Tom took Rachel to talk to President Michener.
"Glad to see you're doing better, Dr. Scott", he told her.
"Thank you."
"In order to ensure your safety at all times, I will have one of my best guards go with you. He will be with you at all times. I'm not taking any chances this time, we could have lost you."
Rachel nodded her head.
"As you know, you will first go to Lincoln, Nebraska then to Toledo. Then, I want you to go to Texas and Florida. After that has been completed, I will figure out where I want you to go next."
He continued, "I want you to listen to Eric. I promise you that he is the very best guard. If something doesn't look right and he tells you not to do something, you listen. Eric is highly trained in what he does, so you will be in good hands with him."
While Tom was listening to Michener talk about Rachel's guard, he was getting angry. He didn't know who this "Eric" was and he sure as hell didn't trust him with her.
"I just want to make sure she will be safe at all times", Tom told him. That is all he really wanted. He felt like he had already let her down so many times, and the last time, Rachel nearly died. Tom promised himself that he wouldn't or couldn't let her down again.
"Eric is the very best. He knows what he is doing. I will even let you look over his files to show you he is the real deal."
Tom sighed and nodded his head.
"Dr Scott, do you have any questions?", Michener asked her.
Rachel shook her head.
"I will have one of my men come and get you at 0700."
Rachel and Tom got up and the president said, "Good luck".
"Thank you", Rachel told him and they left.
Tom was driving Rachel back for the surprise party and she was being really quiet. He wasn't sure if it was because of the talk with the president or because he almost kissed her or both.
"Rachel, are you okay?", he asked as he glanced over at her.
"Yes, I'm fine", she told him. "I'm just thinking."
Although Tom didn't believe it himself he said, "You're in good hands. If Michener says he's a good guard, then he is. Don't worry, everything will be okay."
Rachel didn't want to tell him what she was really thinking about, so she just nodded. She thought about the fact that she wouldn't see anyone for a long time. Rachel didn't know when she would be back, and that broke her heart. She got used to waking up in Tom's bed and caring for his kids. She loved Tom's kids, and Tom? Well, that couldn't really be talked about. Rachel didn't know how he felt about her and it wasn't like she was just going to ask him about it. Then again, she really wanted to know if he felt anything for her. He tried to kiss her, so that had to be some sign, right?
"I just want to make sure you're ready for this", Tom told her. "If you have any doubts, tell me and I will turn this car around right now and we will go talk to Michener."
Rachel shook her head. "No, I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in. I'm not going to be seeing you, your family, or the crew. I've grown closer to all of you, and it's going to be hard not having anyone to talk to."
Tom wondered how close had she gotten to him.
Tom pulled into the driveway.
"Everyone will be there to say goodbye to you", Tom assured her. "You are important to us all." Tom didn't say what he really wanted to say. He really wanted to tell her that she was important to him. Tom didn't want her to leave, but he knew she had to.
"Is the power out?", Rachel asked.
"No, I don't think so", Tom replied as they were walking to the front door. He opened the door for her and let her walk in first.
"Why are all the lights turned off?", Rachel asked as she turned on the lights. There was a shout of "Surprise", and Rachel jumped at first. Then, she started smiling. It seemed like the whole crew was there. There was a homemade banner that said "Good luck, Dr. Scott" hanging in the air. There were balloons, party streamers, food, and cake. Rachel was shocked and couldn't believe how they managed to find all of these items.
"Where did you get all of this stuff?", Rachel asked everyone.
"Ma'am, we have our ways", Lt. Burk answered.
"Thank you so much. This means a lot", Rachel told everyone with tears forming in her eyes. She and the crew started out a little rocky. She couldn't help but to lie to them at first, and Rachel had a lot of work to do to gain their trust. It took her awhile to get them to trust her, and she had grown to love the crew like family. Every single one of them.
"Let's party!", Miller and Burk screamed in unison and everyone started cheering.
Tex turned on the music and everyone started to dance; everyone except Rachel and Tom. She stood there watching everyone else while he stared at her.
Kara watched Danny and Ashley dance, and she thought it was the cutest thing. She only hoped he would be able to do that with his own daughter. Kara had to admit that she was a little scared about having a baby, but with Danny, she knew everything would be alright in the end.
"Hey, Dr. Scott", Kara greeted her.
"Hello, Kara. How are you and the baby?"
"I'm fine", she replied. I finally got over the morning sickness. That was awful, but Rachel is fine."
Rachel's eyes widened. "Did you just say Rachel?"
"Yes", Kara said. "We are naming her after you. You're the reason I'm alive, well anyone actually. If it wasn't for you, none of us would be here right now. You are a brave and strong woman and we wanted our little girl to know the reason she's alive, and it's because of you."
Rachel really started to cry and hugged her. "Thank you", she told Kara.
"I just wish you would be here when she is born."
"I know, me too. I will make sure you are in good hands", Rachel assured her.
Kara hugged her again. "Good luck, Rachel."
"Thank you, and good luck to you too."
Kara walked away to talk to some of the other crew. She saw the Captain and he wasn't paying attention when she nodded her head at him. He had his eyes on one person, the person whom she had just spoken to: Rachel Scott. Kara started grinning; she knew there was something going on between them, but she wasn't going to push it and ask them about it. Kara was going to leave it alone because she knew they would figure it out sooner or later.
A slow song came on and Tex walked over to Rachel. "Do you want to dance", he asked her.
"I'd be glad to", she said as she smiled.
While they were dancing, Tom didn't take his eyes off Rachel once. Tom found himself getting jealous; Tex just need to stop. Tom wondered why he was so jealous; she wasn't even his to be jealous over.
"Well, are you going to do something or are you going to stand there all night and gawk at her?", Tom heard his father ask from behind and he jumped.
"Don't you stand there and tell me that you're not staring", Jed told him. "You've been in this same spot for twenty-five minutes."
"Dad..", Tom started to say.
"I see leaving you two alone didn't do anything. You were supposed to make a move. Do you even know how to do that?"
"Stop. I do know how to make a move", Tom told his father. "I'm just waiting for the right time."
"The right time for what, for hell to freeze over? You're wasting time."
Jed started laughing, and Tom walked away, quite annoyed with his father. He wanted to make a move, he just didn't know if he would screw everything up while doing it.
Tex and Rachel were dancing. "Tex, you're a very good dancer", Rachel told him while smiling.
"You're not so bad yourself", he told her.
"Tex, I want to thank you."
Confusion started to creep on his face. "For what?"
"You know", Rachel told him. "Thanks for planning the party."
"Don't thank me", he told her. "I didn't plan this, I thought it was a good idea."
Rachel was sure that Tex would have planned it. "Whose idea was it then?"
"The Captain", Tex told Rachel. "He told me that he wanted to throw you a party and he told me to gather everyone up and come here."
Rachel was so shocked that she stopped dancing. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, I'm not", Tex said and he was serious. "He really did plan this for you", he told her as they started to dance again.
Rachel couldn't believe that he had come up with the idea, but she thought it was sweet. She had to be sure to thank him.