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Thanks Vicky for being my awesome beta reader!
"So are you really going to tell them about us?" Sasha asked again when Tom came back into the living room with his coat. Even though he had reassured her repeatedly over the last few hours, Sasha couldn't help but worry if his plan was really such a good idea.
"Sasha." Tom sighed as he slipped in to his coat as he walked over to the couch "We've already talked about this." he said, pulling her blanket over her slender body as he knelt down in front of her, taking hold of one hand as he cupped her cheek with the other. "Don't worry about it." Tom said soothingly, as he caressed her cheek gently as he drew her in for a soft kiss.
"Okay." Sasha agreed even though she already knew that she would spend the night worrying about their future together.
"So, you got everything?" Tom asked as looked over his shoulder to once again check the coffee table.
"You do realize that I can take care of myself?" Sasha asked him raising her perfectly shaped eyebrow at him.
"I do. And you know that nothing is wrong when your partner takes care of you while you're sick." Tom pointed out with a grin, noticing the cheeky smile that usually meant she was deliberately challenging him
"My partner? I thought you would be my nurse." Sasha replied playfully, Tom swore he could hear a note of disappointment in her voice as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Is that what they taught you at charm school?" she sassed back.
"You're unbelievable." Tom laughed, hearing her use the Charm School jibe once more. "Will you ever let it go?"
"Nope." Sasha simply shook her head. "I like it." She was still smiling as she pulled him in for another kiss. It was slow and tender, something they didn't want to stop and it made her realize that his plan was a good idea no matter how it would turn out.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." Tom asked when their lips parted and gaze locked again, his voice was low as his hand still lingered on her cheek as he traced his thumb over her cheekbone.
"I thought you were leaving?" She asked after a few seconds had passed.
"I am. I just need a little something for the night." Tom replied not leaving her out of sight as he leaned in for another sweet kiss.
"Good night, Sweetheart." Tom murmured against her lips and then he opened his eyes only to see that Sasha's were closed.
"Good night, Tom." Sasha replied with a soft smile as she opened her eyes. For a few seconds their gaze locked as her hands slipped from his shoulders and then Tom got up to his feet again. "I'll see you tomorrow." He told as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on to her forehead.
"I hope so." Sasha replied and then she watched him leave.
A few minutes later Tom was on his way home, determined to speak to his family about the new woman in his life, But the closer he got to home, he felt increasingly nervous about his family's reactions. Ten minutes later, Tom pulled into his driveway and parked the truck, his nerves still hadn't eased. Instead of heading straight into the house, he sat in the truck for a few minutes longer, trying to calm himself down. It didn't seem to work, as his mind continued to play out various reactions to his news, particularly from Sam and Ashley.
At least Dad will be on my side, Tom exhaled deeply, recalling how fond Jed had been of Sasha all those years ago, and how different it had been when introducing Darien to his family.
Darien, Tom closed his eyes and exhaled deeply as suddenly images of himself and his wife started to fly through his head. Tom knew that Darien would've wanted him to be happy and continue with his life, it was a conversation they'd had frequently pre-plague. Tom's biggest fear back then had been not making it home from a deployment, a very realistic possibility.
Back then Tom told her that if anything would happen to him, she should mourn his passing in her own way, but that he didn't want her grieving for the rest of her life. He told her to live her life as she saw fit, and when she felt the time was right, find someone who made her happy. That he'd only ever wanted her to be happy, with or without him, a sentiment Darien had wholeheartedly agreed with; as long as he gave her his word to do the same should anything happen to her. Darien had extracted a further promise that under no circumstances was Tom to use her loss as an excuse to stop living.
Before he knew it, Tom had lost track of time, remembering his past with Darien, and dreaming of a possible future with Sasha. So lost was he imagining that future, he jumped slightly at the knock on the truck's window, recalling him back to the present. Turning his head to see who'd disturbed his thoughts, he wasn't too surprised to see his Dad stood there, motioning for Tom to roll down the window.
"Are you going to come inside or do you want to stay in your truck for the night?" Jeb Chandler asked the moment the window rolled down.
"I needed a moment…" Tom replied as his gaze drifted up to the first floor of his house, where he saw a dim light shining through the curtains of Ashley's room. "…to think." He added as he brought his attention back to his father who was now leaning against the car.
"You're back together with her?" Jeb asked even though he sounded more like he was making a statement.
"What? With who?" Tom asked, clearly confused by his father's statement, as he tried to remember when his father might have found about Sasha. But the only occasion where he had seen them together was President Oliver's Inaugural Ball, and until Tom thought they both had done a pretty good job at being casual with each other.
"The lovely Sasha, sassy little thing isn't she?" Jed replied "I might be old but I'm not blind, son. I saw you with her at the Inaugural Ball." He explained with a grin as he watched his son's expression changing from confusion to shock.
Fuck, I thought we had been… Has he told the kids? What if they already know? Shit!
"Don't worry. They don't know yet." Jeb reassured him when saw his son alerted expression. "But you should tell them and from the way I see you trying to come up with a plan."
"It's not as easy as I thought it would me." Tom admitted with a long sigh. "How would you do it? I mean I can't just tell them that I moved on from their mother." Tom asked hoping that his father would be able to advise him.
"I've never been in a situation like this, kid. You know that." Jeb shrugged. "But how about you tell them the truth? That you will always love Darien, that she will always have a special place in your heart and you still miss her, but you've met someone very special you would want them to meet. Maybe tell them something about Sasha and take it from there, I'm sure they're curious to meet someone new."
"And what would you tell them about Sasha? How should I describe her so they would actually like her from the get go?"
"I don't know." Jeb shrugged again after he pushed himself away from his son's truck. "Maybe tell them that she's very smart and that she's one badass intelligence officer who saved your ass a couple of times in Asia. Maybe they will like her if they know that she brought you back home."
"You think that would work?" Tom asked raising his eyebrow at his father's suggestion.
"Jesus, Tom! You know the woman better than I do. Figure something out." Jeb rolled his eyes as he somehow felt like that this man in the truck wasn't his self-confident son anymore. "Now get your ass out of your car and talk to them." He stepped away from the truck. "That's an order, Chandler! Get out." He hissed at his son.
"Yes, sir." Tom took a deep breath as he pushed the button to roll up the window again before he got out and followed his father in to his house. He was still nervous, but talking with his father, the tough love Jed had doled out had given him back the confidence to talk to his kids.
"Ashley! Sam" We have to talk!" Tom stood by the bottom of the stairs while his Father went into the kitchen to finish cleaning up.
"What is it, Dad?" Ashley asked as she came down the stairs, followed by her little brother.
"Do you have to leave again?" Sam asked, clearly worried that his Father would get deployed again, Despite Tom's promise that the Asia trip would be the last one for a while. Sam, despite his youth, was well aware of world events, leaving him constantly worried his Dad would have to leave again.
"No, Sammy." Tom shook his head as wrapped an arm around his son's shoulder. "I don't have to leave again. We have to talk about something else." He explained while he led them into their living room.
"Come sit." He motioned for them to sit on the couch while he sat down in his armchair next to them.
"Ashley, Sam." He addressed them both before he took a deep breath and then he continued. "You both know that I loved you Mom very much and that she'll always have a very special place in my heart, but uhm…" He stopped and ran his hands over the stubbles of his 5 o'clock shadow. "But there is a woman. I met her in Asia… she became a part of the crew and helped me to save Uncle Mike and crew from the pirates. She's someone Special that I want you to meet, if that's ok?" Tom explained hoping that his kids would somehow be able to understand what he was trying to tell them.
"What's her name? How old is she? Is she in the Navy? When can we meet her? Does she like baseball?" Sam was the first one who spoke up as he suddenly had a million questions about the mysterious new woman in his head.
"Well her name is Sasha, she's 35 years old. She was in the Navy but right now she is running the Naval Intelligence department which is a huge responsibility for her. Yes, she likes baseball." Tom explained as he felt a little relieved that this was going better than he had expected.
"Is she like a girlfriend for you?" Sam asked and Tom could tell that his son already knew where this was going. "You could say that." He nodded as his gaze shifted to Ashley who hasn't said a word as she starred at her Father with a frown.
"And when can we meet her?" Sam asked a little impatient that his Father still hasn't answered the question. "In a few days. She's not well, but when she recovers I'll invite her for dinner."
"Cool. Does she like sports?" Sam said, curious about this mystery woman.
"Yes, she's very good with martial arts. Do you still want to learn how to shoot an arrow like a professional?" Tom asked with grin as he remembered a conversation he had with son before the red flu.
"Yes, why? Can Sasha teach me?" Sam asked now clearly excited to meet his Dad's friend.
"She could teach you, but only if you ask her nicely" Tom replied, pleased at Sam's positive reaction.
"Wow! I can't wait to meet her." Sam said, happy that his Dad's friend shared his interests at least.
It was then when Tom noticed that his daughter had uncharacteristically silent and that she still had that frown on her face.
"Ashley?" Tom asked carefully.
"You never loved her." Ashley stated and she shifted her focus to the wall across the room, ignoring her father's presence.
"Ash…" But Ashley continued speaking over her father's protests
"You're replacing her because you never…" Ashley continued mutinously.
"Ashley that's enough!" Tom raised his voice causing both of his kids to jump in their seats. "Sammy, please get to your room." He addressed his son as he didn't want to hear any of his sister accusations.
"But Dad I didn't… It was Ashley…" The young boy tried to defend himself as he had no idea why he was the one who get send to his room even though Ashley made him angry.
"Just go, Sam. I have to talk to your sister… alone." Tom asked him again and this time Sam didn't complain as he wordlessly got up from the couch and left the living room.
"You're replacing her, Dad!" Ashley stated once she was sure that her brother couldn't hear her anymore. "You are replacing Mom." For split second turned her head and looked him directly into his eyes before she looked away again.
"Ashley, I would never replace your mom." Tom's voice was suddenly a lot calmer than it was before.
"But you never loved her." Ashley wailed, clearly unhappy
"Of course I loved your Mom, I still do and she will always have a place in my heart. But Mom is gone now and she would've wanted us to move on and be happy." Tom said gently, trying to keep the situation calm
"No, she would've wanted us to keep her place free so we can remember her. So we can still be the family that we used to be before the red flu." Ashley replied angrily.
"So do you really want me… no us to be lonely and miserable for the rest of our lives?" "You still have Sam and me and grandpa you wouldn't be lonely and you can be happy with us." She replied
stubbornly.
"That is not what I promised your mother." Tom shook his head knowing that he would have to her that story she would understand his situation. Because even he had planned to never tell them about their "if something happens to us"-conversations Tom knew that he had to tell her the truth.
"What did you promise her?" Ashley asked as she looked at her father and for a moment Tom thought that she was to figure out if he was lying or not.
"You mom and I we talked about this a lot, even before you were born, because you know how risky my job is. We agreed to continue with our lives that we wouldn't take it as excuse to be lonely forever. She even made me promise to find someone who make us happy again, because that was what she would always wanted us to be." Tom explained as calmly as he as he once again remembered the last conversation he had with Darien.
"But she didn't make you promise to replace her with a cheap chick you've picked up in Asia." The teen replied, still angry
"Ashley!" Tom warned her but it was already too late.
"What?" She asked him while she got up from the couch. "I don't want to move on! I don't want a new woman and I don't want a new mother because I still love Mom and I miss her! But you never loved her because if you would've you wouldn't move on so fast." She stood right in front of her father clearly angry with him.
"Sit down Ashley." Tom ordered her but she shook her head.
"No." Ashley shot back
"Listen, Ashley. All I want is that you give her a chance and get to…." Tom started but Ashley stopped him again.
"No, I won't give her a chance and I don't want her to be in this family. I want my mom back!" Ashley cried out as suddenly felt tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at Tom. "I just want her back." She added as a single rolled down her cheek.
"Ash…" Tom stood and tried to pull her into his arms, but it was already too late as she stormed out of the living room.
Tom took a deep breath in order to calm himself down as he let himself fall back into the arm chair and buried his face into his hands.
"Well that went well." His father's voice made him look up again. "Here." Jeb added as he handed his son a bottle of beer.
"Not really." Tom sighed before he took a big swing of the bottle. "Sam already likes her, but Ashley…"
"Give her time. She's a smart girl and she might realize that Sasha isn't such a bad addition to the family." His tried to reassure him but Tom wasn't listening as he got the feeling that bringing in to his family would be such a great idea after all.
"Maybe it's too soon for her." Tom replied morosely
No Tom it's not too soo, but you have to remember Ashley's only 14, and she only lost her Mom a year ago," Jed replied firmly „ What did you expect her to do... that she would throw a welcoming party for Sasha?"
"No, I just thought she would be more open to the idea of someone new." Tom replied taking another swing from his bottle.
"She will be but Ashley needs time to readjust in this new world. Like I said your daughter is smart and I'm sure she will give Sasha the chance she deserves but you have to give her the time she needs." Jed told him quietly, offering his son a reassuring smile, as they continued to share a few moments peace together
The next morning after a rather sleepless night Tom woke, noticing the bedside clock said 05:30am. After tossing and turning for several minutes, he gave up trying to sleep, got up, showered, and dressed. Once he had checked in on Ashley and Sam he grabbed his coat and left the house.
Fifteen minutes later he pulled up outside of Sasha's apartment building, and got out of his truck. Looking up to Sasha's apartment window, noticing it was dark, he pulled out the spare keys she'd given him last week. Figuring she was asleep still, he was profoundly grateful for them as he slipped the keys into the lock, opening the door as quietly as he could. Groping his way into her bedroom, not wanting to wake Sasha, he shed his coat and shoes before walking quietly over to the bed.
"Tom?" Sasha queried sleepily, just able to make out his features in the dim street lighting that poured through the curtains.
"Sorry sweetheart, go back to sleep." He replied as he walked over the other side of the bed where took off his sweater and pants before he climbed in besides her.
"What are you doing here?" Sasha asked, her eyes still half open, and groggy with sleep.
"I had to see you. Now go back to sleep." He replied, hoping that she would do as she was told even though knew her better than that, because the next thing Sasha did was sitting up and turning on the light on her nightstand.
"Thought I told you to go back to sleep?" Tom asked sitting up as well as he leaned his back against the headboard.
"You did, but I'm up now." Sasha replied quickly as she familiar tingling in her throat again, swallowing a quick drink of water, hoping to stave off a coughing fit, but to no avail.
"It didn't go as well as you thought it would go?" She asked him once she had stopped coughing.
"No." Tom answered with a deep sighed and as he met her gaze. Sasha could tell that admitting it didn't go well was hard for him, but she could tell there was something else.
"So are you here to break up with me or do you want to talk about it?" She asked, but she Immediatley regretted her first question, noting his shocked expression
"No, I'm not going to break up with you." Tom replied quickly. "Where is this even coming from? I told you we will figure this out together and we will make it work."
"Good." Sasha exhaled deeply as for a moment she really thought that he was here to end their relationship. "So how did it go?"
And then Tom told her everything that had happened.
"… but I still want you come over for dinner once you're feeling better." He told her as he finished recounting his conversation with the kids.
"Are you sure about that? Because from what you've told me Ashley…" Sasha started but Tom stopped her.
"Ashley needs time which I will give her, but I think it's the best if she gets to know you and gets used to you being around and maybe it will change her mind." Tom explained his view of the situation.
"Or she will hate me forever." Sasha replied as got a feeling that Tom's dinner plan wouldn't work out as he wants it to be.
"She won't hate you. She just needs time to get used to the new situation and by the way Sam is already excited to meet you so not everyone shares Ash's viewpoint." Tom chuckled softly
"Really?" Sasha asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, but I have to warn you because I might have told him about your archery skills so he might ask you to teach him." Tom told her, smiling
"Oh you didn't?" Sasha raised her voice causing herself to cough again. "You can't be serious. I haven't shot an arrow in ages. I can't even remember how it works."
"Really?" Tom inquired, his tone indicating he doubted the truth of that statement. "Haven't you told me once that shooting an arrow is like shooting a gun?"
"I did." Sasha replied with a smile as she recalled the one time that she had taken him to archery stands on a date.
"Told you." Tom replied with a smirk on his lips because he knew that she was thinking about that date.
"You're unbelievable." Sasha rolled her eyes as she cupped his face with her hand. "When do you have to leave?" She asked while she caressed his cheek with her hand.
"Briefing is at 9 so I can make you breakfast or we could sleep." Tom suggested but Sasha quickly drew in for tender kiss.
"Or we could do that." Tom tilted his head once their lips parted again. "I knew you would like that." Sasha giggled against his lips before he leaned in and kissed her again.
"I did" Tom replied softly, deepening the kiss, enjoying this precious time alone with the woman he was coming to love more and more every day.