Ch 102
The next day was valentine's day. Nav and Kate were asleep when the door was opened, and the lights were turned on.
"Wakey, wakey," someone called, and Nav opened her eyes only bust out laughing. Kate rolled onto her side and laughed as well.
On their door way was Buffer wearing a red dress, a blond wig and a tiara. And he was holding two roses. The moment he found them awake he took a step inside and gave them the roses and paced a kiss on their cheeks.
"Breakfast will be ready for you, ladies, in the officer's mess in fifteen minutes," he said before he walked away. Nav leaned over the edge of the bunk and looked down at Kate.
"You don't think the boss has something to do with it?"
"Yes, and I guess he would have had help."
"I wonder who's cooking breakfast?"
"There's only one way to find out," Kate grinned.
Once they were ready, they walked to the officer's mess hall only to find out that the table was set for six. The looked at each other because that was the amount women who were on board.
"I wonder what's the plan," Kate said as they entered the room.
"Morning X, Nav, any idea of why are we here?" Bomber asked when they joined them.
"Breakfast?" Nav said dubiously.
"I think I know the reason," Kate said making all the other turn around towards her. "The boss asked the crew to help because they noticed we weren't happy with the cancellation of the shore leave."
"Yeah, but why today?" one of the women asked, Kate, grinned.
"It's Valentine's day," Kate provided.
"So, they are going to try to cheer us up."
"Yes," Kate said. And then, the door was opened, and they turned to see Buffer carrying in two plates.
"Breakfast is ready if you don't mind sitting down ladies," he said.
Buffer walked around lowering the plates. Then, Kate looked up and busted laughing. Mike was wearing a cupid outfit. Nav wolf whistled him when she saw what he was wearing while the others laughed. Kate and Nav took their phones out and took photos of the man when Charge, wearing a white knee length dress, sandals, red hair wigs and leaves of wreath on his head joined them to serve them breakfast.
"I can't believe the boss would dress up like that," Bomber said giggling once the men left.
"Same here," Kate said. "But for now, let's enjoy our breakfast, ladies," Kate said.
On their plates, there were heart shaped pancakes with butter and maple syrup and chocolate covered strawberries. There were also plastic flute glasses with bubbled drinks in them. "Cheers," Kate said raising hers.
"Cheers!" they said clicking their glasses before they took a sip to realize that it was sparkling grape juice. They talked and laughed for the next hour until Buffer and Charge returned to take their plates away and refill their drinks.
"I wonder what they are going to bring us next?"
"Who knows?" Nav said.
A minute later, Mike, Charge, and Buffer returned with some more plates.
This time, it was an omelet with bacon, peppers, and grated cheese.
"Whoa, this is some breakfast," Nav said
"Yeah, it sure is. I will have to skip lunch." Kate said
"Same here," Bomber said rubbing her stomach. They talked until Buffer returned. "I hope you ladies have enjoyed your breakfast."
"Yes, Buffer. It was awesome, thanks," Kate said before the others agreed.
"Good, ladies! You may return to your cabin before starting your duties,"
they looked at each other before walking out of the room. On their room, Kate found a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a spa package.
"Wow," Kate said picking it up. Nav looked on her bed and pulled hers off the bed.
"
I got the same!"
"Well, did it cheer you up, Nav?"
"Yes, it did. I think we needed it."
"Well, I'll meet you up on the bridge," Kate said putting her gift away and walked up to the bridge.
"Happy valentine's day, Kate," Mike said from the Captain's chair when he noticed her standing next to him.
"Happy valentine's Mike. Thank you for the breakfast and the gifts," She smiled.
"Did it cheer the others?"
"Yes, it did. It was exactly what we needed, thank you."
"You are welcome."
"So, how did you get the outfits, drinks, and gifts?"
"Well, I called Hannah," he grinned.
Later that night Hannah was checking her e-mail when she saw one from Kate.
"Hannah! Thank you for helping Mike to cheer the women of the Hammersley. We all loved the outfits and the experience. I'm attaching some photos and footages from earlier. You might want to show it to mum and dad. See you in two weeks, Kate." Hannah read out loud and then Brad asked to see the pictures.
"So that's what you got for them?" Brad said once he managed to control his laugh. "Send it to me?"
"Why?"
"Trust me." Hannah forwarded it to Brad and her parents. While she was checking other emails, she received one from Brad with the subject "I'm too sexy." She downloaded the attachment and laughed as the different clips were attached under the 'I'm too sexy' song.
"I love it! I'm going to send it to Kate."
Two days later, Bomber was walking past the computer room, and she heard laughter. She opened the room slightly only to find Kate laughing.
"X?" Kate paused the video.
"Hey Bomber, come in."
"Is that from the other morning?" She asked when she noticed the image on the monitor.
"Yeah. Mike's brother in law made a music video out of the video footage I sent to Hannah," Kate grinned.
"Can I watch it?"
"Sure," Nav passed by the opened door, so Kate called her.
"X. Bomber? What do you need me for?"
"To get a laugh," Kate turned around and played it from the beginning. They were all laughing hard when it finished. Once she could get herself under control, she forwarded it to Mike, Buffer, Charge, and other women.
"I don't think the Kingston crew could beat that, X," Nav giggled.
"No, I think they won't either, Nav."
"Hey! I just had a crazy idea for tomorrow morning wake up song," Bomber grinned.
"I'm too sexy!" The three said at once.
Later, Buffer walked into the bridge to find Kate on the Captain's chair.
"X! I saw your email." Kate saw Nav trying not to laugh. Buffer shook his head before he walked towards Charge and whispered something to him before Charge left the bridge in a hurry. Nav couldn't hold it any longer and burst on a laugh.
"Nav, are you ok?" Spider asked.
"Yes, I am," she said unable to stop laughing when Mike entered the bridge.
"You got my message?" Kate asked when Mike shook his head understanding the reason behind Nav laugh.
"Yes, I did." He rolled his eyes. "Who made it?"
"That you will have to check with Hannah."
"So, it was Brad," Mike shook his head.
"Mayday! Mayday!" their conversation was broken by the radio. "This is the Sexy Beast!" The women laughed just as RO started to return the call. Mike sighed beside her as they stood to see the ship.
"There's only one sexy beast I'm interested in," Kate grinned and winked at Mike before she walked to RO. Mike couldn't help but smirk.
"Sir? Why are we changing course?" Buffer asked once he, Charge and Bomber entered the bridge.
"A mayday call," Bomber noticed Kate and Nav exchanging a grin, so she walked towards them.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just the name of the boat that called," Kate said as seriously as she could manage.
"We are attending a call from…" Nav chuckled, "The Sexy Beast!" Nav and Bomber couldn't hold it any longer.
"What so funny?" Buffer asked with a frown.
"The boat… the name… the name…" Bomber tried between laughing fits.
"The Sexy Beast?" RO said with a frown as the girls went back to laugh. "I still don't find what's so funny," he shook his head. As the other two men blushed.
An hour later, they boarded the ship. In it, they found four muscled men on surfer shorts and thigh shirts who reported a malfunction. Charge checked the engine and found that a piston was dead and there was nothing to do but tow them back to port. As per Mike's orders, Rhino and Spider remained on the boat while the owners were transported to the Hammersley.
At NAVCOM, Hannah reached Steve's office to show her the video of Valentine's day stint. Steve was laughing at it when his phone went off.
Steve controlled himself, but couldn't keep a straight face when he heard the news from the Hammersley. Once he hung the phone, he chuckled.
"Something wrong with the Hammersley?" Hannah asked
"Nothing wrong," he grinned brightly. "They are towing the Sexy Beast to port," he managed to say, and Hannah laughed.
"Oh my god! Talk about timing!"
"I know, right? They will be in port in the morning."
"Great! I'll leave you to return to work," she said. They stood and shook hands.
"Thanks for stopping by, Hannah."
The next morning, Steve was on the wharf when the Hammersley docked.
"Steve!" Mike greeted him getting on the wharf
"Mike."
"So? To what do I owe this pleasure? Tell me you have good news about new Captain."
"I'm afraid not yet, Mike. I have bad news though, your replacement had a medical discharge yesterday, he found out he has cancer," Mike grimaced.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, so until someone else can be found..." Steve winced.
"I understand, Steve." Mike followed his line of sight. Kate and Buffer where getting to the wharf. "I'm sure Kate will understand, Steve. She won't like it, but she will understand."
"I know."
"Lieutenant!" One of the men they rescued called over. "How about the next time you are in port I'll take you out for dinner?" He grinned charmingly. Besides Kate, Buffer straightened.
"Thank you for your offer, but I must decline," Kate said politely.
"Oh, come on! It's just dinner," he tried again.
"Hey, I decline means she didn't take your offer, just accept it, sir." Buffer said with a bit of a menacing tone.
"It's ok, Buffer. I can handle it," she smiled at her friend before she turned back to the guy.
"As I said, I must decline your offer. That means no for dinner. Now, if you gentlemen will excuse us, we have work to do." Kate turned around and started walking towards Steve and Mike.
"Come on! She can't not find me sexy!" The guy said out loud. Buffer chuckled.
"She does because there's someone better than you," he grinned.
"Like you are better than me," he said making the others laugh. Buffer shrugged.
"I won't even try to feel offended; I was talking about her husband."
"Husband?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's a joke."
"It's not," Kate said turning around to face them again. "And you, sir. Should have more respect not only for women but especially for the ones in the armed forces," she finished in her commanding tone. Buffer placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, and you should be thanking us for tow your boat back instead of trying to conquest one of the crew members. If I find that you sabotaged your boat, I'll make sure the Navy does know about it. Now, your ride is here, and you should go. Good day." They waited for the men to go away before returning to their duties.
"Lieutenant, what was that about?" Steve asked after they saluted each other.
"Can you believe they were trying to hit on me? They did the same with every other woman in the Hammersley."
"What about the sabotage?" Mike asked
"Spider was with Charge when they checked the engine the first time. The second time, he heard a noise and went to see what was causing it. They found a hammer, which means their malfunction was deliberated. They found about it when they inspected the boat just now; I didn't get a chance to tell you...sir" Kate said
"I want a full report about this Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir. I already asked Charge to write one of his own."
"Very good," Steve nodded.
"If you will excuse me, sir. We need to get things done before we leave again," Kate said exchanging salutes with Steve before she returned to the boat.
"Send me the reports soon as you can, Mike."
"I will, Steve."
An hour later, the Hammersley left port to resume the patrol.