"That went better than expected." Rachel said, as they watched the kids run down the hall ahead of them.
"Especially considering how unplanned it all was." He said, putting an arm around her waist and kissing her temple. "Hey, since you're not going to Nebraska, let's do dinner tonight. Me, you, that dress, and no homicidal maniacs."
"A do-over? Sounds wonderful."
Tom grinned at her.
"It's a date."
Rachel lifted herself up and kissed his cheek.
"Can't wait."
"Ewwww." Rachel blushed at Sam's voice, and Tom laughed.
"That's a good thing, for the record. He always did that…" he said, trailing off suddenly.
"Tom, you can talk about her. I'd be blind not to see that you'll always love her. And I can tell that Darien will always be an important part of this family."
Tom stopped in his tracks, turning to look at her, suddenly speechless.
"What?" she asked. Finally, he found his voice.
"Thank you." He said, pulling her tightly to him.
"For what?"
"For understanding. For me – and for the kids."
"I've been in their shoes, Tom. I'd never want to pretend their mother didn't exist, or that they shouldn't talk about her. The same goes for you."
An impatient sigh came from in front of their hotel door, where Sam was jiggling the door handle expectantly.
"Hush, Sam." Ashley said, a little more in tune to the gravity of the moment.
"You sure you want to put up with them?" Tom asked.
Rachel glanced over at the pair and gave him a sly smile.
"I put up with you."
"Hey!"
"C'mon, the children are waiting." She said, moving forward and pulling out her keycard. Tom followed entering the room to find Ashley waiting for him by the door.
"I like her." She said quietly. "Steve's stepmother took down all their old pictures. And she gets super upset when Steve talks about his mom."
He looked at his daughter sharply, eyes narrowing.
"You heard."
"Yeah. You picked a good one."
Tom stared at her, wondering where exactly his little girl had gone.
"You grew up."
"That happens."
"I know, but I hate that it happened so soon, and like this."
She shrugged; he knelt down and hugged his daughter.
"Do me a favor and try to be a kid just a little while longer."
"Too late. But you've still got Sam."
He smiled into her hair and gave her one more squeeze before letting her go.
Just then the phone rang.
"Hello?" Rachel answered. "Yes, he's here." She said, looking at Tom. "It's the president's office."
"Chandler." He said, taking the phone. "How can I help you?"
"Sir, it's actually more about how we can help you. After last night, it's clear that we need to reconsider the security of high-value personnel. The hotel you're in is both next to the courthouse and can be secured, if you would like to stay there."
Tom paused. Security for Rachel would be nice, but living in a hotel room wasn't exactly ideal for kids.
"I wouldn't mind, but my family might."
"There's an available three bedroom penthouse suite."
A room each for Dad, the kids…and me and Rachel.
"Let me discuss it with them."
"For the record, sir, the same offer is extended to Dr. Scott. There's a room for her as well." The secretary's tone was professional, but he thought he sensed her amusement. His morning meeting with Michener had not been a quiet one.
"I'll pass that along. Good evening."
. . .
Tom adjusted his jacket in the mirror as his father looked on.
"We'll be fine, son, you enjoy yourself tonight. We'll be unpacking in the new apartment." Tom nodded. They'd decided to take the suite for now, and their stuff from Norfolk was supposedly on its way there from the St. Louis airfield. But right this minute, he was glad to have a place to send the kids for the night while he and Rachel kept this hotel room.
"Can you get the zipper for me, Tom?" Rachel asked, stepping out of the bathroom. Her black dress caused Jed's eyebrows to rise, which in turn caused Rachel to blush and retreat.
"Damn, son. You always did have good taste." He said quietly. "You going to ask her?"
"Yeah."
"Good."
"Coming." He called, exchanging a last look with his father.
. . . .
Tom reminded himself yet again not to reach for the box in his pocket as the waiter cleared the dessert plates away.
"Tom, what's going on?"
"Hmm?"
"You've been acting strangely all evening."
"I have?"
"Paranoia on my part, perhaps?"
"Even sitting here, in a private room, with Wolf and Burke at the door?" She said. "No, Tom, what is it?"
"I… wanted to talk about last night." He said quietly.
"What about it?"
"I sat there, and all I could think was that I was going to lose you." He reached for her hand across the table, and she could hear fear creep into his voice. "I can't lose you…I just can't…"
Rachel looked at him, hearing what he wasn't saying. He'd lost so much in the last year, and even Tom Chandler was human enough to have his limits. He was afraid he'd hit them, and break. And she knew when a man like Tom broke, it was never an easy recovery.
"You won't." she said reassuringly. "You're stuck with me."
"Really?" he said, a smile coming onto his face. "Then I guess you'll be stuck with me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the box, but kept it under the table. "Want to make it official?"
She looked at him strangely as she parsed the question. He waited until comprehension began to dawn before putting the box on the table between them.
"I know it's sudden, and I hope it's not too much, too soon. But I'm also sure about what I want, and I wanted you to know that. If you want to wait, we can."
"Tom, I…" she paused. "If this were before…it probably would be too soon. But after all we've been through…" she reached for the box, opening it.
"It was my mother's."
"It's lovely." She smiled. "You asked your dad to bring it, didn't you?"
"Actually, no. He brought it to me of his own volition after a grand total of thirty minutes of vidchats." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Apparently you make me smile."
"You talked to him about us?"
"I talked to him about you; we didn't have time to get into us. Also, Ash and Sam were there. But that was evidently enough."
"Well, he is your father." She paused. "You're sure it's not too soon for the kids?"
"Ashley came right out and said she likes you. It disturbs me a bit just how mature she's been about it. And Sam will probably follow her lead." He watched her tentatively touching the ring. "Does it fit? I can get it resized."
"It's a little loose." She told him, trying it on. "But for now…" she moved it over one finger, where it sat securely, and then used that hand to pull him close and kiss him. "…let's get out of here."
"Agreed."
"For the record, I wasn't kidding about needing help getting out of this dress."
"Oh, I'm looking forward to it."
. . . . . .
Tom woke up with the warmth of the sun. Of course, that wasn't the only thing keeping him warm right now. He looked down at the woman in his arms. She was spooned up against him; her hair was a mess. He smiled, remembering how it had gotten so tangled, his fingers unconsciously tracing her skin in memory.
"That tickles." She said softly, using her hand to still his.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you." He said, taking that hand and lacing its fingers with hers.
"I feel like I'm still dreaming." She said, tilting their hands so she could look at the ring on her finger.
"If you are, so am I. Let's never wake up."
"Sounds good to me." She said, rolling over and snuggling into his chest. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. He briefly thought of all the things they had to do – set up a new government, rebuild the Navy, and spread the cure far and wide. And he decided that, for now, they could all wait. He was going to sleep in with his fiancée.