Time to Heal – Part 10.
Part 10! I am running out of things to say about my chapters…
Reviews are loved and appreciated, thank you again for all the previous reviews! Enjoy.
Disclaimer – I own nothing.
Over the course of the week, Andrea pushed herself into her work. The ship had since been moved to dry dock and once fully out of the water her team could begin the major maintenance work. She found herself up at four in the morning, not returning home until after nine, she was sure people had noticed, but each time they asked her if she was okay she brushed it off, telling everyone she was fine.
She hadn't spoken to Mike since her panic attack, she assumed she'd hear less from him now, now that Christine was coming home, now that his daughters were back. They still hadn't arrived, but Andrea knew it would be sometime today that Mike would get to see his family after what felt like years. She reached the dry dock just after four, today would be the day the team started to work on repairing the engines and doing some major rewiring, which, could take them hours, or days if she was being honest.
She was happy though. She was an engineer and as much as she'd enjoyed the challenge of being XO, she knew that fixing things would be the one thing she'd chose over everything else, so, instead of sitting in her apartment staring at the blank walls, she decided to put her passion to work, if she worked hard enough it felt like nothing had changed, that was, unit she got home and realised Lily was no longer there and the world had nearly fallen apart.
Mike paced his apartment, waiting, constantly checking the clock on the wall. He'd not spoken to his girls, but he'd been told they were happy to be heading home, or what would be home, and Mike hoped that meant seeing him too. He would admit that he had mixed feelings about Christine, he didn't know what would happen, she was there when Lucas died, he wasn't. Mike knew that it would all seem real when he saw them, he no longer had his son, but he had to be positive, he had his wife and his daughters and that was what he was counting on, seeing them, holding them, and promising them he would keep them safe.
Tom had offered to wait with him but he let him go, Tom needed to be with his kids. He wondered if Andrea would have offered, maybe if Lily was here? He hadn't spoken to her for days, and it felt so strange, but then again, everything felt strange, it was so different being off the ship, being on land and trying to start over, Andrea was right, the moment they set foot on land Mike had begun to realise all that he'd lost, and all that he had to make right.
Just as he begun to get lost in his thoughts, he heard car doors. Walking over the window he saw a sight that brought him to tears. Christine. Amy. Katie. His girls, his family. Within minutes Mike had opened the front door to his apartment and was looking straight at his family.
"DAD!" His girls were okay. He pulled his daughters into a hug before pulling Christine close to him as well. He couldn't find the words to speak, but neither could they. Mike stood in the doorway, his arms wrapped around his wife and two girls, he didn't need words. His family was okay.
Andrea was right, he got his happiness, he got his second chance.
"I love you all so much…"
Mike watched as Christine made coffee, the girls had fallen to sleep on the couch, Katie had fallen asleep against Mike, and whilst before that would have annoyed him slightly, right now he didn't care, he was just happy that she was next to him, with her sister in reach.
"All they kept saying was 'dad will find us.'" Christine said with a smile as she sat down opposite him.
"I tried, I really did, and then I had to get back to the ship, but I had everyone I knew looking for you," Mike told her, it was the truth, he'd called in so many favours after he'd gotten back to the Nathan James.
"Well, we're here now. It wasn't easy, after Lucas we just packed up and ran, we stole cars, food, and money. I never thought I would go that low, but it was either steal what we needed or die." Mike nodded, not wanting to say anything.
"We've got good kids; not once did they show any signs of giving up." Mike smiled, looking at his daughters, both looked so peaceful, he assumed they hadn't slept in so long, neither had he, but at least he was safe on the ship, he didn't have to worry about being robbed at gunpoint or killed for the little food he assumed they had.
"Once the girls are settled I think we should talk," Mike said after a moment. He wanted to just fall back into a routine, but he couldn't, they had things to talk about. They'd lost their son, and with all that happened before Mike was deployed, Mike knew it was something that needed to be spoken about.
He watched Christine carefully for a moment, he knew there was something on her mind.
"If you don't want to talk today that's fine, you've been through hell, it can wait. Chrissy, I'm just happy to have you back." Mike told her with a smile, if it wasn't for Katie asleep on him, he would have gotten up, pulled her into a hug, kissed her.
"I think we just need to focus on the kids we still have with us." Mike could hear the bitterness in her voice but chose to ignore it. He'd never know what it was like to be out there, to have to fight to stay alive like the three of them did, right now he would take whatever they threw at him. He was just happy that they were alive and now, safe.
It was a few hours later when Andrea found the courage to go to Mike's apartment. She thought it was only right she went to see him, welcome Christine, and the girls home.
Knocking on the door Andrea couldn't hide the nervousness she felt, reminding herself that this wasn't the time to talk about herself or Lily, this was the time to be happy for Mike and his family. Her thoughts were cut short when the door opened.
"Andrea…" Mike smiled when he saw her.
"Hey, I thought I'd stop by and see how everything was going," Andrea explained, but everything seemed so different, awkward.
Mike let her in, offering her coffee, before telling her that the girls were sleeping. Andrea looked around the room, she didn't know what she expected, bags of clothes or other various things, but then she remembered that whatever they had a year ago, had probably been stolen.
"How did it go?" Andrea asked after a moment, once he's made her a drink. The pair of them stood in the kitchen, trying to keep their voices down.
"As well as could be expected. The girls just wanted me to hug them and never let go, but they fell to sleep after an hour or so. I expect they haven't slept properly in months, they just said how much they'd missed me and how hard it was, they gave the impression that they didn't want to talk about it." Andrea nodded.
"That's expected. When we came back the first time the place looked like hell." Mike chuckled a little, he, much like Andrea didn't know what to expect, or what to think, no amount of stories the girls told would make him understand what his family went through.
"How are you holding up?" Mike asked after a moment.
"As well as everyone else." Andrea shot back, not wanting to talk about her, this was about Mike and his family. It felt so strange for her to be in his apartment knowing his daughters were sleeping in the next room, and that was without the thought of Christine being there too.
"If need to talk, I am here, and I am going to keep on saying that until you believe it." Andrea smiled, nodding.
"Thank you, but right now, I am just trying to get through these next few weeks. I just want to get settled, then I am sure we will begin to find a new normal." Andrea told him, looking up when she heard one of the doors open.
Mike turned to see Christine. Andrea couldn't help but feel out of place, she knew there was nothing wrong with her being in the apartment, she and Mike were good friends, but there was something about seeing Christine again that made her feel uneasy like she was intruding.
"Christine, you remember Andrea, right?" Mike said turning to his wife, quickly asking if she wanted a drink.
"Yes, it's been a long time." Christine tried to make a joke, something Andrea was happy about.
"Too long if you ask me."
"How have you been? Did your family survive this mess?" Christine asked. Andrea tensed slightly, losing the ability to speak.
"Bill and Lily died not long after Lucas." Mike put in for Andrea, watching his XO for a moment.
Andrea smiled at Mike before looking to Christine, taking a deep breath.
"Well, I should leave you be. I'm glad you're back, let me know if you need a hand with anything." Andrea said, smiling at Christine, mainly because she couldn't think of anything else to say.
"You know where I am, if you need me." Mike said as Andrea walked to the door. Andrea didn't reply, she just walked out silently, waiting until she was out of his apartment and had closed the door before she let the tears fall.
Moments passed before Mike or Christine said anything.
"I didn't realise that her family had died."
"I know, and she knows that she's just struggling with being at home again," Mike explained. Christine took another sip of the drink Mike had made her.
"You said we should talk, but, I don't really have much to say." Mike held his breath, waiting for whatever she was going to say.
"The girls want to stay with you, and I'm not going to take them away from you, and I want you to make things right with them, but I don't think we can make things right between us." Mike frowned a little, but admittedly, he didn't feel as heartbroken as he assumed he would.
"Chris…"
"I can't look at you without thinking about Lucas." Mike watched his wife carefully, tears building behind his eyes.
Christine took a step forward.
"I blame you for what happened to him. We lost our little boy because of your commitment to the Navy." Mike nodded as he watched Christine take a few steps backwards. He wanted to say something, tell her he was sorry but he couldn't. The look in her eye told Mike she was serious, this wasn't fuelled by tears, this was real, she blamed him for Lucas' death.
Mike was lost for words as he watched her walk away, back to the bedroom, Mike's only comfort was knowing that Christine wouldn't take his girls away from him, at least he had a chance to make it right with them.
What did you think? I hope to have the next part up soon! Reviews are loved and appreciated! Bethany.