Chapter Two-

Alex and Kate walked along the dock together, heading towards the Hammersley and Victory.

"You'll survive with Mike and Kelly. They're good commanding officers, and they'll listen to you if you have a problem. Watch out for 2Dads, and keep him under your thumb; he'll cause you the most problems. Spider's a good sailor, and he'll listen to you. Toby's an excellent chef; ask to try his navigator brew. They're a good crew, and I think you'll do just as good a job as Pete has, if not better," said Kate encouragingly.

"Thanks Katie. Good luck today with your crew; hope they're not too laid back because they've been on holiday for a month," said Alex, smiling.

"They'll be fine; they're a good crew too. They've always been good. I'm looking forward to being out on the water again, to be honest, but I'm going to miss you," said Kate quietly.

"I'll miss you too; it won't be long until we're on shore again. And we can always email each other," suggested Alex. They stopped at the gangplank for the Victory.

"Good luck Lieutenant Commander," said Alex. He kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Good luck to you Petty Officer. Enjoy Hammersley." Alex left, and Kate boarded Victory. Dutchy and Charlie were there already, having stayed for watch the previous night.

"Morning Boss," said Dutchy cheerfully.

"Morning Dutchy. Good watch last night?" Asked Kate.

"It was alright; poured rain at about 2am, but otherwise, it's been fine. Marine Tech reckon they've cleared the ship and it's completely functional, and if anything happens, Robert from Tech has threatened to eat his hat," commented Dutchy.

"Part of me wishes that something little would break, just so I can see Robert eat his hat," said Charlie, joining Dutchy on the upper deck.

"Morning Charlie." Said Kate.

"Morning Boss. We're fully stocked, ready to go, just waiting for the rest of the crew to get here. Lieutenant Caetano has called in already to say she's running a few minutes late, and Dodger said the same thing. Otherwise, everyone's due in around half an hour. Anything you need us to do?" Asked Charlie.

"No, nothing at the moment. Just keep me posted as to when Lieutenant Caetano gets onboard," replied Kate. She left Dutchy and Charlie on the deck, and headed to her cabin. She dumped her bag on the bed and sighed.

It felt like coming home.

"Petty Officer Alex Taylor reporting for duty sir," said Alex stiffly.

"Welcome aboard. X here will show you to your quarters, and once the crew are onboard, we will introduce you to everyone. We're looking forward to adding your valuable experience to our crew," said Mike, shaking Alex's hand.

"Thank you sir. Lieutenant Commander McGregor speaks very highly of you, and has prepared me for meeting your crew. Would you mind if I dropped my gear in my cabin and then acquainted myself with Hammersley?" Asked Alex politely. Kelly and Mike exchanged glances, and then Mike nodded.

"Sounds fine to me," said Mike. Kelly led Alex away to his cabin.

"You and Mike are close," remarked Alex.

"We are, but we don't let our relationship get in the way of our duties when we're on board; we're not allowed to. Is there anything I can get you?" Asked Kelly.

"No ma'am, but thank you anyway," replied Alex. Kelly shrugged and left Alex to his own devices. He sat down on his rack and sighed. Today was another day; the only difference was, he'd reunited with Kate. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed her until he'd found her again, and she just… completed him. He unpacked a few things from his bag, and then ventured out into the rest of the ship. The layout was the same as Kingston and Lawson, but each ship always had personal touches. He watched as crew members straggled on board, some of them laughing, others looking hung over; one crew member looked upset and angry. These people were going to be part of the same crew with him for over a month, and he hoped it would work.

It had to work.

"So why do you want a boat?" Asked Rebecca, walking along slowly next to Pete.

"I'm still healing, and doctors won't let me back on Hammersley for a while until they're sure I'm healed, and I can't stand not being away from the water. I need to be on the water, and this is the only way I can do it. And I want you and Leo to be able to enjoy this boat with me, and that's why I want your opinion when I pick one," said Pete.

"Oh. Thank you Pete. Do you know what sort of boat you're after?" Asked Bec.

"Something I can fish from, but mostly, something I can just spend time on. I want… I just want a little boat," said Pete, shrugging his shoulders. They continued along the boat yard for a few more metres before Bec stopped.

"What? What is it?" Asked Pete.

"This boat. This boat is perfect for you," said Bec. Pete looked at it. Beautifully crafted, Pete saw the potential for the boat.

"A boat has to have a name," said Bec softly.

"We've got time. We'll find the perfect name for it. Do you think it's right?" Asked Pete. Bec nodded and took Pete's arm.

"It's perfect Pete."

Nikki and Jono drove to the dock in near silence, the only sound was Nikki's sniffling. She didn't know what to do with this baby; she'd already started to love it, despite it only being eight weeks old. She understood why Jono was angry; he'd lost every aspect of family in the past few weeks, and she knew that he wasn't dealing with it well, but she hoped he would be happy with her news. She didn't expect him to support her; she was happy to look after this baby on her own. But he overreacted, and now she found herself doubting Jono. She thought he would have been different. He stopped the car suddenly.

"Get out," he said softly.

"What?" Asked Nikki, confused.

"Get out."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because we can't be seen travelling to work together. You can walk the rest of the way." Nikki climbed out of Jono's car, grabbed her bag and slammed the door. Jono sped away to the carpark, leaving Nikki to walk the rest of the way to Victory. She cried the entire way, tears streaming down her face.

Things were never meant to be like this…