Title: Choices
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I wish I owned me some Dutchy though...
Summary: Set after season four, Kate grows weary of Mike choosing the boat over her.
Authors Notes: First Sea Patrol fanfiction I've written. Inspired by a challenge on a forum. Sorry for poor Dutchy!

Tucking a strand of honey coloured hair behind her ear, Kate McGregor stared at the ship before her. The HMAS Hammersly had been her home for the last few years, but now it just felt like his domain; Mighty Mike Flynn's ship. Kate had hoped after the incidents involving Gorski and Mike's near loss of life would encourage him to finally grow a pair and stop hiding behind his ship. Yet here they were, a handful of patrols later. He was still the Commanding officer and she was still his XO.

She touched a hand to her lips briefly before shouldering her bag and willing herself to step off the wharf. Every time she thought of the illicit kiss they had shared on Gorski's boat, her lips tingled. It was the last time they had been intimate and the first time in a long time. Kate sighed and sagged a little; she just was not ready to board yet. She knew something that Mike did not. She was not going to transfer, and she was not going to continue the charade of a relationship that they had been partaking in. His place was off the boat and if he wanted her, he would have to make the move. She had flaunted navy regulations once and he had left her. She would not take that risk again.

"Good morning Ma'am." A voice interrupted her thoughts. Kate turned and smiled whole-heartedly at Dylan Mulholland.
"Hey Dutchy."
"Ready to go, Ma'am?" He said with his sly smile, indicating to the boat.
"Of course." She smiled a little wider, feeling a bit lighter already.
"Good. Good." Dylan moved first.

Unbeknownst to them, Mike Flynn had been watching his XO.

The patrol was uneventful and almost boring. They had responded to a drunken mayday and shepherded an FFV home. The bored sailors met the end of the patrol with enthusiasm. Kate had remained professional with Mike, coldly so; enough for him to notice and feel uncomfortable. As far as their history meant, it signalled one of those awkward conversations, which usually led to him making a stupid remark and aggravating the situation and Kate.

Kate and Mike were the last to disembark. Kate had purposefully dragged her feet in attempt to get a scant few minutes alone with him.
"Kate." Mike greeted warmly, swallowing his unease. She was dressed in civvies, a dress with a cut he could appreciate. It also made him wonder if she was going somewhere.
"I notice you're still commanding the ship."
"Ahh.. Yeah." Mike chuckled nervously.
"I see you have made your choice and therefore I have made mine." Kate replied curtly. Her green eyes were unflinching as they stared at him. "I have a date tonight. Enjoy your ship." She turned on her heel and was gone before he could respond.

Sagging against the back of his chair, Mike let out a sigh. He could not claim that he did not see that coming. He glanced over his desk, his eyes flicking briefly to 'the Odyssey'. He resisted the urge to pull out the photo and run his thumb over it. Maybe a break for them would be enough to get his priorities sorted? He wondered. Every time he contemplated leaving the ship, a small part of him cried out in protest. Yet he could not help but notice he ached more for Kate lately.

Kate shakily saluted the ensign as she disembarked; her head was still reeling from his lack of response. She had foolishly expected more from him.
"Ma'am?" Dylan was right behind her.
"Oh, Dutchy. I thought you'd left with the rest of the crew." Dylan gave a shrug.
"Wanted to see if you wanted to join us at the pub." Kate offered a small, sad smile.
"Not tonight Dutchy." Her voice was barely louder than a whisper. Dylan frowned at her. He had only seen her look so small once before. His eyes flicked unconsciously back towards the ship where the CO was.
"How about a few drinks at my house?" He said cheerily, grabbing her bag off her. "And maybe a board game." Dylan knew about Kate and Mike. How could he not after that kiss he had witnessed? Kate looked at him for a long moment and then gave a brief nod. Dylan hid his surprise as they walked away from the boat together. He has expected her to take her bag back, and possibly even decline the invitation.

Once again they were unaware of the uniformed officer that had stepped out of the deck. He arrived just in time to watch Dylan take her bag and them walk off together.

I see you have made your choice and therefore I have made mine. I have a date tonight. The voice echoed, causing his heart to contract.

Dylan's apartment was small and sparsely furnished. The basics were there, good quality and all, but nothing extra. There were a few photographs on benches and cupboard tops, but none on the walls. He had dropped her bag just inside the door, Kate was amused to notice it was where he had dropped his own.

"Chinese, Thai, pizza, Indian, Mexican?" He rattled off, catching her off guard as she touched a picture of a presumably younger him. Either that or he had a little brother.
"What?"
"Food." Dylan grinned at her and held up some menus.
"Indian."
"Just what I was thinking."

An hour and a half later they were squabbling over monopoly rules with contentedly full stomaches. Dylan had been low on the food but had managed to rustle up some beers. They were not drunk, but they were not exactly thinking straight either.
"So you and the boss eh?" Dylan plunged in. Kate stiffened before focusing on her property cards.
"Nothing there." She insisted, the reality of it still raw. Dylan shook his head, pushing through the alarm bells ringing in his head.
"I was on Gorski's boat."
"The Navy forbids fraternisation on boats." Dylan rolled his eyes.
"I am not going to dob you guys in. He's not even meant to be the CO."
"Yet he still is." Her voice was small and sobered Dylan up quickly.
"Isn't Knocker working on that?"
"Yeah but he's fighting it at every pass." Kate picked up her beer and took a sip. "He'd rather stay on his ship."
"But can't you transfer off?"
"I offered, but he just evaded that as well." Kate sighed and inspected the label on the beer. "It's not the first time. We were together when I was at ADFA, but he was a coward then. Some people never change I guess." Dylan's insides squeezed long and painfully. It was the same feeling when he had seen them kissing. He could not explain why it hurt, just that it did.
"Maybe you're better off without him, X." His tone was gentle and did not betray his inner turmoil. Kate looked up at him.
"Call me Kate." She murmured, fingering the neck of her beer. "But enough of this dreary topic." She forced herself to smile, but Dylan noted it did not reach her eyes. "Who was that brunette and do you own that car?" Dylan shrugged and smiled at her mysteriously. He knew she was referring to the woman who had dropped him off before the patrol had started; she had done it a couple of times now.
"Wouldn't you like to know." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed.
"Why yes I would!" Kate prodded.
"Just a friend." Dylan insisted, picking up the dice to resume their game of monopoly.

Kate fell asleep in his armchair later. She had beaten him at monopoly, which he found completely unsurprising. Dylan contemplated covering her with a blanket, but a steak of chivalry stirred within and he soon found himself scooping her up and laying her on his bed. Kate murmured Mike's name while she was snuggled against him, and it twisted the knife that seemed to be appearing in his chest. He covered her with a blanket there before making himself comfortable on the couch.

Dylan awoke the next morning to an empty house. Standing up, he looked around blearily before remembering the night before. He peeked into his room and was disappointed to find the blonde woman gone. A quick check of his apartment turned up nobody. Yet her bag was still near the door.

A few minutes later he heard a key scraping in the lock. Opening the door quickly, he found Kate standing there with two takeaway cups of coffee. She had stolen his keys and gone to get supplies.
"You had no milk." She shrugged, handing him one. Dylan grinned and indicated to the brown paper bag tucked under her arm.
"I hope that's food."
"Yeah, you had none of that either." Dylan moved out of the doorway, taking a mouthful of coffee as he did. He let out a soft yelp as he burnt his mouth.
"It's hot." Kate said breezily as she went and dumped the bag on the kitchen table. She placed her coffee on the table next to the bag, before pulling out some baked goods and placing them on a plate Dylan brought over.
"Thank you for letting me have the bed." Kate said after a while, pulling apart a croissant. Dylan smiled behind his coffee and tipped his head at her, as if to say no worries.

Neither of them spoke of the discussion they had whilst playing monopoly.

"What are your plans today, X?" Dylan called as he tossed the rubbish out. Kate looked up at him, dropping her bag to the ground with her toothbrush in hand.
"Call me Kate off the boat." She reminded. "I've got some paperwork to drop into Navcom, and then I was thinking about going home and eating a lot of chocolate." Kate blushed as she realised what she was confessing to.
"I'll give you a lift." He offered, swallowing his thoughts.
"Thanks."

Kate walked through the doors of Navcom in her neatly pressed whites. Her hair was pulled back tightly, without a stray strand anywhere.

"Kate." She turned to face Mike, her chin up and her expression level.
"Sir?"
"I was hoping we could get a coffee when you're done?" They both mentally winced at the word coffee, but neither of them commented on it. Kate gave him a curt nod, before heading to Maxine's office.

Mike waited outside for her, hoping she would not take long. Luckily for them both, she was out sooner rather than later. Seeing her, he stopped. In her hands was a small camping shovel. Mike raised an eyebrow in question at her, but Kate just shrugged it off without explanation.

They took Mike's car and the journey was silent. Kate was steeling herself for whatever wishy-washy excuses that Mike was going to try to persuade her with. Mike on the other hand was fixated on the shovel.

They had ordered and received their coffees before any of them spoke. When they did, it was over the top of each other.
"What do you want?"
"What's with the shovel?"
There was a moment of silence before Kate spoke again.
"Nothings with the shovel." She narrowed her gaze. "Why are we here Mike?" Mike hesitated before answering, unsure if she meant here at the café or just here…
"I just wanted to remind you of the regulations regarding fraternization." He lied. Kate's eyebrows shot up.
"Why would you need to remind me, now that we're over?" Her gaze unflinching as the words resonated between them.
"Not us, you and the bosun." Mike said icily, unable to say Dylan's name. Kate's composure slipped.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You were the one who said you had a date and then left with him." Kate closed her mouth before she responded without thinking. Her face betrayed nothing and Mike began to feel a bit uneasy, but the jealousy was controlling him.
"We are not anything." Her voice was toneless. Mike visibly seemed to relax, a lot of his tension seeping out. "It was too soon for me. He's already offered to transfer off Hammersly." Kate was lying, but she could not help but needle Mike. She stood up quickly and grabbed her hat. "It's nice to feel like I'm worth something." She snarled before storming out.

Mike was completely and utterly floored by Kate's words. His jaw opened and closed a couple of times, but nothing more substantial than a squeak came out. He sat there for a while; regret bubbling in the back of his throat as he stared at the door Kate left through.

Eventually Mike paid for the mostly untouched, cold coffees and went out to the car. He was surprised to find Kate standing next to his car. She glared at him as he approached and indicated to the shovel.
Mike hesitated and looked Kate over."I'm sorry." He said softly, but firmly. "I should have never let us get to this point." The pain of losing her fuelled his words. "I love you Kate. I love Hammersly and I love you." Kate scoffed at his words.
"I know." She snapped. Mike held up his hands.
"Let me finish Kate." He pleaded. "Losing you today. I realise that I was being selfish. I was sitting there and loving the fact that I could have both my girls." He sighed. "But I really had neither. I was commanding on borrowed time, Knocker has made that clear. And you. Oh Kate." He reached out and touched her cheek softly. Kate stared up at him, forcing herself to not to waver and lean into the touch. "I was losing you both in my selfishness to keep both." Mike unlocked the door to his car and pulled out the shovel, handing it to Kate. He leant over and kissed her forehead.

Kate stood there for a few minutes after Mike left, stunned and holding the shovel. Inside her head, there was the sound of a thousand curses going to fate for dealing her this hand.

A few days later, Kate was called into Navcom. She was introduced to the new CO of Hammersly. Lieutenant-Commander Pike.

Mike Flynn was nowhere to be seen.

The next time she saw him, he was on the wharf when Hammersly finished her first patrol with the new CO.

Mike greeted the crew warmly, with the exception of Dylan. He was still friendly, but slightly stand offish. Poor Dylan had no idea why, but shrugged it off. He was considering waiting for Kate, but he figured that Mike was lingering around for the same reason. Swallowing his desire to stay, Dylan left with Andy and Leo, heading for the pub.
"Kate." Mike approached her warily. Kate gave him a slight nod, but stopped.
"Hello Mike." She was still thrown off by the turn of events that had happened lately.
"I notice Dutchy hasn't applied for a transfer." He said awkwardly. "Does that mean I might be able to beg for a third chance?" His blue eyes hopeful. Kate blushed and offered a tiny smile.
"Dutchy never said that. I never had a date." She admitted. "I just wanted to show you I was over you." Mike's forehead creased slightly as he contemplated her words. He wasn't sure if anger or relief was more appropriate in this situation.
"You lied?"
"Only a little?" Mike stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, making Kate squirm.
"Oh Kate." He said before laughing. "Does he even know?" Kate shook her head, having the shame to look down. Mike roared with laughter, unable to hold back. The whole situation was hilarious. Kate shifted her weight from foot to foot, a little uneasy about her deception.
"Lets start from the beginning." He said when he had finished laughing.
"The beginning?" Kate looked up at him, curious.
"Go on a date with me, Kate." He murmured. "No Navy, no rules, nothing but a man and a woman on a date." Kate's insides unwound and she relaxed.
"Yes, Mike. Lets go on a date." She smiled.
"But first, you need to tell me about the shovel." Mike teased as he took her bag in one hand, and her hand in his other.
"Maybe another day."