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but i was sure (we could see a new start)

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The brief knock on her door surprises Kate. She's just barely woken up herself, and is desperately waiting for her coffee machine to kick in. Looking down at her pyjamas, she shrugs. If they're at her door before 8AM, they can deal with her in sleep pants.

"Dutchy?"

"Uh, hey X," he says, a sheepish smile on his face. He holds up a paper bag and a disposable drink tray. "I brought breakfast? And coffee?" He says it as a question, and bemused, she moves aside to let him in.

"Thanks, I guess?" She pulls a coffee from the tray and takes a tentative sip. "Uh, what are you doing here, Dutchy?" She leads him into the kitchen, and watches as he pulls out several bagels and trimmings, before she pulls out a couple of plates.

"Having breakfast?"

"Dutchy."

He shifts, looking uncomfortable. "I just wanted to say thank you," he starts. "For letting me crash here that night, and everything else."

"You didn't have to do this, and you don't have to thank me," she says, surprised. "But you're welcome."

"RO said you talked the boss out of a captain's table."

"Yeah." She starts putting together a bagel, eyeing the amount of food. "Dutchy, there's a lot – "

"Why?" He interrupts, leaning against the counter. "Why talk him out of it? You and I both know that I disobeyed orders."

"Well, I didn't think that it was the right move," she starts, trying to articulate what had pretty much been a gut reaction. When Mike had brought it up, she'd immediately known that it wasn't the right thing to do – but trying to explain why, was an entirely different matter.

"X, RO said that you basically took the blame for us following that truck."

Kate rolls her eyes. "Sounds like I need a talk with RO," she mutters. "Dutchy, it was my call to follow the truck. I agreed to let you go on the Mercure, and everything that happened from there is on me as much as it is on you."

"But -"

"Let it go, Dutchy," she says. "Are you going to eat something, or not?" She gestures to the spread on the counter, changing the subject. Dutchy looks at her for a long moment, before he nods, and moves to the food.

They sit in silence for a while, eating, and Kate marvels at it, because as awkward as this situation should be, it isn't. She's comfortable here, sitting at her kitchen counter, eating in silence with him.

"Hey, X, can I ask you something?" He's helped her clean up the counter, and now they're sitting down again with fresh cups of coffee.

Kate looks at him, sipping from her cup, and nods slowly.

"Back on that pontoon – you were adamant that you couldn't swim that far," he shifts, looking uncomfortable. "It was a couple of miles, X."

She raises an eyebrow, waiting for the question. When it doesn't look like he's going to continue, she sighs, a little embarrassed. "There's not really a lot of time on patrol boats for swimming, Dutchy. And well, it's been a while. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep up the whole way," and wasn't that something she'd hated admitting. She knows her limits though.

"Oh." He shifts again, opens his mouth and then closes it again.

"Dutchy?"

"I could help you out with that?" He blurts, and it takes her a second to parse his rushed words. She blinks, taken aback. "Not today, I've probably intruded enough, but if you want, I could help you out."

"With swimming?" She's a little flummoxed, and she's pretty sure it shows on her face, because his face falls.

"Not in a bad way – just, you know, if you ever want some company while you're working out…" He winces, and it's strangely fascinating to see him so flustered. He's usually so put together, and the only other time she's seen him like this is when they were browsing the markets together.

He seems to steel himself, taking a deep breath. "Also, and don't take this the wrong way, please,"

"Dutchy, that's almost guaranteed that I'm going to take it the wrong way."

"X – I just," he pauses, "you asked me to trust you. Knowing that you can take care of yourself is one thing, but seeing it is another."

She frowns, incredulous. He couldn't be serious?

"This is me trying," he adds, heading off her angry tirade. "Please."

She stares at him for a long moment, taking in the expression on his face. He looks sincere, and strangely, it doesn't feel like he's disparaging her abilities, even though that's absolutely what it sounds like. Slowly, she nods. "Okay."

His face brightens, the tense lines of his shoulders relaxing. "Thank you," he says.

"I'm not promising anything," she warns. They get precious little shore leave at home, without being crash-sailed, anyway. She's not sure she wants to spend it working out with her buffer.

He nods, seeming to understand that that's all she's willing to give. "Anyway, I'll leave you to your day, yeah."

He hastily downs his coffee, before he pulls himself together and stands up. "Thanks again for breakfast," she offers, walking him to the door. He turns around once outside, and smiles briefly, before walking to his car. She takes a moment to admire the convertible again, then turns and closes the door behind her, shaking her head in bemusement.

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Three hours later, she's swearing under her breath as she hastily readies her sea bag. She's not sure if she'd jinxed it, but they've been crash-sailed, again.

She breezes through port security, hitching her bag higher on her shoulder, before walking towards the Hammersley, catching up with Bird, who seemed to be waiting ahead.

"Morning ma'am," Bird offers her a sunny smile.

"Hey Bird," Kate looks around. "Not heading up to the ship yet?"

"Just waiting for Bomber, ma'am," the younger woman looks worried. "Is that okay?"

Kate laughs, "that's fine Bird, just be on the ship before we muster out, yeah?" Shaking her head, she continues to the Hammersley, a smile still on her face. "Sir."

"Good morning X," Mike says, a smile on his face.

"So what happened this time?" She asks as they head onto the ship.

"The Wollongong is down for repairs again."

"Seriously?" She sighed. How did they always draw the short straw? "How long are we out for?"

"Long enough," is all he says before he leaves her at her cabin. She watches him walk away silently, a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She shakes the feeling off, and enters her cabin, storing away her bag, before heading up to the bridge. Turning into the next passageway, she stops short. "Oh, hey Dutchy."

"Hey X." He's slung his bag over his shoulder, and seems to take up the whole passage. "Oh, sorry," he seems to realize that he's in her way, and moves aside, leaving room for her to walk past.

She brushes past him, trying to ignore the heat radiating from his body. Her stomach flips, and she ignores that too, leaving him behind as she continues walking.

:::

She supposes this boarding will be either their making or undoing. She's not sure what she'll do if he's still an overprotective idiot, even if she sort of understands the reason behind it.

"2Dads, Bomber, check the wheelhouse, Swain, clear the upper decks, Dutchy, you're with me," she orders as the RHIB powers closer to the FFV. "Let's go," she calls as they clamber onto the FFV.

She's surprised when the boarding goes successfully, and Dutchy seems to have taken her words to heart, backing her up, but still giving her the space she needs to do her job.

He seems to pick up on her surprise. "I said I'd make an effort, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." She looks at him with fresh eyes, reassessing, and thinks that they could actually make this work.

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please let me know what you think, I really do appreciate the reviews.