This is the penultimate chapter, with a little reflection on the past and a hint at the future. Hope you enjoy.

.

Part 54 - First Anniversary

Dutchy stood on the boat deck watching the ship's wake snake behind them as they cruised towards Cairns. He was looking forward to getting home and taking some leave. His duty watch had just ended and he was taking a few minutes to gather his thoughts before their arrival, which this time out felt a little strange as he wasn't the one directly dishing out the orders to the cable party. It hadn't been a long trip, just a week to deliver supplies to north Queensland after a storm brought down trees across the road and rail lines that normally served them and clearly nothing like the storm surges of the year before; somehow it made him reflect on the way his life had changed. Thinking back he finally smiled, he wasn't big on dates or anniversaries, but this one was special, it was exactly a year since he had met her and he planned to celebrate with her once he got home. He had planned it all, the table was booked at their little restaurant up the coast and she should have already received the flowers, the rest would depend on how she was feeling with their baby's arrival only a few days away.

His new role had come with an additional 2 year service contract, which had been back dated to 6 months earlier, at the time it had been a good decision, but now he was wondering if he could make things work. His return from the covert ops mission hadn't been what he had expected and the time they'd been apart had put a strain on their relationship. His return from Canberra had seen things settle down and the friction and unease that seemed to hang over them when he first returned had gone now; spending time alone at the ranch over Christmas had played a big part in that. January had been and gone, most of which they had spent in Sydney, living with his parents while he was doing the intensive training Kate had referred to while Elena had been able to spend time with Jess and Nikki, having been cleared by doctors to make the journey with him. They had returned the week before and he was facing the end of his first tour as XO, something he hadn't really thought about before, but a lot of things had changed in the last year, according to his friends for the better and a large part of it was due to Elena and the fact they were now a united team. Maybe that explained why he'd missed her more this time out.

He looked at his phone and pressed a speed dial, but cancelled it when he realised how early it was. He couldn't wake her up yet. He glanced up at the bridge and wished that they could be home now. A feeling that hadn't exactly left him this rotation and he wondered if it had anything to do with the other changes Hammersley had seen in the last few months. 2-Dads and Bomber had split for good and he'd been reassigned to frigates, Charge had left the Navy and was enjoying life getting his hands dirty as a mining engineer in Western Australia, where he was living with Lani. Bird had left for extended training in Sydney to further her career as a Medic. Swain was leaving soon to return to the police, so he was at home more now that they had their hands full with 2 children. It would leave him, Kate and RO as the old guard and he knew Kate's career would be changing direction soon. She had finally moved in with Mike while he was in Afghanistan and put the horrors of the terrorist bomb plot behind her, he didn't expect it to be long before they announced their wedding or a baby, maybe even both. Whatever they did he was happy for them and hoped that after playing piggy in the middle for most of the tours when they were after the terrorists he would be left out of their disputes, should they have any.

The phone ringing in his pocket drew his attention and he pulled it out, "Elena?" He tried not to sound anxious as he greeted her.

"Good morning sailor." He let her soft voice wash over him as he smiled. "Thank you for the flowers, they're beautiful."

"I'm sorry honey, they were supposed to arrive later, I wanted you to be able to sleep in."

"I wasn't sleeping, I think we're too excited to see you, what time do you think you'll be in?" She sounded calm and it helped the butterflies in his stomach settle. He was getting used to it now every time she called. His immediate thought was always that she was phoning to say she was in labour and she usually greeted him with a denial and he realised that she hadn't said anything yet.

"Is anything happening?"

"Not yet, I'm sure baby Mulholland is waiting for Daddy to be home first." He could imagine her running her hand across her swollen belly as she talked. "So when will you be in?" He didn't answer right away as her words swirled in his head, baby Mulholland, was due to make his or her appearance soon and then it would become a reality, the dream that had kept him going in Afghanistan was almost upon him, albeit rather quicker than he had expected at the time. In a few days he would be Daddy to a new fragile human life, one that they were both responsible for, it was a momentously scary thought. His silence must have unnerved her, because she was calling him. "Dylan? Are you alright? Talk to me, you are coming home aren't you?"

He sighed heavily, "we're coming home, it'll be about an hour, then it will take me a while to finish my reports and go with the boss to NAVCOM, so may be another hour or two."

"Okay, Sally's bringing Chloe down to meet the ship, she's picking me up on the way. We'll see you when you get in." She sounded calm but there was an edge to her voice, one that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, he wasn't sure this close to the birth that it was such a good idea for her to be down at the dockyard.

"You don't have to come down, stay at home and put your feet up." He encouraged carefully, not wanting to antagonise her although he didn't hold out much hope for her paying him any attention.

"Dylan, I'm bored, I need a distraction, everything here is ready for the baby, you don't want me go to the ranch on my own and I'm not working, it will be good for me to get out, Sally and Chloe will be with me the whole time."

"Okay, just be careful." It was better to give in gracefully; after all when he was at home she'd have less chance to argue as he would be able to keep an eye on her for himself.

"I will, don't worry."

The fact that Sally would be with her eased his mind a lot, at least she would have someone keeping an eye out that knew the signs if anything happened before he got home. He smiled, he knew she was finding things tough the last few weeks, he had the distraction of the mission they'd just completed, but she had been stuck at home a lot on her own. "Alright, I'm not going to argue today."

"Good, now I'd better let you go and maybe you can finish some of your reports before you dock, save yourself some time, then we can spend the rest of the day together."

"What are you thinking?" He asked, a smile crossing his face again as he wondered what she had planned.

"Wait until you get here." He could hear the smile and taunt in her voice, he'd made plans, if she had too he hoped their plans didn't clash and that they'd still be able to go to dinner. He really wanted this to be special.

…..

Sally watched as Elena slowly made her way to the car, it wasn't until she stopped next to the open door that she realised why things had seemed off as she watched her friend leave the house.

"How long's that been happening?" Sally asked when Elena finally got into the car.

"A couple of hours, but don't panic, we've still got time to meet the ship and have lunch. Isn't it usually 18 hours or so for a first one?" Elena answered lightly.

"Usually, how far apart are the contractions?" Sally wasn't entirely convinced by Elena's laidback attitude; she suspected there was a lot more going on that she wasn't admitting. She could understand why, the only person she had wanted around her when she first went into labour with Chloe had been her husband; also things had taken a while to get moving. Elena's answer to her question would indicate how long they might realistically have.

"I'm not sure, 5-10 minutes, maybe."

Sally bit back the exclamation and the smile and turned on her best discipline mum face, "Elena, where's your bag? I think it would be good to take it with us, just to be on the safe side." Sally got out of the car and reached back in to take the keys from Elena.

"Inside the door. You really think this is necessary?" Elena didn't seem to have yet grasped that things were already moving and she would need pain relief and medical attention before too long. Sally tried to remain reassuring while working out how to tell Elena she was going to ring the ship.

"I do, trust me I've been through it twice now, I think I have a little experience. I'm going to ring the ship too and ask for him to be dismissed as soon as they dock."

"No!" Elena squealed. "Don't say anything," she stopped, "you tell him I'm in labour and he'll freak out, Sally please, we'll be there in 20 minutes, they're already pulling alongside we've got time."

Sally paused for a few seconds every instinct she had said otherwise, but she didn't want Elena freaking out on her so she decided that watch carefully and wait might be the safer option for all concerned at that moment. "Alright, but I'm calling Chris to make sure he's gets Dutchy off the boat as soon as we get there." It was a vague attempt at a compromise, one which Elena finally agreed to so she walked up to the house flipping open her phone and dialling the ship.

…..

Kate was in her cabin packing up when there was a knock on her door. "Come in," she called and Swain opened the door and stuck his head in.

"Can I have a word boss?"

"Come in, what is it? I thought we'd covered everything before we docked."

"We did, I just had a call from Sally, she's on her way with Elena, thinks it might be a good idea if Dutchy was to meet them and be ready to leave when they get here."

"The baby?" Kate asked, picking up on the subtle hint.

Swain smiled and nodded, "sounds like it, seems she's been having contractions for a couple of hours, but she's stubborn and is still insisting on being here and telling him in person."

"Okay, ask him to report to me at the rush, let's make sure he doesn't have to stay on board longer than necessary, I'll handle reporting to NAVCOM and get him signed off. You can go too, it sounds like you might be dropping them at the hospital."

Swain acknowledged the instruction and quickly disappeared. A few minutes later Dutchy stuck his head round the door.

"You wanted to see me Boss."

"Everything in hand?" she asked, assessing his mood.

"Yeah, Razor's finishing off with the cable party, I just need to sign off a few reports and change and I'll be good to go."

"Fine, do that, then you're dismissed. I'll manage NAVCOM, I hear Elena's coming down to meet you and that you've been spending time setting up a few things to surprise her with today, something special?"

"Yeah, it is, … it's a year since she arrived in Cairns and we met, I'm taking her out for dinner, probably our last chance before the baby comes."

Kate smiled at his look. "Well go enjoy it. I hear Sally and Chloe are there too, so Swain's leaving with you. I'll get Razor to follow up anything else."

"You sure Boss, Elena knows I won't be ready-"

"Make the most of it while I'm in a good mood." He gave her a beaming smile and disappeared with a quick thank you. Kate smiled after him, hoping that he was too busy thinking about the anniversary plans to worry about what else might prompt the concessions she had just granted.

…..

Elena leant against the car and rubbed her stomach as the contraction assaulted her. They were getting stronger now and she hoped it wouldn't be much longer before he could get away otherwise she would be forced to text him and break the news, at least he was nearby, so it wouldn't be so bad.

"Daddy!" squealed Chloe as she ran over to the gangway as Swain and Dutchy emerged on deck.

Sally watched her to make sure that Swain had seen her then she turned back to Elena, "how are you doing?"

"Good until the next one," Elena sighed, her eyes fixed on the father of her baby as he casually left the ship, his sunglasses perched on top of his head. Sally's calm reassurance at her side, was welcome, but all she wanted now was his arms around her and something to take the edge off the pain.

"Well I hate to rush you, but that one was 3 minutes," she said, checking her watch. "I'll let you tell him then we've got to get you to the hospital, this baby's not sticking to 18 hours." Sally walked towards Swain and Chloe as Dutchy greeted her as he reached Elena.

"Hey," Elena threw her arms around his neck and hung on as he dropped his bag and wrapped his arms around her. "You're shaking honey, what's up?"

Elena tightened her grip as she fought the sudden wave of emotion that surged through her as she felt the start of another contraction.

"Elena?" he drew her arms from his neck and put a little space between them as he cupped her face and gazed into her eyes.

"I hope you haven't planned anything special for tonight," she answered, careful to keep her breathing steady.

"Actually I have, I wasn't going to say until later, but I know you'd be guessing and I don't want to stress you- Elena?" He stopped when she moaned a little and gripped his hands, pulling them from her face as she leant back against the car.

"Think .. you'd better … cancel," she wheezed as she raised her eyes to meet his, giving herself something to focus on. "Someone doesn't want to wait."

"You mean- … It's time?" she couldn't help smiling at his shocked expression, knowing that once he recovered he was likely to start ranting about why she wasn't in hospital already.

"We need to go now." She answered through the pain that was starting to peak.

She watched him for a few seconds and was a little relieved when Sally appeared at their side.

"I hate to break up the reunion, but you two need to be at the hospital."

Swain scooped up Dutchy's bag and dropped it with his own in the boot, then expertly ushered Chloe into her seat, while Dutchy helped Elena into the car. She was grateful that the hospital wasn't that far away.

…..

It was a tight space but Dutchy squeezed into the back seat with Elena and Chloe who was securely strapped into her car seat. HE wrapped an arm around Elena's shoulder while he rested a hand on the bump, whispering in her ear to keep her grounded. "You're doing fine honey, we're doing this together."

His whispered words were stifled as a low moan of agony seemed to grow inside her as another contraction hit. He glance out the window and was relieve to see they were leaving the Naval Yard. He had been oblivious to the family in the car with them until he heard Chloe's curious voice as she looked at her mother in the passenger seat. "Mummy why is Aunty Elena crying?"

"It's okay sweetie, you remember Mummy had tummy pains before Serena arrived? Elena's having her baby, so we're taking them to the hospital and later I'll bring you back to visit." Dutchy listened, as he watched the different emotions cross Elena's face and her hand rubbed circles on her tummy.

"Can we buy the new baby a present and balloons too?" Chloe's excited voice demanded.

"I'm sure we can, maybe Daddy and you can go shopping while I get Serena from Aunt Becca." Sally had answered, explaining the absence of their other child.

"Yay! Daddy you can take me to the big balloon shop that Aunty Elena tooked me too when you and Mummy were at the hospital waiting for the doctor to find my sister." Dutchy couldn't help smiling at the 5 year old's antics and enthusiasm or noting the proud look in Swain's eyes as he answered her. He wondered if he'd ever have that bond with his child.

"I'm sure I can baby."

Swain pulled into the emergency bay at the hospital and was quickly out of the car calling instructions to a couple of porters nearby as Dutchy and Sally also got out. Dutchy noted Elena's eyes were fixed on the clock on the dashboard and he wondered what was going through her mind. When she looked between him and the clock he realised that she was watching the time, he suddenly realised she was trying to work out if she had enough time to get out of the car before another contraction gripped her. With a brief glance at Sally he made the decision for her and effortlessly scooped her out and into a wheelchair that had appeared at his side. A blanket was draped around her shoulders and another across her lap as Sally wished them well before they were escorted inside.


At the beginning I envisaged this as about 15 chapters, but it took on a life of its own and has now reached a natural close. I miss writing SP so maybe the vague idea I have for a new story may take shape and appear somewhere in the future.

The Epilogue is next and I'll warn you there is a time jump for my final chapter. Let me know what you think and I'll post the reward for your thoughts.