Author's Notes: Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.
Enjoy.
Kate lay on the bed as the doctor studied the wound. She grimaced letting out a grunt of pain when the woman pressed on the site of the injury.
"You let yourself get impaled on purpose?" Mac cried annoyed from beside her.
Kate frowned up at him, "As I told Tim, it was that or try breathing underwater for twenty minutes. What would you choose?"
"I would have taken time to find another exit," Mac replied.
Kate's lips firmed in annoyance, waiting until the doctor finished she sat up and glared at Mac, "I didn't have the time, Mac. I'm the one out there and I am making the decisions at the time. Hindsight is a great thing but if you want to critique me then get off your ass and get out there."
Mac folded his arms, "I've had enough of your attitude, young lady."
"And I've had enough of you treating me like I am still a child," Kate retorted.
Mac frowned at her, "I am not..."
"You are," she cut him off, "You're still treating me like I am the wilful child you found in the rain. The stray you need to train to protect herself. Mac, I am an adult and I know what I am doing."
He tilted his head challengingly, "And how often have you ended up in hospital or nearly dead since becoming an adult?"
"Go to hell," she snapped ignoring him call her name as she stalked away.
x
Anger flowed through Kate as she rested back on her bed in the small room she had on Darrow. She knew she had to stay put for the next 48 hours to allow her wound to heal fully, unfortunately the last thing she wanted to do right now was lie still with nothing to do but fume.
A knock on the door made her wince, "What?"
The door opened and Tobias appeared, "How are you?"
"Wanting to punch something," Kate replied motioning him to come into the room. "Did the generator work?"
Pulling a seat over to sit beside her bed Tobias nodded, "Yes. The first tests were positive. And with the information our bug is kicking back from the Seaquest we've almost got everything we need."
Kate sighed, "Good."
"I heard you and Mac had words," Tobias noted.
Kate snorted, "Is that the alien way of saying he's being a complete and total ass?"
"He loves you," Tobias reminded her, "You're his daughter and he lost you for ten years. He's afraid that you will die while on this quest and the only reason he is helping us is because you asked him to."
She let out a long sigh, "So do you want me to apologise just now?"
Tobias chuckled, "Would you normally?"
Kate shrugged.
"Then don't," he smiled, "I'm sure the normal process will take place soon enough for when you two have a fight."
"I doubt it," Kate noted before admitting, "I am usually the one who apologises," she rolled her eyes at his surprised look, "Like you said, I'm his daughter. I also come with extreme self-esteem and abandonment issues. I always apologised."
She turned and stared at the wall for a while until Tobias touched her arm.
"We're going to get you back home," he promised her softly, "And you can go back to being just Kate, the engineer on the Seaquest," he patted her arm, "Get some rest."
x
Tobias found Mac in his study and took a seat when offered, waiting silently while Mac finished stabbing at the keys to his computer.
"She's resting," Tobias told the other man, "But I don't think she'll apologise to you anytime soon."
Mac shook his head, "I blame you for this."
"I know," Tobias replied, "I understand why, I sent her on this quest."
Shaking his head Mac began to pace, "Why can't you just make your life here?" he demanded, "Why can't she?"
"Because she's not the girl you raised anymore," Tobias reminded him, "She isn't Kitten and she doesn't want to be. She'll never be happy here. Our plan will ensure that the Seaquest doesn't disappear for ten years. It will mean you won't lose her for a decade."
"Assuming she doesn't end up dead chasing this fantasy," Mac retorted.
Tobias sighed, "If I go and tell her that it's over, there's no chance the plan will work and we have to live in this world forever. Do you think she'll stay here?"
Mac sighed sadly, "No. She wouldn't."
Tobias rested his hand on the other man's shoulder. They had become friends over the past few months.
"I promise, Mac that my plan will work," Tobias told him, "This will never have happened and you won't lose your daughter."
x
The movie played as Kate sat only paying attention to half of it, dreaming of being back on the Seaquest with her guys watching some brain-dead action flick Miguel loved.
"What?" she demanded when a knock came on the door.
Mac appeared, "Am I allowed in?"
With a sigh Kate turned off her movie, "Sure. What can I do for you, Mac?"
"You can accept my apology," Mac told her, "I'm scared I'll lose you again, Kate. I'm scared that one of these missions will mean you end up dead."
"It's my choice," Kate whispered, "I can't keep doing this, Mac. I want to go home and I'm sorry but this isn't my home anymore. I belong on the Seaquest with Nathan, with Ford, Lucas, Miguel...Tim. I need to go back there."
Mac gently brushed his hand across her cheek before wrapping her in his arms and holding her tightly, "You're my daughter, Kate. No matter where you are and I love you. I'm sorry that I haven't been more supportive but from now on I'm behind you one hundred percent."
With a sigh Kate leaned against him content to rest under his protection for now.