Waltzing Matilda

"You've double checked all your supplies and equipment?"

"Yes Yorktown."

"You didn't skimp on checking the planes this time, did you?"

"No Yorktown."

"There's a storm off the coast of Washington, be sure to chart your course around it."

"Yes Commander."

"Don't forget to give that package to the Commander in Anchorage. If he doesn't get it I'll never hear the end of it."

"I won't Commander." Enterprise's expression twitched, the way it always did when she started to get annoyed. "Is there anything else you two would like to remind me off?

"Be careful!" Yorktown and I said simultaneously.

"Yes Moms!" Enterprise rolled her eyes. "I'll treat this routine patrol through friendly waters, during peacetime, with extreme caution!"

"You know I can't help but worry about you Enty..." Yorktown looked crestfallen for a moment.

"Don't worry!" Enterprise reassured her. "You know I can do this. I've done it a thousand times!"

"And we've worried a thousand times. We always will." I cut in. "The Sirens are still out there Enty. Especially up North." I justified.

"I'll be on the lookout." Enterprise saluted. "With your permission?"

"USS Enterprise, you're cleared to sortie." I signed her official orders before handing them to her. "Just be careful."

"You already said that." She took them with a smile.

"I know." I smiled back. Enterprise turned and left the office with her orders in hand. She'd be patrolling in the Northern Pacific for the next couple of weeks. I returned to my duties after she left, as today's work was only just beginning.

"Kurtis..?" Yorktown's voice got my attention a few minutes later. "Do you think we worry to much?"

"Well, your hair is already white and mine is getting grayer by the day." I joked.

"I think I fits you!" Yorktown's laughter was like a melody. "Like a a wise old Admiral."

"I should hope it does, as I actually am a wise old Admiral." I teased.

"Please. You're not that old." Yorktown said. "And you haven't answered the question."

"Do we worry too much? Probably." I spoke honestly. "But how could we, of all people, not worry about such things?"

"I suppose you're right. You usually are." Yorktown returned to her work with a wistful look on her face, and I soon joined her.

"Hmm..." Yorktown sighed as she stood up and stretched. " I think it's about time to call it a day."

"Of course. Just let me finish up these last few documents." I said.

"It's already seventeen hundred Kurt, how many "last few documents" are there before Anna calls you wondering why you've missed dinner?" She asks knowingly.

"That's only happened once! And you where here late that day too!" It was a poor excuse and I knew it. "I've still got plenty to do here."

"As your secretary, and therefore the woman in charge of your schedule, I'm telling you we're done for the day." Yorktown walked over and rapped her knuckles on my desk. "Come on. I know you'll work all night if I let you!"

"Alright, alright." I grumbled good naturedly as I gathered my things. Together we lock up the commander office for the night. We leave together and begin walking towards the residential section of the base.

"Speaking of dinner, will you be joining Anna and I tonight?" I ask.

"Of course I will! I suspect Hamman is already there." Yorktown answered. Somewhere along the line it had become tradition for the two of them to join my daughter and I for dinner every Friday, but it was still polite to ask.

"I'll need to stop at home first though..." Yorktown continued. "I've got a few things to take care of." There's a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"Is everything all right?" I ask. I've known Yorktown long enough to know when something is bothering her.

"Yes, but..." Yorktown hesitates. "...I'll tell you later."

"Alright." I drop the subject for now. The two of us continue walking in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, until we reach the crossroads where we'll part ways. "I'll see you at eighteen-thirty then?" I say, turning towards the upper officer's housing on the right.

"Eighteen-thirty ." Yorktown confirms, turning towards the lower office's apartments on the left. We separate and I walk to the end of the block before turning and looking back over my shoulder. I catch sight of Yorktown two blocks away, just as she turns to look back at me. The two of us share one last wave before completing the remainder our walks home alone.

I live in a modest two story house, courtesy of the EU Navy. It was built to accommodate a family of four, so it feels just a little bit too big with just Anna and I.

"I'm home!" I call out as I step through the door.

"Hi dad!" Anna calls back out from the living room.

"About time you showed up! I was being to worry I was going to have to cook dinner myself!" Another familiar voice joins her.

"Ah, yes! Because all the times you've been in charge dinner have been so hard!" I raise my hand to my ear, mimicking a phone conversation as I enter the room. "Hello, Panuchi's Pizza? I'd like to order a large cheese pizza please!"

"Hmp!" Hamman scowls at my teasing as she goes back to her book. She's matured a lot from the high strung girl she was when Yorktown first introduced us. I suspect this was, at least partially, due to her adopting the role of Anna's big sister.

"How was work today dad?" The daughter in question asks from her seat on the couch.

"Pretty normal." I answer. "How was school? Do you have any homework?"

"School was pretty good. No homework on the weekends, except from Mrs. Thompson." She scowls. "But Hamman already helped me finish."

"Sixth Grade math isn't so hard to explain after all the gunnery calculations." Hamman comments.

"Alright then. I'm gonna go get dinner started." I said, turning to leave.

"Ooh, what are we having!?" Anna asks.

"I'm thinking we'll have pasta tonight. Some Rigatoni, with sauce and garlic bread." I answer.

"Hello everyone!" Yorktown entered the house without knocking.

"Hey Yorktown!" Hamman calls from the living room.

"Hello!" Anna joins her.

"You're just in time, I just finished setting the table." I shout towards the entryway. I finish straining the pasta and pour it into a bowl, before carrying it to the table. It's not a complex meal, but I do my best. "Come and get it!"

"How did you know I've been craving some Pasta?" Yorktown asks as the four of us take our usual seats around the table.

"Lucky guess." I answer. We each serve ourselves from the bowl in the middle of the table.

"So, Anna, did anything interesting happen in school today?" Yorktown asked as we began eating.

"Nothing too interesting... Oh, but there is one thing!" Anna answered. "We're starting our Siren War unit in history class. Mr. Jackson assigned us a report on the Kansen from the war."

"You didn't mention a report earlier." I shoot my daughter a stern look.

"We've got like two months to do it!" Anna says defensively. "Besides, we don't even have to decide who we're writing it on until next week."

"I'm sure she's got it under control." Yorktown said to me before turning back to Anna. "So who are you planning on doing your report on? Perhaps someone like Enterprise? I could drag her over for an interview."

"A-Actually, I already had some in mind." Anna stuttered and looked away from Yorktown. "I was actually... um... well I was thinking anyway, of doing it on you..."

"Me..?" Yorktown looked surprised for a moment, before her face broke into the most beautiful of smiles. "That's wonderful dear! I'm honored to be the subject of your report!"

"Of course, there's no better subject than our Fighting Lady!" I chimed in "She's just as heroic and as beautiful as her sisters, despite what she'll try to tell you. She's even better than them if you ask me!"

"Stop it!" Yorktown blushed and lightly kicked my leg under the table. "Where would we have been without the dashing young commander Kurtis to lead us?"

"Hey! What am I, the hired help?!" Hamman loudly protested before I could respond. "I was there too!"

"Of course I'll put you in the report too Hammy!" Anna said. The two of them began discussing it in depth as Yorktown and I shared a knowing look. The four of us made small talk as we continued eating. Hamman complained about Sims' latest prank disrupting the day's exercise, while Yorktown and I discussed Enterprise's trip up North.

After dinner the four of us watched a movie together, another part of the Friday tradition. It was Hamman's turn to pick, and she had chosen some Rom-com. Absolute trash if you ask me, but she and Anna seem to enjoy this type of thing. Yorktown and I managed to create our own fun with it as well, putting our heads together and picking apart every inconsistency and contrivance while we laughed amongst ourselves.

It was nearly twenty one hundred when the movie finished. Anna and Hamman retired to Anna's room after the movie to "do girl stuff" as they put it. Yorktown and I moved to the back porch with a couple of wineglasses after they had gone upstairs. We liked to sit there quietly and watch the stars.

"So..." I spoke softly, despite the fact that we were alone. "...do you want to tell me what's been bothering you today?" I could see Yorktown's face fall into a sad expression in the dim light.

"Hornet is moving out." Yorktown answered quietly. "She's moving in with that boyfriend of hers."

"Jacob right?" I ask, and she nods in response. "He seemed nice enough when I met him. He's a Lieutenant in one of the logistical units."

"He parties too much." Yorktown scowls. "I don't like it."

"Hornet parties too much." I felt obligated to defend him for some reason. "She's probably out partying right now!"

"I know... I don't like how much she parties either." Yorktown admitted "You know how much I worry. I just hope she's happy..." Yorktown trailed off.

"And..?" I could tell there was more to it. Yorktown didn't answer right away. Instead she moved closer, laying her head on my shoulder with a sigh.

"I think Enterprise is getting ready to move out too." She confided. "I suspect neither of them wanted to be the first to go, and Hornet decided make her move while Enterprise was on patrol." Yorktown smiled despite her feelings. "I'm happy for them. They're moving on and finding their place in the world. But at the same time... this is the loneliest I've felt since..." she faltered again.

"...Since Jack died." I knew exactly what Yorktown was unable to say. I found it hard to talk about such things as well.

"The first couple of weeks are the hardest..." I say quietly. Yorktown stiffened for a moment as she realized I wasn't talking about siblings moving out anymore. She settled back against my side and remained silent for a few minutes before speaking again.

"I still think about him every day." Yorktown began speaking again. "Every time I see a Dauntless I check under the cockpit for his Call Letters, even after all these years." She pauses for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully. "Is it... the same for you?" She asks hesitantly.

"Yeah... it's pretty much the same." I answer. "Anna... she is her mother's daughter. Every time she smiles, or laughs, it's like Monica is there again." I grimace to myself. "In the beginning, I had to be very careful not to let the pain show on my face when Anna expressed herself, so my grief wouldn't hurt her." I can't help but sigh. "I can only hope I managed to pull it off."

"I've never seen Anna hide her emotions around you." Yorktown reassured me. "You've been a fine father for her."

"That's nice to hear." I say. "I've always worried I wasn't doing enough for her." I confess. "I've always spent so much time at work, especially after Monica... died." I force myself to say it.

"How did it happen..?" Yorktown asks quietly. "If you don't mind me asking?"

"A car accident." I answer. "She had forgotten something she needed for work and ran to the store after dinner to pick it up." I recounted that terrible day. "It was an icy night in mid December. As she was crossing an intersection on the way home, a box truck on the crossroad skidded past the stop sign and hit her driver's side door going 45." I shudder at the memory. "They told me she died on impact, likely before she even realized what was happening."

"I know you've probably heard this a thousand times... and I know from experience it doesn't help." I barley register Yorktown's words "But I'm so sorry for you loss Kurt." She takes my had in hers and squeezes gently.

"I'll be back in time to tuck Anna in. That was the last thing Monica ever said to me." I continued. "She gave me a kiss on the cheek, grabbed her car keys, and then she was gone. The next time I saw her was on the Mortician's slab." I shake my head. "It's a hell of a thing." We sit in silence again as I replay that night in my head.

"Dancer three to Yorky; we're away. See you at Pearl." Yorktown says after a few minutes. "That was Jack's final transmission to me. He circled the ship once and tipped his wings to me as he crossed the bow. Then he flew off over the horizon. I never saw him again."

"What happened..?" I ask.

"Equipment failure leading to him being lost at sea." Yorktown says robotically. "That's what was written on the report. About an hour into the flight the engine started belching black smoke, before exploding a few minuets later." She continued. "His gunner, Mike, managed to pull himself free after the crash. He said that Jack was unresponsive and covered in blood. Mike tried to pull him free, but didn't have time before the plane sank." Yorktown's voice tightens but she doesn't cry. "With no way to recover the body, there was nothing left to bury. All I have from him is a trifold flag and a handful of precious memories."

"Sometimes the memories seem to hurt more than they heal." I lament.

"I suppose so. They're especially painful at first." Yorktown agrees. "But I think I'd rather hold on to the memories than have nothing at all. It's better to have loved and lost, as they say."

"I guess you're right Yorktown. You usually are. They would've wanted us to remember them fondly." I conceded. "Any good stories about Jack?" I try to steer the conversation into happier waters.

"Oh I'm sure I've got a few..." Yorktown thinks for a moment. "Ah here's one. Say, do you know what they call me in Australia?"

"I don't actually. What do they call you?" I ask.

"Waltzing Matilda." Yorktown answered. "When Jack found out he insisted on seeing if I could actually waltz." She chuckled at the memory. "I remember dancing with him on the flight deck, to the music of a tiny wind up radio he had found somewhere. The music wasn't right for a waltz of course, but that didn't matter because neither of us knew how to waltz anyway."

"Sounds romantic." I comment.

"Oh, it was. To an outside observer we must've looked like a pair of drunken fools spinning each other around." Yorktown continued reminiscing. "We stepped on each other's toes so much we both spent the next week with terrible limps" She smiles. "But there, in the moment, we were perfect."

"That reminds me of the time Monica insisted we try "Roller Dancing". I remember one of my wife's bolder escapades.

"Oh? What's Roller Dancing?" Yorktown asks.

"Dancing on roller skates." I answer "It's about as crazy as it sounds, especially considering we'd never even roller skated before." I shake my head. "But she got it into her head that we could do it and dragged me along despite my protests."

"Where you really so against the idea?" Yorktown asks.

"I was. I think I instinctively knew we were about to hurt ourselves." I continue. "It's wasn't so bad at first. We had some fun skating around in circles and even managed to do some moves in sync without leg sweeping one another, after a couple of tries anyway. Then came the incident." I grimace. "Monica wanted to do a... dip I guess I'll call it, for lack of a better word." I mimed dipping low while holding someone on their back.

"Like when you're dancing the Tango?" Yorktown clarified.

"Yes, just like that." I confirmed. "Only we were on roller skates so it wasn't that simple . It didn't help that I wasn't ready when we tried it." I smiled to myself, it was a funny memory in hindsight. "Catch me! She shouted and threw herself on her back like some kind of crazy trust fall."

Yorktown gasped. "You didn't drop her!" She said accusingly.

"Of course not! I caught her...technically..." I scratched the back of my awkwardly

"Technically..?"Yorktown asked

"We were on roller skates remember? I caught her just as my legs went out from under me." I explained "Somehow we flipped positions as we fell. I ended up flat on my back, though my helmet protected me from smacking my head on the ground." I laugh. "What it didn't protect me from was Monica landing on top of me and head butting me in the face with half her bodyweight behind it."

"I went out like a like a light." I snapped my fingers for dramatic effect. "I woke up at home with two broken fingers and a very embarrassed wife."

"That's quite the story." Yorktown giggled.

"We always planned to go back and learn how to do it properly, but we never did." I realized.

"Jack and I wanted to learn to waltz properly too." Yorktown said. "I didn't end up doing it until after Jack was gone through."

"Really?" I was surprised. Yorktown and I usually avoided dancing at public events. "Who did you partner with for classes?" I asked.

"It was Cleveland, actually." Yorktown answered. "She actually approached me, apparently Enty had mentioned to her that I wanted to learn some ballroom dancing." She shrugged. "Cleveland said she wanted to learn how lead so she could surprise Helena, thus she needed a temporary partner."

"So you're an expert now huh?" I said. "Care to give a demonstration?" I gesture to the patio.

"Is that a challenge or a proposition?" Yorktown asks. "Either way I accept."

"Perhaps all this talk of dancing has put me in the mood for some fun." I stand and duck inside to hit the lights and grab a nearby radio. "It is a Friday night after all."

"That it is." Yorktown extends her hand to me after I set the music. It's not a waltz specifically, but it is slow ballroom music. "How much experience do you have?"

"I took some lessons in preparation for my wedding." I answered "Then I proceeded to not use the skill for the next decade."

"Well then, let's try to jog those memories." Yorktown and I took our positions and began slowly dancing to the music. Dancing with Yorktown was different than with Monica. Monica had more fire in her, she wasn't ever content to simply follow and instead insisted on dragging me into her wake despite not being the leader. Yorktown was more content to play her role, but I realized that she was still subtly guiding me in the right direction.

"Do you think they would approve of this... of us?" Yorktown asks, likely mirroring my thoughts of Monica and herself with Jack and I.

"They're probably jealous, neither of us has gotten hurt so far." I joke to buy myself some time to actually consider the question. "I think they would've wanted us to be happy... even after they were no longer around to make us so." I answer genuinely.

I could see Yorktown blush slightly before speaking again. "I think-"

"Ugh! Get a room!" Hamman's voice interrupts us from above, causing us to pull apart like a pair of teenagers who've just gotten caught by their parents. I turn to see Hamman and Anna watching us from one of the upstairs windows.

"Careful what you wish for Hammy, the room we'd use is right next to yours!" I shoot back. Hamman recoils dramatically while Anna laughs at her.

"I think you guys were cute." Anna says. "Dancing away, alone in your own little world." She nods to herself. "It's romantic!"

"Alright, shows over now!" I wave them away. "Close the window before you let the bugs in!"

"I'm sure they'd fly right by us to gobble up the sickeningly sweet love birds on the patio!" Hamman can't resist throwing one last taunt our way as she closes the window. After she and Anna are gone I rejoined Yorktown on the bench where she had sat down after turning off the radio. I pick up our forgotten wine glasses as I go.

"So... what do you think of giving "Us" a try?" I ask, handing her back her glass.

She looks into the wine for a few moments before answering. "I think we've been doing "Us" for at least a couple of years now, if we're being honest" She answers. "I'm willing to give love another shot if you are."

"To us!" I hold up my glass for a toast.

"To things that were a long time coming!" Yorktown responds.

The clink of our glasses sounds as sweet as any music.

Authors Note: I started writing this as a repose to u/Tinselyboyo's "Will you marry me?" prompt on r/AzureLane. I ended up not actually fulfilling the prompt, especialy not the proposal part, haha. this is all there is for now, but i might decide to come back and continue at some point.