They arrived back at base just after 9am the following morning. Walking over the Gangway Kate wrapped the thin blanket tighter around the baby as a sharp wind blew up the quay.
"I'm going to go to the hospital with the little one, make sure the doctors get a full picture" she said making her way towards the ambulance.
"Get some rest Kate" Mike said softly
"I will. Later" Kate said
"I know but you have been awake all night. It's not good for you"
"Mike! I am fine" she said climbing into the ambulance.
Arriving at the hospital Kate carried the child through into the exam room.
"What happened?" the doctor asked walking in
"Um We found her in a cooler the middle of the Arafura Sea about 600 clicks from Thursday Island. We don't know how long she had been in the water. She was awake and alert when we found her. Our medic said she was slightly dehydrated and a little bit hyperthermic, but we managed to warm her slowly with hot water bottles, not on the skin, warm milk and blankets" Kate said giving the doctor all the details she could.
She watched as the doctor examined the child who surprisingly remained calm throughout until it came to the blood draw which was not a Plesant experience. Watching from the side of the room the blood draw was over in a matter of seconds, but the pain felt lasted a bit longer.
"We're all done" the doctor smiled "we will keep her on the ward for a few days just to make sure there are no side effects from her adventure at sea" he said "I assume Childrens services have been notified"
"Yes. They were notified by Navcom as soon as we docked" Kate said
"Right well I am guessing they will be here soon" the doctor said softly
"Is it alright if I stay with her for a while" Kate asked
The doctor and nurse looked at each other.
"I don't see why not" the doctor smiled "we will be moving her up to the ward in a bit" the doctor said walking out of the cubical
Taking a seat next to the bed Kate sighed watching as the little girl wriggled and gurgled looking up at the fun pictures on the celling. she smiled at how oblivious this innocent child was at everything that had happened she was just happy and giggling away to herself.
"you're never going to remember any of this" Kate said softly dropping the side of the crib "you will be so loved" she said softly stroking the baby's face with her index finger.
"Lieutenant?" a voice came from the door "I'm Clarissa Von Michaels from Childrens Services"
"Kate McGregor" Kate replied holding her hand out
"I understand it was you who found the child?"
"Yes, umm she was in an Esky in the Middle of the Arafura..." Kate began before being interrupted by her phone buzzing in her pocket. "Excuse me I have to take this" she said heading out into the corridor.
Stuffing her phone back into her pocket she walked back in to the cubical
"I have to go to NAVCOM" she said
"of course," Clarissa smiled "before you go was there anything to identify the baby where you found her?"
"no. There was nothing else in the cooler apart from a thin muslin blanket. We did do a search of the area, based on currents but there was nothing" Kate said softly leaning over the crib "bye for now little one" she whispered softly.
Heading through the doors of NAVCOM Kate sighed. Making her way to the 2nd floor Kate turned looking in the blurry mirror on the back of the dimly lit lift, tucking her hair behind her ears, she didn't normally wear her DPNU's when she was called in for meetings with Brass, but she didn't have time to change.
Knocking on Commander Whites door she paused waiting for the response
"Enter" Maxine called from inside
"Ma'am" Kate forced a polite smile
"Ah Kate. Take a seat" Maxine indicated to the hard plastic chairs in front of Maxines desk. They were the sort of chairs that reminded Kate of school which she suspected was just another way Maxine thought of to torture junior sailors with.
"So, I was looking through your reports on the events of the last patrol..." Maxine said leafing through the reports "there seems to be some inconsistencies in the events"
"Inconsistencies?" Kate questioned "what do you mean." she asked "we found the cooler in the water at 10,45,51 south 13676,65, east. We did a quick search of the area but there were no boats whatsoever on radar. We put in a request to coast watch to see if they spotted anything earlier in the day, and they confirmed there was no vessels in the area or with in the search grid from the last 4 hours but we thought it best to return to base ASAP given the water temperatures and not knowing how long the child had been in the water"
"Right well the thing is that's a great story but the thing I have a much better theory. That child is yours and you fabricated this whole story to save your own ass" Maxine said snidely
"Seriously!" Kate said taken aback "and how do you think I managed that. I have not been on a shore posting in over 10 years how could I have hidden a pregnancy for 9 months, had a baby and then somehow managed to smuggle a newborn on to Hammersley for the last 6 months."
"Yes Well, your reluctance on Hammersley to share taking care of the baby..."
"I thought it would be better to have 1 sailor deprived of sleep over the whole crew" Kate said trying to defend herself
"As I was saying your reluctance to share duties along with some other issues that have come up, I would like you to submit a DNA test so we can all be sure" Maxine said pulling a wrapped cotton swab from a draw in her desk.
"This is ridiculous" Kate said "No I am not doing it! that baby is not mine there is no way she could be"
"Well if that is the case then you have nothing to fear then do you"
"Why don't you just use the sample that's on file for when we are wounded beyond recognition in battle" Kate said pushing herself up heading out the door
"LIUTENANT!" Maxine called from the door
"GO TO HELL!" Kate snapped without looking back.
"Kate?" Mike said, "is everything alright?" he asked as she walked straight past him Staring dead ahead not looking at anything but where she was going. "What was that about?" Mike said as he reached Maxine
"Guess she just can't handle the truth" Maxine said
"Excuse me?" Mike said still confused
"She stormed off when I said that we all knew the truth about her and the baby. That it was hers and that a DNA test had been requested
" Seriously Max do you have any idea what you have done" Mike said turning walking quickly down the corridor
"Mike, I thought we had dinner plans" Maxine sighed turning back into her office