5 months Later
It had been 5 months since Kate McGregor walked back into his life and to fall in love with her all over again was something he had never expected to feel,
let alone love for a whole other life he hadn't known existed his beautiful daughter who had flourished into someone who was full of so much confidence more then she'd had when they'd first met, she really had come a long way and he was so lucky to be there to witness her form such a special bond with Cleo.
Now he was coming back into port after a 4 week patrol it really was far too long to be away, at any time he always enjoyed being out a sea but now there was things,
people on shore he hated leaving the look he'd get from Sophie when he'd leave even the way Kate would avoid anything intimate the day before he was due to leave there'd been many arguments since the 'accidental' proposal
fights about Sophie getting into trouble at school,
fights about Cleo spending too much time over at Kate's,
fights about him always running back to his beloved boat when he'd storm away because seeing the pain in her face each time they'd yell was just too much for him to bear but there were good times too,
the first time Sophie started calling him Dad,
Sophie's first day at her new school,
the intimate times spent with Kate watching the sunrise through the curtains,
just getting to hold her in his arms in public with no rules and no consequences even if they did get constant stares from fellow sailors one including Maxine White.
As Hammersley pulled into port he was first off to head to NAVCOM for a briefing standing in the doorway he smiled at spotting Kate standing near the window and looking out at Sea not noticing the tear that fell down her cheek
entering silently he placed his hat on her desk before moving up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist feeling something different in her form
"What you thinking about?" he asked softly as she jumped slightly
"Nothing in particular" she rested into his chest quickly wiping off the tear before he noticed
"You okay?" he moved his head as hers turned to look at him
"It's good to have you home" she avoided the question her mouth centimetres away from his tempting him from placing a longing kiss against her lips something he'd missed in the 4 weeks he'd been away from her but alas fate had other ideas when a knock at the door broke him out of his trance
"Am I interrupting…" Maxine began saying
"No just saying hello" Mike cleared his throat before moving back dropping his arms from around Kate's waist.
"Well when you're ready Lieutenant Commander" she huffed turning around and exiting out of her office
"You better go" Kate grinned turning around as she leant against the window seal
"Yeah" he smiled softly grabbing his hat off the desk before making his way to find Maxine.
Entering Maxine's office Mike sighed "Was that really necessary?" he grunted placing his hat under his arm
"Sorry?" she asked avoiding his angry stare
"You, the way you treat Kate"
"That sort of behaviour isn't tolerated here at a place of work" she shrugged
"What?" he replied stepping forward
"Oh come on Mike not everyone at NAVCOM needs to know that you and McGregor have a relationship rumours will get spread"
"Rumours?"
"You know as well as I do everyone's talking about you and Kate breaking Navy Regulations" she finally turned to face him
"My relationship with Kate is no one's concern but my own and as for rumours we did nothing wrong" he shook his head in annoyance
"Hmm I believe you but it's not me who's keeping an eye on you" she placed the folder down
"What?"
"The BRASS have someone here watching Kate's every move" she distinctively pointed to a man who was sitting at a computer in the open area every now and then staring at Kate's office
"Why?" he said annoyed
"Well a few weeks on Hammersley, wanting a transfer and then two weeks later you're going public with your relationship" she moved to sit at her desk
"You mean…" he asked nervously
"They BRASS seem to think you got her knocked up and she's using you for promotions"
"You can't be serious, this is Kate we're talking about" he said sadly watching as she walked past Maxine's office with an arm full of paperwork
"What can I say Mike this isn't my decision but you should be careful"
"Max we…" he began saying when she held her hand up
"I don't want to hear it now Hammersley sails in two weeks so until then, enjoy your leave" she waved him out of her office
"Yes Ma'am" he nodded before leaving her office.
After smiling briefly at Mike as he left Kate made her way back to her office after her meeting placing her folders down she let out a deep sigh sending Mike a message to see if he could get Sophie from school she ran her hands through her hair when a knock at her office door startled her
"Ma'am?" his voice said softly
"Yes?" she cleared her throat before turning to face him
"I've got a call for you on line two" he replied nervously
"Yes thank you" she nodded moving to sit at her desk
"And Commander White would like those files on her desk before you leave today" he quickly added closing the door before moving back towards the open area, picking up the phone Kate pressed the receiver before placing it next to her ear
"Kate McGregor speaking…" she answered listening to the person on the other side.
...
"Dad!" Sophie yelled running out of the school gates towards him
"Hey Kiddo!" he smiled when she jumped into his arms hugging him tightly
"I missed you"
"I missed you too Soph" he squeezed her warmly
"Mum didn't mention you were coming back today" she moved her head back to look at him
"Well I didn't know either technically I wasn't supposed to arrive until tomorrow" he brushed his finger across the tip of her nose
"Are you here to pick me up?" she asked hopeful
"Sure am, your Mum's working late so your stuck with me until dinner" he continued holding her in his arms
"Did you see her?"
"Yeah briefly" he answered
"How was she? She's been sick lately" she screwed her nose up
"Sick?" he questions as he began to walk
"Throwing up, not eating I think she might be unwell"
"She didn't mention anything to me" he shrugged confused
"Maybe she doesn't want you to worry Cleo's been looking after us while Mum runs to the bathroom every time she smells coffee" she grinned slightly
"Hmm…" he hummed stopping as Cleo moved towards them.
"Hey Mike!" she smiled widely
"Cleo" he nodded with Sophie still in his arms
"When did you get back?" she asked confused
"A few hours ago"
"Well it's good to see your ugly mug" she hit his arm playfully
"Very funny" he poked his tongue out at her
"When do you leave again" Sophie piped up
"Not for a few weeks, now ice cream?" he smiled
"Ice cream" she nodded
"Definitely!" Cleo linked her arm with Mike's as they all walked off towards the local shop Sophie hugging him tightly taking advantage from her place in his arms.
"Hey Mummy" Sophie smiled from her place on the couch later that night as Kate entered the house
"Hey baby, how was school?" she asked placing her handbag on the bench before moving towards the couch
"Boring, although I did get a gold star for my writing" she smiled
"That's great, I'm so proud of you" Kate stood behind the couch
"Really?" she turned surprised
"Of course I am" Kate leaned across the couch and kissing the top of her head
"Okay, okay enough of the lovey dovey" she laughed pushing her back
"Where's your Father?" Kate finally asked
"He went to the bathroom" Sophie pointed down the hall before looking back at her book.
"Mike?" Kate called out walking past the bathroom at seeing it was empty
"Mike?" she asked again entering her bedroom
"In here…" he said in a shaky breath
"Are you okay?" she replied confused as he turned to face her
"Um Yeah…" he cleared his throat
"You sure?"
"Absolutely" he nodded moving past her moving into her bathroom she grabbed the offending item off her sink
"Mike!" she quickly called after him
"Hmm?" Sophie hummed when she spotted her Mum frantically running down the hall
"Where?" she said almost dripping over Sophie's school bag
"Outside" she pointed to the backyard
"Mike!" Kate called again spotting him in the corner near the swing
"I…"
"It's not what you think" she sighed moving towards him
"Is this why… why you've been sick?" he replied sadly
"I'm not… It's not" she tried to say
"We emailed everyday why didn't… you should have said something even if it wasn't…" he turned to face her
"I tried, I wrote the email three times but I didn't… I didn't want you to think I was…"
"What?" he asked confused
"I needed to make sure I mean it was" she sighed passing him the test
"Negative" he looked at the Pregnancy test
"I had a phone call after you left NAVCOM…"
"Okay?" he said nervously
"Mike… I need… you" she huffed at trying to get the words out
"Tell me…" he stepped forward placing his hand on her cheek
"I wanted it to be positive…" she sighed dropping her head
"Kate?" he asked confused
"I went to the doctors to find out for sure…" she rested her head against his chest
"And…" he brushed his hand across her hair surprised when she moved back
"False negative" she looked up to meet his eyes
"You mean?" he looked down at her stomach before meeting her eyes again
"I'm Pregnant…" she whispered that he barely just heard her
"We're…." he cleared his throat
"We're going to have a baby Mike" she placed a hand across her abdomen
"Kate…" he smiled widely dropping the test he was still holding and moved forward pulling her into a hug
"You can put me down now" she grinned from her place in his arms their faces hovering inches apart
"Never" he smiled moving his head closer to hers
"You'll have to eventually if you want to give your daughter a hug" she smirked motioning to the back door where Sophie was standing with a massive grin
"She knew?" he asked softly
"She found me crying in the bathroom this morning after getting back the negative result" she brushed her hand across the side of his neck
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you…"
"You're here now" she smiled moving down his embrace
"And I will be for the next…" he paused realising he didn't know how far along she was
"Five months" she grinned moving back when Sophie walked towards them
"The results?" she asked eagerly looking back and forth between her Mum and Dad
"Positive" Kate smiled at her watching Sophie's eyes widen
"I'M GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER!!!" she yelled before eloping Kate in a hug
"You sure are Soph, you sure are" Mike turned to face Kate while Sophie's head rested against Kate's abdomen.
"Mike…" Kate whispered later that night in bed when she rolled over for the 5th time in the past hour
"Go to sleep" he grumbled from his pillow
"You sure that this isn't all too fast?" she sighed looking up at the ceiling
"What?"
"All of this" she motioning around the room before feeling him shift in the bed and the room was filled with light
"Are you having second thoughts?" he leaned on his elbow facing her
"No…" she paused turning her head to look at him
"Kate"
"I just want to know how it's all going to work, I mean we fight all the time since the whole proposal incident and it's only been three months since we came back in each other's lives and Sophie… what if it doesn't work out and she ends up resenting us and what if…"
"And what if the moon was the sun" he interrupted her
"What?" she grinned
"The point is there is a lot of what if's in this situation Kate but I know my love for you, our love it's what made this all happen and our fights well every couple fights but it what comes after that matters" he moved his hand across her abdomen
"After?"
"The apology, the making it up, the never forgetting that though we may fight I do love you" he moved his hand and brushed it across her cheek
"What if…"
"No more what if's" he moved to hover above her, her head following his
"Your happy?" she asked nervously moving a hand up and placing it against his neck her thumb stroking the sensitive skin
"More then you'll ever know" he smiled down at her
"Mike…" she began saying when he cut her off with a passionate kiss
"I love you" he smiled against her lips his hand running down her arm before moving under her shirt and resting against her abdomen finally noticing and feeling a small bump he looked back in surprise
"Four months Pregnant and I didn't even suspect I thought I was just bloated, it's actually Cleo who brought up the possibility of…" she smiled her free hand moving to rest against his
"So I have my sister to thank for this discovery" he grinned
"It would appear so and you know what else the test revealed…" she tried to hide her smirk
"What?" he asked nervously seeing the gleam in her eyes
"It's a boy" she watched his eyes widen
"A little boy?" he moved his head back down kissing her softly hiding his moan when he went to move back and Kate deepened the kiss
"Four weeks… really is… a.. long... time for you… to be away" she mumbled between breaks in the kiss her hand running across his back to the hem of his shirt
"I missed you" he grinned breaking the kiss she pulled his shirt over his head,
throwing it across the room his lips meeting with her within seconds of being apart all thought drifting from her mind when he showed her just how much he loved her after the 4 weeks of being away at sea.
A super long one for you guys! So this Chapter kind of went in a completely different direction than I thought of but I'm just going to go with it the next Chapter might be a few months forward in the future again, and then maybe again but we'll see what happens..
If I'm super lucky and get it finished you guys might get 2 Chapters tonight so stay tuned..
Hope you enjoy Xx