After closing the Peter Stone murder case, for a solid twenty four hours Hank and Kate only left the bedroom to use the bathroom and search for sustenance, both of them quite content to stay wrapped in nothing but the sheets and one other.
They used the time to learn as much about each other as they could; some things trivial but some significant building blocks to who there were as individuals. Kate learned that Hank was an only child who's father was killed in the line of duty when he was eight, the catalyst for he himself wanting to become a cop. She also discovered that he had a weakness for salted caramel ice cream and was, without any shadow of a doubt, an 'ass' man. Hank, on the other hand, learned that Kate had a debilitating fear of clowns and a tiny tattoo of a butterfly on the inside of her right ankle, apparently the result of a teenage rebellion.
Late in the afternoon, Kate was comfortably situated between Hank's thighs, reclining against his chest as the fragrant hot water lapped soothingly around them. The base of her skull rested over his right shoulder as he traced his soapy hands over her body, leaving no patch of skin untouched. When his fingers mapped the raised ridges of the scar on her chest, Kate knew what was coming before the words had even left his mouth.
"How did this happen?"
Kate remained silent for a few moments, lulled into a state of contentment by the sound of his heart thrumming steadily against her back and the feel of his warm lips on her shoulder.
"I was engaged to a cop in New York. He's a detective for the NYPD Counter Terrorism Unit."
She paused for a second, drawing a deep breath before sharing her recollection of the day her world had fallen apart at the seams.
Kate shoved the door to their apartment open with a grunt, balancing the grocery bags in one arm as she shuffled down the hallway to drop them on the kitchen counter. Today was their three year anniversary and it had been six months to the day since Jake proposed. Her eyes dropped down to her left hand, the beams of sunlight filtering through the kitchen blinds bouncing off of the beautiful radiant-cut diamond ring, the weight of it still foreign.
Sergeant Walker had granted her request to take some personal time so that she could get home before Jake did and set her plans in motion. She was going to cook his favourite meal, enjoy some wine together and then show him her new purchases from the boutique underwear store that had just opened off of Canal Street. The timing was unfortunate. The Intelligence Unit had just closed a huge case with Kate finally locking up major drug player Tate Hudson, the head of the Latin Kings. Ideally she would have liked to stick around to help with the paperwork and make sure everything was in order when the DA filed charges but, with Walker's assurance that he'd do it himself, she left it in his capable hands and headed home.
A noise from upstairs yanked Kate from her thoughts and she instinctively drew her weapon from its holster on her right hip, pointing the barrel at the stairs that led to the first floor of their apartment. Moving slowly and silently, she stepped towards the staircase and took them one by one until she reached the landing, arms still outstretched with her gun at the ready.
Then the noise came again, only this time Kate could identify it as a moan. A woman's moan to be precise. Her heart dropped into her stomach and her throat threatened to close up as her pulse began to race. Shoving their bedroom door open with the toe of her boot, her face drained of colour as she took in the scene before her.
There he was. The man she was planning to spend the rest of her life with, reclined on their bed with a tiny blonde sat astride him, his hands gripping her thin, pale hips so hard that angry marks had already begun to bloom on her porcelain skin. Time seemed to stop all together. She couldn't recall how long she stood there before she met Jake's ocean blue eyes over the woman's shoulder and he sprang into action, bucking her from his body as he scrambled out of the bed, clutching a sheet around him as he stood.
"Baby, I can explain."
Lowering her weapon, Kate closed her eyes briefly and inhaled a slow, steady breath. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide the hurt in her eyes but she refused to cry in front of him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"You. Out."
The two syllables passed through gritted teeth and it took everything in Kate's power not to resort to actual physical violence. The blonde must have sensed how close Kate was to losing her grip on her control because she slid out of the bed and dressed in record time, the door to the apartment closing with a bang as she went.
"Katie, look…"
"Don't."
They stared at each other for a few moments, one wondering how the hell he was going to talk his way out of his current predicament and the other wondering how she'd let herself become that woman. Kate was a lot of things, but she didn't class herself as stupid. And yet here she was, stood in her own bedroom where her fiancé had been fucking God knows who. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she squeezed her eyes shut tight and silently begged whatever deity that was listening that she could keep herself together for just a few more moments.
"You need to get your things and leave."
He balked at her, looking around to locate his jeans, eventually finding the discarded denim near the bedside table along with his blue button down that she'd commented on earlier that very morning as they shared coffee before work.
"So that's it? I only get one chance to screw up?"
She let out a hollow laugh.
"This is too big a mistake to forgive Jake."
Dropping her gaze back down to the floor, she took the engagement ring she had worn with pride and slid it from her finger, turning the diamond over in her hand before placing it on the dresser at the end of the bed.
Kate could hear him calling her name as she turned and left the room, jogging down the stairs and into the kitchen, her mind reeling. In a split second, everything had changed. Kate didn't even bother picking up her keys as she passed through the kitchen, swinging the door open and moving out into the warm breeze.
The next thing Kate felt was a bullet zipping past her head, followed immediately by the echoing bang of gunfire. Whipping her gun from her holster, Kate's head spun in the direction of the sound but, before she could get a shot off, three more shots were fired in quick succession from the rear window of a black SUV, the final one striking her in the chest. She lie still on the hard concrete, a burning pain radiating across her upper body and the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth, gurgling on the sticky liquid as she tried to call for help. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was Jake's horrified face swimming into focus as he knelt down beside her, hands putting pressure on her chest as he shouted to a passerby to call 911.
"I still don't know if the bullets were meant for me or for him. We were both working on some pretty high-profile cases so it could have been either but, given the evidence and the timing, it's likely to have been related to Hudson rather than a terror cell."
Hank's mind was spinning as he processed what she had told him. Not only had the prick cheated on her but he'd indirectly put her in harms way. If she hadn't have left the apartment that afternoon, there wouldn't be a scar under his fingertips.
'But she also wouldn't be here.'
"I guess it doesn't matter. It's a risk we carry when we take an oath to serve and protect."
Hank hummed in agreement. It was one of the reasons why he worked so hard to persuade Erin to join the Intelligence Unit when he was initially given the job. He wanted her close so that he could protect her. In a roundabout way, he supposed it was the same reason he bought Alvin on board.
"But that's why I moved to Chicago. Sam knew I would have a hard time staying in New York so she got me a transfer here."
Nuzzling his nose into the soft skin behind her ear, he inhaled deeply before pressing a tender kiss to the damp flesh.
"And I'm thankful she did."
They fell into silence once again, both of them lost in their own thoughts. As the water grew cool, Kate reluctantly extricated herself from Hank's arms and the two of them dried off before heading back into the bedroom.
Kate rifled through her bag of clothes in search of some clean underwear, stepping into the black lace under Hank's watchful gaze. As she pulled a jumper over her head, she ran her fingers through her wild locks in an effort to tame the madness that was her hair before turning back to face Hank who had dropped down onto the bed and casually propped himself up on one elbow, the towel still haphazardly draped around his waist, his eyes tracking her every movement.
With a grin, she moved towards him and, using one knee to balance her weight, she leaned over and pecked his slightly pouty lips gently. She danced out of reach before he could drag her back into bed, pulling on some jeans as Hank made a noise of displeasure.
He rolled to sit on the side of the bed, rifling through the pool of fabric on the floor until he found the grey sweatpants he'd discarded the night before. Pulling them on, he meandered across the room to where Kate was zipping up her bag. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he tucked his nose into the sensitive skin behind her ear, touching his lips to her flesh.
"You sure you have to go?"
His voice was rough and, combined with the feeling of his mouth on her skin, it took every ounce of Kate's self-control to nod affirmative as she turned in his arms, running her hands up over his bare chest until her forearms were resting on his shoulders.
"You see, my Sergeant is a bit of a bastard. He'll give me a really hard time if I'm late to work tomorrow so I need to go home and do some laundry so I actually have something to wear in the morning."
A rumbling laugh vibrated across his chest at her words, his hands dropping to squeeze the fleshy globes of her ass through the denim before he reluctantly released her. He was slowly becoming addicted to having her in his arms, everything else simply sliding away when they were together. The world outside could be going up in flames and he would happily just let it burn if it meant he didn't have to let her go.
"Well your boss sounds like a prick. Let me know if you need me to deal with him."
The sound of her laughter at his words filled his chest with a sensation he hadn't felt in such long time that he wasn't sure it was something he could feel anymore.
"I will."
Kate grasped his face between her hands and gave him one long, slow kiss before they parted. When they were both dressed, Hank carried Kate's bag out to her car, throwing it in the back and kissing her one more time before she left. After her Jeep disappeared from view, he closed the door and paused in the hallway, taking in the evidence of their twenty four hours together.
There were a pile of dirty dishes stacked in the sink along with an assortment of mugs, glasses and cutlery they had used in between making love, talking and falling asleep wrapped around one another. As he made his way from room to room, he considered all of the new information he'd learnt about her, the puzzle pieces beginning to fall into place.
When she had told him about her ex-financee, the sadness in her voice had hit him like a punch in the chest. Kate Meadows was a woman who loved deeply, who would give the shirt off her back to a perfect stranger because that's just who she was. Kind. Generous. Giving. Even though she'd been burnt in the past by the very person who was supposed to love and protect her, she still had the unwavering ability to give people the benefit of the doubt. The Hank Voight of ten years ago would have labelled her soft, weak even. But the Hank Voight of right now recognised those traits for exactly what they were - strong and enviable.
He made a silent promise to himself in that moment that he wouldn't become another name on the already too-long list of people who had tried to dim her beautiful light. She deserved all of the good things life could give her and, now that he knew how it felt to have her shine bright beside him, he was reluctant to let her go.
