After returning to Hammersley, Kate got Josh and Nikki settled into one of the guest cabins. They were given clean coveralls and toiletries.

"Thanks, Kate," Nikki said.

"Now it goes without saying that you have full access to the ship. Get yourselves settled and head on down to the galley for something to eat. I'm going to call Mike and let him know what's what. Can I get you anything?"

"We're good," Josh says.

"More than good," Nikki replies.

Kate has Beech set a course for home and asks RO to contact NAVCOM.

"RO put it through to my cabin when it goes through."

"Yes, Ma'am. Ma'am? How are they?"

"They're great, RO, believe it or not. I'm sure you'll see them soon."

Kate was just settled in when her phone rang.

"Kate Flynn"

"Kate, how are they? This is unbelievable!"

"It is at that. They're surprisingly healthy, a little underweight but otherwise good. And Mike, you're not going to believe this… they have a little baby, a little girl. She's just two months."

"A Baby! Wow…"

"Mike, they're going to need some help. They don't have any place to go. They lost everything when they were declared dead."

"I think that I can get the Navy to help with that. Nikki was active status when they went missing. I'll work on that while you're on your way in."

"Let me know how things go, will ya?"

"Of course."

Josh and Nikki took turns taking a long hot shower. They changed into the coveralls they were provided and headed down to the galley.

"Nikki! Josh!" Bomber exclaimed, rushing to them and giving them a hug. "This is so amazing! A baby! You have a baby!"

The proud parents are beaming. "Bomber, meet Gale Marie Holiday. Would you like to hold her?"

"Would I! She's gorgeous! How old is she?"

"Just two months," Nikki answers.

"SCRAN will be ready in an hour. It's chicken tonight. I hope that's okay."

"Okay? That's bloody fantastic!" Josh says excitedly.

"Can I get you anything for now?"

"A cold coke?"

"Nikki?"

"That sounds fantastic."

1800 hrs.:

Nikki and Josh joined Kate in the senior's mess for dinner along with Swain, Dutchy and Charge. SCRAN never tasted so good. Bomber surprised them with chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. Having such a limited diet for over a year, Swain warned them to go easy. They really didn't have much choice as they weren't used to having so much food. Afterwards, they returned to their cabin to feed Gale and lay down for a spell, the familiar sounds of the ship lulling them to sleep.

Kate was in her cabin when there was a knock on her door.

"Swaino! Come in, what's up?"

"Well, I've been thinking. Josh and Nikki don't have a home to go to. They've lost everything. Sally and I can offer them a place to stay until they get settled."

"That's kind, Swain. Mike is working on Navy housing for them."

"Maybe Sally can go over and get the place set up with some groceries and essentials then. We have baby furniture that we can give them, and I'm sure that we still have some clothes leftover from Chloe."

"That sounds perfect, Swain. I'll let Mike know."

Mike called Kate back a few hours later with news about their housing. He was able to procure a two-bedroom furnished apartment in the Navy Officer's complex. As soon as Kate heard back from Mike, she called Swain so that Sally could coordinate with Mike on getting the apartment settled for them.

2030 hrs.:

Kate found Josh and Nikki on the aft deck watching the wake like they used to. Gale was happy next to them, lying in her basket. The ships movement and the low rumble of the engines seemed to soothe her.

"I found you."

"We used to meet here to watch the wake and talk in the evenings when we weren't on watch," Josh says. "Brings back fond memories."

"I've spoken to Mike. He has a Navy apartment ready to go for you."

"That's great, Kate. Thanks."

"What about your family? Should Mike call them, or do you want to wait and do that yourself?"

"I think that I would like to call them," Nikki replied.

"Yeah, I go with that too."

"I'll let Mike know."

Later that evening, Josh and Nikki lie on a rack meant for one, not wanting to sleep apart.

"Nikki, it's so strange… last night we were sleeping in a tent, on a beach. This is just…I can't put words,"

Rolling towards him, she leaned in for a kiss. "I can't believe we are actually going home."

"Hey, I won't have to catch supper!" he chuckled.

Hammersley Bridge 1300hrs two days later:

Kate picked up the intercom and called for Nikki to call the bridge.

"Nikki, here."

"Would you and Josh like to come to the bridge and watch us come into port?"

"You know it! We'll be right there."

Nikki and Josh arrived on the bridge with Gale tucked into her chest carrier and watched as Cairns came into view; they held onto each other and quietly cried.

At 1330 Hammersley slid into her berth, and Mike was waiting on the wharf with a car. The gangway was set, and the crew formed a gauntlet for the young family to walk through as they exited the ship. Just before reaching the gangway, Swain reached out and stopped them for a moment.

"Josh, Nikki; Mike let Sally into your apartment. She dropped off the baby things and stocked the cupboards and fridge. Here's our phone number if you need anything," Swain passed the paper with his number to him.

"Swaino, thank you. We'll see you soon," then they made their way down the gangway stopping to salute the ensign and then moving on to meet Mike and Kate at the car.

Mike grabs Nikki into a hug and then Josh. "So this is your little one… What's her name?"

"Gale Marie Holiday," Nikki says, beaming while Gale flashes him her big blue eyes.

"She's beautiful! Congratulations. That must have been quite an experience."

"It was," Josh says. " I would have preferred hospital, though."

"I bet."

"Alright, climb in, and we're off to Barry to have you all looked over." After they all got in and as the car started to pull away, Mike told them about their appointments.

"Baby has the first appointment with Dr Hawkins at 1400 so that both of you can be there. Nikki, you have an appointment with Dr Brenner, OB-GYN at 1515 and Josh, your appointment will be at the same time with Dr Daniels."

Arriving at Barry, they check-in.

"Okay, we'll meet you here when you're done with Dr Hawkins," Kate says.

"Oh, we have been able to keep things quiet. No one outside of the Navy knows about your return, and the crew has been instructed to keep it quiet, so for now, no press. We don't want your families to find out that way. But, believe me, once your return gets out, there will be press." Mike tells them.

Nikki and Josh arrived at Dr Hawkins office, checked in, and were brought into an exam room.

" Mr Holiday, Lt Caetano, I'm Dr Hawkins."

" Pleased, Josh and Nikki Holiday, and this is Gale," Josh said.

"So nice to meet you all. So, this little lady is two months old. First, let me say that she looks quite healthy and happy. I'm going to start by asking some questions so that we can build a chart for her. Now, how was the pregnancy? Any complications? Was she full term?"

" The pregnancy was normal, I guess. I had morning sickness for about 12 or 13 weeks, and I was very tired, took lots of naps."

"All normal."

"We tried to keep Nikki's protein and calories up."

"What was your diet like?"

"Seafood…fish and crab, fruit and some protein bars until they ran out," Nikki said.

"She drank a lot of coconut milk," Josh added.

"And was she full term?"

"As near as we could tell," Josh said.

"How about the labour and delivery?"

"I woke around dawn feeling pressure. By 0700, the contractions were unmistakable. Gale was born at 1830," Nikki explained.

"Josh, you delivered your daughter, of course."

Josh beamed, "Yup, I did."

"Had you ever delivered a baby before?"

"No, I hadn't even read about it. All I knew was what I had seen on TV or in movies. I'd never even seen a baby born before…I have to say that I was scared to death."

"You never would have known it," Nikki said.

" You two have the luck. Any problems with the delivery?"

"No, it went smooth."

"Speak for yourself, Mr," Nikki joked.

"Well, it seems like you were a natural."

"How was she right after birth? Did she cry right away, or did you have to encourage her?"

"Pretty much straight away."

"That's great."

" Do you have an approximate birth weight?"

Josh chuckled, "Ahh, tiny."

Dr Hawkins laughed; he liked these two. "Any problems nursing?"

"No, she took right to it," Nikki answered.

"Alright, let's get to it. Well, to start, Gale is a very healthy baby, and given the circumstances, you both did a phenomenal job. She's a little underweight, but I don't expect any problems. When was she born?"

"March 12th, she was 2 months old yesterday. Umm, she needs a birth certificate. Would you know how we would go about getting one?"

"I can help you with that. I'll give you an unattended certificate that you can file. Alright, then I'll be starting her vaccinations today if that's okay."

"Of course," Nikki answered as Josh nodded.

Twenty minutes later… "Let's meet in my office. Gale looks great. I just want to go over a few things."

They followed him to his office and sat in a chair while Josh walked around doing the baby bounce and keeping Gale happy.

Dr Hawkins began, "I couldn't help but notice your rings."

"Josh made them."

"Josh, that's fine craftsmanship, especially with limited resources."

"Well, there was a pilots tool kit, and I had a few things that I had packed for our trip."

"And Nikki, the basket that you made for her is wonderful. Did you do basket weaving before as a hobby?"

"No… self-taught. It's amazing what you can do when you have nothing but time."

" Alright, getting to it. Baby Gale looks wonderful. That's a different way of spelling Gail, is there a significance?"

"She was born during what we think may have been a cyclone," Josh explained.

"Unbelievable! What did you have for shelter?"

" We were lucky yet again. Early on, we discovered an old WWII bunker sitting high on the side of the hill. We set it up as a storm shelter."

"You two really are remarkable. With all that you have been through, your story could be a movie."

"I suppose," Josh responded. "I have to admit that our Navy training had a lot to do with our ability to cope and adjust."

"Nikki, her skin is beautiful. You obviously had to have been using hand made nappies. How did you do it?"

"The nappies were made from the soft blankets that were on the plane. I lined them using pieces of an absorbent camp towel. We made sure that we kept her dry and clean. She spent a lot of time out of a nappie as well. Josh made a wonderfully scented coconut oil that we used on her bum when we changed her and also when she had a bath."

"I might suggest that to my patients. You both are very resourceful. She's a little underweight at 4 kg ( 9 ½ lbs), that's to be expected. How was she nursing?"

"Every two hours. She seems satisfied," Nikki told him.

"I would like to see her weight up a bit. I'm going to send you home with a special high caloric formula that we feed to preemies. Give her 60 ml ( 2 oz) every other feeding. I'm going to send you home with some bottles as well. They have plastic liners and are easy to use. You only have to worry about sterilizing the nipples and just for another month. Those can be put in a microwavable steamer and steamed for 10 minutes.

I'd like to see her again in a month. Oh, and because she hasn't been exposed to anything, she hasn't built up any immunity, try and keep her from crowds until I see her again."

"What about our families? She was exposed to a lot of people on the ship too." Josh said, a bit worried.

"Keep an eye on her. Any signs of illness, call me right away. As far as family, I know that they will be anxious to see you. Where are they located?"

"Josh's parents are in Melbourne and mine in Perth."

"That would mean air travel which would expose them to all sorts of stuff if they were to come here. I highly recommend waiting until I see Gale again."

"Alright, whatever is best," Nikki replied as Josh agreed.

"Good, see you in a month."

"Thank you, Dr Hawkins."

They went to the desk and made an appointment, and as they were about to leave, Dr Hawkin's nurse called to them.

"I have a few things for you," she said and then handed them a bag that had disposable nappies, wipes, a couple of onesies and some toys. "These are from our free bin. Patients bring them in to donate. I suggest that you wash them first."

"Thank you, that's very kind. We can sure use them." Nikki said.

"No worries, see you in a month. If you have any questions, be sure to call."

" We will."

After leaving the doctors office, they searched for Mike and Kate finding them in the lobby.

"We have time for a coffee and snack before your next appointments if you want," Kate said.

"That would be great," replied Nikki. "Gale is going to need to nurse soon, too."

Taking an out of the way table near the windows, Kate went to the counter and got their coffees and some pastries.

"This is so good. We are in coffee withdrawal, at least I am. We ran out of coffee after a month." remarked Nikki.

Mike and Kate fill them in on what's going to happen next: "I was able to get you a two-bedroom apartment in the officers housing unit. Sally brought over a crib, car seat and stroller. The refrigerator and cupboards are stocked."

"Mike, Kate, we can't thank you enough," Josh says. "This is all overwhelming. We waited for so long to get off that island. This all just feels so strange, surreal."

"Yeah, I can only imagine," said Kate.

Gale is starting to get fussy, "I think she needs changing and is probably hungry," Nikki remarks.

"I'll take her to get changed," Josh offers. "How about we try out one of the bottles that Dr Hawkins gave us with the formula."

"Sure, I'll get the bottle ready while you're gone."

Standing, Josh picks up Gale, gives Nikki a kiss and heads to the restroom with a fresh nappie from the bag along with the wipes that they had been given.

Kate was shaking her head in wonder, "who would have thought that about him."

Nikki looks at her and Mike, "Josh has been amazing. I feel so lucky to have him. If I had been alone…"

When Josh got back to the table, Nikki took over Gale and tried her with the bottle. She balked at it at first but then took right to it.

Once they were all settled again, Mike continued, "Now, about money, you are obviously going to need some things. I spoke with Fleet Command. As Nikki is no longer missing and was missing through no fault of her own, she is entitled to back pay for the last year and 2 months, and her regular pay has been reinstated. I have a Navy card for you to use until you get Nikki's check.

We need to get your identification all sorted out as you were declared presumed dead. All of your accounts were closed or frozen, so you'll need official identification to open new accounts. The Navy is going to appoint a Solicitor to help with those. You too, Josh, since you two are married. We will probably have to get a marriage certificate for you."

Kate looks at her watch, "it's time that we got you to your appointments. Would you like us to watch Gale, or do you want to take her with you?"

Nikki and Josh looked at each other, "Doctor said to keep her away from people, crowds, etc."

"That's not a problem. We'll take her outside to the garden. Here's my phone; call Mike when you're done, and I'll tell you where to meet us."

"Okay," Nikki says to her.

Josh walked Nikki to Dr Brennan's office and then went on to find his own.

She was sitting in the waiting area for about five minutes when she was called in. " LT Caetano, I'm Dr Michelle Brennan," she said, reaching out for her hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Dr Brennan, and it's LT Holiday now. But please call me Nikki."

"I didn't realize that you were married. It wasn't indicated on your paperwork."

"Haven't had time to change my name or status."

Dr Brennan examined Nikki and questioned her about her pregnancy and delivery.

"Well, you've done really well. My only concern is your weight. At 48 kg ( 105 lbs) with your height, you are fairly underweight. You should be around 52 – 54 kg. ( 115 - 120 lbs), especially as you are nursing. If you are going to continue to nurse, you need to increase your caloric intake to 3000 calories per day so that you will be able to gain weight and produce enough quality milk. I want you to drink two protein shakes a day.

Now, what about intimacy? Have you and your husband resumed sex?"

"No, not yet."

"Well, you're good to go when you're ready."

"Dr Brennan, I am so ready," Nikki said, laughing; Dr Brennan joined in.

"What do you want to do about birth control?

Dr Daniels office: Josh

Josh's exam went pretty much the same. He was very healthy except for being underweight.

"I would like to see you gain 20lbs. Protein shakes twice a day and enjoy some of the foods that you have been without for the past year...like ice cream."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Josh chuckled.

"Okay, see you in a month."

"Great, thanks Doc,"

Nikki had found her way to Dr Daniels office and waited for Josh to come out.

"Let's find Mike and Kate," Nikki said. "I'm missing Gale."

Smiling and giving her a quick kiss, "Yeah, me too. For two months, we were never separated; leaving her is going to take some getting used to."

Walking into the lobby holding hands, they spot the Flynns sitting in a corner seating area.

"So you two are all set?"

"All good," Josh replies.

"Well, that's it for today. What would you two like for dinner?"

"Pizza and ice cream!" they said at almost the same time.

Mike and Kate couldn't help but laugh. "Do you want some company, or are you ready for alone time?" Kate asked them.

"Honestly? I think that I'm done for today," Josh says, "Please, no offence meant."

"No worries, none taken. I imagine that after a year alone, being around people was seem a bit strange."

Josh looked at Nikki, "Yeah, a bit. It's nice though" Nikki nodded in agreement.

Kate called in a triple meat extra cheese pizza to be delivered to their apartment, and Mike stopped at the grocery for some Ben & Jerry's.

Arriving at their apartment, they helped them to carry their meagre belongings inside. Kate gave them some cash for the pizza, and they said their goodbyes.

"When we get settled, we'll pay you back," Josh told them.

"No … you won't. That's Navy money. Don't worry about it," Mike told them.

"Keep my phone until we get yours activated. Call your families," Kate said.

"And Dave's wife," Josh added.

"Good night, you two. Be sure and call if you need anything."

" Kate, Mike... We can't thank you enough."

Mike and Kate left, and Nikki nursed Gale then laid her in her basket. There was a knock on the door; their pizza had arrived.

"Are you ready for some pizza?" Josh asked her as he put the pizza on the bench.

Nikki went over to him, put her arms around his neck and then pulled him in for a deep kiss and then another. Then she stepped back just enough to pull off his shirt.

"Nikki, Luv, where are you going with this?"

"To the bedroom… we've been given the green light."

Josh looked at her beaming, reached down, picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Later, after a shower, they warmed the pizza in the oven, then brought it into the lounge, turned on the TV, and devoured the pizza.

"It's good to be home," Josh says.

"Yes, it is."

"It just feels so…strange."

Sally had gotten them all set up with a crib and changing table. More nappies and onesies and a couple of special girly outfits. Nikki called and thanked her.

"Oh, Nikki, no thanks are necessary. I loved doing it; it was fun. You guys deserve it. Listen, we still have Lancelot. Would you like me to bring him over?"

"Has Chole been taking care of him?"

"She has; she's become attached. We're probably going to set up a tank for her."

"Sally, let Lancelot stay with her."

"You're sure? He was a special gift from Josh."

"At the risk of sounding like a total sap, Josh is my special gift."

"You're right; you are a sap." Sally laughed.

As Nikki was finishing her phone call with Sally, little Gale was looking for some attention. Josh went to change her while Nikki got her next bottle ready. He sat next to Nikki on the couch then pulled her over against him while she was feeding the baby, arms wrapped around her in their favourite position.

"Well, I guess it's time to make those calls," Josh says to her.

"Yeah, this is going to be tough, I think," Nikki agrees.

Leaning over, Josh kissed her as if his life depended on it and then just held her tight and close.

"Taking a deep breath...Okay, I guess I'm ready," and he dialled his Dad's number. As the phone started to ring, he grabbed Nikki's hand.

Ahh, they're finally off the island, now to put their lives back together. I tried to research how someone moves back into society after being missing/ declared dead. I was only able to find limited information, so I had to use my imagination. As far as RAN regulations, the same, my imagination.