Chapter 10:

0420 hours

"Thirty-one…thirty-two…thirty-three…" Mike counted his sit ups out loud, purely to break the oppressive silence that had settled over his cabin.

He had tried putting on his usual exercise playlist, but the songs that usually got him fired up were only depressing him today. The pumping beats sounded like a beating heart, and constantly reminded him of what the exercise was designed to make him forget.

"Thirty-seven…thirty-eight…thirty-nine…"

Try as he might, he couldn't stop the images that flashed before his eyes every time he reached the sitting position and saw the photo. It had been taken the day they thought the Samaru/Walsman issue was resolved - when they were limboing on the beach. Their smiles were all so wide and carefree, and for some reason that he couldn't fathom, Nav and Spider were next to one another, arms around necks, both having been relegated to sitting in front of everyone else.

Her left shoulder was unblemished in the photograph, as was his right arm…and Mike couldn't help but think about the fact that they would never be so pristine again.

"Forty-five…forty-six…forty-seven…"

It was his fault.

He wasn't egotistical enough to take the fault away from the person who had actually pulled the trigger, but the rest was all on him. After their experiences in Samaru he should have mandated Kevlar on all boardings. He had thought about it, spoken to X about it, even drafted a new policy…but had never actually implemented it.

He would now.

"Fifty-two…fifty-three…fifty-four…"

And Nav…he had always prided himself on knowing his crew, caring for them as his family. Yet here was his navigator, the sister he'd never had, his friend, who had been hiding a huge secret. He had Googled symptoms of pregnancy, and now had even more respect for Nav. She not only put up with the delights of pregnancy alone, but also pulled her weight as normal, acting like there was nothing different.

He cursed himself for not seeing it – anything – different about her these past few months. Was he really that caught up in his job and his own life that he could look straight through her tired face all those months? For now he looked back, there had been indications, no matter how hard she tried to hide them. He should have noticed her lack of energy, her daytime disappearances, her monotone speech.

"Fifty-nine…sixty…sixty-one…"

He couldn't remember the last thing he'd said to Spider, what Spider had said to him. He couldn't remember his conversation with Nav, though he guessed it was their usual casual conversation while the RHIB was moving towards the FFV.

He couldn't remember the sound of the gunshots, or what he'd said in the moments following them. He did recall the sight of Nav jolting from the first hit, her body spinning backwards, her leg jerking out from under her when it was hit, causing her to hit the deck hard.

He did remember the coolness of Nav's skin as he lightly slapped her cheek, trying to rouse her. He remembered the wet crimson of blood staining his fingers, spreading to cover the fabric of her overalls even as his hand pressed down over the wound.

Then a hand had touched his shoulder, and everything had sound again. He followed Bomber's instructions, spoke his own orders, and watched as his sailors transported her downstairs.

It wasn't until he was alone on the bridge that he'd let his composure drop, slumping into his chair and staring blindly at the floor.

Completing 100 sit ups, Mike flipped over and did 100 push ups before finally getting to his feet. The push ups were easier than the sit ups, because all he could see was the floor, and thus he was able to block out all his thoughts without something bringing the memories of this afternoon rushing back.

He ripped open his overalls and peeled them off his shoulders, relishing the cool air against his sweaty skin. He had just started wiping away the moisture with a towel, when there was a knock at the door.

Glancing at his watch, he figured it must be Nav coming to tell him they were an hour away from port. It was a little routine they had; no matter the time, or who else was on watch with her, she would always find him and tell him in person.

"Come in," He said nonchalantly, realising too late that it wouldn't be Nav finding him today.

"Sir, you wa-" X opened the door and started speaking, only for her entire brain to come to a screeching halt.

The boss was standing in front of her, half-naked and sweaty…her chest constricted, making breathing difficult.

She managed to drag her eyes back up to his face, however the movement of his hands blotting his chest caused her vision to slide back downwards. His chest was now mostly dry, but she couldn't help following a single drop that he'd missed. Her hazel eyes were locked onto his chest, watching the bead of sweat trace his well-defined abs.

It disappeared into the overalls tied around his waist and she couldn't help but imagine what it would trace next. Fighting a smile, X raised her gaze back up to his face - and found him smirking at her.

Opening her mouth to comment, X found her gaze locking onto his, words escaping her for the second time in as many minutes. The intensity of Mike's grey-blue stare caused a fluttering of her heart, and she couldn't break the connection if her life depended on it.

When he looked at her like that, it was a struggle to remember her own name, let alone whatever it was she'd come in here to tell him. She felt like she was drowning in the crystal clear orbs, however it was a pool she never wanted to climb out of. He exhaled softly, sending a puff of warm air across her face, and it took all of her self control not to close the distance between their lips.

Neither of them knew how long they stood there, either side of the cabin door, just staring into one another's eyes.

Buffer knew. He'd been standing at the bottom of the stairs for three whole minutes, and he'd only left the bridge because the X hadn't returned when expected. He wondered how he kept getting himself into these situations. Not only being attracted to a woman serving on the same ship as him, but one who was already in love with someone else. It was as if the universe was taunting him, allowing him to get caught up in fantasies, even offering a glimmer of reciprocation, but essentially locking him out.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the self-depreciative thoughts, he moved towards the pair and placed a hand on X's shoulder, and felt her tense under his touch. Just because he was on the wrong side of the challenge, didn't mean he wouldn't give it his all. "Sir?"

Both of them blinked at the sound of Buffer's voice, the connection instantly severed. He admired their ability to be completely lost in one another one moment and all business the next.

Despite having been released from the grip of Mike's gaze, X was still frozen in place. Buffer's hand on her shoulder was burning through her overalls, sending an altogether different flutter through her body.

"We're about an hour from port, Sir." Buffer's tone was crisp, and X could tell he had seen more than he was letting on, though Mike seemed oblivious.

Mike stared at him for a moment, before comprehension dawned on his face. "Ah, yes…the X was just…telling me that." He hastily drew his overalls back up over his shoulders and threw the towel behind him blindly.

Schooling his features to hide the smile threatening to break free, Buffer nodded. "Of course." He put slight pressure on X's shoulder, causing her to move backwards and allow Mike to exit his cabin. He followed the captain up to the bridge, but not before sending X a meaningful glance.

X shivered at the heat that passed between them in the two-second eye lock. It felt like his gaze had pierced her very skin, and made her shoulder tingle once again, as if his hand was still there.

Once they were out of eyesight she sighed and shook her head, now completely confused. One feeling was old, the other new, and yet they both had the power to render her speechless and immobile. She felt like she was being torn in two…no three – one part of her desperately wanted to rekindle things with Mike, a second wondered what it would be like to give in to the chemistry crackling between her and Buffer, and yet the third part reminded her that neither of those things could happen if she wanted her career to remain on track. On top of all this there was an overwhelming feeling of guilt that she was pondering her tangled romantic life while her best friend was lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life.

Realising that her thoughts over the previous few minutes had severely hindered her ability to breathe, she inhaled deeply to steady herself. A few more deep breaths and she was able to push Mike and Buffer to the back of her mind and return to the bridge.

………………………

Spider felt as though he was swimming through molasses. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were way too heavy. They were on a boarding…an illegal fishing vessel…and…a gun?

Attempting to open his eyes again, he found that the heaviness had gone, but having his eyes open didn't make any difference, because all he saw was darkness. He lifted his hand to rub them, but was unable to touch finger to eye. When he pulled his hand back he could see a faint outline of the fingers, and realised that the darkness was slowly seeping away.

He was suddenly aware of a dull ache, but he had no clue where it was coming from – it seemed to be all over. He felt pressure on his back, and dimly understood that he was in a bed.

The shadows receded, but everything was still fuzzy, like he was looking at it through glasses that were the wrong prescription. Wait…I don't wear glasses…the thought was fleeting, his mind unable to focus on any one thing for more than a second or two.

There was a weird beeping noise…and it was getting faster…and louder. It scared him, but at the same time the repetitive sound was reassuring in a way he couldn't quite fathom.

He could eventually make out a door, a chair, his feet covered in a thin blanket…was it blue or green? He wiggled his toes, saw the feet-lump move, but couldn't feel them. He reached out to touch them and the dull ache sharpened, to the point that he gasped.

The exhalation was loud in the otherwise silent room – that strange beeping the only other sound he could hear.

His eyes lowered and took in a cast on one arm, an indistinct line – a tube? – going into the other, and rails on both sides of the bed. Had he fallen out of the bunk bed again? A memory of a ten-year-old Billy with a similar cast flew through his brain, and he was barely able to make out the image before it disappeared.

The more the indistinct shapes became objects, the more afraid he became, and the faster the beeps sounded. His breaths came faster, but his chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself, and he couldn't get enough air into his lungs.

……………………

0545 hours

The four sailors rushed into the ward; even X was unable to contain herself when they were so close to learning the full story. ET abruptly skidded to a stop at the nurses' station, and would have done a faceplant on the scuffed linoleum if not for Buffer's hand on the back of his shirt.

Apparently the nurses at Barry General Hospital were on the ball this morning, for a doctor entered the corridor just as Bomber and X began questioning the woman sitting at the desk.

"I presume you are all here for the two Navy sailors admitted yesterday afternoon?" The doctor stated, amusement obvious in her voice.

Buffer and ET shared a look, and turned together, Buffer discreetly removing his hand from ET's back as they did so. Both men stared unblinking at the woman before them - the honey tones of her voice hadn't done justice to the rest of her.

Bomber rolled her eyes and smacked them both over the back of the head, then moved in front of them to address the doctor. "Are they OK?"

She smiled gently, "Yes, both Seaman Webb and Lieutenant Caetano are alive." She thought about inviting them to sit down, but the desperate looks on their faces told her they would take it as bad news. "I'm Doctor Riley Patterson. Now I'm not going to lie to you, their conditions are serious, but we're pretty sure the worst is behind them."

X stepped in front of the boys - both still mute, but no longer staring quite so openly - and asked her own question, "And the baby? Nikki's baby is fine too?"

At the mention of the baby ET and Buffer remembered they weren't at the pub scoping out an attractive woman, and their focus shifted from Riley's body to her words.

"Yes, the baby is fine." She looked between the two men, a question in her eyes that she chose not to voice.

ET answered it anyway, "I'm the father." His jaw was set, and his grey-blue eyes challenged her to make a comment.

But Riley hadn't survived medical school without the facing the associated challenges, and met his glare with one of her own, "The one who didn't notice his girlfriend was pregnant until she got shot?"

All four of them instantly sagged, and Riley knew she had hit a sore spot. She cursed her cynicism, and took a moment to come up with a suitable response; taking in the posture of those before her. The blonde man was staring at her – no through her, and she could tell he wasn't seeing anything but his…girlfriend? wife? She looked at his hands, but they were fisted in his pockets. The other man had such a look of grief on his face, that Riley would have picked him to be the father if she hadn't been told otherwise. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, seemingly oblivious to the blonde woman resting against him. She turned her attention to the – counting the stripes on the woman's shoulder – lieutenant and saw in her face that exhaustion and guilt were fighting for dominance. Twisting to face the final member of the group, Riley was struck by how different this woman was to the other three; yes she was worried and guilty about Lieutenant Caetano, but her face was impassive – it was only her eyes that betrayed her.

Riley had always prided herself on her ability to read people – it was what made her so good with the relatives of patients, that she was able to determine the best way to dispense bad news with just a glance at the way they were waiting. However she couldn't quite put her finger on what this young woman was waiting for. The redhead made a movement with her hands that drew Riley's eyes down, and she saw the woman was playing with her fingers; entwining them, touching the fingertips of each hand together, rubbing a thumb over the back of her hand. Then all of a sudden it hit her like a sledgehammer – she was anxious for news on the other Navy sailor, the male.

Holy shit, Riley thought, two couples serving on the same ship. And if the body language those other two are showing says anything, it might not be the last couple…have these guys never heard of the Navy Fraternisation Rule?

For all those in the corridor, the silence seemed to stretch for hours, when in reality it was less than a minute. Riley was just opening her mouth to continue explaining when a strangled scream sounded from the room just across from the nurse's station.

Every head turned towards the closed door, and X had barely registered that the number on the surface was '4' before it was flung open. Bomber barrelled through the opening with a force that suggested she would have gone through the door if Riley hadn't opened it quickly enough.

The fluorescent light was harsher in the small room, and it served to emancipate Spider's already slight frame as he twisted around on the bed. Riley checked his pupils and the heart monitor, then moved away from the bed to allow his friends closer.

They all stood within his line of sight, however Bomber was the only one who reached out to touch him, brushing his hair out of his face with an intimacy the others had never seen from her before. When X looked at her face she saw a softness in the younger woman's eyes; affection that she wouldn't normally have been so open about. And when she focused on Spider she saw a similar expression on the injured sailor's face – it was obvious the two cared for one another a great deal.

He squinted as he tried to focus on the other faces around his bed, "Can yo-" The lights dimmed before his request was completed, and Bomber turned to smile appreciatively at Riley standing by the door.

"Hey mate," Buffer spoke first, standing upright next to the bed. He shuffled his feet, unsure whether to get closer and touch his friend or stay where he was.

"Hi guys." Spider's voice was throaty, taking on an almost seductive quality. He shifted again, and couldn't help but cry out again, despite every attempt to stifle it. "What the hell?" This time he was gasping, the pain stealing his breath.

Riley took her cue, and moved to the middle of the room next to the heart monitor – still beeping its morbid pulse. "Seaman Webb, I'm Dr Patterson. Do you remember what happened?"

Confusion flashed across his features as he struggled to identify the new face. "I…we were on a ship…hidden man…a gun…I was shot?"

"That's right. The bullet passed through your wrist and into your abdomen. Lucky for you the path through your arm meant the velocity of the bullet was significantly slowed, and so the internal damage was minimal." She was now speaking as much to his visitors as to the patient himself, although both amber-coloured eyes remained focused on Seaman Webb. "It nicked the right kidney and spleen, however the surgeons were able to repair the damage."

"My arm?" He interrupted when she took a breath, and she saw the fear in his eyes.

"The bullet shattered your wrist. All of your carpals were broken, and your wrist basically had to be pinned back together. There is nerve damage to the radial, median and ulnar nerves. Some of that damage will be permanent."

………………………