Hey guys! Significantly shorter chapter buuuut...


Kate groaned, her body aching, sweat soaking through her clothes.

A hand clasped on her shoulder.

"Beckett, what's your problem? You can't take it?"

She rolled her eyes, pushing the muscular body away from her.

"Step off, Demming. You know I could kick your ass."

Demming chuckled, stepping away from her.

"I know you could. Can't we pretend that I'm stronger? Even for a little?"

Kate shook her head, throwing her towel over her left shoulder and strapping her gym bag over the other.

"Well, at least say you'll hit Remy's with Sorenson and me after drills tonight."

She shrugged.

"Maybe, Tommy."

"Don't call me that!"

They laughed, walking into the lobby of their dorm hall.

"You know, it could be dangerous, heading out to Remy's on a Thursday. You sure you're up for it?" he asked.

"Please, like we haven't all seen Royce sneak off for a few drinks. We'll be fine."

As they unlocked the door into their dorm, Kate threw her sweaty towel at the man sitting on the couch.

"Gross! What the hell, Tom?"

"It was Katie!" Demming shouted from the bathroom.

The man on the couch stood, throwing the towel back.

"So? Are you hitting Remy's with us?"

"Of course, Will. You think I'd skip out on a day away from the crap they serve at the cafeteria," Kate sighed, flopping down onto the couch where Will had been sitting.

"Oh yeah, I was looking for my baseball cap and found an application for NYU in your drawer. What the hell was that about? Pretty little princess didn't get in?"

Kate stood up, rushing to stand next to Will and put him in a headlock.

"Call me a princess again."

He chuckled breathlessly, squirming to get out of Kate's grip.

She released him, shoving him backwards.

"I was going to, but the Academy was closer to my dad's apartment."

"Yeah, okay," Tom said, exiting the bathroom now. "You're good to go, Beckett."

"Thanks, Demming."

~x~

Seated at Remy's, none of them daring to order anything more than Will's fries, they laughed over an episode of Psych that they'd been watching, but Kate was strangely reminiscent of Javi and Kevin.

"So, Katie. We've never really spoken about life before the Academy."

"Why the hell would you want to hear about that?"

"I don't know, it's just weird, don't you think? We've been roomies for three months and we don't know anything about pre-Academy Kate," Will commnented.

"I guess that's true, huh? I went to Stanford, which you already knew. I had a great time there, but personal issues brought me back to New York. I left some pretty important people back there."

Tom nudged her teasingly.

"You had a boy toy, Katie?"

"Of course I did," she smirked. "His name's Rick and he's still my boy toy, loser."

The boys looked impressed, but Kate couldn't quite pinpoint why.

"What?" she asked finally.

"Your boyfriend lives in California and you're in New York? How does that work?"

Kate shrugged.

"I don't know. It just does."

~x~

April rolled around and, Kate had to admit, she was pretty happy at the Academy. The constant workouts exhilarated her, made her feel alive. The support of Will and Tom was ridiculously welcomed, but she couldn't help but liken them to her boys at Stanford. She desperately missed Lanie though. She wished she could talk to someone who knew Will and Tom and could understand everything—something Lanie hadn't been able to do lately without Kate outing the fact that she wasn't actually at NYU like they all believed.

Nonetheless, Spring Break finally arrived, their apartment slowly emptied by the fact that Tom and Will had plans to hit the Bahamas, while Kate was going to stay with her dad and rediscover New York.

They were all at the door when a light knocking came through the door.

Kate, who was the closest, pulled the door open.

"Rick? What are you doing here?" Kate asked, her suitcase in hand, ready to return home for break.

"Spring break," he shrugged, pulling her into his arms. "Your dad told me where you were staying. I had to see you."

Kate smirked, kissing him quickly.

"Whoa, Katie. I believe introductions are in order," a voice said from behind him.

Rick held Kate protectively next to him.

"Rick, these are my roommates, Tommy and Will."

"Demming," Tom corrected. "And Sorenson, respectively. And who are you?"

"Guys, this is Rick Rodgers, my boyfriend."

"Rick Rodgers? I read one of your papers back in high school on symbolism. Aren't you a professor at Stanford?"

Tom smirked mischievously.

"Didn't Kate used to go to Stanford?"

Will leaned in.

"No way, you're dating your professor?"

Kate rolled her eyes, clutching Rick's hand.

"Grow up. He's not my professor anymore."

Rick, who had been silent the whole time, turned slowly to Kate.

"Hold on, your roommates are two totally ripped guys?"

Tom and Will laughed, locking up the room.

Kate sighed, caught between Will's questions about how they got away with dating and Rick's about the boys.

Will and Tom, like they had planned, headed to JFK in order to make their flight, while Rick and Kate travelled to her dad's apartment to drop her bags off.

Jim was at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting if Dean's texts to Kate were any indication. After she threw her bags in the guest bedroom that was once hers, the two headed out to walk about the City.

Rick, as per Stanford tradition, bought Kate a burger and a shake from Johnny Rocket's while he did the same for himself. They paused to sit on a bench, watching the tourists and seasoned City dwellers walk past them.

"So New York hasn't changed, has it?" Rick asked quietly.

"No, it hasn't. Still just as beautiful."

"As are you," he smiled, turning away with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"So, what did you think of the guys?" Kate inquired.

"Will and Tom? They're pretty okay, I guess. I mean, I don't know if I'm comfortable with you sleeping in the same apartment as two ripped guys who could easily beat the shit out of me, but they seem like respectable people."

She laughed, "You don't have to worry about them. They're not a threat to you."

"Where'd you meet them?" Rick wondered, almost cutting her off.

Kate finished off her burger, staring at Rick with a confused air about her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean," Rick got up to throw their burger wrappers away, speaking when she returned. "No offense, like I said, they're great guys. But they aren't really NYU material, are they?"

Kate paused. Right. Rick didn't know that she was at the Academy. She should probably tell him about that.

"I-I guess I sort of have something to tell you."


Read and Review if you can ^_^!

Thanks for reading!