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Kat hummed as she brushed Riddler's black coat. His hair was becoming shinier because of the grooming. He liked it when she brushed him. His tail would happily wag throughout the whole ordeal, just like right now. He was standing proudly as the brush ran through his hair.
"You mister, have long hair," Kat chuckled. "But's it beautiful. I will give you that."
Riddler barked happily at the pampering he was receiving. He licked the teen's face and stood still again.
"Ew. Doggy breath," Kat wiped her face. She laughed lightly and shook her head. "You're lucky that you are adorable."
He let out another bark. The teen rolled her eyes but still had a smile on her face. She continued to brush his hair and started to hum again. She was almost done brushing him when she heard the familiar jingle of keys at the door.
Upon hearing the door open, Kat glanced up from her work. The smile on her face disappeared from her face when she saw her mother. Her eyes widen in horror when she saw the blood on her mother's blue shirt.
"Mom?!" Kat quickly put the brush away and stood up. She made her way towards her mother. "Are you hurt?"
Riddler barked and ran towards the detective.
Olivia shook her head. She made her way towards her bedroom and closed it behind her. She didn't want her daughter to continue seeing the blood on her. She had hoped for the teen to be in her room asleep. Liv would have wanted to avoid any questions on the bloodstained shirt.
Kat glanced down at Riddler. He whined and looked up at the teen. She walked back to the living room and quietly sat down on the couch. Once her mother steps out of the bedroom, she would ask what happened.
Kat waited anxiously for her mother to come out of bedroom. She nervously tapped her foot on the floor, with Riddler lying on the couch next to her. It seemed like forever when her mother emerged from the bedroom.
Liv had changed into comfortable clothes. Some grey sweatpants with a green oversize shirt. She took a seat on the armchair and rubbed her face, tiredly. She wanted to forget what happened tonight. The image of a bleeding Cassidy on the sidewalk was still on her mind. She was startled from her thoughts when she felt Riddler resting his head on her lap.
She smiled sadly at him before scratching the top of his head. Liv glanced towards her daughter. She could see the worry on her face as the teen stared back at her. "I'm sorry for entering like that. I didn't mean to scare you."
"What happened?" Kat lowly said. "Who got hurt?"
At that moment, someone started to knock on the door. Olivia quietly got up from the armchair and walked towards the door. Riddler followed the detective to the door. She looked through the peephole with caution. She sighed in relief when she saw who it was. The brunette hastily unlocked the door and opened it.
Riddler immediately started to growl, standing protectively next to the detective. His eyes never left the man. He only calmed down when he head Olivia's voice.
"It's okay," Liv looked down at the black German shepherd. "Go with Kat."
Riddler looked at the man one more time before going back to the teen.
Kat noticed the worn out look on Porter's face as he stepped in the apartment. She wondered if he was here to check up on her mom on whatever happened tonight. She couldn't help but feel grateful that he was in the apartment. Maybe he would tell her what happened.
"What's going on?" the teen asked.
Porter glanced at the seventeen year old again before turning his attention back to Olivia. "He made it through surgery. The doctor moved Cassidy to ICU for him to recover. He is going to be fine. All he needs to do is just recover."
"Oh thank god," Liv sighed in relief. She hugged Porter tightly, glad that Brian was going to be okay.
Kat frowned in concentration upon hearing the name. She remembered the blue eyed man from the precinct. She also remembered Nick mentioning that this Cassidy guy was working undercover. Kat figured that he was hurt during the job. And by the looks of it, her mother thought that the man wasn't going to make it.
"Fin is going to talk to the young boy tomorrow," Porter hugged Liv back, pulling her closer to him. "We will get to the bottom of this. I promise."
Kat observed the two adults. She wondered if there was something going on between them again. They were awfully hugging for a long time. Her mother was clinging at Porter. As if she was afraid that he will leave. Kat looked down at Riddler and saw him staring up at her. She shrugged at him and glanced back at the couple.
Porter's phone made a sound, making him break the hug first. He took out his phone and sighed heavily. "I have to go. My boss wants to talk to me," he smiled apologetically at Liv. "I will see you tomorrow so I can take you see Cassidy."
"Thank you," Liv smiled gratefully at him.
Porter turned to look at the teen and smiled politely at her. "Goodnight, Kathryn."
Kat just nodded at him, not trusting her voice. She felt that she would response sarcastically at him or made a comment. So she just decided to keep quiet for now. The teen watched as her mother closed the door behind the FBI agent.
Liv went towards her daughter and hugged her. Kat didn't say anything and just simply hugged her mother back.
Olivia sat silently on the couch, with Riddler resting his head on her lap. The picture of Brian bleeding on the street made it difficult for the detective to sleep. She turned on the TV, to see if it would help her fall asleep, but no avail. Riddler was keeping her company in the middle of the night as her daughter was asleep.
The detective was petting Riddler as she watched some crappy show on the TV. She hoped that Brian would be awake tomorrow. She was thankful that Porter would be accompanying her to see her old co-worker.
She was startled when Riddler suddenly perked up from her lap. He stared intently at the direction of Kat's bedroom, not moving a muscle.
"What is it?" Liv softly said.
He let out a bark before jumping out of the couch. He ran to the teen's close bedroom door and whined. He started to scratch on the door and barked again.
Olivia immediately jumped off the couch and ran to his side. She quickly opened the door and Riddler ran inside. Even without the lights on, the detective could see her daughter trashing around the bed, whimpering in her sleep. Liv rushed to her daughter's side and turned on the lamp on the nightstand.
"No, please no," Kat whimpered in her sleep. "Don't leave me, mom."
Before Liv could do anything, Riddler jumped on the bed. He started to lick Kat's face in order to wake her up.
"Sweetheart, wake up," Liv urgently said to her daughter. The teen was clearly having a nightmare about her. "Come on, I need you to listen to my voice and wake up."
Riddler whined and bumped his nose against Kat's cheek.
It took another minute before they both were able to wake the seventeen year old.
Kat jolted up in a sitting position, gasping for breath. She was slightly sweating because of the nightmare she just had. Her eyes landed on her mother, who was staring at her with concern. "You're okay!" Kat pushed off the bed cover and threw herself at the detective, almost knocking Liv down by the force of the jump. She wrapped her arms around her mother, trying to catch her breath.
"Breathe," Liv whispered to her daughter. She continued to hug the seventeen year old. She could still feel her daughter shaking from the nightmare. "It was just a dream. It's not real."
Kat held on to her mother as if her life depended on it. "It was just like last time. You got shot again in my dream."
Olivia suppressed the shiver that wanted to run down her spine. She remembered clearly when her daughter was yelling in the middle of the night, trashing around the bed years ago. The same thing happened tonight, minus the yells of terror. The detective ran her fingers through Kat's hair. She grimaced when she felt the sweat but didn't stop what she was doing.
"Everything is going to be alright," the detective said softly. "It's okay. I'm not hurt, I'm here with you."
Kat held on to her mother. She closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. She tried to push away the image of her mother lying on the sidewalk, under a pool of blood as she died. Kat's arm tightened around the detective. The teen breath in the coffee scent that was coming from her mother. It would always help her relax.
After some time, Liv could feel her daughter slowly losing her hold on her. Olivia heard Kat's breathing deepen, indicating that she fell asleep. Carefully, the detective detached her daughter's arm around her. Gently and quietly, Liv tucked in Kat like she used to do when her daughter was a small child.
Liv pressed a kiss on Kat's forehead before turning off the lamp. She saw Riddler lying next to her daughter. He rested his head close to Kat's as he stared at the sleeping teen. She would have slept next to her daughter, but Riddler was taking up most of the other side of the bed. Liv scratch the top of his head and he looked up at her.
"Keep an eye on her."
He just waggled his tail in response, understanding what the detective said.
Olivia walked to the door as her daughter slept. Before she walked out, Liv turned around. She smiled slightly when Kat turned around and threw her arm on top of Riddler. Olivia was thankful that she let her daughter keep Riddler. With one last glance at them, Liv walked out of her daughter's room and back to the living room.
Kat and Joe watched Mark and Ed, Joe's boyfriend, play air hockey. They had a long day of tests, since they will be going to summer really soon, and they wanted to relax after school. Ed had suggested the arcade that was not far from the school. Kat was actually grateful that he had mentioned the arcade. It has been two days since the nightmare.
She was calmer now but that didn't mean she still didn't worry of her mother getting hurt. She just hoped that nobody else got hurt and that Cragen will be out of jail soon. Thanks to Munch and Fin, the teen found out about Cragen's arrest. Just like her mother and the other detectives, she knew that he was been framed by someone. Only that the two detectives were quiet to mention any names.
The girls snickered at the intense look on the boys' faces. It was tied up and it was the last round. Joe and Kat were amused at how concentrated they were in the game. It would have been better if they brought popcorn and drinks.
"Yes!" Ed shouted when he made the last score.
"Good job babe!" Joe wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and gave him a long kiss.
Mark rolled his eyes, "Get a room."
Kat chuckled lowly. She gave him a comforting hug. "Maybe next time you will win."
"I suppose," Mark smiled at her and hugged her back.
Joe and Ed stopped kissing after a few more seconds. The blonde grinned at her friends. "I should better go. I want to spend a little alone time with my boyfriend before I have to go home."
"I'm sure you do," Kat chuckled at her best friend.
Joe winked at her. Her and Ed bid them goodbye before they left the arcade. Mark and Kat shook their head.
"Now what?" Mark turned to look at Kat.
"We should probably leave," Kat shrugged. "They are going to close soon anyways."
Mark groaned. "I have to study for that stupid math test tomorrow. Not looking forward for to that."
"Why don't we go study back at my place?" Kat suggested. "We can help each other out on the subject."
Marked smiled at her, "I would like that. Two brains are better than one."
"Damn right," Kat smiled back.
Both teens walked out of the arcade and headed towards the apartment. Mark would be lying if he wasn't happy that he would get a couple of hours alone with Kat. He had been thinking all weekend on how to ask Kat out, and he was thinking that he will do it after school ended. He wanted everything to be right.
Kat was oblivious of what was going through Mark's head. When they arrived at the apartment, they were greeted by an overeager German shepherd. Riddler not only licked Kat's face but also Mark's. Both teens moved the coffee table to the other side of the living and sat down on the floor.
While Kat and Mark lay on their stomachs going over their notes, Riddler took the couch. He was too entertained chewing on one of his toys to pay the seventeen year olds any mind. The teens study for two hours before they started to get tired.
"Why don't we take a break?" Mark bumped his shoulder with Kat's. "My eyes are starting to burn."
Kat pushed him slightly on the arm. "Same here."
Mark let out a chuckle and pushed her again playfully.
She narrowed her eyes at him before she smirked. She returned the gesture. Soon, they were both bumping their shoulders, to try to see who will get the upper hand. Mark was winning when Kat started to tickle Mark on the ribs.
"You are going to pay for that!" Mark laughed. He then started to tickle Kat's side.
She let out a small shriek and tried to push him away. Mark kept laughing and continued to tickle her sides. Kat was able to get a hold of Mark's sides and she started to tickle him again. He lost focus for a moment as he laughed, and Kat managed to roll him on the floor.
She straddled his stomach and continued to tickle his ribs. It was slightly hard to do since Mark was still tickling her. Their laughs bounced around the living room walls. The laughter hid the sound of the front door opening.
They only stopped laughing when they heard something hit the floor. They glanced towards the noise and their eyes widen when they saw two people there. Olivia was staring at the teenagers in shock while Porter quietly closed the door behind him.
Kat and Mark took their eyes away from them and stared at each other. They realized the position they were in. Kat quickly got off of him and pulled down her shirt a bit, as it had risen a bit during their tickle fight. Mark pushed himself off the floor and tried hard not to blush.
"Well, this is awkward," Porter said, trying to break the silence.
For the first time that she could ever remember, Kat had to agree with the FBI agent.
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