When Rachel walked into the conference room, the first thing she noticed was his face on the TV monitor, dominating most of the wall at the head of the U-shaped table. She froze in the doorway, shocked and frightened at being confronted with his face again. Thankfully, Tom was right behind her, and gave her arm a gentle squeeze, bringing her back to reality. Rachel shook her head, trying to dispel the image of his face from her mind, but that felt like a useless endeavor. She doubted she'd ever truly be rid of it.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Rachel entered the room, and Tom shut the door behind them. The noise of the closing door made the other three people in the room turn around. President Michener and Lts. Foster and Burk had been huddled close together, talking in low voices and occasionally motioning toward the portrait of Curtis, the rogue immune Rachel had identified as her would-be assassin.

Upon seeing that Tom and Rachel had arrived, President Michener broke away from the group and set a folder down on the edge of the table. "Dr. Scott, Commander Chandler, thank you for joining us," he said, giving them each a nod.

Rachel cast each of them wary looks before her gaze rested back on the picture of Curtis on the wall. "What is this about?" she asked, relieved when her voice came out steady. "I thought you caught him already…" Rachel tried to keep her eyes off the picture on the wall, but she was almost afraid to look away. Tom noticed how wary she looked, even though she was making sure to keep her face straight. The others likely missed how she kept glancing back at the picture and frowning, as if it were haunting her, but Tom didn't.

"We did," Michener assured her quickly. "But we have some more information about him that you need to know." He paused there, waiting for her confirmation before continuing.

Rachel looked from the President to the TV monitor and back, then nodded once. She wasn't sure she wanted to know anything about the man that still haunted her dreams. She'd rather just forget the entire incident and move on, but part of her wanted to know what the President had to say. Despite herself, she wanted to know what this man had against her, and what could have brought him to do what he did.

Tom stood to Rachel's side, watching her reactions. She looked scared, but also determined. Ready to face her fears, as always. Tom wished he could take her into his arms and reassure her that this monster was put away for good.

"As you know," Michener began, bringing Rachel's attention back to him, "he was one of the immunes. His name is Curtis." Rachel nodded. Tom had told her that much already. Michener continued, "He was McDowell's second in command, from what we can tell. We dug up as much as we could on him, but with the lack of news and media recently, there wasn't much. Fortunately," Michener smiled ruefully, "Tex was able to get him to talk."

Tom grinned at the thought of Tex interrogating Curtis until he gave up everything he knew, but Rachel remained stony-faced, still occasionally glancing at the picture on the wall.

"The good news is, he was acting on his own," Michener said. "After the downfall of the immunes, he took matters into his own hands."

"And came after me," Rachel said quietly, her voice a mixture of apprehension and disgust.

Michener nodded. "The bad news is, we don't know whether he told anyone else about his plans or not. He told Tex that there are still other immunes out there, and they'll 'carry on my work'."

"Meaning they could come after her again," Tom butted in, his voice laced with anger. He looked at Rachel for a reaction, but she was just staring at the President, her face blank. She had her emotions in tight check.

"Right," Michener said. "So for now, we're keeping you here in the hotel," he said to Rachel, "until we find out if there's anyone out there intent on finishing what Curtis started." Rachel winced a bit at that, but Michener had returned his attention to the file he had retrieved from the table, so he didn't notice. Tom did, though. "If you need to leave the hotel for any reason," Michener went on, "let both me and Commander Chandler know, and we'll give you an escort."

"So you're quarantining me?" Rachel protested indignantly, part of the worry on her face being replaced by annoyance. Tom smiled slightly to himself, glad he wasn't the one who had to tell her she was being quarantined.

"It's not permanent," Michener assured her. "Only until we are sure Curtis was working alone. It's for your own safety," he added lamely. Rachel rolled her eyes and sighed, but figured arguing was useless at this point. Taking the lack of protest as her consent, Michener closed his file and nodded. "Well, it's getting late, so unless there's anything else, I'll leave you to it. I assure you we're doing everything we can to assess the situation, but this seems to be the safest course of action at the moment."

Rachel, still annoyed but resigned to her fate, nodded. "I understand."

Michener returned her nod, and, gathering his things, headed out. Lt. Burk followed him out, nodding to both Tom and Rachel as he passed. Tom returned the nod, but Rachel was staring at the picture on the wall again, transfixed. Lt. Foster was the last to leave, giving Rachel a reassuring smile as she passed, but Rachel hardly noticed. Kara shot Tom a concerned look, but he simply nodded to her, telling her he'd take care of it. Kara had figured something was going on between Tom and Rachel since the night of the shooting, so she figured he could handle it, and left the two of them alone in the room, the imposing picture of Curtis still dominating the wall.

Tom walked over to Rachel's side, watching her face as she stared at the picture on the wall. Her look remained stoic, but he could tell she was simmering underneath. After a few moments he said, "Rachel."

She glanced at him, meeting his eyes briefly, but quickly turned back to the monitor. Tom moved in front of her, so he was standing between her and the screen, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Talk to me," he said quietly.

It was then that Rachel lost control. "Why?!" She demanded angrily, trying but failing to hold back angry tears. Embarrassed, she wiped at her eyes in frustration. "Why me? What… what would make someone do something like that?"

"I don't know," Tom said. "He's a monster, Rach."

Rachel wasn't listening. "Do you know what he said to me that night?" she demanded, and Tom shook his head, at a loss for how to console her. "'Sic semper tyrannis,'" Rachel spat angrily. "He called me a tyrant. A tyrant? All I wanted to do was save people," Rachel said, her anger mixing with sadness and frustration. "I don't understand," she said, "I just don't understand Tom…" Rachel tried to regain control of herself, but she was too far gone, and an angry sob escaped her lips.

Tom wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him and hugging her tightly. He could feel her hot tears soaking through the fabric of his uniform. He stroked her hair and said, "we may never understand him, Rachel. He's a monster. What he did, it wasn't logical or rational. It doesn't make any sense. He did it out of blind hatred. You didn't deserve that, and you're no tyrant," he assured her quietly.

Rachel hugged him back tightly, seeking solace in his embrace. When her sobs started to subside and she regained some measure of control over her voice, she whispered, "I still have nightmares."

At that, Tom had to fight back angry tears of his own. He wanted to go down and put the fear of God into Curtis. He wanted to rob the monster of his happiness, the way he had robbed Rachel of hers. He wanted justice. He wanted Rachel to be able to sleep at night without fearing the man who had tried to take her life. He wanted Curtis dead.

But he also knew they needed him alive, for information. They needed to make sure Rachel was safe. That's why he had left the interrogation to Tex. Tom wasn't sure he could face the man and leave him in once piece.

Tom fought to control his own rage and kissed the top of Rachel's head, hugging her tighter. "I'll make sure nothing happens to you," he whispered back. "I'll keep you safe."

Rachel sniffled, burrowing her head into Tom's chest. "I know," she whispered. After a pause, she asked, "Tom?"

"Yeah?"

Rachel pulled back a bit so she could look up at him and asked, "Can I sleep in your room tonight?"

Despite everything, a small smile found its way to Tom's face. He wiped away a few tears that still clung to Rachel's cheek and said, "Of course." Meeting her eyes, he added, "And I'll make sure those nightmares don't come back."

Rachel returned his smile, then looked around him back to the monitor where Curtis' picture was still displayed. Tom let go of Rachel long enough to find the remote and switch the screen off, and Rachel sighed with relief. With the room left in near darkness, Tom took Rachel's hand and lead her back through the hotel to his room.

That night, Rachel slept curled up next to Tom, his arms wrapped around her protectively. As she fell asleep, Rachel thought about how far they had come in the last few days. Not long ago, Rachel wouldn't have admitted those feelings to anyone, not even Tom. It was hard for her to open up like that, to admit her feelings, but it was freeing, too. She had been alone for so long. For the first time in a long time, Rachel finally felt she had someone she could talk to. Someone to share her feelings, her fears, and her anger. She was glad they had talked, that night in Tom's hotel room. They were finally on the same page, and now, little by little, Rachel found herself able to trust Tom with her inner secrets. Being able to finally admit all of her fears and her anger, Rachel realized that she wasn't alone anymore, and that meant more to her than she would ever be able to explain. For the first time in a long time, Rachel realized, she didn't have to carry her burdens alone.

Rachel eventually drifted off to sleep, comforted by the thought that when she woke, Tom would still be there.

That night was the first night since she'd left the hospital that Curtis' face didn't haunt her dreams.