It's well past midnight when Kate arrives home, exhausted with smoke still stinging her nostrils. She's not surprised to find Cal and Bridie asleep on the lounge, the opening menu of Finding Nemo looping over and over again, a bowl empty but for a few unpopped corn kernels in front of them. As Kate mutes the TV, Cal opens her eyes blearily and waves. "Hey." She whispers, extracting herself from Bridie. Unlike the two of them, Bridie had always slept like the dead. True to form, Bridie gives an unintelligable mutter and sleeps on, while Cal leads the way to the kitchen. "You stink of smoke by the way."

"Yeah, gonna have a bath in a sec." Kate agrees, sniffing herself and wincing. "A very strong bubble bath." She flashes a smile at her sister. "So how was your night?"

"Well, Marlin found Nemo, so that's a plus." She flashes a grin. "We just watched movies for... well, ages. But hey, it's Friday night." She heads to the fridge and withdraws a glass container. "There's leftover pasta in there."

"Cheers." Kate mutters, transferring the dish to the microwave. For a moment, they stand, illuminated only by the dull orange glow of the microwave, both of them leaning against the counter top. Kate stops the appliance with a second to spare and she and Cal head mutely towards Cal's bedroom. Under the glow of the fluorescent lights, Kate stabs a fork into the dish. "Cal, I've... I've got to talk to you about something." Kate begins, transferring a mouthful of pasta into her mouth.

She's not prepared for the squeak that comes from Cal as she bounces up and down on the bed. "Oh my God, you're pregnant?!"

"What? No!" Kate splutters, burning her throat as she hastily swallows her mouthful. Cal's shoulders slump.

"Eh. Should've figured. You're bloody religious about your birth control." Kate rolls her eyes but otherwise ignores Cal's apparent eagerness for another child in the house.

"I... no. Definitely not pregnant. No, what it was is... well our lease is up in a month and-"

"And you want to move in with Mike and start making little Baby Flynn's?"

"Why are you on the baby train too?" Kate enquires, huffing so heavily her hair flutters, and hoping that Cal drops the subject.

"Well, wait? Who else is?" Cal frowns, thankfully taking the bait of the tangent and running with it.

"Well, Rose and Bridie for a start." She admits, rolling her eyes once more. "But... I just want to assess all my options."

Cal eyes twinkle in amusement. "That's not like you. You usually dive straight in. Head first. No thought whatsoever. But you, thinking things over? Unheard of. Unprecedented. Unfathom-"

"You're hilarious." Kate mutters darkly, settling herself more comfortably on the pillows. "I just wanted to know if... if you'd be okay with us living with him? I mean... if. This is all... all if."

"So let me get this straight?" Cal begins, dragging a hand through the air as though outlining an invisible billboard. "You want to move in with your hot boyfriend and drag your little sister along for the ride?"

Kate scoffs. "Well I'm not just going to kick my baby sister to the curb."

"I'm almost 21, I'm hardly a baby anymore." Cal points out, heaving a heavy sigh.

"You'll always be my baby, Callie." Kate pouts childishly, moving closer to wrap an arm around Cal's shoulders.

"Look," Cal presses, holding her arms up in surrender. "A few friends from uni are renting a house and they're looking for a housemate. I was-"

"Cal, this is not me kicking you out!"

"I know." Cal assures her. "But I've been thinking about this for a week and I think I'm ready to see what I can do without... without hiding in a room all the time or... or throwing myself into studies or Bridie. I... I want to be better." She leans across and rests her hand on Kate's belly. "And I kind of want to be an Auntie again. Just sayin'- ow!" She laughs as she pulls her hand back, finally settling her head on Kate's shoulder. "Remember when she was born?"

"Vividly." Kate smiles softly. "I'd never been that scared before."

"Well, you did deliver your own baby on the side of the road. I'd say you get to be scared." She sniffs. "That kid's been in a rush her whole life. Wanted to run before she'd even learned how to walk."

Kate twists slightly and presses a kiss to the top of Cal's head. "I don't know what I'd do without you." For a moment, Kate closes her eyes and fragments of Cal growing through the years flood her mind, from the tiny baby to this beautiful woman now. "I'm so proud of you, Callie. Of everything you've done."

Cal squirms uncomfortably. "Well, it's all down to you. I mean, if you hadn't been there for me... who knows where I'd be." For a moment, both of them seem to get lost in the what-ifs. Then Cal shifts, moving to wrap her pinkie finger around Kate's. "We got each other, okay? No matter where we're living. No matter where we are. It's us against the world."


The next day she makes her way to Mike's workshop, feeling more than a little nervous, but forces a smile she's not quite feeling as she opens up the door and steps inside. The smell of wood shavings and varnish linger in the air as she enters, and she realises Mike always smells like this, even though she's never really noticed. The realisation is oddly comforting.

"Hey." She greets, when Mike fails to notice her entering. He looks up from his sanding, grinning, and lowers his tools.

"Hey!" He smiles widely, moving over to her and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "I wasn't expecting you today. I thought you were working?"

"I am." Kate agrees, feeling her heart flutter, and she inwardly curses. "I mean, later, obviously. Or soon. I'm just on my way there. But... um... I just wanted to talk to you for a bit."

"See," Mike grins. "I knew I was irresistible."

"Hmm..." Kate pauses, scrunching up her face, and this is easier, really, the teasing and the jokes. Much easier than- is she seriously standing here asking him to move in with her? "I wouldn't say irresistible. More... painfully addictive. Like cocaine."

"You had a lot of experience with that, have you?" Mike flashes her a wide grin. Kate rolls her eyes. "You know you do that a lot." Mike muses.

"What? Cocaine?" Kate challenges.

"No." Mike shakes his head. "Rolling your eyes. You always seem to roll your eyes around me." He crosses his arms and pouts dramatically. "Why, a guy could get the impression the girl thinks he's ridiculous."

"Well, I don't know what would give you that impression." Kate whispers, stepping a little closer. "I mean, I kind of feel I frequently let you know how much I enjoy your company."

Mike's cheeks colour just a little and he grins goofily. "Bridie's at her grandmother's for the weekend if you wanted to stop by for a bit." He grins.

"Well, I guess that could be arranged. After all, I guess there are many other ways I could show you how much I-"

A small cough from the other side of the room makes Kate flush, and she looks up, spotting Rose with an eyebrow raised. "Yeah, she's... she's not there yet." Mike informs her much too late, and the grin on his face tells her he's enjoying this way too much.

"I hate you so much right now." Kate hisses into his ear before turning to Rose. "Hey, Rosie. Uh... what are you going to do at your Grandma's?"

"Probably a lot of therapy to forget this conversation." Rose quips, grinning at Kate's embarrassed face. "Nah, it's all good. Uh, probably just helping her out around the house and cooking and stuff. What are you guys going to do? Aside from... you know... gross sex stuff with my Dad."

Mike's cough is fairly unsuccessful at hiding his amusement. Kate elbows him. "Uh... I guess just some stuff around the house. I... I've got to look at new places actually. My... my lease is up." She hates the way her heart is pounding in her chest, and beating in her ears, and she can't help but feel ashamed that she's taken this easy way out, slipping it into conversation with his daughter of all people.

"Oh." Mike nods seriously, turning back to his sanding. "So... I guess you'll be too busy for Little Old Me, scouring real estate and the like. Just... uh... call me when you're free I guess."

Oh. Oh. Kate swallows hard. "Yeah," She agrees, hoping she's more successful than she feels at injecting nonchalance into her tone. "Yeah. I guess so. Ah, listen, I've got to head to work. It was great seeing you both." And without another word, she dashes out of the shed.


Rose watches Kate go before rounding on her father, scooping up the pencil eraser from the desk and lobbing it in Mike's general direction. "Dad! You idiot!" She hisses.

"Hey!" Mike protests as the eraser hits him squarely in the back. Of course, it's not nearly big enough to have caused any real damage, but he instinctively raises a hand and rubs the area it had hit all the same, stretching in an way that puts Rose in mind of a gorilla scratching. However, the situation is too serious for her to crack a smile at this unfortunate image. "What was that for?"

"Are you seriously that oblivious?" Rose presses, taking a few steps towards him, feeling a twinge of satisfaction as he takes a few tentative steps back, lest she continue to throw things.

"What?" Mike repeats, raising his hands in surrender. "White flag, Rosie! I come in peace! What's wrong?"

"She was trying to see if you wanted to move in together." Rose explains with the same tone she uses when she's tasked with explaining something complicated to her kindergarten buddy, barely suppressing another eye roll. "Seriously, Dad! You're so thick sometimes."

"What?" Mike splutters, shaking his head and glancing at the spot where Kate had disappeared from. "No she wasn't."

"She was!" Rose barely suppresses a shriek of irritation. "You're just too oblivious to notice. And now you've basically said to her 'pfft, no, get your own place'"

"That's... that's seriously..." Mike bites his lip. "How did all that come of a conversation about her lease being up?"

This time, Rose does let out a frustrated cry, perching on the edge of a toolbox and glaring at him, speaking in the same tone she does when she's trying to talk her grandmother through connecting to the WiFi. "Because, you should have said 'let's look together, because this is a decision that affects both of us.' Instead, you basically said, 'I don't care where you live, woman who means nothing to me beyond the physical'."

"I..." Mike clenches his hands for a moment. "Rose, I don't understand women."

"That..." Rose declares, standing up. "...is obvious." She stares at him for a moment before rolling her eyes once more and jabbing a finger at the door. "Because otherwise you'd be running after her! Go!"

Mike pushes himself to his feet for a second, then hesitates. "Rose, I..."

"Oh, come on Dad. Bridie and I want you two to get together. Now is not the time for a deep and meaningful with me. It's the time to chase after your girlfriend and reassure her you do actually love her. Now go!"


As Mike dashes down the street he replays the conversation with Kate over and over in his head, barely suppressing an eyeroll himself. After all, how was he supposed to know what she meant? Why couldn't she have just asked?

"Kate!" He calls out as he catches sight of her retreating back several metres ahead, her shoulders hunched against the heat of the day. She permits to stop, but doesn't turn to face him. Mike moves around to get a better look of her face. "Kate? I-"

She shoulders her bag more securely on her shoulders and jabs a thumb vaguely in the direction of the firehouse. "Mike, I've got to get going and-"

"I didn't realise you were-" Mike begins, talking over Kate. He reaches out and goes to touch her arm, but she takes a step back.

"-it doesn't matter-" Kate shakes her head. "Mike, I've got to go."

"Please. I... I didn't understand what you were saying."

"My lease is up. That's all I said."

"So let's look at places together." Mike can't keep the hitch out of his voice. "I... I'm sorry. I thought... I wanted this to be a conversation. Because there's so much... so much we haven't talked about." For a moment, he sees Kate lying in that hospital bed just like Sarah had, but he shakes his head to rid it. "Your job scares me, and... and I'll always be overprotective. And we have our kids and Cal and... and there's so much we need to talk about but I want to live with you, Kate. I want us to be a family. I've just been treading lightly because... well, I didn't want to... to overwhelm you or... scare you away. And..." They both move back off the road as a car drives past. "This isn't the place we should be talking. But if you're asking me... I... I want a life with you. I'm all in, Kate. So... so let's figure it out together. I want to live with you."

Kate looks up and wrings her fingers. "I should have just said something instead of..." She hesitates. "I do have to go to work. But... can I come by after shift with Bridie? And we can... talk about everything. All together?" She sucks in a breath just as Mike exhales in relief.

"Yes." Mike agrees.