Sorry guys for the delay in getting this chapter up I have been away for hte last five days only gotten back today. SO here it is for you all to enjoy reading.
Kate returns to the conference room thirty minutes later.
"Mum, Dad, Helen. I have some work I need to deal with urgently. If you like, you are more than welcome to come around to my place this evening at say seven. We can have a light meal and talk some more. If you leave me with the addresses of the places you are staying, I will arrange for someone to collect you and bring you to my place." Kate suggests to the group.
"I think that would be a lovely idea Kate. It means we can get some sightseeing in this afternoon. The kids can do something other than sit around here and tonight they can always stay in the hotel with Timothy." Helen says, excitement in her voice to be able to get out of the room and do something other than listen to the other two having it off with each other.
Kate gets their hotel information before heading back to see Mike to sort out an XO for when Hammersley sails again.
1800hours
Kate's house
"What was I thinking? Inviting them to come over here?"
"You were thinking of somewhere more comfortable and private to talk." Mike says as he wraps his arms around Kate's waist from behind.
"God, how stupid could I be? I asked all of them. Not just my father, but my mother as well. And with the look the two were giving each other when I last saw them."
"Honey calm down. Take a big deep breath and relax." Mike says gently to her. She listens to him.
"Thanks." She replies back softly.
"Anytime honey." He says as the two stand there. Kate is leaning back against Mike's chest as he holds her close to him enjoying being able to have this close contact now without worry or fear of anything being said to ruin their careers.
"What do I say if dad asks what it was like living in that horrible place?"
"Tell him the truth. Tell him what Coober Pedy is like for a child."
"Then what? Watch him rip mum's to shreds over it all?'
"Kate, we both know that she could have gotten you both out of that place easily if she wanted to."
"I know. It's just..."
"No it's just, Kate."
The two are interrupted by knocking on her front door. They both look at each other, and then the time they noticed it is not far off seven.
"Do you want me to stay or go?" He quickly asks as she starts to move towards the door.
"Stay for me please?" She asks as she turns and walks back to him, laying a gentle, but promise filled kiss to his lips.
"Ok you get the door. I will put the jug on and see how dinner is going." He says as he moves to the kitchen.
While Mike is in the Kitchen, Kate goes to her front door and finds her parents are there waiting for her. She allows them to enter the house.
As they enter her house, her father takes note of how nice the inside is. He had already noticed on the drive here that she was living in an area where everyone kept their homes looking great. Inside he noticed some nicely hung pictures, a lovely table by the door where an arrangement was kept. It had to be fake, but it looked good. As he follows Kate, he notices the stair case to his left, and the two hanging pictures on the main support beam. One of them looked like it had been done by a child and he wondered if it was a picture she had done herself and kept and gotten framed or something she had brought to remind her of her childhood. As he walks past it he notices the small dining room table with a couple of chairs. If it wasn't for his leg brushing past it, he would have missed it. Then on his right he noticed the lounge, the lovely orange seats, which looked mallow with the cream couch between them. The tiled coloured mat that was on the floor that blended in so well with the wooden floor it took a couple of looks to notice it was carpet and not tiles. He smiles. Kate sure had a good eye for decorating. As he turns around in the lounge, he comes across the kitchen and a person standing in it with their back to the group. When the person turns around, he recognises him as one of the officers from earlier today.
Kate's father was proud of what he had seen so far. There was all sorts of little things around the place. He had no idea what they meant to Kate, but the fact she had them out in what looked like their normal place must mean they mean something to her.
"Dad, are you ok?" Kate asks her father after noticing he hadn't replied to her question.
"Sorry sweetie, I was so busy taking in your beautiful surrounds. You've done a wonderful job of decorating your place." He says with pride to her. "What did you say?"
"Do you want a drink?"
"Yes please."
"What would you like?"
"Water would be great thank you Kate." He says as he watches her move into the kitchen and work beside Mike making the drinks while he helps with dinner.
Kate brings out the drinks for everyone before heading back to the kitchen to help Mike finish off the meal.
The three sit in the lounge talking and semi watching the two in the kitchen. Mike and Kate can tell they are being watched.
"Are you sure about me being here?" Mike asks her again as he finishes off making the salad.
"Yes, now get chopping." She says as she passes him some more items to chop up as she takes out some of the meal and places it on the tables in the lounge.
"Yes ma'am." He replies back cheekily before she leaves with a smile on her face.
"Do you need a hand with anything?" Helen asks her.
"No Mike and I have it under control just sit, relax and enjoy." Kate replies. Her nerves are getting to her, but knowing Mike is there for her and will be there once they all leave is helping her to stay more grounded.
Mike gets a jug out, some ice, lemons and soda water and makes up a nice refreshing drink to have with their meal. He knows that tonight having alcohol with the meal may not be wise. Kate gets the fish out of the oven and unwraps it from the foil before taking it over to the table. Once they have sat down they all start to dish up what they want.
"So Kate this place you grew up in, tell me a bit about it?" She freezes for a moment. Mike leans over and gently whispers in her ear.
"I grew up in a town called Coober Pedy. Not much to the place really." She says as she looks at her mother who is not looking at anyone only her plate of food.
"OK what else?" he asks and Kate was hoping not to have to do this tonight.
"It's an Opal mining town. We lived in a house that was mainly underground. Most of the homes are like that as it would get extremely hot, especially in summer where it is known to get over forty degrees. There was red dirt for miles with no real vegetation to be seen. It was hot, dusty and dry. I always had a cough due to the dust. And in summer you never went outside during the day as it was too hot. There is no river in summer, the only time the river had water was when it flooded and then you didn't want to be near it, then there aren't any ponds or anything else to swim in so you couldn't cool off and you never played with water as everyone had to pay for it and it wasn't cheap. It was better off staying inside at least the temperature stayed the same. In a nut shell it was a hole, well the place has several holes. It is miles away from anywhere." She says to him.
It is quiet between the group as they finish off dinner. Neil looks at Mike and just by the way Mike is, Neil can tell that this person who he doesn't know, knows far more about Kate and her upbringing than what Kate wants to share. He doesn't miss Kate looking at Mike often or how their eyes lock every so often, as if it is important to them that silent acknowledgement of each other.
As Mike and Kate go to start taking everything back to the kitchen, Helen and Sophie offer to do it for them leaving the other three in the lounge.
In the kitchen.
"Sophie, was it really like that?"
"Yeah it was. And it was miles away from any place worth going to; to sort things out." The two then share idle small talk mainly about what happened after she left and how Helen and Neil got to be together.
While in the lounge, Mike and Kate stay sitting together on the couch.
As Neil goes to speak, Mike's mobile rings and he heads outside to talk.
"I would take it by that gentlemen being here he is your partner?" Neil asks
"Yes he is." Kate answers, her nerves starting to get to her. Neil picks up her unsure tone because of being alone with him.
"Why don't you go help your mother and Helen with those dishes? By the looks of things they don't know where some things go. And if you are anything like you were as a young child, everything has its place." He says to her and she smiles before getting up and heading to the kitchen to help.
While outside, Mike is so busy talking away on his mobile that he doesn't hear Neil arrive outside. Mike doesn't notice him there till he finishes his phone call and turns around.
"So Kate tells me you are her partner?" Neil says straight off.
"Yes I am."
"How long have the two of you known each other?" He asks and Mike feels like he is being given the third degree. He feels like a teenager all over again.
"Ten years." Neil stands there. He was surprised to hear the two had known each other for as long as they have.
"Neil, Kate doesn't really like talking about her childhood or her past with her mother." Mike says to Neil in a gentle but firm tone.
"Do you know why? I noticed she seemed unsure and also when talking about the place she lived that it was something she didn't want to do."
"Well I'm not sure what sort of picture her mother has painted, but by what Kate has told me it wasn't the sort of childhood you would want for anyone."
"Would Kate have a problem if you were to tell me about what you know?"
"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't do it without asking Kate first." He says as Kate walks out.
"What won't you do without asking me?" Kate says as she comes up and stands beside Mike. Mike places an arm around her waist.
"Your father asked me if I would tell him more about your childhood. I said not without asking you first." He says to her and his thumb gentle caresses her hip.
"I think that can wait for another day." She says coldly towards both males. Her father isn't happy, but Mike knows she isn't being cold about it just for the sake of it. Her childhood is something she hates talking about and it took some sweet talking from Mike for Kate to open up about it to him.
"I don't mind telling him Kate, but I won't without your say so. You don't have to be around. You can go inside and talk with your mother and Helen, while I stay out here with your dad." He says to her. Mike knows at some stage her father will need to be told what Kate went through and maybe him telling Neil what he knows might just relieve some of the weight on Kate's shoulders.
"Fine then." She replies back as she goes to move away and heads back inside. The arm Mike has around her stops her from moving she looks up at him. They look at each other.
"I'm doing this for you to save you having to talk about it. Don't be like this over it."
"Sorry I..."
"I know you don't like talking about it, but I can do it for you. Let me do this for you." they say to each other via their looks. Kate then nods her head before heading back inside.
"You two always like that?" Neil asks Mike once Kate is back inside.
"No, not always. We do have the odd throat ribbing debate, well more than odd they happen often between us…" the two talk, Neil asks him questions and he answers them. Some are about himself and some are about Kate and her childhood.
Inside
"So Kate care to explain how you met that hunk of a Commander out there?" Helen asks her as the three sit down in the lounge. Kate smiles thinking about how they first meet.
"You really want to know how we meet?"
"Hell yea, so come on spill." Helen says all excited to know how the two meet.
"We met ten years ago. He was my instructor on a course I had to take."
"And…" Helen asks her with a grin on her face.
"And then we met again five years ago. He was my Boss until yesterday. Well… he still is my boss, but we no longer serve on the same ship or in direct chain of command."
"So you mean he has waited ten years to be able to get you into bed. Man girl your first impression must have been a brilliant one." Helen says and she notices Kate looking down and going red.
"Hang on one minute; you've already bedded each other haven't you?" She asks and Kate just nods her head.
"Oh god don't tell me you did a big no, no and slept with him when he was your instructor." Helen can just tell from her face that Kate and Mike have slept together. "Oh Katie you did, you two slept together. My god! Little Miss perfect can be a rebel." Helen says and Sophie cracks up laughing at watching the two interact as if they haven't spent so many years apart. "So how hot does he look without his shirt on?" Helen then asks, and Kate sits there shaking her head.
"What do you reckon, Sophie? Would he look even better wet and shirtless?" Helen asks as she nudges Sophie.
"Oh yeah, but what about with a white shirt on and him all wet?" Sophie says back.
"Oh even better." Helen says back to Sophie.
"Ok you two stop."
"Why? You've got yourself one fine looking man out there. If I saw him I would think he was already taken with a family waiting at home." Helen says then something clicks in her brain.
"Kate you didn't break up a marriage did you?" Helen says very seriously to Kate that it even gets Sophie wondering what is going on.
"No I didn't."
"Helen what makes you say that?"
"Well Kate told Sam that her partner had a child, and it just clicked in my brain if he has a child he must have been married and for him to still be single must mean she was the mistress in it all." Helen says.
"Stop right there. I was not a mistress and he wasn't married. He got drunk with his best mate who is a woman, they drunk a lot of wine and then slept together. She was upset over something, and she was married. It only happened once and he only found out the child she had was his a few months ago."
"How?" Sophie asks Kate.
"A few months ago an old friend of Mike's, who was married to the lady Mike slept with, yes he slept with a married woman. Anyway he came back as he needed his son to be tested for a bone marrow transplant. Sadly they weren't a match so he did a DNA test behind Mike, Maxine and Ryan's backs. No one knew till he showed up and punched Mike in the face. Well we found out the following day. It caused huge problems between them all. Ryan went AWOL from the Navy, Maxine was nursing Stuart through his finally months and Mike was left alone to deal with it all." Helen looks at Kate.
"Don't go there please. It was not one of my most proudest moments. Anyway Mike and Ryan are now just starting to mend their relationship. Mike and I are finally back on track with what we want. For both of us and I can speak for him on this matter after our affair back then there hasn't been anyone else that has been able to match up to the other. Our only problem has been work."
"Why this long? Why haven't you been able to sort things out before hand?" Sophie asks her daughter.
"Loads of things. When we were first together it would have ended our careers. He left without anything being said. I understand why he did it, but it hurt. By the time I had gotten over it I had decided not to let it get to me. Then five years ago I got posted up here and low and behold I am placed on his ship. At first I hated being around him and what he had done to me and what feelings just being so close to him brought back up for me. I was only meant to stay six months, but the thought of leaving, I just couldn't do it not yet. I had decided if I couldn't have him in my bed, then I was sure as hell going to stay close enough to be around him every day. Anyway it took three years before we even talked about there being an us again. He got posted off. One week of being together and one wonderful night and then the damn brass places him back on Hammersley. Then we waited again. He was meant to get posted off about eight months ago, but that didn't happen. Some things came up and it kept us together on the boat. In a way I don't blame him, I did some horrible things to him that basically stopped him from being posted off. To be honest I'm surprised he is even wanting to be with me with what I have done to him, to us." Kate says: her voice softens out as she talks about some of the things that have happened.
"Anyway now I'm in command of Hammersley. He is at Navcom and we can have a relationship finally without worry of him being posted back onto the boat. It's been ten years in the making. We've been through a lot. If we still want to be with each other with everything that we have put each other through, it must mean we are meant to be together." She says as she looks out over towards Mike and the two gazes lock on each other and they smile before turning back to who they are speaking to.
"So there you go I didn't sleep with a married man. Are you happy now?"
"Katie, all we care about is you being happy. What we feel or think is not important." Helen says to Kate as she watches Kate move away from the lounge and off somewhere most likely the bathroom the two women think to themselves.
"Great! We stuffed that one up didn't I." Helen says to herself.
"No Helen, I would have thought the same thing. Considering he has a child, but then again he was the one who slept with a married woman." Sophie says.
"Not like you haven't done it." Helen says back with some spite in her voice.
"Yes I did, but I am not proud of it and I always made sure protection was used. But this isn't about me. This is about Kate."
"Yea, but still Sophie you could have done something in an Opal mining town. Surely you could have worked in the mines or done something, anything else than what you did." Helen says to her. Helen is disappointed in Sophie and what she did with Kate around and in the house.
"She didn't really care, Helen. She left me to my own devices basically. I was the one that cleaned the house, cooked the meals, even cleaned up after her at times. I washed my own clothes. Ironed my school uniform. I even did the food shopping because she couldn't be bothered. I even had to go find ways to get us extra money because she would spend it."
"Kate how did you do that?" Her father asks, both him and Mike having entered the house as Kate was rattling off to her mother.
"Unlike my mother here, I went and farmed Opals and sold them to get us extra money. I even got extra ones to make sure I had enough money to get away from there till I was able to go to ADFA."
"That was smart."
"Smart? No dad it was sensible. Opals were easy to come by so once a week I would go farm a few. Over the years they built up. When I needed clothes or we needed food to eat, text books for school, even trips I would sell some to get the cash. Don't worry she had plenty of other ways to earn money other than the way she did it." Kate says to them all before turning around and walking up her stairs to her room closing the door behind her.
Mike and the other three talk while Kate is in her room thinking. She is so in thought that she doesn't hear Mike arrive in the room.
"Honey are you ok?" He asks as he wraps his arm around her shoulders pulling her into his side.
"Yes, No god I don't know." She says to him softly.
The two sit there for a few moments. "I know my dad needs to know what it was like, but it still doesn't make it any easier to deal with. You would think after all this time I could be less emotional over it all." She says.
"Kate, if you weren't, I would be more worried." Comes the deep voice of her father, who has watched the exchange between the two. "I'm just pleased my own daughter didn't resort to her mother's tricks to earn money."
"Why dad? Money wasn't that hard to come by, if you did some work and didn't mind getting dirty."
"So how many years were you going out to find the Opals?" He asks as he comes in and sits down beside her and Mike stays where he is.
"I started about the age of ten, I think. I found some when playing in a big dirt mound late one evening. Like all girls it was shiny and I liked it so I took them home. Sometime later I found out they were worth something so I started to go out every so often and get them. I hid them in my bedroom. The buyer in town I am sure now was only buying from me because he knew what my mother was up too, and when I told him what I was using the money from them on. When I left to move to Adelaide, I sold some more in that city. I didn't get as much as I thought which made me think that the guy back in Coober Pedy was giving me more for them than they were worth, but back then I didn't know much on the grading system that they use, unlike now. The whole town knew what mum was like…well the ones I dealt with did. To be honest I couldn't get out of there quick enough. Once I finished school, I had a few months before my intake at ADFA so one of the teachers got in touch with her family and I had somewhere to stay. I explored and did some work experience before going to ADFA." She says while still leaning against Mike. "I still have some of those Opals I farmed. They are in a safe deposit box at the bank. I've not had to use them since I joined the Navy as I have had enough of a wage coming in to cover all my needs, plus I have had them valued so that the bank knows the value of them."
"Then why did you take more with you?" He asks her.
"Mum had always told me I would not amount to anything, that I wouldn't survive once I left home. I was worried that maybe I wouldn't make it through ADFA so I took extra so that if I didn't, I had something to fall back onto until I could get a job and use that to fund my living expenses.