Kate decides to make the first move and goes to sit on the couch beside Mike.
"Mike?"
"Yeah?" He knows she is right beside him, but he still can't bring himself to look at her.
"Did you really think I would leave you for someone younger?"
"Yes and you did anyway."
"No, Mike. I didn't."
"Well, that's how it seems to me. Jim turns back up in our lives, you don't get your promotion, I don't get off Hammersley and you leave me. And to twist the knife in the wound, you did it in the worst place possible. You did it on Hammersley, at the Naval docks. Giving me no choice but to stand there and watch as you stab me in the heart. I was prepared to give it all up for you, for a future with you, for us... but I'm not so sure now."
Kate sees the hurt and sadness in his eyes. Their glassy appearance suggests he is trying to hold back the tears and she looks away, feeling guilty because some of it is her own fault.
"Mike, why are you not sure about there being an us?" she asks gently as she places her hand on his thigh. He stares at her hand and its once comforting gesture. He doesn't remove it, but he doesn't place his hand on top of hers either.
"For a number of reasons, Kate."
"Do you want to tell me about those reason, Mike?" They sit there in silence, Kate's hand still resting on his thigh.
"Why? So you can't tell me the reason, so you can lie to me again, hurt me some more?"
"I didn't mean to hurt you."
"You didn't mean to. God, Kate, you more than hurt me. You pulled everything out from underneath me when I finally decided not to let my worries and fears override my heart."
"Well, how do you think I felt when you returned back to Hammersley last year."
Mike sits there shaking his head, thinking.
"Kate, just be straight with me. Why did you end it when we were so close, so close to getting that future we spoke about?" Kate removes her hand from his thigh and takes her time to think before answering.
"I didn't want you to leave the Navy because Fleet Command wouldn't get you off Hammersley."
"How the hell do you know what I said to them?" he demands as he gets up off the coach and begins pacing the room. She remains silent, unsure how to respond.
"Kate, answer me. How the hell did you know what I said to Fleet Command? What I said to them is private and no one should've been told. No one," he emphasises the last words as he sits down in another chair. She says nothing, knowing if she reveals it was from Maxine it might ruin any chances he has of being in contact with his son, Ryan. Mike gives her some time to answer.
"See Kate, this is why I'm not sure if there can be an 'us'. You won't talk to me, you won't tell me things that affect us personally."
"That is not true, Mike."
"It damn well is, Kate. I've not even been back a day and you turn up. We talk and, like normal, when it turns personal one of us starts yelling because the other refuses to talk, be honest or even open up about how they feel."
"Come on, Mike..."
"No, Kate. Listen to me. For once in your damn life Kate, stop thinking about us being on your terms and that it has to be all about you. I damn well know I've not been perfect. I damn well know walking out on you ten years ago was the biggest mistake of my life. I also know I can be an emotional coward at times, but for the love of God, Kate, I am scared. I am totally, honestly, utterly, truly scared of the feelings I have for you. The feelings I have always had for you, and always will. You're the love of my life Kate, my one true love. The only one I want to spend the rest of my years with, have a family with but... but I'm not sure if I can trust you anymore when it comes to my heart. I'm not sure if I can go through this heartache again, Kate. I've done it enough to know that each time the pain increases; each time I fall apart even more. And each time, I swear that I'll never do it again." The anger and frustration evident at the start so his speech slowly recede, leaving only the defeated shell of the man sitting in the chair.
The unexpected display of emotion renders Kate speechless. Mike walks over to the ranch sliders and looks out to sea, allowing the words that have been said to sink in. To sit there in the air for each of them to absorb. To think back on what has just transpired between them.
He stares through the window at the sea, willing away the tears that are threatening to fall at any moment. Kate glances at the silhouette on the other side of the room, studying his as she silently wipes the moisture running down her cheeks.
God, being honest has gotten me nowhere. I would love to know how she found out that I threatened to resign from the Navy if I didn't get posted off. Well, not resign, just refuse to re-sign my contract which needs my signature on within the next couple of months, if I decide to stay.
"Kate?"
"Yeah, Mike?"
"Last year, why did you push me to leave Hammersley? Why did it take a misunderstanding between us for you to consider transferring? Why didn't you think of transferring yourself, since you knew at times there was no one to take command?"
"Because I didn't want to get posted to a different area, because if I had it would never have worked for us."
"Kate, we could've made it work."
"Really, Mike? How many relationships within the Navy work when one works on patrol boats the other on frigates?"
"I'm not sure Kate, but I am sure that we could've made it work, and who said you had to go to a frigate there are other patrol boats, even a shore posting."
"Come on Mike, a shore posting? Like I would get one here."
"Kate, a shore posting would have worked every time Hammersley had shore leave that did not require us to be on stand by. I could have visited and vice versa. Why are you so sure that if you had done the transfer it wouldn't have worked?" Kate stares at him, but doesn't respond.
"Kate, please answer the question for me."
"Ok, I was worried that once I transferred the distance would be too much for you to handle."
"Distance? Kate, come on. We work together everyday knowing full darn well how we feel, but can't do a damn thing. Don't you think that distance has made me not want you any less than I did ten years ago?" The frustration is evident in his voice.
"I don't know, Mike. We don't often talk about that sort of thing."
"No, you're right Kate. We don't because one of us never wants to talk about it when the other one mentions it."
"How serious were you about accepting Jim's offer of marriage?" He turns back to the window and stares intently out to sea as he waits for a response.
"I was weighing up the pro's and con's of it. Considering what he could offer. I loved him, but after we had coffee and Maxine called you back, I went to try on a wedding dress. Up until then, I was going to accept his offer. You were still on Hammersley and you weren't showing any signs of fighting for us. Once I put that dress on, the thought of me walking down the aisle towards Jim on my wedding day seemed so wrong, so badly wrong. I was going to tell him at dinner that night but he took me out to a nice restaurant. The night was so perfect it felt wrong to tell him I couldn't marry him and that if I was honest with myself, with my heart, I would never be able to marry him or anyone else unless it was you... Mike, why did you never fight for us after I ended it?" There is silence while Mike thinks about what to say. He walks over towards Kate and kneels down in front of her. He puts both of his hands on her knees and looks her in the face
"Kate, you refused to tell me why. I can't fight or fix what I don't know is broken and also my contract runs out in two months. I decided that since you didn't want to explain things to me and because you seemed to have moved on with Jim, I was considering not re-signing it. Fleet Command know this and they have known since I first found out I had to stay on Hammersley."
"But Mike, the Navy, your job. It is your life, your love."
"No, Kate. The Navy is my job, but you are my love."
"So, can we try? Can there be an us?" Kate asks, a glimmer of hope showing in her voice.
"Kate, I am not sure if there can be an us." Kate's head drops down and Mike reaches over and gently raises her face so he can look at her, eye to eye.
"Kate I love you, I love you with all my heart, but the trust I had in you, well it is not the same as it was." Kate lets out a sob
"Come work, I trust you, Kate. You are one fine Executive Officer, the best I have ever worked with. But on a personal level, I don't understand why you can't be honest with me and tell me how you got that information from Fleet Command, or why it has taken Jim's proposal and him dying for you to realise what we once had."
"Mike I want to tell you who told me, but I can't."
"See Kate, that is why. If we can't be honest with each other, about everything, then how am I meant to trust you. A relationship is not just built on love, but also trust. I have to be able to trust you, to know that what you are telling me is the truth, Kate. Otherwise it will never work, and right now I don't trust you enough to have that personal relationship with you."
With tears streaming down her face, she gets up and runs out of Mike's house, totally ignoring the person who has just turned up on his doorstep. She even forgets to close the door as she runs out.
Mike reaches out and seizes the closest item on the shelf, throwing it against the wall in frustration. He stares through the broken frame and shards of glass at the picture he has just destroyed. Her face was still mocking him, staring happily from the photo of the two of them together, taken on some R&R with the crew. He sinks to the floor crying, not knowing that someone is hovering in the open doorway, unsure how to interpret the events they have just witnessed unfolding.