Ch 47

Then she learned the Childer's date of return. She booked at flight minutes later; it wasn't much. But the night was better than nothing. That Friday night Mike was in his backyard sipping a beer and relaxing in the silence of his home when he heard a car stop outside of his driveway. Curiously, he walked to the front door and opened it to see who it was and found himself in shock when he spotted them.

"Kate," he whispered not quite believing his eyes. Kate straightened up pulling Emma's car seat with her.

"Surprise!" She grinned. Mike ran to her and kissed her.

"Here, take her in, and I will grab the bags and stroller," he walked around to grab the things the taxi driver had in his possession. "Thank you," Mike said

"You are welcome," the guy said smiling before he got back in his car and drove away.

Mike turned to see Kate had followed his instructions, picking everything up he walked inside closing the door behind him. He lowered the stroller and walked around trying to find Kate. He grinned, he walked to the place where he thought she would be and found her in Emma's room.

Kate turned around after placing Emma in her cot and saw Mike. He lowered a bag on Emma's dresser before walking to her pulling her tightly into his arms.

"I miss you," Kate said once he let her lips go.

"I miss you too, Kate. How long are you staying?"

"Until tomorrow."

"Have you had any dinner?"

"No, I haven't had a chance, you?"

"I was going to order some Chinese for dinner."

"Sounds good to me," Mike looked down at Emma

"She sure has grown"

"Yes, she has," they walked out of Emma's room closing the door behind them. Soon they were in the kitchen, and Mike was placing the take-out order as Kate prepared something to drink for both. He pulled her close when he finished.

"Kate? Are you alright? You've mentioned in your e-mail that was going to be seeing a Doctor," he asked worriedly, Kate looked at him.

"I've been experiencing some abdominal pains for a few days and went to have it check out."

"And?"

"I had some tests done last Wednesday. I got a cyst on both ovaries, and they picked something else too," tears started to form

"Kate, whatever it is, we can get through it together."

"I've seen Dr. Knight, my obstetrician, and he ran some tests." The tears started to fall, and Mike was worrying even more. "He said that I'd got something known as secondary infertility which means chances of getting pregnant again are...low."

"Oh, Kate" he pulled her into his arms as she started to cry.

"I'm so sorry Mike."

"Shh, you have nothing to be sorry for, Kate. We will get through this together," he pulled back cupping her face with his hands. "Is there anything he can do?"

"He's considering it, but he wants to do further tests after my treatments are done"

"Treatments?" Mike look confused

"For the cyst on my ovaries."

"Kate, whatever happens, you are not alone. Even if I'm not there, mum and Hannah can be there if you need someone to talk."

"Thanks, Mike" He kissed her tightening their embrace.

After they ate, they found themselves in the living room, and hours later, Mike stood up grabbing her by the hands and pulling her up. They walked upstairs holding hands.

"I love you, Kate." He said once they stopped inside their room. "No matter what happens in the future, I will always love you" he started to smile with a twinkle that Kate knew too well. "And I'm going to show you how much I love and miss you."

"Mike...I" He put his finger to her lips

"Trust me, Kate," then he moved his finger away and replaced it with his lips.

He showed her exactly that for the next couple of hours until she finally snuggled up to him with tired eyelids and pleasurable aching body. Mike looked down at Kate and kissed her forehead. She looked up at him

"Whatever happens, Kate, we have Emma."

"I know."

"And I know for a fact," he moved them both until he was on top again smiling

"Mike…"

"I'm ready if you are," Kate giggled

"Maybe," he bent down and kissed her. They made love slowly on more time before falling asleep in each other arms while smiling.

The next morning, Mike kissed Emma on her forehead before putting her in her car seat. He turned to Kate hugging and kissing her.

"Let me know what happens with the tests, Kate, no matter if it's good or bad."

"I will, Mike." They heard a car pull up outside and knew it was Kate taxi.

Mike carried their bags to the taxi, while Kate carried Emma car seat and stroller. While the man found a place for bags and stroller, Kate secured Emma's seat before closing the back door and walking around to the other side to find Mike.

"It's just a farewell, see you in two months," Mike said embracing her.

"I'm already looking forth to seeing you then, Mike, fair winds," Mike smiled as they kissed before Kate got into the taxi. Mike closed her door.

"Take care Kate."

"You too, Mike. Love you!"

"Love you too!" Mike watched as the taxi drove away until it was a dot on the horizon. Then he turned around to get his things sorted before his cab showed up to take him to the wharf.

Two days later, Kate went to the hospital during her lunch hour to see Dr. Knight for an ultrasound on her ovaries and some more blood tests.

"How do they look, Doctor?"

"Looks like the medication worked. The cysts are gone," Kate smiled

"That's a relief. What happens now?"

"Well, with these new blood tests I will know your chances. Just try not to get your hopes up."

"I understand."

"Good, I'll call you as soon as I get the results."

"Thank you."

"How is your daughter?" Kate smiled

"She is growing up fast; she loves fruits and custard baby food."

"How old is she now?"

"Five months."

"Oh, so soon she will be crawling and walking isn't that far away."

"I know. I hope that Mike can be around when she takes her first step, or when she says her first word."

"Any father would feel the same way."

"True, I'll better get going. I've got a class this afternoon," they shook hands

"I understand," Kate walked out of the Doctor's office and returned to Watson bay.

"Kate McGregor, hello?" She answered her phone as she managed to fish it out of her purse after parking on Watson Bay the following Monday.

"Kate? It's Dr. Knight. Do you think you can come sometime this morning?" She heard him as she grabbed her things from the car.

"Ah, I can make it during my lunch hour as I did on Monday if that works?"

"Sure, see you when you get here," he said, and she pushed the door closed with her hip.

"Thanks, Doctor." They hung the phone just as she entered the building.

At her lunch hour, Kate drove to the hospital. Dr. Knight was already waiting for her when she walked down to his office.

"Kate, come in."

"You got my blood test results?" she asked as he offered a chair in front of his desk.

"Yes, I have." He nodded. "The last time we talked, you and your husband were planning on having another child."

"Yes," she nodded, worried about the chance of not being able to have any more children.

"Your results indicate that you have a fifteen percent chance of conceiving." Her eyes widened.

"Don't worry too much, Kate. Remember when we talked about fertility treatments?" she nodded.

"I will recommend you undergo a fertility treatment for six months. If nothing happens, then you can always try with IVF."

"If you recommend it then I will give that a try," He smiled

"Good," he did some typing on his computer before printing a document and, after signing it, he gave it to Kate. "Here this is for Clomiphene citrate. It's for two months when you are almost finished call me, and I'll give you another one. So, yes, you and your husband can still keep on trying," Kate smile a little trying not to blush

"Thank you, Doctor," Kate said as she took it.

"Good luck."

Five weeks later when Kate pushed the stroller through the door of her home, she saw him standing on the other side.

"Surprise!"

"Mike!" Kate said smiling as he walked over to her and hugged and kissed her in their now trademark welcoming ceremony.

"I miss you," he said

"I miss you more," then Emma made a noise. Mike picked Emma up and kissed her on her forehead.

"I miss you, sweetie," he said, holding her in his arms and inhaling her scent of baby.

"It's not like I'm not happy, but I thought you got another week on patrol."

"We did. The engines didn't agree, they cease up, and we had to be towed back. We got an extra week off while the boat is in dry dock."

"Really?"

"Yep. So how about you get changed, and I'll take my two favorite girls out for dinner?" Kate grinned and kissed him.

"Sounds wonderful. Give me a few minutes, you can change Emma's diaper while you are at it," Kate said walking to their bedroom. Mike chuckled, taking Emma to get her changed. An hour later, the trio was at a restaurant with Emma on a high chair. Mike was feeding Emma in between his meal and talking to Kate.

"Emma loves fruits and custard," Mike said

"Yeah. So how has been your patrol?"

"Good, normal … maydays and FFVs."

"That's good, it keeps it busy, and the crew?"

"Good, they are planning on going to the pub tonight."

"Ah, so you decided to come here."

"Yes. Did you get your results back?" She nodded and blushed.

"I didn't want to tell you through e-mail," she grimaced.

"I understand. Good thing I'm here now, right?"

"Right. Dr. Knight said I got fifteen percent chance of conceiving"

"Well, that's fifteen percent better than we thought, right? What about treatment?"

"Fertility treatments. Yes, I'm on them, and he did say we can keep trying," Mike grinned

"Oh, I'm good at trying. And we have two weeks. But with fertility treatments don't we need to know when the time is right?" Kate smiled

"Yes, I do, and since your here for two weeks, all I can say is good timing, sailor."

"Really? Alright, I'm in for trying," he wriggled his eyebrows. "If it doesn't work, we can always try some more."

"You are incorrigible," she smiled. "Doctor said, we should try for at least six months. If nothing, then we could try IVF."

"Well, we might have six months, Kate. But with patrols …"

"I know," They turned to Emma who was making a noise which made them smile

"Ok, ok, here we go," Mike said as he feed Emma.

Two hours later, Emma was asleep in her cot and Mike and Kate were in bed making love, slowly relearning each other after seven weeks apart. Over the two weeks, Mike spend time with his parents helping them out while Emma was in daycare and Kate teaching at Watson Bay. During early mornings and nights, they made love as many times as they could fit into their schedules. After the two weeks were up, Kate drove Mike to the airport on a bittersweet Sunday afternoon.

He kissed Emma forehead and gave Kate a tight hug and a last kiss before she entered the car again, and Mike walked to the terminal. She watched him until she couldn't see him, then she returned to her condo. She knew it would be a month before she could see him again.

Two weeks later, Kate noticed her period was five days late. She didn't want to get her hopes up especially because growing up her periods were rarely normal. She wondered if she would need a new treatment to correct her cycle. In any case, she decided to wait for a week to give it time to come before she took a pregnancy test.

A few nights later, her stomach was cramping, but like many other women around the globe, she was used to them and knew how to calm them. The next morning, Kate was in the shower crying, she noticed that she had started a light period.

She cried because she wasn't pregnant and because she didn't know how she was going to tell Mike that they failed. It was news she didn't want to give him. But the bleeding stopped by noon. Still, she picked everything she needed just in case it started again.