TIME TO TELL HIM

By JustAnnW

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. I'm only taking them out to play with. I will put them back when I'm done, I promise. I do, however, own this story.

Spoilers through 4-20 and some artistic license

Chapter 1: Prelude

When Kate Beckett was a little girl, she was close to both her parents, and thrived in their love and care for her. But in her mind, she learned very early on to compartmentalize Mommy and Daddy. Mommy called her "baby" and Daddy called her "princess." Mommy was for providing food, hugs, playing dolls and dress up, arts and crafts, and kissing boo boos. Daddy was for bedtime stories, piggy back rides, watching TV, going to the movies, pushing her on the swings, going for nature walks, playing board games, and special treats.

When she got a boo boo, she ran to Mommy. If Daddy tried to comfort her, she cried louder until Mommy came and kissed the boo boo away. When Mommy wasn't there, she would run to a corner and have her cry, try to kiss her own boo boos when she could. When Mommy came home, Katie would tell her about the boo boo and she would kiss it.

Her father asked her why she wouldn't let him kiss her boo boos. Little Katie said, "Cuz I'm your princess. Princesses don't get boo boos."

And so it went. Dad was good for many things, but he couldn't fix a boo boo. Only Mom could do that. So as she got older, Kate always went to Mom for anything that hurt. Bumps and bruises gave way to elementary school name calling and fights with friends. By high school, Mom was the go to person for adolescent ailments, particularly boy troubles. She always knew what to say and what to do to make it better.

Then one day Mom was gone. Kate went to her room and cried for days, not knowing how to deal with the loss of the person who made everything better. Dad tried and tried, but there was nothing he could say or do to console her. When Kate re-emerged in the world, it was with the understanding that she just wouldn't get hurt anymore. Nothing could touch her, so nothing would hurt her.

During her recovery from being shot, Kate went to her father's cabin. She made it clear she didn't want anyone around. Not Josh, not her friends. Dad changed her bandages and made sure she ate. She took her to her doctor's appointments and for walks in the woods. But he couldn't heal her inner pain.

They whiled away the hours with movies, puzzles, games, and reading. But they rarely really talked, except once.

"How did you know, Dad?" Kate asked one night after dinner. It was early September and she was feeling pretty much back to normal.

"Know what, Katie?" has responded, surprised and pleased by her desire to talk.

"How did you know Mom was the one?"

"She made the absolute best chocolate brownies!"

"Seriously, Dad!"

He sighed heavily and fixated on the picture of Johanna Beckett on the mantle. Kate watched in awe as her father's eyes glowed, reflecting on the memory of his true love. "Your mother was my best friend. We had known each other a long time before I finally got up the nerve to tell her how I really felt. We liked a lot of the same things, and had a lot of fun together. She got me, you know? She understood my sense of humor. We could talk about anything. It got to the point where we got so we could finish each other's sentences, we were so in sync. I loved her fire and her passion. She was so sure of herself and what she wanted to do with her life. Your mother could always make me feel better, no matter what. When my life was uncertain and confusing, she made everything clear. It was as though she knew all the mysteries of the universe. And the first time I kissed her, it was like we weren't Jim and Johanna any more. We were one soul. We just fit together so perfectly. And I just knew we could handle anything as long as we were together."

The next day, Kate decided she'd done enough hiding. She needed to figure out if what she had was real.