Chapter Three-

She walked to ComCen, and after making sure no-one was inside, closed the door behind her. She called the Victory.

"Are you ready for this?" She asked.

"Everything's set here. Everything ready on your end?" He asked.

"It is. Mike and Kelly won't know what hit them," she replied.

"Kate won't know what hit her," he added vehemently.

"Good luck," she added.

"I'll see you on the other side."

The Hammersley engine spluttered and died, eliciting a groan from both Mike and Kelly's lips.

"God, not again," muttered Kelly.

"Charge, I'm coming down with you to sort this out; I want to see for myself what's going on so I can tell Maxine myself," commanded Mike. As he stood up from his chair, the ship was rocked violently as an explosion was heard.

"Shit," swore Charge under his breath.

"X, you have the ship. Radio Victory, let Commander McGregor what's going on, and that we may need assistance," directed Mike.

"Aye sir," said Kelly formally. As Mike headed to the stairs, she grabbed his shirt sleeve.

"Be careful," she whispered.

"I will," he replied softly. After a moment, Kelly let go, and Mike followed after Charge.

"I don't know what it would be sir; Marine Tech assured me that everything had been thoroughly checked over. I don't understand what would be going on," said Charge feverishly. He practically slid down a ladder, and found the outside corridor near the engine room full of toxic smoke and fumes.

"Who's down here?" Asked Mike, spluttering.

"Only Hunt; she was scheduled for a marine tech rotation," called Charge.

"I'm going in to get her; we can't lose her now!" Replied Mike. He crawled into the engine room on his hands and knees, still coughing.

"Lex! Alexei!" There was no answer, and he started to turn back.

A figure appeared in front of him, clad in Navy uniform with a BA slung over their shoulder.

"Lex?" Gasped Mike.

A blow to the head, and the lights went out.

Up on the bridge, Kelly was pacing nervously, hoping, praying that Mike was okay.

"Anderson, have you raised Victory yet?" Asked Kelly.

"I have ma'am, and they're dealing with a problem on their end. Commander McGregor said they would meet up with us as soon as possible," reported Logan.

"Good. Good." She continued pacing the bridge, waiting for news.

Any news.

The ship gave a sickening lurch as it tilted to port, putting everything on an angle.

"What was that?" Asked Romano.

"I've got no idea. Taylor, head down to the engine room, see what's going on. I want a report as soon as possible," ordered Kelly.

"Aye ma'am." He left, and Kelly resumed her pacing.

She needed to know Mike was okay…

"Bec. Wake up Bec," urged Pete. He stroked back her hair; the most first-aid he knew how to do involved shifting her into the recovery position. She had a pulse, and she was breathing, but that was about it.

"Please Bec. Leo will kill me if you don't wake up," whispered Pete. He heard an engine, a large engine, and glanced up to see the Victory approaching slowly. He stood up, waving frantically, and the Victory lowered anchor. Two minutes later, a RHIB approached, Dutchy at the bow.

"Buffer! What are you doing out here?" Asked Dutchy smiling. As the RHIB neared the Apricari, Dutchy realised something was seriously wrong.

"Pete, what's Bec doing out here?" Asked Dutchy.

"She said she was okay. She has four more weeks to go, and she was bored! I knew I should have said no, I should have just stayed ashore," said Pete.

"Pete, you've got to tell me what's going on," said Dutchy firmly. He motioned for Slinger and Flash to step forward.

"She went into labour nearly four hours ago, and then she collapsed. I don't know what to do," admitted Pete.

"Slinger, Flash, check her out and we'll take her back to Victory. Pete, if we have to sprint back to port for her, we may need to leave your boat behind…" started Dutchy. Slinger and Flash slipped past him and onto the Apricari.

"Bec comes first. I can replace the boat; I can't replace Bec. Besides, the engine's died and the EPIRB is shot," said Pete. Dutchy held out his hand, and pulled Pete onto the RHIB.

"We need Bec on the Victory now; hook her up with an IV line, and contact Fleet Medical, see if they can help us out," said Flash.

"I'll help out where I can, but we need the big guys on this. I don't know how much help I can give," added Slinger.

"Alright, get her on the RHIB, and back to the Victory. Got everything you need Pete?" Asked Dutchy.

"I've only had her for a month; there's nothing on there to leave behind," said Pete.

"Right. Get Bec on here, and let's get this show on the road," said Dutchy. Slinger and Gordon lifted the semi-conscious Bec up between them, and with Dutchy and Pete's help, moved her across to the RHIB. Her face contorted slightly, evidence of the contractions still happening.

"We'll finish the examination when we get her on board," said Flash.

"Dutchy to CO, come in," said Dutchy into his radio.

"CO to Dutchy, what's going on?" Asked Kate.

"Pete and Bec were on the boat; get Dodger to contact Fleet Medical, let them know we have a pregnant woman in labour who's collapsed, and we need medical advice from them," said Flash, butting in.

"Bec was on the boat? In her condition?" Exclaimed Kate.

"I don't know any more than you do CO. I'll give you my report when we're back on board." As Dutchy finished his radio communication, the Apricari went off with a bang.

"Dutchy, what the hell was that?" Demanded Kate.

"Lucky we got here in time Ma'am; the Apricari just went up in flames," said Dutchy.

"Today's just not Pete's day. See you back on board, Victory out." The RHIB sped towards the Victory, precious cargo on board. Pete sat near Bec's head, stroking her dampening hair.

"You can't die on me, do you hear? You can't die; Leo would kill me. Please, don't die Bec," begged Pete. The RHIB was hauled up quickly, and as soon as they were on board, Flash and Slinger moved Bec onto a stretcher and carried her to the wardroom. Dutchy disembarked first, Pete right behind him. Kate was waiting.

"What were you thinking?" Asked Kate.

"I wasn't, honestly. All I wanted was for Bec to be happy, and to stop complaining she was bored, and she begged to be on that boat. She's not due for another four weeks Kate; I thought we were safe. And then the engine died, the radio went silent, and the EPIRB was tampered with. I couldn't do anything to help her, and then everything got worse when she collapsed. I didn't know what I was going to do; I'm lucky you guys were patrolling out here," said Pete.

"We'll look after you two, don't worry. Now someone needs to tell 2Dads that his fiancé is in serious medical trouble," decided Kate.

"I'll do it," volunteered Pete.

"Alright, sounds fine by me. We'll stay put for now until Fleet Medical advises, and then we'll go from there." Slinger came running up from the wardroom, breathless and flushed.

"She's awake, and she's asking for Pete."