Promise to Love Me, Even When You Hate Me.

Chapter 2.

5 months earlier.

Mike stood in Maxine's office waiting for his new XO to arrive. He had only seen snippets from their file, but was impressed with their accomplishments and recommendations, this was an officer he was keen to have on his ship. His thoughts were disturbed by Maxine entering with the new XO.

"Commander Flynn, this is Lieutenant Kate McGregor..."

Mike had to look twice, he wasn't expecting a female, not that he had a problem with female officers, it's just that he'd never worked with a female XO before.

"Ah, Lieutenant, pleased to meet you."

Kate could see the apprehension in Mike's face, she wasn't impressed with his first impression either. Mike went to shake her hand, but she saluted instead.

"Sir..."

Maxine noticed the awkwardness between them, she sat at her desk hoping they could make it work. Kate was the 3rd XO to be placed on Hammersley in 2 years, she was sure it wasn't Mike, he was a solid CO, but she wondered if her judgement was clear as he was also her friend.

"Lieutenant McGregor has just transferred from Darwin, so she's got a bit of experience in what we deal with up here..."

Mike glanced over to Kate, he didn't want to make assumptions but she didn't look like a patrol boat kind of person. The only thing she looked like she wanted to do was drive and desk and climb the career ladder.

Kate could feel Mike's gaze on her, she wasn't sure if he was just nervous or if he was judging her. Maxine interrupted both their train of thoughts clearing her throat.

"Right, well, it's a maintenance day today, so probably a good time for you to show Kate around the Hammersley, yeah?"

Mike's eyes darted from Kate to Maxine.

"Oh, yeah, right, umm, well, after you, X..."

He opened the door and Kate exited Maxine's office, Mike lingered back and hovered in the doorway. Maxine knew he was there but ignore him and looked back down at her computer. Mike knew that was a sign that she wasn't in the mood to discuss it further, he let out a loud sigh and ran and caught up with Kate.

They walked down to the docks in silence, Kate stopped a few steps away and scanned the boat, Mike walked on to the gangway and stopped at the top and turned puzzled by her hesitation.

"You okay?"

Taking a deep breath in she walked up the gangway, Mike saluted as she stepped onto the deck.

"Ah, and here we have Thor..."

Mike waited for her to salute, she stared blankly at him wondering what he was waiting for. He nodded towards Thor, she then realised what he was waiting for, she turned and saluted.

"He's never steered us wrong in the past..."

Kate let out a scoff, Mike gave her a funny look hearing her objection.

"What? No mascot on your last ship?"

"Ah, yeah of course, but I believe we create our own fete. I don't rely on a wooden figurine for that..."

Mike walked below ignoring her comment, he hoped that she wasn't going to be so cynical about everything. As they strolled down the hallway, Mike pointed out the various areas and cabins. He glanced over to periodically trying to get a feel of her, she looked nervous, worried even. He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder making her jump.

"Don't be nervous..."

"I'm not, it's just a lot smaller than I'm used to..."

"That's right, you were on a frigate before..."

Kate poked her head into the Senior Sailors Mess and swallowed hard at the small capacity.

"Yes..."

"Don't worry, you'll learn to love it. Only 23 of us on this tub, we get to know each other real well, our own little Hammersley family."

They heard footsteps approach, Mike looked down the hall and smiled seeing they belonged to Dutchy.

"Ah, and speak of family, this is a bloke you're gonna wanna get to know really well."

Kate focused her attention at the man walking towards them, she stood at attention and saluted.

"Petty Officer Dylan Mulholland..."

Dutchy stopped and glanced at Mike unsure of why his new XO was being so formal.

"Yeah..."

He saluted back and gave her a nod.

"Good to meet you, Ma'am, I see you've done your research."

"Of course, you're the talk of the town after receiving your medal for your bravery in the gulf."

Dutchy immediately broke eye contact and dropped his head, he hated that that's what he was known for.

"Ah, yeah, well ah, so, you from around these parts?"

Kate shook her head.

"No, Perth originally, was in Darwin last."

There was silence, Dylan expected her to expand on her history but that was it.

"Ah, cool, well, I just forgot some things on board, I'm meeting the others for a drink later, you wanna come?"

"Ah, nah, not really a drinker..."

She lied, she had a job to do, she wasn't too keen on getting to know anyone, to form any friendships.

"Ah, okay, but it would be a good opportunity for you to meet everyone..."

Kate's eyes darted around trying to come up with another excuse, Mike could sense that she was uncomfortable and interjected.

"Ah, the X only arrived last night, she may want to get settled in at home."

Dutchy gave her a smile and a nod.

"Yeah, no probs, see you in a few days then."

Dutchy quickly left the awkward conversation, Mike was about to start but Kate interrupted.

"Ah, actually, Sir, if you don't mind I might head off, it's been a long 24 hours."

"Yeah, no problem, we don't sail for a couple of days, so if you need a Cairns tour guide just give me a call."

Kate smiled politely, but she knew that she would not be taking him up on that offer.

"Thanks..."

Kate left the ship leaving Mike scratching his head at their odd encounter. He didn't want to be a jerk and write her off straight away but his gut was telling him different, he headed back to Maxine to voice his concerns.

He hesitantly knocked on her office door and entered, Maxine looked up from her paperwork surprised to see him.

"Finished already?"

"Ah, yeah, she was tired from her travels, she's gone home to unpack."

"Fair enough..."

Maxine focused back on her files in front of her, Mike sat down at her desk wondering how to start. Maxine let it a growl knowing that he wanted to talk, she closed the file and raised an eyebrow.

"What is it Mike?"

"So, umm, why her?"

Maxine's brown furrowed at his question, he cringed a little not meaning it to come out as it sounded.

"Why not?"

"Ah, well she's, look I'm sure she's a great officer, but she's just a bit, umm, stiff, that's all..."

Maxine sat there trying not to laugh, she knew he was going to say something along those lines.

"Well, maybe that's why they sent her to you, maybe they thought you could loosen her up a bit, or the other way round."

Mike let out a groan and leaned back on the chair folding his arms over his chest.

"Right..."

Maxine could see Mike still had concerns, she got up and sat next to him.

"Look, Mike, she's a good officer, her previous CO has assured me she's a catch and we're lucky to have her. She's probably just nervous, you know, new ship, new personalities, and it's hard being the female in charge, you saw how much I used to cop."

"Yeah, I know..."

"Look, you just need to take the lead on this one, make her feel like she's part of the family."

"Yeah, you're right, do you have her address? Maybe I can take her some food or something, try to get to know her."

Kate sat at her kitchen table sipping on a glass of red, scattered over the table were various files with the names of the Hammersley crew written on the front. A knock at the door startled her, she wasn't expecting anyone and called out.

"Who is it!?"

"Ah, Kate? It's Mike..."

Kate scrunched up her face wondering what he wanted, she quickly gathered up the files and placed them on a chair and pushed it under the table. She swung the door open and was greeted with a smiling Mike.

"Hey, you said you were tired, I figured you wouldn't want to cook, so I brought you over Cairns best take away from the Golden Lotus..."

Kate smiled at the gesture but sensed that he had an ultimatum.

"Ah, that's kind of you, come in..."

Mike walked into her house and headed for the table, he unpacked the bags and pulled out a chair, Kate quickly snatched the files away but not before Mike saw his name on the top.

"What's that all about?"

Kate clutched the files to her chest desperately trying to think of an explanation.

"Ah, nothing?"

Mike let out a nervous laugh and raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing? I'm pretty sure I saw my name on that top one..."

Kate could feel her heart beat against her chest, she dropped her head and focused on the floor.

"Okay, you caught me, I'm a loser, this is how I work, I umm, I find it easier to memorise facts than faces, so I just, this is how I process information..."

She glanced up at him hoping that he had bought her story, he eyes quickly focused back on the ground seeing his uncertain expression. He stepped closer trying to get another glimpse of the files.

"So, you basically have dossiers on all of us..."

She clutched them tighter and walked into the kitchen.

"Well, now that you put it that way it sounds creepy!"

She shoved the files into the closest draw hoping he'd forget about it.

"Umm, so you said best take away, huh?"

She grabbed plates and cutlery and another wine glass.

"Do you drink red?"

"I thought you said to Dutchy that you weren't a drinker."

"Yeah, umm, well, not a big drinker in public, I know what drinks at the pub mean when you're a newbie..."

Mike smirked as he served them both a plate.

"Yeah, they go a bit overboard sometimes."

"Well, I just didn't need them to have another reason to umm, to judge, that's all."

Mike glanced over to Kate feeling a little bad, Maxine had been right, maybe her defensiveness had been just that, a defence mechanism.

"They're really a good bunch, Kate, don't write them off before you get to know them."

"Yeah, well, I could say they same."

They sat there eating in silence, Kate almost sighed with relief as her phone rang. She glanced over to her phone and checked the caller ID.

"Sorry, I've got to take this..."

Mike gave her a nod, she got up from the table and walked into her room.

Mike's eyes scoured her house trying to get any clues into her life. The place was neat, it certainly didn't look like she had just moved in, but there was nothing personal on display. No photos of friends or family, no trinkets or nik-nacks. He was brought back to the moment as Kate exited her room and placed the phone face down on to the table.

"Anyway..."

Kate sat back at the table and picked up her fork. Mike cleared his throat trying to think of a question that wasn't too invasive.

"So, umm, this is a nice place, you just renting?"

"Yeah, wasn't sure how long I would be here."

"Ah, okay, well, ah, tell me bout yourself, there wasn't much in your file, well, nothing personal anyway."

Kate shrugged and took another sip of her wine.

"Not much to tell…"

"C'mon Kate, everyone has a story…"

"Not me, I'm boring, straight-A student, joined at 19, the Navy life is all I've known all my life."

"What about family?"

"Ah, Mum and Dad are in Perth, no siblings."

A half an hour or so later the conversation had died off, or rather Mike ran out of questions. Kate pretended to yawn, she was tired of the questions, she didn't really know what Mike wanted from her.

"Oh, sorry Kate, I've kept you up..."

"It's okay, but yeah, probably time to go to bed."

Mike rose from the table and placed the plates in the kitchen and headed for the front door.

"Well, I guess I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, thanks for dinner..."

As soon a Mike left Kate ran into the kitchen and pulled open the drawer and fished out the files. She sat on her couch, legs crossed beneath her and snuggled into the corner. She opened Mike's file and lifted the first page.

"Mike Flynn, joined the RAN at 17 and rose up through the ranks. He has proven to be a capable and reliable CO, his passion and commitment are second to none. However, his drive to win at all costs can lead him to conflict with colleagues and superiors, as a result he has gained a reputation of being a 'cowboy'. .

Kate's eyes narrowed, she wasn't sure if he was going to be a problem.

The next morning Kate ran around the suburb to try to get her bearings, she had her headphones on and was making good time. She felt a presence beside her and glanced over, it was Dutchy. She groaned internally and removed her headphones but continued to run. Dutchy looked over to her with a large grin on his face.

"Hey, X. You're a runner, huh?"

"Ah, yeah."

"Maybe we can be workout buddies, a bit of support, or competition?"

He gave her a friendly nudge with her elbow, she refused to make eye contact with him and focused on her running path.

"Maybe…"

She replaced her headphones over her ears and increased her speed, Dutchy stopped and shook his head at her lack of communication.

"Yeah, good talk..."

He continued to run following the path around the beach, he spotted her stretching on the reserve but kept running. Why should he be the one to make the effort? She was the one who didn't want to communicate. He looked back at her and let out a huff, maybe he was being too harsh, he knew that he could come off a bit intimidating at times. He turned around and jogged over to the reserve, she glanced up at him with an unimpressed look on her face as he approached.

"Are you stalking me or something?"

Dutchy placed a smile on his face ignoring her attitude, he didn't know what had he done to offend her, but he was going to find out.

"Have I done something to piss you off?"

Kate froze, surprised that he was being so direct.

"Ah, no..."

She placed her foot on the nearby bench and reached for her toes stretching out her leg muscles, he folded his hands over his chest not believing her.

"So, why do I get the feeling that you don't want anything to do with me?"

Kate let out a huff, she didn't want to indulge his ego, she stood meeting his glare.

"Well, that's your opinion, I can't help what you assume..."

He clenched his jaw in an attempt to stop his real feelings coming out, he didn't understand why she was twisting everything back on him. He changed tactics, don't be accusative, appeal to her better nature.

"X, we need to be a team, look, I dunno if you've had some bad back up or something, I dunno, but..."

Kate was getting more worked up by the minute, he didn't have any right to judge her.

"Hang on, just because I don't want to be your best friend I'm suddenly the problem?"

Dutchy glanced around nervously, people were beginning to stare. He didn't want to cause a scene, but he didn't want to back down either, especially when he hadn't done anything wrong.

"No! I just don't know why you're so stand offish?!"

She stepped towards him trying to assert her authority.

"So what, I'm supposed to be everyone's best friend from day one, just because?"

Dutchy sighed, it was clear he wasn't going to win the fight, not today anyway.

"You know what, never mind. I'll see you on the ship."

Dutchy ran off shaking his head. Kate sat on the bench and exhaled sharply, she undid her ponytail and raked her hand through her hair trying to relive some tension.

After arriving back at her house and unpacking the rest of her things she shuffled through the files to find Dutchy's. She aggressively flung open the folder and crumpled her nose as she read through the pages.

"Petty Office Mulholland has great potential to become a strong leader within the RAN. He is fiercely loyal and has shown tremendous bravery while rescuing his fellow crew members from a dangerous boarding incident in which he was awarded a MG for his actions. After the incident that claimed the life of his XO his emotional state has been questioned, even though he had been cleared to return to active duty there were some doubts about his stability and recovery. Throughout the sessions with the counselor he was dismissive and often told the doctor what he felt they wanted to hear. Self doubts plagues him and until he admits his true feelings, he will never be able to move on."

Kate felt a little bad, she had written him off as the dumb, tough guy, but it seemed that there was a deeper layer. She shook her head dismissing the thought, it didn't matter, she had a job to do.

Her door bell rang, she frowned, she wasn't in the mood for company. As she approached the door, she hoped it wasn't Mike again, trying to play happy crew mates. She cautiously opened the door and let out a sigh of relief.

"Boss, what are you doing here?"

A tall, stern, middle-aged man, wearing a suit walked into the house, he strolled into the lounge room and turned.

"What are you doing, Kate?"

Kate closed the door and scurried into the lounge.

"What do you mean?"

He wandered around the living room ignoring her question, Kate stood with her hands on her hips waiting for him to explain.

"Shaun?"

He let out a disgruntled huff and stood in front of her.

"You need to be less, well, less like yourself…"

Her eyes narrowed disapproving of his answer.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, you need him to talk, you're not exactly having stimulating conversations."

She let out a hiss and pulled the wire and microphone from her chest and slammed it on the table.

"Ah, he's not just going to admit it…"

Shaun scowled knowing she was just being difficult.

"No shit, but why don't you try being friendly?"

She threw her hands in the air and paced the room shaking her head.

"Because, I don't want to be friends with someone like him."

Shaun placed a hand on her shoulder trying to get her to see reason, her stubbornness always got the better of her.

"Kate, it's your job…"

She rolled her eyes and shrugged off his hand, her phone rang on the table, she immediately picked it up and answered it.

"Kate McGregor, yes, Boss, no worries, see you soon."

She chucked her phone into her bag and gathered up her files and locked them away in a drawer.

"Been crash sailed…"

He walked over to her and stood close, attempting to make eye contact with her.

"Are you prepared?"

She fiddled with her bag avoiding his questioning gaze.

"Yeah, I'll be fine…"

He continued to focus on her, couldn't afford her to be lying, she was a competent leader and always put on a brave face, but this was too important for her to try to fake her way through it.

"Well, you haven't been at sea for a while, that's all…"

She shrugged and swung her bag over her shoulder dismissing his lack of confidence in her.

"It's like riding a bike…"

She picked up the wire and recording device and waved it in his face.

"But you know I'm not gonna be able to wear this on boardings."

He rolled his eyes and snatched it out of her hand and shoved it in her handbag and squeezed her shoulder.

"No, but you can when you're on watch and when you're..."

She rolled her eyes and opened her door as an indication for him to leave, he let out a chuckle standing in the doorway and shook his head.

"Always so pushy!"

She smiled sweetly and placed a hand on his shoulder giving him a slight shove out the door.

"Yup, that's why I'm so good at my job! I'll see you later!"

End Chapter 2.

Please let me know what you thought! And I fully understand if it's a review full of curse words, because now you have more questions than before. Hahaha xx