Ok guys here's the final part of this story. I'm not completely happy with it, I had a severe case of writers block.

'Well don't you look fantastic' he smiled as she sat down on one of the stools near the breakfast bar, facing him.
'Thanks' she laughed back as she watched him pour out generous amounts of wine, into two identical wine glasses.
'So you hungry?' he asks just as his stomach growled loudly.
'Starving, and judging by what I just heard you are too.' She laughed, as his checks turned red with embarrassment.
'Well, just a little' he said after he regained his composure. 'So want do you want to eat?'
'Well if it's not too much trouble I have the huge urge for some pasta' she said shyly
'For you Katie, nothing is too much trouble' slipped out before he could stop it. Slipping into their old routine of him calling her Katie, was so easy.

She hadn't really noticed what he had said, until a guilty look appeared on his face, and she went back over what he had said in her mind. She was so used to him calling her Katie, that she hadn't noticed and it was this fact that slightly worried her. What if he happened to call her that one day aboard ship? It was at this moment that she remembered that Katie was the name he had only used when they were alone, when they were together before. It was his pet name for her, the little word that he would whisper to her as they lay curled up between the sheets. It was this fact, that reassured her that he wouldn't say it on the ship, well at least when no one else was around, he would keep it just for them. It was for only her ears to hear him say it, with such a delicate amount of love and tenderness.

'Kate, I'm sorry' he said, his voice soft and sincere.
'It's alright, Mike, it's alright. In fact, I like it when you call me that' she replied.
'You do?' he asked, shocked by this fact.
'Yeah, but make sure that you only call me that when we are alone' she smiled
'I think I can do that, Katie' he smiled back at her. 'Well it was pasta you said, right?'
'Yeah' she sighed. In his eyes she looked so adorable, sitting there in her pink pyjamas. She still looked exhausted, though.
'Well, Katie after the day you've just had, why don't you go and sit on the couch and watch some TV?' he said, 'I'll cook'
'Are you sure?' she asked
'Yeah, I'm sure' he said. That was all the assuring she needed. Her muscles were aching from the uncomfortable chair she had fallen asleep in at the conference. She flopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. She wasn't much on, so she sat and drifted off into her thoughts.

As she sat on the couch, he began cutting and stirring in the kitchen. It was at this moment that he was glad he had learned to cook off his grandma. He had a feeling of butterflies in his stomach; he hoped that his cooking would be alright. He wanted everything to be perfect, wanted to knock her for six with his cooking. He couldn't remember ever cooking for her before; in their first relationship they had eaten a surprising amount of takeaway. It was the smell of delicious food that awoke her from her thoughts, some fifteen minutes later. God, she loved being here, she thought to help as she rose from the cough to see if he needed a hand with anything. When he first came in sight, she had to smile. He was standing there, wiping his brow with one hand and with the other stirring a creamy looking sauce that was bubbling away nicely. She stood there for a minute, just looking at him. It was then that he seemed to sense her presence because her looked up and smiled at her,
'Katie, it's almost ready'
'It smells fabulous' she replied, 'are you sure you don't want any help?'
'Well, you could set the table,' he stated
'Alright,' she said and she proceeded into the kitchen to find the placemats and the cutlery. After she had successfully found them she set off towards the table humming to herself as he gazed after her.
They were sitting together, eating their pasta, soon after. Kate had just had a coughing fit from trying to laugh and swallow at the same time after something he had said. He was standing over her, a gentle hand rubbing her back soothingly, having just placed a glass of water on the table in front of her.
'You okay, Katie?' he asked gently
'Yeah' she smiled reassuringly. She looked down at the remains of food on the table in front of her. It had been so delicious; she had never known he could cook like that. When he was finally sure she was okay (or when he could finally bring himself to stop rubbing her back) he stood up and began clearing away the plates. He was quite happy with the way it had turned out, and by the look on her face her she took the first mouthful, he'd say she did too. She stood up and took the plates from his hands,
'Mike, let me. It's the least I can do after that wonderful meal' He allowed her to take the plates, because he knew that he would never hear the end of it if he didn't let her do this.

She stood at the sink running a small amount of hot water to rinse the plates. They hadn't used much and she wanted to make life easier of them in the morning. Just as she finished, Mike came out of his room, finally changed. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt with the Navy symbol printed across it and black shorts.
'So what do you want to do now?' he asked her, as they both collapsed on the cough
'Well, we could watch a movie?' she replied
'Okay, how about…?' he never got to finish that sentence because at that moment all the lights went out around them.
'Great' he said sarcastically 'it's probably the fuse box.' She just laughed, finding their situation hilarious. He stood up and walked into the kitchen, trying to remember where he'd put the spare candles for a situation like this. After about a minute of going feeling through draws in complete darkness, he felt the candles and a small box of matches. He struck the match and turned round to find Kate standing behind him, he eyes glistening in the light.
'Katie, if you just want to say here for a second, I'll just go and look at the fuse box' she nodded at him and took the remaining unlit candles from is hands
'Alright, I fix these up then shall I?' she said and they both went to work.

When Mike came back in the room was full of candlelight, from the candles which Kate had set up around the room. There was nothing wrong with the fuse box, and so he realised that it must be a power cut. It didn't really worry him that much. In fact, secretly he was happy because it meant more time for him to spend talking to Kate. He sat down on the couch beside her, realising how intimate their surroundings were.
'It looks like a power cut,' he said
'Oh well,' she sighed 'I guess we'll just have to sit here and talk until the power comes back on.'
'Sounds good' he replied 'So what do you what to talk about?' She seemed to go suddenly shy and her reply was almost inaudible.
'I know this is a little childish, but we could play 20 questions'
'What that?' he asked
'Well, it's this game where we each get to ask each other 20 questions.'
'About what?' he interrupted
'Anything, but you have to tell the truth.' She smiled up at him. 'I'll go first'
'Okay' he said 'Shoot'
'Chicken or fish?' she said
'That's your first question?' he asked. She nodded 'Fine, well I guess it would have to be fish'
'I thought so,' she said
'Rugby league or rugby union?' he asked
'Union' she said 'I'm not sure why but I've always liked it better.'
'What's the most embarrassing song you like, but would never admit to anyone?' she asked, mischievously
'This is really shameful' he said 'Toxic by Britney Spears' Upon hearing this she burst out laughing, until she had tears of laugher in her eyes
'Sorry' she mumbled 'but I never pictured you as a Britney type of guy'
'You?' he asked 'What's your most embarrassing song?' Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment,
'My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas' she giggled. He began laughing, recalling the lyrics to the song which he had heard once before, on the radio.
'Gone with the Wind or Doctor Zhivago?' she asked
'Gone with the Wind, definitely' he replied
'First kiss?' he asked
'Well I was 16 and it was my prom night. His name was Ben and he was my best friend.' He nodded.
'First love?' she asked
'I was 16 and it was just before I joined the Navy, she was the most beautiful girl at school and I adored her. It had to end when I joined though.' He said, almost sadly. She smiled at him, knowingly.

An hour and what seemed a million questions later Mike asked,
'You sick of this yet?' Kate nodded as she began to shiver. He wrapped his arms around her out of habit, and held her close to his chest, trying to warm her up. He was happy with Kate is his arms, it made him feel complete and content. She settled against his chest even though that small annoying voice in her head was screaming at not to. His strong, steady heart was beating just under her ear. It was making her feel tired again. They sat like that in their silence for a while, enjoying their familiar closeness. Mike had noticed that her breathing had become slow and even, realising that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He kissed her head and it suddenly dawned on him, he had never told her that he loved her. He breathed in her familiar scent as he whispered
'Love you, Katie' thinking that it was better late than never. He sat, holding as her close as he too drifted off to his dreams. They were where they belonged, in each others arms.