Alternate

Chapter 11: Together

A/N: Heads up, the end of this chapter crosses into am territory. Consider yourselves warned.

Dedication: Wolfhound159, ChristyLoisGilmore17, megspazzy and DaisyDay this story would be an abandoned prologue without you.

"Five women in the DC area had been stalked and murdered," Kate explained "We had several suspects that looked good for the killings. The mail man who delivered to three of the victims' residences and was the neighbor of another; a plumber who had been in at least two of the victims' homes within a month before they were killed; the son of the landlord who owned four of the buildings where the victims lived and a violent ex boyfriend of the second victim."

"How did the ex boyfriend connect to the other four victims?" Daniel asked, his interest in the mystery getting the better of him.

"He didn't," Kate replied "Believe me we tried to connect him to the other four."

"We...?"

"Me and my partner in DC Felix Declan," she clarified.

"Just to be clear, Felix is-"

"Yes Daniel, he was a man," Kate almost giggled at the look on Daniel's face.

"Just checking..." Daniel finally took a sip of his lukewarm tea.

"And no I wasn't attracted to him," Kate stated, anticipating Daniel's next question.

"I wasn't wondering-"

"Yes you were," Kate and younger Daniel said almost in unison. Daniel's hallucination had appeared in the seat Max had been occupying earlier.

Daniel cleared his throat "So you were investigating this series of murders?"

"Right," Kate quickly got back on track "We knew that the killer had used specialized photography equipment to take photos of his victims from great distances so we also tried to narrow our search that way."

"And...?" Daniel prompted when Kate fell silent.

"We kept coming up empty," Kate sighed. She inhaled deeply once more as she prepared to tell the next part of her story "Then one morning I opened my door and found a manila envelope full of pictures... Of me... That was the killers MO, he'd share the pictures he took of his intended victims with them so they knew..."

Daniel reached for her in an effort to offer her comfort and support. She shrugged off his touch and plowed ahead with her tale. Daniel retreated and took a huge gulp of his quickly cooling tea in an effort to hide the hurt on his face.

For a fraction of a second Kate considered ending her story there. Just thinking about the intimate nature of some of those photos made her feel violated all over again. But she had started and she might as well finish "Naturally my boss pulled me off the case and assigned an agent to watch me. And of course I wasn't happy about that. So I kept investigating on the side..."

Daniel finished his tea and placed his and Kate's mugs in the sink "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with how you ended up back in Chicago?" he asked as he sat back down.

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a contributing factor," she answered evasively. She didn't really feel like explaining how she'd slipped her protective detail and gone snooping at the landlord's place without a warrant or how after her snooping but before she and her detail had found each other again, someone had come up behind her on a secluded side street and attempted to accost her. And how that close call had led her to later chase down the landlord's son at a bar and punch him in the face.

In the end being sent back to Chicago had been the best option she'd faced. And, she realized as she looked over at Daniel, it had ended up being the best thing that could have ever happened to her. She stood up and reached for one of Daniel's hands, drawing him to his feet beside her.

"So yeah, I've been through this kind of thing before. It isn't easy but it helps to not be alone."

Daniel wrapped an arm around her as they made there way to the living room "Who was there for you in DC?" he wanted to know.

She shook her head as she tucked herself against his side on the couch "No one actually. Like I said Donnie and I were separated and I had started divorce proceedings. The only other person I had been close to in DC was the woman Donnie had cheated on me with..." she trailed off and nuzzled against Daniel's neck.

Daniel picked up on her not-so-subtle cues that she wanted to change the topic of conversation and though he still had several questions he was itching to ask her, he obliged "So it was quite the interesting coincidence that Father Pat's sermon was about fidelity," he remarked.

"Don't get me started," Kate grumbled "I feel like I'm gonna have to deal out some school yard justice the next time I see him."

Daniel chuckled "I get the feeling a lot of people at your church don't like me."

"Do you think I give a flying fuck what any of them think?" Kate asked, pulling away so she could look at Daniel.

Daniel grinned at her. He had hoped she didn't care about the overwhelming disapproving vibe they'd received upon the conclusion of their run in with Donnie in the parking lot. Though throughout the sermon Donnie's attention had been mostly on the video of himself that had become so popular online, most everyone else had been watching and gossiping about Kate and Daniel.

"Maybe I won't make a habit of coming to church with you," he decided.

"Maybe I need to make a habit of skipping church every once in a while," Kate noted "Father Pat can be a bit of a judgmental prick. And the rest of them... At least my family likes you," she caressed his cheek "But even if they didn't, the only thing that matters is that I love you," she assured.

"I love you," he kissed her tenderly.

Donnie was moping. He had heard from his boss: there would be an investigation but for the time being he would not be suspended. He had heard from Parsons as well. Some sort of threat against Kate had come to light that appeared to be connected to the video. An agent would soon be arriving to shadow Donnie.

Aside from these new developments Donnie was still devastated by his breakup with Kate and even more devastated by the fight that had ended in her being hurt. It was painfully obvious that he was no good for her. While he had just been staring in disbelief, Daniel had been by her side, making sure she was okay.

He truly had been unfair to Daniel in the weeks and months following his return to Chicago. He had once upon a time been quite ignorant about schizophrenia, believing those with the diagnosis were all dangerous individuals. Through knowing Daniel and through a great deal of research he had undertaken when it became clear he would have no success talking Kate out of her association with Daniel, he had learned better.

It stung that it was over between him and Kate but he was glad she was happy. He had tried so hard to put himself between the two, in hindsight his behavior was borderline nauseating. And proposing to her in Paris was just cruel. To have said no to him there Kate Moretti would have to be a stone hearted bitch.

There was a knock at the door. Donnie got up to answer it and found a woman with curly auburn hair and a no nonsense expression on her face "You AUSA Ryan?" she asked.

Donnie nodded "Until further notice anyway," he quipped.

The woman showed him her badge "Agent Samantha Ulrich," she introduced "Director Parsons assigned me to shadow you."

Donnie stepped aside to let her enter "Nice to meet you," he said politely. Then as Agent Ulrich took a seat on the couch he added "When Parsons said he was going to assign an agent to watch me I assumed that they'd be watching me from a car out front."

"In case you haven't notice Mr. Ryan, people come and go from your apartment complex at all hours. I can do my job much better if I keep an eye on you from inside the apartment."

"If you say so," Donnie muttered, taking a seat on the other end of the couch.

A few minutes of silence passed. Finally Donnie cleared his throat awkwardly "I was going to order Chinese food for dinner..."

"I'm not stopping you," Ulrich responded curtly.

"What I meant was... Do you want anything?" Donnie felt hopelessly uncomfortable.

"Hot and sour soup thanks," the agent replied.

Donnie pulled out his phone and dialed the Chinese takeout place. He hoped that he wouldn't be stuck with Agent Ulrich for very long. He wondered if he could talk to Parsons about getting a different agent assigned to him.

When the food showed up Agent Ulrich insisted on answering the door. This baffled the delivery guy "Are you a friend of Kate's?" Ricky O'Reilly inquired.

Donnie appeared in the door beside his FBI shadow "Hey Ricky," he greeted with a congenial smile.

Ricky returned Donnie's smile "I heard about the kidnapping on the news. How's Kate doing? I know it's not much but I snuck in an extra egg roll for her."

Donnie's smile morphed from congenial to wan in an instant "She's fine Ricky but she's not here... we're not together anymore..."

"Jeez, I'm sorry man," Ricky shrugged. He turned and regarded Agent Ulrich again.

"I'm not with him," the agent felt it necessary to say under Ricky's scrutiny.

Ricky grinned "In that case," he withdrew a pen from his pocket and scrawled his number on the takeout menu that was stapled to the bag of food "Call me sometime."

Agent Ulrich surprised Donnie by actually cracking a smile. She withdrew her wallet to pay for the food but Donnie had beaten her to the punch.

"I got this," he said as he handed Ricky the money.

"No I insist-" in her effort to pay her own way she somehow ended up dropping her wallet.

Donnie bent to retrieve it. The billfold had fallen open, revealing a picture of the same little girl Donnie had seen in the park that morning. Donnie handed the wallet back to its owner as questions about his protective detail began to race around his mind.

"So," Donnie began as the two of them sat down to eat "Is Parsons just a total prick making you babysit some scummy federal prosecutor?"

Ulrich actually laughed "I don't know if I'd say 'scuumy', self-important maybe."

"Jeez..." Donnie shot her a wounded look "We've known each other all of forty five minutes and you've already made up your mind about me?"

"I've been working at the Chicago office for over four months," she explained "And while I've never been formally introduced to your ex-wife/fiancé-"

"Ex-fiancé," Donnie corrected.

"Word gets around," Ulrich continued "I've heard enough about you to know that this assignment was going to be taxing at best."

"I'll talk to Parsons tomorrow and see if I can get him to assign me someone else," Donnie shrugged "You're probably resentful that this assignment keeps you away from your kid anyway."

A flicker of sadness passed across Ulrich's face "My kids don't live with me," she explained before falling silent and seeming to focus intently on her food.

Donnie was left with the profound sense that he'd struck a nerve.

"I never knew vegetarian chile could taste so good," Kate remarked as she dug into her second helping.

"I could tell you my secret but then I'd have to kill you," Max teased.

Kate laughed as she reached for her water glass "What if I guess it?" she inquired.

"You can try," Max grinned.

"You'll never guess it," Daniel remarked knowingly.

"Is it bacon grease?" Kate supposed. This guess caused both Max and Daniel to burst into laughter.

"If I did that Doc would kill me," Max hid his face in his hands as he continued to laugh.

"Beans...?" Kate guessed again.

"You can see the beans," Daniel pointed out "It's not much of a secret ingredient if it's staring you right in the face."

Kate laughed "I guess not," she conceded.

Kate kept guessing throughout the rest of the meal. Some guesses were serious but most were ridiculous and caused the three of them to erupt into laughter. In spite of the day's events the atmosphere was easy and relaxed. Though Daniel was still deeply concerned following the doll incident he found Kate's laughter contagious. And some of her more outlandish guesses left him incapable of keeping a straight face.

"Stop squirming," Kate reprimanded as she tried to apply ointment to Daniel's wounds.

"But it's cold," he complained.

"You are a giant baby," Kate bemoaned as with slow gentle fingers she rubbed the ointment onto the dark welts on Daniel's shoulders, back and rear.

Daniel turned his head to watch her. Her eyes were downcast as she worked. She said nothing else as she finished. Daniel pulled up his boxers and pulled a t-shirt over his head before he undertook the task of changing Kate's dressing for her.

To allow him to access the area Kate had removed her shirt. Daniel was left momentarily breathless at the sight of her beautiful bare breast in the soft light cast by his bedside lamp. A handful of times he had allowed himself to fantasize about what she looked like naked. His fantasies had fallen woefully short.

He forced himself to focus on the task at hand by staring down at the assemblage of supplies on the bed. He looked back up and began to peel away the old dressing, revealing where the bullet had grazed her. Gently he cleaned the area around the stitches with rubbing alcohol before affixing a new pad of gauze over the sight with paper tape.

"All set," he assured her in a low whisper which conveyed the desire that the sight of her topless had inspired in him.

She leaned in and kissed him "Thanks," she said as she pulled away.

Daniel gathered her into his arms and together they tumbled to the mattress. He delighted in having her in his arms, at how perfect their bodies fit against one another. He found himself unsure how to proceed or even if he should. Those thoughts completely evaporated when he felt Kate tugging at his boxers.

The last few items of clothing that had restrained them quickly fell away. The two gazed lovingly at each other. Daniel's fingers began to trail up the curves of Kate's inner thighs. He started by inserting one finger inside her, stroking gently, almost reverently. Kate moaned in delight as he added a second finger.

"God you're good with those hands," she sighed happily. In the back of her mind an immature joke about a pianist half formed and made her smile. She rose up off the mattress and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him then took hold of his wrist and withdrew his fingers from inside her "That's enough teasing," she told him as she released his wrist and took hold of his erection, guiding him inside her.

Daniel moved gently inside her at first but his thrusts became more confident and powerful as she began to move with him. He could feel himself drawing close to the edge and from the look on her face he could tell Kate was too. Kate brought her lips crashing against his and screamed into his mouth as she climaxed. Daniel came almost in the same instant. They both collapsed in ecstasy.

Daniel found himself smiling as Kate curled up against him "That was..." He breathed.

"Amazing? Incredible? Mind blowing?" Kate questioned, still riding the high of her orgasm.

"Try all of the above and then some," Daniel chuckled, cupping her cheek with one hand as he leaned in to kiss her.

She returned the kiss and smiled "A million times better than I ever imagined."

"You've given some thought to this," Daniel raised an eyebrow teasingly.

"So what if I have?" she countered, nuzzling against his neck.

Daniel lovingly kissed the crown of her head "Just curious," he murmured.

The pair drifted off in each other's arms. Just before he fell asleep Daniel caught sight of his younger self in the corner of the room flashing him two thumbs up.