A/N: Five days later….
.
.
.
Dylan opened his front door to find Kate standing with her sea bag and laptop. He had missed her in the last few days as he couldn't come over as Lani was staying with her. He also had been busy with Swain and 2Dads helping Charge with tidying up his house, mowing the lawn and moving furniture before Lani officially moved in with Charge yesterday. He hadn't been expecting his girlfriend to turn up in front of his door though as he hadn't really heard from her except the occasional texts here and there.
"Hey, are you going to let me in?"
He smiled slightly at her question and stepped aside to let her through before closing the door behind her.
"I thought since we only have two days shore leave left, I'll spend it with you here and we'll just go to the base together with your bike. I took a cab before so my car wouldn't be hogging up your visitor car space while we are on patrol."
He then observed her as she spoke aloud while moving about in his unit before storing her sea bag in his room, taking her laptop with her and sitting on the couch.
"Dylan, are you OK?" Kate tilted her head to the side as she observed the way he hadn't moved at all from behind the door or the fact that he hadn't said anything yet. "You don't look that happy in seeing me."
"Of course, I am happy to see you." He replied before leaning back on the kitchen counter next to the door and folding his arms on his chest.
"Right." Kate looked at him confusedly, "why are you standing so far away then?"
He sighed. "Why haven't you told me about Stirling?"
"What?" Her eyes widened at his question, "how do you know about that already?"
He shook his head at her. "Charge told me he saw it on your laptop when you were talking to him that night."
"And I specifically told Charge not to tell anyone about it." She rolled her eyes frustratingly, "it's not his place to say anything. I want to discuss this with you in person."
"Right. You can't even just text me, 'hey, got news about my transfer, will discuss with you soon', instead of just almost radio silence for 5 days except random text saying, 'miss you, good night'." He huffed in frustration.
"Where is this coming from?" Kate then put her laptop on the coffee table and standing up to approach him. "I honestly just got the news right before I spoke to Charge and for the last five days, I've been helping Lani settling in. You know that I will tell you about this right? I'm not hiding it; I've just not had a chance to say anything to you before today. Plus, I need time to digest it. My own initial reaction to the news was confusing even to myself."
Silence descended on them for the next few minutes and they just stood there staring at each other.
"Are you changing your mind about transferring out?" Dylan finally voiced the fear that had been growing in his mind for the last few days. "It's OK if you feel like it's not the right move for you. You need to make the best decision for yourself and for your career. Don't worry about me."
"I can't do that. I promise you that I'm not going to make unilateral decision about us, remember?"
"Well, it's OK if you change your mind."
"Dylan, No!" Kate finally reached out to squeeze his folded arms. "What's going on with you? You are not seriously getting in this mood because I delayed telling you the transfer news for what I thought was a valid reason?"
He closed his eyes for a few seconds before leaning down to touch his forehead to hers. "Kate, do you see a future together with me? Do you feel the same about me as I am about you?"
Realisation started to dawn on her mind as to the real reason he was on this mood. "You said it's OK for me to not say it back just yet." She was referring to his love declaration a few months earlier.
"Yes, and I don't mean to rush you." He took a deep breath, "but it would be good to know whether we are at least in the same page before making a decision to move together all the way to Western Australia."
"Dylan…" she whispered his name solemnly before closing her lips to his briefly. "I don't know if I could ever say those words to you."
"Why?" disappointed, he stepped away from her and leaned back against the counter again.
"Because men always leave even after I say it back!" She then looked at him challengingly, "my dad tucked me to bed one night and left with his mistress the morning after, Mike left for his new posting with just a brief note the first time we got together 10 years ago, Jim broke up with me suddenly without any warning. Can you guarantee that you wouldn't follow all those men and leave me after I said those words to you?"
Dylan was stunned. "Kate, I thought you know that I am serious about you. I've said it even before we got together that I would be willing to move with you anywhere. You were sitting next to me when I offered to transfer out of Hammersley to the boss if it would spare you any terrible fall out. Pretty sure I've made references about our future together all the time. What more do you want from me? What would it take for you to believe me?"
"You've sometimes said those in a joking tone though." She countered weakly, feeling her heart grew heavy as she saw the pain reflected in his eyes.
"That's because I don't want to freak you out! I was scared that you would run if things got too intense too soon!" He ran his hands through his scalp in frustration. "Kate, I don't know what else to do or to say to you to make you trust me…."
"I trust you. I know that your feelings for me are real right now." She finally answered with tears in her eyes after a prolonged silence. "But I guess I don't really trust that I am enough to make you want to stay in the long run."
"What on earth are you talking about?" He looked at her in confusion. "You think that you are not enough?" he then felt outraged at the notion, "who the hell gave you that idea?"
"Crazy huh?" She hugged herself tightly as she bared open her soul to him. "I guess when none of the men in your life stayed permanently, you started to wonder if you were the problem. That there is something wrong with you."
"Kate…." He reached for her waist and pulled her to him gently before cupping her cheek and staring at her resolutely. "You are more than enough for me. You are what I need in my life and I have no intention to ever leave. So, can you meet me halfway please?"
Feeling overwhelmed, she couldn't answer with words. Instead, she leaped to his arms and hugged him tightly.
.
.
.
"I felt sad the first time I saw the email." Kate whispered softly to Dylan's chest. "I was expecting myself to feel happier than that."
"Why do you think that was?" He frowned a little at her confession. "I'm serious when I say that if you don't feel like it'll be the right move for your career, then you shouldn't take it just because you feel like you have to follow through. There are other options for us if we choose to stay together."
She sighed. "I think I felt sad because I'd be leaving the people that I care about whenever I move. I guess the move had always felt theoretical until that email came through that night. Suddenly it became real. I have to say goodbye to my Hammersley family, whom I've been living, breathing and working alongside with for the last five years."
Dylan tightened his hold on Kate as she finally opened up to him. They had not spoken much in the last few hours, preferring to let their bodies and their actions showed how they felt towards one another. But as their physical and emotional needs for connection had been sated and their heartbeats had settled down, their argument earlier came back to the forefront of their mind.
"That's understandable. And everyone would feel the same after staying in one place for so long."
"But Stirling is such a good opportunity. I'll be a Senior Warfare Officer at HMAS Ballarat. That's a step in the right direction for eventual promotion to XO in frigates. And Ballarat's CO is currently my old XO from my days with HMAS Anzac in the gulf. He wrote a follow-up email a few days after the initial offer saying that he remembered me and is looking forward to serve with me again." She then looked up from her comfortable position on his chest and smiled ruefully at him. "Tell me, how am I supposed to say no to that?"
"Then say Yes." Dylan stared at her in confusion. "Why do you feel that you suppose to say No?"
She rested her chin on his chest so she could meet his eyes properly. "I don't know. Maybe I'm scared. I'm leaving my comfort zone after all. At Ballarat, I'll have to learn how to function in Frigate's environment again. It'll take time to get to know new people, new layouts and new procedures."
"But you are really smart. I think you won't have any problem with the technical stuff. As for getting to know new people, I think it'll always take time, a few months at least to remember names especially with that many people in Frigate and up to a year to gain trust and comraderies. If your goal is growth, then this sounds like a good opportunity."
Kate couldn't help but leaned forward and gave him a sweet kiss at his vote of confidence for her. She then caressed his cheek fondly before getting up to a sitting position to look for his shirt to wear. She found it at the foot of the couch along with his boxer which she then threw at him playfully.
He grinned at her cheekiness before getting up himself and putting on his boxer while waiting for her to come back to his arms.
"Are you thirsty?" She asked as she got up from the couch and walked to the direction of the kitchen.
"Yes. Can you please?"
She just hummed in agreement before filling up two glasses of water from the tap and brought it back.
He didn't realise how thirsty he was until he actually finished his water in one setting. He could feel that Kate was snuggling back to his side and resting her head on his chest once more. His body settled to the back of the couch this time around and he circled his arms around her waist comfortably.
"I guess I am also scared that the move would be too much for you." She began her contemplation again. "Moving to another ship located in Cairns or even to other location in the east coast is one thing as those are familiar grounds for us. But to move all the way across to the west coast which is at least 6-hours-flight away from our friends and families seems drastic. What if you moved with me, then 6 months later realised you made a mistake and then you left just like everybody else?" She looked up to meet his eyes again. "I don't think I could handle that. That's why I was freaking out earlier."
"Kate," he stared at her seriously, "I can promise you anything, but it is up to you to believe it. I can repeatedly say that I'll never leave you until I am blue in the face, but it'll be useless if you don't trust me to keep my promise. I can declare that you are enough for me, but if you don't believe that yourself, then we are back to square one. So, we need to decide if we are both worthy of each other's trust."
She started to get teary at his words. "I love you. I really do. That's why this is so scary."
His heart swelled at her simple declaration. He now understood her struggle with those words and this had made him wanted to cherish her even more. "Tell me how I could help with your fear then."
She reached up to cup both of his cheeks. "Just stay with me tomorrow, then the next day and the next day after and so on. Can you do that?"
"Yes." He closed their distance and kissed her deeply to seal the deal. "I can definitely do that. Just one day at a time then."
Tears now ran freely on both of her cheeks. "No regrets. No keeping scores. Just trying our best to be together always yeah?"
He could only nod at first as he could feel his throat tightened with emotion. But he finally managed to whisper his love to her before pulling her body to his once more and proceeded to abandon speech for the rest of the night.
.
.
.
A/N: This scene is set two weeks later, during episode 5.12 Saving Ryan. This would be after Hammersley have finished their escort duty for MV Sassy but before they received the mayday from them.
.
Dylan looked at his watch while waiting for the kettle to boil. Hammersley was going to steam home through the night after finishing their escort duty which meant that all senior crews would be on guts watch. He was not looking forward to this as he had been awake since morning, hence the 4th thermos of coffee he was brewing right now. He hadn't seen Kate for at least half a day too and he had been wondering how she had been going with her ailment. He had wanted to check on her before, but there had been so much things happening that he hadn't had the chance.
After preparing two thermoses for both him and Kate, he then went on a search for her. A quick glance of the bridge, the messes and the ship's office didn't produce any result, so he went to the lower deck and to the direction of her cabin. He then knocked on her door lightly, not wanting to wake her up if she was napping right now.
He was a little bit disappointed when he didn't hear any response, so he turned on his heel to go back to the upper deck instead. But then, he heard a faint sound of someone retching which instantly made him worried.
"X?" He knocked again on her door. "It's Dutchy."
This time he thought he heard a sound of toilet flushing but after that, nothing happened. He started to think that maybe he was hallucinating due to the lack of caffeine but then he heard his name.
"Dylan?"
He quickly looked around the hallway to see whether anybody else was around before pushing down on the handle and opened the door. "Kate?"
The sight of Kate sitting on the bathroom floor in front of the toilet bowl with a pale face and glassy eyes alarmed him. He then quickly closed her cabin door behind him and put the thermoses on her desk before approaching her.
"Hey, are you OK?" He quickly checked her forehead for any fever before sitting down next to her on the floor and hugged her to his side.
Her only reaction to his question was to bury her face to his chest and hugged him back tightly.
They stayed like that for a couple more minutes before she finally looked up from his chest. "I've been feeling nauseated for the last couple of days."
He frowned at her miserable tone. "The boss said that you're having a stomach bug? Has Swain checked you out?"
"Yeah, he gave me some anti-nausea meds."
"Does it help?"
"A little bit. But food still doesn't agree with me. My dinner just came back out again." She made a face as she remembered the episode a few minutes ago. She felt really gross. "Can you grab my mouthwash at the top cabinet please?"
"Sure, but let's get off the floor first."
"Okay." She agreed quietly before he then helped her up and grabbed the mouthwash for her. She quickly opened the cap and proceeded to gurgle the liquid for a couple of minutes before spitting it out to get rid of the yucky taste in her mouth. She then splashed cold water on her face to freshen up before gratefully accepting the offered towel from his hand.
"Better?"
She circled his waist once more for a loose hug and rested her forehead on his chest while murmuring her gratitude.
"Come on, let's sit more comfortably."
She let him guide her for a couple of steps before gratefully sitting down on her bunk bed. She thought that he would be sitting next to her but instead he grabbed her desk chair and pulled it close in front of her. He then sat on it before grabbing her hands and held it tightly on his lap.
Their hands stayed intertwined while they both smiled at each other at such a rare moment during patrol. They had tried to always hang out in group settings to not raise suspicion, but they guessed today was an exception.
She was about to suggest that he should go back to the upper deck when the sight of the blue coloured package on her desk caught her eyes. Her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach once more.
"Hey, are you feeling sick again?" he asked as he noticed her face had turned pale.
She sighed at his question. "No, I just remembered that Swain gave me something else yesterday." She then tilted her head to the direction of her desk to redirect his attention.
He raised his eyebrows at her cryptic words before turning around. The word 'Pregnancy Test' on a small blue package successfully grabbed his attention. "Oh."
She grimaced as his eyes met hers in shock. "I haven't done it yet."
Dylan opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he finally responded. "Do you think you could be?"
"I don't think so." She squeezed his hands tighter. "I'm on the pill and we've been pretty careful, but nothing is ever a 100%."
"Right." He then stared at her seriously. "Do you want to do it now while I'm here with you? Or do you want to wait until we're home?"
"I don't know… I'm scared of what the test would say."
"Kate," he cupped her cheek tenderly, "I am here. I'm not going anywhere. Whatever the result, we'll deal with it together, OK?"
"You're not angry?" she searched his eyes carefully for any sign of negative emotion, but she found none and the vice on her heart loosened slightly.
He shook his head, "No. Why would I?"
"We have a lot on our plate with us moving to the west coast and I figure this could be a deal breaker for you."
"Wow, ye have little faith." He tapped her nose playfully. "You haven't taken the test yet and you have already thought of the worst. That's my least favourite tendency of yours actually."
"Pot meet kettle." She scowled at his teasing. "You are the one who always worry about every little thing. You are so overprotective towards me. You would be the worst if we ever have kids."
He couldn't help but grinning at her words. "Kids as in multiple?"
She slapped his chest lightly as a warning, but she reciprocated his smile at the end, grateful of his presence and his talent of getting her at ease. "I think I'll do it at home. That way I'll be more relaxed."
"OK. I'll come over and we'll do it together."
She murmured her agreement to his lips as she kissed him briefly before pulling him for a tight hug. She then buried her face on the crook of his neck as she closed her eyes and let her body and mind loosened up after an eventful day.
"PO Mulholland to the bridge."
They both sighed as they heard the call for him to commence his watch. He then kissed her temple softly before letting go of her and got up from his seat. "Why don't you take a nap? Your watch is not for another 2 hours."
"I'll try." Her lips curved up at his suggestion. "Don't forget your brew."
He took one of the thermoses from her desk before carefully opened her door a little bit to check for any noise on the corridor. When he deemed the coast was clear, he smiled back at her one more time before proceeded to make his way to the bridge.
.
.
.
A/N: This scene is set at the end of episode 5.12 Saving Ryan.
.
"Aren't you going with them?" Kate looked quizzically at Mike as they both observed the scene at the dock from just outside the bridge.
"No, I'll let them be for now. I don't want to disturb Mother and Son's reunion," referring to Maxine who was currently fussing over Ryan as he was about to be transferred to hospital for his injuries.
"I'm sure they will be happy with your company. You are family after all."
"Only just…." Mike smiled deprecatingly, "there would be time when Max, Ryan and I would have to talk about everything, but I don't think I should hover, especially because Stuart just passed away."
"Fair enough. Just don't avoid them for too long. I think Ryan needs a reminder that you are not going anywhere and will be there for him now as his dad."
"Alright. I'll visit them tomorrow." Mike replied quietly before turning to observe Kate. "How are you? Are you feeling much better?"
"Yeah, I'm ok. Not nauseous anymore. Just tired." She shrugged, feeling grateful that they were back in port and should start their shore leave as soon as she finished her paperworks.
"You know that there is a rumour about you being pregnant?"
Kate rolled her eyes at the question, "is nothing sacred anymore around here?"
The corner of his lips turned up at her irritation. "I think they just put two and two together and come up with four."
"But it's still rude you know. So every time a woman threw up she would be pregnant?" She shook her head.
"Is there any truth to it though?" Mike now looked at her in concern as she was not straight up denying it.
"No. The test is a negative." She sighed as she remembered when she had taken the test in her cabin a few days ago. The mayday involving MV Sassy and the subsequent chase of Davidson had extended their patrol time and she had felt that she couldn't wait any longer. So, Dylan had snuck into her cabin around 2 am that night and they had done the test together. She had felt a little bit of sadness when the double line hadn't come up but also relief as she didn't think they were both ready at this stage.
"Right. Does Dutchy know about this?" he whispered once he had carefully checked around them.
"Of course he does." Kate was slightly annoyed at the question. "We don't hide things from each other."
Mike sighed. "Sorry, didn't mean to intrude."
"Don't worry about it." She softened as she could see that he was just concerned. "The timing wouldn't be the best with us moving interstate and everything."
"I saw that he lodged his transfer request in the system already." He then smiled at her sadly. "I guess it's official, Hammersley will need to find new XO and buffer soon."
"Who knows, maybe you'll find a pair that doesn't invite trouble all the time." She teased him. "Or a pair that won't just go along for the ride when the CO said they'd make an unscheduled goodwill visit to a foreign country in search of a dodgy mercenary."
He smirked at her teasing, remembering all the adventures that they had gone through together for the last 5 years. "I'm really going to miss you."
"Hey, don't start with the farewell tour already." She couldn't help but felt a lump in her throat at his tone. "I am still going to annoy you for another month. And Dylan is going to be here a bit longer to help with the transition to the new XO."
"Still. It won't be the same." He then offered his hand to her. "It's been an honour, Lieutenant."
She looked up to the man who had been one of the most influential figures in her professional and personal lives. His passion for the sea, his loyalty to his crews and his drive to always give 110% to every job at hand had been an inspiration to her.
So, she shook his hand firmly and replied, "the honour has been mine, Sir."
.
.
.
To be continued….