Chapter 7

"Kate?" Ava called cautiously as she entered the apartment. "I know I'm late but I promise there's a good reason." Despite the night the two had spent together almost a week ago, things had been rather turbulent between them on account of Ava's new job. She had odd hours, rarely come home for dinner, and was in a seemingly constant state of exhaustion. Kate knew that this new job would come with stipulations such as these but never anticipated that they would bother her this much. Now, as the blonde sat cross-legged at the dinner table waiting for her fiancée to come home for a dinner she had promised to attend, Kate was more than bothered- she was furious. The bottle of wine she had consumed while waiting for the brunette didn't help.

"Late?" the blonde drummed her fingers against the glass table. "Late is a few minutes. Late is maybe an hour. You're not late. You've missed the boat completely." She wasn't wrong. Ava was exactly two hours and forty-three minutes late. The taller woman's gaze didn't fail to take in the empty bottle or the candlelit dinner. Her cheeks flushed with regret.

"I know and I'm so sorry." She knelt in front of the woman, taking her overheated hands into hers. Kate remained unmoved.

"You know," her words were slightly slurred and Ava knew she was in for a long night. "I'm getting pretty tired of that phrase."

"Kate, I swear I didn't do it on purpose." Ava insisted. "I had to talk with the team about something important and it couldn't wait. I know it's not what you want to hear but-"

"'The team' this, 'the team' that," the blonde yanked her hands out of the other woman's grasp and stood up, almost knocking Ava over in the process, "when are you getting to get your head out of the team's asses?" Ava bit back an equally rude retort, knowing that this was mainly the wine speaking…mainly.

"Please don't be like that." She asked. "It's important that we trust each other, Kate. We're literally putting our lives in each other's hands on an almost daily basis. I can't just-"

"Jesus, quit being so dramatic." Kate went on her tip-toes in order to reach the shelf where they kept the alcohol. Knowing she couldn't reach it, she turned to Ava and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" the brunette practically whispered. Kate rounded on her, blue eyes flashing hot as any flame.

"Don't lecture me on good ideas. You're not exactly the poster child for them yourself." Ava swallowed, taking the hit simply because her actions had started this. With a sigh she removed a bottle of red wine from the shelf. The blonde snatched it out of her hands immediately, not bothering to thank her. As Kate opened the bottle and poured herself another glass, Ava ran a hand through her hair, trying to fight the fatigue she was feeling off. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I boring you?"

"What? No." Ava frowned, taking a seat across from the woman. "I'm just tired, is all."

"You're always tired." Kate grumbled, almost to herself. Ava shook her head slightly, placing it in her hands. She didn't know what else to say.

"I'm sorry." The brunette muttered. She thought the blonde's temper had dulled. She was wrong.

"I am so sick of your apologies, Ava." Kate said through gritted teeth. "Stop saying you're sorry and then doing nothing to change your actions."

"Tell me what you want me to do then." Ava clenched and unclenched her fists, her own temper beginning to flare.

"I want you to quit that job." The phrase was expected but hearing it out of her fiancée's lips was a different matter altogether. Ava knew the response without thinking.

"That's not going to happen, Kate." She folded her hands. "Think of something else."

"There is nothing else!" the blonde snapped, slamming her hand on the table. Ava took in the woman, unsure of what to make of her. "All you do is work. When you come home, all you can think about is work. You haven't made time for us since you joined that fucking team and now you can't even make it on time to a simple dinner."

"I don't make time for us?" Ava frowned. "I recall an entire night, not too long ago in fact, that we dedicated to spending as much time as possible with each other."

"One night." Kate scoffed. "One night doesn't make up for the past five months."

"I'm not quitting this team, Kate." Ava insisted. "They're the closest thing I've ever had to a real family, you know that."

"I thought I was your family." The hurt was evident in her blue eyes and Ava wanted nothing more than to retract the words.

"You are." She pressed. "You've been my family since the day we met but this is different. They're not more or better, they're just different. If you would only meet them-"

"I have no interest in meeting them." Kate sneered. "I have no interest in meeting the people who keep you away from me."

"They're not keeping me away, Kate." Ava promised. "I know this is a difficult adjustment for you but given time, we can make it work. You know I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. Nothing can change that- not a job, or a team, or anything."

"If you loved me, you'd quit." The blonde said as she took a generous gulp of wine. Ava swallowed hard. She knew that this would be difficult on both of them but she never anticipated an ultimatum.

"That's not fair and you know it." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was so unlike Kate. Ava thought again: maybe this wasn't unlike her at all. Maybe this was who she really was- controlling, spiteful, and manipulative. No, she thought immediately. That's not the woman I fell in love with.

"What's not fair is having to share my fiancée with god knows who." Kate spat. "Tell me, is it that woman you're spending so much time with?"

"What woman?" Ava could only imagine what Kate would come up with now.

"Don't play coy with me. The only other woman on your precious team!" Ava's eyes widened at the thought, shaking her head immediately.

"That's insane!" she shot up. "First of all, JJ is as straight as they-"

"Oh, so that's what's stopping you." Kate chuckled humorlessly. "So if she was into it, you'd be all over her, wouldn't you?"

"I think it's time you go to bed." Ava concluded. "You would never accuse me of something like that if you were sober."

"Well, they do say that alcohol only brings out the truth." Kate informed her as she stood. Ava remained perfectly still as her fiancée approached her. Kate stopped an inch or two away from her face and pointed an accusatory finger at her chest. "That's what's keeping you there so late, isn't it? You're screwing her."

"Kate," Ava fought hard to control the tone of her voice, "you know that isn't true. Why would I accept your marriage proposal if I didn't want to be with you? I'm not exactly the kind of person who does the exact opposite of what I want, am I?"

"Who knows," the blonde shrugged, her wine-filled breath hot against Ava's face, "maybe it's fun for you- stringing me along all these years- trying to see how much you can get away with until I finally snap." With the final word, she shoved Ava against the wall, hard. The brunette was stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"I want to be with you." Ava tried again. "I've always wanted that from the second I saw you. Listen to me carefully, Kate: I have no interest in anyone else."

"Don't lie to me!" the woman cried, slamming a hand on the wall beside Ava's face. The taller woman blinked rapidly. Sure, their relationship was very physical and perhaps borderline violent when it came to their bedroom activities. However, this was unheard of from either woman. She was only this unpredictable and aggressive when it came to sex. The almost murderous look in the blonde's eyes caused the brunette to shrink back. She, who had stared down serial killers and rapists, was afraid of her fiancée.

"You need to stop." Ava urged. "We can continue this conversation tomorrow, when we're both calmer."

"Why, scared that I'm onto something?" Kate ignored the slight shake of Ava's head as she took the woman's chin into her hand. "Tell me the truth."

"I am telling you the truth." Ava's heart jumped in her chest as the blonde's hand went to her neck. She swallowed hard and could've sworn that she saw a satisfied glint in the other woman's eyes. Kate knew Ava was afraid…and she liked it.

"I can forgive one mistake, Avalona." Kate swore, her other hand suddenly appearing on Ava's waist. "Tell me the truth and we can fix it." The blonde's hand was not idle as it moved under Ava's shirt and began to caress the skin there. Despite the situation, Ava couldn't help but feel a jolt of pleasure shoot down her body. She knew this was crazy- her fiancée had just accused her of cheating for Christ's sake- but her body always responded to Kate's touch. It was not a fact she was proud of.

"Kate, stop." She said as forcefully as she could. The woman ignored her, continuing her path across Ava's body to her toned stomach and the clasp of her pants.

"I'm not asking for much." Kate pouted. "And besides, you owe me." Ava placed a hand around Kate's wrist in an attempt to stop her movements only to be swatted away. She knew that this was the alcohol- it had to be. Kate would never continue touching her if she didn't want it. It was an arrangement they had made a long time ago, when their relationship first became physical. A thought suddenly occurred to the brunette.

"Red." Ava spoke their safe word loud and clear, leaving no room for interpretation. "Red, Kate." The blonde let out a short, deep chuckle. The sound did not do what it normally did for Ava.

"It's far too late for that." The older woman breathed, one hand slipping inside Ava's pants as the other tightened around her throat. 'Panic' wasn't a good enough word to express what Avalona Thorne was experiencing. Her fiancée, her Kate, was not only accusing her of cheating, but was now well on the way to raping her. No, none of this was right. Just as Kate's fingers went to touch her, Ava reached out and pushed the woman away from her.

"I said stop, Kate!" her shout was loud but not nearly as loud as the slap Kate had administered to Ava's face. The two stood in silence, both frozen with shock at what just occurred. Ava could feel a small trickle of blood as a cut opened up on her lip from Kate's ring. Kate, realizing what she had done and immediately sobering up, brought a hand over her mouth slowly. Tears were already streaming down Ava's face and it wasn't because of the sting on her cheek.

"Ava," Kate's voice was shaking, her own eyes filling with tears at the sight of Ava's, "oh God, Ava, I'm so-"

"Sorry?" the brunette spat back, her voice also quivering. Kate, understanding the cruel irony that had come full circle, placed a second hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle the sound of the sob escaped. She took a wary step forward, very aware of the fact that the brunette could hurt her physically and now, legally.

"I-I don't know why I did that." Kate was practically begging now. "I was just so mad and I…I-"

"Don't touch me." Ava growled as the woman continued to approach, reaching a hand out to wipe away the brunette's tears. Kate retracted immediately, wrapping her arms around herself as she began to cry. Normally, Ava would do anything to get the woman to stop crying. Normally, the sight of Kate's tears broke Ava's heart and whatever argument they were having would be over. Normally, they never resorted to slapping one another to get a point across. This wasn't normal.

"Please," Kate sobbed, "Avalona, please I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I love you, I would never do anything to hurt you."

"Get out." Ava snarled, her glare like knives in the blonde's heart. The woman frowned, unable to think of anything more to say, but Ava's patience had long since been gone. "Did you not hear me?! I said get out!" Kate jumped at the sound of Ava's raised voice, having never heard her yell like that before. In fact, Ava wasn't sure she had heard herself yell like that before. "I can't look at you." Kate shut her eyes tightly, more tears spilling from them as she took her purse from the couch. Not bothering to pack anything else this time, the blonde ran out as if the apartment was on fire, her sobs reaching Ava's ears from down the hall. Frozen in either shock, fear, anger, or a combination of the three, Ava stood there, staring at the door for what felt like hours. She simply could not comprehend what had happened. Everything was fine before tonight, wasn't it? There was no indication that something like this would happen…was there? Ava racked her brain for a single moment that should have warned her- a single action or word or thought that should've told her this was coming. She found nothing. What could've been hours later, the young agent found her eyelids closing on their own as she swayed. Exhaustion, coupled with the events of the past hour, were beginning to take their toll. Dragging her feet, the woman fell unceremoniously on the bed, not bothering to change out of her work clothes. Tears continued to stream down her face without her permission and before long, Ava found herself curled into the fetal position, sobbing into a pillow that smelled of nothing but the woman who had just broken her heart.