Chapter 10

Kate hadn't slept one bit in hospital and now she had to wait until the doctor would come around to check on her. She wanted him to hurry up and tell her it was alright to go home. There was nothing wrong with her, why couldn't doctors just believe her? If she had known they would keep her overnight she would have never come to hospital in the first place. All she wanted was to go home, have a good night's sleep and then go back to work. Kate looked at the clock above the door again. It had been fifteen minutes since the nurse had told her about the doctor coming to check on her. It irritated her so instead of staying in bed and wait she swung her legs over the edge and decided to look for the doctor herself.

Kate got as far as the door of her room before she realized what she was wearing. Bomber had brought her some personal things the night before but she hadn't taken much time to give it a good look and now Kate was wearing the most embarrassing nightgown she owned which she should have thrown out a long time ago. Not only the shirt itself was embarrassing but also the fact that it had shrunken and the length of it couldn't be called decent anymore. When she was given the choice what to wear last night, her own shirt or a hospital gown, Kate didn't have to think twice what to choose.

Looking for the doctor would maybe not the best thing to do, dressed like this, but waiting any longer for a doctor she didn't really need was not something she wanted to do either. Kate looked at her uninviting bed and decided she was definitely not going to rest any minute longer. She wanted to be in control again, being the XO. One thing she needed to do as an XO was check on her crewmembers and there was one in hospital right down the hallway. Softly she opened the door and stuck her head out to see if there was anyone in the hallway who could see her in her short nightgown. It was quiet and Kate ran as fast as she could to Dutchy's room.

Dutchy was still sleeping but he looked peaceful. Kate sat down next to his bed and looked at the man she had come to appreciate a lot more in the past few days. There were still so many more things she could learn about him. Before this whole adventure she wasn't really interested in him and now? Now she wanted to know everything about him. Kate looked at his face and more particularly at his lips. The medical officer of the Newcastle had said he wouldn't remember a thing of what he had said and done but she still could. Without realizing it she touched her own lips where he had pressed his soft but firm lips. She reached out to touch his lips, just quickly, to feel them one more time.

Dutchy had been dreaming but he felt something on his lips. He didn't want anyone to touch them, not after yesterday. His mind wasn't very clear but he could remember the kiss he had given Kate. He opened his eyes to see her sitting next to his bed. Was he dreaming after all? Had he only kissed her in his dream? When he turned his head to face her she smiled at him but there was something different about her. Suddenly Dutchy was completely awake. He had kissed Kate the day before and she was sitting wearing something—well, what was she wearing? It definitely wasn't the navy uniform she had worn the day before.

"Nice shirt you're wearing Kate. Is that an invitation?" he said pointing at the text on her hot pink shirt. Kate gave him a shocked look. "What?" she asked a bit puzzled. "Be my honey bunny," Dutchy read out loud while Kate looked down at the picture on her shirt. "Oh," she smiled while she touched it. "It's a—," she tried to say but nothing more came out. Dutchy laughed as well but then he saw the red circles on her wrists and stopped abruptly. "They treated you badly," he said almost in a whisper.

Dutchy suddenly looked so hurt and while she tried to make eye contact he tried to avoid it as much as he could. "Is there something wrong?" Kate asked worriedly. "Dylan, talk to me. If you think that this is your fault, it's not," touching her own wrists, trying to convince him. He shrugged and touched her wrists too. "Not?" he asked. "No," Kate answered before he could say anything else. "Why do you think that? You got hurt yourself. You've been shot," Kate said.

Dutchy looked away again and thought back on all the moments he had jeopardized Kate's life in the past forty-eight hours. "It was my decision to go swimming and you almost drowned and when we were rescued I was unable to let my old friends know you're not the bad guy. They tied you up again and lieutenant Moore—I know him—he isn't the most diplomatic guy," he summed up why he felt so guilty.

Kate frantically shook her head and took his hand in hers. "You listen Dylan and listen well. It was your idea to go swimming but you didn't make me swim and for the drowning part, I've got to thank you for saving my life. Later on it was you who was shot and in danger and still you manage to make your old friends realize who I was. If it wasn't for you they would have kept me tied up and questioned me all the way back to port. Not everything that happened to me is your fault!" she said.

Kate smiled reassuringly at Dutchy when he turned his head towards her. "I don't know how you did it. I mean you were drugged to the eyeballs when I arrived at the medical ward," Kate laughed. Dutchy laughed as well, remembering that moment. "I was floating in and out of a very strange but nice dream," he chuckled. "You were certainly floating. You remember the dream?" she asked. Dutchy nodded. "I don't remember much but I—" he stopped and looked at Kate. "I dreamed that we were flying or something and the plane made an unexpected move. I had to rescue you from falling and hold on to you. Well and then we—" he stopped, feeling embarrassed.

"That wasn't a dream," Kate giggled. "Although we weren't in a plane," she added. Dutchy looked at her not knowing if he should laugh or hide. "Oh," he sighed. "Should I apologize for what happened?" he asked. Dutchy expected her to scold him for what he had done but Kate shook her head and said: "It wasn't too bad." He saw the twinkle in her eyes and knew she was teasing him. "Not too bad?" he asked trying to sound insulted. "Yeah," she answered. "It was too short to be spectacular but it wasn't too bad."

Dutchy thought for a moment before he replied. If she was playing mind games to get him all confused it worked. Kate was his XO and she could never admit she liked being kissed by him but he hadn't kissed his XO he had kissed a woman he had been stuck with on an island. Was her answer a serious one and had she really liked the kiss or was she joking and didn't mean what she was saying. "Should I try again and make it longer this time?" he quietly asked to see what kind of reaction he would get. He saw Kate blush and looking down before she answered: "Maybe you should."

What was she doing? They were teasing each other but what if he would seriously kiss her again and she would like it as much as the previous kiss? It couldn't happen. Why had she let that last sentence slip out like that? She didn't dare to look at him or say something, scared she would do or say something they would regret. Kate hated herself for giving him the idea he had a chance.

The door opened and a nurse walked in. "I should have known you would be here," she said looking at Kate. "You know you're not supposed to leave your room," she continued accusingly but then she smiled and added more friendly: "You've got a visitor."

Kate stood up and was about to follow the nurse when she turned around and looked at Dutchy. "I'll come back later and we'll talk then, OK?" she said. Dutchy nodded. He wanted to say something but all he could do was look at Kate's clothes. If he had thought the shirt was something weird for her to wear he had to reconsider. Underneath her pink night shirt she wore pink underwear with stripes and cute pink lace around the edges. He chuckled but hid it behind his hand. She heard him and turned around sharply. "What are you laughing at this time?" she asked. "Nothing," he grinned. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, not really believing him. "Come on Kate" he laughed, "I just hadn't thought you'd be someone to wear undies as outrageous as that!" "Well" Kate started, "It's not like anyone ever get's to see them underneath my uniform." Dutchy nearly choked on that sentence, not believing what she had just said. "Is that another invitation?" he asked, his voice suddenly a lot heavier than it was before. "Maybe…." Kate said softly.

For a moment she stood there silently staring at him, the same way he was staring at her. Her hands were unconsciously trying to keep the hem of her nightshirt at a decent level. Dutchy suddenly turned serious again, knowing he had possibly crossed all lines of decent behaviour towards his commanding officer. "I am sorry Kate, " he suddenly said, "I shouldn't have said all these things about your nightwear and us kissing. It isn't appropriate, you're my commanding officer. We were just joking, weren't we? About the kissing?" he explained himself. Kate nodded. "Yeah, don't worry," she said before she left the room to join the nurse who was impatiently waiting for her in the hallway.

Kate sighed. They had been joking although it had changed into something else. The nurse had saved them from an embarrassing silence but now she had left his room she wanted to go back and kiss him, tell him she wasn't joking. Kate sighed again and tried to think who her visitor could be. The visiting hours wouldn't start for another hour and by then she was not going to be a patient anymore, at least that was her plan. It could be Maxine although if she wanted to check up on her condition she would probably make a simple phone call. Maybe it was the doctor although the nurse would have said just that. As fast as she could she walked towards her room.

Just before she entered the room she pulled her shirt down as far as she could, not to embarrass the person who would be visiting her. Inside Kate saw a man in his whites facing her bed. "Mike," she said wondering what he was doing there at this time of the day. He turned around and gave her a wonderful smile. "Ah, the nurse found you," he joked. Kate nodded and quickly sneaked back into her bed. Mike didn't have to see what she was wearing. With the blanket pulled up all the way to her chin she looked at Mike again. "I wasn't lost," she said.

Mike pulled up a chair and sat down next to Kate's bed. He wouldn't say it out loud but she looked terrible. She had dark circles under her eyes and she had some bruises in her face and on her arms. She was covering up her full body and he wondered if she did that because she didn't want him to see her battered body or because of the shirt she was wearing. "I remember the shirt," he said hoping Kate wouldn't mind him talking about it. "You do?" she asked in disbelieve. "I think I even gave it to you. You still look good in it," he praised her. Kate pulled the blanket up even more feeling totally embarrassed now. "I don't remember," she said hoping he would take the hint to talk about something else.

There was a strange silence before Mike started talking. "How are you feeling? Did you get some rest?" he asked trying to get the conversation going again. "Fine and no" was her short answer. "When will they let you out of here?" he asked. Kate looked up and shrugged. "How should I know. Why don't you start looking for the doctor who does seem to be lost." Kate joked. "I don't like hospitals, never sleep well when they keep me overnight. I'm hoping the doctor will let me go home today," Kate explained a bit further. "You didn't look so well yesterday," Mike said, wanting her to know he was still a bit concerned. Kate shrugged. "Yesterday they had just woken me up when you saw me. I was groggy," she explained.

Kate looked at Mike and wondered why he was in his whites or why he had come to visit her outside of visiting hours in the first place. He saw her questioning look and smiled sheepishly. "I need to go to Navcom," he said. "Navcom? The Hammersley won't sail out just yet, will it? I'm sure I will go home today. Could you stall them until tomorrow?" Kate asked him. Mike saw Kate, about to jump out of bed and get dressed to come along. "No! the Hammersley will stay in port until the crew is complete again. It's me they want at Navcom," he quickly said hoping Kate would stay in bed.

Kate fell back into her pillows and let out a relieved sigh. "Why?" she wanted to know. Mike grinned. "I'm in trouble. I went out to search for you after Maxine had told me to stay in port," he told her. Kate was shocked to hear what he had done and more about the pride she could hear in his words. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "Well," Mike shrugged. "You were lost at sea and I couldn't sit around and just do paperwork. Charge, Swain and I plotted our own search area and took out a private boat. Mind you, we weren't searching in the right area but at least I can say I did something."

Kate shook her head. "You're a mad man, Mike Flynn!" she chuckled. "Go and see Knocker and get your reprimand over and done with. Just make sure you're not kept in port too long. I want to go back to work as soon as I'm out of this place," Kate ordered him. Mike smiled and patted her hand. "I will and if I'll see the doctor on my way out I'll tell him to let you go home. You're way to bossy to be kept here," he teased her.

Mike stood up and walked to the door. "Shall I pick you up after my reprimand?" he asked her. "That is if Maxine won't let me clean the heads at Navcom with a toothbrush and I'm unable to come back in time," he added with a laugh. Kate let out a loud burst of laughter. "Sure. If I had a mobile I would call you," she said. "I'll find a way to let you know when to come and pick me up," she added more seriously. Mike smiled. "OK. I'll get some nice salads and some wine for tonight," he said. While he walked out of the hospital room he heard Kate say: "I'll hope Maxine will give you time to do that!"

Like Kate had thought she was discharged not long after Mike had left. She changed into the summer dress Bomber had brought and decided to go check on Dutchy before she would give Mike a call. With her bag swung over her shoulder she walked towards his room where she saw him sitting in his bed. He looked a lot better than he had done that morning but when she wanted to walk in she saw the doctor walking back to his bed still drying his hands after he had washed them. "The wound is healing nicely and it all looks good. What you really need, and most of all your body, is rest. I will be able to let you go home if I know you will take it easy the next couple of days. And if there is someone at home to take care of you." the doctor said.

Dutchy didn't answer him straight away and Kate knew his answer was a negative one. This wasn't fair on him. She stepped inside the room and cleared her throat. "I could do that," she offered. The doctor didn't ask for any details and just nodded in agreement. "I will let you go home if you accept the lady's offer," he said while signing some papers. Dutchy gave Kate a grateful look and nodded. "Thank you," he said. The doctor hung his charts on the end of his bed and looked from Kate to Dutchy and back. "Remember you need your rest as well lieutenant McGregor," he warned her. "Don't worry doc," she said. "We'll just watch some movies, and I'll tuck our patient in nice and early before camping out on his sofa myself."

The doctor agreed to this proposal and while Dutchy changed, Kate waited outside the room. Suddenly she remembered her promise to Mike. She had to call him to let him know he didn't have to come after all. She walked to the desk and asked if she could use the phone. While she waited for Mike to pick up she hoped he wouldn't mind. "Mike," she said when she heard him. "They let me out but you don't have to pick me up. I'm going to stay at Dutchy's place tonight. The doctor wouldn't let him get out if he didn't have someone to help him," she apologized. Kate listened to what Mike replied. "Oh, you already bought my favourite food? Oh, I'm so sorry Mike," she said.

Dutchy saw Kate standing at the nurses desk and walked towards her. "Hey my saviour," he joked. She turned around and he saw she had the phone pressed against her ear. "Dutchy is here. I'm really sorry. You can cook for me some other time OK?" she asked the person on the phone. She gave the phone back to the nurse and thanked her for using it before she turned to him. "I called for a taxi. It'll be here in about ten minutes," she informed him. Dutchy smiled and linked his arm with hers. "Let's go home," he said invitingly. "And let's watch some movies," he added. While they left the hospital Kate laughed and said: "I think I know which movie we're going to see tonight."