"Yeah, my boyfriend and I, we're just sailing up the coast." Kate smiled as naturally as she could, anxiety souring her gut. She had thought it would just be a quick trip into town while they were docked for the night, sit in the pub, listen to the locals, see if she could overhear anything about a missing girl. She had forced Dutchy to stay behind, he couldn't hide his military posture with an officer around, especially her.
"I don't see any boyfriend around." The man leered at her, his bloodshot eyes focused down her shirt, his body looming over her.
Kate forced down her instinctive reaction to shrink away from him, aware of how his eyes watched her for that flinch, for that weakness. She could not help the tenseness of her shoulders but didn't think he would recognise it.
A hand touched her back and it was all she could do not to flinch.
"Kate, I'm sorry I'm late."
Kate turned into the familiar voice, discarding her surprise in favour of relief. Buffer slipped his arm around her waist, sliding onto the bar stool beside her.
He glanced up at the man as if surprised to see him.
"Hey mate," His voice was polite on the surface with an air of contained menace. "Can we help you?"
The man looked Buffer over for a long moment before sucking his teeth. "Nah, I'd take better care of a girl like that though. If you're not careful someone might take her off you."
Buffer's shoulders straightened, his hand tightening a little on her waist.
"I appreciate the worry but she's just fine." The politeness was now just a thin veneer over Buffer's suddenly snapping warning.
Kate watched the man walk away, her eyes tracking him until he took a seat at a far table. Buffer was just as wary, his body still taut against her until the man settled into his chair. Buffer's spine relaxed just a little and he leant into her, his mouth brushing her ear, hiding a quiet question under a pretended endearment.
"What's going on, Kate?"
She followed his lead, smiling softly and leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek.
"We found a body offshore and the last place her family knew she'd been was here."
Buffer pulled back and looked at her in such a familiar way she recognised his thoughts without him having to say them - 'And you thought you'd put yourself in danger alone.' After a moment he sighed and turned to the bartender.
"Glass of the house Shiraz and a pint of Tooheys please mate." He collected the glasses and shepherded her to an isolated table, far enough away from others for them to talk quietly.
"Thank you," She said as soon as they sat. "I didn't want to make a scene."
Buffer sipped his beer and eyed her with a smirk. "He has no idea that you would have put him on his ass if he'd pushed a little further."
Kate smiled at him, pleased that despite coming to her rescue he still respected her skills.
"It was a surprise to see you."
"Apparently something out there knows you needed backup." Buffer laughed. "I'm on leave, fishing." He looked relaxed, settled in a way she hadn't seen before and she found herself leaning closer as they spoke.
"So, what's the story about the body?" He asked, mirroring her to lean closer.
"We found her about a kilometre offshore. She was naked and looked like she'd been stabbed. She'd been dumped from a boat and there was a frayed rope where whatever had been used to weigh her down had snapped. The federal police ID'd her and the last place she'd been seen was here." She shrugged. She hadn't meant to become involved but she had been unable to forget the woman's face, contorted in fear, her eyes open and staring.
"And you thought you'd come and check it out on your own." His voice was judgmental enough that she frowned at him and then winced in acknowledgement.
"Your replacement isn't very subtle."
She saw a flash in his face when she said 'replacement' and reached out for his hand.
"I'm just glad you were here."
His hand turned in hers and squeezed.
"You know I've always got your back." He grinned at her. After a moment his smile began to drop, his eyes going stormy.
"What?" She asked, worried she had made him uncomfortable and tried to pull back her hand. Buffer just gripped it tightly, his lips thinning.
"He's still watching you." He told her, his voice suddenly angry again.
She didn't need to look to know who he was referencing.
"I don't think he's looked away from you since we sat down."
Kate was glad for his hand in hers, the feeling of being watched crawling up her back.
"I know you came to see if anyone knew about her," Buffer said, watching the man out of the corner of his eye. "But did you consider that the person who killed her might have been here?"
"Him?" She asked, her muscles tightening again. Buffer shrugged.
"Maybe not, but he's not someone I'd trust around a woman by herself and he wasn't taking your no as an answer."
"I can't imagine any woman, let alone a young attractive one, choosing to leave with him." She replied, her lip curling a little at the idea.
"Might mean she didn't." He met her eyes purposefully. "She had to leave the pub sometime."
Kate felt a cold chill shiver its way up her back. Felt the certainty of what would have happened if she had walked out of this place alone.
"I could let him think I've left alone." She offered, her skin crawling at the idea but feeling obligated to offer it. She watched Buffer recoil from the idea, his body physically stiffening.
"No." His voice was firm, certain and then he grimaced. "But I don't have the right to make that decision for you."
"No, you don't." She told him, but her voice was soft. "But I trust you and honestly, the idea makes my skin itch."
"Want me to walk you back to the boat then?" He offered, sitting forward in his seat, his hand still in hers.
Kate grimaced, increasingly realising the predicament she had placed herself in.
"I don't think I can go back to the Hammersley tonight, not if he might follow me. I can't let him get suspicious. She was weighed down Buff, he probably has no idea that she's been found."
"I…" He bit his lip, obviously uncomfortable. "I've got a motel room, you could stay with me until you're sure he's not watching."
Ruse or not, the offer felt charged and Kate let the frisson of excitement flow through her.
"Thank you." She told him, letting her relief bleed into her voice. She slipped out her phone, tapping out a message to let the officer of the watch know not to expect her until the morning.
Buffer tipped up his glass, finishing the last of his beer in one long gulp.
"Mind if we leave now? If I have to keep looking at that creep I'm going to do something that'll get me arrested, not him."
Kate laughed, abandoning the last of her wine on the table and stood, realising as she did that she had to release Buffer's hand, which had been resting so comfortably in her own that she had forgotten.
Buffer rose beside her and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him, his eyes carefully neutral as he tucked her beneath his arm, his spine stiff. Kate let herself lean into him, relaxing into his tacitly offered protection and guiltily, into the way her skin warmed at their contact.
Kate's back itched the entire walk to the motel - her ears straining to hear footfalls behind them, to see shadows moving in the darkness.
"I can't hear anything," Buffer whispered, his mouth hot against her ear as they approached the door. "See if you can see anything while I unlock the door." He released her waist and she felt the band of cool air like a brand after the warmth of his skin. She looked out into the darkness, her vision clouded by the sickly yellow glow of the motel's lights, their dim fluorescence only managing to extend the shadows rather than dispel them. She heard the door click open behind her and stepped toward it instinctively, wanting to be behind the security of a locked door.
Buffer closed the door behind them, locking it and sliding across the flimsy chain. Kate stood back and watched, feeling the way her adrenaline spike began to ebb, leaving her to feel the exhaustion of the last days.
Buffer turned from the door and grimaced, she could see the embarrassment on his face and followed his eyes around the room as he hurried forward, gathering a pile of clothes from the floor.
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting company, X."
Kate watched him flick the blanket up to hide the tangle of sheets and then stand awkwardly, half in parade rest. It hit her then how strange this was for them, how rarely they had ever been alone together, how rampant the rumours would have run if it had happened a few years earlier.
There was nowhere to sit other than the bed and Kate sat down on the end of it, and nodded at him, drawing him to sit beside her.
"You called me Kate earlier." She said after he finally sat, a careful space left between them. He stared at her, surprised. "I'm not your XO anymore."
She wouldn't push but she remembered the way he had looked at her under the cover of sailcloth on the pearl lugger. Remembered the spark she had felt herself before they both buried them under the weight of duty.
Buffer leant forward, little enough that she wondered if it were purposeful or instinctive. She reached out her hand to him and he took it immediately, his palm warm against hers. His other hand cupped the back of her head as he kissed her, his mouth gentle, hesitant until she pushed forward into him, her hand clutching at his arm.
She pulled back and his pupils were blown, his breath quick but his body leant away from her and he dropped his hands to his sides.
"We're both on edge…" He swallowed and she realised again how settled he felt now, how much more sure in himself.
She squeezed the hand that was still in hers. "No need to rush."
He smiled at her and brushed his hand against her face.
They woke to the sound of the door catching on the chain. Kate's eyes shot open in the dark, staring at the wall as her ears focused on the sound of the door creaking back shut. Buffer's arm tightened across her middle and she knew he was also awake, his body tense in the bed behind her. He slid his arm back quietly and they both twisted in the bed, shifting off the sheet and sliding out of the bed as they waited to hear the crash.
The door cracked as the chain snapped though the man held it tight enough to stop it slamming against the wall. He had a hammer in his hand as he stepped in but his face was confused at the empty bed.
Buffer crashed into him from the left, his hands grabbing first at the hammer, twisting it out of his control before the man slugged him with his free hand. Buffer rocked back but Kate had come in on his other side, hooking at his leg until he stumbled, falling forward. He tried to roll away, grabbing at Kate's legs, his fingernails scratching at her ankles but he was obviously used to unexpecting women, not two combat trained sailors who knew what to expect. Kate jumped back, kicking at his hands until he pulled one back, hurt. He used the space to get his legs back under him, dragging a dive knife from his belt. Kate's eyes were focused on the knife and he stood to his full height, his eyes gleaming maliciously. He looked confused when she didn't show any fear and she realised that he had been so focused on his prize that he had forgotten the other person in the room.
Buffer was wielding the hammer by the head but the hollow thunk and crack as the handle hit the man's temple sounded just as damaging as if it had been the head. He crumpled, the knife falling from his hand. Kate scooped it up, stepping carefully around his body, not releasing her guard. Buffer reached for her as she approached him, running his eyes and hands over her as she touched a thumb to the red mark on his cheek.
"It's nothing," He reassured her. "He's used to grabbing people from behind, not punching them."
Kate knelt on the bed, collecting her phone from the opposite bedside table and then grabbing Buffer's, handing it to him.
"You call the police. I'll call the boat."
The police beat the group from the Hammersley. By the time they arrived, Kate was sitting on the curb, her bare feet sticking out from the scratchy blanket covering her naked thighs. Buffer was sitting beside her, his chest bare and his arm around her shoulder, an ambo poking at the bruise on his cheek.
She looked up as they stopped in front of them, Mike's worried face froze as he took in the tableau in front of him.
Swain didn't pause, coming forward with his medkit, kneeling down beside the ambo.
"Hey, X, no quiet evening for you I see."
Kate smiled at him, offering her arm for him to take her pulse, she knew he'd never accept someone else's assurances.
"Buffer." He commented blandly once he'd counted off her pulse and was digging out a light to shine in her eyes. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Nice to see you too, Swaino." He grinned at him. "You don't have to worry about Kate, he didn't touch her."
Swain grinned at him, sitting back, obviously satisfied with Kate's health enough to smirk knowingly at them.
"You took all of it then I see," He gestured to Buffer's cheek where he was now pressing an ice pack.
Buffer shrugged and laughed a little. "You should see the other guy, I think he came off a bit worse."
Kate looked over at the rest of the crew while the conversation beside her continued. Mike had turned away and was speaking to the police but his back was stiff enough that she knew the snide hostility she had waiting for her.
She sighed and instead met Dutchy's eyes, he looked guilty and she raised her eyebrows at him until he huffed and walked over.
"X," He greeted. "Next time you convince me that I should let you go ashore alone I'm reminding you of this."
"I'm fine." She told him but accepted that this was not an argument she was going to win.
"At least you had backup." He glanced meaningfully at the arm slung over her shoulder and Buffer who was being distracted by Swain's fingers poking at his cheek.
Kate grinned at him, "It's certainly a memorable first date story."