HAMMERSLEY

30mins later

"Where's Kate." Mike asks when he sees she isn't in the Wardroom, totally forgetting about Gary and Barb, he is more concerned for her right now. He needs to see her with his own eyes, to make sure she is still alive, still breathing as he knows she was struggling, when Dutchy took her out of his arms.

"She's in the CO's cabin, he said to put her in there, we are on our way to meet Melbourne." Swain says to him, he can see just how worried he is about her.

"How bad is she Swain?"

"Stable but bad, Dutchy is sitting with her monitoring her vitals. I would have her here, but once you see her you will understand why she is in there." He replies back to Mike with. Mike heads off to see Kate.

"Hey Mike." Swain says after poking his head out the wardroom door.

"Yea."

"Gary is stable for now, someone is watching over him, Barb is in the junior mess and Kate, she is on a shit load of morphine right now, and when her fluids run out she needs more." Swain not caring about being proper with Mike right now, their night hasn't gone as planned at all, and he is still in shock with what he saw at the house in regards to the SAS teams, Mike just nods his head.

Mike decides to quickly go check on Barb, before going to see Kate.

"Barb you okay?" He asks as he sits down beside her.

"I honestly do not know, I'm lost. Thank you for getting someone to help Gary, I know he is badly injured may not make it, but thank you, I thought he was going to be left to die." The two sit there allowing the words to sink in they both know things could be very different not just for Barb and Gary, but also for Mike and Kate, and Mike more so that the Army guys where being outrightly pigheaded over it all.

"How is Kate, no one will tell me anything?" she looks at Mike and sees just how pale he is, and worried.

"She isn't doing so well, stable but critical. You got off bloody lucky?"

"Yea Gary covered my body when the shooting all started." To mike this explains why she isn't injured at all. Gary is a big guy and could easily cover her little body.

"I'm going to go see Kate, do you need anything?" he asks her. She just shakes her head.

"Barb, remember Kate and I are always here for you no matter what happens." Mike says to her, he feels so bad right now, he knows it wasn't him who was prepared to leave them for dead, but he feels it's his fault they are now in this situation, because it was his idea to get close to Gary again after everything.

Mike enters what used to be his cabin and see's Kate half undressed, he can see why Swain has her in here, at least she can have some privacy when she is basically undressed bandages everywhere. And not having to lay like she is with men all around her, men she doesn't know. He is pleased Swain has given her some dignity at a time like this.

"Bloody hell, how many bullets did she take?" he says knowing that no one will have any answers for him but he can't but wonder how many she took, as she has so many bandages on her.

"Some of them are just grazers from flying bullets, I say, she does have several bullet wounds though, Bird did most of this with guidance from Swain." Comes from Dutchy, who is sitting at the desk watching Kate. He silently leaves the cabin, giving the two some privacy.

"Dutchy do you know where Kate is and how she is doing?" Jim asks him when he sees him. Hoping to find Kate to explain his actions, and ask her to rethink leaving him, to rethink the proposal. He still doesn't believe what he heard out in the field tonight.

"Jim, your actions out in the field with your team, was poor. You do realise those actions that you guys took out there could still lead to her death." Dutchy says to him, making sure Jim knows that he knows what his team did out there.

"Dutchy, Kate and Mike are not who you think they are." he says to him, trying to get the message across that those two are part of the cell they have been after. He loves Kate though and is hopeful to get her away from it all, he will do anything to save her from Mike and what is about to happen, well what he thinks is about to happen.

"Jim, I would watch what you say about those two, there is far more than you know going on."

"I think you're wrong there Dutchy, you're just seeing Princess Perfect and the Mighty Mike Flynn who can't do no wrong."

"Think what you like Jim, I know what is going on." He says before walking off. He stops and turns around. "Jim, we rendezvous with Melbourne in 40mins, and also just so you know Kate is in a critical condition she may still die and if she does, I will make sure everyone knows about what you did out there tonight."

"It's a classified mission you can't say a word." Jim replies back with a bit more tone in his voice hoping that Dutchy will drop it. And he also thinks saying this will give him the upper hand.

"That is what you think Jim, as I said I know far more than you do, but then again my classification ranking is much higher than yours, I will be heard." He replies back before turning away from Jim and walking off, hoping like hell that Kate makes it, not just for Mike but everyone on Hammersley, they've been through some shit over the last few years and he would love a holiday right now.

In the CO's Cabin

"Hey sweetie." Mike says when he notices her opening her eyes, his scent in the cabin made her more aware of him, and she wanted to open them just to make sure he was really there and she wasn't dreaming about it.

"You're hurt." she weakly says to him. She tries to lift her arm up but she has no energy at all

"Yea, Swain will check me over once he has finished with the more important people. How are you feeling?" Kate understands that he means the more seriously wounded.

"Like I've been shot. It's bad isn't it?" Kate asks him, hoping he will be honest with her when Swain wouldn't and just drugged her up.

"Yea it is honey."

"I'm sorry." She says to him. Tears falling down her face.

"Nothing to be sorry for it wasn't your fault that this happened." he says as he gently caresses her face, with his right hand, his left holding her hand.

"Once you're on Melbourne you'll be fine, they'll be able to sort you out and fix you up."

"That is if I make it." She knows it's bad, she knows her life is hanging in the balance.

"Please don't talk like that, you will make it. We have plans, remember? to buy a new home, a big new home, to have a family, to grow old together. You can't bail on me now." He says, his voice catching at the end. He isn't ready to lose her yet. To say goodbye. He leans down and lays a gentle kiss on her lips, so much being said in that kiss to each other.

"How's Gary and Barb?" she asks. She needs to change the subject right now before she really starts to cry and cause herself more pain.

"Barb has come away without a scratch thanks to Gary, sadly Swain isn't sure he will make it and if he does there will be long term damage done."

"I can't believe those army guys were going to leave us to die." Comes from Kate. She may have been in pain a shit load of it but she remembers what they were not prepared to do and that was to help them.

"Mike somethings not right with what happened tonight, I know I'm drugged up but in my gut as sore as it bloody well is, it's telling me something isn't right. Watch your back."

"I couldn't agree more Kate, and don't you worry I will figure it out and get to the bottom of it.

"Thanks for not letting them touch me, I just wish I was your wife." She says back to him.

"You are my wife, always will be, we both know we don't need a bit of paper to tell us those facts, and if I ask Steve I bet he could have that bit of paper done in an hour." He says that to her. He knows she needs to hear this right now more than anything. Needs to know he wants her as his wife no matter what.

"Then do it please." she says to him, he gets what she means by it. And before they can say anything else, Swain walks in with another bag of fluids, and some blood for her and stuff to deal with Mike's wounds, Mike allows him to deal with his wounds.

"This blood will be of major help to her along with these fluids. Fleet Medical said to put it in, to give her more chance for clotting, she has lost a lot of blood out there, but it looks like the bleeding has slowed down since we got her on board. The fact she isn't moving around is the biggest help right now. Now how are you?" Swain asks him as he starts to attend to his wounds.

"I am shattered to be honest Swain, and I'm worried about her."

"I'm doing everything I can for all of you guys injured right now, once she is on Melbourne she will be in excellent hands and I am sure she will make it through."

They all sit in silence, well Kate lies of course, as Swain works on Mike checking him over fully, and dressing his wounds.

"Ok Sir, I think you will be fine to stay on board, but once back at Base you will need to go to the hospital. You have a few wounds that are suspect, if you feel light headed, dizzy, sick or anything abnormal you need to get me ASAP, and please take these it's only panadol but you will start to feel the pain more once all the adrenaline wears off, if it's not enough let me know and I can give you something stronger." He says and he just nods his head at him. Swain knows how much Mike is not a fan of strong painkillers, but will take them when he really has too.

"Thanks for being there, Swain."

"It's my job."

"No you did more than your job tonight Swain. Is Gary still alive?"

"yes he is and honestly I have no idea how he is still alive, he has a guardian angel watching over him. Barb has been given a sleeping pill and gone to bed."

"What a mess." he says out loud thinking of everything that has happened over the last 12hrs.

"It sure is, by the way in my report I will be asking for a full investigation to be done into the actions of the SAS team tonight, when we got to you lot, they were all standing around watching and not helping."

"I know they refused to help Gary, and I refused to allow them to touch Kate." He says as he looks at Kate, who is moaning out in pain.

"She is doing alot better, she is going to be in some pain until she gets transferred then they will be able to get on top of it alot better than me."

"It's not easy to sit and watch her like this." Mike says it's hurting him not being able to help her and take away her pain.

"It never is watching the one you love in pain. I know you are both working under SIS right now, but what the SAS did I do not care how bloody classified this mission you are on is, what they did was no is inhumane."

"I agree with you Swain, I know Gary is our target, the one we are after but he still did not deserve to be treated like he did, but by doing what you have done Swain helps us with that side of it all, he knows we have been working for the Navy so to help us like that and ignore the SAS shows you guys are loyal to us, you've helped to protect Kate and I without even knowing it." Mike says to him, Mike knows what Swain, Dutchy and the rest of Hammersley has done for Gary as well as Barb, will always keep them in those peoples good books, it has protected two highly ranked officers.

"Once the transfer is done I'll contact Steve and inform him of tonight's events, including what you want done as well. Kate thinks this is not over with yet."

"I think she is right in saying that Sir."

Not long later the transfer is being done of the most seriously wounded and injured to Melbourne. Jim watches on, with the sun rising in the sky now, and the lights on board Hammersley making her fully lit up like a Christmas Tree, he sees a couple of his men being transferred, as well as their target, then it's Kate's turn to be moved and transferred over. He witnesses Mike giving her one last kiss before they lower the RHIB down into the water, then he sees the whole Crew of Hammersley Salute her as she leaves the boat.

He isn't sure why the rest of them weren't allowed to transfer over, he was informed by his superior that they had to stay on board, but he does know they are heading back to base. He walks the corridors of Hammersley and overhears Mike asking RO to patch a call through to Captain Marshall, what bugs him is he asks for the secured coded line to be used.