Crane Residence

As Lee placed his keys down on the sideboard, he took off his jacket and cap and headed to the kitchen. He grabbed himself a beer from the fridge and sat down at his kitchen counter. The past week or so had been so hectic and his routine had consisted of home, work and medbay. He took his beer upstairs and made his way to the shower before changing into more comfortable clothing. He ordered some take out and finished his beer while he waited.

When dinner finally arrived, he sat at his kitchen table and perused over the documents for the test mission. After his meeting with the Admiral he was trying to judge the tasks that could be delegated to other members of the crew that Chip would normally be responsible for. Although it was not yet a full gone conclusion that Chip would be absent for the mission, they had to be prepared. As Lee was making his way down the duties he suddenly had a bit of a brain wave. He jotted down the reasoning behind the proposal and would put it to the Admiral as soon as he seen him. His idea had to be worth consideration.

Morton Residence

It was early evening by the time Lynsey had woken up. She got out of bed and tried her best not to disturb her still sleeping husband. She made her way downstairs and made herself a cup of coffee. She decided that she would have a light meal as she didn't think Chip would be awake at any point that night. As she sat eating the phone rang and it was Chip's mother Judith. She had been in contact with his parents during all of the ups and downs of the past week. Judith was worried about her only son understandably as was Doug, Chips father. Lynsey had told her of Chip now being home and resting which came as a relief to both parents. They were flying out to visit Chip within the next few days which Lynsey had to admit she was glad of. Chip was very close to his parents and his younger sister Kate.

Lynsey jotted down the details of their arrival and said her goodbyes for the night. She cleaned up her dinner plate and made her way upstairs and got ready for bed. Chip didn't stir the entire time and both Mortons slept peacefully throughout the night.

NIMR

On a very wet day Admiral Nelson sat drinking his coffee as Lee came into his office. Lee seemed more himself and the Admiral barely got the chance to say hello before Lee put forward his late night proposal.

"You think that this is a good idea?" The Admiral asked

"Why not? It makes sense and with O'Brien due to be on honeymoon during the test mission I would say it was a viable option"

If they weren't struggling enough with staffing issues, O'Brien was getting married in a few weeks times. He would be the natural choice to serve as acting XO but the Admiral and Captain couldn't possibly ask him to delay his honeymoon; let alone his bride.

The Admiral thought was a few minutes and did his usual thing of pacing his office whilst rubbing his forehead. He stopped, turned round to face Lee and said "Let's try it". Lee smiled in response and made his way out towards Angie.

"Angie?" Lee asked "I need you to find Chief Sharkey for me"

"Of course" She responded and made her way to towards Seaview.

SEAVIEW

"How we doing Ski?" Chief asked as he made his way down into the flying sub.

"Its slow progress Chief. How did we manage to do this so quickly in the first place?" Ski asked wiping the sweat from his forehead. He had spent the last day putting the flying sub back to its normal state.

"Sheer pressure I expect. A life was at stake" The chief responded

"Any word on Mr Morton Chief? I mean...will he be back for this test mission?"

"Word is he'll be back in time." Chief replied and he continued with his paperwork. He noticed Ski raise his eyebrows and turn back to work

"What's on your mind Ski?" Sharkey asked

"Nothing Chief...I just didn't expect him to be fit for duty by then. Not judging by the state we carried him out of here"

"I know what you mean but Mr Morton is one tough cookie. He wouldn't miss this mission for anything."

"Chief Sharkey!" Angie called

Sharkey made his way back up the ladder and seen Angie standing in front of him. She explained that he was needed by the Captain and the Admiral. Chief said goodbye to Ski and made his way to the office.

Nelson's Office

Sharkey knocked on the door and came in once he heard the Admirals gruff "Come in". The Chief came in and the Admiral offered him a coffee and asked him to sit down.

"How are the repairs going Chief?" The Captain asked

"Oh just fine Sir. FS1 should be back to tip top condition by the end of the day" Sharkey replied as he sipped his coffee. He could sense the tension in the room and needed to know what was going on. "Is there something wrong Sirs?"

Both Lee and the Admiral sat down. " As you know Francis, Mr Morton has now left medbay and recovering very nicely at home. However, we think that there may be a possibility that he may not be fit for the test mission. As you know Mr O'Brien is going to be on his honeymoon so we have somewhat of a staffing challenge" The Admiral explained.

"Chief.. I have put this proposal to the Admiral and wanted to know what you thought of it" Lee said

"Me Sir? I don't know what I could offer you in terms of advice..."

"We don't want your advice Chief" The Admiral said

"I'm sorry Sir, I'm a little confused. If its not advice you want from me...what exactly do you want?" Chief asked wondering what he had stepped into.

"Chief...I need you to be acting XO for the test mission" Lee said.

Sharkey for the first time in a long time was speechless but the smile that now sat on his proud face was all the words the Captain and Admiral needed.