"Kate?" Mike mumbled against her neck holding her in an embrace from behind his hand resting across their unborn child
"Hmm" she hummed while keeping an eye on the pancakes in the pan
"How well do you really know Aden; I mean have you sat down and talked with him about after you left?"
"Not this again"
"All I'm saying is are you really prepared for him to be around Jellybean?"
"In case you haven't noticed Jellybean, not here yet" she shrugged flipping the pancake
"I don't trust him"
"You barely know him" she turned the stove off and moved out of his embrace
"Exactly my point, neither do you" Mike sighed at seeing her getting agitated
"He's my brother what do you expect me to do?" she placed the spatula down
"The incident last night I am sure he's involved" Mike leant against the bench
"What?" she scoffed in disbelief
"Everything has happened since he's been here, the break in, the writing on the wall how do you explain that?"
"I don't know"
"Kate take a look at the big picture here the minute he shows up…"
"Now hang on a minute" she held her hand up "let me wrap my head around this, you think my brother…"
"Half-brother" Mike interrupted
"My brother! You think that he broke in here, trashed the house and wrote 'She's mine' in blood on our bedroom wall?"
"Yes!"
"Your insane" she scoffed moving past him
"Kate, you don't know the guy how are you certain he's even your brother" Mike grabbed her arm
"Let go of me"
"How well do you really know him, answer me that?"
"You know sometimes I wonder how well I know you" she spat back
"What?"
"Why are you doing this? For as long as we've been together all I've spoken about was finding him, finding Jellyfish and the minute he shows up here your acting like some big tuff guy ready to kick his head in"
"It is my job to protect you"
"Protect me? I don't need protecting" she pulled her arm out of his grip
"You sure about that?"
"You are so infuriating! Why are you doing this? Why are you denying me any opportunity to have what you grew up getting"
"Kate…"
"You had a family Mike; you had a Mother who adored you a Father who taught you how to ride a bike"
"I…"
"You even had the younger sibling who used to annoy and torment you, I never got that with Aden I was never able to experience growing up with him and you know how much I regret that" she teared up
"The guy isn't who you think he is"
"I'm not doing this with you, not when he is less than five feet away in the spare room" she motioned up the hall
"Actually…"
"What?" Kate looked at him confused
"He's gone…"
"What did you say?" she sighed angrily
"Kate.. I was doing what was best for you"
"By sending my brother away?"
"I didn't…"
"Please just be honest with me, what did you say to him?" she looked at him sadly
"To leave and not come back" Mike bit his inner cheek
"Great…"
"You are my wife, I love you and I would do anything to protect you" he stepped forward looking at her sadly when she stepped back
"I do not need protecting, and you of all people should know that"
"Kate…"
"I expected you to back me up, help me in getting to know my brother"
"I love you but I'm sorry I just.. I don't trust him, and I don't want to see you hurt" he shook his head
"You talk about love but…"
"What?"
"I need time to think can you just…" she held back the tears
"What happened to the romantic breakfast for our Anniversary?"
"Then I'll go, enjoy your breakfast" she moved past him stopping slightly when he placed a hand on her arm
"I did this because I love you…"
"I know you do.. but I can't be around you right now" she moved his hand off her arm before moving up the hall
"Dammit…" Mike sighed brushing his hands across his face in annoyance.
Standing in the hallway of the hotel hours later Kate knocked on his room, sighing to herself when he opened the door
"Kate? What.. what are you doing here?" he asked standing in the doorway
"I hope you don't mind I found your hotel key in the spare room and I thought I'd return it" she held it up
"Ah thanks… had to get the front desk to let me in earlier" he gracefully took it
"You up to anything today?"
"No not now, why?"
"I could do with the company; Mike and I had a fight" she rolled her eyes
"Oh.. Um I've got some cans of Fanta in the fridge if your interested?" he pointed back into his room
"I'm more of a lemonade girl myself"
"Well aren't you lucky I've got some of those too" he grinned moving aside
"You sure I'm not imposing?" she made her way inside his room
"Of course not I've always got time for my sister" he closed the door behind them,
"Yeah…" she placed her handbag down on the table taking a seat
"I'm guessing that's what the fight was about?" he grabbed a can of lemonade from the little fridge
"You know you've got to pay for that right?" she changed the subject
"My own personal stash besides it gets billed to the company…" he slipped
"The company?" she questioned when he placed the drink down in front of her
"Ah yeah… they heard I was coming to Australia wanted me to check out some clients so payed for my room" he tried to correct himself
"Sounds boring" she laughed opening her can
"Believe me it's not something a Navy girl would be interested in"
"Navy girl? I am a Navy woman get it right" she teased
"Sorry" he held his hands up in surrender as he sit across from her.
"So… this fight, it's about Mike sending me away right?" he leant back in his chair
"He's such a hypocrite he talks about love and care but he pushes away the only family I have"
"Maybe he dosen't see it like that, until I came along it was just the two of you"
"I searched for twenty-four years, twenty-four years of heartbreak he knows how much this means to me and he pushes you out what? Just because he dosen't trust you?" she scoffed
"I can see his point" Aden shrugged
"Don't you start"
"Well… we may be related but you don't know me at least not really"
"And how am I expected to get to know you if the stubborn husband of mine is pushing you out of our house?" she took a sip of her drink
"He just wants what's best for you, he truly loves you"
"He's a stubborn fool" she rolled her eyes
"And your not? I've seen how you two are together, you push his buttons just as much as he pushes yours"
"Mike and I… it's always been complicated" she placed her drink down
"See you've said that before, but you've not once told me why?"
"Watson's Bay, not seeing him for so many years before I joined as his XO I mean what's there to tell"
"Did you always know he was the one?" Aden cleared his throat
"Maybe… There were other guys but somehow it always came back to one thing"
"They weren't Mike"
"Yep" she nodded
"From where I'm standing it seems you two were always meant to be, you've got a past and now a future to look forward to" he pointed towards her stomach
"And what's the point in thinking about the future if my husband decides what is or isn't right for me"
"Kate…"
"No, he does not get to decide who can or can't be in my life it's been twenty-four years Aden I'm not going to waste another twenty-four just to make him happy"
"All I was going to say is sort it out, fighting won't do either of you any good" Aden reached a hand across the table placing it on hers
"Since when did you become wise" she looked down at their hands
"I'm not five years old anymore, and your not eleven we're adults now so just… work it out with Mike"
"Yeah I will, eventually but now I want to get to know you" she pulled her hand back when his phone started ringing
"Ahh it's work hold that thought?" he shifted reaching for his phone
"Sure" she nodded confused when he moved into the bathroom shutting the door.
...
"What are you doing here?" Swain looked at him confused when he made his way across the gangway
"Ah well Kate and I aren't in a very talkative mood, what's all this?" Mike looked around at the gear on the boat deck
"2Dads spilled coffee on the gear so I sent him to clean it up"
"And his idea is hosing it off on the boat deck?" Mike looked at the dripping wet boarding jackets
"Yes, now what happened between you and Kate?" Swaine changed the subject
"That brother of hers"
"Right.. what's his deal anyway?"
"I have no idea! I just don't get a good vibe from him" Mike shook his head
"Any particular reason?"
"The break in the other night somehow I feel like he was involved" Mike shifted to lean against the railing
"But he's Kate's brother why… why would he want to hurt her?" Swain looked at him confused
"I found his locket Swain, down the side of the house in the dirt no one uses the side gate, and this was before he was even invited over"
"But your sure it was his?"
"It had a photo of Kate in it, it was the locket she'd described to me that she'd given him" Mike sighed
"So what you told Kate about this?"
"I did, but not before telling Aden to leave and never come back"
"Mike!"
"Yeah I know! I messed up, but she's not seeing this from my point of view she dosen't know the guy he may be her brother but what exactly does she really know about him?" Mike shrugged
"Maybe not but I mean Kate's not stupid do you really think she'll open herself up fully to him without finding out what his deal is?"
"No.. I guess I didn't really think of that"
"You really need to have some more faith in her, especially when today is your Anniversary" Swain patted his shoulder
"Yes well given she's not talking to me I'm not exactly sure she even cares what today is"
"Kate is just as stubborn as you, in this situation you need to make the first move I mean since it is your doing and all"
"Yeah thanks for the Swaino" Mike scoffed
"Give her a call I'm sure she wants to sort this out just as much as you do" Swain smiled sadly before moving towards the open hatch
"Oh Sir… Um…" 2Dads walked out holding a bucket of water
"I don't even want to know" Mike held up his hand and walked across the gangway.
UPDATE!!! Pretty chaotic here, some update for all those who send love my Nana actually passed away the other day so it's been pretty emotional here. And yet somehow during this all I managed to write something guess I needed to distract myself, hope you enjoy the update Xx