Hey kids!

I'm baaaack! I hear the cheers and the groans haha.

In true form i have finished another 2 fics but I'm not happy with them and so I started a new one, so here it is...

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters nor did i create them, i only use them for my own entertainment...

This fic was supposed to take place sometime after season 4 but there's a few things from season 5 that get mentioned. But you know me, making up my own rules and time lines haha. So maybe i should say it's after season 5 episode 4, spoils of war, where Maxine tells Kate to back off but in this story Jim hasn't returned.

Don't forget to review, pretty please...

Okay enough from me...

20 Questions

Chapter 1.

"So...You and the Boss huh?"

Kate froze mid drink, her mind raced with excuses and explanations but she knew that he knew the truth, there was no point trying to hide it. She lowered her drink and glanced over to Dutchy.

"Ah yeah, it's a long story, but it doesn't really matter now..."

She trailed off and took another sip of her drink hoping he would get the hint and drop it. Dutchy was confused, he had seen them kiss on the boat, and they obviously had feelings for each other. He finished his drink and dared to ask more.

"Why not?"

Kate swished the wine around in her glass avoiding his eye contact and sighed.

"He's been reassigned for another 12 months."

Dutchy suddenly felt uncomfortable, this was obviously not her choice, he was sorry he brought it up.

"Oh, sorry Kate, I didn't know!"

Kate shrugged trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal.

"Maxine told me this morning, no one knew, she hadn't even told Mike yet."

Dutchy cringed.

"That sucks!"

Kate swallowed the rest of her drink and nodded, he sensed that she needed to vent and topped up their glasses.

"Yeah and she knew about us..."

Dutchy nearly spat out his mouthful.

"What?"

Kate rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Yeah, she said she trusted us so she didn't take any action..."

Dutchy took a sip and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think she'd do that for anyone? I mean, Mike is her favourite right?"

Kate didn't have a chance to answer as there was a knock on the door, she got up to answer it. She swung open the door and swore in her head as she saw Mike standing in front of her.

"Ah Mike, what are you doing here?"

He attempted to walk in to the house, she put her arm out and held the door frame to stop him. He looked up at her surprised that she was denying him entry.

"I think we need to discuss what happened today..."

She shook her head slightly indicating that she didn't want to discuss it, he frowned and glanced behind her. He spotted Dutchy, he changed the tone in his voice, trying to hide his annoyance. He cleared his throat.

"Oh Dutchy, hi, umm, I was just..."

Dutchy looked nervous, he didn't want to be a part of whatever was going to unfold.

"Ah, I can go if you guys need to..."

Kate looked back at him and shook her head and interrupted him.

"It's fine Dutchy..."

She turned back to face Mike and glared at him.

"There's nothing to talk about..."

Mike glanced over to Dutchy wondering if Kate had told him about them, he leaned closer to her not wanting him to hear.

"I think there is..."

Kate started to get frustrated, she was sick of talking about it, sick of thinking about it. She wanted to move on and he wouldn't let her.

"No, don't do this now! Maxine was right, what would this do to our reputation?"

Mike put his hands up to pause the conversation, he was instantly irritated. He started to raise his voice forgetting Dutchy was there.

"Wait a minute, you discussed this with Maxine? And is your reputation all you care about?"

Kate didn't want to create a scene in front of Dutchy but Mike wasn't listening, her tone matched his and her volume was louder.

"No Mike, she knew! I don't know how, but she did! And if you think that my reputation is all I care about you obviously don't know me at all!"

They stood there locked in each other's stare, Kate was the first to break eye contact, she dropped her head and whispered.

"Just go, please..."

She went to shut the door, he put his hand out to stop it and lowered his voice.

"Just tell me one thing Kate...do you still love me?"

Kate's eyes welled with tears, she couldn't answer. She loved him enough to let him go, why couldn't he see that. Maxine was right, his career was important to him and it was important to her too and this relationship wasn't going to ruin them both. She looked up into his eyes, he could see the desperation in them.

"Mike, please! Don't make this harder than it already is..."

She attempted to close the door again, Mike moved his hand, he knew he had been defeated. The door gently clicked shut, Kate watched though the peep hole as he walked away.

Dutchy stood there frozen, he didn't know what to do. Should he leave her to have some time? Should he hug her to comfort her? He walked up behind her, she stood with her back to him still staring at the front door. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, he whispered her name.

"Kate?"

She turned to face him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Tell me how Dutchy..."

He looked concerned and confused, he wanted to help but he didn't know what she was referring to. He placed both hands on her shoulders with a worried look on his face.

"How what?"

She looked up at him, he had never seen a look so heartbreaking. She tried to wipe away the stream of tears.

"How do you choose who you fall in love with?"

She started to sob and rested her head on his chest. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her. Her sobs became heavier, he squeezed her tight and rubbed her back.

"I dunno Kate, maybe I was wrong..."

Mike stormed up Maxine's front path and pounded on the door. Maxine got up from her couch looking annoyed, who would bang on her door like that? Her frustrated expression dropped as saw the enraged face of Mike standing on her door step.

"Mike? What are you doing here?"

He pushed his way into her house, Maxine was left standing at the door with it wide open.

"Yeah, come on in..."

He stood in the lounge room looking like he was going to explode, she walked over to him and stood in front of him. Mike glared at her like she could read his mind, Maxine was still puzzled as to why he looked so angry.

"What did you say to her?"

Maxine frowned, she didn't understand his cryptic question.

"Huh?"

He stepped closer and raised his voice.

"Kate, what did you say to her?"

Maxine sighed, his anger made sense now. She sat on the couch as he paced in front of her, she was silent as she tried to think of an explanation that didn't sound heartless.

"Mike, think about it, what would people think?!"

She cringed, that wasn't it. He shot a look at her and stood above her.

"I don't care what people think Maxine, this is my life..."

She tried to calm him, she pulled on his arm to sit down, he gave in and sat down.

"Mike, the Navy is your life! The sea is your life! Tell me, what would you do if you weren't in the Navy?"

He paused, he had no idea. She could see he was thinking so she took the opportunity to continue.

"Mike, I knew about you and Kate from the beginning, I heard about what happened at Watson's bay..."

Mike was stunned, how did she know? They were good friends, how did she not tell him that she knew?

"How come you..."

She interrupted.

"I trusted both of you and it wasn't affecting your work, well until now! You're about to throw away everything for her..."

He stood up, his anger had returned, why did she make it sound like such a bad thing?

"So what?"

She stood next to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, she needed to get through to him no matter how much he didn't want to hear it.

"Have you ever tried real life Mike? Your life at sea is totally different and a hundred times harder if you're both at sea. If you were to continue this you would be on different boats and have different schedules. You see your crew members relationships suffer all the time. Bomber and 2Dads, how long did that last? And Swain's relationship nearly ended because he was never home and he missed the birth of his child. Just think Mike, no matter what you think I'm trying to help you! This would not bring you together, this would tear you apart!"

Mike knew that Maxine was trying to be his boss and his friend, he knew it wasn't easy. He sat down frustrated, he was more upset that the things Maxine was saying were true.

"Mike, would you really be happy at Navcom if Kate was out at sea? I know how protective you are, or do you think Kate would be happy on shore waiting for you? She loves you enough to let you go, do the same for her..."

Mike put his head in his hands, he was beyond confused. If he felt this strongly shouldn't they be together? But if being together hurt her he couldn't bear that either. He swallowed hard and rubbed his hands over his face, he had to make the right decision for everyone. He sat up and leant back on the couch and sighed.

"If I'm not with her I can't be here..."

Maxine put her hand on his shoulder, she expected him to fight harder. She was glad he had made the right decision but this part wasn't the solution she was expecting.

"Mike, don't make any decisions now, not like this..."

He looked up at her, she could see he was torn.

"This is the only way I'm going to be able to let her go, please help me Max."

Maxine sighed, she didn't think this was the best way but at least he wasn't going to lose his job over it.

"Come and see me tomorrow and we can talk, but only after you had a good think and have slept on it."

He nodded a left, Maxine sat there wondering if she had pushed too far.

Kate's house.

Dutchy sat on the couch next to Kate, she had composed herself enough to talk about it.

"I think deep down I knew it was never going to work and this was just a way out, it's better this way..."

Dutchy wanted to be supportive but he was surprised at her conclusion, the way he had seen them act before wasn't about a fling, they had been in love.

"Are you sure?"

She avoided his question, she picked up her glass of wine and finished it off.

"4 years Dutchy, we had 4 years to get it together. He turned down 2 shore postings, promotions even, in a year. If he really wanted this then he would have taken them."

Dutchy had a lot of questions but he wasn't sure if he should ask them.

"Did you guys ever talk about the future, about being together?"

She shook her head and poured another drink.

"Barely, and that was a lot of the problem. He would never talk to me about *our* future."

She scoffed thinking back on the one conversation they had had about children.

"When I asked him if he wanted kids, he said that he'd never thought about it. You would think that if you had someone in your life that you loved, even if you weren't together, that you would think about the future and family?"

She was right, he could see she was tipsy and didn't want to upset her more. Drinking and break ups went hand in hand but he wasn't used to the girl side of the conversation. He didn't know how to make her feel better so he kept his answers to a minimum.

"Yeah, I guess..."

She finished yet another glass and nearly missed placing it on the table.

"I need to move on, I'm not getting any younger."

Dutchy laughed and patted her leg.

"Kate, you're not in a walking frame yet! You've got plenty of time!"

She looked at him, tears threatening to spill again.

"Do I?"

The next morning Mike knocked on Maxine's office door. He stood there determined for her not to change his mind, he wasn't going to let anyone change his mind.

"Come in..."

Mike entered and sat at Maxine's desk stone faced.

"I want a transfer."

Maxine sighed, she knew he wasn't going to budge.

"I thought as much, I already made some calls this morning. There's a CO that's willing to swap positions with you."

Mike didn't react.

"Mike, did you hear me?"

He looked at his feet.

"It's just, I thought that Kate would..."

Maxine shook her head.

"Sorry Mike, there aren't any CO positions available so it's a swap and Kate will stay on as XO."

Mike paused for a moment, he stood up.

"Okay, submit the paperwork..."

Maxine nodded.

"It'll be fast Mike, he wants to be out ASAP..."

Mike looked concerned and sat back down.

"Ah, why? What kind of ship am I inheriting?

Maxine shook her head.

"It's nothing like that, it's the Launceston, nothing wrong with the crew. Now you didn't hear it from me but Commander Riley has just had a messy divorce so he wants to move on ASAP."

Mike laughed on the inside, they were both running away, how ironic.

"Thanks Max."

He gave her a hug and headed for the door, he stopped and turned.

"I have one more favour..."

Maxine raised an eyebrow.

"You're pushing your luck Flynn!"

He smiled nervously, he knew it was a lot to ask.

"Can you tell the crew?"

Maxine jumped up from her seat, she wasn't impressed.

"Mike! They deserve to hear it from you!"

"I can't Max, I'm gonna book my flight for tomorrow so I can get my bearings around Coonawarra. It would be a great help if you could get my things packed and sent, just get someone to do it and send me the bill."

Mike left, Maxine sat back down at her desk wondering if this was a mistake.

The next day Maxine had called the crew into Navcom. They had all gathered in a conference room waiting for her, Kate entered and looked around for Mike. Dutchy entered and sat next to her.

"Any idea what this is about?"

Kate shook her head, Maxine entered the room. The crew stood up, Maxine cleared her throat.

"Ah, sit down everyone..."

They all sat looking at each other wondering what was going on.

"I've called you all in to make an announcement. Umm, Commander Flynn will no longer be CO of Hammersley, he's taken a new position..."

Dutchy nudged Kate and whispered.

"Maybe he's finally come to his senses..."

Maxine paused, she could see lots of worried faces.

"He will be CO of HMAS Launceston at the Coonawarra HQ..."

Kate and the rest of the crew were shocked, she gasped and put her hand over her mouth, she didn't mean it to be so dramatic. Maxine shuffled on the spot.

"So, you will be getting a new CO..."

Dutchy smiled and nudged Kate again.

"Maybe it's not all bad..."

She smiled slightly, trying not to get her hopes up. Maxine glanced at Kate checking that she was okay. She took a deep breath in and looked re focused.

"So, I hope you will all welcome your new CO, Commander Mark Riley."

Mark entered the room, Kate forced a smile. She took a few deep breaths in, Dutchy leaned over towards her.

"You okay?"

She nodded trying not to lose it. Maxine started to introduce Mark to the crew.

"Commander this is your XO, Kate McGregor..."

Kate stepped forward and smiled.

"Sir..."

He raised an eyebrow looking her up and down.

"Hmm, never had a female XO before..."

Kate didn't know whether he was just thinking out loud of if he had an issue with her being a female, she shot an unimpressed look at Maxine.

Dutchy stepped toward him trying to break the awkward moment, he shook his hand.

"Best XO I've ever had Sir, I'm Petty Officer Mulholland, but everyone calls me Dutchy..."

Mark shook his hand.

"Hmmm, well we'll see about that..."

Kate couldn't bear being in the room, she pretended her phone was ringing.

"Oh please excuse me Sir, I've been waiting for this call..."

She didn't wait for a response and left the room, Maxine sensed something was wrong and followed. Kate calmly walked out into the corridor, she didn't know what to do so she ran to the bathroom before anyone saw her tears. She put both hands on the basin to support herself, she looked into the mirror as tears flowed from her eyes. Maxine walked in starling her, she quickly wiped her tear stained face and stood at attention.

"Ma'am..."

Maxine walked towards her with a sympathetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry Kate, he said he couldn't tell you himself..."

Kate stood there trying to hold back the tears.

"So he's just gone?"

Maxine nodded.

"This morning, he thought it would be easier, so you could both move on..."

Kate sighed.

"He didn't need to do it like this though..."

Maxine nodded slightly.

"You know he's not good at emotional things Kate..."

Kate scoffed, she was now more angry than upset. She deserved more than this.

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me that!"

Kate splashed some water on her face, she didn't want to shed anymore tears over this little own anyone at Navcom see her cry.

They exited the bathroom, Dutchy was waiting for her outside. As Maxine walked off she glanced back and saw Dutchy giving her a hug. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head and continued to her office.

Kate pulled away from Dutchy remembering where they were.

"Probably not the best idea to do that here, Navy gossip!"

Dutchy rolled his eyes.

"Are you okay? I'm assuming you didn't know?"

Kate shook her head.

"No, Maxine said he left this morning."

Dutchy nudged her.

"C'mon, let's cheer you up! Lunch and drinks at mine?"

Kate smiled.

"Yeah, wine, lots of wine!"

Kate and Dutchy sat out on the deck.

"Maxine said he did it to make our lives easier, so that we could move on."

Dutchy understood to a point but like Kate he didn't approve of him just up and leaving.

"I guess..."

Kate swallowed the rest of her glass.

"A goodbye would have been nice!"

Dutchy filled her glass and tried to make her feel a bit better.

"Guys aren't good and goodbyes Kate, plus when was Mike ever open about his feelings?"

The both laughed, Kate lifted her glass to toast.

"To moving on!"

Dutchy clicked his glass with hers.

"So umm, this new CO should be interesting, he seems pretty old school...

He smirked and glanced at her out the corner of his eye.

"A bit like you when you first started!"

Kate could see the smiled grow on his face, she sat up frowned at him.

"Hey! You weren't even there when I started?!"

Dutchy laughed.

"Navy gossip!"

Dutchy thought it was best to change the subject.

"So umm, are we going man hunting for you this weekend then?"

Kate scoffed and poured herself another.

"Hardly! I wouldn't even know where to start anymore Dutchy!"

He nudged her with his shoulder.

"Yeah you do! Didn't you meet Captain Roth online?"

"How did..."

Dutchy smirked, she rolled her eyes.

"Navy gossip..."

She shook her head.

"Nah, can't do that again Dutchy, too hard, plus I don't have the time..."

She swallowed her wine.

"I'll just be a spinster..."

"What about a family, isn't that what you want?"

Kate sighed.

"Yeah, I just can't see myself with anyone right now... plus what kinda of person would want to date someone in the Navy. I'm never home and when I am I get crash sailed, it'd just be a lot easier if we could date each other and if those others weren't emotionally crippled!"

Dutchy couldn't help but laugh.

"We're not all like that Kate!"

He wrapped his arm around her and she leant into his nook.

"Anyway, what do I need a boyfriend for? I've got you!"

Dutchy didn't respond, she started to drift off to sleep, the wine had gotten to her. She snuggled into him.

"Don't leave me okay?"

He laughed a little.

"Promise..."

End of Chapter 1. Xx