Authors Notes: Here is the next chapter...We leave the finale now and enter the world of pure fiction...I really thought there should have been a scene after the memorial service between Kate and Jim's parents, but since there wasn't, I decided to write one.

All feedback/comments are welcome...I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 5 - Kate and Jim's parents

As the memorial service drew to a close Kate's eyes were drawn to Sally and Chloe. She could see the grief on their faces and desperately wanted to be able to say something to take the pain away. She watched as Chloe re-opened the box that contained her Father's medal. She looked at it sadly before closing the box again and looking up to her mum. She was looking for some sort of explanation. Everyone had told her that her father was a hero, but she was a young girl and all she understood was that he wasn't coming home, ever. As Kate watched them, she knew there was nothing she could say that would help. When Mike and Charge approached Sally, Kate looked to her left and noticed Jim's parents preparing to leave.

Kate new it was now or never. She didn't realize her hand had been resting on her chest, and her St Christopher pendant, until she took a deep breath and had to make a conscious decision to remove her hand as she walked over to his parents.

"Excuse me, Mr and Mrs Roth?" Kate spoke nervously, still not sure if seeing them today was the right thing to do, "My name is Kate, I um...I...I have something that belongs to you." Kate's hand was shaking as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the white handkerchief and ring that Jim had given to her.

Jim's mother accepted the ring off Kate, taking a look at it before looking back to her. At first she was confused as to why this person had her mother's ring, but as she looked up to Kate she could see the emotion in Kate's eyes. As if to answer the unasked question, Kate managed to find her voice, "Jim and I had been seeing each other, he gave it to me when..." Kate didn't know how to explain what had happened, he proposed but she was going to say no? Surely that would only add to their grief. "I know it was his grandmother's, and it belongs in your family." The guilt that Kate had felt in the pit of her stomach earlier in the day had now made its way to her throat and she struggled to get the words out.

"Kate, if Jim gave this to you, he would want you to have it." Jim's father said, his voice breaking while his mother nodded, tears forming in her eyes, she attempted to give the ring back to Kate.

Taking a half step backwards, horrified at the thought of having to keep the ring, Kate continued with her struggle to contain her emotions, tears threatening to fall, "No, please keep it. I can't imagine the grief you are dealing with, and I don't want to make today any harder for you, but please, it belongs to your family, I can't keep it...I..." She said pleading with them.

Jim's parents seemed a little perplexed at Kate's reaction but his mother held onto the ring. "You and my son were close?" She finally asked, "I knew he had been seeing someone, but I didn't realize..." Jim's mum trailed off, not able to complete her sentence. "Would you tell me about him?" She sat back down, motioning for Kate to do the same.

"What do you..I..what do you mean?" Kate asked a little surprised, taking her seat next to Jim's mum. Of all the questions she expected, this was not one of them.

"The media keep calling him SAS Captain James Roth and showing a photo of him in his uniform, but I remember him as a little boy playing with matchbox cars in the dirt until it was dark." Jim's mother took a moment to compose herself as she began to cry, "We didn't get to see much of him in the last few years, he was always so busy with work, I just want to know how he was, what he did outside of work, and how someone else, someone who knew him, will remember him."

Kate reached out instinctively, placing her hand on Jim's mother's hand to try and comfort her, and his father placed his arm around her. As Kate felt her hand being squeezed she found the strength to begin. "He was charming, not over the top, just enough to make you smile. He was loving, and kind, and thoughtful." Kate took a moment to take a deep breath before continuing, "He had the ability to, I don't know how to explain it, but I would forget who I was, and what I was supposed to be doing, and just enjoy being with him. He would make me laugh, and not many people can do that." As Kate began to talk about Jim, she was surprised to find herself feeling a little better, she had not been able to talk about him with anyone who knew him and she was beginning to find some closure. "But I think I will remember him as the tough SAS Captain who took great pride in being able to cook a roast and top it off with his home made chocolate mousse." Kate said with a hint of a smile as she remembered the nights Jim had cooked for her.

"I'm afraid that's my fault," Jim's mum started, the tears were still in her eyes, but there was a slight smile on her lips, "when he was a teenager I taught him how to cook. I told him that if he was ever serious about impressing a woman, he needed to be able to cook her a decent meal."

"Well it worked." Kate said as the women shared a small smile.

"Tell me, when he...ah..gave you..." Jim's mum faltered a little as she held the ring up, "how did he? Please tell me he did something special."

Kate couldn't help but laugh a little, "Sorry, we were both working. Jim had to put down his bags, then take the coffee out of my hands. We were on the ship I work on, and actually I don't know how we weren't interrupted. It was completely of the blue, but it came from his heart." Kate looked to his parents and knew they were waiting to hear what happened next, "Jim was the impulsive one, I the type who makes lists and thinks things through first. I never got a chance to answer him." Kate's voice had faded and she desperately hoped that his parents would let it rest there.

"Did you love him?" Jim's mum asked cautiously.

"Yes, I did." Kate replied, this time sharing a sad smile with Jim's mum.

"Then my husband is right, Jim would want you to keep this," She again tried to give the ring back to Kate. She could tell Kate loved him, and for Jim to have given it to her, he must have loved her too. She thought Kate would want it as something to remember him by.

Kate's emotions began to come to the surface as she again refused the ring, "No, please, I can't. I know this might seem...I just can't keep it." Kate then finally figured out how to explain it to them, "I need to do this to say good bye."

"Ok." Jim's mum responded. "Thank you for giving it back to us in person, it means a lot. It was very nice to meet you and hear you speaking about him."

"I wish I could stay longer, but there are some people waiting for me," It was partly true, but she did not know how long she could stay talking to Jim's parents without falling apart and she did not want to do that in front of them. She felt as though she had said what she needed to, and Jim's parents had heard what they needed to.

Having a son in the SAS Jim's mum knew that their time wasn't always their own and she suddenly realized that Kate would have a lot of other things she needed to do. Feeling as though she may have monopolized Kate's time she stood up and started to rush her good bye before Kate interrupted her, "Of course, we're sorry to have kept you..."

"No, no, of all the things I need to do today, this is the most important." Kate said sincerely, standing with Jim's mum. "If there is ever anything you need, or...or you just want to talk, here, these are all my numbers, please call anytime." Kate said handing over her card. It was a genuine offer, and not something Kate had been planning on doing, but something that felt right to do. Jim's mum was hesitant to take the card, unsure of why the offer was being made until Kate reassured her, "It's been nice for me to talk about Jim too."

"Thank you, I will." Jim's mum said with a slight smile. Truth be told, she was comforted just by the fact that someone else cared about her son as a person, and would remember him as something other than an SAS Captain.

As they said there good-byes, Kate knew she had made the right decision to speak to his parents. She felt relieved of some of the guilt she had been feeling, and it seemed that by sharing some information about Jim with his parents, it may have helped their grief as well. As she stood on the dock by herself she was able to take a few deep breaths and, hand on her St Christopher pendant, she felt like she could actually breathe. She knew she still had a lot of grief to deal with, for both Swain and Jim, but for the first time she was beginning to feel as though she would be able to deal with whatever lay ahead.

When she looked around the dock, she realized that much of the crowd had already left and those remaining were beginning to leave. As she scanned the crowd remaining, her gaze found Mike at the same time as his found hers. Kate found it comforting knowing that he had waited for her. There was nothing stopping him from going ahead to Navcom, after all, he had no idea how long she would be, but one simple act of waiting for her was proof of what he had said earlier.

They were going to get through this together.

To be continued