A/N: Part three is here... all the thanks in the world to my best friend who helped out with most of the kinks in this arc :) Love you Meowser! xx Mariah
After two weeks on the job with his new partner, Ned realized he brought out the sharp, quick pettiness in Becca and she was not proud of that. He could always tell she tried to close herself off toward him, in some way, but he couldn't figure out why yet.
"Come on," he whined. "Haven't I earned your trust? We are partners."
It's a standoff in the break room, and she might be petty, but he was just as pushy.
"What kind of dinner is this going to be and who's going to be there?" Becca asked, her tone flat. "You've earned my trust as a partner, but I still don't like the idea of dinner at your house with your wife. She doesn't exactly like me."
Becca was trying to interrogate him, he could tell by the way she leaned back against the counter, her body between him and his current heart's desire for another cup of coffee.
It was only seven and he wasn't supposed to even work today, but they had caught a break in their case and he'd come in to check out whatever Becca had worked on during the overnight shift she worked.
"Is this some sort of set up?" She asked.
"It's not a setup, Becca, and Katie likes you plenty. You've just barely met her and usually catch her when she's..."
"Pissed off?" She laughed at this point, shrugging. "I guess she's usually in a hurry and looking for you when I catch her so it's whatever."
He wanted to say with a lot on her mind or usually being pestered by a lingering spirit in the precinct. It depended on the time of year on who showed up, but Katie was familiar with trying to hide anything a mild irritation with him or someone in the crossfire.
It just usually ended up being Becca nowadays rather than anyone else. It didn't help that his new work partner enjoyed mildly flirting with him, especially when his wife was around.
"That's why I'm inviting you to dinner at my house." He explained, saying it the exact way that he had heard his wife explain to him this morning. "It will smooth things over and give you a chance to get to know her better."
It had been Katie's idea originally, but it had been pushed off when conferences came around and then when Asher had gotten a stomach bug, and again when she was dealing with a new spirit.
"Just you and your wife then?" She asked pointedly.
"Katie's parents are going to be there and my mom might end up stopping by too," he added lastly. "I thought it would be a nice way for you to get to know everyone. You are going to be sticking around, right?"
Becca nodded, sighing. "Yeah, if I don't end up getting asked to transfer again. I seem to cause trouble everywhere I go apparently," she said with a shrug and then moved out of his way so he could fill his cup again. "I guess I can agree to come. When is it?"
"Tonight. Seven o'clock," he said as he grabbed the pot and began to pour some of the hot brown liquid into his cup. "Don't be late."
The scalding coffee filled the cup and burned right through to the thin skin of his knuckle when he spilled some over the top when he wasn't paying attention.
He hissed between his teeth but tried to turn it into a smile as he tried to laugh at how tired he was. By the time he looked back up, Becca had begun walking back in the direction of her desk.
Good. This was good.
Katie would be happy that Becca agreed to dinner. That also meant he could text her about it all now, and hopefully, things would smooth over by tonight.
"Sure, that's one of our cars," an older man replied as he opened the door. "Gray Toyota, right?"
"Yeah. I just left my purse in it when I got picked up from the bar in an Uber," Becca replied, trying to keep a level head as she thought of the information she was trying to find. "When I called headquarters they gave me Kevin's address. I hope you don't mind me stopping by."
The IT department had been put on license plate searching until further notice by Captain LeTrai after Ned caught a break in one of their ongoing cases. A security camera outside one of the bars a victim reported being picked up in a Gray Toyota caught the plate number and it wasn't long after that when a few different leads came through.
But rather than trust some other officer to check it out, Ned had decided to personally want to go with her, but their Captain had decided it would be better for her to go and pretend to be someone who'd ridden in the car recently. The most recent victim had lost her purse and that was who she was pretending to be.
"Not at all," the older man widened the opening of the door and let her in. With a glance back at Ned, who she knew was in the unmarked squad car down the street with their Captain. "What kind of purse?"
"It was just a clutch. It was small and blue," she said, following him inside and making sure to speak loud enough for her wire to pick up. "My boyfriend is going to kill me if we have to cancel all my cards again. This is like the third time I've lost it. I just hope to get everything back in it this time."
"Of course. If my boy has it everything should still be in it," the man laughed and led her into a nice remodeled kitchen. "He's just doing this Uber thing while he goes to school at Rockland. That's why he still is living at home. Kevin is actually in class right now, but let me call him and see if he knows about the purse you're talking about."
She sat down at the island in front of her to make herself comfortable and smiled as she watched the older man type out his text to his son. "Well that would be wonderful," she replied. "I have no doubt if your son has it, everything will be inside."
Just then, the front door opened and closed. "Dad? I'm back from Rockland." A voice called out. "There was someone at the door. Should I let them in? Some guy."
"That's probably my boyfriend. He worries too much," she said, off the top of her head in case it was Ned.
If Becca couldn't actually have a chance at him, this would be it. She would take what she could get.
"Sonny boy, come in here, will you? And yeah, let him in." The man said and then she watched as Ned and almost a younger-looking version of him followed in behind. "Hey, did you happen to find a purse in your car by chance? A blue…"
"Clutch," she answered for him then smiling at Ned, but seeing that his face was flat and stern as he stood behind her. Was he upset she'd implied he was her boyfriend? Was that really it? "I would've left it in your car the other night at the bar. You picked me up outside fifth and Central, remember?"
"Uh, I don't think so. I don't recognize you," Kevin replied, crossing his arms. "Or your boyfriend."
"Well, Veronica does get pretty wild when she drinks heavily," Ned retorted, laughing easily as his hand squeezed her shoulder. "She likes to make impulsive decisions and forget about things, right, sweetheart?"
"Veronica… I remember the name," Kevin said, but then shook his head. "But I don't think I have your purse."
"Could you check?" Ned asked a bit eagerly, itching to find some real evidence so they could make an arrest and have a real suspect in his case. He wanted justice for the women that had been violated. "It would mean a lot."
Kevin paused and shrugged. "Sure. My car is out front." the boy waved for them to follow. "You can come to take a look for yourselves if you want."
"Yes, we would love to," she replied and stood up, grabbing Ned's hand to make it look more natural, but he pulled it away discreetly from under the kitchen island and moved it around her waist instead.
However, there was a distinct look on his face. The same one he'd had when he walked into the room. The same anger and resentment. God, he really was pissed at her.
When Kevin opened the door, the last thing he'd expected to be on the other side was there. Captain Josh LeTrai with a warrant in hand. "Kevin Sultz?"
"Yes, that's me," Kevin replied.
"We have a warrant to search your car and the house," the Captain said authoritatively and held out the piece of paper. "Move out of the way."
Could they have caught another break in the case now they could sweep through?
Back at the precinct, after sneaking through the backdoor to make sure their cover was compromised, Ned was beyond pissed. Not only had LeTrai put Becca in charge of the Sultz house operation, but she had looped him in as her side piece. Her fucking boyfriend.
Going undercover was always meant to be a different person, but this was never something he would have signed up for. He was a married man for God's sake and his partner knew that, yet here she was stirring the waters right before they would share dinner with Katie and family.
He walked ahead of his new partner, sighing as he sat in his chair. "What the hell was that?" He asked, groaning.
"It just came out of my mouth," Becca tried to explain, but he wasn't buying it. Not with the way she had smiled at him when he came into the damn kitchen. Not with the way she had tried to hold his hand. "I didn't know you were going to follow in to make sure I did my job right."
"That's not what that was," he muttered, shaking his head. "LeTrai sent me in. he didn't think you could handle it on your own once Kevin showed up. We just had to make sure he didn't flee or suspect you to be undercover."
"I had it under control," she tried to reason with him.
He rolled his eyes. "I never said you didn't. I only asked why me? Using a boyfriend cover is fine, but you knew if you needed backup I was coming in and that would mean it would be me." He was done talking about this for now and his mind went back to the case. "It was all for nothing anyway. I thought for sure we'd caught a break when Kevin showed up with the car in the footage, but CSU went over it for three hours. All the evidence we found matched Kevin and an unknown male. The only thing we know for sure is that this is the right car."
"So this guy's better than you thought," Becca commented. "Your notes said that in all the other connecting cases the car was never caught on tape. It might be more complicated than you think. Don't take it out on me."
"I am not taking anything out on you, Kane. I'm just upset that you didn't tell me this was your plan. I'm your partner," Ned said firmly, in the voice he always reserved for the cases that really got to him. "You need to trust me with information like this because if I go in blind then something bad could happen."
"Fine. I'm sorry." She muttered, sighing. "I didn't think it was a big deal."
He had heard and enough and grabbed his keys. It was nearly three and that meant Katie would be off soon, and she had wanted him to pick up the groceries for dinner tonight. "Whatever. Just be at my house for dinner, you know, with my family?" He said and stomped off toward the parking lot in the back where his truck was parked.
By the time Ned got home from the grocery store, it was well past four, and both Katie and Melinda's cars were in the front driveway. He parked on the street, not wanting to block anyone in and knowing he could just move once everyone left.
It didn't take him long to load all the groceries in and by the second trip with the last few bags, Melinda was in the kitchen beginning to put them away. He placed the bags down just as he heard the shower turn on and the sound of Jim and Asher's laughter from the living room.
He didn't need to ask, but he did anyway. "Where's Katie?" He began helping to put everything away too but left the steaks out on the counter for him to grill.
"She wanted to take a shower," Melinda told him, smiling in the same way his wife did as she glanced over at him. "What's with your face? You look… pissed off."
"What face?" He said, turning away and walking toward the pantry with a bag filled with things for in there. "I didn't make a face." He wasn't wanting to talk about work yet, especially not with Melinda before Katie.
The woman wasn't buying his excuse though. She never did and neither did Katie half of the time. Mother like daughter.
"I've known you since you were a kid, Ned. I know you pretty well by now," Melinda replied with a slight laugh at the end. "Did something happen at work? Or at the grocery store?"
"My case took a turn at work, and I'm not sure if it was good or bad yet," he answered, unloading the bag and then coming back out into the kitchen. "Plus the grocery store was packed and that didn't help. I just wanted to get home."
Melinda nodded, walking over to him. "Well, why don't you go upstairs and wind down. It's only four-thirty and Jim and I have everything covered down here for now." She told him. "Katie could probably talk to you better than I could anyway."
His mother-in-law had already started to guide him toward the hallway and he wasn't going to argue with her, but the notion made him chuckle.
"Are you really telling me to go shower with your daughter?" He joked, winging around the banister.
"Don't put a label on things. Just go before I punch you," Melinda laughed, walking away from him as he ran up the stairs.
By the time he got undressed and into the bathroom, it was fogged up from steam from the shower. Katie always liked her water to be a little too hot for his liking, but he was used to it by now.
He knew she had heard him come in but hadn't said anything and soon enough he was sliding the shower door open and under the spray in front of her. Neither of them spoke for a moment and he indulged in the warmth of the water as he sighed, almost wishing it could wash all of the day away from his memory because he knew he was not good company when he was like this.
But this was Katie. Katie, who was far too wise and knew him far too well to take anything personally. Who helped his feet connect with the ground again like no one else. He watched over his shoulder as she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"Hi", she hummed, pressing her lips between his shoulder blades. "How long have you been home?"
"Not long. I was unloading groceries, but your mom sent me up here," he muttered, leaning into her with his eyes closed. "Half an hour maybe."
"She did that to me too," she said, giggling and reaching for the bottle of shower gel. "How was work? You seem stressed."
Ned didn't answer at first and sighed when he felt her hands slip down his back. "You say that like you're surprised," he answered. "Work is always stressful."
"Yeah, well… I know my husband," she muttered and he could feel her grin against the back of his neck while her hands continued to rub soap on his body. "How's your leg feeling? I know you hurt it the other day."
"It's fine. I stretched better today and can hardly tell," he shrugged.
"Gonna walk like an old man now, yeah?" She teased.
"Just for a bit." He turned his head enough to look at her from the corner of his eyes. "I figured you need a laugh."
She chuckled behind him. "So thoughtful. You don't look happy, though. Did something happen?"
Ned huffed, not wanting to talk about it. If he told her what Becca did before dinner or it would all go south. He just wanted one normal night, was that too much to ask for?
Her hands wandered down his shoulder, small and firm. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes as her talented fingers found all the knots in his muscles.
"I went undercover today," he muttered. "I might have to go in again."
"Oh, how did that go?" She asked and let her closed fist roll down his spine, and he breathed out. "Who messed it up?"
"No one messed it up really but Becca is still a rookie. She's learning the ropes as quickly as she can." He said and heard her chuckle behind him, and sighed. "Yeah, I know. Jamison would've been harder on me."
"Of course he would have, but you're different." She told him as she wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into him. "It's one of the many reasons I love you as much as I do."
Ned reveled in the feeling of her naked body pressed against his, her soapy hands trailing along his stomach, her mouth on the nape of his neck. "God, today was so long," he mutters, and she chuckled. "I want to cancel this damn dinner."
"Well, it's too late and it's been far too long already. Just think about how good the steak will be," she said into his ear, her fingers drawing lazy circles on his chest.
He breathed out, willing her hand to move. "Mmm, what sides are you thinking about making?" He asked.
"Mmm baked potatoes and asparagus," she said as her hand slowly traveled down the line of hair under his navel. "My mom is making her ravioli."
He let his eyes fall shut. "The cheese kind?" He asked, but fell silent when her hand finally wrapped around him.
"What other kind is there?" she teased him as he thrust into her slow, teasing movements. "Patience."
"You're making it really hard to do that," he groaned.
"I think I'm making something else hard right now," she said, and he laughed.
She didn't tease him for very long, though. Soon, her hand fell into a pattern of slow, rhythmic movements, and he pressed a hand against the shower tiles to keep himself steady.
"Good?" She asked, feeling her grin against the back of his neck again.
"You know it is," he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. "God, Katie."
She didn't increase her pace and he didn't urge her on, letting her work him to the edge as slowly and deliberately as she pleased. For a few minutes there, he could allow everything but her to slip away as she took the lead, and that was easily his favorite coming home ritual at the end of the day.
His orgasm washed over him, one slow wave after another. Katie held her body tightly against his until his breathing returned to normal; letting her hands trail along his thighs and his hip and his stomach as a deep, heavy feeling swooped over him.
"Feel any better?" She hummed.
"Just a bit," he muttered. "I think I can sit through dinner now."
She slapped his ass and chuckled. "Turn around," she told him. "It's my turn."
When he did, he leaned into her almost on instinct: reveling in the feeling of her soft, warm mouth on his as his hands slid down her back. Now, this was a job he would always take very seriously.
When Becca's GPS told her that she'd arrived at her destination, she took a moment to process before getting out of her car. Tonight was going to either go badly or well and there was nothing more she could do about it but show up and go through with it all at this point.
It was a nice enough ranch-style house, she thought as she walked up the driveway and then crossed over on the little sidewalk to the front door, but it was too picture-perfect for her taste down to the blue siding, planted flowers in the yard, and the chalk on the sidewalk with scribbles from someone too little to be drawing anything worthy.
When she checked her phone and saw it was a few minutes past seven, she knocked on the door and the last person she'd expected to open the door was someone she didn't recognize. However, he looked kind of familiar in that he sort-of looked like Ned's wife and is probably related to her, but he was too good-looking for her to care.
"You must be Ned's partner… I don't think I caught what your name was though," he said and his lips spread to show a smile that made her have to remind herself how to breathe and that she was probably at least five years older than him. "I'm Aaron, Katie's brother."
She composed herself as she stepped inside. "Yes, it's nice to meet you. I'm Becca," she said, glancing around the immediate space and how the living room was sort of crowded, but it felt comfortable. "Hope I'm not too late to the party."
"Not at all. I think Ned just stepped outside to get started on the steaks," Aaron explained, running a hand through his tousled dark hair. "How about you let me take that off your hands? I am sure this will be a hit. My sister loves her white wine."
Becca could tell that he was trying to make a joke, but all she could think about was if this could be the flaw in the seemingly perfect picture of Katie Banks.
Then she heard her voice, an appealing soft-spoken one as usual that stole away her brother's attention. "What are you saying about me now?" Katie asked as her arm swung around his shoulder.
"Just telling Becca about how you love white wine," Aaron teased, shrugging and handing her the wine bottle. "Which is the truth. No offense."
"No offense taken, little brother. I do like tequila more though," Katie laughed and then waved for her to follow. "Everyone is out in the backyard, Becca. Come on."
That was when she noticed their similarities in their features. The same smile, and eyes, and shared height. Katie was thicker than Becca, but it just enhanced her curves and made her waist appear slimmer as she turned away and her hips swayed as she walked. At least for having had a baby. Didn't Ned say they had a kid?
Becca then noted almost resentfully how tan her skin was in the light, and just how long her legs were too. Was it too much to ask that Katie be less attractive than she herself was?
She had tried to dress casually being that it was summer and not thinking this would be that formal of a dinner despite what Ned had told her, but Katie was wearing a dress. Nothing elaborate, but it was strapless and hugged her figure, and it made Becca smooth her hands over her denim shorts and rethink her blouse choice.
She knew she looked hot, the look on Aaron's face when he answered the door had proven that and how he'd checked her ass out when she walked past him. He glanced again on his way out onto the patio, leaving her alone with his sister.
To move the conversation along and hopefully ease over anything, Becca spoke, "You look really nice. I feel a little underdressed." She tried to compliment her when they stopped in the kitchen and watched as Katie grabbed the bottle opener and popped open the wine, but could tell she fell short by the uneasy laughter that came next.
"Oh, this old thing? I borrowed it from my mom, I think, who knows," Katie said, sipping from her glass once she poured some wine for herself. "Don't worry about it. You look great. This wine is great too by the way."
"Thanks," she muttered and grabbed her own glass as they walked out onto the patio.
Becca didn't need Katie's compliment to reassure her, but she had wished she did look good enough to drag Ned's gaze away from his wife when they walked out onto the patio together. That annoyed her. She'd have to try harder to make a statement next time.
There was music playing and string lights lit beside the still brightish sky for the time of night. There was a large glass table set up with nice serving plates and everything. She looked around further and noticed a slightly older couple sitting together on what looked to be a comfy couch, probably Katie's parents from how similar Aaron resembled the man and even further how Katie mirrored the woman. It was intimidating.
The little boy came out of nowhere and was scooped up by Ned once he stepped away from the grill for a moment. That was when he finally noticed her.
"You made it," Ned said, smiling at her, but not before he kissed his wife did he walk over to Becca. "I hope you found the place easily enough."
"Yeah. It was no hassle," she said, feeling uneasy about how they'd left things at work. But did he want to talk about that here? Or would Katie be mad at her too? Would everyone hate her then? Becca decided it was better to drink the wine in her glass then bring anything up yet. She still had to meet a few more folks. "Is this—"
"This is Asher," Ned spoke softly for his son, who smiled and waved, but squirmed around until he was put down. "Can't you say hi?"
The little boy took another glance at her. "Hi," Asher practically whispered before running off the best he could to where Katie was standing by her brother and peeked out from behind his mother's legs.
Ned chuckled and shook his head. He was just so dreamy that she had to drink her sorrows away. He was a married man. Happily married, as he liked to tell her, a bit too much if she had to say anything about it.
"He's still a bit shy around strangers," he told her. "Don't take it personally."
"Not at all. He's cute as a button," she said, remembering her own grandma saying that once. "He takes after his father."
He had taken the compliment with a nod but didn't respond otherwise. "You met Aaron, right?" He asked. "Katie's brother?"
"Yes. Very good looking. He nearly took my breath away answering the door, you know," she teased, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. "Is your entire family that good looking?"
Ned had laughed at that time and Aaron had too. "It would be Katie's family per se, but yes, I would say they are." He said, leading her across the yard. "This is Jim and Melinda, the parents. And this is my new partner, Becca."
Katie was now standing and talking to her mother, but they slowly stopped when they walked up. Becca knew that meant they were talking about her but she wasn't surprised.
"Nice to meet you. Welcome to Grandview," Jim said and he was so handsome even for his age she knew where Aaron got it from. His handshake was firm and even extended to a short-lived hug. "Ned's said nothing but good things about you."
"How sweet of him to say," Melinda said as she turned toward her, she didn't even look like most mothers or act like one. She was acting too nice, like Katie did, was it to overcompensate for something? Or were they really that nice? "I hope you've settled in nicely. I know when Jim and I first moved here it took a bit to get settled."
She had shrugged it off. "It's been fine. Definitely not the Southside of Chicago though." She replied. "It's still hard for me to fall asleep at night because it's so quiet."
"I remember those days," Jim commented, slinging a broad arm around his wife. "But I was usually so exhausted from home repairs that I still dropped off pretty quick."
Melinda laughed lightly. "We bought a fixer-upper," she admitted to Becca. "And it remained one for quite a while."
"It's great now," Ned interjected.
"Still a little cold though, right dad?" Katie added, laughing. "He never did truly fix the furnace."
Jim shrugged. "Your mother keeps me plenty warm." He chuckled, pressing a kiss to Melinda's flushed cheek as she whispered in his head for him to knock it off.
"Ew," both Aaron and Katie muttered and walked away, even though it was in a loving way.
"Oh, Jim, stop embarrassing the kids," Melinda teased.
But just then Ned had told everyone that the steaks were ready and they all filtered towards the patio table.