Tom awoke to find a Rachel-shaped form asleep on the side of his bed, holding his hand loosely. He raised that hand briefly to run his fingers through her hair.

"Rachel."

She lifted her head and blinked at him.

"Hi there."

"How long was I out?"

"Not long. It was only a couple of hours in surgery. Then you slept for several hours."

"And you've been here the whole time?"

"Most of it."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know." She said, smiling at him; he smiled back.

"So I'm all good?"

"Once the incisions heal, you will be." She said, knowing better than to give him anything that could be interpreted as an all-clear yet. "Speaking of which, here comes Rios."

"Sir, it's time to change those." He said, pointing at Tom's bandages. "It may hurt a bit."

"I'll be fine." He said, ignoring Rachel's eyeroll at the machismo in that statement. Unfortunately, his body betrayed him and he winced slightly at a sudden twinge of pain. She smirked at him, which he did his best to ignore, keeping his eyes on the wound as Rios changed the dressing. The stitches were noticeably less neat and precise than the first set of stitches. He turned to her with a small smile.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you do your best work under pressure."

"Uh, that's actually Dr. Milowski's handiwork." She said, embarrassed.

"Yeah?" he asked, but she was hesitant to answer him.

"She discovered why you're not supposed to practice medicine on people you care about." Rios supplied helpfully, as he finished taping on a fresh bandage.

"I, uh, froze up completely at the first incision. I was suddenly terrified of making a mistake."

He looked at her in silence, her face turning bright red as she looked down, hiding behind the curtain of her hair as the medic gathered up his supplies and exited.

"I guess I should be flattered." He said quietly once Rios had left, reaching over to pull her hair back behind her ear. "Why are you so embarrassed?"

"Because I knew exactly what to do… and couldn't. Because it was you." She said, looking down. He took her hand into his.

"Rachel, why do you think I left my kids in Norfolk? Things were so irregular then I could have kept them with me. And I wanted to. This ship was at least under my control; Norfolk wasn't. But I knew that I would never risk the James again, not if they were on it, and that's not what Navy ships are for."

He sat in silence, letting her process that. But then he spoke once more.

"Do you know what Quincy asked me when I interrogated him?" Rachel shook her head. "He asked me what I would do in his position, if it had been my family."

"And?"

"I didn't answer him. I couldn't. Because he was right. I would do anything to save them." He shook his head in memory. "I guess what I'm saying is, welcome to the human race. We're irrational when it comes to those we love." He smiled at her. "Personally, I'm glad that your safety is a primary mission objective. Otherwise I'd have a major conflict of interest."

They sat there for a moment as the seriousness of the moment suddenly became too much.

"So, doc, when can I get out of here?" Tom asked in a deliberately light tone.

"Out of sickbay? Probably tonight – if you agree to lie down and actually rest in your own bed instead of working." She said.

"Does watching a movie count as resting?"

"If you're lying down, yes. Would you like some popcorn?"

"I'd prefer some company."

"That could probably be arranged." She told him with a smile. "But you should sleep now."

"So should you. Lying down, not in a chair in sickbay. I'll be fine, I promise. Now go."

"I'll be back in a few hours. With snacks."

"I'll be here."