Disclaimer: I do not own Sea Patrol. I merely use the characters for my own enjoyment.

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Kate sat staring unbelievably at the stick in her hand, wondering how the hell she could have let things go this far. She had royally screwed things up and she had no idea what she was going to do to solve them. She let out a depressed sigh, her body falling back onto her rack, her eyes staring at the slats above. She felt tears gathering and tried to hold them back, not wanting to be weak. But the situation was too much and it wasn't long before the tears were flowing freely.

"XO, Request you come to the bridge at the rush."
Her eyes flickered briefly to the door, but she found she didn't have the energy to move, the exhaustion of the last few days finally getting to her.

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Mike clipped the handset back into place, hoping Kate would respond to his request. It was the second time he had called her to the bridge and he was getting sick of waiting. Somewhere down in the deep pits of his stomach, he was slightly worried that his normally punctual XO would ignore a request, twice. He turned to Jim, his eyes scanning over the SAS captain that they were once again transporting to Samaru. He had noticed some form of tension between Kate and him and he wondered if everything was all right in their relationship. As he checked his watch, he realised he had been waiting for long enough. His eyes scanned the bridge, wondering who exactly was not needed there at that moment. His eyes landed on Bomber sitting at the EOD staring absently off into space.

"Bomber!"

She jumped, turning around at the sudden attention the captain was paying to her, "Yes Boss?"
"I'd like you to go down and fetch the XO. It seems she is not responding to my requests for her to come to the bridge."
Bomber stood up immediately, nodding her head as she rushed out of the bridge.

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She stood outside Kate and Nikki's cabin, her hand rising hesitantly to knock on the door. She didn't know exactly what she would say to the X, she just hoped that she would respond to Bomber being there as a 'fetcher'. She knew though that the CO was waiting. She briskly knocked, her ears straining to pick up any noise from within the cabin. She thought she heard a sob, but not wanting to be rude, knocked again. She waited another few moments and not getting any response opened the door. The sight before her shocked her. She had never seen the XO like this. She remained sprawled on the rack, her eyes staring blankly at the rack above, tears trailing down her face. What really struck Bomber though was the stick hanging out of Kate's hand, a clear + on it. She stepped over beside Kate's rack, gently reaching out and grasping Kate's hand. She may not know the XO well, but she could tell when someone needed a friend or companion to talk to.

"X? Are you okay?"

Kate turned her head, her blank, emotionless eyes meeting Bomber's concerned ones. She shook her head, not knowing if she was capable of words at that moment. Bomber let out a sigh, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. She nodded her head to the stick in Kate's hand.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Kate just shook her head in reply, tears gathering in her eyes again before she nodded.

"I've screwed things up Bomber, big time. I don't know what to tell him."

She burst into sobs again and Bomber not knowing what to do, pulled Kate into a hug. After a few minutes, Kate's sobs subsided and Bomber knew she had to get someone who could really help Kate to open up. There was only one other person who could do that. She stood up, reassuring Kate that she would be back before rushing back up into the bridge.

She burst in, her eyes instantly resting on Nikki sitting behind the screens. She ran over, quickly grabbing her hand before pulling her out of the bridge saying she would explain on the way down. Nikki was shocked at the sudden interruption, throwing a quick apology to Mike as she was dragged out of the bridge. She didn't catch any of what Bomber was going on about, only able to pick up the odd word. What she figured out was that something was up with Kate, but she didn't know what. She found herself at the door to the cabin she shared with Kate before being dragged in behind Bomber. The sight of Kate shocked Nikki almost as much as it did Bomber. Concern quickly overwhelmed her though as she saw the distressed look on Kate's face. She moved over to the rack quickly, pulling Kate into a hug. She still had no idea what it was that was wrong with her but she just knew that her friend needed some serious comforting. She saw Bomber moved beside her, picking something up off the floor. As Bomber showed it to her, her eyes widened as she pulled Kate back so she could look her in the eye.

"Kate?"
Kate's eyes still glistened with more unshed tears, fear filling them at the thought of actually saying the news out loud. It was as though the mention of them would make it all real. She opened her mouth once or twice, unable to find the words to explain what was going on in her head. Nikki seemed to understand what she was trying to say.

"Kate, do you want me to go and get him. Maybe you need to talk it over with him?"

Kate's eyes widened as she shook her head vehemently. She couldn't face him, not yet.

Nikki continued to push, "Kate, Jim needs to know. You need to tell him about it."
Kate shook her head, adamant about not talking to Jim. It would only make things worse. Bomber piped in from behind her.

"Kate, the longer you keep this quiet, the worse it's going to get. You need to tell Jim about it. He has every right to know."
Kate shook her head, the next words coming out startling both women.

"It's not Jims."

Both women gasped, the thought that Kate would be unfaithful to someone she was with hard to comprehend. It was the next two words that Kate let slip that astounded both of them.

"It's Mike's."