Things between Kate and Rick had been going well. They were getting along and solving cases left and right. They clearly had chemistry, even though both of them refused to let their minds go there. Everyone around them couldn't help but smile when they saw them together. There was just something about two people who could not be more different, clicking the way they had. But it was way too early and there was so much they didn't know about each other. So everyone kept shut, not wanting to spook them.
Kate and Rick had been working together for a few weeks now, whenever she got a call about a homicide, she made sure Rick knew about it. So just like every other time, Kate called Rick and asked her to meet him at the crime scene.
"What do we have?" Kate said, walking into the alley where the murder had occurred.
"39 year old woman, stabbed multiple times. Died around 8pm." Laine said, inspecting the body.
Kate began to feel paralysed as a sense of déjà vu took over her. She tried to handle herself, tried to stop herself from losing control.
"Are you okay?" Rick asked, noticing the paleness of Kate's skin.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Kate said.
It took everything out of her to get through the preliminary investigations. She thought things might be better when she was at the precinct but they only got worse. Kate had to speak to the victim's daughter.
"I am so sorry for your loss." Kate said.
"Thank you." The girl said between sobs.
"Alison, could you think of anyone who would want to hurt your mother?" Kate asked.
"No. She was the nicest person, everyone loved her. I can't believe she's gone." Alison said.
It was crazy how much of herself Kate could see in Alison. They say it gets easier, it was supposed to but it never really does. The only thing that could help her was working on the case non-stop. Kate didn't stop to eat or drink any water, she just kept working and for awhile the team worked with her.
"Maybe we should call it a night and start again tomorrow." Rick said, standing up to stretch.
"Yeah, I agree." Ryan said.
"I'm fine guys, you should go ahead." Kate said.
"Are you sure? It's like 2am." Rick said, looking at his watch.
"Yeah." Kate said, without looking up from the page she was reading.
Rick had seen Kate work hard before but not like this. It was as if the case had swallowed her whole and he didn't know why. He knew someone she loved had been hurt and that's why she became a cop but that was it. He wanted to ask Laine about it but he wasn't sure if it was place. He didn't know what else to do, so he headed home. Hoping he would be able to find all the answers tomorrow.
Rick came into the precinct as early as he possibly could. When he entered the conference room, he saw Kate sitting in the same spot he had left her the previous night.
"Have you been here all night?" Rick asked, putting a cup of coffee next to Kate.
"Thanks. Yeah I have." Kate said with a small smile. She found it sweet that the brought her coffee.
"You need rest, Kate." Rick said, sounding clearly concerned.
"No, what I need is to solve this damn case." Kate said.
"We will. We just need some time." Rick said.
"Every second the bastard who did this is free, is a second too many." Kate said.
Rick had never seen her like this. He wanted to ask her more, say more. But he decided that whatever she was going through wasn't going to be fixed by words, it was going to be fixed by action. So he sat down next to her and began working. Soon Ryan and Javi joined them once they were back from tracking a lead. They had been at it for hours and couldn't find a thing. So they began talking through details of the case, hoping something would come to them. Over time, they began piecing everything together and bit by bit it began to make sense.
"I know who the killed is!" Kate and Rick said at the same time. They smiled, it was weird how they were so connected but it was their special thing. It was something unspoken, something they both knew and understood but neither said.
The four of them rushed to make the arrest, they caught the guy. Kate felt a sense of relief wash over her. Maybe there was some justice left in the world after all.
After the case was over and the family had been informed, Kate and Rick sat down together to do the paperwork.
"Are you okay?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, why?" Kate asked.
"Because I've never seen you so consumed by a case and I know it probably had something to do with your past but I didn't want to ask. I just wanted to help and now that it's all done, I just want to know if you're okay." Rick said.
Kate nodded at him and took a breath. "Five years ago, my dad and I were supposed to go dinner with my mom. We waited and waited but she never came. So we went home to find out where she was, only to find a detective at our house who told us that she had been killed in an alleyway. They never found out who did it. " She said.
"I'm so sorry." Rick said.
"Thanks." Kate said.
"The necklace you wear, it was hers wasn't it?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, I wear it as a reminder of the life I lost. After she died, my dad started drinking a lot and for many years he couldn't stop. Now he's sober. So I wear his watch, for the life I saved." Kate said.
Rick looked at Kate with a reassuring look on his face. He couldn't say it, but he was so in awe of her strength. A lot of her boundaries and walls began to make sense to him. Loss changes people and just like for everyone else, it had taken something away from who she was; taken away a piece of her heart.
"I just wanted to get for Alison and her family what I couldn't give mine – justice." Kate said, a tear falling down her face.
"I am sure you will find who did this someday. And I'm here, if you want any help or support. Anything I can do, just tell me and I'll do it." Rick said.
"Thanks Rick, that's really sweet. I hope I do. Justice is the least my mom deserves." Kate said.
Kate and Rick spent the rest of the night talking about their families, their childhoods. It's amazing how much you can know about someone when you learn about their past. They could finally understand each other a little better. They both had baggage but somehow talking to each other about it, made the load feel a little lighter.