A/N — thank you for sticking around during my long delay! Note that this chapter was planned before the Russian invasion of Ukraine so any similarity to current events is coincidental. xoxo — tmtcltb

Guest1 — yes, there's definitely more going on here than Tom and Sasha know. This story is set earlier on so the situation is not quite as bad as it was at the beginning of the show, but it's also not good. Glad you are enjoying.

Guest2 — not abandoned, I promise. Just me taking on too much at one time and now playing catch-up. :)

x

Chapter 5

x

Sasha was the second-to-last member of the team out of the helicopter and onto the roof of the Savannah hospital, sandwiched between Tom and Benz with her vision blocked by the remainder of the team, a situation which she strongly suspected that Tom found grimly amusing. Although his rationale for escorting Sasha himself was sound — people will expect Doctor Scott to be heavily guarded and any deviation will raise suspicions — there was the slightest bit of challenge in Tom's eyes when he laid out the plan on the Nathan James. As though he were waiting for her to tear apart his plan, insisting on coordinating the operation herself.

Which, Sasha could concede, is how she would have responded had the proposal been made by anyone except Tom. She knew perfectly well what Danny and Frankie said about her behind her back — and frequently to her face — paranoid and micro-manager being the kindest. Sasha trusted her team, respected them, listened to their input and concerns, but she was always the one who made the final decision. She simply didn't trust anyone enough to give up control.

Until now.

Sure, she had tweaked things a little. Tom had originally proposed that Sasha wear civilian clothing even though, if she really was Rachel, Tom would never have singled her out that way. Tom's jaw had moved only slightly before conceding the point. But, for the most part, Sasha focused her attention on Danny's mission to deliver the vaccine and the cure to Atlanta, letting Tom handle Savannah. A move that, ironically, only seemed to increase Tom's suspicions. She knew from the way he watched her as they stood on the deck of the Nathan James waiting for the helo, tracking her every move, that he was convinced she was hiding something from him. Convinced that there was a secondary plan to which he wasn't need-to-know.

She had considered pulling him aside to tell him such scrutiny was unnecessary but how could she explain to Tom something that she could hardly explain to herself? How could she explain that she didn't need to tear apart Tom's plan because she could trust him to make the right decisions on the ground? To trust her, to believe her when she said it was important, and to do what needed to be done, without regard to whatever their official orders might be.

Just like he did in the Arctic.

Palates of the cure unloaded, the helo took off. It would fly a zig-zag pattern over the city before returning to the ship for a second load and, if all went as planned, providing cover for Danny's team to leave the Nathan James undetected.

Her vision blocked by Benz and Berchem, Sasha was unaware that they had company on the roof until Benz stepped forward. "Commander Utt. It's good to see you, sir."

"Lieutenant," Utt nodded, his eyes skimming the group before landing on Sasha. "And Commander Cooper. I was unaware that you were on the Nathan James."

The last time Sasha saw Jeremiah Utt was eighteen months ago when he delayed the team's ex-fil from a mission in Mexico due to weather concerns and almost got the entire team killed. Utt apparently hadn't been happy about her scathing comments during the debrief, but Sasha also knew the man was fair enough not to hold that against her. No, the real problem with Utt was that he was the kind of person who followed orders to the letter, whether they made sense or not. Which made him exactly the kind of guy that Sasha didn't want around today watching what she was doing.

"Commander Jeremiah Utt, please meet Commander Thomas Chandler, Captain of the Nathan James." Sasha waited while the two men nodded, before pulling a swab out of her pocket and stepping forward briskly. "If you..."

"You're supposed to stay with me or Benz at all times," Tom interrupted, his long legs allowing him to catch up in two strides. "Snipers, remember?"

"We have stationed men of our own at all known access points, Captain Chandler," Utt responded, his manner stiff, as though reporting to a superior. He glanced down at the swab and dropper in Sasha's hands. "What's that?"

"A test that Doctor Scott developed to check for the presence of the virus," Sasha explained. "Since I am supposed to be Doctor Scott, I would be expected to handle this. Once we confirm that you are negative for the virus, then we can vaccinate you and your team."

To Utt's credit, he didn't argue, simply opening his mouth. Everyone watched silently as Sasha swabbed the back of his throat before squeezing two drops of liquid from the dropper onto the swab, waiting until it turned blue. She turned, nodded at Rios. "He's clear."

Five minutes later, the process was complete and all seven of the men on the roof were vaccinated. Better yet, Utt had brought his own corpsman along, a man named Ecker who looked about twelve but was a quick study, and Rios had already shown the man the two-step process. As the group neared the roof entrance, loaded down with cases of the vaccine, Utt paused, glancing backwards. "You may want to breathe through your mouth."

Sasha knew, objectively, that there was no time for Utt's small team to completely clear the building. She also knew that, as a hospital, this building was likely to have been the scene of thousands of deaths. But this was an instance where knowing and experiencing were not the same. Utt's team had cleared the stairs and, Sasha thought based on the number of doors that were propped open, attempted to air out the place.

And yet the scent of human decomposition was overpowering.

"Jesus," Frankie muttered, before raising his voice. "I thought you said you took a shower this morning, Berchem."

Yet even Benz couldn't bring any levity to the situation, the group double-timing it down the stairs. On the second level, Sasha caught a glimpse of a half dozen people in full hazmat suits piling bodies onto stretchers, apparently Utt's men who were working to clear the space. Upon reaching the bottom floor, Utt slammed the door behind them. The air here was fresher, likely due to the box fans running off generators that were situated by windows on either side of the large reception space.

Sasha turned to Tom and Jeremiah, who stood side-by-side, having been the last two out of the stairwell. "The men clearing the second floor should stop until we can vaccinate them. It's too risky."

Utt hesitated for only a second before nodding. "Ecker, tell the boys to come down for their shots. McCree, we need a system to get the helos unloaded and the vaccines down here to the main area. I don't want a single vial broken." Utt turned back to the Nathan James team, waving his arm in the direction of what looked like it had been the entrance to the emergency room. "We've set this space up for vaccinations. If people are sick, we cleared out the cafeteria and created an entrance directly from here."

Sasha took a quick look around. Although she had memorized the plans for the building, things were always slightly different on the ground. The entry room chairs and tables were gone, replaced by rows of tables. A dozen Marines stood around the space, and Sasha could see that there were more just outside the revolving doors where a crowd was already gathering. Glancing sideways, she realized that when Utt said they "created an entrance," he meant just that, someone having used a saw to create a large space between the two rooms that was covered in plastic sheeting.

Tom stepped forward, eyes focused on a door to the left of the stairwell. "What's in there?"

Utt looked, then shrugged. "Kitchen."

"We'll use that for communications with the ship," Tom replied, as though that hadn't been the plan all along. Giving Sasha a space that couldn't be observed by all. "How's the crowd?"

Utt hesitated only a second. "They began arriving as soon as we did. We've had to drive the crowd back twice already and with the helicopter landing..."

As Jeremiah's voice faded, Sasha felt a lump in her throat. Utt might not be her first choice for this mission, but he had put his own life and the life of his men on the line. These men had been here all night, likely dragging out hundreds of bodies and risking infection with every one. She walked towards the first Marine she saw, setting down the bag she was carrying and pulling out another swab. "Then we better get started."

xxxxx

Four exhausting hours passed before Frankie sidled up to Sasha, nudging her back, his voice clipped. "When you said to keep an eye out for friends, I assumed you meant actual friends and not your annoying-as-fuck boy toy."

Sasha glanced up, catching sight of a familiar face, feeling a wave of relief rush through her. Of the five people she was able to contact who were close enough to make it to Savannah, Karl was the first to arrive. She glanced at Frankie. "Jealous, sweetheart? You sound as sanctimonious as Danny right now."

"Joseph, Mary and sweet baby Jesus, please kill me now," Frankie muttered.

"You gave him the note?" Sasha asked, focusing her attention on the swab in front of her.

"Yes, I gave him the note," Frankie replied. They both watched as Karl slipped past the tables while Berchem pretended to be very occupied with an arriving group of teenagers, disappearing into the kitchen.

Sasha absently injected a shot into the woman before her. "Who's in there with him?"

"The Captain," Frankie responded, and Sasha barely hid a grimace. Utt was definitely more likely to notice if both Tom and Sasha disappeared. "He told Utt that the two of you needed to check in with the James."

Appreciating Tom's quick thinking, Sasha began pulling off her gloves. "Switch with me. This won't take long."

Turning, Sasha moved towards the door to the kitchen, mentally running down her operational checklist. Danny had made it to Atlanta more than forty minutes ago, achieving their primary mission of delivering the cure and the vaccine to the CDC, and should even now be on his way back to the James. Better yet, Commander Hurtado had confirmed that the samples sent to Lejeune arrived safely at the Air Station and were in the process of being flown to laboratories around the country.

Yet knowing how much progress had been made couldn't erase the last four hours.

At the beginning, the line was mostly young adults and, although some of them were sick, the atmosphere wasn't much different than any other warzone Sasha had visited. Tense, scared, but relatively calm. As the first hour rolled by, however, a new group began arriving. Families. Children. Babies. Despite knowing this would happen, and Rachel having reassured them all time and time again that the vaccine shouldn't affect children differently, Sasha held her breath every time she slid a needle into one of their tiny arms. At first, Rios asked the families to wait for fifteen minutes for observation. But it quickly became apparent that they didn't have the space, or the time, and, perhaps most critically, that keeping people in this crowd for any longer than necessary was far riskier than the threat of side effects. Because the sick were also arriving, potentially infecting thousands as they moved through the crowd.

And they didn't have enough doses for everyone.

Shaking herself, Sasha slipped into the kitchen, stopping short at the sight before her. Tom stood staring at Karl Ferdinand, his arms crossed over his chest and a slight scowl on his face. Karl, by contrast, was lounging back against the kitchen counter, appearing totally relaxed as he studied Tom through narrowed eyes, his lips curled in a perfect imitation of Draco Malfoy. The two men were of similar height and build, and yet, somehow, Tom's presence made Karl look more like a petulant teenager than a highly trained intelligence officer.

Karl's eyes slashed to Sasha, the condescending sneer disappearing, and he opened his arms as though expecting her to walk into the hug. "Sasha! You have no idea how relieved I was to get your message. Especially after hearing the news about Green." He paused. "I noticed that Green isn't here. I hope that doesn't mean he is still sick."

Swallowing a snort, Sasha moved to the cabinet where she had stashed the five sealed CDC containers that Rachel personally prepared that morning. Danny barely tolerated Karl — something that Karl almost certainly knew given Danny's attitude whenever they were in a room together — and Sasha strongly suspected the feeling was mutual given how Karl took every opportunity possible to rile Danny up. Not that Karl would ever admit the fact. In addition to being cold-blooded, Karl was a chameleon, shifting personalities to meet any situation, rarely betraying a true emotion. It was a combination that served them well in Chechnya, and Sasha had certainly learned more than one trick from the man. But that didn't mean she trusted Karl. She was simply smart enough to recognize that, at the moment, their objectives aligned.

Sasha set the container on the table. "Danny's fine. I'll pass along your regards, if you want."

"Is this the new Green?" Karl asked, head motioning to Tom as he switched to Russian. "I suppose that, for your purposes, there's not much difference between a squid and a jarhead."

Tom's face twitched, but he remained mute, and Sasha saw no reason to inform Karl that Tom could understand every word he said. "The success of this operation is very important to both our military and our government. Captain Chandler is here to ensure that all goes smoothly."

"In other words, he's trying to get into your pants. Not that I blame him," Karl replied with a short laugh. He leaned closer, switching back to English. "You are quite a woman, milaya moyna."

Ignoring Karl's totally unsubtle attempt to provoke Tom, Sasha unwrapped a swab. Sex with Karl had been fun, but she had never been fooled into thinking that it meant anything — to either of them. "Open your mouth."

"Why?" Karl managed, before Sasha shoved the swab in rather harder than necessary. She added three drops to the swab and waited for it to change color. Karl motioned towards the package sitting on the kitchen table. "That has the vaccine?"

"Four doses of the vaccine as well as four of the cure. Enough to start production immediately," Tom answered.

The swab having turned blue, Sasha picked up the vaccine, her eyes lifting to meet Karl's. "You'll get it where it needs to go?"

"Of course," Karl replied, sounding almost offended. He turned to Tom, his face once again sliding into a sneer. "My country thanks you for honoring your commitment to your allies, Captain Chandler. There were rumors that your government did not intend to do so."

Tom's lips thinned. "Surely they can understand why we felt that it would not be prudent to publicly announce the transfer of the vaccine and the cure."

"Or else you would have another mob," Karl drawled.

"Or another Russian battlecruiser attempting to blow us up," Tom corrected. "It wasn't the United States that was trying to keep the vaccine from you."

Karl's eyebrow lifted as Tom's words sunk in, his eyes flying to Sasha. She gave a single nod, surprised to see a flicker of anger cross Karl's face. Then he returned his focus to Tom. "I understand, Captain, and will relay the need for ... discretion to my countrymen."

Injecting the shot, Sasha smiled at Karl blandly. "Contact me once you arrive at the facility."

"Of course." Karl paused and, once again, there was a flicker of something on Karl's face before he switched back to Russian. "I am glad to see you alive, Sasha. Seeing you today..." Karl paused, then shook his head slightly. "I have lost too many friends in the past few months. And, while you are unlikely to believe this, I include both you and Green in those numbers. I'm truly pleased to know that he has recovered."

With that, Karl was gone, and Sasha was left alone with Tom. He was the first to speak. "Where's he off to?"

"Germany to start," Sasha replied, still stunned by the sincerity in Karl's last few words. "Moving eastward towards Russia most likely. Karl's ancestors ruled both countries at some point, and he continues to have connections across Eastern Europe."

Tom's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

Despite her exhaustion, Sasha found herself chuckling at Tom's expression. "Karl's a member of the House of Hohenzollern. His great-great grandfather was Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor."

"I know who Wilhelm II is," Tom interrupted. He hesitated for a bare second before asking the question that Sasha knew he was thinking but didn't expect him to admit. "So, you dated a prince?"

"Did you think I became a nun after you?" Sasha teased.

"No, of course not." Tom frowned. "What Karl said about friends there. How many people did you contact about our arrival?"

Sasha sighed, her levity disappearing. "Twenty-four. Eleven responded. Five that were close enough to try to make contact. I wouldn't be surprised if Karl flew in overnight on a private jet. There are benefits to being Richy-Rich, apparently."

Tom's face softened. "I'm sorry, Sasha."

"Thank you." Swallowing, Sasha turned towards the door. "Nice job, by the way, deflecting the rumors about the government hoarding the vaccine. I half believed you myself."

She felt Tom's hand settle on her lower back, the simple contact a balm after the horrors of the morning. He leaned closer, his voice a mere whisper. "What you just did may have saved millions of lives."

Sasha glanced over her shoulder. "We, Tom, what we just did. Together."