Fixing a Broken Wing - Chapter 5

A/N: This chapter was originally divided into 2 chapters. But, as an apology for not updating a lot sooner, I've decided to combine the two chapters to one massive chapter. There were more revisions in this chapter than the previous ones. I previously received criticism from the readers in about the IC-ness of the characters in this chapter, so I really wanted to fix that. Hopefully, I've achieved my goal. Please let me know what you think.

This is set after episode 4.12. Rumble in The Jungle.

Also, to D/K fan, whose review I can't reply with PM, Thank you for your effort in finding this story, as for more cute little moments between D/K, you'll see more of those in future chapters, although not so much in this one...

"How's your head?"

Dylan turned to his left to find his XO was leaning on the railing alongside him. "Just a little bump." He replied and smiled softly at the concern he could hear in her voice. "I have a hard head."

Kate rolled her eyes at his typical answer. "What did Swain say about that?"

"Swain's main concern was the injured boy." He shrugged. "I'm fine. This is not the first one and won't be the last."

"If you say so..." Kate finally relented after staring at him for few minutes looking for any sign of pain or soreness. "Do you want to go to hospital to see Bird?"

"Definitely. I need to write my report first though." He looked at her questioningly. "Do you want to go first?"

"Na.. I'll wait." She glanced at her watch. "Is an hour enough for you?"

He smirked. "X, I'm not writing an essay."

She huffed. "See you in an hour then."

"Will do."

Jessica Bird stared hard at the plate in front of her, wiling this awful-looking porridge to disappear. She played with the spoon as well, wondering whether she was supposed to risk eating this meal.

"If you stared any harder, the plate might break, and the poor nurse would have to clean the mess."

As she lifted her eyes from her plate and saw who the voice belonged to, her eyes instantly brightened. "Dutchy!"

"Hey... How's my favourite gap girl?" Dylan smiled broadly at her. Bird's innocence and wide-eyed enthusiasm never failed to remind him of the early days of his Navy life before the reality of the job set in; the reality that had jaded his soul.

"X!" Bird's smile got even bigger when Kate had decided to step inside the room, preventing him from contemplating his past any further.

"How are you, Bird?" Kate greeted the young sailor warmly.

"Not too bad. The doctor gave me permission to eat. But look at what they gave me!" Bird gestured to the plate in front of her once again.

"So that was why you were looking like you were ready to murder the plate?" Dylan smirked.

"Dutchy..." Kate chastised the man softly, knowing too well the horrible taste of hospital food.

"If you think I'm being a baby about this, why don't you try it yourself?" Bird's lips formed a pout at Dylan's teasing.

"I would, but in one condition. If I try it and it tastes good, you have to eat it." His smirk grew even bigger at the challenge.

"Deal!"

Kate could only shake her head at their antics. Kids!

Dylan moved to sit on the side of her bed and reached for the spoon. He then dunked the spoon to the porridge, blew the hot liquid and ate it.

What the hell? They call this 'food'?

He swallowed the porridge quickly and forced his lips to form a smile. "It's really good! Try it!"

Bird looked at him suspiciously. "Really?"

Giving her his best smile, he dunked the spoon once again to the porridge, blew it and held the spoon in front of her mouth. "Come on, Bird. You have to hold up your end of the bargain."

"The quicker you eat the porridge, the quicker you can get better." Kate added from the other side of the bed.

Looking at the two people that she trusted the most on the ship, Bird finally relented. She closed her mouth around the spoon and chewed the porridge carefully. Dylan and Kate held their breath waiting for her reaction.

"It tastes all right." Bird finally said after a few seconds.

Inwardly, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then what are you waiting for. Dig in!" Dylan gave back the spoon to her and sat up straighter with a big smile on his face.

Bird couldn't help but smiled back at him. "So, what did I miss when I was in the hospital?" She asked with her trademark doe-eyes staring at them.

"Well..." Dylan and Kate looked at each other briefly before finally Kate gave him a small nod. "There was sort of a hide and seek in the jungle..."

They were walking through the hospital corridor to find their way out, when Kate asked the question curiously. "Did it really taste that good?"

Dylan smirked. "What do you think, X?"

She smirked back. "I think you were lying."

"Gee, X, that really hurts!" He mockingly put his hand on his left chest as if her words really hurt him.

"No hospital food can taste that good!" She rolled her eyes at his gesture.

"Of course not. The food in the Gulf hospital actually tasted better than that porridge."

"I'm glad you didn't feed me stuff like that when I was sick." She looked up at him with grateful eyes.

He smiled back softly at her, remembering that day. "How's your stomach?"

"Dutchy, that was three days ago!" She said incredulously.

"I know. But with the whole thing that happened in the jungle, I forgot to ask you about that."

Her eyes softened seeing his caring eyes once again. "It's fine. No more queasiness."

"That's good." Realising that they had reached the hospital's main entrance, he pushed the door and held it opened for her. "After you, X."

"So, how's your car?"

Her head turned to him at the question. They were sharing a cab to go to their respective homes since both were in the same direction, only 20 minutes apart.

"They gave it back to me a week ago, but it turned out that the boot was still leaking. Imagine coming home from the supermarket to find all your groceries inside the boot soaking wet from all the rain on the way home."

"Ouch..." he grimaced.

"Exactly. Long story short, I gave it back to them, told them to fix it properly, or else."

"Or your big friend will come and haunt them?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I didn't exactly say that. But I guess they still remember you." She smiled in amusement remembering the way he threatened the mechanic with bodily harm.

"Well, glad I could help." He shrugged indifferently.

Silence descended on them. Only the sound of the car engine humming could be heard. Kate looked down to her hands on her lap while Dylan looked outside to the crowds on the pier and in front of the cinema. Wonder what movies are playing? He looked around to find the billboard that usually hung on the corner of the cinema. His eyes instantly lightened up at the content of the billboard.

"X, are you planning on going anywhere tonight?"

"No. Why?" Her lips curved upward involuntarily hearing the excitement in his voice.

"Do you want to watch movie with me?"

"So, what is this movie all about?"

Dylan turned his head from the screen on top of the ticket counter to the woman standing beside him. To be honest, if not for the need to find the ticket information on that screen, he would much rather look at her. He didn't know why, but to him, she looked extraordinary beautiful tonight.

Beautiful? Dylan, what are you thinking? She is not your date!

"Dutchy?"

See, she didn't even call you by your first name! Wake up and smell the coffee, Dylan!

"Earth to Dutchy..." Kate looked at him amusedly. But seeing that he was still staring at her with a hardened expression, she started to get worried. When the person behind the ticket counter waved at them to move forward, she grasped his hands and pulled him to the counter.

"2 Adults for Prince of Persia." Seeing that the man beside him still in some sort of trance, she quickly grabbed her purse from inside the bag and paid for the tickets before he had the chance to be a gentleman and insisted on taking care of everything.

"You know, I can walk by myself..." Dylan stated amusedly when she still held his hand after moving away from the ticket counter. She blushed and loosened her grasp. He smiled sadly at her before he squeezed her hand one last time and reluctantly let go. I wish I would never have to let go.

"Are you alright?" She looked at him curiously. "You seem awfully quiet tonight."

"Yeah. Just realising something."

"About?"

About the fact that I have more than professional feelings to my XO and I could do nothing about it.

"Stuff."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Dutchy, what's wrong? You were so excited earlier. Was it something I said?"

"No, definitely not." He shook his head strongly. "Why don't you go upstairs and queue up in front of the theatre. I sort of need a seat in the last row because of my height." He smiled wryly. "I'll go and buy the popcorn. Do you want butter on top of yours?"

She couldn't help but smile at his attempt at distracting her from their previous conversation topic.

"No thanks. The normal one would be fine." She finally replied after a few seconds of silence. She then moved a step closer towards him. "Hey... You know you could talk to me, right? Whatever it is, I won't judge you..."

At her sincere offer, he couldn't help wishing that things were different. He wished that this outing was a real date; not a thank-you gesture from her for his care during her sickness. He wished that they both were not Navy personnel with fraternisation rule as a barrier between them. He wished that she could look at him differently, not as her fellow sailors, but as a man, a potential suitor for her heart.

"I know you would listen... But I couldn't talk about it... Not yet anyway..." He paused momentarily before continuing. "So, will you please let it go?"

The subdued look in his eyes worried her immensely, but she couldn't force him to bare his soul to her, especially not after he had made a request for her to let it go.

"I will..." she finally said. "In one condition though..."

"Hmm?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Could you please get me macadamia chocolate?"

He slowly grinned at her. "Yes, Ma'am..."

Dylan appeared beside Kate on the queue with large popcorn on one hand and two medium cokes on the other hand. Thankfully, he had half-a-mind to ask for a drink tray, otherwise he would have to be a circus juggler to be able to hold all of these things in an upright position.

With her chocolate safely tucked on his jacket pocket, he then carefully nudged her elbow to get her attention. "X?"

Her head whipped around in surprise at his presence. That was when he saw that her face was slightly pale. "Are you alright?" He searched her eyes for the answer.

"I think I need to go to the bathroom." Her shaky voice replied.

Before his mouth had even opened for a reply, she turned around and headed downstairs for the ladies toilet. He knew instantly that something was very wrong. He already started to follow her when he remembered all the goodies he carried. Looking at the group of teenagers in front of him, he then said, "Hey kids, free popcorn and Cokes?"

Was it really Mike that I saw before? Kate had been pondering that question ever since she locked the toilet door around 15 minutes ago.

It must be. The hair, his broad shoulders and the way he walked when he passed her in the queue. She worked beside him every day, not to mention that she literally knew him inside and out. There was no way that she could've mistaken him for somebody else.

A few days ago she had decided not to wait for him to make up his mind anymore, but nothing prepared her for the sight of him and another woman queuing up for the same movie. Not just any woman, it was Commander White.

Has he really moved on? Not surprisingly, she felt her heart ached at the possibility. So much for trying to move on, Kate!

She got up from the toilet seat and started to pace in that confined space. Maybe I'm being paranoid. They could be just friends hanging out together in their spare time. It just happened that his friend was female and someone she knew.

Just like Dutchy & I.

With that thought, she stopped her pacing. Hang on, are we even friends?

She leaned against the toilet door resignedly. If we're not friends, then why did we practically spend our spare time together lately?

She then lifted her hand to massage her temple. Why everything has to be so complicated?

Dylan stood up against the wall opposite ladies toilet's door. He had to remind himself repeatedly that he was a guy and therefore not allowed to be in there. It was bad enough that every time someone opened the door, he tried unsuccessfully to have a look inside. These attempts had earned him several nasty glares from the women. He could only smile apologetically for his behaviour. Unfortunately, his normally likeable smile had not earned him any points today.

He looked at his watch. She had been in there for 20 minutes. Is she sick again? He was just seconds away from pacing when the door opened and Kate appeared. For a while, they only stared at each other, trying to assess what the other was thinking.

"I should have brought you to the hospital when you first got sick." He finally broke the silence.

Kate looked at him as if he was crazy. "Excuse me?"

"Your stomach! You were in there for 20 minutes." He looked at her helplessly, angry at himself for not making the right decision the other day.

"Dutchy, I'm fine." She moved closer to him, reaching for his hands and squeezed tightly. For once, she didn't really think about the rules or what the scene must look like to other people around them. Her mind was on one thing only, to get rid of the distressed look on his face. She didn't know the real title of their relationship, but one thing she knew for sure, he did care for her. To belittle his genuine concern would be wrong and her next words should reflect her view on that.

"I'm not sick. I just need a time alone to think." She smiled wryly. "Let's just say that I saw someone that I didn't really want to see and I panicked a little bit."

He still stared at her worriedly, looking for any sign of nausea or similar symptoms.

"Beside, wouldn't you think that I would've brought myself to the hospital if I was that sick?" She said trying to abate his worry.

He didn't answer. He only raised his eyebrows at her.

She sighed. "You're right. Most likely I wouldn't."

His lips slowly formed a smirk at her statement.

As usual, she couldn't help but smiled back at him. "Really Dutchy, I'm fine."

"I guess we're not watching the movie then." He looked at her questioningly.

She grimaced. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head softly. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad that you're not sick."

"I promise I'll make it up to you. Any plans you have, I'm in." Kate stated solemnly.

He smirked at her seriousness. "Anything, X? That's a dangerous offer."

She rolled her eyes at his cheekiness. Seems like he is back to his normal self. "Well, within reason of course."

He smiled at her typical answer. Realising that they still held hands, he let her hand go quietly, opting to stand close to her instead. Better not to push my luck. "Come on X, let's see if we can get a refund for your money."

"Dutchy?"

"Yeah?"

"If you really want to see the movie, we can go again tomorrow." Kate offered, still feeling guilty for the whole situation.

He suppressed his excitement about her offer and shook his head. "Na... That's alright. I'm sure you would like to do other things in your shore leave."

"Like work?" she looked at him pointedly.

"Are you serious?" he raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

She smiled wryly. "That's the beauty of being an officer, endless paperwork to finish."

"I bet shore posting would be worse. That's all you do during the day, paperwork. At least as the XO, you still get all the action from boarding party."

"True." She stopped walking and turned to lean against the wooden fences along the esplanade.

Moving to lean besides her, he continued. "No wonder the CO was reluctant to accept his promotion. It must be a relief for him when he was assigned back to Hammersley."

Ain't that the truth? Did Mike think twice about being assigned back to Hammersley? Did it ever cross his mind to say NO?

Who was she kidding? Mike Flynn loved his boat more than anything. I bet he said YES before Commander White even finished her sentence. Kate thought bitterly at Dutchy's observation.

Come on Kate, you're not being fair!

She had to admit that under similar circumstances, she probably would have said YES as well. They were the Navy. Orders were made to be obeyed, not negotiated. Knowing their dedication to their careers, she knew that Mike would have no choice but to return to his beloved boat. She guessed that she was bitter to the fact that he didn't actually discussed it with her or at least softened the blow before he actually showed up as the replacement CO. If she was important to him, wouldn't he make an effort to tell her about the re-assignment?

She sighed inwardly. What am I to you Mike Flynn?

"X?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to walk on the beach?"

Kate smiled at his offer. "You know, we work at sea every day, yet on our supposedly day off, we still can't be apart from it, always unconsciously looking for it."

"I know..." He smiled back at her. He then led the way to the stairs, trusting her to follow him down to the beach. Once he reached the bottom, he rolled up his long pants to his knees, toed off his shoes and carried them.

Kate followed his lead and proceeded to do the same. As her feet touched the sands, she inwardly sighed in contentment; nothing beat the feel of sands caressing your feet.

Walking side-by-side quietly, Dylan unconsciously moved to walk on her left side which was the closest to the beach. Kate could only shake her head at his protective instinct. Even in his shore leave, he still couldn't let his guard down.

"I know this is none of my business," Dylan couldn't hold his curiosity anymore, "who spooked you out in the cinema?"

She kept her gaze to the front, debating whether to tell him or not.

Sensing her struggle, he kept his silence, only occasionally glancing at her. She had been very quiet ever since he mentioned the CO and his promotion. He wondered why. Was the CO related to his XO's problem somehow? It can't be. Both the CO & XO worked well together on board. It's definitely not professional problem. Was it personal then?

Before he got the chance to ponder that question a little bit longer, she broke her silence. "It was him." He looked at her questioningly, willing her to elaborate further.

"Remember that night on the bar?" he nodded. "It was the same guy who was causing me to get trashed." She chuckled humorously. "He was there, queuing up for the same movie."

"Alone?" He cringed inwardly at his nosiness.

"No." She shook her head. His question had awakened her feelings in the cinema. Anger, hurt, and confusion blurred into one giant force, threatened to incapacitate her.

Seeing her face got paler and paler, he stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her from taking any step forward. He lifted her chin up and stared hard at her eyes. "Don't you dare continuing your pity-party!"

She looked up to find a pair of determined blue eyes staring at her.

"You are a lot stronger than this, X." He moved closer to her, so close that he could see his reflection in her green eyes. "Running away from him, locking yourself in the bathroom, that doesn't sound like the strong woman that I know." He could see anger in her eyes at his statement. Good, anger is good.

"You don't know me well enough, Dutchy!" She replied indignantly.

She tried to take a step back, but he was having none of it. Letting his shoes dropped from his left hand, he reached for her waist with both hands and held her close to him. "You're right. I'm still in the dark about who Kate really is. But, I think I know my XO well enough. My XO always insists that she could take care of herself. She could also command the crews' attention and respect like no one else. And she is the one person that the junior sailors always seek out to talk about their problem." He paused for a second, "as for Kate, I suspect that she wouldn't be too far from the XO's persona, only softer around the edges. Besides, you wouldn't be in this stage of your career by being a weak person."

She stared at him quietly and realised that he was right. She knew that she wasn't a weak person. Her life with her mother had taught her to be strong. She had survived from her mother's abusive boyfriends. She was a straight-A-student in school despite having to study with torch most of the time because her mother seldom paid the electricity bills. She graduated from the Naval Academy with the highest marks in her year despite having to nurse her broken heart. She was strong. Then why she was so affected by the sight of Mike and Commander White?

She then closed her eyes briefly, breaking eye-contact with the man in front of her. He still held her waist firmly. His warm hands were a contrast to the chilling wind. "I'm tired of being strong." She finally said, tempted to rest her body against his for a moment.

"You're not supposed to be strong all the time. That's why we are human, X." His voice softened as he could hear the vulnerability in her voice. "I'm sorry if I'm being too harsh before. I simply want you to stop think about a man like that. A man that was cheating on you and broke your heart definitely not worth your time and I hate to see you sad."

As he finished his sentence, the wind picked up a little bit and blew few strands of her hair to the front of her face. Seeing this, he smiled softly at her and lifted his right hand to brush her bangs aside and tucked the escaping strands of hair behind her ear.

At his sweet gesture, she lifted her eyes to meet his. That was when she saw something in his eyes; something much deeper than the care that she often saw in his eyes.

She involuntary moved back from him, trying to create a safe distance between them. She looked at his hardened face; a face of grim realisation. Then there was a hint of anger there, maybe to himself for letting his feelings seeped through his eyes. His current expression reminded her of his previous melancholy when queuing for the ticket. She now understood his struggle and his deflection tactic before.

Dylan tightened his fists, trying to control his frustration at the current situation. Somehow she knew about his inappropriate feelings and judging by her instant removal of herself away from him, there was every possibility that their mended relationship was now ruined.

"Dutchy, what are we?"

Hearing that question, he didn't know what to say. Lying would be out of question. Joking would probably make her angry. So he decided to be honest.

"I don't know, X. What do you want us to be?"

For a while, they just stared at each other. No other sound was heard except the sound of the waves breaking into the sands.

"You know we can't be more than this." She finally broke her silence. "I'm not ready. I don't know when or if I would be and of course, there are rules." She shook her head sadly.

It took a while for him to work out what she actually said. He eventually understood that she didn't actually say NO right away. She didn't say that there would be no chance in hell or something like that. A tiny hope started to claw back to his heart. "So if we both had regular jobs, if we both didn't have relationship problem, if there were no fraternisation rule between us, then things would be different?"

"Dutchy, don't..."

"X, it's a hypothetical question. It's just something that I need to know." He knew that he might be pushing her too hard. But he couldn't undo the whole situation. If she was going to write a report to the higher-ups about him and his indecent proposal, he might as well be completely honest about his intention towards her.

Kate pondered hard at his question. Would things be different? If they just met randomly on the street, without any of the complication in their life, would she be attracted to him?

Oh Yes... His smile is amazing. His physicality. Not to mention his blue eyes.

She sighed. This is not fair. Why now?

She knew she supposed to say no. This whole situation was not fair to him. But he deserved an honest answer.

"Maybe..."

His lips slowly formed a smile at her reply. "Maybe is good..."

After a few minutes of silence, he carefully took a step towards her. Realising that she didn't step backwards, he took another step, and another, until he could see her green eyes again.

He then took a deep breath and spoke again. "I can't offer you the world, X. I also know that I don't have the greatest reputation out there in terms of women. But," he looked at her seriously, "I can offer you happiness. I can offer you many days of laughter... As for the rules," his eyes crinkled, "you know that rules were meant to be broken, right?"

She shook her head half-amused and half-horrified at his rhetorical question. "You're impossible, Dutchy..."

I wished things were less complicated. I wished I could take that offer straight away.

I'm sorry, Dutchy...

"Can I take a raincheck on your offer?"

As Dylan heard that question, he couldn't help himself, he started to grin stupidly at her. "Sure. Take as much time as you want." He paused for a moment, carefully choosing his next words. "Consider it as a standing offer. When you're ready, you know where to find me."

"Thank you." She smiled back and then held out her hand to him. "Friends then?"

He looked at her offered hand and grasped her hand firmly. "Friends sound good."

Without a word, he let go of her hand momentarily and picked up his discarded shoes. Turning back to face her, he offered his hand again to her. "Come on X, let's go find something to eat. I'm starving."

She shook her head amusedly. "Men and their stomachs. Why am I not surprised?" she took his offered hand and linked her fingers against his.

His heart swelled considerably at her gesture. There was no doubt in his heart that he wanted her to be more than a friend. But again, he reminded himself to be patient. The ball was now in her court. It was all up to her now.

"Well, a man has to eat." He finally replied to her previous retort as they started to walk back towards the stairs to the Esplanade. "Besides, you still owe me a breakfast, a movie and a popcorn..."

"How about pancakes?" she offered. "If the place is still open of course..."

He squeezed her hand tightly in agreement. "Perfect."

To be continued...