Kate opened the door and let Nikki into her apartment. Nikki's eyes went widened as she looked around Kate's apartment. "This is a nice place you got here."

Kate laughed, "Thanks. It does the job. Um… you can put your stuff in the guest room if you like. Second door on the right down that hall."

Nikki followed Kate's finger and headed down the hall. She walked past a couple of photos but noticed there weren't many in Kate's apartment. Most of them were of Kate whilst she was at ADFA, from what Nikki could tell. She put her stuff on the bed in the guest room and headed back towards the kitchen. She was glad that Kate took her up on her offer of a 'girls night' knowing that after the incident a few weeks ago that Kate just needed some time to relax and to chill. The entire crew were wary of the tension that still existed between the CO and Kate but no one was willing to say or do anything about it. It was between the two and even though they had done nothing to sort it, no one was willing to say anything. The entire crew were just thankful it wasn't interfering with their work.

She walked into the kitchen and moved to help Kate with dinner, "Here, I'll give you a hand."

Kate shook her head, "No, don't worry about it. Sit down. There are some drinks in the fridge."

Nikki shrugged her shoulders and grabbed a beer from the fridge before sitting down at the table. She wasn't to sure as to whether or not she should bring up the topic about Mike or Daniel. She was contemplating what she should say when Kate beat her to it.

"You know, he had absolutely no right to say what he said to me. He was just as much to blame for it happening as I was. He went to sleep for gods sakes. It wouldn't have killed him to watch Daniel whilst I cooked dinner or to even have taken him for his bath."

Nikki watched as Kate slumped over the bench after finishing her rant.

"Kate," she walked up behind her, "Maybe you should try talking to Mike otherwise it's going to keep on getting to you."

Kate turned around, "I just… I just don't know what to say to him. I mean he blamed me for Daniels death. What do you say to someone who does that?"

Nikki had no idea what to say to comfort Kate. She had never been in this position before. The smell of something burning pulled both of them out of their thoughts though.

"What's that?" asked Nikki, looking around the kitchen.

Kate shrugged, "I don't know but it smells like… chicken!" She ran over to the oven and pulled out two pieces of chicken.

She held them out to Nikki, "You in the mood for some crispy charcoal chicken?"

Nikki laughed, "How about we just order some pizzas instead?"

Kate nodded her head in agreement, "Now if I can just find the number." She started to look around when Nikki beat her too it.

"8941 7500."

Kate raised an eyebrow at her and Nikki shrugged.

"I get pizza a lot. Don't how to cook really."

Kate just laughed as she dialled the number. As she was ordering the pizzas, Nikki started to look at a few photos in the lounge room. She noticed one photo of Kate holding a child. She couldn't help but smile a little at the look on Kate' face.

"That's my favourite photo. It was just after he was born. About 5 weeks old there," Kate said behind her. Nikki jumped in surprise.

"Is that the only photo you have of him?" she asked.

Kate shook her head, "I have a whole album. Do you want to see it whilst we wait for the pizzas?"

Nikki nodded her head, "Sure, I'd love to."

Kate ran off to find it but Nikki didn't have to wait long for her to return. She came back holding a light blue album with a picture of a clown on the front and the words, 'My First Photo Album'. She sat down next to Nikki and opened the photo album and started to show Nikki the photos. They came to a photo where Mike was holding Daniel.

"He looks so…. Happy," Nikki said, surprised at the look on Mike's face.

"Everything was so perfect back then. You know we were going to get married," Kate said, watching the look of shock that crossed Nikki's face. They flipped to a page where there was a photo of Mike, Kate and Daniel all together.

"You look like the perfect family," Nikki said. She turned to look at Kate, "Have you ever considered that you might get back together with Mike?"

Kate gave a short laugh, "It's a bit hard now isn't it."

Nikki just shrugged her shoulders, "Well, the Hammersley will be decommissioned soon. Who knows what could happen after that?"

Nikki continued to flip through the photo album, looking at the various photos of Mike, Kate and Daniel. She reached the end and the few photos from the funeral.

"Oh," Nikki said, surprised at the photos, "If you don't mind me asking, where did you bury him?"

Kate looked shocked at the question but still answered, "At the Thorak cemetery. Why?"

Nikki shrugged, "Was just wondering."

Kate opened her mouth to say something when the doorbell interrupted, "That'll be the pizzas."

She stood up, grabbed her wallet off the table and opened the door. She started to fish for money, "How much will that be?"

She looked up, expecting to see the pizza man, not Mike.

Her face darkened in anger, "What do you want?"

"I…" he looked at her and saw the anger in her eyes, "Kate, I think we need to talk."

Kate just glared at him, "I think you said all you needed to on the boat."

"Kate," Mike pleaded with her.

He wanted to clear the air so that they could actually work together.

"No Mike. You know what, just leave. I can't handle having you here or even in my life at the moment so outside of work I don't want to see you, speak to you or answer any of your calls unless they're work related," she yelled at him before slamming the door in his face. She turned and looked at Nikki who had a shocked look on her face.

"What?" Kate asked.

"When I said maybe you need to talk to him, I didn't mean it like that," Nikki said.

Kate shrugged her shoulders, "Not my problem. Hey you want to get drunk. I think I need something to just forget all this."

Nikki looked unsure, "I don't know. We could be tasked at any moment and I don't think it would look good if two of the officers showed up drunk."

Kate gave a laugh, "Come on. Live a little on the wild side."

Nikki still looked unsure but gave in, "I suppose it won't hurt." She silently sent a prayer that they wouldn't be tasked.

4:40am Next Morning.

Kate let out a groan as she rolled over on her bed, wondering what the hell had woken her up. She looked at her clock and saw 4:30 blinking back at her. She heard her phone ringing again and cursed whoever had the guts to call at this time in the morning. She sat up and stretched out before reaching over and grabbing the phone from next to her bed.

"Hello?" she said groggily.

"X, It's Mike. We set sail in one hour."

Kate had barely the chance to say OK before he hung up on her. She looked at the phone and couldn't help but think, 'Aren't I the one that's meant to be angry?' She shook it off before going and waking Nikki.

8:00am HMAS Hammersley.

Kate and Nikki had only just made it onto the ship before it set sail. No one onboard seemed to have any idea where they were going or why there were feds onboard and so it was the first thing Kate set out to do once they were underway. She walked into the bridge to see Mike standing there talking to two feds. He reintroduced Murphy and introduced his new partner, Martina Royce. She said a brief hello before asking what they were doing. When he responded that they were after the Pacific Mariner she couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of finally getting some revenge on Rick. However her balloon was soon burst at Mike's mention of Ursula Morrell. She couldn't help but feel even angrier when he said she ended up at his place. She couldn't help but feel slightly happy when Murphy mentioned she was on the Pacific Mariner and that she was in danger but she quickly buried it when she realised that ultimately their task was to stop the Pacific Mariner and to get Ursula Morrell back.

She headed out of the bridge not long after and went in search for Nikki. She needed a good rant and needed one now. She searched everywhere for her but couldn't find her.

"How many places are there to hide on a ship this small," she muttered under her breath.

She was about to ask if anyone had seen her when she was called back to the bridge, where she found Nikki. But before she knew it, she was on her way over to Bright Island.

After an unsuccessful trip to Bright Island, Kate soon found herself sitting next to Mike and opposite the feds discussing where the Pacific Mariner might be. After the feds left to tell the rest of their team what was happening, Kate soon found herself in an awkward silence with Mike. She didn't know where the words came from, whether it was from concern for Dr Morrell or if she wanted to comfort Mike, but she soon found herself saying them.

"She could still be alive."

She knew he didn't look at her when he responded, "She made some wrong choices," and that hurt her, making her think that he didn't even treat her as a friend. His next words however, confused her.

"But, then, we all do."

She didn't know whether he was apologising or what. Thinking back she remembered how she pushed him away.

"Yeah, we do," she responded. They sat there awkwardly again and she couldn't bear it.

"Excuse me," she muttered standing up.

He stood up to let her out and she quickly walked out of the room, not knowing what else to do.

Mike couldn't believe he said that they all make some wrong choices. His mouth moved before his brain. He knew it was meant to be some sort of an apology for what he said the other day, although he knew that it wouldn't cut it, especially with Kate. He was slightly surprised when she replied to his comment and wondered what she was thinking about. They sat in an awkward silence and Mike was trying to think of something to say. Nothing was coming to mind though and soon enough Kate stood up to leave. He watched her walk out and mentally hit himself for his stupidity. He never should have walked out on her or gotten involved with Ursula or said what he said to her. He had to make it right somehow. However, his thoughts were lost in the upcoming excitement of finally catching up to Gallagher.

Kate stood their, anger coursing through her veins as she held the gun on Gallagher. She wanted to shoot him and couldn't stop the thought of what happened to Ursula Morrell. The woman was a menace to her life and frankly she didn't care what happened to her. Her anger turned to Mike though when he told her to stand down. She was reluctant too but the discipline in her kicked in when he said that it was an order. She listened to the word tennis between Mike and Rick and couldn't help but feel a surge of revenge when Mike told her to reacquire target. However it was short lived when the door to the bridge burst open and Rick's gun went off. The next few seconds were of blinding pain. She couldn't think of anything past the wound that was in her arm or the pain that was causing it. She looked at the amount of blood on her hand and felt queasy. She heard Mike's voice, asking if she was ok.

She responded automatically with, "I'm fine."

She knew though that Mike knew she wouldn't be and soon found him asking for Swain to check her. As Mike applied pressure to her arm, she couldn't help but hiss in pain. He knew how to take her mind off it though.

"Those frigates need all the help they can get," he said to her. She gave a little laugh but still couldn't ignore the pain.

"Kate," he whispered to her, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of the things I said to you. I didn't mean them, I was just angry and stressed and had been having nightmares. I don't blame you for his death. I never could do that."

She gave him a weak smile and was about to respond when Swain came behind him, "Sir, I'll take care of her now."

Mike nodded his head, "Make sure you do."

Swain gave a little smile at the tone of Mike's voice. There was just a hint of protectiveness in it and Swain hoped that Mike would realise it soon.

As they headed off the ship, Kate couldn't help but feel happy at the way Mike was insisting that he come visit her. She knew though that she wouldn't be in the hospital overnight and was most likely going to join the crew at the pub for celebratory drinks after.

As she watched Mike head for the black van that she knew held Ursula, she couldn't stop the feeling of jealousy that sprung up again.

As Mike watched the black van drive off, he couldn't help the thought that he'd just had an epiphany. In saying good-bye to Ursula, he had realised that he had never really like her in the way that he thought he did. He realised that what he felt was nothing more than the equivalent of a schoolboy crush. He shook his head and thought he might go home for some much needed rest.

Mike headed into the pub and looked around for the crew. He saw them over by their regular tables, all with drinks in their hands. He couldn't help the little chuckle that came out of his mouth at the sight of them. He headed over, knowing a toast was needed and wouldn't be done till everyone was there. As he was handed a drink from Buffer, he looked around to see if he could find Kate. It didn't take him long. She was standing with Nikki, holding an orange juice. He wanted to talk to her, no, needed to talk to her. There was so much he had to say.

His thoughts were interrupted by Chefo calling out, "Speech! Speech!"

Mike smiled at the crew, "Well, what can I say to you lot. I will definitely be looking for another crew to serve with!"

There was a loud cheer at this. Mike just laughed.

"Well it has most certainly been an honour to serve with you all and a captain couldn't ask for a better crew, or a boat. As we stand here tonight, the last night before the Hammersley is decommissioned, I raise my glass to both you lot and to the old girl."

Mike raised his glass and the crew followed. "To Hammersley," echoed throughout the pub. He watched Kate walk outside onto the balcony after the toast and he knew that this was his chance to talk to her.

He stood against the door frame and watched her. The way the moonlight hit her hair made her even more beautiful as music from the jukebox wafted outside.

Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way You Love Me All The Time

Maybe I'm Afraid Of The Way I Love You

Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way You Pulled Me Out Of Time

And Hung Me On A Line

Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way I Really Need You

Kate couldn't help but let her thoughts drift to Mike. After being so near to him these last 6 months, she didn't think she could leave him again. It had been so hard getting used to him not being there back when they were together. She had missed him and the way he used to hold her and kiss her. She knew there would never be another man who could comfort her the way he did. Although she hadn't experienced it whilst serving with him, she had only needed to look at him or hear his voice to calm her need for him.

Maybe I'm A Girl And Maybe I'm A Lonely Girl

Who's In The Middle Of Something

That She Doesn't Really Understand

Maybe I'm A Girl And Maybe You're The Only Man

Who Could Ever Help Me

Baby Won't You Help Me Understand

Mike walked up behind Kate and leant against the railing next to her. He followed her gaze out to where the moon was reflected on the ocean.

He brought his eyes back to her face, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

She jumped slightly, not hearing him come up but nodded in reply. A soft smile crossed his face as he continued to gaze at her. He remembered back to the times when they use to sit on the beach and just talk. He loved listening to the sound of her voice and would listen to it forever. He was brought out of his thoughts by Kate.

"What?" he asked.

"You just said something, I didn't catch it," she said to him.

"Oh… I… it was nothing," he murmured, not having the courage to speak what was really going on in his mind. He let out a sigh. He had to do it otherwise she might leave him forever.

He turned to her, "Kate, there are some things that I really need to say to you and suppose it's now or never. I love you Kate. I never stopped loving you and I would be lying if I said I never hated myself for leaving you. One of my biggest regrets is not trying to work things through with you because god knows where we would be now if we had. I wish I hadn't left and I know I can't undo the past or what I did to you."

He fished into his pocket and pulled out the ring he had given her five years ago.

"However, we can only move on now and I hope that we can move on together. I want you in my life Kate. I can't imagine my future without you. Please Kate, marry me, again?"

Maybe I'm A Girl And Maybe I'm A Lonely Girl

Who's In The Middle Of Something

That She Doesn't Really Understand

Maybe I'm A Girl And Maybe You're The Only Man

Who Could Ever Help Me

Baby Won't You Help Me Understand

Kate stood shocked. She hadn't expected this, maybe an apology, but definitely not another proposal. She didn't know what to say. The last six months had been so turbulent, she had no idea what it was she was feeling.

Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way You're With Me All The Time

Maybe I'm Afraid Of The Way I Leave You

Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way You Help Me Sing My Song

Right Me When I'm Wrong

Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way I Really Need You

As she looked at him, and into his eyes, she realised she would never love anyone the way she loved Mike. A smile crossed her face as she nodded her head.

She let out a childish giggle as she said, "Yes Mike, I will."

He couldn't help the goofy grin that crossed his face. He slipped the ring onto her finger and pulled her into a kiss, their first in over 5 years, neither noticing the presence in the doorway.

Nikki couldn't help but let out a smile. They had finally realised their feelings for each other and now there would be a wedding on the way. She walked back inside, the grin sticking on her face causing some attention. Chefo was the first to notice.

"What are you grinning about Nav?"

Nikki shook her head, "Nothing you need to know about Chefo."

He looked at her strangely but she just smiled in return.

After the decommissioning.

Nikki watched Kate and Mike trying to explain their current situation to Commander Marshall. She couldn't help but laugh at the look of shock on Marshall's face or the way Mike and Kate were pleading with him. She only hoped things worked out and they wouldn't get in trouble for their relatively new relationship. She remembered she had something to do and was just leaving when she heard a voice behind her.

"Nikki!"

She turned to see ET running up behind her, "ET, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering you were up to doing anything tonight?"

She couldn't help but let out a little laugh at the nervous look on his face. She shook her head, "No Josh, I'm not. What did you have in mind?"

He smiled, "Couple of movies and some pizza at my house?" His face dawned in realisation, "You just called me Josh!"

She laughed, "And you called me Nikki. What else was I meant to call you? Pizza and a movie sound perfect, there's just something I have to do first."

A confused look crossed his face, but he trusted her, "Ok. I'll see you about 6 then?"

She nodded her head, "I'll see you about 6 then."

Nikki wondered down aisle after aisle, hoping she might soon find the plaque she was looking for. She was about to give up when it caught her eye. She headed over to it and read the name on the plaque.

Daniel Michael Flynn

She bent down and lay a single, white rose underneath the plaque.

"Daniel, you have two parents who love you very much," she whispered. She turned and headed away, but not before looking to the horizon where the sun was setting behind the clouds.

"And they're lucky to have their little angel watching over them," she whispered.