Here is the second last chapter. Enjoy reading.

Chapter 31

Over the next days the crew comes in every day to visit their boss, they take turns in taking vigil at his bedside, relieving Kate of this duty. Nav has made a roster for them all, giving each crew member about two to three hours with Mike and of course enough resting time in between the shifts. As it's her turn now, Nav sends Kate out into the hospital garden accompanied by Bird and a chipper 2Dads.

Together they manage with easy flowing talk to distract Kate from her worries about Mike. She is even so relaxed that she opens up to the young sailors about her relationship with the boss. While they sit down under a shady tree, she tells them "Even though I know it's against regulations, I finally made up my mind and I just follow my heart now" ,she pauses shortly and continues with a dreamy smile, "I'm utterly and undeniably in love with Mike. I can't imagine my life without him any more. I need him as much as I need air to breath."

Hearing this heartfelt confession from the X, both young sailors exchange a look and smile brightly at her. 2Dads assures her "No worries Ma'am. Nothing of this will get around. We keep our mouths shut about it all, I promise. – Really."

In the meantime, Nav uses her visiting time to talk to Mike about all the good times they shared so far since she was posted as Navigator on bord his ship. All the while she is holding his hand and stroking the back of it, squeezing it from time to time. She even tells him about her thoughts and worries during the whole Samaru mission, especially about the time when he got so badly injured and barely made it back then. Talking about those moments brings tears to Nav's eyes, but she wipes them away with the back of her hand. Just then she feels a slight pressure on her hand. Looking down she sees that Mike is squeezing her hand in return! Even while he is still deeply unconscious, he seems to have heard her crying and reacted to it, trying to soothe her without realising it.

Nav nearly squeals in delight, but holds it back in the last moment, remembering that she is a visitor in ICU. Instead she leans forward and gives Mike a light peck on his stubbled cheek and another to his forehead, whispering right into his ear "That's it Mike. Fight your way back to us. Here is someone who loves and needs you badly. So please, keep on fighting and show those damn doctors why you have the nickname `Mighty Mike Flynn`. I'd love to see your baby blues again." Smiling down at her still resting boss, Nav can't resist and gives him another soft kiss to his forehead. Satisfied that her message has been received, she squeezes his hand one last time, before finally releasing it and after a last look to Mike, exits the room and closes the door softly behind her. Outside Dutchy, Charge and Spider are waiting for their turn. Nav tells them happily about what just happened. Relieved to hear this, they all sigh deeply and exchange a small smile. Then Charge gets up and takes his shift at his boss's bedside.

About 2 weeks later:

Because of his overall improved state, Mike has been transferred out of ICU and into a regular ward two days ago. His stellar crew, his second family, is now allowed to visit him together all at once, crowding his private room. They all hope to see him improve even more. Maxine is with them too, having just ended her workday at NavCom.

For Mike himself this whole time since he has been admitted into emergency care and even before that, felt like he was floating in an endless darkness and quite. Only the sounds of voices he recognized in between, told him that something was definatly wrong with him. He could make out some words, but could't make much sense of them. All that he understood very well were five words, coming from the woman he loves deeply ´don't you die, please, Mike`. He kept repeating those words in his inner mind like a mantra, holding onto them like a drowing man would to a lifeline. And it seems to work beautifully. Because now he can not only hear the voices, no, he is even able to tell who is speaking and he can make out the words more and more clearly. To his improved hearing, another sense comes back to life. Slightly sniffing he can make out the unique smells of his favourite crew members. One in particular stands out to him, the soft flower aroma of Kate's perfume. That brings a smile to his face, knowing that his girlfriend is nearby. Wanting to see them all, Mike starts to open his eyes slowly, blinking rapidly to help his eyes adjust to the warm and soft light in the otherwise darkenend room.

Nav and Charge are the first to recognize the signs that Mike is about to wake up. But not wanting to spoil the surprise, they keep quiet and just wait. The others talk amongst themselves, mostly about what they did during shoreleave so far. Even Kate listens intently as 2Dads is recalling lively what took place in a bar the night before. So distracted none of them, except for Charge and Nav, see how the bosses eyes start to open fully for the first time in about two weeks. Blinking a few times again, to get rid of the cobwebs still fogging his brain, Mike looks around, trying to get his bearings. Nav comes up to him with a big smile on her face. She takes his hand in hers, squeezes it shortly in greeting and leans down to give him a light peck on his cheek. "Welcome back among the living, boss." Smiling back at her, he clears his throat before replying in a still rough voice "Thanks Nav. It's good to be back."

Seeing that the rest of the crew are still talking, Nav fills a cup with water and helps Mike to drink from it, wetting his parched throat. Seeing how thirsty he is, she advises him "Take slow and small sips, boss. You don't want to get sick, do you?" Shaking his head, Mike does as he is being told and after two more cups he lets her know that he has enough. Clearing his throat again, he exchanges a conspirational look with Nav and Charge. They just smile brightly, knowing full well what Mike is planning on doing now. Moments later he shouts in his best commander's voice "Alright! You had your fun! Knock it off!" Shocked they turn around and eight pairs of eyes look at him in disbelief. Maxine is the first to get over her shock. She moves over to his bed and without hesitating she takes him into her arms, hugging him. Tears of happiness roll down her cheeks. "Never do this again to us Mike. We thought we'd lose you."

He grins back at her and tries to reassure her "I'll be more careful next time. I promise." Not truly convinced, Maxine accepts his answer and kisses him on his stubbled cheek. Feeling along his jawline and cheek with her finger, she means with a soft smile "You need a shave, mister." Grinning broadly, Mike replies "Nope. The beard stays." Seeing Maxine's stern look, he hastily adds "For now." Nodding at his answer, Maxine announces her exit "I'm leaving for home. So you guys have your CO for yourselves now. Just don't overdo it with him. He just woke up from his coma, so be more patient and give him time to recover. Is that understood?" As one the crew nods and shouts "Aye, Ma'am." With a pointed look the crew and one last look to her friend, Maxine leaves and closes the door behind her.

Now one after another the crew comes over to shake their boss's hand and to welcome him back. The older ones, like Charge, go further and clap him slightly on his back, mindful of his injured arm and shoulder, which are still encased in a sling and a thick bandage. Mike is more then happy to be back among the living and to be surrounded by his faithful crew, his family. It means a lot to him to have them here with him now, being there for him in this early stage of his long way of recovery.

While most crew members chat with him, Nav goes outside to get a doctor and to let him or her know that Mike has woken up. Returning with his doctor in tow, an Afro-Australian woman with dark, friendly eyes, Nav throws the crew out of the room, giving the doctor time to check her patient thorougly.

Smiling at Mike, sh introduces herself "Hi, I'm Alexx Johnson, the nice doctor who is treating you since you were admitted. But please, call me Alexx like all my friends do." Smiling back at her and showing his perly whites, Mike gives back to her "Only if you call me Mike." Shaking his hand firmly, Alexx nods "Deal, mister." Taking his medical file, she studies the last entries and satisfied with them, puts the file back to it's place at the foot of the bed and goes over to Mike. Getting out her pen-light she controls his pupils, looking for any sign of a possible brain damage. Finding none, she puts the pen away and uses the stethoskope which is hanging around her neck. Checking his pulse, Alexx is happy as she sees how strong it is. Finally she checks his BP and afterwards writes down the numbers in his chart. Looking to her patient Alexx realises that he has fallen asleep, the steady rise and fall of his chest a sure sign that he is sleeping peacefully. "Hm, that's it Mike. You just rest and let your body heal. And in no time you'll be out of here and back out at sea." Exiting the room she closes the door and tells the crew that everything is alright, but that he is sleeping now and that they all should go home and come back the other day. They nod and leave the hospital, assured that their boss will make a full recovery now.

Another week and a half later he is released from hospital and is given into the care of his crew. As his house is big enough for them all, they move in with him and sleep either on the couches, the guestrooms or in their sleeping bags. In turns they cook for him, help him in getting around the house as he still has his left arm in a sling and they take care of his house, doing the usual housework like vaccum cleaning, doing the laundry, ironing and doing the dishes. Charge takes care of the big garden using a lawnmower and other gardening tools. During those days, which turn into weeks, they always manage to make him smile or laugh, lifting Mike's spirits greatly. Which is a good thing, because the long time of doing nothing, is driving Mike simply nuts.

Dutchy has gotten explicit orders from a physics technican how to train with Mike and how to slowly help him to rebuilt his muscle tone, before he starts to go further with the rehab. During those sessions, which get longer each passing day, Dutchy talks amiably with his boss, distracting him successfully from his current life situation.

In the third week of this stage in his recovery, Mike has finally gotten rid of both things which had driven him nuts, the sling and the bandage. Now he is able to get muscle tone back into his left arm too. More than happy to see his boss without the sling, Dutchy acts again as his personal trainer to get him back in shape. Each passing day he gets stronger and stronger, to the relief of his whole crew. They encourage him to not stop now, as he is on the right way. Grinning at him, Charge even says "Not too long now and you'll be able to unroot a tree with these arms." Hearing those words the whole crew laughs heartily. Nav adds "I'd like to see that happen." Again they all laugh, now Mike joins in their laughter and is laughing so hard that his eyes start to water. Hastily he wipes them dry with the sleeve of his shirt.

As the laugher dies down, 2Dads asks them "How about a celebratory drink in our favourite bar tonight?" Charge, Buddy and Spider shout happily "Yeah! Sounds great!" Dutchy too is thankful for this change of their daily routine. Only Nav and Kate are a bit skeptical, knowing full well how such nights end for most of them, drunk or at least inabriated. Both women look over to Mike, waiting on his say in this. His gaze wanders from one crew member to the next. Seeing their eager faces, he smiles and announces "Alright. Celebratory drinks tonight! 20:00 hrs at the 'Sailor's Hideout'. Just one plea. Don't drink too much, as you are all needed again the next day. Got it?" The crew cheers loudly and they all leave to go back into their own homes for a short while. Afterall alone, Mike and Kate sit down on the couch, holding each other and just enjoying the other's company.

Their night out in the bar goes smoothly. The crew behaved and they all listened to Mike's plea not to drink too much. Even though they all had their fun, enjoying their time together.

Another 3 weeks later, NavCom Cairns:

After his long rehab time, in which his crew helped him immensly, Mike is now on his way to have his final check-up from a Navy doctor. In a chippery mood, Mike enters NavCom and goes right up to the office from the doctor. As he is welcomed by the physician, he is surprised to see not only Maxine in there too, but also the Fleet Commander, Commodore Davis. They salute each other, before shaking hands in greeting. The doctor, an eldery Lieutenant by the name O'Donnell, asks Mike to follow hin into the exam room, while both higher ranking officers wait outside.

Ten minutes later O'Donnell comes back into the main office with a big smile on his face. Maxine looks past him and sees Mike in the background, who is still redressing himself. She has to moisten her suddenly dry lips, as she admires his well-built physique. Although he is a man, only one word comes to her mind to describe him, beautiful. And its true. Looking him up and down, Maxine realizes that his muscles are more protruding then ever. Especially his abs and arm muscles, which are strained now while he is putting on his white shirt.

Suddenly she is taken back into reality, when she is spoken to by Commodore Davis. She chastises herself for allowing her thoughts to wander, shakes her head and looks to Davis and O'Donnell. Davis asks her "Where were your thoughts, Commander White? I've asked you at least twice what your opinion is, regarding Commander Flynn's condition."

Before she can answer, the object of her distraction walks in and again, Maxine can't help herself, but to look closely. Without thinking, she says "Looks like you need a new uniform, Commander. That shirt sits way too tight to be proper." Even though I don't mind seeing you like this, Maxine thinks with a slight smile on her face. Now Davis sees it too. "Hm, I think Commander White is right. Have you gained that much weight, Commander?" Looking down on himself, Mike answers "All that I have gained in my excessive training with Petty Officer Mulholland, are stronger muscles. They are bigger then before this incident, hence the now skin-tight shirt, Sir." Maxine is still grinning like a Cheshire cat and even Lieutenat O'Donnell smiles. Davis studies Mike from head to toe and means "I like what I see, because I think it's essential that a CO is being a role model for his crew. And you are a prime example for this rule, Commander Flynn. So I give you my permission to keep on wearing the tight shirt while on base. But for a more official occasion I want you to get a new, more lose fitting shirt. Do we have an accord, Commander?"

Showing his winning smile, Mike shakes hands with the Commodore and says only "Agreed, Sir." Satisfied, Davis salutes Mike and exits the room. O'Donnell hands Mike his medical file, which contains his clean bill of health, allowing him to return to active sea duty right away. Thanking O'Donnell, Mike leaves the office together with Maxine. They walk to her office, where she gives him his new orders. Studying them intently, Mike takes out his mobile to send a message to all crew, letting them know that they are to be at the ship as fast as possible. Maxine informs him too that the Hammersley is already being refuelled and that supplies are being loaded by other base personal so that they can leave without any delays. Saying goodbye, Mike exits her office and decides to walk the not so long distance to the docks, enjoying the cool breeze that comes in from the sea.

When he finally reaches the dock, where the Hammersley lies at anchor, he is surprised to see the whole crew already out on the aft deck and all are wearing their ceremonial dress whites. What shocks him a bit is the big "Welcome back, Boss"-sign that is hanging from one of the RHIB cranes, floating softly in the wind. Before he walks down the gangway, he holds a few moments and remembers some of the happenings during his recovery, likeCharge helping with the lawnmower, Kate and Bird cooking, 2Dads repairing his stereo and of course, Dutchy acting as his personal trainer. All those memories bring a smile to his handsome face. Still smiling he walks down the last steps, carrying his briefcase in one and his duffelbag in the other hand.

The moment he started to move again, his crew started clapping and whistling, giving him a warm welcome. Mike puts down the bags and shouts "Knock it off!" Immediately all are quiet and stand at attention, saluting him. He salutes back with a slight grin. "Hammersley! At ease!" As one the crew move up to their Captain and everyone hugs him shortly, clapping him heartily on his back, before they leave one after another the boat deck to change back into their DPNUs. Kate is the last one to hug him. She holds onto Mike a bit longer, burying her face in his shoulder and breathes in his unique scent, a combination of his aftershave, the salty sea air and something definitely masculine. Kate enjoys this close proximity to the man she loves, but being on duty, she finally steps back and just looks him up and down. Only now she sees that something is off with his Whites. Putting a hand to his upper arm and feeling the bulging muscles under her fingers, she says "Hm, I love to see you show off, but not while on duty. Do you want to distract the junior sailors Sir?"

Shaking his head, Mike replies "I have permission from the Fleet Commander to wear the tight shirt. Thinking back on my training, I believe Dutchy overdid it a bit with me, but I don't see you complain. So I guess, you like what you see, right Kate?" She nudges him in his side and answers "But of course, I like what I see. No, correction. I love what I see infront of me, but I can't allow myself to be distracted, Sir. So I think it is better for you to go into your cabin and to change into the DPNU." Nodding Mike grabs his bags and with a last look to Kate, goes inside to his CO cabin. Once inside he puts down both bags and changes into his DPNU. When he is nearly finished he halts a moment in front of the bathroom mirror and studies his reflection. The grey undershirt, which was tight even before he gained more muscles, is now really skin-tight and about to rip at the cautiously, Mike grabs his DPNU shirt and exits the cabin.

Coming up to the bridge, he is again welcomed from his crew. Dutchy, Charge, 2Dads, Nav and even RO clap when he is finally back at his rightful place, the CO chair. Grinning like a cat that got the cream, Mike enjoys being out at sea again after such a long time of absence. He gazes out at the vast blue ocean that spreads out in front of the ship. Wishing to breath in the sea air, Mike jumps up from his chair, grabs a pair of binos and goes out on the bridge wing, shouting to Nav that she has the ship. With a knowing smile, Nav confirms the order.

The first three days nothing happens. No mayday calls, no illegal fisherman or smugglers to catch, just them and the beautiful sea. Even the weather is holding, staying sunny throughout the days. Only during the third night they have a light rain shower.

On the fourth day out, they detect a FFV. Hailing them, Mike sends out a boarding team to catch them. Apart from a small scuffle, during which the X and 2Dads take a fall, everything goes well. Both sailors let Mike know that everything is alright and that they return with the fishermen to the Hammersley. With the FFV in tow the Hammersley is on her way back to Cairns. Mike phones Maxine to let her know about the newest development and tells her the estimated time of arrival at the home base.

After the hand over to the police is complete and the whole shut down process is done, the whole crew is given 24 hrs shoreleave. Mike uses this short time to reacquaint himself with Kate's luxurious body. Enjoying the comfort of Mike's big king size bed, they make love the entire night and the first hours of the morning. Reluctantly they break apart as Mike and her have to get ready to sail again. Just as they have showered and are dressed in their Whites, Mike goes up to her and kisses her passionately, knowing it will be a long while till they can do this again. To not raise suspicion, Mike takes his own car to get to the docks. Kate follows a short time later in a cab, still smiling when she remembers how wonderful this short time with Mike has been. She already misses him near her and can't wait to get aboard Hammersley where they are in close proximity.

tbc