BACK BEFORE MIKE'S CAR ACCIDENT

CAIRNS

NAVCOM

Steve decides after sorting a few things out at NAVCOM that he better ring his boss and let him know what he has done today in regards to Maxine.

"Sir, I've placed Commander White on paid leave, I have to run a full investigation into her."

"That is not what I was hoping to hear, from you today Steve."

"I know Sir but it's important, I can't have her having access to any information that could, in turn, be changed by her to make it look bad for two of our other officers."

"Are one of those officers Mike?"

"Yes."

"I thought as you did there was something else going on for him to resign as he did."

"There is, I found out that he has wanted off Hammersley for some time, and Maxine has known this, she claims it is a cover from him. He wants it to look like he wants off when he is happy to stay on."

"That isn't good, but that wouldn't be the only reason why you're investigating her."

"No, there are a few other things going on, that I need to look further into. I want to get the facts right, check files, and talk to other people."

"Okay, but please keep me in the loop over this investigation, I would appreciate an email or a phone call update at least once every second day Steve. Now Mike have you managed to get him to stay with us?"

"Only temporary so far. The best I was able to get from him, was on paid leave for as long as he wants."

"That is better than nothing, did you tell him I would allow him to have any position he wants within the Navy?"

"Yes I did Sir, but it made no difference. I took what I could get from him. And so far that is what I have, I did tell him I was looking into Maxine I think it was the only reason I was able to get him to stay signed up with us."

"Who else have you told?"

"No one knows about Mike staying on. I have left that information out, I just told Fleet command that he has a lot of paid leave available and that I will give them a date of resignation once I have worked out just how much leave he has, I told them due to the large amount of leave he has we can't pay him out, it all. I did explain to them that I have informed him of this and that he is okay with it."

"Interesting fib on the truth there Steve."

"Yes it is but it is in our regulations, and they don't always know a sailor's true amount of leave they have as we know everyone is so different."

"Okay, well I better go as I have another call coming in."

Steve hangs up the phone and starts to go through the records of Hammersley, and the first thing he checks is Miek and Kate's paperwork, he compares it to what is on file with fleet command and what Maxine has on her work laptop. It's not Mike and Kate's full Navy records, nor their full personal information. It's just simple and basic. He is not sure why she doesn't have their full records, and when he pulls up the Hammersley file it does have the link for the two officers on it, it also has the Kate is Mike's emergency contact, and if she can't be reached to ring his parents, then on Kate's it has Mike's parents as her's. He can't see why Maxine wouldn't know this information

He is gathering since Maxine has known Mike since they went through ADFA together that she didn't bother to check his personal files, nor check Kate's either, he feels she didn't bother checking Kate's as she is jealous of the relationship the two officers have with each other. But he also knows when Mike was at ADFA, he was married to Penny, then when he split from Jenny he slept with Maxine one drunken night, which he only learned about because of Ryan turning out to be Mike's biological son and not his godson. His gut tells him that he is sure Maxine has known this tip bit of information all this time and has withheld it for other reasons. But he is not sure why Maxine didn't know about Kate, as there was a large number of people who knew about the two of them when they were together.

As he reads further through he sees all the notes placed about them on both files. The one's noting his separation from Penny, the divorce, then him dating Kate, and their separation. It even includes that he has known Kate since she was eight. And on Kate's, it has similar information about the two knowing each other, that the two started dating before she went to ADFA. So for him, he still can't believe that Maxine didn't know this information.

He pulls out Kate's resignation letter that he manger to get off her before she filled it, and places it in his briefcase, thinking how two of his finest offices are both wanting to throw away brilliant careers because of Maxine, and he knows it's because of Maxine.

After Maxine leaves Kate's place, she goes around to Mike's and finds he's still not home, and by the looks, he hasn't been home in some time, as she can see through his door's glass window that the note she placed through the door's mail slot is still sitting on the floor, along with some other bits of mail. She is cursing for not demanding a key to his place from him, and she has no idea who has a key to his place as she would really like to get in and have a look around and bet here waiting for him. After waiting for about an hour and trying his mobile several times and leaving him some messages she decides to head home.

Back into the present

Kate decided after leaving Mike's hospital room to head back to Cairns. To check on her place and then go and see Jim who she knows she has a lot of things to talk about to him to fix things between them. Before she flys back to Cairns, she sends a text message off to Jim to let him know she is heading home and when she is due to land and be home. She also rings Marshall and lets him know that she is coming back home, as he did tell her when she last spoke to him that he wants to know when she gets home from Melbourne and dealing with Mike's medical needs, as he wants to talk to her about her resignation and other things as well.

FIVE HOURS LATER

CAIRNS

KATES HOME

Kate has not long been home having diverted to the shops on her way home to get some of the basic fresh stuff she knows she will need. She is busy making herself a drink when her doorbell chimes, she walks up and checks who is on the other side and sees it's Jim.

"Jim?" Kate says to him, she can tell something isn't right with him.

"Why have you lied to me all this time."

"I haven't."

"Yes you have I asked you about your family and you said they were dead."

"Because my family is dead too. My father died when I was six, and my mother died when I was twenty-three."

"What about Mike's family, mmm, you never mentioned to me at all that the two of you knew each other outside of Hammersley, I find out once we arrived that we were in Mike's family home, that you have known him for a shit load longer than you ever let on," he says to her, she hears the anger in his voice as he speaks to her.

"Because it was in my past."

"In your past Kate, his family will be at our wedding how can that be your past, they in your present and future no matter your relationship with Mike, his family will always be a part of our life. A life I thought I wanted with you."

Kate says nothing in response to him and what he has said, she knows Mike's family will always be a part of her life, they like second parents to her, Mike's father has always been a father figure to her, since she didn't have a father he took on that role, he treated her mother like a sister as well. She decides to tell him more about her life.

"Mike's family was one of the first families my mother met when we arrived in Australia. They took my mother under their wing, helped her without things worked in Australia, the friend mum came over with, was friends with Mike's family. I think he knew they would look after us. Millie the youngest is my age, she became my friend we were in the same classes at school, over time we became like best friends, one teacher even said it was like having twins in her class with the things we could understand from each other... Mike was eighteen when I first met him, he was engaged to Penny, I had nothing to do with him, as before long he was off to ADFA." Kate says to him, she watches as Jim sits there taking in what she has said to him, nothing comes out of his mouth.

"Mike's father Paul, he's been a father figure to me. The relationship between me and Mike is over, it is in my past."

"Then what the hell happened at his parent's place, that you have been refusing to tell me about. I know something happened one night between the two of you."

"Yes something did happen, but as I told you it has nothing to do with you."

"Pardon has nothing to do with me, like hell, you shut me out, were in tears, and would only talk to Mike, or Millie. You spent hours in his room as well. That to me says whatever the hell went down that night was bloody big and if I have to I will go and see Mike and see if he will tell me what the hell happened that night."

"It's past history, Jim, just drop it will you."

"No, I won't drop it, Kate. I thought I loved you but since going away, I am now figuring out that the love I thought I had for you is not the same as what you have for me. The fact that you haven't given me an answer yet, is all I need. I thought while away you would talk to them about wedding planning, go off and sort things out like dresses, etc but nothing. I didn't hear you at all mention us and marriage to those people."

"Jim I told you I needed time to think."

"Time to think, yea right Kate, you just trying to figure out how you could go through with this, your heart belongs to someone else. The last week, while you have been in Melbourne by Mike's bedside not once, did you ring me, I had to ring you every single day to see how you were. You may have been at my bedside when I got hurt, but when Mike was injured you didn't need to be there, there is this thing called a phone, or mobile that the hospital could have rung you on when they needed you."

"I had paperwork to sign, I couldn't do it all on the phone."

"Come on Kate that is a load of bullshit, your reaction when they told you over the phone, has told me that you still love him."
"Of course I still love him, Jim, we spent five years together, I thought he was the one I would spend the rest of my life with, have a family. You just can't switch off over five years of loving someone Jim."

"That is what I thought Kate. You love him more than you love me, you're just with me because of the Navy regulations. Though the interesting thing is Kate, I know for a fact that Mike was prepared to give everything up to be with you. His career in the Navy wasn't as important to him as you think it is. I also know about him having a son that he had no idea about. Also, were you ever going to tell me about the pregnancy scare you had? Or was that just something you were going to sweep under the rug since it didn't happen? Or was it the fact you weren't sure who the father was between Mike and me?" Jim bites back her his voice full of venom and haterade towards her at present for the games she has played over the last few weeks since he asked her to marry him.

"I didn't tell you simply because it was only a scare there wasn't any need to involve you in something that wasn't."

"Oh, but your ex knew about it, in fact from what I heard the whole boat knew about it." Kate shakes her head and turns and walks away from him, boats talk she knew they knew about it, but she didn't bother telling him because there was nothing to tell him.

"I'm sorry to do this Kate, but it's over. I can't live in the shadow of Mike. I can't marry someone who can't be honest with me and tell me the truth about things. Whereabouts is my ring." Jim says to her and he gets up and heads to her room. He knows it be somewhere in her bedroom.

"In my sock draw." She quietly says to him, he had hoped she would fight him on him calling off the relationship. He heads off to get the ring, as he walks down the stairs he sees her sitting on her couch her head in her hands, he says goodbye and there wasn't a word from her. It is breaking his heart to leave her but he knows he can't be with her, she is in love with someone else. But for him, it's the honesty that he needs more than anything and she can't be honest. He knows something big, major happened back at the Flynn homestead, what he isn't sure of but he knows it involves Mike and Kate. He thinks about if he should go and see Mike or not and see if he tell him what the hell has been going on between the two of them.