Pulling back the door Kate stepped back in surprise
"Afternoon…" he smiled sadly
"Wha… what are you doing here?"
"Sorry… I just figured you'd need a friend we got back from patrol about an hour ago after a false mayday" he shrugged
"Yeah.. you'd be right about that needing a friend" she moved forward wrapping her arms around him in a hug
"Oh Kate, it's okay…" he held her close
"No… it really isn't" she sniffled when he hugged her tighter
"What's happened?" he felt her struggling to hold the tears back
"It's just…"
"Hey…" he pulled back slightly to look down at her "talk to me"
"He dosen't even remember me" she sniffled looking up at him
"Who, Mike?"
"Out of everyone he has in his life I'm the one he forgets"
"Okay I don't understand I thought he was recovered" he brushed the loose tear off her cheek
"I just don't have the strength the explain"
"Come on let's go inside" he pulled back
"Do you want a brew?" she wiped the tears off her cheeks moving down the hall
"No I'm good" he closed the front door behind him
"Has no one filled you in on the Mike situation?" she asked when he entered the kitchen
"Last I heard he'd woken up" he shrugged
"Ah yeah he woke up alright and he seems to remember everyone except me" she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge placing it on the bench
"What?"
"Dutchy I don't…"
"Okay, subject changed how's peanut?"
"Is everyone going to call it that?" she brushed a hand across her abdomen
"Come on it's cute"
"Yeah…" she pulled herself up to sit on the bench
"What's on your mind McGregor?" he nudged her leg
"What am I supposed to do Dylan.."
"First name basis this must be serious" he teased
"I'm serious, it's so complicated"
"I don't have the answers your looking for Kate..." he shifted to stand in front of her
"I wish someone did" she looked at him sadly
"But I do know that no matter what happens with the Boss and his memories of you no one is going to let you go through this Pregnancy alone" he rested his hands on either side of her waist
"I don't even know if this is what I want Dutchy.."
"What?"
"How am I supposed to raise a kid alone, living in a completely different state"
"We get married" he blurted out
"Nice try" she patted his chest
"I'm serious" he grabbed her hand holding it there
"Dutchy…"
"Marry me Kate, let me be a Father to this baby a husband to you"
"Peanut already has a Father"
"Okay then let me be a husband to you, an amazing step-father to Peanut"
"We can't" she smirked pulling her hand back
"Why not?"
"Because we aren't in love Dutchy, we're friends"
"Kate…" he looked at her with a serious face
"Your.. your serious?" her eyes widened
"I'm in love with you Kate" he shrugged sadly
"I…"
"And I know you don't feel the same but given the chance you could, I could be your Happily ever after Kate" he reached across resting his hand on her cheek
"There's only one person I want that with and if I can't have it with him then I don't want it"
"You don't mean that"
"I'm sorry… but I just don't feel that way about you"
"Then marry me for support let me be your shoulder to cry on"
"Dylan…"
"My Mum always told me to say things before you lose the chance for good, and this isn't something I could pretend didn't exist I had to tell you before I lost you again"
"I'm sorry…"
"Even after everything it's still going to be him?" he asked sadly
"Even if he dosen't ever remember me it's always going to be him" she slowly moved his hand off her cheek
"I suppose it's real then…" he stepped back
"What?"
"You can't help who you fall in love with"
"Oh you!" she picked up the bottle of water and threw it at him "friends?" she asked nervously
"Yeah, always will be" he helped her off the bench
"There's someone out there for you Dutchy, don't give up on the idea of love" she looked up at him
"Don't worry no rejection from Kate McGregor will tear me down" he teased
"Yeah your funny" she hit his chest taking her water bottle back
"I thought it was" he watched her walk onto the back deck shortly following a few seconds later.
Back at Mike's, Nikki was showing him the next page in the photo album when he sighed deeply
"I'm never going to get this!" he huffed pushing the third photo album forward
"You just need to focus"
"I am! Do you think I want to keep seeing Kate's sad face every time she looks at me?"
"That's not…"
"Look I get your all trying to help but I honestly have no idea as to why I can't remember Kate, I remember everyone but her and I for the life of me can't figure out why"
"Maybe something happened that caused you to forget her"
"You seriously think I'd make myself deliberately forget her?" he snapped
"Okay that's not what I meant either, what I'm saying is Kate told me you'd had an argument the night before you sailed maybe you were so mad at her you just wanted to forget" she shrugged
"An argument?"
"Yeah"
"About what?" he questioned
"Oh I don't think that's my place…"
"Nikki?"
"Is it really that important?" she moved to stand
"If I want to remember her, I'd say yeah it is" he crossed his arms
"I don't want to cause more…"
"Would you just tell me?" he arose pushing his stool back with the force
"You… Kate's going to kill me for even reminding you of this"
"Nik…"
"You overheard her having a conversation with a fellow officer"
"Okay?"
"They were taking about a kiss they'd shared a week previously"
"Right…" he looked at her confused
"Not jogging anything?"
"Mmm-no"
"It was at a Charity event"
"Okay…"
"His name was Jim.."
"And?" he shrugged
"Nothing?" she raised an eyebrow
"Nothing" he confirmed moving to sit back down
"You'd gone up there for a surprise visit" Nikki sat back next to him
"I brought the promise ring I was going to give it to her as a one day" he blurted out
"Did you just.."
"I just remembered something" he turned to look at her
"Maybe this tough love seems to be the go" Nikki nudged his arm
"I don't remember anything else" he looked at her sadly
"That's okay, we still have…" she looked down at her watch "exactly ten hours left"
"Yeah and if I don't remember I lose her and Peanut"
"You know about Peanut?"
"Swain let it slip, Nik… I don't even remember creating a kid or it's Mother what happens if I never remember…" he looked at her sadly
"We won't let that happen" she placed a hand on his arm
"I just want this missing piece back, it just feels like I've got an empty hole in my life and I feel like that missing part it's.."
"Kate…"
"Yeah and it just seems weird because I don't know her" he nodded
"But you do, some part of you is still in love with Kate and even though you can't remember her the heart it never forgets who it truly loves"
"I want to remember Nikki"
"Then lets continue" she pulled the photo album back in front of him
"Before we do that…" he placed a hand on the book
"Is something wrong?"
"Tell me about Kate, not from these books or stories about her and I; but from you"
"Me?"
"I want to know who she is from the perspective of her best friend"
"Well… she's a right pain in the arse most times but…" Nikki began,
Mike listening and watching closely.
...
"How long till your flight?" he questioned moving back inside
"Nine hours" she placed her empty bottle down
"You going to come say goodbye to the crew before you disappear again?"
"Dutchy…"
"Hey, it was only a joke" he held his hands up
"A bad one"
"Sorry…"
"My flight is at four am I don't exactly see you lot being awake at that time" she began walking him towards the front door
"Then come to the pub"
"You just won't give up will you?"
"You can't just leave without saying goodbye" he turned stopping next to the front door
"Why would I come to the pub sober with a bunch of drunken sailors" she raised an eyebrow
"For entertainment?"
"Will Mike be there?"
"I highly doubt it, Nikki is over at his trying to jog his memory"
"She's what?"
"Oh… I wasn't supposed to say that" he bit his lip
"So your visit it was to what… keep me distracted?" she pulled open the front door
"No it wasn't like that…"
"You need to leave"
"Kate come on"
"Well look who it is" she crossed her arms when Nikki moved towards them
"You said you wouldn't tell!" she hit Dutchy's arm
"It just slipped out" he rubbed his arm
"Get out of here" Nikki rolled her eyes before turning to look at Kate who had made her way back down the hall
"Sorry…" Dutchy gave her a sad smile making his way towards the car.
"To be fair he remembered something" she called down the hall closing the door behind her a few seconds after Dutchy left
"I don't want to hear it" Kate replied rummaging in the spare room
"Kate…"
"I'm not interested"
"It was about the ring…" she tried stopping in the doorway of the bedroom
"Why can't you just leave it as is?"
"Because I don't want Peanut growing up without a Father"
"You didn't tell him did you?" she stopped to face her
"No"
"Good"
"Swain already did that…"
"What!"
"Well at least you can't blame it on me" she shrugged with a grin
"No instead I can blame it on Dutchy"
"Sorry?"
"Dutchy is the only one I told, for Swain to have found out there's only one culprit and I am going to torture him for a very, very long time" she gritted her teeth
"Lucky Dutchy"
"Now is not the time for jokes Nikki"
"Sorry.." Nikki bit her inner lip,
hesitating as to whether or not she should mention what else Mike also remembered.