"Libby?" Kate doesn't even bother to shut the car door as she bails out. Hell, she's not even one hundred percent she's turned the engine off, but she doesn't stop to double check. Her body moving faster than her brain can comprehend, she stumbles slightly on the uneven driveway, but manages to catch her balance. "Lib!" Kate practically launches herself at Libby, wrapping her arms around her so tight that both of them nearly fall flat on the ground. There's a muffled oof from Libby, but she squeezes Kate back just as hard. "What the hell are you doing here?!" Kate's voice is muffled, her face pressed into Libby's shoulder. And, hell, Libby's wild hair is all over her face, her bag digging painfully into her hip, but none of that matters, because she's here, after all the emails and phone calls. Here.
"Why? Want me to go?" Libby teases, and it's simultaneously as though no time and centuries have passed since they last met.
"Not a chance!" Kate shoots back, squeezing Libby just that bit tighter. It's not as if she really thinks Lib will disappear, but it feels good to actually have her. And, hell, she knows that now is the time she'd normally make some quip about Libby treating her like a hotel, or else that she could have at least bothered to wash her hair before letting it fly all over Kate's face. But her warped sense of humour takes a back seat in among the sheer feeling of having her best friend with her at last. "I just can't believe this!"
"Got invited to a short course at ADFA. Figured I'd drop in and surprise my bestie." Libby peels Kate away and holds her at arm's length, peering at her critically. For a moment they both look at each other. Then Libby's eyes twinkle. "Geez, you got fat. When was the last time you saw your ankles?!"
"Gee, thanks." Kate grumbles in mock offense, then tips her head to the side in thought. "About two months ago, easy. It's an effort even getting shoes on." She wriggles her toes. Any time she wasn't at work was generally spent in thongs now, no matter the weather. It was just easier that way; the effort to put shoes on has more than once brought her to tears.
Libby's smile widens. "You look amazing, Kate." She murmurs, before crouching in front of Kate and placing a hand on either side of Kate's middle. "Hey, Shrimp. It's your Auntie Lib. Just so you know, I'm the one that's going to spoil you rotten and let you get away with everything that boring Mummy doesn't."
"Please don't turn my unborn child against me." Kate pokes Libby in the shoulder and she overbalances, falling backwards with another oof. She has to catch her weight with a hand behind her, and throws an outraged look behind Kate. "Hey! You must be Tony. Please tell me you witnessed that cruel and unnecessary exhibition of brutality!" Kate glances behind her and sees Tony, looking torn between amusement and confusion as he watches Libby pull herself back to her feet. "I've heard lots about you, Kiddo. Kate reckons you've been an absolute lifesaver."
"Hi." Tony murmurs, uncharacteristically shy. Although, to be fair, Libby was full on.
Kate smiles reassuringly and moves to introduce them properly. "Tony, this is Libby. Libby, this is-"
"The fabulous handyman!" Libby interrupts, taking Tony's hand and shaking it enthusiastically. "You, my friend, most definitely deserves a medal because, honestly, she's probably been driving you mad. How many times have you had to try and talk her out of... of mowing the lawn or trying to clean her gutters while she's eleventy months pregnant?"
Tony laughs, all shyness forgotten. "Only sometimes." He admits, with a cheeky look in Kate's direction. "She usually listens to me though. Otherwise I call Mum in."
"Oi!" Kate interjects in mock outrage. "Don't go ganging up on me already." She turns back and scoops her bag up from the passenger seat of the car, before moving to the front door. "I suppose I'll let you in, Lib. Come on." She brushes a hand against her middle. "We need food."
"And Libby needs a drink!" Libby adds, rubbing her hands together like she's planning world domination. "I'm dying of thirst." She gestures to the bag she's dropped at the front door. Kate spies a six pack of beer in front of it. Catching Kate's eye, she shrugs. "Don't look at me like that! It's five o'clock somewhere and I brought you cordial too." As she makes her way through the door, Libby sweeps Tony up with an arm around his shoulder. "What about you, Little Dude? Too early for a beer?"
"About eight years, Lib." Kate shoves her friend lightly in the shoulder.
Libby rubs the spot as though Kate had stabbed her. "Oi! You're getting a little aggressive there, Lieutenant Mc-Preggor." She eyes Kate's middle. "Sure you're not having twins?"
"Oh, get inside!" Kate rolls her eyes.
"Lead the way." She grins wickedly at Tony. "Boy, have I got some stories to tell you."
Kate's not surprised to find that Libby and Tony get along really well. After all, Libby's always had a way with kids, and they both share that teasing sense of humour - usually at Kate's expense. By the time Libby starts talking about her time doing surf comps in her teens, Tony is hanging off her every word, and Kate busies herself ironing a uniform for the next day as she listens rather than joins in. She likes to domesticity of it all. The gentle conversation, and it's almost like a glimpse into the future, imagining Libby with Shrimp in the years to come.
Tony stays for an hour or so, before thanking Kate yet again for taking him out, and skipping back home. "He's sweet." Libby concludes, pulling herself to her feet and heading to the fridge, emerging a moment later with one of the beers she'd put in there earlier. "Really talkative when he gets going, hey?"
"That's the understatement of the century." Kate jolts slightly as Libby flops onto the lounge beside her, resting her head on Kate's shoulder for a moment before straightening and uncapping her beer. "He's... he's great. His whole family are." Kate pauses, trying to find words important enough, because it's a big thing, what they've done for him. "I don't think I would have felt as... as good about staying here if I didn't have him."
"I'm glad you found him then." Libby looks around the room. Slowly, Kate has added things, made it less of a rental and more hers. It's far from perfect, far from any dream house, but it's home. Following her train of thought, Libby continues. "You seem to have really settled here, Kate. I'm glad. Not to mention, both of you seem to have that nerd thing going. You might be the only twenty-three year old to hit up a dinosaur museum on the weekend."
"Hey!" Kate opens her mouth to snap a retort, but her brain fails her, and all she can come up with is, "I'm almost twenty-four!" Libby chuckles.
"I actually thought you'd given me a dummy address when I first got here. Curtains drawn, no one home. Waiting alone."
"How long were you waiting for?" Kate has to fight the twinge of guilt. After all, she hadn't even known Lib was coming.
Libby waves away Kate's question with another gulp of beer. "Eh, ten minutes?" She guesses, before clapping a hand to her chest. "Ten lonely, terrifying, panicked, cold minutes-"
"You're so dramatic." Kate rolls her eyes, but can't help but laugh all the same. Sinking back into the chair, Kate adds, "I've missed you, Lib. It's been too long!"
"I know." Libby moans. "I've missed you, hon. Grueling wake ups aren't the same without you."
Kate laughs. "I must say, that's the good thing about a shore posting. Regular shifts. But how are the subs treating you?"
Libby gives an offhand shrug. "Yeah, okay. Bit... you know... isolating at times, not being able to head on deck for fresh air when you need it, but it's good. I love it. One of the techos, Swan, she's a good laugh. Joined the Navy out of spite because her stepfather reckoned it was a man's job. She's a born sailor, though. And some of the guys are fun too, even though they're typical guys, getting themselves pissed every night we're in port and showing up bleary eyed the next day. The lack of privacy is a bit much, though. I miss having my own space. Seeing my friends and family." She shakes her head slightly as though to regain focus. "Eh, but enough about me. How's O going? Back home?"
"Yeah, they're at home. Elle's gonna need to tone down on the fry ups but... yeah, she's going to be fine. Thank God." Kate falls silent once more, the guilt weighing up once more.
Libby seems to know what she's thinking. "It wasn't your fault, you know." She says, before Kate can voice these thoughts. "And if I'm honest, I'm glad. Elle's okay and... and you were able to sort things out with them. I mean," Libby hastens to correct herself. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not a monster. But... it gave you the kick to sort things out. I'm glad things are cool between you, you know?" Libby scratches at a spot on her arm. "Things are cool, aren't they?"
Kate shrugs awkwardly. "As well as they're ever going to be, I guess. I mean, they still want me to move up there with them or get married or something first. But... yeah, they're okay." Her fingers tug at a loose thread of her jeans. "Mr O thinks I should sue Mike for child support."
"What?!" Libby sits up, so quickly she very nearly falls off the lounge. "You mean-"
"Well, not Mike." Kate corrects hastily, correcting herself. "He doesn't know it's him. But... the father. He reckons he needs to pay something."
She's painfully aware of Libby's gaze upon her, as though trying to read Kate's mind. When she does speak, Libby's tone is quite impassive, free of any judgement. "And what do you think?"
"I think... I don't know." She'd been so sure about her decision to keep Mike out of it, but all the same, she finds herself seeking out Libby's opinion. More than that. She wants someone to tell her what to do, wants someone to take this responsibility away from her and make the decision for her, because it's too much. "Isn't that selfish? I made the choice. And anyway, I don't need money."
"But it's got you thinking about him, hasn't it?" Libby presses. "About what it would mean if you told him?" Kate doesn't say much. Libby is right, of course. More and more she's found herself daydreaming about seeing Mike, of handing him a perfect little baby. Of being a perfect little family. But she knows, even if she was to tell him, it wouldn't be like that. "You're not going to tell the O's?"
Her question snaps Kate back to reality. "God no!" She gasps, wide eyed. "That would be a fun conversation. 'Hey, O. You know the guy you tell me has a girl in every port? Guess which girl was Sydney? This gal!'" She twists both her hands around to point at her belly, before turning back to Lib. "No. He can't find out. He'd kill him. They were friends. Or... friendly, at least." She drags a hand through her hair. "Maybe... maybe in the future? Oh, I don't know. It's all so confusing. I have all these feelings that don't make sense running through me." She turns to Libby with an expression of exasperation. "You know I cried the other day because I lost my favourite pen. And then I remember thinking, it's not even that good a pen. It's a cheap 10-for-3-bucks pen, but I liked the way I wrote with it and I had it at Watson's and it's all so stupid! Don't laugh!" Libby mimes zipping her lips shut. "It's all so much. There's so many decisions to make every day! We went over birth plans at my prenatal class." The corners of Libby's mouth twitch. "What?!" Kate demands.
"Nothing." Libby's says with a soft laugh. "I'm just trying to picture you in a prenatal class." She mimes scribbling notes on a clipboard, before raising her hand like a school child. Kate wonders whether she can damage her eyes from rolling them too much.
"I mean, honestly, I'm not the top student you're imagining. I've missed a few lessons."
Libby apparently isn't done mocking her. She adopts an outraged expression. "Kate McGregor missing lessons?! Kate McGregor not being the best student?!"
"Shut up." Kate rolls her eyes at Libby's antics, even through her laughter. She flails her hands in the air, trying to find the words to accurately describe the environment. "It's scary! There are... videos and... and everyone is with someone. I just feel so... so out of place. Like I don't belong. But there's so many things to think about! Like... like whether I want to make a playlist for when I'm in labour, or... or be fully nude or... fucking give birth in some birthing pool. Like how is that hygienic? Surely they can't get all that gunk out of a pool. And do I want a support person or someone with me? Do I want an epidural? And... and when it's born, do I get it baptised or christened or... or not? I mean, I don't really believe it but I don't want to damn some poor kid's soul. And if something happens to me, where does the kid go? You're on a sub, Elle's just out of hospital, Mike doesn't even know and I've only known Heidi and Dale five minutes. And what about schooling? Should I be inquiring about childcare now because waitlists are horrendous but-"
"Geez, just chill!"
"How?!" Kate gestures to the calendar to emphasise her point. "Every day there are more decisions and time is running out."
In contrast to her earlier humour, Libby is starting to look a little alarmed. Brow furrowed in concentration, Libby considers her words. "Well, uh... just... just try to think of it logically?" Kate raises an eyebrow and Libby hastens to continue. "Look, you're not religious. And I'm sure anyone up there wouldn't damn an innocent kid. So let them decide that or not when they're older." Kate doesn't know much what to say about that. Mostly because it's most logical answer and she hadn't thought of it. "Kate, just... just take the pressure off yourself. You're going to be a great Mum."
Kate pushes herself up from the lounge and begins pacing, because she can't sit still anymore. Any sense of amusement Kate had felt in the conversation has long since been replaced with real worry, and a need for reassurance. "But it's so much pressure. I can't afford to make the wrong decision."
Libby stands too, moving closer to Kate and placing a hand on each of her shoulders, forcing her to remain still. "Okay. Now, I know it goes against everything you stand for, but parents... they don't always get things right. I was in childcare, remember? I've seen parents make every mistake under the sun. But you know what a great parent does every day? They try to do better. They accept that sometimes they might fall short." Kate sucks in a deep breath, wrapping her arms around herself once more. "Some days you're gonna bribe your kid with lollies or... or snap or cry or say the wrong thing. Some days you'll give in and let the kid watch hours of TV because you're tired or... or let them eat ice cream for dinner just so they'll shut up. But you're also going to love them, and laugh with them and be the most important person in their world. You're going to do what you've always done. You're going to try to be better."
Kate nods soberly. "I just... some days I feel like I'm not going to be enough. That if I had Mike here too..." She trails off, the what ifs getting her every time. Almost unconsciously, she moves towards her dog tags, fidgeting with them like she always does when she's worried.
For a moment, she and Libby stand in silence. Then Libby begins, tentatively, "You never told me about him... I mean... properly. About how you met. What he was like."
What he was like. Sometimes she finds it hard to remember. So often, he's either an idealised fantasy man, a compilation of all of the traits she'd admired in him, faults ignored. And other times, he's the man that had left. "I don't... I don't know how to talk about him." She murmurs. "It's like I've made him up. The Mike on that course... Lieutenant Commander Flynn... that wasn't him. That wasn't..." It wasn't the man I loved. She finishes the thought in her head. Sighing deeply, she moves back to the lounge and flopping backwards, so that she's staring at the plain white roof. She's only vaguely aware of Libby lifting her feet for a moment, so that she can sit on the other side of the lounge, before letting them rest over her legs. "I had some time to kill, after my posting up North. So I was crashing with the Olinskys. Just... spending time being a tourist, you know? Found myself in this second hand bookshop looking at these old classics and... and he was there. We just started talking. I mean, it sounds lame but... but it was just so easy. He had just bought Iliad. He was talking to me about the sorts of things I read and... we both paid for what we needed and then we just... just kept walking. Ended up in the Botanical gardens under a tree just talking about books. It was hours. Hours and hours."
"Nerd." Libby murmurs, although there's no malice in her tone. She gives Kate's leg a gentle squeeze.
Kate lets out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. "Yeah." She agrees. "It sounds stupid now. But it felt... different. I just felt like this was a guy who was nice and funny and genuinely interesting, and he thought the same about me and... and he asked for my number and... and I didn't think he'd call back." Kate shrugs. "But he did."
"And it began." Libby muses.
"Yeah." Kate nods. She's not sure why, but she draws comfort from the small smile on Libby's face as she falls into the story, even though they both know how the story ends. "We went to Luna Park, of all places. I'd never been. He knew all the history of the place, all these stories and facts. It was fascinating. And we went on the carousel and the tango train and the rollercoaster... and it wasn't until the Ferris Wheel that I saw him with his eyes squeezed shut looking like he was about to faint that he admitted he was deathly afraid of heights." Libby lets out a snort of laughter. Kate smiles too at the memory. "He'd only gone because I'd told him I'd never been on a Ferris Wheel before. I swear, it took him about five minutes to stop shaking."
"That's sweet." Libby laughs, hands still resting on Kate's leg.
"We stuck to the ground after that, though. But it was... it was a perfect day just... just goofing around being kids." She snorts with laughter. "And I was hooked. I... I went back to his hotel with him..." She swallows awkwardly, glad that she can't see Libby's face, "...and from then we spent every day together... and most nights. We never seemed to run out of things to say, or... or do. It was never awkward or... or difficult, being with him. We went to... to the art gallery and... and took the monorail around the city. Some days we'd just stay at the hotel and take turns reading lines from our stories, and yes I realise that is incredibly nerdy." Libby lets out another snigger of laughter. "I don't think I'd ever felt... that safe with anyone, ever. So... so comfortable in who I was and... and where I'd been in life. We were... we were in the moment, together. And it was great. Well-" Kate reaches for her dogtags again. "Right up until I walked into that lecture room and saw him at the front." Kate hears Libby exhale sharply, even though she had already known how the story ended, and Kate lets out a wry laugh, still staring at the ceiling. "In amongst all our conversation, somehow neither of us told the other we were in the Navy. Can you believe that?"
Libby's beer has long since been abandoned on the coffee table. The clock has never sounded so loud. And still, Kate can see that expression of horror, of mistrust and betrayal and regret and confusion that had been plastered upon Mike's face, frozen in her mind's eye. "I'm sorry, Kate." Libby's voice is barely a whisper.
"I fell in love." Kate's voice cracks on the words. And she almost feels ashamed to speak the words aloud, even though she knows Libby would never judge her. "Up until I met him, I thought the whole love thing was bullshit. I'd thought I could make it on my own. That I never needed anyone. But he... he made me break all of my rules. He made me break the Navy's rules-"
"But you didn't know!" Libby argues. "You didn't break the Navy's rules." Kate doesn't answer this. She can feel Libby's eyes on her, second guessing. And Kate knows that she doesn't really need to contradict her friend, that any moment she will guess, just from the look on her face. "Shit." Libby's curse just about sums it up. "Did you?"
Kate lets out a heavy breath, and she knows Libby is wracking her brain, trying to remember that very first class. "I stayed behind." Kate fills in the blanks for her, feeling as though she's confessing to a crime. And maybe she is, in a way. "I told you to go to lunch, because I had something digging into my back and I needed to repack my bag." Libby makes a noise in her throat like she remembers this. "...and when everyone was gone, Mike and I agreed to coffee. Off base. To talk."
"But there's nothing wrong with going to coffee with the guy!" Libby points out, even though she sounds, in Kate's opinion at least, as though she's clutching at straws.
"Not really." Kate agrees, bowing her head. "But the coffee place ended up being right next to a cheap motel."
"Oh." Libby's grip on her leg slackens. "Right."
Kate feels her voice rise a little higher. She doesn't think she's ever looked at the ceiling this intently before. "I... I think it was then. The... uh... the other times we were... more careful? I mean, I was on the pill but... neither of us were really expecting it and... uh... we-"
"-didn't put a lifejacket on Little Mike?" Libby finishes automatically. Then she winces. "Sorry."
"Right after, it was... it was like something changed. We both left. Agreed to meet the next day. At the beach. Somewhere public. Far away from..."
"Temptation?" Libby suggests tentatively, when Kate fails to find the right words.
"Basically." Kate agrees. "But he never showed. And the next day, it was like I didn't even exist. And it was over. Or..." She gestures vaguely to her middle. "So I thought, anyway."
For the longest time yet, they sit in silence, both absorbed in their own thoughts. Kate closes her eyes, even though there's no tiredness. Talking about him, sharing it all has made her feel raw. Part of her, that abandoned little Kate, wants to claw back the words, erase them from Libby's memory. But she can't. "Don't." Libby murmurs, and Kate's eyes snap open. She lifts her head, looking at her friend. Tears are streaming down Lib's face too. "Don't hide away from me. Don't... don't ever think I'm judging you, Kate. Please don't... don't ever think for a moment you can't tell me this stuff." Kate squeezes her eyes tighter, feeling tears stream down her own face too.
"I hate how stupid I was." She whispers. "And now I've brought a poor baby into the mix and-"
"Oh, Kate." Libby stands up, moves to her. And Kate feels herself break. "You are not stupid, okay?" Libby presses a kiss to the top of Kate's head, holding her close. "He's the stupid one. And this baby is going to be loved. So loved."
"Urgh, your lounge is not made to be slept on." Libby's voice wakes Kate from her sleep. Opening her eyes, she has just enough time to register that she is awake before Libby clambers unceremoniously onto the bed. Kate mumbles something even she doesn't quite understand, still fighting her way through the hazy fog of sleep, and clings more tightly to her pillow. A moment later, however, she feels Libby poke her in the shoulderblade.
"Are you right there?" Kate groans, edging backwards to make more room.
"Anyone ever tell you you're huge?" Libby asks, as she squeezes herself into the little room available. The movement tightens the sheets around Kate, so that she's practically coccooned underneath all her blankets.
"You. Frequently." Kate closes her eyes and swats blindly in Libby's direction, smiling into the pillow as she gains a cry of ouch in return. "And I offered you the bed."
Libby scoffs. "Oh, as if I was going to kick you out of your own bed!"
"And yet here we are."
"I missed you?" Kate opens her eyes again to see Libby beaming at her. "You are grumpy when you wake."
"I've had Shrimp kicking me all night and now you." Kate points out, realising that she's not about to get back to sleep anytime soon. "And you also had a fancy pants double paid for by the Navy going to waste."
Libby smiles sweetly. "But I'd miss out on seeing your smiling face."
Kate groans, turning her face into the pillow. "What time is it?" She grumbles blearily.
"0530." Libby lets out another cry of pain as Kate hits her again. "Hey, what can I say? Nostalgia got the better of me."
Kate can't help but laugh. "You're a dick." She rolls over as best she can, so that she's on her back. "It's Sunday, Lib! One of my two sleep days!"
"But isn't this nice?"
"Shrimp is sitting on my bladder." Kate points out.
"Admit it. You've missed me." Libby pesters, poking Kate again, before adopting a decisive tone. "So. We only have today together and I vote we go shopping. I have a god-child to spoil and a city to explore before, you know, spending the next few days in a conference room."
Kate winces. Shopping-Libby was the ultimate bad influence. "You do see this room, right? I am space limited. Just remember that."
Libby shifts for a moment and glances around the room, before shrugging and flopping back onto the pillows. "Eh, I was never very good with maths."
The day outside is drizzling and miserable, and Kate is not surprised to find the shopping centre crowded and noisy. After the craziness of the last few days, Kate would have been more than happy to stay at home, but as they make their way through each store, Kate can't deny she's enjoying herself. They've already made their way through three stores, and despite her hesitancy, Kate comes to appreciate the benefits of Libby's previous experience with children as she guides Kate through what she will need and those things that she probably won't. She talks Kate out of purchasing a baby bath ("Honestly, the kitchen sink will work just as well, and they'll only fit in there for a few months anyway.") and, as they make their way through an aisle of washcloths, she points out a soft, hooded towel that makes Kate melt.
"See, this stuff?" Libby had remained unmoved by the cuteness of it all, shaking her head as Kate pointed it out. "Yes, it's cute. But there is absolutely no reason a baby can't use an adult towel. There's no need for special baby sized towels or anything like that."
"But..." Kate ran a hand over the soft fabric. "It's got little bear ears on it?" She'd long since resigned herself to the mushiness she often felt when looking at baby products. Libby however, her body unravaged by hormones galore, remained stoic.
She'd been similarly critical when it came to socks. "Trust me, socks were the bane of my existence when I was in child care." Libby groaned, dragging Kate away from the weeny packages of socks as though they were radioactive. "If I had a dollar for every time a parent wanted me to chase up an unlabelled, nondescript lost sock, I'd be able to buy your kid a Navy boat. You'll put a sock on the baby, and they'll pull it right off."
"But their toes will get cold!" Kate frowns, looking over her shoulder, unable to move past just how tiny they were. "Plus, they had boats on them!"
"Get them footed PJs then, or wondersuits." Libby suggests. "Same warmth, less risk of losing it all." She catches Kate's eye and rolls her own. "You still want them, don't you? And it was me you advised upon the critical space conservation..." She gives an exaggerated tut as she folds her arms.
"Okay, okay! Socks are a mark of the devil. I hear you!" Kate holds her hands up in surrender, glancing at the trolley in front of them. Everything inside of it is depressingly practical and un-cute, and has Kate feeling as though she's been taken to an all-you-can-eat buffet and been told she can only eat broccoli. Voice laced in sarcasm, she sighs heavily. "I will bow to your wealth of knowledge, Olivia." Kate dodges the poke that Libby gives her for the use of the full name. "Nothing cute or little or fun. Got it."
"You bought the little sailor pyjamas!" Libby waves a hand towards the trolley and the offending outfit. "And the tiny dinosaur onesie. And I'm only trying to help!"
"I know!" Kate groans, dragging a hand through her hair. "I have a serious problem. It's just everything I see hits me right in the heart! I want everything!"
"Hey, I'm only human. I agree with you!" Libby assures her with a sympathetic smile, steering the trolley down another aisle and adding a pack of newborn nappies and a box of wipes to it in a routine sort of way. "Unfortunately, your paycheck and your limited space disagree." Kate jerks her head in reluctant agreement. Libby stops and crouches lower so that she can look Kate in the eyes, as though she's an impatient toddler rather than an adult. "Shall we get you something to eat?"
Kate considers her for a moment, then shrugs. "I want a milkshake. Oreo flavour." She's unable to fully keep the childishness from her voice, but stubbornness makes her add, "Hey, you're the one that woke me at the arsecrack of dawn. If I can't have caffeine, I want sugar."
Libby laughs, pinching Kate's cheek for a moment and adopting a sugary sweet voice. "Well, let's pay for this stuff, then we'll get you a treat, and you can go home for a nap."
Kate hesitates, debating whether or not to be insulted. After a moment of careful consideration, she tips her head to the side. "Okay, I know you're teasing me, but that sounds amazing. But can we detour through the snacks? I need more Pringles."
"Need?" Libby folds her arms again, and Kate feels distinctly judged. "Kate..."
"Please. I can not handle anyone else whinging about my diet. I just really want some snacks for home! I have a bowling ball under my shirt, everything hurts, I have to work tomorrow and... and I've earned it, dammit!" She ends her rant by tossing a baby rattle patterned with sailboats and whales onto the top of the detritus in the trolley. A moment later, she registers that tossing baby toys spontaneously for purchase doesn't quite validate her point about being an autonomous, cognitive adult. But... well, it's cute. Libby follows the action with an expression that clearly says really?! "Hey, music is good for babies!" Kate defends. "I read about it. It's good for... for speech and... and stuff." She recognises the irony of trying to discuss linguistic skills and ending a sentence with 'and stuff'.
There's a moment in which Kate is sure Libby is just going to walk away in exasperation. But then she throws her hands in the air, apparently deciding the argument wasn't worth the effort. "Fine." Libby agrees, not quite succeeding in masking her disapproval. "You dork."
"Uh, I may never move again!" Kate groans as she sinks back into the vinyl of the booth she and Libby are seated in. There's a clink as Libby, who had chosen to drink her milkshake at a more socially acceptable speed, sets her own half-full glass down.
"I don't think I would after that!" Libby nods to Kate's empty glass, her voice a mixture of disgust, shock and amusement. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone down a milkshake that quickly. I... I don't even think you stopped for breath." Kate, who is too full to muster the energy for protest, simply lets out a contented sigh, while Libby continues, apparently on a roll. "I'm... actually concerned your stomach is going to explode. Have you even eaten since Watson's? That is not normal!"
"You get pregnant. Then try to ignore bubs when they say they're hungry." Kate mutters, stretching her arms lazily. "I could actually sleep here now." She eyes Libby, deep in thought. "In terms of ways to go, death by milkshake really isn't that bad."
Libby screws up her face as she takes another gulp of her own milkshake. "I mean, realistically, no." She admits. "Death by cocktails, though. Even better." Libby snaps her fingers for dramatic effect, before forming the universal 'OK' gesture with her fingers and mouthing perfect. "Actually, come to think of that..." Libby adds, twirling her straw thoughtfully, "...I think we almost did that a few times at basic training."
"Don't remind me! My liver has still not recovered." Kate agrees, as several confused memories flood her brain. She doesn't think she'll ever be able to smell tequila without feeling ill. "Or my arm." She adds.
"I said I was sorry!" Libby exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. Kate laughs. It's an argument they've had many times before. "And you got in the shopping trolley, might I remind you."
"You let it go." Kate teases back, poking her tongue out again. "My whole arm was black with bruises." Kate hesitates for a moment, drumming her fingers anxiously on the tabletop. "I really shouldn't be in charge of a newborn, should I?"
Libby, mid-sip, lets out a snort of laughter so loud that it attracts the attention of the table next to them, then promptly chokes on her mouthful of milkshake. Coughing and spluttering, Kate has to lunge across the table to offer a few supportive whacks on Libby's back. "Probably not." She agrees, when she's recovered. "I mean, I promise to keep both hands on the pram?" Libby supplies tentatively.
"Bold of you to assume I'm letting you anywhere near my baby with wheels." Kate deadpans.
"Cute." They lapse into silence once more, before Libby speaks more seriously. "I'm proud of you, Kate."
"What?!" Kate splutters, genuinely concerned now. "Why? Because I smashed out a giant Oreo milkshake in less than sixty seconds?"
"I guess I just... the entire time I've known you it's been all about the Navy. But now you're here and about to be a Mum and... and you're going to be great."
"Stop! You'll make me cry." Kate slaps a hand blindly in Libby's direction. "I wouldn't have been able to do this alone. I've had you and Box and-"
"Been a bit hard to feel involved when I'm a million miles away." She swivels her straw around and around her glass. "It's just weird to think that this visit is the last time it's going to be just you."
"We'll still be best friends."
"Oh, I know. You'd go mad without me!" Libby laughs. "I wish I could be there. Well..." Libby corrects herself. "For the moral support side. Not the 'watch a slimy alien claw its way out of my best friend's vag' part."
"Lib!" Kate winces as Libby makes elaborate scratching motions with her hands. "I..." But they're interrupted by a faint ringing.
"That's yours." Libby informs her, after patting her own pocket.
Kate digs her mobile out from her bag and frowns slightly, seeing Harman flashing upon her screen. "It's work?" Kate murmurs.
"So much for your nine-to-five." Libby teases, dragging her milkshake closer again as Kate presses the phone to her ear. "Kate McGregor." She greets, sticking a finger up at Libby as she makes a show of sucking on her strawberry for some unknown reason.
"Lieutenant? It's Stevenson." Her boss' voice distracts her completely from Libby's antics, and she sits up straighter, even though she knows he can't see her.
"Sir?" Kate's caught between embarrassment at the noise around her and confusion as to why he would be calling her. Trying to inject some semblance of responsibility and professionalism into her words, she adds, "How can I help you?"
"Lieutenant, I'm aware it's your day off but there's been an incident and I'm afraid I need you to come in."
"Uh, Sir..." Kate hesitates, glancing at Libby, who mouths what in her direction. "What kind of incident?"
"I'll explain when you get here." His abrupt tone cuts through her questioning. "As soon as possible, please."
"Okay, but Sir-" Kate begins, but stops as she hears the dial tone. Libby tips her head in confusion as Kate lowers the phone to the tabletop. "What's going on?" She asks.
"I..." Kate drops her phone back into her bag, still frowning. "I really don't know."
A/N: So I found out after I wrote part of this conversation that Luna Park actually wasn't open during the time frame I'm setting this in. Calling poetic license and just rolling with it.