Disclaimer: I own nothing.
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When Spider storms up to the bridge to confirm the Man Overboard call, Kate sends out orders over the PA whilst Mike heads down to the deck to manage the situation. As sailors run to their condition positions, Swain slowly brings the boat to a stop before handing it over to another sailor so that he can head deckside in case medical assistance will be required.
Mike's first assessment of the scene is the sight of two men laughing raucously as they point their fingers at the water. Getting closer, he discovers that it is Sotheby Leith who has gone overboard. Buffer's quick actions when the call went out meant that Sol had a flotation device, but the Hammersley was still a distance from Sol by the time they stopped the ship.
The floodlights are on, and young Sol is freaking out in the water. As Jackaroo and Ranger generate a list of animals that could be in the water with him right now! Sol is having trouble breathing and is paralysed in fear.
'I felt something go past me. A shark! Stingray! Something!' he whimpered nervously as he desperately gripped the flotation device.
When Alexia and Davinia make their way up on deck, Davinia can't stop laughing as she realises that it is her brother in the water. 'You idiot! Why do you think we don't bring you out with us? You always get in trouble!' she taunted as Alexia shows a little more concern for the welfare for her brother. 'Yo bro. You okay?'
'It's so cold,' he complains.
As Kate left the bridge, sailors lined the deck ready to pull Sol back onto the ship. Sol is in no position to help himself as he flails about and doesn't listen to orders, and so Mike orders 2 Dads to don the wetsuit. Muttering under his breath five minutes later, 2 Dads climbs down the ladder and begins his swim over to the panicking teenager.
When 2 Dads reaches him, a terrified Sol wrapes his arms around his saviour in a death grip that sent him underwater. Sputtering as he made it to air once again, 2 Dads growled at him to pay attention and not freak out. It was only when he threatened to leave him behind and feed him to the crocodiles that Sol calmed down the tiniest bit. It is a long trek back to the boat.
Swain is on standby ready to offer medical assistance, whilst Bomber is prepping a hot drink in the galley as they get closer to the ship. Jackaroo, Ranger, Alexia and Davinia still think the entire incident is a big joke.
But then, the rain that had been threatening for the past two hours hit them. There was no warning or uncertainty to this rain - it it hit suddenly, hard and heavy. As Mike continued to monitor the man overboard situation, Kate took charge of getting the male asylum seekers below deck out of the rain.
The ship was packed to the seams as men lined the hallways. When the women and children came out of austere wondering at the hub-bub, Kate struggled to get them to remain where they were. There was no room or time for for inquisitive minds.
With Sol finally pulled on board, his mates came laughing and joking down the stairs. As Swain leads Sol to the dining room, Bomber comes dashing past with a hot drink, before she heads back to the galley to produce more for the now chilled sailors and passengers.
It is complete and utter chaos as the remaining sailors come down from the deck and the rain continues to bucket down. As Kate monitors the queue for hot drinks, Mike orders the troublemakers into the dining room, '...where you will remain,' he orders sternly.
As drinks were consumed and finished, the smell of wet dog permeates the ship. As Kate guides the last of their passengers for a drink, her stomach makes its displeasure known. When the wet smell hit her, she physically swallowed and took several deep breathes.
As the asylum seekers looked at her strangely, she smiled wanly and ushered them forward. The quicker she could get them back to austere, the quicker she could get out of here. The quicker, the better she chanted, as her stomach rolled once again.
When Mike approached her for a SITREP, she was so focused on keeping her breathing even and trying to balance her stomach that she didn't hear or see him approaching until he placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
Turning too quickly, she sways a little as Mike tightens his grip, shocked to feel her shivering slightly. Kate was drenched to the bone and as he looked at her face, he noted that she didn't look that good either. As she struggled to regain her balance once again, Mike shifts to stand behind her back as a ruckus emerged at the other end of the corridor.
Jackaroo and Ranger had left the dining room and were standing in the corridor jeering at Sol who was now dressed in navy gear. 'Look at me,' they taunted. 'I work for a living!' Mike had had enough of these idiots. 'Swain?' he calls. A flustered Swain pops his head out of the dining. 'I'm sorry, sir. They got away from me.'
Taking charge, Mike orders Charge and two other sailors to make sure the asylum seekers are settled in austere once again. He orders Spider to assist Swain in the dining room and orders Nav and RO up to the bridge. Buffer is ordered to check up on their three drug smugglers before he was to check that everyone was where they should be, as 2 Dads is ordered to get warm and then also head up to the bridge to be on watch. As everyone bustled around, Mike grasped Kate's elbow and pulled her in the direction of his cabin. She raised no objection as shivers racked her small frame.
'Damnit Kate,' he murmurs as they step into his cabin. Pushing aside her useless fingers as she attempts to unbutton her coverall, Mike strips her. Dressing her in one of his shirts, he pushes her into bed and draws up the sheets. Rubbing her arms and legs to get her warm, he notes that Kate is struggling to stay awake. 'Don't fight it,' he said softly caressing her cheek.
'I need to get the ship moving again,' he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her brow as her eyes shuttered close. 'I'll be back to check on you later.'
It isn't until forty minutes later that he is able to get back and check on Kate. As he sat on the edge of his bed, he looked down at the woman he loved, still sound asleep. Brushing her hair from her face, his eyes take in her exhausted features.
His musings and thoughts are interrupted when his cabin door suddenly flies open. Turning in his seated position, Mike can feel his temper boiling as he finds himself face to face with the party animals from hell. They'd left the girls behind with Spider, and thus managed to escape his watchful gaze, deciding to head out on a 'grand tour' of the ship.
Mike had managed to keep his temperature in check in the short hours they'd been on board, but when Ranger dared to step into his private quarters and Jackaroo made a derogatory comment about the woman asleep in his bed, he snapped. Standing up, he walked slowly toward the three spoilt brats. 'I don't care who your fathers are. Get out of my sight. You will behave, and I don't want to see your faces again until we arrive back in port. Do I make myself clear?' roared Mike. 'Do I?'
Ranger actually stepped back one step, and as Jackaroo realised that they'd just reached the end of this man's tether, the whiny voice of a sixteen year old piped up. 'Just wait til my father hears about this,' he gloated.
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Author's Note: Poor Kate and Mike don't seem to have the time for the fact that they are going to be parents to sink in, do they? The next chapter will see them actually being able to stop for longer than two minutes and actually think about how this is hitting them!