Dear reader,
This is just a short AU one-shot based on the song Already There by Lonestar. I don't own the song or sea patrol, the only people who are mine are Sian, Alexis and Tommy. This story is not related to my other fic, "Goodbye" but feel free to read it anyway! Also you should know I'm pretending last episode didn't happen, when Kate gave up on him, it never happened.
Please enjoy, love Charlotte
Already There…
"Mummy, mummy, mummy!" The high pitched yells of her 5-year-old daughter, Alexis Nicole, returning from school pierced Kate's head. Sighing, she brushed her headache aside, plastered a smile on her face and turned to the little girl.
"Hey Lex, where's Sian?"
"I'm right here, your home early?" Sian, the babysitter said, as she wrestled into the kitchen, juggling Lex's scooter, school bag, coat and lunchbox.
"I left work early, I wasn't feeling to good and Commander White didn't need me any more, so I came home." When she had became pregnant for the first time, 8 years ago she had came off active service, and taken a job at NAVCOM in Cairns. Mike, unsurprisingly, stayed on Hammersley.
"Are you alright?" Sian, who took the job with Kate to pay through an open university degree in forensic sciences, had become very close to Kate in the 2 years she had worked for her, and sometimes they felt more like sisters than employee and boss.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a headache, and missing Mike I guess," she sighed, then continued, "Could you just go pick Tommy up from band, and then I'll let you go home and study."
"Sure thing, are you sure your alright? You look pale."
"I'll be ok, I'm just tired, and its been a long day, could you stop by the store after getting Tommy please, we need milk, bread and eggs."
"Sure thing, you OK with Lexie for 10 minutes."
"Yeah, see you in a minute" Shutting the door behind Sian, Kate sighed, resting her head on the door for a second before remaking the smile on her face a turning to ask her daughter what she wanted to play.
Nearly ten minutes later the phine rang, and Kate started with joy, scrambling off the floor where she had been colouring with Alexis and grabbed the phone on the sixth ring.
"Hello, Kate McGregor speaking."
"Hey Kate, its Mike, I love you."
"I love you to."
He called her on the road,
From a lonely, cold hotel room,
Just to hear her say "I love you"
One more time.
The door banging signalled the arrival of Sian and Tommy, and then there was a murmur of chatter followed by the giggles of their two children, as well as a light-hearted tut from Sian.
But when he heard the sound
Of the kids, laughin' in the background,
He had to wipe away a tear from his eye,
Before Kate knew what had happened Tommy and Alexis had grabbed the phone from her hand and were asking Mike when he was coming home, despite the fact he had only left juser a month ago, for a 6 months patrol.
Then a voice came on the phone,
Said "Daddy, when you comin' home."
Mike sighed, racking his mind for something to say, and coming up with nothing
He said the first thing that came to his mind,
"I'm already there,
Take a look around,
I'm the sunshine in your hair,
I'm the shadow on the ground,
I'm the whisper in the wind,
I'm your imaginary friend.
And I know I'm in your prayers,
Oh I'm already there."
Kate, who had been listening, let loose a sob she had been holding in all day, sending the two children away with Sian with a wave of her hand, not wanting them to see her so upset, not wanting to scare them,
She got back on the phone,
Said "I really miss you darling,
Don't worry about the kids,
They'll be alright"
Kate heard Mikes gentle sigh through the phone, and knew instantly he was as tired as she was, and felt even lonelier, and her thoughts were confirmed when he said, with tears in his voice
"Wish I was in your arms
Lying right there beside you
But I know that I'll be in your dreams tonight
And I'll gently kiss your lips
Touch you with my fingertips
So turn out the light and close your eyes"
"I know you wont sleep much tonight but you should know I love you, the kids love you, we miss when your not here, when will you be home?" And Mike replied:
"I'm already there
Don't make a sound
I'm the beat in your heart
I'm the moonlight shining down
I'm the whisper in the wind
And I'll be there 'till the end
Can you feel the love that we share
Oh I'm already there"
"Where are you now? Where's Hammersley?"
"We're docked in Brisbane, to refuel and run some training exercises."
"That's a thousand miles away."
There was a pause and then Mike replied:
"We may be a thousand miles apart
But I'll be with you wherever you are"
Kate sobbed again, normally she wasn't clingy like this, but she hadn't heard from Mike in over a month, and it had been one of those days where she came home wanting to curl up on the sofa with him, drink a glass of wine and have him gently play with her hair and massage away her migraine until she fell asleep.
"I want you here, with me, to play with my hair, and hold me until I fall asleep."
Mike sighed, he wanted the exact same thing, in the distance he could hear the sounds of his ship, a place that had felt like home, and that now felt like a prison.
"Kate, as soon as I get home, I'm applying for a shore posting, I want to be with you, but for now, remember that,
I'm already there
Take a look around
I'm the sunshine in your hair
I'm the shadow on the ground
I'm the whisper in the wind
And I'll be there 'till the end
Can you feel, the love that we share
Oh I'm already there!
Oh I'm already...
There!"
Through the phone Kate heard the speaker on the ship calling Mike to the bridge, and sighed,
"I love you, speak to you soon?"
"I don't know, I have to go, I love you, Bye."
"Bye"
Sobbing Kate slid down the wall to the floor, the phone still cradled in her arms. Sian, Tommy and Alexis came into the kitchen, the two children cuddling into their mother, all three of them seeking the comfort they needed while Daddy was away. Later that evening, after Sian had gone home the three fell asleep on the sofa, still clinging to each other, three blond heads blended into each other. And inside each blind head was a dream and a memory of the man who was away at war…
Thank you for reading.