Mike awoke, again to the smell of breakfast cooking. He felt lighter somehow, as he manoeuvred himself out of bed and into the shower. When he came into the living area, Robert was reading and Bomber was in the kitchen. She greeted him with a big smile, "Hello sir, ready for breakfast?"

"Too right," Mike smiled at her.

"Good morning sir," Robert looked up from his book.

"Good morning to you Robert, what are you reading?"

"I found the Iliad on your bookshelves. I hope you don't mind. It's fascinating reading, I must say."

Mike agreed. "I didn't know you like classic literature."

"He'd read an encyclopedia if he had one," Bomber commented from the kitchen.

She came out and placed the food on the table, and both men tucked in.

Over coffee, Mike asked what they were doing today. Robert said, "I have to take Chloe back to the airport later. She has to be back for school tomorrow."

"Robert, I want to thank you for bringing Chloe here. It was wonderful seeing her again."

"Actually, I think all of us enjoyed meeting her. The last time all of us saw her was at Swain's funeral. Chloe is our only link to Swain now. I didn't think of that, I was only thinking of you when I made the call."

"Well, when I'm next in touch with Sally, I'll tell her what it meant for all of Swain's friends to see her. You did take plenty of photos, didn't you Robert?"

"Yes sir, I did. I'll edit them and give you a thumb drive of them."

"Thanks, Robert. I'm sure that Kate would like to see them."

Mike's phone buzzed and he went to answer it. It was Gregory.

"How are you son? I've had a call from Philip. He and Jessica are flying back today. They'll arrive at around 3PM. Chloe's flight leaves at 2:45. So I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Can you let young Robert know that I'll do the airport run?"

"Sure Dad. How is Chloe? I think she was a bit overwhelmed seeing all of us."

"She admitted that son, but she understood that they were all her father's friends. Your mother and I are going to take her out before she goes home."

"Righto Dad, please tell her goodbye from all of us. I'll be in touch with her mother shortly. And Dad, I'm sure looking forward to seeing Jessica again. I miss her."

"I'm sure she misses you too, son. I'll see you later."

"OK Dad. Bye."

Robert was helping Bomber do the dishes. She said, "I'll love you and leave you now."

"Where are you going?" Robert asked.

"If you must know, I'm meeting Amy and Nikki. We're having a Girls' Day Out." She left the kitchen and collected her bag, then returned and gave Robert a kiss. She called "Bye, sir," and left.

Robert went over to where Mike was on the lounge. He said, "You need to make your intentions known soon. Bomber has to go back to Sydney in a couple of days."

"I plan to ask her to marry me. When the time is right, I will."

"Robert, now we're on our own, I want to talk to you. I lay awake last night thinking; and well, there's something I have to face. There is a possibility that I may remain like this, or it will take me longer than I thought to make a full recovery. Which could spell the end of my Navy career. And that's a bit scary, because like you, the Navy is all I have ever known."

Robert said, "You still have your hands, and your mind working. With all your experience, I am sure you could find something in a Defence consultant field. I took the liberty of doing some research. If you do have to discharge on medical grounds, you are entitled to all kinds of benefits, not to mention retraining, and all forms of assistance. I understand you were injured just outside the base, so you may be entitled to compensation."

Mike looked at him thoughtfully and Robert continued: "The point I want to make is that whether you recover or not, you can still make a life for yourself, and your family. My father fell into the trap of self-pity. When he was drunk, just before he'd pass out, he would list all the wrongs done to him. Night after night he would give us his version of 'somebody done me wrong song'. And it went on and on. He was so busy feeling sorry for himself and blaming others for his sorry state, that he couldn't get on with life. I think the constant self-pity and sorry excuses for his drinking drove Mum and me away. We'd hope so much that he could find a way to change, get help for his drinking, and get on with life. And our hopes would be crushed with each drinking bout. Whatever you do, sir, don't go down that road. Self-pity gets you nowhere."

Mike sighed. "Robert, I have been listening to you, Dutchy, Charge, Buffer, Chloe, and my father tell their stories. And there's a common thread through it all; each of you overcame obstacles and accepted the changes and got on with living. You – all of you – have given me hope. If you can do it, then so can I. I would feel like I was letting you all down if I didn't accept things and make a life anyway. That said, I'm still determined to walk again, but the motivation has to change. All I could think of was my Navy career going up in smoke, and not wanting to face that. I was becoming very self-absorbed; wrapped up in my own troubles, and not seeing how it hurt my family. I think I should be thinking more of my family, and still being a husband and father, and what I can still offer."

Robert nodded. "That's the key."

Mike said, "How about a game of chess?"

"Exercises first," said Robert, "You have to keep those up."

HMAS Hammersley.

The ship had reached the Red Reef Oil Fields. Kate ordered the RHIBs into the water for the routine patrols around the rigs. As she watched the progress of the RHIBs from the bridge deck, her mind was filled with the contents of Mike's email. She decided that she would tell him about their recent patrols in the gas and oil fields, and some of the antics of the crew. Cookie's BBQs on the boat deck, David doing a traditional Irish dance to admiration of the female members of the crew, herself included. She would tell him about how proud Cookie and Kathy Green were of themselves because they took Harry Tyler and Tony down in a closely contested game of "Uckers". * She would tell him about the high morale among the crew, and perhaps some favourite memories of the original crew.

Presently the RHIBs returned. Nothing to report. Kate was pleased. She was relieved that the patrol had, so far, been routine. Cookie appeared on the bridge. Kate turned to her, "What's on the menu for scran this evening?"

"Irish stew, Ma'am. Lieutenant Miles gave me his mother's recipe. I'm making soda bread to go with it."

"Sounds great, Cookie. Carry on."

"Aye Ma'am," she said and went back to her galley.

Cairns Airport.

Gregory and Amelia saw Chloe off on her return flight to Brisbane. They were both impressed by this quiet teenager, determined to keep her father's memory alive. They were also very proud of their son, for all the support he had given this young girl and her mother. It was above and beyond the help extended by Legacy. Amelia said to her, "If you want to keep in touch, here's my number. We might even come to Brisbane to meet your mother."

Chloe said, "Thank you, Mrs. Flynn, I'd like that. I know Captain Mike married XO Kate and they have a little girl now. Could I see her some day?"

"You can see her, of course you can. If mum permits, you can come stay with us any time." They both hugged Chloe, and she said, "Thank you so much for letting me stay with you."

"A pleasure, Miss Blake. Have a safe flight."

Gregory remarked to Amelia, "Such a pleasant young lady. I have the feeling I've known her all her life."

"So do I," said Amelia. "I'm beginning to think that Hammersley is more than a ship. It's a family."

"You could well be right," Gregory said.

*" Uckers" is a traditional Navy board game, played by four people in pairs.