Chapter 29


"What do you think they are doing in there? I hear a lot of groaning" Tex said as he pressed his ear to the door. He'd been walking by to find Tom standing outside looking rather perturbed.

The Captain told him that Rachel and Kate were inside and he was making sure the women weren't interrupted while Commander Slattery went to get medical supplies. The door was closed thus he pressed his ear to it to listen in. So far all he heard were a lot muffled curse words, groaning and Rachel's haughty tone that she used on him when she told him that he needed to have his wounds disinfected. It was the cute 'don't be such a child' tone.

"It's not what you're hoping" Tom told him as he couldn't believe he was standing guard at the Men's shower.

He was the Captain, he had better things to do than stand around like eat and get some sleep or catch up on what happened on the ship while he was gone. But no, he was making sure that Rachel and Kate were disturbed. Something told him if anyone caught Kate naked in a shower; Mike would go ballistic even though his XO would claim there was nothing inappropriate between himself and Kate.

But Tom didn't miss the undercurrent of tension going on between Kate and Mike earlier. Nor did he miss the hostility in Tex's demeanour just now as Mike returned with a medkit and a bottle of water in hand.

"I can take those" Tex told Mike, his tone was casual and helpful but his demeanour screamed 'back the fuck off'. Mike narrowed his eyes at Tex as he wondered what bug crawled up the man's arse. But as per usual he couldn't show deference to Kate without Tom sticking his nose in his personal life. So he reluctantly held out the bag and bottle of water to the man.

"Tell them to hurry up" Tom told Tex as he opened the door. "I have a ship to run and I'm not going to waste my afternoon standing here guarding the men's shower" Tom said to Tex, he could allow some impropriety for Tex to go into the room as the man was not in the Navy or under his command in an official manner. That and he knew it would give Tex a chance to garner some good will with Rachel.

"You two can go on with your day. I got this covered" Tex assured them, there was something slightly patronising about the lilt of his accent that rubbed Mike the wrong way. Mike was ready to remind the man of his place; the one that gave him no right to tell Mike what to do or give him the power to dismiss him. But before he could; his radio crackled to life and his duty to ship took precedence. He stepped back and listened to the issue at hand before he acknowledged he had heard the message and then looked to Tom.

"I gotta go, do you want me to call a crewman to takeover here?" Mike asked him, Tom shook his head as he had been on his way to speak with Dr Scott.

"No, I'll talk to Doctor Scott after she's done with Lassiter. Then I'm going hit the rack for a few hours" Tom informed him. Mike rose a questioning eyebrow as he seriously doubted Tom would sleep until late tonight as they hadn't mapped out the next few days.


"Incoming, put your clothes on or off if you're in the mood" Tex called out as he came into the room, his tone was amused and he sounded way too cheerful for Kate's current state.

"Our clothes are on" Kate told him, she had lost her sense of humour when she hadn't been able to wash her own hair. She hated being injured on the best of days but to have to rely on others to help her was painfully embarrassing. She didn't like being treated like an invalid, she also hated the fact that it was her second shower with an audience. Sure Rachel was a hundred times better than some Russian soldier but still Kate wished she could have been alone. Sadly with her injuries it was not an option.

"I've come bearing gifts" Tex said in a cheerful tone as he carried in a medium sized duffel bag. Kate sat on the bench dressed in her 3/4 yoga tights and front zip sports bra. Getting said bra on had been a real pain but then she was not going to be braless unless it was in the privacy of her quarters. She just wished she had packed a button down shirt as all she had were tank tops and t-shirts. She held onto her arm and vainly trying to sit up straight but it was incredibly painful to do so but then lying down wasn't an option either. What she needed was energy and painkillers as she was so exhausted and in pain that it felt like her muscles were barely holding onto her bones.

"Thank you" Rachel said to Tex as she took the bag from him. Tex's smile dropped as he looked at Kate and winced as he saw the bruises which were now even more pronounced as they had time to mature thanks to the scrubbing and hot water that Kate had refused to give up on. She'd even had a 6 minute shower to make sure she had completely rinsed off the Vyerni and the blood. But then she had a feeling that foregoing her shower tomorrow wasn't going to be a hardship.

"Geez Red, you look like hell" Tex said as he looked at her with deep concern and pity which made her feel really angry as he thought she was a victim. She didn't know why but she half expected him to try and hug her in that instance and she knew if he did she would punch him just to prove she refused to be coddled.

"You're no panty dropper yourself" Kate replied snidely as she went to the bench and straddled it so Rachel could apply fresh dressings to her deeper cuts and abrasions. Rachel unzipped the bag and pulled out the arm sling first and helped Kate into it, securing her right arm before she moved back to back to pull out surgical gloves, antiseptic and fresh gauze and tape.

"So how are you?" he asked Kate, she knew he was concerned and she appreciated it but right now she wanted as little interaction with people until she was in less pain and a better mood.

"Lucid" Kate replied dryly as she felt the question was rather a stupid one given the situation. She wished he would just leave and give her some peace and quiet. If you wanted that you should have gone to the women's showers Kate silently chastised herself but then she could barely remember how she got from the infirmary to her quarters up to where they were. She remembered waking up, feeling nauseous at the smell of cigarettes, vodka, antiseptic, blood and death. The urge to just purge herself of it all was enough to get her out of there but the in between times were a little fuzzy.

"You got some nasty injuries" Tex said as Rachel started to apply fresh dressing to her scrapped up flank which happened when she had been slammed into the wardrobe. She gave him a glowering look as he moved to sit down on the bench in front of her.

"Nice to see you still retain your ability to state the obvious" Kate told him darkly, she had meant to go for sarcastic but her mood was not allowing her to go there. She winced as Rachel applied a disinfectant cream, the smell of it made her stomach roll in bad way.

"Someone wake up on the wrong side of the ship?" Tex said as he went to touch her but brought his hand back when she flinched at the movement and immediately winced in pain from her body tensing. He looked upset at her but she couldn't help her reactions as they were reflexive in nature.

"You could say that" Kate told him as her heart hammered, just the reaction to him trying to touch her revved her fried nerves. "I'm also hungover" she told him, he gave a empathetic smile as he rose to his feet and moved to the bag on the floor by Rachel's feet.

"Lucky for you Commander Slattery had the foresight to pack this for you" he said as pulled out a bottle of red coloured water. He popped the lid open and handed it to her, she knew she should have been grateful to be saved the trouble but it only rankled her as it reiterated how helpless she was with her busted arm.

She took the bottle from him and made a face as the water smelt noxiously of artificial berries flavour. Not that she minded but she appreciated the extra measure Mike had gone with the supplies. He always remembered the small details. Like how given the 'party night' she had, she would need to up her electrolytes. She took a small tentative sip and winced at how strong the flavour was and because Rachel had pressed a little too hard against her bruised side.

"What did they do to you?" Tex asked her. She looked at him, the man who kept all his darkest secrets and past locked up tight and deflect every emotional situation with humour; ask her a blatantly personal question.

"What do you think? I got into a few fights. It's no big deal" Kate told him casually, she would have shrugged but really didn't want the movement to distract Rachel from finishing her work.

"Did they-" Tex started ask but Rachel and Kate cut him off.

"Tex!" Rachel said in a chastising tone.

"That is none of your business" Kate said at the exact same time in a chilling tone. Tex reared back at Kate's words.

"None of my business? Commander Slattery traded you for me and the Captain." Tex said affronted as he had obviously been stewing over that little fact for a long while considering the anger in his demeanour.

"I made the decision to go not the Commander" Kate told him. She wanted to explain to him how she had lost her value to the Nathan James while the crew still needed their Captain and him. That she had willing gone even if there hadn't been a rescue plan even if it meant giving up a chance at a future with Mike because she was pragmatic enough to see the decision through but Tex didn't give her a chance.

"Look at you, look at what the Russians did to you-"

"I don't need a fucking recap on the past 48 hours. I know what happened and you should be grateful that I was willing to go because we both know you're more important to the crew and ship" Kate told him darkly.

"It hasn't even been 48 hours, you're so fucked up by it. They nearly killed you and you're going to defend Commander Slattery cause he gave you a some bullshit speech about making a sacrifice for the many crap?" Tex asked scathingly.

"Tex, I'm not going argue with you when we both know you Americans can become impassioned over life and death situations" Kate said in a tired tone, she even rolled her eyes because she didn't want the drama and possible deep and meaningful moment to occur.

"Well excuse me if I'm not capable of being dispassionate and detached about my best friend's wife being beaten to near death because she thinks she's worthless in comparison to a dumb grunt like me" Tex told her, she could see his anger and his pain but she couldn't connect with him or find common ground with him to just end the argument. Maybe it was that she wanted to goad him so he wouldn't act as though she were a fragile piece of glass. She wanted him to pretend it was nothing and move on.

"You're excused nd welcome" Kate told him sarcastically knowing she was goading him. She knew if she were a man Tex would have punched her, she saw his hands make fists as he tried to remain calm.

"That's cute, you give the Russians that kind of attitude?" he asked reflecting her own sarcastic manner, his words sliced through her as they just brought up memories of Ruskov talking about Jack. Reminding her that she didn't ever know the man she was married to, that he had effectively compartmentalised his world. She had no clue what she had meant to him, not much considering he was happy to have his company use you as a guinea pig... Kate thought grimly and now his best friend was sitting here berating her for being useful, for being a soldier and trying to help out. She goaded him to be hurtful because frankly she didn't want his pity.

"Maybe you should be grateful or at least appreciate that I and Dr Scott were willing to do for you and this ship instead of treating me as if I'm a idiot incapable of making my own decisions. I wasn't exploited by Commander Slattery and to think I could be swayed by a speech of martyrdom would be insult to myself and the man in question. It was just pragmatic and simple" Kate told him, Tex opened his mouth to argue but Kate spoke first "No, you and I are not having this argument until I've both gotten more than a few hours sleep and pancakes" she told him.

"Well then I guess we'll be waiting a while to finish the conversation as you missed out on the pancakes and it's not on the normal menu rotation" Tex told her in a snide manner.

"Well then perhaps that's a good thing because I'm exhausted and in a foul mood." Kate took a breath and then said "So I appreciate you bringing in the supplies but I would like to be left alone with Rachel now" she told him. Tex looked at her for a moment as if trying to figure out if he knew her. They rarely had fights except when he hit her tender spots like he was now.

The last fight they had had was when Kate talked about going back to Australia and he had suggested that making big decisions weren't in her best interest whilst she was grieving. She couldn't remember all the words but she remembered the trigger point being 'What would Jack think?' and her reply hadn't been exactly complimentary.

"Ok, I'm gone but when you want to talk. You'll know where to find me" Tex told her as he threw up his hands and got to his feet. Kate watched as he left the shower room and once she heard the door to the room close she dropped her head down.

"Fuck" Kate cursed, she looked over her shoulder to Rachel who had stopped what she had been doing obviously stunned by the heated exchange. "Sorry about that" Kate told her.

"He cares about you" Rachel replied as she pulled up the loose tank top Kate had brought to put over her crop top as she didn't have a button down shirt and all her other clothing looked like they would be more of a pain to get in and out of.

"Like the annoying older brother I never asked for" Kate said as tears filled her eyes as she hated how small, pathetic and weak she felt. Rachel helped her slowly eased on the tank onto her right shoulder before her left.

"I think he's more angry at himself than you" Rachel said as she pulled out the arm sling and proceeded to Help Kate into it. Kate winced from the movement and closed her eyes. The blocking out of the light and the heaviness of her closed eyelids allowed her a moment of relaxation. Something her body was crying out for as she felt herself lean to the left she opened her eyes and rubbed her face with her left hand.

"I need to lie down" Kate told her. Rachel was about to agree with her when they heard the sounds of the door opening.

"Doc, a moment outside please?" Tom called from the door. Rachel looked at Kate.

"I'll be ok" Kate assured her.

"I'll be back in a moment. Just stay here and keep drinking the hydrolytes. It'll help" Rachel told Kate, she quickly packed up the mess she had made into a bio-hazard bag and packed up the rest of what was left into duffel bag before she left the room.


"Doc" Tom said as Rachel came to the door, she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her as she didn't want her voice to carry into the room.

"Everything alright?" Tom asked her as he wondered why she had closed the door.

"I believe it will be. I know it would be an inconvenience but I don't think Kate has the energy to make it back to the Infirmary let alone our quarters without assistance" Rachel said.

"She should be in the infirmary" Tom told her in a tone that made Rachel feel as if she were a small child who needed to be reminded every five minutes not to do something. She really needed to rest not fall into an argument with Tom.

"Yes, I agree and only because she's unable to be independent but with respect we have no idea what kind of trauma Kate has been through. To put her back into the Infirmary which is doubling as a morgue would not be healthy for her. She wants to escape all reminders of the Vyerni and I don't blame her, I feel the same-" Rachel stopped as she wasn't sure what to say or perhaps she said too much as she felt raw and slightly exposed for confiding what little she just had about herself.

"You think she's going to just keep walking out of the infirmary?" Tom asked giving her leeway to deflect the attention off herself and her own issues that she was dealing with due to what happened on the Vyerni. She hadn't experienced what Kate went through but her own time had been traumatic in it's own right.

"I believe so yes which will not be conducive to her recovery or the ship if we keep losing her around the place" Rachel said.

"So you want me to carry her to your quarters?" Tom asked not sure where they were going with this.

"I was hoping you'd allow her the privacy of your stateroom or the commanders as they are considerably closer and I believe Kate could manage to make it there with little to no assistance" Rachel suggested, she was hoping he would say yes because she knew right now Kate was in a fragile state but if she knew anything about Kate. The woman hated being considered a victim and to be carried around would make her appear weak. The fight with Tex, having to be helped in the shower had shown Rachel how hard it was for Kate to give up her independence. Rachel would have felt the same if their roles had been reversed.

"You want me to give up my room?" Tam asked her in a sceptical tone as to him; Rachel was definitely pushing the friendship.

"Only your lounge for a few hours or perhaps you could ask Commander Slattery to accommodate her for a few hours. I'm not asking you to tend her every whim, I'm asking to allow her some dignity in walking out of this room on her own accord" Rachel told him.


"Have a seat" Tom told Kate as he guided her by her left elbow into his stateroom. He was seriously tempted putting her in Mike's stateroom but knew it would just be asking for trouble. He wanted to trust that Mike would be honourable towards Kate but he wasn't sure he could say the same for Kate in regards to Mike. It was just easier to make do with putting Kate on his lounge for a couple of hours.

"Can't we talk when I'm not in such a miserable state?" Kate asked as she sat down on the lounge. Rachel had already dosed her with some pain meds or so Kate assumed was in the syringe as she was back to a nice warm fuzzy place where she was ready to sleep but Tom apparently lacked the patience to allow Kate to do so otherwise he wouldn't have practically dragged her to his office.

"Yeah, we're not going to talk" he told her, Kate reared back at him and gave him an odd look. "We're not going to be doing that either" he assured as he could only assume that she thought he was going to try and get fresh with her. Her immediately relief at his assurance was amusing to watch as she leaned against the back of the lounge.

"I was worried for a moment because I'm not high enough to consider that less than savoury prospect" she told him, she could see that he wasn't impressed with the fact that she wasn't interested in him.

"I should be insulted" Tom told her and she gave an amused smile.

"Sorry, you don't float my boat" she said a chuckle escaped her as she realised the poor choice of words. Tom shook his head at her obviously she had bruised his ego but she knew better than to stir him further. "Ok then why was I directed here; if we're not going to talk or well let's be honest you interrogate me" she said him.

"You're here, so that you can stop making yourself into O.H & S issue for my ship and crew" Tom told her.

"You lost me" Kate told him with a frown.

"No, Rios did and I'll be having words with him. Right now, you are going to lie down and get some sleep" Tom informed her.

"Is that an order?" Kate asked.

"No and before I forget where's the Commander's leatherman?" Tom asked her.

"What?" Kate asked feigning ignorance.

"I have two kids who think that face works on me. It doesn't. Hand it over" He told her, holding out his hand waiting for her to give him back the leatherman she swiped from Rachel. He stared down at her in a disapproving manner and she pursed her lips before she pulled it out of her arm sling and placed it in his hand.

"Happy?" She asked him as he pocketed the leatherman.

"Estatic, let me get you a blanket" Tom told her as he moved into his quarters and pulled out a spare blanket. When he came back into the main room Kate was lying on the lounge with her back flat and her legs bent as the lounge was not long enough to accommodate her height.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Kate asked.

"This isn't me being nice" Tom told her as he draped the blanket over her legs and the top half of her body before he pulled over a chair and sat down.

"Really? you could have turfed me back into the infirmary" Kate said as she used her left hand to pull the blanket a little higher over her arms.

"Would you stay there?" he asked her.

"No" she answered honestly. Her words slurred together as her body was slowly succumbing to exhaustion. She wished Tom would just shut up and leave her to sleep but instead he pulled up a chair and wanted to talk.

"And why wouldn't you stay?" he asked her, she could see that he was frustrated by her like she were an errant child and in some manner she truly was an unruly child especially to him. He was used to everyone being completely obedient and his ship running smoothly and here she was mucking it up and getting into trouble just because she couldn't conform. She couldn't just lie in the infirmary like a good little girl because of her own issues.

"If I were a guy, you'd be patting me on the back and saying 'good job'. Telling me to rub engine grease into my wounds. Not making me lie down in your stateroom looking at me like I'm a victim but I'm a woman so it's different right?" Kate asked him, her tone was slightly scathing but she couldn't help it. She saw the guilt and the pity in his expression like she had in Tex. She just wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep but she had stupidly started a conversation when she should of just feigned sleep when he went for a blanket.

"Not exactly, but you have to look it from our view. I had no idea you were on the Vyerni and when our paths crossed; I was shocked and angry. Neither you or Dr Scott should have been there or put into the situation where you would have to fight for your lives" Tom told her as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees.

"You think I'm traumatised because I had to kill a few men" Kate said closing her eyes wishing he would stop talking as she didn't want her last thoughts before sleep to be about the Vyerni.

"I'm traumatised by what I saw" Tom told her, Kate opened her eyes and saw that he was deeply worried. She didn't blame him. She had been a mess and she had a feeling Tom had never witnessed a woman kill a man in close quarters with a knife. Of course he missed the 'action' part but he did see the end result which spoke loudly to her conviction to stay alive and capabilities.

"Don't worry, you're safe from me." Kate assured him before she drifted to sleep.