Fast Times Chapter 6: Automatic Eyes, a sea patrol fanfic

EDIT: PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FINAL WRITTEN CHAPTER IS CHAPTER 4 [[RUMOURED NIGHTS]] ... SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION

So, final chapter list reads:

About A Girl

Summer Hair = Forever Young

His Girl Friday

Rumoured Nights

The Test

Automatic Eyes

DISCLAIMER: A Sea Patrol story based of The Academy Is...album 'Fast Times At Barrington High'. I take no credit for either the characters created or the BRILLIANT work of William Beckett and the crew from TAI

Lyrics are BOLD and ITALIC || Thoughts are ITALIC

Please Note: I will try to keep these characters true to the series in regards to personality. But, that being said, it mightn't happen in places. Just so you know.

AN: I would just like to say how amazing it is to see people reviewing, adding my stories to favourites or alert them, or to even alert or favourite ME as an author! im touched truly. Also, just in response to a review:

I don't know how pivotal the lyrics are to these chapters; i mean, sure, they inspired me. But they could easily be removed and the story could still be read easily (possibly even more so). I'm half considering removing the lyrics all together eventually; might happen when i rearrange some of the chapters (which WILL happen shortly, since Ive discovered a song/story that will fit so much better between His Girl Friday and The Test.

AUTOMATIC EYES

Buffer stood still, frozen, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His head whirred with echoing words; words that Kate, his Kate, told (or more precisely yelled) the CO of Hammersley.

"I LOVED you, Mike!"

Buff slammed his closed fist against the wall, trying to force the words right out of his head. Not surprisingly, it wasn't working. Buffer looked down to the ground, resting his head on his arms, wishing he could figure out what it all meant. 'Did she mean it?' Buffer thought, helplessly. 'Is whatever this is between us just a placeholder until...'Buffer couldn't even finish that train of thought. Raising his eyes to look back in the mirror, his eyes were rimmed with red, filled with unshed tears.

Staring at the mirror through your hair,
You can't see everything that you did to me.
With your automatic eyes, five years disappeared.
Five years disappeared that night.

One of the most prominent memories that Buffer held was that single night where he and Kate lay on the boat deck. Simply basking in the moonlight and enjoying each other's company. It was those simple pleasures that made life worth living, in Buffer's eyes at least. That night was enough to rewrite years of relationship troubles and fears; Kate wiped the slate clean and gave Buffer the opportunity to grow.

"Jesus Christ!" Pete moaned to himself, silently beating himself up and how hard and fast he had fallen for a girl that, in all appearances, screwed him over eventually.

~*~*~*~*~

Kate lay in her bunk, re-reading a trashy novel that had once belonged to her but now belonged to the female presence on the ship, silently wondering what Pete had planned for their next shore leave. A slow smile spread across her face that had nothing to do with the book and everythingto do with a certain Petty Officer Bosun who had brought her to life. Hearing a soft knock on the door, Kate sat upright, half expecting it to be Buffer. Instead, Nav stuck her head in the door and, after spotting the X, entered and closed the door tightly behind her.

"Hey Nikki, is everything alright?" Kate asked her friend and bunk-mate, noticing a tense and hesitant look on her face. They had seen each other less than two hours ago on the bridge, and Nav had seemed fine up there. Although, if Kate truly analysed the body language of Hammersley's navigator, she would have to admit there was something troubling the young woman. Nav walked to the middle of the room before sitting on the floor, hugging her knees, and looking up into Kate's face.

Biting her lip, Nav asked quietly, "Is everything ok with you?" Seeing Kate's confused gaze, she hurried on. "I mean, is everything ok with you and, uh, Pete –" Nav's voice trailed off, so Kate only just heard the name she mentioned. Shock, embarrassment and fear all passed across her features, before settling on polite indifference.

"I, uh, don't know what you mean," Kate replied, cautiously, trying to make her voice remain neutral. Nav, in response, merely rolled her eyes and gave her friend a 'do-you-think-I'm-stupid?' look. Resigned, Kate sighed and returned to her book. "I'm not entirely sure where you're heading, but as far as I know we're, erm, fine," she stated, somewhat nervously and guarded. "Why? Has someone said something to you?"

Nikki just thought a moment, rubbing her legs, trying to figure out what had happened. Realising that she was still silent, and Kate was looking for an answer, she just said, "No, no one's said anything to me, but yesterday I sent Buffer to find you because you were late for your shift. He came back moments later and looked like someone smacked him over the head." Nikki sighed and stretched out on the floor, wanting this puzzle to complete itself. "He was, really quiet for the rest of his shift. And whenever anyone mentioned you, he got a haunted look on his face," she told her friend, softly, not even sure if Kate could hear her.

As soon as Nav mentioned her being late, Kate's mind instantly snapped back to the conversation she had with the CO. Her heart wrenched as she imagined Pete overhearing the conversation. Her mind was reeling as she thought over the possible scenarios: Pete overhearing everything, then he wouldn't be acting the way he did; he would be overjoyed... Pete only hearing the beginning would probably leave him confused... but...

Kate's head snapped up and towards the door as she struggled to get out of her rack. "He overheard the middle," she muttered to herself, trying to think where Pete might be for her to explain. It was only when Nav voiced her confusion that Kate stopped for a minute.

"Pete, he overheard a conversation between Mike and me. It was, er, a delicate exchange and I'm guessing Buff only heard the middle, judging on the way he was behaving anyway," Kate explained, trying to slow down. Seeing Nikki's stilllost look, Kate sat down on their chair. "Do you remember when I talked to you about what happened with my, um, incident?" At that question, Nav sat up straight.

"No..." she whispered, trying to kill the thought before it even began. Hurriedly, Kate was waving her hands.

"Oh, no! No, I couldn't go back there. I just needed to tell Mike that it's over; it's done; that he needs to move on. I think Pete overheard when I said I loved Mike. Loved, as in past tense. If he walked away before we finished the conversation, he must believe I still love Mike now!" Once again Kate jumped up after her explanation, walking towards the door. Just as she opened it to walk out, she heard Nikki's voice.

"He'll be in his cabin. Charge is on watch til this evening."

~*~*~*~*~

Buffer was lying on his rack when he heard the knock on the door. Not sure what to expect when he opened it, he just called out, "Come in." Turning his face to see the visitor, all the blood rushed from his head as he saw Kate move through the small gap before she turned to close the door firmly. Kate turned and walked up to his rack and, just as Pete opened his mouth, she held up a hand.

Do you want me to stay,
Do you want me to go?
Do you think I recognize
the look on your face when you think that I know?
Blinded as the shades draw closed,
time's up for us
Would you want me to go,
If you knew what I know?
If you knew what I know.

"I know what you overheard," she told him, softly. A look of pain crossed Buffer's face as he, once again, remembered Kate's exclamation. Again, Buffer opened his mouth to reply and, again, Kate held up a hand. "No, this is my turn to talk and you're going to listen. You only heard the middle; not the beginning, not the end. You should know you just can't enter after the first act and leave before the curtain closes; you miss all the finer details."

Kate looked around the room to find someplace to sit. Seeing her search, Buffer extended his arm. Once she took it, Pete started to pull. Seeing where he was going, Kate scrambled up to his top rack. Once she was settled, Kate could clearly see the hurt in his eyes. 'Damaged...' Kate thought to herself.

"Yes, I said I loved Mike," she started, ever blunt. Seeing a ripple cross Pete's body, she hurried on. "Past tense, Pete. He was the first person where I really felt something. But I was young, and he was a superior and my teacher at the time." Kate's face crumpled as she, once again, relived the moment. "It was one night, Buff, and the next morning I freaked out; told him to leave and he just walked out. I hadn't seen or spoken to him since, until I was posted aboard Hammersley," Kate voice broke as she buried her face in her arms.

Heart breaking at seeing Kate like this, Buffer leaned forward to take the small woman in his arms. After a moment, Kate relaxed into the embrace and rested her head on his chest. Kate knew she needed to get the rest of what she needed to say out, and struggled to keep her voice stable as she proceeded to tell Buffer the entire story.

"He broke me, Pete!" she cried out, sniffling. "He broke me and I was damaged, until I met you," she added, quietly. Buffer's breathing hitched, as he fully processed what Kate had said. Slowly, he began rubbing her back with one hand whilst whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Pulling herself together, Kate took a deep breath in and turned her face up to look Buffer in the eye.

"You've started to put me back together, Pete," Kate whispered to him. "You've put me back together when I started to believe it would never happen. There's no going back from this." In reply, Buffer lent down and placed a soft kiss on Kate's forehead, then a less than soft kiss on her lips.

~*~*~*~*~

It was getting close to dinner when Buffer finally came to, feeling warmth emitting from a small body pressed between his body and the wall. Looking down through his sleepy haze, he instantly recognised the blonde hair and delicate features of the X. His mind flew through the truckload of information given to him from Kate before they had fallen asleep. He lay there, simply staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out where they went from here. Feeling the X shift, Buffer wrapped his arms around her small body tightly. He knew, right in that moment, that he never wanted to let go. She had led a tough life so far, and Buffer wanted to be there to protect her; to help her through everything and to lift the burden on her small shoulders.

Staring at the wall above the bed,
I can't sleep with all the secrets that you keep.
With your automatic eyes, five years disappeared.
Five years disappeared that night.

Carefully pulling himself up and away, Buffer glanced at his watch. Noticing the exact time, he quickly scrambled down off the bed and setting himself right. He knew that, whilst most sailors were off in the mess to have dinner, the corridors between his cabin and the X's were mostly clear. Sighing, Buffer reached up onto his rack and gently pulled Kate off and into his arms.

After a brief moment of unsettlement, Kate relaxed with her arms loosely linked around Buffer's neck. Smiling slightly, Buffer walked towards the door and, with a little difficulty, moved slowly into the hall and towards Kate's cabin. Thankfully, the gods were on his side as he didn't meet with anyone until right outside Kate's room. The implication that could arise from carrying around a sleeping XO would be troublesome to both of them. Luckily, Buffer found himself face to face with Nav.

"Oh, thank god!" Nikki exclaimed, softly, before backing away from the door and motioning them inside. Buffer moved slowly towards Kate's bed and put her down tenderly. "I was starting to get nervous about what was happening when she didn't come back." Nikki took a breath and looked between Kate, who was still sleeping soundly, and Buffer, who was absentmindedly stroking the X's hand, and smiled. "So, I take it everything is sorted out?" she asked Buffer, with a coy smile.

To the shock of Nav andBuffer himself, a faint blush settled on his cheeks and the back of his neck. Standing up to his full height, towering over Nav, Buffer smiled slightly. "It was my mistake," he stated, simply. Looking back over at the sleeping Kate, Buffer's smile became genuine. "She needs someone to look after her, seeing as she will no doubt get herself into trouble no matter where she is. Now, I might just leave you two ladies at it. Have a good night." Nodding to Nikki, Buffer moved towards the door. No sooner had he taken two strides, Kate moved on her bed.

"Don't," she whispered, sleepily, slightly reaching out her hand into space.

Buffer stopped in his tracks, his whole body freezing midway through the room, before looking back at Kate. Nav cleared her throat before muttering, "I'm just going to head down to the galley to get some food." She made her way over to the door and half left, before turning and smiling back at Buffer. "Don't worry, I have watch until late tonight. Keep her safe."

Buffer gave Nav a parting grin before walking back to Kate's rack. Still deciding on what would be best, Buffer noticed Kate's eyes slowly flutter before she moved over on her rack and invited him in. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Buffer passed a hand over Kate's face, tracing the contours of her cheek, jaw and throat. Suppressing a shiver of pleasure he felt course through his spine, he felt a shudder pass through Kate's body beneath his finger tips as a moan passed through her lips.

"Where were you going?" she asked, sleepily, grabbing at Buffer's arm to make him lie down with her. Smiling, Pete succumbed to her request. As he settled himself, with Kate resting her head on his chest, she voiced the question again. "Why were you going?" Buffer simply kissed the top of her head, before smoothing her hair down with one hand and caressing Kate's hand with the other. He replied in a soft but firm voice, for only Kate's ears.

"I'm not going anywhere."

AN2: There :) are you pleased? i hope you are. I'm actually finding some of these hard to write; i know EXACTLY what i want to say, yet the words jsut arent coming out :P I hope everyone who's reading keeps on enjoying them just as much, i'd love to hear from you... even though I'm still just writing this for me. The world has too many Mike/Kate shippers, and Buffer is so incredibly sexy and sooo totally underrated.

EDIT: I think, that i just reached the end of this fic for the moment. Like, i really felt that this chapter was an ending. But, not to fear, there WILL be a chapter inserted between Chapter 2 (Summer Hair = Forever Young) and Chapter 3 (His Girl Friday).

Peace and Love, e-ellens