As Kate stepped off the ship with Mike, she had the strangest feeling that she was being watched. Her eyes did a skim around the pier but not picking out anything unusual, she turned to Mike.

"You know this isn't right," she said to him, "what we're doing."

He smiled at her, "It's dinner between two friends Kate. There is nothing wrong with that."

She shook her head and felt his arm snake around her waist as he leant to whisper in her ear, "It's after that I would be concerned about."

She let out a laugh and blushed at his comment, knowing where he was heading with it.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," she replied to him, hoping that none of the crew would pick up their whispered conversation. She turned her head, someone catching the corner of her eye. A man stood their, in Navy uniform, staring at her and Mike. It was strange because he looked almost jealous. She felt as though she recognised him from somewhere but couldn't place it. Mike's placed his hand on her shoulder, pulling her attention away from the man.

"You alright?"

She nodded her head, "Yeah I'm fine. Just thought I saw someone."

Mike looked in the direction she indicated but saw no one.

"You want to head off for dinner now?"

She smiled at him, "Sounds good."

As they left the pier though, Kate still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

They sat down to dinner, talking about the last couple of months on the new boat. By the time they'd reached their mains, they'd run out of things to talk about and so sat in an awkward silence.

Mike looked up at her and opened his mouth, before closing it again. He had no idea what to ask her about.

"So, after I left, what did you end up doing?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Basically what you already know. I got posted as a junior warfare officer on a frigate and then got moved to the Hammersley."

He nodded his head, racking his brain trying to think of something else to say.

"So, did you end up having any other relationships?"

He felt like shooting himself for asking the question.

Kate looked at him shocked, "One. But he freaked me out a bit so I broke up with him before I got posted to the frigate." She looked down, unable to meet his eyes with her next sentence, "I kind of dated him on the rebound."

His eyes widened at her admission.

"I guess you were someone I could never really get over. Hence why we're here now," she said with a wave of her hand over the dinner table.

He couldn't help the smile that came to his face, "Well if it's any consolation. I never really got over you too."

Kate's head shot up, "What? But Ursula?"

He laughed, "My pitiful attempt at trying to get you out of my head."

Kate blushed, "Why is it we haven't spoken about this yet?'

He shrugged, "We kind of started things a bit quickly didn't we?"

"Yeah we did," she replied, thinking back a few weeks.

"Kate, where do you see this going?" he asked, hoping she would see it going somewhere serious.

She looked up at him, slightly shocked by the question, "I… um… well I wasn't exactly sure where you saw it going."

His face fell at her words.

She quickly tried to fix it, "Look Mike, I didn't mean it like that. What I meant to say was that I want it to work this time. I really do Mike."

He reached over and took her hand, giving it a slight squeeze, "That's good, because I want it to work too. Kate, I have never met any one else like you and leaving you 5 years ago was the biggest mistake I ever made."

He watched her, watched as she smiled and blushed at comments the captain was making. He had to get rid of the captain. He had to, but he had no idea where he lived besides the boat and there was no way he could get onto the boat. He let out a low growl as the captain took her hand. That should be him holding her hand. She would have to pay for being unfaithful to him. He turned and walked off down the street.

As Mike walked Kate up her pathway, she had that feeling of being watched but it was forgotten as Mike wrapped his arms around her.

"You know you can always come back to my place," he whispered into her ear.

She let out a soft giggle before placing a quick kiss on his lips, "But then there is nothing to look forward to for the rest of the week."

Before she could say anything he pressed his lips against her, pulling her body against his. She let out a soft moan as he deepened the kiss. Her hands reached around his neck, her fingers getting tangled in his hair. He pulled back, placing soft kisses down her neck.

"Mike," she whispered. "We can't, not out here."

"Let open the door," he mumbled against her neck, tickling her.

She let out a giggle pulling away from him, "Not tonight."

She leant in and kissed him briefly before turning and walking up to her door. She turned and smiled at him, "Have a good night."

He mumbled as he turned and walked off, Kate thinking she heard something along the lines of "not without you".

She laughed as she opened the door and walked in. She headed straight for her bedroom needing a good nights sleep in her own bed after three weeks.

He stood over her, watching her sleep. She always looked so peaceful sleeping. His body tensed as she rolled over, thinking she had woken up. All he heard was a softly whispered, "Mike." Anger consumed him at her obsession with her captain. She would have to be taught a lesson. His hand darted out, his fingers tightening around the soft skin of her neck. Her eyes opened and widened as her air supply was cut off. Her hands reached for his arm, trying to pull his arm off. He stared into her eyes, they were full of fear and he suddenly realised what he was doing. He loosened his hand, allowing her air, but not enough to let her go.

He leant down and whispered into her ear, "You will be mine one day Kate. Until then, you better remain faithful."

He let her go before disappearing into the darkness of her room.

Kate sat up, gasping and coughing for air. She thought she had been dreaming but there was no way that was. Her throat hurt from being constricted and she realised, there had been someone there. Her eyes darted around her room, but she couldn't distinguish anything. She reached over and grabbed her phone, dialling the first number she could think of.

Mike rolled over, letting out a groan as his phone rang. He hoped that their leave wasn't going to be cut short. It seemed to be a habit of NavCom's to send the Hammersley out on every mission.

"Mike Flynn."

Having expected Commander Marshall's voice, he was more than surprised at hearing Kate's panicked voice.

"Mike, please you have to come here. There was someone here and he had his hand around my neck and I couldn't breathe and he then said something to me but I… I… Please Mike come over."

He sat for a few seconds, processing everything she had just said, before the realisation of the situation sunk in.

"I'll be right there."

Kate sat huddled in her room, her light on. She was too afraid to go into the main part of the house, afraid that he might just be out there. When she heard the knock on the door, she jumped, her hand tightening around her phone.

"Kate, it's me!"

At the sound of Mike's voice, she darted out and pulled the front door open, throwing herself into his arms.

"Please, stay here. I don't want to be alone."

He was shocked at how she was acting. He led her back inside and shut the door, making sure it was locked. As they sat down on the couch he looked at her, "What happened?"

She shook her head, "I don't know. I was asleep one moment and then the next, he was just standing there, his hand around my neck. I couldn't breathe and all I could think about was you."

Mike was shocked at what she had just told him, "Do you know who it was?"

She shook her head, "No. I couldn't see him and by the time he let me go, he had disappeared."

"Have you called the police?"

Once again, she shook her head, snuggling into his embrace "No. I called you first. Just please stay with me. I don't need the cops."

Mike wasn't hearing a bar of it, "Kate you have to call them. If there is someone going around and breaking into people's houses, you need to tell them."

He felt Kate shake her head and looking down, he saw she was starting to drift off. He sighed as he picked her up and carried her into her room. He lay her down on the bed and went to walk off to the kitchen when she grabbed at him.

"Mike, please stay with me."

He nodded his head, unable to resist the pleading tone in her voice or the puppy dog eyes she gave him. He kicked his shoes off and climbed in next to her, pulling her into a comforting embrace. It wasn't long before both had drifted off.

He watched in through the window, unable to comprehend what he had done wrong. He had told her to remain faithful, not to go gallivanting with other men. But she didn't listen. And for that, he would make sure she would pay. As would the captain.