A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who left comments after the first chapter! It's always great to hear what you all think.

CHAPTER TWO: ILLUSIONS

Dr. Rachel Scott was probably the most notorious workaholic aboard the Nathan James. She had to be in order to complete their current mission. Every day, she could produce about 100 doses of the cure. It wasn't anywhere near the capabilities of a fully operational land-based facility, but there were no other options at the moment. Each time they headed ashore to help whoever was nearby, they were always hoping to find some facility or group that could help produce and distribute the cure faster, but so far they hadn't had any luck. They were on their own.

Given how much work there was to do, it wasn't unusual for Rachel to pull 36 or 48 hour stints in the lab; little cat naps and snacks kept her going. Bertrise helped as much as possible to prevent her from burning out. That day, as noon approached, the teen practically pushed the scientist out the hatch to go get some lunch. Rachel initially protested but eventually realized she couldn't remember when she'd last eaten. So maybe a little break wasn't a bad idea… just enough time to grab a plate to take back to the lab.

As Rachel approached the wardroom, she frowned as she saw a small, brown-haired figure standing in the p-way with her back leaning against the wall. "Ashley?"

The young girl looked up, then rubbed at her teary, red-rimmed eyes, trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying. "Hi, Dr. Scott."

"What's the matter, luv? Are you okay?"

She nodded vehemently. "I'm fine."

Rachel didn't buy that for a second. "What happened?" she asked.

Ashley managed to hold it together for a few more moments, but then the tears started flowing again. "I want to go home," she whimpered. "I want things to be like they were before!"

Rachel pulled her into a hug, and Ashley held on tightly as sobs wracked her body. As she felt Rachel gently rubbing her back and stroking her hair, she realized just how much she missed having her mother around to comfort her. It just wasn't the same with her grandfather or father. Something else to fuel her tears.

The task of comforting one or both of the Chandler kids was one that Rachel was familiar with. She'd ended up spending a lot of time with Ashley and Sam right after Baltimore and had gotten close to them. She'd been one of few people on the ship that had known what condition their father was in. Trying to comfort and reassure the children had been a good distraction for her instead of thinking about what had transpired in the city.

Finally Ashley started to calm down and wiped her face again as she stepped back. "I'm sorry," she softly told Rachel, eyes downcast.

"No, darling, don't be sorry. I know this is difficult for you."

"I wish Daddy hadn't gotten hurt. Then he wouldn't be so mad all the time."

"He's not upset with you," Rachel tried to tell her, but Ashley shook her head.

"I went to see if he wanted to have lunch with us, but he yelled at me."

Rachel sighed. She'd seen Tom more than most of the crew had, since she'd aided with his medical care right after the escape from Baltimore. She knew things had been difficult for him, but was certain he hadn't meant to scare or hurt his daughter. "He's more mad at everything, luv, than any one thing, and certainly not at you. I'm sure sometimes you've gotten cross with your brother, because something happened - like you lost a game - and that's you were really upset about?" Ashley shrugged, but Rachel took that as a yes. "Does that mean you love him any less?"

"No," Ashley instantly replied. It was obvious on her face when she made the connection between that scenario and the situation with her father. "Oh."

Rachel smiled. "I know from personal experience that it can be difficult to be patient with your father," that earned her a small giggle, "But we have to try, hmm?"

Ashley nodded. "Yeah."

"Things are different and strange and maybe a little scary here, but this is the safest place we can be and you're surrounded by people who care about you and would do anything to help you. That's one of the magnificent things about this crew."

Ashley have her a small smile. "Yeah… Can I stay with you this afternoon?"

Rachel took her hand; with her workload, she hadn't seen as much of the children recently. She was surprised by how much she'd missed them. "Shall we see if Sam and Ava want to join us?"

Ashley nodded. "Okay."

After getting some lunch and permission from Jed, Rachel took Ashley, Sam, and Ava back with her to the bio lab. Normally the facility was on the long list of places the children were prohibited from for safety reasons, such as engineering and the bridge. But today, Rachel told them they were her special guests.

Bertrise had a knowing smile on her face when she saw her mentor return with the children. She was glad that Rachel really had taken a break. "Hello, there," she greeted the trio.

"Hi," the kids replied.

"Did the analysis finish?" Rachel wondered. Bertrise nodded. "Alright. Can you show them around a little bit while I check the results?"

"Sure." The teen was a great assistant; she'd easily be able to give an overview of what they did there and what the different pieces of equipment were for.

Just as Rachel was finishing her work, Ava approached her seat at the computer. "Hi, luv," Rachel greeted her before noticing the solemn look on the girl's face. "What's wrong?"

"My father was working here." It wasn't so much a question as a statement.

"Yes, he was."

Ava's eyes roamed around the room again. Her lip started to tremble, and Rachel feared the young girl was going to break down in tears, but she pulled it back together. Ava took a breath and offered a tentative smile. "I think I feel closer to him here."

Rachel took her hand; after everything she and Quincy Tophet been through together - good and bad - it was still hard for her to believe that she would never see him again. He'd gone from being the most hated person on the ship to giving his life for it, something that filled her with both awe and great sadness. "I'm glad, darling."

Ashley and Sam came over, also wanting to support their friend. The three children were very close; besides the fact that they spent each day together, they'd all lost a parent in Baltimore. Rachel was glad they had each other, especially Ava. She knew from experience how lonely being an only child could be.

"Who wants a surprise?" Rachel asked the children, hoping to brighten the mood.

"Me!" they all declared.

Rachel unlocked the back door that led to the flight deck and took them outside. They had run out of fuel for the ship's sole helicopter, so it stayed tucked away in its bay. Sometimes members of the crew would use the flight deck for recreation, but that had become more and more infrequent as they kept losing pieces of sports equipment over the side of the ship. Therefore the area was normally quiet and empty, just like on that day.

Rachel stepped over to the rail and took a deep breath of the sea air. The children all followed suit. "I like coming out here for a little bit of a break sometimes," she told them.

"The waves are pretty," Ashley spoke up. Ava had her eyes closed and her face tilted upward, enjoying the sun on her pale skin. She'd been cooped up on a ship for far longer than the Chandler siblings.

"We don't come outside too much," Sam revealed. Besides the fact that they'd seen a lot of bad weather recently, the children were restricted from going much of anywhere on their own, out of fear that they would get hurt. Rachel could understand the concern, but wondered if maybe they were a little too sheltered.

"Dr. Scott?" Bertrise asked from the doorway. "Maybe they'd like this?" She offered two pieces of white chalk that she'd taken from the unused scheduling blackboard on the wall.

"Thank you, Bertrise," Rachel replied.

"What's that for?" Sam wondered.

The scientist smiled. "Whatever you want. Hopscotch, snail, drawing pictures…" The children eagerly reached for the chalk.

As she watched them start to play, Rachel decided this was a better way to spend a bit of downtime than sleeping. Being with the children was a reminder of what they were fighting for - to have a future.

While awake, Rachel could push away the memories of Baltimore, but they still haunted her dreams. That night, she had another fragmented, terrifying nightmare about the operation to break her and Alicia out of the city. Bullets flew through the air, coming from both sides of the fight. Sticky red blood poured between her fingers from a source she couldn't see. Voices were yelling, shouting something over and over, but her brain couldn't comprehend the words. Someone was screaming, and she finally realized that the sound was coming from her own mouth.

Rachel jolted awake, her heart pounding like she'd just run a marathon. After looking around at her surroundings, she realized she was on a cot in the lab instead of in her stateroom; she'd fallen asleep while waiting on the computer to finish with its results. Bertrise had tried to persuade her to go get some sleep in an actual bed, but Rachel rarely did that these days.

She wasn't sleepy anymore and certainly didn't want to return to that dream. According to her computer, there was still some time left before her current test completed. The best way to clear her mind and refocus was to go get some exercise.

When Rachel arrived at the ship's gym after changing into shorts and a workout top, she was surprised to find that the room wasn't empty. The clock on the wall showed that it was just after 3am, but Tom Chandler was sitting on a bench doing bicep curls. "Good morning, Captain," she told him.

Tom looked up, startled, but offered a nod in greeting. "Morning."

"I wasn't expecting anyone else would be here," Rachel told him as she started setting the treadmill.

"Me, either," he gruffly replied.

"Couldn't sleep," she easily explained.

"Mmm. Me, either." He didn't elaborate further and she didn't pry.

As Rachel ran, she couldn't help sneaking a few looks in the Captain's direction. From the waist up, he looked much like he always had; solid posture, broad shoulders, well-built musculature. There were some changes - she could see from the shape of his face that he'd lost weight and it was clear he hadn't shaved in a couple days - but he still appeared strong.

When Tom finished with the dumbbell, he started trying to get up to return it to the rack. He'd left his crutches propped against the wall and it was awkward to reach for them while holding the weight and balancing on just his good leg. After one of the crutches toppled over, he simply dropped the dumbbell to the floor, exasperated. Rachel stepped off the treadmill to go help.

"I've got it!" Tom snapped as she reached for his fallen crutch. However, she wasn't deterred.

"I'd rather incur your wrath than have to explain to Doc Rios why you need surgery again," she told him.

Tom took the crutch back and wordlessly turned away from her, heading toward the hatch. A lump rose in Rachel's throat as she realized that, in contrast with the air of toughness he'd exuded a few minutes earlier, he now seemed frail and uncoordinated, hunched over and hobbling slowly between the different objects in the room. She quickly chastised herself, though; if it was hard for her to see, how difficult must it be for him to live through it?

"I spent the afternoon with Ashley and Sam," Rachel told him, hoping Tom wouldn't realize that she was following behind him so she could help him if he started to fall. Frankly, she was amazed he'd managed to make the trip from his stateroom to the gym, but knew there were no ladders along the route.

Tom blinked; he hadn't heard about the outing from his kids. Then again, he'd ended up sleeping through dinner - thanks to his meds - and had only briefly seen Ashley and Sam in order to say goodnight. "They weren't doing school stuff?"

"Mmm, we called it a field trip," Rachel replied with a smile. "Bertrise showed them around the lab. And we went out on the flight deck for a while. I was thinking maybe that could be a regular thing for them - having a chance to go out and get some air and play?"

Ton gave a small shrug as he worked to pull the hatch open without losing his balance. "Whatever my father thinks is best for them." He sounded so defeated, Rachel wasn't sure how to respond. Without another word, he stepped through the hatch and limped away.

TBC...