Chapter Text
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“What the hell?”
Chris exclaimed in disbelief when he opened the ship office’s door and saw Bomber and 2Dads kissing each other passionately.
The two junior sailors sprang apart as they heard him, but the damage had already been done.
He closed the door behind him with a bang and just stared at them silently.
He absolutely had it this patrol. He had been held at gunpoint on his knees just a couple hours ago by idiotic gold smuggler, not knowing whether that would have been the end of his life. Then he had witnessed a drugged up Dutchy flirting with Kate just 30 minutes ago and the fact that Kate had blushed because of it.
He had wanted to tear off Dutchy’s hand from hers, but he had assumed that Kate would not have appreciated cave man attitude like that. So, he had just tightened his jaw and had tried to ignore the jealously burning in his heart. She had given him some kind of pleading look, but he had barely acknowledged it. He just had had enough of the fact that he couldn’t do anything about their status quo because he hadn’t had time to share the news about his shore posting with her.
And now this.
He’s so close to the end of his time in Hammersley, why on earth he had to be the one who stumbled upon these two?
“I’m going to quit the Navy.” Bomber finally opened her mouth after period of tense silence.
“So?” He raised his eyebrows at his mentee. “You’re still on the clock! You can’t wait until you’re off the ship at least?”
“Bomb, you didn’t tell me you’re quitting?” 2Dads looked at Bomber in shock.
“I haven’t lodged the paper yet, but I definitely will.” Bomber replied defiantly to him, “so no need to report us. I’ll be off soon.”
“Bomber, sit down!” He was seething. Here he was, couldn’t ask the woman he liked on a date for months because he chose to obey the rules, and there were these two, flaunting the rules in front of his face.
The young woman sat down petulantly, making him even angrier. “I’ve absolutely had it with you Bomber. I thought you have learned the lesson from that cyanide episode. I’ve cautioned the X against endorsing your promotion to leading seaman, because I thought you still need to show consistency in your behaviours, but she felt that your bravery deserved to be rewarded. Is this how you repay her endorsement?”
“You just said it yourself, Swain, I don’t deserve that promotion. She just did it to repay me for saving her.”
“And instead of working harder to repay her belief in you, you just throw her endorsement to her face and quit instead?” He pressed harder.
“Not everyone can be Princess Perfect!” Bomber hissed back at him, “she’s so perfect, so heroic, so selfless. I could never hope to live up to that!”
“Bomber, no one ask you to.” He stared at her in disbelief, “we just want you to be the best version of yourself, whatever that might be. If you feel that the Navy is not for you, and you want to quit, that’s fine. But don’t bite the hands that feed you. Quit with dignity, speak to the X, thank her for her endorsement but say you want to try other things in life. Don’t burn the bridges, because you might need the Navy again later in your life.”
He sat down in front of them, “and I told you I’ll be back to this room to check on 2Dads after I checked on Dutchy. You knew I’ll be back and yet you still took your chances. Were you trying to get caught and forced me to report you to the boss, so you’d be off the Navy that way?”
Bomber went quiet and looked down.
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe she just wanted to kiss me, Swain?” 2Dads said cheekily, trying to liven up the atmosphere and taking away the attention from Bomber.
“Shut the fuck up, 2Dads,” he glared at the younger man, “you’re not off the hook. You’re her senior, you should know better. It would do you good to learn some self-control!”
2Dads raised his eyebrows defiantly, “you’re the rule follower, I’m the rule breaker, but both of us ended up on our knees with guns at the back of our heads couple of hours ago. Follow the rule or not, we still ended up at the same place. If I was about to die on that island, I wouldn’t regret the many rules I broke all my lives, I would regret not kissing Bomber more.”
“Fucking hell….” Chris leaned back on his chair in surrender. He knew there was a lot of truth in what 2Dads was saying. He chose to obey the rules all his life and the rules didn’t necessarily make him rich or happy. So why was he still holding such a high regard for rules and regulations?
He sighed and got up from his chair, “I think I’ve tried for 6 years in this ship to instil the importance of Navy rules in doing our job. I thought I’ve led you all by example successfully. Obviously, I’ve failed, and this was the result. So, I think you’ll be happy to know that this is my last patrol with you. And since I’m on my way out, I’m just going let this go if you promise to sort this out properly in relation to who’s leaving and who’s staying in this ship. Whoever the new coxswain is, hopefully he or she would have better luck in doing this job.”
The two sailors looked at him in shock. “What??” they then exclaimed in unison.
“You heard me.” He shook his head at the two of them, “I’m going to get some fresh air and clear my head but keep talking between the two of you as to whether you’re seriously going to pursue this relationship or not. If yes, I want to see your transfer or resignation letter in the system by the end of this patrol from one of you. Is that understood?”
“Are you really leaving, Swain?” Bomber stared at him regretfully.
“Yes, I’ll start my shore posting at Navcom next week.” He nodded, “I won’t have to deal with you lot anymore.”
“Fuck, we might get someone a lot worse than you.” 2Dads made a face, but then got up and offered his hand to him, “I know I’ve given you quite a bit of lip in the last few years, and I think it’s because we’re just two very different people. But good luck, Swain.”
He searched 2Dads’ eyes for any trace of mocking, but he couldn’t find any, so he gave him a nod and a firm handshake in reply.
A few seconds after he let go of 2Dads’ hand, Bomber threw herself at him for a hug and he found himself holding her tightly in return.
“I’m sorry, Swain.” She sniffled on his shoulder a little, “I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you.”
He pulled her off him gently before holding her shoulders firmly, “you’ve grown so much since you first came to this ship. You’ve done well, despite what you thought of yourself. Whichever path you choose later, I’m sure you can do it. Who knows, maybe I’ll see you open your own café one day and I can take Chloe with me to eat there.”
She gave him a wet smile in return, “you have to tell me yours and Chloe’s favourite food and I can have it on the menu.”
“Chicken Pot Pie and Waffle with Vanilla Ice Cream.” He chuckled, “I’m going to hold you to that Bomber.”
“I will make it happen.” She gave him a determined look. Maybe she’s finally at peace with her choices in life.
“Remember your paperworks by the end of this patrol if you’re serious about each other.”
“You’re such a fun police, Swain.” 2Dads rolled his eyes at him.
“Somebody has to be one,” he shook his head, “otherwise between you and Charge, this ship would descend into chaos.”
2Dads was about to open his mouth again when Bomber elbowed his side.
“Ow, Bomber….”
“Shut up, Leo.” Bomber glared at him, “we’re lucky Swain is being generous today.”
He observed the two of them, and although he still couldn’t see it, maybe opposite do attract. And maybe 2Dads would grow up eventually for Bomber. Wouldn’t that be a sight to behold?
“I’ll submit the paperworks soon. I promise.” Bomber addressed him again.
“Bomb, you really don’t have to.” 2Dads looked at her in concern.
Bomber just raised her eyebrows, “don’t you want many more hot showers together?”
“Ok, I don’t need to know the details,” he cut them off.
“Sorry Swain….” Bomber grimaced, realising she spoke too openly.
“Too adventurous for old married man like you, mate?” 2Dads sadly opened his mouth again.
He refused to raise to the bait, preferring to stay silent, lest he said something he would regret. At the end, he simply walked away from the pair, leaving them to their own devices.
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“X?”
Kate halted her step as she passed through the CO’s office on her way to the galley. “Sir?”
“Do you have a moment?”
“Of course.” She stepped into his office, wondering what else he wanted to chat about this late at night. They had done the debrief on today’s mission. And aside from Dutchy’s injury, the team had managed to successfully complete their mission mostly unscathed. There had been moments where her heart had stopped though, especially when she had seen Chris being frog-marched at gun point on that beach. But she had known that their people were good at what they did, and she had faith that Dutchy and Charge had managed to trap the smugglers from behind while she and Bomber had confronted them from the front. And they had done it.
“Close the door, X.”
She closed the door and took her seat at the spare chair.
“I would need your help during shore leave to review the three candidates for Swain’s replacement. Here are the files.”
She took the files from his hand automatically, although her heart dropped slightly. Chris had gotten his shore posting and he hadn’t told her yet? Why?
“This patrol is his last with us. Apparently, Navcom requires urgent replacement for the Naval police position at Cairns base. The current one suffered a stroke the other day, and his left side is now paralysed. It would be a long road to recovery for the poor bloke.” He then raised his eyebrows, “I presumed you’ve known already?”
“Not yet, Sir.” She shook her head.
“I’m surprised,” he looked at her thoughtfully, “you two have been joined at the hip lately.”
“We’ve been busy, Sir, especially Swain with tending to Dutchy’s serious injuries. No chance to chit-chat.” She said as neutrally as possible, refusing to be an open book to him any longer. She had been very careful on keeping their interactions strictly work-related lately, and this discussion was heading into dangerous territory.
He then spoke again, “about your transfer request.”
“Yes?” She braced herself for confrontation.
“It looks like you want to stay in Cairns, which limits your posting to either with patrol boat or onshore. So, why the transfer? Why not just stay in Hammersley if you’re going to end up in patrol boat again?”
“It’s about challenging myself again to a different type of command, different crews and different environment, Sir.” She replied firmly, “I need to grow as a leader, I need to be adaptable to any situation, and I need to show variety in my service records, Sir, so that I can be considered for promotion in the future.”
“Growth would be transferring back to a frigate in any major base around the country, not staying in Cairns. I can also understand if you want to move to Darwin, because it has larger patrol boat fleet and chances to work with the visiting American troops. Are you transferring out because of me?”
She steeled herself, “I feel my chances for promotion is higher if I transfer out of Hammersley, Sir.”
“Kate….” He looked at her sadly, “please know that regardless of whatever had happened between us in the past, I would never change my mind about the fact that you are a brilliant officer. I would never hinder your chance of promotion if you wanted to apply for it. I would gladly write a recommendation for you.”
She searched his eyes for any trace of deception, but he appeared to be sincere in his words, which lowered her defences a little bit. “I’m transferring out for myself. I feel that my career had been intertwined with yours too much. I need to prove to myself that I know how to be a good leader without your influence. I want to feel that my achievement is my own again, without it being tied to yours. As much as I know that I have played a huge role in getting Hammersley’s reputation to be where it is today, this ship is still yours, not mine.”
“Would you like it to be yours?” He asked thoughtfully, “because so far, I haven’t felt that the candidates in the list that Maxine gave me are suitable. I have a feeling that they are barely able to command a tugboat, let alone a warship. I can put your name forward. It’ll solve my problem in finding a good CO for Hammersley.”
“What would it cost me though?” Suspicion grew in her mind.
“What do you mean?” Confusion showing on his face.
“Is this a trick of yours?” She pressed, “are you trying to get me indebted to you so that I would fall for you again?”
Silence greeted her question. A myriad of emotions crossed his face, disbelief, frustration and at the end, resignation.
“That’s fair, I guess.” He sighed, “Swain finally told me this afternoon that he has been separated from Sally for the last 7 months, and this shore posting is necessary for custody reason. I have misjudged him. And like you said, I should have known better than to assume the worst of the two of you. I’m sorry for everything, Kate.”
She looked at him in surprise, she never would have expected to hear an apology from him. “Are you being serious about your offer to put my name forward for CO’s candidate?”
“Yes.” He replied firmly.
“What are my chances then?” She asked again, “and I want you to be honest, based on your experience with how Fleet Command considers promotion.”
“My recommendation won’t be enough,” He said thoughtfully after a few minutes of contemplation, “you will need Maxine’s as well. So, she will need to get to know you a lot better. Maybe your idea to transfer off is not a bad one. If you can get a job as her right-hand woman at Navcom, doing more strategy work, liaison type work, you can then be introduced to the right people at Fleet Command. A few short stints as guest lecturer at Jervis Bay, either at bridge training or navigation faculty would enhance your resume as well. Of course, further warfare courses are a no brainer.”
“A long road ahead.” She felt strangely determined, seeing the path laid out before her eyes.
“Yes.” He nodded, “I would still put your name forward now, even though your chances are probably slim. But that way, Fleet Command’s curiosity would be pique as to your potential. You’d be on their radar for future promotion. And if you’re up for it, I’ll setup a meeting with Maxine, that way we can talk to her about this. She is always curious about you and it’s my fault that she holds a tiny bit of suspicion as to what you mean to me. It’s time to put that speculation to rest and maybe this is my way of making it up to you for all the grief that I’ve caused you.”
Long silence permeated from them in the next few minutes, each reflecting on the ups and down of their relationship to each other over the years and the fact that they were now finally being matured about it, recognising that they were better off as colleagues and frankly, she didn’t feel any sadness, just relief.
“I would like you to arrange that meeting with Commander White, Sir. Maybe next Monday during shore leave? I’ll also make some notes about these three candidates. You’ll have my recommendation on Monday as well.” She finally spoke again.
He nodded, seemingly pleased by her decision, “Monday is good. I’ll send a meeting request to her. I’ll propose 10 am, but that might change depending on her calendar of course.”
“Of course, Sir.” She then gave him a small smile, “thank you.”
“You’re welcome, X.”
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“Mate, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you’re transferring off!”
Chris could hear Charge’s booming voice from behind him resonated through the hallway in front of the galley as the crews were queueing-up for breakfast.
He sighed at the shocked stares of everyone around him, except Bomber of course. He turned to find Charge scowling at him and next to the engineer was 2Dads grimacing sheepishly.
Of course, the junior sailor couldn’t wait to tell his big buddy. He rolled his eyes slightly. Telling Bomber and 2Dads last night had been necessary to explain his reason for letting them off the hook, but anyone else could wait until he has had a chance to talk to Kate. Unfortunately, she had finished her watch much later than him and he hadn’t wanted to knock on her door in the early morning when she had been asleep. He was hoping that she would already turning up for breakfast by now, but she’s still nowhere to be seen.
“And this is precisely the reason why I haven’t.” He glared at Charge, “you just announced it to everyone in the whole Queensland with that loud voice of yours.”
“Mate, this is big news!” Charge just ignored his glare, “are you going anywhere exciting?”
“Haven’t the little birdie here told you already?” He directed his glare at 2Dads now.
The younger man just lifted his hands in surrender, “haven’t had a chance before he saw you and ran with it.”
“Swain, are you really leaving?” Bird’s sad voice greeted him next as she went out from the galley and approached him.
He softened as he saw her doe eyes glistening slightly. He then looked around to the crews just standing around the corridor, breakfast queue on hold and looking back at him expectantly.
“Yes, this is my last patrol with Hammersley.” He paused and smiled, “I’m starting my new job at Navcom next Monday.”
“Onshore? Sitting on a desk doing paperworks?” Charge stared at him in disbelief, “but you like being at sea.”
“I love my daughter more.” He said firmly, assured of his choices, “Sally and I are divorcing soon, and since I want 50:50 custody, shore posting is necessary to allow fix custody schedule.”
“Excuse me??” Charge exclaimed in shock.
Everyone else gasped and murmured amongst them. A few of them looked at him in pity, maybe thinking that it must be sucked to join the Navy’s failed marriage club after trying to hold on to his marital status for so long, but the others just looked at him with a mix of understanding and sadness.
This was the reality of a job like theirs that demanded everything from them. Like Kate had said a month ago, at what point it became too much to bear before you must make some hard choices to preserve yourself and your loved ones.
He had stood at that crossroad months ago after that deadly supply visit to Vatinaie island and he had finally made that decision to transfer off. He had finally chosen his daughter, he had finally chosen himself and with those choices, it had brought him to Kate. He knew for certain he had made the right choices that day.
“Mate, why didn’t you say anything before?” Charge looked at him sadly, “how long has this been going on?”
He chuckled, “I would’ve told you if you’re not prone to oversharing,” he patted Charge’s back jokingly, while the other man just scowled indignantly, “and I’ve moved out from my old address at the beginning of the year.”
Charge looked flabbergasted, “that’s 7 months ago! What the hell?”
He just shook his head, “it’s done now. No need to rehash it, Charge. I’ll still be in Cairns, so unless you suddenly hate fishing, I’ll still be down for a fishing trip with you.”
“Mate, you better be!” Charge pulled him for a brief hug before patting his back firmly. “This ship will be suck without you. But you do what you must do, I guess.”
“Are we going straight to the pub after this then?” 2Dads asked excitedly. Everyone’s faces also turned ecstatic at the prospect of a celebration.
“I can’t. Have to accompany Dutchy to the hospital for proper checking of his wounds. But tomorrow afternoon at the usual?” He offered with a small smile to everyone. It’d be good to close this chapter of his life with a drink together with his shipmates.
Excited cheer sounded from everyone around him and one by one they wished him luck and either patted his back or shook his hand. Bird and Flick even gave him teary hugs which made his heart heavier. These young women had so much going for them in terms of intelligence and passion, and while the Navy was much more progressive nowadays, he also knew that the organisation was still a male-dominated one. He hoped that these two stuck it out and progressed further, but he also understood that it wouldn’t be easy for them.
Maybe he would see it changed by the time it’s Chloe’s turn to decide what she wanted to do in life. Maybe he would see more women joining and having a successful career in the Navy. Just like Kate.
Speaking of her, he still hadn’t seen her turning up. He really should speak with her now, before the boss made the official announcement of his departure during the final leg of their journey home after breakfast.
He had a very important question to ask her.
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“You’ve been hiding from everyone.”
Kate looked up to find Chris hovering above her, blocking the morning sun from her view. She had been sitting on one of the bulkheads at the back deck, feeling the sun on her face for the last hour.
She didn’t reply, just looking at him quietly as he sat on the bulkhead in front of her. On his hand was a plate of garlic bread covered in cling wrap. Must be courtesy of Bomber.
“You didn’t turn up for breakfast either. Bomber was quite worried as it’s unusual for you to miss out on garlic bread,” he then offered the plate to her, “would you please eat, even just a piece? You’ll need the sugar to function properly. I’m not sure whether you’ve had your first dose of coffee either. But I can make you one later, better not drink coffee on empty stomach.”
She felt tears welled up in her eyes as his sweetness came back. She had spent last night tossing and turning, part of it was excitement for the next stage of her career, if Mike held true to his end of the bargain of course. But a large part of it had been anxiety for the fact that the man in front of her hadn’t told her about his new posting yet. She had remembered his promise to ask her out when the new posting had come, and so far, he hadn’t delivered.
If someone would have asked her at the start of this patrol whether she had been sure about Chris, she would have said 100% as they had spent more time together during that full week of shore leave. She had accompanied him on his outing with Chloe a couple more times. And although the little girl had still been shy around her, Chloe had given her a hug and quick kiss on the cheek without being prompted as she had accompanied Chris to drop her off at Sally’s on Thursday afternoon.
That night he had finally kissed her, and they had made out on her couch while the TV had been playing on the background. While nothing else had happened and he had gone home afterwards, she had felt so giddy with happiness that she had wondered if he had put a spell on her.
Then the patrol had started the next day, and she had felt him pulling back. He had still made her coffee in the morning if he had been on the same watch, but he had purposely averted his eyes from hers and he had always avoided being alone with her in the mess. She had thought that he had been busy and might have been worried for the lack of news for his new posting and she had dismissed herself for being paranoid.
But she couldn’t dismiss her concern any longer, because yesterday when Dutchy had been pulling her towards his face and calling her an angel in front of Chris, his lack of reaction or acknowledgement of her embarrassment had alarmed her. She couldn’t forget his flat voice when he had simply said that Dutchy wouldn’t have remembered anything in the morning because of the drug, as if he hadn’t cared about her being pawed at by her colleague, even a drugged-up one. Which had been such a contrast from their last patrol where he had been hovering over her after that cyanide episode.
And of course, he had been silent about his new posting, instead she had heard it from Mike last night. This morning, she had wanted to line up for breakfast, but obviously, she had stumbled upon the scene of him holding court with the crews and telling them of his departure and the reasons for it. All she had felt seeing the scene had been sadness for not being deemed important enough to be informed personally about the news.
“You don’t have to pretend to care about me.” She hated when her voice shook, and her tears started to fall on her cheek. She looked pathetic, weak, and any other unkind adjectives floating around in her brain as she could feel herself losing control of her emotions. “It’s clear that you don’t care anymore. You didn’t even speak to me this patrol unless necessary. You avoided sitting next to me in the mess as if I have cooties. And you just ignored Dutchy’s drugged-up behaviour towards me as if I meant nothing to you.”
Chris felt like an arsehole seeing her tears and heard her wobbly voice. “Kate, of course I care about you. I’ve been falling for you for months….” He couldn’t believe how he had fucked things up in the three weeks since he had kissed her goodnight in front of her house. He then put the plate he was carrying on the deck before cupping her cheeks on his hands, “I’m so sorry…. I never meant to hurt you. I was an idiot.”
He further cursed himself for his behaviour this patrol and tried to wipe her tears away to no avail, “I couldn’t look at you for too long this patrol because every time I did, I wanted to kiss you. I couldn’t sit next to you in the mess because all I wanted was to pull you to my arms just like we did while watching TV on your couch. So, I just avoided it. And I know now that I should warn you about it beforehand, instead of just pulling back like that. As for yesterday with Dutchy, I wanted to punch him for flirting with you so blatantly, but I thought that you wouldn’t appreciate me being that kind of man, so I controlled myself. Apparently, I controlled myself too well that I caused you to think that I don’t care about you. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
She shook her head, “you didn’t even bother telling me about your new posting, while everybody else got a farewell tour. I thought I would be higher in your priority list, but apparently, I was at the bottom.”
His heart sank to his stomach at her assumption, he really needed to fix this now, “Kate, I know that my words probably don’t mean anything to you right now because my actions didn’t match, but I swear that I only got the news about the new posting just an hour before we had to go to those blasted islands to look for the damn gold smugglers. I should’ve just pulled you aside for a minute and told you, but I overthought it. I wanted to ask you out at the same time and the occasion became so big that I kept putting it off. And of course, my brain thought you were blushing when Dutchy called you an angel, so I chickened out again, thinking that maybe you like him instead of me.”
“Blushing?” She glared at him in disbelief, “I was embarrassed! You’re such an idiot!” She slapped his chest in frustration.
“I’m really sorry.” He caught her hands and kissed the back of it before holding them tightly in his hands.
The next second, he had his arms full of Kate as she leaned forward and buried her face on his chest, still sniffling quietly. He cradled her head gently, while his other arm circled her back tightly. He knew they were breaking a thousand regulations right now, but for the first time in his life, he couldn’t bring himself to care. His time in this ship was ending soon, but his time with her was only in the beginning. And he hoped that he would have at least 40 to 50 years with her, so he needed to do whatever he could to ensure they would get there.
“Did you even mean it a month ago when you asked hypothetically if I would say yes if you had asked me on a date?” She asked quietly from his chest before looking up, still teary, “or have you changed your mind about us?”
“Yes, I meant it,” He wiped the remnants of her tears from her cheeks gently, “and no, I haven’t changed my mind about us. In fact, all I can think about lately is building a life with you and Chloe together. Sometimes it scares me just how much I want you.”
“So why haven’t you asked me yet?”
He smiled softly at her earnest confusion, “because I’m an idiot. But I’m an idiot that wants you very much.” He then held her hands tightly in his before finally asking her what he should have asked the next second after he had heard the news of his new posting, “Kate, will you go on a date with me on Saturday night please?”
She stared at his hopeful eyes with fresh tears in her eyes. While she knew that they had to be better at communicating, so that this kind of misunderstanding would be a rare occasion instead of the norm, she felt like she was about to embark on a special journey together with this man as he asked that question. She just knew that her life would never be the same again.
“Of course I will, Chris.”
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Chris still couldn’t believe that he was sitting in a corner of a restaurant overlooking the marina, holding Kate’s hand on the table publicly, while sitting adjacent to her in the intimate setting. This felt so surreal.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Kate looked at him curiously when she happened to take a break from savouring her Tiramisu.
He smiled softly at her and lifted her left hand to kiss the back of it before answering, “just feeling grateful that you chose to forgive my idiocy just a couple of days ago and agreed to go on this date with me.”
She sighed and squeezed his hand tightly, “I’m sorry that I overreacted too. I should have trusted that you had a good reason for behaving that way. Being in the ship with all the rules and prying eyes didn’t help my anxiety either because I couldn’t just confront you straight away. We’re probably lucky that no one happened to walk to the back deck and saw us.”
“Yes,” he nodded, “as much as I enjoyed being at sea, I’m glad that I made the decision to go onshore. Being in the ship feels like living in a fishbowl, doesn’t it?”
She chuckled, “yes, it brings out the worst in human behaviour sometimes.” She then gave him a serious look, “what do you think of me being onshore too? Would you be sick of me if you saw me all the time at Navcom?”
“You’re thinking of going onshore?” He was surprised at the possibility, but now that he heard about it, he felt excited at the prospect of her having the same 9 to 5 schedule as him.
“I have a meeting with Commander White and the boss on Monday morning about my career progression. You know I’ve lodged my transfer papers already, and I want to explore a few options, one of them being onshore to build my networking.”
She then looked at him in contemplation, “and honestly, I need a break from being on patrol, from being away at sea 3 weeks at a time, from living on a fishbowl and worrying about the dangers facing my crews. Maybe going to work 9 to 5 for at least a year at the base would be good for my psyche. Giving me time to miss the sea again. Giving me a chance to do some refresher for my skills, because I don’t think I’ve even had a chance to catch-up on my mandatory training hours for the last 4 years, let alone attending a leadership conference or something like that. And of course, if we’re both onshore, I would get to see you more and we could really work on building this relationship forward.”
“Are you sure?” The hope in his heart was growing for a chance to live a mundane life together with her, “wouldn’t you feel bored onshore?”
“Maybe at first. But it won’t be forever. I know I will be at sea again. Maybe next time as CO.” She smiled wistfully.
He smiled back at her, “you’ll be an amazing CO.”
She looked at him sheepishly, “you don’t think I’m reaching?”
“Absolutely not. You are great at what you do. I will remind you every day if you wish me to.” He promised her solemnly.
She kissed his cheek softly, feeling a bit overwhelmed at his support. The future was looking brighter the more she looked at the man next to her, once again believing that he’s her future, that he would be around her every step of the way, even at her lowest point.
Her brain told her to be more cautious, to not let another man influence her emotions so completely, to not surrender her heart just like that. But she also knew that no one had ever made her felt so safe and so cared for.
While his actions hadn’t been the best in the last 3 weeks, he had rectified it once he had realised that she had been hurting and had explained all the thought process behind his actions honestly, so that she understood where he came from.
“Kate….”
She looked up to see him looking at her like she was the most beautiful woman on earth, causing her cheeks to feel warm. One of his hands now cradled her cheek gently.
“I think I know what I would consider a life well-lived when I’m reaching the end.”
“Yeah?” she reciprocated by tracing one of his dimples softly.
“A life with you and Chloe and maybe another addition along the line, if you want to.” He paused for a minute before continuing determinedly, “a life full of laughter, a life doing the job that we both love, growing older and wiser with you by my side, until the day I closed my eyes and yours would be the last face I saw.”
She smiled with tears in her eyes. “Maybe another one just like Chloe. Or a mini you. I think the world needs more Chris Blake running around. If the world was full of brave, thoughtful and honourable person like you, it’d be a much better place.”
His full dimples were on display, and he’s dangerously close to bawl his eyes out. “I think the world needs more Kate McGregor instead.”
“We’re not opening a cloning business, Mister.” She glared at him playfully, “one kid, and we’ll be happy with what we’ll have, no matter who he or she resembles.”
“Deal.” His face must look absurd as he could feel it stretched to accommodate a wide smile, but he couldn’t help it.
“And yes, my definition of a life well-lived would be similar to yours.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips, just because she could now. “I want more time with you. Much more time. I want to choose you every day, even the day I don’t really like you that much. But I don’t want you to close your eyes before me. I’m going to wish that we’re lucky enough to both close our eyes at the same time, so neither of us would experience losing the other.”
He felt a huge lump on his throat, and he could feel his heart swelled in his chest from happiness. He couldn’t speak, so he pulled her face to his for a kiss instead. As deep of a kiss he could get away with in public.
“I think you should take me home now,” she suggested playfully while caressing his cheeks.
He chuckled wetly as he remembered his fantasy of taking her home a month ago. He felt like pinching himself as it’s becoming a reality now. He then kissed her lips one more time before whispering softly, “yes, let’s go home.”
.
.
The end.