CHAPTER TEN

Right on time Mike came on the bridge. He walked to his chair and settled in glancing over at Tom. Tom, like most times as of late, was distracted. He hoped Tom could get a handle on this soon as the scuttlebutt was about to explode about him. He continued to stare at him, wondering if he was going to sit there all night. Finally, Tom looked over and Mike saw the guilt and pain in his friend's eyes. He frowned.

"You, doing, okay?" Mike asked, his worry hinting in his voice.

"I think so," Tom said. "What helps you with your grief," he asked softly. Mike looked away, taking in the vast ocean view, and thought about what Tom had just asked. Eventually he looked back at Tom.

"Staying busy, I suppose. It's kind of surreal for me though. You had tangible proof, eyewitness account, that yes Darien is dead. I had that with Lucas. Christine told me the last time I ever talked to her. But her and the girls…they just vanished from the earth. I don't actually know if they are dead or alive. I doubt Christine is actively trying to contact me again. So, I may never know."

"How do you deal with that?" Tom asked, and Mike could tell his friend was genuinely curious about Mike's answer.

"I guess I just imagine them somewhere. Anywhere. It helps."

"So, denial," Tom said quietly as his eyes turned back to the sea.

"Not necessarily," Mike replied, thinking about what denial would mean. "I mean denial would be that I had concrete proof that they died. Like with Lucas I was able to grieve and put him to rest. I know deep down I'll never see my boy again. But with the girls…maybe they're out there somewhere. Maybe their mom is still alive. I mean the marriage was pretty rocky before the red flu, and once Lucas died and I wasn't there to help her deal with it, she decided she was better off without me."

"I'm sorry, Mike," Tom said.

"Don't be. Life is cruel sometimes. I came to terms that if the red flu hadn't happened, I would be divorced right now anyway. But I keep hope that someday, maybe, I'll get to see my girls again."

Tom turned away from him again and Mike figured the conversation was over. It had surprised Mike a bit, but thought it was a good thing. The captain needed to make his grief tangible and deal with it. Eventually Tom left the bridge giving the watch to Mike. He sighed as it was the start of an extra-long shift as he had to be on the bridge during the port stop in the morning.

Six hours into his shift he informed the bridge crew he was going on deck for some fresh air. He went up top hoping to run into Andrea, but he was disappointed. He did see a figure on the side of the deck, leaning on the rail staring at the vast darkness. He walked a little closer and saw it was Tex, and the man had a sad look about him.

"You, okay, Tex?" Mike asked as he came up next to him and leaned on the rail. Tex gave him a side glance.

"XO," Tex acknowledged. Then he let out a monster sigh. Mike raised an eyebrow.

"Seems something is amiss," Mike said. Tex let out a gruff laugh then frowned.

"I missed my chance," Tex mumbled as his finger absently picked at the deck railing.

"At what?" Mike asked but he thought he knew what Tex was talking about. Tex slowly twisted his neck and looked at Mike, his eyebrows raised, his eyes sad.

"The doc," Tex said with a nod. He then shifted his body again and looked down at the ocean below. Mike frowned and nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"I should have known, even if the commadore hadn't figure it out, I should have known he would eventually. She just wasn't buying what I was selling."

"No, her sights were already set before you got here, Tex," Mike nodded. Tex looked at him.

"How long are we talking? How come no one warned me off?"

"Since the artic, Tex, but it just took Chandler a long time to figure it out. And he wasn't going to act on anything until Darien was gone. No one warned you because we never thought Chandler would jump."

"But he did...and she caught him."

"She was fishing for a while."

"I seen that," Tex mumbled. "I'm happy for them, really I am, just hurts."

"You really had feelings for her, didn't you," Mike asked.

"Yes, Sir. I did. It's been a long time since I loved a woman. How about you?" Mike froze. He didn't know how to answer that. He decided to take the safe route and keep Andrea a secret just a little longer.

"Even if it was rocky, I still love my wife."

"Was? Throwing in the towel?" Tex asked.

"Even if she is still alive," Mike replied. "We'd be divorced. It was there before the red flu came."

"Sorry bout that, XO, didn't know." Mike just nodded. Tex was quiet for a moment. "Well, I guess it ain't no use pining around and feeling sorry for myself. Maybe I'll chase that pretty engineer you got stuffed in the engine room," Tex continued with a smile. Mike bristled slightly before he caught himself. Tex gave him a curious look.

"Good luck with that one," Mike laughed instead. "You probably have a better chance with the doc still."

"Hmm, wonder why you'd say something like that," Tex said, his hand stroking his beard. Mike laughed again.

"She's a tough cookie. Have a shot if you really want to, but I don't think you're Commander Garnett's type either."

"Man, you know how to beat a man down, don't you," Tex said with a chuckle. "Just looking for a little action."

"Not much to get on a navy ship," Mike said as he pushed the smile off his face. "Rules and shit." Tex full on laughed at that one and shook his head. Mike finally smiled.

"Well, maybe when we hit land, I'll go off in search of some lady loving," Tex laughed out. "Nice talk, XO, see ya around."

With that Tex walked off into the darkness. Mike stood on the deck looking off into the darkness leaning his elbows on the rail. He thought about Tex chasing after Andrea and he laughed out loud.

"What's so funny, Sailor?" Andrea asked quietly as she stepped up beside him. Her hand slipped into his back pocket. Mike looked around, there was nobody around at this time of night. He hooked an arm around her.

"Something Tex said," he said. Andrea cocked an eyebrow at him, and he had to resist the urge to kiss her.

"And what did Tex say that was so funny?"

"That since Chandler and Scott were an item, he was going to chase the chief engineer," Mike deadpanned.

"Oh really," Andrea said with a snort. Mike couldn't hold his laugh anymore. "And what, pray tell, did you tell, Tex?"

"I told him good luck," Mike replied with a wink. Andrea pulled her hand from his back pocket and smacked him in the stomach. Mike flinched then settled back on the railing. "I also told him that you're a tough cookie and he was not your type."

"Well, you got that right," she whispered as she leaned into him. He smiled. "He's not tall enough." Mike snorted.

"Good thing I'm the tallest guy on the ship," he said playfully. Andrea smiled at him.

"Tex seriously said that?" Andrea asked. Mike looked at her.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure he was joking. He said he was just looking for a little action. I told him it was hard to come by on the ship. Rules and shit." Andrea laughed and then smiled at him.

"Hard to come by, huh?"

"Yeah, rules and shit."

"And are you a rule breaker XO Slattery?"

"I think I already proved that, Commander Garnett."

They stood staring at each other. Mike was about to say something when the portable on his shoulder squawked to life.

"Bridge to XO," a voice carried over the speaker. Mike pressed the button.

"Go for XO," Mike replied.

"Sir, there seems to be an issue in the engine room. Attempts to find Commander Garnett have failed."

"I'm on my way. I'll track her down on the way," Mike replied looking at Andrea. He dropped his hand and tilted his head. "Duty calls. Sounds like you're needed in engineering."

"Aye, aye, Sir," she said with a wink then turned and walked off. Mike stood for a long moment and watched her walk away. She looked back over her shoulder and noticed him watching. She swung her hips a little more and Mike bit his knuckle, before following her below decks. When they got to engineering a distraught Chung was sweating and seemed very nervous.

"What seems to be the trouble, Lt. Chung?" Mike asked as he ducked into the engine room. Andrea was already standing in front of him. Chung seemed to stutter before he took a calming breath and started again.

"Uh, Sir. I was just telling the Commander here that we're having trouble keeping the rotations of engine three correct."

"How serious is this?" Mike asked, glancing at Andrea.

"At the moment it's not," Chung continued. "But if we can't get it under control, figure out what's causing it, and correct it then it can become a major problem down the road. I'm just stumped," Chung replied. He said the last words sounding exhausted.

"When was the last time you had a break?" Mike asked.

"I'll take a break when the ship's running correctly, Sir," Chung mumbled and turned back to Andrea. "I just need to figure out what's causing it to lose rotation about every six minutes so that we don't have to keep revving it up higher to catch it back up."

"Well, I'll leave you two to it. I'll be on the bridge."

"Aye, aye, XO," Andrea replied then turned back to Chung. They put their heads together and Mike made his way back to the bridge.

To Be Continued…