The Captain returned to the cabin, he knew he needed if calm down. God! How she can do that? He walked in the cab like a caged tiger, anger emanating from him in waves.
"Captain!"
"You already know!"
"A ship not the best place to keep secrets, Tom." What Mike did not say was that the discussion between the two was the topic of conversations on ship, he had heard interesting conversations about the fight between and Captain.
Dr. Scott could cause reactions in Tom that no one else could. She managed to make the contained and controlled Captain lose control easily.
"How's she doing?" Mike asked
"She looks fine, but the six crew members of the first test also seemed well."
"She is an experienced scientist, would not do something to jeopardize her life."
"She take bad decisions lately, Mike. She throws herself headlong into dangerous situations. She also said something about Niels, that he pressed she for get sexual favors"
"Do you think she would do something like that?" Mike asked
'I do not know, she said 'there are different ways in which a man and a woman can have sex,' and when I insisted, she refused to answer. Perhaps this explain why she killed him, if he try... In the investigation you have did about the death of Niels arise some information, some clue that confirms what she said?"
"No, but that was not the focus of the investigation, but I can interrogate the two soldiers again and try to discover something if you want."
"Do it, Mike."
"She must have learned lot from the first vaccine test, she'll be fine, Tom."
"She may well have if sentenced to death! Because if something goes wrong, there is no one to save her life, Dr. Rios and Dr. Milowsky found no answers before, only she was able to do this, she found the cure."
Mike was also concerned. However, for Tom knew the feeling was worse, his friend love the Dr. Scott. Tom to recognize this feeling was the same thing as accepting that he had betrayed his wife, by the moral standards, that he imposed itself, this was not acceptable, and now this new information about Niels makes things worse.
A few hours later Mike informed Tom that Rachel stay been alone with Niels in his cabin for about five minutes. The soldiers said they had not heard anything suspicious. But that did not lessen Tom's fears that she could have done something, only she could give the answers he needed, he would find out the truth even if he had to pry this information from her.
Dr. Milowsky came inform on the conditions of Rachel, some hours later.
"How's she doing, Dr?" Asked Tom.
"Dr. Rios and I we monitor her. She is sleeping, she constantly push your limits without giving your body a chance to rest. I read her notes, she tested the vaccine in mice before, took precautions. Your notes describes also about effects."
"Which collateral effects?"
"Fever, headache, tiredness…"
"Tiredness cannot make her more vulnerable and compromising the test?"
"I do not believe it, she is a brilliant scientist, as I said her report is complete in every way."
Something in the tone of the doctor alerted the Captain.
"What are you not telling me?"
The doctor seems uncomfortable to answer the question. However, he knew the Captain would read the medical report.
"Tell me Dr!" Tom demanded.
"She wrote about the proper procedures to make an au...autopsy, if something goes wrong."
"She did what?" He shouted. A Rachel's body image being cut into pieces left Tom sick. He slammed his fist on the table.
The doctor tried to appease him. "That it will not be necessary, she is well."
Someone knocked on the door. "Sorry to interrupt, Sir. The commander Slattery wants to see him on the bridge."
Tom takes a few deep breaths, trying to control the anger he feel, because now their desire is to enter that area of quarantine and shake Rachel...
"Alright, Dr, keep me informed if anything changes." The Captain says before leaving.
"I will, sir."
Rachel came out of quarantine after two days. She was perfectly healthy.
Tom was reading the report on the new vaccine. The report says that they would be able to pass the healing of one person to another, like a flu. The contagious period is five days; the already immunized should receive a booster dose. Maybe we could win this war, he thought.
Tom thought of the woman responsible for that. He had not seen her since the day on what discussed with her, the doctors keep him updated about her condition.
He kept away, was too angry to think clearly, they could end up arguing again, because she seemed to know exactly what to do to get a reaction from him, perhaps information about Niels has been used for this purpose, to make him feel guilty.
He remembered the last conversation, every word, every inflection of voice it was intended to irritate him, make him lose control and he fell like an idiot.
He needed to have a talk with her, to make it clear that he accepted not be manipulated. Not the best time to confront Rachel, not when he would go on a mission, but he needed to talk to her.
She has not noticed his approach, all her attention focused on her work. When she noticed, she lifted her chin in defiance, after all, had nothing to hide.
Tom ordered the soldiers for go out and close the door.
She cannot help but admire it; as o soldier dressed for battle, he was an impressive sight.
"You guys were able to find the sign of the immunes..."
"Yes, we have a chance to destroy the source of their signal, this will give us an advantage and prevent them to continue spreading lies and hindering our work."
"They believe are certain and they will do anything to prove it, even cause the death of innocent people. Idiots who think they speak for God." She said.
He did not think she was talking about the immunes, seemed something more personal, more a mystery to unravel about Rachel.
"Are you okay?" He asked
"Of course. As I said the vaccine is safe."
"Okay, so why the quarantine?"
"Precaution, I did not want to be accused of putting your crew at risk. if something went wrong, just I myself would be affected, my mission is complete, I am dispensable, the crew is not."
"No one on this ship is dispensable, all life is important, you had no right to for her life at risk in this way, do not do it again."
"It's my life, I can do with it what I want, but as I told you before, I'm not suicidal, it was a calculated risk, I knew what I was doing all the time."
"And Niels?"
"What about him?" She asks disinterested.
"What happened when you stay alone with him?"
"Why you care? You hate me for breaking their rules. Niels is passed, it's just another chapter of my past that I have to live with."
"Rachel, I could never hate you, but worries me that you have been forced to do something you did not want, something dirty, degrading... Tell me what happened, please."
Damn! When he makes demands she can avoid answering your questions, but when he asks for answers that way, she cannot deny him anything. She thinks.
"I did not have sex with him, but I let him think he could have a chance, and for that I had to touch it." She says as if disgusted with herself.
"And it was that why you killed him?"
"No, I killed him because he did not deserved to live after having taken so many lives, I killed him because the bastard had a God complex and it would not change. Alive he had no use, dead, I could use your body to develop a contagious cure."
"The same contagious cure that could have killed you, you mean. Why you made me think that her life was in danger, Rachel?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know what I think. I think you set up a great show, making us believe that you could die. Information about the autopsy was icing on the cake. You knew exactly what I would think, but maybe that was your goal."
"I am a scientist, but I do not read minds, Captain. I offered all the data; you come to conclusions hasty alone. Do not blame it on me. Someone made an error in judgment, and went not me."
"And I thought you were a genius in strategy and military tactics, but it seems Captain," she says her rank as an insult, "that your skills are overrated."
"I will not change my mind; you will be taken to trial."
"I never thought the opposite, Captain. I would not dream of it, because that way people would say I corrupted you."
Hell! She managed to annoy him again. "Stop this, Rachel!"
"What? I'm not doing anything, just agreeing with you, Captain."
"Yes you are. You is say my rank as an insult, dammit."
She was close to the wall. He approached trying to intimidate her; she had to lift her head to face him, but did not retreat.
He put one hand on each side of the wall, capturing Rachel without touching her. They were so close that he could feel the warmth of her body. Too late, he realized that being so close to her was not a good idea.
Rachel is well acquainted with Tom's anger, but what she sees in his eyes now is the pure unadulterated desire. She imagines how it would feel the lips of Tom again. Unconsciously, she moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue.
Tom had to use all his self-control to resist temptation. He leaned more close, their noses almost touching and…said slowly "I do not like being manipulated, Rachel!"
Then it moves away, he can longer deny or ignore the attraction he feels for the woman in front of him. One strategic retreat became necessary.
"From now on, you report to Commander Slattery."
"Because I needed to find out your reaction." She admitted."
"What?" He asks surprised.
"Answering your question, you're right, I knew that the vaccine is safe, but I wanted to provoke a reaction in you, because I needed to know if my death would affect you in some way, if you has any feelings for me, any feeling, because in the last days his lack of emotions was painful. I... I have made many mistakes as a result of my feelings for you, Tom."
The confession left him without knowing how to react. His blue eyes studied Rachel for a few seconds, in shock.
He was shocked by her confession, because she had just finished of confess that she loved him. If her death would cause you pain, for sure, when she said she had injected the vaccine itself, he had been terrified, petrified with the possibility of her death. He could not deny the attraction he felt for her, but was not yet ready to admit other feelings.
She had never seen Thomas Chandler this shocked and speechless before.
"What are we, Tom?" She asked softly. She did not want to scare him even more.
He hesitated. "Friends…I… That is all I can be…for now. I care about you more than I should, but I still feel married, I need time. "She knows how I feel, I can see in her eyes. I love you, but I am not ready to say it yet.
She looks at him and see the contradiction. Friends is what their mouth say, your eyes, your body is saying something else.
"I need to go, Rachel, but I come back to finish this conversation. And Rachel, do not do anything dangerous or reckless while I'm gone."
"What could make of dangerous here? You... You'll make it back in one piece. Have I made myself clear, Captain? I'd hate sew you." What she meant was, come back to me.
He put his hand to his forehead like he was saluting other soldier. "Loud and clear, Dr. Scott. I will do everything possible to fulfill your orders." Then he leaned over and brushed his lips on hers in a light caress and walked away, leaving her stunned.
After his exit, Rachel takes one hand to lips, not believing that he did it, but this gesture give you some hope that in the future there may be more than friendship between them. She sighs and returns to work, praying that they come back home safe and unharmed, because not only the Captain is important to her, all the ship's crew occupies a space in your heart.