Ok here is the second part to the three part story. I hope you are enjoying.

Part 2

Mike sat down on the couch and sighed. What had he done wrong? Did he really want her to go?

Mike stared at the screen of the TV. He then glanced over to the door of Kate's room. The light was off.

He glanced at the clock and decided to go to bed. The dishes could wait til tomorrow.

Next Morning

Kate opened her eyes and groaned. She stuck her hand out to check her clock only it wasn't there. Kate lifted her head off the pillow to look for it when she realised she wasn't in her own bed.

All the memories came rushing back and Kate let her head flop back onto the pillow. She hadn't got much sleep last night. Dreams were plaguing her. Dreams of the past, the present and the future.

Kate looked around the room and found a clock. It read 08.15am. Kate threw the covers back and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Kate rubbed her eyes as she surveyed the room.

It was very neat and clean. The floor was wooden as was the furniture. The walls were a sky blue and the curtains were a navy. There were a couple of pictures hanging on the walls of ocean scenes. There was a book case filled with books. Kate was intrigued so she went to stand when her ankle reminded her what had happened so Kate fell back onto the bed.

As Kate layed there she thought about her decision. She loved working on Hammersley but she just couldn't be around Mike anymore. She cared to much about him and she didn't want to be the one that jepodised his career. So she had come to the only solution and that was to leave. Kate would miss the crew. Spider with his gullible antics, Swain talking about his baby girl, Nav with her little girly antics and all the others.

Mike. Mike he was the one. Kate thought. She thought that she would ever met another man like him but she knew he had met others. That she wasn't the one to him. She just wanted Mike to be happy and if that meant that she had to leave then so be it. She had felt hurt when he had moved on but over the years the pain had gotten worse and she knew if she didn't leave she would do something reckless and stupid.

Reckless and stupid yes they were two words that people wouldn't associate to Kate but Kate knew them well. The Kate that used to do reckless and stupid things was long gone. That Kate had died a long time ago when it became evident that that Kate wasn't going to help Kate McGregor to survive so she had gone. Kate would sometimes miss her. Sometimes she just wanted to shout out what she was thinking and feeling but she knew people wouldn't handle that side of her so she just reacted to situations to how people thought she would.

Kate sat up and bought her injured foot up to look at. It was slightly swollen but it was definitely better then what it had been the night before, Kate just had to go careful. Kate placed her foot on the floor and gingerly put a bit of weight on it. It seemed to cope. So Kate slowly stood while leaning on the bed frame for support and so she wouldn't put her full weight on it.

Once standing Kate limped slowly and painfully over to the bookcase. A few minutes later, Kate stood leaning against the bookcase. Sweat had built up on her forehead. Kate brushed it away as she looked at the book selection. Kate browsed the books until one book stood out from her. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Kate used one hand to pull out the book but hadn't managed to grab it properly so it fell out of her hand and onto the floor. A piece of paper came out of the book and fluttered to the floor.

Kate used the bookcase as leverage to lower herself to the floor. Once on the floor Kate grabbed the novel and the paper which turned out to be a photo. Kate placed the book beside her as she flipped the photo over. Kate stared at the photo her jaw dropping open. Her eyes stared at it drinking the image in.

There was a knock on the door and Mike came in with a mug of coffee.

"Morning." came from a sleepy Mike. Mike was looking at the bed and noticed Kate wasn't there. His eyes swept the room and rested on the woman sitting on the floor with a photo in her hand.

"What are you looking at?" Mike asked moving closer. He placed the coffee on the desk which was next to the bookcase.

Kate immediately snapped her mouth shut and just stared at Mike. Mike moved closer until he was sitting on the floor next to her. He glanced down at the book and noticed the title. He paled. He looked at the picture in Kate's hand and just stared.

"Well?" Kate whispered. "I thought you got rid of them all. So what's this doing here."

"I, ah, I forgot?" Mike looked at her. Kate just waited silently as she stared at the photo.

Mike sighed. "Well, I like this one. It was always my favourite because we both look so happy there. I just couldn't part with it. I guess you wouldn't understand."

Kate looked up and met his eyes. "No." she said quietly. "I understand perfectly. You don't need to explain to me. It's history and history is what makes us who we are today." Kate smiled at him gently. "Just Mike, if you could relive it again would you change anything?"

Mike stared at her for a long moment then he opened his mouth, "No I wouldn't change a thing."

Kate looked away and sighed. She was obviously the only one who wanted more.

"Kate." Mike's voice was soft.

"Yeah." Kate turned attention to the photo so that she didn't have to look at him.

"Kate I didn't mean it how it sounded." his voice was soft and pleading. "I meant that I wouldn't change it because we were so young back then and well I wasn't ready for a serious commitment back then. If we had decided to pursue our relationship it may have ended and I would never had the absolute pleasure seeing you as my XO onboard Hammersley. You are the best Kate and we need you."

Kate just looked down as tears fell down her cheeks. She just couldn't stand it anymore. She didn't care who got hurt anymore she had to tell him because she couldn't carry this burden anymore and she wanted out.

"Mike." She was firm she would not show weakness. Kate looked up tears still falling down her cheeks. "Mike. I care about you. You're the reason why I'm leaving. The reason is that I love you and I can't just stand by and watch you fall in love with someone else. I want you to be happy, I do but I just can't handle being around you anymore. I know you'll never feel the same way as me so this is me getting out. This me getting off the ride." (yeah I know Dr. Who lol.)

Kate slowly pulled herself up and limped over to her clothes. She scooped them up and limped over to the door. She turned her head back once more so that she could take him in once more before leaving.

"Thank you Mike for everything you've done for me. I'll miss you and I'll always care about you no matter what. I love you." Kate turned to go and quickly added, "Oh I'll have these washed for you and I'll post them."

Kate limped out as fast as she could before she fell apart. Mike still sat on the floor staring at the door Kate had exited. It was over at long last it was over. Mike sat there not moving still stunned by the news. Mike's eyes looked down on the floor where the photo of him and Kate lay. He picked it up and put it back in the book and he placed the book back on the shelf and walked out and shut the door.

Ok this is where I say thanks for reading and all that. Well before I do I just want to thank PunkPrincess145 for her support. Thanks very much for your comments they mean alot. Anyway, I hope the rest of you guys enjoyed the next part. I know its a little shorter then the first but the third part will make up for it I hope anyway til next time...

Fantasy