HMAS Anzac is coming into Sydney harbour and the crew that are not needed to get the boat alongside the dock are getting changed to line the boat for their welcome home. Mike is on the bridge, unsure if Kate is going to be there. He knows she is out of hospital and has recovered well enough to be allowed back at work again. He has not heard from her since she emailed the day she got cleared for duty. Things aren't perfect between them, but he feels things are better than when he left.
As they get closer to the docks, they see the family and friends of the sailors all lining up waiting to greet them, some are in uniform and others are in normal clothes.
All the crew are now lined up along the decks of the frigate, like they do when they come home from deployment. Some of the sailors wave to the crowd and Mike tries to see if he can spot Kate within the crowd but is unable to. His heart sinks a little having not seen her there waiting.
Once docked, the crew are dismissed and Mike heads off to his cabin to sort out the last few things and make sure he has everything before he leaves. He is pleased that he gets to fly home to Cairns.
The sailors all disembark from HMAS Anzac to meet family, friends and loved ones. George spots someone in uniform, surround by some other sailors who are also in uniform. He goes over to them. Some of the uniformed sailors are from the Anzac and the others he is not sure of, as he has never met them before.
They start to talk and he notices one of them, the Lieutenant Commander going by the stripes on her uniform, is not really listening; often checking the gangway of the Anzac, as if she is waiting for someone.
Nikki catches sight of Mike before Kate does and smiles, as her crew are already lined up ready for her to issue commands. Kate is busy playing with her hands and she does not see Mike come down the gangway.
As Mike is walking down the gangway he spots the crew and Kate, plus a bunch of the Anzac crew there too, most likely trying to get information from these new people. He smiles.
The next thing everyone hears over the pier is Nikki's loud voice.
"Hammersley, up." The crew snap to attention, including Kate who looks to the gangway and sees Mike. Everyone turns toward the group of 24 sailors who are all dressed in uniform, standing tall and proud.
Mike walks over and salutes the group, they salute back.
"Hammersley, at ease," comes from Nikki and the crew respond.
Mike turns to Kate and can see that her eyes are glassy.
"Hey, do I get a more personal welcome home?" he says. She can't help but grin as she walks up to him and their lips meet, her arms around his neck, his around her waist. He pulls her tightly to his chest as they kiss, pouring everything they been feeling into it, only breaking apart when the need for air become important. Of course they hear a bunch of noise from the Hammersley crew, and some from the Anzac crew. They do not even realise that Nikki has dismissed the crew so they can all hover around. Though it does not go unnoticed to Mike that when Kate walked over to him, she had a slight limp on her left leg.
"God, I've missed you so much, honey," Mike replies before kissing her again. They get interrupted by a voice well known to them both.
"God, dad. Can you two get a room?" They stop kissing and Mike looks at Ryan. George joins in the laughter with the Hammersley crew, but is privately wondering when Mike managed to acquire a son. Mike partially lets go of Kate to embrace Ryan.
"I hope you don't mind me calling you that?" Ryan whispers to him while they hug.
"No, not at all. It'll take some getting used to though."
Mike keeps Kate close to him, with one arm around her waist, not letting her go. As he talks to the crew of Hammersley, and also some of the Anzac sailors who have come over, Mike notices George trying to hit on Nikki.
"Hey, George."
"Yeah, Mike?" George replies as he turns to face Mike.
"Sorry to have to inform you and the other Anzac sailors, but all the Hammersley women are taken. Sorry."
"Come on, Mike. You're just saying that. How can all the women on one boat be taken?" says George.
"Yeah, like this lovely young lady is taken," says one sailor, trying his best with Bird. Ryan stands beside Mike shaking his head just like Mike does, which makes Kate giggle.
"Anderson, Bird is soon to be my daughter-in-law. So watch what you say, because her partner is standing right beside me, and if you don't believe me check her left hand. I'm sure she hasn't taken that ring off since she got it, like someone else I know," he says as he places a kiss on Kate's head. Bird smiles, then wanders over to the group and Ryan.
"Mike, really? All the women sailors on Hammersley are taken?" comes from George.
"Yes, really. Now hands, eyes and minds off them please lads, as you won't just have me and their partners to deal with but the rest of Hammersley as well," Mike replies as he wraps his other arm around Kate.
"So, Mike. Going to introduce us?" asks George as he walks over to Mike and Kate.
"Nope, I know you too well, George."
"Come on, Mike. She should hear all about the things you used to get up to."
"Oh, don't worry. I know a lot about him already," Kate replies with a grin.
"Kate McGregor, this is George Ball, my old ADFA buddy, and we have served together a number of times as well." They both say hi and shake hands.
"Come on, not the one and only Kate McGregor, also known as Princess Perfect?" comes from behind Mike and Kate. They turn to see who it is and Kate is surprised.
"Lucy, is that you?" The two women both have huge smiles on their faces.
"Yes, it is. The one and only Lucy Le Bree." They hug each other and start talking away.
"Ok, Nikki, how did you get Marshall to agree to you all being down here? I thought Hammersley was meant to be on patrol?"
"Well, we refuse to sail with another CO."
"Nikki?" Kate walks back up to Mike, who quickly wraps his arm around her waist.
"Kate, what is going on? Nikki said they won't sail with any other CO. I thought you were declared fit for duty?" Everyone around them hears the worry in his voice.
"Ah, yeah, about that."
"Kate, explain now," he says, his eyebrows lifting up and giving Kate the 'explain or else' look.
"Well, after I got cleared for duty, I sort of got hit in the leg and, well, I sort of got sent back to hospital and into surgery."
"And why was I not told?"
"Because I begged Marshall and your mum not to tell you."
"I'll be having words with her when I see her."
"Mike."
"No, honey. Mum should have told me." He pulls her into his chest.
"So how long are you off for now?"
"The new doctor has given me six weeks off. He said I was cleared too early for work and he is going to be speaking to the doctor I was dealing with. He was a total pain in the arse, to be honest. I never liked his attitude toward me, or anyone else."
"Sir, you should have seen Marshall though. God, that day was funny," laughs Nikki.
"What did he say?"
"He told the doctor that he'd better watch out because 'if you think I'm bad enough wait till her husband gets back. Then you'll find out what a truly pissed off officer is, because that is what he will be when he finds out'. We were all trying hard not to laugh but we did in the end. The poor doctor wasn't sure what to make of it and left," Nikki says with a grin on her face.
"Oh, and I suppose grumpy here didn't help by being all bossy either?"
"Nope," replies Nikki.
"Yeah. Your leg, is it sore?" Mike whispers into her ear.
"Just a little, I'll be fine though," she whispers back.
They stand there talking for a little longer before Mike decides it's time to head off. He really wants to get back home to Cairns. He finds out that Hammersley is in port till Kate is back, but he warns the crew they had better return to Cairns because he wouldn't be surprised if Marshall sends him out as punishment. They all laugh and agree to head back as soon as they can. Mike gives then twenty four hours, because Marshall knows Mike is flying back in tomorrow morning.
"Did you bring any clothes with you?" he asks, kissing the top of her head as they walk off together.
"Yeah, they're at your mum's." They walk in silence for a few moments before Kate speaks.
"Mike, on the docks, was that for show or did you really miss me?" Mike stops, causing Kate to pause too. He puts a hand gently onto her face and softly strokes his thumb over her cheek. As he begins to talk to her, she leans into his touch.
"No, it wasn't for show. When Steve rang me and told me what had happened and that they thought you might not make it due to the amount of blood you had lost, I got scared. All I could think about was all the stupid things I had done since being posted to Anzac. How I never got to truly say goodbye to you; to tell you I loved you to your face. The last thing we did together, if you don't include a meeting with Steve, was us fighting over something that got blown out of proportion. Look, we're both not perfect. At the time, we were both under a lot of stress as well. I know it wasn't at a good time, but then maybe it was. Maybe me going away like this gave you a chance to deal with it all in your own way." He leans in a places a soft, gentle kiss on her lips.
"I love you, Kate, with all my heart." He leans in again and they kiss. It goes from a soft gentle kiss on the lips to tongues exploring each other's mouths.
"God, dad. I said to get a room not the parking lot," comes from Ryan.
"Hey, you, that is enough. Ryan, Bird, jump in the car I want to take you to meet someone."
"Who?" asks Ryan.
"Your grandparents, Ryan. My parents live here in Sydney."
"Are you, um, sure?" Ryan says, sounding a tad unsure.
"Yes, I'm sure. You too, Bird." They wander over and hop in the car.
"Kate, the keys please?"
"Nope."
"Keys now, please?" Kate just shakes her head with a smirk on her face.
"We're playing that game, are we?" he says as he comes up to kiss her again. He tries to get the keys off her but when she won't let them go, he tickles her until she drops them.
"Got them."
"That is so low, Mike. You'll pay for that later." He kisses her again.
"Yeah right, my dear," he murmurs before they kiss again. Ryan and Bird are sitting in the car, holding hands and laughing about the two outside of the car that can't seem to keep their hands and lips off each other.
"Anyway, you shouldn't be driving with your leg. Another thing I'll have to talk to mum about."
"Um, they didn't. Your dad drove the car here while your mum brought me in the other. They said you could drive me back when you were ready to leave."
"That is good to know," he replies as they both get into the car.
Five minutes later they are finally on the road, heading towards Mike's parents' place. Kate has sent a text to Megan, telling her they have two extra guests for them. Next Mike, Kate and Bird's phones go off in the car, alerting them to a new text message.
Hammersley sailing Saturday, 1400 hours. Marshall is the generic message sent to the crew.
He is going to hate me. While you're off, Mike will be CO is on Kate's phone, and she smiles.
You're sailing Sat, 1400 hours, on Hammersley. Sorry, I've emailed youis on Mike's, causing him to laugh. He turns and passes his phone to Kate so she can read it.
They talk for the rest of the trip to Mike's parents place, with Mike holding Kate's hand, pleased his parents have an automatic car.