1
Dutchy woke up before he needed to. He checked his watch and saw he wasn't rostered on for another two hours. He decided to get up anyway since he hadn't been sleeping well recently. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, dropped to the floor and did his regular routine of push-ups before heading to the galley for a brew. The mess was quiet and empty.
He was lost in thought, feeling uncharacteristically morose and homesick, when he noticed someone else in the mess. He watched the XO approach his table. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He thought he had made it clear that he didn't want to be friends with her. They were professionals, they had each other's backs, and that was all he needed from her. She slid into the bench across from him and put down her coffee mug.
"Good Morning, Dutchy," She smiled at him and he could tell she was over-acting at being friendly. He grimaced before he could stop himself. Her eyes narrowed at him momentarily, but she managed to keep up her friendly act.
"You're up early. Bunkmate snoring?" She joked.
He didn't smile at her joke. "Just came to find a quiet place to do some thinking," He said, hoping she'd take a hint and move on.
"Ah. You and I, both," She took a sip of her coffee and leaned back in her chair.
He sat still for a few moments before it became clear she wasn't going to leave. He downed the last of his coffee and got up to leave.
"Ma'am," he nodded at her as he slid out from the bench against the wall and headed off to face the day.
2
Dutchy glared groggily at his watch. The glow-in-the dark face told him he was up too early, yet again. May as well jump start the day with a hot coffee, he decided. He stood up and stretched before dropping to the floor to do his morning push-ups.
He sighed heavily and glanced around the almost empty mess. He was up early, alone, again. He listened to Bomber banging around pots and pans and sipped his coffee, leaning his head back against the wall behind him.
His mind must have drifted because suddenly someone was joining him across the table. It was the XO. He felt bad for shutting her out, but he couldn't deal with the idea of becoming friends with her and something terrible happening. He had decided it was better to keep her at arm's length. It was her problem if she felt he was being unfriendly. There was no rule that you had to be friends with your shipmates.
He nodded at her as she settled in her seat, "Morning, ma'am."
"Good Morning, Dutchy. Up early for a brew?" She tipped her mug of coffee towards his.
He gave her a forced smile and a nod and hoped she'd realize that he wasn't in the mood to chat. He noticed a quick flash of confusion on her face before it settled into her well known professionally blank expression. He felt like a dick for giving her the cold shoulder, but he hadn't asked her to sit here.
He placed his coffee down on the table more forcefully than he had intended. She startled at the noise he had made and gave him a vacant smile as he got up to leave.
He paused before walking away, "X? I'm sorry. I've thought about it and maybe you were right. About the boarding. Maybe I did overreact." She nodded at him curtly but didn't say anything.
He glanced back at her from across the room and saw her sitting there, hands wrapped around her coffee mug, staring into space, apparently as lost in her thoughts as he'd been lately.
3
Another morning where he woke up before the sun, before he needed to, and instead of falling back asleep he got up and headed to the galley for an early cup of coffee. The therapist he had seen briefly when he left the Middle East had stressed the importance of taking the time to sit with one's thoughts, to stop racing from one high stress situation to the next. Dutchy was giving it a try, at least.
He nodded sleepily at Bomber as he filled a mug and slid into his usual spot, thankful it was deserted.
He didn't hear her approach but suddenly noticed the XO was in the small room with him. His head jerked up in surprise and his expression was harsh. It took him a second to clear the emotions from his face.
"Morning, X," He gave her a nod and tipped his coffee mug towards her in a recognition of solidarity when he saw she also had a cup. They were becoming an unofficial club of early-risers.
"Dutchy," She nodded briefly at him and slid onto the bench across from him. "It's even earlier than usual for you, no?"
"Yes, ma'am. Figured if I was already awake I may as well get a head start on the day."
"Everything all right?" She took a tentative sip of her coffee before blowing on it to cool it down more.
"Sure. Why wouldn't it be?" He shrugged.
"For starters, you still look absolutely wrecked. The bruises from your run in with a hold full of Uranium barrels haven't quite faded," she waved her hand in the general direction of his face where, it was true, he still had some evidence of being backflipped several metres down onto a collection of metal barrels. He absent-mindedly touched the cut over his eyebrow. "You also look like you have something on your mind. I'm not trying to pry, but if you ever want to share, I'm here." She took a sip of her coffee and softly placed the mug back on the table.
"Thanks for the offer. I hope you're not offended if I don't take you up on it," Dutchy still hadn't met her eyes, staring instead into the surface of his coffee.
"No offense taken. I don't tend to share my inner thoughts with shipmates, either, you may have noticed."
"Yeah, I noticed," He gave a short laugh. "Look," He glanced up at her, "I don't mean disrespect, but you aren't doing yourself any favors with the crew by being so closed off." He couldn't believe his boldness. He winced as he anticipated the reprimand she was sure to give him.
Instead, she gave a ghost of a smile and met his eyes over the rim of her coffee cup. She took her time taking a sip and placed it gently on the table. "Interesting that you're warning me about being closed off. We aren't all fooled by your hail-fellow-well-met attitude, you know. I know the crew thinks I'm an ice-queen, but your friendly facade serves the same effect, doesn't it?" She asked. "There is more than one way to keep up a wall."
"I'm right, aren't I?" X asked softly, trying to catch his eye. "I think the reason you have a problem with me is that I remind you too much of yourself. We go about it in opposite ways, but we both have our tricks for keeping people at arm's length."
Dutchy grimaced at the truth of her words and tried to interrupt, "I don't have a problem with you—"
X held up her hand to stop him and continued, "I see you pull up after shore leave with a new girl every time. You never let them hang around very long—"
Dutchy cut her off, "—how do you know it's not them that leave me? Maybe they don't want me sticking around for long," His voice came out angrier than he intended and he muttered an apology.
X shrugged, "I wouldn't know if it's you or them doing the leaving because you'd never let on."
Dutchy's hands on the table slowly spun his mug around in a circle as he thought about what she had said.
With a quick decision, he took a final sip of his coffee and stood up, "Ma'am," he said in a clipped tone as he headed to the bridge.
4
After his requisite morning push-ups, Dutchy headed to the mess for a cup of coffee before the rest of the ship started stirring. Already lost in thought, he didn't notice XO already sitting at his favorite table, until he was too close to turn around. They'd been running into each other on a regular basis for months, both of them falling into the habit of rising before the rest of the crew.
"Morning, Dutchy," she greeted him, coffee mug in hand.
"Morning, X," He slid into the seat across from her.
"Fully recovered from your ordeal?" He asked.
She nodded at him, "I'm alright. Tougher than I look."
"Good. Having awkward conversations in an inflatable is quite an ordeal," he jokingly referred to X accusing him of having feelings for her. Days later and still the memory of her awkwardly quoting the non-fraternization guidelines at him still made him laugh.
"Oh. Ha. Ha. Yes, have a good laugh at my expense," She rolled her eyes at him.
He opened his mouth to speak but shut it again. He wasn't sure this was a great idea, wasn't sure she was the best person to share his thoughts with, but after seeing her handle herself with the recent kidnapping situation he had started to see her in a new light.
"I've been thinking about what you said the other morning. About how I could talk to you?" He reminded her.
She nodded and kept her eyes on his face, "Of course. The offer still stands. I'm happy to help you work through whatever you've got on your mind."
Dutchy steeled himself and looked up from his coffee, meeting her eyes. He told her, the person on board he least expected to find himself confiding in, about his sense of homesickness, his anxiety that he'd never settle down, and his constant fear that he would fuck up on the job and someone would get hurt because of it.
"I've always been a glass half-full person. I'm not sure what's going on with me," He explained.
X gave a small laugh, "Nothing that an unexpected mayday call won't take your mind off for a few days." He smiled at her attempt at humor.
"I wouldn't take yourself too seriously, Dutchy. I think it's perfectly normal for us—for sailors—to feel like we're losing our sense of home because we're gone for so long. To feel like one misstep could cause serious injury...that's part of the job. The highs of the rescue and of a job well done can buoy us up for weeks but the dangers and the poor outcomes come with it," X paused and took a sip of her coffee. "As for not settling down, it's not easy to make a long-distance relationship work. But when you meet the right person, you'll realize that long distance isn't so daunting."
He nodded. It felt good to have his concerns out in the open. Airing them out had made them seem less daunting and more manageable. X had a good point that what he was worried about was almost universal among sailors. While it didn't solve anything, it was comforting to be reminded that he wasn't alone.
"How about yourself? Long distance boyfriend waiting on shore?" He asked, taking a sip of coffee.
"Ha!" X barked out a laugh. She leaned back in her seat, giving Dutchy a serious look. "No, nobody is waiting for me on shore." Her face clearly communicated that she was not going to share more.
"Ah, well. Here's to being single," He gave her a grin and held up his coffee mug for a toast.
5
Dutchy's eyelids fluttered open at the now usual time of two hours earlier than he needed to be awake. He lay still, listening to the slow breathing of his roommate.
He was surprised to discover he was looking forward to running into the XO in the mess for a cup of coffee. He had not been a fan of hers during the first few months they worked together, but now it was clearer that they were on the same page. They both kept up their guard, but they went about it in different ways. He slid out of bed and hit the floor for some push-ups.
He was disappointed when he walked into the mess and saw that X wasn't there. Bomber silently handed him a cup of coffee and went back to cracking eggs for a scramble. Dutchy took a seat where he usually sat and stretched his long legs out under the table, holding the mug to his mouth to blow on it before taking a tentative sip.
When X casually strolled in twenty minutes later and grabbed a cup of coffee on her way to join him, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. She was always so well put together, even this early in the morning. Their uniforms were identical yet she made hers look neater, somehow.
"Morning, X," he greeted her as she sat down, genuinely pleased to have her company.
"Morning, Dutchy," she gave him a small smile and placed her coffee mug on the table, waiting for it to cool before taking a drink.
"I-" X started to speak at the same time as him but stopped and let him talk first.
"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, I was just going to ask if you'd ever encountered leeches before? 2Dads has some gnarly leech bites from when he was in that quicksand."
"Leeches?" X seemed to be lost in thought, "No, can't say I have. Not since joining the Navy, at least," she looked at him over the rim of her coffee mug, taking a small sip before judging it to be cool enough to drink.
"I'll bet there's a story, there," Dutchy prompted.
"Actually," X shifted in her seat and accidentally bumped her leg into Dutchy's legs, "Oh, sorry, didn't realize you needed to take up all the space in the room just because you're bigger than the rest of us," She teased as he pulled his legs back to his own side of the table.
"Big people need more space, it's just science," He deadpanned.
"Science. Yeah, I'm sure you know a lot about science," She teased.
"Hey, ask me anything about Hydrogen Sulfide, I was awake all night reading up on it," He crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back against the wall.
"I'll pass. I don't need to be reminded of that swamp stench when I'm trying to enjoy my first cup of caffeine of the day," She made a face at the memory of the swamp.
"Suit yourself," Dutchy brought his arms down and cracked his neck to one side, making an audible crunching noise when it popped.
X winced at the noise, "Maybe have Swain check that out?" She suggested.
"Nothing a massage won't fix. Next time we're in port I'll make an appointment," He promised, taking a long sip of his coffee.
She took a slow sip of her coffee, holding the mug to her mouth for a long moment. He had been excited to see her this morning but now he felt that she wasn't fully present. She seemed less than excited to be here.
"Everything alright with you?" He asked, pausing before continuing, "I just wanted to say thanks for listening to me the other day. If you ever want me to return the favor, I'm here."
"Thanks, Dutchy. Maybe not today, though."
"No worries. Any time," Dutchy offered, watching her drift off into her thoughts.
He let his mind review something that had been troubling him recently: the XO and the CO. He'd spent a lot of time working in small teams and was good at reading people. The weird vibes between X and the Captain had been increasing lately and he was sure it was due to professional matters—Mike was supposed to transfer but hadn't, and because he hadn't it meant the XO didn't get a promotion. Yet there was a vague idea forming in his mind that the weirdness between them wasn't only professional but was personal.
He watched her, eyes unfocused, as she tapped her fingers slowly on the side of her coffee mug.
"Listen, X, this may be way off base, but I've been picking up on some weird vibes between you and the CO," He watched as her fingers stopped drumming and she looked at him, waiting. He lowered his voice, "If there's something going on there…"
He felt her measuring him up, deciding if he was worthy of her secret. He held her gaze steady, losing himself only for a moment in her eyes. She gave a quick glance around them to make sure they were still alone.
"It's the reason I've been in the mess so early the past few months. We haven't been able to see each other since he's on board again. I can't sleep because I'm overanalyzing it constantly," She clutched her coffee mug in a vice grip.
"X, no wonder you can't sleep!" Dutchy whispered, "That's a huge secret to carry around!"
"I know," She sighed.
"But it's been ages since he's been posted back on board!"
She nodded miserably and took a sip of coffee, resigned to her heartache.
"I mean, long distance relationships might be difficult, but if the alternative is someone on the ship, that's even more difficult!" Dutchy was struggling to wrap his mind around having this information confirmed, even though he'd had a suspicion of it for a few weeks.
They sat in silence for a few minutes until Dutchy spoke up, "You need to get over him," He leaned in towards her, "Trust me, I have a lot of experience moving on. Next time we're in port I'll take you out on the town—" XO raised her eyebrows in surprise at him, "—and we'll find you a nice civilian bloke to take your mind off the CO."
"Thanks for the offer, but don't think I haven't already tried it," She remarked drily. "It was before your time, but I had a short lived fling with a captain tied to this...toxic crab water," She decided not to get into the entire story, waving her hand dismissively.
Dutchy sat back in his seat, sipping on his coffee, waiting for her to explain toxic crab water. He realized he was enjoying their quiet conversations. They didn't have the manic, rushed excitement of the time he spent with the rest of the crew but there was something special about the quiet time he enjoyed with the XO.
"That's a story for another day," X swirled what was left of her coffee around the bottom of the mug, "I may actually take you up on that offer next time we're on shore. I could use a wingman with more sense than Bird and Bomber." She paused, "And clearly, I need to try something to get my head back on straight."
"Yeah! It's a plan!" Dutchy was stoked. Here was a problem that was easy to fix: find the XO someone to have a fling with. He was in his element in a pub and had no doubt he could find her someone to move on from the CO with.
"Dutchy, you are way too excited about this. Please lower your expectations before you end up disappointed when I go home alone despite your best efforts to set me up with a local bar fly," X grinned despite herself at his excitement.
Dutchy's watch started beeping. He glanced at it, startled to see that he was about to be late getting to the bridge. He threw back the last of his coffee and gave X a grin as he rushed away, calling back over his shoulder, "Don't even try to back out of this!"
6
X stepped out of the taxi and spotted Dutchy immediately. He stuck out in a crowd—hair blonder than the rest, shoulders broader than the rest, a good 5-6 inches taller than the other guys clustered around the doorway. His face lit up in a mischievous grin when he saw her and he walked over to her, "Ma'am," he greeted her, leaning closer to whisper, "I've done some recon. Definitely avoid this group at the doorway, bucks party and they're about to get messy," He warned her.
"Dutchy, please don't call me 'ma'am' if we're here to pick up guys," She muttered at him, "And call me Kate, not X."
"Roger that, X," he grinned. "Kate. After you," he let her lead the way into the pub.
She slid through the crowd, her small size an advantage for once, and found a spot at the bar while Dutchy was still side-stepping his way through the crush of people who were assembled to celebrate the weekend.
He came up behind her, half his mind focused on the crowd and half focused on the way the fabric of her dress clung to her hips. He realized where his eyes had wandered and snapped his attention up to the bartender. He reminded himself why he was here: to find her a guy to get over Mike, not to have her quote the non-fraternization guidelines at him (again). He leaned one arm on the bar, sliding up to her sideways to fit in between the crowd.
They ordered drinks and turned to look out at the other patrons. Dutchy began assessing which guys were single so he could make suggestions for the X. He knew the priority was finding someone for her, but he considered that the night would end well if they could each find someone to go home with.
Time passed quickly. Each of them had a fun time pointing out potential matches for the other. They had a few conversations with strangers, but nothing seemed to be clicking.
"Dutchy, I think we've exhausted our options here," Kate finished her drink and put the empty glass on the bar.
"Time to move on to the next place? We could try a nightclub next?" Dutchy eyed his mostly full pint glass, deciding whether to abandon it or chug it. Kate took the decision out of his hands when she took the glass from him and chugged half of it, passing it back with a grin. Dutchy watched her with amusement and then chugged the rest of it while she watched. He couldn't tell if it was the alcohol clouding his judgement or not, but he could've sworn Kate was throwing flirty vibes at him.
"No, no nightclub. I'm done. This was a great idea but clearly it's not happening for me tonight," She paused, "But this was really fun...I actually haven't even thought about Mike tonight."
"Good! That was the idea. We have so much fun that we don't waste time feeling sorry for ourselves," Dutchy felt pleased that he had succeeded in taking her mind off the CO, even if only for a few hours.
"I'm heading home, but don't let me stand in your way—you should go to the nightclub," She told him as they made their way through the crowd, Dutchy following her toward the exit.
"Can you just," She swatted at him to stop following her so closely, "give me a little bit of space here?"
Dutchy put his hands on her shoulders and bent down to whisper in her ear, "It's literally my job to watch your back."
"Ok, yes. But you don't have to be on my back to watch it," She retorted.
Dutchy blushed at the sudden thought of him being on her back and immediately let himself fall a few steps behind so he wasn't as close. Obviously, this was a sign he had drunk too much. Why else would he be suddenly aware of her in such an inappropriate way?
She paused on the sidewalk and waited for him to catch up, "Thank you for tonight. It really did help, even if I was skeptical at first," She gave him a hug goodbye.
He nodded mutely, hugging her back but feeling confused as her hair tickled his neck and her perfume subtly invaded his brain. She turned to get in a waiting taxi. He held open the taxi door for her and then, without thinking, slid in after her.
"Oh? Going my way?" Confused, she watched him settle into the back seat next to her.
Dutchy looked at her and swallowed back his nerves, "X—Kate, I think I can still help you take your mind off things."
"What?" X looked at him, still not entirely sure what he was doing in her taxi.
He started to stutter out an explanation as to why he was in the taxi with her when suddenly a look of understanding dawned on her face. "Oh…" Her eyes widened at him and a slow blush crept up her face.
He could see by her face that she had just realized his intentions, "Ok?" He asked, searching her face for her answer.
She nodded, "Yeah, Ok." A slow smile spread over her face and she shook her head in disbelief at herself.
"Do you need to quote the non-fraternization regs at me?" Dutchy asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Oh, trust me, I should be quoting them to myself right now. But I know that you and I are the least likely people to ever let word of this get out. I'm an ice queen and you're a closed book," She mused.
He reached across the seat and intertwined his fingers with hers, pulling her towards the middle of the seat, closer to him. His brain was buzzing with excitement and desire.
"Fuck," she muttered. Dutchy watched her lips as she swore and realized he had never been aware of how soft they looked, or how the light danced in her eyes, or the way her hair gently fell around her shoulders. While he had fully intended to find her someone to take her mind off Mike, he had inadvertently set himself up to be that someone.
"Fuck?" He repeated, not following her train of thought.
"Yeah," she whispered, mouth close enough to his to kiss, "fuck."
7
Dutchy woke up and squinted towards the light coming through the open curtains. Judging by the angle of the sun, he had finally succeeded in sleeping in. He slowly started to remember where he was: a strange bed in a strange bedroom. He rolled to his side and smiled when he noticed the woman sleeping next to him.
"Kate," He whispered her name and cuddled up against her.
"Hmm?" She didn't open her eyes as she sleepily curled against his warm body.
"We've only got a few hours until we have to be on the dock. Want me to make us some coffee?" He slid her pajama shirt strap out of the way and kissed her exposed shoulder. He was watching her face as she opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of him. She reached up to rub the sleep in her eyes and smoothed her hair away from her face.
"Mmm, coffee sounds good. But does that mean you have to leave the bed?" She wrapped his arm around her and pressed her back against his chest.
He tightened his arms around her, "It does, yeah." He chuckled against her hair.
"Let's stay here for a few more minutes," She murmured, running her fingers along his forearm. He kissed her neck and breathed in the scent of her in her own apartment. There were no diesel fumes, no trochus shell odor, no hint of the 20 other people they usually spent time with. This was a side of her he had never expected to be privy to and he was thrilled by it. She moved against him, taking his hand and slowly sliding it down her body.
She turned her upper body and reached up to pull his face to hers, kissing his lips lightly. He returned her kiss and then kissed his way toward her ear, making her whisper, "Don't make promises you can't keep."
"Trust me, I'm keeping this promise. We have enough time," He said, checking the clock on the bedside table before ducking his head under the duvet.
8
Dutchy stood on the small balcony, looking out at the quiet, early morning street. He had both hands wrapped around a small coffee cup and a towel around his waist. They had just finished taking a shower and had a few minutes until they needed to get ready to leave for the ship. Kate stepped out through the glass door to join him, wearing only her robe, carrying her own cup of coffee. She trailed one hand down his back and wrapped it around his waist, leaning against his side. He put down his coffee on the railing and turned to wrap his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.
"This is about to become a dream," He murmured into her hair.
"A very nice dream, though," She pulled back enough to take a sip of her coffee and then regarded him with a raised eyebrow.
"What is it? I know that look," He smiled as he recognized her 'I have an opinion' expression. He reached over for his coffee and leaned against the balcony.
"It just struck me how good you look in that towel. On my balcony. With your damp hair and stubble," She cocked her head at him, "I'm honestly surprised by how well this went."
He laughed, "What do you mean: you're surprised by how good I am? Did you really have such low expectations of me?"
"Dylan, that's not what I meant!" She laughed with him, "I mean that I didn't imagine breaking regulations for something so frivolous would feel so good. I'm not stressed about Mike and I'm not stressed about us getting found out. I would say this is a mission accomplished."
Dutchy shook his head at her in amusement, "Kate, you are sometimes a little too mission-focused." He chuckled at the fact that she had just compared having sex to a boarding party.
"I would argue that I'm focused on the outcome of a given mission. I think you'd agree we just had excellent outcomes?" She took a step toward him and tilted up her face, giving him a kiss.
Holding his coffee cup with one hand, he ran his other hand through her hair as she leaned against him, chuckling at how cheeky she was, "Yeah, we did have excellent outcomes."
9
Dutchy woke up with a start, stifling a moan as he was torn from an extremely inappropriate dream about the X. He grinned a small smile to himself about how his mind kept replaying their one night together.
Months had gone by since Dutchy had helped Kate take her mind off Mike Flynn. He had started sleeping better and rarely arrived at the mess before the rest of the crew. Today was an exception. He hadn't gone back to sleep after the dream had woken him up and instead had revisited his old habit of heading to the mess for a pre-dawn coffee.
He slid into what he still considered to be "his seat" against the wall and placed his coffee in front of him, yawning and stretching his arms overhead. He was still stiff from the misadventures he had encountered on their last boarding party.
He heard Kate's voice and looked up to see her giving Bomber a friendly "good morning" as she picked up her coffee and headed his way.
"Morning, X," He greeted her as she sat across from him.
"Morning, Dutchy," She nodded at him. "Couldn't sleep?"
"Nah, I've been sleeping well lately. I just had a crazy dream this morning that I couldn't get out of my head," He smiled at her.
"Interesting. The same thing happened to me," She eyed him over the rim of her coffee mug, taking a slow sip.
"Yeah? You think we had the same dream? The sort of dream that starts off with a taxi ride and ends on a balcony?" He was tempted to nudge her foot with his under the table but resisted. The entire situation rested on discretion. They were only able to continue being confidants because they trusted each other absolutely.
"The exact sort of dream," She confirmed, putting down her coffee and returning his smile.
He traced the rim of his coffee cup, keeping his eyes on her face, teasing her with the memory of what else his fingers had traced. She subtly bit her lower lip and held his gaze.
They were sitting like this, smiling at each other and lost in each other's eyes, when Swain walked up, yawning and carrying a breakfast plate. He slid into a chair, plate clattering on the table.
"Morning, Dutchy. Morning, X. Scran's ready. Bomber outdid herself with the hash this morning." Swain looked up at their silence and noticed their smiles, "Did I interrupt something?" He asked around a mouthful of potatoes.
"No, I was just leaving. Enjoy your breakfast," Kate patted Swain on the shoulder as she stood. "Dutchy, I'll see you later." She fixed her face back into it's serious look and headed out to face the rest of the ship.
"Yes, ma'am," Dutchy nodded back at her. He brought his eyes to a safety poster on the wall and pretended to read it so Swain wouldn't catch him watching her walk away.
Swain slid his plate to the other side of the table and took over the seat that X had just vacated. Swain, like the rest of the ship, knew there were no friendly feelings between Dutchy and the XO, "Must have been a fascinating conversation between the two of you. Sorry I missed it," he joked.
Dutchy took a final swig of his coffee, "You'd be surprised."