"Your last night as a free woman!" cried Nikki, half drunkenly holding her wine glass up.
"Yes! Your last night as a free woman! Tomorrow you become a navy wife!" yelled Bomber, following Nikki and holding her wine glass high.
"To being a free woman!" cried Jen, holding her glass up to her lips and taking a long sip.
"Why aren't you drinking Sal?" asked Nikki, pointing a finger at a much bemused Sally.
Sally laughed lightly. "Because I'm already a navy wife," she replied, gently kissing Chloe on her head, before taking her upstairs to sleep.
"She's got a point," said Bomber, shrugging slightly.
"Pizza's here!" shouted Kate, carrying four boxes of steaming hot pizza.
"Yay, pizza!" cried Nikki, rushing over to Kate and almost knocking her over.
"Give me," said Nikki, tugging on one of the boxes.
"Oh my God Nik," replied Kate. "Didn't you eat before you came here?"
Nikki shook her head, her eyes lighting up as she opened the box she had grabbed. "Ah! Cheesy!"
"Give me a slice Nikki," said Bomber, reaching over Nikki's shoulder and fingering a slice.
Nikki pulled the pizza box away, holding it above her head. "No, it's my pizza!"
"Nikki!" Bomber whined, shaking her slightly. "Give me the pizza Nikki!"
"No!"
Bomber gritted her teeth and made a grab for the pizza, misjudging the space that was between her and the box of food. Nikki fell off the couch, the pizza box slipping off her hand and landing on her head. Bomber soon followed after.
"Ow!" cried Nikki.
Bomber shifted, rolling off Nikki and groaning as she hit the wooden floor of Sally's living room.
"What happened here?" cried Sally, rushing over to Nikki and picking up the pizza box.
"They were fighting over the pizza," said Kate, rolling her eyes.
Sally laughed, shaking her head. "Come on," said Sally, picking up Nikki and placing her slowly on the couch. Kate did the same with Bomber, after placing the left over pizza in the kitchen.
"To the left over pizza!" cried Nikki, making a grab for her wine glass.
"Oh no you don't!" cried Sally.
Nikki frowned. "Why not?"
Sally rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen looking for an icepack for Nikki's head. Jen instead answered, "Because you're already drunk enough and I don't want you throwing up tomorrow. Remember I'm getting married."
Nikki nodded, closing her eyes and resting her pounding head on Bomber's shoulder. "To being a navy wife," she whispered.
"To being a navy wife," agreed Bomber, closing her eyes too, her head coming to rest on Nikki's.
Jen and Kate laughed, joining Sally in the kitchen. "I don't think Nikki will need that icepack Sal," said Kate, taking a seat on one of the stools.
"Good, because I don't think I have any. Chris must've taken them with him to Mike's, knowing the boys..."
Kate smiled, taking a piece of pizza. "Well, at least we can have all the pizza to ourselves."
"Yeah, well, that is a good thing," said Jen.
"I wonder what the boys will be eating," said Kate, in between mouthfuls.
"Probably the same as us, knowing Mike's cooking," laughed Sally.
"He's not that bad a cook you know," replied Kate, smiling slightly. "Better than me."
"Really? Have you tried his cooking?" asked Sally.
Kate frowned, nodding. "I wonder who hasn't tried his cooking."
"I haven't," said Jen, raising her hand like a school kid answering a question.
"Really? Wow, that's a first. He must've cooked for every crew member's partner and every woman he's ever worked with."
Sally nodded, seeing the shocked look on Jen's face. "Yeah I know, he sounds like such a lady's man doesn't he?" She sighed. "And I have to admit I actually do like his cooking."
Kate smiled. "Don't worry, he just likes to please. I'm surprised he hasn't cooked for you yet."
"Maybe he's waiting?" said Sally.
"Waiting for what?" asked Jen.
"For you and Chefo to marry."
Jen's mouth fell open. "He's not going to try anything?"
"That's the last thing he's thinking. Cooking a good meal is his way of congratulating you. I wonder why he doesn't just become a cook."
"And besides, from what Chris has told me, he wouldn't try anything on you because he's already taken – apparently."
Kate frowned. "Since when?" she asked.
Sally shrugged. "Don't know, a while ago. The woman could be the one who had to be put in witness protection, Ursula Morrell or something rather? Didn't she just get out of witness protection?"
"Yeah, maybe. Hope you're wrong though. I hated her and still do."
"Ohhhh, do you like Mike?" asked Jen, a sheepish smile crossing her face.
"What?! No! I don't like Mike! And besides, I'm with Jim," replied Kate, smiling.
"Yeah, too bad he couldn't make it..."
"Jim's working."
"So?"
"So what?"
"You're going to be left alone tomorrow night with Mike and Jim's not going to be there."
"Oh be quiet."
"Admit it then, you like Mike."
"Jen?"
Jen looked at Kate, her eyebrows raised slightly. "Yeah?"
Kate smiled. "To being a navy wife."
---
"Hey, Chefo!"
Chefo looked around, wondering who the hell had shouted his name. "Chefo!" the same voice shouted.
"What the hell?" he asked himself.
"Hey!" ET appeared by his side, clapping him on the back. "So how you feeling?"
Chefo smiled awkwardly, the alcohol getting to him. "I feel drunk, and I feel like I am about to become the happiest man in the world."
"Yeah, join the club," said Swain, appearing on Chefo's other side.
"What are you two doing?" asked Buffer, his voice coming from the living room.
"Nothing Buff!" the three of them cried.
"You three drunk already?" asked Mike, appearing at the top of the stairs and taking them two at a time.
"No!" they chorused.
"You've got a nice house here boss," said ET, waving his hand around.
"Hey watch it!" cried Mike, stepping back as ET's flailing hand missed him. "And yeah, thank you."
"It's got a woman's touch, but it ain't your mum who's done the shopping – sister perhaps?"
"Girlfriend?" Chefo sniggered, catching Mike's expression. "Definitely girlfriend," he added.
"So who is she sir?" asked ET.
Mike frowned. "Do you really have to know?" he asked, walking into the living room.
"Yes," replied ET, smirking as he sat down next to Buffer on the couch.
Buffer looked at ET, his eyes narrowing. Turning to Mike he asked, "These three been annoying you Sir?"
Mike smiled. "We're off duty Buff. Don't need to rip their heads off. No, they were just asking me which of my acquaintances added that womanly touch to my house."
"Girlfriend, of course," said Buffer, understanding why ET, Swain and Chefo were looking so smug.
Mike rolled his eyes. "Where are RO, Charge and Spider?"
"In here sir!" cried RO, his voice coming from the kitchen.
"Where'd you get the food?" asked Chefo, leaning against the door frame and looking at them bemused. He knew that practically none of them knew how to cook and the only person he could think of that knew how to cook well was the new girl.
"Did, ah, the new girl cook this up for us?" asked Chefo, raising his eyebrows and nodding towards the food.
"It's 'Rebecca' Chefo, her name is Rebecca. And just because she's replaced you on the Hammersley, doesn't mean you have to treat her like she's one of those illegals," snapped RO. "And no, she wasn't the one who cooked this food...it was the CO."
"Since when did you cook Sir?" asked ET, grabbing a plate and piling up the food. Taking a bite, he chewed and swallowed.
Mike shrugged. "When you have to live on your own, there are certain things that you learn," he replied, a smile on his face, he too, grabbing a plate and piling on the food.
"It's not actually that bad. Is spaghetti all you know how to cook Sir?" asked Spider, in between mouthfuls.
"Yeah, funny Spider. I can make a lot of things, probably more than what you can make."
"You probably still rely on your mum Spide," replied Charge, smiling at the expression he got.
"Ha, ha, very funny Charge," said Spider, moving to the lounge room so he could sit on the couch.
Charge smirked. "It's probably true." This comment received a hearty round of laughter, the loudest of all coming from RO.
"A toast!" cried Buffer, going to the fridge and taking out two six packs of beer. Handing the beer around and asking Spider to join them again, Buffer held his beer can up. Everyone followed suit and Mike started to speak.
"To Chefo; may married life bring on its obstacles, the good times and the bad, the fighting and the pleasure-" The crew laughed. "And may you and Jen lead a happy life. Tomorrow is the beginning of forever. To Chefo!"
"To Chefo!"
