HMAS Penguin, Balmoral, Sydney.

CPO Dylan, "Dutchy" Mulholland heard himself being piped to the Diver Training Centre. He presented himself to the Officer in Charge, and was told that he would be deploying to HMAS Cairns, to board one of the Minesweepers for dive operations in the Gulf of Carpentaria. He was to fly out of Sydney tomorrow, and report to Acting CO, Commander Steven Marshall. Dutchy's face gave nothing away of what he was thinking. Mike's not there, I wonder how he is going, and how Kate is coping. Dutchy and Kate had had a prickly relationship to start with, when he first boarded Hammersley, but as time went by, they became more comfortable with each other. Deep down, he still cared for Kate, and he considered that he was a little in love with her when on Hammersley. Having received his orders, he went to his room onboard Penguin and started to pack. He decided to call Ryan, to get an update on Mike. If he could spare the time, he'd go and see his former CO.

The next morning, as he was checking into to his flight to Cairns, Dutchy saw a familiar figure at another boarding kiosk. He moved over to her.

"Bomber!" She turned to see who was calling her, and her face lit up.

"Dutchy! Hey! What are you doing here?"

"I'm being sent to Cairns. Dive operations in the Gulf of Carpentaria. And you?"

"I have a bit of leave; I'm going to see Mum, and Robert."

"Cool. I thought I'd catch up with Mike, and Kate. I've been wondering how Mike is going."

Bomber was quiet for a while. Then she said, "Yeah, poor Mike. Ryan said he was out of rehab and home. He said he wasn't walking yet. Must be hard on Kate. You've just reminded me. I'd love to see Kate too; I miss talking with her." Both Bomber and Bird had a close relationship with their former XO; they both looked up to her, viewing her as a kind of older sister.

Dutchy and Bomber decided to grab a quick coffee before boarding their flight.

Cairns.

Kate drove Philip and Jessica to the airport. Jessica was full of excitement; first a ride on a plane, then going to sea with Grandpa! She had packed her sailor doll and Hammersley cap, and she chattered all the way to the airport.

Kate bent down to her daughter. "Have a lovely time, be good for Grandpa. That's an order, right?"

"Aye, Mummy," Jessica cuddled her mother, and Kate hugged her father. "Thanks for this Dad, you're being a big help."

"Sure, mo ghaoil, I enjoy having the wee girl. We'll have a grand time together."

Kate waved until they disappeared into the boarding terminal. With a sigh, she turned toward the car and drove home.

Mike barely looked up when Kate arrived home. He said, "They got to the airport OK?"

"Yes indeed," said Kate. "Jessica was so excited."

"I bet." They sat in the lounge room in silence.

NAVCOM.

Kate was up bright and early. She knew that Hammersley would be coming into port today, and she was filled with anticipation. She fetched Mike a cup of tea, then had a shower, and cooked some breakfast. She reminded Mike that he had a physio session today and his father would be coming for him. Mike, surprised at seeing Kate in her uniform, said, "You back at work today?"

"Yes, today's the day. I'm going up to NAVCOM for a briefing on Hammersley. I'll know more afterwards."

"I suppose you're looking forward to going back?"

Deliberately ignoring the derisive tone in his voice, Kate said, "Yeah. I am."

Mike slid into his chair, and went into the en-suite. He levered himself into the shower, shaved, then wheeled himself into the kitchen. Kate followed him, and he said, "You'd better get going. See you later." He made no move toward Kate, nor attempted to kiss her. She walked out the door to the car with a heart of lead.

When she arrived at NAVCOM, Steve greeted her warmly. "Kate. Welcome back. How's Mike?"

"Don't ask, sir," she answered and changed the subject to Hammersley. Steve noted the dark circles under Kate's eyes, and made a mental note to go and see Mike. He didn't think that things were all that wonderful in the Flynn residence.

Steve brought Kate up to speed with Hammersley's patrols. She said, "Lt. Miles has made a great fist of being acting CO, by the look of it. I'm very impressed."

"Indeed," said Steve, "I think I'll recommend him for promotion."

"Whoa, not so fast, I've a great XO and I don't want to lose him just yet."

Steve grinned. "Right, let's get down to tin tacks. I'm afraid Hammersley is on a three-day turnaround. Kingston will go into dry-dock when she returns, for some much-needed deeper maintenance. I'll assign Hammersley to patrol the off-shore rigs, in rotation with Bundaberg. It will be three weeks on, three weeks off. I thought that might work out for you while Mike is getting back on his feet. Easy patrols too."

Kate followed Steve to the bull-pen. He consulted a computer, then said, "Hammersley will be alongside in an hour."

"Good. I will go to the docks and see her in. Thank you, sir," Kate came to attention then swung about to leave. She saw Dutchy sitting, waiting outside what was Mike's office, but now occupied by Steve. She went over to him.

"Dutchy! Good to see you! How are you?"

"I'm well, Ma'am. I'm waiting to see Cmdr Marshall. I've been assigned to a Minesweeper; I don't know which one yet. How are you? How's Mike? Ryan told me all he knew, but I wanted to hear the latest."

"To be truthful, Dutchy, he's not wonderful. He's frustrated with how slow his recovery is. I think he was expecting to be walking sooner than the time-frame the physio team gave him. He's very down at the moment."

"I'll go and see him, Ma'am."

"Oh would you? I think a new face would be a breath of fresh air for him. He's tired all of us out, I think."

"I'll drop in when I'm finished here, OK? And you can expect a visitor too. Bomber was on the same flight as me. She has some leave, wants to see her mum, and mentioned wanting to see you."

Kate said, "I'd love that. I'll look forward to it."

When Kate arrived home, Mike was in the house. Gregory was not about, so Kate assumed he'd gone home. She said to Mike, "Hey, you're home. How was the session?"

"The same."

"Lunch?"

"No. Thank you."

"I saw Dutchy up at NAVCOM. He's coming to see you when he's finished his brief."

No response.

"Hammersley's been assigned to the offshore gas platforms. Three-week patrols rotating with Bundaberg. I leave in three days."

"That's good."

"Means I'll be home every three weeks. I'll email Dad and tell him; he said he'd return while I was away."

"OK."

"Hammersley will be alongside now. Want to come and see your favourite Patrol boat?"

"No."

Kate sat next to him and took his hand. "Mike…I don't know what to say to you, I don't know what I can do; I know you're down; I know you're not walking yet, but you will."

All of a sudden, Mike flared up. "You know that do you? You know I'll walk do you? Do you? How do you know? What kind of medical training have you had, to tell me I can walk again? Do you have any idea what it's like sitting in this bloody chair watching you walk around? I can't use my legs, you can; I can't go to work, you can! You're off to Hammersley, back at sea, walking around the boat! While I sit here, not able to fully use my legs! I can't even make love to my wife; I can't do anything!"

He shouted: "What good am I to you? What bloody good am I to you, to Jessica, to the Navy? I'm half a bloody man, and everyday reminds me of what I used to be, and may not be again! Go away Kate, find someone who's a whole man to you!"

Kate said quietly, "For better, for worse, in sickness and in health. No Mike, I made a promise, and I intend to keep it."

"No Kate! It won't work! Go away! Go on! Leave me! GET OUT!"

Kate was too shocked at the venom coming out of the man she loved, to answer. She got up, ran to their room, grabbed her steaming kit, and packed her computer and phone. She packed her toiletries that she usually took to sea, then with the tears flowing, she raced out of the house. She ran down the street to Nikki and Buffer's and banged on the door.

Dutchy finished his briefing and received his assignment. He left NAVCOM and turned toward his accommodation, then changed his mind. Something's wrong. He walked to the entry to the base, and called a cab.

The cab dropped Dutchy off outside Mike and Kate's. He paid the driver and walked over. The house seemed very quiet, and unoccupied; until Dutchy noticed the front door was open. He knocked and received no answer.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Ma'am? Captain Flynn?" Still no answer. Dutchy tried the screen door; it was unlocked. He stepped inside. He started to feel uneasy.

Mike sat there in the stillness. He wheeled into the kitchen and took a knife out of the block. He wheeled to the patio, and sat seemingly staring at nothing. Then he took the knife and, as he was about to draw it across his wrist, a hand clamped around his and a voice said, "No sir, you don't want to do that."

Dutchy moved to face him. He took the knife from Mike's unresistant hand, and put it out of reach. He sat on his haunches, looking into Mike's stricken face, and repeated, "You don't want to do that, sir. That's not the answer."

Dutchy was still holding Mike's wrist, when, without warning, Mike slumped into Dutchy's shoulder and wept uncontrollably. Dutchy put both arms around him and let him pour out the raw emotions; the grief, the anger, the heartache, the despair.