Promise to Love Me, Even When You Hate Me.

Chapter 6.

Later that day Kate sat at her dining room table attempting to complete her progress report. She couldn't focus, she had talked the talk, but now she had to follow through and date the target. She had always followed the rules, and it had led her to success, but now she had to break them for the greater good. She thought it would have made her feel empowered, but all she felt was nauseous. She sighed as she leaned down and grabbed the folder off the chair, she held the first page up to her face and frowned as she scanned the first paragraph.

Dylan Mulholland Character Assessment.

On paper, Dylan appears to be a strong candidate to be a leader in the RAN, he is loyal to his superiors and protective of younger crew under his guard. His stubbornness however, can lead him to conflict. After his time in the gulf and the incident that involved the death of his boarding officer, he is quick to anger and tends to act first and think later. It is unclear whether he has truly dealt with his emotions regarding the incident, whether he blames himself and/or the navy. This makes him susceptible to outside influences and a potential security threat.

She placed the paper aside and removed some photos from the back of the folder, one showed him in a warehouse exchanging money with a man, and another of him taking possession of a small crate.

She exhaled sharply and shook her head, you can do this Kate, for the greater good. Letting out a growl she picked up her phone and messaged Dutchy.

"You better take me somewhere good."

Dutchy sat in the driver's seat and looked over to her and smiled as he pulled up to a secluded beach just out of Port Douglas.

"Here we are…"

Kate placed the book she was reading back into her bag and exited the car. Standing on a landing at the top of the stairs she gasped, in front of her was a pristine stretch of beach with crystal clear water. Dutchy stood beside her and nudged her with a giant grin on his face.

"Good enough?"

She nodded as she walked down the stairs. They walked down the path and on to the beach, Kate kicked off her shoes and waded through the water. Dutchy was a little confused about the whole situation, she was the one who had messaged him, and yet she had been silent the whole car ride.

"So, what made you change your mind?"

She shrugged as she picked up a shell from the sand trying to distract her focus from his face.

"I dunno, I guess you were right, I haven't ever really had any good friends, or ones that I've wanted to keep."

Dutchy was stunned at her honesty, he continued to walk trying to act as casual as possible.

"Right..."

She sighed and chucked the shell into the water, it skimmed across the top and slowly sunk in the shallows.

"I've always just done my job, moved on and up, and I guess, left everyone behind. You know how it is, new ships every year or so..."

He didn't know if it was a rhetorical question, he glanced over to her checking her expression.

"Well, not really, I've been on Hammersley for 3 years."

Kate stopped and tilted her head surprised.

"Really? You don't want to progress?"

"It's not that, but I'd rather be happy in what I do. I mean the navy is the navy, but I like to be surrounded by people whom I trust, and who trust me, and that's what I have with the crew now.

Kate felt that pang of guilt again, trust, it was such a simple word, but meant so much.

"Yeah, I guess."

"So, umm, you're obviously career oriented then, I mean, not that it's a bad thing."

"Yeah, well, that's what I've aimed for, so, umm, you like being a Buffer then?"

Kate cringed, it was such a beige question, Dutchy looked over to her and saw the annoyed expression on her face and laughed.

"Umm, yeah, I guess… What about you?"

Kate shrugged and focused back on her feet.

"Yeah, most of the time."

Dutchy scoffed at the awkwardness of the conversation.

"Has it really come to this? Small talk?"

"Maybe…"

He stood in front of her blocking her path making her stop and look up at him.

"Kate, tell me something real about you…"

She wrinkled her brow and walked around him.

"I already have, I told you about my ex, you tell me something real about you."

Dutchy caught up to her, she looked over to him waiting for an answer, he was deep in thought. Before he could think of anything both their phones beeped, they gave each other an all knowing look.

"I'll drive you home to get your stuff, then we can head to mine..."

After collecting Kate's belongings they headed to Dutchy's house. He swung open the door, Kate's jaw dropped as she looked around, she was a stunned, Dutchy scoffed at her expression.

"What?!"

"Oh, your place, it's umm, it's really nice..."

"You say that like you're surprised."

Kate walked into the living room, it was beautifully decorated, modern yet homely. Photos of the Hammersley crews filled the shelves of the bookcases, she walked over and picked on up.

"Well, it's just..."

He walked up behind her and whispered in her ear.

"Who's judging who now?"

She rolled her eyes and whacked him on the arm, he walked up the stairs to gather his things.

Kate and Dutchy arrived at the docks, they chatted and laughed as they walked up the gangway. 2Dads and Charge were on deck and spotted them, 2Dads leaned in towards Charge.

"They look chummy!"

Charge barely looked up and shrugged and continued to work.

"Maybe they're having a secret affair."

2Dads eyes widened, Charge shook his head seeing his reaction.

"I was joking!"

2Dad's eyes were fixated on them as they made their way below, Charge elbowed him in the ribs.

"Don't…"

Mike was in his cabin and heard them talking in the hallway, he poked his head out his cabin and observed them chatting, he smiled and nodded in satisfaction.

Kate's phone rang as she opened her cabin door, Dutchy was about to walk off but he saw her hesitant expression.

"Everything okay?"

She put on a smile and walked into her cabin, she shut the door as she pressed answer.

"Yes?"

"Had a sleep over did we?"

"Warren, what do you want? Didn't Shaun talk to you about giving me some space?"

"Yeah, but…"

"But, nothing…"

There was a knock on the door.

"I gotta go.."

Kate turned off the phone and shoved it into her pocket, she swung open the door, Mike raised an eyebrow seeing her frustrated looking face.

"You okay?"

Kate un-clenched her face and leaned on the door frame.

"Oh, yeah, telemarketers, you know…"

"Yeah, they're a pain, umm, anyway, I just saw you chatting to Dutchy, things are better with you two?"

"Yeah, we umm, found common ground."

"Good... well, sorry if any plans were ruined..."

Kate shrugged and chucked her bag on to her rack.

"Part of the job, but why are we going out again?"

"Ah, the Wollongong is out of action so we have to take over..."

"Great..."

Later that day Charge and 2Dads stood on the bridge at the comms console, Kate and Dutchy made their was up the stairs together. 2Dads eyes darted back and forth from them to the console, Charge was mid-sentence as he noticed his distracted gaze, he tapped 2Dads on the shoulder.

"Are you listening?"

He nodded, his eyes still fixated on Kate and Dutchy.

"Yeah."

Charge rolled his eyes and poked him again.

"What is it, 2Dads?"

His eyes darted back to Kate and Dutchy as he leaned in.

"Look at them, they were fighting like cats and dogs the other day, and today they're like BFF."

Charge shrugged taking little notice.

"So? They've buried the hatchet, that's good."

Mike stood at the EOD and cleared his throat.

"Okay, we've got an FFV people, let's go..."

Dutchy gave Kate a nudge as they walked down the stairs.

"You're favourite part!"

2Dads shot a look at Charge, he shook his head and shoved him towards the stairs.

"Just go! Leave your imagination in your cabin!"

The crew boarded the RHIB and headed for the FFV. Dutchy and Kate boarded first, followed by 2Dads and Swain. The crew were Asian fisherman, Kate scoured them for any signs of a leader.

"The Captain? Who's the captain?"

A man stepped forward and raised his hand.

"I, Captain..."

"Do you speak English?"

"A little..."

"Do you realise you are fishing in Australian waters?"

He stared blankly back at Kate, she let out a sigh and turned towards Dutchy.

"Dutchy, search the boat..."

He nodded towards Swain and 2Dads indicating for them to start. The captain stepped towards Kate not understanding what was happening,

Dutchy stepped in between them and held up his hands.

"Sir, stand back, we are searching the boat..."

Kate couldn't help but smile, she knew he was trying to protect her, that he cared, which meant her plan was working. She placed a hand on Dutchy's shoulder.

"It's okay, Dutchy, I got this, go help the others..."

She moved him aside and addressed the captain.

"Sir, you are illegally fishing in Australian waters..."

He shook his head furiously and waved his hands in the air.

"No, no, we okay..."

"No, Sir, I'm sorry, you can't..."

He placed his hands in his pockets and pulled out a wad of cash and presented it to her.

"I pay, I pay?"

Kate shook her head and pushed the money back toward him.

"Sir, we can not accept that!"

"Please, please!"

"Sir, I'm sorry, you need to step aside."

His head dropped, Kate and Swain searched the back deck. The captain approached Dutchy at the front of the boat and presented him the pile of money.

"What's this?"

He pulled on Dutchy's arm and placed it in his hand.

"You take!"

"What?"

"You take and I go?"

Dutchy looked down at the pile of money realising what he was trying to do.

"Oh, ah, no sorry, I can't..."

"Please!"

He undid the pile and started to shove it into Dutchy's pockets, Dutchy removed it as fast as he could and shook his head, Kate approached and frowned, unsure of what was happening.

"Ah, Petty Officer?"

Dutchy was startled by Kate's presence, he realised what it would have looked like.

"I think he's trying to bribe me?"

She glanced down at his pockets overflowing with notes.

"Trying?"

He pulled the rest of the notes out of his pocket and gave it back to the captain.

"X! C'mon!"

"Did you find anything?"

He shook his head.

"No catch..."

"Right, we'll tow them back out and keep and eye out."

They headed back to Hammersley, Kate's phone rang as they were stowing their equipment. She checked the caller ID and excused herself, she answered as she closed the cabin door.

"Seriously, Warren?"

"So did he take it? Did you get the footage?"

"What?"

"C'mon, Kate, we're making this easy for you…"

"What? You set this up?"

"Of course, we don't have time for this to drag on, we have an eyewitness…"

"I wouldn't call him an eyewitness, it's his word against Dutchy's, he hasn't even made a formal statement. Wait a minute, Shaun was happy to give me two months, why the rush?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone, Kate let out a scoff.

"You just don't want me to get close, do you?"

"Hang on, who's side are you on here?"

"Seriously, you're questioning my loyalty?"

"Well, did he take the money or not?"

"No, well, I don't know, I came round to the front of the boat and the guy was stuffing it into his pockets, but it looked like he was refusing it. I can't say for sure, but you didn't answer my question, why the rush?"

"We're getting pressure from everywhere, if this so-called hero is dodgy, the sooner we get him out, the better!"

"But what if he's not?"

"What?! He is guilty, Kate, we just need hard evidence, now, if you can't do this…"

Kate had heard enough, she hung up the phone and opened her door, she was startled as Dutchy appeared in her doorway.

"Oh, Dutchy..."

"X, I umm, just wanted to make sure you didn't get the wrong idea about what happened on the FFV earlier..."

"Why would you think I'd get the wrong idea?"

He broke eye contact and scuffed his shoes along the ground like a kid in trouble.

"Well, you don't know me and, well, you know in some situations, even though you're not guilty, you look guilty."

"Yeah, I get it... umm, it's okay."

"Cool, we good then?"

"Yeah, sure..."

She headed to the galley, he wasn't convinced that she believed him, he didn't want her to retreat into the old Kate, he thought they were getting somewhere.

"So, umm, you want to continue exploring when we get back?"

Kate's back was turned, she stood at the bench waiting for the kettle to boil.

"Kate?"

She heard him the first time, she needed a moment to gather her thoughts, this was harder than she thought.

"Ah, yeah, sure…"

"Where do you wanna go?" Beach again?"

"Where ever…"

She turned back to face the bench and poured them both a brew, Dutchy frowned at her attitude, why was she shutting down again? He attempted a non-invasive question.

"You just seem to really like the beach that's all…"

She exhaled sharply, she knew that she wasn't being friendly, she needed to snap out of it again, placing a smile back on her face she handed him a cup.

"Yeah, I did, I've missed the water, I thought being at a desk would be less, well, I thought I'd have more of a life."

Dutchy took a sip of his coffee and frowned.

"Weren't you at sea before? On a frigate in Darwin?"

Kate mentally kicked herself, she had forgotten her back story already.

"Ah, yeah, but not or that long…"

She needed to change the subject, and quick.

"So, you'll pick me up in the morning?"

"Sounds good..."

2Dads stood outside the galley, he had heard everything, he cleared his throat and moved himself into the doorway.

"So, anyone got any weekend plans?"

Dutchy and Kate both took a sip of their coffee, 2Dads smirked at their silence, he walked in and poured himself a brew.

"Thought I might head to the beach..."

He looked up in time to catch their uneasy expressions, Dutchy rolled his eyes knowing what he was doing and shoved past him.

"One day your mouth is gonna get you in trouble..."

2Dads jaw dropped mocking Dutchy's statement.

"Is that a threat? X did you hear that?"

She was nearly out the door.

"Ah, no sorry, didn't hear anything."

The next morning Kate was packed and ready to go early. There was a knock on the door, she skipped to the door and swung it open. The smile dropped off her face, it wasn't Dutchy standing in front of her.

"Boss..."

He looked her up and down and smirked.

"And where are you off to?"

"Oh, umm, just to the beach..."

"Must be nice for some..."

He pushed past her into the house, she rolled her eyes and closed the door hoping she wouldn't be lectured.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were giving me some space?"

"Well, Warren called me, he was, well, he was concerned. And before you say anything about jealousy, I wasn't going to take it seriously, but he said you asked him if he was sure that Mulholland was guilty?"

Kate hesitated, she didn't like to cause trouble, but she was sure there was more to him, to this case.

"Well, yeah, why can't people be innocent?"

"Kate, by the time the case gets to us then it's past that, look, I'm not gonna lie, I am concerned. You said you could handle being his girlfriend, but if it's going to make you question your job, then maybe this isn't the right case for you?"

"Shaun, seriously, don't worry about it!"

He stepped closer with a stern expression on his face.

"How can I not worry about it? My best leader is doubting the work that we do and I'm not really sure why, could you actually have real feelings for..."

Kate put her hand up stopping the rest of the sentence leaving his mouth.

Outside, Dutchy approached Kate's door and heard raised voices, he hesitated before knocking trying to listen for more.

"This is ridiculous, Shaun, you said it yourself, I'm one of the best…"

Kate threw her hands in the air feeling frustrated, she couldn't win either way.

"Have I let you down before?"

There was silence, Dutchy took it as an opportunity to knock on the door, Kate and Shaun froze.

"Who's that?"

"It's Dutchy, remember my job is to get close and…"

"No, your job is to find evidence, just remember that…"

Kate walked over to the back door and opened it, Shaun shook his head and followed.

"Just make sure you wear the wire..."

"Yeah, of course, but not today, we're swimming..."

"Well don't, stay out of the water, what if you miss something?"

Kate shook her head and pushed him towards the door.

"I've gotta get the door…"

He knew that she was avoiding his questions.

"Kate..."

She folded her arms across her chest.

"2 months, Boss..."

Shaun closed the door, and she headed to the front door, she took a deep breath in and opened it.

"Dutchy!"

He smiled nervously as he entered her house, he glanced around looking for the owner of the other voice.

Kate closed the front door and grabbed her bag off the table, Dutchy wandered around looking for the mystery person.

"You've got company?"

"Nope..."

He was sure he heard someone, he looked around again. Kate stood at the front door hoping Shaun was out of sight.

"We going?"

Dutchy let out a frustrated huff.

"You sure there was no one else here?"

Kate shrugged, trying to act like it was nothing, she opened the front door.

"No! Now let's go!"

Dylan knew she was avoiding his questions, he stood his ground.

"Kate?"

She placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow mocking him.

"Dylan!"

"Just tell me you're safe, and don't lie to me."

She walked over to him and grabbed his arm and led him to the door.

"I'm safe, I promise!"

"Mmm, I still think you need to tell someone..."

"You know, so that's enough."

"No, Kate, someone of authority, Mike, Maxine, the cops. What if something happens?"

"Nothing is going to happen, Dutchy. Anyway, this is supposed to be our day off! What are we doing?"

"Well, I thought we could head to Townsville, shopping, lunch, exploring, I know it's not the beach but…"

She didn't care, she just needed him to leave so Shaun could leave.

"Yeah, sounds good…"

She pulled him out the door and down the front path, Dutchy opened the passenger door for her.

"Maybe we can go clothes shopping? Find you something between clubbing, couch and…"

He looked her up and down, she frowned and sat in the car.

"Okay, what's wrong with this?"

She wore black pants and a plain button-up shirt, he laughed and closed the door. She rolled down the window and raised an eyebrow.

"Dutchy?"

He walked round to the driver's side and got in, she whacked him on the arm.

"Seriously? What is wrong with my outfit?"

He shrugged and turned on the ignition.

"Nothing, if you're doing my taxes…"

End Chapter 6.