Hey everyone!
This one has been sitting in my incomplete folder for a while, but I love the idea of this one so hoping to get some inspo to finish it! I wasn't going to post a new one till i got back from my holiday as I'm away from the end of March till June, but I now have to have surgery in the next week or so, so I figure I'll have a lot of time to write while I recover, so no excuses lol!
Anyway, thanks so much for all the reviews on my last one, that was a wild ride huh? Well, get ready for another!
xx
Live and Learn
Kate strolled down the hallway of Watson's Bay HQ thinking of old times, she had some wonderful work experiences in the facility, but also some forgettable personal ones. She stopped at one of the lecture theaters and peered in the window, her mind filled with images of herself sitting in the front row, hanging on his every word. She could have listened to him talk for days on end, and little did everyone know they would have their own private sessions in the evening.
She had been through so much in the time leading up to her posting at Watson's bay. Her 5 years on Hammersley had come to a sudden end after the death of her fiancé, Jim Roth, she needed a fresh start, things with Mike were still tense and this was the perfect opportunity to move on. The day after she applied of her transfer she discovered that she was pregnant, she thought about asking to stay, how was she going to raise a child in a new city with no help? The crew were saddened by the news, but tried to be supportive. A month later she was transferred to shore work to acclimatise her to her new role, then another month later she was off to Perth.
Her departure was quick, she was approaching the last trimester and wanted to be settled before the baby arrived. The day Maddie had been born it was one of the happiest in her life but also tinged with sorrow. She was elated to have a beautiful, healthy, baby girl, but it saddened her to know her daughter would grow up never knowing her extraordinary father. She was determined to honour Jim's memory and raise a child he would be proud of, often over compensating for being the only parent, by spending every spare second with her and their relationship was the only one she focused on. She barley dated, a small part of her felt guilty, as if it would dishonour Jim and her relationship. But also, she hadn't found anyone who compared to him, she knew a part of her was being unreasonable, but how do you top a man who gave his life to save strangers?
Kate always intended to return to active duty, to Cairns even, but it proved more difficult that she thought. Being a single mother with no immediate family to help look after Maddie when she was out at sea was the main obstacle, she couldn't bear the thought of sending her to boarding school or hiring a nanny, so the dream faded and she stayed on shore.
By the time Maddie was at school Kate lost contact with most of her friends from Cairns, it was unintentional, but phone calls turned to texts, texts turned to the occasional email, and eventually she stopped replying altogether. Keeping friends who weren't in the Navy was hard enough, little own them being on the other side of the country. She missed them dearly, but they also reminded her of times that sometimes she'd rather forget. She had kept tabs on a few of them through the Navy grapevine, she heard Dutchy had returned to the gulf, Charge had left the Navy altogether, Swain took a shore posting and 2Dads had stayed on Hammersley with Mike.
Maddie turned out to be a beautiful soul like her father, but with her mother's stubbornness and determination. Their relationship was what she always wanted with her child, they were best friends and could always be honest with each other. But, she was now 17 and starting her own life, if Kate was being honest with herself, she was scared, she wasn't sure how to live her life without her.
Kate continued down the hall staring out the window, gazing at the ocean.
A familiar voice interrupted her zen, her memories were instantly forgotten seeing Maddie run towards her.
"Madison, what are you doing here?"
Maddie was the splitting image of her mother, long flowing blonde hair, piercing green eyes, but the thing that set them apart was her height. She was nearly a foot taller than her mother. Kate laughed to herself as she watched Maddie run up to her, she envied her long legs. Maddie stopped in front of her with her hand outstretched.
"You forgot your phone!"
Kate patted her pockets not believing her, Maddie held the phone in front of her and shook her head.
"Yeah, I know, it seems impossible, that you, my mother, Captain Kate McGregor, could forget something, but..."
Kate crossed her arms over her chest at Maddie's sarcastic tone, Maddie rolled her eyes placing the phone in Kate's hand and laughed as pulled her in for a hug.
"I know, I'm a life saver! No need to thank me!"
Kate clenched her jaw and shoved the phone into her pocket.
"Thank you, Madison James…"
Maddie smiled sweetly, she loved riling her mother up.
"All good, I was on my way out anyway, gotta pick up some stuff before Monday..."
Kate couldn't help but feel emotional, her baby girl was all grown up and was about to follow in her footsteps. Maddie let out a groan watching her mother's lip quiver, she handed her a tissue from her bag.
"Mum, don't start!"
Kate snatched the tissue from her hand and dabbed her eyes.
"I can't help it! I'm just so proud of you!"
Kate's eyes darted behind Maddie as she saw her boss approach, she quickly tidied herself and saluted as he stopped in front of her.
"Admiral, good morning..."
He saluted back and gave her a nod.
"McGregor..."
Kate wrapped her arm around Maddie's shoulder and gave her a squeeze.
"Ah, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Madison, she's about to head to Creswell to begin her New Officers Entry Training."
He turned and shook her hand and smiled.
"Good to meet you, I'd wish you luck but I don't think I need to, it's in your blood! If you're half as good as your mother you need not worry about anything..."
"Thank you, Sir, I appreciate you confidence..."
Kate smiled and winked in Maddie's direction. The Admiral cleared his throat.
"McGregor, when you're ready we'll go over your new assignment."
"I'll be 5 minutes, Sir..."
"It's okay, take your time, I haven't had my second coffee yet..."
The Admiral strutted off to his office, Kate wrapped her arm around Maddie and pulled her in for a hug.
"I shouldn't be home late tonight, actually, no, I won't be home late, I have to salvage every minute I have with you!"
Maddie attempted to wiggle out of her mother's embrace.
"Mum, if you're gonna be like this I'm not gonna let you walk me in!"
Kate released her grip and playfully pushed her away.
"Fine, go! I'll see you tonight!"
Maddie sat with her legs crossed on the couch, her legs bounced waiting anxiously for her to answer, Kate sighed and placed her glass of wine on the table.
"Look, your experience will be totally different to mine, and times have changed..."
Maddie let out a grunt, knowing she was avoiding giving a direct answer.
"I know, but I just want to know what to expect, c'mon there's got to be some advantages to having a mum in the Navy?"
Kate picked up her glass and took a sip, buying her time to think of something she could say.
"Okay, well, your days are full, and that's without extracurricular activities. But you'll be fine, you'll make tonnes of great friends..."
Maddie pursed her lips together and raised an eyebrow, it was a strange thing for her to say seeming she had very few close friends, especially ones from Creswell. All the friends she knew about were the ones in Cairns, but she barely spoke to them. Maddie grabbed the glass of wine from Kate's hand and finished the contents, Kate snatched the glass back and scowled.
"Hey!"
Maddie rolled her eyes and topped up her glass.
"Mum, I'm 18 in 8 weeks, just relax. The police aren't going to storm in here and arrest you for supplying alcohol to a minor. Anyway, you were saying?"
Kate could see Maddie wasn't going to drop it, she let out a huff.
"You'll love it, that's all I'm saying."
Maddie placed a hand on Kate's knee, she could see she was getting upset again. She was a little concerned about what she was going to do without her. She loved her Mum unconditionally, she had been the best Mum anyone could ask for, but maybe that was also her downfall. Kate had spent every ounce of time and energy she had on Maddie, and now she was leaving, what was she going to do with herself?
"I'm gonna miss you so much, and look, I'm just up the road, well, a few hours up the road, and not that I'm giving you permission to visit me every day, but at least we're not in different states!"
Kate's eyes darted around the room, fighting back the tears, she needed a distraction.
"So, these boxes are bugging me, we gonna unpack?"
Maddie shrugged and snuck another sip of wine while Kate got up and inspected the boxes.
"Well, I'll be taking some stuff with me, just put my things in my room and I'll unpack them when I come home in a month."
"Well, if I'm still here, HR weren't really clear on the terms of the rental."
"Don't worry about it, Mum, but if you get bored you can unpack for me?"
Kate grabbed the glass from Maddie's hand and took a large gulp.
"You never know, I might turn into a party animal and never be home!"
Maddie scoffed and sat back on the couch.
"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it! Anyway, tell me some of your stories, the ones you used to tell me when I was little."
Kate sighed and sat next to her and refilled her glass, Maddie was confused about her hesitation.
"Mum?"
"Sorry, I just, I miss those guys..."
Maddie shifted closer, concerned about her sudden change of mood.
"What happened? I remember you used to put me on the phone with umm, what was his name, ah, your buffer?"
Kate smiled thinking of her old buffer.
"Oh, Dutchy…"
"Yeah, that's it… you used to speak to him nearly every day when I was little."
"How an earth do you remember that?"
Maddie leaned on her on Kate's shoulder.
"I just do! I remember you'd sit on my bed and put him on speakerphone, then you'd take it in turns telling me stories before bed. Why don't you speak to them anymore?"
"Ah, I dunno, I guess friends drift apart."
Maddie picked up the wineglass and took a sip while Kate was lost in her memories.
"But weren't you guys like best friends?"
"Yeah, but I mean, people get busy, I was raising a child, and they were out at sea."
"Sorry mum, I didn't mean to upset you…"
"It's okay, I guess it's partly my fault too. But they were great people…"
Maddie jumped up from the couch and rummaged through the boxes.
"There was a photo album, wasn't there? I remember you used to bring it out but I haven't seen it for years."
Kate stood and pretended to look through another box.
"Ah, I might have chucked it out actually, I haven't seen it either."
Kate picked up a box labeled 'junk' and headed for her bedroom.
"Well, I might start with my room…"
Maddie frowned seeing the label.
"Hey, isn't that for the garage?"
Kate pretended not to hear her and placed the box onto the bed, she peered over her shoulder and spotted Maddie picking up her wineglass, she ran back to retrieve it and bottle. Maddie rolled her eyes and carried a box into her room.
Kate poured herself a glass and sat on her bed, she opened the box and shuffled through the contents. She pulled out a locked black box and opened the lid, inside were photos of her Hammersley crew. She hadn't meant to keep them hidden, but she was afraid Maddie would ask questions, questions that would bring up painful memories. She sighed and sipped on her wine feeling guilty, she was the one that stopped replying, not them, they hadn't drifted, she had.
End Chapter 1.