Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Kate McGregor can't believe what she has just heard. She's pregnant?

Resting her hand on her abdomen, she looks down at her still flat stomach, before raising her head to look at Mike Flynn. 'But how? The test was negative.'

'It must have been a false one,' he offered as a means of explanation. 'Dr Lucciadello assured me that it's for real. You're pregnant Kate.'

Biting her lower lip, she can't stop a smile from spreading across her face. 'We're pregnant Mike.'

'I know,' he responded with a small smile of his own as he covered her hand with his own over their unborn child. When Kate falls forward to hug him, he laughs out loud softly as he hugs her strongly. Pulling back, he remains kneeling as Kate brushes tears from her eyes. 'Oh Lord, what are we going to do now?' she says.

'You are going to do nothing except rest up. When we get back home, we'll see about getting you checked out okay?' As Kate slowly nodded her response, her mind still hadn't processed the fact that she was pregnant. Not only was she pregnant, she was pregnant with Mike Flynn's child. She looked a little dazed as Mike raised his hand to caress her unbruised cheek, before squeezing her arm. 'I'm not going to let anything happen to you.'

Their moment is interrupted when RO enters the dining room once again. 'Sir NAVCOM are waiting for you on the phone. It's urgent.'

'Coming RO.' Removing her hand from Kate's arm, he stands up and sends her a pointed look as he leaves the room to follow RO. 'Rest. We should be docking in just under two hours.'

However, this prediction was torn to shreads as Mike listened to Commander Marshall issue him new orders over the phone. HMAS Hammersley was being ordered to pick up five young adults and their 'minder' who were stranded on a boat without fuel. In normal circumstances, the Hammersley would not be expected to respond to this distress call, but three of the strandees were the children of Sir Randolph Leith, the richest man in Australia. Twenty year old twins Alexia and Davinia Leith were accompanied by their younger brother Sotheby, fellow rich kids Ranger Wentworth and Jonathon 'Jackaroo' Stinson, and their minder Simeon Wallis.

Mike tried his best to argue otherwise. 'Sir. I've got a full ship as it is. We're two hours away from port. Can't you send someone else?'

'Captain Flynn, the HMAS Bendigo is out for repairs and there are no other boats in the vicinity. You're the closest we've got.'

'What about the Coast Guard or civilian vessels?' he persisted.

'No go. The storm's coming in and Coast Guard is currently otherwise occupied.'

'Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I have a boat load of 23 crew, 26 passengers seeking asylum, three people involved in drug smuggling and an officer that needs to be get back as soon as possible. And never mind the Iluka explosion that we left behind us. We need to get back to port,' stressed Mike.

'Mike, I get you. But Sir Leith himself has put in the request for help, and I have my own orders from above on this one,' said Commander Marshall. 'I know it's politics, but you'll have to do the pick up.'

Swearing, Mike hung up the call and made his way up to the bridge. 'RO, get Nav up here.'

'Navigator to the bridge. Navigator to the bridge,' called RO over the PA. When Nav arrived followed closely by Kate, Mike flashed her a look before handing a confused Nav the new coordinates. 'Sir?'

'We've been handed the dubious honour of picking up the children of Sir Randolph Leith, who are stranded an hour north of us.'

'Sir, that's in the opposite direction to the port,' said Nav noting their new destination.

'I'm aware of that Nav, but it's our orders.'

'Yes sir. I will plot the best route now.' As she does so, RO begins to complain about the Australian Navy being relegated to glorified chauffeurs picking up teenagers on a lark. 'If I had that much money, you wouldn't see me blowing it,' he complained.

'Hopefully it won't be too bad,' mused Kate as Mike pushed her into his chair. She obviously wasn't going to leave the bridge, and he was damned if she was going to remain standing. 'Wouldn't get your hopes up ma'am,' muttered RO. 'I know their type.'

RO's prediction of troublesome teenagers proved unfortunately true. As Buffer and Charge took the RHIB over to collect their new passengers, they found them partying on the deck of their boat with their minder below deck, seasick. As Charge and Buffer tried to get them into the RHIB, they continued to party on in their skimpy clothing, singing to the sky. When they finally got in the RHIB, Buffer can't believe the ease with which they abandon their luxury boat. 'It's not worth much anyway,' shrugged Davinia. 'Someone will be round to pick it up.'

From the minute that these party animals stepped on the Hammersley, they set about wreaking chaos on board. The man who identified himself as Jackaroo took a swig of his beer and jeered in the direction of the asylum seekers, before he turned his attention to the newly arrived Mike, followed closely by Kate.

'Ooh look boys. There are ladies on this ship!' he crowed. 'Sign me up now – I'll be a navy boy any day!' said his mate. Stepping forward, he introduced himself to Kate drunkenly. 'Ranger Wentworth at your service ma'am. Now how may I help?' he questioned, doffing an invisible hat.

Disliking this young man intensely, Mike stepped in front of Kate and identified himself. 'I'm Lieutenant Commander Flynn. I am the captain of this ship.'

'Oooh. Stepping on your toes am I mate? Don't blame you! She looks like a feisty one!' said Ranger, stepping back hands raised in surrender.

'Yeah, she looks like she plays rough,' piped up a little voice which belonged to Sotheby 'Sol' Leith. A voice which was ignored by all.

'We are three hours away from port, so may I suggest that you reconvene to the dining room to wait it out, or bed down up here on deck.' Mike was ill-prepared when they laughed off his order.

'Mate, there's no way in any god-given hellhole that we'll be sharing the deck with the likes of them,' snorted Ranger, pointing in the direction of the asylum seekers.

'You all look like fine navy men and women to me, so I think that you'd be able to last without a few hours of sleep. We'll be taking your beds,' declared Alexia.

Flipping between arguing with these young idiots and thinking that if at least they were asleep, then perhaps they might not be so disruptive on the trip home, Mike ordered the four men into sailors' quarters and Alexia and Davinia to Nav and X's room under the watchful eyes of Buffer and Bomber.

Sending Kate back up to the bridge to order Nav and Swain to get the ship heading home, Mike settled the asylum seekers once again, before speaking with Buffer and returning to the bridge.

He really should have known better. In the fifteen minutes since he'd last seen their new 'guests' they'd made their way to the bridge and were currently poking and prodding at everything. X's orders for them to leave the bridge where thrown back in her face by Jackaroo and Davinia, with Sol adding a pathetic 'yeah!' at intervals.

Making his presence known, and taking advantage of 2 Dads' sudden arrival on the bridge, Mike orders his sailor to escort them to their quarters.

'What kind of a name is 2 Dads?' was the jibe as 2 Dads pushed them from the bridge. 'I know what it is, you've actually got two dads!' declared Ranger 'Aaww, poor sailor got no Mummy,' taunted Jackaroo, as Sol added 'diddums'.

As Mike turned his attention to getting the boat home as soon as possible, what he didn't know was that Ranger was riling up 2 Dads and making the situation worse below deck. 'If the navy's all for nicknames, then I know what mine is,' boasted Ranger as he wrapped his arms around Alexia and Davinia. 'I'm Ranger 'home on the range' Wentworth,' he declared as his hands drifted down to squeeze the girls' butts as he sent a daring look in 2 Dads' direction.

As 2 Dads struggled to keep his temper and patience under control, Sol piped up in his whiny voice. 'Is there any better fun to be found here?'

'Tell you what. How about you make just a little more trouble, and I'll go lock you up with the drug dealers we've got on board,' threatened 2 Dads. But unfortunately his threat had quite the opposite effect.

'Cool. You've got drug dealers on board?' said Sol excitedly. 'Any chance they could deal us something?' questioned Davinia, brushing her blonde hair over her shoulder, sending 2 Dads a flirtatious look.

Normally he was all for doing anything for a pretty girl, but he was feeling seriously out of his depth here. Opening the door to Nav and X's room, he left the twins complaining about cramped quarters before he pushed Ranger, Jackaroo and Sol in the direction of their quarters, where Simeon lay seasick. He willingly left them there as they taunted their minder. 'Yo Sim. Simba. Wake up dude!'

Finding no fun in their old fuddy duddy, the three boys decided to head topside. Unable to get past Charge, and not willing to face Buffer, they headed down to the other end of the deck as they joke and play about. When Spider is alerted to their presence, he approaches them and warns them to back away from the edge. The boys just look at him and laugh him off as they go back to their play fighting.

Meanwhile up on the bridge, Nav monitored the course, Swain manned the helm, Mike stood watching the dark horizon before them and Kate sat in the captain's chair. When Kate's head slipped from her propped up hand for the fifth time that minute, Mike sidled up to her and quietly told her to go rest. As she objected, and reasoned that her room was otherwise occupied, Mike offered her his cabin. 'Go and lie down and get some rest. All we'll be doing now is heading home. What could possibly go wrong?'

As Kate sent a look in his direction, he amended his last statement. 'True, anything and everything could go wrong, but that's not going to change my order. Go and sleep.'

But as Kate steps out of the chair and brushes against Mike on her way over to the stairs there's a call out...

'Man overboard!'