Dutchy looked at his reports of the last mission again. It had been almost six days since they had left Kate on the beach and the end wasn't in sight yet. The Brass was keeping in touch with the Tovaluan army and government but it seemed they didn't even know what they wanted. The man who had made the little video of Kate had been talking for himself and not for the whole government and now the government wanted more than just the departure of Australian ships. There were still two frigates nearby but there had to be something he could do.
He already felt guilty about being the one to return safely home, but now it took a lot longer than anyone had hoped for and more people started asking questions about what had happened, what had gone wrong and how an experienced Lieutenant Commander had been taken hostage. That last question was something Kate would have to face when she got back but it had caused Mike to question him on how it was possible for her to be on the beach when she should have been on board. Mike was scared Kate would face charges and that was something he took out on him.
Dutchy put down the report and picked up the transcript of the EOD tapes. It became harder and harder to read how a man had pinned Kate to the ground and shot a bullet next to her head. He should have prevented it all by fighting Kate harder so that he should have been the one on the beach. There was no guarantee that this wouldn't have happened if he and not Kate had been on the beach but at least she would be at home; here, safe and sound, being the one taking care of James.
In anger he put down the paper and let his fist come down hard on the table. It wasn't fair! James was only three years old, had already lost his father and now his mother was in danger too. Everyone kept saying that they wouldn't kill her because they would lose their trading position but how sure were they? With his eyes closed he tried to let the anger flow out of his body, not that it was helping much. He kept getting images of a bound and gagged Kate, somewhere in the jungle, waiting for him to come and rescue her.
"Dusshy," a little voice pulled him back to reality. Dutchy looked at the door opening where James appeared. "Hey, I thought we had an agreement. You were going to stay in bed and sleep until the sun is back," he said sternly while he left the papers on the table and walked towards the boy. He hadn't even reached him when he smelled the reason why the boy had woken up. "Oh Jamesy, Jamesy, you're putting me to the test don't you?" he said before taking the boy's hand and leading him back towards his bedroom.
As soon as James had a clean nappie he wanted to put him back to bed but the same stinky smell came floating towards him the closer he got to it. "You really did your best to wet everything now, didn't you?" he laughed. James simply looked at his bed and shrugged. "You put nappie on wrong way. Mummy do that also and then I peed all in my bed," he explained. Dutchy looked from the boy to the bed and frowned. "Did I put your nappie on the right way this time?" he asked worriedly. James shrugged again and looked at his feet. "Don't know. Mummy said it was on wrong. I think you did it wrong too," he answered.
Hoping the nappie was fixed now, a second problem arose; where would he put James now? He could change the sheets but it would mean James had to wait while he was looking for some clean sheets etcetera. Dutchy made a mental note to put an extra pair of sheets somewhere in the room tomorrow so he never had to look for them again while a little boy wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. "Let's go to…" he started, still not sure where he was going to put James while he fixed the first problem. "I want to seep in mummy's bed," James filled in the blanks. "Can I seep in mummy's bed?" he asked. It was a great idea. He could even let James sleep there the rest of the night and just throw the dirty sheets into the washing machine and worry about making the bed again tomorrow. "Yeah, I don't think mummy would mind you sleeping there," he answered.
James almost stormed into Kate's room and jumped onto the bed. He clearly had done that before and crawled underneath the blanket as if it was his own bed. "Dusshy, this is mummy's bed," James stated proudly. "I know," Dutchy smiled. The logic of toddlers was so endearing. "Mummy is on the boat," James said as a matter of fact. "I know that too James," Dutchy said, trying to stop the boy from getting into a full conversation. "But you really need to go to sleep now," he added. James nodded and put his head down on the pillow to veer back up straight away and look at Dutchy. "Mummy's on the boat and you are here. Were you naughty and mummy say you can't come on the boat?" he asked.
Dutchy feared James would soon realise something wasn't right and if he would do so, wouldn't sleep anymore. "James, put your head back down and close your eyes," he ordered. James laid down but kept his eyes fixed on Dutchy, expecting an answer anyway. "Dusshy," James whispered. "Gran was crying." Dutchy looked away while he heard James continue: "She said mummy's on an island with men. I think granny wants mummy to come home." Dutchy nodded and looked at James again. "Grandma Terry hoped mummy would be back before she was going on her holiday but mummy is really busy," he explained.
It was quiet for a few moments and Dutchy thought James had fallen asleep but then he heard a very tiny, soft voice: "I miss mummy." Dutchy didn't know what to say without letting the boy know he knew more about the situation and giving away that his mother was not just working, but in danger. "When I'm sad gramps always puts his arms around me," James explained what he expected. He might just do this to get extra attention or it could be real, it didn't matter right now. Dutchy crawled onto the bed as well and put his arm around the boy. "Now, close your eyes and go to sleep. I'll stay here until you do, but only if you don't talk anymore," he said. James did what he asked and not much later he slept, safe and sound.
It was strange laying on Kate's bed. Once he thought he had feelings for her, but they were never answered. Nowadays he treasured the friendship he had with her. It made him extremely proud she had picked him to be James' godfather, letting him be in her life, other than as a working colleague. So, laying in her bed made him feel a bit uneasy. This was her domain and he shouldn't be here. He listened to the rhythmic sound of James' breathing. James had nestled himself so close to his body that it was going to be hard to get off the bed without waking him up again. Slowly and quietly he peeled himself off and slipped off the bed and out of the room. He still had to clean James' own bed, but he wasn't going to complain. The only thing he hoped that the next wet bed could be changed by Kate herself.
