2014

"My marriage is over," Kate said to Emma. Her sister inhaled sharply through the phone.

"What?"

"Yea."

"You know I was kidding, right? About him leaving you?"

"I know. I'm the one who told him to leave."

"What happened?"

"We just drifted apart. We've separated and will be starting the divorce proceedings soon."

"I'm so sorry, Kate."

"It's okay."

Kate let the smoke from her cigarette trail away into the distance. She was on the balcony of her new apartment, and it was small and empty. She didn't really miss Evan, though. He had become mean and rather abusive towards her. She had also caught him cheating, which apparently hadn't been his first time, just like she had suspected.

"You still there?" Emma asked.

"Yea."

"Do Mum and Dad know?"

"I just told them. I could tell they were disappointed."

"Have you told Lee?"

"Why are you bringing him up right now?"

"Because. He lost his fiance. He will probably know how to make you feel better."

"I don't need to bother him with this information."

"Kate..."

"I'm getting another call," Kate lied. "It's work."

"Okay. Well, I'm here for you, all right?"

"Thanks, Em."

Kate hung up and sighed. She looked at the phone in her hand and debated on what to do. Emma was right in that Lee would understand and know how to make her feel better.

Hey, she typed. Sooo the hubby took off.

Within seconds, she had a reply.

Took off where?!

To another woman's arms.

Shit, really?

Yea. So I dumped his sorry ass.

I'm so sorry.

It's okay. I'm okay. It's been coming for a while.

He's an idiot for losing you.

I appreciate that.

Kate smiled at this. She wished she lived closer to Lee. She wasn't even really sure where he was anyway. She was just glad he answered her.

I'm here for you.

Thank you.

Kate leaned back in her chair and looked up at the stars. Somewhere Liam was watching. She had a feeling he wouldn't have liked Evan. She wished he could have given her feedback somehow.

I'm in Siberia. I have to go to work otherwise I'd keep you company all night.

I understand. Go save the world.

Ha, sure. Thanks.

Kate laughed. She didn't know exactly what he did, but she didn't care. She closed her eyes and drifted into a mind space of nothingness.

...

"She's single?!" Barney exclaimed as they fought side by side. Lee's knives sliced through the air while Barney's bullets hit their marks.

"This is not the time or place to discuss this," Lee retorted, not missing a beat.

"You gotta go to her, man, before she moves on again," Barney insisted.

"It just happened. She won't be meeting someone tomorrow."

"She might the day after."

"Can we focus, please?" Lee asked, yanking the knives from the corpses as they carried on through the building.

"Fine. I'm just saying, you should go sooner than later."

"I'm barely over my own break up," Lee argued.

"What? Wasn't that a year ago?"

"It still hurts."

"Then move on."

"Like it's that easy," Lee snorted.

"Guys!" Toll shouted as they came into view. He spread his arms out and made the "come on" face when they approached. "We gotta roll."

"Yea, yea," Lee muttered. Barney clapped his back before reloading his gun. Caesar and Gunner nodded at them, ready. They were about to face half an army.

"Go for it," Barney said. "If we make it out of this alive, you go for it."

"I'm not making any promises."

"Fine. At least think about it."

"Fine."

Barney gave the signal, and they burst through the doors, guns blazing and knives flying.

...

As the days went by, Kate caught herself hoping that Lee would come. Each one that passed where he didn't, she felt disappointed. This surprised her in a way because she had thought she was over those feelings for him. The days turned into months, and Kate began to realize that maybe she was kidding herself that there had been any feelings on his end. Maybe it was all her. Maybe she was hoping for something that didn't even exist. Maybe he thought they were legit just friends. In the end, she did her best to bury it all because it was easier than driving herself crazy with wondering.

2015

Lee was watching his friends and fellow brothers in arms teasing each other and laughing about something. Over the last two years, he had slowly gotten better at not thinking about Lacy. He had heard she was engaged to someone else already. He had found that out today in fact. He wasn't in the talking mood, but he was also worried about Kate. He hadn't heard from her lately, and they usually spoke every day. Despite Barney telling him to go see her almost every day in the last year, Lee couldn't bring himself to. He wasn't ready to get hurt again, he didn't think Kate was over her marriage falling apart yet since the divorce had been made final only a couple months ago, and he didn't want to lose Kate as a friend if he pushed and she wasn't ready. He didn't even really know if she liked him more than just a friend. It was better this way.

"No Kate today?" Barney asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"No," Lee shook his head.

"That's unusual."

"I know."

"She on a big case?"

"I don't know. She didn't say."

She did tell him actually. He just didn't want to break her confidence with Barney. She had told him about finding bodies in the walls of a house and how she was going to get the people responsible for doing it. Lee hadn't heard from her since. He was trying not to worry.

"I still say you should just show up there. See how she's doing."

Lee didn't respond. The more Barney suggested it lately, the more it started to seem like a good idea. He pulled out his phone.

"Don't tell her you're coming," Barney said, stopping him. "Women like surprise visits sometimes. It's romantic."

"I'm going as a friend," Lee corrected.

"Sure you are," Barney snorted. Lee made a face at him, but he put the phone away. Maybe he would surprise her. Tool and Doc were egging each other on, holding knives in their hands. Toll was whooping and encouraging them while Caesar and Gunner sat back with their beer and watched, grinning. Caesar was still recovering from his near death experience. He didn't go out on many missions anymore. The younger team members were helping to make up for his absence. Lee glanced over to where they were all sitting and talking.

"We're not getting any younger," Barney said, noticing. "Go see Kate. See where things go. You deserve that."

"All right," Lee caved. "You've finally convinced me."

"It only took seven years, but I knew I'd break you down eventually," Barney grinned. They fist bumped before Lee got up.

"Hey, where you going man?" Caesar asked, noticing. Lee couldn't help but break out into a grin.

"I'm going to go see Kate."

A Day Later

Lee made his way towards the apartment building, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. It hadn't been hard finding where Kate lived. He just hoped she would be happy to see him. He felt nervous suddenly as though he was doing something wrong, but what was wrong with going to visit a friend? It was overcast and gloomy outside as he walked towards the building. He passed a man who was walking away with a determined gait. He made eye contact with Lee, and something about his gaze unnerved Lee, which was surprising to him. Lee shook it off and didn't think anything of it as he reached the building. When he got inside and made his way upstairs to her apartment, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. Feeling tense, he stood and listened for a moment. The sound of crying hit his ears, and it made him feel upset. He'd never heard her cry before, and he didn't like to hear such anguish coming from her. Who had hurt her? He moved forward and knocked urgently on the door. After a moment and a contemplation of kicking down the door, Kate opened it about two inches, looking at him.

"Lee?" she said, her voice cracked and in a whisper. Barney had been right, she was surprised. This was not the way he wanted it to go down, though.

"Hi," Lee said. He could tell she was distraught. "Are you okay?"

"No, actually. I'm not," Kate shook her head.

"Can I come in?"

Kate moved to let him in, and Lee immediately noticed the black eye. He dropped his bag, making her jump.

"What happened?" he asked, feeling dread.

"Just another day at the office," Kate answered, trying to joke. A sob caught in her throat instead. Lee didn't even hesitate. He pulled her into an embrace, and she broke down into his shoulder.

"It's all right," he soothed. "It's all right."

...

A little while later, once Kate had stopped crying, Lee heard the story of Alejandro and what had happened with the whole cartel mess after finding the bodies in the wall of the house. When she got to the part of him forcing her to sign the paper with a gun under her chin and being unable to shoot him after while he was leaving, Lee clenched his fists. He had almost walked in on that. He wasn't sure what he would have done if he had. Well, that's not exactly true. Lee knew damn well what he would have done if he had seen Alejandro sticking his gun in Kate's face. Then he realized that the man he had passed walking here was probably Alejandro, and he felt even madder that he hadn't known to stop him and beat him to a pulp.

"Maybe he's right," Kate said after. She was fingering her coffee mug. "Maybe I need to find a smaller town."

"Is that what you want?" Lee asked. She looked at him, pressing her lips together.

"I can't stay here and keep signing papers saying things were done properly when they weren't," she replied. "I also can't stay here because someone else might try to kill me for being involved in this, but I don't know where to go."

Lee pondered this for a moment. Barney sometimes would say things happened for a reason. Perhaps there was a reason he was here right now just after this happened to Kate.

"You can stay with me for a bit until you figure something out," Lee offered. "I mean, I have an extra room at my place. Or you can get your own place. It doesn't matter." He winced at himself. He was rambling. Kate smiled, noticing his face go a little bit red.

"You'd really do that for me?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied. "Wouldn't you do it for me?"

"Ha, you got me," she laughed. Lee felt a bit better seeing her laugh. She looked less scared and tense when she laughed.

"So is that a yes?" he prompted.

"All right," she agreed, becoming serious again. "As long as you don't mind."

"I don't."

"I'll be packed up in twenty minutes."

"That long?" he teased. "I can pack up in five."

"You're going to make me regret this, aren't you?" Kate asked, giving him a bit of a smile.

"Nah. You'll learn to love me," he grinned back. Her heart jumped a little at this, but she just shook her head and went to pack. Lee hoped he had made the right decision by inviting her to come stay with him. He was a friend helping a friend. He wasn't looking for that to change unless the opportunity presented itself. That's what he was convincing himself to think anyway.

...

"You're going to live with him?" Emma asked, surprised. Kate was in her room packing while Lee was waiting. She figured she should let her sister know what was going on since she was the only one to know what had happened.

"I'm crashing there until I find a place," Kate corrected. She had been very surprised to see Lee, but she was grateful he had come just when she needed him.

"Is that creep going to find you there?" Emma's tone was worried. Kate regretted telling her what had happened with Alejandro.

"No," Kate replied. "He won't."

"I hope not."

"How's Mum and Dad?" Kate asked, changing the subject.

"They're okay. Still harassing me about when I'm going to have a baby," Emma sighed. "I've only been married a year for crying out loud. I mean, geez."

"Better you than me," Kate laughed.

"Ugh, you're so mean," Emma complained.

"At least they care enough to hassle you," Kate told her.

"I guess."

There was a silence between them now. They both knew that their parents cared more and were more involved since Liam died. They feared losing another child.

"You hear from Grace?" Emma asked.

"I got a postcard."

"Me too."

"I worry about her."

"She says she's fine. I believe her," Emma said.

"I don't think any of us have been fine since before..." Kate trailed off.

"I know," Emma finished for her.

"I should keep packing."

"I suppose I should get back to work," Emma agreed.

"Okay."

"Be safe."

"Always."

"I mean it."

"I know. I mean it too," Kate responded. They hung up, and she stood by her bed for a moment looking at her phone. She hesitated over the keys, contemplating calling her parents, but then she changed her mind. She just wasn't in the mood. She put her phone in her pocket and kept packing.

...

At the airport, Kate felt nervous. She had this feeling she was being watched, so she casually kept scanning the room.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked, noticing.

"Nothing," Kate answered.

"You think you're being watched," Lee noted.

"How can you tell?"

"By the way you're looking around so much. I'm clever, you know," he teased, nudging her. She gave a halfhearted smile in return. Then she tensed because her eyes landed on someone she never wanted to see again. She jumped to her feet.

"Kate?" Lee asked. She charged forward, heading towards him. How dare he spy on her! She stopped a few feet away, and Alejandro looked back at her, his face giving away nothing.

"You're taking my advice," he noted.

"Why are you here?" Kate demanded. Lee was beside her at this point. He recognized Alejandro as the man he passed earlier that day.

"Is this him?" Lee asked, gesturing and looking at Kate. She nodded. Without even thinking, Lee burst forward.

"Lee, no!" Kate shouted. She had seen what Alejandro could do. Lee had him against the wall in seconds, his hand around Alejandro's throat, and Kate was frozen and unsure of what to do.

"You think it's fun to intimidate women and threaten to kill them?" Lee asked Alejandro. "Huh?"

Alejandro gave a rather lazy smile in return. He was not at all concerned by this man or the position he was in. He took in the anger coming off of Lee, and he felt a small bit of comfort knowing that Kate would be safe with him. That was all he wanted, for her to be safe.

"I think you might want to reconsider where you are," Alejandro said. Lee felt the butt of the gun in his chest then. He squeezed harder on the man's throat. He wished he had his knives, but he didn't carry them on commercial flights for obvious reasons.

"You might be able to intimidate her, but you won't intimidate me," he warned.

"Stop it," Kate ordered, moving in then. She was finally unfrozen. "Stop it, both of you, before security comes."

Lee held on for a moment longer, never breaking eye contact with Alejandro before finally releasing him. Alejandro tucked his gun away.

"I'm just making sure you get out of here safely," he told Kate. "That's all."

"Like you really care," Kate snapped.

"I do, actually," Alejandro said, nodding his head. "Contrary to what you may believe."

"Get out of here," Lee commanded. "Now."

Alejandro leveled his stare at Kate, who said nothing. He gave a final nod and turned to go. He would no longer have to worry about her. She would be safe and far away from all of this, and that was enough for him.

"Come on," Kate urged, tugging on Lee's arm. Their flight was being called. Lee watched Alejandro's receding back disappear slowly in the crowd, and he hoped he never had to see that man again because he didn't know what he'd do to him with no one around watching. He followed Kate once Alejandro was gone, and they boarded the plane to go home.


I do hope that someone out there is enjoying this story.