"Claire? Earth to Claire" a familiar voice said breaking her out of her trance
"Hmm?" she said turning to look at the face of her best friend
"You ready?" she said softly placing a comforting hand on her shoulder
"Let's do it" she said smiling. They entered the office at the end of the hallway
"Ah Kate" Mike said smiling at her arising from his chair as he spotted the woman she was with
"Who's this?" he asked looking towards Claire and back at Kate
"This is Claire Roseworthy, Hammersley's new XO" she said smiling at Mike weakly
"Oh right so it's actually happening then" he said disappointed as Kate's posture changed
"Yes…" she said avoiding eye contact with him "Claire is an old friend from ADFA, she's more than capable of the job" Kate said angrily at him
"Who put your request through to join Hammersley" he asked as the office door opened
"I did!" Maxine said walking through and closing the door behind her
"Max?" he asked confused
"Claire has all the qualifications to join Hammersley as the new Executive Officer" Maxine said placing a folder down on her desk and looking at Mike who was surprised to see her
"I thought you were in Canada?" he said crossing his arms
"I was until I got transferred back, apparently someone keeps turning down their Promotions…" she said looking at him sternly.
"Um maybe I should go…" Claire said piping up from next to Kate
"No! You're here to join Hammersley until Kate leaves in a week and Flynn here is just going to have to deal with it" she said angrily
"Kate why don't you show Claire Hammersley" Maxine said smiling towards them
"Yes Ma'am…" Kate said smiling back before grabbing Claire's arm and walking out of the office with her.
They were making their way down the corridor as they heard yelling coming from Maxine's office and then Mike storming out. Clare looked at Kate confused
"I'll tell you later" she said smiling as they walked out of the NAVCOM exit and towards the Navy docks.
Making their way across the gangway Kate smiled at her
"How does it feel to be on board again?" she asked looking over at Claire who was grinning from ear to ear
"Like I never left" she said smirking at Kate
"How long has it been since you've served on board a ship?" she asked curiously
"Not since Sebastian turned 4" she said laughing
"What! He's got to be at least 16 now right?" Kate said joking
"He's 9 now" Claire said giggling as they walked down the narrow hallways of Hammersley.
"So here's the XO cabin, it'll be all yours when I leave tomorrow" she said smirking at Claire as they entered her cabin
"It'll be like old times" Claire said smirking
"Yeah except this time there won't be any drinking or ordering food in the middle of the night" Kate said laughing.
"So you and Mike…" Claire said looking over at her
"You didn't tell me you guys were serving together" she said watching the smile disappear from Kate's face
"Yeah well, he chose to stay on board instead of wanting to make a go of things" Kate said leaning against her desk
"I'm sorry Katie…" Claire said pulling her into a comforting hug
"It's fine, that's why I've decided to move on" Kate said pulling away from the hug
"But you love Hammersley" Claire said smiling at her "It's all you ever talk about in your letters.." she said watching a tear fall down Kate's cheek
"I loved Mike more… and I can't be around him every day knowing he doesn't feel the same" she said softly, Claire just smiled weakly not sure what to say to comfort her
"And what about the…" she said pointing to her stomach
"He knows and he didn't say anything remotely comforting that could change the way things are between us" she said smiling weakly at her
"So what are you going to do when you leave Hammersley?" Claire asked changing the subject as she sat down on the rack and Kate at the desk
"Not sure maybe move somewhere quite the country maybe" she said shrugging her shoulders
"Why the country?" Claire asked confused
"I don't know I just have this weird calling to it and Helena has been begging to get out of the city" Kate said smiling weakly at her
"How old is my niece now?" Claire said surprised
"She's 10 now" Kate said grinning at her
"And is she still you know..." she began saying
"Asking about her father?" she said sadly
"Yeah" Claire answered
"How do you tell your 10-year-old daughter you don't know who her Father is?" Kate said sadly
"You don't remember anything?" she said confused
"I don't remember anything from 11 years ago except for ending up here being 9 months Pregnant and deciding to join the Navy" she said as she arose from the chair
"There has to be something that you needed to forget for you not to remember your 24 years in life before you moved here" Claire said concerned as she arose and they began to walk down the corridor
"What you mean like some kind of trauma?" Kate asked as they made their way onto the deck
"Possibly, I mean do you remember anything about Helena's Dad or why you chose that name" she said hoping she did remember something
"I don't know, but the name it just felt right…" she said sadly
"Maybe it was someone close to you that you knew" Claire said as they stopped just before the gangway
"I have no idea I don't even know where her middle name came from, I don't know anyone named Patricia Jane" she said shrugging her shoulders at her
"So when do you leave?" Claire asked changing the subject
"Tomorrow" she said sadly
"Are you and Helena free for tea tonight? Sebastian is quite excited to see his cousin again it's all he's talked about since we moved here" she said grinning at Kate
"Sure come over about 7?" Kate said nodding at her
"Cool I'll bring some wine" Claire said winking at her
"That's not fair you know I can't drink" she said giggling
"I know!" Claire said teasing her
"Come on I'll walk you back to NAVCOM" Kate said as they made their way across the gangway saluting as they did so.
"So um don't look now but Mike is walking this way…" Claire said as they were walking through the parking lot
"Kate!" he called out as he made his way over
"Great…" Kate muttered under her breath as he stopped in front of them
"How'd you finally Hammersley Claire?" he asked stopping in front of them
"Um it was big Sir for a Patrol boat that is" she said smiling weakly at him
"Good, could you give Kate and I a minute?" he asked hopeful
"I'll see you at 7" Kate said as she nodded at Claire
"Sure…" she said unsure if she should leave or stay as she took off towards her car
"So you're actually leaving?" he said sadly
"Can we not do this" she said making her way towards her car
"You don't get to walk away from this conversation" he said following behind her as she stopped in her tracks and turned to face him
"Are you serious right now? You are the one who decided to stay on the ship Mike, you are the one who wouldn't take a job at NAVCOM because you didn't want to be stuck behind a desk all day, you are the one I let into my life and close to my daughter and you are the only one to blame for this situation…" she said pointing the finger at him
"And you thinking running away is going to make everything better?" he said angrily
"No but I need to do what's best for my kid and not having you in it is exactly what we need right now" she said turning back around and walking to her car with him still following behind
"What are saying Kate, that its over between us?" he said sadly
"Face it Mike it has been over between us for ages now you just didn't want to see it" she said turning to face him again
"Kate please I have a right to be in my kids life" he said pointing to her stomach
"I'm not stopping you from being involved Mike but you chose yourself when you came back on the boat" she said placing her hand on her stomach
"This isn't about the damn boat, it's about us" he said moving towards her as she took a step back
"You just don't get it do you" she said sadly
"Please just give me another chance" he said hopeful
"I'm done giving you chances, you're going to always choose Hammersley over what we could have had" she said reaching into her pocket and passing him a key to his place
"Kate…" he said sadly as she placed it in his hand
"I'm moving on Mike you should too" she said sadly
"At least let me come and see Elle this weekend to say goodbye" he answered closing his hand around the key
"We won't be there, and I won't let you hurt my daughter any more than you have…" she answered turning around and unlocking her car
"What will you do, you love Hammersley…" he said moving closer to her
"I loved you more than any boat, by daughter and this baby is my priority now…" she said sadly opening her car door
"I'll bring some food we can talk properly" he said hopeful one again
"I'm moving Mike…." She said looking at him over her car
"What where?" he asked confused
"The country, Helena wants to get out of the city and I want a fresh start…" she said smiling weakly at him
"Can I have your new address so I can visit our baby when he's born?" he asked hopeful
"I don't know where we'll end up Mike but where ever it is I'll let you know once he's born…" she said before moving to sit in her car as she turned it on and drove off leaving Mike standing there confused and hurt, just like she felt when he came back on the boat.
Arriving home, a little later as she got out of the car and made her way towards the front door the school bus pulled up down the road
"Mum!!" she heard a scream as she turned around she was engulfed with a huge hug by Helena
"Hey Elle, how was school?" she asked as she pulled away from the hug and pushed open the front door
"It was boring as usual" she said grinning as they entered the house
"You know to get anywhere…" she began saying
"In life you need a good education" she said mocking her Mum
"Your hilarious" Kate said smirking at her
"Why thank you" Helena said giggling
"Go put your bag away and get changed we've got company coming over tonight" she said smiling at her
"It's not that loser Mike is it?" she said crossing her arms
"No it's not, It's someone I think you're going to be super excited about seeing" Kate said smiling wide-eyed
"Does that mean we can have takeaway for tea?" she asked hopeful
"Yes if you go and get changed!" Kate said laughing
"Fine!" Helena said running down the hall and heading towards her bedroom
"Do you have any homework tonight?" Kate yelled down the hall from the kitchen
"No!" a giggling voice yelled back
"Helena Patricia Jane are you lying?" she said grinning as a head poked out from the bedroom
"I could be…" she said quickly ducking back behind her door
"Homework first, then takeaway" Kate answered back as she heard her daughter give a huge sigh as Kate turned around to look at the mountains of boxes stacked ready for the big move.
It was just after 7 when the doorbell rang and Helena ran down the hall towards the door
"I'll get it!" she screamed as Kate made her way out front the kitchen
"Hello!" Claire said grinning from ear to ear as Helena looked at Kate before eloping Claire in a massive hug
"Aunt Claire!" she said hugging her tightly as Sebastian moved out from behind his Mum
"Hi Elle" he said smirking at her as she pulled away from the hug
"Sebastian! You're so big now!" she said as she pulled him into a hug
"I brought wine" Claire said moving inside closing the door behind her and holding up a bottle of lemonade
"Ha-ha" Kate said grinning at her as Helena and Sebastian ran into the kitchen
"And Chinese" she said holding up the food
"Yum!" Helena said running over to her and stealing the food
"Oi! Did you finish your homework?" Kate said grabbing the food off her
"Yes!" she said in a hurt voice
"Make sure you share some with your cousin!" Kate said grinning at her as she handed it back to her Helena stuck her tongue out at her Mum as she ran back into the kitchen with the food
"And save some for us!" Claire called back as she grinned at Kate as they made their way into the kitchen to get some food before the kids ate it all.
"Are you nervous about the big move?" Claire asked later that night as her and Kate settled on the couch
"Honestly I'm excited to start fresh" Kate said grinning at her
"You're going to love it in the country, so much fresh air and a lot of space to run around" Claire said smiling at her
"Elle has been begging me for a horse when we get settled" Kate said laughing
"You get her a horse it will become a addiction" Claire said grinning at her
"She's already addicted to some TV show about horses what could be worse" Kate said shaking her head
"Owning a few horses…" Claire said nudging her shoulder
"What about you? Have you found somewhere to live?" Kate asked changing the subject onto Claire
"Not yet, Sebastian and I are currently living out of a hotel" Claire said gritting her teeth at the statement
"Well why don't you guys move in here?" she blurted out
"What? I can't do that" Claire answered
"Hey it saves me from putting it on the market and your my best friend you need somewhere to live" she said assuring her
"Are you sure?" she asked uncertain
"Yes! You'll have to pay the bills like electricity but yes I want to you live here" Kate said hopeful
"I'd pay you rent" Claire said quickly
"Hey don't even worry about it! This is the first house I brought once I had enough money to give Elle a stable home it'll make me happy knowing it stays in the family so for once in your life Claire just say yes" Kate said giggling as Claire nodded in excitement
"Thank you Kate" she said leaning her head on her shoulder
"Let's celebrate!" she said giggling
"With Lemonade!" Claire said picking up the glasses off the coffee table and passing one to Kate
"I so wish I could have a glass of wine" Kate said sighing sadly
"Well next time you'll keep your legs crossed" Claire said giving Kate a serious look
"Hey! You didn't keep yours crossed either" Kate said laughing at her
"Fair play" Claire said clinking her glass with Kates
"Here's to life" Kate said holding her glass up
"And new adventures" Claire said as they took a sip of both of their drinks.
"What time do you leave tomorrow?" Claire asked as they arose from the couch a little later to check on the kids
"7am our flight is at 8 so I was wondering if you could drop us off" Kate said hopeful as they quietly walked up the hall
"Absolutely I can do that for you" she said smiling at her
"I've arranged for our things to be collected tomorrow and the truck will drive it to the new house" she said as they stopped at Helena's bedroom door
"And how long could that take?" Claire asked as they looked at the two kids sound Sebastian on the beanbag and Elle on her bed the TV still on
"Might take a few days they've got to travel across country, the spare room is all set up if you want to stay the night" Kate answered as she turned off the TV and put a blanket over each of the kids before exiting the room and closing the door
"Yeah thanks" Claire said smiling at her "But exactly where are you moving to?" Claire asked confused
"Victoria…" Kate answered as Claire looked at her surprised
"Why there?" she asked as they moved further down the hallway
"I had a look at some places and this one house called to Elle and she insisted we move there" Kate said shrugging her shoulders
"And where would this new house be?" Claire asked as she stood in front of the spare room
"A little town called Mount Thomas…" Kate answered as she opened her bedroom door
"Never heard of it" Claire said confused as Kate moved inside her room and grabbed some clothes
"Looking at some photos it felt like I'd seen it somewhere before…" she said passing Claire some clothes
"Thanks, maybe it's to do with that past you don't remember?" she answered taking the clothes
"Maybe…" Kate answered confused
"I'll let you get some rest, goodnight" Claire said making her way towards the spare room at the other end of the hall
"Night…" Kate answered softly as she moved inside her room closing the door the words Claire said going over and over in her head.