The next morning felt strange. The idea of putting on her uniform like any other morning and driving to the wharf felt like an invasion of the hyper local focus of the last few days. She hadn't forgotten her responsibilities and life outside of their little island but they had become secondary to the rhythm of recovery and basic needs.
Seeing Buffer standing in her kitchen holding a mug of coffee in his DPNU's was even stranger, as though a part of her past had been thrust into the present.
"Good morning." He handed her a mug of coffee in what was fast becoming their routine.
He might look like the Buffer from her past but her awareness of him had nothing to do with the past.
"Thank you." She let herself grasp his arm in thanks, watching the way his eyes flicked up to hers.
She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing but she didn't want him to think that the barriers that had dropped in the last few days had been rebuilt.
"Have you heard anything from your captain about duties? Are you sailing?"
Buffer shook his head, "No, recovery around Cairns."
Kate couldn't help her relief.
"They've got us doing the same thing."
She was helplessly glad that tonight they would come back to her house and tomorrow morning be able to stand here in her kitchen and drink coffee together.
"You're going to have to let Mike know about your injury." He gestured at her shoulder with his mug. Hearing him say Mike's name startled her a little, it reminded her more clearly of the distance he had drawn between the Hammersley crew as members of his chain of command.
"Why?" She asked with a smile. "Because you won't be there to have someone put me on light duties?"
Buffer's eyes smiled at her in return but his voice was sincere.
"You've got to let other people take care of you too, Kate."
It hurt to drive through the remains of their devastated city, piles of discarded household items on every curb, objects in trees marking the high water mark. She was also incredibly aware of Buffer in the passenger seat, his presence made so much clearer by his casual but deliberate use of her name. It felt like a declaration, a reminder that while they may be back in uniform, he was no longer her subordinate.
They badged through the security gate and parked. Kate had just opened the back door to pull her bag out when Dutchy appeared.
"If you ever leave me alone with the junior sailors and RO again, I'm going AWOL." He sounded exactly as aggrieved as his messages suggested. She couldn't help but smile.
"You had Charge for help."
She watched his face pinch and bit back a laugh.
"He spent the entire time hiding in the engine room."
Buffer laughed from the other side of the car and Dutchy's eyes shot over to him, clocking the DPNU's and the rank on his shoulder.
"Sorry," He reached his arm over the car, grasping Buffer's hand. "I'm Dutchy."
"No problem. I know exactly what Charge is like." He shut the car door, throwing his bag across his shoulder and joining them. "You're in my old position."
Kate could feel Dutchy's eyes on her and winced a little.
"They just called you Buffer, right?"
Buffer nodded, "Call me Pete." He turned to Kate. "I should get moving, my captain's a stickler for being prompt. I'll see you this afternoon."
He waved goodbye to them both and headed off down the wharf.
"So that's the old Buffer," Dutchy commented into the resulting silence, a carefully blank expression on his face.
"Get to work, Dutchy." Her voice was dry but she couldn't quite dredge up the commanding tone she needed.
"Yes ma'am!" He smirked at her and headed off towards the boat.
"X, it's good to see you, were you flooded?" Swain was already in the wardroom sorting through piles of supplies. Bird also waved at her while counting, muttering numbers under her breath.
"No, just without power. Were you and Sal safe?"
"Much the same, cut off and without power. I've spent the last few days checking wounds and cuts - flood water is a breeding ground for bacteria."
Kate winced, she may as well get it over with now. Buffer was right, she would have to tell Mike about her injury and he'd just send her down for Swain to treat it.
"That's one of the reasons I stopped by. I've got a cut on my back from some debris."
Swain straightened quickly, his professional demeanour dropping over his face.
"Let me take a look." He reached behind him for a pair of gloves. "Do you mind if Bird stays?"
Kate waved her approval and turned her back to him, pulling her DPNU's over her shoulders and rucking up her shirt. It felt so different doing this here, clinical and distanced. It had nothing in common with the way her body had heated when Buffer had touched her skin.
Swain picked at the corner of the dressing, pulling it off and lightly touching the skin around her wound.
"It's long but it's not too deep. Do you know what caused it?"
Kate shook her head, "No, the water was fast moving so whatever it was disappeared quickly."
His fingers paused on her skin. "You were in the water." His voice was flat and judgmental. "I didn't think it'd be you who I would be treating for heroic injuries. I've already had to take a nail out of one of the juniors' feet."
Kate laughed a little and then hissed as he pressed down on her wound.
"I was on one of the boats and a child fell in."
"That sounds more like the X I know." His voice was amused as he smoothed a cream down the wound and then replaced the dressing.
"You'll have to tell whoever did this for you that they did a great job - there's no sign of infection and it's healing well, but you'll be on light duties until it fully closes, there's no reason to risk infection now." He pulled her shirt back down and she pulled her DPNU's back up her arms.
"I'll tell Buffer your lessons stuck." She said it without thinking and forced herself not to question herself as she turned around.
"Buffer?" His expression was thoughtful, careful. "How is he?"
"He was flooded, so he's staying with me."
"Makes sense." His lip was twitching and she chose not to address his assumptions.
"Thanks for checking my back. I'll leave you to your stocktake."
"Nice to have you back, X." His voice was warm, if still somewhat amused.
"Good to be back, Swain."
The rest of her day was full of the same things she had been doing since the flood. They were bussed to a neighbourhood and spent the day dragging ruined furnishings to the street and manning hoses to wash the worst of the mud out. The mud army worked around them and everywhere she could see the evidence of people helping each other. It felt strange not to see glimpses of Buffer in the crowd, not to hear his voice admonishing one of the volunteers for trying to pick something up without first moving all the things leaning on it. She hadn't realised how quickly he had worked his way into her life, deeper than he ever had on the Hammersley.
It was a relief when the sun dipped behind the hills and they were released for the evening. Kate slumped in the driver's seat of her car, even limited in the physical labour she could do she was exhausted. She lifted her head from where she had rested it on the steering wheel when the passenger door opened and Buffer lowered himself into the seat with a groan.
"I haven't been this tired in years."
Kate grinned and started the car, pulling out of the car park.
"Looks like it's not only the officers that lose their skill in hard labour."
Buffer laughed, his head tipped back against the headrest and Kate focused on the road to avoid watching the way his throat moved with each breath.
It took a lot longer than it should have for Kate to realise why the street lights were a surprise.
"Power's back on," Buffer noted, glancing at the lit windows they were passing.
"Hot showers." She groaned a little at the thought and Buffer laughed with her.
It had been warm enough that cold showers hadn't been a hardship but as she stood under the warm stream the aches and exhaustion of the last few days fell away. Her skin was pink when she stepped out and she was revived enough to tackle the prospect of dinner from what was left of the non-perishables. She heard the bathroom door open as she rounded the corner but did not expect Buffer as he was. His skin was as pink as hers but his hair dripped down his chest to the towel he had slung around his waist.
"Sorry." She said it automatically, a knee jerk response to an awkward moment.
"Should I apologise too?" The awkwardness changed to something more heady at the tone of his voice, and the way he met her eyes.
"No." She told him simply and his lips tipped up in a smile.
"Get dressed," She told him after a long second of building silence, shattering the heavy atmosphere that had begun to descend. "If you want to eat you need to come help me figure out what's left in the house."