"Why is your car so fucking cold Kevin!?"
Kate pulled her grey beanie as far down over her ears as she could, sending a glare across the console to her partner who merely raised an eyebrow at her hissed complaint, cracking the window a little further in defiance.
"Gotta stay alert. Can't be sleepin' on the job."
"You're an asshole."
Kate rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she tried to control the involuntary shivers that wracked her body, knees bouncing in an effort to warm up. It was early February and Chicago was still blanketed in snow, the temperature sitting well below freezing.
The two of them had dropped an anchor outside of a known stash house in Englewood, eyes trained on the front door that had closed behind Kevin's CI about thirty minutes prior.
After a few more minutes of nothing, Kevin let out a huff and swung the car door open.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm goin' to check on his ass." Once he was out of the car, he unhooked his badge and holster, throwing them both onto the driver's seat before securing his weapon in the waistband of his jeans.
"Kev, we aren't even supposed to be here! Fischer shut us down…"
"I know Fischer shut us down but I got way too much skin in the game to let this drop now, a'ight?"
Kate watched him move across the street and take the front porch steps two at a time, his hulking frame shielding the door from Kate's line of sight until he was ushered inside. Kevin had called in to say that they were on a personal as, technically, the Commissioner had shut down their case earlier that day.
The CI currently inside the stash house was a school friend of Kevin's younger brother Jordan. Kevin had known Danté Williams since he was ten years old, watching as the kid grew into a young man who had become involved with some of the worst criminals Chicago had to offer. Eventually, the 'life' caught up with him and he got busted for running guns and fentanyl for the East Side Hustlers. To save him from doing hard time, Kevin cut him a deal; help them bring down the gang kingpin and he'd do a year inside. Unfortunately the bust went sideways and Fischer shut them down, despite Kevin, Kate and Voight arguing the toss.
Kate felt a pang of guilt at the thought of her boss, knowing full well he would be livid at her for keeping him in the dark.
'You tell me the truth so that I can lie for you.'
She let her head drop back onto the headrest with a groan. She knew she didn't have much of a choice on this one. Sure, she could have come clean to Voight but that would mean rolling on her partner and, in Kate's view, that wasn't even an option. Besides, neither she nor Kevin wanted this to blow back on him if the shit hit the fan.
Things had been going well between them over the past few weeks, feeling their way around balancing their personal and professional relationship. During the day, Kate would keep her interactions with him to a minimum, partially because she didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to them but also because she was slightly terrified that she would slip up and call him 'Hank' or 'babe' in front of the others.
On a rare free Saturday in late January, the two of them bundled up and took a drive to Indiana Dunes National Park where they walked hand in hand on the beach, both of them enjoying the change of scenery as the frigid sea air whipped around them. When they got back to Hank's place, they took a hot shower together in an effort to drive away the chill before curling up on his couch for the remainder of the evening. It already felt so comfortable and easy; Kate loved every second she spent with him.
She was snapped from her thoughts when a bright flash of a muzzle appeared behind the thin living room curtains, a muffled pop resounding down the silent street. Kate was out of the car and half way across the street with her gun drawn before she called for backup.
"5021 Sam, shots fired at 342 South Carpenter Street. I need backup right now. Be advised, two plain-clothed officers are on the scene."
Taking cover in the space between the door and the window, Kate hammered one fist on the wood.
"Kev, you okay?"
When she heard no response, she muttered a curse before swinging out of her cover position, smashing the heel of her boot into the door and moving swiftly into the room.
"Kevin!?"
It was only a couple of seconds but, to Kate, it may well have been a couple of hours until she heard Kevin call out to her from somewhere in the back of the house. Following the sound of his voice, she stepped into a dank kitchen where she found Kevin kneeling next to Danté, pressing a once-white tea towel onto his stomach as blood turned the fabric a deep shade of crimson.
Danté's eyes were fixed and glassy, starting unseeing up at the ceiling as Kevin spoke to him, his tone so low that Kate couldn't hear him.
"Kev, what happened?"
"…so sorry kid."
Kate reluctantly holstered her weapon, conscious that she hadn't completely cleared the house as she stepped up behind Kevin, placing a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. When he raised his eyes to look at her, his dark, soulful orbs were filled with anguish as tears tracked down his face.
"This is my fault."
Kate knelt at his side, hands wrapping around the back of his head as she forced him to look at her.
"What happened?" She pressed again.
She needed to know exactly what went down in the house so she could figure out how to help him out of this mess.
'To help us out of this mess.'
"They were shakin' Danté down for the drugs when I came in…I couldn't get to him in time." His voice broke on the last word as he dropped his chin to his chest, shoulders shaking under Kate's palms.
"Ok, so the deal was already going south when you got here, right?"
He nodded minutely, Kate only just catching the movement. Raising her eyes to the ceiling, she knew she needed to call Voight before he heard anything over the wire.
"Alright, it's gonna be fine, Kev. I got you."
Patting his shoulder one last time, she got to her feet and moved back into the hallway, pulling her phone from her vest and scrolling to find Voight's number. He picked up after a few rings, surprised to have her call him on his work cell at this late hour.
"Sarg, we got a situation."
Within twenty minutes, Hank was at the scene and in conversation with the Sergeant of the CPD Gang Unit who had turned up with his team following Kate's request for back up. They'd also rolled the crime lab to their location and the forensic team were currently working the scene and dealing with Danté's body.
The look on Voight's face was thunderous when he arrived, ordering Kate and Kevin to stand outside near his car and say nothing until he came back. Kevin was resting his weight against the hood of Hank's SUV, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the floor.
"I'm sorry partner. This is all on me."
Kate was leaning against the passenger door, head resting back on the freezing metal as she gazed up at the clear night sky, stars twinkling like fairy lights overhead. She sighed, watching her breath condense in the sub-zero temperature, the fog disappearing as quickly as it appeared.
"We're exactly that, Kev. Partners. You jump, I jump. That's how this works."
Both of them turned to watch Voight march towards them, still looking absolutely furious and Kate struggled not to shrink away at the blaze in his eyes. He stopped in front of them, pointing a single finger at each of them in turn before speaking.
"You two. My office. Now."
With that, he rounded the SUV and got in, barely waiting for his two subordinates to move away from the vehicle before firing up the ignition and pulling away from the curb, engine roaring as he stepped aggressively on the gas.
When Kate and Kevin arrived at the district, the bullpen was mercifully empty aside from Hank who was pacing around his office like a caged lion. Kate filed in behind Kevin, dropping her purse in front of the black leather couch before moving to stand in front of the desk, both of them flinching as Hank slammed the door so hard the glass rattled precariously in the frame.
He placed himself between his desk and his chair, bracing his hands on the smooth oak for a second before he raised his head and looked at them. She knew it was cowardly, but Kate refused to meet his gaze, instead keeping her focus on the blinds over his shoulder, knowing that the disappointment in his eyes would ruin her.
"Either of you care to tell me why you were at that stash house tonight? Against direct orders from both myself and Commander Fischer?"
His voice was dangerously calm. If the situation wasn't so dire, Kate would have found the sound incredibly sexy but now wasn't the time or the place given that both her and Kevin's careers were likely hanging in the balance.
Kevin launched into the story of how Danté had come to his house, begging and pleading with him to carry on with the buy so that he could get clean from the gang life. When he'd refused, Danté had told him that he'd already set the up the meet so he was going whether Kevin was on board or not. That was when he'd called Kate and asked for her help.
"And you."
Voight's eyes turned to Kate who was still staring at the spot just over his shoulder.
"You went along with this?"
Kate's pulse picked up as he directed his line of questioning her way. She waited a beat before responding, grateful that her voice remained steady in spite of the waves of anxiety roiling in her chest.
"Yes Sarg."
"And you didn't think to loop me in?!"
He slammed his hands down on the desk, startling both Kate and Kevin as he roared at his two subordinates. Before Kate could respond, Kevin jumped in to answer Voight's question but his eyes remained on Kate's face.
"It all happened so fast, we didn't have time to call it in. Look Sarg, I've known that kid almost all his life. I watched as he got in so deep that he was desperate enough to risk it all to get out." Kevin leaned forwards, drawing Hank's eyes to his face as he continued. "That could have easily been Jordan. And I would like to think that, if he came to you for help, you'd do what you could to help him."
The three of them fell silent, Hank's eyes softening ever so slightly at Kevin's words. He let out a long breath, dropping down into his chair as he rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly looking bone tired.
"Alright, when the Commander asks for your statements, you tell him that you were there doing surveillance on my orders when you saw Williams enter the property. By the time you called it in and breached, he was already dead. Leave the rest to me. I want both of your reports first thing in the morning. Kevin, go home. Kate, a word."
Kevin hesitated for a beat, eyes darting to Kate's face who kept her expression studiously blank before taking his leave, shutting the door behind him with a quiet click. Kate heard his footsteps get faint until the sound disappeared entirely, leaving the two of them alone for the first time that evening.
"Look at me."
Kate's eyes slid from the blinds to settle on his face, hazel meeting brown.
"Why'd you do it?"
Kate could have burst into tears right there on the spot, the disappointment and hurt in his voice rocked her to the core.
"Kevin's my partner. He called me for help."
He shook his head, irritation clear on his features but somehow he wasn't at all surprised. Rightly or wrongly, she would risk her career and her life for each and every member of this unit; and the thought terrified him.
"Do I have to worry about you, Meadows?"
Her brows furrowed in confusion at his question.
"Sarg?"
"Do I need to worry about you? That you're going to go off book? Go behind my back?"
"If you're asking me if I'll break the rules to back my partner or my unit, the answer is yes."
He raised an eyebrow, more than slightly impressed with the size of the balls this woman had to stand before him and defend her actions.
"Is that right?"
"It'll be a cold day in hell before I turn my back on one of my own, Sarg."
Hank considered her for a moment, half of him withering in despair, half of him swelling with pride. He got to his feet, circling the desk and situating himself in the small space between Kate and the desk, resting his weight on the wood.
Dropping her chin to her chest with a sigh, Kate squeezed her eyes shut and let her shoulders slump forward. Hank was right, but in this case so was she. For the first time since they started seeing each other, their professional and personal relationships were crossing paths. She desperately wanted to reach out and touch him but she held fast, refraining from initiating any contact.
"But if you're asking if I'd do anything differently, I would. He called and I went but I should have looped you in, I'm sorry."
Hank nodded, craning his neck to keep his eyes on hers.
"We have rules for a reason, Meadows. I can't have you running around the place disobeying direct orders. This is a formal warning for both you and Atwater. I can't help you if you shut me out. Another stunt like this and I'll throw you both out on your asses, understood?"
"Yes Sarg."
Hank sighed, once again running a hand over his face before he got to his feet, closing the distance between them and taking her chin in his hands to meet her eyes.
"I get that you were being a good partner but, sometimes being a good partner means dragging them away from the water…not jumping in with them."
Hank cast his mind back to all the times he had covered for Al and vice versa. Kate had done nothing tonight that he himself wouldn't have done in the past but he was her Sergeant, he needed to tell her exactly what his superiors would have told him.
Dropping his hands to her hips, Hank pulled her close, feeling her sag against him as she buried her face into his neck. As soon as she was in his arms, Kate felt the tension finally begin to ebb away, his warmth providing a blanket of comfort.
"I missed you this evening." He muttered into her hair, running his hands soothingly up and down her spine.
Kate hummed in pleasure, eyes dropping closed as she inhaled his familiar scent, her fingertips dragging up and down his flanks over the fabric of his button-down. She pulled away from him slightly, putting just enough space between them so that she could seal her lips over his, her tongue laving his lower lip lazily until he granted her access to his mouth. Hank's wandering hands skated across her lower back, continuing their journey south until he reached her the swell of her toned ass, digging his fingertips into the flesh through the denim. Kate's answering groan was caught in his mouth as she pitched her hips forwards, the feel of his hard length nudging into her thigh sending a thrill down her spine.
"You know, I've been thinking…"
He hummed in response, trying to ignore the way the denim of her jeans was generating a delicious friction against his groin. Kate lifted her chin so that her mouth was directly next to his ear, her breath teasing his skin as she whispered.
"Would this be inappropriate behaviour for the workplace?"
Her hand dropped from its place on his torso to palm the prominent bulge in his jeans, earning a deep groan from Hank who's eyes dropped closed and head fell backwards at her touch. Kate took his left earlobe between her teeth, nipping the flesh and revelling in the sounds she was drawing from the usually stoic man. Making short work of his belt and button fly, Kate peppered open-mouthed kisses along his jawline and down his neck as she reached a hand into his boxers, wrapping her fingers around his throbbing shaft and giving him a few firm strokes. Drawing him into a lusty kiss, she gently pushed him back to perch on the front of his desk and, without breaking eye contact, dropped to her knees before him.
The surge of power Kate felt from having him in this position was intoxicating. Whilst this was crossing a multitude of boundaries, she'd be lying if she said that she hadn't imagined this exact scenario a number of times. In fact, she'd lost count of the number of times she had envisaged the two of them in various positions across this very room. In his chair. On the desk. Against the wall. On the sofa.
Pursing her lips, Kate blew a puff of cool air over the tip of his cock, earning a twitch and a growl as he grasped a handful of hair, pulling the strands into a makeshift ponytail but not applying any pressure; merely holding the soft locks in his fist.
Figuring she'd already tried his patience enough for one day, Kate dropped her mouth to the base of his cock, tracing her tongue up one side, tracking a prominent vein until she reached the tip, fluttering her tongue lightly over his frenulum.
Hank was watching her intently, chest heaving and dark eyes smouldering as she worked him over, the sensation of her hot mouth driving him crazy. He knew he wouldn't last long, the fire burning low in his belly already beginning spiral out of control but the second she grasped him firmly at the base and took him deep into her throat, he knew he was done for.
"Fuck! I'm close Kate."
Her mischievous eyes peered up at him through dark lashes, the eye contact alone sending a fission of electricity down his spine but it was the sight of her plump lips stretched into a perfect 'O' around his length that sent him over the edge, waves of pleasure washing over him as he tightened his fist in her hair, hips stuttering as he released into her waiting mouth with a long, deep moan of satisfaction.
Once she was sure she had drained every drop he had to offer, she waited until his eyes reopened before she made a show of swallowing down his essence, a smirk tugging onto her lips as she watched his eyes roll and his Adam's Apple bob in response. After she'd tucked him back into his boxers and righted his clothing, he grasped her by the biceps and helped her to her feet, immediately capturing her swollen lips with his own, tasting himself on her tongue.
When they eventually broke apart, Hank rested his forehead against hers.
"To answer your question, yes, that's highly inappropriate for the workplace."
Kate hummed, her lips barely brushing his.
"Shame. I'd quite like to do that again sometime."
Kate let out an amused laugh when his eyes darkened and a feral groan vibrated in his throat. Dropping a more chaste kiss on his lips, she stepped away from him to retrieve her discarded belongings from the floor near the couch. Hank was still yet to move from where she'd left him, content to simply watch her as he enjoyed the tranquility that came in the aftermath of an incredible orgasm.
Throwing her purse over the crook of one elbow, Kate extended her hand to him with a soft smile playing at the corner of her mouth.
"Let's get out of here."
