A/N:
So I really have no explanation for this... the idea sort of stuck in my head and I wanted to see how it would all pan out on paper. I'm doing my best to research all of this (preferably without being arrested by the cops for all the suss questions I type into google on a daily basis) but if you notice something incorrect or inaccurate PM me and I'll fix it as best I can. Anyway, this is the PROLOGUE... I shall post more soon. Thanks
Butterflies have Knives
Prologue
She looks up as a knock on the wall interrupts her silent staring. A moment later Mike appears in the doorway, dressed in his whites with his hat tucked under one arm. His eyes scan over her, taking in her exhausted features and messy hair. She has bags under her eyes; even deeper than the ones that usually hang there after a lengthy patrol.
"Long mission?" He asks, tipping his head to the side as he steps forwards, although he's careful that his feet remain behind the threshold.
Kate gives him a tired smile, beckoning lightly with one hand for him to enter the room before returning her gaze to her lap. "The longest." She exhales, shifting gently so that she can better rest her aching back. "Didn't think I'd make it through the other side for a while there." Not for the first time, the weight of everything that she has had to do these last few hours press upon him. He should have been here with her, by her side. Seeing her through. But instead, she was here alone.
"Kate-" He begins, without any idea of what to say next. What could he say? Apologies seemed so clichéd now, and he knew she wouldn't want it anyway.
"Don't." She murmurs, as if reading his mind, and he stops himself. For a moment they lock eyes. He's the first one to look away and she continues talking. "I don't think I've ever felt pain like that before." She smiles again. "But it was worth it."
His eyes rake over her once again, taking in everything from the dark circles underneath her eyes to the blankets covering her arms and lap. And then he seems to catch himself and he looks away, stretching out an arm to deposit a stuffed bear on the bedside table. "Got you this." He murmurs awkwardly. God, when had the awkwardness started? He'd never felt like this around her before, and he has to fight the urge to tug the bear back and stuff it far out of sight.
Kate feels the corners of her mouth twitch as she takes in the uniform of the bear, examining it critically. "An Army bear?" She questions, trying to keep a straight face. She's not sure whether to laugh or cry.
"Yeah, well…" He trails off awkwardly and fidgets with his hat. "You look tired." He eventually says. "I'd have been here earlier but... you know... NAVCOM."
"Yeah." Kate agrees. "And I am. Tired, I mean. Haven't slept in…" She calculates for a moment, before realising that she has no idea what the time is now. "Well, I don't know. But it's been a while."
"Kate McGregor without an exact figure? Never thought I'd live to see that." Mike laughs, tentatively taking the seat next to the bed and peering at her. "Can I see the end result?"
"Sure." Kate shifts so that he can see the bundle in her arms, swaddled in the pink hospital blankets. "Mike, meet Cassandra Jamie Roth."
THIRTEEN YEARS LATER
Fire. Fire. Fire in the engine room. The words still ring in her head as she lays in the life raft. Surely it can't have followed her here, onto the life raft. Is she still on fire? Maybe. Her skin is burning, itching and crawling. A million flaming bugs dig into her flesh. Burrowing deeper and deeper.
She can still smell smoke. She wants the flames to kill her. Take her body now so she doesn't have to deal with this pain anymore. Wants to get out of the sun and the fire and drown in the cool waters.
No. She wants to live. She needs help. What is it that she's supposed to say? Papa 82? Except she can't move her arms and she has no radio and…
Crash. Fall. Flames. Blood. Fire. Abandon ship.
There is no Hammersley anymore.
"Help!" She tries to call out, but only a wheeze comes out, and she knows that she is going to die here.
Cassie. She thinks. Cassie.