I do not wish to offend with any of the sensitive matters that are featured In the coming chapters and the previous chapters . Please note that I have sympathy for those who have had to deal with them and I have tried to write about them in a sensitive way as not to offend anyone. The Treatment for Nikki's baby and time frame of treatment I have taken from the NHS (National health service-uk) website.

Kate stepped aboard Hammersley almost two weeks after her wedding. She had a slight headache after the previous nights celebrations. Before addressing her crew and meeting her temporary XO.

She has spent week in an island paradise before crashing back down with a bump, they had being going to spend two weeks away but Kate had come down with a bug so they returned early. And she had spent the following week waiting for a letter about her promotion. It arrived two days before she was due to start work after her honeymoon.

Picking up the post, Kate walked in to the open plan kitchen-living room. Placing the bill in front of Mike, she opened the letter addressed to her.

"I got my promotion, lieutenant commander Kate Flynn, I'm to report to NAVCOM tomorrow to be told where I'm being sent," she told mike, who walked around and hugged her and placed the lightest kiss on her forehead. "you'll be great.

After leaving NAVCOM, where Maxine grudgingly told her that she would be the new commander of HAMAS Hammersley, she would have most of her old crew back but who did she want as her XO.

"Ma'am I want lieutenant Nicola Caetano, she is still on maternity leave but I want her when she comes back," she replied

Jessica, walked in after a long two weeks in the course. She and the rest of the medics had spent two weeks training on HMAS Melbourne putting the theory in to practice. She was shattered and just wanted a long hot bath. Dumping her bags in the hall, she realised the house was in darkness.

"Dutchy, where are you?" she called out before walking in to the bedroom and seeing the bed festooned in rose petals and the glow of candles. "Dutchy what are you doing?" he said as he walked out of the ensuit bathroom. "Thought you might want a bath," he said leading her in to the room, where the bath was full with bubbles and candles were lit around it.

Leaning back in to the bubbles jess sighed, it was now or never that she told Dutchy her news. Getting out and wrapping her large fluffy dressing gown around her she walked in to the bedroom where dutchy was down on one knee.

"Jess, I love you and want to spend my life making you happy, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" he asked before swearing "dam rose thorns" making jess laugh.

"Yes. Umm dutchy, do you think one day you would want children?" she said as he slipped a blue sapphire ring on to her left ring finger. "yes of course, one day. Why?"

"Umm well I'm pregnant, about 8 weeks," she replied as dutchy enveloped her in to a hug. "that's great, but what about your course? You will have to leave won't you?" he asked
"if I'm careful then no. by the time I'm showing I would have finished it. I only have another twelve weeks left,"

"let's tell our friends our news," he said before pulling out a dress for her to put on before they headed to the pub where the crew of Hammersley were celebrating three counts of good news, they had their old xo as CO and the old NAV as XO and now dutchy and bird's engagement.