Chapter 21
Flashback
A new patrol started the next day,. It must have been routine work, Torres Street and the Arafura Sea.
Kate boarded earlier than normal. She wanted to check that everything was fine. She wasn't surprised to see Nikki aboard, next to the gangway.
"Good morning ma'am!", she greeted Kate very warmly.
"Good morning Nikki. You're so early. I really thought I was going to be the first one", Kate replied.
"Well uh…. As XO I wanted to make sure everyone was aboard and we didn't miss anything", Nikki said deadpan.
"You wanted to make sure that someone was aboard, right?", replied Kate impassively.
"Kate, you're mean, very mean!", Nikki replied.
"A captain must know her crew".
"And your famous dinner? How did it go?", Nikki counter-attacked.
"Nik, don't remind me of that!", Kate replied, both of them walking towards her cabin.
"Kat, didn't he…?", Nikki asked concerned.
"No, not at all, we're in a relationship now".
"Wow! Great! And, how was he?", Nikki blurted out.
"Nik! For God's sake! You dare ask me that! Jeez, how old are you?", Kate replied indignantly.
"Sorry! I couldn't help it. But, you know me. We're friends", Nikki pouted.
Kate sighed, "I don't know, because nothing happened. There you go!", she said with a smug smile.
"WHAT? How dare you?", Nikki asked with her hands on her hips.
Kate shrugged.
"Come on Kat! Do you really want me to believe that you didn't shag?", Nikki asked flabbergasted.
Kate looked like she ate something dodgy, "I can't believe you said that!"
Nikki sighed and rolled her eyes, "Jeez Kat, you've already been living in Australia for twenty-eight years and you're still such a reserved Pommy! Listen, I'm craving for some spicy details. My sex life starts and ends with my triple A battery friend", she whispered.
Kate smiled at her, "Nothing happened and that's all you'll get now. You'll hear the rest at our famous ladies night!", Kate said, tapping Nikki's chest. "And now, X, I have to sort out my things and check our orders. I thought you wanted to make sure everyone was aboard and remember, you're on light duties", Kate said.
"Okay, okay, yes, it's true. I'll go straight away otherwise I'll miss him….uh…them", she hastily said before leaving Kate's cabin.
When Nikki arrived at the gangway again, Dylan was boarding, "Good morning X. I thought you were on sick leave", he greeted her.
"Morning Nav. I feel much better!", Nikki greeted him. "The captain is in her cabin", she hastened to add with a broad smile.
He raised an eyebrow, "I see and thank you X for that particular … information" and walked inside.
He put his sea bag in his cabin and went to Kate's. He knocked at the door and waited.
"Come in!"
He entered and saw her putting her clothes away in the cupboard. "Hi", he said.
She quickly turned around when she heard his voice, "Hey. How do you feel? You know…"
"The pain is gone and your bruises?", he answered.
"The bruises have turned green and brown and yellow now. I'm a pretty speckled card", she said taking a few steps towards him.
Dylan leaned against the door to keep it closed. Kate stood on tiptoe, her hands on his chest and they kissed. "We should redo our evening, but this time without a club chair show, isn't it?", she whispered.
"It's a must, I think, right?", he whispered back.
Kate stepped back and took a deep breath, "Yeah. Indeed, but now we have a job to do".
"Yeah, X's back? I thought she was on sick leave", he said.
Kate shrugged, "She absolutely wanted to sail. Max agreed but she dropped me the hot potato and Nikki almost begged me. So, I agreed but put her on light duties. That means you'll have to do the boardings".
He nodded, "Okay, good to know. I'm going to unpack and then I would like to know where we're going", he said before leaving.
On deck, Pete was boarding.
"Hi Pete!", Nikki greeted him with a radiant smile.
"Hi ma'am, I'm happy we can serve together again. It's been a long time, right?", he replied.
"Yeah, indeed. I look forward to catching up!", she said.
"Are you totally up and about again. I heard you suffered gunshot wound", he asked.
"Honestly? It's still a bit stiff, but I was going crazy at home and wanted to do something! But Kate put me on light duties".
"Hmm, that's better", he said, nodding.
"Well, I'll go. I've to chase the men", he said and quickly touched her arm.
Blushing, she watched him enter.
The patrol started smoothly. Nothing happened and no FFVs were seen. Three days after their departure, a small incident occurred.
Nikki was in the galley, busy making herself an espresso from the coffee machine when Pete arrived to see if he could get a leftover lunch or a snack.
He saw her and went to her, snatching an apple from the fruit basket. He leaned down and sniffed the mug.
"Are you still addicted to the Navigator brew?", he asked raising his nose.
"Yeah, sure. At least it's coffee, everything else is coloured water", she replied with a smug smile.
He grinned in response. "By the way, do you feel better now?"
She nodded, "Yes indeed. Being busier, doing more movements improves flexibility".
"What happened exactly? I heard it was pretty intense", he asked.
She looked around, "Hmm, come to my cabin tonight. I'll tell you".
He nodded, "Yeah okay, see you later".
That night, Pete went to Nikki's cabin, looked around, and knocked at her door.
"Come in", he heard and entered.
A smile spread across his face when she saw her. Nikki had her hair down, she wore a tank top and shorts.
"I'm free until tomorrow, so I made it easy for myself. Take a seat and have a biscuit", she said.
He grabbed a biscuit and leaned against the wall. Nikki leaned against her desk.
"What happened? Three men down, it's serious", he asked.
"I couldn't shout it all over the boat, but it was my fault. My stubbornness. Dylan had warned me and wanted to take over the boarding but I insisted. It went horribly wrong by my lack of experience", she said.
"And what did Kate say?"
"Being as stubborn as I am, she agreed to let me do the boarding. We should have listened to Dylan and I heard from the crew that afterwards Kate bawled him out because he took immediate action instead of asking her first. No, it was an episode from which we learned from our mistakes and quickly forgot", she said.
"And what happened to you? You seem better than before", she asked.
"Ah, well uh, I went to Darwin when I left Hammersley. They needed a good buffer there and probably the climate was good for me. You too look gorgeous", he replied with a grin.
"Thank you Pete", she said standing up. "I think we have to catch up, right?", she said, doing a few steps towards him.
He also took a few steps towards her, "I think it's a very good idea".
She put her hand on his chest and opened her mouth slightly to give him a kiss. He leaned over and kissed her.
"I missed you Pete. You have no idea. I want to start living again", she whispered.
"I'm happy you waited for me baby", he said, stroking her hair and they kissed again, more passionately this time.
Meanwhile, Kate was looking at maps in the control room and comparing coast guard observations of FFV positions.
She frowned.
There must be a reason for that. We've never had so many FFVs in a working range. Looks like they're all waiting for something. Hmm, an iceboat. Yeah probably. If we can catch one, that would be great! I'll discuss it with Nikki.
She left the control room and headed for Nikki's cabin. Still thinking of sharing a cabin with Nikki, she forgot her position for a moment and opened the door without knocking. "Nik, I need…"
She was flabbergasted to see Nikki and Pete tenderly embraced.
"Shit! Damn you!"
Pete and Nikki quickly separated.
"Uh, Kate, sorry, it's not what you think", Nikki said, but she bit her tongue realising what she had just said. It was obvious, no way around it. She and Pete were kissing aboard.
Kate sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No, I wasn't thinking of that. I thought you were discussing the upcoming boarding. Goddamn Nikki, Pete! You should have known better! Save that for when you are ashore, not aboard. What if someone had seen you, huh? What do you think would happen if Navcom heard this. You could then say goodbye to your careers! Shit! Just you two. I know what you feel for each other, but couldn't you wait another two weeks?", she ranted angrily.
"Pete bit his lip and stared at a point above Kate's right shoulder, "Sorry ma'am. It won't happen again".
Nikki looked at Kate extremely unhappy, "Now what?"
Kate shrugged, "Now what? Now what? Nothing! Let's just hope no one saw you enter her cabin and eavesdropped at the door!"
"You…you are…not…going to report us?", Nikki asked.
"No! Do you have any idea what Maxine might say and I dare not even think what Mike would say! I need good people aboard and you're my friends, but promise me you'll never do this to me again!"
"No ma'am", both replied.
"Uh Kate, was there something you wanted to tell me?", Nikki asked.
Kate sighed again and waved, "I lost my train of thought now. I'll discuss it tomorrow with you", she said and left the cabin.
Dejected she entered her cabin and plopped down on her bunk.
It still had to be Nikki and Pete. I was hoping they had a lot more common sense. I really hope for them….and for me, that nobody noticed anything! I can do without it like a sore tooth!
And I do everything to be professional. I have my feelings too! Damn!
She stood up, left her cabin and went to Dylan's. She knew he wasn't on watch. Actually, it was the new boatswain, Smithy and 2Dads. She looked around and knocked at his door.
"Yeah, come in!", he said.
He was surprised to see her enter. "Kate?"
She saw that he was reading sitting on his desk chair.
She took his face with both hands and kissed him.
"Huh?", he mumbled flabbergasted.
She gave him a disarming smile before walking away, "Darling, don't ask".
For a full minute, he stared at the closed door, really not understanding what had happened.
Kate returned to her cabin.
What did I do? Kissing him aboard. It's against the rules! But I couldn't help it. Nikki's fault. She forced me to. I wanted it so badly and her incident was the straw that broke the camel's back. Nothing happened, I regained control!
The next morning, Nikki sat sheepishly across from Kate in the officers' mess to have her breakfast. "Good morning ma'am".
Kate raised an eyebrow and looked at her friend, hearing the word 'ma'am'. "Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"
"Sorry about last night. It won't happen again", Nikki whispered.
Kate waved her hand, "Nah, forget it".
Nikki frowned, "Have you and Dylan ever done anything on the sly? A light touch, a peck?"
"No", Kate said looking quickly at her toast.
Nikki smiled broadly, "Oh you liar! You just betrayed yourself by the way you looked at your bloody toast".
Kate blushed, "I said…", but she was interrupted by Nikki.
"You're blushing. So, I hit the nail on the head. So what happened?", she asked.
Kate straightened up, "It doesn't mean anything. Only a kiss. One kiss, a peck, in fact. But it was your fault. Your romantic interlude pushed me over the edge".
"Okay, okay, understood. It'll be because of me. But, there's nothing wrong with that. You two are lovers. A kiss won't sink the ship, you know", Nikki said.
"No, but we have to set an example. Bomber is also aboard. I assume that she can also have feelings for someone else and vice versa. I really cannot afford the Hammersley to make the Australian Navy history as a love boat!", Kate said, rolling her eyes.
Nikki raised both hands in surrender, "Okay, I got your point. We'll be more careful".
"NO! Not more careful. You don't do anything!", Kate snapped.
Nikki grinned sheepishly, "I was teasing you and you didn't even notice".
"Nik, you're terrible", Kate grumbled.
End of Flashback
"And? Did it happen again?", Maddie asked.
Kate shrugged, "As far as I know, no. But, I know Nikki. She was cunning enough to find a way to have a romantic moment with Pete behind my back".
"Did you say something about?"
"No. I didn't see anything and I didn't hear any rumours. So, everything was fine, although I was wondering how they could have done it because these bunks are not very wide", Kate said with a grin and Maddie roared with laughter.
"You seem to have experience", Maddie asked with a cheeky smile.
"Young lady, we didn't want the club chair case to repeat itself. And now I'm thirsty. I need a drink", Kate said as she stood up.
"Yeah, great idea!", Maddie answered, brushing the sand off her shorts.
They grabbed their shoes and started walking.
"Did you at least have a successful patrol?", asked Maddie.
"Absolutely, but the fact is I don't remember. I was in the sick bay", Kate said.
Maddie frowned, "Does this have anything to do with the scar above your left eyebrow?".
"Indeed".
To be continued