A/N: I'm not sure what this is. I wrote this during my latest bout of insomnia. All grammar mistakes are mine and I'm not doing this for profit, etc. This is my version of that 5-minute interaction between Dutchy and Kate towards the end of episode 4.16.
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The sun was not as high as when he had led the handover of the prisoners to the AFP boats, but Dylan still squinted his eyes slightly as he made sure the two RHIBs were secured and the back deck was cleared of any obstruction. He had sent everyone back inside 15 minutes ago, wanting to do the last checks himself to clear his head a little bit after the event in the last 48 hours.
He was glad that every single Hammersley crews came back alive, including the boss. He guessed that his XO was especially happy about that fact, if her soft smile and the brief caress of her hand on the boss' cheek were a good indication of it.
His stomach churned slightly as his mind replayed her intimate gesture towards the older man. And of course, there was the kiss.
Oh, how he wished he could unsee that.
How he wished he had stayed put on the upper deck of that yacht instead of going to the lower deck to check on her after her stand-off with Gorsky. He should have listened to Swain when the medic had advised him to give her a few minutes by herself. But of course, being the cocky bastard that he was, he had thought that his presence could be the soothing balm or even the motivator that she would need. He thought he had started to figure her out. He thought that her slight blush and shy smile as she had received his surprise present after that breakfast couple of days ago had meant that she had enjoyed his presence and maybe, just maybe, he could dream of having her smile directed at him more often.
He shook his head at his pathetic thought and twisted the steel lock mechanism of the boarding room. And as if the universe was laughing at him, her green eyes were the first thing he saw as he stepped into the room.
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Kate stared at the locker in front of her as she was standing against the identical ones behind her. She had come here to finally shed her boarding gear after Swain had ensured her that Mike's injury was superficial enough that he could slept it off in his own cabin and not at the wardroom.
Almost three hours had passed after that fateful boarding and while she had breathed easier knowing Mike was alive and relatively well, the overwhelming sensation coursing through her body now was fatigue. She had been running on adrenaline ever since she had assumed command of the ship. She had barely eaten, just a few bites here and there to stop Dutchy from threatening to force-feed her.
Her lip curved up at the thought of her ever loyal right-hand man. There was no chance she could've survived the last 48 hours without his steady presence. Nowadays, it was hard to imagine that there was a time when they didn't get along. Don't get her wrong, the man was still as stubborn as a mule and liked to do things his way instead of hers. And he generally pushed the boundaries of what's appropriate between XO and bosun partnership a lot more often than Buffer. He never hesitated to voice his opinion on how things could be done better in boardings or his analysis on the complex cases that they sometimes encountered during patrols. He was also still a tad overprotective towards her. Although instead of voicing her displeasure, she now just gave him what he called 'the look' when he had been especially grating on her nerves.
Then, as if her thoughts summoned his presence, the door to the boarding room opened and he walked in.
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Dylan's first thought when seeing his XO stood there against the lockers had been how unfair it was that this tiny woman could hold such power over his thoughts and dare he said, his heart.
He could see her lips curved a little as she registered his presence and her body angled towards him subconsciously. He thought she looked tired, but there was sparkle in her eyes now compared to how her eyes had looked after that phone call from Commander White just before they had encountered Gorsky's yacht.
"Hey…."
Somehow his throat was stuck and he could only stare at her. He then reached for the zipper of his boarding jacket and went through the motion of taking it off to try getting himself to focus.
He could see her curiosity was peaked slightly at his silence and her head tilted to the side a little bit to focus on him.
"You OK?" He finally managed to rasp out a reply, shrugging his jacket and open the locker door to store it properly.
"Yeah…"
He knew he should just keep his silence after her brief reply and just concentrate on his gear, but he had never shied away from a conversation with her and he couldn't stand the heavy atmosphere in the room, so he thought he had to lighten it somehow.
"You don't have to beat yourself up now for dropping his call."
But he knew he ruined the atmosphere even further when he saw her shocked face as he blurted out his thought carelessly alongside his failed attempt at his usual teasing smile.
"Dutchy…."
His eyes couldn't help staring at her lips as she whispered his call sign. At that moment, he very much wished she had whispered his name instead. Then his traitorous mind went back to that kiss between her and the boss and he wondered bitterly whether she had whispered the older man's name when they had kissed in that cabin before.
Bloody hell….
He forced himself to tear his gaze away from her and faced the locker, before tossing his ballcap inside and plucked out the headset from his ear and tried to pull the cord from around his neck. He almost cursed out loud when the cord stuck, but thankfully only an annoyed grunt escaped from his mouth.
Suddenly, her dainty hands pushed his away and she took over in detangling the stubborn cord. He could only mumble 'sorry' for her trouble and he could hear her annoyed hum as he assumed she had deemed his apology unnecessary.
"Dutchy, the reason why I dropped the boss' call was…."
"It's him, isn't it?" He cut her sentence abruptly, "the reason for your transfer request?"
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Kate's hands stopped as she heard his sharp but strangely resigned tone.
Silence enveloped them for the next few seconds before he turned around and took the now untangled cord and headset from her hands with a mumbled thanks.
"Dutchy, I…." She didn't know what to say.
"Don't worry, X, I won't say anything." He sighed and turned back around facing the locker and started to shed his Kevlar plates now.
"Dutchy," she tried again, swallowing the lump on her throat. She knew she didn't owe him any explanation, but strangely she had a strong impulse to make him understand her impossible situation, "it's not that simple."
"It seemed simple for 2Dads and Bomber hey…." He shook his head remembering the way the two juniors quickly deciding who's staying and who's leaving the ship when they had been caught snogging last patrol.
She snorted before automatically leaning towards him as he exposed the empty chamber of his browning and mumbled 'clear' to complete the final check of his weapon.
She then found herself staring at his feature when he was facing her once more to help her shedding her gear. They had done this hundreds of times in the last 3 months, such was the routine that they had perfected with each other. His motions were mostly clinical, but she couldn't help noticing for the first time how he carefully tucked her hair back to the side of her ear after her took her headset off.
Had he always done this?
She tried to catch his eyes as he lifted her Kevlar plates, but he purposely averted them. So, she started to talk instead. "I found a list of names on his cabin. Candidates for Hammersley's CO position. I was one of them."
He frowned. "That's good, right?"
"Not so much when he had casually commented the day before that all the names on that list were hopeless, that they couldn't command a tugboat, let alone a warship."
"Ouch."
She smiled sadly at his grimace. "Hence the transfer request."
"Then he dared to get abducted."
She laughed humourlessly, "yeah, that move was so him, you know." She shrugged, "I would be ready to move on but then shit happened that pulled me back into his orbit."
"The girl then realised that she couldn't live without him. She forgives him and they live happily ever after."
She stared back challengingly at his slightly mocking tone, "I didn't know that you watched romcom."
He shrugged, "where do you think I got all my moves with women?"
"You're so lame…." She rolled her eyes at him while he only smirked in reply.
"Did you really forgive him then?" He turned serious once more, "even though he doubted your ability to command this boat?"
"It turns out there is a plot twist." She then decided to sit on the floor as she was so tired and ended up resting against the locker door. She could see his concerned look at her move but eventually he mirrored her position and they ended up facing each other.
"Let me guess," he stared at her thoughtfully, "he didn't mean you. He meant the other candidates."
"Close…." She sighed remembering her conversation with Commander White and her subsequent breakdown after. "He was referring to the original list, which didn't include my name by the way, when he was making that comment. He then added my name after. I found this out when he was presumed dead."
They stayed quiet for a few minutes, just staring at each other and enjoying the peace and quiet of the boat without the usual hustle and bustle that accompanied their every move.
"He means a lot to you."
"I think so…." She replied with a huff.
"You think so?" He raised his eyebrows at her.
"I mean…." She sighed, "it's complicated."
"Make it uncomplicated then." He leaned forward and looked at her seriously. "Take the transfer, be with him. Get married, have babies, or don't, and keep climbing the ladder either with him by your side or not. Life is a series of choices, X. Only you can decide how you want it to look."
Strangely she felt moisture in her eyes at his words. Maybe she was tired and hungry, hence the overly emotional response, but she felt she longed for the simplicity of his words, as if the choices were hers alone. And maybe he's right. Maybe she should be selfish for once and did what she really wanted in life instead of following other people's expectation or what society thought, or even dancing to someone else's tune.
"You know, I was thinking of asking you out for dinner when your transfer came through."
She blinked the moisture in her eyes before looking at him in shock. "What?"
His lips curved up at her bewildered expression. "Oh, come on, X, I wasn't exactly subtle you know."
She couldn't help it…. She laughed. "Here I thought you just wanted to be my breakfast buddy for life."
"No breakfast buddy would give you a surprise present…"
"Pink present…. With fluffy pink wrapping…." She teased him further, "although I was expecting something a lot more elaborate than a pink pen."
"With the amount of paperworks you have to write and sign, I think it's a good gift." He shrugged, "every time you use it, it'll remind you of me…."
She scoffed at the way he casually said these words to her, "that's so corny."
"It's not corny if it works…." His smile got wider at the slight blush he could see on her cheeks. "And frankly, being your breakfast buddy for life sounds really good, as long as I get to wake up next to you every day as well."
She opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to formulate a reply to no avail. Her heart couldn't help but beat faster at his declaration.
How was this her life? Couple of hours ago, she was pulled into a desperate kiss by her ex when she had found him alive after being presumed dead, and now her hunk of a friend said that he wanted to be her breakfast and bed buddy for life?
"Too much?" he grimaced, slightly apologetic, but stubbornly standing by his statement. He thought since he had nothing to lose anymore, he might as well lay all his cards on the table.
She shook her head and looked at him seriously, "I might not end up transferring out, you know."
He nodded, "a chance of promotion is too good to pass up hey?"
She sighed, "it's not that…. I mean, it's one of the reasons," she rested her head against the locker door, "but I sent that request in anger, and now that the reason for my anger turned out to be a misunderstanding, I feel that I owe it to myself to think the request through a bit more."
"Fair enough." He gave her a small smile before getting up from his position on the floor and offered his hand to her. "Come on, I can hear your stomach growling, let's get you something to eat."
"I can get up by myself, you know." She teased him even though she proceeded to grab his hand tightly and let him pull her up.
"There is no shame in letting someone help you every once in a while, X." He shook his head at her trademark comment, "why don't you go ahead to the galley and I'll meet you there. I need to lock everything up and fill out the checklist."
She nodded, "do you want a brew?"
"Yeah, that'll be great."
And with one last lingering look at the towering figure of her bosun, she stepped out of the boarding room and made her way to the galley.
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A/N: Thank you for reading :)