Chapter 13
"So, Miller and I will be heading up to Iowa once we can get transport." Wolf said to Danny as he wanted to keep the man in the loop, even if he hadn't told Larrin yet but he would once he had more details. He also knew she would understand and luckily she had Tex and Kara to lean on in his absence so he didn't have to worry about her too much.
"Just the two of you?" Danny asked him.
"If you didn't have a house to renovate I'd ask your missus if I could borrow you. But yeah, we were going to see if anyone else was interested in heading North." Wolf said speaking for Miller and himself. He idly wondered what Larrin and Miller were up to at the moment but decided it was best to keep his nose out of their business.
"Alisha is." Kara said, Danny looked to her as it was the first he was hearing about it.
"Really?" He asked her, Kara gave a nod.
"She wants to look for Sarah. She was last in Wisconsin." Kara said as if it was common news. But it wasn't to Danny or Wolf but then they didn't have the kind of friendship with Alisha as Kara did being her bunk mate.
"Cruz's family is in Louisiana. So he'd be heading South in the next few days." Danny said which opened the conversation up as he, Kara, Tex and Wolf starting naming people who came from the North and if they'd be interested in going up there in their R&R. It seemed the larger the party the more likely they'd be given permission as well as anything they needed.
"You should think about going." Kara said to him as Danny's family lived in Connecticut. Danny made a face and shook his head.
"My Family is too far North. It could take weeks for me to get there to find them gone." Danny said, taking a negative spin even though Connecticut was just as far north as Wisconsin.
"Or you could go as far as Iowa and be able to make radio contact with someone in the area. I overheard that Dr Milowsky is taking Dr Scott's place on the team being sent to Denver. But the Captain is sending him with a team of SEALs from Norfolk that are coming in tonight." Kara told him.
"Gee, it would have been great if he rolled that one past us." Danny grumbled as he felt like he'd been downgraded to the B-team. Not that he wanted to go follow Milowsky around the country side but he would have liked to be kept in the loop.
"We're not on the ship anymore and he's being promoted to Admiral and is probably Chief of Naval operations." Kara said.
"So it's back to old ways now." Tex said in a sage manner.
"He probably is just letting the crew finally have some R&R. You'll all could be called in tomorrow to hear about it." Kara said trying to downplay it as she could see Danny was taking it hard. When they were all on the ship they felt like they were important and their roles mattered but now in St Louis it was like they were back to being cogs in a very large machine again.
"I wonder if that means Larrin is going with Milowsky." Wolf said, he didn't like the idea of his sister working with Milowsky as the man had no loyalties. Sure, he had been made to investigate Neils' death on the ship but there was something about the guy that just rubbed Wolf the wrong way.
"Why would she?" Danny asked confused as he hadn't heard anything about Larrin getting a job.
"Dr Scott offered her a job as an assistant on the same trip." Wolf told him.
"I doubt she'll go. Larrin wants to work with Dr Scott." Kara assured him as she could see he was uneasy at the prospect of Larrin being outside of the bubble that was St Louis.
"Dude, check out the shower screen. This is awesome." Larrin said as she looked at the shower screen that looked like an aquarium had been vacuumed sealed into a wall.
The bathroom seemed to gel in with the rest of the bad decor the walls were covered in teal and yellow pattern wall paper that was bubbling and peeling, the floor was covered in pink hexagonal tiles and the vanity in the room was hot pink. The tap spouts were of fish with their mouths open so Miller could only assume when turned on it looked like the fish were vomiting water into the sink.
"I swear whoever decorated this house was high as kite or really mental." Larrin said as she stepped into the shower area poking the fish in shower screen. Miller really liked her childlike enthusiasm as every room and how in every room she could find something to like yet would proclaim she was glad not to be living there. It was adorable.
"Yet you want the shower screen."
"It's kitschy and unusual though the shower head leaves a lot to be desired though" Larrin said as she pointed to the said shower head that was just like the taps but a larger fish with it's mouth yawning open. "In fact it's a little creepy. Let's continue on." Larrin added as she moved out of the shower space.
"Wolf, we found Kara and Danny's housewarming gift for you." Larrin said as she and Miller came into the house bearing gifts.
"Wow," Wolf said looking at the cobalt blue fur pouf that had eyes, nose, mouth with a tongue poking out and white fluffy ears on the sides. It was something he'd imagine would give a kid nightmares. He looked to Danny and Kara "you guys, I just can't accept such a beautiful gift." he told them as he tried not to laugh.
"All yours, Pal." Danny said as he tried to keep a straight face. Now that he could see the pouf in good lighting it was more amusing than creepy.
"Yeah, and it has a matching doona cover! Happy Birthday!" Larrin said as she unfolded a single size doona cover that was made out of the same cobalt blue fur.
"It's your birthday?" Tex asked Wolf confused.
"In a couple of weeks." Wolf said as he really hoped he didn't have to accept the gifts on offer. The pouf was damn ugly and he knew Danny would check in periodically to see he had it because he was just that kind of punk.
"Happy Birthday! Keep that thing in your room." Tex told him in a mock serious manner.
"Gee, Thanks guys. How about we keep it outside for now until we can wash them." Wolf said, maybe if he was lucky a wild animal would take the doona cover in the night and run leaving just the pouf to deal with.
Hours later,
"The house can be fixed right?" Kara asked Danny as she laid her head on his shoulder and curled her body against his. The Granny flat was small but perfect for them for the time being as it was their own space and they had a small kitchenette. They were just grateful Tex was letting them have it. But they needed a house for when the baby came, it was non negotiable for Danny as he wanted their child to grow up in a house with his or her own room.
"Yeah, Tex and I pulled up some carpet and we got some pretty good floorboards underneath. So we'll start with the upstairs and work our way down. Get the carpet out before we strip the walls. It'll take a while but we'll get there." Danny said as he pressed his lips to Kara's brow.
"We don't have our pay yet. We still need to buy stuff for the baby and keep enough in savings for when the economy comes back." Kara said already worrying about the future.
"We'll work it out and we got friends so labour will cheap." Danny said as he moved hand up and down her back in a soothing manner.
"We can't do that." Kara said as she didn't feel right abusing her friends by making them work on her house. She already felt bad about Tex helping them but it wasn't like she could go in there. Well, she could but she just wasn't comfortable with it as she was trying to be as healthy and relaxed with her pregnancy. Something she knew would be difficult if she had to look inside the house and see the amount of work.
"I'll pay them with beer. It's all good. They know I'll return the favour when it's their turn. It'll all work out." Danny assured her.
"You still thinking of going to Iowa with Miller and Taylor?" Kara asked changing the topic as she felt it was important. She had her mother but she didn't want Danny to miss out on a chance of finding his family given now was the best time. They were on R&R and she was only 16 weeks pregnant so it wasn't like he was going to missing much in regards to their child.
"I don't really want to leave you or miss out on the rest of your pregnancy." Danny said to her, one of hands smoothing over her pregnant belly.
"But." Kara prompted.
"It might be the only chance I've got before the baby comes." Danny said utter the same thoughts she was having. She pushed up in the bed and looked down at him.
"I think you should go. I'll be alright here, and worst case you'll be gone a few weeks, best case a few days." She said as she laid a hand on his chest to keep herself upright.
"True." Danny said in agreement. In the grand scheme it wasn't too much time but he still had plans, plans that required him being in St Louis with her. He still needed to ask her to marry him, he knew he wasn't going to find the perfect moment when he was thousands of miles away from her.
"I'm only going to get bigger and more uncomfortable. I'll save all the sonogram photos that happen between when you leave and come back." Kara told him.
"I'll think about it." Danny told her.
The next morning,
"Their place has good bones." Larrin said to Tex as they were walking down the hallway to visit Rachel. They'd had breakfast like one huge family with the others before they all peeled off with their own missions. Kara and Kathleen had gone off to shop for some clothes given all of Kara's civilian clothing were a little too tight given her pregnancy and well Kathleen and Larrin just needed clothes.
Danny had gone off with Miller and Wolf to find out what was going on with the others from the ship. Larrin could only assume to see who was heading North to find their families and to see if they could get transport and permission to do so. While Tex and Larrin were visiting Rachel. they'd gone to the hotel and packed up her room and gear, putting into the back of the truck Tex so they could take it home and hold it for Rachel until she had a plan of where she was going.
"Don't tell me you're a builder too." Tex said in a teasing tone as the girl was the most intelligent woman he'd met under the age of 30. Not that Kat wasn't smart cause his baby girl was definitely bright but Larrin seemed to be in her class.
"No, but how hard is it to strip wallpaper off the walls and rip carpet out." Larrin said with a shrug.
"It's hard sweaty work." Tex promised her with a smile.
"Well, at least I won't have to worry about what I eat if I help out." Larrin said with her own smile. Tex laughed as he wasn't sure whether to encourage Larrin or not given she did have a healthy appetite. Though he figured it would taper off in the following weeks when she realized the food wasn't going to stop coming. For now it was probably a novelty to not feel hungry or at least he hoped as she ate more than the boys.
"I think you're better off finding work that uses that grey matter between your ears while the Doc is recuperating." Tex told her.
"Yeah-" Larrin stopped and pointed to the room they had just passed "hey isn't this the room?" Larrin asked as they backtracked and looked in to find the room empty and tidied up like it was waiting to be used. Tex frowned and looked up at the number above the door.
"It is." He said perplexed as Rachel wouldn't have been released. He spotted a nurse coming out of another room and flagged her down. "Nurse, where's the patient who was in this room. Dr Scott?" he asked. The woman turned to him and wore a saddened expression that made Tex's stomach drop as he knew that look in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, but Dr Scott died last night." She informed him.
"How? Who claimed the remains?" Tex asked as he couldn't believe it. Rachel looked weak but on the mend. Dr Clarke had said she'd make a full recovery.
"I don't know, I only found out when I came on shift this morning. You'll have to ask at the reception" The nurse told him.
Rachel woke up and frowned as her room had changed. Gone was her hospital room replaced with walls of what looked to be a wooden cabin and medical equipment. Sunlight streamed through the window showing her beautiful view of a forested area. She wondered vaguely how she had gotten there but then remembered the ambulance ride. Emmerson and another person. The letter from Tom, she felt her heart turn cold at knowing she had been mistreated so thoroughly by a man she trusted.
He said she was being taken away for her safety but really she felt like she was being put into a box until he felt ready to deal with her. Just Like Michener had treated her by giving her a new mission so soon after docking to go to Nebraska. They didn't need her now so they needed her out of the way. At least it felt that way, it was just lucky for them that she had been shot as it made her more malleable given she had no choice but to rest and get her strength back.
The door to her room opened and Rachel turned her head to see Dr Clarke step into the room. The woman gave her a warm smile.
"Morning or more like afternoon." She told her wryly as she moved to her side and looked over Rachel's vitals monitor and IV lines and bag.
"Where are we?" Rachel asked her.
"Somewhere safe to be honest I have no clue." She told her.
"I'd like to make a phone call." Rachel told her, she wanted to call Tex and tell her she was alright. She wanted to call Larrin and give her some research and books to look into over the next following weeks to make sure she was up to speed with Rachel about what they doing and give the young girl background knowledge so she could perform well as her assistant. She felt horrible that being shot had a huge ripple effect on her life but wanted to minimize the damage.
"You can't, didn't Emmerson tell you?" Dr Clarke asked.
"No, tell me what?" Rachel asked confused.
"We're in a sort of witness protection. As far as the world is concerned you're dead, so it'll be a little weird if you're making phone calls from the grave." Dr Clarke told her. Rachel's heart skipped a beat as she felt nauseous at the news. Angry and bitter tears welled in her eyes as she hated how it sounded like she was truly cut off from the world and the betrayal of not being consulted about her own wishes on the matter.
