Her editor hadn't liked what she had written. So, he made her write it again. Which meant that she hadn't left the office until 5:30pm. And with traffic, it was almost an hour later that she finally made it to Remy's. And, of course, all this meant that she wouldn't have time to change before going to the Old Haunt at 8pm. What a day.

Remy's. Just opening the door and smelling those juicy hamburgers and greasy French fries was enough to help he unwind form the stress of the day. And, seeing her family gathered in the back finished what that delicious smell had begun. It was nearly impossible not to smile at the rather loud crowd in the back, but then she could see from the door- and hear- that Tamara, Mateo, and Katherine were having some sort of debate over which Harry Potter was the best. Tamara and Mateo were her Uncle Javier and Aunt Lanie's youngest two kids. They were 13 and 10, and so much younger than herself that they were almost more like her niece and nephew. Katherine, however, really was her niece. She was the only child of her older sister, Alexis, whom, Hanna was very pleased to see.

Her mother saw her first, of course she did, that woman had never lost her edge, even though Kate Beckett-Castle was now 60 years old. Kate smiled and waved at her daughter. This action prompted the children to ceased their animated discussion and run to her. Hanna was a rather private person and didn't indulge of displays of affection often, but that never stopped these three from racing to see who could hug her first. She allowed it, enjoyed it even, although she would never admit it.

"Hi Aunt Hanna." Katherine had been first due to a scuffle between the two Esposito siblings.

"Hey Kat. How are you doing? How's school?"

"I'm good. School is boring." Katherine, affectionately called Kat by her family and friends, voiced her displeasure. She had enjoyed school until this year, no one in the family knew why she suddenly found it "boring" but figured it was just a phase since she maintained all As.

"Boring! How can school be boring?"

"It just is."

"Well what about your violin lessons?"

"Oh yeah! I love those. I am getting a lot better. And mom said that she will do a duet with me!" The child's demeanor did a 180-degree spin as she recounted her success on her violin. She had only begun a few months ago, but truly was very good at it. Everyone said she inherited it from her mom who had played violin in her youth.

"Hey Sweetheart." Her mom gave her a short hug as she said this. "We were beginning to wonder if you had forgotten."

"Or gotten kidnapped by aliens." Her dad, of course. No one else in the family could say such a thing and sound so sincere at the same time. Her dad was also the only other one in the family, besides the young ones, who could hug her without receiving a complaint. In fact, a small part of Hanna thought that if the day ever came where he didn't give her a big bear hug as soon as he had her in arm's reach, that she might cry.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. I was captured by aliens. They said they wanted to eat me, but I was too tuff." Sarcasm coated her voice thickly.

Rick pretended to look pained but her words for a brief moment before he grinned widely. "Well, at least they let you go. We ordered you're usual, was that alright?"

"Sure." She said. Inwardly she grimaced at thought of what those onion rings would do to her breathe.

"I got fires for you instead of onion rings tonight, Honey. I hope that was okay." Kate informed Hanna with a mischievous gleam in her eye. How was it that her mom always knew when something was happening, or might be happening, or did happen? Especially if she wasn't, isn't or won't be around when it happens?!

"Yeah… Thanks."

"Congratulations on your first solo assignment, Sis." Alexis chimed in, once she had managed to reign in the children.

"Thanks, Lex! How is your case going?"

"Well, the Judge moved up my court date to Thursday instead of next Monday. I'm not sure I will have everything ready in time."

"Alexis, be honest. You had all the paperwork and everything else you will need ready a week ago." Hanna teased her older sibling.

"Well, not quite a week ago, only a few days ago." She answered with a self-deprecating smile. "Good thing too since Tam and Mat are staying the night."

"When will John be back from his conference? He should be home later tonight. I spoke to him earlier and he said to tell you congrats and I quote "Knock 'em dead, Squirt."" Alexis laughed.

"Squirt! Honestly, I wish he would forget that nickname, I'm not 15 anymore."

Just then, everyone's food was served. It was delicious as always. Alexis and Kate continued to discuss day-to-day things, with the kids and Rick chiming in occasionally. Meanwhile, Hanna relaxed and enjoyed listening to her family and enjoyed their presence. Her mom glanced over at her at one point, gave her a small half smile, and a wink before diving back into the conversation.

At the end of the meal, Hanna tried to excuse herself without causing a fuss, but was unsuccessful.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry? Since Alexis has the kids, why don't you come with your mom and me down to the Old Haunt for a celebratory drink?" Her dad asked as she stood and reached for her coat.

"Thanks, Dad, but I have plans tonight."

"Plans? What are you-" His next question ended in a grunt as his wife elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"Hanna has things other than entertaining you to do. Have a good night, Sweetheart." And just like that, Hanna's suspicion that her mom somehow knew about her date with Rawlings tonight was confirmed. But, since she was providing a distraction and a chance at a relatively clean getaway, she let it slide. Hanna mouthed a silent thank you and left.

It was 7:30pm, the young woman had just enough time to get to the Old Haunt. However, traffic once again conspired so that she was fashionably late.

Stepping into the bar was like taking a step back in time. Her dad had designed it that way on purpose; he had told her so many times. The dim lights and old style furniture only furthered that atmosphere. Robbie the bartended nodded to her as she came in. It was relatively uncrowded, but it was only Tuesday. After a few moments of searching, Hanna saw Detective Rawlings sitting in a corner booth in a secluded corner. He rose as she walked over, helped her out of her coat and pulled out her chair. He certainly received brownie points for his courteous actions; her dad would approve, she thought to herself.

She had barely sat down when Tracy came over to get their orders.

"Hey Hanna. Haven't seen you in a while." She greeted with genuine cheerfulness.

"I've been busy."

"Well, what can I get for you? The usual?" Hanna only nodded an affirmative. "And for you?"

"I'll have a rum and coke." Rawlings answered.

"Coming right up. Good to see you Hanna. If you need anything else just wave me down." She said as she left to fill their orders.

"So, come here often?" Rawlings inquired, curious as to what her 'usual' was and how she had acquired it.

"Do you often use such cheesy pick-up lines?" She spat back lighting-quick. That was more her usual mode of speech, not that tongue-twisted nonsense that she had encountered in his presence earlier today.

"No. Usually I'm much smoother." He answered with a laugh. "I was just curious how you came to have 'usual'." He explained just as Tracy set down their drinks. Her usual turned out to be a glass of red wine.

She was just about to ask Rawlings about himself, rather than explain her 'family connections' as it were, when she heard her Aunt Lanie's voice from across the bar. She closed her eyes briefly and prayed that she would remain unseen by the sassy black woman.

"Javier Esposito, that is utter nonsense!" She exclaimed as she walked into the bar. Apparently, Fate was against her this night, because just then Lanie looked straight at her. Or perhaps Fate decided to favor her after all, or Lanie read something, some pleading in her eyes, because she turned to Javi, whispered in his ear and they left. Now there were three women in her family that she owed, her mom, Katie, and her Aunt Lanie. Nope- Fate was still working against her, she decided.

"So, what made you want to be a cop?" she asked Rawlings.

"My father was a cop. He was killed in the line of duty. Took a bullet meant for his partner. I became a cop to honor him."

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"What about you? Why did you become a journalist?"

"My father is a writer. I grew up with an intense love of literature. I wanted to be a journalist and write the truth."

"You and your family are close?" Rawlings inquired.

"Yeah." Her voice revealed some of the occasional frustration she felt for her family's habit of privacy invasion. The Detective just continued to watch her. "What?"

"You said yes, but you sounded like it was a touchy subject." He explained.

"No. I love my family and we are close. Too close sometimes. They are not shy in voicing their opinions."

"Ah." He laughed lightly. He had a great laugh; soft and warm. "My mom is the same way." He took a sip of his drink. "So, Knight, what is your favorite book?" He had no idea what he was getting into with that question.

"War and Peace." At his look of disbelieve she added, "in the original Russian." He gave a single nod and took a large swig as he tried to think of what to say next. Hanna was only just managing to keep her mirth to herself, her lips threatened to twitch into a smirk, but she held it back. She employed this test on all her first dates. When she was in high school, her mom had revealed that she had done the same thing her first year at Stanford. Hanna enjoyed the thought so much that she still employed it all these years later.

"I read War and Peace in high school, in English." Nate finally answered. Now it was her turn to be astonished.

"Really?" she asked without covering her surprise.

"Yes. I did. Did you really read it in Russian?"

"No, my mom read it to me in Russian as a child to send me to sleep."

"And that's your favorite book?" He asked with a laugh and a hint of challenge in his voice.

"No." she answered with a small smile in acknowledgement. "My favorite book is actually the Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey. Don't laugh. She warned when his lips quirked up at the corners.

"Why is it your favorite?" His question actually surprised her. Most guys, when she gave them the real answer, if she gave them the real answer, scoffed at her choice, but Nate seemed genuinely interested.

"I love how the main character grows and overcomes the obstacles in her life."

A low buzz sounded. Rawlings glanced at this phone.

"I'm sorry. I need to take this, it's the Precinct." Hanna only nodded her understanding. She took this opportunity to observe him further. He was tall, taller than she was which was somewhat rare. His shirt was a deep green that matched his eyes. His shirt at the Precinct this morning had been white. She wondered if he had changed just for this date or if something had happened since this morning. "Rawlings…Yeah. Sure. I'll meet you there." He hung up his phone. "I have to go. I'm sorry."

"A case?"

"No a friend. I'd like to do this again sometime. How about coffee tomorrow?"

"I'm busy tomorrow. How about Friday?"

"Friday it is. Meet me at the Precinct at noon; we can walk to a nearby café?"

"Sure."

"Good night, Hanna." He said with a smile and was gone. Although it had been somewhat short, that had been a good first date. Hanna was glad she had accepted.