Hi guys! My third attempt at fiction. It's about Nikki's family and background, the pressures of her not joining the family business (not anything dodgy, don't worry!). There's a lot to do with her and ET too (I'm still living in denial about his death!) I'll let you find out the rest as you read it.

I don't own the Sea Patrol characters but I own Nikki's family and Tamsin!

"Thanks for dropping me in this," sighed Nikki as she said goodbye to her boyfriend at the airport. "You know what happened between my parents and I and you were the one who talked me into going and then you go and leave me!"

"I know, I'm sorry. You'll be fine for 2 days won't you?" replied ET apologetically. "They aren't that bad."

"You reckon?" scoffed Nikki. "Easy for you to say. Apart from them telling me I should have joined the family business, I get the whole "hurry up and get married and have my grandchildren because we aren't getting any younger" talk while you're off having fun!"

"Training day at NAVcom isn't exactly what you would call "fun." And the what talk?"

"Never mind," sighed Nikki. She leant up to kiss him. "I've got to go board the trip to the torture chambers." ET laughed.

"See you in 2 days, beautiful," he smiled.

"You too. Love you," replied Nikki before she headed off to check in.

*****

"Did Nikki get off okay?" asked Kate as she, ET and Mike walked onto the Hammersley.

"Yeah. She's kind of annoyed at me though because she had to go down by herself," replied ET. "She hasn't seen her parents in a while. They had some disagreement about the family business."

"Her parents are really nice, though," said Kate.

"Yeah and Nikki still loves them despite everything. She's just nervous I think," he added. Mike and Kate laughed.

"Well, let's get this done so we can get you on that flight to save Nikki," said Mike.

"Got it boss."

*****

Please don't let Mum be here, Nikki thought to herself as she came through the arrivals door. Scanning the crowd of people, it wasn't long before she saw her brother and his girlfriend, who also happened to be Nikki's best friend from high school.

"Nikki!" cried Tamsin as she spotted her coming down the stairs at the Sydney Airport. She ran up and hugged her. Looking behind Nikki, Tamsin looked confused. "Where's that gorgeous boyfriend of yours?" she asked as Matt hugged his sister.

"Hey Matt," said Nikki. "Josh is coming tomorrow night. He got caught up at work."

"You Navy guys," Tam sighed. The trio headed towards the luggage area and waited for Nikki's luggage to arrive.

"So no Mum and Dad?" asked Nikki.

"I thought you'd be glad," replied Matt. He laughed at the glare he received from his sister. "They wanted to come but there was a business crisis." Nikki rolled her eyes. "So where are we going first?" asked Matt.

"You said there was a business crisis so I figure I don't need to be there for that..." her eyes twinkling as she gave her excuse to get her out of seeing her parents for a few more hours. "I would LOVE to chill out at my apartment in Bondi!" Matt and Tamsin laughed.

"That's why you have kept that apartment for so long. To escape the parents when you're in Sydney!" smiled Matt. Nikki's parents had brought her the apartment for her 21st birthday with hopes she'd stay in Sydney with the Navy. Although she'd kept the apartment, she left for a Cairns posting.

After collecting her luggage, they headed to the parking lot and climbed in the car. Looking out the window as they drove through Sydney, Nikki realised she had missed it, despite loving being in Cairns. It wasn't long before they reached Bondi and the three were sitting in a cafe` waiting for lunch. Their meals had just arrived when Nikki's mobile rang. Caller ID showed it was her mother. She showed it to Matt and Tam before answering.

"Hi Mum, I've just arrived. We're having lunch and then heading to my place but I'll see you later today," she said into the phone. There was silence and then she continued. "Yep, okay. See you later."

"She's already stalking you," laughed Matt. Nikki shook her head, the feeling of dread gathering in her stomach.

*****

A few hours later, Nikki was at her apartment, preparing for her parents to arrive. Matt had gone to sort out the business crisis and Tamsin was having a shower. She had just finished setting the table when she heard a knock at the door. It can't be them yet, she panicked, looking down at her pink spa robe and wet hair still tied up from a shower, waiting to be styled. Well, here goes, she thought as she walked to the door. She sighed when she saw Matt standing at the door.

"Oh, it's only you," said Nikki, sighing with relief as she stood aside to allow him in.

"Geez, I love you too Nik," he laughed. "Is this the wine you wanted?" Examining the bottle, Nikki nodded gratefully. Tam, who had just come out of the bathroom called out.

"Bathrooms free Nik!" she called. "Hey babe," she added, walking over to Matt and giving him a kiss.

"Right, well I'm going to go do my hair and find my heels," said Nikki, releasing her hair from its bun as she walked towards the bedroom.

"She's freaking out," said Tamsin to Matt as soon as Nikki was out of earshot. Matt nodded. "And she was counting on having Josh here for support and he's not," she added.

"Well, she's got us and Ryan when he finally gets here," said Matt, bending down and placing a kiss on his girlfriends' head before heading to the small kitchen. A little while later, Nikki appeared in a dress and heels, her hair flowing at her shoulders.

"Wow," said Tam. "You're parents aren't going to know what hit them."

"You know, if you weren't my sister, I'd say you were hot," added Matt as he appeared over Tamsin's shoulder. Nikki glared but shook her head. Noticing how tense his sister was, Matt tried reassuring her. "Calm down Nik. You'll be fine."

"That's easy for you to say. You stayed with the family business and even roped Tam into it. They haven't ever forgiven me for joining the Navy."

"Wasn't you're Dad in the Navy?" asked Tamsin curiously. Nikki nodded.

"But I'm a woman. I was expected to join the family business while Dad hoped the boys would join the defence force before coming back to the corporation."

"But Nik was the only one who joined, none of us did," finished Matt, referring to their other brothers. "We stuck with the company while Nikki was at ADFA. It was the exact opposite of their plans."

"Dad didn't mind all that much. He seemed proud," said Nikki sadly. "It was Mum who didn't. She couldn't understand that I didn't want to be some rich, high powered lawyer with the family corporation."

"I didn't know that," said Tam quietly. There was silence and then a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Matt volunteered. Nikki smiled slowly, trying to hide the butterflies that had built up in the stomach over the course of the day. Matt opened the door slowly, revealing their brother, Ryan.

"Oh thank god, Ryan," sighed Nikki happily over Matt's shoulder. She gave him a tight hug.

"Good to see I'm missed little sis," said Ryan, hugging her back. "But sorry to burst your bubble; Mum and Dad are on their way up." Nikki nodded slowly, sighing. She wasn't going to be able to put it off much longer. Sure enough, a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Matt again opened the door.

"Hey darling," said Lucia Caetano as she came in the door. She hugged Tamsin before spotting her daughter standing nearby. "Oh sweetheart! It's been so long," she cried, rushing over and pulling her only daughter into a hug. She was hugging her so tightly, Nikki nearly lost her balance.

"Lucia let Nikki actually breathe," intervened her father. Nikki smiled at her father. She admired him. Although at first he had wanted her to stick with the family, he had eventually accepted her wanting to follow in his footsteps and seemed to take an interest in her career, if not just for her sake.

"You look great!" gushed Lucia, releasing her and taking a good look at her. Nikki caught her fathers' eye and he moved over for a hug.

"It's great to see you sweetheart," said Harry softly. He had missed seeing his only daughter. A few moments later, they all moved to the table where the chatter started. Nikki was surprised at the mood; she had been expecting the firing squad.

"I can't believe you still have this apartment!" said Lucia. "We thought you would have sold it straight away!"

"No, you brought it for me, it's special," smiled Nikki. Her parents looked at each other and smiled.

"Besides, Nik and I have too many memories from this place, don't we," added Tam. "Remember when..."

"Yeah, let's not go there Tam," cut in Nikki. They laughed.

"So where's our future son-in-law?" asked Lucia. "We thought he was coming."

"He's been caught up at work. He's coming tomorrow night," replied Nikki, ignoring the first comment.

"He's such a lovely man," continued Lucia. "You are so blessed, darling. Josh is quite a gentleman."

"You've barely even met him," replied Nikki.

"We have, when we visited you in Queensland a while ago," said Harry. It must have been a while ago, thought Nikki to herself. We haven't seen each other in ages. "Your mother's right. He's a good man." Nikki smiled. At least my family approves about something in my life she thought.