an: so originally this had been a one-shot, but it seemed like there was more to write, so here we are. Huge thanks to duckmadgirl who prompted the scene between kate and nikki, as well as giving me some ideas for the tattoo.

:::

Her alarm buzzes insistently next to her, and Kate groans, slapping at it blindly. Her head is killing her, and each consecutive ring seems to pierce her skull. Finally, she manages to switch it off, before she lies there, head pounding. What the hell had happened last night? Her mouth is dry, and her gut is churning. Fuck tequila. She groans again, pulling herself out her rack, hoping that she hasn't woken Nikki up. Blinking blearily, she staggers into the bathroom, swearing as she stumbles into the chair on her way.

Minutes later, feeling slightly refreshed after brushing her teeth and washing her face, Kate finally notices the steady thrum of pain emanating from her hip. Pulling her tank top off, she's flummoxed by the bandage she can see peeking out over her shorts. Edging her shorts down, she peers at the square patch taped to her skin. It's about the size of her hand, and sits just above her hip bone. Warily, she peels at the edges, not sure if she really wants to see what's underneath.

A tattoo.

Fuck my life, she thinks. What on earth had she been thinking? She tapes the bandage back down and leans against the sink, running a hand over her face. What the hell had happened last night? She remembered finishing her paperwork, and then deciding to join the crew for drinks after all. There'd been multiple guava mojos, and a lot of tequila. The others had disappeared and then it had just been her and Buff – she groans again, the memories coming back to her in a flash. Sitting in the crowded room, pressed against him on the couch as they slammed back shot after shot. Her face flushes. Fuck, she'd licked his neck. Worse, he'd done a shot off her as well – she shifts, uncomfortable with the memory of exactly how arousing she'd found it at the time.

A knock on the door startles her out of her thoughts. "Kate, are you okay?" Hastily she whips her shirt back on, making sure that the bandage is hidden, before she opens the door. "I'm fine Nikki," she starts, before hastily moving out of the way as Nikki bolts for the toilet, a green tinge to her face. "I'm guessing you're not, though," she says under her breath, before sighing and moving to hold Nikki's hair out of her face as she retched.

"Ugh," Nikki groaned after she'd finished brushing her teeth. "I swear you drunk more than me last night – you and Buffer practically finished a bottle of tequila between you before I left – how are you not the one dying right now?"

Kate shrugs. "I don't throw up after drinking," she says. "Never have." No, instead, she makes dumb, life changing decisions while drunk, she thinks. Like doing body shots off her buffer, and then letting him talk her into getting a tattoo.

"What happened to you two, anyway? I must have crashed before you got back."

Kate gives a small laugh, and hopes her face hasn't turned red. The incredulous smile Nikki gives her puts that hope to rest. "No way, you and Buffer?" She hisses, stepping closer to Kate.

Kate shakes her head, flushing further. "No, nothing like that," she hedges. It's not entirely the truth, but it's close enough.

"You're blushing!" Nikki crows, leading them to Kate's rack, where they both sit down. "C'mon, give it up."

Kate thinks back idly to her first few weeks on the Hammersley, and how she and Nikki hadn't really gotten along. Now, Nikki has no qualms about approaching Kate for what she calls mandatory girl talk, even though Kate is her superior officer. She guessed this applied. "Well, keep in mind, there was a lot of tequila involved." She starts, her hand moving to her shorts and nudging down the side far enough that Nikki can see the bandage.

"Kate McGregor, did you get a tattoo?!" Nikki asks, a shocked look on her face, before she bursts out laughing. Kate rolls her eyes, waiting it out. "Sorry, sorry," Nikki says as she catches her breath, "it's just, I can't imagine you getting a tattoo!"

"Yeah, well, I think there was more tequila than thinking involved in that decision," Kate mutters, sighing.

"And I bet Buffer had a fair bit to say 'bout it," Nikki says, a sly smirk on her face. Kate ducks her head, sure that the blush on her face is permanent. From what she could remember, she'd been the one to bring up it up – god, she'd been practically caressing Buffer's tattoos. "So c'mon, what is it?"

Kate hedges. She hasn't had a proper look at it yet, and she supposes she should make sure that it's something she can live with. Not only that, she has no idea how to look after it. She covers her face with her hands, groaning. "Ugh, if I ever think about tequila again, Nikki, just remind me of this morning, yeah?"

Nikki laughs again, before she tilts her head, her eyes sharp. "Kate – weren't you wearing a dress last night?" Kate bites her lip. "Exactly how did you get your tattoo without flashing everybody?"

"I didn't flash anyone," she replies. She hadn't – she remembered, somewhat hazily, Buffer tugging his shirt off and draping it over her hips, his eyes closed until she was covered. She'd been touched by his gesture, and had squeezed his hand thankfully, before she'd told the artist she was ready, Buffer's voice in her ear, egging her on.

Nikki's response is cut off by the sharp bell of the tannoy, and the two of them wince simultaneously, the high pitch setting off Kate's headache. Mike's voice on the tannoy follows, calling for them to muster on the boat deck. They exchange a glance, and Kate is a little worried. Their orders must have come through, but it's not like Mike to not discuss it with her prior to letting the rest of the crew know. A night spent in a foreign port doesn't always pass peacefully, and she can only hope that no one's been hurt.

They hurriedly change into their DPNUs and head to the boat deck, Kate standing behind Mike as Nikki joined the rest of the crew. Her eyes drift to Buffer before she can stop herself, and she's surprised to find that he's looking at her in turn. They stare at each other for a moment, before Mike speaks, drawing her eyes away, though she can still feel his dark eyes on her.

She winces imperceptibly when Mike turns a disappointed gaze on her and the rest of the crew as he tells them about RO. Kate frowns, disappointed in herself, a little. The last she'd seen of Robert, he'd been with 2Dads, Spider, Charge, and Swain. She pulls off her cap, and fishes out some money, before taking it around the others. She avoids looking at Buffer for a long moment, but his hand brushes against hers as he drops the cash in, and she can't help but look up. He's looking at her still, his dark eyes intense. The last time she'd seen them like that, he'd been about to lick salt off her skin. She swallows, before turning around and leaving them to it.

:::

After the ship is loaded, Kate bites the bullet and approaches Buffer, cornering him in the mess. "Tattoos, Buffer?" She hisses, shutting the door behind her.

Buffer shifts, his hand drifting over his shoulder. "C'mon X,"

"If you finish that sentence with 'live a little', I am going to kill you," she interrupts.

He holds his hands up, placating, "okay, I wasn't going to go there, X." He tilts his head, his eyes falling to her hip. "How's it feeling?"

"Like I had a needle jabbing into my skin for a couple of hours," Kate scowls. "How do you think it feels?"

Buffer shrugs, a rueful smile tugging at his lips. "Well, I mean, mine's a bit itchy, but it's your first one, we need to take care of it."

"We?" She questions, raising an eyebrow.

"Somehow I don't think you'll be willing to let Swain or Bomber have a look at it," he replies.

Kate shakes her head – he's got a point. "God, why did we drink so much?" It's more of a rhetorical question, but he replies anyway, the smile still on his face.

"'cause it seemed like such a good idea at the time?"

"So how do I look after it?"

"Aftercare is really important – especially with what we do." He starts, taking her through the importance of keeping out of the ocean, and letting it heal naturally. "Can I take a look?" She shoots him a look. "Nothing like that X, it's just we'd had a lot to drink, and alcohol thins your blood – it's not usually recommended before getting a tatt done. I just want to make sure nothing got messed up."

Christ, she hadn't even thought of that. Kate looks at him, and then behind her at the closed door uncomfortably, before deciding what the hell. It's not like she was going to be able to keep it a secret anyway – nothing was sacred on the Hammersley. She carefully pulled up her t-shirt, lowering her pants a little to expose the bandage. His fingers are rough, but gentle on her skin as he peels the bandage away, and she feels her breath hitch a little at the touch, and hopes he hasn't noticed. His eyes are focused on the ink being revealed, and they fly up to hers, a stunned look on his face. Alarmed, she looks down, and gasps softly as she takes her first real look at it.

The ink is stark on her pale skin, and despite the underlying redness surrounding the design, it's beautiful. It's an old anchor design, about the size of her palm, surrounded by what seem to be stars in an abstract design. Where the rope would normally be wound through, there is writing instead. She tilts her head, scrutinizing the words – ' but never hold me down'. There's something familiar about that scrawl – "is that your writing?!" she asks, her mouth dropping open. She hadn't even known that was possible for a tattoo.

"Well, I guess that solves one mystery," is all he says, ignoring her comment. His eyes are heated as he looks at her though, and she knows that she's right, that it his handwriting branded on to her skin. He pulls off his t-shirt, turning a little so that she can see the bandage on his upper shoulder.

She bites her lip, and tries to avoid staring at his abs as he turns around. The bandage is of the same size as hers, and she feels a sense of panic as she reaches up to carefully peel the edges away. "Oh," is all she can say as she takes it in. It's as beautiful as hers is, a stylized compass with the same pattern of stars surrounding it, but her eyes are drawn to the handwriting standing in as the line from west to east – it's her handwriting on his skin, scrawling out the words 'be the one to guide me'. Her stomach flips, and she understands the heat in his eyes all too well. There's something primal about seeing herself on his skin. She mentally shakes herself, dislodging the thought, and instead focuses on the other glaring factor.

"We got matching tattoos?" The dismay is easy to hear in her voice. She is never going to live this down.

Buffer pulls his shirt back on, and leans against the table. "Look, I'm sorry X, you were drunk, I should never have - "

"No, don't be silly, Buffer." She heads him off. "I may have been drunk, but so were you. I'm responsible for my own actions." She steps closer, places a hand on his shoulder. "I knew exactly what I was doing." He looks up at her, his eyes searching. Her words have double meaning, but she's telling the truth. She'd known exactly what she was doing when she'd agreed to get a tattoo (though she was still a little hazy on the choosing process), and before that, when she'd agreed to body shots. It was the after that was still a bit of a blur. "What happened after the tattoo parlour?"

"What?"

"It's the last thing I remember clearly – you'd had your tattoo done, and we'd paid the artist – and then, from there it's a blank. I don't even remember coming back on board," she elaborates.

"Oh," he says. There's a dull flush rising on his cheeks, and the tips of his ears are red.

"Buffer?"

"Nothing to worry about, X, I promise," he hastily reassures her. He's still red though, and she knows there's something he hasn't told her.

She's about to reply when someone turns the handle on the door behind her, swinging it open. Charge walks in, a look of surprise on his face. "Oh, sorry X, Buffer," he gives them a questioning look. "Didn't mean to interrupt."

"Nothing to interrupt, Charge," she says, thankful that their uniforms seem to be in place. She doesn't want to think of where his mind would have gone. She turns back to Buffer, her eyes serious. "I'll talk to you later Buffer," she says, and leaves the 'and you had better tell me the truth' unsaid.

:::

Kate giggles, the bottle slipping from her fingers. Buffer catches it, his own laughter dying off as he drains the bottle, before letting it fall to the ground beside him. Kate smiles at him, her hands reaching out to trace the contours of his face, breaking out into giggles again as he pulls her onto his lap, her knees digging into the grass. She's pressed against him, and the heat radiating from his body is encompassing. She leans in, her lips meeting his in a gentle kiss. Her fingers curl around his shoulders, holding herself upright as he deepens the kiss, his hand fisting into her hair and tugging her closer. She moans as he drags his mouth away from hers, kissing his way down her neck, before nuzzling at her jaw and returning to her mouth. Kate returns the kiss, running her hands over the muscles of his back, playing with the edges of his muscle shirt. His other hand cups her hip possessively, before smoothing down the crumpled hem of her dress, his hand hot on her bare thigh. Kate hums against his mouth as his hand drifts up, stroking her skin –

Her eyes flying open, Kate stares up into the darkness, her breathing unsteady as she slapped at the alarm that had woken her. What the hell was that?

:::

read and review please, I would love to know what you're thinking.