Thanks for the reviews and also private messages I have gotten about this story :) Thank god the world didn't end yesterday as I can keep updating for you all.
During the evening as the local wore off on around the wound on his leg it became sore and Beth his nurse gave him some morphine which when it started to work which was pretty quickly he started to feel sleepy and nodded off. During the night when he was due for some more pain relief Beth gave him another dose of morphine since it was charted and she also wanted him to have a good night's sleep with as little amount of discomfort as possible. Plus she also knew that it would help him with his recovery if his body wasn't feeling sore or in pain.
Around three am when Beth did her routine obs she noticed Mike had a slightly high temperature than at his last set of obs. She rings the on call doctor to inform him of this change, he immediately comes down and charts up IV meds and hangs them straight away into his system. As Mike already had IV access in his arm it was a simple insertion but as they are doing it he wakes up and they inform him of what they are doing, before long he is back asleep the morphine helping him nod back off to sleep. The doctor instructed Beth that he was to only get morphine as pain relief for now regardless of what he said.
A new day dawns.
Mike wakes to the sound of people walking and talking on the ward; the sounds of a trolley moving around; the music of the birds outside his hospital window; the sound of the ocean lapping on the beach and also the sounds of life moving forward.
He never noticed till this morning that the top windows were slightly open allowing sound to enter his room; he smiles at this as he looks out the window towards the ocean and a smile appears on his face.
He is laying there thinking when a nurse enters.
"Morning Mike, I'm Janice your nurse for the day. Beth has explained to me everything that happened over night and that you prefer to be called Mike. So how are you feeling this morning?" She says to him as she checks his pulse and temperature.
"I'm hungry I missed dinner last night." When she notes down the temperature she notices that it has gone down and is back to normal again.
"Well that is good to hear. You need to eat. Now last night the doctors hooked you up to IV meds."
"I remember something faintly before I went back to sleep.
"Yes you started to get a raised temperature and the doctor has also stated you are to only get morphine as pain relief." Mike doesn't look at all impressed with this idea.
"Mike where you got treated is not the best hygiene wise but they had no choice you were closer to their hospital than HMAS Melbourne. If they hadn't have sent you there you would have died. Your body need's time to heal and pain is not going to do that at all. Plus the less pain you are in the more you will enjoy your stay here and the sooner you will be able to return home again. So is there anything I can bring to you?"
"How do you know what happened to me?" Mike says puzzled to the nurse.
"I was on HMAS Melbourne when it happened. I'm now on my roistered time ashore as I've spend close to nine months on the water with no real break."
"Oh ok. The remote for the TV would be good I'm not sure where it is." He says she has a quick look in the draws beside his bed and finds it. Even if he did find it he wouldn't have been able to reach it without hurting himself.
"Also here is the remote for the bed so you can sit up some more. But please do not over reach for things, if you can't reach it with your arm out normal then buzz for us to come and help you. I'll bring in some fresh water with your breakfast." She says before leaving the room.
0900hours
Mike is in bed watching the television having eaten breakfast which he didn't find all that interesting.
Mike lays there flicking the channels when he gets a visitor.
"How you feeling today son?" his dad Peter says to him as he sits down beside the bed.
"Where's mum?" Mike asks when he notices she is absent from the room.
"Your mother is out food shopping and getting a few other things for you. I told her to also go see Maxine and see where your laptop is so we can get it to you."
"Thanks dad." He says not really looking at his father. Peter can tell he is not himself and is surprised that he is even here considering he is now based in Sydney.
"When did you put the house on the market?"
"A few days before I was ask to fill in for a sick CO. I'm based in Sydney now dad; no need to keep this place when I need to get one down there." There is silence in the room again as Peter thinks about what Mike has said.
"So this transfer is it a permanent thing is it?"
"Yes it is."
"How did Kate take this news and when were you planning on telling us that it was long term position?" he asks him as it is the first he has heard of him staying in Sydney long term. Peter and Lisa both thought it was a temporary position.
"She didn't handle me telling her I couldn't work with her anymore at all well. After I told fleet command that staying on Hammersley was affecting my ability to do my job properly they agreed to me being on land and I asked for it to be a long term thing." Mike says as he stares out the window not once making eye contact with his father.
"How did you get away with that?"
"Told them I had a few moments of second guessing myself when we came across incidents that reminded me of what happened with my kidnapping. Which isn't a lie but with Kate on top of it all it wasn't helping. They know I've still been seeing a councillor over it all." Mike's father looks shocked and surprised at him.
"Yes dad I know shock, horror your son isn't mister invincible and does have some weaknesses. The day before the ceremony, the day of the bombing I went and saw them. I told them how I was feeling, that I was still getting help and that after what had just happened I felt I couldn't do my job fully that today, as in that day had given me some flash backs. The follow day they rang and asked if I would transfer because they couldn't get me a shore posting here and I was fine with it all. With everything that had gone on over that six month period they could understand where I was coming from. I even told them if they didn't take my health and wellbeing into account I would still resign. I even told them to keep Maxine out of the loop till the transfer was done."
"Why didn't you tell us how bad things where? Your mother and I thought things where fine."
"Because that is how I made it look and sound to you both."
"Why?"
"You both had other things to worry about plus I'm an adult, I have to learn to work through these things and accept what I have been dealt."
"So then I take it from that, that Kate has no idea where you are right now, or that you nearly died?"
"No she doesn't and you both know she choose to end it all."
"Yes we do know that but I was hoping you two would have sorted it all out before now."
"Me too, but I refused to go running back when she realised she couldn't marry Jim after he was killed. I couldn't let her play me like that. She knows how I feel about her and she also knows why I choose to do what I did. She has to learn to live with the choices she made, like I have had too as well." He says his voice cracking at the end as he speaks to his father.
The two sit there in the room the only noise coming from the television. Neither talking to each other.
"Hello Mike." The doctor says as he enters the room. Mike then introduces him to his father.
"Right Mike you'll be having physio in about 20minutes. They will do an assessment as well on your right leg. Now I have been speaking with a couple of other doctors and we now think the issues we have with your wounds are due to lack of movement and pressure from being in one position for so long. For this reason I have asked the pyhsio to get you moving some more and if they feel you are ok for it get you out of this bed and into either a wheel chair or the lazy boy that is going to be brought into your room. They will decide how many sessions you have per day." There is a brief moment of no talking between the group as the doctor washes his hands. "Right now let's see how this is looking today shell we. If you feel like it Peter you are more than welcome to leave the room or stay it is your choice."
"I'll stay thanks." He says. The doctor then moves the blanket that is on Mike's leg and lifts the dressing off. Ok it doesn't look any worse than last night. So that is good to see. We will let some air at it while I check the rest of your wounds." He says and then proceeds to check him all over. The three talk some more and by the time the doctor is finished the physio has arrived and Mike's father leaves to allow them to do what they need to do. He lets his son know that they will be back later on to see how he is and bring in some things for him.
WINDING BACK IN TIME….
Hammersley has been out at sea for two weeks now and everyone has noticed that their XO is very quiet. She only dishes out the orders as she sees fit. She hardly talks to any of the crew about anything outside of work. She hasn't even been taking any R&R when there has been some unless they have been in port in Cairns then she goes home and when she returns she looks more tired than when she left.
It has now been six weeks since Kate and the crew of Hammersley got a new CO. Everyone is concerned about Kate including Maxine. She has tried to talk to Mike about Kate, but he either hangs up on her or changing the subject. The last time she tried he spat back her saying it was all her fault anyway and why the hell does she care, before slamming the phone and refusing to answer any calls from her.
"Kate its Maxine I would like to see you in my office right away please."
"Can I ask why ma'am?" Kate says as she is busy checking off a list of supplies for Hammersley
"I will tell you when you get here." She says before hanging up on Kate. Kate is left wondering what is going on that Maxine wont's to speak to her. She goes off and changes and then heads off to Navcom to meet up with Maxine.
"Ma'am?" Kate asks her. Maxine notices that Kate has lost some more weight since she last saw her.
"Kate how are you doing?" Kate looks at her, her face saying what you brought me up here to ask me that.
"Is that why you got me up here ma'am was to ask me something you could do over the phone?" She says back her anger present in the way she speaks to her Boss, Maxine just brushes it off.
"No Kate it isn't. Look I'm worried about you."
"You don't need to be ma'am I can look after myself."
"Really well it doesn't look like it from here. When was the last time you had a full night's sleep?" Kate doesn't respond.
"Kate the crew and your CO are worried about you. And to be honest so am I. I left it this long to talk to you hoping you would come to your senses on your own but it looks like it isn't happening. I know that the report back from your councillor said you were fit for duty but we all know what answers to give to those questions to get back to work." Maxine says to Kate as she looks at her watching her face for any sign of change. Kate just looks down at her hands and she plays with them. Maxine gets up from behind her desk and walks around and sits in the chair beside Kate.
"Kate what happened to have you like this? You're not the same Kate McGregor I have had the pleasure of working alongside. You're more the Kate McGregor of years ago." There is silence in the room as Maxine waits to see if Kate will speak. Kate just keeps on steering down at her hands, unable to make eye contact with Maxine afraid that she will see the tears that are threating to fall. 3Tears she struggles to keep under control. Tears she thought she would have run out of by now but so far there is no sign of them stopping.
"Kate please to talk to me, if not as your boss but as a friend. You haven't been yourself since I told you Mike had transferred. Did something happen between the two of you?"
"I didn't believe him when he told me he was still going to transfer. I thought it was just something he said because of everything that had happened."
"Why what happened."
"I did what you wanted me to do I made sure he stayed on Hammersley even though it wasn't what he won't or I. Then a made a few stupid choices after that and then I couldn't talk to him about personal things that as my commanding officer he should have been informed of first but no I told someone else who then told him because I was too worried to be alone with him." Maxine listens as Kate speaks. Her voice quiet and Maxine can tell she is struggling at present.
"What were those choices Kate?" She asks her as she gets up and grabs the box of tissues and passes them to Kate.
"Going out with Jim, and then rubbing some things into Mike. Look I shouldn't be talking to you about these things."
"Kate right now I'm not your boss anything you tell me is between us and I will not use it against either of you." The two sit there and there is a knock on the door and Maxine turns her head around and goes to give the person an earful but is shocked to see who is standing there.
"Captain Marshall" She says as he enters her office. He notices Kate sitting in the chair and also notices she doesn't even turn around to say hello. This sits of warning bells to him.
"Sorry to interrupt would you like to come back later?"
"Yes please. There is an office next to mine that you can use. I will show you to it." Maxine says as she quickly shows him Mike's old office.
"Kate come on talk to me please. You need to talk to someone." Maxine asks as she sits back down in the chair beside Kate.
"You promise not to use this against us?" She asks her voice full of fear and worry.
"No Kate I won't"
"When you called me into your office about Mike going to fleet command he went because we wanted a future together. After what you said to me I was too scared to say anything to him or do anything else but to tell him that I was having second thoughts and didn't want the same things as him. After that I tried hard to not let myself be alone with him because I was worried he would ask why I did what I did after everything we have been through. Then Jim came around so I started to date him to help me move on. I had a pregnancy scare and the crew knew before Mike and then I had the balls to ask how he would feel if I was, when in fact I knew how he felt on that subject. Then a few days later Jim proposed. I know I should have told him about it straight away even though I hadn't said yes or no yet. Mike should have been told because it would have effected operational decisions but I didn't I told our buffer, who then told him as we were doing away sea boats for an operation. Mike being Mike knew it would piss me off if he made a scene about it in front of the crew he left it. Then when he asked me about the proposal and why I hadn't told him. I… I told him I was seriously considering it. God he looked so hurt, I think if it wasn't for us being in a public place like we were he would have cried he looked so heartbroken all because of me. All because the things we had spoken about doing together I was now doing with someone else and I had not given him any chance of fixing things, to fight for me because I told him not too plus I refused to tell him why I ended it as well. He had to watch me be with someone else right under his nose. Something I shouldn't have done. It wasn't fear on him at all." There is a pause, a period of silence as Maxine just sits there letting her talk about this the way she wont's to without interrupting her. "The day we had the ceremony for Chris and Jim. We talked some more about things. I told him I couldn't marry Jim only him after trying on a dress he asked me why it took a dress of all things to tell me that I couldn't marry Jim. I told him I was fine with Jim changing his life for me but not him. I told him about our meeting where you told me about the rumours and what they could do to his career and how I couldn't let him do that. He wasn't happy that I did that. He told me he loved me but that I choose to end it and that I have to learn to accept it and I can't expect him to come running back to me whenever I see fit. I know it hurt him to walk out my door that day. I just wished things had ended so differently now. And what is worse is we never broke any rules this time around we did everything by the damn bloody book and I've still got nothing. Still miserable and without the man I love." She says tears falling down her face. Maxine sits there realising for the first time since speaking to Kate about Mike going to fleet command that she maybe did the wrong thing by putting the pressure on Kate to end whatever it was that was making Mike resign from the Navy if he didn't get off Hammersley. But she was told to do whatever it took to prevent Mike from resigning and leaving Hammersley.
"Kate go home try and get some sleep and rest. I will get a replacement XO for Hammersley you need some time at home to get better. I'll be around later on to check on you."
"No thank you I need to work, being at home is too hard all I do is think about that day."
"Kate you are going home and that is that and if I have to I will bring a doctor around and have you off work on medical leave it's your choice?" Maxine says as she sends Kate home asking one of the other sailors to drive Kate to the docks to get her gear and then to home.
Once Kate is out of her office Maxine sits down and starts to go over things in her head.
Well that explains why Mike refuses to talk about Kate then, but why hasn't he said anything to me about it. He's been gone for over six weeks now and it's been two months since that fateful day. God I didn't realise they were that serious about each other. I could tell there was something between them, something more than CO and XO and so I told a white lie. Sometimes this job is not worth it when you end up doing this to friends, co-workers all because someone above you tells you to do whatever it takes to make sure he stays in that CO chair. I should have just called Mike in and told him that the Brass won't him to stay there till the terrorist plot was over with. I shouldn't have used Kate like I did, but then again I knew it would be the only way to get him to stay where he was if I got it across to her that whatever it was that was going on would destroy their careers. I knew talking to him wouldn't work, I knew I had to use other means to do it. I should have told him of his reassignment, not had Kate tell him. No wonder he never came to me and went to fleet command direct.
"How the hell do I fix this? How do I get the two of them to talk to each other? Sort out what is going on between them without losing limbs over it all." She says under her breath and unknown to her is that Captain Steve Marshall has heard her say this.