CHAPTER TWENTY: BE MINE

Ashley and Sam gave their father his cards once they got back to their room after dinner. The three of them sat together on Ashley's bed while he read them. "What would I do without you guys?" Tom wondered as he hugged both of them. "Thank you."

"I made one for Dr. Rachel, too," Ashley informed him.

"I bet she loved that."

She nodded. "Are you giving her something for Valentine's Day? She's your valentine, isn't she?"

Tom smiled. "Yes, Ms. Nosy, she is." He didn't really mind his daughter's inquiry; her acceptance of their relationship made him very happy. "I am an extremely lucky guy, because I have three valentines, including you two."

Ashley giggled. "Da-ad! We don't count!"

"Why not?" he wondered. "I love you guys more than life itself."

Sam snuggled into his father's side. "We love you, too, Daddy."

"You know, I remember my first Valentine's Days with you guys like it was yesterday. You were about six months old," he told Ashley, "And Mom made me a card with your little tiny handprints in it."

She laughed. "Really?"

"Yeah. I could not believe how small you were. The first time that I held you, I was terrified I was going to break you."

Ashley gave him a Look. "I'm not that fragile, Dad."

He chuckled. "I know that NOW, but back then… you were my first baby. I had no idea what I was doing. You're lucky I only dropped you once."

She looked up fast, completely indignant. "You dropped me?!"

Tom laughed. "No. But there were some close calls."

"What about me?" Sam wondered.

"I didn't drop you either," Tom assured his son, but the little boy shook his head.

"No, Dad, what was my first Valentine's Day?"

"Oh. You were not even two weeks old. And even tinier than your sister."

"Did Mommy make you a card?"

Tom smiled. "Not then, but a couple weeks later. I was getting ready to deploy again, and Mom was going to have her hands full with the two of you. So the best Valentine's Day present that I could give her was a long nap with no crying babies." The siblings laughed. "The three of us went on a little drive together, and both of you went right to sleep with the sound of the engine. I stopped by the waterfront and got in backseat with you. We just sat there, just the three of us, all together."

"Kind of like this?" Ashley wondered.

Tom hugged them closer, dropping kisses on each of their heads. "Yeah, a lot like this."

Late that night, after the kids were in bed, Tom met his father in the empty, darkened wardroom for drinks and a little chat. As the younger Chandler had gotten back to a routine and closer to Rachel, they'd had fewer chances to catch up with each other.

"What are those?" Jed asked his son as he saw that he had two pieces of paper in his hand.

"Valentines from the kids. I'm gonna go stick them in my sea cabin before I go to sleep. These were a good idea, by the way."

Jed smiled. "Thank you."

Tom couldn't help a little smile of his own as he reflected back on the evening he'd shared with his children. "Sometimes I can't believe I had a hand in creating such amazing little people."

"Heh. I know the feeling." The two men shared a grin. Jed wasn't the touchy-feely type, but he'd never deny the pride he felt seeing the officer, father, and man that his son had become.

"Thank you, Pop. For everything you've done for us."

"Eh," Jed dismissed the sentiment with a small shrug. "Just looking out for my family. The kids have been doing pretty well recently."

"Yeah, they have. I'm glad things have been a little slower during our trip across the Atlantic. It's given me more time with them." Now that the whole crew was back together and there wasn't anywhere to send shore teams to, everyone's workloads had been lowered a bit.

"They're enjoying it, too," Jed assured his son. "Although they're also looking forward to seeing land again."

"Aren't we all." As much as Tom loved the sea, the long crossing made him nervous. There were a lot of things that could go wrong and little to no help available. At least near land, they had options.

"What do you think we're going to find in Europe?"

Tom sighed. That was a question that kept him up at night. "I don't know."

"You think there's anybody left?"

"There is. We've picked up some sporadic transmissions, but… we already know there's going to be a lot of death and destruction. It's going to be tough to see."

"Hopefully there'll be someone to meet the boats when they land," Jed commented.

"Mmm. And hopefully they're not going to greet us with bullets."

"I'll second that. So… what are you doing for Dr. Scott for Valentine's day?"

Tom startled slightly at the huge topic switch. "What?"

"I'm just wondering. You better not screw it up."

He snorted. "Thanks, Pop. Your faith in me is overwhelming." They both laughed. "Don't worry; I've got plans. And I'm pretty sure she'll like them."

Tom called it a night soon after, knowing that he was going to be up early the next day. Jed had agreed to get the kids up and ready in the morning, so that meant the only thing the Captain had to worry about was his Valentine's Day surprise.

It was pitch black out when he woke up, although that wasn't completely unusual. He stopped by the bridge to see what was going on with his ship before going to do some setup for his surprise. Tom was feeling pretty pleased with himself as he headed to Rachel's stateroom. When he knocked on the hatch, there was no answer. He tried one more time before turning around and making his way to her second home.

Down in the bio lab, Rachel was sitting in front of her laptop. A small scowl marred her features as she studied something on the screen.

"Hey," Tom greeted her.

Rachel looked up, surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?" she wondered, unable to keep a note of disappointment out of her voice.

He chuckled. "Well, good morning to you, too."

She sighed, scrubbing a hand over her face. "Sorry. That didn't come out how I intended."

"Have you been up all night?"

Rachel nodded. "Trying to get ahead a bit." What she didn't mention was that she'd been working hard in order to ensure she had the night off to spend with him.

"Well, in that case, I definitely think things here could spare you for a little while."

She raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

Tom extended his arm to her. "That's a surprise."

Rachel seemed a little skeptical. "What kind of surprise?"

"A good one. That's all I'm saying."

She quickly finished up what she was doing and got up to join him. "Alright, where is this surprise?"

Tom led the way out to the flight deck, and Rachel frowned in confusion when she saw what was waiting for them - two sleeping bags were laid out on the deck with a couple pillows and two mugs.

"What is this?"

"I thought we could watch the sunrise," he explained, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Happy Valentine's Day."

A little smile crossed her face. "The sunrise is on the other end of the ship." Since they were traveling east, the bow was the place to go for a direct view, not the flight deck at the aft.

"Yeah, I know, but there we'd be in full view of the bridge. Not exactly a private, romantic spot."

"The crewmen on watch will still be able to see us here a they make their rounds," Rachel pointed out.

Tom just shrugged. "So we'll let the rumor mill churn a little. I'm okay with that if you are."

Her smile grew. It could be nice to have things out in the open. The fact that Tom was ready to take that step was the best Valentine's Day gift he could give. "You're sure?"

"I'm not turning into an exhibitionist or anything, but... If we're hiding, it's like we're doing something wrong. And there is nothing wrong between you and me."

Rachel stood on her toes to kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

~ % ~

They curled up together with their tea and coffee. The sky soon started to show wisps of pink and orange and the stars began to fade. It was rare that they got time to just enjoy being together without any worries or responsibilities. They could talk about the little things - childhood memories and random thoughts - or simply enjoy the background noise from the engines and splashing waves.

"This is better than jewelry or flowers," Rachel commented at one point.

Tom chuckled. "Good, because I don't have either one of those."

"I have a surprise for you, too," she informed him.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmm. But I can't give it to you now."

"Okay... Do I get a hint?"

"I didn't get one," she pointed out.

"This IS a good surprise, isn't it?" he questioned, pretending to be put out.

"True. Fine, your hint..." She paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. "You said you didn't want to be an exhibitionist."

Tom laughed. "That's why I don't get it now?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Well, then... It's worth the wait."

They had a lovely morning that neither wanted to have come to an end. Eventually, though, they had to get to their responsibilities. Bertrise was in the lab when they came back inside and it was easy for the teen to see how happy the couple was.

"Good morning," she told them.

"Morning, luv," Rachel replied.

"Morning," Tom added. "I need to put this stuff away," he was holding the sleeping bags and pillows, "And head up to the bridge. You ladies stay out of trouble."

"Who, us?" Rachel wondered with a little grin.

He gave her a quick kiss. "Exactly. Keep an eye on her," he teased Bertrise.

As Rachel sat down at her laptop, the look on her face told Bertrise that her mind wasn't really on their work. "Do I want to know what you've been up to?" she asked her mentor with a smile.

"What? Oh, nothing."

She didn't buy that for a second, but was willing to play along. "Mmm, of course. Do you want some tea? I can get cups for both of us."

"I've actually already had tea," Rachel replied, "And now I think coffee is required if I'm going to make it through the day."

Bertrise smiled. "Two sugars?"

"Yes, luv, thank you."

~ % ~

She headed for the enlisted mess; it was closer than the wardroom and where she normally took her meals. Bertrise waved to a few sailors she knew from her berth; they were finishing their breakfasts before their shifts.

She got two mugs of coffee and was trying to scrape enough sugar for both of them out of the nearly-empty container when something landed on the table in front of her. A small origami flower, folded from normal printer paper, but colored red with a marker. Bertrise looked up to see who had dropped it and found one of the galley staff standing beside her. He was a lanky, African-American Seaman Apprentice with dark glasses and a shy smile.

"Hi," he quietly greeted her as he reached for the sugar container to refill it.

"Hi."

"C-coffee today? No tea?"

She shook her head. "I think Dr. Scott had a long night."

"Oh. I-I should get back, but… I hope you like it." He nodded toward the flower.

"I do, thank you."

The Seaman flashed a little smile again before walking away. Bertrise watched him go before turning back to her mugs. The sight of his gift made her smile grow.

Rachel wasn't the only one having a good morning.

TBC...