Author's Notes – Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.
Tim smiled as he saw the woman standing at the end of the dock waiting for him.
"Is that who I think it is?" Miguel demanded as he and Lucas appeared.
Tim nodded.
"Excellent," Miguel grinned before he walked on ahead.
"Who is it?" Lucas asked confused.
Tim chuckled, "My mother."
With the teenager in tow, Tim followed his friend and smiled as he watched his mother embrace his friend. Miguel had practically been adopted by Tim's parents from the first time they'd met him.
"Hi, Mom," Tim moved to hug her once Miguel stepped back.
Julianne O'Neill hugged her youngest son tightly before smiling as she looked at him.
"You look good," she said studying him, "Not too pale and thin."
"Mom," he winced.
Julianne chuckled that she could embarrass him so easily. She spotted Lucas and smiled at him.
"You must be Lucas," she moved to him, chuckling as the teenager looked surprised she knew who he was; "You are quite famous young man."
Tim smiled bringing his mother's attention back to him, "Mom, are you ready for lunch?"
x
Nathan spotted his officers and Lucas standing chatting as he walked along the dock. He had a meeting with Admiral Collins before hopefully lunch with Kate, assuming she would talk to him.
"Captain," Ortiz greeted him.
"Mr Ortiz, Mr O'Neill," Nathan greeted them, clapping Lucas on the shoulder before noticing the woman standing with them.
"Captain," O'Neill smiled, "This is Julianne O'Neill, my mother."
"The maker of the chocolate hazelnut cookies," Nathan beamed as he took her hand, "Mrs O'Neill, you are beloved by the bridge crew for those cookies."
"That's nice to know," the woman smiled, the resemblance between mother and son in the smile and eyes.
"Mom," O'Neill spoke up, "We should get going if we're going to make our reservations."
"Of course," Julianne smiled, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Captain."
Nathan smiled back, "And you."
As they left Nathan turned to Lucas and Ortiz, "What are your plans?"
"We're meeting up with Krieg and heading for lunch," Lucas told him.
Nathan nodded turning to Ortiz, "Make sure you keep him out of trouble."
"Captain," Lucas cried exasperated.
"I'm talking about Krieg," Nathan chuckled, clapping Lucas on the shoulder as he shared an amused grin with Ortiz before heading away, "I'll see you later."
Nathan sighed in relief as his meeting ended; leaving the office he stopped when he saw the young woman standing waiting for him.
"Kate."
"Hi, Nathan," she greeted him breezily.
Moving to her Nathan tried to determine if she was still angry with him, unfortunately Kate was very good at hiding her emotions when she wanted to and right now she was keeping them beshind her blithe smile.
"How did your exams go?" he asked.
She shrugged, "We'll find out in a few weeks."
Nathan grimaced before he sighed, "Well we're not leaving port until later this afternoon. Enough time for lunch if you want?"
Kate paused before nodding, "Sure."
x
They found a small café close to the Seaquest and sat in silence until they ordered.
"I'm not angry, Nathan," she said once they were alone before shrugging, "Not anymore."
He sighed, "You didn't even give me time to apologise."
Kate shrugged, "I've calmed down. You were right I overreacted."
"Can I record this for future arguments?" Nathan asked with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes at him, "But I have made a decision."
"Which is?"
"That once the tour is over," she told him, "Whether I've passed my course or not then I'm going to leave the Seaquest."
He stared at her taking in her announcement.
"It's for the best, Nathan," she reminded him.
Nathan dropped his head, "Kate, you don't…"
"Yes, I do," she cut him off, "It's been almost three years since it happened. I don't need to be looked after anymore. I'm on the path you wanted me to be on. It's time."
Nathan sighed, "I don't want you to leave."
"I know," Kate smiled at him, "And I am reluctant to be out from under your watchful eye."
Nathan chuckled slightly at the roll of her eyes.
"But," Kate finished, "It's time to go."
x
Kate ate her lunch watching Nathan as he digested her news along with his food. It had been a month since she'd been onboard the boat and she'd found the time oddly freeing but terrifying. It had been almost three years since she'd been out from under Nathan's protection for any longer than a few days since the day he'd found her half-dead. She would never admit it, even to herself sometimes, but after that day she was scared to be on her own again.
As much as she pushed and acted annoyed at Nathan's over-protectiveness Kate appreciated it. However she knew she couldn't stay hidden much longer.
She gave the waitress a quick nod of thanks as she cleaned away their plates.
"You're not saying much," Kate said, the silence beginning to get to her.
Nathan shrugged at her, "I've not got much to say after your revelation."
"Oh come on, Nathan," she rolled her eyes at him, "You had to have been expecting this."
"A little," Nathan shrugged, "I was hoping you would realise that you belong on the Seaquest."
"I wish I did," she smiled sadly.
Nathan looked past her as the bell on the door rang and smiled, "I don't think everyone will agree with you."
Confused Kate turned and smiled as her friend walked in to the café.
x
Tim laughed as his mother caught him up with everything that was happening at home with his siblings. They'd decided to stop off for coffee and cake before Tim returned to the boat. As they entered the small café he stopped seeing the Captain sitting there and Tim smiled when he saw who was sitting with him, "Kate?"
She smiled at him, "Tim."
"Join us, Lt," Bridger told him, "Mrs O'Neill."
Tim winced slightly, especially at the way Kate chuckled before she moved and wrapped her arms around him. When she let him go he saw his mother looking very interested as she took the seat Bridger offered her.
"Mom, this is Kate Foster," he introduced them, "Kate, this is Julianne O'Neill. My mother."
Kate turned a charming smile on, "It's nice to meet you, Mrs O'Neill."
"It's Julianne," his mother replied.
Kate studied the selection of cakes in front of her as she watched Nathan talk with Tim's mother.
"Should I be worried about how much they're laughing?" Tim asked from her side.
Kate turned to him, "I think he's telling her the story of Krieg and the glowing fish poop."
"You read lips?"
She chuckled, "Even I can work out the words 'glowing fish poop' from here."
"You seem a lot more relaxed than when you left," Tim broached, studying the cake in front of him.
"I am," she shrugged, "Though I'll admit I did not realise how uptight I was until I finished."
"So, I guess the extra week was a vacation?"
Kate turned to him with a chuckle, "You don't think I needed it?" before he could answer she continued, "Since the Seaquest was coming here anyway to pick up supplies it made sense just to stay the extra week. Why? Did you miss me?"
Tim tried hard not to smile, "Not really, it was quiet."
Kate chuckled before she glanced back at the table, "Your mom seems nice."
"She is," Tim smiled, "Her best friend from college lives nearby so when I realised we'd be here at the same time I let her know. My dad would have come but he's working."
Kate sighed sadly, "Must be nice."
Tim opened his mouth but before any words came out the door burst open and two men charged in guns held in front of them.
Kate grabbed him and pulled him down out of sight.
x
Nathan chuckled as he and Julianne O'Neill chatted while they waited for Kate and Tim to choose their desserts. He was encouraged by the way Kate had greeted the younger man, as surprised as Nathan was by how close they'd become he wasn't above using the bond to try and keep Kate on the Seaquest. Despite her insistence that it was time Nathan wasn't in agreement.
"Timothy will probably kill me for asking," Julianne said, "But the way Kate greeted him was very…ah…enthusiastic."
Nathan tried very hard to keep a straight face at the question, "Kate is extremely fond of your son. When Kate joined the Seaquest she found it hard to fit in, Tim offered her someone to talk to when she needed and they became friends."
"That sounds like my Timothy," Julianne smiled.
Suddenly the door burst open and two men charged in.
"Everyone stay where you are," the first one yelled.
Nathan turned and saw Kate just before she pulled O'Neill down into the back section of the café. This was bad.
x
"Tim," Kate whispered, her hands on his cheeks trying to get him to focus, "Tim, calm down. You need to calm down."
He finally looked at her, "Kate, my mom…"
"I know," she soothed, "I know but she'll be fine. Nathan will look after her, you know that."
Shakily he took a breath nodding.
Kate squeezed his hand before she moved slowly to get a look at what was happening. The two men, she mentally labelled as 'Little' and 'Large', had closed all the blinds and forced everyone behind the counter. Kate was just able to see Nathan; he spotted her and raised an eyebrow questioningly.
Kate gave a slight grimace before nodding and pulling back. She could see Tim watching her anxiously and reached out to squeeze his hand.
"She's okay," Kate assured him, "We have two guys both with guns but they don't seem to know what they're doing."
"What do you mean?"
"They're arguing with each other over what to do next," she explained, "If we can get one here then we can probably disarm him, which should bring the second one."
Tim frowned at her, "Are you sure…"
"Ford's given me enough training," Kate lied, "And you must have had some."
Tim took a breath before nodding, "Sure. Do you have a plan?"
A slight smirk crossed touched her lips, "I do and you're not going to like it," she paused and the smirk became bigger, "But you might enjoy it."
x
Tim listened to her plan staring at her confused before finally managing to say, "No."
"Tim," Kate rolled her eyes, "It's our only choice. Trust me, okay. This will work."
Tim sighed and nodded before wincing as she unbuttoned her blouse.
"It's a good thing you're in uniform," Kate told him, "That will sell it. So just press your face to my neck as though you're kissing it and I'll do most of the work."
"For the record," Tim told her as he followed her to the cupboard she motioned him to, "I hate this plan."
Kate rolled her eyes at him, "Considering I'm standing here with my top undone, I'm going to try and not be insulted by that."
Unsure Tim moved to Kate before grimacing, "I can't."
"Oh for crying out loud," she snapped, "Give me your hand."
"Kate."
"Hand now," she ordered. When he offered his hand she pulled him close and placed it on her ribs before wrapping one arm around his neck. Nodding she pulled his face down to her neck, wrapping her legs around him slamming into the cupboard behind them to make enough noise to alert the men who held the others hostage.
x
Nathan listened to the two men arguing, they'd robbed the jewellery store nearby and their getaway car had been towed away. If it wasn't so serious he would have laughed.
Julianne was sitting at his side, worry on her face but she was at least calm at the moment. He hoped whatever Kate was planning was both not too crazy and happening soon.
A loud crash came from the back section and the two men turned.
"Check it," the first ordered the second smaller man.
Nathan turned to Julianne who had paled; she knew her son was back there so Nathan rested his hand on her arm.
"They'll be fine," he whispered, praying he wasn't lying.
x
Kate was trying not to get too distracted by the warmth of Tim pressed against her nor where his hand was resting. This was a lot more intimate that she had ever actually been with anyone. She spotted 'Little' appearing through the door and dropped her head sliding her fingers through Tim's hair as though she hadn't noticed anything.
"Hey," 'Little' yelled.
Kate let out a squeal pushing Tim away who staggered looking bemused, "Oh my God."
As she started to cover herself he shook his head leering at her, "No need to be shy."
Forcing herself to hold her tongue Kate walked forward her hands in the air, the moment she reached 'Little' Kate pretended to shy away as he moved to touch her.
The moment his hand was close, Kate grabbed it squeezing the pressure point just below the thumb. She then slammed her knee up into his groin. He cried out in pain and Kate managed to make him drop the gun. Tim grabbed it and knocked the man out. Buttoning her blouse Kate motioned Tim into position as the noise brought 'Large' in to find out what was happening.
"What…" he started only to stop as Tim knocked him out.
With the two men on the floor Kate turned to her friend, "See, that wasn't too bad."
Nathan thanked the policeman who had taken his statement before he joined Kate sitting on a wall waiting, watching Tim talk with his mother.
"Dare I even ask exactly what you two did?" Nathan asked amused.
Kate shook her head, "Tim will never forgive me if I reveal the details."
Nathan took a seat beside her, "Well once he's ready we'll head back to the boat."
"I'm still leaving, Nathan," she told him.
"Kate…"
"Look," she cut him off, "You told me I didn't have to be a con anymore but you were wrong. I con people every day on Seaquest. My best friend has no idea who I truly am or what I am really capable of. And I'm okay with that."
She paused and waited for him to speak but he said nothing.
Kate smiled at him, "Look at me. I'm hopefully a qualified engineer. I haven't stolen anything in about three years and my nightmares have mostly gone. I'm not the girl you found in a life raft anymore; you don't have to protect me."
"I know," he smiled, "But I want to."
Kate rolled her eyes, "Which I appreciate but face it, Nathan. If you guys weren't there today I had about a dozen ways out. Despite what you and Bill like to think, I'm not an innocent who had to steal to survive. Harkens gave me a way out long ago but I didn't want it then. Personally I liked to steal and had fun when I conned people."
"So why now?"
Kate chewed her lip for a moment before shrugging, "Other than the fact I wanted to stay on the island, for the first time in a long time I didn't want to be on my own. When I was in that life-raft floating alone, I was sure I was going to die and something inside me changed."
"Will it change again?"
"I can't tell the future, Nathan," she replied softly, "But…at the moment it's preferable to not be in that world."
He shook his head before asking, "Have you told O'Neill you're leaving yet?"
Shaking her head Kate sighed, "I'll build up to that."
x
Tim hugged his mother once more before she climbed into the police car. He thanked the officer who was taking her back to her friend's house watching as they left.
"Is she okay?" Kate asked as she appeared at his side.
Tim nodded, "She will be."
"Hey," Kate squeezed his arm, "Nathan's getting anxious, we should head back to the boat."
They started walking and Tim suddenly caught her arm, "We never talk about how we stopped those guys."
"I promise," Kate smirked slightly, "Unless I want something." He frowned at her making her chuckle, "Oh cheer up, Tim. You were a hero today."
He stared at her thoughtfully, "You were so calm. Where did you learn to do that?"
An innocent smile covered her face, "School."
Tim stared at her as she kept walking with the Captain towards the boat, after a moment he jogged and caught up with them. He smiled when Kate wrapped her arm around his waist and they headed home.