Mike was waiting on the docks as HMAS Melbourne pulled into the Cairns port and they wheeled Kate out on a stretcher
"Kate!" he yelled as he ran over to her as the Ambulance stopped the bed
"She's still unconscious but we managed to stop the bleeding from her punctured lung but she needs immediate surgery" he said as Mikes eyes widened
"Is that even safe in her condition?" he asked confused grabbing her hand
"Condition?" the Ambulance driver asked
"She's Pregnant they didn't tell you that?" he said looking down at her dog tags with the ring on it
"This complicates things" he said softly
"Let's get her to the hospital" the other officer said as Mike let go of her hand
"Wait!" he called running back next to the bed as he pulled her necklace off and whispered in her ear
"For safe keeping" he replied kissing her head as the wheeled her into the Ambulance
"I'll meet you at the hospital" he said as the officer nodded before getting in the driver's side as the Ambulance drove off sirens blaring.
4 hours later Mike was sitting next to her bed hand interlocked with hers as his head rested against it "Kate…" he said softly as a tear fell against her hand he felt a twitch as a hand brushed through his hair
"Kate?" he asked shifting quickly as he turned to look at her
"Where am I?" she asked softly as she went to pull the oxygen mask off
"That needs to stay on" he said reaching up as he pulled it back over her nose and mouth
"What happened?" she asked looking down noting the bandage on her chest where a tube was sticking out connected to a machine
"You broke a rib, and it perforated your lung everything's fine but…"
"But…" she asked confused
"You need to be on immediate leave possibly six weeks" he replied looking down at her
"Six weeks?" she managed to get out as she hissed at the movement
"Careful" he said moving to sit on the bed next to her
"That's one more month I miss out on being on Hammersley" she said softly
"Kate your health comes first" he replied getting angry that all she cared about Hammersley
"The baby! Our baby" she asked realising
"He's fine, doing well" Mike said placing a hand on hers
"He?" she asked confused
"It's a boy Kate…"
"We're having a little boy?" she asked as she began to tear up as he nodded
"Kate good to see your awake" a man answered as he entered the room Mike moved off the bed
"I'm Dr Garg, how are you feeling?" he asked grabbing her chart at the end of the bed.
"Sore…" Kate said through the mask
"I'll get the nurse to give you something for the pain, am I right in saying your 3 months Pregnant?" he asked looking through her chart
"Yes" Mike answered as Kate hissed as she tried to sit up
"I'll make sure to give you something that won't affect it, when we were operating we noticed some rather interesting burns on your stomach"
"I spilt my hot drink on me at Sea" she said softly
"Well we cleaned it up a bit and put a dressing over it as it started to blister is a few places" he said as he placed the chart down and moved next to the bed
"How long until I can go home?" Kate asked holding her chest feeling the tube
"A few days once we make sure the swelling goes down, your rib punctured a hole in your right lung we managed to lessen the pressure from your rib by carefully pulling it back and placing dissolvable stiches over the hole which will disintegrate as your lung heals we also had to re-expand your lung due to it collapsing during surgery" he said as she looked at him surprised
"And what about the tube?" Mike asked as Kate swallowed softly
"The chest tube is there to make sure your lung can let the excess air escape and not collapse again, it needs to stay in for at least a few days" he said as Kate nodded.
"Can I have a drink?" she asked smacking her dry lips together
"Sure, while you do that do you mind if I have a look at your wounds and blisters?" he asked as Mike poured Kate a glass of water as she nodded Dr Garg pulled the blanket back
"Can you lift your gown up for me?" he asked so he could see her burns on her stomach clearly through the clear covered bandage
"Seems to be doing good, you can pull that down I'll give you some cream and bandages to apply twice a day but keep the bandages off every now just to air it out" he said as she pulled her gown down as he examined the tube
"How long does she need to be resting for?" Mike asked as he took the cup from Kate who had finished
"I'd say about 8 weeks, 2 for the lung and tube removal and 6 for the broken rib" he said moving back as he finished
"I work on a Patrol boat how am I supposed to rest and recover?" she said through the mask
"You'll need to take some time Kate, if you push yourself you won't heal properly how's the breathing?" he asked
"Fine…" she replied
"I'll get the nurse to change to a nasal cannula in so you're still getting a bit of oxygen, I won't be long" he said nodding
"Thank you doctor" Mike said as he left the room Kate looked at him sadly as she whimpered
"8 weeks...",
"Kate, you need time to heal" he said sitting in the chair next to her as he reached for her hand
"What about Hammersley? I'm the CO I can't just take time off" she asked as he squeezed her hand
"We'll work it out, until then rest" he said sternly as she nodded.
"Bird, when did Hammersley arrive back?" Mike asked as he made his way down the hall from the elevator
"An hour ago, we had some drama with the engines" she replied turning to face him
"Are you going in?" he asked confused as she watched Kate through the doorway
"I don't want to bother her" she said softly
"She sent me out to get chocolate I think she'd enjoy having visitors" he said grinning
"Um… how is she?" Bird asked sadly
"Tired, frustrated, sore, just to name a few" he said smirking
"I know she'd love to see you" he said continuing as the young girl nodded and they made their way into the room.
"Bird!" Kate said shifting from her lying down position as the young girl made her way over
"How are you feeling Ma'am?" she asked sadly
"Please its Kate, and I'm fine" she said smiling softly
"You say that a lot for someone who is either hurting or in pain" Bird said smirking as Mike nodded with a grin
"Oi you! Where's my chocolate?" Kate asked him as she spotted him grinning
"Milk not Dark" he said placing two chocolate bars from behind his back on the small table next to her bed
"You know me all too well Flynn" she said grinning as she reached for one of the bars
"I try" he said winking at her as Bird smiled
"Sit don't hover" Kate said as she pulled Bird down to sit on the end of the bed.
"How long are you on bed rest for?" Bird asked sadly as Kate split the chocolate in half and passed her some
"8 miserable weeks" she said sadly as Mike cleared his throat
"Kate here needs to rest and give her broken rib and lung time to heal" he said in a stern voice
"You're not happy about it?" Bird asked taking a bite out of the chocolate Kate handed her
"I can only stay on Hammersley until I'm 8 months Pregnant I wanted to spend as much time on her before I'd have to leave" she said sadly as they heard footsteps come to a stop and quickly turn away
"I'll go" Mike said seeing a familiar head of hair walk past the window
"You'll be coming back to Hammersley once you've finished your Maternity leave though right?" Bird asked sadly as Mike left the room
"You won't get rid of me that easily, Mike will just have to look after bubs when I'm at Sea" she said smiling
"So the new XO arrived when we got back in port" Bird said smiling
"Oh anyone we know?" she asked hopeful
"Um apparently she knows you" Bird replied grinning as Kate looked at her confused.
Back out the front of the hospital Mike finally caught up with the familiar man who was standing out of Kate's room
"Dutchy!" he called out as he stopped
"Sir, I didn't see you" Dutchy said confused as Mike made his way over
"Are you not going to see Kate?" he asked confused as he looked at the bouquet of flowers in his hand
"Ah no, I'll just see her another time" he replied nervously
"Are you okay?" he asked confused
"Yeah um how is she?" he asked sadly
"She's Kate, you know doesn't really show much of her true feelings" he said grinning a little
"Yeah…"
"Do you want me to tell her you stopped by?" he asked
"No, it's fine I'll just message her later" he replied
"Dutchy what's going on?" Mike asked crossing his arms
"Nothing…" he answered quickly
"Wait…" Mike said realising what was happening
"You're in love with Kate aren't you?" he asked confused
"Mike I…"
"Dutchy just be honest with me" he said sadly
"Yes… I'm in love with Kate I was…"
"Were you going to tell her just now?" he asked
"Of course not! I was just really worried and wanted to make sure she was doing okay" he said softly
"I'm sorry I never meant for it to happen it just…"
"I get it Dutchy, honestly I'm not mad but you've got to understand Kate and I are getting married" he said as Dutchy sighed
"I know and I'm happy for you both just tell Kate I said best wishes yeah…" he said softly
"I'm not going to hold this against you Dutchy, just come see her she'd love to see you" he said hopeful
"I can't, give her these for me I've got to go" he said passing Mike the flowers as he turned making a quick exit
"Dutchy!" Mike called out to him as he kept walking away.
Kate and Bird were giggling away as Mike made his way back into her room 5 minutes later as she smiled "You got me flowers?" she asked confused looking at the bouquet in his arms
"Ah no there from Dutchy" he said placing them down on the end of the bed
"Why isn't he delivering them himself?" she asked confused
"He had to leave something about an internet date" Mike said not sure what to say
"Typical Dutchy always finding some poor woman to seduce" Kate said grinning as Mike nodded
"You okay?" she asked confused
"Yeah fine" he said smiling at her
"I best be off" Bird said as Kate pulled her into a careful hug
"Thanks for the visit" Kate said rubbing her back in comfort
"Anytime, I'll catch you around Sir" Bird said moving off the bed
"Its Mike" he said grinning at her
"Right sorry" she said smirking as she waved a final goodbye as she left.
It had just turned 8pm when Mike began dozing off in the chair next to her bed as he held her hand reaching for the remote Kate flicked off the T.V he sat up in the chair
"I'm awake" he said quickly as she laughed
"Why don't you go home; I'll be fine" she said reaching to brush her hair through his hair
"I'll be right" he said softly resting his head against the back of the chair
"Go home one of us should get to sleep in a comfortable bed" she said as he turned to look at her
"I don't want to leave you" he said softly
"I'll be fine, I'm in hospital the best place to be beside visiting hours will be over in an hour" she said running her hand along his cheek as she brushed her thumb across his lips
"Are you okay, you've rather quite since Bird left" she said softly
"Yeah just exhausted I guess" he replied grabbing her hand as he kissed it
"Then go home" she said again as he nodded
"Fine, I'll come back in the morning" he said moving out of the chair as he sat on the bed next to her
"I'll be here" she said smiling softly
"I love you, you know that" he said reaching up to brush a piece of hair behind her ear
"You tell me often enough" she said grinning
"I know but I really mean it Kate you have no idea how much I feared the worst today" he said sadly
"Hey" she said reaching a hand to his cheek
"I'm fine, I'll be fine" she continued as he moved forward placing a longing kiss against her lips
"I love you…" he said pulling away as he kissed her again
"I love you too, now go home" she said stroking his cheek as he moved off the bed grabbing his jacket from the chair as he winked at her before moving towards the door,
as he looked back watching her lay down as she hissed a little in pain he smiled sadly as he walked down the corridor as he started thinking over what Dutchy had told him and began wondering how long he'd felt that way about Kate his friend, co-worker and Boss.