After his restless night of sleep, Mike is leaning against his kitchen bench waiting for the kettle to boil when he hears a ding. Thinking it is the kettle, he picks it up to make his drink when he hears the sound again. On the third ring he realises it's the doorbell and wanders to the front door, thinking that after whoever is at the door has left he really should contact Kate.
As he opens the door, relief floods through him when he sees Kate standing there. He invites her in, leading her to the lounge and offering her a coffee.
They sit on the couch with their drinks, relaxing in comfortable silence as they enjoy the feeling of having the other one beside them.
"I hope you're not cross with me for changing my mind over Steve's offer?" he asks softly, staring into his nearly empty mug.
"No, not at all. It's your life Mike; your decision at the end of the day."
"Yes and no, honey. It is our choice, we make it together. Well we should have. I'm sorry I didn't consult with you first, before changing my mind."
"It's fine. I'm ok with it."
"You sure about that?" he asks while looking at her.
"Yes, I am," she smiles. Wow! He said sorry for doing something without asking me first. He must really want this to work.
"Anyway, we have a few other things to deal with first."
"And what are those?" He leans forward and places the mug on the coffee table before resting back against the couch. Kate does the same with her mug then cuddles up to him.
"Well, after yesterday, this is no longer a secret and I wonder how long it will take before the crew find out."
"Ah, yes. Sorry about that."
"It's ok, one way of doing it. At least Marshall is fine with it, and we're no longer serving together anyway." His arms wrap around her and pull her close to him.
"Thank goodness for that."
"Though I am a tad disappointed in you for not telling me the truth about my application for promotion. Yes, I know what Marshall said to you, but surely you could of told me something. Here I was thinking I wasn't good enough."
"I wanted to but at the start Marshall wanted it kept under wraps, then we decided it would be a nice surprise for you and less stress if you didn't know."
They sit comfortable on the couch listening to the waves crashing against the beach.
"Why is she doing this?" she queries him.
"I'm not sure, but she isn't getting away with what she's done. I don't care if she is Ryan's mother and a good friend, she had no right at all to do any of it." There is a contemplative silence again. Steve brought something to his attention yesterday, something he wants to address but is unsure how to broach the subject. I'm not angry with her, just hacked off with myself that she felt that she was unable to come to me about it.
"How much of the information Maxine found out about me did Marshall tell you, because he wouldn't tell me what he said to you," she asks hesitantly.
"Everything that he thought involved me in some shape, form or manner. Some of it he could tell from my reaction that it was the first time I had heard about it."
"I'm sorry I never got to tell you about it," she mumbles sadly into his chest.
"It's ok. I was shocked when he asked if I knew, I thought about it and decided that you would have told me when you felt the time was right."
"You're not angry at me for not even telling you and informing you about what I was doing?"
"Nope, I left you without saying much. You were twenty-three, and had just been promoted to Lieutenant. It wouldn't have looked good for you or me. So no, I'm not angry. You did what you thought was best at the time. I only ask that next time you tell me first so I can be there to support you."
"Thanks," she weakly gets out. He's not angry at me. I was expecting him to yell at me, tell me off. I never expected this reaction from him.
They sit in silence, enjoying being curled up on the couch together. They just start to nod off when the doorbell goes off again. Mike moves to answer it, finding Marshall standing on the other side not looking too impressed. He invites Marshall in and as they enter the lounge he notices Kate is also here.
"Mike, is there somewhere private we can talk?"
"Steve, anything you've got to say to me you can say in front of Kate. I, I mean we have nothing to hide from each other."
"Ok then, the information Maxine gave us is causing some concern with Brass. They're not sure if you two are being honest enough about your relationship."
"Yes, we did have a relationship back then. Yes it was wrong, but since then, to the day Kate was put on Hammersley we had not spoken to each other."
"Ok, what about since you two have been working together?"
"Again, nothing has happened while we have served together. The only time it became more was when I first took my promotion, after that nothing. I told you all this yesterday, Steve, why are you asking again?"
"Because I am checking that what you are saying stays the same each time I ask you. Now, Kate, is what he is saying correct?"
"Yes Sir, it is. I never contacted him at all. I thought about it at one stage but never did."
"Have you two been intimate with each other since Mike's promotion.?"
"Come on Steve. This is ridiculous, I told you all this yesterday. No we have not. Have I ever lied to you about anything?"
"Not that I know of."
"Well, I haven't. You always hear about everything I've done, even when it is wrong you get told. What happened ten years ago, should have no damn effect on what's happening now."
"Mike, there is no need to get cross with me."
"Why not, you don't seem to believe me. Twenty-five years of service to be treated like this, and the last ten years as CO of Hammersley. And then of course the last five with Kate as my XO; the only XO to stick around. Our success rate outdoes all the other patrol boats. I have worked hard to get where I am. Then Maxine, because she did not like my request for an investigation, so she decides to do this," he states while pacing the lounge.
"Do you have any idea why she would do this to you?"
"Most likely because I chose Kate over her. She wants me; wants the three of us to be a family, but I don't love her in that way. I love her more as a sister, but not as a partner. Those feelings died a long time ago, and she knows this."
There is silence in the room, while Steve thinks about what Mike has said.
"Steve, if the Brass are going to press charges against me for this, fine let them, but it is not changing the way I feel for Kate or what we do. If she was using me to get up the ranks she would already be there. And if I am honest with myself, she probably deserved to be promoted a year ago, when I got mine, but I didn't put it forward for this reason. Kate has been capable of taking of the CO job for a good 18 months, I just delayed it so that you lot didn't think it was because we were sleeping together."
"Ok Mike. Let's change the topic a tad. The teaching job in Sydney, I have been asked to inform you that you will be flying down in less than 48hrs." Marshall pauses as he takes in Mike's stunned expression. "You fly out at 0700 on Monday."
"Great one. You said Friday, why Monday?"
"They think it might be good idea, and I would agree that the sooner you get there, the less chance there is of you and Maxine having another heated debate."
"So I have a day and a half before I leave, not much time for shore leave."
"Sorry Mike, but this will be for the best. Get you away from here, get the eyes off you both. And sadly Kate, your guys' shore leave will only be for a week. You sail on Friday, because if you get the promotion Hammersley will need to come back in and have shore leave while you are away,
so I have to work the patrols in around that as well."
"No problem Sir," Kate replies.
"Look you two, please don't do anything stupid. Keep your heads down and work. Don't let this affect the way you two would normally be."
"Steve we're having drinks at the local pub tonight. I'm informing the crew that I am no longer the CO of Hammersley, you are more than welcome to join us," Mike suggests.
"I'll see how I feel later on, anyway I must get going I have a number of things that need to be done," Steve replies and walks towards Mike's front door, saying his goodbyes in the process.
Mike and Kate spend the afternoon enjoying each other's company. They go for a leisurely stroll along the beach. They spend time curled up on the couch talking. She reminisces about her time on the frigates before Hammersley and he tells her stories about different things that have happened as CO.
Kate unintentionally lets slip something about her past and when she realises what she has done she tries to move away from him. He holds her firmly against his chest to prevent her retreat, gently rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort and support when he hears her muffled sobs. Gradually her breathing evens out and she falls asleep, her head resting against his chest. He moves just enough to be able to pick her up with out waking her and quietly carries her to his bedroom and places her on his bed.
He leans down and gently kisses her forehead, whispering "I love you, Katie" before he quietly tiptoes from the room. He glances at his watch and decides he has enough time to head to his office and tie up a few loose ends before they join the crew at the pub.