If you have not read United We Spy or Double Crossed, this is going to be confusing.

I'm not sure how the timelines match up with UWS and Perfect Scoundrels, so I'm just gonna say this is set between Double Crossed and Perfect Scoundrels, because that's how it fits with this story.

Enjoy!

A flash of black hair.

A dangerous glint in a pair of blue eyes.

A flood of memories.

Kat had a habit of showing up in areas where disaster was about to strike. It was no surprise that she was in the audience at King Najeeb's speech and, coincidentally, assassination. For once she'd had no ulterior motives in being there; only a strange inclination to show up and an uneasy feeling in her gut as soon she arrived.

Just before the bomb went off, she'd seen the girl.

Macey McHenry.

She'd never forgotten that girl, or the offer that came with her. Kat had decided pretty quickly that the Gallagher Academy was not for her, but Macey McHenry was not easily forgotten.

Kat wondered if it was some kind of sign that she'd seen Macey again, especially in such circumstances.

The girls had made eye contact for a split second before the explosion, but just as quickly Macey was gone. Once Kat had recovered her bearings, she decided it was best to disappear as well.

After she'd received a bowl of soup from Uncle Eddie and a great deal of fussing from Hale, she escaped to her room. Gabrielle was out with the Bagshaws casing a crooked CEO's mansion in Boston, so Kat was alone. For the first time in weeks, she opened the bottom drawer in the old jewelry box that had been her mother's, and her mother's mother's before that. Lying at the bottom of the box was the card Agent Cameron had given her. She pulled it out gingerly, as if afraid of another explosion.

She traced her finger over the inscription. Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women.

Just how "exceptional" was Macey McHenry?

There was a soft knock in the doorway. Hale stood there, worry creasing his brow. "Macey McHenry is at the door."

Kat glanced at the card once more before slipping it carefully into her pocket. She started past Hale, but his hand circled her wrist before she could get far. "Kat…"

His eyes were sad, and Kat wondered if it was because of her. They'd been doing so well these past couple of weeks. Why did he look so hurt?

"You're not… Are you actually considering going to this school?"

Oh.

He didn't want her to leave again.

Gently, Kat reached up and touched her lips to his. She interlaced their fingers and looked in his eyes, pained and anxious.

"I'm intrigued by this school. I'd like to see just how exceptional it is."

Hale pulled away, eyes dark, but Kat grabbed his hands again. "But I couldn't leave New York, or the crew… I couldn't leave you."

Her words weren't much, not really. But that one admission was monumental to Hale, and both teenagers sensed a sort of shift in their relationship as they stood together. He'd spent so much time chasing after her. Really, they'd chased after each other. And now, finally, she was deciding not to leave him, now or ever, and suddenly Hale just needed to kiss her. He needed to feel her there, feel her warmth, feel the realness of her. So he did. He crushed her to him, arms tight around her waist. Kat looped her arms around his neck, weaving her hands into his hair. Her lips parted, and she forgot all about Macey McHenry and her mysterious school.

Kat and Hale stood there for a long time. Long enough for a certain Gallagher Girl to become impatient and enter the house on her own. She watched Kat and Hale for a while, thinking of the boy she'd left behind with the rest of her friends. Then their kiss deepened, and Macey decided to interrupt before things got too graphic. She saw enough of that at home, thank you very much.

"Ahem."

Kat and Hale didn't seem to notice. Macey grimaced. Teenagers were disgusting.

"A-hem." This time she tapped Kat on the shoulder, which startled her enough to remove her tongue from Hale's mouth.

"A word?"

Kat glanced at Hale, who looked back at her with the same dopey fondness Zach tended to adopt whenever Cammie spoke. Or walked. Or existed in his general vicinity.

"I might be sick," Macey muttered. Nonetheless, Kat followed her out to the porch.

"You remember my offer."

Kat looked far off as she reached towards her pocket. Macey saw the outline of a small rectangle there - the card Abby had given her. She'd been considering it.

But then something shifted in Kat. Her expression hardened. She stood straighter. And Macey knew the answer before Kat told her.

"Macey… I'm not going. I can't leave New York."

Macey couldn't help but glance back at the house. She had a feeling "New York" was inside that brownstone.

"I understand," Macey told her. "Stay in touch, okay? We could use your... skills."

And then she vanished.

It took nearly an hour for Kat to find Macey's calling card. She knew as soon as the girl had gone that she had left something behind for Kat. The question was where.

Kat searched the entire house twice before giving up. She flopped backwards onto her bed, finally allowing herself to think about the moment she'd had with Hale. Kat was a thief. She had dozens of different identities. She'd seen "priceless, irreplaceable" works of art stolen and replaced without a hint of suspicion from the rest of the world.

She knew better than anyone just how temporary life could be.

So, she wasn't used to permanent. She didn't do commitment.

But, what she had with Hale… Choosing him over Gallagher…

That felt like commitment.

Kat groaned into her pillow. She needed Gabrielle for these types of things.

She rolled over, looking at the empty bed that matched her own. Gabrielle and Macey would get on well, she'd decided. Maybe a bit too well.

Then her gaze shifted to the dresser, and the jewelry box on top of it. The bottom drawer stuck out more than the rest, eliciting a small surge of panic in Kat. She knew she'd closed that drawer, and no one else had been in the room.

Unless...

"No," Kat murmured. "There's no way..."

She investigated anyway, and couldn't help but let out a disbelieving chuckle at what she found.

I meant what I said. Keep in touch.

-MM

"Kat?"

Hale stood in the doorway, the same spot he had occupied before, though this time he looked far less angsty. He did look a bit worried, though, and Kat realized that she was standing alone in her room, chuckling to herself. "I found Macey's calling card," she explained.

"In… here?" Hale glanced around, as if wondering if maybe the girl was still in the room, hiding in the closet or beneath the bed. "How did she even get in here?"

"I have no idea," Kat told him. "But I have a feeling those types of things aren't exactly abnormal where she comes from."

Hale assessed Macey's note, shaking his head as he read. "Macey McHenry is quite the character." He smiled at Kat, placing the card on top of her dresser. "But then again, so are you."

Kat couldn't help but smile back as he looped his arms around her waist. He placed a chaste kiss on the side of her mouth, but pulled back before Kat could kiss him properly. "New York is quite the lovely town. Far better than Virginia, I assume."

Kat was skeptical. "Have you ever been to Virginia?"

"Nope," Hale admitted. " And I have no desire to visit any time soon." His arms tightened around her. There was a spark in his eye, and he leaned down to whisper against her lips.

"I have everything I need right here."

Sooo... This was meant to be a Macey/Kat bonding experience type of thing, but Hale, the pest, kind of invaded. I'm not really sorry :P

Reviews are very much appreciated :)