The Turbulent Road Ahead

By SigmaStar79

A/N: Please remember I have no Beta, so all mistakes are mine! Hope you all enjoy XD and Congratulations to my daughter Daphna for having her application accepted. She will be attending the U.S Naval Sea Cadets Corps when she reaches 11 in two years

Chapter 10

Kate wasn't all that sure come morning when it was finally time for Frances and Mrs. Flynn to watch over her. She had been given some paperwork to do by Admiral Marshal, so that was a bit of a relief that she could help him out with some of his paperwork. It kept her busy and a chance to ignore the evils glares of Mike's older sister. She knew from the get go that Frances didn't think Maxine was capable of what they said she was doing, but she would learn soon enough Kate figured. She just needed to stay calm and relaxed. That was the best way to handle a situation. Too bad Frances wasn't in the mood to behave. Every time her mom left the room for something, she started in again.

"So, when are you going to stop lying and tell my brother it's not his baby?"

"It is Mike's baby Frances; I haven't been with anybody else"

"Yeah right, I know women like you. The only way you advance is by spreading your legs"

"If that was the case I wouldn't have the nicknamed I gained in AFDA"

"And what was that, the RAN's Biggest Slut"

"No" Kate responded with a smile "my nick name was 'Princess Perfect' because I always strived to be the best in my class"

Frances scoffed at that and this time around, Kate noticed Catherine Flynn had been listening in the entire time and didn't look to happy. Kate decided to up the ante a notch.

"Don't believe me; look up the year I graduated from ADFA. I received the Sword for best Navy cadet that year. I have also served in the Iraq war and received commendation due to it. I strive in everything I do Frances. I don't take short cuts and I work very hard at my career. Where I am in the Navy is due to hard work, not hard sex"

Frances was pissed. She didn't like this woman one bit. She didn't believe it was her brother's baby, and she wasn't going to stand there and listen to her lies. Too bad she was stuck here for another two hours. She would rather be anywhere else but near this woman.

"If you worked so hard at where you are in your career, then how are you laying in a hospital bed supposedly pregnant by your Superior Officer then hmmm? Can't answer that one now can you?"

Frances smirked. She didn't expect Kate to answer her.

"Frances, I didn't plan to get pregnant. Hell, I didn't even know until a few days ago. When I did, I contacted my doctor immediately. I didn't expect Mike to act. With the problems we had been having due to Commander White's interference, I fully expected to raise this baby on my own. When Mike came over and apologized and proposed, I couldn't keep the truth form him about the baby, so I told him. Since your brother has a bit of commitment issues, I expected him to turn tail and run. I didn't expect him to be with us"

Frances looked at Kate then. Kate was looking out the window at the moment. Frances could tell she was thinking and was about to attack when Kate responded first.

"I expected to raise this baby on my own. I was even getting ready to transform my spare bedroom to a baby's room. I had already filled out my transfer papers through NavCom. Maxine wasn't to kind about the fact I was pregnant and tried to insult me and make things hard, but I wouldn't let it get to me. I was doing what I had to do. I might not have planned on Catherine LaFern, but I made a promise the moment I found out I was pregnant. I would never fail my baby the way my mother failed me. I would love and take care of her or him, and never hurt them. I would never put them through what my mother put me through"

That made Frances pause a moment. What did she mean she wouldn't hurt the baby? She would be a better mother than her own? She was about to ask when she heard her mother behind her.

"Kate I talked to your father and sister" spoke Catherine Flynn in a very soft voice. "You will be better than your mother. The things that woman put you through are horrendous and terrifying. How you survived I will never know, but it made you stronger and the person you are today. It made you work hard for what you have achieved and appreciate it even more. No one deserves the abuse your Mother put you through as a child and young adult; but just remember this, you have family now Kate and we won't let anybody hurt you again or ever hurt her precious daughter"

Frances didn't know what her mother was talking about. She didn't know how to digest the idea that Kate had been abused as a child. She looked to damn perfect to be an abused child all grown up. She still wasn't all convinced about Kate and her brother, but she had a new lead in her background search. This was just something else she could prove false and discredit the whore with. With a polite apology, Frances excused herself from watching Kate and left. She had a lot of work to do.

"I'm sorry about her Kate; I will have her father handle her"

"It's ok Mrs. Flynn; I can understand that this is a lot to take in. I just wish I was out of this damn hospital already. I hate sitting around doing nothing"

Catherine understood where Kate was coming from. She hated not doing anything either. While she was at Mike's place, she packed up all of his stuff that he wouldn't need upon coming home. She was trying to help the best way she knew how to. She even took the stuff and put it in her car and took it to the storage space Mike had rented for Kate's stuff. It had taken several trips, but it had kept her busy.

"I can understand. But think about it, soon the Doctor might let you out and you can decorate your new home with my son and prepare for the new baby. How many Bedrooms does the new house have?"

"Four bedrooms, two baths, a basement that need finished and a attic"

Catherine nodded her head and seemed to be thinking of something. Kate noticed this and wondered what her future mother in law was thinking about. If one thing had not passed Kate's observation, it was Mike had gotten his sly side form his mother. Catherine Flynn did things her own way, and even if they were a tad bit unconventional at times, it always came out with excellent results.

"I wouldn't put it past Michael to want to finish that basement either. I wonder what he has planned for down there?"

"I don't know, but I have one idea I want to pass on to Mike as soon as he gets back"

"What's that dear?"

"Well Ryan is trying to help us, but after Maxine gets in trouble, Ryan might not have a place to stay after his mother finds out he helped with the investigation"

"You're thinking of letting the boy stay with you and Mike?"

"Yeah" said Kate with a small smile. "He is so excited about the baby, and it will give him a chance to save up for his own place and get the stuff he needs for it, set up a bank account separate from his mums at the naval bank on base, and set up his automated payments of things. The phone he has now is under his mother's plan and I know he will need a new one, and new plans are expensive"

Catherine had to smile at Kate's kindness. Even when his mother was the source of her problems with her son and the reason she had to be protected, she was still kind enough to think of her son, Mike's Godson as a member of the family.

"You have a good point. Ryan is considered family. To think of helping him is not only a good thing Kate, but I know it will go far with Mike. I know even after all of this he is going to be feeling very guilty over what all happened. Your suggestion to him will help him get over that a lot easier"

Kate smiled at Catherine and Catherine smiled back at Kate. It was good to have at least one person who understood.

Back on Hammersley, Mike was getting frustrated. Apparently, they had stumbled on a large operation on the Island and now had an even larger situation on his hands. The Army was being called in to help as well, and Mike had a bad feeling about that. Army meant Jim Roth, and he didn't have the patience at the moment to deal with Jim Roth. Kingston and Hammersley were also known as rivals, so Pete was constantly keeping a close eye on their mascot Thor. Mike just prayed things didn't get any worse. But then again, he knew somehow, they would.

The call came in shortly after 1300 hrs that the ship containing the SAS had arrived and they were being transferred onto the bridges of Kingston and Hammersley. Mike almost growled when he saw Captain Jim Roth on his Boat Deck, but calmed himself. His crew knew the history between the two and would nip any problems in the bum. That was, until Ryan came up to him.

"Uncle Mike, you need to come see this"

Looking at Ryan's face, he knew things had just got a hell of a lot worse.

At the hospital, Kate and Catherine were watching the news before she left since she wanted to watch the weather report. Right when it was suppose to air, it was interrupted by a special report. Both Kate and Catherine felt their hearts drop at what they were seeing and hearing.

"This is a special report coming from the Australian Defense Force; Hi, I'm Sandra O'Connell, Channel 9 News. At four am this morning, the crew of the HMAS Hammersley responded to a Mayday call reporting that a boat of pirates attacked a single mother and her three children while sailing on vacation. When the Naval Patrol Boat found the missing boat, they retrieved two small children hidden on the boat before the mother and oldest sister was taken. The HMAS Hammersley quickly found out where the mother and Child were taken and quickly found a large sex trafficking ring on the deserted Island called 'Bright Island'. After rescuing several trapped woman and female children, the HMAS Hammersley came under fire. Reporting from the Air is News Anchor Richard Stewart. Richard, can you hear me?"

"Hi Sandra, we are not allowed too close to the action, but from what I can see, the HMAS Hammersley, which is commanded by Commander Mike Flynn and the HMAS Kingston, which is commanded by LT. Commander Steve Chambers, are both on scene. Another ship has delivered several Special Air Service, or SAS, teams to the two ships. The AFP are also on the scene and all three branches of law enforcement are working together to eliminate this threat"

"What can you tell us about the situation on the ground Richard?"

"Not much, The Army and Navy are not saying much at the moment, but what I know is the hostels are armed and dangerous and have fired several long range RPG's at the HMAS Hammersley. They haven't taken any damage, but again, the Navy isn't saying anything. We do know that due to a independent source, that the commander of the HMAS Hammersley just found out he was to become a father before this faithful patrol, so all the luck to Commander Flynn and whoever his lucky lady is on the new arrival coming soon"

"That is wonderful; the HMAS Hammersley is gaining a new crew member! Keep us posted on the developments on Bright Island Richard, this is Sandra O'Connell and this was a Channel 9 special report, now back to weather"

"WHAT!" screamed Kate and Catherine became very worried very quickly about Kate and her unborn child. No one was meant to know about the baby yet, let alone about Mike and Kate's relationship. This was going to cause a lot of problems for Mike and Kate. But not as much as Kate at the moment as the alarm for her blood pressure went off, letting the nurses know there was currently a problem.

"What!" yelled Mike as he and Ryan watched the telly in Mike's cabin. They had only caught when Richard had started talking, but apparently it had already been on channel 7 before Channel 9. Mike sank in his seat and held his head in his hands while Ryan tried to comfort his Uncle. There was a spy in their mists, and Ryan swore he was going to find who.

A frantic knock on the door had Ryan opening it to look at a very pissed off X and Buffer. Stepping aside to let Pete and Dutchy in, Ryan expressed his concern.

"Guys, no one was supposed to know about Kate and the baby yet, what are we going to do? We have to find the spy in our mists before they can do anymore damage or worse, lead my mum straight to my Aunt Kate!"

Mike looked up at Ryan when he heard him call Kate his 'Aunt'. Before he could say anything though, Dutchy did.

"We already know who the leak is Knocker"

"Well then tell me who because I want a piece of the jerk!"

"Calm down Ryan, I know you are just as worried as I am about what your mum is capable of, but we need to all calm down and focus right now"

Pete looked at both men and sighed. He knew he had to tell the Boss, but he wasn't looking forward to it. He knew the bad blood between the men and this was just going to make things worse.

"It was Captain Jim Roth of the SAS on board sir. He has a pretty good explanation as to why he did it, but he still could have handled it better"

"Jim! I should have known, that little…"

"Boss, someone at NavCom had told the news crews that you were engaged to Commander White and were expecting with her. Captain Roth just corrected them saying you weren't with Commander White and that you were an expected father with someone else. The news person on Kingston tried to pry more info but all Jim said was you had learned recently and that Commander White was not the expected mother"

Mike looked at Pete, then Dutchy, then Ryan. He knew he was in for a long day and there was a lot of trouble brewing ahead of them.

"Well, it was most likely Maxine who tipped the news off to begin with, Jim just altered its affect to his advantage. If I have to leave Kate, then he thinks he can slide on in and take over. Let's make sure that don't happen"

"Got it Boss" was heard from the three men as they left while mike opened his Laptop and sent an email to Steve. He needed to see if he had filled his paperwork against Maxine yet, or at least their counter measure to nip Maxine in her bum. After sending the email, he jumped on his Yahoo chat and looked to see if Kate was on. Kate wasn't much for watching the news, but his mum was and at this time of day, his mum and sister should be there with Kate. Praying Kate didn't see them on the news, he sent her a quick email telling her how much he loved her and missed her. Closing his laptop, Mike headed back to the bridge.

Kate was crying by the time Corey returned to the hospital for his shift. Seeing Kate's tears was not very high on his agenda. Seeing his mother upset though made his blood boil though. Entering the room, he noticed the news was on and again the news was showing an update on the situation with his older Mike's boat. He had heard over the radio what was said and knew there might be some problems, but the desperate look on both women's faces said it all. Somebody was going to pay.

"Don't worry Kate, Mum; Mike will deal with the problem. He won't let this go easily"

Catherine smiled at her son but knew there was little Mike could do about the situation. If Maxine saw the news, she was going to go insane with jealousy knowing the baby was with Kate and that just made the threat to Kate and the baby's well being even more drastic. She had to do something, and knew exactly what she could do.

"Corey, go call your father and have him get Christina and Shamus. We need damage control, and we needed it five months ago"

Corey understanding his mother's urgency ran to make the call. He just hoped it wasn't too late.

At NavCom, not all was quiet. After seeing the news reports and seeing none of them mentioned her, she was absolutely livid. She swore out loud and proceeded to throw a pile of paperwork across her desk. They were supposed to say the mission had interrupted their engagement announcement, not that Mike was a new expected Father! How the information about Kate and her little bastard got out was beyond her, but she was going to put an end to it. If she had to kill the woman to get rid of her she would! That was when she stopped. Hurting Kate would be too obvious, but kill the baby, that would definitely break whatever spell Kate had over her beautiful Mike.

But again she had sat in defeat. She had hacked into the naval base's bank and found Kate had not used her bank account once since her leaving Hammersley. If she were on a trip, she would have to use money. Her family was in town, she had seen her father herself, so there was no way she was in a different country. Her house was for sale, so she wasn't at home, hell the place had been cleaned out by Mike and her family for Christ sakes. She had someone watching his parent's house and she wasn't there, was she at Mike's house. She had called every hotel and motel in the area, but there no where Flynn's besides Mike's family and no McGregor accept for her annoying father. So where the hell was she?

Just then it clicked and Maxine laughed. There were only two places she could be, jail or a hospital. Getting up to pick up her paperwork she had thrown, she quickly picked up her phone and called every jail in a 100mile radius. When she found out no one had a Kate McGregor. That left her with only one option. Kate was in a hospital somewhere. Grabbing a phonebook, Maxine started looking up hospitals in the greater area. She would find the woman trying to steal her family and deal with her.

Christina was at the realtor's office and hadn't seen the news report. She had just handed the realtor the check that Mike had given her for safe keeping and had a copy of the sale papers in her hand for Kate and Mike to sign so they could start the closing. Mike had already provided his signature in case he wouldn't be here before he left, but the contract had changed a bit and needed fresh signatures. Christina was assured if she faxed a copy to Mike with Kate's signature already present; the bank would have to accept it as Mike signed via fax machine. As she was walking out of her office, she had a cold chill run down her spine. Knowing instantly something was wrong with her big sister, Christina ran to her car and speed off. She had to get to Kate.

Joseph and Shamus was at a Mike's house looking over everything Mike had bought for Kate and Catherine. Joe noticed Shamus get really nervous all of a sudden and asked if something was wrong. He watched as Shamus went to pull out his phone as he responded he felt something was wrong. As he was dialing Christina while Joe's phone rang. Seeing it was his son Corey, he quickly answered and listened to his son on the other end. He quickly told Corey that himself and Shamus was on the way and told Shamus his feeling was about Kate. Both left the house and locked up before heading to the hospital. Shamus drove while Joe sent a text to all of his kids.

'Meet at Hospital immediately. It's about your brother and Kate. Dad'

Frances was in her hotel room on her laptop. Since she worked with Family services, she looked through the system for anything with Kate's name on it. She didn't hear her phone go off, but was shocked at the files she had pulled up. Pictures of Kate as a young girl, bruised and beaten, signs of sexual abuse and physical abuse, were shown to her, and she had to look away. Then she noticed a file that said Kate had filed with the court through Family services.

Kate at age 15 had asked to live on her own, and showed that she had a small full time job to provide for her supplies and a wish to join the Military. The request was granted and Kate entered the Naval Cadet Academy. Knowing how to hack a bit, she looked to see if Family services had any updates on Kate.

Sure enough, her old case worker had posted about her success and how well she was doing in the Naval Academy. Frances then looked up Kate's records with the Naval Academy and ADFA. There she found Kate had won the sword for best cadet her last year in, she had won several attendance awards, hardly every missing a day. Frances was becoming frustrated at all the good things she was finding out when she was supposed to be looking for things to use against her. So far all she found was a goody two shoes.

Closing her laptop, Frances noticed her phone had a new message. Reading it, she smiled and grabbed her stuff before walking out the door. She hoped Kate had finally cracked and told the truth.

Steve opened his email to find a message from Mike. Looking over it he sent a quick message back and then checked in with his assistant back home. The files he had sent with the excuse he had never filed in his office a long time ago had already been filed away. Steve smiled at this and thanked the lad for his help. He then checked in with his contact at NavCom in Cairns. As was expected, Maxine was in a foul mood over the misinterpreted news cast, which made him smile even bigger. He told his contact to keep him in touch of any new developments and the officer agreed.

Back at the hospital, everyone was gathered around. The fact Kate's pregnancy had just been blasted across the news had both families in uproars. Everyone was discussing how to keep Kate and Catherine safe while Kate made sure she had both her yahoo and windows live messengers up. Hell, her Skype was even up, anything to find a way to get to Mike. Christina came in with the papers for the house and quietly had Kate sign them so when they got a hold of Mike, Christina could get the info to fax the documents for Mike's signature. Kate had just signed them when to her relief; her screen showed someone new had signed onto their messenger.

Mike Flynn was online.