"Are you sure the doctor won't mind you being out here?" questioned Kate, laying a hand upon Mike's shoulder as he drove the tinny up onto the shore.
"It's been two weeks Kate" reminded the man gently, smiling at her and flexing his leg to prove that it was fine; albeit a little stiff.
"The crew's missed you on board"
Mike laughed shortly at the statement, imaging the poor crew running scared from Captain McGregor "From what I heard you were a wonderful captain" he teased.
"Well of course" she nodded, serious features undermined by the slowly returning twinkle of her dark emerald eyes.
"But I'm not you" she reminded gently.
The pair smiled knowingly at each other, climbing out of the small metal boat and pulling with them a blanket, umbrella and picnic basket.
Mike watched amused as Kate stopped suddenly, taking in the sight of the small deserted beach.
"We've been here" she stated, turning towards him in surprise.
Mike nodded in agreement; glad that she remembered to save him the trouble of explaining why he had dragged her out at such an early hour.
Whilst the past month had provided the beginning of an era of healing between the pair, and they had spent many an evening talking over the events of the past five years, Mike was still a little anxious about where they stood and after much prompting from Marcus and the crew, as well as a few shouted words of encouragement from Zach, he had finally built up the courage to ask her out for lunch.
Any hope for the future lay in what he said today, and how she reacted.
"We came here once, you tried to massacre me with a stick" he deadpanned.
Kate looked at him oddly, making him reconsider the choice of opening sentence, before bursting out laughing, remembering the incident in all its glory.
"You forgot the food" she teased, pointing accusingly at him as scowled at the memory.
"But not this time" he smiled, holding up the picnic basket as proof.
Kate settled herself down on the blanket, patting the space between her to let a still Mike know he could join her.
"It's beautiful out here" she murmured, leaning back into the sunshine. Mike blinked slowly as her movement caught the rays streaming through the trees behind; flickering against her blonde locks and causing him to breathe in deeply.
"Mike?"
It took him a moment to realise he had been staring, oblivious to her movements afterwards.
"Are you still seeing your psychiatrist?"
The captain's brow crinkled slightly as he pondered the possible meaning behind the question. As far as he understood Kate hadn't known about his meetings with Lucia, only Swain had; leaving the rest of the crew to decide for themselves if they're bosses returning happiness had anything to do with him finally facing the past.
"Kind of" he replied, fiddling with the sides of the picnic blanket. He shuffled uncomfortably, partly unused to being seated cross legged on the sand; partly because of the tense hold he had on his legs, not daring to relax whilst Kate was so close by his side.
"I've gotten through most of what needed to be said" he explained as her eyes flickered in confusion.
"She wants to see me every few weeks though, just to make sure"
Kate nodded in understanding, glancing away from him finally so that he could relax. He thought back to the last time he had been so nervous around her, the day they had first met Zach and Emily onboard the Hammersley, when even the slightest mention of her name or the baby she held in her arms had made him feel sick and light headed.
"Do you ever think about what would have happened if the kids hadn't come on board?" asked Kate finally, not game enough to look towards him until he had spoken an answer.
"I have" he nodded slowly in reply "She asked me the same thing one afternoon"
Kate's silence reverberated between the pair, only broken by the flutter of a startled bird in the palms behind them.
"I'm glad we did meet them though" he finally whispered, afraid of her reaction. He opened his mouth to explain further, unsettled by Kate's stillness but before he could she nodded in agreement.
"I am too"
The mans eyes opened wider in surprise, understanding where Kate was coming from but startled that she was ready to discuss and even face it now; especially with him.
"It would have come out sooner or later, and the longer we left it the worse it would have been"
Mike reached a rough hand over the blanket to grab hold of Kate's own, her smooth skin tingling beneath his. He gently squeezed it in understanding, smiling sadly at her as she leant back into the sunshine once more.
"That afternoon, when I confronted you, I shouldn't have yelled" began Mike hesitantly.
"Yes, you should have"
Kate's voice startled him, causing him to pull back his hand slightly.
"You were right Mike, I betrayed you, and you had every right to be as angry as you did"
Before he could retaliate he noticed the pained expression on Kate's face and the struggle she had to hold back tears.
"You're wrong Kate" he murmured finally, catching her eye for the first time in minutes as she turned towards him.
"You had the choice to tell me about the baby, but you were 23 years old and having an affair with a man 10 years your age who could possibly ruin your career"
Mike drew a deep breath before continuing "I was a 33 year old who knew for as long as you did about the baby"
"Mike" interrupted Kate, trying to explain her behaviour.
"Kate I held just as much responsibility in the end because I didn't confront you"
He grabbed her hand tightly in his own, needing the feeling of calm that she brought to stop the anger and confusion bubbling through him once more; this time directed at his own self.
He drew in a sharp breathe as Kate's arm wound around his side suddenly, surprising him as she drew her head close to his heart; similarly craving the steady beat from his chest to assure her that they were both alive, both lying together in each others arms and finally moving on.
"We both made a mistake"
Her voice shook dangerously and before he could wipe the tears from her eyes they were trickling down onto his shirt, not great sobs like when he had confronted her, or the desperate tears of anguish as he lay before her in hospital; not the tears of remorse as they gripped each other tightly in his kitchen.
Instead these were the tears of the past mixed with the hope for the future because for the first time since he had followed her to the hospital those five long years ago, that was all that lay ahead for them.
The past was the past and whilst the memory of their child would remain with them for the rest of their lives, the pain that came along too would not haunt them anymore.
---
"Girl or boy?" he asked suddenly, whispering into her hair as she lay back against his chest, strong arms holding her to him.
"Boy" she nodded confidently "He'd be four years old now, and have your eyes and my hair"
"Zach" breathed out Mike, bringing a hand up to tangle itself in Kate's blonde locks.
He felt her nod slowly against his chest and suddenly understood why she had avoided both he and Zach that night.
"I guess it was as hard for you seeing me with him as it was for me" he acknowledged, tightening his hold on her "My image had always been of a baby"
"And seeing me with Emily reminded you" finished Kate, turning slightly to catch his eye.
The pair stared knowingly at each other a moment longer before Kate settled herself once more, both smiling softly despite the silence that had developed between them.
"What are we going to tell the crew?" asked Kate, aware that no actual 'relationship' had been formed but that the pair would never be the same two people that their friends had known.
Mike breathed out loudly in thought.
"We tell them the truth"
---
"Just one more push sweetheart, one more and its over" he encouraged, feeling his hand turn numb as his wife gripped it tightly.
He winced as she growled loudly at him, face contorting in pain as he tried desperately not to black out, peeping an eye open suddenly as a second of silence filled the room, startling him as the doctors face came into view.
"Congratulations"
The words was drowned out as the baby's cries reverberated loudly off the hospital walls, causing both parents to near collapse with relief.
"It's a girl"
The doctor wrapped the baby tightly before waving the man over to take a look at his daughter. His breathe caught in his throat as he peered terrified down at tiny red face between the blankets.
"How is she?" asked his wife from behind, voice faltering with exhaustion and emotion.
Her husband could only grin widely at her, leaning closer to press a kiss to her forehead.
"She's beautiful, perfect" he breathed out, sharing with her a smile.
"I love you" he whispered.
---
"Hello?"
Mike peeked his head around the hospital door, smiling at the woman leaning back against the pillows and the baby girl wrapped tightly in her arms.
He stepped into the room and made his way towards the bed, peering down at the tiny face before grinning "She's beautiful Chris, Sally" he congratulated, shaking the beaming fathers hand.
"We did well, didn't we sir" smiled the medic, running a protective hand across his daughters forehead.
"You did" agreed Mike, watching his friend smile down at the baby "Does she have a name?"
"Chloe" murmured Sally, as enamoured with the little girl as Swain was.
"Chloe Blake" smiled Mike, letting the name roll around in his head.
"Would you like to hold her?" asked Swain suddenly, surprising both Mike and Sally.
The captain nodded, holding his arms out steadily from two months worth of babysitting Emily.
He couldn't help but laugh slightly as the gentle weight of the newborn filled his arms, the baby squirming ever so softly as her environment changed from her mother to her father's friend.
"Can I come in?" whispered Kate from the doorway, stepping inside gently.
"Ma'am, this is Chloe" beamed Chris proudly, sharing a look with Sally as Kate stood next to Mike, peering into his arms down at the baby girl.
"She's gorgeous" gasped Kate, smiling up at Mike before glancing over at the baby's parents "Congratulations, both of you"
Swain and Sally watched as Kate all but leaned against Mike's shoulder, any hint of the pain that the new parents had been worried would reappear at the sight of the newborn, far from both the captain and his second in commands mind.
"I guess they truly have moved on" whispered Chris against Sally's forehead, leaning in for a kiss.
"Where's the rest of the crew?" asked Mike, allowing Kate to take the sleepy baby from his arms.
"I threatened them with my power to get in here" she smiled.
Mike laughed knowingly, mind wandering back to the few skirmishes that had occurred over the past few weeks upon his return to captaincy, where Kate had, had to learn to be second in command once more.
"They're waiting outside the window though" she added, nodding towards the closed curtain.
Swain smiled brightly as he opened the curtain up, only to be met with the beaming faces of his friends and crewmates. Charge and Spider along with Chefo and Jen, the crews newest member Bomber stood next to Robert and beside them ET was laughing at a squealing Nikki. Buffer, Chloe's godfather, stepped through the door and took the baby into his arms, smiling at both Mike and Kate knowingly before turning towards the window to show off the little girl.
Mike couldn't help but grin as Zach's little head bounced up and down, trying to get a look as Marcus held a growing Emily up, the now 8 month old giggling at the sight of another baby.
From behind the window Marcus winked at Mike, motioning his head towards Kate as the captains grin turned confused.
The man raised his eyebrows knowingly, laughing as Mike's own eyes opened in realisation, alarmed at the thought that someone else knew how he felt about Kate.
"Ask her" mouthed Marcus, picking up Zach to allow him to point not so subtly towards Kate.
Mike all but growled at them "Fine" he mouthed back, turning towards Kate who was staring at him knowingly.
"You wanted to ask me something?" she teased.
Mike could only smirk as he leant down and whispered in her ear.