Chapter 2: positive test result = pregnant
Patrols could be so tedious and for once Kate wished this current patrol would be. It would make it a lot easier for her. She was tired, felt sick, threw up more times than she had done in the previous year all together and that was just her own physical side of the story.
The past few days they had been searching high and low to find Ryan after he had gone AWOL. They had found him alive after they had been told he had died at sea. Everyone was happy, especially Mike. It was very personal since Ryan turned out to be his son. The tension during the search had been tangible and had made her own physical problems even worse.
Early on in the patrol Swain had given her medication for the nausea. He had also given her a pregnancy test. When Swain had mentioned the word 'pregnancy' Kate had felt ashamed. Of course she had thought of it herself and knew it was a possibility but she didn't want to admit to that idea so she had brushed Swain off, telling him it was impossible for her to be pregnant.
She had taken the test with her to her cabin but had thrown it in a drawer. Even though she had tried to ignore the idea of a possible pregnancy, the symptoms didn't go away. She kept throwing up and Mike had taken over her active duties on boardings. She was feeling so sick that she didn't even tried to fight it.
And now Ryan had been found and everything aboard came to a rest. Finally there was some time to have a moment on her own but when Kate had gone into her cabin she had found the test again. To give her own mind some rest as well she had decided to take it.
With the test in her hands she walked from the bathroom to her desk. There it was. The answer she knew she would get. Pregnant. With the result to back up what her body had been telling her for a couple of days already it was more than real.
Kate had to take a couple of deep breaths before she could think of what to do next. Tell Jim. Go and see a doctor. Tell Mike and Maxine. She knew Jim had a right to hear the news first but he was in and out of the country and she didn't even know where he was right now.
Mike and Maxine could wait, she thought. This pregnancy wouldn't stop her from doing her job, at least not for a while. She couldn't be more than a few weeks along anyway so there was still plenty of time to inform her bosses.
Kate looked at the test again. She always wanted a family but now that it was actually happening it was scary. Jim seemed like a family minded guy but the subject 'kids' hadn't really been discussed yet. How would he react when she finally had the chance to tell him? There was no time to think about that now. They were about to arrive back in port and she still had enough paperwork to do to keep her occupied until the birth.
When they arrived in port they handed over their prisoner to the AFP and Ryan was going to go to hospital to get a proper check-up. Kate walked up onto the bridge to see Mike about some ship's business but he wasn't there.
She looked outside and saw the ambulance waiting for its patient. Mike probably was briefing Maxine about Ryan so she would find him down there for sure. Kate walked out of the bridge and was surprised when she saw him standing there, overlooking it all.
"Aren't you going?" she asked him, looking at the scene below them on the dock. "With your family?" she added just before she looked at Maxine and Ryan. His son.
Maxine waved casually towards Mike. She looked tired but most of all relieved. This was the time when you would or should drop everything to be with the people you loved, so why was Mike still glued to his spot?
"I'd thought I'd give them some space. I'll meet them at the hospital," Mike answered.
His answer confused her a bit. He didn't object to the word 'family', but that could mean a few things. She had used that word deliberately to test him, to see if he objected to it or not. Did he see them as a family or didn't he see what she meant? She couldn't figure it out.
"Feeling better?" Mike suddenly asked her.
It pulled her from her thoughts but Kate was glad he changed the subject. Not that she was going to give him all the details though.
"Yeah, I'm better," she answered without looking at him.
"Good," Mike replied. He didn't look at her but Kate knew by the way he spoke that there was more coming.
"You know there was a rumour going around the crew that you were pregnant?" he said as quick as he could, still not looking at her.
Kate was stunned. Swain and Robert were the only two people who would know about the test she had and Robert would never start a rumour and Swain was professional enough to know when to keep his mouth shut. How did that rumour start?
"What do you expect?" Mike chuckled as if it was a joke.
He thought it was funny? He couldn't know she really was pregnant but he was brushing it off as a joke, as if it was impossible for her to be pregnant. She had to take a deep breath before she replied: "I can tell you, categorically, that I'm not!" That is in the category 'I'm joking', Kate thought.
Mike accepted her answer with a small nod and looked at his family again. Once Kate had thought she would start a family with him. Mike hadn't showed much initiative towards her the past couple of months but she knew he still had feelings for her. What would he say if she would tell him the truth?
"Just out of interest," she said in a serious tone. "How would you feel if I was?"
Suddenly Kate didn't care for his answer and turned around and walked away. He didn't even think it was possible, why else would he make a joke about it? Why would she care what Mike thought when in fact she wanted to talk to Jim?
"Kate! Wait!" Mike yelled at her. He followed her inside and grabbed her by her arm. "What do you mean? Why are you asking me that?" he demanded.
Kate hated that she'd put herself in this position. She should have kept her mouth shut. "Nothing," she growled.
"Oh come on Kate. You can't ask me those questions and then walk away," Mike pleaded.
Kate hadn't been herself lately and her behaviour started to worry him a bit. He wanted to find out what was going on so he could help her but for that to happen he needed to know what was going on and right now that was impossible.
"You want to grab a bite later on? We should talk, shouldn't we?" he suggested.
Kate didn't respond and continued to walk to her cabin. When she had reached it she turned around, almost amazed that Mike had followed her all the way out there. "I don't think that's a good idea, besides you're otherwise occupied. Weren't you meeting up with your family?" she shot at him.
Mike wanted to say something but was stunned by her foul tone. This was clearly not the right time to ask her anything so he stopped and let his shoulders drop in defeat. "I'll come by your place later on. Something is bothering you and I'm worried," he let her know.
Kate shrugged and closed the door. The last thing she wanted was to have Mike around her place when she wanted to find out where Jim was to tell him the news. Jim. That's what she was going to do. She was going to his place to see if he was home and if not she would be sure Mike wouldn't make her night any worse by showing up.
They had arrived back in port around noon which made it possible for Kate to leave reasonably early. After finishing all her paperwork she left the Hammersley and drove straight to Jim's place. She didn't know if he was going to be home or not but being around his stuff would make her feel better. His car wasn't in his driveway but he could still come home later that night.
With the spare key Kate let herself inside. She waited for hours until she realised it was not very likely he was coming home that night. She should go home but the tiredness kept her from going home and she was still hoping against all hope Jim could still come home during the night. He wouldn't mind if she stayed a few more hours.
Kate laid down on his bed and closed her eyes. Jim's smell was all around her and it set her mind at ease. She closed her eyes and dreamed that she told Jim about the pregnancy. He had the biggest smile on his face and picked her up and twirled her around. It was just a dream but Kate felt confident Jim would love the idea of becoming a dad. It felt like only minutes since she'd closed her eyes but when she opened them again it was dark outside.
Kate sat up on the edge of the bed. There was a sound downstairs. With a quick look at Jim's alarm clock she saw it was 8.13 pm. She had made the right decision to stay here because he had come home! Kate almost flew down the stairs and with every step her good mood increased. "Jim!" she said happily. "Oh Jim, I've got some good news for you."
"Jim? You are at home after all?" a female voice said simultaneously.
At the bottom of the stairs Kate stopped, realising it wasn't Jim who was in the house. Not too far away from her stood a woman with long blond hair and a box in her hands. When she saw Kate she smiled. Kate had seen her on a few pictures and knew it was Jim's mother, she just couldn't remember her name.
Kate stopped running and suddenly felt very self-conscious about her looks. She had been sleeping and hadn't cared what she looked like when she thought it was Jim who had come home but now she tried to straighten her skirt and touched her hair, hoping it wasn't too much of a mess.
"Mrs Roth," Kate almost whispered as she walked the last few meters towards the woman.
"You must be Kate," Jim's mother said encouragingly. "Jim told me a little bit about you but he was very modest, maybe a bit too modest," she added while she extended her hand.
Kate didn't know what Jim had told her. Heck, she didn't even know he had talked about her at all! This was way too awkward.
"I'm Therese, but most people call me Terry," she introduced herself properly.
Kate smiled and shook her hand. "Kate McGregor," she stated. "I don't know what Jim told you about me but…"
"Don't worry. It was all good," Terry smiled.
Kate released a breath and looked around the place. She should explain what she was doing in her son's house or all those good things Jim had told his mother about her would vanish into thin air.
"I hoped Jim would come back today. I want to tell him something," Kate explained.
With her free hand Terry caressed Kate's upper arm. In her other hand she had a shoe box which was slipping from her grip when she paid more attention to Kate.
"He told me he wouldn't be back for a few days. I found a few of his grandmother's things for him which he had asked for," Terry said while she took a better hold of the box. "Can I make you a cup of coffee or tea?" she asked.
Kate still couldn't comprehend what was happening. His mother was such a nice person, so different from the experiences she had had with her own mother. "Sure," she answered.
Kate followed Terry into the kitchen thinking this was the weirdest situation ever. Terry could have called the cops or at least be angry at her for being at Jim's place unlawfully but she was nice and inviting and wanted to get to know her.
For a few hours they talked about several subjects although Jim was the most discussed topic of the evening. It was deep in the night when both women left Jim's house. Both left behind a note for Jim to read when he arrived back home. Kate was happy and when she finally crawled into her own bed and it didn't take her long to fall asleep, dreaming of the little family she would have in just a few months.