Day 4: Part 3
"Kate?" he looked down at her unconscious form
"Kate please…" he teared up
"Is she okay?" Arlo asked from his spot near Maki who he'd knocked unconscious
"She's out of it" Mike brushed the hair out of her face
"Let me look her over" Arlo arose from his spot near Maki
"Why?" he asked nervously
"I'm an ex nurse" he cleared his throat stepping forward
"So how'd you end up here?" Mike moved aside
"Maki recruited me, when I wanted out he kidnapped my wife" he knelt next to Kate's unconscious form
"Why are you helping me?" Mike replied sadly
"Because you were right, and no woman ever deserves to be treated like that" he began pushing along Kate's abdomen when her body jumped slightly
"Kate?" Mike brushed his hand through her hair
"Looks like she's got a few broken ribs" he continued feeling along her abdomen
"Just a few?"
"I can feel four, maybe five but without an x-ray I can't be sure" he looked at Mike sadly
"Is she going to be okay?" Mike looked down at Kate
"Honestly I have no idea…"
"Arlo your Boss…"
"Maki is the Boss, there is no one else" Arlo reached across checking Kate's pulse
"Then why would…"
"Because he's paranoid thinks someone is going to come in and steal his supply"
"Drugs?"
"He's a supplier and a user, the cave it's got a fake wall where he hides his stash" Arlo sighed pulling something out of his pocket
"What is that?" Mike held a hand out to stop him
"Smelling salts, I always carry them with me" he took the lid off
"Why?"
"I don't know to be honest, it's just a habit" he shrugged moving it under Kate's nose Mike watched carefully when he nose screwed up and her eyes began to flutter open
"Kate?" Mike brushed his hand across her cheek
"Aww my ribs" she groaned
"Yeah your going to be sore for a while there I'm afraid" Arlo put his smelling salts back in his pocket Kate jumped slightly at the sight of him
"Kate it's okay"
"No he…" she looked across at Mike who was nodding
"He's good, he stopped Maki from…"
"Thank you?" she questioned looking across at Maki who was unconscious and tied up in the corner
"Can you walk?" Mike asked nervously
"Probably not best to move her if she does have broken ribs…"
"Well we can't stay here, we need to go back to our camp or at least to the beach our crew would be looking for us" Mike huffed
"Look I'm fine" Kate pushed them out of the way and moved to stand slowly holding her side
"Kate…" Mike arose quickly placing his hand on her arm
"I'm…" she began saying when she started to feel faint
"Oh okay… I think it's best if I carry you" Mike noticed her wobbliness
"I can walk" she protested trying to moved when she groaned in pain
"Stop being so stubborn" Mike moved his hand behind her back
"I thought that's what you loved about me" she teased
"Yeah but I'd love if you didn't kill yourself" he smiled carefully lifting her into his arms bridal style careful to not hold her on her ribs she hissed in pain
"You need to get out of here, before he wakes up" Arlo moved towards the door
"You're not coming with us?" Mike looked at him confused
"No…"
"Arlo if you turn yourself in, you'll be in less trouble then you already are" Kate whispered from her place in Mike's arms
"You two are good people and when you get out of here you shouldn't waist any time in loving one another I lost my chance and…"
"I thought you said you were married" Mike interrupted him
"I am… I was…"
"Maki didn't just kidnap your wife did he?" Mike questioned
"No… Now you better go, before he wakes up and realises your missing" he opened the door
"Come with us, Maki he doesn't care about what happens to you" Kate groaned
"There's a path down there, if you follow it to the end it'll take you to the beach" he pointed
"Arlo, thank you…" Mike moved his hand to shake his
"Don't waist time thanking me, I could have stopped this before it got this far just… Take care of her she's a special one" Arlo motioned to Kate who was resting her head against Mike's shoulder with her eyes shut
"Yeah she is" Mike smiled "
Now go, before he wakes up" Arlo pushed him out the door
"You sure we can't persuade you to come with us?" Mike turned back to face him
"I know your Navy and that turning me in is the right thing but…"
"Don't stay with Maki there's no life there, you may think he's your friend but he's not"
"There isn't anything out there for me Mike, it's better if I just disappear" he smiled sadly
"You're a good bloke Arlo"
"Arnold Harrison" he corrected him
"Well Arnold if your ever in Cairns, come find us"
"Yeah I'll take you up on that Mike…"
"Flynn… and McGregor"
"Well next time we see each other I hope it's just Flynn" he smiled moving back into the shed
"Yeah me too…" Mike looked down at Kate who had a soft smile on her lips
"You're really just going to let him go?" she brushed her hand across his cheek
"Yeah I am" he kissed the tip of her nose before he began slowly following the path Arlo had pointed out.
...
"Charge?" Swain placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him
"What?" he whispered when they heard something through the tree's
"What is that?" he moved to kneel near the bush
"An animal maybe?" Charge followed suite
"Come on…" a voice sighed
"This is the Australian Navy come out with your hands up" Swain moved out from behind the bush
"Ah we no speak English" the voice joked
"Stop where you are your surrounded"
"Pfft yeah right" she laughed
"Is that?" Charge looked at Swain confused before Mike stepped forward with Kate in his arms
"You two okay?" Swain stepped forward when Mike carefully placed Kate down
"Aww yeah bit of too much action though" Kate held her side
"Lets get you back to the ship yeah" Charge looked at them confused
"Ah Swain you might want to check the X out she copped a few hit's to the abdomen" Mike kept his hand on her back
"What happened to you guys anyway?" Charge asked when Kate used Mike for support and lifted her shirt to reveal some hefty bruises along her side
"Looks like broken ribs" Swain felt along her abdomen Kate jumping every now and then at the touch
"We were taken" Mike screwed up his face at seeing Kate in pain
"Taken?" Charge questioned
"Yeah look can we discuss this later we just… we just want to get back to the ship" Kate hissed when Swain pulled her shirt back down
"You won't be doing anything extravagant for awhile X you've got two cracked ribs and some bruising" Swain stepped back
"Yeah I figured as much" Kate sighed when Mike shifted to lift her up again
"Where's 2Dads and Bomber?" Mike looked around when they began walking again
"Back on Hammersley, they packed up both camps so no need to worry about your stuff um…"
"Sir?" Charge looked at him confused when he walked down a separate bath
"What?"
"It's this way" Swain pointed
"There's a beach down this way we can get the RHIBS to meet us" Mike motioned
"How do you…"
"A friend" Kate smiled weakly
"Okay" Charge shook his head
"Hammersley this is Swain we've got the X and CO we're headed to the North side of the island" Swain called into the radio
"Good to hear Swaino, we'll get a RHIB too meet you there" Buffer's voice replied
"Mike what about…" Kate whispered
"It never happened, we'll send someone back to collect Maki" he looked down at her
"But…"
"Kate the guy helped us escape can you really see him locked up for something that he wasn't responsible for?"
"Everything okay?" Charge asked confused
"Fine" Kate nodded weakly as they continued to walk towards the beach.
Sitting in the Senior Sailor's Mess hours later at the computer Kate ran her hand through her hair hissing slightly at the pull of her ribs
thankfully it was just a few broken ribs and some bruising so Swain wrapped a bandage around the bruises and told her to be careful
"Navy DPNU's never felt so good" Mike walked in wearing his uniform
"Yeah" she laughed softly looking down at her own uniform
"Oh Charge found something that belongs to you" Mike held out her watch when he sat in the desk chair next to her
"My watch" she turned her chair around to face him
"The glass is a bit cracked but it…" he held onto it when she gripped it
"Mike?" she looked at him confused
"I just… I can't believe you kept it for all these years" he smiled letting it go
"Yeah well, it holds a special place in my heart" she placed it in her pocket,
Mike looking at her now bandaged wrists making him remember what they went through
"So they… They caught Maki he's in Auster and we've contacted the local police about the drugs" he cleared his throat
"That's great, and Arlo?" she turned her chair back to face the computer
"No where to be seen it's as if he didn't exist"
"Maybe he didn't" she shrugged
"What, you think I hallucinated the whole thing?"
"Possible, I mean what kind of person helps kidnap two Navy sailors just to help them escape?"
"A decent human being" he smirked
"I'm just saying, what if he was a figment of our imagination because we so badly wanted someone to find us"
"And was I hallucinating when Maki attacked you and dragged you towards the hut?" he huffed
"Ah no that was very much real I have the broken ribs and bruises to prove it"
"When you were in that shed… Kate I thought…" he cleared his throat
"Yeah… so did I" she turned off the computer.
"So the federal Police will be here in the morning until then it's just a matter of sitting tight" he moved to stand
"Even after everything we still aren't allowed to go back to port?" Kate questioned
"Afraid not, but there is a local island that only has about twenty people living on that Maxine has got permission for us to dock in"
"Don't really think I want to go back to any island anytime soon"
"Why don't you go get some sleep?" Mike leant against the desk
"I can't, I've got this report to finish" she pointed to the computer
"Kate… Go and get some sleep" he slowly pulled her up from the chair making sure to be careful of her ribs
"I'm not tired" she sighed
"Liar"
"I…" she stuttered when he brushed the loose hair behind her ear
"You don't need to be brave in front of me, what we went through it was… pretty traumatic" he rested his hand against her cheek
"I'm fine"
"Yeah and I'm Freddy Krueger" he teased
"Can we just… forget the past twenty-four hours" she looked up at him sadly
"Everything?" he questioned sadly
"Well I…"
"Ah Boss…" Swain's voice interrupted them
"Yep" he stepped back lowering his hand off Kate's face
"It's time for the X's next dose of pain medication" he cleared his throat
"Sure" he nodded when Kate slowly moved past him
he sighed sadly knowing she was struggling but he didn't know how to help her,
and wondering if she was beginning to regret their intimate time they'd spent before everything went pair shaped.
Sitting down on her rack Kate pulled her watch out of her pocket,
turning it over she ran her thumb across the inscription on the back shaking her head she placed it on her desk before she shifted to lay down her side pulling when she got comfortable,
staring at the door she could feel the tears starting to fill up in her eyes the adrenaline of the past 24 hours starting to wear off she was beginning to pray she'd never gone to that island
and for a split second she began to wish she's never gone with Mike Flynn…