The Turbulent Road Ahead
By SigmaStar79
A/N: I have found a wonderful Beta in Sez, to whom I have the deepest respect for. If it wasn't for her, this story would not be as good as it is Hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 15
The next day Corey watched over Kate and Christina while the kids were at school and Shamus, Joseph, Catherine, Kevin, Howard, Carol, and Angela cleaned up and fixed up Christina's house. Shamus and Joseph laughed when they saw Catherine and Carol sit down with a homemade scrapbook and started coping pictures to Christina's office computer and printing out pictures. By the time they were done cleaning up, Catherine and Carol had made eight different scrapbooks. One for each child, one for Kate, one of Christina and Pete, one of Kate and Mike, and one of family and the HMAS Hammersley and the crew, which they had gotten from Kate via email. They set out the scrapbooks so they could be easily found, and then set up the new photo shopped pictures courtesy of Pete. They all were smiling when they left. They didn't know they were being watched.
A man in a silver sedan was taking several photos and video of the house in question. He wanted to know when it would be safe to enter and his newest employer needed this information ASAP. He was being paid well to know who was entering the house, when it was safe to enter without being noticed, and to get the information quickly. Calling his boss, he left a message that he would drop off his information soon and then left. His job was done for the most part. Now he just needed to know when Mrs. Christina Perkins left the local hospital.
Getting the message, Gerald smiled. Soon he would be able to look more into Christina's personal life. He was looking forward to becoming acquainted with his wife again.
Shamus and Joseph walked into Mike and Kate's new house and smiled. In Joseph's truck was several tins of paint to bring inside. Kate had picked what colours would go in what room beforehand and both men smiled as they took their supplies inside. They would have the interior of the house painted before the evening.
Kevin and Howard showed up and started testing the wood on the back porch and front porch. Finding it sturdy and in excellent condition, they sanded both porches down, weatherproofed them and put a new coat of paint on them. This was their project.
Catherine and Carol were responsible for measuring the rooms for new carpet before they started cleaning and sterilizing each room. They talked and laughed as they did their given tasks, as Angela showed up with her husband Jackson. Since Jackson was an electrician, he went down into the basement to check out the wiring. He quickly approved it for the tasks Mike was wanting downstairs while Angela started bringing in minor things that has been delivered to her brother's home.
After Jackson checked all the wiring in the house twice, he started helping Shamus and Joseph to finish off the painting. Soon enough it was dark, and the Flynn family left Mike and Kate's house with a considerable amount of work done. They had painted and cleaned every room and had started moving the baby's items into her new room. As they headed off to the hospital, they were all in good spirits.
Kate and Christina had discussed babies and work the entire day. Corey had been glad to be relieved from watcher duty and had gone home to bed. Frances just stood there waiting for when she would learn of Christina's release. Maxine wanted to speak with Kate woman to woman and she couldn't do that if Christina was there. Maxine had every right in Frances's opinion to give Kate McGregor a piece of her mind. She was the other woman in Frances's mind and she also planned to have a word with her brother when he arrived back and was given shore leave. Things were going to get settled one way or another.
Gerald waited until about midnight before he snuck into Christina's home once more. This time he took his time going through each room. Noticing dirty clothes in the laundry, he started a load thinking that Christina would appreciate it. He walked through the living room and noticed that all the pictures he had taken had been replaced, and some new ones his associate must have destroyed before handing them over because he didn't remember them. He quickly took them and placed them in the sports bag he had brought with him.
Without looking at them he placed them in the bag and looked inside Christina's office. He sat down and turned the machine on. Removing some recordable CDs from his jacket, he copied everything off the computer onto the CDs and put a program in the computer to trace everything Christina would do or pull up. If this computer was turned on and used, he would know it. Finding some scrapbooks kept neatly together, Gerald also took those for safe keeping. He would look through them later.
From there he turned to go back upstairs. Noticing several pictures on the wall, he looked at each one before looking to the next. Walking into the first bedroom, he found it to be Andrea's room. The dark green walls with white ivy stencil were beautiful in itself. Pictures of her and her friends were scattered all around. Looking around the room, he found signs of a busy social life. Trophies from cheerleading and dance covered her bookcase. Her bed was a camo design and a poster above her bed stated she planned to follow in her Aunt Kate's footsteps.
The next room belonged to Sarah. He had to laugh at what he saw. It appeared his youngest daughter liked music. Looking at her vanity, he found an iPod. He put it into her iPod dock and started listening to the music she liked. It seemed Sarah had a bit of an attitude due to her music. He found a script of a play she was auditioning for at school; and judging by the awards that were proudly displayed his daughter loved to sing and was good at it too. All the posters were of singers and actors. It was clear to see Sarah wanted to be in show business.
Leaving Sarah's room, he found the twins' rooms. Side by side, one side of the door said Christopher while the other said Daniel. Walking inside Christopher's room first, he saw a room with deep red walls and dragons. Everything in the room was red. It was easy to see his son's favourite colour. A picture of him and his mum on his nightstand, his toys were all put away neatly and his books were straight.
Daniel's room was painted light blue with posters of ships covering the walls. A navy poster hung above his bed, and a picture of him with two different men stood proudly on his nightstand. One man was the one he had seen with Christina earlier that week. Taking the picture out of the frame, he looked on the back. What he saw shocked him.
'Daniel, Pete and Uncle Mike'
Looking back at the picture, he wondered which man Pete was and which was Uncle Mike. Seeing the boy's room in complete order showed all the rooms had been cleaned. As he looked back before leaving the room, Gerald smiled at how precise his boys seemed to be.
The next room was one he already knew. Walking into Christina's room, he could still smell the faint odour of sex in the air. He smiled as he knew that the smell was from him and saw the bed had been changed and made. Carefully looking through her drawers, he found Christina liked having matching sets of underwear. It was something he was going to keep in mind.
Looking in her personal bathroom, he noticed she still loved the scent of sweet pea and violets. Her shampoo was still apple and no perfume was in sight. A small jewellery box held all of her jewellery, even her old wedding band. Picking up the band, he held it in his hands for a few moments before putting it in his pocket. He would be placing that back on her hand soon enough.
After about two more hours in the house, as much as Gerald loathed it, he had to leave. Walking towards the back door, he noticed two family pictures were on the mantel instead of one like last time. The frames were engraved and he quickly saw why. They were dated a year apart. He took both pictures so he could have a better look at them later. He would have all the time in the world in his hotel apartment.
Frances was starting to get aggravated. She had asked the nurse several times when Christina would be discharged but no one answered her. She had even heard Christina ask them, but still the nurses said nothing. When the doctor came in to check on the women, he said Christina would probably be released in the morning. Smiling, Frances sent a quick text to Maxine.
'Doctor thinks Christina will be going home tomorrow. Be ready when I call you.'
Frances sent the message and then she waited. About fifteen minutes later, her phone vibrated. Opening it, she noticed she had a new message. Looking at the message, Frances smiled. It was from Maxine.
"Good, I need to get this confrontation off my chest to heal and get Mike back where he belongs and I promise you I will. Thank you Frances"
Frances just smiled. If she was to believe her friend, her brother had probably been playing them both. But if she had to pick someone for him, it would definitely be Maxine. She was his age and Kate was just too damn young to be chasing her brother around. It was time the confrontation happened and it was going to happen, come hell or high water.
Mike was so glad when he finally dropped off the SAS teams off that morning. Now on their way back, he was even more anxious. Those short 45 minutes in Kate's hospital room had relieved much of the pressure off both of them, but it was a bit difficult to truly love the woman who has your heart and child while she lies in a hospital bed. In the end they both felt relief after those 45 minutes but it had been a bit awkward to say the least. Now he was sitting with Dutchy and Pete, talking about what their plans would be when they got back to their girls.
"I hope I'm not upsetting you by dating your little sister, Sir" said Dutchy, a bit nervous to be talking about his plans with Carol in front of his Boss, and her big brother.
"No harm done Dutchy, just don't hurt her. Remember I'm not only her brother but your boss" said Mike with a smile.
"Think about it this way mate," Pete said with a smile on his face "I have to deal with both of them. I'm dating Kate's sister. If I mess up I get the boss and her on my tail."
Dutchy laughed at that one. He had to admit, Pete was right.
"So what are your plans with my little sister Dutchy?" asked Mike pleasantly curious.
"I'm taking her to dinner at that new restaurant down by the docks."
"Ah I've heard of that one" said Pete smiling and then looked at Mike "He's taking her to that expensive one."
"Really?" said Mike surprised "How did you get reservations for that place?"
"I know the owner, went to school with the chap."
"Good going Dutchy, I know for a fact that Carol has actually been wanting to go there" said Mike.
Dutchy smiled at Mike's compliment, and then frowned.
"What's wrong Mate?" asked Pete concerned.
"I have no clue what to do after dinner" said Dutchy and Mike laughed.
"Take her on an evening stroll by the water, she loves it."
"Thanks boss" said Dutchy with a smile.
"How about you, Boss?" asked Pete with a smile, even though he already knew what Mike had planned.
"Working on the house and trying to see if I can't get everything moved in so I can try and convince Doctor Harper to let Kate come home"
"Hmm" sounded Pete and even Dutchy laughed at the smile Pete was projecting.
"What?" said Mike and both men started laughing.
"You want a repeat huh Boss" said Pete and Mike smiled. That just caused Pete to laugh harder.
"What about you X, what are your plans?" asked Dutchy. He wanted a scoop.
"I plan on taking her to dinner and throwing her sons a large birthday bash. I have also bought a small necklace for Sarah's belated birthday and I bought some gifts for Andrea's birthday next month. No bad thoughts here guys, not with what Christina has just gone through. I plan to be the perfect gentleman."
Mike clapped Pete on the back and gave him a smile.
"Good man Pete, treat her like gold. I don't think she has as much patience as her sister."
Pete laughed at that and said he wouldn't have her any other way. Both men had to agree with him as they felt the same way.
Mike was too excited to sleep. He took a shower and dressed before heading up to bridge. Ryan and 2Dads had watch and both were surprised to see him there.
"Hi Uncle Mike"
"Hi Ryan listen, when he get back, I want to talk to you, there are some things we need to discuss"
"Why not discuss it now Boss. I have the ship. If something goes wrong while you and knocker are talking in your cabin, I can pipe it down to you" suggested in 2Dads.
Mike looked at 2Dads suspiciously but accepted his offer, deciding that the conversation wasn't going to take long. Walking back to his cabin, he let Ryan inside before he shut the door.
"Listen Ryan, I noticed you have all your stuff on board"
"I'm looking for a place now. I know with everything happening with mum I needed –"
"I understand Ryan, more than you know. That was why your Aunt Kate and I discussed it and we want to give you something special. Something that will help you out"
"I'm OK Uncle Mike, really. I just have a lot of stuff happening"
"We want to Ryan. The choice we are giving you is this; my place or Aunt Kate's place"
"I don't understand" Ryan looked at his uncle. He couldn't mean what he thought he did; could he?
"I mean we are selling one or the other. We want you to have your own place. You deserve to spread your independent wings Ryan. We are getting a new place and don't need separate houses anymore. We're getting married Ryan. So the choice is yours of which place you want. I can take you by Kate's place and let you look around since you already know what mine looks like and you can get back a hold of me when you make your decision."
Ryan lunged at Mike and gave him the biggest hug he could. Mike laughed and hugged him back. He wanted Ryan to have the chance to be on his own. His father was his best mate growing up and he promised him he would watch over his boy. This was just his way of finishing the job. Ryan was now a man, and his father would have been proud.
It was 0800 when Mike was awoken in his rack to 2Dads once again singing. But instead of 'Danny Boy', this time the song was 'Naturally'. As he stood up to get dressed, he heard 2Dads say something that put a smile on his face.
"Dedicated to our CO and his special lady. Welcome home Sir, we should be in port in two hours."
Mike just shook his head and went to grab his clothes. He was glad 2Dads cared so much, but did he really have to announce that over the pipes?
Frances woke up and went straight to the hospital. She was more than pleased to see Christina out of bed and dressed. She also saw Kate had just finished showering. She smiled as she noticed the doctor come in and give Christina her final exam.
"Ok Miss McGregor-Perkins, we can't tell for another few weeks if you are actually pregnant. As soon as I get your blood test results from this morning, you should be good to go."
"Thank you doctor" she said as she looked to Kate. "How are you feeling today?"
"Better" said Kate. "Still sore but I think Dr. Harper is coming in today to see me."
"Yes, I have her down as coming in any moment. It seems she wants to do another ultrasound"
Kate looked worried and it didn't pass Frances or Christina's attention, especially when she placed her arms around her protruding belly.
"Is there something wrong with my little girl?" Kate asked afraid.
"With you going into premature labour yesterday, she wants to make sure your daughter is healthy and safe. You are 21 weeks today and she wants to see if the living baby is doing ok without the drug that was cleansing your blood. She needs to check her over again"
"Ok" Kate managed to say, but Christina could see the cracks in her demeanour. Her sister was trying very hard to keep it together.
Frances left the room for a bit and sent Maxine a text.
'Christina being let go this morning, see you soon'
The morning started off big for the rest of the Flynn and McGregor families. After getting the kids to school, Shamus went and joined Joe and Catherine who were already at Mike and Kate's new house. The men went to pick up the new carpet while Catherine started mowing the front yard. By the time she was finished with the front, Carol and Angela had showed up with her other daughter Mellisa and her young son and a van full of flowers and rose bushes. Angela took over mowing the sides and back yard, while Carol and Mellisa planted the various flowers and bushes. Catherine cleaned up and took her grandson inside with her.
By the time Joe and Shamus made it back, Kevin, Howard and Corey were all there giving the house a fresh coat of paint. Both fathers chuckled at the boys, but said nothing more as they started taking the new carpet and padding out of the truck and into the house.
After that, Joe started digging a strip of dirt from the front of the house to the front gate, with a detour strip to form a driveway. Shamus was behind him laying down concrete and blue and grey stones for the pathway. By 9am with so much having been completed, everyone was pleasantly surprised. With three men working, the house was already painted, Joe and Shamus had laid the concrete, the lawn had been mown and the flowers planted. Catherine called from inside and served a large breakfast she had made for everyone and the family ate together.
After they were finished eating, Catherine once again cleaned the kitchen and dining room while Kevin ripped up the old carpet with Corey and throwing out the rubbish while Joe and Shamus put the padding and new carpet down. Howard was starting the downstairs area with Jackson, who had arrived late due to an inspection he had to do earlier that morning. By 10am, all the old carpet was ripped up and thrown out and you could clearly hear the power tools down stairs as Howard and Jackson put up the supporting beams for the new walls. Corey and Kevin went down to help finish it while their fathers finished putting down the new carpet.
The women hadn't been idle either. Each time a room's carpet was done, Angela was in there cleaning the carpets. Mellisa put up all the hanging flowers up on the porch and the new porch swings up. Carol was washing all the windows in the house and taking all the rubbish out. Catherine again was watching Mellisa's boy and had started cooking lunch for the hordes of working family members.
After the carpet was done, Joe and Shamus started bringing things from storage to the house. It took one trip, an hour between the men, but they got the job done. When they got back to the house, they noticed a security person there installing a security system and they knew Mike had sent them. A construction team showed up and started helping the men downstairs with the new walls and wiring. With Jackson there, they knew the wiring was going to be approved. It was turning out to be a very productive day.
The HMAS Hammersley docked in port an hour behind schedule, due to a small yacht having an emergency. After towing them in and dealing with that, Mike was told to go to NavCom for his debriefing. So, he was forced to stay until the ship was closed up and then went to NavCom.
When he got there, Maxine was in a meeting and that forced him to stay put in her office. He sat there for about 40 minutes before Maxine showed up and he handed her his and Pete's completed paperwork. When he tried to leave, Maxine tried to get him to stay and asked him if he wanted to have some lunch with her. Mike declined saying he needed some sleep and Maxine said she understood. Driving to his house, Mike called Ryan to come to the house.
15 minutes later, Ryan and Mike were out the front door and pulling into Kate's driveway. Getting out of the car, Mike showed Ryan the front and back yards, and then took him inside the house. Ryan looked in every room while Mike stood back and reminisced about what had happened in this house. This was where he and Kate officially reignited the flame all over again. He would miss it here, but in reality, he couldn't wait to start working on his new house and live there with Kate and their daughter.
When he tried to call Kate, he found she was down in ultrasound and was fine but not available for phone calls. He thanked Frances and asked her to keep him posted. Frances agreed and he hung up, just in time for Ryan to come walking up to him.
"It's nice, but I like your place better, Uncle Mike."
"Kate thought you would too. Come on, we will go back to my place and see where you want stuff."
Ryan and Mike left Kate's place happily. After picking up some lunch, they headed back to his place for a bit. He then gave Ryan a copy of his key and then drove from his house to the hospital. He couldn't wait to see Kate.
After being discharged, Christina drove straight to work and dropped off her paperwork she had completed and then went to work looking over new shipments. It took a bit, but by noon she had finally finished most of her paperwork. After her father started the business here, everything had been hectic, but after Christina took over, everything ran more smoothly. She organised for all the bills to be sent to her electronically and every payment and bill paid was electronically documented. It made things run smoother at tax time.
Walking around her office, she looked down at the current shipment going out. She reminded herself to set up a surprise inspection tomorrow for all the workers and barges. It was best to keep everything up to scratch.
When she was finished, she got in her car and drove to Mike and Kate's new place. She was surprised to see how much had been done in two days, but then with a large family to back you up, things went by quickly. When she heard her name, Christina turned her head towards the front porch to see Catherine Flynn.
"Hi Mrs. Flynn, what can I do to help?"
"The girls are inside decorating, you can help with that."
"Ok" said Christina as she jogged up the stairs."What are the boys doing?"
"The Basement" smiled Mrs. Flynn as Christina reached her and cooed at the small baby in the woman's arms. Neither woman saw the silver sedan watching them closely. Neither knew just how much danger Christina was now in.