Chapter Five-

Kate let her leaden legs carry her down to the wardroom, and she checked in with Slinger and Spider.

"How are you Spider?" She asked first.

"Alright X, a little sore, but I'll live. Gotta keep the shrapnel until I get to hospital though; Slinger and Bird are worried that I might have severed something, and they want the hospital to remove it." Spider was still grinning idiotically, drugged to the eyeballs with morphine.

"As long as you're okay Spider." Kate turned her attentions to her ex-husband.

"Slinger, what's the diagnosis?" Asked Kate.

"Bird has decided on concussion, broken ribs, possible fractured arm, query internal bleeding, and several areas of severe burns," reported Slinger.

"Well, Dodger's trying to get a medivac out here, but it looks like we're going to have to steam for home. They're going to send out the HMAS Childers out to pick up the rest of the Melbourne crew from Samaru." Slinger nodded.

"Acknowledged Ma'am. Whatever you think is best," replied Slinger, more occupied with charting Mike's stats. Kate left the wardroom, heading for austere. She wanted to check on 2Dads and the younger Kosov-Meyer. As she headed down the corridor to austere, she heard shouting. She ran into Chefo, who was desperately trying to hold 2Dads back.

"Oi! What's going on?" Exclaimed Kate as she neared the two sailors.

"Bird's trying to work on Emilia, and 2Dads here started to overreact a little. Bird asked me to get him out, and now I'm just trying to keep him out," replied Toby.

"Stand down 2Dads," ordered Kate. 2Dads continued to fight for a moment, and then ceased. Toby released his grip gently, and 2Dads stood straight. He was still tense, but Kate was relatively reassured that he wasn't going to do anything stupid.

"Stay out here. I will check on Able Seaman Kosov-Meyer, and you can help Dodger on the bridge with Hunt. I don't trust either of them yet," said Kate. 2Dads nodded, and left the corridor.

"Chefo, you should probably be dealing with lunch," suggested Kate. He saluted.

"Yes ma'am." He left for the galley, and Kate breathed a sigh of relief. For now, anyway. She pushed open the door to austere, and found Bird notating obs on a chart.

"How is she?" Asked Kate.

"We had a scare there for a moment. She's allergic to morphine, and we had no idea. She's right now, but she still needs to be checked over when we get to port," replied Bird. Emily stirred.

"Where's Leo?" She asked, her voice muffled through the oxygen mask.

"He's up on the bridge. Listen, I need to give NAVCOM an update; do you remember what happened?" Asked Kate. Emilia struggled to sit up, and Bird supported her.

"We were on skeleton crew; everyone opted for shore leave. I stayed back because I needed to do some repairs, and Spider had to fill in a report. Boss never leaves the ship anymore when we're on shore leave, and we've stopped asking if he'd like to go. Spider heard a noise outside, like a whistling, and the next thing we knew, the boat was in pieces, and we were floating in the ocean. Spider and I tried to keep CO floating for as long as possible. We hoped that the other RHIB would come back and find us, but they never did. Please, is Spider okay?" She asked.

"Spider is fine; he's a little injured, but nothing a few stitches and a dose of morphine can't fix. And the CO is in a critical condition, but Slinger and Bird both agree that he should be okay." Kate was saying this not only for the young sailors benefit, but also for her own. A knock was heard on the door, and Dutchy appeared.

"Ma'am, we've arranged a cabin for Able Seaman Kosov-Meyer, and NAVCOM is on the line for you," reported Dutchy. Kate stood up, and Emily grabbed her hand.

"Please. Tell Leo I'm sorry," she said desperately. Kate nodded.

"I will. Dutchy, can you make sure Kosov-Meyer gets to her cabin safely? Bird, I need you in the wardroom; Slinger is due to go off watch," said Kate. Dutchy slipped inside to help Emily, and Bird left, heading for the wardroom. Kate squeezed past Dutchy, and headed to ComCen. She knew exactly what the call would be about, and she'd put it off for most of the morning. She didn't want to talk to Maxine about Mike; she wanted to let it be, and never think about those years spent yearning after the man that was now lying in a critical con…

"Stop it Kate," she ordered herself. She slipped into Comcen; it was empty, Dodger upstairs working, and Slinger off-duty. She picked up the satellite phone.

"Lieutenant-Commander Kate McGregor speaking."

"Kate, it's Maxine. Did you find him?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am. We found him. The Samaruans have blown up the HMAS Melbourne though I'm afraid. She's in pieces, most of it resting on the sea floor, but some parts still floating. It's a mess," reported Kate.

"Mike the only survivor?" Asked Maxine.

"No ma'am, Able Seaman Kosov-Meyer and Midshipman Billy Webb were both rescued as well. As for the rest of the crew, they are unreachable on the island," replied Kate. She could feel a headache starting already, and she knew part of it was brought on by Maxine.

"That's good then. Childers will pick them up tonight after they've finished loading," responded Maxine, relaxing in her seat.

"Permission to speak freely ma'am?" Asked Kate.

"Of course Kate. I've always had that policy with you and Mike," answered Maxine, a little confused.

"What's going on with you and Mike?" Asked Kate.

"Nothing. We have dinner occasionally, but he mostly just stays here when he's on shore leave, or he opts to stay on the Melbourne. He's only ever home when Ryan is, and even then, he's not really here Kate." Kate choked back a sob; he wasn't dating Maxine.

"Kate. If you don't mind me asking, what happened between you two?" Asked Maxine. She'd been a friend to Mike for years, and when she met Kate, had instantly disliked her. But Kate worked hard, and soon the hate that Maxine had harboured for Kate dissipated, and they became friends. Knocker had the theory that everyone thought that she and Mike were in a relationship, but they'd agreed it would never work. Mike was a friend, one that seemed to be particularly needy at the moment.

"I lost the baby Max. I lost the baby, and a week later, Mike left and never came back. He signed divorce papers, demanded the ring back, but I didn't see him. Nikki and Dutchy would rotate, coming to check in on me. It's been a year Max, and I'm engaged to someone else," said Kate, though now her heart wished it wasn't true.

"Congratulations Kate. Who is the lucky man?" Asked Knocker.

"Dutchy," replied Kate, her heart feeling leaden.

"Well, congratulations again, and I'll see you when you get back to Port. NAVCOM out." Kate hung up the phone, and cradled her head in her hands. He'd never really gotten over her, just like she'd never really gotten over him. Now they were stuck at an impasse, both not knowing how to get out of their situation. Dutchy knocked on the Comcen door, and poked his head inside.

"Dodger said I'd find you in here. Are you okay?" Asked Dutchy. Kate nodded, wiping away the tears she didn't even realise were falling. Dutchy closed the door behind himself, and put a hand on hers.

"Hey. What's going on?" Asked Dutchy, concerned for his fiancé. Kate gave him a watery smile.

"I'm fine. Really. I'm just tired," she lied. Dutchy kissed her on the forehead.

"I've got the ship, and I can handle anything that comes our way. So can Nikki. Go to your rack and get some sleep; an exhausted CO is not going to be any use to anyone," said Dutchy, making the decision for Kate. She nodded and stood up. Dutchy followed her out of ComCen, and watched as she walked down the corridor to her cabin. She gave Dutchy a small wave, and then disappeared inside. Once safely there, she let the tears fall freely.

Was Dutchy the right choice?