CH 11
The driver helped Kate with the bags and twins inside and a staff member took over to help her while the driver returned back to the car. Twenty minutes later the plane was on its way to Cairns. When the plane landed, the stewest helped Kate carry the twins off. when they walk through the doors. Kate saw Stewart there.
"Kate"
"Stewart thanks for coming to get us"
"no worries, I guess you want to go straight to the hospital"
"Yeah i do i received a text message that the medic vac helicopter landed over an hour ago"
"Ok i'll carry the kids while you go and get the bags" he took the car seat from Kate.
"thanks Stewart '' then she walks over to get a luggage trolley while Stewart turns to the stewardess.
"I'll take it from here… Cindy" When he saw her name tag.
"Are you close friends with the lieutenant"
"Yeah and her husband"
"Oh, I thought you were the husband," Stewart smiled.
"No, her husband is in the navy, he was here for a few weeks"
"Oh, sorry, so he is the one who is wounded"
"How did you work that one out?" she smiles
"My brother is SAS and station here in Cairns"
"Ok, I better go take Kate to the hospital and thank you"
"I hope her husband makes it"
"Same here" Stewart turns and walks over to where Kate is while the stewiest returns back to the plane.
"Cindy are you ok" one of her co-workers asked.
"Yeah, that lieutenant who was on here with the twins"
"Yeah, she seems upset or worried about something"
"I don't blame her, her husband was seriously wounded on one of the boats and was medevaced to hospital"
"What does her husband station here and she in Peth, like the navy to split them up?"
"No, he's here for a few weeks. I guest worked on one of the ships for a patrol or two."
"Gee I hope he makes it, he has a young family"
"Same here," another stewardess said.
Twenty minutes after leaving the airport Stewart drops Kate off at the hospital. "I'll take the kids home with me"
"thanks Stewart"
"No worries" Kate turned and walked into the hospital and up to the reception desk.
five minutes later she waited in a waiting room to hear about what happened to Mike. Kated waited for another two hours when someone walked into the waiting room. "Lieutenant Flynn" Kate stood up and stepped forward.
"I'm Lieutenant Flynn, how is Mike?"
"you better come with me so we can talk in private"
"Ok"Kate follows the doctor till they walk into a room.
Kate realized that they were in ICU and she saw Mike in bed with wires, heart machine, blood pressure cuff on his arm and oxygen levels on his finger, wearing an oxygen tube up his nose. She walked up to him and held onto his hand and put her other hand through his hair. she could see the bruising on his face.
"What happens, is he going to be ok doctor"
"He will make a full recovery. He got a deep cut on his right leg. he was lucky it didn't cause any major damage. But he was slashed in the groin"
"Which leg"
"Lieutenant '' Kate turned to the doctor. "It wasn't his leg that got wounded… it was his testcals, here let me show you" he opened a file that was in his hands and showed Kate a drawing of a testcal.
"what happened is that the knife that was used, has cut both of your husband's testcals here" she used a pen to mark where the cut is. "We got a specialist in to reattach the Seminiferous tubules. But the tube on the left was infected so he had no choice but to remove it. he cut it back here" he pointed to where all the tubes are gathered
"Ok what about the right one?"
"The cut was here at the bottom of the tail of the epididymis. It started to get infected but with the help of the antibodies it will clear up"
"Ok that is good news. Anything else I should know about"
"We are just going to keep an eye on his testcails to make sure that the infection clears up"
"Ok thank you doctor"
"I'll leave you alone with him" he walked out the door while Kate moved the chair closer to the bed and sat down on it and kissed his hand.
Three hours later, Kate knocked on Stewart's door, he opened it "Kate come in how is Mike?" Kate walked in and he closed the door.
"He is going to be sore but fine. One of the wounds got infected but they gave him antibiotics for it"
"that's good to know. Are you hungry? I'll save you some dinner"
"thanks Stewart" they walk into the kitchen where Stewart reheated Kate dinner and got her a glass of wine and passed it to her "thanks"
They talk for the next ten minutes till Kate finishes her dinner. she went to stand up. "Let me do the dishes, why don't you go to bed you look tired"
"I am, thanks for everything"
"No worries" Kate walked out of the kitchen and walked down to the room Mike had been using and got change and got into bed thinking about Mike before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
The next morning Kate used the breast pump and made up four bottles and put them in the fridge before going to have a shower and got dressed in a clean uniform. When she walks into the room where the twins are, she notices they are gone, so she walks into the kitchen and stops to see the twins in high chairs with roll up towels around them to stop them from moving around. Stewart was giving them their breakfast of baby food.
"Morning," Kate said. Stewart turned around and smiled.
"Morning Kate jug has been boiled and toasted bread in the toaster for you"
"thanks. Kids enjoying their breakfast"
"Yes they are, they remind me of when Ryan and Duncan were their age"
"Ok" they talk while Kate butter the two pieces of toast and put some jam on top then name herself a drink then pick up the plate and mug and walk over to the table and sit down and watch the twins enjoy their breakfast while she and Stewart talk.
Hour later Kate pushed the stroller into NAVCOM and up to the ball pen. When she walked into the main room she looked around till she saw who she was looking for. She pushed the stollor over to the person who turned around
"commander Marshal" Kate saluted, which he did in return. "I'm Lieutenant Kate Flynn, Lieutenant commander Mike Flynn's wife"
"Lieutenant it nice to meet you at last" he said with a smile
"sir"
"Mike told me about you and I've read your record, I'm impressed"
"thank you sir"
"Have you seen Mike"
"Yesterday sir when we arrived in Cairns" Steve looked down at the twins then back to Kate.
"How is he doing"
"Can we talk in your office sir"
"Sure this way" Kate followed Steve into his office. When in there Kate notices a couple of lieutenants close by the door so she closes it so they won't hear what they are talking about in there. Kate turned around and stepped forward then sat down.
"Why did you close my door lieutenant?"
"to many ears sir"
"I understand, I read the coxswain report about Mike injuries and my guest is you don't want too many to know"
"Yes sir"
"ok, I understand that Mike…. the testcial was cut, how bad?"
"Well from what the doctor told me he will make a full recovery but both testcials did get infected and he is on antibiotics to clear up the infections"
"that good news and his leg wound"
"Will heal, there is no damage done"
"That is good news"
"Can you tell me why Mike was at the boarding party and not the XO sir"
"Here read these reports, then you will understand what happened" He passed her files.
"thank you sir"
"I'll leave you to it" he stood up and walked out of his office while Kate read the reports about what happened.
When Kate finished reading all the reports, She was shocked at what happened not only to Mike but to the other two sailors who were wounded. Kate put the files back on the desk then she turned to see Steve talking to a lieutenant when he noticed she was looking at him. He then walks back into his office.
"Are you ok lieutenant"
"Yes sir. Is there going to be disciplinary actions against the lieutenant and the petty officer sir"
"Don't know, it will depend on Mike's report" Kate nodded.
"I can tell you this, sir. he was the permitted captain of Hammersley till his next promotion or transferred to another posting. He would want them off his ship"
"you think so"
"yes i do sir"
"Well thanks for telling me that." They talked for a few more minutes before Kate left with the twins and headed to the hospital.
When she pushed the stroller into Mike's room he was awake and partly sitting up in bed. "Kate," Mike said in shock.
"Mike," she walked around the stroller and gave him a kiss.
"This is a surprise, what are you doing here"
"Captain Black told me that you were medic vac to here. He sent me here, I came with the twins here. Lieutenant Brad Morris and his wife looking after the boys"
"ok"
"the doctor told me last night about your injuries and infection"
"He also told me that I am lucky I didn't lose my testcials" he said, smiling.
"Yeah, Mike what happened"
Mike took a breath as Kate sat on the side of the bed while holding onto his hand as he told her what happened that morning, right up to the boarding and being injured. when he finished telling her. She leaned forward to cup his face.
"I'm pleased that you are alive and ok Mike"
"Same here Kate" she kissed him once more.
Kate spent a few hours talking with Mike. he even held onto the twins and even helped feed them their lunch of yogurt which they both love and one of the nurses warmed up the bottle of milk for Kate which she was grateful for. When the nurse returned, Kate was changing Emma's diaper.
Later that afternoon Kate returned to Stewart place with the twins and three bags of groceries. She got change and took care of the twins and got dinner on. That night she calls Ryan and Duncan to give them the good news about Mike and they are happy that he is going to be ok.
Kate returned back to Perth two days later since she had to return back to work and she missed her three sons. Mike was in hospital for two weeks because of the infection.
While he was in there Steve walked in to see him "Mike how are you"
"Slowly healing, did you read my report?" Mike asked since a midshipman showed up with a laptop for Mike to use to write up the report about what happened on the boarding.
"Yes I did and spoke to fleet command about your report, they are disciplinary actions against both the lieutenant and petty officer in question"
"Good, if i was the captain on Hammersley i would want them both off my boat" Steve chuckled. "What's so funny Steve"
"Your wife said the same thing to me after she read the reports about what happened"
"Well it's true Steve" Steve looks down at the file in his hand then back to Mike. "Steve what is it?"
Steve passes the file to him "You have been transferred"
"where"
"Here, sorry Mike when I saw it I contacted fleet command about it. You're the best for the job" Mike opened the file and read that he is now the permit captain of Hammersley.
He looked up to Steve"
"What about Kate and our kids"
"I spoke to them about that, there was nothing available, sorry Mike"
"I don't believe this." he tost the file to the end of the bed.
"There is a temporary captain for one patrol while you recover and look for a place to live"
"This is just crazy Steve"
"Talk to your wife about it"
"Yeah I will," they talk for another ten minutes before Steve leaves Mike alone.
That night Mike called Kate. "Mike, this is a surprise"
"Kate," he said in a tone in which Kates knows something is wrong.
"Mike what's wrong"
"Steve came to see me this afternoon"
"Steve Marshall was good to him"
"Yeah, he gave me a letter Kate, I've been transferred to Cairns here to be the captain of Hammersley till her decommission in eighteen months"
"What, your joking"
"I'm afraid not Kate and there are no positions available at NAVCOM for you"
"Did commander Marshal tell you this?"
"Yes he did. He said he will try to get you here"
"Ok so in the meantime the kids and I are here"
"Yeah, I'm sorry about all of this Kate"
"it's not your fault Mike, we know what the navy is like"
"True. I'm going to move into the officers quarters for a while"
"Why not rent a house"
"Well that is what i want to talk to you about Kate"
"About buying a house, is that what you are thinking"
"Yes for our family, would you like that Kate" Kate thought about it
"Why not, when you get out of hospital go and look for a house for our family"
"I can do that and I'll fly back home to you with the listings and work it from there"
"Great idea Mike. When are you going to be released from hospital?"
"If all goes well in a couple of days"
"That's great, kids and I miss you"
"I miss you all too. So what sort of house would you like to have Kate" Mike said smiling. they talk for another five more minutes before hanging up.