2Dads had been sitting in the junior's mess as he heard footsteps decent down the hall in different directions, slowly making his way out of the mess he jumped as Mike was still standing in the Galley
"2Dads!" Mike said looking at him through the window area as he threw his apple core in the bin
"Sir? I thought you were somewhere else…" he said holding his plate tightly
"No?" Mike said confused looking down at his plate "Finished?" he asked
"Hmm?" 2Dads asked nervously
"Your food, have you finished?" he said pointing to his empty plate
"Oh ah yes Sir" he answered moving forward
"Here, I'll wash it you go do your rounds" Mike said extending his hand to reach for the plate
"Oh um thank you Sir…" he said passing him his empty plate
"Where'd you come from anyway?" Mike asked confused as he took the plate
"The junior's mess Sir…" he said grinning
"Right and you didn't hear anything did you?" he said more of a statement than a question
"No Sir! Of course not" he answered quickly
"Good, you better head to do your rounds" Mike said placing the plate in the sink
"Yes Sir…" 2Dads said quickly making his way towards the bridge giggling a little to himself.
"Charge! You'll never guess what" 2Dads said as he ran onto the bridge and over to the Captain's Chair
"2Dads I'm not interested in whatever gossip you are about to say" Charge answered as the smile dropped off 2Dads face
"But Charge!" he said sadly
"No 2Dads, you're always getting into trouble with the stuff you say" he said crossing his arms and looking over at RO who was shaking his head
"I resent that however…" 2Dads began to say as Charge interrupted him
"You're going to tell me anyway aren't you?" Charge said in a defeated voice as Bomber giggled from her place next to RO
"Yes!" 2Dads said smirking like a kid who was just given candy
"Ok fine, but I don't want any part of whatever it is" Charge said throwing his hands up
"Ok! I promise" he said excitedly
"Proceed then" Charge said rolling his eyes
"Ok! So I was in the Juniors mess and I overheard the X and CO discussing her current Pregnancy..." he said making a lot of hand movements
"Trust you to eavesdrop 2Dad's" RO answers not surprised by him at all
"Ok first of all RO I was eating my dinner I wasn't listening in" he answered back
"Sure 2Dads" Bomber said smirking at Charge who was holding back his smile.
"Ok fair enough but let's just say I 'overheard'" he said quoting his fingers in the air "The CO he's…" he began to say as Kate made her way in
"Leader!" Kate said startling him
"Ma'am? I thought you had finished your watch…" he said jumping back
"I forgot my phone" she said as Charge picked it up off the controls and passed it to her
"Right…" 2Dads answered looking at Charge nervously
"But please do continue with your interesting conversation" she said placing her phone in her pocket
"Ah it's nothing important Ma'am" he said placing his hands in his pocket
"Please 2Dads enlighten us all with this information you just must share" she answered crossing her arms as Mike entered the bridge
"What's going on here?" he asked confused looking at everyone who was avoiding any eye contact with 2Dads or Kate. "Leader?" Mike asked confused as he looked at him
"It's nothing Sir" 2Dads answered quickly
"X?" Mike asked turning look at her as Kate sighed
"2Dads was telling a stupid joke Sir" Kate answered before turning around and exiting the bridge leaving everyone more confused than before.
"Right everyone get back to work set a course for home Bomber" Mike said moving towards the Captain's Chair as he watched 2Dads exit the bridge in a hurry
"4 hours until we hit home port Sir" Bomber said plotting in a course home
"Good, Captain has the ship" he answered as Charge moved out of the chair
"Captain on the bridge CO has the ship" he said moving towards the stairs as Mike sat down in the Captain's Chair.
"Ma'am!" 2Dads said as he chased after Kate just before she entered her cabin
"What is it 2Dads?" she asked stopping in front of her cabin
"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked as she looked at him confused "To the CO you could have told him but you didn't" he said confused
"2Dads your smart" she said watching as he grinned at the compliment "Probably too smart sometimes so I trust you already knew before you even 'overheard' the CO and I talking earlier" she said smiling weakly at him
"Yes Ma'am" he answered softly
"So why only now did you decide to say anything?" she asked looking at him sadly
"I don't know Ma'am… I guess I just wanted to share something exciting for once" he said moving back to lean against the wall as someone walked past
"I don't understand" she said confused
"In this job as you know we have the bad outcomes and the good, and the miracle of creating another life is something that's exciting and yes I know everyone knows your Pregnant but wouldn't you feel happier if everyone was more involved? Including the Father?" he said as she looked at him surprised
"2Dads what are you trying to say?" she asked sadly
"I've seen the way the Boss reacts Ma'am when everyone congratulates you and asked who the Father is, he is wanting to be by your side and sharing the praise along with you he helped create that little human being that's growing inside of you and he's missing out on the whole experience because you have to talk and hide in secret" he said sadly as Kate continued to look at him surprised
"Why do you care so much Leo?" she asked calling him by his proper name
"My sister she died in child birth a few years ago now and the Father wasn't involved as much as she'd liked and it was painful to see her go through that" he answered smiling weakly at her
"I had no idea… I'm sorry" she said sadly
"It's hard knowing she's not here to meet her little boy but seeing his face light up every time I come home and visit spoiling him with presents" he said grinning as he wiped away a stray tear
"I never pictured you as an Uncle" Kate said smiling at him
"I guess there is a few things you don't know about me Ma'am" he said sadly smiling at her
"I guess there is…" she said sadly
"All I'm saying is... we're all family here and we will support you both" he said hopeful
"Thank you Leo, I appreciate it" she said smiling at him as she moved forward
"Your welcome but if you tell anyone about this heart to heart I'm going to have to deny it" he said smirking at her
"Of course as long as I can trust you with my secret just until we decide to tell everyone" she said smiling at him
"Certainly my lips are sealed" he said winking at her
"I'm serious 2Dads if I find out anyone who doesn't already know I'll come after you" she said shaking her head at him as he nodded
"We should be in port in a few hours Ma'am so I'll leave you to get some rest" he said smiling at her as he went to move
"2Dads?" she said as he stopped to look at her once more
"Yes?" he answered
"You going to the pub after we dock?" she asked smiling at him
"I was thinking about it" he said smiling at her
"Make sure everyone's there, there's something I need to tell everyone" she said nodding at him
"I'll have an Orange Juice nice and cold waiting for you Ma'am" he said grinning at her as he turned back around
"Make it an Lemonade and I'll bring you a present" she said giggling as he walked off, Kate entering her cabin closing the door behind her.
Hammersley had pulled into the docks 4 hours later and everyone went in their separate directions 2Dads nodded at Kate as he walked off she heard him tell everyone to come to the pub tonight now all she had to do was convince Mike into telling everyone however she knew one weakness that would get him to go along with anything and everything she said.
It was just after dinner when Kate and Mike made their way through the doors of the pub
"Are you sure about this?" he asked looking at her with a worried look
"2Dads gave me some advice today Hammersley is our family to and they will support us" she said reaching for his hand
"2Dads gave you advice?" Mike said surprised
"Don't worry it surprised me too" she said grinning at him
"And are you sure about the other thing?" he asked squeezing her hand
"I think I've made the right decision do you agree?" she asked hopeful holding up the little gift bag in her hand
"I think you've made the perfect decision" he said smiling at her as they walked towards the booth where everyone was sitting.
"Hey!!" Nikki called as she spotted them walking over
"It's about time you guys showed up" Charge said placing the tray of drinks down
"Where's 2Dads?" Kate asked not seeing him around
"He's getting the rest of the drinks" Bomber said pointing to 2Dad's who was making his way over
"Boss, X nice to see you made it" he said placing the drinks down and pushing a lemonade in front of Kate
"Thank you" she said smiling at him as he sat down next to her
"So the X... I mean Kate and I have some news to share with you all" Mike said reaching for a drink
"You're getting Married?" Charge blurted out as a joke
"Yes" Kate answered quickly
"Wait what?!" he said looking at them confused
"And I'm the Father of Kate's baby" Mike said as people's mouths dropped in surprise
"Cheers!" Kate said breaking the quietness and holding up her glass as 2Dad's grinned at her.
"Am I the only one that doesn't know…" Charge said as he watched everyone else grinning at Kate and Mike
"To be fair I'm Kate's best friend" Nikki said grinning
"And we had to know for medical reasons" Swaine said motioning between himself and Bomber
"2Dads not you too" Charge said sadly
"Sorry Charge…" he said smiling weakly at him
"I didn't know" RO said shrugging his shoulders
"You don't count Robert you don't listen to ship gossip anyway" Charge said taking a big sip of his beer
"Gee thanks" RO said looking at him sadly "You know Navy Regulations right?" RO blurted out
"Yes Robert we do" Mike said angrily
"Well I don't get it then how can two high ranking Navy Officers be getting Married and having a family and still serve together" he said picking up his drink
"RO!" 2Dads said glaring at him
"What?" he said confused
"You're a little out of line there RO" Bomber said placing her glass down
"We have permission from the BRASS as long as we keep it off the ship and professional on board" Kate said getting frustrated
"Back off Robert" Nikki said giving him the look
"I'm just stating the obvious" he said holding his hands up in surrender
"So… Sir do you know what you're having?" Charge asked changing the subject
"Well…" Mike said as he let out a chuckle "That's a long story but the answer is no Charge I don't know, however this one does" he said poking Kate softly on her shoulder
"Do we get to know what you're having before the birth?" 2Dads asked excitedly
"Actually… Yes, but I need someone to help me" Kate said surprising Mike
"For real?" Mike said looking at her confused
"Yes it's not in the usual way though I brought a present tonight for one person" Kate began saying as she picked the small bag up off the floor
"That's what that is for?" Mike asked looking at her confused
"Yeah I've thought long and hard about this for quite a few months now and today confirmed my final decision" she said placing the bag on the table
"Who gets the present?" Bomber asked excitedly
"Everybody close your eyes" Kate said as she watched everyone close them
"Are you still sure about this? I mean the other part I already know about" Mike whispered to her
"A hundred percent yes" she whispered back to him as she pushed the present in front of the person she had chosen
"Alright you can open your eyes now" Mike said smiling as everyone excitedly looked in front of them to see if they had the present.
"Me?" 2Dads asked confused as he spotted the present sitting in front of him everyone else smiling at the decision Kate had made
"Yes you 2Dads" Kate said smiling at him she leant into Mike who had moved to face him so he was standing behind Kate
"And you agree with this decision too Sir?" he asked confused
"I do, this is one of the most important decision that Kate has made with me I couldn't agree more with her after today you proved that she was making the right one; however I still don't know the gender" he said smirking as he wrapped his arms around Kate as she interlocked her hands with his
"Well go on 2Dads open it!" Charge said impatiently
"Ok, ok…" 2Dad's said as he reached into the bag and pulled out two carefully folded baby shirts
"Which one is it?" Nikki asked looking at the two shirts one blue and one pink
"So the idea is that whichever gender the baby is will have an important question on it, and you have to unfold them at the same time" Kate said smirking at him
"Charge will you help?" 2Dads said passing him the blue one
"On the count of 3?" Charge said nodding at 2Dads
"Ready, 1" 2Dad's said nervously
"2",
"3" they both said at the same time as the unfolded the shirts and held them up
"Wait what!" Nikki said surprised
"Which one is it?" Bomber said confused
"Neither one of them have a quote" Swaine said laughing
"Princess" RO said reading the pink shirt
"Or Prince…" Swaine said reading the blue shirt as they all looked at Kate who was giggling to herself
"Come on Kate that's not fair!" Mike said into her ear
"I'm sorry I just couldn't pass up the opportunity" she said smirking at them all
"Here's the real gender and question" she passing 2Dads an envelope and wrapped present from her handbag
"For real this time?" 2Dads asked smirking at her
"Yes, but open the envelope first then turn around and open the present" Mike said smiling at him
"The envelope will have the gender and the present will have the quote on them" Kate answered nodding at him to open them
"Then we have a special gift just for you 2Dads" Mike said as they all fell silent while 2Dads began opening the envelope.
It was all nerves and eager impatience while he opened the envelope as he pulled it out he looked at Kate and smiled
"Are you serious?" he said with tears in his eyes as Kate nodded at him with tears forming now in her eyes
"Now the present" she said softly as he turned around and began to unwrap it away from prying eyes
"What is it!" Nikki and Bomber asked in sync as 2Dads turned around quickly holding up a Navy Camouflage shirt in pink
"IT'S A GIRL!!!!!" 2Dads yelled as he waved the outfit in the air
"I knew it!!!" Mike yelled as he began jumping up and down in excitement everyone laughing at him
"What does it say?" Charge asked as 2Dads held it up to reveal what it said,
"2Dads pass it around but close your eyes!" Mike said as he finished jumping around with excitement
"But I want to read it!" he said sadly
"Not yet until you get your present" Kate said pulling a folded shirt out of her handbag and placing it in front of him
"Nikki, hold onto that and don't turn it around yet" Mike said as Nikki placed the shirt in her lap
"Ok 2Dads you can open your eyes" Kate said as he looked down at the Navy shirt that was folded in front of him
"I'm confused?" he said looking at Kate
"This decision did not come lightly Kate has been thinking about it for months on end and today 2Dads you showed her what it means to be family, so with this decision comes great responsibility and we know you'll honor it greatly" Mike said tearing up
"Alright ready… Nikki hold the shirt up facing you, 2Dads unfold yours facing the table so you can't read it" Kate said as they followed instructions
"Ok ready…" Mike said standing next to Kate as 2Dads and Nikki nodded
"Nikki turn the shirt around" Kate said as Nikki turned the shirt around to reveal in big gold writing across the front of it 'Goddaughter'
"Alright now everyone reveal to 2Dads what it says on his shirt" Mike said as 2Dads looked at the pink shirt confused
"GODFATHER!!!" everyone yelled all at once as it finally clicked to 2Dads what this meant
"NO WAY, Are you for real?" he asked turning his shirt around to look at it
"Yes Leo, we want you to be our daughters Godfather" Kate said smiling at him as Mike placed a hand on her shoulder
"Thank you so much I won't let you down!" he said moving quickly towards them and embracing them in a hug
"Congratulations 2Dads!!" Charge said holding up his glass
"You deserve it buddy!" Swaine said reaching for his glass as 2Dads pulled away from the hug and reached for his
"To 2Dads!" Bomber said as everyone raised their glasses
"To Mike and Kate!" 2Dads said as they all clinked their glasses together in celebration.