A/N: Okay, so just a warning, this is pretty angsty. I just needed to get this out there. It'll get less angsty in the next chapter, though. This chapter does have a purpose. Running Away
Kate Beckett's brow knitted into a frown as she saw her dad check his watch for what seemed the millionth time since they got to the restaurant.
"Dad, she'll be here soon." She assured him again, ignoring the uneasy feeling that settled in the pit in her stomach. "You know she's having a busy time at work." She reasoned, because they both knew that it was true. But they both also knew that Johanna was never, ever, this late without having called them were she was.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Her dad agreed, although he didn't seem to believe his own words all that much.
More minutes passed, and the waiter came by again to ask if they were ready to order yet. Of course they didn't. They could wait a little longer. Any moment now, she'd come through the door, sit down and explain them why she was late. She'd laugh when they told her that they had been worried, she'd tell them that they were being silly, that they shouldn't worry all that much. And then everything would be alright.
But that moment never came.
More than an hour, they had been waiting. Finally, she said to her father, "She probably forgot and went home."
He nodded, and they left silently, both hoping, wishing, that it'd be true.
The cab ride seemed to go slower than usual, because they were set on getting home as fast as they could. When they got there, though, they wished they never did.
Police cars with flashing lights were parked on the sidewalk, yellow tape keeping the bypassing people at distance. They both exchanged a glance before getting out of the car, the fear mirrored in both their expressions.
Quickly, they made their way to the dreaded yellow tape. Her heart pounded in her chest as she ducked underneath it, her dad following her example. The cops seemed to notice them and one of them jogged towards her saying something like, "You're not allowed to be here." But it was too late. The body laying on the street had caught her eye and it was like she was drawn to it, although at the same time wanting to run away.
She stood next the lifeless body of her mother and she could feel something come up in the back of her throat and she turned around and ran, but she didn't get far before she needed throw up, the sickening feeling in her stomach never going away. Tears were burning behind her eyes, and threatened to spill.
Her head was spinning, and somewhere she could hear one of the cops calling her. Not that she registered the fact ,though. The world around her seemed to have faded away, the image of the pool of blood around her mother burned into her mind. She didn't want to see it. She didn't want to believe that it was real.
She wanted to escape all of it.
Which is when she ran. Ran as fast as her legs could carry her, away from everything. When she'd be back it would all be gone, at least, that is what she told herself.
Lungs burning and muscles complaining, she pushed herself to go further, the physical pain erasing the mental one, bringing her to a safe place, the one where the sound of her pounding heart and ragged breathing were the only things on her mind.
She didn't know how long she'd ran when she stopped, almost collapsing on the sidewalk. All her muscles seemed to hurt, and she was quite dizzy, but it didn't matter. All that mattered that she didn't have to see what she'd seen before anymore.
The sidewalk seemed comfortable at that moment, but it wasn't long before a police cruiser stopped nearby. The doors were roughly slammed shut and a policeman approached her. She didn't remember much more after that.
That was how Kate Beckett got into running.
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A/N: So, it would really, really, mean a lot to me if you reviewed. This story will just be two chapters long and the next one will be in the present, and, it'll be less 'heavy' than this one. I hope to get it up by tomorrow.
