Chapter 24

That Thursday, everything seemed to go wrong from the beginning.

There had been a power failure that night and her alarm clock was off because the backup battery had died. As a result, she had woken almost forty minutes later than usual.

She blinked as the sun peeked through the curtains.

Why is it so bright outside?

She looked at her alarm clock and saw it was off. Frowning, she looked at her watch.

Damn! I overslept because of a stupid power failure. And precisely today when we're going to have the inspection of the base!

She almost jumped out of bed and rushed into Duncan's room to wake the boy.

She shook his shoulder, "Duncan, we've overslept. The alarm didn't work due to a power failure".

"Huh?"

"Come on, hurry up", she encouraged him.

When Kate came out of the bathroom, she put on underwear and pulled out a new trousers from her wardrobe. She was in such a hurry to put the trousers on that her toes got stuck in the hem and unstitched it entirely.

"DAMN!", she cursed, seeing the damage.

"Bloody hell! That's something to sew up tonight", she muttered.

Annoyed, she threw the trousers on the bed and took another one.

Luckily I've three. Yesterday, I put one in the laundry basket with a stain, now this, but I still have a spare one.

With a sigh and dressed, she headed for the kitchen. At the same time, Duncan came out of his room and followed her. He sat down while she put two slices of bread in the toaster. Next, she poured him a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee for her. The toast was ready and jumped out of the toaster. Duncan grabbed it but unfortunately spilled his glass of juice which caused a little tidal wave on the table as well as on Kate's shirt and trousers.

"Woeha!", she exclaimed when the cold liquid hit her stomach and thighs.

"Seriously?", she asked, looking at the orange stains on her uniform.

"Sorry mum. I didn't do it on purpose. I'll get a dish cloth", he said.

"Of course not. It was an accident", she replied, trying to stay calm.

"I'll do it. I've to clean up this mess up decently, before it gets sticky and attracts ants", she said and stood up. Unfortunately, she walked barefoot in the juice. Kate closed her eyes and sighed.

Shit! Why me? Now I can also clean my feet.

She sighed again, "Eat, Duncan. We are already late and you haven't eaten anything yet", she said irritated.

"And you mum?"

"No worries. It's my problem. I have to make sure you get to school on time", she said while cleaning the floor.

In a foul mood, she went to her bedroom and took off her wet uniform.

Even my pants are wet.

She opened her wardrobe to get another pair of trousers and her eyes widened, realising that her last trousers had just been stained a moment ago. Grumbling, she took the white skirt off the hanger and put it on.

That's not exactly how I wanted to show up for inspection!

She just had time to put on a little make-up and put on her white pumps. Like all woman, she stared at herself in the mirror and was finally able to smile.

Not bad! Too bad Dylan can't see me…

"Come on dear! It's time to go!", she yelled, leaving her bedroom.

At Navcom, she put her briefcase next to her desk and went straight to her espresso machine to prepare a good coffee that she could enjoy with the two croissants she had just bought at the mess.

With a slight frown, she watched as the coffee flowed into the cup.

What a day! Overslept. I damaged my trousers. Soaked my trousers. This must stop for today!

Moreover, I haven't heard anything from Hammersley yet. Not a single message. As if they had disappeared from the face of the earth. Annoying!

Kate had just finished her breakfast when Lieutenant Coughan suddenly burst into her office.

"Ma'am!", he said at top speed.

"Uh William? What's going on? World War Three?", she asked.

"Sorry ma'am, but the inspection team is already here. They're too early. One hour to be precise", he said in disgust.

She stood up, "Well William, that means we're also going to get rid of them one hour earlier. Where are they?".

"At the reception desk", he replied.

"I'll welcome them", she said and left her office.

"But ma'am, it's not….", he tried to say, but she was already gone.

He shrugged, "Patience is not her main virtue. She'll find out for herself", he mumbled and followed her.

Kate almost froze to the spot when she recognised Mike Flynn at the desk with another lieutenant and two petty officers. She swallowed and walked over to him.

"Good morning sir. Welcome to Cairns", she greeted him.

Mike saw her, "Ah Commander McGregor, good morning. We're here for the inspection", he said.

"Yes, of course, we were expecting you", Kate replied plainly.

She saw that he was staring at her from head to toe and that a broad smile spread across his face.

Damn, he is just undressing me with his eyes!

"Please follow me", she invited the delegation.

Mike started walking next to her.

"You're looking gorgeous, you know", he said softly.

"Thank you, but what are you doing here? I was told it would be Captain Hogan", she replied.

"Hogan got sick and they asked me to replace him. I've to visit some bases", he answered.

"And you decided to visit mine first", Kate replied trying to hold back the sarcasm.

"Of course. You suddenly disappeared and I had hoped we could talk", he said.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes.

Okay, remark number one.

"Sir, I heard about this great opportunity and I didn't want to miss it", she replied deadpan.

He nodded, "Yeah, I understand. You always wanted to be Chief of the Navy and now you are just a little chief", he said.

She returned him a weak smile, "Coffee sir?"

"Please".

The day had been exhausting. Mike and his team wanted to see it all. They even went aboard the ships that were in the base. Rebecca and her team had done their best to serve the delegation a perfect lunch. It pleased Mike and he had largely complimented her. Kate had made sure never to be alone with Mike to avoid a stupid conversation. Finally, the day came to an end and the commission left the base. What she didn't know, was that Mike had sent his team to the hotel and returned to Navcom. It was after six o'clock and the staff had already left except for the duty.

Kate sighed and her shoulders slumped in relief. They were gone. Now going home, seeing Duncan, thinking about other things like cooking and sewing up the hem of my trousers….

She froze to the spot when she heard behind her, "Hey Kate".

To be continued