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“That one is quite fancy.”
“I can tell from the price.” Dylan mumbled in reply to Swain’s comment next to him. He should have kept his browsing private in his cabin. But the patrol had been long and tedious, and he didn’t feel like staying below deck.
“I took Sally there for our 5-year-wedding anniversary last year.”
“Yeah?” He switched from perusing the menu to reading Google reviews for the restaurant. He was hoping to find out if the Tiramisu in this restaurant was any good. Kate loved Tiramisu and he really wanted their first date to go well.
“I’m sure she’ll love it.”
He narrowed his eyes at his bunkmate. “I haven’t said anything about taking anyone there.”
The other man chuckled at him, “you’re reading an article titled the 10 Best Romantic Restaurants in Cairns. It’s pretty obvious.”
He sighed. He really should have waited until his bedtime to do this or maybe after patrol ends. The last thing he needed was everyone yapping about him going on a date.
“I thought she’s still on her campervan trip up north. Is she back in Cairns already?”
He stared at Swain in disbelief, “how?”
Swain just laughed. “I have eyes. And you stare at her like she hung the moon and the stars combined.”
“I don’t….” he sputtered.
“Not all the time. And not while on boarding.”
He breathed a sigh of relief at that observation. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he was distracted on boarding when he was supposed to be the most vigilant in relation to her safety.
“But sometimes on the bridge when it’s quiet and she’s on her chair, and you’re next to her manning the radar or at your post behind her chair….”
He shook his head at Swain’s teasing tone and closed the browser and clear the history for good measure before logging off from the office computer.
“Dutchy and Swain to the bridge at the rush.”
“We must be catching-up with the pirate.” He commented before springing up from his chair.
“About time.”
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Dylan cursed when he missed his footing while trying to board the yacht as it suddenly sped up and away from the RHIB. Thankfully Swain caught his vest and pulled him back into the RHIB just in time, otherwise he would’ve fell in.
“Sir, we can’t safely get on, over?” His new XO reported to Hammersley.
“I can see that X.” His CO’s sarcastic voice could be heard in everyone’s comm.
“Should we continue the pursuit, Sir?”
He held his tongue and only shared a brief look of frustration with Swain at the young Lieutenant’s passiveness. He knew that the young man had a big shoe to fill, and he had reminded himself to be patient and sympathetic, but sometimes, he couldn’t help but wishing that Kate was here.
“Affirmative, just steer clear of the way, Charge is jumping on the typhoon to disable their engine.”
“Understood, Sir.” His XO replied and then gave the order for both RHIBs’ to clear the path for the typhoon to hit the yacht’s engine.
When the black smoke appeared from the engine a few minutes later, the CO ordered them to continue the pursuit and to play it safe as there were hostages on board.
As usual, he boarded first, but waited until his XO came on board before moving forward with the plan. When the X moved to chase the pirate which had a knife on the hostage’s throat while walking backward towards the front deck, he went the opposite way, intending to cut the pirate from behind. He saw that RO followed the X which ensured that the helmet cam footage would record the hostage rescue attempt, while Swain and 2Dads moved to secure the wheelhouse and later below deck.
He rounded the corner of the front deck carefully, hoping that the pirate was too focused on his XO and not realising that he was closing in on him from behind.
But before he could get within arms’ reach of the man, he suddenly felt fiery burns on his right upper arm, and he fell backwards due to the impact of the bullet force, losing the grip on his gun in the process.
He was clutching his upper arm to stop the bleeding when another bullet took a chunk off the side of his helmet. He could feel wetness on the side of his head and another burning sensation. He then tried to focus his senses to assess where his XO was and to get up from the floor and reach him, but before he could do that, his eyes locked into the eyes of the masked assailant on the wheelhouse above, and he saw the man squeezing the trigger one last time before 2Dads managed to get him into a chokehold.
He could see the trajectory of the bullet almost as if it’s travelling in slow motion. Realising that it was aiming straight to his forehead, he gathered his remaining strength to roll to his left side, just in time for the bullet to hit the deck instead of his head.
As the burning sensation intensified on his body, he became lightheaded and on the verge of blacking out. His last thought before succumbing to darkness was that he hoped that Kate wouldn’t be too pissed at him for failing to organise their first date as promised.
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“Swain, how is Dutchy?”
“One bullet just missed a major artery in his bicep, a few millimetres to the right and he wouldn’t have been with us anymore,” Swain started, “another bullet grazed the side of his head, the wound bleed quite a bit, but it’s otherwise superficial. The other bullet hit the deck just beside his left ear, so his hearing is affected, and he mentioned ringing in his ear. All in all, he’s quite lucky, Sir,” Swain concluded, “it could have been much worse.”
His CO looked relieved, and so did everybody else currently standing in the ship’s office for a mission briefing.
“Bird is keeping an eye on him now, just in case his condition worsened.” He continued, “I presume we’re steaming home tonight, Sir, so that we could get him proper care first thing tomorrow?”
His CO nodded, “yes, that’s right, Swain. I want you at the helm tonight if you’re confident that Dutchy would be stable overnight?”
“I think so, Sir,” He pursed his lips, “I would check on him every couple of hours though.”
“Yes, that’s not a problem. You can take turns at the helm with 2Dads then.”
He nodded, “of course, Sir.”
His CO then looked to Charge and 2Dads, “are the prisoners secured? What about the yacht’s crews that were taken hostage? Are they all accounted for?”
“Yes, the prisoners are locked up in Austere, Sir,” Charge reported succinctly, “the crews were all uninjured except a few bruises and they are resting in the guest cabins now. And the tow line is secured for the yacht. I’ve tasked Jonesy to check it every few hours, just to make sure it stays secured.”
“Very good Charge, if you have nothing else to report, go up to the bridge and prepare the ship to sail.”
“Yes, Sir.” Charge then left the group to make his way to the bridge.
“RO, have you finished processing the recording footage?” His CO now turned his attention to RO.
“Yes, Sir. I’ve saved it in the usual folder for you.”
His CO nodded before looking seriously at everyone left in the room. “Care to explain why our bosun is now incapacitated with two bullet wounds in his body and possible hearing damage? I can understand the first shot surprised everyone, but no one tried to cover him for the 2nd and 3rd shot?”
Silence descended on everyone in the room. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, his guilt started to creep in. If only he and 2Dads had apprehended the three assailants in wheelhouse sooner.
“Two men in the wheelhouse opened fire on Swain and I as we ascended up there, Sir.” 2Dads started, “by the time we managed to get pass them, we’re too late, and the third man had shot Dutchy before I caught up to him.”
“X?” His CO noted the silence from his new 2nd in command, “what happened at the front deck?”
“I was focusing on the hostage, Sir.” Lieutenant Watkins finally replied, “I didn’t dare taking off my focus from the hostage and the hostage taker.”
A huff could be heard straight after the X’s statement, earning a curious glance around the room from his CO.
“Robert? Anything you want to say?” when his CO finally found the source of the noise.
“I saw Dutchy went down after the first shot, Sir,” RO started, an annoyed expression on his face, “I wanted to cover for him, but then the X suddenly froze on the spot, almost got taken out by the pirate who had the hostage, so I had to immediately takeover dealing with the pirate and freeing the hostage. By the time the X recovered and able to assume command again, Dutchy already lost consciousness.”
“Was this true, X?” His CO’s face now turned stern.
Silence descended on them once again. This time, all eyes were on the young Lieutenant. Swain could almost feel sorry for him if not for the fact that Dutchy was currently in the wardroom with serious injuries. And a few of those injuries could have been preventable if everyone was on the ball during boarding.
“Everybody is dismissed, except for the X.”
He muttered ‘Sir’ under his breath, before along with 2Dads and RO, leaving the CO to deal with the new XO. He had an important phone call to make.
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"And I put him to a chokehold like this…”
Dylan chuckled as he listened to 2Dads re-telling his story of the disastrous boarding to Bomber as the crews were visiting him in the hospital. Trust 2Dads to make himself sounded like a hero.
“If only you put him to a chokehold sooner though…” Bird cut him off, unimpressed by 2Dads attempt of telling the story for the hundred’s time. “Then maybe Dutchy wouldn’t experience temporary hearing loss.”
“That’s a bit mean, Bird….” Swain cautioned the young woman, “it’s not 2Dads’ fault this time around….”
“It’s no one’s fault.” Dylan insisted for the umpteenth time while looking seriously at everyone around his bed, “sometimes things happened during boardings, you all know this. Could things have been done better? Of course, but at the end of the day, everybody went home alive and that’s all that matters.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that Lieutenant McGregor wouldn’t make the same mistake as our current XO did.” RO stated matter-of-factly.
“Robert…” Dylan sighed.
“He’s not wrong…” Charge chimed in. “Navcom should have vetted their XO candidates a bit better. I still remember their attempts at replacing the CO too. Disasters, all of them. Remember Coburn?”
2Dads shuddered at the reminder and Charge patted his back in sympathy.
“I’ve spoken to him last night.” Dylan finally revealed.
“Watkins?” Swain raised his eyebrows.
Dylan nodded, “he came here and apologised. And he admitted that he lacks boarding experience. And wants our help with that.”
“In other words, he wants us to babysit him.” Charge huffed, “as if we have a spare hand around here.”
“The way I see it, Charge, we have no choice.” Dylan looked at the older man pointedly, “the sooner our new XO gets up to speed with the way Hammersley works, the sooner our job becomes easier.” He then added teasingly, “I really don’t want to end up in the hospital every patrol too….”
Swain grinned back at him, “I think our old XO would have our heads if her boyfriend ended up in hospital too many times.”
Dylan glared at his bunkmate as everyone’s eyes gleamed with excitement at the new gossip. “We are friends!”
“Oh please….” Charge rolled his eyes, “as if we’re blind. You followed her around like a puppy.”
“I think it’s cute….” Bird smiled teasingly at him, “the big tough guy falls for the girl half his size.”
He groaned internally; surely, he couldn’t be that transparent. “Guys, come on, stop all this speculation. There is nothing going on.”
“Yet…” Swain poked fun at him again, “how’s the search for the romantic dinner venue?”
“I’m in a bloody hospital, mate.” His tone turned annoyed at the reminder that he had to postpone wining and dining his girl after this latest incident. He finally gave up on his attempt on deflecting the truth as nobody seemed to believe him anyway, “not exactly in shape to go anywhere or doing anything about that.”
Swain grimaced, “sorry.”
“We can help you….” Bomber winked, “Leo and I have quite recent experience with date venues and activities.”
“I think we’ll manage on our own, Bomber.”
Dylan felt dizzy as he turned his head too quickly towards the new voice. But then he locked eyes with the object of their conversation, and he couldn’t help but smiled broadly.
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Kate breathed a sigh of relief as she met Dylan’s eyes from across the room. His eyes were clear, which in her experience was a good indication of someone’s recovery.
She had been sick with worry ever since Swain had called her to inform her of the boarding incident 3 days ago. She had quickly packed up her campervan and started her journey home from Weipa, which was about 12-hour-drive to Cairns city. She had just returned her rental car late last night and while she fell asleep on her wonderful bed straight away, she started worrying again as soon as she woke up.
She had wished that the visiting hours were opened earlier than 10am, so that she could see him sooner, but it turned out it’s a good thing that she was delayed as Commander White had called her with the news about her new posting as soon as she woke up and requested a meeting straight away.
“X, it’s great to see you!”
Bird’s exclamation took her out of her reverie and to the present time, where her former crews smiled at her from their post around Dylan’s bed.
She couldn’t help but smiled back at everyone, even as she automatically reminded her, “I’m not your XO anymore, Bird.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this X,” 2Dads smirked, “but we kind of wish that you still were.”
She shook her head at 2Dads cheekiness and moved towards the bed, before proceeded to ignore everyone and kissed Dylan’s good cheek in greeting.
“One patrol without me and you’re injured already…” She commented while inspecting the bandages around his head and cupped his cheek to leave a lingering kiss on his forehead. His answering smile was a bit sheepish, but he took her hand and squeezed tightly as if trying to reassure her.
“I’m OK. Swain had me patched up in no time.” His smile turned cheeky next, “and the good doctor here gave me some good drugs.”
“I’m actually surprised that you’re lucid,” she smiled indulgently, “aren’t you supposed to be resting?”
“And that’s our cue to leave….” Swain piped up from behind her, startling her from their own private world a few seconds ago. She knew that everyone must be staring at them, but for once in her life, she couldn’t care less about what they must think and the resulting gossip that would follow her around.
Swain quietly rounded everyone to say goodbye to Dylan. A few hugs, handshakes and promises to catch up with everyone once Dylan got better officially ended their visit and blessedly, they were alone now.
“I’m being a bit rude, aren’t I?” She sighed as guilt and worry were competing in her mind.
“Maybe….” he winked at her, “but I like your company better anyway,” he said, trying to lift her spirit a little bit.
“Seriously, Dylan, how did this happen?” She frowned at him as her eyes spied thick bandages around his right arm and a sling around his neck to support his injured arm. “Two bullets and temporary hearing loss. No one covered your back?”
“Hey,” he took her hand and kissed her knuckles, “really, I’m OK now. You don’t need to worry too much. Two months recoveries at most and I should be back on deck.”
“Dylan, what are you not telling me?” She ignored his attempt at placating her. “Is my replacement a dud?”
“Kate….”
“Am I not being there causing this?”
“Absolutely not,” he rebuked her firmly before pulling her closer and encouraged her to sit on his tiny hospital bed.
She shook her head at first, afraid of jostling his wounds, but he stubbornly shifted his body to the side to make room for her.
“Come on, it’s been 3 weeks since I last saw you,” he pleaded, “can I get a hug?”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Kate, you won’t….” He squeezed her hand tightly, “I promise you.”
She relented at the end and took off her sandals before gingerly climbing up to the bed. Thankfully she’s just wearing a short and a tee, having changed from her whites after the meeting with Commander White. When she finally settled on her side with her head on his chest and her arm circling his waist tightly, she finally felt that she could breathe easier.
Few kisses to her hairline greeted her next. And at the feel of his left arm hugged her body closer to his, she exhaled in relief.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” She murmured to his chest, “I wished that you could join my road trip after that rodeo day.” She then looked up from his chest and met his eyes, “every time I saw something interesting or some great sceneries, I kept wishing that you’re there with me to share it.”
His eyes softened at her admission. “The patrol is not the same without you either.” He kissed her forehead gently, “it’s so weird to see someone else sitting on your seat.”
“I should’ve been there to have your back….”
“No, you’re not.” He shook his head, “Hammersley and its crews are not your responsibility anymore, Kate.”
She sighed, “but you are mine….”
He chuckled, “you’re sweet….”
“Dylan….” She scowled at his teasing, “I’m serious….”
“And I love you for it.”
Her sharp intake of breath greeted his statement, but he refused to retract it. He had a long time to think about certain things the last few nights in the hospital and he’s sure that she’s it for him, if she would let him be that person for her of course.
“You don’t do things halfway, do you?” she met his eyes after a few minutes of long silence.
“I can’t anymore.” He closed his eyes briefly before meeting her eyes again, “not after what just happened last patrol.” He then sighed, “I could see the third bullet coming straight to my head, Kate. And I just managed to avoid it at the last second before blacking out.”
She tightened her hold on his waist at his account of event, feeling even more grateful that he’s here with her and on the mend.
“I can’t help but thinking in the last few days that if that moment was to be my end, my only regret would be the fact that I don’t have a long time with you. I would have wished that I had met you sooner.”
“Dylan….”
“I know it’s too soon,” it’s his turn to tighten his hold on her, willing her to stay with him and not running away, “bloody hell, we haven’t even graduated to dinner buddies yet,” he sighed frustratingly, “but I know what I want Kate. And it’s you.”
“You’re not being fair, you know,” her tone slightly frustrated but there was a hint of mischief as well, making him frown in confusion.
“Why? For being honest?”
“No….” She lifted her head from his chest to rest her chin on it instead. “For saying nice things to me, when you know that I won’t be able to do inappropriate things to you in return until you recover from your injuries.”
It took a second for her words to sink into his brain, but when it did, he choked out a laugh.
She looked at him with a cheeky smile before pulling herself up, so that she can share his pillow and be on an eye level with him.
“You’re not mad?” He asked her seriously once she resettled in his arms.
“Why would I be?” She smiled softly at him, “I may not be able to say it back just yet, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate it all the same.”
“Thank you,” he kissed her lips gently, wanting to savour the feeling of contentment that he had right now.
She frowned as he looked to be fading a few minutes later. “Why don’t you take a nap?”
“I’m alright….” He didn’t know why he suddenly felt sleepy. “Why don’t you tell me about your travel?”
“I can tell you all about it later,” she shook her head at his stubbornness, “I need you to rest first.”
“Is that an order, Ma’am?”
She huffed, “more like a suggestion, really.”
He snorted weakly, realising that he was indeed struggling to keep his eyes open. “Stay with me?”
She softened at his request, “as you wish, big fella.”