Tags to episode 10x09: Fate.
A/N: Thanks for reading, and to everyone who has reviewed. I'm so glad you are liking it.
"Rossi's gone," Kate said to Hotch, walking up behind him as he stood in the bullpen of the BAU.
"He told me," Hotch said.
"So...he has a daughter," Kate said, exhaling. "I didn't see that coming."
"Neither did I, but I'm happy for him," Hotch said. "I know that twenty years ago, or even ten, Dave wasn't cut out to be a father, but he's ready now, whether he knows it or not."
"He's had practice, hasn't he?" Kate asked, looking at Hotch thoughtfully.
Reid loped over, his hands thrust deep in his pockets.
"So, Reid, do you have a secret love child too?" Kate asked, and a grin lit up his face.
"I wouldn't tell you if I did," he returned. "It's cold out here. I was thinking about stopping for coffee, or something else warm, on the way home."
Hotch saw Kate tense, and saw the forced casualness with which she moved away from the two and and bent over her desk. "I don't think so, not tonight. I actually already have some plans."
"Really?" Reid asked. "What? No offense, but you don't seem to have much of a social life."
Kate grinned. "None taken. I've been working harder since I started here, that's all. I didn't want to take too much time 'socializing' when I was so worried about whether I really deserved to be here."
"Why did you worry?" Reid asked, glancing at Hotch. "He wouldn't have hired you if you weren't qualified."
"I know," Kate said. "But I worried anyway."
Reid shrugged. "Hotch?"
"Not tonight, thanks," Hotch said, barely looking up from his folder. "And Morgan's left already."
"I'm available," JJ said, coming up to join the group as she tied a winter coat at her slim waist. "And I bet Penelope is free, too. What do you have in mind?"
"Coffee, or tea, as the case may be," Reid said. "Let's go ask her. See you tomorrow," he said, turning to salute Kate and Hotch as he left with JJ, holding the door for her.
Kate picked up the leather bag on her desk seat. "I should be going," she said, avoiding Hotch's gaze.
"See you tomorrow," he dismissed her, and watched her go, surprised when she walked into the ladies' room instead.
A slight frown on his brow, he stared at the door, and then his frown grew a bit deeper when Agent Paul Winters walked into the bullpen.
"Agent Winters? Is there a problem?"
Winters jerked to attention. "Agent Hotchner, it's good to see you." He automatically moved to shake Hotch's hand. "No trouble at all, not from me, anyway." He laughed at his own joke. "I'm just here to pick up Kate. We have a date."
Hotch blinked at Winters; and found himself going over every detail of the other man's appearance.
Tall, but not as tall as Hotch himself. Probably 6'0" flat. Hazel eyes that were a bit too close together, but not enough to be offsetting. A fashionable growth of beard on the jaw, and a friendly smile. Muscles that showed he worked out a lot more than Hotch did, muscles that showed he had a lot more time of his hands. Young. Kate's age.
Kate emerged from the bathroom, having changed. Hotch was relieved to see that her legs were still covered (he wasn't sure he could have borne it if she'd worn a miniskirt) but the pants she wore were in no way professional.
They were tight black leather, worn with sky high heeled boots, and a lacy black shirt. Hotch inhaled sharply, and next to him, Winters looked at him quizzically.
"Is there a problem, sir?"
"I just remembered something," Hotch said, closing the file abruptly and starting back to his office. "Have a good time. Kate's over there," he pointed, and saw the blush spread over Kate's face when she realized he was pointing her out.
"Thanks," Winters said, jogged across the bullpen and opened the glass doors. Hotch chanced a glance back, and saw him place a possessive hand at Kate's waist as he guided her to the elevator.
The last he saw of them, Kate was laughing and tossing her head.
Hotch felt a pinch of something he identified as jealousy.
Kate had never been the type of girl, or woman, rather, to sleep with a guy on their first date. She had been almost stuck up about it during college, and she and Chris had ultimately only slept together a few times before they broke up.
But the more time she spent with Paul, the more time she considered changing that.
True, there were no actual feelings of love.
But there was giddy attraction, sizzling touches and the knowledge that Paul wanted her.
It had been a long time, Kate contemplated as Paul slipped off to the men's room, and she sipped at her beer.
But had it been too long?
She'd taken off her jacket, and felt his touch keenly when he returned, and touched her back with his hand as he sat on the stool next to her.
"Wanna get out of here?" Paul asked. "We could go somewhere else, or dancing, whatever."
Kate made up her mind. She nodded, and led him out of the crowded, loud bar, putting her jacket on as they slipped outside.
Paul looked at her expectantly. "Your choice, Kate."
She watched the muscles in his arm ripple as he hailed a cab, and she wondered how his arms would feel holding her.
She stepped forward and placed a proprietary hand on his forearm, and they both knew something was different about her touch. "You said your place was nearby," Kate breathed. "Let's walk."
They only made it around the corner, where Paul pressed her against the wall and they kissed so long, Kate's knees seemed to stop functioning.
But, as his lips made their way to her neck, it felt...wrong.
She pulled away, and it was hard to do. "Not like this," she gasped, staring up at him.
Disappointed, Paul didn't let it show. "Of course not. Let me call you a cab."
Hotch noticed the moment Kate walked in, and his whole body tensed.
She didn't look as tousled as most women did when they spent the night with a boyfriend, and Hotch's hopes rose. Maybe it hadn't gone that far.
Her emerald green shirt was neatly tucked in, and her hair was neatly styled. Nothing to suggest oversleeping because your lover wouldn't let you get out of bed.
So then why was she late?
He couldn't help it: he pulled his 'boss' card, and quickly walked to his office door. "Callahan? Can I see you for a moment?"
She looked up in surprise, but made her way over to him, and he noticed that she was walking slower than she normally would, as if this was a journey she was reluctant to make.
"Yeah, Hotch?" She asked, hovering at the top of the stairs.
He stepped back into his office. "Can you come in?"
She followed him in, and he sat down behind his desk. After a moment passed, and she didn't sit down, Hotch let himself meet her gaze.
"Are you going to sit down?"
"Okay," Kate said, moving quickly to sit down. In the moment she spent bending, her shirt gaped and he was suddenly given a view of her cleavage. And the love bite perched on her neck.
Kate adjusted her shirt as she sat down, tugging it up again.
Hotch suddenly felt sick.
"What's this about, sir?" She asked, and the only thing Hotch could concentrate on was the fact that she was doing everything she could to avoid looking at him. She even started fiddling with her nails, and Kate Callahan was not one to fidget.
"I just wanted to say that it was a good job you did on the interview," Hotch said. "Grace had a few others check her over, and we all agreed it wasn't safe. Good call."
"I was just following your lead, sir," Kate said quizzically. "Why do I feel that this is not what you are actually talking about?"
"I—" Hotch broke off, just looking at her for a moment and trying to figure out what kind of creature she was.
"Everyone deserves a little extra praise once in a while," Hotch said. "It keeps everyone going."
Kate blinked, and suddenly went stiff. Hotch realized that he had, once again, pushed her buttons completely the wrong way.
He still couldn't read her, and it disappointed him. He wasn't sure why she was angry, and was simply relieved that he could tell.
There was silence in his office for a moment, then she burst out. "I'm not going to snap," she said. "Why do you continue to treat me like I've been sheltered my entire life? It didn't work that way, Hotch. I'm fine. I can do my fucking job."
It was the f-word that brought him down. It conjured images he couldn't help but associate with her, and he snapped.
"Can you? Because coming to work with a hickey in plain sight doesn't seem very professional to me."
She recoiled back, her face paling.
"I have to go," she finally muttered, and shoved herself from the chair.
When he saw her next, she'd borrowed a scarf from Garcia.
A/N: I like Kate with a temper. I like Hotch with a temper. I really like having them fight. It will make their eventual getting together that much sweeter.
