merry christmas [2/11]
Title: Merry Christmas
Fandom: Sea Patrol
Pairing: Mike/Kate
Words: 1088
Summary: 'She’d almost been glad when she’d heard that they were being crash sailed. It meant that instead of spending Christmas sitting at home moping about the fact that she had no one to spend it with she would be on the Hammersley with her friends.'
Part One
HMAS Hammersley Bridge
1230 23rd December, 2010
Dutchy was sure he’d missed something. The bridge had been exceptionally quiet since the mayday call, and usually in such situations there was quite a lot of chatter. Instead everyone was standing around in silence as the CO spoke to Commander White on the phone.
‘Well he got cut off before he could explain that,’ the CO said into the phone. ‘I’m not sure.’
He paused and Dutchy looked over at the X.
He had no idea who this Captain Jim Roth was, but everybody else seemed to. And he seemed to have something to do with Kate. The CO’s reaction to hearing his voice, the way he’d instantly looked at her, spoke volumes to him.
There was no emotion more obvious to him than jealousy. Something he was quite used to feeling when it came to the ships XO. Although he’d tried to push away any feelings he had for her since he’d caught her and the CO kissing earlier that year, but there were still those moments where he realised it wasn’t so easy to pretend he felt nothing.
‘Of course, Maxine. Thanks,’ the CO hung up the phone and looked around the bridge. ‘We have to wait until she hears back from the SAS.’
‘With all due respect, sir, we should be going after them right now,’ the X’s voice remained steady but Dutchy could tell she was angry. ‘The longer we wait the more chance there is of us losing them.’
‘X, we don’t even know where they are,’ the CO replied.
He was trying to keep his voice level down but Dutchy could tell - and he was sure so could everyone else on the ship - that he was suppressing something resembling anger.
‘Then we’ll find them,’ she responded. ‘They have to be somewhere in the general direction of the Samaru Islands - why else would they be out here on a boat?’
‘Well that’s the question, isn’t it?’ the CO replied.
‘If this was anyone else you’d be doing everything you could to find them,’ Kate shot back at him.
Everyone fell silent and Dutchy almost thought he could’ve reached forward and grabbed the tension in the air.
‘I’m doing everything in my power right now, but until Maxine hears back from the SAS we can’t know exactly where they are and what we can do,’ the CO responded, quietly. ‘X, I want you to grab a brew and calm down before you say something you’ll regret.’
‘I’m not leaving the bridge,’ she paused for a moment. ‘Sir.’
‘It’s an order, X.’
‘Yes, sir,’ she turned and headed down the stairs.
The CO looked at Dutchy and nodded for him to follow her. He replied with his own nod and followed her silently off the bridge, he could almost feel the air thinning as he did so.
HMAS Hammersley Officers Mess
1238 23rd December, 2010
She was sitting, her head leaning against the wall behind her and her eyes closed as he entered. He wasn’t sure what to say, he never was around her.
‘You can sit down,’ she said, without moving.
Sometimes he thought there was a possibility she could actually read minds - or maybe he just wasn’t as stealthy as he thought he was. Dutchy sat down in silence. He wasn’t really sure what to say in these situations.
As much as he cared about Kate he knew he was better placed up on the bridge dealing with the situation at hand rather than below decks trying to deal with her feelings. Most of the time he was the one causing her to be upset - at least then he could apologise.
How could he know what to say when he didn’t even know what was causing her mood?
‘What’s going on?’
She opened her eyes and looked at him. He could see her mind ticking with the response she wanted to give him but he knew he wasn’t ever going to hear those words.
‘Nothing,’ was her eventual response.
That was all he was going to get out of her.
‘I should get back to the bridge,’ he said.
She nodded.
He stood up, touching her lightly on the shoulder and looking her in the eye.
‘Everything will be fine,’ he said, quietly.
She laughed in a way that told him it wasn’t going to be.
‘Yeah, right,’ she replied.
HMAS Hammersley Bridge
1304 23rd December, 2010
Dutchy didn’t miss the way that the CO glanced Kate’s way as she walked back up onto the bridge. He also didn’t miss the way that Kate purposely ignored his look. He wished he could know what had happened between them for them to end up like this. He knew if he had a chance with someone like Kate McGregor he would be doing anything he could to be off the boat and in a relationship with her.
Unfortunately he didn’t have that opportunity - but what annoyed him was that Mike Flynn did and didn’t seem to be doing anything about it.
The CO looked at him and Dutchy looked away, afraid he might read something in his expression that he didn’t want the CO to see.
Jealousy was an ugly emotion and there was far too much of it flying around the bridge at that moment.
He looked around the bridge as he walked towards his chair. Whatever Christmas cheer had been there as they left port was completely gone. Even 2Dads had given up on the tinsel and instead had just draped it around his shoulders.
‘Sir, Commander White is on the phone,’ RO finally spoke up, interrupting the very loud silence on the bridge.
Everyone except Kate watched as the CO picked up the phone.
‘Maxine, it’s Mike,’ he said.
Dutchy didn’t miss the twitch in Kate’s expression as he said it.
There it was again. Jealousy.
‘OK,’ he paused. ‘Of course.’
He hung up the phone and looked at the ocean in front of them.
‘Our orders are to do everything in our power to rescue the SAS team,’ he said quietly, glancing at Kate. ‘RO, Navcom is sending through the coordinates now.’
‘Got them, sir,’ RO replied.
Dutchy followed the CO’s gaze and looked at Kate. She wasn’t looking at anyone, her eyes focused ahead on the open water.
This wasn’t going to be a very Merry Christmas.
Next...
Fandom: Sea Patrol
Pairing: Mike/Kate
Words: 1088
Summary: 'She’d almost been glad when she’d heard that they were being crash sailed. It meant that instead of spending Christmas sitting at home moping about the fact that she had no one to spend it with she would be on the Hammersley with her friends.'
Part One
HMAS Hammersley Bridge
1230 23rd December, 2010
Dutchy was sure he’d missed something. The bridge had been exceptionally quiet since the mayday call, and usually in such situations there was quite a lot of chatter. Instead everyone was standing around in silence as the CO spoke to Commander White on the phone.
‘Well he got cut off before he could explain that,’ the CO said into the phone. ‘I’m not sure.’
He paused and Dutchy looked over at the X.
He had no idea who this Captain Jim Roth was, but everybody else seemed to. And he seemed to have something to do with Kate. The CO’s reaction to hearing his voice, the way he’d instantly looked at her, spoke volumes to him.
There was no emotion more obvious to him than jealousy. Something he was quite used to feeling when it came to the ships XO. Although he’d tried to push away any feelings he had for her since he’d caught her and the CO kissing earlier that year, but there were still those moments where he realised it wasn’t so easy to pretend he felt nothing.
‘Of course, Maxine. Thanks,’ the CO hung up the phone and looked around the bridge. ‘We have to wait until she hears back from the SAS.’
‘With all due respect, sir, we should be going after them right now,’ the X’s voice remained steady but Dutchy could tell she was angry. ‘The longer we wait the more chance there is of us losing them.’
‘X, we don’t even know where they are,’ the CO replied.
He was trying to keep his voice level down but Dutchy could tell - and he was sure so could everyone else on the ship - that he was suppressing something resembling anger.
‘Then we’ll find them,’ she responded. ‘They have to be somewhere in the general direction of the Samaru Islands - why else would they be out here on a boat?’
‘Well that’s the question, isn’t it?’ the CO replied.
‘If this was anyone else you’d be doing everything you could to find them,’ Kate shot back at him.
Everyone fell silent and Dutchy almost thought he could’ve reached forward and grabbed the tension in the air.
‘I’m doing everything in my power right now, but until Maxine hears back from the SAS we can’t know exactly where they are and what we can do,’ the CO responded, quietly. ‘X, I want you to grab a brew and calm down before you say something you’ll regret.’
‘I’m not leaving the bridge,’ she paused for a moment. ‘Sir.’
‘It’s an order, X.’
‘Yes, sir,’ she turned and headed down the stairs.
The CO looked at Dutchy and nodded for him to follow her. He replied with his own nod and followed her silently off the bridge, he could almost feel the air thinning as he did so.
HMAS Hammersley Officers Mess
1238 23rd December, 2010
She was sitting, her head leaning against the wall behind her and her eyes closed as he entered. He wasn’t sure what to say, he never was around her.
‘You can sit down,’ she said, without moving.
Sometimes he thought there was a possibility she could actually read minds - or maybe he just wasn’t as stealthy as he thought he was. Dutchy sat down in silence. He wasn’t really sure what to say in these situations.
As much as he cared about Kate he knew he was better placed up on the bridge dealing with the situation at hand rather than below decks trying to deal with her feelings. Most of the time he was the one causing her to be upset - at least then he could apologise.
How could he know what to say when he didn’t even know what was causing her mood?
‘What’s going on?’
She opened her eyes and looked at him. He could see her mind ticking with the response she wanted to give him but he knew he wasn’t ever going to hear those words.
‘Nothing,’ was her eventual response.
That was all he was going to get out of her.
‘I should get back to the bridge,’ he said.
She nodded.
He stood up, touching her lightly on the shoulder and looking her in the eye.
‘Everything will be fine,’ he said, quietly.
She laughed in a way that told him it wasn’t going to be.
‘Yeah, right,’ she replied.
HMAS Hammersley Bridge
1304 23rd December, 2010
Dutchy didn’t miss the way that the CO glanced Kate’s way as she walked back up onto the bridge. He also didn’t miss the way that Kate purposely ignored his look. He wished he could know what had happened between them for them to end up like this. He knew if he had a chance with someone like Kate McGregor he would be doing anything he could to be off the boat and in a relationship with her.
Unfortunately he didn’t have that opportunity - but what annoyed him was that Mike Flynn did and didn’t seem to be doing anything about it.
The CO looked at him and Dutchy looked away, afraid he might read something in his expression that he didn’t want the CO to see.
Jealousy was an ugly emotion and there was far too much of it flying around the bridge at that moment.
He looked around the bridge as he walked towards his chair. Whatever Christmas cheer had been there as they left port was completely gone. Even 2Dads had given up on the tinsel and instead had just draped it around his shoulders.
‘Sir, Commander White is on the phone,’ RO finally spoke up, interrupting the very loud silence on the bridge.
Everyone except Kate watched as the CO picked up the phone.
‘Maxine, it’s Mike,’ he said.
Dutchy didn’t miss the twitch in Kate’s expression as he said it.
There it was again. Jealousy.
‘OK,’ he paused. ‘Of course.’
He hung up the phone and looked at the ocean in front of them.
‘Our orders are to do everything in our power to rescue the SAS team,’ he said quietly, glancing at Kate. ‘RO, Navcom is sending through the coordinates now.’
‘Got them, sir,’ RO replied.
Dutchy followed the CO’s gaze and looked at Kate. She wasn’t looking at anyone, her eyes focused ahead on the open water.
This wasn’t going to be a very Merry Christmas.
Next...