raised his eyebrow slightly.

"Congratulations are in order then?"

"Thank you." Kara smiled.

"I'm assuming the father-to-be is around?" Wolf looked around him, wondering if it was one of the ones in the room.

"He is." Danny said and entwined his hand with Kara's.

Wolf smiled and looked over to Kara.

"Well, you never did play by the rule book."

"Well, no one said you couldn't bend the rules." She added with mischief in her voice. Although a sudden blush came on her cheeks as she heard herself.

"I think you need to tell us more stories of the Kara that you knew." Burk came to stand beside Wolf, giving him a small push on his shoulder.

"Anytime." Wolf gave a wink at Kara. Seeing that Wolf moved on to chat with Burk and Miller, Kara looked at Danny, trying to remain professional despite the redness on her cheeks.

"So.. Kirkland told me to tell you that CIWS is down, but he'll have SCAT teams ready for you if you need support." She said, relieved that she managed to deliver the message.

"All right, well, we'll be ready." Danny nodded, looking over the team before landing his gaze back on Kara. "You hungry?"

"I was just gonna grab something and.." Kara started to say but Danny cut her off.

"You gotta eat properly." Danny slowly pressed his hand on her lower belly, startling her, for this was not allowed, but she didn't have the heart to move away either. As she felt his hand pressing down on her belly, a small smile escaped her lips as she held his gaze.

She placed her hand on top of his and before there was anything more, they heard Tex's amused voice in the background "Hey, lovebirds, we're gonna get some food, you comin?"

Smiling at each other, Kara sighed. This mission was going to be a long one and she couldn't help but feel if the pressure on her was too much?

Stepping into the mess she noticed a few looks from her fellow sailors but kept her gaze focused in front of her.

"What are you thinking?" Danny asked, his voice curious behind her. She gave him a side-look, wondering if she could voice out her doubts right here and now.

"It's just.. How am I suppose to hold my own, when my job could've easily been Garnett's or Slattery's.. Even Master Chief could've done this." Lowering her voice she met Danny's gaze as they walked further in the line.

"Garnett has her own department to run, Master Chief has enough to deal with the crew and Slattery is not cut out for the diplomatic stuff." Danny's calm answer made the doubt go away for a moment.

"And I am?" Kara asked, slightly amused that somewhere down the line she had been prepared for this. But deep down she knew the real reason for the doubt she was experiencing.

"You did talk a man down from detonating a bomb strapped to his chest once. You got a knack when talking to people. So perhaps it was your linguistic skills the skipper thought of." Suddenly Wolf's voice came in the conversation and she looked up at her old friend in front of her.

"Benz would've said you're a loose cannon." Danny chuckled as he heard the story and before Kara could get a word in, Wolf continued "Sorry for eavesdropping."

"It was during training and the man was you." She shoved Wolf's arm playfully, but kept thinking about what Danny had said.

Loose cannon. Wolf might have known a different Kara because she had exactly been that. It was why she had left the States, blocking her emotions deep down, she had forgotten how to be afraid. Fear is usually the confident ally that keeps everyone safe one way or another. But she had been lost, both of her parents were gone, nothing had mattered anymore. But now everything was different.

Sighing, Kara watched as Bacon walked up to her and placed a plate with food on her tray. Looking down at the plate she noticed that most of the food was rich in iron.

"Thank you, Bacon." Kara offered her sincerest regards, but couldn't help but feel the weight on her chest, again.

Sitting down by the table across from Alisha she sank into her thoughts. Looking around, everyone seemed to be acting normal, so perhaps it was all in her mind. But her being on this ship wasn't a coincidence. It wasn't fate either, and while her mother has already apologized for her actions, stating that without Kara, she wouldn't have made the cure. It was still hard to try and act normal, be one of the crew, when the circumstances were speaking for you.

"Kara?" Danny's voice entered through her thoughts.

"I shouldn't get any special treatment." Kara nodded towards the food.

"Pretty sure it's for the baby. You know Bacon." Danny stated. Yeah, she knew Bacon. He was a kind and thoughtful guy. But still it didn't look good in her book.

"You're over thinking it girl. I speak from my own experience." Alisha reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. Meeting her gaze, was this how she had felt after Baltimore? And hadn't she been there along with Ravit stating that no one blamed her for what her mother had done?

"Why are you so insecure all of a sudden? What's the deal here?" Wolf asked the obvious question. More news he didn't know about her life.

"Probably because she's the skipper's daughter and her mother is the doctor who made the cure." Tex was happy to fill Wolf in on the details.

"Tex!" Kara retorted sharply, almost wishing he was sitting in a kicking distance.

"Hey, you don't wanna piss her off." Danny gave a look towards Tex who then shrugged and kept eating his meal quietly.

"I thought your mother passed away..?" Wolf looked puzzled.

"It's a long story." Kara said, hoping to close the subject for the day and began eating.

She had been in this position before, but it was different now. She wouldn't be risking her life out there in the field. Instead she would be safely aboard the James, when her team would be going on without her.

"All right, Tiger Team. Tex, Ravit, Burk. Start aft and starboard, clear your way to the lab." Tom stood on the deck of the Solace. So far nothing out of the ordinary, the silence of the ship reminded him of the cruise ship. He wondered if they would find a similar sight on this one.

"The rest of you on me. We go port and forward." He ordered and began walking toward an opening.

"You come across anyone still alive, save who you can with the doses you are carrying." He added. Although fearing for the worst, surely someone would've heard them by now?

"Am I clear?"

"Aye, sir." Hearing an answer in unison, he opened his comm to contact the Nathan James.

"Nathan James, this is Vulture team."

"Radio check."

"Reading you loud and clear." Mike's voice came through.

"Expect radio drop-off once we get in the skin of the ship. Next check in five mics." Tom continued.

"Roger that. Good luck."

"Burk. What do you see?" Tom reached for the comm as they moved inside the ship.

"A whole lot of nothin', sir." Burk's voice crackled through the comm as they continued on their search.

"Same here." Tom said, puzzled by what they were seeing.

No sign of life. At least this ship wasn't like the cruise ship they had encountered. The beds on this one were empty. No bodies, no trace of the virus. At least not yet.

"Where the hell did everyone go?" Danny asked the obvious, second guessing himself whether he should fine comb his words before speaking, since the Captain was his father-in-law, but it was better to think of the man first as his Captain, his commanding officer rather than father-in-law, although both titles made the man fierce.

"What's going on in here?" Sudden voice echoed through the room.

"For me?"

"Sir, you hear that?" Miller asked.

"Over there." Wolf began approaching the source.

"Perhaps the best birthday.."

"Hey, Stella, you know what? Inside the cake is ice cream, too."

Tom walked slowly toward a laptop and looked at a video that was playing on the screen. Memories of similar videos of his own came to mind for a brief moment but he heard Lieutenant Green state that the mug beside the laptop was still warm.

Someone was here. Alive.

Looking around, it was quiet. Quick scan of the room pointed toward a door at the back. Lights were on in the room behind the door, but as he watched the door, the lights went off.

Something was wrong.

I know it's been far too long since I've updated this story, but I hope you all enjoyed this addition!

Special thanks to tmtcltb for giving me inspiration for a plot in this and the next chapter. :)