A few weeks had passed since Kate had received the invitation to the reunion. She still didn't know if she wanted to go and Mike's invitation to go with her wasn't helping either. She was in two minds about it all. She didn't want to go to the reunion because she would then have to face all her old school mates who were never very nice to her or, on the other hand, she could go and spend a night with Mike. But then that could bring up other problems. One night could lead to them heading down the same path they did 5 years ago. It only took one night then. She really could not decide and she knew she had to soon. The date of the reunion was coming up and she had to talk to Commander Marshall to see if the ship was tasked for that weekend as well. Not too mention that Mike would have to know if she decided to go or not because he wanted to go with her and she had shot herself in the foot by agreeing to let him come.
Not being able to come to a decision, she let out a frustrated yell, forgetting where she was.
Those in the bridge jumped at the sudden noise.
"Ah, X. Are you alright?" Swain asked from the helm.
Kate, realising where she was, blushed slightly. "Yeah I'm fine. Just getting a bit frustrated that we can't find these FFV's."
Swain glanced over at Mike, who had been talking quietly to Nav. He was now staring at Kate with an unreadable expression on his face.
"X, maybe you would like to go lie down and catch a bit of shut eye. We may be a while off yet and you haven't slept for a while from what I've heard," Mike said.
Kate threw a glare in Nav's direction before turning to Mike.
"Sir, I'm perfectly fine. Missing a little bit of sleep is not going to kill me," she replied stubbornly.
"X. I want you down in your cabin in the next five minutes because whatever you may think, you look like crap," Mike said.
Kate opened her mouth to reply but Mike was quick to cut in, "And that's an order X."
A defeated look crossed her face before she mumbled a quick 'Yes sir' and walked out of the bridge.
He turned back to Nav to find out how far off they were.
"Thanks for dragging me into that sir," she mumbled, before turning back to the chart.
Mike let out a sigh. You just couldn't win with women.
As the Hammersley limped back into port, Kate couldn't believe her luck. She had finally decided to go to her reunion when Mike had found out that they would be out for another two weeks. This then wiped all thoughts of the reunion from her head. However, whilst in pursuit of an FFV, one of the engines died and needing a new part, NavCom told them to return to port and that the Kingston would be sent out instead. Even though the crew weren't happy that the Kingston would be stealing their FFV's, they were looking forward to having at least the weekend off.
After the ship had been secured, Kate went in search of Mike. She walked up to his cabin and knocked on the door, hoping he would be there.
"Come in." his voice came through.
She walked in and saw him sitting at his desk. As he turned to look at her she saw something cross his face but couldn't tell what. The look somehow seemed familiar but she couldn't quite place it.
"Ah Sir, I thought that I would let you know that I have decided to go to Grafton for my high school reunion," Kate said, hoping he would catch onto what she was saying.
She watched as his face lit up.
"Oh really? Well I'm glad you're going. I think I might be heading off this weekend for a family get together not too far from Grafton," he replied, adding a wink. She knew what he meant. He would be coming and using his family get together as a cover up.
"I suppose you need to see Marshall to let him know," Mike said.
Kate
nodded, "Will be going up there soon."
"Well if you don't
mind waiting a few minutes, I might come with you. Need to see him
myself," he said with a smile.
Kate
smiled back, "Not at all Sir. I'll meet you up on deck then."
He
nodded his head, "Look forward to it," before returning to finish
the paperwork on his desk.
Kate walked out with a small smile on her face, unable to help the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. She didn't know why but she felt like a girl with a crush who was sneaking behind her parents back, but nothing had happened between her and Mike. Everything was so confusing at the moment. She actually wanted to go to a school reunion when she wasn't even friends with anyone at school and now she had butterflies in her stomach after talking with Mike. She thought that she had buried those feelings for the sake of her career but here she was, planning a weekend with him! She let out a sigh and headed towards the deck to wait for him.
After Kate had left his cabin, Mike had to take a deep breath to calm the butterflies in his stomach. When she told him that she was going to go to the reunion, his stomach leapt because that meant he would be spending a weekend with her. At that moment though, he felt like a school boy with a crush. He didn't know what to do. He knew that what they were doing was wrong. But even then, he hoped that this weekend would result in something. He let out a sigh when he realised that he should head up to meet Kate.
Both Kate and Mike left NavCom, successful in their applications to have the weekend off. Both were really looking forward to it, but as they left an awkward silence engulfed the two, neither knowing what to say.
"Um,
well I might go home and pack," Kate said, turning to Mike. "I'll
book the plane tickets. You're coming because of me anyway."
Mike
shook his head, "No it's alright. I'll get them. You're the
one who will have to endure my family."
Kate looked surprised at this comment, "Excuse me."
Mike smirked at Kate, "Oh sorry, I haven't told you that part of the deal yet. I told my mum that I'm in a relationship to get her off my back. So it would be kind of weird to show up alone wouldn't it?"
Kate shook her head, "No, no, no. We can't do that. With… well with our history, it would just be weird."
"Come on Kate. With our history it would be more real. Please help me out on this one. I'm helping you," he pleaded with her.
She looked into his eyes and couldn't resist his brown, puppy-dog eyes.
"Fine, but you owe me more than mine because that is nothing in comparison," Kate reasoned.
Mike nodded, "OK then. Sounds good. So who's doing plane tickets?"
Mike and Kate stood in a queue at the airport, waiting to check in.
"So what flight did you get us onto Sir?" Kate asked, annoyed that Mike booked the tickets.
"Well, the best I could get at such short notice is to fly to Sydney then to Coffs Harbour and then I suppose we will have to drive to Grafton," Mike said, crossing his fingers behind his back, hoping that Kate wouldn't react to the long journey. He watched as her face screwed up before she nodded her head.
"That sounds about right. No airliner every can just fly straight to Grafton," Kate said frustrated. Mike let out the breath he was holding, glad he didn't get his head bitten off for the flight.
As they sat down in their seat, Mike watched as Kate glanced around the cabin before letting out a frustrated sigh.
"What's wrong X? You're not afraid of flying are you?" Mike asked, confused with what she was doing.
"No, I was just seeing who is sitting around us. This is going to be a fun flight sir," Kate replied.
Mike let out a little chuckle, "Come on Kate. We'll have movies to watch and you could catch up on some shuteye. Also whilst we're on this trip and away from the ship, there is no need for you to call me sir. There are no ranks this weekend."
Kate nodded her head, "Okay then Sir…. Mike." She gave him a quick smile before turning to listen to the host present the safety speech.
Kate glanced sideways as Mike pulled out some paperwork to do. It looked like a fair amount so she decided she might offer to help.
"Is there anything I can do?"
Mike shook his head, "No it's just the report from the FFV. There is nothing really to write considering what happened to the engine."
Kate nodded her head, "Fair enough. That was really frustrating though. Does Charge know how long we'll be down for?"
Mike
shook his head, "No. He put an order in for the part this
afternoon. Should be a couple of days at least. Enough time for us to
get a break."
Kate gave a little laugh, "The life of a Naval
officer. Never really getting a break."
"Well I have to say
that this is the first time I've really taken a break in a good 6
months," Mike added.
A little old lady sitting next to Mike on the aisle seat decided to join in their conversation.
"Oh you poor dears. What employer would not allow their employees to take a break. You should report them to the authorities or even the government," the lady said.
Mike and Kate laughed at how serious she was being.
She scoffed at them, "You young kids have no respect for your elder members of society anymore."
Mike shook his head, "No, we're sorry. It's just that we both work for the Navy. The government is basically our employer. We can't report the government to the government."
She glared at him before turning back to the screen in front of her. Mike turned to Kate who just shrugged her shoulders.
"Why did you get the window seat again? I'm the higher ranked officer here. You should be dealing with old ladies," Mike whispered.
Kate just smiled at him before pulling on her earphones to watch the movie. Mike rolled his eyes and turned back to doing the paperwork. The movie was some chick flick, a romance one and he knew that he would not enjoy it.
After some time, Mike found he couldn't concentrate on the paperwork whilst Kate was scoffing and groaning at the movie every 5 minutes. He tried to ignore it, even plugging in his own earphones to listen to music but he still couldn't block her out. Finally fed up, he pulled the earphones of her head.
"Hey! What did you do that for!" she yelled at him, "I was watching that!"
"No you weren't. If you were watching the movie, you would be enjoying it, not making weird noises every so often!" he yelled back, holding the earphones out of her reach.
"It's not my fault romance and love is so corny," she retorted back.
"It is not," Mike replied.
"Oh come on! How many people will actually fall in love AND stay in love!" Kate yelled, the topic of conversation annoying her.
"There are plenty of people!" He came back with.
"Yeah? Name one!"
Their debate was interuppted by the stewardess, "Excuse me. Would you mind keeping your voices down. There are lots of other people on this plane who would like a peaceful flight."
"Um, sorry," Mike and Kate said, embarrased by their actions.
"I believe in love," said the little old lady next to Mike.
They both just stared at her.
"Well I do," she replied adamantely, "My dear Joseph and I fell in love back when we were both 20 years old and it was love at first sight. He was able to make everything disappear and the world seem right."
Mike glanced at Kate. That was how he felt whenever he was around her. She just seemed to make everything feel right. Those few blissful months they had spent together had been some of the best in his life and he wouldn't forget them. Just being around her and working with her these last few months was what he needed to make everything right again. He wished that he had let her walk out of his like all those years ago.
Kate threw a quick glance at Mike. She would never admit it, but the little old lady hit the nail on the head with how she felt about him. He is the only man she would ever love and walking out on him 5 years ago was her biggest regret.
"Haven't you ever experienced a love like that? Where that one person can just make everything seem so insignificant and the world so right?" the little old lady continued.
Not thinking, both Kate and Mike looked each other in the eye, their intense feelings blantantly obvious for the other to see.
The little old lady watched the reaction and knew that the two Naval officers she sat with were made for each other.
Kate broke eye contact first, a sligh blush on her cheeks as she mumbled an apology. Mike did the same, turning away and cursing at himself for being so obvious. Both noticed the tension that was evident between them, the intenseness of the moment getting to them. Mike needed to move, just to get some space to clear his head. He stood up and apologised to the little old lady before walking to the front of the plane where the toilets were.
Kate watched him leave; cursing at her stupidity for making her feelings clear for him to see. However, she couldn't help but feel a slight hope that maybe something this weekend would happen.
"He is quite a catch," the little old lady said after following Kates stare.
Kate nodded her head, still lost in her thoughts.
The little old lady just smiled. She knew what was going through the young ladies head.
The remainder of the flight was awkward between the two and neither really knew what to say to each other. When the plane landed, they both rushed off, making excuses to get themselves some space. After half an hour, they met back in the foodcourt before their flight to Coffs Harbour left.
"Ah, are you ready to go?" Mike asked awkwardly.
Kate nodded, "Yeah, just needed some coffee."
He nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah its been a long afternoon."
Kate took a look at her watch, "It's 9:30 already. This second flight shouldn't be too long, only about 45 minutes. The drive should only take an hour."
Mike nodded his head, "Yeah. I'll get a coffee when we get to Grafton airport so it will keep me awake on the drive."
Kate looked at him, "I could drive if you want."
Mike should his head, "No I will. You need to rest before tomorrow anyway."
"Why?" Kate was confused.
"Going to need to be rested up to deal with all your school mates."
"Yeah, true. Will need lots of rest to deal with them," she finished off mumbling.
Mike glanced at her, wondering what was so bad about her highschool says that she wouldn't want to go. The call for their flight came over and both headed onboard, hoping it would pass quickly.
Both the flight and the drive to Grafton passed quickly enough and soon Mike found himself being told where to go to get to their accomodation. They had let the owners know that they would be late and so they had agreed on waiting for Mike and Kate to arrive.
The sight of the sign of their accomodation had to be the most welcome sight all day. They pulled into the driveway and both felt relieved that they had finally reached the accomodation and would be able to sleep. They parked the car and walked up to reception where a lady stood waiting for them.
"Sorry about how late we are and how we booked at such short notice," Kate apologised.
The lady shook her head, "Oh, don't worry about it. It's absolutely fine. I have your key here to your room. All I need is a signature here."
She handed over one key to Kate and pointed to a line to sign on.
"Um, sorry but we needed two rooms," Kate pointed out.
The lady looked at Kate, "Oh I'm sorry. We're at full capacity and I thought that since you were booking together, that you wouldn't mind sharing a room."
Kate looked at Mike, who was as equally shocked as she was. There was no way the two could share a room.
"Please tell me it has more than one bed," Mike asked.
The lady nodded her head, "Oh yes. It has a single and a queen size bed. However there is only one bathroom. I hope that is alright?"
Kate let out the breath she was holding, "Yeah, that's fine. I think we can handle that."
Mike nodded his head in agreement, hoping he would be able to get through the next few days.
"Well, if that's settled then. Here are your keys. Check out for you is at 12 noon on Sunday. Someone will be here is reception. Your account is to be payed on that day also. Enjoy your stay here and I think we all need to leave now for some sleep," the receptionist informed them.
Mike and Kate nodded their heads in agreement.
"Thankyou for waiting up," Mike said.
She smiled in return.
As soon as they entered the room, Kate called dibs on the queen size bed.
"Kate, that is not fair. I'm taller than you are. I need more room," Mike complained.
"I need to rest well for the reunion tomorrow night," Kate replied with a cheeky smile.
Mike just shook his head, knowing he wouldn't win the fight.
"Fine, but I get first shower," he quickly threw his bag on the bed and got into the bathroom before Kate.
"Mike!" she complained like a child. She sat down in a huff on her bed. She would have to wait then.
The next morning both woke up around the same time and found it slightly awkward being in the same room.
Kate walked out from the bathroom in some running clothes to see Mike crawling out of bed, yawning and shirtless.
"Um, I was just about to head out for a run," Kate said, looking anywhere around the room, except at Mike.
Mike smirked at the sight of Kate blushing, "Well, if you give me a moment, I will join you."
Kate just nodded her head, "Okay."
He didn't take long, walking out in some shorts and a t-shirt. It didn't take him long to put his shoes on and before Kate knew it he was ready. They walked outside and started jogging off, Mike following Kate.
They headed along in silence most of the way until they made it to the main street.
"God I miss this," Kate whispered at the sight of the relatively busy main street.
Mike looked at her sideways, nodding his head in agreement, "I know what you mean."
Kate looked at him strangely, "How would you know what a country main street feels like?"
He looked at her, confused, "Didn't I tell you I lived in Casino?"
Kate shook her head, "No you didn't. I thought you lived in Sydney and we would stop off at your family's reunion on our way back."
Mike shrugged his shoulders, "I thought I had told you. We'll drive there tomorrow then drive to Coffs Harbour to fly out."
"Okay then," Kate replied. She suddenly gasped in excitement, "It's still there!"
Mike was confused, "What is?"
Kate pointed towards a small café sandwiched in-between a saddlery and an electrics store. "The café. I use to buy milkshakes here nearly every afternoon on my way home from school."
Mike watched as Kate's face darkened at the thought of her childhood and he wondered what went on that was so horrible to remember.
"Well do you feel like breakfast then?" he asked, hoping to brighten her mood.
She nodded her head, "Sounds good."
They walked over and quickly secured themselves a table on the footpath. After the waitress had come up and taken their order for coffees, Mike stood up.
"I'm just going to quickly run to the bathroom. If she comes back can you please order me a Big Breakfast with extra bacon?"
Kate nodded her head, "Yeah sure."
She let her eyes follow him, feeling the longing that she constantly felt insider her flare. She let out a sigh as he walked out of sight and started to look around the street instead. Nothing much had changed since she had last been here 10 years ago. She was interrupted from her thoughts by the waitress bringing over their coffees, still shocked at the how strong they asked them to be. Kate reached for the sugar, taking four out of habit. She was pouring them in when a voice behind her startled her.
"I don't think I've ever seen someone put that much sugar in a coffee before."
Kate stopped and turned around. The woman was blonde, and clearly had a fake tan judging by the orange glow she sported however, Kate couldn't place where she had seen the woman's face before.
"But then again, you were always kind of weird," the woman continued, not noticing how befuddled Kate was at who she was.
However, the final comment reminded Kate who it was, "Chelsea. Good to see you. Are you here for the reunion too?"
Chelsea nodded her head, "Yes I am. It will be nice to catch up with all my old school friends. Although I don't know why you would be attending, since you didn't have many friends then."
Kate plastered on a very fake smile, "Well I got the weekend off from work and I didn't have anything better to do."
She watched as Chelsea looked her over, "Work, hey? What is it that you do? Did you end up getting a good job like a lawyer or something or are you working as a volunteer type thing." She waved her hand absently, not knowing what it was that they did.
Kate opened her mouth to reply but Chelsea cut in, "Obviously from the looks of it you've secured yourself a very low paying job. No one would want to look as hideous as you do!"
Kate was about to fire back but Chelsea cut in, still continuing to taunt her, "And how about a man? Are you involved in a relationship at all? There were always rumours going around in school how you were a lesbian!"
Kate opened her mouth, finally about to let loose when a voice cut in.
"I highly doubt you have any right to speak to Kate like that."
Kate looked behind Chelsea to see Mike standing there. She hadn't even noticed him walk up.
Chelsea turned around also, ready to let fly at whoever dare spoke to her in such a tone. At the sight of Mike however, a different idea came to mind.
"And who would you be?" she asked in a silky, sweet voice.
Mike was quite taken back at her sudden change in tone, "I'm Mike Flynn."
Kate groaned and let her head fall into her hands. She knew how Mike was with tanned blondes, even if, in this case, they were fake.
"Delighted to meet you, I'm Chelsea," she held out her hand.
"And how do you know Kate?" Chelsea continued, hoping to get as many details as possible before tonight.
"Actually I work with her," Mike said and Kate saw the triumphant grin on Chelsea's face and Kate felt slightly defeated, knowing what would come next.
"But we've also been going out for the last year or so."
Kate's head shot up, her eyes connecting with Mikes. She saw a faint glimmer of humour in his eyes and a smile crossed her face.
"Oh so you work as a volunteer thing as well?" Chelsea asked.
Mike was slightly confused at this, but then remembered hearing Chelsea going on about Kate's job.
"Actually we both are in the Navy," Mike replied, both Kate and Mike feeling a slight triumph at this small victory.
"Oh and ah, what exactly do you do?" Chelsea continued, hoping for an answer of that Kate cleans toilets or something.
"Well I'm ranked as a Lieutenant Commander and I'm a commanding officer of a boat. Kate is a Lieutenant and she is my executive officer or second in command," Mike answered.
Kate held in a laugh as Chelsea's face fell. She had nothing against her now, unless she made up something before the reunion.
"Well, would you look at the time. I suppose I had better rush, have things to do. Well I will see you tonight then. Ciao," She quickly rushed off before either Kate or Mike could say anything.
The waitress arrived with their food and Mike finally sat down.
"That was interesting to say in the least," Mike said, with a little laugh. "I thought Gallagher was bad but she proved me otherwise. I don't think I have ever seen someone have that much of a grudge against someone."
Kate just shook her head, "It'll be worse tonight. I can assure you that one. Once she gets with all her friends…"
She trailed off as memories of school came back. She felt something warm cover her hand and looking up she saw Mike's hand on her own.
"This time, you'll have me with you. You can handle this," He gave her a smile and she felt her stomach flip. She could do this tonight.
